EDITORIAL - Legacy of public service

Tributes continued to pour in as the nation prepared for the burial today of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo. Various quarters have noted that the nation also showed this kind of mourning for the loss of an exemplary public servant in March 1957, when President Ramon Magsaysay died, also in a plane crash.

An award, Asia’s most prestigious, for excellence in various fields was launched to honor Magsaysay and promote his ideals of public service. Among the recipients in 2000 was Robredo, who received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service, in recognition of his performance as mayor of Naga City. In the citation, the board of trustees observed that “democratic government is not necessarily good government.” Robredo, the citation noted, gave “credence to the promise of democracy by demonstrating that effective city management is compatible with yielding power to the people.”

The World Bank, which paid tribute to Robredo following his death, lauded his efforts to promote the people’s “genuine participation” in governance. The World Bank cited his Full Disclosure Policy to promote transparency and accountability in agencies under the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The WB also cited his creation of the Performance Challenge Fund, under which local government units that receive a “seal of good housekeeping” from the DILG can get additional funding.

Unlike the typical Filipino politician, Robredo for the most part worked without fanfare. In death he has grown much larger in the national consciousness, as many Filipinos belatedly become aware of his accomplishments. Citizens can help preserve his legacy of exemplary public service by demanding good governance, especially from his successor, who must sustain the reforms he initiated in the DILG. For public servants, the best tribute is to follow the example of Jesse Robredo.