BONTOC, Mountain Province – Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. underscored that the most significant achievement of his administration was the reclassification of the province from a fourth-class to a second-class income province that will be greatly benefit the people in terms of the sustained delivery of quality services and implementation of more development projects.
Lacwasan attributed this milestone to the consolidated efforts of the provincial officials and employees in partnership with concerned government agencies and the cooperation of the people in the implementation of the necessary reforms that produced good results for the province.
The governor also worked out the creation of vital offices and various positions in the provincial government that translated to the significant improvement in the delivery of quality services to the people, such as the provincial nutrition division under the provincial health office, office of the provincial agriculture and bio-systems engineer, provincial youth development office, persons with disability affairs office, and provincial public employment services office.
More importantly, Mountain Province received the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Award from 2023 to 2024, aside from being a regional and national awardee of the Gawad KALASAG from 2022-2024.
In 2024, the Provincial Accounting Office received the PHALGA national level Excellence Ward as one of the Most Outstanding and Best Performing Provincial Accounting Office in the country by the Philippine Association of Local Government Accountants (PHALGA).
Mountain Province also got the Green Banner Seal of Compliance for its Outstanding Nutrition Security Efforts through the implementation of various programs aimed at improving the nutrition of children aged 6-23 months.
Earlier, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) recognized Mountain Province as the Kabalikat Provincial Awardee in 2024.
Last year, the Bontoc General Hospital and the Barlig District Hospital were among the top three hospitals in the implementation of the Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients and Financially Incapacitated Patients Programs (MAIPP) in the Cordillera while the Bontoc General Hospital was also recognized by the health department as above average practice for having garnered three green star award under the Green Viability Assessment System.
Further, Mountain Province was a regional awardee of the Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) functionality audit for three successive years and has been a consistent national awardee on peace and order (POC) functionality audit.
The province was a regional awardee on Local Committee on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and their Children functionality audit and a regional awardee on regional project monitoring committee functionality audit.
On the other hand, the Provincial Treasury Office ranked third in the national top performing provinces in strengthening local governance finance.
Mountain Province ranked second among all the Cordillera provinces based on the 2022 collection efficiency of locally sourced revenues where the provincial treasury achieved a 112 percent collection efficiency.
Moreover, Mountain Province recorded the second fastest growth among the economies in the Cordillera in 2023 aside from being considered as a Good Financial Housekeeping passer.
The Paracelis and Besao district hospitals were the 2023 Red Orchid Awardees for implementing the 100 percent tobacco-free environment.
On November 29, 2023, Mountain Province, through the unrelenting efforts of Gov. Lacwasan, received the Peoples Survival Fund of over PhP271 million from no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and other national officials that was used to implement high impact development projects in the different parts of the province.
Mountain Province was among the six local government beneficiaries nationwide that were identified to be the recipients of the Fund.
This fund will be used to establish the Mountain Province Climate Field School for Farmers, a first of its kind initiative, at the Mountain Province State University campus in Bacarri, Paracelis town.
Lacwasan has been instrumental in the sustained implementation of his Barangay Muna program where the provincial government reaches out to the barangays to provide various forms of assistance that will contribute in uplifting the lives of people on the ground, aside from implementing vital infrastructure projects that will improve the current condition of roads and other public projects in the province’s barangays. By Dexter A. See
