Jesse Robredo as Nagueño

In a new book about the late Jesse Robredo, his widow recounts their decidedly unromantic but telling introduction. 

 

It was 1986 and Leni Gerona was a fresh graduate applying for a job at the Bicol River Basin Development Program (BRBDP), where Robredo was the program director at that time.

 

Following a suggestion given by someone, she went to see Robredo armed with a recommendation letter from Luis R. Villafuerte, who was then the governor of Camarines Sur, since Robredo was a Villafuerte appointee. She was also advised to aim for a higher position than what she originally applied for, which was the low-ranking position of economic researcher.

 

Face to face with Robredo, things didn’t turn out as planned, however, as Leni recalled: “During the interview, the Director looked at the handwritten recommendation letter attached to my application letter with a paper clip and asked me, ‘Do you really believe this is important? It’s your qualifications that matter.’”

 

Robredo then told her the position she applied for—after she erased economic researcher and replaced it with Environmental Planning Specialist—was not vacant. He also reprimanded her, saying: “That’s not how we do things around here. Professionalism is important.”

 

Leni, who eventually married Robredo in June 1987, said the encounter was “very telling about (Robredo’s) character.” He was known for his strict, clean, law-adhering style of governance. 

 

However, things got better from then on, and she was eventually offered a job at BRBDP. Leni reported for work on August 18, 1986. Twenty-six years years later, on that exact same day in August, Robredo died in a plane crash off Masbate.

 

Accolades, honors and platitudes poured in as soon as the public learned of Robredo's death. Robredo's name had never been linked to corruption, and even in death, his name was revered even more.

 

People from all walks of life hailed Robredo: from President Benigno Aquino III and Malacañang and other politicians to those he helped and worked with during his stint as Interior and Local Government Secretary. His colleagues in urban poor and good governance organizations also mourned his passing.

 

But most of them knew of Jesse as a government man. Those who knew him most, who saw him grow up from a scrawny crybaby to champion of good governance, thus thought it best to reveal to the public the Jesse they knew.

 

Thus the book “Jess Robredo: Proud Nagueño Memories” (published by Anvil Publishing Inc. and edited by Nagueños and wife-and-husband team Paz Verdades “Doods” and Soliman “Sol” Santos), where Leni’s story as well as those of 35 others can be found. Festschrift

 

During the book launching at Powerbooks in Makati last January 19, Saturday, “Jess Robredo: Proud Nagueño Memories” was described by the editors as a Festschrift—“a selection of essays, poems and other literary forms about an honorable person by those who knew him and loved him.”

 

In the book’s case, it is filled with memories of Robredo by his family, friends and colleagues in and from Naga City detailing various stages of Robredo’s life. The book also features photos, speeches, and a couple of poems.

 

As Sol Santos said during the book launch, “The testimonials to Jess in this book are not those of his fellow Cabinet members and national leaders from the last two years of his life. But they are testimonials that span his 54 years from birth to death, up close and personal as can only come from a brother, wife, daughter, friends, classmates, co-workers and co-residents in the local community.”

 

“The book provides a special perspective special to Jess himself, the Nagueño perspective from below, of a good local leader who has been given to the larger nation,” Sol said.

 

“It gives the national audience a better understanding of Naga’s pride—we'd rather say ‘proudness’ for Jess—as well as his proudness for Naga and why this was his ‘maogmang lugar’ (happy place) that he kept coming home to,” Sol said.

 

The editors admitted that many of the Robredo stories in the book can be found in various media. They were also quick to say that the book should not be taken as the late Secretray’s definitive biography.

 

However, there are gems in the book that people will learn for the first time and that can contribute to future, deeper research on Robredo’s life. 'Lawlaw' and 'Siopao'

 

For instance, Sol said it was only in December last year that Leni discovered Robredo's nicknames during his elementary and high school years in Naga in December last year.  

 

“[I]t was from the book that (Leni) learned for the very first time that the class bansag for Jess at Naga Parochial was ‘Lawlaw’—this because he always wore very loose shorts—while the class bansag for him at Ateneo de Naga High was ‘Siopao’—this because of his round fair face. We all know that only high school classmates of old can kantiyaw, poke fun at each other this way,” Sol said.

 

“Reading through such boyhood stories, one wonders how a cry-baby with a middle-child syndrome–just one of the guys, simple, regular, not a jock or a nerd or a corps commander or valedictorian—would transform in later life into a paragon of good governance and moral leadership,” he continued.

 

Another excerpt from Robredo’s boyhood, this time one that could explain why he grew up with his down-and-dirty “tsinelas leadership,” as told by his brother Butch:

 

“When we were children, our hands often got dirty and greasy from repairing, sandpapering engine parts, that kind of thing. Perhaps that’s why Jess was not afraid to get his hands dirty—you saw him shoveling dirt off the streets after the floods, or picking up garbage.” Naga mayor

 

And though the parts about Robredo’s childhood could arguably be the most poignant because of the intimacy involved, the biggest bulk of the 104-page book is about Robredo’s stint as Naga City mayor for six terms. 

 

“In (Robredo’s) 54 years’ brief timeline of life, 39 years were based in Naga, 14 years were based in Manila (at La Salle, San Miguel Corporation, and DILG) and one year was based in the US at Harvard. Thus, roughly 72 percent of his life was based in Naga. That is the quantitative analysis,” Sol said.

 

“I would make the qualitative analysis that his life was at least 90 percent, 95 percent Naga: This was where his heart and soul was, this was what shaped him, and this was where he made his best contributions,” he continued.

 

Robredo's service to his beloved city did not go unnoticed, and earned for him the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000.

 

In the book, City Administrator Frank Mendoza recalled how Robredo stamped out corruption in infrastructure activities: “During my early years at city hall, I was tasked by Mayor Jess to monitor the city’s infrastructure projects. His marching orders to me: ‘Go first after the contractors identified with me.’”

 

Because of fastidious monitoring and swift penalties for corresponding violations, contractors quickly realized that they should follow the correct specifications or risk being given penalties. As a result, projects in Naga City were completed while adhering to the proper specifications.

 

“That stretched the city’s budget to the maximum, that after his second term, it was hard to find an unpaved street in Naga City or one without a concrete drainage. To think the city’s budget was barely P19 million when he first took office,” Mendoza said.

 

City Planning and Development Coordinator Willy Prilles, Jr. remembered Robredo huddled in a meeting with the Naga City School Board, where the only snacks on the table were soft drinks and baduya (banana fritters).

 

“The stark contrast with how other Filipino government officials comport themselves is palpable,” he said.

 

Prilles also talked of Robredo’s “genius.”

 

“Looking back, I realize I was one of those privileged enough to see firsthand the genius of Jesse Manalastas Robredo as a leader. His genius lies in seamlessly combining both EQ (emotional intelligence) and IQ (plain or conventional intelligence) in changing Naga and transforming how the city government is run,” he said.

 

This tribute to Robredo certainly wasn’t the first, nor would it probably be the last, given his impact on what the Filipino people want and need from their elected officials.

 

Robredo was called a great public official, yes, an accessible and transparent one, too. But before he was all of these, he was a son, brother, father, husband, friend, a Nagueño who would never let go of the city that indulged and nourished him, which he also served without expecting anything in return. —KG, GMA News