‘Robredo’s legacy will live’

LOCAL Government Secretary Jesse Robredo’s legacy in public governance will continue, an official of a nongovernment organization said yesterday.

Jeremy Pintor of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) said they are motivated to work harder to achieve his vision.

ISA, a nonprofit organization, has partnered with government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to implement a program called, Performance Governance System (PGS).

Robredo, who died in a plane crash last Saturday, was one of ISA’s board of trustees.

“We will continue his legacy,” Pintor said in a press conference.

Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama will be flying to Manila today to pay his last respects to Robredo.

The mayor said he will attend the mass sponsored by the League of Cities for Robredo this afternoon at Malacañang.

The Regional Development Council (RDC) 7, Rama said, also sponsored a mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral at 12:15 p.m. today.

Pintor, also senior program officer of PGS, and two other ISA officers are in Mandaue to give a three-day seminar, which aims to form a multi-sectoral governance coalition.

Pintor said one of Robredo’s strongest legacies is the idea of multi-sectoral participation in government.

Jhoaden Lucero, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Mandaue City director, hopes that the next DILG secretary will continue the programs started by Robredo.

Rama said he hopes that Robredo’s replacement will also focus on professionalizing the police and the fire department.

The new police training school in Consolacion town, Cebu whose groundbreaking ceremony was led by Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo hours before his death will be named after the official.

Lawyer Ruben Platon, president of the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC), said the construction of the new training school will be completed within seven to eight months.

Seal

PPSC, one of the attached agencies of the DILG, is behind the construction of the training school.

One of Robredo’s programs was the granting of the Seal of Good Housekeeping award to LGUs that practice accountability and transparency.

As a recipient of the Seal of Good Housekeeping, Mandaue will receive P3 million from the DILG’s performance challenge fund.

Lucero said the funds will be used for social programs that will benefit the poor.

The ISA partnered with Mandaue last year for the PGS.

The PGS was first implemented in eight cities, which included Naga City, whose mayor then was Robredo.

In a related development, City Hall will be giving P100,000 cash to the family of Capt. Jessup Bahinting.

Rama said City Hall will also help the family of Nepalese flight student Kshitiz Chand.