DINO CHUA: A HERO OR NOT

An analysis on Noveleta’s mayor

SUBMITTED BY:
DENISE G. BOCALAN
11-HUMSS11
2020134727
Objectives

I. At the end of this paper, the author must assess the governance of this public official
II. The author must look into the two sides of the story before concluding.

Introduction and background of the location

The year 2020 is coming to an end as only 4

months remain until the year 2021. I pondered and
asked myself about the changes in my surroundings.
What improvement could be observed? Are there
more infrastructures now than before? Has corruption
lessened thus improving the livelihood of the
citizens? Are there now enough facilities for the
people? Despite not being a citizen of Noveleta, I
studied in two schools from this municipality. These
two schools are a huge part of who I am today as it
served as my second home for eleven years. This
town is so dear to me as I have known and explored it more than my hometown throughout my
life. But where in the world is Noveleta? Noveleta is a small municipality in Cavite with an area
of 8.6 km² and a population of 45,846 people according to the 2015 census. It is like a town that
solely exists to be a pathway. This town is located in between Cavite City, Rosario, General
Trias, Imus, and Kawit. Its “bayan” is literally an intersection for the aforementioned towns. It is
also a very small town that became an independent pueblo on January 5, 1868. But who
governs this small municipality?

Background of the Study

Dino Reyes Chua was elected as the mayor of Noveleta

in 2016 and he is also the current mayor of the municipality of
Noveleta.. You can trace his political roots from the Reyes family.
Oddly, his hometown is Cavite City but he is now leading another
town. In 2002, he founded Cavite's first FM radio station named
91.9 The Bomb FM. He is also the youngest person who got
elected as vice mayor of Cavite City at the age of 23. I think that
he has the educational means to govern a town. Mayor Chua
finished his high school at San Sebastian College de Cavite in
1996. He then received his bachelor's degree in Business
Administration from De La Salle State University-College of Saint
Benilde in Taft Avenue, Manila. He then continued expanding his
knowledge by earning units of Bachelor of Law at San Beda
College of Law. You can quite say that Mayor Chua is an
overachiever in a good way. He didn’t stop educating himself and even took that goal abroad as
he finished his Executive Education at Stanford University, California, U.S.
 Dino Reyes Chua is not only a
politician but also a businessman. He is the
President & CEO of Greenbelt Hotels
International located in Arnaiz Avenue, Ayala
Center, Makati City. He also operates the
World Trade Hotel in Batangas City. He also
El Palacio Hotel & Resort located in Coastal
Bay City, Noveleta. But Dino Chua doesn’t only venture out in the hotel industry as he is also
the President of Skyjet Airlines. He is also a franchise owner of Padis Point in Cavite, a co-
owner of Culture Club in Eastwood City, a co-owner of ClubV Ultimate bar in Makati, an
executive producer of Delta Records Corp.

Factors to be considered

Now that I have given you the background of the mayor, I must now begin assessing his
governance. Despite having doubts about the capability of Dino Chua leading a town and
managing multiple businesses along with his ancestral heritage due to him belonging in a
political dynasty, I still cannot turn blind about the times he did his job successfully

I commend Dino Chua as a person due to his skill in multitasking and time management.
However, I still cannot give my full opinion about him because at the end of the day, I am still
not a citizen of Noveleta. There are things about him and his governance that I may have
overlooked. So in result, I opted to thoroughly question a few people through the means of an
online survey via google forms. It would be unfair if my opinion and stance are being regarded in
this assessment of governance. The questions in the survey’s context are from the UN criteria
of good governance. But what is governance? Governance is defined as the process by which
decisions are implemented which comprises all the processes of governing.

