PROFILES: Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez

Aside from bringing the City of San Fernando to the heights it has never reached before with his style of leadership, indomitable will and his “Magsilbi Tamu” tenet, Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez has become the epitome of public service to many people. He is one of the few who have managed to serve in various capacities in all three branches of government: judiciary, legislative and executive.
 
From the ranks as a court stenographer, Mayor Oca rose to become an ardent human rights and litigation lawyer and founding president of, among others, the group MAYAP or Movement for the Advancement of Young Advocates of Pampanga that fought for human rights especially during the dark days of the Martial Law era.

Mayor Oca’s experience in the executive branch ran from being Pampanga’s provincial administrator shortly after the 1986 EDSA Revolution to being San Fernando’s city mayor for two terms now.

As a leader, he advocates for strong private sector participation in governance. That is why when the Public Governance System (PGS) was introduced to the City of San Fernando by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, he readily accepted the idea and sought the help of various sectors, particularly the private sector, in running the affairs of government. For all his efforts, together with responsible citizens, CSFP was awarded Galing Pook 2008 awardee for “making governance a shared responsibility.”

Since then, the City of San Fernando has been garnering national awards and has risen from the 3rd class component city it was when he assumed office in 2004 to become a 1st class component city in less than four years. Moreover, the City has reached the Institutionalized stage on the PGS pathway (one of the two cities that have done so) thereby entrenching his advocacy towards an effective government and a responsible citizenship in the City of San Fernando.
 (Editor’s Note: Profiles is a new section of Earth Matters featuring MEF’s partners.)