Month: November 2024

LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—With his dignified demeanor, Governor Ramon V. Guico III has what it takes to be one of the country’s most brilliant leaders and perhaps one of the best provincial chief executives Pangasinan has ever had.

His brilliance was exuded in his recent interview on ANC’s Business Roadshow by ABS-CBN ace journalist, Mr. Stanley Palisada. In the interview, Gov. Guico predominantly discussed the provincial board’s approval of an unprecedented P7.1 billion budget for 2025.

“We focused on the other function of the local government unit. One, of course, is according to Republic Act 7160 Sections 15 to 21. The LGUs have political and bureaucratic functions as service providers and as tax-oriented political organizations, but equal to that is the corporate function, which is more empowering and is focused on community creation of wealth and creation of profits and incomes,” Gov. Guico stated as he further said that this kind of premise is what his administration has charted to do since he assumed office in July 2022.

The governor shared that he didn’t do it alone and that the entire community/organization was involved. “It takes the whole community or the whole organization to do it. You need the support of Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the local chief executives, and all of your department heads and employees of the provincial Capitol,” he said.

When asked about the challenges he met when he decided to shift the traditional way of running the provincial government into a business-oriented style, Gov. Guico emphasized that before he ran as the highest official of the province, he first assessed what to prioritize and do for Pangasinan.

During the campaign, Gov. Guico vowed to the more than 3 million Pangasinenses that his administration would bolster the province’s economy through various big-ticket projects such as the establishment of the Pangasinan Link Expressway (PLEX) and the provision of free college education for deserving youth. Likewise, he disclosed his other priority programs and projects, notably job creation, health care, social services, agriculture, and housing.

During the interview, the governor stated his desire to swiftly realize the PLEX project in due time. Thus, the provision of a standby loan and business proposal to some private corporations that are into tollways became an option for the province.

Then San Miguel Corporation (SMC) came in the nick of time, and without a single centavo investment for Pangasinan, the big-ticket project will be realized in due time. “There was a connection; it happened so fast, we signed a Memorandum of Agreement (pertaining to the province and the SMC) without a single centavo investment for Pangasinan,” Gov. Guico said.

As such, the groundbreaking of the P34 billion PLEX Phase 1 took place at Barangay Balligi, Laoac, on March 21, 2024, with no less than Gov. Guico and Mr. Ramon S. Ang, President and Chief Executive Officer of San Miguel Corporation. The historic Gargantuan project will not only improve connectivity between the eastern and western parts of Pangasinan but will likewise enhance the road networks in Central and Northern Luzon.

Among the priority projects for the 2025 provincial budget is education.

With its class opening in August 2024, PPC offers various baccalaureate degrees to 700 initial scholars. Before this, the educational facility started offering technical-vocational courses through its Center for Lifelong Learning (CeLL) last April of the current year. “Soon we would like to expand it into three other campuses. That’s free education, but we reimbursed the cost and the tuition from the CHED Unifast,” Gov. Guico said.

On agriculture, the governor mentioned corporate farming as his administration’s signature project. “We are promoting corporate farming, so we are asking the farmers to consolidate their land holdings so they can have bigger areas of production,” he cited.

The Corporate Farming Program, which was launched in July 2023, aims to enhance food production. Said program is in line with the province’s strategic objective to uplift the socio-economic status and well-being of every Pangasinense. “There should be a scientific approach to farming. With all those ingredients, as we have economies on scale, you get better discounts on your inputs,” he explained in the interview.

With the whopping P7.1 billion budget for Pangasinan in 2025, the governor is optimistic that more projects will be realized. “The national tax allocation is something that the national government gives you, but you have to do something with your local taxes and income,” he said.

“We passed some ordinances, we revised our revenue code, we amended quarry ordinances, and then we employed technology like apps so that we can monitor the operations of quarry in our rivers,” he stated, further revealing that the provincial government targeted a collection of P120 million for 2024 but has already exceeded its target by hitting P218,379,000.00 as of November (this year).

Based on records of the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO), tax collections on quarry during the past administration (Espino administration) were from P12 million to P15 million only, a far cry from the present collections for quarry under Gov. Guico.

The governor attributed the remarkable feat in revenue collections to the “honest-to-goodness” thrust of his administration. (Ruby F. Rayat/Carlo dela CruzPIMRO)

LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—The Provincial Government of Pangasinan, led by Governor Ramon V. Guico III, achieved a stunning record of 14,290 job placements, both local and overseas.

The number was consolidated by the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) starting in the first month of Gov. Guico’s term in July 2022 until October 2024.

Based on the report, a total of 1,363 job seekers were placed for local employment, while some 253 individuals were placed overseas from July 2022 until December of the same year.

From January 2023 to December 2023, the number rose three times from the first six months of Gov. Guico’s tenure, translating to 3,265 job seekers placed for local employment and 75 individuals sent for overseas work.

As such, the total number of local job placements from January to October 2024 incurred a threefold increase from that in 2023, with 9,315 individuals employed in different companies in Pangasinan and nearby cities and provinces in Luzon. Nineteen (19) job seekers made it for overseas employment in the past 10 months of this year.

Overall, PESO Pangasinan reported that some 347 individuals were employed overseas for the past two years of Gov. Guico’s term.

It can be recalled that among the campaign promises made by Gov. Guico is to create at least 10,000 jobs for Pangasinenses. “If we want to alleviate poverty, we must create job opportunities and equip our people for gainful employment,” the governor earlier stated as he vowed to provide more opportunities for Pangasinense job seekers in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the PESO report shows that job placements under the present administration are a far cry from the previous administration, which recorded a total of 7,015 local and overseas job placements from July 2019 to June 2022. (Ruby F. Rayat/PIMRO)

LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—The health reform program for Pangasinan visualized by Governor Ramon V. Guico III is expected to be bolstered with international collaborations.

