Pateros Mayor Miguel Ike Ponce III is bidding farewell to his post after serving for three consecutive terms or a total of nine years.

On June 30, Ponce will turn over his position to incoming Mayor Gerald German who previously served as municipal administrator and Pateros vice mayor. German was elected as the new mayor in the May 12 national and local elections.

Ponce started his term as mayor in 2016 and was reelected for his second and third terms in 2019 and 2022.

In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Ponce said he is feeling sad about leaving his post but puts his trust in German in leading Pateros.

“Siyempre, mixed feeling. Malungkot dahil nga yung nakasanayan mong ginagawa for the last nine years, at hands-on ka sa lahat ng programa ng gobyerno ay iiwanan mo ano? (Of course, mixed feelings. Sad because you will leave what you've been doing for the last nine years, and you're hands-on with all government programs),” he said.

He added, “Malungkot kasi gusto mo pa rin syempre ikaw yung namamahala dahil nag-aalala ka na baka merong maiwanan, merong mapapabayaan pag wala ka na. Although malaki naman yung tiwala ko sa papalit kasi yung papalit sa akin kasi ay anim na taong vice mayor ko at tatlong taong municipal administrator ko, no? Iisa yung aming direksyon at naka-align naman yung mga programa namin. Kaya nando doon pa rin ang ating tiwala. Pero syempre, nando doon pa rin yung kalungkutan dahil alam mo na, nasanay ka na bigla mo nalang iiwanan (It's sad because you still want to be in charge, of course, because you're worried that something might be left behind, something might be neglected when you're gone. Although I have a lot of trust in my successor because the one who will replace me was my vice mayor for six years and my municipal administrator for three years. Our direction is the same and our programs are aligned. That's why trust is still there. But, of course, the sadness is still there because you know, you will suddenly leave behind something that you've gotten used to).”

He said a small part of what he is feeling is that starting July 1, when he is no longer the mayor, the many problems of municipal government will be unloaded from him.

“Although, syempre, hindi mo rin naman talaga totally pwedeng kalimutan ito dahil mahal natin ang bayan natin. Mahal natin yung mga mamamayan. Poproblemahin mo pa rin talaga yung problema ng bayan (Although, of course, you can't completely forget this because we love our town. We love our citizens),” said Ponce.

Ponce said as of now, he does not have any concrete plans on what he will do next.

“Wala pa akong konkretong plano. Siguro, mamamahinga muna ako ng isang buwan. Sa pamilya muna (I don't have any concrete plans yet. Maybe I'll take a month off. With my family first),” he said.

Ponce is a lawyer and said he has received offers for consultancy jobs.

“Pero pinag-iisipan kong maigi kung saan tayo papakinabangan ng ating kapwa at ating pamilya. (But I'm thinking carefully about where we can benefit others and my family),” he said.

Manila Bulletin asked Ponce what he considered as his three most important achievements as mayor.

“Well, ang tingin ko talaga kasi ang number one na achievement ko ay talagang nabago ko yung pagkilala ng tao sa buong Pilipinas sa aming bayan. Tingin ko mas nakilala kami sa hindi lang sa National Capital Region kundi sa buong Pilipinas bilang isang local government sa kabila ng kaliitan namin (Well, I really think my number one achievement is that I have really changed the way people in the entire Philippines recognize our town. I think we have become more recognized not only in the National Capital Region but in the entire Philippines as a local government despite our small size),” said Ponce.

In Metro Manila, Pateros is the only municipality and has the smallest population and land area. It has a total population of 65,227 based on the 2020 Census and a land area of 10.4 sq. km.

He added, “Palagay ko nakuha namin yung respeto. Palagay ko nakuha namin yung paghanga ng ibang leader ng ibang bayan, ng ibang siyuad lalong-lalong na noong panahon ng pandemya (I think we have earned respect. I think we have earned the admiration of other leaders in other towns, other cities, especially during the [Covid-19] pandemic).”

