Pampanga official views for World Mayor Prize

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga — Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan of this highly urbanized city, together with two other Philippine mayors, has been nominated for the 2012 World Mayor Prize, an award given to outstanding mayors worldwide.

The Prize is awarded every two years to a mayor “who has made outstanding contributions to his / her community and has developed a vision for urban living and working that is relevant to towns and cities across the world.”

“I am not expecting too much on this search, I just continue the work that I do as mayor of Angeles City as there are still a lot of things we need to undertake to fulfill all our campaign promises and those that are stipulated on our Contract with the Angelenos,” Pamintuan said.

Barely 21 months in office, Pamintuan has made significant accomplishments as city mayor.

Other nominees in the Philippines vying for the prize are Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio.

This is the second time that a mayor from Pampanga was nominated in the World Mayor Price.

San Fernando Mayor Oscar Rodriguez was nominated in 2005 and was in fact ranked fourth among the finalists.

Barely 21 months in office, Pamintuan has made significant accomplishments as city mayor.

He was able to stabilize the city’s financial condition with increased local revenues, solve the traffic and garbage woes and improved the delivery of services to his constituents.

A significant project that was implemented last year was the establishment of the Angeles City Renal Care Unit (ACRCU) that currently houses 19 dialysis machines and caters to poor Angeleños who are suffering from renal diseases.

The other project, which Pamintuan hopes to be operational this year, is the opening of the City College of Angeles (CCA) which will benefit indigent students who cannot afford the rising costs of education in private college institutions.

As of this month, 88 mayors from all over the world were nominated for the award – 16 from North America, 13 from Latin America, 30 from Europe, 19 from Asia, three from Australasia and seven from Africa.

The City Mayors Foundation, an international think tank on urban affairs, said it organized the World Mayor Prize to “honor mayors with the vision, passion and skills to make their cities incredible places to live in, work in and visit.”

The winner will receive the artistically acclaimed World Mayor trophy, while the runner-up will be given the World Mayor Commendation, it added.