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FPE Welcomes New Chair and BOT; Salutes Outgoing Trustees

Posted on October 18, 2016

Dr. Lourdes Simpol, a trustee of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) since 2014, Director of the Tropical Institute for Climate Studies (TroPICS), and Coordinator of the Master in Tropical Risk Management of the Ateneo de Davao University, was elected as the new Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Foundation last October 14, 2016 during the FPE General Members Meeting in Fersal Hotel, Quezon City.  

Together with Dr. Simpol, seven new trustees and officers of the Foundation were elected:

• Fr. John Christian Young as Mindanao representative and Vice-Chair. Fr. Young is the President of Fr. Saturnino Urios University, and a board member of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), convenor of the Save Taguibo Watershed Network, and a former FPE Regional Advisory Council - Mindanao Coordinator;
• Fr. Ian Salvador Trillanes as Luzon Representative and Secretary. Fr. Trillanes is Head of the Parish Social Action of Caritas, Diocese of Libmanan, Camarines Sur, and NGO Representative to the National Organic Agriculture Board;
• Mr. Ramon Peñalosa as Member at Large and Treasurer. Mr. Penalosa is chairman of Organic na Negros Organic Producers and Retailers Association (ONOPRA), Negros Agricultural Entrepreneurs, and  President of Peñalosa Farms, Inc.;
• Dr. Renato Boniao as Member at Large and Auditor. Dr. Boniao is Dean of the College of Agriculture and Forestry of Mindanao State University – Naawan, holds a PhD in Soil Science from Ghent University, and was former president of the MSU-N Foundation of Science and Technology and Development, Inc.;
• Mr. Arthur B. Estrella as Luzon Representative. Mr. Estrella is director of research at the Central Bicol State University of Agriculture, and a Ford Foundation International Fellow and PhD candidate for Environmental Management in Newcastle University;
• Dr. Jurgenne Primavera as Visayas Representative. Dr. Primavera is Chief Scientific Mangrove Advisor for the Zoological Society of London in the Philippines, a TIME magazine
  “Hero of the Environment” and “Protector of the Planet” in 2008; and Co-Chair of the Mangrove Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission;
• Ms. Beverly Longid as International NGO Representative. Ms. Longid is Coordinator of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the Coordinator of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractives and Energy (AIPNEE), and solidarity officer of KATRIBU (Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan sa PIlipinas).

The seven new members join the incumbent trustees—Ms. Wilhelmina Gonzales (President of Negros Economic Development Foundation and former FPE Treasurer), Engr. Pipalawan Naga (Technical Director of the Save Lake Lanao Movement, Inc. or SALLAM), Ms. Edita Z. Tan (Assistant Secretary at the Department of Finance), and the new Chair and CEO, Dr. Simpol, in the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

The FPE General Members commended the three outgoing trustees—Dr. Grace Jimeno-Rebollos (President of Western Mindanao State University), Dr. Filemon Romero (Professor Emeritus of Oceanography and Environmental Science of the Mindanao State University of Tawi-Tawi), and outgoing Chair and CEO Dr. Milan (Professor Emeritus and former President of Visayas State University)—for their invaluable service to the Foundation for the last four years.

Dr. Milan, in her report on the Foundation’s performance for the past year, expressed her gratitude to FPE’s partners in the last 24 years, “to the IPOs, POs, CSOs, who serve as our major stakeholders in conservation work, to government, current donors and partners—UNDP-GEF, the Alliance for Climate Protection, Globe Telecom, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, to the members of the Regional Consultative Groups (RCGs) and the Experts Advisory Pool for sharing their time and expertise, to the permanent members for providing the Board with guidance, to my fellow board members, for the camaraderie and cooperation in our journey as the policy-making body of FPE.” She adds, “Most importantly, I’d like to thank the staff—the workforce of the Foundation, for the hard work you have given to the Foundation throughout the years, despite challenges. Keep the spirit burning, your passion burning. Daghang salamat.“