This developed after Pangasinan contingents composed of various department officials and medical experts of the provincial government led by Provincial Administrator Melicio F. Patague II conferred with officers and administrators of the Stanford Hospital during a two-day official visit that started on November 7 in California, USA.

“We are dreaming of international collaboration for the improvement of the healthcare system in the province,” PA Patague said.

The meeting, organized by the United Pangasinanes in America, is part of the province’s benchmarking activities, which included educational discussions with the Urban Planning Council of Daly City, California.

Under Gov. Guico’s stewardship, the province’s health program was improved not just in terms of hospital facilities and equipment but with the technical know-how of the province’s healthcare providers.

Recently, the provincial government launched the GUICOnsulta project with an initial fund of P300 million.

Governor Guico is committed to fulfilling his goal of enrolling the whole Pangasinan population and make the province a haven for the healthiest populace.

As an added assistance, the provincial government has started granting cash incentives to residents who will avail of the program.

“Wala ng dahilan para hindi tayo magpa-check up for the preventive health care program of the province dahil dalhin niyo lang po sila sa mga ospital natin at sa mga barangay health station o mga RHU ng mga munisipyo at siyudad, bibigyan po namin sila ng pangkain at ng kanilang pamasahe. Hindi na po dahilan na hindi kami pwedeng magpa-check up dahil wala akong pamasahe at wala kaming pangkain,”

Gov. Guico said. (Ruby F. Rayat/PIMRO)

Lingayen, Pangasinan—The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pangasinan has approved the 7.1 billion budget of the province for 2025.

Governor Ramon V. Guico III expressed deep appreciation to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan headed by Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino as well as the department heads for their all-out support.

“Let me just highlight that this annual budget, aside from being the first time that we have reached this amount, is mostly the result of the professional management of our provincial government,” Governor Guico said.

The approved 2025 Annual Budget amounting to PhP 7,100,312,215.00 showed a significant increase compared to the P5,729,765,891.00 budget of 2024 with a remarkable difference of P1,370,546,324.00.

The Provincial Board, in its regular session on October 28, approved the 2025 Annual Budget under Appropriation Ordinance No. 5-2024, an ordinance enacting the general fund annual budget for the operation of the provincial government of Pangasinan from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025.

Based on the comparative data report, the National Tax Allocation(NTA) of P4,969,145,891.00 in 2024, rose to P5,899,987,215.00 for 2025.

As to other sources, the record shows that from P760,620,000.00 in 2024, it increased to P1,200,325,000.00 for 2025.

Meanwhile, the summary of appropriations includes Personal Services (features Implementation of the Salary Standardization Law VI (SSL of 2024), Anniversary Bonus and Medical Allowance); Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses; Capital Outlay and Special Purpose Appropriation (the full provisions of budgetary requirements pursuant to Section 324 of the Local Government Code), to wit: 5% LDRRMF amounting to 350,015,611.00; 20% Development Fund amounting to P1,179,997,443.00; and Other SPA in the amount of P1,283,306,831.00.

The total of which represents 39.62% of the total proposed budget, which will go directly to the priority development or results-oriented programs, projects, or activities embodied in the Annual Investment Program for CY 2025.

The annual budget likewise includes estimated expenditures by sector as follows: general services: P2,680,755,275.00 (37.75%); social services: P3,032,256,191.00 (42.71%); Economic Services: P1,387,300,749.00 (19.54%) for a total of P 7,100,312,215.00.

It has been the thrust of Gov. Guico and his administration to increase the revenue of the province.

Attuned to said thrust, Gov. Ramon V. Guico III said during the Budget Hearing on October 24 that the people of Pangasinan deserve no less than the best that such an impactful P7.1 billion was allocated for CY 2025 and further cited that this is the first time in the history of Pangasinan that such a budget has been proposed for the annual operation of the province.

“When we assumed office, the thrust of Gov. Guico and this administration was to increase the revenue not solely to be dependent on the National Tax Allocation (NTA) but more so, working our best to improve collections, proposed so many economic enterprises, efficiency in management, and, at the same time, empowering in the employees because we believe that for us to achieve all of these, we need the participation of each and every Pangasinense, every employee of the provincial Capitol, and that of our hospital system. Even the lowly employees play a big and crucial part in achieving all of these,” the governor added.

Earlier, the province’s Chief Executive also disclosed that part of the said approved budget will be for the establishment of a gnome center, the historic ‘first’ for Pangasinan, construction of an additional school building for Pangasinan Polytechnic College (PPC), construction and acquisition of new hospitals and more dialysis centers, and other infrastructure facilities.

Also, an increased budget for the corporate farming project as well as for the salt production project is taken onto priority in addition to the increased budget for PPC scholarship and the expansion of the healthcare system, notably the GUICOnsulta or the Government Unified Incentives for Medical Consultation, among others.

Gov. Guico also stated that his administration is investing heavily in the healthcare system in his firm belief that health is important and should be given focus.

Currently, the launch of a preventive healthcare system targets about two million of the population to enroll in PhilHealth’s Konsulta program through the GUICOnsulta of the province to address healthcare issues hounding Pangasinan and the entire country.

“This is an evidence that we are on the right track. Whatever commitment or promises that we have proposed tour provincemates, hindi po ito pangakong napapako. Ito po ay pangako that is tangible, concrete, and very achievable,” the governor said. (Chona C. Bugayong/Photo: JP de Vera)