Congressman Douglas Hagedorn:

A warrior for the environment

February 3, 2016 8:14 pm
Homobono Adaza/Manila Times

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you but none too much:
From IF by Rudyard Kipling
I WENT to the Batasan Building, now the House of Representatives,
yesterday to savor the feel of the old building which was the scene
of my triumphs and tragedies during martial rule in the Philippines
as Opposition member of the regular Parliament. The sights and
sounds are still there but the historic ambience is all gone. The
intellectual giants are sorely missed; the theatrical flourish of the
grand debaters is gone down the river of no return, as they say.
But when I met Congressman Douglas Hagedorn of Palawan on the
floor of the House yesterday, I was reminded of the great old days
when fighters for the people always had their day come Hell or
high water. The moment of fond reminiscence was triggered by a
privilege speech of the congressman fighting for the people of his
district and Palawan to preserve the pristine beauty of the province,
not for himself but particularly for his people and the rest of the
country.
The great warrior for the environment fought all the odds against
the House leadership on both sides of the political fence just so the
lords of business headed by Governor Pepito Alvarez, popularly
known as JCA for Jose Chaves Alvarez would not have their way in
devastating the province, making huge profits on business ventures
that would devastate Palawan and leave to Palawenos the scenes of
environmental destruction.
I cannot improve on Congressman Hagedorns privilege speech, with
all the passion for his people that he could muster. And here goes
the privilege speech, with the passion and the sights and sounds
that make for greatness.
The Hagedorn privilege speech
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a question of personal and collective privilege
to condemn the unethical behavior of a few members of this House.

As events unravelled, I perceive such behavior as acts of

connivance with the richest politician in our country today, no other
than Jose Pepito Alvarez, Governor of Palawan, who is sadly now
leading incursions against our provinces protected areas.
What we see here is another clash between business that of
loggers, miners and coal proponents and the public interest. Big
business against environment!
Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday, HB 6328 (the renumbered proposed
Expanded NIPAS Bill) was reported for second reading and
consideration by the plenary. Many of us are anticipating the
approval of Committee Report 946 containing the said bill.
For the information of this body, the said ENIPAS Bill, Mr. Speaker,
was earlier mired in controversy.
After the Committee submitted to the Committees on Appropriation
and Ways and Means, its first Committee Report No. 880, Governor
Alvarez and Cong. Chicoy Alvarez wrote the Chairman to have five
of the protected areas of Palawan deleted from the measure.
Upon the mere prodding of the two Alvarezes, the Committee
Secretariat sheepishly obeyed and surreptitiously removed the five
protected areas, then submitted to the Rules Committee the said
Report, in clear violation of House Rules.
Many of us were shocked. Prominent environmentalists and other
concerned sectors joined me in opposing the deletions.
After receiving my protest, the Committee on Rules recommitted
the Report to the Committee on Natural Resources. In its executive
meeting last Nov. 11, the Committee resolved to restore the five
protected areas of Palawan. The Committee also noted the various
resolutions and statements of support from the affected and
concerned sectors.
Actually, Mr. Speaker, even the people herded by the Governor in
his own consultation after hearing the position of the
environmentalists themselves agreed to retain the five protected
areas. During the executive meeting, Cong. Alvarez was silent when
our esteemed soft-spoken colleague and principal sponsor of the
ENIPAS HB 6328, Congresswoman Josephine Sato, remarked that

she could not understand the opposition of Gov. Alvarez to the

inclusion of Palawan.
And so, the anomalous Committee Report No. 880 containing HB
4336 was substituted with Committee Report No. 946 with HB 6328.
And so we thought that everything would proceed smoothly.
Sadly, Mr. Speaker, another brazen violation of the rules and of our
democratic process happened last Wednesday. This second attempt
to delete, nay, murder, Palawans protected areas was hatched by
Las Pias Congressman Mark Villar and ABAKADA Party-list
Representative Jonathan de la Cruz. The Villar-de la Cruz tandem
would have murdered four of our protected areas right under my
very nose.
Mr. Speaker, this representation strongly condemns the unparliamentary and dishonorable conduct of these two gentlemen.
They owe the Committee and the people of Palawan a formal
apology. They should answer the following questions:
1) To Cong. De la Cruz: As sponsor and presentor of the bill, did the
gentleman not lie when he declared that there were no committee
amendments, despite his full knowledge of the fact that an
executive meeting was called to correct the anomaly that attended
the deletion of the five protected areas? Therefore, Mr. Speaker,
isnt a new amendment again calling for their deletion an
amendment to the Committees decision and report?
2) To Cong. Mark Villar: What is your real motive in proposing the
removal of four of Palawans protected Areas? Would their removal
be to our benefit? Where did the gentleman get the idea that the
Representative of Las Pinas knows whats best for the people of
Palawan?
Mr. Speaker, this is another sad day for our environment, for our
democracy, and for our institution.
Have some of us become so callous and insensitive? Has power
gone into their heads? Power can transform for better or for worse.
To those who abuse the power entrusted to them, they ask: What
are we in power for?

Lest we forget, we are elected representatives of the people. To be

true to them, we must articulate their dreams and aspirations. Sila
ang totoong boss. At tayo ay mga kinatawan lamang nila.
After having put on record our peoples sentiments, I now thank
you, Mr. Speaker! (End of Hagedorn speech)
I say amen to Congressman Hagedorns privilege speech. This is one
Congressman who has brains in his balls and balls in his brains. May
utak sa bayag at may bayag sa utak, as the late Speaker Pepito
Laurel, our Minority Floor Leader in the regular Batasang Pambansa,
articulated it to me so well when I sponsored the impeachment of
that brilliant president, Ferdinand Marcos.
Hagedorn deserves congratulations
Congressman Douglas Hagedorn deserves congratulation not only
from the people of Palawan and his district; he deserves the
congratulations of the people in this country. It is not easy to defy
the gods of the system. I should know I have been there; I am still
there. Douglas, welcome to the ranks of the immortals! The people
of your district should overwhelmingly send you back to the House,
if there be elections, so that someday in a not too distant future you
can become one of the top leaders in this country and the Alvarezes
in this world could be put in their rightful place the dustbin of
history!