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“I look forward to the future when the next President of the Philippines does not come from the Senate but from mayors or governors,” Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, president of the Ateneo de Manila University, noted in his welcoming remarks during the launch of Frontline Leadership: Stories of 5 Local Chief Executives, a leadership study conducted by the Ateneo School of Government (ASG) and published by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), last December 5, 2007 at Bulan Restaurant in San Juan City.

The book delves into the leadership practices of local leaders who have made their mark in local governance and have inspired change and reform in their various localities away from traditional styles of politics and governance. “These are stories of resourceful officials in local governance who have endeavored to soar ahead even when they hovered over a sea of troubles in politics and personal life,” the back cover reads.

Edited by Angelita Gregorio-Medel, Margarita Lopa-Perez and Dr. Dennis Gonzalez, the study profiles 5 different but effective local executives, namely: Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga City, former Governor Josie de la Cruz of Bulacan, the “strict” former Governor Robert Lyndon Barbers of Surigao del Norte, former Mayor Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando, La Union, and a former “anonymous” governor from the Visayas.

The book project has been backed by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in efforts to bring stories of good local governance to the national consciousness. Klaus Preschle, country representative of KAS to the Philippines, remarked during the dinner program, “…the remaining task lies in the transmission of these stories of good local governance to the national level in order to sustain the great achievements on the local level we are celebrating tonight.”

The highlight of the evening featured a panel discussion between leaders former Governor Robert Lyndon Barbers and Mayor Mary Jane Ortega, and moderated by Ms. Marites Vitug, editor-in-chief of Newsbreak.

The evening was capped with closing remarks from Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña, who urged a wide dissemination of the publication to the public.

Copies of the book are available at the KAS office, 3F ALPAP 1 Bldg., 140 Leviste St., Salcedo Village, Makati City, Tel. no: 894 37 37 or email info@kaf-mnl.com for further information.