Mrs. Elisea “Bebet” Gillera Gozun’s commitment to public service and her passion for the environment has given her the energy to overcome obstacles, persuade disbelievers and shape alliances.

Her leadership in World Bank projects resulted in tangible results such as the introduction of pollution charges for industrial effluents in the Philippines, the establishment of the ECOWATCH programme – an innovative public disclosure programme of environmental performance of priority industries – and the "Brown Fund"- the first tripartite funding source for local urban environmental initiatives, jointly managed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business and government.

Mrs. Gozun recognized that without the local communities, the private sector and local governments on board led by mayors, no national policy could succeed. She has pushed for the introduction of community-based waste recovery, recycling and reuse in the Philippines and has also worked for the establishment of materials recovery facilities and on upgrading the quality and capacity of landfills for the residual wastes. To implement the pilot schemes in environmental management, she has attracted international funding and mobilized local resources. As a result, today there is a wide network of participating communities, with dramatically improved health situations due to better solid waste management.

Her personal integrity, combined with a keen pragmatic sense for what is politically feasible to constitute a viable solution, have won her the trust of business leaders, NGOs and political decision-makers alike.