Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation
Citation for 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service
Jesse M. Robredo, Mayor, Naga City
It is sad but true. Democratic government is not necessarily good
government. Too often, elections yield power to the few, not the many. Injustices linger
beneath the rhetoric of equality. Corruption and incompetence go on and on. Voters, alas,
do not always choose wisely. And yet, in Asia and the world at large, much is at risk when
democracy founders, because democracy is the hope of so many. Jesse Manalastas Robredo
entered Philippine politics at a time when hope was high. As mayor of Naga City from 1988
to 1998 he demonstrated that democratic government can also be good government.
In the wake of his country's People Power Revolution in 1986, Jesse Robredo responded to
President Corazon Aquino's call to public service. He abandoned his executive position at
San Miguel Corporation to head the Bicol River Basin Development Program in Naga, his
hometown. In 1988, he stood for election as mayor and won by a slim margin. He was
twenty-nine. Read more
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