Now to keep it short, the factors to be considered in this assessment are the author’s
personal research through available online articles and social media posts, the perception of the
citizens of Noveleta whether they deem Dino Chua as good leader, and the UN criteria for good
governance,
Participatory Involves and lets everyone in the community to participate

Transparency Clear,accessible, and enough information about budgets,programs,and

projects

Follows the Rule of Fair and Legal frameworks are enforced

Law

Responsiveness Addresses concerns immediately, presence at events

Accountability Owns up to actions

Consensus Oriented Regard to all interests of the society

Equity and No member of the community feel excluded

Inclusiveness

Effectivity and Visible results

Efficiency

Responsiveness

According to the UN Criteria, institutions must serve its constituents within a reasonable
timeframe. A respondent in this survey even stated the following, “Dino Chua is always out of
the town/province/country. He only acts when things are in a bad situation already. He
prioritizes buildings and not the people of his town”. The aforementioned statement is a huge
setback for his governance. I also agree with the respondent as there were multiple times back
then when he failed to announce the suspension of classes despite the rising level of the flood
due to him being out of town. There are also times wherein the mayor was absent during
important town events such as the municipal sports meet awarding and opening ceremony.

To be fair for the public official, I also asked the respondents to check on a list of
situations wherein he showed responsiveness. Five respondents agreed that he is responsive in
contact tracing. Seven respondents commended his responsiveness in SAP beneficiaries. In
giving out relief goods during this pandemic, eleven people agreed. Fourteen people also
thought that he is responsive when it comes to the suspension of classes. And only one person
seemed to agree with his responsiveness on the spread of fire on residential homes. One
person commented that he always act before the dilemmas arise

During this pandemic, I think that it should also be fair to commend him for showing
immediate action regarding the delay of DSWD’s monetary aid and him taking action last
January through appointing the health officer of Noveleta to conduct seminars in schools during
weekdays so that everyone would be informed in order to avoid the virus. I myself attended the
seminar and it was very informative. I think that his action was really commendable as Covid-19
is a serious problem. In comparison to other public officials last January, he did a pretty good
job on responding to the virus.

In conclusion, he shows responsiveness about the concerns of the municipality however

we are human and we are bound to make mistakes. He must still improve on certain areas
though. It is also notable that the public official is tremendously improving on this area during
this pandemic especially on the Covid-19 response.

Transparency
What if the UN didn’t include transparency A good leader must be transparent about his
activity, earnings, and the progress of its projects. To be transparent, decisions and
enforcement should follow rules and regulations. The leader must also see to it that the
information provided is enough and understandable. If no one could understand it then how
would the people assess whether their leader shows transparency or not?

The survey states that only two respondents are aware of the public official’s
transparency regarding the budget of the municipality. One of the two respondents also thought
that you can seldomly view his transparency regarding the budget. However, one respondent
commended the mayor’s governance in the survey’s conclusion because the mayor returned his
salary to the municipality. But is the return of his salary enough to show transparency? No, it is
not. A donation is not a financial report.

I along with the survey’s respondents commend the mayor regarding his projects,
programs, and progress. He posts the updates of the said programs and projects on his social
media platforms and he also sees to it that enough information about his programs is indicated
on his page.

So does the public official show transparency? Yes and no. He is transparent when it
comes to providing information but he failed to show monetary audits on various things. If he
does provide such information, I suggest that he should focus to improve the dissemination of
such information. The public official should improve on this matter to be deemed as a
transparent leader.

Accountability

“A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by

anybody”,a wonderful quote written by Thomas Paine. How can we relate this quote to
leadership and governance? For starters, one must atone to what they’ve done or committed.
You cannot trust anyone who won’t take responsibility for their own actions. If you can’t trust a
normal person because they failed to show accountability, how more can you trust a leader that
doesn’t show accountability?
 In addition, accountability is also included in the UN criteria of good governance. It is
defined as a key requirement for good governance. Who made the decisions should also be
accountable to those who will be affected by his/her decisions.

According to the survey, eleven people agreed that Dino Reyes Chua shows
accountability for his actions while three respondents disagreed. Dino Chua can barely
showcase his accountability because not much actually happens in Noveleta. Almost all his
projects and programs were executed perfectly according to Luis Lalatag, a student that lives in
Noveleta.

