Tag: Naga

Naga: What happens now?

Jesse is dead. He is gone. That is the harsh reality of things. He was gone too soon. Naga will feel his loss more than anything else. And not just in the upcoming Penafrancia Fiesta where he won’t be joining the voyadores. He will also be missed in the upcoming elections as Naga starts to feel the dread of what will happen to his legacy.

When he left, it wasn’t clear to whom he passed his baton to. We hoped he will somehow be our leader for a longer time. We had faith in his reforms in the national government. We saw him as a beacon of light – a shred of hope in the hopeless Philippine political situation.

Yet now, we can only pray that the current political line up of Naga will follow through Jesse’s legacy. We can hope. But what if they don’t? Already, “epal” tarpaulins are on the streets. And a lot more similar messages. Already we know of vultures waiting in the fringes for the right time to swoop down and get their spoils. It seems they saw their opening now with Jesse gone.

Do we need a constant reminder who he is?

The real dread has just begun. Perhaps it’s not as clear now since we are all wrapped up in grief and in strangled cries of continuing the legacy he left. But to what will this amount to when 2013 rolls in? When the vultures begin their descent? When political ambition overpowers selfless public service?

Yes, Jesse set an example. He showed leading a town to prosperity was possible without resorting to traditional politics. Yet he was able to do so because he was not greedy for either power or riches. He was not after his own personal ambitions. He was after genuine service to the people. He really was there to serve. Can we say the same to those in power we have now? Honestly, I doubt it. I’ve had my close encounters with them and none came close to what Jesse would have done had he been alive and in the same situation.

Do not blame me for the bitter tone in the middle of everyone’s sweet memory. I am but basing my opinions on experience. I fear for my city just as I’ve always feared for my country. I can’t help the skepticism that flows through me now.

And who paid for this truck? Wasn’t it tax payers’ money?

Yet I dare hope. I take a step of courage as I write this, hoping it springs some sense into our public servants. I try to be brave as I seek to call out the glaring inconsistencies of public servants’ practices with the oath they swore and the legacy they vow to continue. I pledge to remain vigilant in observing their actions.

For me, hope is no longer enough. I’ve hoped for such a long time. Now is the time for action. Jesse may be gone but he set the bar and example for everyone. And if I have to suffer dire consequences for my vigilance, then I’m afraid democracy would have failed us and Jesse’s memory would have been nullified.

Of all the greetings for Sec. Jess I saw around the city, it was only in this tarp that the name of an individual appeared.
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The First of Its Kind

It’s seldom anyone witnesses a momentous occasion that is bound to go down the annals of history. Yesterday, I witnessed just that – a sight like no other. An event that I can tell my grand kids over and over again. It was not an entirely celebratory occasion. It was a death after all. But it was a legendary death.

Black and Yellow Ribbons were tied on trees, posts and fences as tribute symbols to a great man.

When it was declared that Jesse Robredo was to be given a state funeral, at first, I did not understand what it was. I knew it to be some pompous funeral rites to be held in honor of great men. And indeed it was befitting Mayor Jess (as we call him) since in our eyes and our hearts, he probably was the greatest man to grace this planet. We all love him. How can we not? But the gravity of how huge or important the occasion was lost to me.

At first I thought this was the first time the country will hold a state funeral in the longest time. But upon further research, I learned that the last state funeral actually happened just last July 4, 2012. This was for a National Scientist, Perla Santos-Ocampo. National Scientists and National Artists by virtue of law have the right to be given a state funeral. Apart from them, heads of state (president, vice-president, senate president and speaker of the house) are also entitled to state funerals. Diosdado Macapagal was the last president given a state funeral which happened on April 1997. But does any of us remember what happened during those state funerals? Frankly, I don’t. I was still a kid in 1997 and the state funeral last July 2012 was probably not given much attention by the media (which is sad because she was a great scientist).

Despite the blistering sun, the Basilica grounds were packed with people, paying homage to their great leader.

