Isidro Santiago Rodriguez Sr. (May 15, 1915 – March 9, 1992) was a Filipino softball official and politician. Rodriguez was the first Vice President of the

International Softball Federation Map of member states., 400px, right The International Softball Federation (ISF) is the international governing body for the sport of softball with its world headquarters and training centre at Plant City, Florida. The ISF is a non-profit corporat ...

(ISF) and an ISF Hall of Fame inductee. He is the son of Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Sr., former Senate President of the Philippines, and Juana Santiago Rodriguez.

Education

Rodriguez obtained his law degree from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

Softball

Rodriguez is dubbed as the "Father of Softball in the Philippines" by many softball enthusiasts in the country. He was President of the

Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines The Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines is the national governing body for softball in the Philippines. It is accredited by the International Softball Federation which is the governing body for the sport of softball in the world. It c ...

from 1969 to 1983. He served as first Vice President of the ISF. He has also organized the ASEAN Softball Federation in 1975.Rodriguez was inducted in the ISF Hall of Fame in 1983.

Political career

From 1955 to 1986, Rodriguez served as Governor of the province of

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

, which then included the cities of

Pasig Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people. It is located along the ...

and

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 425,758 people. Loca ...

. He has never lost in an election. He is cited for establishing the

Manggahan Floodway The Manggahan Floodway is an artificially constructed waterway in Metro Manila, the Philippines. The floodway was built in 1986, with the cost of 1.1 billion pesos, in order to reduce flooding along Pasig River during the rainy season, by diverti ...

and

Parañaque Parañaque, officially the City of Parañaque ( fil, Lungsod ng Parañaque, ), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to t ...

spillway which alleviated flooding problem in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. He was also instrumental in conceiving the Laguna Lake Developmental Plan which calls for

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

in the

Laguna de Bay Laguna de Bay (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lagoon/Lake of Bay, Laguna, Bay"; tl, Lawa ng Bay, ), also known as Laguna Lake, is the List of lakes of the Philippines, largest lake in the Philippines. It is located southeast of Metro Manila, b ...

area and was supported by both the national government and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. He also developed healthcare in his constituent province and set up health and puericulture centers in Rizal, including the first provincial blood bank in the country. Rodriguez also conceptualized first Youth Development Program through the Rizal Youth Development Foundation. The youth program later served as a basis for the Kabataang Barangay or the National Development Youth Program. Rodriguez served for four consecutive terms both at the League of Provincial Governors and League of City Mayors of the Philippines. He served as the first chairman of the Pambansang Kapulungan ng mga Sangguniang Bayan (Assembly of the National Board). He was also appointed as the chairman of the Constitutional Convention committee on power functions and structures during the 1971 Constitution. Rodriguez was also the first chairman of the

Nationalist People's Coalition The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservative political party in the Philippines, founded in 1992 by then-presidential candidate Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. History The Party was founded in 1992 after some members of the Nacionalista ...

Personal life

Rodriguez is the son of the late senator

Eulogio Rodriguez Eulogio "Amang" Adona Rodriguez Sr. (born Eulogio Rodríguez y Adona; January 21, 1883 – December 19, 1964) was a Filipino politician who twice served as President of the Senate of the Philippines. Early life Coming from a poor family, Rodri ...

. In 1941, he married future mayor of

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

Adelina Santos and they have 10 children including Isidro Jr. and Adelina. Isidro Jr. or Jun is a former member of

Philippine House of Representatives The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish language, Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house ...

representing the second district of Rizal from 1998-2007 and again from 2010-2019 while Adelina Rodriguez Zaldarriaga or Deline is also a member of

in the same district from 2007 to 2010.

Death

Rodriguez died due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

while being confined at the

National Kidney and Transplant Institute The National Kidney and Transplant Institute is a tertiary referral hospital located in Central, Quezon City, Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilip ...

on March 9, 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Isidro 1992 deaths Nationalist People's Coalition politicians Governors of Rizal 20th-century Filipino lawyers University of the Philippines alumni Nacionalista Party politicians 1915 births