ROBREDO HIMSELF admits to his own failings as a public servant. He says that while he espouses a merit-based system in filling up the bureaucracy, it sometimes becomes a gray area when it comes to casual employees due to certain political considerations. In fielding a ticket, winnability in some cases becomes the decisive factor in the choice of candidates, contrary to the principle that the choices should represent a sector, and are excellent in their respective professions.

	BATTLE of the accomplishment billboards. It's obvious who the clear winner is. [photos by Alecks P. Pabico]

Robredo also says he does the kasal, binyag, libing (wedding, baptism, funeral) thing more often associated with traditional politicians. Though he has made it a practice not to give personal gifts when he gets invited to be a wedding and baptism sponsor, the libing part, he acknowledges, is "patronage in the sense that we (city hall) provide burial assistance to people who need it."

That he doesn't spend his own money, even to build a network of loyal followers, could be why he is described snidely as being kuripot (a tightwad). Robredo retorts, "The reason why we don't use our personal money in helping our constituents is because we really don't want to touch government funds. That's very basic here. In fact, even my employees know that we will not touch government money in city hall no matter what the needs are."

But there are more serious allegations against Robredo, one of them being that he has enriched himself in office. While there has been no formal accusations about him making money out of the purchase of lots for urban poor housing projects and the like, his accusers allege that Robredo either erred in the appraisal, issued defective authorizations, or that a land swap with the Church was disadvantageous to the government. His response to those who say he has acquired properties upland: "If there is any piece of land that I have illegally acquired or was given to me as a favor, they can have it as long as they can show that it's mine."

Robredo has over 70 graft cases with the Ombudsman. More than half of these, however, were filed by a single complainant, Emilio M. Aguinaldo, who seems to have made a hobby out of poring over the mayor's declarations in his annual statement of assets and liabilities (SAL). Aguinaldo, a former councilor, is identified with the Villafuertes. The Ombudsman has dismissed many of the cases against Robredo, either for lack of merit or lack of probable cause.

Most Nagueños brush aside the allegations — which usually resurface every election, says Gumba — for lack of any concrete evidence supporting these. Says one resident here: "He is living within his capacity. He lives in the same house, uses government vehicles. The only private vehicle they have is the one his wife uses." Fr. Tria also says, "He's open, transparent, and leads by example."

Still, Gumba thinks Robredo has been in power long enough. "In the context of democracy," he says, "if a leader stays too long, it's going to be counterproductive. It's not healthy. It's time that he moves out so other leaders can come in and so that we can also test the waters."

By that, he means the sustainability of reforms in a post-Robredo era. Will institutionalization of people empowerment through the NCPC be sufficient? Will the future local chief executive be as open or will he be confrontational? "These are unknowns and they are frightening," says Gumba.

"They will have to repeal the law (the People Empowerment Ordinance)," says Fr. Tria. Although he says Naga's electorate has shown maturity (the Villafuertes, despite their resources, have not won in Naga), the San Fernando parish priest is not confident they will always be so, and wonders how long Nagueños can continue to resist the trapos' vote-buying machinery.

Robredo muses, "Maybe it might happen in the future that they might make a wrong choice, probably for a term. But realizing that they made a wrong choice, they'll make the right choice the next time around…. I'm sure that what we've done will benchmark the things that anyone will do in the future. And that benchmark will make the people decide and make the right choices."

"Of course, some people will be influenced," he says. "But at the end of the day, they will realize their long-term interest is more important than these short-term gifts."