Loren Legarda
Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipino politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who has served as a senator of the Philippines since 2022, following previous terms spanning from 1998 to 2004 and 2007 to 2019. During her tenure, she served as president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines from 2022 to 2024. Before entering politics, she began her career as a news reporter until becoming a news anchor. She previously served three terms in the Senate from 1998 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2019. She is the longest-serving female Senator in the history of the Senate, and the only female in the Philippines to top two senatorial elections: 1998 and 2007. Legarda was also the House Deputy Speaker during her three-year stint as the representative of Antique from 2019 to 2022.
Quotes
[edit]- There have also been many opportunities for cooperation in the field of cultural and heritage preservation; but nothing can be more pronounced than our joint initiative on climate action,”
- Seize the moment? No. Create it.
- Culture is not mere adornment; it is a vital engine of livelihood and economic growth.
- Culture is what binds us as a nation.
- What we choose to preserve today—our knowledge, our traditions, our stories—will ripple through time, shaping lives long after we are gone.
- These terraces endure because of the quiet brilliance of a people who, long before the world had the language for it, understood sustainability, engineering, and balance.
- We need to invest in blue carbon initiatives that will help protect our coral reefs, seagrass beds, lush mangrove forests, and other coastal and marine sources. Let us implement Philippine environmental laws in our efforts to bring back the bounty and restore the ecological integrity of our bodies of water.
- The risks are rapidly growing not only for those in coastal communities, as climate change drives rising sea levels, warmer oceans and increasingly ferocious cyclones. We need to recalibrate our strategies on climate change adaptation, invest in blue carbon initiatives, and embrace the available solutions that nature presents to us.
- This has always been one of the challenges of the department. It's already the 2023 budget and it's still a challenge. My question is, will there be a time when we will no longer have backlog?
- Senator Loren Legarda says noting that since 1998, her first term as senator, the DepEd always had an annual backlog in providing enough school buildings, classrooms, study tables, among others, to students.
- https://mb.com.ph/2022/09/30/when-will-there-be-zero-backlog-on-educational-facilities-legarda-asks-deped/
- Let it be a lesson to those doing the budget — whether you’re a big department or a small bureau or commission — you present it to the DBM. You think about it for one year.
- Senator Legarda as she warned that accommodating last-minute appeals could set a dangerous precedent for the budget process.
- https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/inside-track/bicameral-conference-committee-updates-2026-budget-december-17-2025/
- The Supreme Court has now spoken with clarity on the matter of the ₱60 billion withdrawn from PhilHealth pursuant to Special Provision 1(d), Chapter XLIII of the 2024 General Appropriations Act, and Department of Finance Circular No. 003-2024. The Court declared the provision unconstitutional and directed, and I quote: As a consequence of the unconstitutional transfer of the subject PhilHealth fund to the National Treasury pursuant to Special Provision 1(d) of the 2024 GAA and DOF Circular 003-2024, the remitted funds amounting to ₱60 billion to PhilHealth must be returned to the coffers of PhilHealth.
- The bicameral conference must confront the question of whether this satisfies the Court’s directive to ‘return’ the full amount to PhilHealth.
- Senator Legarda as she noted that while the House of Representatives realigned ₱60 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways budget to PhilHealth, the amount was earmarked for benefit package improvements rather than returned to the reserve fund
- https://lorenlegarda.com.ph/legarda-moves-to-ensure-philhealth-funds-are-fully-restored-and-protected/
- These practices—though indirect—operate in effect as fund diversions similar to what transpired in 2024. I will file a bill to ensure that sin tax earmarks and the statutory shares from PAGCOR and PCSO are automatically appropriated and released to PhilHealth, strengthening the integrity of its funding streams,
- Legarda raising the issue of unremitted allocations due to PhilHealth
- https://lorenlegarda.com.ph/legarda-moves-to-ensure-philhealth-funds-are-fully-restored-and-protected/
- I’m not lecturing. No, it’s true because I was there for five years and sometimes hanggang last minute, they submit in the bicam. Why should they submit in the bicam? Pag-isipan nila ang kanilang NEP. National Expenditure Program, the President’s budget. That’s why ayaw na ayaw namin may insertions sa bicam.
- Senator Legarda's response as Congressman Rufus Rodriguez attempted to lighten the mood with a playful remark, saying: Thank you for the lecture, Sen. Loren.
- https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/17/-matuto-silang-gumawa-ng-budget-legarda-slams-agencies-over-misplaced-priorities-in-nep-0746
- This is a gift of safety for our families and a gift of care for nature. Let’s search and clean drainages, let this be our collective offering as we close 2025.
- Every flood reminds us of what we failed to do. Let us not wait for another disaster to act. This should be our responsibility, starting at the barangay level.
- Barangay leaders and residents must work together to map canals and waterways, conduct regular clean-ups, strictly enforce the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and mobilize monitoring teams to check drainage before and after heavy rains
- I also call for community education campaigns to remind households that throwing trash into canals is both illegal and dangerous.
- This confirms the urgency of my appeal. Barangays are our frontlines of disaster prevention. No national plan will succeed if canals at the community level remain clogged with plastic, household waste, and construction debris.
- As principal author of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and the Climate Change Act, I have always said that laws are only effective when implemented at the grassroots level. Every barangay that cleans and protects its drainage system is enforcing these laws in the most direct, life-saving way.
- This role is about securing lives, livelihoods, and our future. We must build a force that protects and empowers,”
- Senator Loren Legarda after her designation as chair, the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation -- the first woman to earn such distinction
- https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2025/09/17/legarda-becomes-first-woman-to-lead-senate-defense-committee/
- With the PDUS, we can build a new generation of national security leaders who are ready not only for today’s problems, but also for the challenges of the future.
- Explaining Senate Bill No. 833, one of her key legislative initiatives, which seeks to establish the Philippine Defense University System (PDUS)
- https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2025/09/17/legarda-becomes-first-woman-to-lead-senate-defense-committee/
- Security goes beyond arms; it is about trust, preparedness, and shared responsibility.
- On championing the welfare of uniformed personnel, backing proposals to institutionalize salary increases, improve housing and equipment support, and provide scholarships and aid to families of fallen officers.
- https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2025/09/17/legarda-becomes-first-woman-to-lead-senate-defense-committee/
- We will continue to foster a transparent and responsible work environment, grounded in the public trust that we are privileged to serve.
- Senator Legarda announcing that all her staff members tested negative for illegal drug use, based on results confirmed by the National Reference Laboratory of the East Avenue Medical Center. The screening last Aug. 20, 2025 was in line with workplace drug-free initiatives.
- https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1257479
- Let us work continuously, conscientiously, and collectively - moving and transforming our nation and society from a state of fragility to one of agility.
- I would be doing Filipinos injustice if I did not work hard to be able to address their concerns, respond to their needs and protect their rights and welfare.
- * To unsettle the comfortable who can look upon suffering and remain unmoved. And to reach those who hold fast to their humanity, that they may know they do not stand alone in defending what gives life its worth: dignity and justice.