And so, it was not until yesterday, while under the blistering sun; amid the grief and sorrow that plagued the collective hearts of us Nagueños, I saw just how pompous the rites were. After the usual mass was said and the priest’s moving homily was given, came the eulogies delivered by Atty. Leni and Pres. Noynoy. But before the eulogies, Mayor Jess was awarded the Legion of Honor, the highest award the President can give without approval from Congress. The medal was really huge. And it was such an honor for the entire Naga to have our beloved mayor awarded with such.

After the eulogies, the rites were performed. Fancy dressed military personnel paraded in the space in front of Basilica. When the casket was brought out, the Philippine National Anthem was played amid 19- gun salutes performed in nearby Eternal Gardens. It was a sight and sound to behold. Although I did not follow the procession to the crematorium, I later watched replays in TV of how the rites, as pompous as ever, were carried out in front of the crematorium. Each step – each process – was a tribute to the greatness of Jesse Robredo.  Such pomp was never really synonymous with the simple man. As to Atty. Leni’s words, if Jess was alive, he would say that everything was too much. But just this last time, we all want to give him the highest form of honor we all can.

In my mind, I can’t help but think, how even in death, he brought prestige to our humble city. Our city, who was once riddled with various woes and problems typical of 3rd class cities. Our city who thru him has earned various recognition for matters that has helped each one of us progress into the kind of citizens we are now. Mayor Jess, in his true fashion, served us to the very end. With his death, he brought national attention to Naga City. Even USec. Manolo Quezon said in a tweet, that for yesterday, Naga was the capital of the country. Major media networks flew in their top anchors and reporters to cover the events. Dignitaries and VIPs graced our streets. The world saw what kind of a city Naga truly was.

Whereas before, my friends from Manila would have a hard time deciding where Naga was, or what Naga looked like, now, everyone in the country, even abroad, knows of this humble, land-locked city existing as a living testimony to the possibility of good governance; the possibility that honest public servants exist amid the sea of corrupt traditional political dynasties.

Policemen line up the paths to guide people where to go. Order was ensured during the entire funeral. I overheard some policemen remarked how Nagueños were very disciplined.

Mayor Jess, even in his death, gave us great honor, for which we are grateful for. In his death, he brought the country’s – and the world’s – eyes to our doorsteps. He showed the entire nation that progress is possible if only public servants would become true servants and citizens would become active constituents. Mayor Jess showed how democracy should really be played out – where the leaders craft solutions and where the constituents participate actively not just in the implementation but in the crafting of such solutions. Where leaders can impose but constituents are welcome to debate and argue with their impositions. Where such discussions are held in a civil manner, not in the streets as most often portrayed by the media as the only means for citizens to air out their sentiments over certain issues.

Much laud and praise have been accorded this great man. Stories, both from ordinary citizens and from well-versed writers, have been told over and over again. Those are just but a taste, a glimpse, of how truly great he was and how much impact he has made in all our lives. Not just in the present, but in the future as well. Naga City, hasn’t been accorded this much honor, this much publicity, this much praise, as it has been given now. And we all owe it to him, our faithful and dedicated Mayor Jess who even in death, served us well.

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What happened to all the good men?

After such a long time, we finally have a long weekend holiday. And for someone who’s working, long holidays are a much welcome respite even if admittedly, we would have to do some work during the time period. Yet I still welcome the pressure-free & stress-free 4 days.

Yet what should have been a blissful holiday has turned into a tension-filled waiting game for Naga City – and the whole nation for that matter. Saturday afternoon, I received a text from a friend that DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo’s plane crashed in the waters of Masbate. I checked the news and true enough, it really happened. Then the waiting game began.

It was horrendous. This game of not knowing what would happen next. After that fateful crash, came rescue efforts and news casts clamor to be the first to report what was happening. There was even a false alarm that he was found which many believed. But after checking with close sources to the family, I knew that the worst was not yet over.

