Eco Warriors

Manny Osmeña, Dr. Olivia Castillo, Dr. Lucio Tan and Crown Prince Willem – Alexander of Netherlands: Eco warriors all.

This quartet of eco-warriors is at the forefront in an all out war to educate and show by example how to save the only planet we have. Manny Osmeña is at the forefront of propagating the “Save the Earth” philosophy by putting it in practice at his Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa regardless of its initial cost. These technologies are already available in the market and accessible to anyone with enough drive and desire to conserve the most precious of resources in this planet, water. In doing so, Osmeña, together with his resort, received the “Eco Award for Water Innovation at the 2008 Asia Pacific Round Table on Sustainable Consumption and Production (APRSCP).

“We must not forget that it is God who provided us this very precious commodity - - water, which we all know is the symbol of life. It was for this idea that I decided to shop around to look for the best contractors as well as designers. Giving them a mandate to build a project which would be a zero waste water as well as zero water footprint facility. This conviction started more than a decade ago…as I was looking at the beautiful waters of Hilutungan Channel, God impressed in my heart that if nothing is done, one day my great grand children and your great grandchildren will be swimming in our toilets,” Mr. Osmeña passionately shared during the dinner hosted by Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia in honor of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of Netherlands.

One of the tireless movers of the preservation of our natural resources is Dr. Oliva Castillo. She holds the distinguished position of United Nations Secretary General for Water, Sanitation Advisory Board.

Dr. Lucio Tan was also awarded during the recent Asia Pacific Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production. He was cited for his efforts on water sustainability.

The Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is the Chairman of the UN General Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. The Crown Prince was vocal and actively lobbied to achieve sustainable development. “It is wonderful when two groups with the same goals come together to share their experiences and know how to pursue sustainable development. One of the prerequisites of this development is water. There is no substitute for water, to achieve sustainable development we have to come together to bring forth this issue. Water is something we can’t do without even for a few days. Sanitation and productivity go hand in hand. That is why we have to invest in it,” Crown Prince Willem-Alexander said addressing the evening’s guests.