Finally, pro-people thrust of Guico administration
AFTER 12 months since Gov. Ramon Guico III assumed office, the province is finally feeling a wind of change in governance, from unleashing a list of infrastructure programs to establishing people-oriented programs.
His administration started its parade with announcements that it will seek to build a new highway from Binalonan to Lingayen- the Pangasinan Link Expressway. Translation: from his hometown to the capitol. This was quickly followed by plans to build an airport initially in Alaminos City, etc. These were visions articulated while Pangasinan (and the rest of the country) was reeling from twin crises: inflation of basic commodities and short supply of rice marked by smuggling and hoarding. Mr. Guico had nothing to offer for these, just infrastructure projects.
The vision to establish the Pangasinan Polytechnic College (PPC) was about the only initial long-term meaningful program defined by his administration to improve the welfare of the people but with little details.
Then, like an avalanche that rolled out, more pro-people programs were finally introduced that started with the detailed plans and objectives of PPC. Notably, it will provide free education to serve opportunities for livelihood attuned to demands for labor here and overseas. Hurray!
This was quickly followed by the establishment for the Pangasinan Salt Center, adoption of DOH’s 2023 Healthy Settings Program, providing for more scholarships, increasing meal allowances for detainees at the provincial jail, the establishment of the provincial museum, commitment to plant one million trees over a three-year period, creation of the Pangasinan Community Park with the Reflecting Pool and Interactive Fountain, the establishment of the Pangasinan Crisis Intervention Center (PCIC) as a halfway house for victims of gender-based violence, intensive sports development in football and basketball, training farmers for corporate farming, hiring more medical staff to boost hospital services in provincial hospitals, etc.
These initiatives, however, can only make a difference in Pangasinenses’ lives if these are actively promoted to serve the towns and cities. As the idiom goes, “the test of the pudding is in the eating.” So, let’s see the lot of our financially challenged sector in our communities “eating well” in the months ahead!
Meanwhile, there’s the worsening impact of the El Niño phenomenon, Mr. Governor! Let’s hear your initiatives on this.
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