Press Release
July 20, 2009

UP HONORS LOREN,
LAUNCHES "HIBISCUS ROSA-SINENSIS "LOREN LEGARDA"

LOREN APPEALS FOR FOOD SECURITY

LOS BAñOS, LAGUNA, July 20 - Sen. Loren Legarda's dedication to serve the public, particularly in the field of environmental legislation was recognized today by the University of the Philippines - Los Baños. A new hybrid of gumamela under the "Women in Public Service" series was named in her honor.

UP Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco and Dean Vicky Espaldon of the UP School of Environmental Science and Management explained that the hibiscus variety was named after Loren because of her persistent and valuable efforts to promote environmental protection, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. In thanking the UPLB for naming the hibiscus variety after her, Loren said that she was humbled by the honor, and that she was inspired to exert more in public service for and in the interest of the entire Filipino people, and for humanity in the field of disaster risk reduction.

She also recalled that in her childhood she was fond of beautiful things and one of these was the gumamela. "I remember asking once why we had not made hibiscus our own national flower. After all, its variety of colors can be found almost everywhere in our country and I knew that its plant is not very difficult to care for," she said. "Too bad Malaysia beat us to it."

She added, "If I may put it this way, by your act, I have been immortalized in our society. Hopefully, the future generations will also appreciate the reasons why you have chosen to name a hybrid of gumamela after me." In the same occasion, Sen. Loren Legarda called for greater efforts in the country to achieve food security and global competitiveness in the face of the challenges of climate change and the global economic crisis.

Loren, who is the United Nations champion for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the Asia-Pacific region, said that climate change is "a global issue that has clear human rights implications as its effects will definitely impact our ability to survive and our fundamental right to life, food, shelter and security." In her speech, Loren who is also chair of the Senate committee on food and agriculture, commended the UPLB, particularly the Institute of Plant Breeding of the College of Agriculture, "for its efforts to help attain the country's goal of achieving food security and global competitiveness."

She noted that through the years, the Institute has worked on various projects to breed better crops for food, clothing, shelter, medicine and other industrial uses. The Institute has developed new varieties of corn, mungbean, chico, guyabano, peanut, soybean, tomato, garden pea, patola, cucumber, sweet potato, cassava, papaya and avocado.

"Your course offerings on bamboo propagation, disease elimination and micro-propagation techniques for musa or abaca, tissue culture for selected plants for crop improvement and mass propagation, hybrid papaya production, hybrid corn seed production, peanut production, gene-banking activities, and the production of high-value crops enable your experts to pass on the agro-technical know-how to neophytes to help the sector and related industries cope with the problem of food security, particularly in the face of the adverse effects of global warming and climate change," Loren declared.

"As your staunch partner in our advocacy on climate change, and as the UN Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation, I have been going around the Asian region in the last several months campaigning, not for the 2010 elections, but for the concerted efforts of the international community in combating the threats of climate change and in disaster risk reduction.

"Evidently, climate change is not just a scientific phenomenon that only scientists or technical experts understand. You and I know that it is a global issue that has clear human rights implications as its effects will definitely impact our ability to survive and our fundamental right to life, food, shelter and security.

"The role of UPLB, through the Institute of Plant Breeding of the College of Agriculture and through the School of Environmental Science and Management in our fight against the real threats of climate change is more crucial than ever. I trust that, under a strong partnership, we shall remain committed towards helping provide a safer and healthier environment for our people to live in."

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