Manila: The Philippines may have lost one of its finest civil servant with the death of Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, but colleagues want his legacy to endure as a poster boy of good governance.

“If there’s an Oscar for great films, why not a ‘Jesse’ for good governance

Deputy House Speaker Erin Tañada said as he proposed having a “Robredo Awards for Good Governance.”

Known for his practical style of leadership that shuns excessive politicking but underscores effective management and consensus building, Robredo’s more than two decades of public service had been a breath of fresh air in a country where corruption and patronage politics hold sway for decades.

Robredo had served for six terms covering a total 18 years as mayor of the in Camarines Sur province’s Naga, a city, before his tenure, was so disillusioned with government that it was considered a hotbed of communist insurgency.

Naga City under Robredo’s leadership had undergone a transformation and had become a showcase of good governance and transparency, with government dealings open to scrutiny and with the public having a say in important aspects of project implementation.

Tañada said Robredo’s leadership style is what the country needs right now.

“Alive, he set the standard in public service. It is now the template for the ages. And it up to us the living to make sure that the generations of civil servants will look up to it as the model to be followed,” Tañada said.

Tañada’s idea is for the Robredo Awards to honour “outstanding

workers and programmes in all aspects of local government service, from

budget matters to peace and order.”

Robredo, alongside his appointment by President Benigno Aquino III in July 2010 as Interior and Local Governments Secretary, had been an active member of the Kaya Natin! (We Can Do It!) Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership.

Harve Kah, convenor of the movement, said Robredo, as interior secretary “continues to ensure that bidding and procurement processes in the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology continue to be transparent and done above board.

“Under his leadership the DILG has saved more than P500 million pesos and this amount is now being used to help in developing basic services to financially strapped 4th, 5th and 6th class municipalities all over the country,” Keh said. Robredo, prior to his death, waged a campaign against the illegal numbers game “jueten,” in his home province, Camarines Sur.

“Amid all the power and influence that he has, Robredo continues to live a simple life and places God and his family as his topmost priorities,” said Keh.

Aside from Keh and Robredo, other key members of Kaya Natin! are Father Ed Panlilio and Grace Padaca.

Panilio is a priest who ran for governor in Pampanga province while Padaca held the same executive position in the Isabela province.