State of the Province Address Gov. Espino outlines marvelous gains

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. outlined “marvelous gains” of the provincial government for the last five-and-half years, from July 2007 to December 2012 in his State-of-the-Province Address (SOPA) delivered this morning (Feb. 18) in front of the Provincial Capitol before a record crowd of around 7,000 well-wishers from all over the province, that included mayors and congressmen and various sectoral leaders.The governor underscored the various national and the regional awards the provincial government obtained since he assumed the provincial leadership in 2007, saying the achievements have propelled Pangasinan as one of the country’s top performing provinces.“Today, Pangasinan is widely known, not just for its inherent political value as a vote-rich province, but more importantly as a consistent top performer in local governance, as a leading tourist destination, and favorite venue for big conventions, conferences, sports and other important national and international events,” the governor declared in his SOPA address which drew a thunderous applause from the audience.The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) declared Pangasinan as the country’s 5^th Best Performing Province in 2010. The following year in 2011, it was voted as the country’s 4^th Best Performing Province.But, the governor said, the year 2012 “was really a banner year for  the Pangasinan” when it bagged the most coveted “Gawad Pamana ng Lahi” considered as “mother of all governance awards” as Region I champion.The award made Pangasinan as one of only ten provincial nominees to the first-ever National Gawad Pamana ng Lahi award.“This coveted leadership position did not just happen overnight; neither did it happen by mere chance, or by a lucky twist of fate,” the governor pointed out, as he stressed the feat “is a product of determined and purpose-driven efforts to achieve clearly defined goals.”The governor recalled that when he assumed office on June 30, 2007, the provincial government was in “total disarray, a graphic picture of mediocrity, indifference and non-performance.”Owing to this, the governor and his staff set out to work “with a sense of urgency, strongly determined to reverse the situation.”A major overhaul of the provincial government’s bureaucracy was undertaken to make the employees function properly to address the challenges of growth and development.The governor reported that a total of P2.5 billion was spent by the provincial government from July 2007 to Dec. 2012 to build and upgrade provincial buildings, facilities and support infrastructures, including hospitals, roads and bridges, potable water systems and irrigation facilities.“Today, there are only 52.4 kilometers of provincial roads that remain unpaved, down from 116.472 kilometers of unpaved provincial roads in 2007,” the governor reported.He said: “All provincial bridges are now made of concrete materials. The last remaining temporary bridge, the 27.3 linear meter Ambonao bridge in Calasiao, was finally rebuilt last yer into a concrete structure, using P8.75 million from the P40-million Local Government Support Fund that came with the Seal of Good Housekeeping – a prestigious local governance award from the DILG.”The governor identified two other projects that were built from the P40-million DILG. These are the 3.8-km. Mangatatarem-Manleluag road (P25.4-million) and the 0.655-km. Balungao-Napudot road (P5.798-million).Recognizing the provincial government’s efforts to upgrade health care facilities, the governor said the Department of Health and the European Community contributed P420.92 million, especially for the acquisition of modern diagnostic equipment, hospital improvements, construction of rural health units and barangay health stations.Pangasinan is the only provincial government in the country that operates its own 14-station dialysis center.The governor noted in his address that Pangasinan has consistently enrolled the highest number of indigent families in the PhilHealth-sponsored program nationwide, from a coverage of just more than 27,000 indigent families in 2007 to a total of 228,032 beneficiaries in 2012.In agriculture, Pangasinan remains as the third highest rice-producing province nationwide, next to Nueva Ecija and Isabela, with an increase in total rice harvest from 811,037 metric tons in 2007 to 1.133 MT in 2012, accounting for 65 percent of then region’s total rice production.On corn, the province recorded for the last two years the highest national average yield of 6.07 MT per hectare in 2011 and 6.10 MT in 2012, accounting for 68 percent of the region’s corn output.The governor pointed out that the province has been chosen by various agencies as pilot area for innovative projects and pioneering activities.He mentioned the P190-million modern rice-processing center in Sta. Barbara, jointly funded by the Department of Agriculture, Korea International Cooperating Agency (KOICA) and the provincial government.The province, he said, is also one of the country’s pilot areas on micro-finance for small- and medium-enterprises, an initiative of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which granted P100-million as initial capital for the Pangasinan Credit Surety Fund (CSF).With an average monthly crime rate (AMCR) of 14.71 percent, down from 36 percent in 2010, or much lower than the regional AMCR of 20 percent, Pangasinan the most peaceful province in Region I.Pangasinan is also the undisputed top tourist destination in Region I, with an increasing number of tourist arrivals from only 55,600 tourists in 2007, to an impressively total of 661,767 tourists in 2012.“These facts clearly disprove and belie the irresponsible and obviously unfounded pronouncement that Pangasinan is a potential hotspot,” the governor said.“If, indeed, we are a hotspot, we would not be enjoying this increasing number of visitors and tourists, and the numerous big events continually taking place, and still being booked in Pangasinan,” the governor added.It is during this period between 2007 to 2012 when Pangasinan, especially the capitol complex with its upgrade convention and sports facilities, established the reputation and a preferred venue for big conventions and conferences, as well as for national and regional sports events, such as the Palarong Pambansa 2012.“It is evident that we are moving forward gradually, but steadily,” he said, citing that the economic indicators invariably project a rosy picture.Domestic inflation rate of 1.20 is lower than the country’s 3.60, the governor noted, as he pointed out that peso purchasing power in Pangasinan of 0.82 is much higher than the country’s 0.76He also noted a reduction in poverty incidence among families from 23.4 percent in 2006 to 19.5 percent in 2009.“We have already reached this far, we have achieved these marvelous gains in just five and a half years, because we have been united, and moved forward as one people towards the attainment of our common goals,” the governor said. (PIO)

Source: http://www.pangasinan.gov.ph/2013/02/state-of-the-province-address-gov-espino-outlines-marvelous-gains/