Pedro Hernaez was assemblyman and representative of the Second District of Negros Occidental, which used to include Bacolod. He later became Senator of the Republic.

On June 18, 1938, the City of Bacolod was created by virtue of Commonwealth Act No. 326 or the “Charter of the City of Bacolod” signed by President Manuel L. Quezon. The bill, which was approved by the First National Assembly of the Philippines, was principally authored by Hernaez.

Hernaez-Magsaysay revealed that Batapa-Sigue reminds her of her father and public officials in the old days who were known for their honor, values, credibility and integrity in public service.

She said in the old days, or during the time of her father, public officials really have good values. She said this is important because with good values, public officials earn respect from their constituents.

She also said Batapa-Sigue is like Bro. Eddie Villanueva, for her transparency in government dealings. Villanueva, founder of Jesus is Lord Church, is also chairman of the newly-launched Bagong Pilipinas, Bagong Pilipino Movement.

“When I first saw her, I could sense already that she is a good person. She exudes an aura of positive energy,” Hernaez-Magsaysay said.

“Councilor Jocelle Batapa-Sigue is a woman whose heart is in the right place. She is intelligent and is aware of the things around her. She knows how to reach out and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, especially for those who have less in life,” she said.

“Even before I met her, she was already known as a doer. She has performance to show. She is young but she can make things happen. She has the capability to reach out to others. These are essentially the traits of a good leader,” she said.

She shared that she first met Batapa-Sigue on June 18 last year when the city government invited the Hernaez family to join them in celebrating the 70th Charter Anniversary of Bacolod.

She added that Bacolod used to conveniently celebrate the Charter Day in October but last year, the city government decided to be historically accurate and moved it in June.

Hernaez-Magsaysay also shared that “If you are a leader, you have to be ahead of your people. But more important than intelligence is the inner integrity that can make a leader become good and effective.”

“It is also important that you are intelligent to understand the law. Everyone has relatively basic common sense to help run the country. But a good intellectual background coupled with inner integrity are important,” she said.

“Now we have so many laws and regulations, yet they could also be a source of corruption. Corruption seems to be escalating. It turns from bad to worse. Corruption seems to pervade in all areas of the government,” she lamented.

“In my father’s time, politicians were honorable. Now the word politician has become a derogatory title. People are cynical,” she said.

“If you are running for public office, you have to ask yourself, what values are you offering to the community,” she stressed. She added that people are really clamoring for “change.” She said that must be because people are tired of the traditional governance of our aging leaders.

She added that she is really encouraging the youth to be active in exercising their suffrage.

“The future is for the young. The old ones have already lived their lives. I really want to see more young people to be involved in politics because the future is theirs,” she said.

“I think it is also important for older people to encourage younger people to take active role in shaping the country’s future,” she said.

“My father belonged to the generation of public officials who genuinely wanted to serve the country. They do not take advantage of their position. They really have Idealism to change the country. Their end-goal was always for the betterment of the people,” she added.*