With Cuna as new chief, status quo prevails in DENR

2026-03-06 - 09:04

MANILA, Philippines – Status quo prevails in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), as career official Juan Miguel Cuna takes the reins from outgoing environment chief Raphael Lotilla. “We are not here to reinvent the wheel,” Cuna said on Friday, March 6, in his first speech as acting DENR secretary during the turnover ceremony. Cuna said the DENR already has strong programs, mandates, and dedicated people. Status quo, for Cuna, would mean working to “strengthen these foundations, improve the efficiency of our systems, and ensure that the services we provide respond effectively to the needs of our communities and our country.” The acting secretary has been with the environment department for 18 years. He has worked in the Environmental Management Bureau and with regional offices as undersecretary for field operations in Luzon and Visayas. In his speech he said he considers himself one of the staff. “Sa madaling salita, ako rin ay produkto ng institusyong ito, at syempre ng mga taong bumubuo nito,” said Cuna. (In other words, I am a product of this institution and of course, the people who form this organization.) Cuna said he would elaborate more on his plans in a command conference next week. But in his remarks on Friday, he mentioned internal processes, tourism destinations, and job generation as issues to work on. On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. swore in Cuna as acting DENR secretary in Malacañang. Non-governmental organization Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development fears that Cuna’s tenure in the DENR will inhibit a “much-needed transformation” in environmental governance. “Maintaining the status quo would mean failing to fully uphold the DENR’s mandate,” the group said in a statement following the announcement of the new appointment last week. Before Lotilla left, the DENR had to answer for recent tragedies such as the Binaliw landfill incident and the Rizal trash slide. The department is involved in the utilization and conservation of natural resources — a role that is at times seen as contradictory. Lotilla stepped into the DENR leadership in May 2025 after a Cabinet shakeup without the intention to upend the bureaucracy. “I joined this Department relying entirely on your organization as I found it,” he said on Friday. He replaced Toni Yulo-Loyzaga, the first DENR chief appointed under the Marcos administration. During her term, Loyzaga emphasized the need for science in decision-making (geospatial database office, PENCAS, Manila Bay reclamation assessment) and engagement with scientists. – Rappler.com