Individual Awardee

NESTOR ROTAQUIO

2024

Tatay Nestor Rotaquio is a farmer and fisherfolk. He has served for many years as a chieftain of his community in Brgy. San Marcelino, General Nakar. He served as his community’s representative when the Pacific Coast City project threatened to privatize and seize the sacred cave of the indigenous peoples.

DR. CHARITO MEDINA

2024

Dr. Charito P. Medina or Dok Chito, as he is known to family, friends, and colleagues, is an environmental biologist and agroecologist. As a scientist, he is notably dedicated to challenging the corporate-driven farming system, advocating instead for a people-led farming system focused on food security rather than profit.

ATTY. GRIZELDA “GERTHIE” MAYO-ANDA

2024

Atty. Grizelda “Gerthie” Mayo-Anda, GBK 2024 Individual Awardee, is a lecturer at Palawan State University and an environmental lawyer. As a lecturer at Palawan State University, she has profoundly shaped the next generation of lawyers, emphasizing the critical role of environmental law and advocacy in their practice.

DANIEL JASON MACHES

2022

Individual Awardee Daniel Jason Maches is young, but he has shown unwavering commitment and passion for promoting the conservation of his tribe’s forests in Barlig, Mountain Province and the preservation of the culture of his Lias tribe. His active opposition to the suspension of a road project that would have opened up the Barlig forests […]

CRISTETA M. SISON

2020

Individual Awardee Cristeta Sison, also known as “Ka Tita”, is a community organizer in Central Luzon whose leadership empowers communities in Zambales and Pangasinan in fighting for their livelihood and opposing large-scale mining. She is an inspiration to many small-scale farmers and fisherfolk. Ka Tita had been for a long time one with the grassroots […]

ALBERTO ROLDAN

2020

Individual Awardee Ever since China ramped up their aggression in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), we always hear of Filipino fisherfolk at the unfortunate end of things. In these times when the government grit goes missing, the communities and their organization becomes more important than ever. In the midst of these bureaucratic neglect, Alberto “Ka […]

Robert Chan

2020

Individual Awardee “God wants you to act on what’s in front of you; one tree at a time, one beach at a time, one politician at a time.” These are the words of Atty. Robert Chan, an environmental defender whose faith is his constant source of strength. Robert Chan is an environmental lawyer who leads […]

Roberto S. Verzola

2020

Most Distinguished Awardee (Posthumous Award) Dedicated to work for social justice, ecology, and social transformation – this is how his colleagues describe the life of Roberto Verzola. Roberto, also known as “Obet” by most people, survived incarceration and torture in the Marcos dictatorship as a young activist. After Martial Law, he strived to build a […]

REGINA PAZ “GINA” LOPEZ

2020

Most Distinguished Awardee (Posthumous Award) Regina Paz “Gina” Lopez dedicated her life in serving the people and the environment. Her environmental crusade is widely regarded through the enduring work of the ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation, Inc. – Bantay Kalikasan and her fearless stint as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Gina […]

Francis Morales

2018

nown to many as “Tatay Francis”, Francis Morales, a principled people’s leader who was almost an ordained priest, was the tireless and diligent spokesperson of the environmental network Panalipdan Southern Mindanao. He was hands-on for tasks big and small, whether it was in the pickets barricading the offices of big mining companies or the military, […]