The opposite of epal: 4 honest public servants who would make Sec. Jesse proud

When DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo passed away last August, many wondered: are there still good men and women like him left in government? To answer this question, GMA News TV’s “Investigative Documentaries” sought out stories of good and honest public servants. Their stories prove that even though Sec. Robredo has passed on, there remain to be a number of competent, upstanding professionals in the government who are dedicated to serving the Filipino people.

Eddie Pangilinan Nursing Attendant, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital Screengrab taken from "Investigative Documentaries."  

In 1958, Eddie Pangilinan was a leprosy patient at Central Luzon Sanitarium in Caloocan City.  After he was cured of leprosy in 1988, he went on to work at the same hospital as a janitor. Over the years, he worked his way up to become a nursing assistant.  Despite his lack of a formal education, Eddie has now been a nursing assistant for over a decade at the hospital, which has since been renamed to Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital. To date, he has spent 50 years of his life in the same hospital. Because he experienced leprosy first hand, Eddie wanted to serve and take care of the hospital’s other patients.  For his service, he was awarded the Dangal ng Bayan award in 2001, an honor given to the country’s most outstanding government employees. While he appreciates the personal recognition, he hopes that his story proves that one can live a full and meaningful life even after battling with a disease like leprosy. Says Eddie: “Pinagmamalaki ko ‘yan, na naging puhunan ko lang naman, sipag. Wala akong ibang puhunan na binigay kung hindi ganoon lang.”    

Supt. Eric Noble Philippine National Police (PNP) Screengrab taken from "Investigative Documentaries."  

According to a 2011 Pulse Asia report, the Philippine National Police is perceived to be the second most corrupt government agency. Despite this perception, the police force still has good men who work to improve the image of the PNP. One such cop is Police Supt. Eric Noble, who is currently Chief of Police at the Santa Barbara Police Station in Pangasinan.   Supt. Noble has served on the PNP for around two decades and has held various high positions over the years.  While he was Deputy Chief of the Personal Accounting Unit of the PNP, he helped discover over 100 “ghost” employees of the PNP —policemen who were on payroll even if they never repoted to work, were absent without leave, or even dead.  This discovery allowed the PNP to save P3 million a month worth of payroll funds. When he was assigned in Bulacan, Noble also spearheaded a feeding and literacy program for poor students and street children. For his excellent police work, Supt. Noble was awarded in 2009 by the Metrobank Foundation as one of the Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS). Just this year, he was also awarded the Presidential Lingkod ng Bayan Award, the highest and most prestigious national government award. Honest police officers like him have to work extra hard to regain the trust of the public, a challenge he proudly embraces: “Naniniwala ako na, ‘Transform the police force and you can transform the nation.’ If every policeman will do good, naku, ewan ko na lang! Siguro ang bansa natin ay mabilis ang pag-angat lalo.”  

MSgt. Juana Hernal Office of the Asst. Chief of Staff for Education and Training, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Every year, Metrobank Foundation holds a search for The Outstanding Philippine Soldiers to honor the country’s unsung heroes. One of this year’s awardees is MSgt. Juana Hernal who has been with the armed forces for over two decades now. Since entering the army in 1989, her work has been centered on educating and training her fellow soldiers. She also made the Philippines proud when in 2006 she became the first international student to get a grade of 99.2 percent in a financial management training course at the Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. But MSgt. Hernal is more than an overachieving soldier. Hero Hernandez, the Project Officer of Metrobank Foundation, says:  “Ang isa sa mga natatanging accomplishment na naaalala ko kay MSgt. Hernan ay bukod sa kanyang accomplishment sa pagiging miyembro ng AFP, mayroon siyang 22 scholars na pinapaaral buhat sa kanyang sariling kinikita.”  

Dr. Romulo Davide Professor Emeritus, University of the Philippines-Los Baños Dr. Romulo Davide is second from right. Photo Credit: GMA News Online. Seventy-eight year old agriculturist Dr. Romulo Davide, professor emeritus at the College of Agriculture in UP-Los Baños, made life better for millions of Filipino farmers by developing BIOCON, a more affordable and environment-friendly pesticide used against nematodes or roundworms, a vicious pest that kills plants and crops. Davide’s innovation does not just benefit farmers in the Philippines, but now even farmers from all over the world, as BIOCON is now sold worldwide. After winning a cash prize for his scientific work in 1994, Davide also started the Farmer Scientists Training Program, which educates and trains farmers in over 20 provinces around the country. “I am farming the minds of the public. That is our battlecry: empower the farmers through socio-economic progress,” he says. “My father told me, ‘There is no barren soil, only barren minds’.” Last August, Dr. Romulo Davide was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his service to the Filipino farmers. -Angel Bombarda, PF/GMA News