OGA 2015

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

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OUTSTANDING GOVERNORSHIP AWARD

2015

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

CREDITS

CHAIRMAN Superbrand Marketing International Inc. Karl McLean PRESIDENT & CEO Superbrand Marketing International Inc. Harry Tambuatco MARKETING DIRECTOR Superbrand Marketing International Inc. Larry Brouhard LEGAL COUNSEL Atty. Sara Jane Suguitan INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS Rommel Sangalang SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER Kenneth Rocete GRAPHIC DESIGNER Richelle Lim ADMINISTRATION Corazon Villanueva ACCOUNTING Nelia Villarete SMI offices are located at the Makati Central Business District with address: 1908 – 88 Corporate Center Building 141 Sedeño Street corner Valero, Salcedo Village Makati City Tel. 728-8880 Fax. 758-1220 www.smiphl.com The logo is subject to copyright of Superbrand Marketing International Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any other storage or retrieval system relating too all or part of the text, photographs, or logo types without written permission of the publishers.

ISSN 2362-776X

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

FOREWORD

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n the Republic of the Philippines, the title Governor refers to the highest ranking executive of a Provincial Government. The Governor is elected by a direct vote from the people and had a fixed term of three years. An incumbent Governor can only serve only up to three consecutive terms. He may however be suspended by either the Ombudsman or President through the Secretary of Interior and Local Government. He may be removed by the President if he was found guilty of an administrative case or a criminal act during his incumbency. He can be subjected by a recall vote, but unlike a referendum, people would elect the governor of their choice. If in case of death, disability, resignation, forced removal or suspension, a government official known as Vice Governor would replace as Governor or acting Governor.

In the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, a Regional Governor is elected by a block vote. For the National Capital Region, there is no governor but the Metro Manila Development Authority of which a Chairman is appointed by the Executive brand, i.e. the President who is also part of his inner cabinet.

Provincial governors are government administrators in charge of a particularly geographic region, called a province. Either appointed by a nation's leader or elected by the region's people, a provincial administrator's duties will center around implementing policies beneficial to his constituents and the national government. Although the position dates back to at least the Roman Empire, provincial governors still exist in some countries, including Afghanistan and the Philippines. Although duties vary between positions, most provincial governors share a similar set of tasks.

It is therefore no easy task to be a governor. Other than to politicize with ones constituents, one has to dictate through policy guidelines, and as an acting executive with only his Board Members to legislate and work with. Leaders be it political or in the private sector are always required to succeed for the betterment of the people, but who is to say what is beneficial when there will always be an unattended sector or project awaiting implementation much less completion.

While it is relatively easy for some to get elected especially for the popular and with celebrity status, many Governors have to contend with accomplishments. And the problem with accomplishments is unless one generates enough awareness, no one will ever know of ones contributions.

The elections are around the corner and again the issue of generating awareness is most often misconstrued for direct advertising rather than rationalizing ones accomplishments.

We wish all Governors especially for those with great accomplishments to win the mandate from your constituents. Having been awarded the Outstanding Governorship Award will definitely mark your achievements to provide as the testament towards ones contributions.

Kudos to the 2015 Outstanding Governorship Awardees!

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

CONTENTS

HON. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado

Governor, Province of Bulacan......................................................................... 6

HON. Faustino "Bojie" G. Dy, III

Governor, Province of Isabela.........................................................................12

HON. Mujiv S. Hataman

Regional Governor - ARMM..........................................................................18

HON. Corazon T. Nuñez Malanyaon

Governor, Province of Davao Oriental...........................................................24

HON. Maria Imelda "Imee" R. Marcos

Governor, Province of Ilocos Norte................................................................30

HON. Miguel Luis “Migz” R. Villafuerte

Governor, Province of Camarines Sur............................................................36

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado Bulacan On Its Greater Heights: The Chronicles Of Exemplary Leadership

“G

ood governance is gauged not by how much you, as a public servant, have served the people but by how much your service has empowered and touched their lives. The recognitions you gained and achieved are not just awards and honor but it is the hard work and commendable governance service that you provide for your people.“ This has always been the strategic leadership perspective of Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado which reflects in his Seven Point Agenda that prioritizes the pervasive development in the field of good governance, health, education, nature and environment, livelihood, peace and order, and history and culture. With his thriving projects and programs designed to propagate the general welfare of his constituents, the province of Bulacan continues to achieve a sustainable and progressive development that exhibits the administration’s commendable public service.

GOOD GOVERNANCE The secret behind the success of the Provincial Government of Bulacan is transparency and accountability. The hard work and enthusiasm of Gov. Sy-Alvarado that resulted to successful projects and programs has placed the province on a greater height with numerous awards and citations including the highest recognition given to the outstanding local government units in the Philippines, known as the Seal of Good Local Governance of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

DILG Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II personally lauded the leadership of Gov. Sy-Alvarado who continues to manifest good performance in the core assessment areas of financial housekeeping as the Provincial Government of Bulacan was cited as one of the Good Financial Housekeeping Passers for the year 2014 for its compliance to the full disclosure policy of the

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

DILG’s FDP Portal that enables the public to view, download and print the LGU financial documents for the people to understand how the Provincial Government’s budget was spent for public services.

Sakuna LAbanan, SAriling Galing ang Kaligtasan, that is only given to outstanding organizations in recognition of their initiative in helping the Filipino local government units to uplift the standard of disaster management in the country.

Like a sturdy ship being steered by a steadfast captain, Bulacan province continues to reach great heights as it once again receive outstanding citation after it was adjudged recently by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as the recipient of prestigious Gawad KALASAG Hall of Fame Award for being the Best PDRRMC for three consecutive years. Gov. Sy-Alvarado has proven that the province’s systematic incorporation of risk reduction approaches into the implementation of emergency preparedness, response and recovery programs particularly on its Disaster Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and Operation Listo continues to ensure the safety and resiliency of communities in facing hazardous situations.

Observers also commended the innovativeness and foresight of the provincial chief executive that fueled the preparedness of local government units in the province as they improved their respective disaster risk and reduction measures.

The Provincial Government headed by Gov. Sy-Alvarado has conducted seminars and disaster resiliency camp for people to adapt to rapid climate change and to strengthen the youth’s participation in building disaster resilient communities.

He also intensifies trainings and simulation exercises of good practices at various levels in ensuring safety. Education campaigns were conducted such as Rapid Earthquake Damage Assessment System (REDAS), First Aid and Water Safety Orientation Seminar, Fire and Earthquake drills, First Bulacan Rescuelympics, Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis and the Incident Command System Training. He has also directed the Bulacan Rescue group to provide prompt response to the needs of the affected people during disasters and emergencies by strengthening and intensifying the roles of Bulacan 566.

Gov. Sy-Alvarado also expressed his pride and honor after his administration’s hard work and enthusiasm went into successful implementation of development programs as Bulacan was only the province in Central Luzon that received Gawad KALASAG Award, which stands for KAlamidad at

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A self-confessed environmentalist, Gov. Sy-Alvarado has also been promoting the need to protect, conserve and nourish the Angat Watershed and Angat Dam because of its inherent value as a national treasure where millions of people are directly benefitting from its wealth. Gov. Sy-Alvarado’s efforts and initiative to push the rehabilitation and strengthening of the aging Angat Dam has been approved by President Benigno Aquino III and even allotted P1.5 billion for the rehabilitation including its forecasting and warning system for water reservoir and flood control protection project.

The president also admired the dedication and positivity of Gov. Sy-Alvarado in addressing the problems of the province that urged him to respond immediately and take action to the projects that will improve the Filipinos’ life including the bidding of the Bulacan Bulk Water, that will soon benefit the Bulakenyos from

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015 The Provincial Government of Bulacan also obtained the Best Performing Local Government Unit (LGU) Award for Cooperative Development as it continues to show exemplary performances and best practices in generating employment through cooperative development and assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises. The province was chosen as the recipient of the award because of its complete package of enterprise services and cooperative development programs including the Negosyo Koop Program, Investment Marketing and the services offered by the Bulacan Packaging Service and Toll Packing Center, which is the very first government-run packaging center in the Philippines.

Gov. Sy-Alvarado has always been grateful for the recognition and said that he will continue to support and guide the primary cooperatives, federations and unions to achieve success through capability building, training and seminars and financial and marketing assistance.

