The City Government of San Fernando commemorated 136th birth anniversary of a Fernandino hero, Pedro Abad Santos, brother of former Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos on Tuesday.

Abad Santos was a communist who is known as the “Founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines” and “Champion of the Peasants of Central Luzon.” Pedro also established the Aguman Ding Maldang Talapagobra (“Union of the Toiling Masses”) which fought for land reform and mutual protection from landlord abuses.

The members of the Abad Santos Family graced the program and were thankful for the importance which the City Government has given to Pedro Abad Santos which began during the administration of Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez.

“We thank the City Government especially Mayor Oca for his continual effort in commemorating our local and national heroes and my grandfather Pedro Abad Santos” said Rafael Abad Santos Galvez

Meanwhile, Mayor Rodriguez said that though heroes have already passed away, the legacy they left must be remembered. “We must continually salute our local and national heroes who sacrificed their life for country’s sake. Pedro Abad Santos practiced self-denial; he is a martyr and a hero to the oppressed during his time.”

He also encouraged the youth to give tribute to the heroism Abad Santos did for the country and challenged them to walk according to his path.

Pedro was born on January 31, 1876 in San Fernando to parents Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco.

The National Economic and Development Authority Region III conducted the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Orientation-Briefing in Central Luzon at Partyland Restaurant, CSFP on January 26.

Private and Public Partnership significantly contribute on the growth of the city’s economy through the help of the private partners new programs are being conducted it also implies a common understanding of shared goals, willingness to repartition responsibilities for their achievement, continuing public-private dialogue on what needs to be done to promote their realization.

Non-Government Organizations, Local Government Units, Government Owned and Controlled Corporations, and participated in the said program.

The objective of the program is to strengthen the bond between the government and private organization and be aware of the positive results through this partnership.

Mayor Oscar Rodriguez during his part mentioned that with the help of the (PPP) partnership new programs are being planned then implemented.

“With the help of the different private sectors, we have made programs that help into the increase of production, reformed infrastructures and other improved facilities for Fernandinos” he added

According to Agustin C. Mendoza, Chief Economic Development Specialist of NEDA Region III, “We hope that thru this orientation both public and private sectors would be well-informed about the positive outcomes of the partnership.”

In the City Government of San Fernando the Multi Sectoral Governance Council or MSGC is composed of private organizations which enhance and highlight public and private partnership in governance.

A two-week celebration of 11th Cityhood Anniversary is now slated to commemorate this momentous occasion in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga spearheaded by the Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez together with the Vice Mayor Edwin Santiago, members of the City Council and Association of Barangay Captains.

In order to achieve the vision of becoming a Habitat of Human Excellence by 2030, the City Government wants to propagate good governance practices down to the barangay level which is considered as the smallest yet greatest political unit.

Dubbed as “Pamibuklud ding Barangay… Kaganapan ning Syudad” this year’s celebration highlight activities for Fernandinos to look forward.

ABC President Chairman who serves as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee, Arnel Sicat said that “behind the theme is the manifestation of the oneness of all 35 barangays in San Fernando and we support the missions and goals of the Local Chief Executive for the betterment of the City Government.”

The observance of this year’s Cityhood Anniversary also features meaningful activities, which include dental and mental missions, painting contest, cycling caravan, Pedro Abad Santos Day, serenata, lantern exhibition, job fairs, livelihood trainings, and mass wedding. We will also recognize San Fernando’s excellent sons and daughters during The Outstanding Fernandino Awards night.

Thousands of new books were donated by the Books for the Barrios, Inc. to Panipuan Intergrated School last January 19 in line with their mission in strengthening public school education worldwide.

Since quality education on top of the priorities of Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, he then started to provide access to quality education for all children, especially disadvantaged children in conflict areas and provided scholarships through his Scholarship in Education for Empowerment and Development or SEED Program.

“When I was elected in Congress way back in 1987, education has always been my concern. I filled bills regarding the construction of libraries for all schools from national, local down to the barangay levels. I am thankful for meeting people with same advocacy as mine.” he said.

In the next six months, the organization and the City Government of San Fernando will ink a Memorandum of Agreement that will enable the rehabilitation of libraries of all integrated schools in city.

President and Executive Director of Books for the Barrios, Mrs. Nancy Harrington was flattered for the gratitude expressed by the students and promised to send additional books. She was also amazed because of the importance Mayor Rodriguez puts on education. “Mayor Oca is an amazing and a very visionary person, [making] sure that not only school buildings are being established but also sponsorship to our volunteers.”

Students from Panipuan Integrated School were delighted upon seeing their new and improved school library. “Masayang masaya po ako kase marami na po kameng libro hindi na namen kailangan manghiraman pa mas madali ng magaral ng lesson,” Erika Mandap, a Grade 6 student said.

