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  • 05 Mar 2014

After nearly 33 years of government service, Ms. Lynette Laroya, a mainstay of CTI-CFF, is bidding farewell to her post at the Philippines’ Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Fortunately, it may only be a temporary goodbye to CTI-CFF. Ms. Laroya, who coordinated and facilitated activities of the Philippines' CTI-CFF National Coordination Committee (NCC-Philippines) Secretariat for five years, is considering accepting one of several job offers from CTI-CFF partner organizations—albeit not before the birth of her first grandchild, due in March. “I hope to continue to be involved in some capacity because I really love CTI-CFF,” she says.

Taking over her duties at the NCC-Philippines Secretariat is Ms. Angelita (Angie) Meniado, who will be assisted by Mr. Pablo (Ogie) Delos Reyes. Both are with the Coastal and Marine Division of BMB.

Ms. Laroya, who joined DENR in 1980, jokingly describes her movement within the organization as “top to bottom,” having served as a Senior Conservation Officer “working in the uplands” before discovering her passion for the sea and specializing in coastal and marine management. By 2007, when multilateral talks on CTI-CFF were set to begin, she had accumulated about 20 years of coastal and marine work, making her one of the few experienced coastal and marine specialists in government and the natural choice to handle CTI-CFF staff work for DENR.

A familiar face at CTI-CFF meetings, Ms. Laroya played a key role in organizing NCC-Philippines, keeping it active despite logistical challenges. “Our office has other functions in addition to serving as the NCC Secretariat, so it was difficult for us to give our CTI-CFF work the focus it needed,” she notes. She advocates for the creation of a dedicated unit of about five staff members solely focused on CTI-CFF concerns.

Ms. Laroya was also a prime mover for the CTI-CFF Working Group on Marine Protected Areas (MPA WG) and takes pride in its accomplishments. Chaired by the Philippines, the MPA WG has perhaps the most developed work program among the five CTI-CFF thematic working groups. It is poised to achieve a key milestone in May this year when the Coral Triangle MPA System (CTMPAS) is launched at the World Coral Reef Conference in Manado, Indonesia.

Ms. Laroya hopes to remain actively involved, one way or another. “As I told the NCC Secretariat, if they need my help, I can assist them,” she says, “even remotely by Internet if I’m away.”