Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines, placed fourth in the world’s 10 most outstanding mayors, a London-based research organization behind the new international search event has announced.

Rodriguez, 60, a first-term mayor, was the first Philippine mayor to get the recognition. In July, he made it to the list of top 65 mayors short-listed from out of 550 mayors in the world.

Tann vom Hove, editor of the City Mayors, the organizer of the “World Mayor” search, said Rodriguez “played a key role in transforming San Fernando from a town to a recognized city.”

As Pampanga representative (12th Congress, 2001-04), Rodriguez worked for the legislation of the town into a city in 2001.

“Mayor Oscar Samson Rodriguez can rightly point to a successful career in politics before assuming mayoral office and then playing a key role in transforming San Fernando from a town to a recognized city,” vom Hove said.

In World Mayor 2005, Rodriguez won “wide support from across the Philippines in addition to votes from Filipinos in North America and Europe,” vom Hove said. “His supporters describe him as one of the most honest politicians in his country.”

Vom Hove said the four top mayors all received more than 6,000 votes, with the top winner getting over 7,500 votes. They were selected equally on the number of votes received and the quality and conviction of supporting statements, he said.

Voted top three mayors were Dora Bakoyannis of Athens, Greece; Hazel McCallion of Mississauga, Ontario (Canada); and Alvaro Arzu of Guatemala City, Guatemala. 

“In spite of successive political turbulence and natural disasters, San Fernando City has emerged as a resilient and growing regional capital,” writes Andrew Stevens, political editor of City Mayors.

Stevens said Rodriguez’s campaign for cityhood commenced in 1997. Led by the town’s mayor, Dr. Rey B. Aquino, the campaign achieved its goal in 2000 when Rodriguez, then the area’s congressman, gained legislative backing for his proposal to give the town a city charter.

Rodriguez began his career in law as a stenographer before graduating from Pampanga’s Harvardian Colleges in 1969 and with a lawyer’s degree from Far Eastern University in 1973.

Called to the country’s bar a year later, a series of legal posts followed, including professorial roles in local law schools.

After serving one year as Pampanga’s provincial administrator, he was then elected in 1987 to the first Congress to be constituted following the resumption of democracy after the Marcos regime was overthrown in 1986.

Having lost his seat, he returned to law, teaching as a professor of contract law and acting as a human rights lawyer.

In 1995, he returned to the House of Representatives, where he sat until 2004.

During this time he drafted key legislation and constitutional amendments and served on a number of United Nations bodies. He is a member of the country’s governing party, LAKAS (the Christian and Muslim Democrats).

Prior to becoming mayor, Rodriguez sought the Pampanga governorship but lost out to a party colleague.

As mayor, he may be seen to bring the benefit and influence in government that congressional office carries but Rodriguez has also spelt out his vision for the city’s growth, particularly as the driver of the regional economy in Pampanga, reports Stevens.

“In addition to this and his priorities in education and welfare of citizens as being integral to a strong local economy, Mayor Rodriguez has stipulated an eight-point plan to promote the city as a centre of foreign investment in banking, tourism and culture,” Stevens said. “Most citizens appear to be content with his balancing the budget at City Hall, waste management programme and managing the worst excesses of recent natural disasters however.”

Rodriguez is married to Dolores Pineda Pabustan, father to Raissa and Wito Bautista, Oscar Jr., Orson and Joy (y Maglalang), Malou and Dindo Caguiat and Omar, and grandfather to Jomo Bautista

The aim of the internet-based World Mayor project, which was launched by City Mayors in January 2004, is to raise the profile of mayors worldwide by honoring those who have served their communities well and have made significant contributions to cities nationally and internationally.

Each year the most outstanding mayor is presented with the World Mayor Award.

In 2004, Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana, won the Award.

The World Mayor project has no connection with any city or organization and is run on strictly non-commercial lines.

Sponsorships, advertising, subscriptions, donations or any other kind of revenue source are not sought and will be rejected, if offered.

Between January and May each year, the worldwide public is invited to nominate mayors for the World Mayor Award via the City Mayors and World Mayor websites. While City Mayors accepts nominations of mayors from all types of cities, their supporters are asked to provide reasons for their choice.

After the close of the nomination stage, the editors of City Mayors prepare a short list of mayors who go forward to the second round of the World Mayor contest.

This year’s winners are all politicians who are greatly admired by their own communities, as well as nationally and internationally.

All four mayors understand that local politics must have national and international dimensions. They have shown that in order to promote successfully the interests of their own communities they must also address issues faced by other cities in their respective countries and indeed across the world.

Dora Bakoyannis, mayor of Athens, was not only strongly and passionately supported by her own community but also by thousands of voters in other European countries, North America and Australia.

Her achievements as mayor of Athens, including the successful staging of the 2004 Olympics and her fight against terrorism, have made her a heroine of modern Greek politics. She has also gone beyond the Olympic legacy and used her vision to transform the city and make tangible changes for the benefit of its residents, with plaudits from supporters and opponents alike.

Completing the top 10 winners are Mayors Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, Michael Haupl of Vienna, Christian Ude of Munich, Fernando Damata Pimentel of Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Shirley Franklin of Atlanta; and John So of Melbourne (Australia).