ENDEAVOR
Nicknamed Babes as he is the sixth and youngest child, former Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Lazo Singson received earlier this week the Management Person of the Year award from the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).
In his acceptance speech, he shared important highlights of his life, thanking his parents, wife and family, and those who mentored him through an illustrious career that has spanned more than five decades.
Fit and trim at age 76, he narrated highlights of his professional journey. He recalled that after the May 2010 elections, he received a call from then President-elect Noynoy Aquino’s search committee while he was on retreat with a Jesuit spiritual adviser. He recalled the scripture passage that guided him then:
“Enter through the narrow gate. The gate is wide and the road is wide that leads to hell, and many people enter through that gate. But the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to true life.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
After graduating with an industrial engineering degree from UP, he opted to join the Philippine Commission on Population (POPCOM), the country’s lead agency in the formulation of population and development policy.
I am privileged to have been Babes Singson’s Cabinet colleague as we both served with President Noynoy Aquino from day one, June 30, 2010, until his successor took office at noon on June 30, 2016. Remarkably, a Facebook post shows a portrait of “the man called Babes” and banners the slogan, “Daang matuwid, kaunlaran ang hatid” (The straight path delivers progress.) Last week, his closing speech at a forum on Diwa Kapwa keynoted a thematic variation, “Daang Matuwid: Paving the Road Less Travelled.”
This alluded to his avowed commitment to improve the country’s highway system which, according to the DPWH 2022 Atlas, consists of “a total length of 22,337.26 kilometers (13,879.73 miles) of concrete roads, 12,459.96 kilometers (7,742.26 miles) of asphalt roads, 342.02 kilometers (212.52 miles) of gravel roads, and 24.89 kilometers (15.47 miles) of earth roads, with a grand total of 35,164.13 kilometers (21,849.98 miles).” He noted that he is only the third DPWH Secretary to have served the entire term of the appointing President.
According to a DPWH news release: “...(I)n leading the State’s engineering and construction arm as its 42nd head, (Sec. Singson) advocates transformation and innovation in governance through transparency and accountability, ‘management by mission,’ preferential option for the poor, and public-private partnership.”
At the MAP awards program, he acknowledged his many mentors, among them Jose ‘Ping’ de Jesus and Aniceto ‘Chito’ Sobrepeña, with whom he worked during the Cory Aquino presidency. Ping served initially as Secretary of the Cabinet – with Chito as his deputy – before he was named Public Works Secretary .
Babes took charge of all in-country field visits of the President as assistant secretary of the Cabinet. He recalled that President Cory visited at least 54 provinces, from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi; hence, he experienced sleeping on school desks and office tables. He went on to serve as Undersecretary in charge of overseeing all major foreign-assisted programs.
He credits Chito with inviting him to Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon (The Lord’s Glory). This family-based organization is affiliated with the Federation of Trans-Parochial Communities in the Archdiocese of Manila. It is also linked with Christ the King Association, an international organization of Catholic covenant communities.
I recall a Cabinet meeting sometime in early 2012 that was held after it was known that the country posted a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 3.9 percent in 2011, the first full year of the PNoy administration; this compared unfavorably with the 7.3 percent GDP growth in 2010 that was split between the two administrations in transition.
Sec. Babes told the President that the DPWH was unable to fully execute its budget – second largest after DepEd – as he needed to cleanse its ranks. He retired almost 200 senior officials and hired in their place young cadet engineers to inject fresh blood and improve the quality of governance in what was concededly one of the most graft-ridden agencies. This paid off as the country eventually posted a six-year average of better than six percent, arguably the highest in the post-EDSA period.
He shared with the MAP audience how he fended off criticisms from those who faulted him with favoring those in the opposition by pointing out that their constituencies covered important national roads that were in a state of disrepair from decades of apparent neglect.
He thanked his wife of 54 years, the former Isabel ‘Binggay’ Nepomuceno; they have four children and four grandchildren. He said that at 76, he remains physically active, citing ballroom dancing as a favorite pastime.
For MAP, Singson more than satisfactorily complied with the award criteria, namely: “contribution to nation-building and values formation; effective stewardship within the confines of the highest standards of business and management practice, as well as integrity, leadership, and management qualities.” He was also cited for his share in "reshaping national values" due to his “ethical conduct, humility and spiritual uprightness.”
I consider myself truly fortunate to have known Babes Singson as an esteemed colleague and friend. He is truly the quintessential person for others. I echo what he said as he ended his acceptance speech: To God be the glory!
Comments may be sent to [email protected]