AGBAYANI’S LAST SOPA

LINGAYEN—The provincial government did well in 2006, especially in the area of agriculture, its centerpiece program since 1998, Governor Victor Agbayani reported in his State of the Province Address (SOPA) Friday.

Speaking before the provincial board headed by Vice Governor Oscar Lambino, Agbayani said he focused his attention to agriculture to improve the production of farmers as well as raise the overall quality of their life.

Based on Agbayani’s SOPA, a significant achievement in agriculture was recently registered by the province when it was adjudged as having the biggest number of hectares planted with hybrid rice in   the entire country.

Records show there are now 17,000 hectares of land planted to hybrid rice all over the province as compared to only 2,000 hectares five years ago.

More and more farmers are now planting hybrid rice than in the past because it has been proven to be high-yielding as compared to other rice varieties, the governor said.

Agbayani said hybrid rice gives a harvest of 150 cavans per hectare as compared to the old seed varieties that only produce 80 cavans per hectare.

He said with the use of hybrid rice by some farmers, an additional harvest of more than one million cavans of rice was registered last year or an equivalent of P500 million in gross additional income to local farmers.

The provincial government also supported farmers with irrigation as shown by the rehabilitation of 111 irrigation systems by the end of the last quarter 2006, improving irrigation in a total of 20,000 hectares of farmlands.

Agbayani said the provincial government made a gamble by rehabilitating the irrigation systems of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in order to improve irrigation efficiency for the farms of members of Irrigators Associations in Urdaneta, Villasis and Asingan.

During the last nine years of Agbayani’s term, the provincial government was able to extend farm-to-market roads in 730 barangays throughout the province, providing easier link between the producers and the buyers.

INFRASTRUCTURE

In infrastructure, the biggest project completed this year in Pangasinan was the 600-lineal meter Domalandan Bridge in Lingayen through the efforts of the national government, principally President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane.

Aside from this, the province constructed 770 classrooms all over the province over the last eight years, while 40 had been programmed for construction by the first half of this year.

On health, Agbayani took pride in saying that he recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Health (DOH) for the implementation of the “Formula 1 Program” that seeks to reduce infant and maternal mortality, provide expanded health insurance and further improve health delivery.

The program, which is set for five years, will be funded by the European Commission, DOH and a counterpart fund from the provincial government.

Agbayani also revealed that Pangasinan remains the undisputed pioneer province in the effort to achieve Family Planning Commodity Self-Reliance, as a result of the impending total phase out of the commodity assistance coming from the United States Agency for International Development.

In his SOPA, Agbayani also said that Pangasinan continues to maintain its status as number one in assessment and real property tax collection in Region 1 despite an appeal made by Mirant and National Power Corporation with the Central Board of Tax Assessment over Real Property Taxes due the Sual Coal-Fred Power Plant.

The province, according to Agbayani, also scored significant achievements in the area of tourism, culture and environment.

However, he appealed to the provincial board headed by Vice Governor Lambino to approve a Historic and Cultural Resources Ordinance, including additional zoning ordinances for the capitol area and various parks owned by the province to protect and improve existing tourism and cultural sites. — LM

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