It’s all over
the news now. The Philippines’ DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo passed away through
a plane crash. The entire nation is mourning over the loss of another generous
soul. And I, too, weep with them.
I will always
remember Sec. Jesse as a humble man. Whenever we would invite him to speak
during our events, I never felt an air of arrogance when he’s around. He just
quietly walks in the room, waits for him to be introduced, and then starts his
talk. He always seemed happy and calm, because he and his eyes were always
smiling.
I deeply admire
him on how firm he was in planting little seeds of good governance in all his
works. Whenever he shared his stories, I never heard him brag about his
achievements. When he told about the successes of Naga City, he always stresses
that it was his team that did a great job. Upon hearing his stories, I really
proved to myself that this man is deeply rooted in the values of transparency,
accountability, and people’s participation in his leadership, especially
through two of the reforms that he has lead – the reinvention of the Local
School Board and eGovernance.
Last Monday
night, when the retrieval operations were still on-going for Sec. Jesse, I was
still hopeful, secretly wishing and praying that Sec. Jesse was just tossed away
by the tides to a remote island where people don’t recognize him because they
do not have communication systems available.
But when the
news broke on Tuesday morning that his body has already been retrieved from the
submerged plane, I can’t help but feel pain. And I can’t stop asking God, why
him? A lot of ill-hearted politicians who have done so much injustice in this
country deserved more to be in that plane crash. But, why him? And then I
remembered Dr. Gerry Ortega, also a kind spirit who wants nothing more but to
give the Palawenos what’s rightly theirs. And then I asked myself more, why
him? Why do good men always have to die first before those who are greedy for
power and money? Why is it so unfair? The country still can’t afford to lose
someone like Sec. Jesse. Why him?
During the night
of the breaking news, a good friend asked how I was holding up. She asked, so I
cried and ranted a little. And she mentioned something like this, “Maybe we
cry, not for them, but for us. Because we’re the ones to feel sorry for really.
For losing him.” Maybe she’s right. When I think about it, I actually am happy
knowing that Sec. Jesse is already somewhere up in the heavens, having the
happiest time of his life as he has already joined our Creator. As to me, as to
us, who are still left to live here in this crazy world, we do cry. Because we
know that losing someone like Sec. Jesse will make the fight for good
governance a little bit harder again. He brought hope for the Philippines
through his works, and now that he’s gone, we feel that a bit of hope went with
him as well.
Right now, I’m
still at a loss on how I can make sense out of this. Mainly because, I don’t
really understand why God would allow these kinds of things to happen to his
best servants. But, behind this, I now feel that there is a call to continue
what Sec. Jesse has left behind. To help grow the little seeds of good
governance that he started to plant and to also plant my own little seeds of
ethical leadership. From the hope that I felt which Sec. Jesse gave for the
country, I now feel that there’s now a call to transform that hope and make it
my own -- a louder and stronger call to now be the hope that I want to be for
our beloved country.
I cry because of
a great loss, but I pray that this loss would give me greater hope to become a
more loving person and leader, just like Sec. Jesse.
Sec. Jesse, I am
blessed to have met you. Thank you for planting your little seed of good
governance in me. To continue your legacy, I’ll do my best to nurture this seed
and share it to people who need it the most.
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| Sec. Jesse, always with a smile, willingly answered questions given by the participants of the "Champions for Good Governance and Education Leadership Seminar" who were mostly Mayors, Vice-Mayors and Councilors. *photo courtesy by Jess Lorenzo, KN Core Member |
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| Sec. Jesse readily poses for a photo op with Local Government Leaders during our "Best Practices on Election Campaign and Strategies Seminar" last April. To think that he's the Secretary of the DILG, he was very approachable and accessible to everyone. |
“Later on in life, you will realize that it is neither your successes nor your conquests that will give you satisfaction. It is your contribution that really matters—paying back what you owe the community that nurtured you.” - DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo
Kaya Natin!
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