00:00 I can actually confront any criticism and I'd be fine.
00:03 And now I've also learned to look at criticism in a very positive way.
00:07 Well, first I think it's here in Quezon City because of our size.
00:21 Let's be practical.
00:22 We're big.
00:23 And we have a lot of voters.
00:25 You know, so we can be quite independent here
00:28 because in a sense, you don't rely on higher-ups.
00:33 Because you just have this big territory of supporters, basically.
00:37 And you can afford to be independent.
00:39 So we can have our own perspective here,
00:43 our own way of walking,
00:44 that we're not afraid of.
00:45 And I think that's why we're a bit progressive here.
00:48 First, the universities and the government are here.
00:52 So you have the free thinkers here that will support you
00:55 with your more liberal ideas and your more liberal programs.
00:58 Here, the Commission on Human Rights is also here.
01:01 When you fight for rights,
01:03 for those who are not given equal rights,
01:06 like the LGBTQIA+ or even women,
01:09 yeah, they're here and you know that they will support you.
01:13 So when we launched the Right to Care Card,
01:15 basically a card gives same-sex couples
01:19 the right to make medical decisions for one another.
01:23 The first thing they gave as a thumbs up
01:26 was the Commission on Human Rights.
01:28 But then I was also surprised
01:29 because the DILG also recommended us for this program.
01:33 And so did the Department of Health,
01:36 specifically under Secretary Vergele.
01:39 Government and the general public
01:41 are ready for equal rights for the LGBTQIA+ Center.
01:44 But there are just some, I suppose,
01:47 some groups within Congress and the Senate
01:50 that are very, very conservative,
01:52 which is preventing equal rights
01:53 from being implemented in our country,
01:56 which is kind of sad.
01:57 But my view is that even if it doesn't happen in Congress,
02:00 doesn't happen in the Senate,
02:01 doesn't happen in the national government
02:03 because of conservative factions,
02:06 here in the city in general,
02:08 not just Quezon City,
02:09 but all other cities can be agents of change.
02:12 When Quezon City actually passed
02:14 the SOGI Equality Ordinance some time ago,
02:17 many cities followed suit.
02:20 Many other cities had followed.
02:22 But I also noticed that not all these cities
02:26 have implementing rules and regulations.
02:28 So it's possible that many of them just passed the measure,
02:32 that they were also shown to be progressive.
02:35 But it doesn't really mean anything
02:37 if you don't implement the law
02:38 or the ordinance that you passed.
02:40 And here in Quezon City,
02:41 we are one of three that have
02:43 implementing rules and regulations.
02:44 And we really support our ordinance here.
02:47 Why did you decide to build trust?
02:53 Well, I guess it's because like I mentioned earlier,
02:55 you have to build trust.
02:57 And I think for the last four and a half years of my term,
03:01 that's all I've been doing,
03:02 trying to build trust.
03:04 The very first executive order that I signed
03:06 was creating an internal audit service,
03:08 meaning an office or agency inside the city hall
03:13 whose main goal is to fix the problems inside.
03:18 Good housekeeping, in other words.
03:20 So fixing the processes within.
03:22 And then automate.
03:25 We digitized.
03:26 So we are, I think, one of the only cities
03:28 that is almost 100% automated.
03:31 And that for me is a very positive step
03:33 because it proves to the people
03:35 we are serious about eradicating corruption.
03:37 Because we know that most of the time,
03:39 the people in power,
03:41 they feel corruption
03:42 when they are transacting with government,
03:44 when they are paying their taxes,
03:45 when they're renewing their permits,
03:47 either they're taking their papers.
03:50 But through automation,
03:51 there's no face-to-face interaction.
03:54 There's no human element.
03:56 And they are able to do things faster.
03:58 Our automation is not just happening
04:01 in the business sector,
04:02 or in paying taxes,
04:04 or renewing a business permit.
04:05 Even when we provide social services.
04:08 All social services are accessible online
04:12 here in Quezon City.
04:13 So we have something called
04:14 Quezon City e-Services,
04:16 where there are 23 accessible services
04:18 for all our citizens.
04:19 Where these services can be accessed quickly,
04:24 without any red tape,
04:26 without being picked,
04:27 and without being forced.
04:28 Well, in the beginning,
04:35 not that well when I was young.
04:37 And of course, when I became mayor,
04:40 a few months later,
04:41 we had the pandemic.
04:43 And I think a lot of people
04:46 criticized me at that time.
04:47 It was very painful, of course,
04:48 to deal with.
04:50 Especially when I talked to
04:51 some of my fellow mayors
04:52 here in Metro Manila.
04:53 Notably, Mayor Moreno.
04:55 He was my matchmate,
04:56 even since he was vice mayor.
04:58 And I mentioned to him,
04:59 "Are you actually experiencing
05:00 this kind of negativity?"
05:02 And he says, "No, I think
05:04 people in Quezon City are harsh."
05:07 You know, he would kid.
05:08 But don't quote me that he said that.