“Pangalawa, siguro sa napakarami nating na-introduce ng mga magagandang bagay sa ating bayan, yung infrastructure development, kung saan ay kinilala rin tayo Excellence in infrastructure development, at tayo ay nabigyan ng yung tinatawag nating SubayBAYANI Award. Kinilala tayo diyan. Iilan lang naman na mga local government ang nabibigyan niyan (Second, maybe because we have introduced so many good things to our town, infrastructure development, where we have also been recognized for Excellence in infrastructure development, and we have been given what we call the SubayBAYANI Award. We have been recognized there. Only a few local governments are given that),” he said.

He added, “Pagkatapos, yung sistema ng pamamahala sa ating bayan ay nabago rin natin. Marami tayong pagbabago sa computerization system natin. Ang tingin ko mas safe ang Pateros ngayon dahil nasimulan ko yung command center, na kung saan namomonitor ng lahat, bagamat hindi pa natapos ito, at patuloy rin ang gagawing pag-enhance nito, at nakapag-instill tayo ng magandang disiplina sa ating mga kababayan (Then, we have also changed the system of governance in our town. We have made many changes in our computerization system. I think Pateros is safer now because I started the command center, where everyone is monitored, although it is not finished yet, and its enhancements will continue, and we have been able to instill good discipline in our countrymen).”

Ponce said what he will miss is serving the people of Pateros.

“Mami-miss ko yung pagsisilbi sa ating mga kababayan. Dahil kaya ko magsilbi sa bayan ngayon, pero iba yung nagsisilbi ka at the same time may authority ka to execute yung plano mo. Kaya ngayon, kaya ko in my own private capacity, I can still go on and proceed with my desire to serve the public but in a very limited sense na, we have to understand (I will miss serving our citizens. Because I can serve the municipality now, but it’s different when you are serving but at the same time you have the authority to execute your plan. So now, in my own private capacity, I can still go on and proceed with my desire to serve the public but in a very limited sense, we have to understand),” he said.

In the last two weeks, he said he has been feeling overwhelmed by what his employees at the Pateros municipal hall have been doing as they said goodbye to him.

“Well, alam mo, overwhelmed ako dahil sa pinakikita sa aking pagmamahal nung aking mga tauhan. Lahat ng ahensya sa amin magmula pa noong siguro about two weeks ago. Walang ginawa raw-araw ko hindi papurian ako. Puntahan ako. Maraming beses na ako na surpresa, dahil akala ko natural na programa lang yung pala hinanda nila para sa akin ( (Well, you know, I'm overwhelmed by the love my staff has shown me. All the agencies here since about two weeks ago. They haven't done anything but praise me, visit me. I've been surprised many times, because I thought it was just a natural program but they prepared something for me),” he said.

He added, “So, masasabi ko na ang atmosphere generally ay talagang malungkot sila hindi dahil sa ayaw nila akong palitan pero dahil mami-miss nila ako (So, I can say that the atmosphere in general is that they're really sad, not because they don't want to replace me but because they're going to miss me).”

On his future political plans, Ponce said as of now, he does not have any plans to go back to government service.

“Well, sa ngayon, wala akong plano, wala akong plano bumalik, wala akong, well, siguro, wala akong plano sa gobyerno. In that sense, siguro, insofar as my plans are concerned e baka pwedeng sabihin na nagkaroon na ng katapusan ang aking political life. But of course, we cannot dictate what is going to happen in the future (Well, for now, I have no plans, I have no plans to return, I have no, well, maybe, I have no plans to go back to government service. In that sense, maybe, insofar as my plans are concerned, you could say that my political life is over. But, of course, we cannot dictate what is going to happen in the future),” he said.

Ponce said, “So posibleng mag-open up uli ang panibagong opportunity sa public service. Ready naman and willing tayo to accept kung nakikita naman nating magiging mabuti para sa bayan natin (So it is possible that a new opportunity in public service will open up again. We are ready and willing to accept if we see that it will be good for our country).”

He said if German, the incoming mayor, will ask him for advice, he will tell him to give 100 percent of his time to public service like what he has done.

“Kapag ibinigay mo talaga ang iyong dedication, you will never go wrong. Definitely, ili-lead ka ng Diyos sa maganda at ma-a-attain mo yung lahat ng magandang pangarap mo para sa bayan (If you really give your dedication, you will never go wrong. Definitely, God will lead you to the good and you will attain all your good dreams for the country),” said Ponce.