DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Independent senatorial candidate Edward Hagedorn on Friday assured Oriental Negrenses that, if elected to the Senate, he will be working hard for the crafting of stronger environmental laws with coordination between national and local governments.
Hagedorn, incumbent mayor of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan made the declaration to the local media during his campaign sorties in Negros Oriental province.
Choosing to run independent in his first senatorial bid, Hagedorn was confident that he will make it to the Senate, despite current surveys showing him lagging behind the Magic 12. He admitted that he is now in an uphill battle against the so-called political “giants†but then the Senate needs new personalities like him and Bro. Eddie Villanueva who he said are “makabayan, maka-Diyos and maka-kalikasan.â€
Hagedorn lamented the apparent lack of implementation of numerous environmental laws of the country, citing the findings of noted environmental advocate, lawyer Tony Oposa, who said that only two percent of the laws have been implemented.
The country spends so much money on creating laws only for these to be trashed, Hagedorn said. “We should find out why implementation of such laws failed,†he said, adding that perhaps there are laws that do not have the necessary funding. (FREEMAN)