If one’s family name were a burden for many, having to prove themselves better than their forebears, this cannot be said of our current ambassador to Switzerland, Bernard F. Dy, who has proven himself worthy of his roots.
Bernard is the grandson of Faustino Dy Sr., who was governor of Isabela from the early 1970s to the mid-1990s, with only a year or two of rest right after the EDSA Revolution of 1986. Bernard’s father, Benjamin, would sit also as governor in the 1990s. If the old man Faustino or Tino was looked up to by the people as a father and godfather, a patron and a provider for all kinds of needs (from baptism to burial, as one would say), Benjamin was equally the poor man’s governor and was perceived by Isabelinos as “one of us.”
Bernard’s father drove the tricycle as a young man — already the son of the governor of the province — and his common tao ways, including hanging around with the kanto boys, endeared him to the people. He also loved walking around town in his rubber “Beachwalk” slippers.
When Berdy first entered politics, which, he claimed, he never considered would become his life’s work, preferring instead to pursue a career in civil society, it took time for the family to convince him to run. Unlike many other political scions who consider their positions their birthright, Berdy, in his usual unassuming way, had charted for himself a career in educational management.
In my recent lunch with him before he assumed his post as our ambassador to Switzerland, Berdy shared with the Daily Tribune his life story so far, and how he had pursued his interest in NGO work where he believed he would “be able to serve my fellowmen more without the encumbrances of partisan politics.” But fate would thrust on him the foremost responsibility of leading his home city, Cauayan, which his grandfather and father also once led as mayors.
Bernard Faustino La Madrid Dy is one of the 17 children of his father. He served as Cauayan City mayor from 2013 to 2022. Prior to occupying the local chief executive’s post, “I was in an NGO because that’s where my heart really is. I was never and I am not a politician.”
His posting to Switzerland, the centuries-old bastion of democracy and progressive thinking, Berdy considers “a blessing in disguise because of my advocacy to promote the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Only 43 years old, he is one of the Philippines’ youngest diplomats. A certified blue Atenean, he set up the ninth branch of the University of Perpetual Help in Isabela, “which is a joint venture between us and the Tamayos, my schoolmates since our prep days.”
And then came the people’s clamor that he lead his city. Expectedly, he balked at the prospect of becoming a mayor. “I didn’t want to enter public service because that was all I saw from my growing up years, from my lolo to my dad and my uncles.
“I did not want my children to experience what I experienced growing up. So, I really tried my best to get out of that direction. But when my dad got sick in 2013, his constituents talked to me.” At the time, he was the national president of JCI Philippines and was vice president of Jaycee International, and was aiming to become the organization’s world president.
There was no turning back for Berdy, and while he was a reluctant candidate, he proved himself an outstanding mayor, one loved by his constituents, and the mayor who put Cauayan on the list of the top sustainable cities of the world. It is an accomplishment that he is very proud of.
Berdy finished his International Business degree at the University of California Riverside. He pursued his doctor of philosophy at the Southeast Asian Interdisciplinary Development Institute.
Below are excerpts from our interview with Ambassador Bernard Faustino La Madrid Dy.
Daily Tribune (DT): You were one of the best presidents of the Jaycees. What were your accomplishments?
Bernard F. Dy (BFD): We did a lot. One of the projects we did was the Liter of Light, an invention of Illac Diaz. It was a liter because that was basically the platform, the actual light and a bottle of Coke Litro. We filled it up with water and then one already had a light. Half of the bottle was on the roof and it reflected the sunlight. That’s how it emitted light. We cascaded it to the 120 Jaycee chapters in the Philippines. The Liter of Light became largest green project in the Philippines and in the world. We won as the best project worldwide.
DT: Tell us about your TOYM (The Outstanding Young Men) Award.
BFD: It was 2018. Pretty much, it had to do with the story of my journey as a mayor that we documented. My candidacy platform was advocacy-based. I was really advocating the Sustainable Development Goals or the SDGs. We were the first ones to localize the SDGs. Coming from the NGO, I was already aware of the MDG or the Millennium Development Goals. And then, it became SDGs. When I was already in public service, I took it upon myself to initiate localizing the SDGs. That had been the anchor of my term, which was creating smart sustainable cities.
