Tukwifi (Bright Star) of the Mountain Province Indigenous Peoples;[1] Bai Matumpis (The One Who Takes Care) of the unified congregation of 10 Davao indigenous people groups;[1] Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda (born January 28, 1960) is a Filipina politician, environmentalist, cultural worker, and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and served as the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines from 2022 to 2024.

Legarda is an advocate of climate change awareness and has numerous achievements in the fields of social development and human rights advocacy along with her work in journalism.

[12] She pursued post-graduate courses on special studies towards professional designation in journalism from the University of California, Los Angeles.

[14] Legarda began a career in journalism as a reporter for RPN, during which she covered topics including Imelda Marcos' trip to Kenya and the People Power Revolution.

She became the co-anchor of the television newscast, The World Tonight with Angelo Castro, Jr., and became the host of the current affairs series, The Inside Story.

During her first six years in the Senate, Legarda authored legislation benefiting women's and children's rights, such as the Anti-Domestic Violence Act which seeks to uphold and protect the basic human rights of women and their children, the Anti-Child Labor law which limits the employment of children below 15 years old, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act which aims to protect victims of human trafficking, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law which created the National Solid Waste Management Commission, and the Tropical Fabric Law.

Legarda was named as one of the "Global Leaders for Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 2000, and was awarded by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in Turin, Italy, for her work on the environment in 2001.

[12] In 2003, Legarda left Lakas–CMD (after Gloria Macapagal Arroyo broke her pledge not to run again for president) and joined the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino coalition of Fernando Poe, Jr. as an Independent during the 2004 elections.

[21] On October 23, 2009, during the launch of her humanitarian program "Lingkod Loren in Luneta",[12] she formally declared her intention to run for vice president in 2010 under Nationalist People's Coalition with the platform of environmentalism.

[22] After Francis Escudero, expected to run for president, left the NPC,[23] she decided that it would be best to stick with the Nacionalista Party's presidential candidate, Manny Villar, as a guest-running mate.

She was unable to enter her vote of support or dissent on a Senate resolution which sought to condemn the controversial burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani in November 2016.

[28] She was among the 14 senators who filed a resolution urging the Supreme Court to review its ouster decision in regards to the quo warranto petition against Maria Lourdes Sereno.

[30] She was awarded as a United Nations Global Champion for Resilience in 2015 due to her advocacy and actions on climate change and environmentalism.

She was named the first ever National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Champion during the event as mandated by an international treaty ratified by the UNFCCC.

[31][32] Legarda became part of a special Philippine delegation to the French Senate to discuss about the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020.

[34][35] On February 7, 2019, a bill which safeguards the 1,446 Gabaldon school heritage buildings of the country, authored by Legarda, was enacted into law.

[37] She led the Philippine delegation to the United Nations and urged tougher global actions against cybersex and child trafficking.

She also sponsored the Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia, which led to its ratification.

On October 16, 2019, Legarda became a Commissioner of the newly formed international organization, Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA).

Legarda also initiated and pushed for her home province of Antique's hosting of the 2017 Palarong Pambansa, the national games of the Philippines.

On October 18, Legarda announced that she will run as congresswoman of the lone district of Antique in Western Visayas in the 2019 Philippine elections.

[47][48][49] She won a seat in the 2022 Philippine Senate election, ranking 2nd in the race with 24 million votes, only behind actor Robin Padilla.

[53] On May 4, 2022, her son, Lorenzo, disowned her through an open letter in response to her decision to run as a guest candidate under the Marcos-Duterte senatorial slate in the 2022 elections.

Ten indigenous groups in the Davao Region bestowed her the title of "Bai Matumpis", which means "the one who takes care".

The indigenous people of Panay in the Visayas declared her a “daughter of Panay-Bukidnon” and bestowed her the name, "Cuyong Adlaw Dulpa-an Labaw sa Kadunggan" (Shining Sun Rising in Power).

The series, entitled, "Our Fragile Earth: Protected Areas of the Philippines," began airing in ANC on December 8.

The series features the Camotes Island Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve, El Nido Managed Resource Protected Area, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Sagay Marine Reserve, Mounts Banahaw–San Cristobal Protected Landscape, Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Coron Island, Mount Hamiguitan (UNESCO World Heritage Site), and Lake Sebu, which is part of the Allah Valley Protected Landscape.

The series also features the Banaue Rice Terraces, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Verde Island Passage.