I received this article from my ivolunteer.ph subscription and I was really enraged (I'm ante-dating it so as not to get mixed up with my KK posts). Apparently, the multi-awarded former mayor of Naga City, Jesse Robredo was disqualified by COMELEC to run for the election on Monday because he is not a Filipino citizen. I just can't believe this.
I'm re-posting the article here, written by Geronimo L. Sy, published in the Manila Times, 10 May 2007.
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HERE I STAND
By Geronimo L. Sy

In defense of Jesse Robredo

There is no need to talk about the credentials and accomplishments of Jesse Robredo, mayor of Naga City. He is the city administrator par excellence and man of integrity. And he has been disqualified as candidate for mayor for the May 14, 2007, midterm elections because, according to the Comelec division hearing the case, he is not a Filipino. The case has been appealed to the Comelec en banc.

I refuse to read any political color to it. True, Mayor Jesse is in the opposition camp. He is, however, not of the type to descend into lawless violence, to shortcut and deny due process or to mindlessly grab political control by leveraging his electoral clout. He is the model of transparency and accountability in administering the once third class but now first-class
city. His city happens to be in Bicol, one of the poorest regions in the country.

Mayor Jesse has been elected five times by the people of Naga and overwhelmingly at that. If his action is not proof of his election as a citizen of this country, who else can be? Witness the millions who have chosen to be elsewhere and some (including politicians) who gladly take to a different passport. At a certain point in time, we ought to come to our senses and stick to the adage that we are what we do and that actions speak loudest. Mayor Jesse has faced down several similar charges on his citizenship way back in the nines.

Granted that the Comelec division’s finding is flawless, the timing is altogether a different matter. For cases of this dimension, the august body should always act with dispatch lest accusations of partiality and bias gain anchor. Surely, the administration needs the likes of Mayor Jesse on its side to show that we are a working democracy—to allow an independent local government official to govern and govern well; to prove that the ruling party tolerates
principled dissent and ethical responses. After all, the great project that is democracy is about the exchange of ideas in a critical and continuous debate between opposing stands of the majority and the minority. The administration exists to articulate the aspirations of the many. It never is about unfair and underhanded methods. The opposition is there to check on the excesses and not to forever plot to seize power. The acid test of any leader, local or national,
remains his commitment to good governance.

Maybe we should talk about his local governance. He is a leader by example and empowers people to help themselves. He redefined the meaning of participatory governance by opening opportunities for people to makes decisions and implement programs. Under his watch, his city has received more than 30 international, national and regional awards in local governance. These are no ordinary ones and include the 2004 UN Public Service Award for Local e-governance; 2004 UN Development Fund For Women (Unifem) and UN-Habitat Women-Friendly City Award; 2004 and 2003 PCCI Most Business Friendly City Award, 2003 World Bank citation as Model City for Government Procurement, 2002 UNDP CyberCity Award for I-Governance initiatives, Galing Pook (AIM) and Gawad Pamana ng Lahi (DILG). Jesse himself was the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, a recipient of The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines (TOYM), the 1998 Konrad Adenauer Medal of
Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor and the first ever “Dangal ng Bayan” Award of the Civil Service Commission.

Contrast this to the petty tyrants and corrupt mayors elsewhere and your heart bleeds. There is no love lost for a mayor who hostages the country by exhorting citizens to join political rallies in our financial district. Or for a mayor whose city colors are gray and black in an environment of filth and darkness. Or for any local chief executive who puts self-interest above the welfare of his constituents. Mayor Jesse is not, by any measure, such a guy. He is a dedicated public servant, he is Filipino and he is running for mayor.

I won't be able to exercise my privilege and right to vote as we'll still be here in Malaysia until the 15th. As an unfortunate consequence of such, I'll be waiving my right to (verbally) criticize how we are governed for the next three years by the politicians who will get elected on Monday. I fail to do my responsibility and that's the consequence I have to face. Saying that there'll still be other ways to serve the country sounds too hollow and yes, just losing the right to criticize is just too easy a punishment. I guess I have to start with my penance now. (And we did! We hiked the Kinabalu National Park and did the canopy walk in Poring, my legs are still aching up to now)