April 21, 2021 TODAY is International Earth Day around the world. In Bacolod, City Ordinance 404, which I authored in 2006, marks this day as Bacolod Earth Day. The quality of environmental governance in the city has deteriorated along with the state of our environment. Conservation efforts have always been like side advocacy for many leaders and not mainstreamed well into the system. But through the years, policy innovation has actively included conservation efforts. This was my frame of mind fifteen years ago when I became an insider to government aside from being an environmental advocate. It is a journey so difficult but so rewarding because as a policymaker, I have successfully legislated some ordinances which basically captured my aspiration and the aspiration of environmentalists and conservation leaders around the city and the province.