Jesse Robredo: A true friend, brother

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Here is the homily at the requiem mass for the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, as delivered by Fr. Kulandairaj Ambrose of the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP).

MANILA, Philippines – Here is the homily at the requiem mass for the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, as delivered by Fr. Kulandairaj Ambrose of the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP).

The homily was delivered on August 28, 2012, at the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia in Naga City.

YOUR EXCELLENCY, President Benigno S. Aquino; Mrs. Leni Robredo, wife of the late Secretary; their children, Aika, Tricia, and Jillian; family and relatives; Cabinet Secretaries, honorable John Bongat, Mayor of Naga City, national and local officials, representatives of foreign governments, members of the clergy and religious, my dear people of Naga, my dear Filipino people.

In an uncanny coincidence, the lifeless body of Secretary Jesse was found on the same day of the death anniversary of a great Filipino, Ninoy Aquino. Ninoy said “The Filipino is worth dying for.” And he proved it with his own death. Today, another great Filipino, Secretary Jesse Robredo, has shown by his life and death that every Filipino is worth dying for. To this great man, let us show our appreciation as we stand and put our hands together.

Thank you. If you feel the ground underneath shaking, please don’t worry. It’s not an earthquake. It’s most probably my knees that are trembling. Why me? That’s what came to my mind when Atty. Leni asked if I would celebrate and preach at this funeral mass for her late husband. Why me, a simple missionary priest working among the most forgotten ones in society? Why me? Then Atty. Leni said, “Father, that’s what Jesse would really want.” Yes, in death and in life, Secretary Jesse is a man of the ordinary people. I am honored and humbled to do this for a friend, a great man, and a champion of the poor.

I am a priest of the missionaries of the poor from Jamaica. Our mission is to shelter and care for abandoned children, special children, the disabled, and elderly who are homeless. We provide nutrition, health care, spiritual care for the indigent. For the past six years I have worked here in the Philippines in our mission center which is not far from here, on the same road, many of you might have passed there. I want to thank the family, especially his wife, for including the missionaries of the poor as one of the favored charities of the late secretary to which donations can be made. We will establish a free clinic for the poor in his honor.

Ten days ago when we heard the news about the plane crash followed by the discovery of Secretary Jesse’s body three days later, like you, like each and every one of you here, I was shocked by the suddenness and the seeming cruelty of it all. My mind was racing to find some logic in what seemed a senseless tragedy. Words simply seem to fail us in such situations.

But my brothers and sisters, we take comfort that the word of God never fails, and so we read in the book of Wisdom, Chapter 3, “The souls of the just are in the hand of God and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish, they seemed to have died and their departure was thought to be an affliction and their going from us to be their destruction. But they are at peace. They will receive great good because God tested them and found them worthy of himself. Like gold in the furnace, he tried them. Like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. They will govern nations and rule over peoples and the Lord will reign over them forever. ”

I stand here before you today not as a representative of government or politics not as an official representative of the church, not as a spokesman for the family, but I speak on the behalf of the countless poor and indigent, the tsinelas people to whom Secretary Jesse was a true friend and a big brother.

Allow me to share about this man we are honoring today from the personal perspective. I first met Jesse Robredo, twenty years ago on a rainy day in June 1992. I had accompanied our founder, Father – from Jamaica and our first visit to the Philippines. We were looking at the possibility of our ministry among the poor and the needy in this country. Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi welcomed us warmly to Naga and introduced us to then-Mayor Jesse Robredo because the good archbishop knew that like himself, Jesse had a heart for the poor.

We met at the urban poor location site at San Rafael. With Jesse was his young, beautiful wife, Atty. Leni and believe me, she has changed very little since then and their eldest daughter, Aika. Aika, I doubt you will remember this because you were still a tiny tot at the time.

Two things impressed me about Mayor Jesse and that first meeting: He was a man of the family and a man of the poor. We met again the next day, this time at the mayor’s office at the city hall. I was surprised, even a bit scandalized by what I saw as the mayor’s office. His office was a simple room with a large table, more like a family dining table. The mayor was seated at one end of the table and there were several people of all sorts sitting or standing around in the room. They were all seeking the mayor’s attention or assistance with some need. He was their father and they were his children.

And in the last six years that I have been here in the Philippines, Mayor Jesse, and later, Secetary Jesse and I have met so many times. Either at his office or more often than not, in our mission center in San Rafael. Jesse was there at every occasion we had. Sometimes he would simply drop by just to find out how we were doing or if he could be of help in any way.

One of the images of Secretary Jesse that I would carry with me to my grave happened at the height of typhoon Reming in 2006 when the winds were howling and the roofs were flying and the trees were falling. I was shocked when the mayor’s car drove into our center. Mayor Jesse came to find out if everyone was safe. I couldn’t believe he would risk his own life to make sure the poor were safe and well. I later found out that this was something mayor Jesse did every time there was a typhoon.