Books for the Barrios, Inc. is a non-profit organization which began in 1981 among U.S. Navy families who were stationed in the Philippines. They worked closely with other knowledgeable, motivated volunteers in order to distribute hundreds to thousands of books throughout the Philippines and to date, they have sent over 12 million books overseas.

Some 56 cities, municipalities, and provinces all over Region III attended the Awarding Ceremony of the 2011 Seal of Good Housekeeping held at the Heroes Hall, City of San Fernando on January 18.

Provincial and municipal officials, functionaries, staffs, NGOs, and other religious group from Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales participated in the said ceremony.

The Seal of Good Housekeeping is an award given by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to local and provincial units who practice aggressively scale-up up interventions in order to elevate the practice of governance that values transparency, accountability, participation and performance into an institutionalized status.

During his welcome remarks, City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez discussed the importance of good governance in each political unit. “When we, political leaders, were elected to office, we have pledged to dedicate our lives to continuously help our constituents to alleviate their way of living through this award we will more inspired to continue that aspiration.”

DILG Regional Director Florida M. Dijan stressed that “It will always be a pride and honor for any city, municipality or province to be awarded by DILG for the Seal of Good Housekeeping.” Director Dijan added that the award would mean that the administration is transparent and local officials are accountable.

Among the awardees was Mayor Peter T. Flores of the Municipality of Masantol and he mentioned that he was honored and pleased to be recognized by the DILG. “We consider this (award) as a big achievement for our Municipality thus we will further enhance our services to our constituents.” said Flores

Mayor Flores also salutes Mayor Rodriguez’s administration being the Local Chief Executive of San Fernando. “The City of San Fernando has received numerous awards under his administration. He is a model to follow for us leaders.”

The City of San Fernando also received the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi and Seal of Good Housekeeping Awards late last year for bagging the first place in the regional sector.

As a testament of partnership towards a better tomorrow, the City Government of Angeles and City Government of San Fernando (P) signed the Sister Cities Memorandum of Agreement at the Museo Ning Angeles on Friday.

Mayor Oscar Rodriguez, Vice Mayor Edwin Santiago, and City Administrator Engr. Ferdinand Caylao represented the City of San Fernando while Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, Vice Mayor Vicky Vega, City Administrator Atty. Dennis Albert Pamintuan stood for Angeles City. Respective City Councilors and Department Heads of each delegation graced the event.

Mayor Rodriguez, during his part, said that the agreement is a proof of the commonality of interest to strengthen the relationship of the two cities.

“Through this agreement City of San Fernando and Angeles may be able to assist each other in times of calamity also our main objective is to help our constituents.” said Rodriguez

“For cities to become resilient, there are many things to consider. One fundamental factor is the need to involve communities especially in this time of globalization and IT revolution.” he added

Meanwhile, Mayor Pamituan mentioned that “Mayor Rodriguez is a model Mayor to follow [and] this MOA signing can foster good governance practices and we can complement each other.”

The twin cities plan to launch developmental initiatives toward proper waste management, flood mitigation and other environment-related projects.

Thousands of spectators from the city and around the globe were astonished on the battle of colorful lights and creative craftsmanship showcased on last Saturday’s celebration of Giant Lantern Festival or Ligligan Parul held at Robinson’s Starmills Pampanga.

The entry of last year’s champion, Barangay Sta. Lucia emerged again as the champion outshining nine other lanterns from villages Dolores, Del Pilar, Telebastagan, San Juan, Sto. Niño, San Pedro, Calulut. Barangay Del Carmen which participated after 54 years, bagged the 2nd place, while Barangay San Jose was the 1st runner-up winner.

Barangay Sta Lucia received P103, 000 as cash prize, while Barangay San Jose received P50,000 and Barangay Del Carmen, P30,000.

The criteria for the competition are the designs, color combination, synchronized interplay of lights and colors with music during the three rounds.

During the first round of competition, each barangay was given seven minutes to showcase its giant lantern; in another round, lanterns in the same cluster played simultaneously, while on the final round, all lanterns were lighted at the same time for the traditional showdown or “ligligan”.

This year’s lanterns are better than ever, with the size of 20 feet in diameter and the use of fiber glass, the lanterns are even more fascinating for spectators and the international panel of judges which include dignitaries, ambassadors, and international personality in visual arts.

“This is great, the fact that this lanterns are operated manually, this shows the ingenuity of Kapampangans, I would recommend this (GLF) to my embassy and my country, next year we will be here”, said Harry Thomas, US Ambassador.

Internationally renowned Film Director Brilliante Mendoza was also captivated by the lanterns.

“Without the use of technology, we are producing this, sana next year mapanitili natin ang pagiging ‘local’ nito” said Mendoza.

