Genuine public servants are hard to find these days. Serving the people is a lifelong duty that isn’t to be taken lightly, especially if one holds public office to which the public has entrusted with performing governmental duties. While the country hasn’t particularly been fortunate with rampant corruption throughout its history, there are however a distinct few who’ve kept the flame alit amidst all the moral depravity this country has been subjected to. Of course, our mentioning here of prominent names does not discredit the honor, integrity, and service exhibited by countless others who have done their part in serving the people in exchange for no other prize than the betterment of their nation and people.
Rowena Guanzon
The former Commissioner Rowena Guanzon spent the final days of her tenure in the COMELEC exposing alleged pressure the Commission was facing because of its handling of the pending cases against Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Several petitions were filed against Marcos for both the cancellation of his Certificate of Candidacy and his disqualification, with the disqualifications raffled to COMELEC’s First Division to which Guanzon belonged. This isn’t the first time Guanzon was so publicly at odds with someone. In 2019, Duterte Youth Party-list member Ronald Cardema was being disqualified for not meeting the age requirement for youth representative. Despite pressure from Cardema’s camp, Guanzon publicly and continuously spoke against Cardema and the forces that are trying to manipulate her, both in interviews and in social media. She also once crossed paths with Rodrigo Duterte who was running for President at the time but by mere substitution which she spoke publicly against.
This time, just days before her retirement, when the consolidated cases against Marcos await its final decision, Guanzon claimed the decision was being deliberately delayed until after her retirement to render her vote to disqualify null. She revealed details on the case, exposing her colleague, Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, who was assigned to write the final decision, to have been causing the delay and avoiding Guanzon – all of which could possibly have been violative of the rule on sub judice, or confidentiality in court deliberations. She now spends her retirement days mocking Marcos and campaigning for Leni Robredo.
Justice Antonio Carpio
Former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio is considered by many as the best chief justice we never had. The former magistrate was appointed all the way back in the Arroyo administration, and served until his retirement in 2019, including brief stints as acting chief justice when Former Chief Justice Renato Corona was impeached and when former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was ousted. Today, he is more known to be actively and continuously speaking about situation in the West Philippine Sea. He conducted a world lecture on the matter, discussing the West Philippine Sea issue in several universities across different countries. An e-book on the same was also later published. Justice Antonio Carpio is a staunch patriot in regards to the overall territorial integrity of the West Philippine Sea, he has been very vocal against China in this issue.
Today, aside from advocating our claim over the West Philippine Sea and the rights of our fisherfolk, Justice Carpio is also actively participating in the upcoming national elections, co-founding and serving as convenor of 1Sambayan.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales
Conchita Carpio-Morales was only the tenth female Associate Justice of the Supreme Court to ever be appointed, and the first to ever administer the oath of the President when Benigno Aquino III was inaugurated. While serving as Supreme Court Justice, she dissented in the midnight appointment by President Arroyo of Renato Corona as Chief Justice. As Ombudsman, she was responsible for the indictments of such politicians as former President Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo, former senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla Jr. In the twilight of her career up to her retirement she has continuously spoken against President Duterte and the infamous War on Drugs. Along with her cousin former Justice Antonio Carpio, she is also a convenor of 1Sambayan. One of the most notable moment for Justice Morales was the day of indictment handed to the pork-barrel stars Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla, of which Justice Morales had also lost his son to an accident that day but regardless of it, Morales handed “Justice” to the Filipino people.
Mayor Vico Sotto
Although coming from a famous political clan, the young VIco Sotto somehow managed to be a breath of fresh air, something rather unique in members of political dynasties who succeed a family member in the same government position. But in the case of Pasig, Sotto succeeded the Eusebio dynasty, which has ruled the City of Pasig for several decades. In a matter of months, the City of Pasig saw drastic changes which have plagued it for so long. Traffic improved, informal setters were relocated to safer and more sanitary residences, and workers’ rights were protected during various labor disputes in the city, to name a few.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, residents of the cities in Metro Manila felt the differences in governance of their respective local chief executive, when President Duterte delegated the discretion on how the handle the pandemic to the mayors with respect to their respective jurisdictions. During the early months of the lockdown when public transportation was suspended, residents of Pasig, including medical frontliners, were strategically assisted to commuting to their places of work. The vaccine drive went on smoothly in Pasig. Relief packages were timely distributed. And all this took place within the first term of this first-time mayor, much to the chagrin of his predecessor’s clan.
At this point, the work done by the Vice President and now presidential aspirant, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, has changed countless people’s minds. Within her six-year term, Leni Robredo’s reputation has become that of accountability and productivity – crucial in the time when widespread corruption and crony capitalism which can be traced all the way to the President, not to mention the onslaught of Covid-19 and government’s inefficiency, plague our government. While the country continues to be devastated by the pandemic, many of its other problems worsen – poverty, unemployment, public health inadequacy, among many others. Robredo with the little resources she was afforded, along with the help of sponsors who trust her more than government itself, managed to do literally too much to even mention everything. This despite being attacked by state sponsored trolls as well as at one point being sued for sedition.
Now even as she runs for the presidency and continues to be attacked by trolls, she manages to continue her work, even skipping a campaign event at one point in order to visit a recently typhoon-struck province to provide support.
Written by: K.B Rizal of therizalene.com (March 2022)
READ: The Great Jesse Robredo