Robredo didn't give up on this country

DEMAND AND SUPPLY

By Boo Chanco

What impresses me most with the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo is the simple fact that he didn’t give up on this country. He didn’t even give up on this country’s rotten politics. He didn’t curse the darkness, but instead lighted one bright candle and kept it glowing as best he could.

To me, that is not easy to do. It is far easier to give up and say you cannot change or see change in your lifetime. That’s why a lot of people migrate, even those with good jobs here. They move to another country because they want a better future for their children which they feel this country cannot give.

There are those who have given up too but decided to stay and join the fun. If you can’t lick them, join them. There are many in high government positions and even well off executives in the private sector who fall in this category.

There are those who stay and just bitch and hope the bitching will eventually effect change. I am afraid I am in this category. We have our excuses. Martial law intimidated us. I want to do something but feel helpless in the face of the daunting challenge. I know I do not have the stomach for cleaning up the mess in government the way Sec. Robredo took up that challenge... so I bitch. It may help eventually but not too proactive as Robredo’s approach.

What inspires me about Sec. Robredo is how the late secretary showed it is possible to fight the uphill battle for good governance. He showed us it is premature to give up on our country and its dirty politics. He tried his best to show that even one person determined to make a difference WILL.

As mayor of Naga, Jesse Robredo’s performance was recognized by awards that made him an icon of local governments, the gold standard of local governance and local performance. He took a city like Naga from a sleepy provincial capital into a model for Philippine cities and towns.

His fellow Bicolano, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, once delivered a testimonial to Sec. Robredo while he was very much alive. I like how Gov. Joey described him: “Second only to Mayon Volcano, Robredo is an iconic endowment of Bicolandia, so as RDC chairman, I hereby declare him as a second most important tourist attraction of Bicolandia.

“He has put Naga City, where he was mayor for many, many, many years, on the map not only of the Philippines but in the whole world especially in Asia as one of the most progressive cities.”

Salceda pointed out that it was enlightened leadership and his expertise in management that engineered the growth of the city. It was Robredo’s good governance that ensured the benefits of growth are shared by all its citizenry.

Salceda observed that the secret of Robredo’s success is how he mobilized “the powerless whose ordinary heroism he always tried to spark as the source of the dynamism of Naga City.”

Gov. Salceda then said “I must confess I am a great fan of Robredo especially since I am now with local governments. We look up to him as an example of good governance. In many instances when I am confronted with problems, I would think how Robredo would have handled such case.”

Researching on the short but meaningful life of Sec. Robredo, I found out that the former city mayor was admitted as an Edward Mason fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he completed his Master’s Degree in Public Administration. He was soon chosen as the lone Filipino to receive the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize, for government service.

Robredo has reportedly brought 112 awards to the city from various international, national and regional organizations, 19 of which are etched in his name for his exemplary achievements. No less than former President Corazon C. Aquino lauded Robredo for his pioneering and generous spirit, his creative governance, and his faith in his constituents.

Tita Cory observed that “for his constituents in Naga, the most endearing legacy of their mayor Robredo is his brand of leadership that is anchored on the strong belief that governance is a shared responsibility of public officials and citizenry. Government is supposed to provide the people the tools for their meaningful participation and active engagement.”

In December 2000, Asiaweek Magazine selected Naga as one of the four most improved cities in Asia. It noted that “an unusual brand of governance distinguishes Naga from its more conventional counterparts.”

The cover story referred to the various trailblazing initiatives of Robredo notably the People Empowerment Program and the Kaantabay sa Kauswagan program which put the constituents in the center of policy-making and provided security of tenure for erstwhile landless settlers of the city.

A backgrounder on the former mayor noted that under his watch, Naga received many international awards:

• United Nations Public Service Award, New York, June 23, 2004.

• Most Women-Friendly LGU World Award, conferred by UNDP in Fukouka, Japan, March 8, 2004.

• Cybercity Award for Asia-Pacific conferred by the UN Centre for Human settlements, 2002.

• Finalist, World Habitat 2002, conferred by the Building and Socialized Housing Foundation, Brussels, Belgium.

• Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment, 1998.

• Habitat II Best Practices Award, conferred by the UN Centre for Human Settlements, Istanbul, Turkey, 1996.

As a multi-awarded local chief executive, Robredo has addressed various national and international conferences. On May 13, 2002, Robredo addressed top leaders in economics and politics during the Asian Forum in New York, USA.

He was keynote speaker at the Asian Mayors’ Forum in Bangkok, Thailand during that same year. He regularly shares Naga’s experiences through lectures and dissertations in other fora in Singapore, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South Korea, among others.

In one of his speeches, Robredo explained why other governments and institutions fail: “Maybe it is because they (politicians) have failed to make heroes out of the ordinary people. Maybe it is because they have relied solely on their own capacities, rather than on the contributions of the ordinary people that they are responsible for.”

I had been saying that Robredo would have made a good President. He would have the credibility to ensure the continuity of P-Noy’s Daang Matuwid. I see no pretender to Malacañang in 2016 who is anywhere near his credentials.

Indeed, Robredo almost looks like Ramon Magsaysay, the best loved president of the country ever, who also died in a plane crash that had something to do with Cebu. Too bad we did not have the chance to see Robredo do for the country what he had started to do to his native Naga.

Now that he is gone. Our best hope is the thought that Jesse Robredo has inspired enough of us so that at least one will emerge from the rubble of our dirty politics to take up his mantle and finish the task he started.

It does seem like a long shot, but this country is not hopeless and we should not give up on it. That’s the message I have extracted from the simple, productive and meaningful life of this man.

Telco

I have had so much trouble with Globe in recent weeks. Sometime last week my secretary sent me a text message to call one of my principals at 9:30 a.m. I got the message at 4:30 a.m. the following morning. At least I got it. Many messages, including one that a Globe customer service officer claims to have sent me last Wednesday never reached my phone.

Last Tuesday, I lost Internet connectivity on my Globe Blackberry for 16 hours. That was not the first time it happened. Then I lost it again for three hours Wednesday afternoon. A journalist without Internet connectivity is like a fish out of water.

Oh well... Philippine telcos are really like that... one of our daily burdens next to traffic! At least Lee Kuan Yew can no longer make sarcastic cracks about the quality of our telco service. Singapore Telecom owns more shares in Globe than Ayala (47 percent to 32 percent).

Apparently, SingTel is unable to bring Globe service up to the high standards taken for granted in its home market. Globe claims it is upgrading but I am not holding my breath.

It must be the culture of mediocrity in our country that the Singaporean work ethic cannot overpower. You know... puede na yan! It also isn’t even worthy of the association with the Ayala Group.

Example

Picked this up from the “net”.

Who says nothing is impossible?

I have done nothing all my life...

then again, I am not totally useless. I can be used as a bad example.

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco