Joy Belmonte is Esquire's Maverick of the Year
Mayor Ma. Josefina "Joy" Belmonte is running the only city in Metro Manila that seems to make sense. Despite the odds, Quezon City has become a beacon of urban progress. "[The public] has become skeptical and cynical," she says. The good mayor hopes to change that. Read the story here: http://surl.li/neric
Every year, Esquire Philippines’ Man at His Best honors extraordinary Filipinos who are reshaping society. These are the movers and shakers who are raising the bar for Filipinos in a wide variety of industries and disciplines.
#EsquireMAHB2023 #EsquireManAtHisBest See less
Mayor Ma. Josefina "Joy" Belmonte is running the only city in Metro Manila that seems to make sense. Despite the odds, Quezon City has become a beacon of urban progress. "[The public] has become skeptical and cynical," she says. The good mayor hopes to change that. Read the story here: http://surl.li/neric
Every year, Esquire Philippines’ Man at His Best honors extraordinary Filipinos who are reshaping society. These are the movers and shakers who are raising the bar for Filipinos in a wide variety of industries and disciplines.
#EsquireMAHB2023 #EsquireManAtHisBest See less
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CreativityTranscript
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)