Bulacan also added feathers on its cap as the province was recently recognized as the Green Banner Awardee as the Most Outstanding Province in Central Luzon because of its effective and efficient implementation of nutrition programs. Gov. Sy-Alvarado has always been compassionate to uphold interventions in addressing the nutrition needs of the Bulakenyos. The province was also a consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition (CROWN) Maintenance Award because of Gov. Alvarado’s intensified efforts to improve the nutrition situation of his constituents.

RDC III CHAIRMAN. President Benigno Simeon Aquino III joins the newly appointed chairman of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in Central Luzon, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado together with his wife, Congresswoman Marivic Sy-Alvarado for a photo souvenir during the Mass Oathtaking Ceremony held at Rizal Hall, Malacañang Palace.

their own natural wealth as it will enable the water originating from the watershed of Bulacan mountains to flow to the towns and cities of the province.

The rapid growth and industrialization have not hampered the crop yields in this booming province as Bulacan remains one of the solid rice-producing areas in the country. Bulacan was recently cited by the Department of Agriculture’s Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Awards as one of the Ten Outstanding Provinces in the Philippines that topped the rice production for the year 2014. Bulacan has increased its rice production to 368,393 metric tons from 366, 927 metric tons despite the occurrence of calamities and irrigation water shortages. Appropriate augmentations were also provided to farmers like the conduct of Palay Check Farmer’s Field School, provision of small-scale irrigation support, provision of farm machineries and postharvest facilities, access to financing coupled with the provision of inputs like organic fertilizer and locally funded seed subsidy.

The province’s positive agricultural output especially for rice production has proven its efficient and timely interventions to the Bulakenyo farmers. Gov. Sy-Alvarado also vowed to continue to develop the irrigation systems and campaign for the use of varieties that are high yielding and tolerant to climate change.

The National Nutrition Council also expressed their gratitude to the provincial chief executive for his continuous efforts in making nutrition and anti-hunger programs as the priority concern of his developmental agenda and for being an inspiration to the other leaders to continue the effective implementation of innovative strategies and good practices on nutrition program management.

Gov. Sy-Alvarado also emphasized the importance of healthy pregnancy and effective information dissemination in acquiring essential knowledge about safe motherhood and availing of benefits from the government through PhilHealth.

He has always been supportive to the programs intended for the welfare of children and women.

Moreover, persons with disabilities, solo parent, senior citizen and other person in dire because of their condition benefited under the “Kalingang Bulakenyo” Program. Said project aims to provide medical and assistive devices to indigent Bulakenyos like wheelchair, wheel reclining, crutches, stroller, cane, nebulizer, BP apparatus with stethoscope, Doppler apparatus, digital thermometer, salter scale, and platform beam balance among others. Because of these programs and projects that truly uplift the lives of Bulakenyos, the province was hailed by the Regional Committee on Disability Affairs as Most PWD-Friendly Province Hall-of-Famer Awardee and was cited as the Outstanding Province for Measles Rubella Oral

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado leads the inspection of Angat Dam that will undergo a major rehabilitation that will cost P1.5 billion during the briefing of Angat Dam and Dyke Strengthening Project.

Polio Mass Immunization for earning high percentage in the actual anti-vaccination campaign against the said disease. Gov. Sy-Alvarado provided the basic needs of the impoverished and launched appropriate measures to alleviate their problems and improve their living conditions. The provincial chief executive also personally facilitated the implementation of welfare programs for the disable, elderly, and victims of drug addiction, the rehabilitation of prisoners and parolees, the prevention of juvenile delinquency and such other activities which would eliminate or minimize the ill-effects of poverty.

The health sector is also a priority of Gov. Sy-Alvarado’s administration. Health programs were launched and implemented to cater the medical needs of the people. The PGB through Gov. Sy-Alvarado achieved the improvement and modernization of the Bulacan Medical Center (BMC) and the six district hospitals to provide quality hospital care. Health is wealth as they say and in Bulacan, rendering of quality health care is a must.

With these numerous recognitions and citations, Gov. SyAlvarado has proven that the province of Bulacan is in the right hands and is ready to achieve a more sustainable and progressive development.

AS THE CHAIRMAN OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL IN CENTRAL LUZON Gov. Sy- Alvarado is currently the Chairman of the Regional Development Council – Region III (RDC III), the highest policymaking body in the region. No less than the President himself, His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III, required the endorsement of the RDC before a project is implemented by the national government. As RDC Chairman, Gov. Sy-Alvarado advocates that all national projects to be implemented in the region are compatible with the programs of the concerned local government units and are properly coordinated with the local officials.

Together with all the local chief executives, regional directors of national government agencies and representatives

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from the private sector in the region, RDC Chairman SyAlvarado spearheads the facilitation of regional development efforts toward achieving inclusive, sustainable, participatory, and equitable development in Central Luzon.

The following are some of the major projects endorsed by the RDC for implementation: Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project The Bulacan Bulk Water Supply (BBWSP) Project will provide treated bulk water to the province of Bulacan under an appropriate Public-Private Partnership scheme, using an output/performance-based specification approach. The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System will implement the BBWSP under a solicited Build-Operate-and Transfer scheme. The project will be implemented in 3 stages, and when completed will supply treated water to 21 municipalities and 3 cities of Bulacan through the Water Districts.

Clark Green City Master Plan The Clark Green City (CGC) Master Plan involves the conversion of about 9,450 hectares of land into a self-sufficient and self-sustaining green and intelligent city situated within the Clark Special Economic Zone. It envisions the development of 6 districts with 70 percent open space and 30 percent buildable area linked by a transit corridor combined with a drainage channel. The development of the CGC aims to address the rapid urbanization in the country as well as aid in the achievement of an economic growth that is sustained and more balanced with the end view of further enhancing the country’s competitiveness.

Balog-Balog Multi-Purpose Project - Phase II Balog-Balog Multi-Purpose Project - Phase II will provide full irrigation services to 21,935 hectares new areas in Tarlac City, Lapaz, Victoria, Gerona, Ramos, Concepcion, Pura, Paniqui, and Bamban. The project will also stabilize irrigation supply in the existing service area of Phase I (12,475 hectares) for a combined service area of 34,410 hectares at full development.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

THUMBS UP TO PUBLIC SERVICE. Regional Development Council III (RDC) Chairman and Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado together with RDC III Sectoral Committee Chairs poses with their thumbs up as a sign of their approval and pride in doing public service.

Regional Prison Facilities thru Public-Private Partnership of the Bureau of Corrections The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) and the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) facilities operated by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in the National Capital Region are already run-down and highly congested. The congested conditions in the NBP and CIW retard the rehabilitation programs for the residents affecting their re-entry to society as productive individuals. The NBP and the CIW are both proposed to be relocated so that their present site can be better utilized by the government through strategic or higher developmental use through re-development. The Regional Prison Facilities Project thru Public-Private Partnership scheme involves the financing, construction, and maintenance of a new prison facility to be located in a 500-hectare site inside the military camp of Fort Magsaysay, Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija.

The new prison complex will have a capacity to accommodate 26,000 inmates and will serve most of Luzon, i.e.

NCR, CAR, and Regions I, II, III, IV-A, and V. It will comprise staff housing and buildings for central services, as well as the provision of extensive facilities for conducting rehabilitation programs (sports, education, work and religious services).

RELOCATION OF NATIONAL BILIBID PRISON TO NUEVA ECIJA. Regional Development Council III Chairman and Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado presides the 6th Full Council Meeting of RDC III as they discuss the approved resolutions of the council on the implementation of the sustainable projects for the development of Central Luzon.

North-South Commuter Railway Project – Phase I of the Department of Transportation and Communications The Greater Capital Region (GCR), which consists of Metro Manila, Region III and Region IV-A, is in need of an upgraded and integrated transport system. This region, particularly Metro Manila, is beset by heavy traffic congestion and poor quality of air and living condition because of urban densification and industrialization. The North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) Project – Phase I covering the City of Malolos, Bulacan to Tutuban in Manila aims to help alleviate the transport and environmental problems constraining development in the GCR, and to further promote productivity and competitiveness. The implementation of the NSCR would facilitate connectivity to Central Luzon’s gateway and thus to the promotion of the region’s tourism and overall economic goals. Further, the Malolos to Clark segment of the railway will also be implemented by the Bases Conversion Development Authority.

Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project – Phase V The Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project – Phase V is a flood control project for areas affected by Mt. Pinatubo. The focus of the project is on the western rivers of Mt. Pinatubo in the Province of Zambales, specifically Bucao and Sto. Tomas river systems. The Bucao and Sto. Tomas river basins are among the eight river basins that drain Mt. Pinatubo and on which 6 billion cubic meters of pyroclastic materials and volcanic ash were dumped in the aftermath of the volcano’s eruption. The proposed project, with an estimated cost of PhP 4.2 billion, aims to improve the diking system in the two river systems to prevent flooding and mudflows and to reduce the vulnerability of people and infrastructure along those areas.

PURSUING STABILITY AND PROSPERITY FOR CENTRAL LUZON. Regional Development Council III (RDC) Chairman and Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado discusses the plans and strategies of RDC III to transform and intensify the people’s socio-economic life that will be the key for growth and development of Central Luzon during the RDC III 5th Full Council Meeting.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Faustino "Bojie" G. Dy, III “A leader must endeavor to build a government that is inspired by Vision, tempered by Service, and driven by Goodwill.”

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esidents of the Philippines’ second biggest province where one can find Southeast Asia’s biggest hydroelectric dam, Asia’s biggest grains processing facility, the biggest scarecrow, biggest lounge chair, and highest-biodiversity forestlands in the world, deserve no less than a leader who knows just the kind of recipe this “land of superlatives” needs in order to stay nourished, booming, and kicking well into the next century.

Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III, true to his monicker “Breakthrough Governor,” has led the province of Isabela from being the country’s Number 1 Corn Producer and Rice Supplier to being one of the most awarded provinces in the country in the spheres of good financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness, social protection, peace and order, environment, and in creating a business-friendly climate. Well into the 4th year of his Governorship, he has upped Isabela’s status to unprecedented peaks, piloting the province with an amazing balance of speed and altitude and with an audacity that resulted in this growing list of distinctions bagged by Isabela under his leadership: • 2011 SEAL OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING for Good Governance and Sound Fiscal Administration • 2012 SEAL OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING • 2012 & 2013 MOST OUTSTANDING ANTI-RED TAPE ACT IMPLEMENTER in Region 02.. after zero-compliance since 2008 • 2011, 2012, and 2013 NATIONAL FINALIST in the Search for Most Business Friendly LGUs

• 2013 GAWAD KALASAG SEAL OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS (REGIONAL level) • 2012 BAKAS PARANGAL NG KADAKILAAN by the Office of the Civil Defense • 2012 NATIONAL WINNER OUTSTANDING LOCAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE (First Place) • 2013 OUTSTANDING LOCAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE - Nationwide (Second Place) • 2012 OUTSTANDING LOCAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE in Region 2 from the Cooperative Development Authority • 2013 REGION 2 GAWAD PARANGAL OUTSTANDING LOCAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE • 2011 CHAMPION PROVINCE GAWAD SAKA REGIONAL LEVEL • 2012 NATIONAL RICE ACHIEVERS AWARD • 2013 NATATANGING LALAWIGAN National Quality Corn Achievers Award • 2011, 2012 and 2013 NATATANGING LALAWIGAN AGRI PINOY RICE ACHIEVERS AWARD • 2011, 2012, 2013 REGIONAL TOP LOCAL REVENUE EARNER for Highest Collection Efficiency-Province Category • 2011 REGIONAL TOP LOCAL REVENUE EARNER Province Category • 2011 REGIONAL TOP LOCAL COLLECTOR on Economic Enterprises for Highest Collection Efficiency-Province Category • 2011 REGIONAL TOP LOCAL COLLECTOR of Fees and Charges • 2014 – Regional Awardee CDA Gawad Parangal Most Outstanding LGU – Cooperative Development Office Three decades of education in the realm of public service complemented his formal schooling at La Salle Greenhills and Economics studies at the University of Santo Tomas. These groomed Gov. Dy for his current post and primed him to collect such LGU honors. His immersion in local governance, first as Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman in 1980 and then as Barangay Captain, fed him insights on grassroots governance. When he became Mayor of his home city, Cauayan, he was not only competent but also comfortable in his drive to proceed and test his organizational and executive proficiencies in the big leagues. When after he breezed through three (3) consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, he was elected Governor of Isabela in 2010, he cemented his place among the most trusted names in Isabela’s political history. His impressive debut as an LGU Chief Executive paved the path for an easy second term win in May of last year.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

BREAKTHROUGH GOVERNOR Governor Dy approached the task of governance guided by a pioneering spirit. He operated the local governing machine in a way that it was programmed to execute reforms and solutions.

His first term as Governor was a time for him to be known as a “Breakthrough Governor,” for implementing revolutionary programs and initiatives. He was the first local chief executive to declare and order a “No Logging, No Coal Mining Policy,” a liquor ban 24 hours before a typhoon landfall, a “one-scholarper-farming-family” policy, an “Anti-Dengue Day” for cleanup activities, and a ”Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Day” province-wide.

Under his leadership, LGU-Isabela also became the first local government unit in the country to organize and hold a PROVINCIAL CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT (2012), a REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT (2013), and a PROVINCIAL DISASTER RISK REDUCTION & MANAGEMENT (DRRM) SUMMIT (June 2014).

His innovativeness and foresight fueled the banner program of his Administration, the BRO SMALL FARMER PROGRAM, which is the most comprehensive and first of its kind pro-farmer program in the Philippines. Under the program, the most urgent and important small farmers’ needs are addressed, namely college scholarship for their children, transport and seed subsidy, free healthcare coverage up to P150,000.00 and free Philhealth membership, livelihood loan facility, accident insurance, and social security coverage, and alternative livelihood sources. Three years into its continuing implementation, and after effecting the infusion of technology and training to modernize agriculture, and the establishment of modern post-harvest facilities and minidam irrigation facilities, the province of Isabela remains the 10th richest province in the country, the Top corn and rice producer, and one of the biggest contributors to national food security – proof of the viability and sustainability of Gov. Dy’s initiatives and of the significant impact of the program on agricultural productivity.

With Governor Dy at the helm of the 2nd biggest province in the Philippines, Isabela was recognized by the DILG and the business sector as one of the Top Ten Most Business-Friendly LGUs for the years 2011, 2012, and 2013.

The province also became the recipient of the biggest grant assistance from the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), for the construction and establishment of a 25 megawatt agricultural BIOMASS POWER PLANT with discarded parts of corn plants and rice straw and chaff as raw materials as materials . This and two other biomass projects will make Isabela the pioneer in Biomass Energy production and the biggest supplier of renewable energy in the Philippines.

Isabela’s Small farmers have a combined tillage of 83,000 hectares of corn and palay farmland. 143,262 farmers and cooperatives in Isabela’s 34 municipalities and 2 cities have enlisted in the program, which is also made available to fisherfolk, and barangay nutrition and health workers. College scholars from farming families now number 10,000, or more than half of the total number of scholars of the Provincial Government. 8,149.78 hectares of farmland tilled by 10,497 farmers across Isabela are now insured with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation. 2,363 farmers have been motivated to sell P3,884,082.77 worth of produce to NFA-Isabela because of the transport expense subsidies granted under the BRO Pantawid Pamasahe and Ayuda sa Presyo Programs.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

These components of the BRO Small Farmer Program have the most immediate national significance because the national government requires from Isabela a volume quota to prevent rice shortage in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, and stabilize the price of rice in the country.

BRO Scholars are now covered by the BRO-PNB Life Insurance component, and over 5,000 small farmers have registered with the BRO-SSSM. Some 11,572 Marginalized Small Farmers with combined tillage of 6,477.61 hectares have availed of livelihood loans under the BRO-LAMPF, while 447 farmers in 161 barangays in 191 municipaltiies have received animals for raising or breeding.

The BRO Small Farmer Program has proven to be an essential tool in sustaining Isabela’s status as Number 1 Corn Producer and as the Biggest Surplus Producer of Rice in the Philippines, because of the motivation for increased productivity that the Program provided the Small Farmers.

In its third year of implementation, Isabela remains the 10th richest province in the country and the Top corn and rice producer, bagging the Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award in 2013. Based on current trends in the farming sector, and the impact of the Program in the past two years, BRO SF Program and Isabela’s status will be sustained in the coming years.