Dino Chua also received a legal complaint recently, “On March 27 2020, the PNP
Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU) based on Region IV-A (CALABARZON) acted on the
complaint of the Local Government of Cavite City against Noveleta town mayor”,(Pesco,2020).
An anonymous account shared unverified information that a Covid-19 stricken patient has died
at the Cavite Medical Center. The account also accused the local government of Cavite City of
being not transparent in sharing the information to the public. According to Pesco, Cavite City’s
LGU accused Chua as the person behind the fake news.

Mayor Dino Chua then addressed the issue on a facebook that states that he is ready to
face the legal case. In addition, he also questioned and criticized the usage of blame shifting of
those accused him. “Bakit niyo ibibintang sa akin ang kapalpakan niyo sa pag handle ng
covid19 positive case niyo dyan sa Cavite City? This is not the Time for your Political Circus!!
But anyway I will see you in cour!”, (Chua,2020), Up to this date, the identity of the said
anonymous account remains unknown. It is also unclear whether Chua was the person behind
the anonymous account.

From what the author observed from the aforementioned facts and the opinions of the
citizens of Noveleta, most citizens agree that mayor Dino Chua shows accountability. He also
faced the charges against him and it shows that whether it is actually his fault or not, he would
be ready to face any claim.

Effectivity and Efficiency

What would be the sense of project proposals if it would not be effective and efficient at
all? For something to be deemed as efficient and effective, it must meet the needs of the society
and that there should be visible results. So how can this public official par with other leaders’
efficiency and effectiveness?

According to the survey conducted through google forms, only two respondents
disagreed that his governance and projects had an effect in improving the welfare of the citizens
of Noveleta while twelve respondents thought otherwise. One respondent stated that his
proposals and projects show effectiveness because he targets and prioritizes relevant issues. In
contrast, one respondent thought that he isn’t an effective and efficient leader because there’s
barely any change in Noveleta.
 Noveleta’s economy also went up after his monthly job fair program. In addition, PDEA
also declared Noveleta a 100% drug-free municipality in 2019. “Noveleta also had the first
reformation hub in the province of Cavite”,(Abrina,2019). Chua was also commended after this
drastic improvement. As a student commuting late at night in Noveleta, I can testify that the area
is safe. There are times that I went home as late as 10pm due to PETAs yet I never felt danger.

The author would also like to commend him for his immediate establishment of his
project which also falls under the criteria for responsiveness. Dino Chua opened a public
hospital in the small town of Noveleta in order to treat Covid-19 positive patients. “The
quarantine center is commendable for its cleanliness and comfortable facilities”,
(Francisco,2020). The author also thinks that the local government unit’s action against the virus
is very commendable as it has the lowest number of positive cases in the 1st district of Cavite
despite it being a road and evident “sakayan” to commuters from different places..

To summarize his assessment on this criteria, Dino Chua is an effective and efficient
leader overall.

Follows the Rule of Law

One cannot be deemed as fit to rule if something under his control failed to abide by the
laws that the system he partook in solemnly made and implemented. According to the UN
Criteria for good governance, this standard could be defined as executing fair and legal
frameworks. Full protection of human rights should also be observed.

As far as the residents know, no one was persecuted due to fishy reasons. The
protection of human rights in Noveleta is very evident. All respondents seem to think so too.
There were also no EJK victims in Noveleta. Despite the implementation of the anti-terror law,
no one was arrested for that reason. The mayor indeed follows the rule of law. However, it is still
unknown to everyone whether his active case is really true or that it could just be another false
accusation. He was accused of violations of Republic Act (RA) 10175 or the Cybercrime
Prevention Act, RA 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events
of Public Health Concern Act and RA 10173 or the Data Privacy Act,.He did indeed deny the
charges.

The mayor shows observance with the rule of law at an excellent rate. The author
cannot accuse him too of disobedience and fake news due to poor evidence against the mayor.
Therefore, the mayor passed this standard in the UN criteria for good governance.

