MANILA, Philippines -- A former soldier and two other former military and police officials were inducted Friday into the ranks of Kaya Natin!, a group of local government officials for good governance and ethical leadership.

The movement was started by Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio, Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Naga City Mayor Jessie Robredo.

Mayor Fermin Mabulo of San Fernando, Camarines Sur talked about his time as a soldier and a member of the Magdalo, a group of reformist troops, with a tinge of sadness.

The night before Magdalo soldiers took over the Oakwood apartment towers in Makati City in 2003, he was arrested by the military, thrown in jail for three months and accused by some of his comrades of betraying their cause.

?I was used unwillingly by the ISAFP [Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines] to punch holes in our group. The ISAFP told my comrades that I had abandoned and turned on them. But that was not true,? Mabulo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview on Friday.

Mabulo, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1995, said he explained his side to his former comrades.

?Some of them believed me, some did not, even up to now.?

So frustrated was Mabulo with what happened that he left the country to work in the United Kingdom to get away from it all.

But when his brother, three-term Mayor Abang Mabulo was set to step down as mayor of their small town, Mabulo found himself thrust into the political arena in 2007.

?We knew that the candidate who had declared himself in the running was not good for the town. So people pointed to me to run as an alternative,? he said.

The fight was so close that Mabulo won by a slim 31-vote margin.

Today, Mabulo said he has incorporated even his military training into his term as mayor.

?What we learned in the military is to accomplish the mission by leading our men. Also, you can never go wrong with the PMA?s ideals of courage, integrity and honor,? he said.

He also used his idealism for reform as a Magdalo soldier to fuel his reform-minded leadership of his town.

?Power without idealism is corruption. And idealism without power is frustration,? he quipped.

Mabulo boasts of his widely accepted municipal ID system to streamline services to his constituents and for peace and order, and a ?rice for trees? program where his local government offers rice to highlanders who chop trees in exchange for planting more trees.

Mabulo is one of three former military and police officials inducted into Kaya Natin! on Friday.

The other two are Mayor Roque Verzosa Jr. of Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, a former police official, and Mayor Florante Gerdan of Sante Fe, Nueva Vizcaya , a former Army man.

Verzosa, a former Manila police colonel and a distant relative of Philippine National Police Director General Jesus Verzosa, resigned from the service when he decided to run for mayor in 2004.

Verzosa also had to hurdle the negative impression of policemen in his public office stint.

?I was accused of being involved in a lot of criminal activities. But I?ve hurdled that and shown people that there are decent policemen, decent enough to serve as public servants.?

He made peace and order and wide consultation and participation of his constituents the cornerstone of his term.
In the last local elections, Verzosa ran unopposed, testament, he said, to the success of his programs.

His previously fourth-class municipality is set to become a first class town.

Gerdan studied in the Royal Military College of Australia.

As a former military man, he said he was also idealistic. ?I wanted change not only in the armed forces but also our institutions across the countryside,? he said.

Gerdan also credits the discipline he learned in military school to his success as a local executive.

He won a close mayoralty race in 2004 and was reelected in 2007.

At present, Gerdan adheres to a participatory kind of governance. ?I learned to listen to my constituents,? he said.

He says he is also focused on educational programs and has taken in non-government organizations as willing partners in the development of his town.

Harvey Keh, lead convenor of Kaya Natin! said the new members were chosen because ?they were effective and ethical leaders.

Effective leaders in a sense that they are transparent and able to deliver the basic services to their constituents.

Ethical because they are against graft and corruption.?

He also said they were still looking for more local officials who could make the commitment to their ideals of good governance and ethica leadership.

?With the elections coming, we think there is still hope for the old-style politicians and the political clans. We believe good governance is still possible,? he said.

The new members of the group also include Mayor Marivic Belena of San Jose City, Nueva Ecija ; former Mayor Gloria Congco of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija ; former Mayor Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando, La Union; Mayor Oscar Rodriguez of San Fernando, Pampanga; and Vice Mayor Valente Yap of Bindoy, Negros Occidental.

The group already has Ifugao Governor Teddy Baguilat and Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro, Nueva Ecija.

Keh also said they would monitor closely the policies of members ?so they won?t stray from the path.?

The new members also signed a covenant for good governance in which they promised to fight graft and corruption; promote transparency, social accountability and people?s participation in governance; eradicate illegal gambling ensure clean and honest elections; support the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program; and oppose amendments to the Constitution before the 2010 elections.