Teacher Neric Acosta for Senator

Friends, I’m posting this here because I think Mr Regilme’s voice needs to be heard by Filipinos who are looking for the non-traditional politicians – people who will really contribute to the progress of our nation. Thanks – Lester Cavestany

Teacher Neric Acosta for Senator
by Salvador Santino Regilme, Jr.

BRUSSELS, Belgium – I would try to make this very simple and relatively more phenomenological. It is election time again in the Philippines and, possibly, through this simple note, I may be able to articulate some of my thoughts on the coming elections, particularly on the contestation for seats in the Senate, despite the fact that my political activism is somehow hindered by being part of the Filipino diaspora. So let me start:

While studying and serving as an academic staff of one of the country’s leading political science departments, I met Sir Neric Acosta through a good friend and graduate studies colleague. I met Sir Neric, who was also a teaching staff at the same department at that time, through an initiative called “Lipad Pinoy. It endeavours “to return to and embrace every Filipino’s basic goodness and excellence – from whence shall emerge a collective Filipino consciousness of greatness, a re-imagination of a proud country, of a fully capable people standing shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the world”. On my first meeting with Sir Neric, I was completely astonished with his sincerity, intelligence and deep passion to contribute towards national development. Several months before commencing my studies here in Europe, I joined Sir Neric’s team in “Lipad Pinoy” where we organized seminars, talks and similar initiatives in several universities and colleges that would strongly emphasize the goodness and excellence of the Filipinos – values which were absolutely undermined by the politics of negativity and “trapo-ism”. Notably, with his sincerity, deep knowledge of public issues and a charismatic character, he was able to garner strong support and approval from his audiences in all of our initiatives. True enough, exceptional leaders like Neric Acosta reinvigorated my optimism that Philippine politics still has hope.

Indeed, echoing Obama’s politics of hope, I sincerely believe that Neric Acosta could be the “Obama” of the Philippine Senate (and Philippine politics) who will then bring a politics of hope in the years to come.

First, Neric is arguably the most qualified candidate in terms of academic training. Does academic training really matter? It does matter, since legislative work and serving the Philippine Senate entails being able to have the appropriate training to deal with the complex problems of public interest. Indeed, Neric is both a public policy academic and an exceptional leader who aims to advance public interest. He earned his Master’s in Public Affairs at Indiana University in Pennsylvania and a Doctorate in Political Science at the University of Hawaii in Manoa and took several leadership courses at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. His excellent academic training ultimately signifies that he took all the pain and sacrifices to prepare oneself in dealing with the multifaceted complexities of the public policy landscape. Being a national legislator is a serious job. It requires creative thinking and an excellent praxis orientation. Neric Acosta indeed fits such criteria.

Second, his academic and professional training is very much well complemented by his astonishing record of service in the Philippine House of Representatives and the wider community. Being a legislator for Bukidnon for three consecutive terms (1998-2007), Neric principally authored environmental laws on solid waste management, biodiversity and pollution in the Philippines and led the Philippine Climate Change Imperative. His inspirational and results-driven public policy leadership can also be reflected in his involvement in the fields of education, environmental, peace and developmental issues. Considered as a very promising leader in public policy, Neric Acosta, in 2004, joined several accomplished men and women all over the world to be the first Filipino World Fellow of Yale University in the United States through which he was able to further enhance his personal and professional horizons and to prepare for the greater demands of policy leadership. Despite being enmeshed in serving the community through active public policy leadership, Neric is also known for being an excellent teacher and researcher as he taught political science and policy leadership courses at leading academic institutions in the country.

Third, I strongly believe that Neric Acosta has indubitable sincerity and unparalleled passion to advance public interest in the Philippines. I am sure that his unquestionably excellent record of public service as an academic, legislator, political studies expert and public policy leader deserves to be commended by voting him in this coming national election in May 2010. A vote for him is a vote for a truly deserving candidate. Considering Neric Acosta’s impeccable record of public service, I am absolutely sure that a Senate seat would further give him bigger opportunities to serve the country well. I am also sure that he will make use of these opportunities with a deep concern for public interest and with prudent and critically-informed judgment.

Lastly, David Ellwood of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University once said: “Ask what you can do means focusing on something larger than yourself. Ask what you can do for your community, for your country, for our world. It’s fundamentally about service” .

Indeed, Neric Acosta, with all his intelligence and exceptional academic training, sacrificed a lot of bigger opportunities by entering the challenging and possibly an unrewarding world of Philippine politics with the pure commitment of courageously advancing national interest. Neric is a leader who indeed focused “on something larger” than himself. He served his community in Bukidnon very well through his development initiatives. He served the academic community by being an excellent teacher in political science and a promising social science researcher. At the national level, he has proven his excellent capabilities as a legislator by being the principal author of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. He is deeply committed to serve our country. And globally, being a promising public interest leader, Neric Acosta has a deep passion for humanity and global development.

Please vote for Neric Acosta in the Senatorial Elections. He truly deserves a Senate seat.

About the Author: Salvador Santino Regilme, Jr. is currently studying Democratic Governance and Civil Society (Public Policy) at the Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Osnabrueck, Lower Saxony, Germany, where the German Political Science Association is headquartered. He previously studied German in Goettingen, Germany.

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