HONESTY and dedication are the twin pillars of Regalado "DODONG" Maambong’s untainted record as a public servant. He served his country and people well, and in various capacities since after becoming a lawyer more than 40 years ago.
Dodong is a typical Cebuano and a proud Filipino. Born in the bucolic town of Asturias in Cebu, some 81 kilometers northwest of the capital city, he was an ordinary boy with traditional family values and typical aspirations – he dreamed big and pursued his goals with a humble, yet firm resolve.
A year after passing and landing in the Top 20 of the one of the most difficult Bar Examinations in history, he joined the National Bureau of Investigation Academy in 1962. But sheer idealism drove him to private practice, believing that he could do more and help more people. Thus, he started his public service career as a private lawyer, until he was elected Board Member of the Province of Cebu in 1980, further expanding his professional as well as public service horizon.
But he never sought public recognition or material rewards. For he be strongly believed that compassion towards the legally marginalized and socially impaired find greater compensation in one’s spiritual pot of gold.
For his humble, yet firm resolve to serve with greater capacity a broader constituency, he took a major step in his budding political career. He ran and won as Assemblyman to the First Regular Batasang Pambansa in 1984. At 38, he earned a well-deserved place in the unfolding history of the Philippines, becoming a member of the Constitutional Commission that made the 1987 Philippine Constitution, completing a revolutionary transition that began with the historic People’s Power Revolution in February 1986.
Again, Maambong found greater joy and reward in knowing that he served his country well and the entire nation will surely benefit from a Constitution he helped frame. He did not realize, however, that his exceptional work in the highly-specialized and often controversial field of law was held in high esteem, not only by his peers but also many of the leaders of the new and just-restored democracy, including President Corazon C. Aquino. (She had so much interest in the Cebuano lawyer, perhaps, even respect, that she interviewed Maambong lengthily when he was nominated COMELEC Commissioner in late 1990.)
At COMELEC, Maambong rose to the challenge of serving his country with the same brand of dedication and honesty. He championed the need to modernize the election process as the only way to a CLEAN and HONEST ELECTIONS. He strongly believed that by minimizing, if not totally eliminating or controlling the highly-vulnerable human factor in critical segments of the electoral process, this objective could be achieved. Thus, we now have the first AUTOMATED ELECTION.
From the COMELEC, Maambong was appointed Justice to the Court of Appeals in 2002, a position he held until his retirement on January 2, 2009. Now, he is a Professorial Lecturer at the Philippine Judicial Academy and a Consultant to the ChanRobles Law Firm. He remains active in the practice of law and in continuing legal education.
He continues to serve the public, even in his private capacity. And he seeks to serve more, with greater probity, in the august halls that once recognized and elevated him into venerable position of respectability.
Dodong Maambong seeks to bring his expertise and unsullied integrity into a greater service for the Filipino people as SENATOR of the Republic he loved and served so well… with the kind of honesty and passionate dedication only he can deliver.