LINGAYEN, Pangasinan- “It’s an honor to serve you. It’s an honor to serve with you.” This was stated by Gov. Amado I. Espino III before he ended his first State of the Province Address (SOPA) which he delivered via the Sangguniang Panlalawigan special session recently at the Capitol plaza where he enumerated several remarkable achievements that took place in less than a year of his tenure as the provincial chief executive.
Stressing that all present gains were initiated by the administration of his father, former governor now 5th district Representative Amado T. Espino, Jr., whom he dubbed “the person who started it all,” the Governor vowed to continue all program thrusts and noted that enhancements and additional undertakings will be implemented to ensure that the envisioned development and progress for Pangasinan be fully achieved.
Starting off with the various awards both in national and regional levels in program areas like livelihood and employment, statistics, social welfare and development, coastal resource management, health and human resource management, Gov. Espino said another award is underway, namely: Rice Achievers Award which is the province’s fourth national award from the Dept. of Agriculture.
Noting that the province scored the lowest unemployment rate in 2016 at 5.4% from the previous figure of 8.2% in 2015, the Governor said unemployment will further be addressed in the coming days through the implementation of Mobile Skills Training Project which will be facilitated via Customized Training Truck and Training Bus with an initial three TechVoc training modules on carpentry, electrical works, AC/DC modular system and some soft-skills modules like values enhancement, entrepreneurship, basic computer operation, among others.
Likewise, he said that Pangasinenses will find opportunity in other fresh projects to be launched such as the Bigasang Bayani for OFW and their families, online jobs portal for those who seek employment, and Programang Pangkabuhayan for marginalized fisherfolks.
To ensure that Pangasinenses health condition be addressed, Gov. Espino reported that the Point-of- Care program which was first implemented by the previous administration will continue and further be enhanced. From P60 million budget in 2016, the provincial government has allotted P75 million this year, he added.
Likewise, he cited that a new project: “Kalusugan Caravan” has been added to serve more people from the grassroots. To date, a total of 233 barangays which translates to about 26,204 individuals has been served. As one of its features, supplemental feeding has served a total of 25,688 children.
Another breakthrough project is the establishment of the Provincial Drug Rehabilitation Center located in a 2-hectare lot in San Vicente, Burgos which was donated by the Cabiles family. Initial construction works, the Governor said, are currently on deck specifically the kitchen and mess hall, bath house, concrete pavement and perimeter fence which amounts to P8 million.
Being the first in the country to respond to the national government’s call to address illegal drugs, the provincial government under the stewardship of Gov. Espino has also implemented a mandatory random drug testing among officials and employees of the provincial government.
With regards to youth and sports development, the present administration has launched innovative endeavors for the younger generation specifically the Provincial Scholarship Program which now has five categories—academic, NCIP, Muslims, PSU and TechVoc. At present, there are a total of 2,366 provincial scholars.
To enhance the province’s sports program through the newly-established Pangasinan Sports Development and Management Council, two sports activities were launched—1st Governor’s Cup Inter-Town/City Basketball Tournament and 1st Pangasinan Inter-LGU Unity Games for City/Municipal officials and employees. With the success of the two, another project is underway—1st Inter-Agency Basketball Tournament–that will urge the participation of national line agencies.
On agriculture, the present administration has set its sights in realizing agro-industrial enterprise development. This, the governor stressed, will enable Pangasinan farmers to shy away from the so-called traditional agriculture. Projects identified by the provincial chief executive include provision of processing plants, agro-industrial facilities and technology demonstration farms.
Tourism development still tops the priorities of the provincial government. A joint project between the Dept. of Tourism and the Pangasinan Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office to make Pangasinan as pilot site for Inclusive Local Growth River Tourism is in the offing. This will involve prime tourist destinations like Balingasay River in Bolinao, historic Limahong Channel in Lingayen and Bugallon, and Balincaguin River in Agno.
On infrastructure, Gov. Espino noted that there is only one-kilometer of provincial road left to be asphalted/cemented. To date, 34 provincial buildings are undertaking preventive maintenance while the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) will undergo facelifting that will include state-of-the-art taraflex rubberized flooring, water-proofing of bleachers, among many others.
Other pet projects of Gov. Espino are as follows: 1st Pangasinan Umaani Expo, establishment of Hall of Fame or Abong na Dayew building, construction of a second Pangasinan Training and Development Center (PTDC) building.
The first-ever SOPA of Gov. Espino, attended by crowd 8 to 10 thousand people, was graced by his immediate family led by his father, former governor and now 5th district congressman Espino, his mother Prescila I. Espino, his wife Karina P. Espino and son Amado IV, his brother –Bugallon Mayor Jumel Anthony Espino, his uncle—Bautista Mayor Amadeo T. Espino.
Local chief executives from different towns, national agency officials, leaders from different people’s organizations, provincial scholars and youth leaders, provincial officials, department heads and employees among many others also witnessed the event.
By Dexter A. See