In mitigating the impact of Climate Change on the farming sector, the province of Isabela went all out in implementing small-scale irrigation projects to irrigate hundreds of new rice areas and benefit hundreds of farmers through the spring-to-tank-to-production-area waterimpounding projects.

STEERING THE QUEEN PROVINCE OF THE PHILIPPINES EDUCATION and SOCIAL PROTECTION The Provincial Scholarship Program now has 16,000 academic and non-academic College scholars enrolled in various universities and colleges throughout Luzon, translating to 213 Million Pesos in provincial funds allocated for the purpose.

Almost 80 Million pesos for the construction and repair of elementary and high school buildings have likewise been spent to benefit more than 300,000 students across Isabela. The youth of Isabela are encouraged to complement their formal training with their practical education in community undertakings and immersion in volunteer work. Their participation helped earn for Isabela the distinction of enlisting the biggest number of volunteers in the nationwide Bayani Challenge in 2013.

Since Gov. Dy overhauled the local hospital system and restored the Provincial Healthcare benefits of Isabeleños, the number of patients in the rehabilitated provincial, district, and community hospitals have tripled and there are now 170,000 Healthcare members, including 127,000 indigents, and more than 850 thousand beneficiaries, because of the multipliereffect of the Program. Nutrition Summits, Local Health Board Meetings, Maternal and Child Health trainings and reviews are regularly conducted under his administration. As a province demonstrating an aggressive stance against the spread of Dengue Fever and other infectious diseases, Isabela was awarded the Regional Certificate of Recognition for Most Outstanding Performance in Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response in 2012 and the NATIONAL CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION for Most Outstanding Performance in Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance in 2013.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

It may be said that it is in Isabela where the firmest commitment to, and consistency with, national programs for the marginalized sectors are demonstrated 24/7, and Gov. Dy cites the completion and construction of DSWD core shelter projects, and the professionalization in the establishment and management of the state-of-the-art Women and Children Protection Center, the Model Day Care Center, the modern and responsive facilities for Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities and the Migrant Workers’ Unit, as well as the Provincial Child Protection Council and the Provincial Council Against Trafficking and Violence Against Women and Their Children.

PEACE & ORDER AND DEVELOPMENT Gov Dy’s reactivation and reorganization of the Provincial Peace and Order Council has tightened relations between the Provincial Government and the PNP and resulted in better coordination and harmonization of their functions, plus the enhancement of the PNP’s resources. Executive Orders and ordinances promoting road safety and eliminating public hazards, and the local PNP’s own impressive track record in apprehending Most-Wanted criminals hiding in Isabela have created the current stable state of peace and order and sustained the quality way of life of Isabeleños.

The result is a predictable business environment that has attracted investments like SM, Robinson’s, Puregold, renewable energy plants, agricultural processing plants, and generated jobs, sparked livelihood opportunities, and attracted fastfood and hotel chains, tourists, and nature adventurists to the province.

ENVIRONMENT & DISASTER PREPAREDNESS Isabela is one of the healthiest and safest places to live in and visit, and the Governor is determined to keep it that way. He was the first LGU Chief to declare a “No Logging, No Coal Mining” Policy, and also the first one to hold paralegal training for forest rangers, NGOs, and other government workers for the environment.

After creating the Task Force on Environment Protection, he expanded its role, together with the PNP, AFP, DOJ, DENR, and

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Private Sector and NGO representatives, to ensure a holistic and methodical management of the province’s natural environment and forest and mineral resources. Earth Hour is strictly observed in Isabela under Gov Dy’s incumbency, to promote a low-carbon lifestyle and complement the LGU’s other initiatives for ecological sustainability, such as a Solid Waste Management Plan and a local Environment Code, and biomass renewable energy production partnerships with the private sector and foreign agencies.

In mitigating the impact of Climate Change on the farming sector, the provincial leadership went all out in implementing small-scale irrigation projects to irrigate hundreds of new rice areas and benefit hundreds of farmers through the spring-totank-to-production-area water-impounding projects.

Gov Dy’s pioneering initiatives to impose a liquor ban before, during and immediately after typhoons and to organize the provincial and regional Climate Change Summits and the first Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) provincial Summit, coordination and communication between and among offices during typhoon seasons.

Isabela’s Disaster Action and Response Team or DART 831 which serves as a 24/7 mobile emergency services unit under the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has been recognized as the BEST in Region 2, while its umbrella unit PDRRMC has been awarded the Gawad Kalasag (Seal of Disaster Preparedness0 for being the BEST IN REGION 2 FOR TWO YEARS NOW, is in the running again this year after achieving a 99.75 % rating in a recent evaluation.

CULTURE AND TOURISM The Provincial Government endeavors for the new generation of Isabeleños to acquire expertise in new technologies but with a fully developed fundamental sense of heritage. Hence, Gov Dy made it a key program of the provincial government to promote the local culture and heritage and instill among the locals a well-cultivated sense of pride in their roots.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Isabela has a rich 159-year old history that is steeped in royalty, courtesy of the Spanish conquistadores that ruled the province and dominated culture and governance early in its history. Named

by Royal Decree after the reigning Queen of Spain in 1856, the province echoes its regal roots with Gov Dy’s pet infrastructure project, the Queen Isabela Park. This is a huge culture and heritage park for exhibiting local artistry, with sprawling greens, a lagoon for boating activities, a Memorial of Queen Isabella II in the center of a tableau featuring epic scenes from Isabela’s history, and the Philippines’ biggest LGU-built open amphitheatre that can accommodate 50 thousand spectators.

Gov Dy has taken an aggressive stance to lure tourists to Isabela with a promised view of the most productive valley farms in the country, a ringside ticket to the home of the Bambanti Festival, and a destination that is rich in nature adventures because of its unspoiled land and water features, 113 kilometers of white sand-lined waterfront, and an unforgettable culinary

tradition, all to be experienced with the unmatched brand of hospitality and vibrancy of the Isabeleños. The Governor hence is promoting Isabela as “ang bagong sentro ng agri-kultura” to underscore these key strengths of the province.

There is a clear rebirth of the promotion of culture and the arts under Gov Dy’s leadership, as endeavored with each staging of the annual Bambanti Festival, Isabela Day celebrations, the conduct of talent and art demonstrations, and exhibitions of the same in the Queen Isabela Park. To ensure the continuing pursuit of this direction, Gov Dy appointed established culture and history college professors from various universities in the province, and a member of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts ExeComm to the Isabela Culture and Arts Council.

Thanks to the social media, hardly any cultural activity or breakthrough in Isabela these days goes unnoticed by Facebook denizens linked to any Isabeleño. They are advised to sit tight though; Isabela’s major curtain-raisers are yet to come.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Mujiv S. Hataman Moro Servant Leader in Contemporary Mindanao

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rom his humble beginnings at a small village in the island of Basilan, Mujiv Hataman worked his way up to become a leading Moro figure of today. As Regional Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), he has authority over five provinces and two cities and takes the helm of addressing the clamors of around 4 million residents, who are mostly Moros. His administration’s introduction of reforms and good governance has allowed ARMM to maintain its relevance to the aspirations of the Moro people.

Mujiv was born on September 11, 1972 as the seventh child of Hadji Sulaiman Hataman, a Yakan, and Hadja Jamila Salliman, a Tausug, in the village of Buli-Buli, Sumisip, Basilan. He comes from a family of leaders - his father was a panglima(chieftain) and served as Barangay captain of their village from the time he sought the position in the 70s until his retirement, and his older brother was one of the first councilors of the then City of Basilan.

His experience as a youth leader and activist gained him a grasp of the realities faced by minority groups in the country.

He hopes to see an empowered and responsible citizenry, active in their participation in good governance and establish a model Muslim community that every Muslim Filipino can be proud of.

A product of public school, Mujiv graduated Class Valedictorian in 1984 at Buli-Buli Elementary School and Class Salutatorian in 1988 at the SumisipNational High School. Having spent his elementary and secondary education in Basilan, he ventured to Manila at the age of 16 to pursue college. He enrolled in Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering at the AMA Computer University in Manila.Mujiv has always been ahead of his time. At the age of 17, he developed a heightened consciousness of the web of interrelations among Mindanaoans - the Moros, Lumads, and the Christian settlers – and developed a profound understanding of the need to address the salient issues of their economic, political, and cultural life. 1989 was the start of his progressive-bent political career. He joined the Manila-based Bangsamoro Student Association who marched and took the cause of the Moro People to the streets in the quest of making a statement for the plight of the Muslim ethnics of Mindanao, their right to self-determination that then continued to fall on deaf ears and the need for drafting a peaceful solution to the centuries-old Mindanao problem.

