MORE NEWS, PANGASINAN

COA cites robust finances of Pangasinan under Agbayani
DAGUPAN, Pangasinan -- The Commission on Audit in its recently published, “Financial Highlights of LGUs for Financial year 2006” listed the province of Pangasinan among the top 10 provinces in financial and fiscal performance during the admission of former Governor, now 2nd district Rep. Victor E. Agbayani.

The CoA published the report on Sept. 27 in leading national dailies.

During the Fiscal Year 2006, which was during the term of Agbayani, Pangasinan ranked top 9 among “LGUSs with Highest Gross Income” and top 5 in “LGUs with Highest Net Income.”
This confirms Agbayani’s recent statement that during his incumbency as governor of the province that the “provincial economy was strong and the provincial government’s financial condition, excellent.”

Agbayani had cited that for several consecutive years during his three terms as governor, Pangasinan topped the assessment and revenue collection efforts in the region and that since his first term in 1998-2001 until his last term from 2004-2007, the province attained increasing yearly budget surpluses, averaging P39 million from 1998-2000 and exceeding P150 million yearly from 2004-2006.

“A loan undertaken by the province was efficiently and effectively utilized to fasttrack infrastructure projects such as irrigation dams, roads and bridges and the rehabilitation of hospitals. These projects boosted farm income and commerce in the countryside and the provincial economy in general,” Agbayani said.

He added, “the loan undertaken by the province was conservative and less than half of the borrowing capacity of the province and that the province has the capacity to pay out its loan earlier that its due date.”

“We are proud to say that during my administration as governor, I and my team, through sound and efficient fiscal practice and revenue collection, built and left a legacy of a strong provincial economy,” Agbayani said

The nine-year administration of Agbayani built and rehabilitated 111 communal irrigation systems, improving irrigation for over 20,000 hectares of farmland in Pangasinan.

This program, along with technology transfer, and a Grains Marketing Assistance Program enabled farmers to shift to hybrid rice production.

By the year 2006 Pangasinan held, at 17,000 hectares, one of the highest number of hectares planted with hybrid rice in the country.

This combined program of irrigation, hybrid rice and marketing assistance has tremendously boosted farmers in the countryside. Last year alone the increase in the harvest was more than 1 million cavans or an equivalent of P500 million gross income for farmers in Pangasinan.

The Agbayani administration also paved over 480 kilometers of provincial and barangay roads and built and repaired over 1,700 linear meters of bridges in the province.

The Investment Promotion Unit and the Tourism and Parks Administration offices were created in 2000 and 2002 respectively. Likewise the Pangasinan Investment Code was passed and approved with the support of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in 2003.

An aggressive Upland and Watershed Reforested 740 hectares of watershed areas, planting over 170,000 tree seedlings and 14 hectares of mangroves with over 70,000 mangrove seedlings.
In health and social programs, numerous interventions, such s Vitamin A and Iron Supplementation programs, the BDG Anti-TB Immunization Program for thousands of Grade 1 pupils, and the Kalusugan as Barangay medical missions, which served over 200,000 patients were undertaken. -- Franco G. Regala