Truth be told, I never liked politics. Actually, I really hate anything to do with it. Isn't it that Politics is suppose to tackle how a government should be run? But all I'm hearing about Politics is "Who's hot and who's not?", or "Mr. X is involved in a scandal", or the one that I hate the most, "Politician A is accusing Politician B or whatever". Politics now is more of the "who" than the "how or why". It's not so focused on "How much money should be allocated for this project?", and instead on "who will get this money?". It's just like those nonsense showbiz talks (No offense to those who actually like showbiz). Nothing more than a fleeting scandal and a popularity contest.
That's why I have this bias against all politicians. And this is why I still can't believe that Jesse Robredo is a politician himself.
We've watched a short film about him last Tuesday. He's the mayor of Naga City for 5 terms. And in that course, transformed Naga City into the ideal city of commerce and excellence. He's won numerous awards both National and International, including the coveted "The Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines", and the "Ramon Magsaysay Award" in 2000. I've never heard of the guy before (because I hate politics) but this one got me interested. So I browsed the internet and found numerous blogs and news articles all expressing admiration and support for this guy. I heard from the film that his projects were impressive, but only when I read this article that I realized how truly great his works are.
He's not the politician I stereotyped in my mind. He hates lavish spendings, lives in a modest house, is not hesitant to let the people have power over the government, and is even concerned with the most minute details like a busted street lamp. If more leaders were like him, then maybe there's hope for this bleak world yet.
But of course, even he's not immune to the mud-slinging involved in politics. Despite that he's one of the best leaders Naga ever had, there are still people out there that wants him removed, most likely because he's a member of the opposition. Most of the 70 or so cases filed against him were dismissed though. And I've read some of the reasons why he was charged; that he wasn't a Filipino, that he was establishing a political dynasty, and the ever popular corruption charges. It's pretty frivolous I'll say, because even if those charges were true, Jesse Robredo gets the job done better than those other politicians. Actually, scratch that. He gets a LOT of job done and the people would actually feel the results. His close ties and total transparency with the locals is something that other politicians can never copy.
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2 comments:
Yup, I know how much you hate politics. But seeing someone getting the job done can really turn you around, make you belive that people in power may actually do us some good. Sana lang di ba dumami sila na parang gremlins. :P
It's more of a "Who has the least dirt on them?" contest. Having an AMAZING revolutionary plan won't have as great as an impact if you had a small thing wrong that you did, like had a loose tie at a speech.
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