THE Davao City local chief executive got nominated for the 2014 World Mayor of the Year Award and he declined. Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte said he does not accept awards as he was paid to do his job.
Already on its 10th year since it was started in 2004, the award is given out every two years by the City Mayors Foundation to “a mayor who has made outstanding contributions to his/her community and has developed a vision for urban living and working that is relevant to towns and cities across the world.” The award also requires agreement with the Code of Ethics for Local Governments being espoused by the Foundation.
While Mayor Duterte might have already expressed disinterest with the award, it would still be noteworthy to look into the Code of Ethics.
Take its Preamble for instance. While it’s fundamental assertion that “Good and honest local government is the foundation of any nation that strives to provide its citizens with happiness, security and prosperity. Incompetence, corruption and misconduct in local government threaten fundamental decency in a society” is probably echoed by a number of public sector organizations, I was struck by the reference to citizens’ happiness, security and prosperity, and ills of incompetence, corruption and misconduct.
It is refreshing that the concern goes beyond public welfare, which is the most referenced provision of our own Local Government Code. The regard for security is also timely given that citizens today have to deal with threats, vulnerabilities and situations of insecurity coming from crime, disaster risk, emergencies and violent conflicts. The frank recognition of the ills that plague many a local political scene and governance also grounds the Code on firm realities with which local leaders, public servants and citizens have to contend. Buko pie in the sky, this Code is not.
Article 2 of the Code of Ethics states that “Mayors shall not discriminate against individuals or groups because of their race, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation.” Political orientation, which is often the basis of many local acts of exclusion, some manifested in violent ways, is absent in the list. Happily Davao City has in the last thirty years or so been more politically liberal than most urban areas.
The Davao City Government proudly points to its Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, apparently a first among the local governments of the country, as an example of its commitment to the promotion and practice of inclusivity. However, anti-discrimination advocates are wondering about the status of the implementing rules and regulations of this piece of legislation. The absence of a clear IRR could affect the implementation of this policy. A member of the City Council had previously remarked during a consultation that the city has a number of legislations, dating back to previous administrations, which do not have IRRs.
Article 4 of this Code of Ethics reads, “Mayors shall be free to oppose any laws of their cities and nations where such laws contravene the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” In light of the high incidence of extra-judicial killings in Davao City, perhaps it should be directed not only to the local executive but also all public officials and as well the security sector.
Article 5 enjoins Mayors to use “public resources for the public benefit of their communities while considering whether such use could cause unreasonable harm to other communities and the wider world.” Those who are opposing the coal-fired power plant will likely use this article as a platform. While the power facility is technically not funded by government money, the effects of the facility on the environment and the community around could rebound in time to more long-term harm than good.
Those who are big fans of Mayor Rody would likely say that he has in many ways modeled the intentions of Article 6 – “Mayors shall never use their official positions to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for themselves, members of their families, friends, colleagues or others.” A case in point: the much publicized issuance of citation tickets to Rody and Sarah Duterte, local chief executives both, for the violation of traffic ordinances
There are other aspects of the Code of Ethics for Local Governments that are supportive of the efforts of the City Government of Davao to continually improve in its governance, public administration and peace and development efforts.
Perhaps, we citizens of Davao can campaign that while we respect Mayor Rody’s disinterest in the 2014 World Mayor of the Year Award, that he would nonetheless abide by and lead the entire local bureaucracy – first in Davao City, but why not influence other LGUs as well” -- in dynamically living out the Code of Ethics for Local Governments. In many respects, we are a people who were orphaned and miss the Tsinelas Leadership of former mayor and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.
Maybe, this campaign would gain more adherents than that other campaign that wants Mayor Rody to run for President. Or who knows, maybe this campaign could help that one.
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