Alan and I were together at West Point. I was ahead of him by two years. Physically fit, he was the one who kept me at the right pace for me to pass my 2-mile run in the Army Physical Readiness Test. We ran together, regardless of the weather, and went to the gym as often as possible to keep me in shape. We also shared a few vacations when we were cadets, where I witnessed his leadership potential at his early age.
Alan Cordova served the Philippine Army very briefly. As soon as he became a lawyer, he practiced law in Dumaguete City. He and I also worked together very briefly at the Bureau of Immigration. What surprised most of his colleagues, both in the military and legal profession, was his desire to serve the country in a different yet challenging capacity—be a voice of his constituents in Dumaguete City. On a shoestring budget, he ran for city councilor as an independent candidate in 2007. He took the 8th slot out of 10 available seats in the council of the City of Gentle People. In 2010 he ran and won again, this time as vice mayor. Running without any party affiliations, Alan is currently the top councilor in the city.
As a new member of the city council in 2007, Alan worked long hours, engaged all the people in the city, and introduced game changing ordinances. For instance, Alan turned representatives of PO’s NGOs, CSOs and other marginalized sectors, as quasi-members of City Council standing committees. This simple yet unique innovation of allowing these sectors to debate on the floor, propose ordinances and author resolutions gives them an active voice in policy-making. The presence of these sectors theoretically made city ordinances more reasonable, more proactive and genuinely responsive. In Alan’s words, their presence also “provided accountability for councilors who otherwise are too lazy to think of solutions or even attend committee meetings.” The concept is so revolutionary that other local governments in the province are in fact introducing the same thing—sectoral representation although without voting rights.
When asked what is his secret in winning elections despite the obvious lack of funds, he shared that there is no substitute for hard work. He did not take any short cuts for him to be known in the community. His passion to make things better is what drives him to serve. Aside from having gone to good schools like West Point and Silliman University, Alan has the charisma to be able to talk to all kinds of people. He has the boyish smile that can disarm the harshest critic. When he decided to run for public office, he wanted to be very different from the usual politicians who Alan considers as virtually indifferent to the plight of the ordinary Dumagueteño. Prior to entering government service, Alan felt that he and the ordinary mortals in his city were mere statistics in the eyes of the traditional politicians, something to be exploited come election time by way of dole outs and political gimmicks. Alan neither belongs to a powerful political family nor does he have vast financial resources to run a campaign using guns, goons and gold. Alan simply worked hard. Going around the city, I managed to talk to street vendors, hotel and restaurant employees, security guards, using my rudimentary knowledge of the Visayan dialect. And much to my delight, they all have a certain degree of fondness toward Councilor Cordova who they simply call as “Alan.” He achieved a “rock star” status and made himself a household name because of sheer hard work coupled with some charisma and competence.
In the Bible, Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” We can all build or destroy a good name in our lifetime. Knowing him during our cadet days, Alan never desired fame and fortune. In the same way, these quasi members of the city council only yearn for a good name, not for themselves but for the sectors they represent in particular, and for the people in Dumaguete in general.
Relatedly, the Fellowship of Christians in Government will be having its annual fellowship on November 8, 2018, in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, with participants from over 50 different agencies in Metro Manila. The mission of FOCIG is to mentor and empower strategic public servants to advance righteousness, peace and joy. This year’s theme, “Transformative Leadership: Managing Your Wealth,” will definitely give participants a different yet eternal perspective, hopefully similar to how Alan Cordova manages his wealth of a good name as a servant leader.
Servant leadership transcends the interest of the leader or even his own constituents. A true servant leader like Alan Cordova seeks to develop the people around him and improve the community he swore to serve. This is what I call as the “Cordova effect.” He sees himself as an ordinary politician. I agree to a certain extent, but I see him just as another person who simply lives up to the core values of our alma mater, Duty Honor Country.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.