As our beloved Dumaguete stands on the threshold of a new chapter, we take a step back, and look not out of nostalgia, but out of humble gratitude.
For years, we have grown used to a brand of leadership that is as rare as it is just remarkable. One that was relentless in performance, but gentle in spirit. One that pushed boundaries while listening to the smallest voices.
With Mayor Felipe Antonio “Ipe” Remollo stepping down, we cannot help but wonder what lies ahead.
The uncertainty is real, and yet, true to form, he gives no space for worry, only quiet reassurance that he will still be around. Ready to help. Ready to serve. As he always has.
Mayor Ipe has been many things to many people: a builder, a listener, a fighter, a friend.
But for the often-unheard, especially the minorities, the laborers, the quiet corners of our community, he was their voice. He gave ears where there were none. He paid attention where it mattered most. For once, he allowed people to matter, to be seen.
And while he lent his heart to the people, his hands were busy reshaping the City.
Under his leadership, Dumaguete took its rightful place on the global stage recognized by Forbes in 2018 as one of the world’s best places to retire, a proud moment that reflected the livability and promise of the City under his care.
Roads were paved, systems improved, and public spaces reclaimed for families, for children, for all of us.
But the changes went deeper than concrete and light poles. He laid the kind of foundation that makes people proud to say, “We’re from Dumaguete.”
He mingled with schoolchildren at the boulevard as if he were just another tito in the neighborhood. He responded to crises not from a distance, but right on the ground.
And while Dumaguete retires from a long day, his presence was constant to check and mingle with the laborers at night. Not to showcase anything. Just real needed connection among the ordinary.
Mayor Ipe was never untouched by rumors or criticisms. But he responded not with noise, but with quiet resilience, humility, and continued service.
He let the work speak louder, and he stayed the course with decency, an increasingly rare trait in public life.
Among all the strengths I’ve come to admire, one stands out above the rest, and that is his quiet and steady way of honoring our Heavenly Father.
Not with grand declarations, but through the kind of life he lives, as a loyal husband, a supportive father, and a man who draws strength not from position, but from faith.
His trust in the divine, reflected in the way he carries himself, and serves, speaks volumes. And perhaps that is what truly anchors his leadership, a strength not his own, but one humbly received from above.
And now, even as he bids farewell to City Hall, he is not walking away. He leaves not with bitterness or distance, but with a spirit of support for the new administration.
That in itself is leadership. One that is not obsessed with position, but committed to progress.
This example sets the tone for all of us. That loyalty to the City is greater than loyalty to a seat. That what matters is not who gets the credit, but that things get done. That we rise when we support one another.
We will miss his kind of leadership. We will miss the spirit he brought to the work.
But more than anything, we are grateful to have witnessed this chapter in Dumaguete’s history with a leader who proved that service, when done right, leaves no room for regret.
As we move forward and show our support to the new administration, may we all help, not just watch. Support, not just wait.
Because leadership may begin in office, but it takes root in its people.
“Together we can achieve; divided, we can achieve so little.” – Helen Keller
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Author’s email: LujanaHerrenauw7@gmail.com