The idea of a smart city was in its infant stage. Nobody was really familiar with the smart city. Cauayan was pretty much ahead of its time because we were acknowledged and recognized as the first Smart City of the Philippines in 2015.
DT: Tell me exactly what a smart city is.
BFD: Basically, a smart city is using technology in improving the lives of people. It’s a global concept. We just show the world that if a third class city, highly agricultural and poorest in terms of income, can make this kind of impact as a smart city, there’s no reason for other cities not to do it.
DT: Does the term “smart” have to do with technology?
BFD: Yes, technology. A smart city can be as complex as having sensors on every street corner to measure the air quality or having ordinances passed that will allow driverless cars to roam around the streets. But it can also be as simple as informing the farmers if it’s going to rain or not. Both have the same impact. So, that’s what we did in Cauayan. It’s just simple technology but the impact is significant.
DT: So, you’ve been approaching your SDG advocacy from the roots.
BFD: I have been espousing and advocating smart and sustainable cities, not just here in the Philippines but across the globe. I have been talking, delivering messages and speeches and sharing our journey. I have spoken in Washington D.C. I spoke in Edinburgh, London, Southeast Asia… in different parts of the world, sharing our story.
DT: What was your Ph.D. dissertation about?
BFD: My story, the journey of Cauayan City as it was aiming to become a smart and sustainable city. Our approach was legislation. It’s only SGLG or Seal of Good Local Governance that measures the deliverables of an LGU. But if you have a smart, sustainable city, that is future-proofing. If we have those sets of foundations in the LGU, the people would feel secure and relaxed.
DT: Did you get to see your grandfather Faustino Dy Sr.?
BFD: I did. When he passed on in 1993, I was already in Grade 7. I remember that his house was always open to the people. Every day, every morning, there were tons of people who were coming in and out. He was still in his pajamas while talking to the people. A buffet was always served. That’s how we remember him. He was really a man of the people.
DT: So, what about your dad? Did you have man-to-man talk?
BFD: With my dad, yes, we had a lot of man-to-man talk. My dad was governor after my lolo, from 1992 to 2001. He was mayor from 1983-1992. Even when he was no longer a public servant, he was still helping people. It was the life he knew.
DT: What did you learn from the careers of your grandfather and father?
BFD: We are a big family. We all have our strengths. I could never be like my dad in terms of public service. I could never go really masa, the way he was. I could not be as well-loved, but I have my strengths. For example, I would want to really bring out Cauayan in the limelight and people to know Cauayan. So, we get visitors. We become a tourist attraction.
DT: In what way are you like the rest of the Dy men?
BFD: I think it’s really the sense of public service. It’s engrained already. Like kids of doctors, they’ll become doctors. It’s like that, eh. I think it’s in our blood already. I guess whether you’re in office or not, the public service aspect is already there. I think that we are blessed to be in that direction.
DT: So, what else have you given Cauayan?
BFD: I think it’s really the recognition. Anywhere in the country when you talk about smart cities, it’s Cauayan that comes to mind right away. We have also become known internationally.
DT: So, let’s wind up. What do you bring with you to Switzerland?
BFD: I will continue my advocacy on the smart sustainable communities. That is something that is also aligned with the President’s agenda of creating a smart nation. We’re very alike in terms of that.
We are hoping to bring in investors and bring in technology because it will create, not only jobs, but it will change the landscape of the country.
DT: So, will you be inviting Swiss businessmen to the country to bring in investments?
BFD: Yes, but it’s not just one-way because they can also learn a lot from us. It’s that direction that I’m not just asking people to invest but also learn from us. I’m also involved in the academe. I am working on a sister university with Zurich University. We will have exchanges. I think we will be aggressive in our post. I am bring with me my experience in the LGU, the barangay level so I will be at home with the Filipinos there, most of whom come from our own barangays back home.