Moving on to our next favourite, we have 25 year old Project Manager, Abigail De Guzman Libre. Sharing experiences from her childhood, Abigail said, “I was born with congenital heart disease and my activities were limited. I was never sporty because of my weak body, so, I pushed to excel in other areas (eg. Academics).” Abigail’s ambition in life is to be part of a huge change movement by becoming a government official/ local chief executive (LCE).
Talking about her advocacy, Abigali said, “My environmental advocacy is to strengthen smoke free measures, like tobacco control, in order to protect the air.
In the Philippines, 240 Filipinos die everyday due to smoking related diseases and a huge percentage of this number is because of second hand smoke exposure. We pertain to the pollutants caused by the 7,000 chemicals that a single cigarette stick can cause. Everyone deserves the right for clean air and this is a right that the government should never undermine.
I also believe in the integration of environmental awareness in the curriculum of all levels.”