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Heherson " Sonny" Turingan Alvarez (October 26, 1939 – April 20, 2020) was a politician from the Philippines. He served as a member of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines. He was also Minister (then Secretary) of Agrarian Reform from 1986 to 1987 and Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources from 2001 to 2002.
He went into hiding in various places for a while, but the oppositionists soon suggested that he go to the US to help gather support for their resistance against Marcos, working with Senator Raul Manglapus who had likewise escaped capture because he was overseas on a speaking engagement when martial law was declared.
With assistance from Fr. James Reuter, Alvarez and Guidote were married in a secret "Matrimonia concencia" ceremony in Cavite, with the records sealed in the church's vaults. Then with assistance from UNESCO Philippines chair Dr. Alejandro Roces, he secretly got onboard a greek ship which took him to Hong Kong, and from there, he went on to the US. His wife Cecile, founder of the Philippine Educational Theater Association managed to follow him eventually, managing to get through immigration with little more than a theater prop for a passport.
While in exile, the Alvarezes had two children, Hexilon and Herxilia, which were plays on the word "exile" - a reminder of who they were and that they were meant to return to the Philippines one day.
Their father, Capt. Marcelo Alvarez, who had begged Sonny to be more discreet in his opposition to Marcos, died of a heart attack after he learned of Marsman's death.
He returned to the Philippines in 1986 to partake in rebuilding the government in the wake of collapse of the Marcos regime. He won a senatorial seat in the post-revolution government of President Corazon Aquino, serving two terms from 1987 to 1992 and 1992 to 1998. He later represented Isabela province's 4th district in the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2001. In early 1994, Alvarez initiated the "Healthy Air Pact" among three oil companies (Pilipinas Shell, Caltex and Petron Corporation) for them to introduce unleaded gasoline to the Philippine market.
Senator Alvarez also held two cabinet positions - Secretary of Agrarian Reform (February 7, 1987 – March 7, 1987) and Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (March 29, 2001 – December 13, 2002). He was known as staunch environmentalist as he was called "Mr. Environment" during his term as Environmental Secretary. Moreover, as a senator, he authored the resolution to make April 22 of every year as "Earth Day" in the Philippines. He is an advocate of using organic fertilizer and pesticides.
From 2009 to 2016, he served as commissioner and vice chair of the Climate Change Commission.
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