The sporadic encounters between the military and the secessionist groups based in Basilan took heavy toll on the plight of people who were caught in thecrossfires and the loss of lives was far too heavy to be accepted in

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contemporary terms. This motivated the young Mujiv to found Kahapan-Basilan, Inc. (now the Kahapan Foundation) in 1995.

A consistent advocate of peace and development via right to self-determination of the tri-Peoples in Mindanao, he did not only earn the respect of prominent political figures in the province of Basilan but even across Mindanao. His persistence, diligence and involvement with international solidarity work gained attention in the national and international communities.

In the year 2000, Mujiv was named as top nominee of the AMIN (Anak Mindanao) Party List that was then seeking a seat at the House of Representatives. He graduated from the House of Representatives after having served for three-terms as Congressman (12th – 14th Congress).

During his stint in Congress, Mujiv took bold steps in (1) standing up as the only Muslim legislator in the impeachment against then President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo, (2) calling out for inspection of rice warehouses to avoid rice hoarding

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when the price of rice had increased from P41 to P52 per kilo, (3) bringing out the anomalous Road User’s Tax and criticizing the double insertion of the C6 project, (4) calling out for reform in government-owned and controlled corporations considering their heavy indebtedness and mismanagement, (5) initiating investigation in the irregularities in the collection of taxes from quarrying and hauling of Mt. Pinatubo sand in Pampanga, (6) calling the government to give more meaning to the mandate of the Constitution to assign the highest budgetary priority to education, (7) asking the government in a resolution to make basic education the primary beneficiary of its P25.2-billion take from the sale of government shares in the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, (8) pushing for a program to ensure that the thousands of undocumented children of Filipino workers in Malaysia who were sent back to the Philippines during the mass deportation will get proper education, (9) building the Mindanao Garden of Peace in the Corregidor Islands, and a lot more.

Mujiv sponsored and authored fourteen (14) House Bills, the most significant of which is House Bill No. 03012 - AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST PERSONS ON

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

ACCOUNT OF ETHNIC ORIGIN AND/OR RELIGIOUS BELIEF, which was approved on 3rd reading by both Houses of Congress. He also co-authored sixty nine (69) House Bills to include among others the CARPER Law and Generics Medicine Act.Following the ARMM Synchronization Law, President Benigno S. Aquino III handpicked him to a yet bigger responsibility in December 2011 to become the OIC-Regional Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Assuming the highest office in the region that had the reputation of being regularly irregular, particularly during the aftermath of the Maguindanao Massacre, remains Mujiv’s most challenging task.

Mujiv managed to lay down sweeping changes in what used to be dysfunctional bureaucracy – professionalizing its workforce, purging a large number of “ghost employees” and

instituting transparency and accountability in the regional governance. To date, Hataman’s policy of transparency is most remarkable in Philippine local governance.

His leadership style, characterized by his openness and accessibility to the people, is a complete pivot from the established norm in the ARMM. The governor and the entire composition of his cabinet have voluntarily made public their contact details where people can vent their opinions and comments on government and its services. A standing policy in the ARMM is giving the public access to government activities and transactions and requiring all officials to respond to valid queries.

Mujiv’s policy of bringing the government closer to the people and vice versa, is an impressive move to make

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015 Believing in education as the most potent tool for change, Mujiv took priority to address the state of literacy and education in the ARMM. While doing so, he took personal attention to delve into the plight of schoolteachers, the stateof-affairs in the region’s Education Department, and the persistent irregularities. He found the niche for his massive reform agenda in the education sector.

Policies were set to remove delays in the release of salaries of teachers and adopted policies to ease them of some financial burdens. The regional government secured a deal with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) to provide a buyout scheme for teachers with huge loans from private lenders. An agreement was also signed between the ARMM government, the GSIS and the Department of Budget and Management for the implementation of a straight deduction scheme to settle GSIS payables of a large number of teachers in the region.

constituents realize that government exists for them and must initiate the bold moves for change. It is the regional government’s aim to adhere to the global principle of open governance.

He has personally urged for the strengthening of a Personnel Selection and Promotions Board that screens and evaluates applicants purely on their merit and fitness thus, curbing influence peddling, inefficiency and items-for-sale scheme.

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ARMM saved millions of government funds when Mujiv launched a campaign against ghost projects and workers campaign in 2012. The successful campaign earned him the moniker “certified ghost-buster” from President Benigno Aquino III who made the pronouncement in his 3rd State of the Nation Address.He then campaigned for the cleansing of the list of voters in the ARMM, a move strongly supported by civil society groups. With their help, he secured President Aquino’s support. Close to 300,000 illegitimate registrants were removed from the region’s official book of voters as a result of the re-registration conducted by the Commission on Elections, paving the way for more credible elections. He was for the second time, cited by President Aquino in the recent SONA for his electoral reform initiative.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

He has pressed on with the brand of leadership and programs he started in the ARMM after emerging victorious in the synchronized midterm election in May this year. He has called for the streamlining and optimization of government services being handled by the regional government through the ARMM HELPS (Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Security, and Synergy) scheme. He has likewise mandated a proactive approach to emergency situations with the activation of the ARMM HEART or the Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team.

Mujiv married Sitti Djalia Turabin, former executive director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and now Representative of Anak Mindanao Party List. They have five children, namely: AhmedIbn Djaliv, Khaleed Eiman Djaliv, Amina Umara, Jamil Oumar and Ameera Mumtaz.

Mujiv’s style of leadership will forever mark as a legacy of new politics, not just for the Muslim autonomous region, but for the rest of the country as well.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Corazon T. Nuñez Malanyaon WORTHY WOMAN AND HER TOWERING LEGACIES

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he is easily the most awe-inspiring figure in the political history of Davao Oriental. The depth and scale of what she has achieved are staggering, bringing in a sea of change, a new political order to the landscape of this sunshine province.

Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon represents the breed of no nonsense government leaders who meaningfully transforms the people’s lives and conditions.

She has built one towering legacy after another. Making true her promises to her people, this “Worthy Woman” has basked in fame being feted for her remarkable if not extraordinary achievements as a government official. But she has remained herself as a humble servant leader. She is the worthy woman because of the symbol she has become for her people especially in their hour of trial and darkness. She is the worthy woman because against all odds, she has become brave enough to be the best version of herself: An empowering leader that shows to her people their capacity to transform, to create change and become better. Malanyaon is a woman of many fine qualities, but her vision for Davao Oriental and its people, her strong will and commitment to pursue it with a sense of urgency, her passionate and dynamic leadership, adherence to high aesthetic and quality standards as well as her loving, forgiving, and generous personality are some of the defining qualities that shaped her performance as a leader.

Malanyaon aspires to lead as she knew back then in 2007 that the people of Davao Oriental were craving for a genuine leadership, leaders who lead by their moral authority to inspire, to elevate people and to enlist them in a shared journey.

Armed with a very strong mandate, she assumed as the province’s chief executive on that year. But she reminded her people that the higher targets and greater goals that her administration hoped to achieve can only be realized through convergence and harmonious partnerships. “Together, we will face future challenges with collective dedication and enthusiasm. Recovery and progress will not come through talking. It is work by all of us that is going to lift us to better times. Let us not allow too much politics to get in the way of our work,” Malanyaon tells her people during her first day in office, pointing out that the greatness of the province lies in the unity of its people in sharing a vision.

For her, integrity is meaning what you say and saying what you mean. This is her mantra and the highlight of her public life. This is how she restored integrity in public service as she held that the government should operate with only the people’s interest in mind.

Governor Malanyaon lives with her constituents, enabling her to understand their problems, their hopes and their dreams and give substance to these hopes and dreams. And she believes that the people are the real wealth of the country, the reason why she is passionately championing the creation of an enabling environment for her people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives as she envisions a community where the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged are empowered for an improved quality of life.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Malanyaon is easily the most awe-inspiring figure in the political history of Davao Oriental.