For his part, Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez thanked the Giant Lantern Festival Executive Committee for the success of this year’s celebration.

“We will ensure that next year’s ligligan parul will be even more beautiful” he said.

In line with his advocacy of alleviating poverty through education, Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez has inked an agreement with Aboitiz Power Foundation on the construction of a two storey four classrooms at Barangay Malpitic, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

The signing of the memorandum of agreement was held at the Heroes Hall and was participated by city officials, representative of the Department of Education, and officers of the Aboitiz Power Foundation. It was also witnessed by students and beneficiaries of Barangay Malpitic.

Mayor Rodriguez, during his part, said that the project is a testament of a strong public-private partnership in the city.

He also noted that education is the main thrust of his administration under his agenda “Edukasyong Abot Kamay, Kinabukasang Abot Tanaw”.

“It is the responsibility of leaders like us to ensure the future of our children, and we can only do it by investing in education” he said.

“This is also an example of the public-private partnership (PPP) that the national government is pushing but here in the city we innovate this program, instead we use the ‘public-private partnership for progress’” he added.

“Through our Multi-Sectoral Governance Council, we entice the private sectors and the NGOs to participate in administering the city, this way we gather more data and serve the public even better” said Mayor Rodriguez.

The two storey 4-classroom building will be constructed early next year. It is worth 3.6 million pesos whereas the 70% of the funds will be shouldered by the Aboitiz Power Foundation and the remaining 30% will be funded by the city government.

“This is part of our corporate social responsibility, for some years now we are helping local government units in constructing classrooms for our children, because like mayor [Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez] we believe that education is the key to our future” said Rolan Gaerlan, Aboitiz Power Vice President for Sales and Marketing.

Some ten brand new personal computers were also donated to the Information Communication Technology High school.

League of Cities President and City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez spearheaded the three-day 3rd Philippine Cities Global Convention and Exposition at the Resorts World Manila held last November 17 to 19.

With the theme ‘Bridging Cities, Transforming Lives’, the convention’s main objective is to increase the knowledge of city governments on inclusive urban development through the conduct of a knowledge exchange system among city stakeholders, both national and foreign.

Hundreds of delegates from different cities across the country and around the globe attended the activity, including LCP members.

According to Mayor Rodriguez, the convention has served as an avenue to showcase the best products of every local government unit has to offer, in the case of San Fernando—its world famous ‘parul’ (Lanterns).

A highlight of the activity was the sharing of experiences of cities of their own successful programs and projects, which have resulted in more competitive and economically progressive communities.

The convention also consisted of plenary discussions and thematic breakout sessions on specific urban management issues, including urban competitiveness, strengthening local economies, greening cities, and city –to-city cooperation.

Among the topics which were discussed were Urban Shelter, Strengthening Local Economies, Creating Green Cities, Human Development, Planning, Designing and Managing Cities, Green Urban Infrastructure, Good Urban Governance: Key to Sustaining Urban Development, and City to City Cooperation.

During his part, Mayor Rodriguez articulated that San Fernando along with other 122 cities and members of LCP are committed in their jobs of alleviating poverty and are proactive in the pursuit of sustainable development of the country.

He also said that by conducting such activity, the Philippines is promoted as an investment haven and will help to boost local economic development to further generate more business opportunities and employment.

According to him to achieve development, cooperation among cities in the Philippines must be fostered as well as entice the private sector to engage in government projects.

“All Filipinos, not only government officials, must do our part to achieve development” said Mayor Rodriguez. (Bong Ortaliz)

The world famous Parul San Fernando is now the newest attraction of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

This is through the effort of the City Government under the leadership of Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez where top-of-the-line lanterns with the total of cost 500 thousand pesos where donated at the cultural center.

Dubbed as ‘SULU: Parul San Fernando goes to CCP’, the joint program aims to promote the industry of San Fernando as well showcase the creativity of the makers that uses only manual techniques in producing world renown Christmas Lanterns.

“Isa itong paraan para maibahagi naming ang tuwa at saya hatid ng mga parul lalo na sa mga taga-Manila na hindi makakapunta sa Giant Lantern Festival namin” said Mayor Rodriguez.

The mayor also noted that the lanterns that are 8 feet in dimension are a small representation of the giant lanterns of the city which are usually 20 feet in dimension.

“Matagal na naming gustong mailagay ang ‘Parul San Fernando’ dito sa CCP and we are happy after 5 years of planning makikita na ng lahat ang makukulay na ilaw hatid ng parul” said Ariel Yonzon, Associate Artistic Director.

Meanwhile, CCP President Raul Sunico said that it is another pride for the center to house another authentic culture and traditions of the Filipinos.

“For 3 years we will display the lanterns in the façade of our building, this will also add to the festive atmosphere of during yuletide season” he said.