19/11/2025
๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐
Four years have passed since Papa left us, yet there are days when his presence still feels near, as if he has only stepped out of City Hall for a moment. He wasnโt just a Mayor. He was my father. And lahi gyud ang paghinumdum sa anak. Many remember Papa as a mayor who was steady, principled, and approachable. Others remember him through the programs he championed, the crises he led us through during the pandemic, and the calm but firm leadership he offered the City of Cebu.
But for Eugene and me, we remember the late nights he spent on the road, the lessons he imparted, ๐ถ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ช๐บ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐จ๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ช๐ด๐บ๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ. He never believed in shortcuts. He read everything, listened to everyone, and showed up for everyone. ๐๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐บ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ถ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ชโ๐จ ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐บ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข ๐ต๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐บ๐ข ๐ถ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ช๐ถ๐ฎ.Those were habits formed over decades in the Council, as Vice Mayor, and eventually in the Mayorโs Office that I witnessed closer than most.
Growing up, Cebu almost felt like our third sibling because Papa invested so much care and attention into its well-being. But now, being in public service myself, I see why. Papa dedicated decades of his life to Cebu, as a councilor, vice mayor, mayor, and even long before that, as a lawyer in the Ombudsman and Tanodbayan. His journey was never about fame or power. It was about doing the work no matter how tiring and standing firm no matter how difficult.
As I revisit ordinances he once authored and policies he once defended, I see how deliberate he was in deciding what was good for the City. Itโs no question that he was one of the most prolific statesmen to serve in the council. Re-learning his work has been like retracing the foundations of his leadership.
In carrying forward his work, I am reminded daily that public service is a commitment, not a title. ๐๐จ ๐ด๐ข ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ถ๐บ๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข ๐ฌ๐ฐโ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฅ-๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฑ๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข ๐ด๐ช๐บ๐ถ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฅ, ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ข ๐จ๐ช-๐ฑ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ต๐ข ๐ฏ๐ช ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ข.
Because his principles are forever written in his oft-quoted line: ๐๐ข๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ขโ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ช๐ฌ๐ฐ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ด๐ข๐ฌ๐ฐ, ๐ฃ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ข ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐บ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ถ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ข๐บ๐ฐ.
We miss you, Papa. Rest well.
-- Jaypee Labella