I am not here to talk about what the public already knows. Every second, social media updates us on how the rescue efforts are coming along. It’s all that the news contain now – the President is personally leading the rescue efforts – what could be more newsworthy than that? Even the typhoon threatening the northern provinces receive much less airtime than what is happening now at Masbate, at the Robredo’s residence and at prayer vigils in  Manila.

Rather, I am here to narrate how kind a man Robredo was is. (I refuse to talk to him in the past tense.) I am in the same batch as his eldest child, Aika. She became my classmate back in Grade 4 and for a time being, when the entire family went to the US, she became my close friend through letters we constantly sent each other. It was there I caught a glimpse of the humble life they lead.

Yes, they were part of the high society of Naga City – I guess all politicians in high places are. But never did they make anyone feel like they were elite and you were beneath them. They embodied the true meaning of public servant – someone who serves the public first and put them above themselves.

My mom tells me that when she arrived in Naga it was a very sleepy town. It was a far cry from the city it is now – and indeed I recall how backwards it was back then. But under Robredo’s guidance and leadership, it bloomed to the city it is now. It now has so much potential that I was encouraged to go back and live here; starting my career here – a feat that would have been impossible if Naga has remained the backward city that it was before.

Under Robredo’s leadership, my faith in good governance returned. It was he who started transparency in the city government – where the public can easily access records and see how project biddings went so that we knew what transpired in all projects and were assured there was no corruption involved. With Robredo, the faith of the people returned to the government. Good governance was possible. And so he won election after election until his term expired. Then he would rest, run again, and win. He would have continued on becoming mayor if not for the offer of PNoy to be the DILG Secretary.

Robredo has no ambition for greater power. He could have easily became congressman, senator and climb up the political ladder. But that was not his intention in becoming a politician. His intent was to transform Naga and show the entire country that it was possible to become a progressive nation. Naga City is a testament to that.

Yet he is the only politician I know who doesn’t flaunt his projects. Not once did I see a waiting shed, or any other government project with his name etched on it. He didn’t preserve power by reminding people he erected this and that. He preserved power because he remained true to his oath of serving the people. And the people saw his sincerity. He is their champion.

Continue reading “What happened to all the good men?”

CRIME and poverty

CRIME

In the five years that I’ve resided in Manila, I am thankful that I’ve never had the unfortunate experience of being face to face with crime. Perhaps the nearest thing I’ve witnessed to be criminal were the aftermath of a raid done by MMDA on Philcoa sidewalk vendors during one late night – and I was supposed to have been in the middle of the bustle if I had decided to make my purchase from those sidewalk vendors than brave the long line of the nearby Mercury Drug Grocery store.

Yet I’ve heard tales of my friends about how they’ve lost their cellphones to snatchers with the most horrific being one wherein they were attacked by muggers while aboard a UP-SM North jeep. I’ve read and heard of stories about students being shot while on campus, girls being raped and thrown in abandoned grassy creeks, of innocent students being mugged while crossing the overpass late at night and countless other horror stories of crime committed by the Manila criminal society. I have heard their stories, witnessed the telltale signs in their bodies and properties but I have never – for once in my entire life in Manila – encountered a single criminal soul. I have braved the twist and turns of the Binondo streets alone – a place I am utterly unfamiliar with – and though I have seen suspicious looking individuals, the most harrowing experience I could speak of were merely snide remarks and insults – nothing that is at all criminal and worthy of police attention.

Some might say I’m lucky. Some might say I’m fortunate. I say I am blessed and well-protected.

Yet the fact and reality of crime still remains in my consciousness and I forever remain vigilant about it. Even now that I live in the province, where one might argue the crime rate is relatively low compared to Manila, I am still on guard. For I’ve been told that criminals here are more aggressive – not really taking time to consider who it is they would rob or assault. I have a friend who told me he was mugged once and when he eventually gave up his cellphone, the mugger was disappointed with the cellphone’s model that the mugger even had the nerve to insult my friend. The cellphone was a very old and dilapidated Nokia 3315. That’s why if I was vigilant while I was in Manila, I am doubly so now that I am in Naga.

