Kaya Natin!

They may not be known outside of their city or municipality, but if Kaya Natin! will have anything to do with it, their exemplary leadership will be made known to other Filipinos.

Seven new faces of good governance, seven new stories of hope and reform. The seven Kaya Natin! Champions of Good Governance have pledged to commit their leadership practices to the principles of transparency, social accountability, and people’s participation when they were launched last Friday at the Ateneo de Manila University.

What made the five co-founders of the Kaya Natin! movement select these leaders to join their ranks as advocates of good governance? Perhaps these brief descriptions will show the Philippines why.

Mayor Marivic Belena, San Jose, Nueva Ecija. When her husband withdrew from the 2007 mayoralty race a few weeks before the elections, Mayor Marivic Belena stepped in to take his place. She won, becoming the first female chief executive of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija. Her husband, Alex Belena, was the mayor from 2001-2007, and established programs for the benefit of their constituents.

Since assuming office less than two years ago, Mayor Marivic has successfully continued to implement these programs to deliver basic services as effectively and as transparently as possible. Their city development strategy aims to reinforce San Jose’s claim as a crossroads of regional development for trade, service, and agro-industrialization.

Being mainly an agricultural city, Mayor Marivic sets out to further strengthen San Jose’s agricultural development, believing that this should be made a top priority for the city before undertaking more major developments.

Former Mayor Baby Congco, Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. Mayor Gloria Congco, or Baby as she is called, was the mayor of Cabiao in Nueva Ecija from 1998-2007. She was the first and the youngest lady mayor of the town, first serving as councilor in this 1995. She ran for mayor in 1998 after a period of discernment, thereafter winning two more consecutive terms with a battle cry of honest and clean politics.

During her term, she formed partnerships with several institutions and was the first mayor to partner with Gawad Kalinga in Nueva Ecija to provide decent housing for the people of Cabiao. She was also the first to establish an open university in Nueva Ecija as well as the first to partner with St. Luke’s to open a private hospital in Cabiao. Her governance is marked by a firm commitment to positive reform, as seen in Cabiao’s strong agrarian reform communities.

Mayor Baby ended her third term last 2007, and since then she has remained active in Gawad Kalinga as the director for the Gawad Kalinga Builder’s Institute, GK’s township development program in partnership with the Ateneo School of Government.

Mayor Florante Gerdan, Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya. The 2004 mayoralty race in Sante Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, saw Mayor Florante Gerdan win by only 120 votes. He won, nonetheless, and saw for himself the problems that Sante Fe had. In his early years, he struggled to govern well sans constructive discussion with his constituents. In time, he learned that good governance demands that a leader listen to the people and include them in government.

He was reelected in 2007, and continues to champion a participatory government, envisioning a municipality with informed and empowered citizens. Among the projects he has undertaken in Santa Fe include the formation of the Sante Fe College Students Organization for the implementation of educational programs and the accreditation of 23 NGO’s as partners in development for the local government. He also established a Council of Elders that will help empower and preserve the indigenous people’s culture in Sante Fe.

Mayor Florante believes in transformational leadership that involves the people, and also has a Citizen’s Charter for his constituency. This, he knows, will help bring about his vision of a better Santa Fe.

Mayor Fermin Mabulo, San Fernando, Camarines Sur. Known as Mayor Magdalo, the mayor of San Fernando, a fourth-class municipality in Camarines Sur, was one of the 321 soldiers who took part in the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny against the Arroyo administration. A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management, he reached the rank of Army Captain before getting a job in South Wales in 2004 as a Security Consultant for Ethnic Cuisine Unlimited.

In 2007, he ran for mayor of San Fernando and won, replacing his brother, three-term mayor Abang Mabulo.

As a military man, Mayor Ferry has received numerous distinctions and awards, among them a Military Commendation Medal, Civic Action Medal, Disaster Relief and Rehabilitation Operation Ribbon, Anti-Dissidence Campaign Medal and Ribbon, and was a Recipient of Parangal sa Paninindigan given by the Black and White Movement in 2007. He has undergone a Community Development Training in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, and Cooperative Development Training in Apayao, as well as several other trainings in military leadership.

Former Mayor Mary Jane Ortega, San Fernando, La Union. Former mayor Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando, La Union is no stranger to politics. Married to Cong. Victor Ortega, former governor of La Union, Mayor Mary Jane has held several top positions in different organizations. She is an active officer of the League of Cities of the Philippines, having held different positions since 1998. Under her leadership as mayor, San Fernando flourished and gained numerous awards and recognitions in different fields such as environment, child care services, literacy, agriculture, and social services. Mayor Mary Jane herself received several awards for her contributions to social welfare, environment, and good governance by various organizations.

Mayor Mary Jane currently serves as Consultant on Legislative Affairs of the League of Cities of the Philippines, Adviser to the Executive Committee for the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives and is the chairperson for the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), La Union Chapter.

Mayor Jun Verzosa, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. In an unprecedented event, first-term Mayor Roque “Jun” Verzosa ran again in 2007 for mayor of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, unopposed. In that election, he garnered 95% of the actual registered voters, proving he has gained the trust of his constituents in leading their town since first being elected in 2004 with an overwhelming majority of the votes.

Mayor Jun’s governance is anchored on maximum consultation, participation of every constituent and the principle of co-ownership. To ensure that his leadership is indeed characterized by participation of the people, Mayor Jun consulted the 43 barangays and 28 schools in his jurisdiction to determine their needs, undertaking these “journeys” specifically to bring consultative governance down to the people.

Mayor Jun has since been recognized by several institutions, including the Civil Service Commission who cited him as one of the 2008 National PAGASA Awardees for his excellent brand of leadership.

Vice Mayor Valentin Yap, Bindoy, Negros Oriental. Despite being one of the lesser-known towns in the Visayas region, Bindoy, Negros Oriental is a treasure trove of rich natural marine resources. That is why Vice Mayor Valentin Yap is pushing for his small municipality to be promoted as an eco-tourism destination. Bindoy is bordered on the east by the Tañon Strait, considered to be one of ten richest fishing grounds. As an executive of one of the towns bordering the strait, Vice Mayor Valentin takes the necessary steps in order to ensure the preservation of this environmental wonder. For him, environmental protection and management is one of his administration’s most important projects.

Vice Mayor Valentin was mayor of Bindoy until his last term in 2007. He also became the president of the Municipal Mayors’ League of Negros Oriental. While holding office as mayor, he developed and implemented programs in solid waste management and health care services, enabling almost 4500 families in the municipality to be members of the municipal health insurance program. As vice mayor, he continues to exercise his political leadership effectively and ethically.

Effective and ethical, all twelve Kaya Natin! leaders are examples of how our government officials—whether local or national, executive, legislative, or judiciary—should be. This is Kaya Natin’s vision for the Philippines, and with the addition of these seven new champions of good governance, we have already taken the first step to ensuring quality leaders for the sake of our country.

Kaya Natin! Champs sign a covenant of good governance