By Eva C. Visperas

 

THE weather was not inviting, due to the intense heat index that has been plaguing Pangasinan for the past weeks.

Despite the temperature, Governor Ramon Guico III’s State of the Province Address (SOPA) on April 5 was held outdoor, in front of the majestic provincial Capitol in Lingayen, attended by different sectors. It was hot, literally.

Having the SOPA in front of the Capitol Building is nothing new. It has been done many times in the past. The only significant difference now is the extreme heat.

But the show must go on. It was not only the SOPA day. It was the 444th Agew na Pangasinan celebration, which added meaning to the occasion.

Dressed in their Filipiniana attire, the outfit added more inconvenience to the invited guests because of the temperature as they came and watched the SOPA.

It was for a bigger audience, I was told, when I asked why hold the SOPA outdoors when there is the fully air-conditioned, magnificent Sison Auditorium?

The SOPA started past 8:00 a.m., and I need not elaborate on how one would feel while listening to the governor’s accomplishments amidst the intense heat. Eight o’clock in the morning these days is like 11:00 a.m. in the past. It’s dangerous, especially for elderly people and those with hypertension.

Thanks to the white tents and big electric fans in some sections of the area that provided relief to the audience. But thanks, mainly, to the remaining trees around the Capitol that served as our natural shade and oxygen provider and releaser.

But never mind the heat; the audience was unified in saying that for as long as the achievements presented were worth their time and energy, then it’s okay. It’s their future; it’s for their own benefit.

Capitol employees tasked to assist during the SOPA were busy handing over cold bottled water to the attendees. Everyone really needed that during that particular time.

When Gov. Monmon started his SOPA, everyone listened attentively. The initial part of the speech was dragging as he read his speech.

But I was sure he too felt it was boring if he continued to just read and read and read his prepared speech. So, as always, although there was a prepared speech, he opted to deliver the real message in a spontaneous and natural way. And it worked! The audience became more attentive.

Some parts of his speech, I would say, were routine work for a governor.

But what was impressive, something that no governor of Pangasinan has ever made or initiated, something he described as “unique initiatives and special projects” are the following: the establishment of the Pangasinan Polytechnic College, which already opened its doors last February 14, 2024, through the inauguration of its Center for Lifelong Learning or CELL; takeover of the Foreshore Lease Agreement of the former Pacific Salt Farm in Barangay Zaragoza, Bolinao, Pangasinan, with an area of 473 hectares and produces 60,000 kilos of salt daily; the 42.76-kilometer Pangasinan Link Expressway project to be undertaken by the San Miguel Corp. project at no cost to the Province of Pangasinan; renovation of the Banaan Museum, which is the first museum of the Province, with a budget of Php35,016,800, with its magnificent 11 galleries that offer a “colorful syzygy” (according to his speechwriter) of Pangasinan’s glorious past, challenging present, and hopeful future.

Plus, of course, the construction of an airport in Bolinao where land acquisition and earthworks have started.

Then, there’s the construction of the reflecting pool and interactive fountain project in Capitol complex. I fully understand the feelings of some people who felt sad and bad when some trees in the area were fallen for this project. But let’s wait and see the outcome of this project.

These projects have just begun. Let’s watch closely once they become operational. Only then can we say either it’s a cheer or a jeer for Pangasinan.

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