When she took over as governor in 2007, Davao Oriental was a deteriorating low-class province in the region marked with all the negative development indicators, including high poverty incidence, high malnutrition prevalence rate, poor health services and facilities, high unemployment, low agricultural productivity and low revenue collection efficiency.

It was also a hotbed of the long-running communist insurgency.

Now on her last term, Governor Malanyaon has managed to transform her province into a status that is now a leader in agriculture and the only province in Davao Region declared as “insurgency-free” by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The province has become a model of competent and participatory local governance. Under her leadership, Davao Oriental has achieved a remarkable record of being the most awarded local government unit in the region and benchmarked for its best practices in local governance in the country.

Davao Oriental has become the most outstanding province in agriculture, disaster preparedness, health, local revenue collection, peace and order and in addressing malnutrition prevalence rate. In fact, the province has been the recipient of the most prestigious award from the DILG—the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi also known to be “an award for excellence in local governance” which is the “mother of all awards”.

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Malanyaon built towering legacies: A PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL which bears the amenities of a high-end private hospital but catering to the rural poor; a world-class Provincial Museum named SUBANGAN featuring Davao Oriental’s cultural and natural heritage, to include the biggest spermwhale on display in the Philippines; a Halfway House or HAPPY HOME-transitional home for rebel returnees where services such as psychosocial, spiritual, counseling livelihood trainings are extended preparatory to their integration into their respective communities; A HOME FOR ABUSED WOMEN AND CHILDREN; CATEEL IRRIGATION SYSTEM which features the biggest irrigation dam in Mindanao, a World Bank funded project which is province-initiated and managed and which would assure Davao Oriental a one hundred percent rice sufficiency level.

Recently, Malanyaon also brought a world-wide fame to a province that is blessed with the earliest rays of the new millennium sunrise, by successfully getting the UNESCO INSCRIPTION OF MT. HAMIGUITAN RANGE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY AS WORLD HERITAGE SITE. Governor Malanyaon’s leadership was put to test when Super typhoon Pablo hit the three municipalities of her province namely: Boston, Cateel and Baganga in December 2012, leaving

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

She is known to be very generous, compassionate and visionary leader.

an unimaginable devastation and when LPA Agaton followed in January, 2014 causing heavy flooding in most towns. While grieving over the incidents, she managed to remain focused on building back better the damaged towns, continued to explore opportunities and rallied people to be strong and resilient. She embarked on massive rehabilitation programs in shelter, livelihood, infrastructure and environment rehabilitation and intensified investment promotions. New programs have emerged such as, industry development of Oil Palm, Cacao Intercropping with Coconut, Abaca

Production and Processing, Chili production and processing and tourism development.

Davao Oriental is never the same again

The disaster stakeholders, government and nongovernment, local and international have witnessed the leadership of the Governor at the height of Typhoon Pablo’s relief operations and the subsequent upswing of development in the once disaster-struck province. Upon strong recommendation from the UN Country Manager, Malanyaon was invited to speak before an audience of 49 countries from Europe and Asia to share the province’s Best Practices in Disaster Response, Recovery and Rehabilitation.

Davao Oriental is never the same again. With people’s satisfaction with the local governance, its residents now speak with pride of their province. And there is now a sense of ownership in what has been remarkably achieved and a strong commitment to sustain the gains.

More than two years after Pablo, Davao Oriental's massive rehabilitation efforts have gained significant headway through the "Davao Oriental's Way Forward for 2013-2016" or the Building Back Better Program - a term now adopted by the national government in its rehabilitation efforts.

Under Gov. Malanyaon's leadership, Davao Oriental became the most awarded and most benchmarked province in the region.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

UNESCO INSCRIPTION OF MOUNT HAMIGUITAN AS WORLD HERITAGE SITE -- Mount Hamiguitan is a home to high-endemic species of flora and fauna, some of which is critically endangered Philippine Eagle, Philippine Cockatoo, and the carnivorous pitcher plants. Likewise, it is a location to an expansive centuries-old tropical pygmy forest. It is regarded as Davao Oriental’s gift to the rest of the world.

THE SUBANGAN MUSEUM -- A world-class museum which showcases the rich cultural and natural heritage of the province. It is the embodiment of the soul of Davao Oriental.

The Subangan Museum is now the province’s top tourism landmark that gives visitors an eye-opening experience. It also features the typhoon Pablo experience of the people in the hardhit towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga.

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DAVAO ORIENTAL MEDICAL CENTER -- A symbol of Gov. Malanyaon’s extreme love for the poor, health being at the core of the governor’s agenda. The beautiful hospital building and its ambience gives the sick people a healing effect, hope and comfort.

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CATEEL IRRIGATION PROJECT -- One hundred percent rice-sufficiency is now a reality with the completion of the P256 million irrigation project in the municipality of Cateel, Davao Oriental, which is province-initiated and managed. One of the biggest irrigation projects in Mindanao to date, it is set to irrigate at least 1,600 hectares of rice fields in that town.

HAPPY HOME -- Davao Oriental is the only province in the whole country to have pioneered the establishment of the so-called “Happy Home” that serve as transition shelters for former rebels who now embrace the fold of law. The peacebuilder Gov. Malanyaon was grateful after her province was recently declared as “insurgency-free,” the only place in Mindanao to have such a distinction.

SHELTER PROGRAM -- Residents driven from their homes and livelihoods when super typhoon Pablo cut a wide swathe of destruction in the towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga finally reacquired decent living quarters. The governor in partnership with the DSWD engaged disaster victims in rebuilding their communities while providing them with opportunity to earn food or cash needed by their families.

DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-TOURISM SITES AND PARKS -- Setting the foundation for world-class development standards of tourism-related projects, the provincial government initiated the development of tourism sites in each town that include: Pintatagan Welcome Park and Dalan Sa Cruz Shrine in Banaybanay, Aliwagwag Falls Eco Park and the Riverview Park and Memorial Shrine in Cateel, Sunrise Boulevard in Baganga, and Pacific View Park in Boston. Site development is also on going in Mt. Hamiguitan Eco-Park in San Isidro, Pusan Point in Caraga, and Cape San Agustin Eco Park in Governor Generoso.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Maria Imelda "Imee" R. Marcos PRICELESS LEGACY OF THE NORTH

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mee Marcos (born November 12, 1955), is a Filipino politician who has been Governor of Ilocos Norte since 2010.

She served three terms as Representative of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007. She formerly belonged to the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan or KBL political party, the same party that supported her father, President Ferdinand Marcos.

Marcos. Both parents ruled the Philippines together from 1965 to 1985. She was born on November 12, 1955 in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. She has a younger brother, Ferdinand "BongBong" Marcos, Jr., currently a Senator of the Republic of the Philippines, and two younger sisters, Irene Marcos-Araneta, a socialite, and Aimee Marcos, who was adopted and works as an entrepreneur and musician.

Subsequently she joined the alliance of the Nacionalista Party of Manny Villar in support of her mother and her brother. She is the sister of Ilocos Norte Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., who replaced her as the Representative for the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte.

Marcos, who turned 10 the day after her father was elected president in 1965, grew up as a young child at Malaca単an Palace, the official residence of the president of Republic of the Philippines. In an interview with Filipinas Magazine in 1999, she admitted that she was not comfortable living at the Palace because it was too confining, very formal and fixed. She also added that it is not necessarily the most appropriate place to bring up a kid but it was quite nice.

Maria Imelda Josefa Romualdez Marcos is the first child of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, former president of the Philippines (1917-1989) and his wife, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

While living at the Palace, Marcos attended regular schools in Manila, then was tutored at the Palace because they found it difficult to go out because of protest rallies outside Malacañang.

This she found the most boring thing that happened, to learn without classmates.

Marcos went to the Institucion Teresiana (Poveda Learning Center) from Kindergarten to Grade IV where she earned First Honors. She attended Assumption Convent at Herran St. in Manila for Grade V to First Year High School where she also earned First Honors. Then, she went to the American School in Makati.

Imee, her brother Ferdinand Jr. (Bongbong) and sister, Irene had been studying in England before Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972. They stayed there for a few years until they finished their studies. But they came home for Christmas and summer holidays.

In England, they had to live by themselves. "We were much concerned about adopting to a new and very cold environment.

I was clueless. I wasn't aware of what was going on because we were struggling to cope in England without our parents, so it wasn't very real to us that things actually changed in the Philippines in an important way," she recalls.

