LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Benita M. Pizarro presented to Governor Amado I. Espino, III recently the Special Plaque of Recognition to the Province of Pangasinan conferred earlier by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for being adjudged as one of the finalists of the 2017 Most Business Friendly Local Government Unit Award Province Level 1.
The brief ceremony was held after the flag-raising ceremony at the Capitol Plaza followed by the presentation of the ISO 9001:2015 certifications to administrative and support sevices of the provincial government.
The plaque, signed by PCCI president George T. Barcelon and LGU Award chair Jose S. Alejandro, cited Pangasinan under the leadership of Governor Espino for “exemplifying commendable initiatives towards good governance reforms that promote trade and investments, and significantly contribute to local economic development.”
The special citation was conferred to the Pangasinan delegation headed by PPDO chief Benita Pizarro on October 11 at the PCCI office in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City during the Chamber’s 43rd Philippine Business Conference and Expo.
Governor Espino arrived at 8 am on October 11 at the event site to lead the presentation of Pangasinan to the panel of judges but due to some delays of the start of the deliberation with various provincial LGUs, Gov. Espino had to leave to attend to another earlier appointment.
Aside from Gov. Espino and Pizarro, the other members of the Pangasinan delegation who eventually faced the panel of judges were: Provincial Accountant Art Soriano, Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs officer Malou Amor-Elduayan, Provincial Engineer Antonietta Delos Santos, Pangasinan PESO manager Alex Ferrer, Human Resources and Development officer Janet Asis, Provincial Agriculturist OIC Dalisay Moya, Provincial Social Welfare and Development officer Emilio Samson, Provincial Population Officer Ellsworth Gonzales and Provincial Information Officer Orpheus Velasco.
The Pangasinan delegation presented to the panel of judges the highlights of accomplishments of Pangasinan in investment promotions such as the signing of the new Investments and Incentives Code of 2016, the creation of investment promotion center, innovative employment services of Pangasinan PESO, the tourism boom in the province, the provincial livelihood assistance, the number one stature of the official FB page of the province compared with all LGUs’ official FB accounts nationwide, and more.
By Dexter A. See