“It can be done” — Sec. Gina Lopez

IBINAHAGI ni Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) executive director Jose Antonio “Pepeton” Goitia sa kanyang facebook account ang mga huling mensahe ng yumaong dating kalihim ng DENR at PRRC Chairperson Gina Lopez kaugnay sa Pasig River.

“Pasig River is the main water artery of the nerve center of the country,” pam­bungad ni Lopez, yumao kamakailan dahil sa multiple organ failure.

“The state of the Pasig River has great adverse impact not only on the surrounding area- but on our nation as a whole.”

Markado ang paglalara­wan ni Lopez sa  Pasig River dahil ikinokompara niya ito sa human nervous system.

“There was a time when we tried to remove that five-slide illustration, and we were surprised that she still looked for it,” pagbabalik-tanaw ni Information Officer III Alyssa Chrizelle N. Miclat.

Iginawad kay Lopez ang una at tanging Sea­cology Prize na naipag­kaloob sa isang Filipino na binigyan-diin kung paano nabiyayaan ng malinis na tubigan ang France, Germany at Singapore – sa aspektong ekonomiya at saykolohiya bilang isang bansa.

Hinangaan niya ang gobyerno ng Filipinas dahil sa seryosong paglilinis sa Manila Bay at umaasa siyang ito rin mismo ang ipatutupad sa paglilinis ng Pasig River.

“For the [rehabilitation] effort to have dramatic effect, it needs the strong arm approach of govern­ment coupled with com­passion so that minimal people are adversely affected,” pagdidiin ni Lopez.

Bilang pangwakas sa mensahe, pinaalala ni Lopez, “it [rehabilitation of Pasig River] can be done. I have high hopes that under the Duterte administration, this will happen.”

Inilinaw ni Goitia na direktang nagmula sa cellphone ni Lopez  ang mga kataga na hinugot oras-mismo sa kanyang natata­gong kamalayan.

“Ma’am Gina composed and sent this message directly from her phone so we knew that the words used were what exactly came to her mind that very moment. What a heartfelt message she personally put together!” paghanga ni Goitia kay Lopez sa pag­lalarawan bilang isang lider na makamahirap at makakalikasan.

“We’re still saddened by her passing. We promised to keep her light shining in the rehabilitation of the Pasig River and to always keep the poor people in mind. I agreed with her that at the end of the day, the poor people suffer the most from neglect of environ­ment,” dagdag ni Goitia.

Nalathala ang  final message ni Lopez tungkol sa  Pasig River sa  maiden issue ng The RiverMan magazine na may limited print run na 1,000 kopya.

Libreng makukuha ang kopya ng  The RiverMan sa PRRC office samantala ang  electronic copies ay maaaring hugutin sa Freedom of Information portal. (MR)