In London, she attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Acting and Playwriting, (with Distinction).

She took up Acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK (with Distinction). She also went to the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus, Mayfield, Sussex, England British Kingdom. Marcos completed her secondary education at Santa Catalina School in Monterey, California where she graduated valedictorian of her class.

She completed a B.A. degree in Religion and Politics at Princeton University.

After their return to the Philippines, Marcos was chairperson of the Kabataang Barangay (a youth organization). Then, she earned her M.A. in Management and Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Management in Makati. She did her graduate study in anthropology, sociology, literature, arts,

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history, and theater at Princeton University in New Jersey and the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Marcos also studied French and Dialectical Arabic at the Royal University of Rabat in Morocco, as such she speaks ostensibly with French, Spanish, Latin, Arabic, Portuguese, aside from her knowledge about Ilocano, Waray, English, Tagalog and basic Mandarin and Japanese. She also studied Writing: screenplay; children's literature; painting and art; and interior design at the National University of Singapore College of Extramural Studies.

Imee was counsel at the Center for Legal Aid at the U.P. College of Law. She was also a consultant for corporate taxation of the Independent Realty Corp., Anchor Corp., and Prime Holdings, MidPasig Realty Corp. She was columnist of The Manila Bulletin in Manila, publisher of the Filpino Film Review, publisher and editor of the Kabataang Barangay Foundation, Makati, Metro Manila, and Special consultant to the chairman of the board of ABS-CBN, RPN 9 and IBC 13. From 1979-1986, she was consultant to the minister of the National Media Production Center in Quezon City. Then, from 1981 to 1986, she was director general of the Experimental Cinema of the Philippines.

From 1975 to 1986, Marcos produced the television shows Kulit Bulilit and Kaluskos Musmos. She was director-general of Experimental Cinema of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986, and was co-producer of the films The Boatman, Brutal, and Scorpio Nights. She also wrote and produced some animation films.

Imee also held the following positions: • Producer of Metro Magazine (1975–1986) • Founding Chair of the Kabataang Barangay Foundation (1975–1986) • Consultant/writer of the Children's Television Workshop for Asia and New York (1977–1979) • President/executive producer of Renegade Filmamakers (1996 to present) • In 2007, along with some industry luminaries, Imee Marcos established the Creative Media and • Film Society of the Philippines (CREAM). A year after CREAM evolved into CREAM Content Distribution, Inc., a production company that specializes in animation, game and film production. She is currently the president of CREAM.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Marcos was once married to businessman Tommy Manotoc, an avid golfer and former professional basketball coach. They have three sons: Fernando Martin ("Borgy"), a commercial model and a DJ; Michael, a student at New York University; and Matthew Joseph, a student at Claremont McKenna College.

Her stepson Tommy "TJ" Manotoc is a sportscaster and news anchor. Marcos and Manotoc are now separated.

Imee entered the world of politics as an Assemblyman from Ilocos Norte from June 30, 1984 up to March 25, 1986 together with Antonio V. Raquiza.

Twelve years later, she returned to the world of politics. She ran as Congresswoman of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte and won. She assumed office on June 30, 1998 and ended June 30, 2007.

When Imee Marcos re-cently celebrated her birthday, she invited members of the media for a three-day familiarization tour of Ilocos Norte’s tourist spots. She gave us a hectic schedule, which she claimed, was typical of her workday. “I’m afraid I exhausted you,” she told us, “but even my own children tell me after we go on a holiday that they need another holiday just to relax.”

After taking in the sights in the Wind Farm in Bangui, the beaches of Pagudpud, and the Patapat Road which overlooks China Sea, then back to the lake and sand dunes of Paoay and getting the feel of Northern illustrado life in the home of Juan Luna in Badoc, capped by a relaxing afternoon of empanada and barbecued longganiza at the Marcos ancestral home in Batac, I can easily say Ilocos Norte is a feast of cultural, historical and natural offerings.

She was re-elected as Governor in the 2013 polls, unopposed.

And yet, if you must ask me my favorite tourist attraction, my number one is Ilocos Norte’s governor, Imee herself, who almost always ends up being asked to pose with foreign tourists, balikbayans, and local travelers for photo ops. The sightings of the governor can vary from a workday in the capitol, which goes all the way to nine in the evening when she signs all the papers and opens her e-mail, to her inspection trips to the mountains and shorelines of this beautiful province.

Ilocos Gov. Imee Marcos and the different rooms of the Marcos ancestral home in Batac displaying portraits of the young Ferdinand Marcos and the Imeldific First Lady: “I always think that I am a Marcos because I like Ilocano food like simple vegetables. I always think I’m more Ilocano because I was such a daddy’s girl growing up, that my habits are very much like my dad’s, a little bit nerdy.”

I asked her if it was easy campaigning, considering that Ilocos Norte is Marcos’ turf. “Not really,” she said, “because I started out with only a few mayors on my side, so I went from one town to another.” Which was a good way to tell them she meant to play her part well. Local governance job is not her cup of tea, but as she said, “I am happy to be here, and there is much to do.” Come Nov. 23, the Department of Tourism is

In the 2010 elections, she ran as Governor of Ilocos Norte against her cousin, Michael Marcos Keon, who was the governor during that time. She defeated her cousin by a landslide victory.

Imee had 196,160 votes while her cousin, Gov. Michael had only 86,005 votes. She assumed office on June 30, 2010.

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turning over to the provincial government the much-neglected Malacañang of the North located right along the fringes of the legendary Paoay Lake. “It’s a welcome development because we can fix it. It was beautiful already and they let it rot,” she said. It is one place she can call “home” because that was where the family stayed when they went home during those years when her father President Ferdinand E. Marcos was in power.

Our interview took place from one town to another.

First, over native fare that included puto, tinudok or carioca in Manila, and various versions of the malagkit or “dikit” in Ilocano, including dudul and suman at the Paoay lakeside residence of the Diaz family. Next was at the rest house of Dr. Joven Cuanang in Sitio Remedios in Currimao town, this time over giant prawns, steamed fish, and the all-time favorite crispy bagnet, the Ilocano version of lechon kawali. Finally, at Ford Ilocandia, after a dinner of pakbet, the famous mixed vegetable stew, and the mixed green salad the Ilocanos call KBL, reminiscent of the political party that was in power during the New Society period.

The best part about interviewing Imee is her willingness to tell all, when she wants to tell all, and her outright refusal to say a word if she believes she cannot answer the question. If you heard my tape-recorded interview, you would be impressed, as she shifted from one intonation to another, including a style of speaking that is so like her father’s. Imee can talk about any subject and she proved this as we moved from one topic to another, not necessarily in a logical way. This one is her daddy’s girl, and she’s living up to the image with zeal, optimism, grace, and dignity.

You came across activists during your studies in the states.

How did you react when they confronted you?

Right on the first day of school, I already had this kind of thing.

Wala eh, I grew up in a political atmosphere, so there’s always a controversy. I talked to them. Some of them were my friends also. I later came to know quite a few of them, because we eventually studied at the University of the Philippines (UP).

It seems you had many friends who were activists. Who were they?

Like in the film area, Joel Lamangan and Behn Cervantes.

Mahal ko naman yung mga yun, eh. So, eventually, may nakulong.

Si Joel Lamangan, kalalabas lang nuong maging crowd director sa

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Himala. Si Lino Brocka, umaakyat sa Malacañang yan, eh. Wala lang, nakikipagkuwentuhan, nakikipagtsismis.

How do Ilocanos view education today?

Here in the province, for example, only the children of OFWs can afford private schools. So it’s a major status symbol. Ilocanos like to go to school. If Bulakeños want to start an enterprise, or Kapampangans want a big house, we have a paper chase in Ilocos. We want a wallpaper.

Even if it’s a nipa hut, we just wallpaper it with these groovy degrees.

Sa Ilocano, it’s a wallpaper. You go to a fishing village somewhere, and suddenly you see the diploma of a Harvard cum laude. I mean it, I’ve seen it time and time again when I do house to house. It’s always some big universities in the United States.

Let’s shift gears. How are you and President Noynoy?

I entered as a congresswoman with him. Magkabatch kami, eh, 1998. And we were both three terms. We both ended up in the minority. We were in the opposition. The more unusual coupling was with Ka Satur, di ba? Naaaliw ang mga tao, and they were asking, “bakit parang nasa parehong panig na kayo?”