05:10 But other mayors would say,
05:12 "The criticism is harsh to you
05:14 because we're going through
05:15 the same thing."
05:17 But whether that was
05:18 politically motivated,
05:20 or whether it was really a sign
05:21 of the discontent of the people,
05:22 at first, of course, it hurt.
05:24 But then I realized that when you,
05:27 you know, you distance yourself
05:29 from all of that,
05:29 and you just focus on your work,
05:32 that it's possible to actually do that.
05:34 To just shut off from social media.
05:37 So that's what I did.
05:38 I got off social media.
05:40 All of them.
05:41 And just concentrated on my work.
05:43 And then I decided that
05:44 I would not let anything
05:46 get in the way of how I did my job.
05:48 I would not read anything.
05:50 I would not listen to anybody.
05:51 I would just do my job, you know,
05:53 which is provide
05:54 quarantine facilities,
05:56 make sure that the COVID response
05:58 was good, and give
06:00 ayuda to the people that needed it.
06:02 You know, and later on,
06:04 I noticed and we all noticed
06:06 that the criticism was reduced.
06:08 So basically, in the start, it was tough.
06:11 When I was vice mayor before
06:13 and Mayor Bautista was abroad,
06:15 I also got severe criticism
06:17 because I failed to suspend school.
06:20 And I remember that very vividly
06:22 because according to Twitter,
06:24 I was the most hated person
06:25 in the country at that particular day.
06:29 And that was also quite painful.
06:31 And I even made the editorial
06:32 of several newspapers,
06:33 "Is it right?"
06:34 They started analyzing,
06:35 "Is it right that the mayor
06:36 should be the one to suspend?"
06:38 But that was also severe.
06:40 So two very severe episodes
06:43 were very good learning
06:45 experiences for me,
06:45 but they also toughened me up.
06:47 So now I feel that I can actually
06:50 confront any criticism
06:52 and I'd be fine.
06:53 And now I've also learned
06:54 to look at criticism
06:55 in a very positive way.
06:56 So now when I read something negative,
06:59 I don't see the negativity.
07:00 I just try to see
07:01 where is this person coming from?
07:03 But now I've already learned
07:04 how to distinguish a troll
07:06 from an organic loser.
07:08 And now when they criticize,
07:11 I think to myself,
07:12 "Okay, where did this person come from?
07:13 What is it that he really needs?
07:15 What did we lack?"
07:16 And then I look at it
07:18 from a very positive perspective,
07:20 and that's how I view criticism.
07:21 So number one,
07:23 I'm not a "balat-sibuyas."
07:25 I'm really tough.
07:26 I can actually go through
07:30 the rest of my term as mayor
07:32 without feeling anything
07:34 if I receive criticism.
07:35 I'm apathetic.
07:37 I don't know if that's a good thing
07:38 or a bad thing.
07:39 But I don't feel anything.
07:40 I'm not affected.
07:41 My two tough episodes
07:42 really helped.
07:44 I'm also humble.
07:45 Every time there's criticism,
07:46 I look at it as a humbling experience
07:48 that I still lack,
07:49 that I still need to work on.
07:52 There are still things that I'm not happy with.
07:54 So I look at it
07:55 from a positive perspective.
07:56 So I'm okay now.
07:58 Anybody can hurl anything at me
08:00 and I'll be fine.
08:01 I know how to handle it.
08:03 (upbeat music)
08:05 Yeah, at the moment,
08:08 I'm not considering higher office.
08:10 So no, it's tough.
08:12 It's a tough job.
08:14 Even if you have the right intentions,
08:16 like they say,
08:16 you might be good,
08:17 right intentions,
08:18 but there's the issue of money and maquinaria.
08:20 And that's the reality of things.
08:22 Luckily, that is not my dream in life.
08:24 My dream is just to make a difference
08:26 in the spaces that I've been given.
08:28 At this moment,
08:28 it's just the city.
08:30 So my goal is just to really improve the lives
08:33 of the people in this city,
08:34 give them what they deserve,
08:36 the kind of service that they deserve.
08:38 I wanna leave the city healthy financially.
08:40 I want to leave the city
08:42 where more people have choices in life,
08:44 where the youth are able to study,
08:46 get better education,
08:48 people, women have better opportunities.
08:50 I want to make this an innovative city,
08:52 the center of innovation.
08:54 I want this also to be the most inclusive city.
08:56 I want everybody to feel at home in this city,
08:58 that they are in a safe space
09:00 when they're in Quezon City.
09:01 I want this to be the center of good governance.
09:04 I want it.
09:05 My dream is that when people say,
09:06 "What is a well-governed city?"
09:08 The city where I don't have to pay taxes.
09:11 The city where I know that if I don't pay taxes,
09:15 they'll leave quickly.
09:17 They'll take my problems seriously.
09:20 I want that when they think about it,
09:22 Quezon City is on top of their minds.
09:24 That's it.
09:25 My dream is very simple.
09:26 (upbeat music)
09:29 (upbeat music)
09:31 (upbeat music)
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