An article I read in Peyups.com today brought into mind the reality of the criminal society of the Philippines. There were times that this criminal society seemed to have existed, for me, in a fantasy world of evil since I have never really encountered any of their members. Yet that article, in a very well-written showcase of words, brought this reality into more detailed attention in my consciousness than all the newspaper articles I’ve read or the television news segments I’ve watched about the escapades of the criminal constituents of the country.

The article had greatly captured the feelings of one who’ve had one too many brushed up with Manila’s ruffians that fear had forever been instilled in her heart and in her mind. And the greatest part of the article was the author’s stand on why such things happen in our country and why they will forever remain part of our society.

Poverty.

The affliction that has been afflicting us since the dawn of time; since we’ve become slaves of colonizers and neo-colonizers alike; since we’ve lost all sense of self-identity and have become enamored with the culture of foreigners.

Poverty.

We’ve been its slave for decades now, maybe even centuries. Thousands of politicians, from the smallest barangay captain to the highest position on the land, the President, had attempted to alleviate it, but to no avail.

Poverty.

The root of all evil and all other afflictions in our country – malnutrition, overpopulation, unemployment, illiteracy, pollution, and most of all CRIME.

When will we ever solve this one? When will we ever be rid of it?

I agree with the author of that Peyups.com article that it is not the criminal’s sole fault that they could not see that the people they are robbing or assaulting are themselves, struggling with their own kind of poverty or are themselves impoverished yet had merely chosen to alleviate their suffering through legitimate means. Indeed it is not those criminal’s fault that they had to turn into the illegal just to survive in this world. They are after all just by-products of an older generation of criminals who taught them the criminal way to survive in this jungle. Who knows if they could have been decent citizens of this land but because of the dire circumstances of their lives they’ve been forced to become hardened criminals.

Who indeed is to blame for all of this? Is it them? Is is the government? Or is it us, as a nation and as individuals?

We blame them because they don’t try to become decent. They don’t try to find decent jobs and earn decent living. They don’t try to reform. They don’t consider others’ situations or predicaments.

We blame the government because they corrupt what should have been public funds aimed at improving public lives. They do not stick true with their promises of better lives and improved conditions. They are just full of themselves and all they really care about is their own personal gain.

But then again how can a starving man with a starving family to feed even think of decency in the light of his grumbling stomach. For a lot of people morality or conscience is almost non-existent when faced with the reality of his harsh environment. And then how can politicians really carry out their idealistic reforms when by the time they assume office, even the most decent ones become swept away by the rampant corruption of their colleagues? You see corruption is so deeply rooted that even the most honest men become eventually snared into it.

And so we take a look at the real root of the situation – what have we made of ourselves as a nation, as citizens of this country? How do we really perceive our society? Hopeless? Beyond redemption? Destined for the pits? Something we would gladly forsake and leave given the opportunity to seek greener pastures?

What do we perceive of our race or our identity as Filipinos? Something to be proud of only when Manny Pacquiao wins a fight but something to totally despise of when we learned that we have yet slipped a notch higher in the world’s list of most corrupt nations or become part of the world’s most dangerous countries? Can we not have a better sense of patriotism or nationalism? One which would lead us to critically analyze our government officials or the people we elect into office? One which would make us vigilant of guarding the outcome of our votes – not just when they are being tallied but when they really materialize into the officials we’ve voted for and hoped to have their reforms and plans realized.

Yes, most if not all our politicians are trapo, but some of them I believe are just forced to be trapo because if they don’t then they wouldn’t really have any chance against their real trapo counterparts. And so in the end the choice is still left to us, to decide which of them we would really vote for – to discern which of them is really worthy of our hope.

And hopefully, the person we do elect into office, any of the public office that is, is someone who could, even for just a fraction, make us feel safe in this crime-ridden land due to impoverished lives.