It has been said that “Being a hero is about the shortest-lived profession on earth.” Indeed it is. It runs true with the demise of Jesse M. Robredo, the former secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government and former mayor of Naga City. His untimely death, age 54, blaming the four-seater Piper Seneca plane’s engine malfunction that lead to its lethal crash into the sea, a kilometer away from the runway, and about 55m (180 ft) underwater, have had people saying that he was gone too soon.
Personally, I don’t know him as most people older than me do. Being born so much later than him, I was not aware of his greatness as a person, a leader, and as a public servant until he was already a corpse. That is, what happened to him has brought his life’s accomplishments to the limelight. Having known him and what he had achieved and done, I label him as one of the modern day heroes. I now agree with most people who deem that he was gone too soon. He is so promising. He could have effected so much more change that would benefit our country.
He is a hero on his own right. In fact he is the very definition of what a hero is. Defined by oxforddictionaries.com as “a person, typically a man, who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities,” it is just righteous to acknowledge him as a hero.
Plato said that “A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men.” Well, we found one in Robredo. “He won the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service (Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize) for his good governance programs. He has also received 13 other major awards, including the 1998 Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor of the Philippines,Junior Chamber International (JCI) 1994 Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (TOYP) Honoree, Junior Chamber of the Philippines (JCI-Philippines) 1990 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), and the first ever “Dangal ng Bayan” Award of the Civil Service Commission”1. Now who can argue that he is indeed a very accomplished man?
He is also a very dignified and noble individual. His words say so.
“The most important ingredient of leadership is character. Most of the proficiencies can be learned, but what's inside you is something that's difficult to change,” Robredo once said in a television documentary.2
"Hindi rin sapat na tayo ay mahusay lamang. Hindi lahat ng matino ay mahusay, at lalo namang hindi lahat ng mahusay ay matino,” he is fond of telling colleagues, according to the DILG website. “Ang dapat ay matino at mahusay upang karapat-dapat tayong pagkatiwalaan ng pera ng bayan.”3
Perhaps it’s not just his authentic words, but his works as well show how noble and humble he is as a person. Enchong Dee, now a well-known celebrity and a former beneficiary of Robredo’s scholarship program, shared that Sec. Jesse doesn’t want his works to be broadcast. In parallel to his statement, is his "Anti-Epal" campaign, one of the ordinances that he implemented while seated in DILG. The ordinance is about "banning names or initials and/or images or pictures of government officials in billboards and signages of government programs, projects and properties."
The late DILG Secretary is also an epitome of honesty and justice. He was known to be frugal and strict as to the usage of the city’s treasury. He looks thoroughly into the allocation of the budget before he approves a certain undertaking. He uprightly dislikes “cosmetic projects, preferring instead to spend funds on vital infrastructure projects for the greater public good”4. Once he said, “At least, may karapatan kaming sumingil ng buwis dito at hindi namin inaaksaya ang pera.”5
“When he was appointed as DILG secretary in 2010, Robredo brought the same values to the agency, focusing on drumming up public support for the Full Disclosure Policy. This would require local government units to disclose in public places the 12 key financial documents that show how their funds are spent.”6
In times of troubles, he remains firm on what he believes is right. “He had an occasionally testy relationship with the President, who revealed to the media that he had disagreements with Robredo during the 2010 campaign, especially when it came to scheduling. Despite the personal setbacks, Robredo remained steadfast in his vision for the DILG and the country.”7
An additional support to his being very down to Earth comes from his speech during the awarding of his Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service.
“During my tenure, a number of newsmen have tried to defame me with unfounded accusations. A few groups dismissed some of my official acts as motivated by selfish political objectives. Perhaps they may have been right and that I may have erred in a few of my judgments. But whether they were right or wrong, I had often asked myself, as a result, these questions: Should I seek another alternative course of action? Or should I consult our people further to find out if there are far better ideas than the one I had? The bottom line was a response that involved our people even more in the decision making process.”8
He accepts the fact that he is a man who also makes mistakes. Yet, from this mistakes he founds the light to improve if not change the decisions that he made not just to save his name but most importantly for the betterment of his governance. He is a man with imperfections, being courageous and humble enough to affirm this, and perhaps a wise man, he seeks help from other people.
