Statement of Support for DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo

MEGA MANILA

Statement of Support for DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo

It is with great concern for fairness that the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL), a national alliance of non-government organizations and people’s organizations, is issuing this statement.

The aftermath of the hostage crisis of August 23, 2010 was a finger pointing scenario. Because the DILG is in charge of the police, the rush tendency to point a finger on DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo was a mechanical response a.k.a. “judgment without thinking.” There was a flood of negative adjectives for Secretary Robredo that if readers and TV viewers and radio listeners never knew him, they too would have routinely thrown the stones of their rush judgment.

But in fairness to Secretary Robredo, a public servant with a shining record of competence and commitment and to put things in their right perspective, we would like to call attention to the column of Ms Solita Monsod in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on August 28, 2010. Here’s an excerpt from that column entitled: “Ka Vibes” doesn’t seem to be working:

Yes, he (Sec. Jesse Robredo) should have been in charge and apparently, he was in the command center. And if he had been in charge, things would certainly have turned out different.

Judging from the stories from knowledgeable sources, however, he could not have been in charge because, while he is DILG head, he was supposedly ordered to concentrate on the local government side, and to leave the PNP side to Undersecretary Rico Escalona Puno. In which case, Puno, the first undersecretary appointed by P-Noy, should be the one debriefed.

It is with urgency that we call on every Filipino to think again. Our country needs a public servant like Secretary Robredo very badly. He has hit the ground running from day one in his role and function as DILG Secretary. He puts soul and energy to participatory, clean and honest governance. Our country will benefit a lot from the integrity, unselfish commitment and competence of Secretary Robredo, a multi-awarded public servant and recognized locally and internationally. Our sense of fairness as a people should not be drowned by the cacophony of harsh voices that call for judgment that is not based on justice and fairness.

URBAN POOR ALLIANCE – MEGA MANILA
September 3, 2010
Quezon City

*Copy of the statement including the signatures of the different PO leaders in Metro Manila