STARWEEK: A GOOD MAN, AN HONORABLE PUBLIC
SERVANT
MANILA, AUGUST 27, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Cecille Suerte Felipe (Cover
photo by Boy Santos) - Praises, tributes and words of admiration for Interior
and Local Government Secretary Jesse Manalastas Robredo have been overwhelming.
Robredo died when the plane he took from Cebu to Naga City crashed in the
waters off Masbate last Aug. 18, but his spirit and exemplary public service
will live on in the hearts of the people he met – and the countless others he
touched.
At the memorial mass at Camp Crame last Wednesday, a priest said of the DILG
chief: "He gave us an example of how to serve... He is a saint in our midst."
Robredo was one Cabinet official who lived and served embodying President
Aquino's motto, "Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (without corruption there
will be no poor)."
Robredo truly believed if and when Aquino could clean the government of
corruption, there would be no more poor Filipinos. "Yes. Walang corrupt will
allow us to maximize use of government resources and authority to deliver better
service outcomes, especially for the mahirap," Robredo said.
"Walang corrupt will restore the trust of the people in their leaders and
motivate them to make some sacrifice for the good of the public," he added. "It
will level the playing field, not only in the economic dimension of development
but also in terms of the mahirap securing justice when aggrieved."
A colleague in the Cabinet, Energy Secretary Jose Almedras, witnessed how
Robredo epitomized an attitude of a dedicated public servant. "Sec. Robredo
arrived in one of our meetings at the NDRRMC and showed me he was wearing a pair
of slippers. Sabi nya ito talaga ang pambaha (He said this is real flood
attire)."
True enough, when they and other Cabinet officials accompanied President
Aquino to visit Paombong residents submerged in floodwaters recently, Almedras
recalled, "Sec. Robredo gave me a thumbs up sign, showing he was wearing a pair
of slippers."
Robredo has impressive academic credentials, being an Edward Mason Fellow and
earning a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University in 1999.
[PHOTO -Hours later, a light plane carrying Robredo and his aide and
two pilots crashed at sea off Masbate. Yellow ribbons are tied on the iron
grills of Robredo's house in Naga City as search and rescue operations are
undertaken for the downed plane and its passengers and pilots. JONJON VICENCIO/STAR]
Robredo completed his Masters in Business Administration at the University of
the Philippines, where he ranked No. 1 as a university and college scholar.
He is an alumnus of the De La Salle University, having obtained undergraduate
degrees in Industrial Management Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Robredo
joined San Miguel Corp., Magnolia ice cream division after his graduation from
La Salle in 1980.
During the EDSA people power revolution, Robredo recalled how he camped out
with thousands of others in front of the EDSA gate of Camp Crame in Quezon City
to press for the ouster of then dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Returning home to Naga City in 1986, Robredo served as program director of
the Bicol River Basin Development Program, an agency tasked to undertake
integrated area development planning of the region's three provinces.
Robredo was elected mayor of Naga City in 1988 at the age of 29, the youngest
mayor in the country at the time. He served as president of the League of Cities
of the Philippines in 1995.
Robredo was cited in 1999 by Asiaweek magazine for transforming Naga City
from a lethargic Philippine municipality into one of the "Most Improved Cities
in Asia."
His success in turning the once-sleepy municipality into a trading, housing
and education center won him many honors, including a 2000 Ramon Magsaysay
award, Asia's version of the Nobel Prize.
After serving nine years as city mayor, Robredo joined Aquino's successful
campaign for the presidency in 2010, endorsing his "walang corrupt, walang
mahirap‚" reformist platform. Robredo was appointed DILG chief on July 10, 2010.
As DILG secretary, Robredo believed he could help other local government
units in the country transform into progressive towns and cities just like Naga.
Robredo made sure there was a road map for improving the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), where previous leaders enriched themselves at the
expense of the region and its people.
He also initiated and implemented reforms at the DILG's three main attached
agencies – the Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Jail Management and
Penology (BJMP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
Robredo personally reviewed procurements of fire trucks, firearms, mobile
patrol vehicles and other equipment for police, fire and jail.
"At the end of the day, the public needs to feel this transformation and the
moment of truth is how the police officer in the street treats the man on the
street, how the fire officer responds to people in need of emergency rescue
assistance or a conflagration, or how a BJMP officer treats the inmates under
his watch," he said.
As interior secretary, Robredo was in control of the country's 147,000-strong
PNP which has long been dogged by accusations of corruption and abuse.
Robredo recently ordered investigations into alleged financial irregularities
in the construction of police stations and the purchase of helicopters and
rescue boats. He ordered the filing of charges against police officials who were
implicated in the allegedly anomalous transactions to procure police equipment.
[PHOTO -President Aquino with Robredo at the Galing
Pook awards ceremony in Malacañang (top). Robredo, DOTC Secretary Mar Roxas and
PNP chief Nicanor Bartolome put up Anti-Kotong stickers as part of the Kilos
Laban sa Kotong campaign in Camp Crame (middle). Robredo catches up on the news
while waiting for a flight at the NAIA (above).]
Born in Naga City on May 27, 1958, Jesse Robredo married lawyer Maria Leonor
"Leni" Gerona, also a native of Naga. They have three daughters: Jessica Marie,
24, Janine Patricia, 18 and Jillian Therese, 12.
Robredo's paternal grandfather was a Chinese immigrant named Lim Pay Co who
arrived in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century.
Lim Pay Co would later convert to Christianity and adopt the name Juan Lim
Robredo, following the custom of Chinese immigrant converts to adopt the name of
their godparents at baptism. Lim Pay Co chose the name of the priest who
baptized him.
Jesse was the third of five children of Jose Chan Robredo Sr. and Marcelina
Manalastas.
Leni had been very supportive of Robredo's public service, and had been his
highly principled adviser, but she had only one request: that if their children
would not inherit anything material, at least let them inherit a good name.
With the tributes now pouring in, all unanimous in praise of "a good man" and
"an honorable public servant," Robredo has fulfilled his wife's request of
ensuring that his children would be proud to have him as their father.
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
PH Headline News Online. Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved