FINDING ANSWERS
He certainly lived up to his name. For Filipinos who deeply value good governance and unrelenting political will, he was a true modern-day hero whose untimely demise last Friday shocked many of his admirers.
I myself was shocked when I learned about the tragic accidental fall of former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman and Marikina Mayor Bayani F. Fernando, who transformed our nation’s “shoe capital” into a model city of excellence.
I’m also deeply saddened by his passing, not only because we had spent a lot of time singing in our sold-out “Three Tenors” charity concerts at the Manila Hotel, but simply because of the realization that our country has just lost a great public servant who had inspired many others to also do their best for the people.
Bayani’s sterling leadership shall always be a shining testament to what political will can do. In his three terms as mayor, he reshaped Marikina into a “squatter-free” city where its people take pride living in an urban model of harmony, orderliness, productivity, and discipline.
How Marikina was rejuvenated when more than 30,000 families of informal settlers occupying around 500 hectares of land were relocated within the city should encourage other cities to strive for a better quality of life whereby local officials inspire constituents to participate in community-building as government leads the way.
Not only is Bayani’s model city free of informal settlers; it has become a bastion of discipline, whereby people don’t walk around half-naked, where being litter-free and cleanliness have become a way of life, and where there are no illegal sidewalk vendors.
“As a leader, I cannot cry with the poor for if my eyes are blinded by tears, who will lead them out of poverty? The people would eventually realize that what we are doing is for everybody, especially the poor,” he used to say when he guested before in my Teleradyo program Sagot Ko ‘Yan. “It is what the people of Marikina realized when we implemented needed measures. They are now more politically matured because they are now reaping the good effects of discipline.”
In uplifting the plight of Marikina’s homeless in the late 1990’s when he was mayor, he said he needed to have “yung tamang puso at hindi pusong mamon (the right heart and not soft-heartedness)” in resolving issues to benefit the poor. His stance paid off when Typhoon Ondoy struck in 2009; had the Marikina riverbank not been cleared of squatters then, thousands would have perished.
Bayani said Marikina’s strategy of in-city relocation of informal settlers was simple: Follow the provisions of R.A. 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act (which I authored when I was senator) while putting great emphasis on consultations and ensuring that relocation areas are thoroughly prepared.
His leadership and vision at the helm of MMDA was also exemplary, leading to a lot of pedestrian footbridges and U-turn slots sprouting all over the metropolis to ease traffic. Being a mechanical engineer, he explained to me that the U-turns were necessary from an engineering point of view.
Rather than being popular, Bayani insisted in doing what is right. His tough measures to make Metro Manila “Metro Gwapo,” and clear streets and sidewalks of illegal vendors and all sorts of obstruction might have earned the ire of some sectors directly affected, but his tough stand earned the admiration of the youth who treated him like a rock star in his speaking engagements.
I would certainly miss Bayani who was my “kumpadre” as he was godfather to my eldest son. I would miss all those bonding moments we had during the 10 benefit concerts, where we performed together with the late Angelo Reyes, the former Defense Secretary.
We were dubbed by the media as the Three Tenors, sometimes jokingly called the “Three Terrors” because of the public perception that our government posts (I was then Interior and Local Government Secretary) supposedly exuded so much power.
Our benefit concerts raised millions of pesos for various charitable causes like the free legal assistance for good cops program, scholarship for the children of the military program, and for the multisectoral environmental group Green Army Foundation. We even had a benefit dinner-musical for the restoration of the St. Joseph Cathedral in Balanga, Bataan.
We sang ballads, folk songs, kundimans, even Christmas songs, in our concerts. Bayani was a great singer. I remember how he sparked so much laughter from the audience as he performed his rendition of Fred Panopio’s Pitong Gatang.
For his principled leadership, political will, pragmatic brilliance, endearing simplicity and humility, and a host of other virtues that catapulted him to the stature of a truly outstanding Filipino, the multi-awarded Bayani Fernando would be sorely missed by many, especially those whose lives he had uplifted.
My deepest condolences to Marides Fernando and to all his loved ones, and may the Good Lord grant him eternal peace! Farewell, kapatid! ([email protected])