Participatory

This standard regards how the institution lets its constituents participate not only in
political concerns, but also in developmental concerns. Letting the constituents use their
freedom of expression must also be observed in order to pass this standard.
 The data from the online survey states that eleven people thought that only the local
government officials and local government workers could actively participate in formal meetings
and discussions of the municipality government while two people differed to the previous
statement.

All respondents also agreed that they are allowed to practice their freedom of expression
and freedom of speech. Lastly, I asked the respondents whether the Mayor conducts a survey
about what needs to be prioritized by the LGU in order to hear the opinions and suggestions of
the citizens, Ten people are unaware of such surveys conducted by the mayor while five people
were aware however, two out of the five people stated that the survey conducted is very
seldom.

You can easily say that this mayor failed to comply with this standard. In the author’s
defense, it would be unfair to deem him as such because he and his office actively responds to
the queries, suggestions, and opinions of the netizens from Noveleta. His comments are also
evident on some people’s comments on his posts in social media platforms. I think that most
people misunderstood the actions of the mayor because of his lack of reach. However, if he
resorted to the online means of letting citizens actively participate in such topics, I suggest that
he should focus on promoting his online platform so that more people could reach him. He
should also improve matters on disseminating and collecting information. Regardless, I think
that the mayor barely passed this test as he should have known that some citizens of Noveleta
may fail to get within his reach.

Equity and inclusiveness

This standard refers to the assurance that none of the members of the society feel
excluded. All groups,especially the most vulnerable, should have opportunities to improve and
maintain their wellbeing .I have limited idea regarding this topic, however with the aid of
research, proper analysis, and the data from the online survey, I could at least give an overview
about this.

Ten respondents agreed that all public properties,amenities, and services are inclusive
while four disagreed on this matter. One respondent commented that his projects are excellent
however with regards to senior citizen benefits, his actions are very poor. “If your son is rich,
there will be no benefits for you”, the respondent added.

With the given testimony, I condemn mayor Chua for disregarding and not taking action
against this. We all know that sometimes, the carrying capacity of the government is not enough
but if there are no actions or formal statements regarding the inclusivity of such benefits and
programs, his governance is not inclusive to all. But the word equity refers to fairness in
distribution. Since the local government cannot support everyone in the community, they chose
to prioritize the less fortunate senior citizens seeing to it that they are more vulnerable. In the
author’s defense, just because you have a son or a daughter that lives a good life doesn’t
necessarily mean that you live a good life too. And if the government cannot support everyone
in the community, they must at least try to refer the people that they failed to include to a higher
institution.

With the given statements and analysis, I concluded that the public official’s governance
is equitable but his governance is not inclusive to all.

Consensus oriented

Aristotle once said, “He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader". For a
governance to be consensus oriented, the leader must have a meditation of different interests in
society. It should also be derived from an understanding of the historical, cultural, and social
contexts of the society that he is governing. The leader must deeply understand what the
society needs and how it will be achieved in no conflict.

The author asked the respondents what the mayor has done during his rule over the
municipality. The following are the his proposed, current, and established programs and
projects: Botika on wheels, Noveleta medcare center, long beach rehabilitation, monthly job
fairs, Noveleta Health Center, Free WiFi(for online class), paid debts of the previous
administration, Noveleta Science High School(current project).

I must admit that I’m pretty impressed that he met the needs of the society especially
during this pandemic by containing the virus. Noveleta is one of the first few municipalities that
took action regarding the virus as mayor Dino Chua appointed the health officer of Noveleta,
Dra, Bucu, to conduct seminars on various schools (late January 2020) so that the
children,parents,workers , and employers would be educated on how to avoid the virus. The
mayor also asked the schools to give time for the seminar during weekdays so that everyone
would be informed about Covid-19. Our school was the first one to have that seminar.

I also commend the public official for making free wifi accessible to the citizens of
Noveleta as a preparation for online classes.
However, there is still no news regarding the
distribution of technology based learning materials.
Before this pandemic, he also rehabilitated the long
beach in Noveleta and it became a resort. It provided
jobs to many while increasing the municipality’s
economic rate. Speaking about providing jobs, Chua
also hold a monthly job fair which increased the
livelihood of Noveleta’s citizens.

