PANGASINAN NOTES LEGACY PROJECTS THAT SERVE PANGASINENSES IN THE PAST THREE YEARS
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan
In his State of the Province Address (SOPA) during the weekend, Pangasinan Governor Ramon V. Guico III highlighted historic “firsts” accomplishments in the past three years that he said serve the best interest of the 3.2 million Pangasinenses. In his report titled “Era of
First Times, Era of Lasting Accomplishments” delivered at the Sison Auditorium of Lingayen, Guico stressed that it is not chronicle of what the governor has done alone but it has always the accomplishment of the whole province. He identified key programs that are “firsts” in tourism, agriculture, health, education, peace and order, infrastructure, environment, livelihood development, investment, employment, social services, disaster risk reduction.
Some of the significant ‘first time’ legacy projects he reported include the conversion of the historic Casa Real into a provincial museum
named Banaan Pangasinan Provincial Museum; the revival of the long-slumbered salt industry via the Pangasinan Salt Center; launching of Corporate Farming; active support for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises; establishment of the Pangasinan Polytechnic College; innovation of the Pangasinan Provincial Jail; redevelopment of the Capitol Complex; launching of the Green Canopy Project; the
establishment of the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office; establishment of the One Response Command Center in Malico, San Nicolas, among others. The governor gave the most emphasis to his projects that focused on health programs he said brought lifetime effects on the lives of the Pangasinenses.
He cited the Government Unified Incentives for Medical Consultation (GUICONSULTA) aimed at fast tracking the enrolment of two
million Pangasinenses into their preferred accredited Philhealth-Konsulta Providers. Recently, the PhilHealth hailed said
GUICONSULTA and recommended that it should be emulated by other provinces ensuring better health care program for the people. Said
program also include the implementation of the Universal Health Care Act or Republic Act 11223 to maximize health benefits for the Pangasinan people like never before. Guico also reported that in 2023, under his term, a total of P495,401,375.65 for the Medical
Assistance for Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) was downloaded to the province and benefitted 182,679 patients admitted in the 14 government hospitals throughout Pangasinan.
During the past three years, the 14 government hospitals were modernized and equipped with state-of-the-art equipment like the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine in 2024, 19 stationary X-ray and 21 mobile X-ray machines seven Ultrasonography machines, and two Computed Tomography or CT Scan machines. Modernization of health facilities has started with the Super Community Hospital in Umingan as benchmark followed by the construction of the 15th government hospital which broke ground recently in Alcala town. The establishments of hemodialysis centers in all provincial government hospitals have likewise started. It can be recalled that under the previous administration, there was only one existing dialysis center run by the provincial government.
According to Guico, efficient financial Management Transparency, integrity and accountability in financial management lead to increased revenue collections that led to various awards earned by the province. The governor added that aside from the various ‘historic first times,’ the provincial government continuously implement regular projects like employment services; construction and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, school buildings and public facilities; technical and financial assistance for farmers, unemployed, displaced o erseas Filipino Workers; persons with disability, women groups, solo parents and other less-privileged sectors of society. “There is so much more that needs to be done. We will continue raising the bar of excellence with our present achievements. And we have more legacy projects and programs that will benefit many generations of Pangasinenses long after we are gone. Three years is really short, but they are nevertheless loaded with outstanding performances from our Pangasinan Ang Galing Team!” ended Guico.
Aldwin Quitasol
