Legacy

Much has been said regarding Jesse M. Robredo. So much, in fact, that I had to think twice on whether there was anything new or novel to contribute. In the end, however, I felt that the terrible tragedy that befell one of our most beloved and promising government officials is one that could use more dwelling upon, if at least to honor the memory of a good man taken before his time. And while others have chosen to speak on his past achievements in light of the man he was, I choose to focus on his accomplishments in light of the inspiration he will be.

Why does it seem that it is always the day’s champions that meet an untimely demise? From Ramon Magsaysay, to Ninoy Aquino to Jesse Robredo. In a fair and just world, those who choose the difficult yet righteous path of integrity and service should be rewarded with a long, happy and fruitful life. Yet we do not live in such a utopia. Instead, we make do with the world we’ve got — a world that sometimes causes us to question its fairness when one of our few good men is taken abruptly, without any visible rhyme or reason.  

Alas, there is no answer to these queries and any one that I would proffer would be ultimately unsatisfying to those who loved Jesse best: his family and friends. Instead, let us try to make sense of a difficult situation by focusing on the lessons we may learn from his life.

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Jesse Robredo was always in a hurry. At 29, he was elected mayor of Naga City and served an unprecedented six terms. In 1995, he was elected president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, and chairman of the Bicol Regional Development Council. By 1999, Naga City was named by Asiaweek Magazine as one of the “Most Improved Cities in Asia.” In 2000 he had been conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, as well as 13 other major awards, including the 1998 Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor and the first ever “Dangal ng Bayan” Award of the Civil Service Commission.

Some of his most notable reform initiatives were the “Full Disclosure Policy” requiring LGUs to disclose in public places 12 key financial documents showing how their funds are spent, the streamlining of LGU’s “Business Process Licensing System” which enables businessmen to receive permits from LGUs within 3 days or less; and the “Local Governance Performance Management System” used as a tool for assessing an LGU’s performance (which increased from 913 LGUs with high overall performance ratings in ’09, to 1,050 in ’10, to an impressive 1,261 LGUs in 2011).

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But legacy encompasses not only one’s professional achievements. It is not only the things you have done in life or the good that you have “reimbursed” to the world but also — and perhaps more lastingly — the way you are carried in the constant vigil of your loved one’s memories. Towards this end, let me excerpt a few passages from an award winning essay written by his then 15-year-old daughter, Jessica Marie:

“[Robredo] has never made me feel I was different from others just because he is my father. As he goes about serving others, I have never been left wanting for his time and attention. He eats lunch and dinner with us seven days a week, even if it means he has to take two or three more meals because he has to attend a constituent’s wedding or birthday reception. No occasion is too trivial for him. He is there for us not only during PTA meetings or piano or ballet recitals, but even when my math homework gets a little too difficult.

Now that I am a little older, sometimes people would come up to me to tell me what great things my father has done for them. I feel proud. But what puts a smile in my heart is knowing that he also did small things for some people — things like bringing back a wayward son to his distraught mother, helping a male employee patch things up with his wife, or playing basketball on a street corner with the neighborhood kids. Such things may appear inconsequential, but they have brought great joy to others and made them feel important.

His decision to continue serving his native city and resist the lure of national prominence, which a higher elective post could have brought him, had the deepest impact on me and imparted to me life-long lessons: that no deed is too small nor too big if it makes other people’s burden lighter and their lives better; that greatness of spirit can be achieved not through wealth, power or popularity but by living your life with quiet dignity and by becoming a man for others. By his example, I have been truly inspired to dare to make a difference, break ground, stand up for my own convictions and serve others selflessly and with integrity in whatever field I will find myself in.”

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Thank you Sec. Jesse for walking the talk of good governance. Unlike Shakespeare’s Caesar, the good that you did should live after you and not merely be interred with your bones. And just like your biblical namesake, the father of King David, may your memory and example shepherd and inspire a new generation of good governance warriors. In Hebrew, the meaning of Jesse is “the Lord exists.” In the Philippines, Jesse should now mean “good government exists.”

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The Commission on Appointment’s planned posthumous DILG Secretary confirmation reminds me of the belated offer of the past administration to host a State funeral for the then recently departed President Cory Aquino. Too late the hero as one has already been born. Once again, the people have stepped up to override the procrastination of their elected representatives.

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Greetings: Happy birth anniversary to eight year old nephew Jose Andres Miguel “Jami” Bautista.

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“The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”   – Benjamin Disraeli

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