“No grand idea was ever born in a conference, but a lot of foolish ideas have died there.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald
Critics ribbed former Iloilo City mayors, Mansueto ‘Mansing’ Malabor and the late Rodolfo ‘Roding’ Ganzon, as “barriotic mayors;” the adjective barriotic is used to describe anything related to a small community. The two were given that label for not attending a single international conference for city mayors during their respective terms in the 1990s. While the latter may have traveled a lot while serving as senator from 1963 to 1969, being a “barriotic mayor” does not, in any way, diminish one’s effectiveness as a public servant.
Even without travelling abroad, Ganzon and Malabor were hands-on leaders who never showed any deficiencies in their service. In addition, while staying domestic may have prevented the development of global synergy, they managed to prioritize and pay attention to more practical and immediate social concerns.
Expanding globally
Iloilo City mayors began expanding their political, cultural, and economic horizons internationally when current Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry P. Treñas served as mayor from 2001 to 2010. As League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) national president, the then-mayor became a globetrotter, racking up over a dozen foreign trips – all associated with his position as mayor and LCP president.
When his successor Jed Patrick Mabilog took office in 2011, he also traveled the world – even taking fifth place for the 2014 World Mayor prize.
Incumbent Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III, who has been in office for nine months, already visited New York City last month as part of the Iloilo Trade Mission and Investment Forum, along with attending the World Cities Summit and Mayors Forum in Singapore earlier this month. Expect more travels if he wins reelection in 2019.
The Global Village
In this age of social media, cyberspace, and globalization, elected officials should travel and accept invitations abroad in order to connect with the rest of the world as a part of the global village. Interacting with foreign counterparts, along with participating in discussions and policy deliberations, are essential in order to upgrade leadership skills.
There are major annual conferences that seriously tackle bilateral modernization; trade; exchange programs; long-term infrastructure funding; along with paradigm shifts in environment, health, economic, tourism, education, culture, and other related concerns that require the physical attendance of city mayors and not necessarily heads of state./WDJ