In contrast to his achievements, Jan Michael Aoay, a citizen of Noveleta, stated that he
did increase the economy of their municipality but forgot its heritage. Casa Tribunal in Noveleta
is an important landmark in the Philippine independence from the Spanish as the Magdiwang, a
faction of the anti-Spanish Katipunan, killed Spanish authorities in this hall which further
intensified the Philippine Revolution in Cavite. “They forgot to take care of it, sayang dahil
cultural heritage pa naman yon”, Aoay added. I agree with Aoay’s statement as no one seems
to even monitor the place whenever I pass by it during my commutes. I also spotted a few wall
vandalisms on the heritage.
Seeing to it that Chua is not originally from Noveleta, he must still learn about the town’s
heritage. However, I commend his efforts in meeting the needs of the society especially during
this pandemic (covid-19 facility,free wifi). But I condemn him for reopening the long beach
during this pandemic. Even if the IATF agreed to it, he still should have known better as it risks
the spread of the virus but at least, paid citizens who lost their jobs to help him clean and
reopen it again.
Another program by him is also commendable, the ‘cash for work’ program. “Hundreds
of residents will get hired by the LGU for the said program to do various works such as village
cleanups, gardening and tree planting. Chua also distributed relief packs to residents of Long
Beach, Barangay San Rafael as part of the assistance program to residents”,(Manila
Times,2020). I think that he prioritized the wrong thing during this pandemic despite doing
excellent work in responding to the virus.

I can say that Dino Chua passed this criteria but he still needs focus on understanding
more about the cultural background of the town. Overall, he meets the current needs of the
society which makes his leadership commendable.

Conclusion

Most respondents agreed that he is doing a good job because change is visible when he
took over . One respondent commented that there are more available establishments during his
term but I would like invalidate that because the respondent was talking about non-government
establishments such as Primark and Puregold, the mayor didn’t propose this but the investors
did although he did a good job on entertaining and showcasing what Noveleta has to offer to the
investors. Before this pandemic happened, the public official was always out of town and out of
the country which brought him a huge setback. He also paid debts which probably lessens the
chance of him committing graft despite him barely showing transparency.

Providing jobs also helped the municipality of Noveleta to improve. However, despite the
high-economy, Noveleta still remains a 3rd class municipality. It is understandable though
seeing to it that it is a small town and there’s not much that you can do. He also did a successful
and humanitarian job on eliminating drugs within the municipality and not to mention, protecting
human rights and the freedom of expression.

With all the given statements, you can say that he possesses good governance. But
there are a lot of things that he must work on such as inclusiveness. I think that it wouldn’t be
fair to deny his efforts and progress. In fact, he really did an amazing job compared to
Noveleta’s previous mayor. He complied to all the criterias and was also a finalist for “Men of
the Year: Public Service” of Asia Leader Awards wherein Mayor Vico Sotto and Mayor Isko
Dumagoso are also contenders and finalists and that says a lot about his governance
considering that the his contenders are two of the most high regarded people in the field of
leadership that excel in governing local governments this 2020.

But what I want everyone to understand is that this mayor may be doing a good job and
he somehow possesses good governance but in reality, he is only doing what a leader should.
There are still a lot of questionable actions done by the mayor. A good leader? Maybe a
mediocre one considering how low the standards of governance that the Filipinos have. But
again, he possesses good governance despite a few blank areas and he also did a good job in
improving Noveleta. In short, Kudos to mayor Dino Chua!

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noveleta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dino_Reyes_Chua

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1000000481705&psig=AOvVaw0_UVLDpKhi5U6onMMyH00b&ust=1600678276351000&sourc
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https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1048383.amp

https://mb.com.ph/2019/12/17/dino-chua-named-toym-2019-awardee-for-tourism/
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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.manilatimes.net/2020/06/18/news/regions/noveleta-
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