 Writer |
3rd RMSEC |
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Inspiration -- Jesse Robredo |
INSPIRING ME TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE: PERSONAL LESSONS FROM A
MAGSAYSAY AWARDEE
by Jessica Marie Robredo
Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Naga City
I was merely twelve years old in August 2000 when Jesse Manalastas Robredo was
proclaimed the Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service. I was a personal witness to
how honored this man felt with the recognition given to him. It was not until I was asked
by my English teacher, however, to go over the list of past and present Ramon Magsaysay
awardees and write an essay on one of them that I was able to fully understand the
enormity of the award. The awardees, I soon learned, were exceptional men and women who
bravely dared to make a difference in making Asia, and maybe the world, a better place.
It was easy for me to handpick Jesse Robredo from the list of 229 awardees because he
is one person who has truly inspired me and continues to inspire me to make a difference.
To write about his life and his work, however, is a very daunting task, because he is,
incidentally, a person very close to my heart. Much has been written about his outstanding
work as Mayor of Naga City from 1988 to 1998 and how he bravely fought corruption, vice,
poverty, economic stagnancy and dramatically led Naga City from an inefficient and
dispirited city to being one of the country’s most progressive cities. When the
euphoria brought by the EDSA Revolution started to wane and people were starting to doubt
if a more authoritarian leadership would work better for the Filipino people, Jesse
Robredo showed us all that the people are still the most important resource and restored
our faith in democracy. He not only worked for the poor but worked with them and involved
them every step of the way. He has always pushed for growth with equity, transparency,
integrity, and has brought back honor to his office. The most essential part of his
accomplishments are, indeed, those that are invisible to the naked eye.
I am already fifteen, but I must admit that to this day, the lessons of democracy, of
fiscal management, of people empowerment, are still quite difficult for me to comprehend.
What I do understand is that the people of Naga City look up to Jesse Robredo because he
succeeded in making them feel he is just like any one of them. He is simple and humble in
ways. He wears the City Hall uniform to work, is in his office before eight o’clock
in the morning, goes around without bodyguards, and does not believe he is entitled to
special perks just because of his office. He lives very modestly as his house and office
would reveal. He is a very dedicated public servant, practices what he preaches, and no
deed is ever too small for him – driving around city street at night to check on
busted lampposts to joining street cleaners and garbage collectors in their regular
chores. People see the best in him during the worst of times. He is always the last man on
the street during typhoons, making sure that his people are safe, and the first one to
shovel the mud out of the city after the floods. In 1998, after his third consecutive term
as Mayor of Naga City, he stepped down quietly, never succumbing to the pressure of
seeking higher officer or perpetrating himself in power by asking a family member to run
in his stead.
Realizing now what the Ramon Magsaysay Award is really all about, I feel truly blessed
that I have been given the privilege of being his daughter. I was born exactly six days
before he was first elected as Mayor of Naga City and had spent the first ten years of my
life with him at City Hall. If there was one thing that convinced me that he is truly
deserving of the award, it is this: he has never made me feel I was different from the
rest just because he is my father. As he went about his work in the service of others, I
was never left wanting for his time and attention. He eats lunch and dinner with us seven
days a week, even if it would mean for him two or three more meals to take when 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
during the moments when Math homework gets a little too difficult or just to drive home
our friends who have come to visit. Now that I am a little older, people would come up to
me sometimes 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 play basketball at the street corner with the
neighborhood kids. Things which appear inconsequential but which have brought great joy to
others and made them feel important. His decision to continue serving his native city
despite 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 will make other people’s burden lighter and their lives
better; that greatness of spirit can be achieved not through wealth, power or popularity
but on how you live your life with quiet dignity and by becoming a man for others. By his
example, I am truly inspired to dare make a difference, break ground, stand up for my own
convictions and serve others selflessly and with integrity in whatever state of life and
whatever field I will find myself in.
Go to Ramon
Magsaysay Award Foundation Online 