Mayor Jesse M. Robredo
Naga City


MAYOR Jesse Robredo is among the country’s most esteemed civil servants, having received the prized Ramon Magsaysay Award for Governance in 2001.

Jesse Robredo returned to his post as mayor of Naga City in June 2001 after a short hiatus. His first term extended from 1988- 1999, during which time he transformed Naga
City into what it is today. During his two-year break, he went to Harvard University to obtain a Masters Degree in Public Administration.

The innovative style of governance introduced by Mayor Robredo in the city of Naga could be attributed to his business background. In the wake of the People Power Revolution in 1986, Robredo responded to President Corazon Aquino’s call to public service. He abandoned his executive position in San Miguel Corporation to head the Bicol River Basin Development Program in Naga, his hometown. In 1988, he ran for election as mayor and won. He was only twenty-nine then. He would later serve the city for an unprecedented five three-year terms as local chief executive.

Cited in 1999 by Asiaweek Magazine for transforming Naga City from a lethargic Philippine city into one of the Most Improved Cities in Asia, Robredo energized the bureaucracy, dramatically improved the constituency’s stakeholdership and participation in governance and restored Naga to its preeminent position as the premier city of the Bicol Region. Naga was considered a model local government in the country and a laboratory of local government innovation.

When he is not in City Hall, Robredo likes bike, play basketball and just spend time with his children. He says that if he were not the mayor, he would most likely be engaged in business or teaching at the University. Robredo’s stint as a public servant has definitely instilled the passion to serve his fellow Filipinos. When he leaves his Mayor’s hat behind, he plans to work for an NGO or enrich the minds of the Filipino youth. He is politically aligned with the Liberal Party of the Philippines of which he is a proud member.