A Life Dedicated to Public Service The Lady L Story

This study featured how a lady local politician rose to power as a barangay captain. It aimed to: describe her leadership orientation before she became a barangay captain, analyze the factors of her success stories in political leadership, extrapolate her values based on the problems/challenges met in the barangay, unveil her initiatives to address these problems, and interpolate her enduring vision for the future of the barangay. Through a biographical research design, with purposive sampling, a key female informant named as Lady L was chosen with the sole criteria of being a female Barangay Captain of Cebu City. Interview guides were utilized in the generation of Lady L’s biographic information about her political career. Lady L’s experiences in waiting for the perfect time and working in the private sector destined her to have a successful political career enhanced with passion and family influence. Encountering  problems concerning basic education and unwanted migrants in Barangay K did not discourage her choice to run for re-election, because of her dedication to public service. Her ways to reach out and collaborate with welfare groups mitigate the problems of parental neglect and informal settlers in her barangay. The story of Lady L implies that in Cebu City, issues arise as a result of the practice of partisan politics, gender issues have minor bearing, and she envisioned a healthy and well-educated barangay, with an improved wellness and child care development.

Keywords: women empowerment, public service, biography