Cagayan de Oro City – On Thursday night, I and my brother, Mlang Vice Mayor Lito and friends from Cotabato, took a long trip from Davao City to Cagayan de Oro City to pay my last respects to the public servant who literally changed governance in the Philippines.
Brought home to the city where he was once Mayor for a one night vigil at the city hall, his widow, Nanay Bing, and his children, including Senator Koko Pimentel, received friends and local officials who came to the necrological rites.
Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno and a few local government chief executives were there but it was not the number I expected given the late Senator’s contribution to local governance.
More than the passing of a great public servant, I was saddened by the absence of many Governors and Mayors of Mindanao in the rites.
Maybe, these Governors and Mayors have not fully appreciated how Nene Pimentel through his landmark Local Government Code made them so powerful today turning them into veritable Kings in their political turfs.
The Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA) which is the local governments’ share of the national financial pie empowered the LGUs to undertake projects using their own funds.
Time was when Governors and Mayors had to line up in Malacañang to ask for funds for simple governance activities.
Today, thanks to the IRA, the Governors and Mayors could respond immediately to the needs of their constituents.
In my view, the Local Government Code is the most important contribution to our nation building crafted by a single person, the late Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Tragically, not many of our current local executives realise that, otherwise they would have not missed the opportunity to say a prayer and bid goodbye to the man to changed governance in the Philippines.
But I am sure that Nene Pimentel, if he were alive, would not have felt bad because he was a leader who did not crave for recognition for the contributions he made to building a strong nation.
Goodbye Tatay Nene and thank you for your service to the people and the nation.
(Photos by MinDA Area Management Team Region X)
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