MANILA, Philippines - Before Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo died in a plane crash, he had served as mayor of Naga City and was seen wearing a pair of slippers while going around his hometown to mingle with constituents.
Robredo died in a plane crash off the coast of Masbate on Aug. 18, 2012. His body was found three days later at the bottom of the sea.
In his eulogy to Robredo, Secretary to the Cabinet Jose Rene Almendras said “those wearing slippers are shy to approach those wearing barong. Leaders must be accessible to those they serve. And tsinelas (slippers) leadership is about no frills, no kaartehan (gaudy), but with a clear vision.”
To recognize municipal mayors who exemplify the leadership qualities of the late secretary, the Jesse Robredo Foundation (JRF) will launch the Tsinelas Leadership Awards on the third death anniversary of Robredo.
The JRF together with the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) will lead the launch on Aug. 20 at the Assembly Hall of UP-NCPAG in Diliman, Quezon City.
As Robredo’s colleague in the Cabinet, Almedras witnessed how Robredo epitomized dedication to public service.
Almendras recalled that he again saw Robredo wearing slippers in one of the meetings of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council during a calamity caused by the southwest monsoon.
“Sabi niya ito talaga ang pambaha (he said this is really the attire in times of flood),” Almendras said.
When Robredo and other Cabinet officials accompanied President Aquino to visit residents submerged in floodwaters in Paombong, Bulacan in August 2011, Robredo was again wearing a pair of slippers.
“Secretary Robredo called my attention and gave me a thumbs up sign, showing he was wearing a pair of slippers,” Almendras said.