“From both his parents,” said the Magsaysay Foundation bio, “Robredo learned the virtues of caring for others and frugality and the value of a modest lifestyle. From his father in particular he learned that protecting the integrity and honor of one's family is of highest importance, and the children were expected to contribute their share in doing that.”9
He is a family oriented man. “When he became mayor of his city in 1988 at the age of 29, the youngest at the time, Robredo reported to work promptly at eight in the morning. However, he made it a point to go home for lunch and dinner at his wife”10, Attorney Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona-Robredo’s insistence, the RMAF biography said. “At mealtimes when everyone was required to be present, he encouraged lively discussions including politics.”11 Just like him, “he had always encouraged his children to speak their minds”. 12
He, together with his better half is a morally upright parent. “One of the couple’s stated principles according to Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation (RMAF), was that, ‘If our children cannot inherit anything material, at least they will inherit a good name.’”13 How admirable he is as a father. No wonder how he had touched so lives, especially the Nagueños. Losing him is like losing the city’s father.
“He served the city for an unprecedented six 3-year terms as local chief executive.”14 It was during his term that the city was called one of Asia's Most Improved Cities by Asiaweek Magazine. Under his leadership, Naga has transformed into the premier city of Bicol Region. He had his sleepy hometown evolve into one of the models of good governance in the Philippines. It was also during this time that he has changed and touched so many lives through his projects.
“…we have institutionalized the urban poor federation whose members were given access to land, employment, housing, livelihood and basic services. Women’s groups were organized and trained to indulge in more productive endeavors such as livelihood development and environmental protection. Even homegrown cause-oriented groups during the tumultuous period of coups and armed confrontations asserted their role as mobilizers of popular democracy by declaring Naga City as a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality.”15
-portion of his speech during the awarding of his Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service
Asiaweek Magazine also cited Robredo in 1999 for bringing dynamism and innovation to public service, the local bureaucracy, improving dramatically stakeholdership and people participation in governance, and community concerns from housing to public health matters.
As a student it was that said he turns away from parties and night outs with his peers, although he allowed himself an occasional movie. He preferred to stay home to study or to watch television,” according to the RM bio. He has been an exceptional student attested by multiple academic achievements and a number of degrees under his belt. He is an Edward Mason Fellow and a graduate of Masters in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He earned a degree in Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from De La Salle University, and then an MBA from the University of the Philippines, finishing at the top of his class as university and college scholar. He really is a person to look up to for every student like me.
Thus, after unfolding his achievements and noble qualities, who can help not admiring him? I certainly do admire him. Tributes which poured in for him also reiterate how people think highly of him. I even have a teacher who almost cried when Robredo’s death was mentioned. Another teacher of mine also told stories about personal encounters and how my teacher regards him highly. Also, there have been posters, fliers, tarpaulins, and yellow ribbons that convey great appreciation and gratitude for him all over the city and other parts of the country.
“Our political history has shown that we have put the burden of running this country to our “best” people for too long. And yet the gap between the rich and the poor has grown wider. For this country to succeed, we need to make heroes of the ordinary people. We need to make heroes of ourselves”
- Then Naga City Mayor Jesse Robrdeo at the Commencement Exercises of the Ateneo de Manila University, March 29, 2003
Now that one of the “best” people is gone, may more ordinary people emerge out to be like him - a hero.
__________________________
1 http://blog.codesignstudios.com/jesse-robredo-accomplishments-biography-late-dilg-secretary/ 2 Jesse Robredo: Good governance guru and ideal family man BY PATRICIA DENISE CHIU & KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NEWS August 21, 2012 5:23pm 3 Ibid.4 Jesse Robredo: Good governance guru and ideal family man BY PATRICIA DENISE CHIU & KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NEWS August 21, 2012 5:23pm 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Response/ResponseRobredoJes.htm 9 http://www.interaksyon.com/article/41012/profile--jesse-robredo-like-magsaysay-man-in-a-hurry-to-serve-do-good 10 Jesse Robredo: Good governance guru and ideal family man BY PATRICIA DENISE CHIU & KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NEWS August 21, 2012 5:23pm 11 Ibid 12 Ibid.
13 Jesse Robredo: Good governance guru and ideal family man BY PATRICIA DENISE CHIU & KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA NEWS August 21, 2012 5:23pm 14 http://www.dilg.gov.ph/secretarys_biography.php 15 http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Response/ResponseRobredoJes.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment