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State of the Province Address 2010By: Gov. Emilio C. Macias II, M.D. First, let me greet all of you a wonderful and prosperous New Year. It is my hope that last Christmas brought about the fulfillment of most of your dreams. Mr. Presiding Officer, members of this August Body, our partners in the private sector, my colleagues in government service, friends, and fellow Oriental Negrenses. It is with great pleasure that once more I come before this August body to render a report to our people, regarding the State of Our Province. This is the fourth and last time that I shall deliver my yearly special message to you during this term. Thirty months ago, we prepared a program of government focused on adopting sustainable, adequate and innovative strategies to give equal access to opportunities to all the families in Negros Oriental, so that they can improve and elevate the quality of their own lives. While previous SOPA’s were in the nature of annual reports, today, it will be a brief cumulative narrative of our work during our past two and a half years. Allow me to show you our targets then and how we fared.
I. Food Security. The Province went into a concerted and sustained effort to create a paradigm shift in the minds of our farmers in the manner of redesigning our agricultural practices. THE PROVINCE WENT ORGANIC. Not only did we promote the use of organic fertilizers, but also capacitated the beneficiaries to produce their own fertilizer. The Provincial Agriculturist’s Office organized several teams of technical personnel to lecture, demonstrate and transfer the technology in making organic fertilizer, naturally-fermented solutions (NSF) and organic pesticides to farmers across the province. The solid waste management program implemented by the ENRD joined the NEGORGANIC-NOW program by assisting in the construction of vermi-chambers in 15 project sites. NEGORGANIC-NOW resulted in major savings on farm inputs as well as responded to the call of the times for environment-friendly use of our natural resources, and we have enjoyed a significant increase in palay, fruits and vegetable harvest. A slight drop was noticed in corn production, this was attributed to crop diversification and the changes in climatic conditions. We trained our farmers how to raise tilapia, fresh water prawns and crayfish through our Barangay Agricultural Development Centers and Government Agricultural Development Centers. In two GADCENTs, we trained food processing technology such as sardine making and boneless tilapia. The produce of the farmers we have trained are now being sold in different markets in their respective localities and at the twice-weekly TABO at the PAO. At the Provincial Veterinary Office, the Gatasang Barangay program with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture, through the Land ‘O Lakes Foundation, added 66 pregnant Holstein cows from New Zealand to the present dairy herd inventory of the province under the care of the Negros Oriental Dairy Farmers Federation. Under the program, the cooperative, set-up the NEGOR Dairy Processing Plant and has significantly improved the quality and quantity of our dairy products, now marketed as NORIENT Fresh Milk. Part of this went to our Milk Feeding Program of the Provincial Nutrition Council for under-nourished pre-schoolers. Perhaps you would want to know that if you have been a customer of Starbucks Coffee, one time or another, the milk in your coffee comes from Negros Oriental. We have been supplying Starbucks Coffee with Fresh Milk. With our intensified livestock dispersal and artificial insemination programs, we have greatly improved our production of meat vis a vis consumption, more particularly in livestock where we have a production surplus of 44 per cent. II. Health. We have improved our health services by capacitating our district hospitals, which includes the NOPH, by increasing its budget and introducing innovative solutions to the personnel cap. This was made possible by hiring contractual health workers. During the past few years, we experienced a shortage of physicians because of migration to other countries seeking better opportunities. This was a nationwide trend which burdened the health care system. We have four scholars at the Silliman University School of Medicine who are now having their post-graduate internship and will be taking the medical board exams and another one graduating this year. Hopefully, they would lessen the strain of the shortage of medical practitioners in our District Hospitals and Rural Health Centers. We have Congressman George Arnaiz to thank for all this initiative. One of the solutions in solving over-crowding at the Provincial Hospital, with normal-deliveries and primary hospital care cases, was to encourage local governments to establish their own infirmaries which will provide Basic Emergency Maternal Obstetrical Care (BEMOC) and primary hospital care. This program is included in the Province-wide Integrated Plan for Health (PIPH) supported by the European Commission and the Department of Health. Presently, we are installing a new computer-based Hospital Information System (HIS) to speed up data processing of the different hospital departments and aid health workers and medical practitioners. The aim of an HIS is to achieve the best possible support of patient care and hospital administration by electronic data processing. Hopefully, this system will be fully operational before the end of our term. Having submitted and complied with all the requirements, the latest of which is the acquisition of a fetal cardiac monitor, we are waiting for the approval of our Residency Training Program in Obstetrics from the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society. May I thank Dr. Maria Salud Kho for her dedication and commitment for making our Residency Training Program in OB-GYN what it is today. Presently, we are having some problems with our Surgical Residency Training Program but we are trying to rectify this. We have acquired new and sophisticated medical equipment for our Provincial Hospital to support our Hospital Modernization Program and provide better health care to the public, not only from our Province but also from the neighboring Provinces of Siquijor, Southern Cebu and Northern Mindanao. These are: an advanced Anesthesia Machine, Cardiac Monitors, Operating Room Surgical Lights, modern Autoclaves for surgical equipment and a fetal monitor among others. We continue to upgrade and equip our Diagnostic Center by acquiring state of the art medical equipment to attract medical specialists to practice in our Province. We have now the powerful .4 tesla new generation “open type” MRI. We thank President Arroyo for making this acquisition possible. Aside from this, a 2D Sonogram with sophisticated cardiac tissue-tracking modalities, and another 2D Sonogram, specifically for OB-GYN purposes and a fully automated Immunology Analyzer, have been added to the diagnostic and laboratory tools of the Center. These high level technology apparatus the Province has invested in will be able to provide the best possible diagnostic confidence and meet difficult clinical challenges. Our answer to the inadequate health insurance coverage in our province is the Provincial Health Insurance of Negros Oriental (PHINO). Designed to give every Oriental Negrense equal access to health care, it is now enjoyed not only by Provincial Officials and Employees, but also by a steadily growing number of indigents from different municipalities enrolled in the program. We thanked Dr Ely Villapando for conceptualizing the PHINO and BM Marcelo Adanza for sponsoring the ordinance that created it. It seemed like only yesterday that we dreamed of a “high-rise” hospital building to cope with the growing needs of patient care of our province. We dared that dream. On January 1, 2010, as we observed the 120th Founding Anniversary of the Province, we officiated the groundbreaking ceremonies of a four-storey Central Block Building to be erected behind the main hospital structure. This building will house the new surgical suites, delivery and operating rooms, much bigger and comfortable charity wards, and at the upper two floors, the pay wards and private rooms. This was done together with the groundbreaking of the much-needed environment friendly bio-controlled waste water treatment plant for the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital complex and the blessing of our newly acquired diagnostic and laboratory equipment. With these developments, the health status of our people has greatly improved. May I acknowledge our frontliners in the delivery of primary health care, our Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) and Barangay Nutrition Scholars, for their contributions in improving the health of our people. The same goes to our Men’s and Women’s Auxilliary and all our donors and partners. We would like to make special mention to the European Commission, which is represented here today by Drs. JP Perez and Raul Villanueva, for facilitating the funding of various projects under the Fourmula One for Health. III. Livelihood and Employment. We opened avenues for the promotion of entrepreneurship through appropriate technology and livelihood programs that provide socio-economic opportunities. Our Technology and Livelihood Development Center, or TLDC, has trained our people in 30 different modules in livelihood and continues to do so. To cope with the changing needs, the TLDC facilitated new training programs, Galing Masahista, Dressmaking and Barber training. We extended microfinance assistance to the successful trainees in order for them to start their own livelihood.At the Provincial Integrated Skills and Technology Center (PISTC), we continue the program to train individuals in welding, auto servicing, machining, electrical, and other specialized skills from scholarship grants from TESDA, the Local Government of Valencia, and ORICA Nitrates, Inc. Our graduates are NC-2 accredited, a requirement for those who seek employment abroad. In almost three years, these two Centers have trained over 3,500 of our people. Recently, the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office, Environment and Natural Resources Division and the Provincial Veterinarians Office, integrated livelihood components, like the livestock, cattle and animal dispersal and re-dispersal to qualified beneficiaries, in their various interventions. On Cooperatives Development, we continue to support the growth of 134 cooperatives in the Province through the Provincial Cooperative Development Council. Furthermore, we joined hands with various sectors and agencies of government in establishing a Coopreneurship Surety Fund (CSF) along with the Central Bank of the Philippines. The Fund serves as a surety cover for Medium and Small Enterpreneurs to access to formal sources of financing without a collateral. IV. Tourism/Culture and the Arts Tourism creates jobs and spurs economic activity. In response to the growing travel market and increasing influx of visitors, both foreign and domestic, to Negros Oriental, we continue the development and improvement of our tourism products. What started as an environmental, resettlement, and livelihood project, Balanan Lake has become a major tourist destination in our Province. May I thank this August Body for the creation of the Balanan Lake Development Authority which now manages, monitors, and creates policies for the use of the various facilities in the area. The project continues to protect and restore the environment and provide livelihood opportunities and income to the residents of the area. In a period of two years, the Development Authority has generated over two million pesos in income which is more than enough to pay for the salaries of the workers there. During this term, the Mabinay Caves has become operational with tourist and visitor facilities functional. It continues to draw visitors and tourists. It has been featured many times in different TV shows and magazines, both domestic and international. The mayors of this province, in spite of limited resources, have pursued their own development programs in the area of tourism. I would like to mention a few of them that the Province rendered financial assistance to. In Dauin, the development of the Baslay Twin Hot Streams to be a health and wellness tourism destination in the uplands is now underway. Dipping pools for both children and adults are now operational. Apo Island off the southern coast of Negros Oriental continues to attract visitors, many of whom make a return visit. For many years now, the Apo Island Marine Park has been ranked as one of the best scuba diving spots in the world. I would like to commend the efforts of Mayor Rodrigo Alanano for actively pursuing the development and protection of our marine and terrestrial resources. The Twin Lakes of Sibulan, Balinsasayao and Danao continue to be protected and facilities for tourists and visitors are now in place. These facilities will be turned over to the fisherfolk’s and farmer’s association under the supervision of the PAMB (Protected Area Management Board) which has control over the area. In the City of Tanjay, we have started the development of the Board Walk and Mangrove Park in Barangay Luka. When completed, it will have leisure and recreational facilities. In Mantalip Reef in the Municipality of Bindoy, we are completing the construction of the second visitor’s station which will be linked to the first structure by a concrete bridge. May I recognize Vice Mayor Valente Yap who pursued this endeavor. Due to our renowned capabilities to cater to events of national and international magnitude, and because we have such facilities as the Negros Oriental Convention Center and the Lamberto L. Macias Sports and Cultural Center, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts chose us to host the 1st Philippine International Dance Workshop and Festival last year, thus, bolstering our eminence as a destination for cultural tourism. We were voted by a travel magazine as one of the best islands to live on in the world. Sidlakang Negros Village, which we inaugurated in 2007 as the home of Negros Oriental tourism, culture and arts, and related events, lived up to its purpose. It successfully hosted events such as the International Dance Festival, the Philippine Ballet Theatre and annual Buglasan and Pinaskuhan Festivals. These events provided income-generating opportunities for our people. Let me recognize BM Mariant Villegas whose relentless efforts to promote culture and the arts has placed the Province in the map of cultural tourism, V. Education Since the national government could not provide the necessary classrooms for our schoolchildren, we accepted the challenge of DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapuz to provide a teacher item for every classroom that the province could construct. We originally thought of 104 classrooms thus, Basta Negor Education 104 was born. We got a P64 Million peso loan package from the Development Bank of the Philippines for the purpose. We entered into a counterparting agreement with the different LGU’s where the cities put up 25 percent of the project’s cost while recipient municipalities contribute 10 percent. Because of this scheme, we have exceeded our target and successfully constructed 133 classrooms with a few more to be completed by June of this year in time for the opening of classes next school year. DepEd was able to provide us with 100 teacher items thus short of more than 30 items. We have this Educator-Co-Mentor strategy that we introduced to the DepEd for adoption to relieve some of the workload of regular teachers handling multiple subjects. The Educators-Co-Mentors were given intensive trainings to equip them to handle advisory classes, and we continued to shoulder their honoraria. We maintained our scholarship program for qualified and deserving high school graduates so that they can pursue their college education in various colleges and universities in the Province. We have institutionalized the Essential Health Care Package, which was initiated by the Department of Education and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The program teaches school children proper oral hygiene and proper hand washing to prevent tooth decay and the infestation of worms and parasites, one of the leading causes of absenteeism of our school children. They are provided with free toothbrushes, polypaste with fluoride, bars of soap, and dewormers. We strengthened our support for the school gardening program - Gulayan at Palaisdaan Alay Sa Kabataan (GPAK) to instill “love of soil” among schoolchildren and also to introduce technologies such as composting and organic production. The program meant as well to produce supply that would augment the children’s nutritional requirements, thus, complementing the NEGORGANIC-NOW program that we initiated. IN SPORTS, we continued to train and develop our youth in the various sports through the Negros Oriental Sports Development Program or NOSDEP. As in previous years, we promoted swimming for the 5 to 39 age groups through the annual conduct of Learn-to-Swim Program and the Governor’s Cup Swim Meet. We also conducted Summer Sports Clinics in cooperation with Milo Philippines for eight sports disciplines namely swimming, football, basketball, volleyball, arnis, softball, karatedo and lawn tennis. Moreover, we honed the skills of our coaches in football by engaging them in a five-day National Coaching Certificate Course together with the Negros Oriental Football Association and the Philippine Football Federation. We have built several sports facilities that meet international standards which were showcased when we hosted the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVRAA) Meet. These facilities were intended for our NOSDEP, a program which I want the DepEd here in the Province of Negros Oriental to adopt. VI. Environment Our Environment and Natural Resources Division, or ENRD, continues to act as our lead agency in environmental preservation, protection, rehabilitation and provide technical assistance to local government units along this line. The ENRD now has 25 agro-forestry and Integrated Social Forestry sites tended by farmer associations, and it is maintaining nurseries for the cultivation of different species of forest trees and high-valued fruits. It also established soil and water conservation structures, and continued to manage Marine Protected Areas province-wide. We sustained regulation of mineral resources utilization, processed new permits and went after violators. Last year, an Ordinance, authored by BM Lea Bromo, was passed creating the Negros Island Integrated Water Resources Management Council. Funds have been allocated to implement plans approved by the two Negros provinces which include the rehabilitation of watersheds and the six major rivers of the Island. The Council is chaired by no less than Silliman University President Dr. Ben Malayang III. During the same period, the Negros Oriental Advisory Council on Climate Change finally adopted the Climate Change mitigation and adaptation plan introduced by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which was subsequently introduced to the LGUs as a framework for their own initiatives. During a meeting of the League of Municipalities, Mayor German P. Saraña Jr., Executive Director, shared the Bayawan City Climate Change Plan. In the aftermath of natural calamities that claimed lives and damaged property, the Advisory Council conducted a Four-day Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Orientation-Workshop for the LGUs. The workshop enabled our cities and municipalities to come up with a plan of action to minimize the risk of disasters and calamities as a consequence of climate change/global warming. Along this line, we have identified several disaster-prone areas in the province, trained and formed additional search and rescue groups, named SARNEGOR which means Search and Rescue of Negros Oriental, to augment existing force. We have equipped them with service vehicles converted into “Mobile ASAP Care 4 You,” inflatable boats, a portable generator, and other basic requirements for search and rescue operations. Here’s a bit of human interest story. A day after the SAR training, the newly-formed SARNEGOR team responded to a vehicular incident in Bacong and rescued two passengers who were pinned down inside the van thereby saving them from incurring further damage. On January 1, this year, (Mrs. Casal), on her first day of duty as an employee of the BLDA assigned as life guard in the pool, saved the life of an apparently drowned child by using her acquired skill from a SAR training conducted in Lake Balanan. She was assisted by an 11-year old girl named Tyra Jan Bustillo. VII. Peace and Order We maintained our coordinative efforts with the various law enforcement agencies to address the problems of lawlessness in our urban areas, insurgency in our hinterlands, and other forms of criminality by sustaining our intelligence network throughout the Province. Despite isolated incidents of armed encounters and high profile criminal cases, the Province of Negros Oriental remained generally peaceful last year, and continued to post the lowest crime rate among the provinces of Region VII. Aside from the Office of the Presidential Assistance on the Peace Process (OPAPP) adopting our Farmer Field School program, Negros Oriental also remained one of the centers in the implementation of the peace process, and we have several LGUs identified as priority communities that are receiving projects from the national government. Only recently, we formally turned over a number of housing units to the bona fide beneficiaries of the Kalinaw GK housing project in Sitio Kakha, Barangay Talalak, Santa Catalina. As we all know, Kakha was once the stronghold of our brothers and sisters supporting other ideologies. VIII. Infrastructure Development We have invested heavily in the provision of adequate infrastructure support facilities in the different LGUs as this is the key to the economic development of the province. Our infrastructure arm, the Provincial Engineer’s Office continued to achieve success in the completion of various infrastructure projects by performing quality work in the safest and most economical manner. During the period, the Office posted a number of accomplishments including roads and bridges, waterwork projects, spillways, schoolbuildings, municipal sports and cultural facilities, development of tourism sites and other structures. Several projects are also on-going which include the Coliseum Hotel and Restaurant Complex. IX. Budget Management Through sound financial management, we maximized lean resources by continuing the implementation of the two-eight hour work shift. Employees and officials continue to report to their workstations in two different time schedules, thus extending service hours to our people from the usual eight to ten. Two years ago, the German Technical Cooperation Agency, GTZ, introduced the Integrated Taxation System or iTAX, and piloted in ten LGUs. As of today, iTAX which aims to improve the tax collection efficiency of our LGUs, is now operational in all but two of our 25 LGUs. Transparency in government transactions has always been a policy of this Administration. The strict observance by our Accounting Office of the mechanics of fund management resulted in savings from past appropriations. Meanwhile, the European Commission, which is funding the Rationalization Plan for Health, has approved the enhancement of our Fund Management Information System (FMIS) on the aspect of Project and Document Tracking, Procurement /Inventory and Hospital Financial System. The Province’s collection from local resources and net share from Internal Revenue Allotment exceeded the previous year’s collection by 21 per cent. For Calendar Year 2009 we operated with a billion budget that included income from the operation of our hospitals and public facilities. The biggest bulk of the budget went to Health and Social Welfare Services, a larger share went to Economic Services and General Services. Because of sound budget management, we were able to grant all officials and employees all the benefits due them during the year plus an extra bonus. X. Research and Development On Research and Development, we have—1) started the construction of the P1.8 Million Soils Laboratory at the Provincial Agriculturist’s Office compound. As we go organic, the Lab is an essential component in helping our technologists determine the exact amount of elements present in the organic fertilizer produced by our farmers. 2) We have adopted the use of greenhouse technology as an organic protective culture method for the production of high valued-vegetables and commercial crops like lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower, among others. 3) On the other hand, while we are training our farmers how to produce organic fertilizer, we have also conducted trials on the use of different volumes of organic fertilizer in crop production like rice, corn, ginger, and others. 