STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS

GOV. Ramon Guico III seeks to make the Pangasinan provincial government operate like a private corporation that earns revenues, reduces its operational expenses to make it more responsive to the needs of more than three million Pangasinenses.

This was how he envisioned how his administration will operate and be seen in his State of the Province Address before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on March 20 at the Sison Auditorium and cited the Local Government Code that allows local government units  to function both as a social organization and a regulatory organization, that effectively “encourages us to become entrepreneurs and look for some economic enterprises that could give additional income to the municipalities, and cities, including the province.”

He said when he assumed the post, he envisioned to strengthen the corporate function of the province… “to raise the present status of Pangasinan from No. 16  province in the country to one of the top 10, being the third most populous and one of the biggest provinces in the country today.”

For starters, he saw the immediate need to cluster farmers tilling more than 100 hectares of land so they can buy their needs in bulk at the same time at least cost, apply fertilizers and pesticides at the same time and harvest at the same time, all at the least costs.

“Pag nagawa po natin ito, mas magiging efficient at magiging productive ang ating farming method, at sa bandang huli magiging more ang productive inputs kung sama-sama tayo sa iisang supplier,”Guico said.

He said among the first to be reorganized like a corporation are the 14 hospitals run by the provincial government that should be transformed into modern medical centers.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan earlier passed an ordinance creating the Pangasinan Hospital System Management Office in a bid to improve the services and facilities of these hospitals.

Guico reported a study that showed that all these hospitals incur a loss of P1 billion yearly and said this could change if these are given a “corporate status” allowing them to charge their patients including those who pay through the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, enabling the hospitals to operate on a ‘break-even level’.

Admitting that the hospitals lack specialists, he said a Memorandum of Agreement with the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan, medical specialists will be shared to take care of patients in all 14 hospitals.

Then, he said studies are now afoot for the establishment of the Pangasinan Polytechnic University which, Guico said, will provide technical and vocational education to Pangasinan students who upon graduation will be hired by business corporations doing business in the province.

He said his administration will also redesign the physical outlook of the provincial capitol and intends to construct a high rise building that will accommodate all offices of the provincial government as well as offices of the national government based in Pangasinan under one roof, and make it as a one-stop shop for all clients.

In addition, Guico intends to construct an internationally-branded hotel within the capitol compound that will be operated by the province, to cater to tourists, groups and organizations doing their seminars and activities in the province, increasing the magnets of the province to both tourists and investors.

Guico said the planned redevelopment of the provincial capitol will extend to Lingayen that will include refurbishing of the Casa Real as a museum.

He also announced the creation of Baywalk Development Authority that will govern and regulate the development along the shorelines of the province and assured that establishments along the Baywalk will not be driven away although they have to be reminded that the  land they are occupying are owned by the state.

Thus, their establishments must have building permits, their structures must conform with the building code, their establishments must be assessed by the municipal assessors and must pay their corresponding taxes to the government, he added.

Guico said the redevelopment of the provincial capitol, which will extend to the town proper, will ensure that more tourists will flock to the capital town, adding that there might be a need to relocate the provincial jail.

The Urban Development Council and Coordinating Office will be renamed Provincial Council and Development Authority, giving it a corporate authority. He said he had ordered  the office to make an inventory all assets of the provincial government and to determine which can be converted as sites for new school buildings, and sites for tourism and other purposes.

He said the Pangasinan provincial government has a bangus hatchery project in Bolinao along with the Philippine Rural Development Project that intends to produce 200 million fry  or nearly half of the requirement of 500 million fry in Pangasinan.

Noting that Pangasinan is generating only P20 million yearly in quarry fees, not enough to compensate for the damage on the roads by trucks hauling sand and gravel, Guico said the provincial government has developed a new app that ensures that no haulers can escape from paying the quarry fees, thus more fees can be collected. (Leonardo Micua)

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