**Secretary Gina Lopez's** recent actions to protect the Philippine environment have been praised by activists around the world and vilified by her opponents as biased and against economic prosperity. Secretary Lopez recently ordered the closure of 23 mining firms, she claims for ruining watershed areas. She is quoted as saying, “It is time for social justice. You cannot run your business and affect our farmers and fishermen. This is not acceptable under the Duterte administration and not acceptable under the DENR," Clearly, she is not known to back-down when political or business heavyweights block her path. With full support of President Duterte, the new secretary is determined to deliver clean rivers and environmental sustainability to Filipinos. And though born to an affluent family, and though she could have led a luxurious and carefree life, she chose to blaze her own trail the hard way, in the dirt, serving the poor as an activist and crusader. Jee Geronimo recalled in a profile in Rappler.com: “At 18 years old, she left home, renounced her life of privilege, and became a full-fledged yoga missionary in Portugal, India, and Africa. There, she had to constantly look for money for her own survival, and for the needs of underprivileged kids she served.” **Gina Lopez** later came to lead the reforestation of La Mesa Watershed and La Mesa Ecopark, and in 2010 was named chairperson of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, which led efforts to resurrect the historic river. For her work with Bantay Kalikasan, she received the 1997 International Public Relations Award for Excellence for the Environment and the 2009 Outstanding Manilan Award for the Environment. In 2011, as managing director of the ABS-CBN Foundation, and working with partner organizations, she also launched the Save Palawan Movement, a signature campaign to mobilize protection for key biodiversity areas against mining. Hear **Secretary Gina Lopez** of DENR at **Asia CEO Forum** with Elite Sponsors **AIG**, **Daiichi Properties**, **DB Schenker**,** Figari Group**, **JLL**, **LBC Business Solutions**, **Regus**,** Sitel ** and **Sprout Solutions**.