UPHOLDING A TRADITION OF INTEGRITY

Taguig City Councilor Jomil Serna could not stand seeing his mother go into an emotional breakdown upon hearing that another member of the family would enter the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). His elder brother, a military officer, was once in critical condition after their troops were ambushed in the southern part of the Philippines, and he did not want his mother to go through the same ordeal again. He would have wanted to join the military, having been exposed to the idea that joining the army is a way to serve the country.

Serna is the youngest in a family of six, three of whom are soldiers—twoin the Philippine Army and one in the Philippine Air Force. Now that he is a councilor, he has come to realize that he can still perform the job of being a public

servant through the role that he is now performing in Taguig as a local legislator. He may not have been a soldier likehis retired father and brothers, but he still considers his father, a retired Army sergeant, as his inspiration in public service. His father’s words are part of his bible as a public servant. “Nakita ko kung pano niya tanggihan 'yung mga suhol, at ngayon hindi rin pupuwede sa akin yung ganon. Hindi ko ipagpapalit 'yung malinis na pangalan ng pamilya. Kasi ako lang ang nasa politika, hindi naman ako papayag na ako pa yung dudungis sa malinis na pangalan ng pamilya namin. (I saw how he refused bribes; that was his principle, and it became non-negotiable for me as well. I will not trade our family’s clean name for money, being the only one in politics. I will not be the one to tarnish our family’s unblemished name.)” FORGING A PATH OF PUBLIC SERVICE

Public service through politics may have been the fate of Serna, for he startedin campus politics at the age of 13.This was when he experienced being

a leader who could influence his peers. When he became a kagawad (councilor) of the Sangguniang Kabataan in Barangay Pinagsama, Taguig, he learned how

to lead a community. He eventually became part of the barangay council when he became SK chairperson. To be better able to serve his constituents, he completed a master’s degree and applied his applied the knowledge he gained. As a barangay official, Serna learned the value of having good relationships with his neighbors and other members of the community, specially the youth. Serna recalls that when he was young, he was so idealistic, thinking that he could be of help to everyone. He later found out that the system does not work that way, specially since many people are asking for and needing help. “You cannot change the lives of everyone. But if you can help just one person among the many, you can already change a life. And because you were able to share what you have, that is already a great contribution, not only to an individual but to society as a whole. So the help you extendended one out of 100,000 or a million people will be felt by generations.”

One of the problems Serna and his fellow barangay officials had to face was the insufficiency of funds. The share they got from the city government was enough only to cover the salaries of barangay employees and there was nothing left for projects meant for the people. And since McKinley Hill, where multinational companies are situated, is part of the barangay, Serna found ways to network with these businesses to get projects and programs for their constituents. Through the corporate social responsibility programs of these companies, Serna was able to have programs and projects that did not entail expenses on the part of the barangay.

Serna served the barangay as kagawad for five years before he became a city councilor. “Perhaps my biggest achievement or legacy as a barangay kagawad was that we were able to secure food for the children, worth two million pesos, for our daycare centers as partof a supplementary feeding program that didn’t cost the barangay anything. It’s all about networking. It’s all about partnerships, good relationships. My principle in public service is creating with the people we serve,” he shares.

Serna considers being the youngest councilor in Taguig City as an opportunity to learn from those more experienced than him and are expertsin their fields, particularly since some of the councilors are skilled lawyers and others have been in local governance for decades already. However, it is not just him who is learning from these more experienced councilors. He also teaches them, especially with the modern state of technology. He guides other councilors on how to use these modern technologies and phone apps. He helps them with even the most basic things, including placing food orders and posting content on social media.

With his experience as SK kagawad and barangay kagawad, Serna has been trained in legislative jobs. He knows however that although a city councilor and a barangay kagawad have the same responsibility to legislate, those in the city council need to have a broader perspective because they encompass a bigger jurisdiction.

EMPOWERING THE YOUTH AND EMBRACING CHANGE

Helping the youth is one of Serna's biggest inspirations for becoming a city councilor. Simply put, he wants the youth to be responsible citizens and maximize the opportunities available to them. According to him, “There’s no reason for the youth in Taguig not to study. "We provide scholarships to everyone; their scholarships are not selective. So as long as a student wants to go to school, schooling is free, supplies are free, shoes are free, uniforms are free, everything is free, and they even have an allowance. That’s how it is in Taguig,” Serna explains.

The councilor encourages the youth in Taguig to maximize the benefits for them, and they should not take these for granted because these are free. He says that the youth should use these benefits as opportunities for them to be successfulin their chosen fields. He also urges the youth to join organizations or clubs in schools because these will help them form their leadership skills. More importantly, he advises young people not to be afraid of making mistakes because even he is a product of his past failures. “Making mistakes is part of being human, but of course, don’t intentionally make mistakes. There’s something called trial and error in mathematics. So in math, it’s okay; in life, it’s also okay. Don’t be afraid to try, but don’t intentionally make mistakes.”

Serna believes in leadership by consultation. He always looks forward to People’s Day because it is where he gets to interact with people and listen to them on a personal level, not talk about politics, campaigns, or work-related matters. For him, relationship-building matters more. It is during People’s Day that the city government of Taguig addresses the people’s needs and elevates them to a platform where city officialscan immediately respond and solve their concerns. “So whatI do as a legislator is conduct rapid area assessments first to understand the root cause of certain problems and make sure that we formulate or understand the theory of change in the communities that we serve,” he stresses. For instance, it was during one People's Day that he was able to prioritize the provision of medical assistance through Lifeline Assistance for Neighbors In-need (LANI) Cares — a pilot program of the City Government of Taguig for Social Services.

Another project Serna wants to institutionalize is Youth Month. He looks forward to making every August, which is Youth Month, as a time for the youth of Taguig to have a safe space to participate in governance, nation-building, and the social services of the city.”

While there are so many projects in Taguig that truly care for the people, Serna also believes that he should be rooted in a non-negotiable principle; his is serving with integrity. He is also firm in his belief that for a public servant to give sincere service, he should always challenge the status quo. “If I’m going to choose between what is right and what is good, what is right and what should be done, I would choose what is right, because you can never go wrong with the right things, and you can never go wrong with kindness,” he declares. He adds that a public servant should not just be content with the programs in place or ordinances that are being implemented but rather, to continually think of more actions for the good of the people.

BEYOND PRIORITIES

Although his life is an open book because of his strong social media presence, little is known about Serna's love for trying exotic food. This interest, he says, is like an adventure for him. He is of Ilocano roots, where eating insects found in the rice fields, known as ararawan, and frogs is considered normal.

Amid his busy schedule as a councilor, Serna loves to travel, for it is his way to have a break from the stress and pressures of his job, and a way for him to grow as a person. It may be costly, but he says that exploring places is not just about fun; it is also a way for him to learn about himself and other cultures. Even though he has been to many places, Oriental Mindoro is closest to him, especially since it is his wife’s hometown. Aside from the beautiful beaches and friendly and kind people, Serna finds Oriental Mindoro very appealing, for there are differences in the cultures of Tagalogs and Mangyans. The people's unique culture, marked by the fusion of modern and indigenous living in one place, became the province’s strength, according to him.

Even as he is fully committed to serving the people of Taguig, Serna says that his priority is God, followed by his family. There is no conflict nonetheless, because for him, when a public servant knows his priorities and puts God first in everything, nothing will go wrong. “A lot of things that I have right now are from God’s wisdom that I learned from the Bible. I’m a Christian, and I will not compromise all those things just for this position. This position is temporary, but Jomil Serna is a lifetime,” he concludes.