A film entitled “Ligtas Likas,” co-produced by Sen. Loren Legarda, premiered recently at Cinema 1 of Shang Cineplex. “Ligtas Likas” is an animated film promoting a green environment. After the film showing, a memorandum of cooperation was signed by Senator Legarda, Ms. Imee Marcos and Asec. John Malaya of the Department of Education.

The Creative Media (CREAM) and Film Society of the Philippines collaborated with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda to co-produce “Ligtas Likas.” The story and screenplay were written by Ms. Imee Marcos, Peter Mayshle and Ann Angala Shy. Director was Nasser Lucenada and co-director was Excy Salavarria.

Ms. Marcos has shied away from politics saying in jest that politics is a toxin for the environment. She now wants to do something creative, thus this partnership with Senator Legarda. After “Ligtas Likas,” they will come up with other projects for the promotion and preservation of the environment.

“Ligtas Likas, “a two-episode animated series, tells the story of a young girl named Maria and her friends Bobot, the compactor-robot, and Tatang, the nature worshipper. Together, they fight off the enemies of the environment. Each episode tells how they conserve the rainforest and protect the ocean against pollution.

The film, according to Sen. Loren is primarily aimed at children to motivate them to practice and promote recycling and proper waste management in line with the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000 which was authored and sponsored by Senator Legarda.

Senator Legarda said the DVD package of “Ligtas Likas” comes with a CD on interactive games and a work book for teachers. “We will give a package each for 50 elementary schools. The rest of the 37,000 elementary schools will have theirs a little later.” Represented during the premiere showing of “Ligtas Likas” are the elementary schools from Pasig, Rosario and Guadalupe. In the audience were some teachers and pupils from said schools.

Climate Change Act

Senator Legarda is also the author of the Climate Change Act of 2009, the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, and which is “only a few steps away from passage,” she said after the Conference Committee Report on the Disagreeing Provisions of Senate Bill No. 2583 and House Bill No. 5982 was ratified by the Senate. Senator Legarda is the chair of the Senate Standing and Oversight Committees on Climate Change. Indeed her relentless work for the passage of the measure which aims to strengthen the Philippines’ response to climate change is now paying off.

The Climate Change Act of 2009 also aims to mainstream climate change into policy formulation, development planning and poverty reduction program. “Mainstreaming entails the integration of policies and measures that address climate change into development planning and decision-making,” she explained. (CMB)