President Benigno Aquino III told graduates of the Development Academy of the Philippines’ Master in Public Management-Local Governance and Development program that he believes in their ability to “make a massive difference” in the lives of their countrymen in the Yolanda Corridor even as he congratulated them for finishing a course that he says “can make it easier” for the government to deal with disasters like Typhoon Yolanda.
In his commencement address during rites held at the Rizal Hall in Malacañang last March 29, Aquino told the first batch of MPM-LGD graduates: “Engineering might not have been part of your curriculum, but I strongly believe that your 39 units in public management, local governance, development planning, and disaster risk reduction and mitigation can make it easier for us to prepare for disaster, undertake relief and recovery operations and, most importantly, Build Back Better – thus accelerating our progress.
“Your entry into our nation’s pool of experts will also help give government the capacity to pursue much-needed initiatives.”
Tacloban airport
Aquino pointed to a 2008 study that found the Tacloban airport as unusable because of flood during a storm surge, like what happened when Typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon in history to make landfall, hit in 2013. He thus told the 148 graduates, who all come from the 14 provinces that were hardest hit by the super typhoon, that the long-term solution to this problem is “complex.” This is because there is no scientifically sound way, he said, to make this particular airport “invulnerable” to future storm surges, and such a facility could therefore be moved to another area, making Tacloban “less central” to the local economy and thus breeding resistance among its residents.
It is there, the President said, where the graduates can make a difference. Referring to initiatives aimed at reducing risks during disasters, he said, “All these initiatives entail moving communities and developing others, and I believe this is why this course is so timely. You will be able to make a massive difference in the lives of your fellow Filipinos. Your task, at the local level, is to manage all possible concerns – whether it’s ensuring the safety of the people, addressing their issues on relocation, or planning the construction of infrastructure based on scientific evidence.”
Continuing the work
Aquino said he is glad that as he ends his tenure in three months, there are people to whom the responsibility of governance can be passed.
“I am glad that we have reliable graduates like you who can continue such work regardless of what happens in May,” the Chief Executive said. “At the end of the day, the fact is that we were hit hard by Yolanda, and lessons should be learned. I am hopeful that over the course of your careers, you can take all these lessons into consideration – together with what you’ve learned in school – and assist those who will have to demonstrate political will to take the right steps. You can make the process towards consensus that much easier to achieve, and I am thankful to our partners from the United States government, the Development Academy of the Philippines, and most of all to you, who have committed so much time and effort in the spirit of serving our fellowman.
‘Work with vigor and passion’
“I encourage you to always work with vigor and passion throughout your careers in public service,” Aquino continued. “Of course, obstacles will always be there, but my hope is that, in the most challenging situations, you can look back to your time at the Development Academy of the Philippines, and gather strength from the knowledge that you are not alone – that you batchmates, along with so many like-minded Filipinos – are working in pursuit of our collective progress, and that together, we will prevail.”
The MPM-LGD course graduated seven local government personnel with a diploma in Local Governance and Development and some 141 with a degree of Master in Public Management Major in Local Governance and Development. They were all sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development and came from provinces in the so-called Yolanda Corridor, which include Aklan, Antique, Biliran, Capiz, Cebu, Eastern Samar, Iloilo, Leyte and Tacloban, Negros Occidental, Samar, Masbate, Palawan, Dinagat Island and Southern Leyte. All graduates later received their diplomas and recognition at the Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria.