4) Furthermore, we have promoted the technology on rapid composting using indigenous micro-organism, trichoderma and compost fungus activator to hasten decomposition of substrate for organic fertilizer production. This is a parallel experimentation on organic fertilizer production without using earthworms. 5) We have introduced in the GADCENT Upland Fishery Project, other species of fresh water prawns, cray fish, pangasius (originally from the Mekong River in Vietnam) and sea bass to enhance the productivity of our upland fishery project. Thus far, we have seen good results and have started to disperse crayfish fingerlings. 6) Moreover, we have experimented on the production of organic feeds for our upland fishery project using local raw materials like ipil-ipil and malunggay leaves, cassava, corn bran , and kuhol to minimize the use of commercial feeds and reduce production costs. X1. Information Dissemination In 2009, we took a significant step in the field of information dissemination with the launching of a radio program called BASTA NEGOR as a medium for reporting programs, activities and important announcements. We continued our longest-running weekly TV program, the “Provincial Report,” aired in partnership with Fil-Products Channel 6, Sky Cable Channel 27 and NBN Channel 10. We sustained publication of our quarterly newsletter, “Sidlakang Negros Balita” which contains news, press releases and features about the Province. We are also in cyberspace with our website, www.negor.gov.ph. XII. Spiritual Development Spirituality pervades every activity of the Provincial Government. We begin our assemblies with prayer and we dedicate our tasks to the Creator. Our relationships with various religious denominations were strengthened by making them members of important councils/committees of the Provincial Government. We also invite them to participate in and provide inputs on issues affecting the Province. XIII. Social Welfare Through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, we continued to provide emergency, relief and rehabilitation assistance and other forms of services to the marginalized sector of our society such as individuals, families and communities in crisis situations, the Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities, Children and Youth. Our Provincial Child Minding Center continue to service the under five children of our government workers thereby minimizing absenteeism in the workplace. Another social concern which we helped to address in line with our efforts to advance the rights of our children is our advocacy against trafficking in persons. Through the Provincial Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking in Person, we continue to assist in the prosecution of cases involving child pornography, cybersex and other violations enumerated under Republic Act 9208. We expanded our campaign by involving the members of the media in this advocacy. On population development, we strengthened mechanisms in mainstreaming gender in Reproductive Health, Population and Corporate Social Responsibility Programs through trainings and fora in cooperation with the Population Commission and some Non-Government Organizations. We also maintained our Barangay Population Development Officers (BPDOs) in the different LGUs who serve as the extension arm of our community organizers in motivating clients to manage their families. Realizing the need to bring basic government services to the people, we launched the Paningkamot Caravan - Basta NegOr Do More. This is participated in by all departments of the Provincial Government as well as partner agencies. In a period of six months, we brought the Paningkamot Caravan to three cities and five municipalities. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I share with you a few items in my wish list which I consider important: 1. See the adoption of the climate change adaptation and mitigation plan in the different LGUs;2. Acquire additional equipment to make our Diagnostic Center at the NOPH more reliable and dependable; 3. See the completion of the four-storey Central Block of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital; and 4. Focus on the implementation of the Mini Agricultural Communal Irrigation Access System. 5. Continue the Paningkamot Caravan series to serve LGUs that have not yet been visited; and6. Train more members for SARNEGOR, more particularly in disaster-prone areas. Almost three years ago, together, we embarked on the implementation of this Master Plan. I am greatly satisfied with what we have accomplished. Let me take this opportunity to thank the members of the Legislative Arm of the Provincial Government for their full cooperation and splendid legislative work. It is my hope that during the final months left of our term, we can continue this well-working partnership. I can see that we make a good team. In a grading system, I am confident we all deserve straight “A’s,” but our scorecards will be marked INC – Incomplete. As you can see - THE JOB IS NOT YET DONE. DAGHANG SALAMAT AND GOD BLESS NEGROS ORIENTAL! ### |
