Mayor Jesse M Robredo Naga City Philippines At

Mayor Jesse M. Robredo Naga City, Philippines

At age 29 in 1988, Mayor Jesse was the youngest City Mayor of the Philippines to be elected.

When Mayor Robredo took over the city, it was in bad shape. Naga City’s revenues were so low that it had been downgraded officially from a first-class to a third-class city.

Mayor Robredo introduced change at city hall by first striking out patronage along its corridors. • He introduced a merit-based system of hiring and promotion based on aptitude and competence. • He moved against local vice-lords and drove smut and girlie bars out of the city boundaries. • Amidst strong resistance and charges in court put up by operators, the mayor relocated bus and jeepney terminals outside the old business district, ending gridlock and spurring new enterprises at city’s edge.

Barely a year at city hall, Mayor Robredo was conferred the “Dangal ng Bayan” award by the Civil Service Commission, the first local government official to receive the recognition. By 1990, public revenues rose and Naga regained its first-class status.

In 1991, the Philippine Jaycees chose Mayor Robredo as one of the “The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines”. Five years later, he was conferred as one of “The Outstanding Young Persons of the World” by the Jaycees International in Kobe, Japan, making him the first and only Bicolano to win such a prestigious award.

He has served Naga City for an unprecedented five 3 -year terms as local chief executive.

Described by a Japanese author as “one of the best mayors the Philippines has ever had”, Mayor Robredo emerges as the country’s most awarded local chief executive.

In 2000, Mayor Robredo was chosen as the lone Filipino to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize, for Government Service—the only local government official to receive the recognition so far.

To date, Mayor Robredo has brought 112 awards to the city from various international, national and regional organizations, 19 of which are etched in his name for his exemplary achievements.

In December 2000, the Asiaweek magazine selected Naga as one of the 4 Most Improved Cities in Asia where it noted that “an unusual brand of governance distinguishes Naga from its more conventional counterparts. ”

Mayor Robredo has championed the cause of civil society participation in local government through trailblazing initiatives such as the People Empowerment Program, the Kaantabay sa Kauswagan program and Reinventing the Naga City School Board program.

“But perhaps the most endearing legacy of Mayor Robredo’s leadership is the strong belief he has instilled among Nagueños that governance is a shared responsibility of public officials and citizenry, with government providing the people the tools for their meaningful participation and active engagement, ” - former President Corazon C. Aquino

During Mayor Robredo’s term, Naga City was recipient of several international awards: n n n United Nations Public Service Award, New York, June 23, 2004 Most Women-Friendly LGU World Award, conferred by UNDP in Fukouka, Japan, March 8, 2004 Cybercity Award for Asia-Pacific conferred by the UN Centre for Human settlements, 2002 Finalist, World Habitat 2002, conferred by the Building and Socialized Housing Foundation, Brussels, Belgium Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment, 1998 Habitat II Best Practices Award, conferred by the UN Centre for Human Settlements, Istanbul, Turkey, 1996

During Mayor Robredo’s incumbency, Naga is considered a model local government in the country and a laboratory of local government innovation.

Mayor Robredo’s leadership has gone beyond Naga City. He is a mentor of many other mayors in the country. He goes to different communities (from Cagayan Valley to Sulu, Mindanao) to work with mayors on instituting participatory and efficient governance.

On why other governments and institutions fail: “Maybe it is because they (politicians) have failed to make heroes out of the ordinary people. Maybe it is because they have relied solely on their own capacities, rather than on the contributions of the ordinary people that they are responsible for. ” - Mayor Jesse M. Robredo