Dudoy Ronquillo, the Engineer and Public Servant Part II

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He administers, coordinates, supervises and controls the construction, maintenance, improvement and repair of roads, bridges and other engineering and public works projects of local government units.

He advises the Governor on infrastructure, public works and other engineering matters; and exercises technical supervision over all engineering offices of component municipalities and cities.

Finally, he is also tasked with providing engineering services to local government units, including investigation and surveys, engineering designs, feasibility studies and project management.

“ Being in public service, Dudoy knows, does not simply mean that everything will fall into place as though pre-ordained from above. On the contrary; he cites having encountered stumbling blocks to the achievement of personal and professional goals. ”

Dudoy cites among his major accomplishments as Provincial Engineer the concreting to 100% completion of provincial roads; the construction and rehabilitation of provincial bridges; the construction and rehabilitation of district hospitals and sewerage plants; the construction of artesian wells with submersible pumps and water tanks; and the construction of multipurpose halls and gymnasia.

While Provincial Engineer, Dudoy has helped the Province of Batangas reap various awards and recognition. Recently, the province received the Presidential Award for being the cleanest and greenest Local Government Unit in Region IV. The provincial government has also been cited by Malacañang as one of the country’s culture-friendly LGU’s.

Moreover, it was awarded with a Plaque of Recognition by the Poverty and Economic Policies-Asia Community-Based Monitoring System and conferred the seal of good housekeeping by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Of his role in the winning of all these awards and commendations, Dudoy has this to say, “I am always just a part of the team that won the numerous awards for the Provincial Government of Batangas. So, I prefer to be always an unsung hero, a man of few words but full of actions.”

Dudoy also realises that governance is an on-going process; and that there are still numerous concerns that he and the rest of the provincial government are working hard to achieve.

These concerns include the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger; achievement of universal primary education; promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women; reduction of child mortality; improvement of maternal health; combat of infectious and highly-transmittable diseases; insurance of environmental sustainability; and forging of global partnerships for development.

All these can be addressed, Dudoy says, with political will, awareness programs and a strong and dedicated private-public sector partnerships. He nurtures a deep pride in his home province and sees a glowing future for it.

“All roads will lead to Batangas,” Dudoy envisions the future for the province, “and Batangas will be a world class destination with ecologically-balanced and sustainable development and state-of-the-art infrastructures. It will be the home of God-loving and family-centred people, governed by dedicated and professional political leaders who are committed to one vision and shared responsibilities geared towards better equality of life for all Batangueños.”

Being in public service, Dudoy knows, does not simply mean that everything will fall into place as though pre-ordained from above. On the contrary; he cites having encountered stumbling blocks to the achievement of personal and professional goals.

“Effects of colonialisation,” he enumerates challenges he has had to face in public service, “crab mentality, poor acceptance and adaptation to global changes and the lack of willingness and eagerness to learn.”

Unfazed by these, Dudoy is still apparently not flustered by responsibility. He intends to take his career in public service up one notch by running for the position of Mayor in his home city of Lipa. He will be running under the banner of the Liberal Party.

Dudoy sums up his political outlook with this simple statement about how he personally thinks life ought to be lived by citizens, “Life is happiest when you are needed by others and you can do good things for others. Everyone in the community must have a common vision and share common values and responsibilities in order to have a happy family, a liveable community and a proud nation.”

He offers himself to the voting citizenry and encourages them to consider him for his smart and hard work, sincerity, diligence, competence, versatility and dependability. He considers himself not only an action man but also a team player;

On the personal side, apart from his work in government, Dudoy does brokerage work, breeds dogs, runs a farm, does consultancies for other companies and operates a comedy bar.

He spends whatever time he can spare playing his favourite sport of basketball, jogging, biking, hunting, mountain climbing, snorkelling and exploring various nooks and crannies of the world. Well-travelled, he considers Rome, Athens, Paris, London, Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam, New York and Sydney as his favourite cities.

He is brother to siblings Alice, Edwin, Rodelio, Allan, Angelico and Millicent.

He is married to the former Jennifer Hernandez, with whom he has four children: Riofer Nicole, Ralph Nerio III, Rosavi Nathalie and Rafael Nerio IV.

Despite his dual bachelor’s degrees, he has not sat on his laurels and went back to school to prepare himself for management. He currently also holds a Master in Business Administration degree from the International Academy of Management and Economics.

Yet, despite all these, Dudoy remains remarkably simple and unaffected. He says that all it takes to make him happy is the realisation that he is still alive and can contribute to the betterment of civilisation.

Does anything make him sad? “Not in my vocabulary.”

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