Then he was at my place every August 7 to wish me happy birthday. He was there during our free medical missions. He was there with his wife and the three girls every December 25 for the Christmas party with our poor for the gift-giving for the indigent before proceeding to his parents’ home for their Christmas dinner. Secretary Jesse was there whenever we needed him and he was there even when we didn’t need him. He felt comfortable with us and we felt comfortable with him. Maybe because we wore sandals. You may call it the tsinelas friendship, if you want. When he became cabinet secretary we thought we would not see him as often as before but I was wrong. Despite his busy schedule and high position, he still found time to visit us every now and then. And it was still the same Jesse Robredo with his casual attitude and boyish smile.

Secretary Jesse Robredo was a man with a golden heart, a brilliant mind, and steely will. He was a humble man. He was a man of compassion for the poor, the needy, and for everyone. Leaders must have a vision and a will. A vision without a will remains a fairytale and a will without a vision can be disastrous. Secretary Jesse had both vision and will and he fulfilled his mission. He was a man of the masses, the real Pinoy Big Brother to the countless nameless, faceless persons who make up the bulk of our society.

Secretary Jesse also had a great sense of humor. One time, he said to me, “Father, all my life, I have been after girls and women.” I was a bit stunned. Then he continued “You see, when I was a boy, it was my mother and my sisters, now, it’s my wife and three daughters.” Give his family a very big hand. Then I said to him “Okay, but it is also the talk of the town that you also have another woman in your life.” It was his time to be surprised and he said “Who is that?” Who is the other woman in the life of Mayor Jesse? Bicolanos’ Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Viva La Virgen! 

We both had a good laugh. I’m told that since the age of 16, Jesse has been a devotee of Ina. Year after year, without fail. Im sure next month he will be there with us for the Peñafrancia fiesta. Look for him. Secretary Jesse was a devout catholic, a god-fearing man.

It has now been revealed that he frequented the confessional, two, three times a month. He was a regular Sunday mass-goer and communicant. I was told by a common friend that it is not unusual to see Jesse slip into the adoration chapel in the Basilica early in the morning. Again, no fanfare, no blowing of his own trumpet.

Another quality that endeared Jesse to everyone, the elite and the lowly, the powerful and the weak, the VIPs and the VOPs. -you know who the VOPs are? The very ordinary people – is his inclusivist attitude in a time when people think with an exclusivist mentality. When human life is treated as a matter of human choice and people are considered as wanted or unwanted based on personal convenience or the availability of resources, Jesse made everyone feel wanted. He simply treated everyone with respect. He never complained that he did not have enough time or resources for so many who came to him but always found time for everyone. He might not have satisfied everyone’s needs but he made everyone feel that he cared.

For Jesse, every human life was sacred and a gift from God. Perhaps that’s why he loved our work so much. The deformed children, the disabled, rejected ones, whom society considers unwanted and a burden to development. My dear brothers and sisters, yes, every Filipino is worth dying for.

Secretary Jesse had time for everybody, you, me, everyone, except himself. He will drop by a barangay fiesta then go over to a meeting with some business people then stop at someone’s birthday party or wedding or a wake or whatever. He could take breakfast in Manila, have lunch in Cebu, and be back home in Naga for dinner with his family except that last trip. He was there for you. He was there for me. He was there for everyone. We all felt appreciated and accepted by Jesse. In his presence we felt no worry. He gave hope to many in hopeless situations. He was not afraid to walk the talk. He painted schools, scrubbed floors, cleaned drains, all while he was chief executive of this city and one of the highest officials in the land.

Secretary Jesse shared the name not only of our Lord Jesus but in his own humble way, he strived to live like him. He was a man truly poor in spirit because he desired nothing for himself.

As his wife said during the interview last week, he felt his cup was overflowing. He did not even dream the things that have come to him. He was satisfied with whatever he had. He sympathized with those who mourned. He hungered for justice and righteousness. He was humble and meek even when raised to the highest positions in the country. Secretary Jesse was not a perfect human being, but he was a true human being who treated every other human as true as himself.

Let me here, speak to the immediate family of the late secretary: Atty. Leni, Aika, Tricia, Jillian, siblings of the late secretary, thank you for sharing Jesse with us. You had to make sacrifices to let your husband, your father, your brother serve other people. for this, we all thank you. In you we see Secretary Jesse’s true spirit of humility and courage. Let me assure you also of the sincere condolences of the entire missionaries of the poor family around the world. When I heard the shocking news on Saturday, August 18, I immediately rang up our founder in Jamaica, and broke the news. He was stunned. He knew Jesse as a personal friend during his various trips to the Philippines. We assure you of our continued prayers and support for you always.

Seldom do people pass away doing what they loved doing. Secretary Jesse passed away doing what he loved the most: going home. Secretary Jesse, you liked to surprise people, but not in my wildest dreams did imagine that my last mass in Naga City before I leave for my next assignment in Jamaica this week will be your funeral mass.

Thanks for that surprise. Jesse Manalastas Robredo, devoted son, responsible brother, loving husband, caring father, humble servant of the people, champion of the poor, farewell. Indeed, you have fared well in this life, now fare well in the next.

Maraming salamat po Secretary Jesse for being a true friend of the common people. Ingat po. Dios Mabalos. – Rappler.com


Related Stories:


Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!