My father was a very well read and a very cultured man. Funnily enough, we never spoke too much about politics. At the dinner table, it was supposed to be literature and music, and the rest was work. What have we read? Isn’t this guy overrated? Isn’t this guy brilliant?

Were there expectations of each one of you, like you, you’re going to be like this?

I think Bong got more of it, because he is the only son and the junior. I am Imelda also but I am so unlike my mother.

You know, I read somewhere that your mother thought of you as an ugly duckling.

Well, no, my mom was very good about it. I didn’t look like her.

She was such a stunning beauty. It was people telling me all the time “bakit ang itim-itim mo? Bakit di mo kamukha mommy mo? Bakit di ka kasingtangkad? Bakit di ka mestisa?” You know naman people, they are so taklesa (tactless). In hindsight, I should probably have retorted, “sino ba naman ang kamukha ng nanay ko? Namumukod tangi naman talaga yan. Iba naman talaga ang itsura niyan. Wala yang kaparis sa ganda.”

Did it affect you?

In the beginning, I was getting really tired of it. Which probably contributed to my nerdiness. But okay lang.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015 So, how was life after EDSA? Well, siyempre, eh di naexile kami. My parents had a very good attitude. My father only half-jokingly said, “O sige, two years, ha?

After two years, tama na, corny na.” And it was pretty much like that the first couple of years. Siyempre, it was all very fresh and we were so, as they say, we were so alien. It was so difficult, but after that, we just adjusted.

Any advice for President Noynoy?

Noynoy knows who his friends are. So that’s important. You really need to know who your team is. I think he does. That’s valuable.

Kasi yung barkada niya sa Congress, the liberal party stalwarts who are with him now, yun pa ring sa time ng Congress. And he trusts them, and that is important. You need to trust some people. They have to cover your back for you. I think he has got that number.

Ang daming problema kasi, eh. Ang dami naman kasi niyang minanang problema, eh. Hindi mo malaman kung anong uunahin mo.

Bunuin mo yung isa, sampu naman ang lilitaw. I think he has more than a full plate kasi, eh.

I read somewhere that you’re not interested in local politics.

Why did you agree to run for governor?

I am not interested in politics, period. But I am here already, I am happy to be here and to be home. I actually could have been governor in 2007 unopposed by just swapping with Bongbong, but I opted out. My brother put my cousin, Michael Keon, as our candidate and campaigned hard for him. When Bongbong decided to run for senator, I don’t know why Michael refused to join Bong, and it became necessary to make a party stand. So I had to run, and I dragged my mom before the deadline, and convinced Rudy Farinas by text, and we filed half an hour before deadline.

How are you doing in your job as governor?

On a workday, I spend a lot of time in the office because a lot of people go there. Yesterday pala (her birthday), so many people went to the capitol. But because I went to the workshop, all the mayors went to the workshop and they had this giant cake that they brought with them.

It kept traveling all over because they kept following me. Everybody has problems, the people and the mayors also. Like we just finished the barangay elections. Pati sa Sangguniang Kabataan may protest.

Naloka naman ako. I keep telling DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, “kami, hindi pa kami surrender.” We intend to push the millennium development goals. We intend to do it, do or die, by 2016. Our real priority talaga is jobs. This jobless growth is such an issue.

Are you ready for this? I mean, your job as governor?

On the one hand, I never prepared for the local government. Diyos ko, ang mga problema, from rabbies to away ng mag-asawa, nakakaloka siya. So, yung mga nagseselos sa asawang pulis, lahat nirereport. On the other hand, I don’t think my family has ever done anything else.

This has been our lives from the very beginning. Besides, Kabataang Barangay was, in a way, the same. That’s why I am very familiar with grassroots. I am very comfortable with the grassroots, the community organizations, the neighborhood networks. Mas sanay ako doon, because that was Kabataang Barangay, barkadahan. I really enjoyed the KB because of the kids.

We will soon be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution. Any message to the Filipino people?

I always say the same thing. At the end of the day, the value really is how it transformed the people and if it really changed lives. Have we improved our lot? Is the country today prouder? Is our country today stronger than before? Those are the questions. If in the end we can answer yes to all these questions, nakaahon tayo sa kahirapan, mas pantay ang playing field, more just and less poor country, okay na, medyo tatanggapin mo. Ang masaklap, parang hindi. That’s really the problem. On a certain level, it really doesn’t matter what happened to the Marcos family. Tanggap mo na, eh. Talagang ganiyan ang buhay eh. But ang hindi ko matanggap ay hindi talaga tayong umunlad, hind talagang bumuti. Of course, things have changed, and many things have been improved, pero over all, wala.

It’s a little bit malungkot, di ba? I hope that for all the heartbreak, for all the sacrifice on all sides na nangyari mula nuong EDSA, sana natuto na tayo. The usual history repeats itself. Sana naman, we should study it so we are not condemned to repeat it again and again and again. That’s all. It’s not personal anymore, eh. It’s long gone, marami nang nangyari since then. Sabi nga nila, the unsinkable nga kami. Okay lang yun, that’s personal lang naman. The bigger concern is the country. We should learn.

You really have to touch people’s lives, that’s the only measure, that’s the final measure and in the end, the only truthful one.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Governor Miguel Luis “Migz” R. Villafuerte A PROFILE IN YOUTHFUL DYNAMISM AND INNOVATIVE ADVOCACY

M

iguel Luis “Migz” R. Villafuerte has carved an indelible distinction – when two years ago, at 24 years, was conceded the youngest governor elected in contemporary Philippine history.

A legacy and tradition of public service definitely runs in the blood of Migz Villafuerte.

Firstborn Migz assumed the reins as chief executive of the Province of Camarines Sur after his father Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, Jr., a globally multi-awarded entrepreneur before he entered public service and served a full three-term stint as governor and who himself succeeded father Luis R. Villafuerte who was governor of CamSur for fifteen years.

Migz’s education is equally as significant as his genes in preparing him for his destined role and responsibilities. He

completed his elementary education at De La Salle Zobel, graduated high school from International School Manila, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of San Diego in California. Of course, also infinitely invaluable were the experiences he gained working as the President of his self-founded sports and lifestyle company, Republic, Inc., and the hands-on knowledge on local governance he absorbed while going around the entire province helping his father with official projects and gubernatorial duties.

A clear manifestation of Migz Villafuerte’s determination and hard work that has not been surpassed by any other gubernatorial candidate in the history of the province is his record of having visited almost 97% of the 1,036 barangays of CamSur’s 35 towns and one component city, some of them two, three or more times. Shortly after his victory in the 2013 elections, Gov. Migz was elected as Chairman of the Bicol

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015 Region and Vice-President for Luzon in the League of Provinces of the Philippines.

When he assumed office last year, Migz Villafuerte was fully aware of where he stood and had a definite concept of where he wanted to go and what he wanted to be done, launching his administration with a realistic stance through his 4Ps (Paaralan, Pabahay, Patubig, Puhunan) and 4Ts (Trabaho, Tinampo, Tubig Inumon, Training & Scholarships) Program.

These service programs are chiefly direct compliance of commitments personally made during his pre-governorship excursion. And only a year and two months after being inaugurated as governor, Gov. Migz has earned significant accomplishments under his belt.

GOV MIGZ 4P and 4T PROGRAM Paaralan program have caused the opening of four new high schools in geographically inaccessible areas, only during his first 100 days in office, when he learned that students have to walk 5-10 km to get to school everyday. Gov Migz has given further attention to education through the continuous construction of over 23 new classrooms buildings 19 mini pavilions, with over 74 classrooms built, as well as the repair and rehabilitation, modernization and beautification of the structures in various schools in the province, including school stages, covered courts and day-care centers. Further, Gov. Migz offers various courses for free under the Camarines Sur Information Technology Center such as English Proficiency Program, Japanese Language and Culture Center, Animation Training Program, Medical Transcription Center, and Computer Technology courses such as Basic Computer

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Operation, AutoCAD, Photoshop, PC Troubleshooting and Maintenance, Computer Hardware Servicing, Computer Secretarial, and Digital Media Development and Design. Soon to rise in CamSur are community colleges in the remote coastal town of Caramoan, and Tinambac that will offer free education to students who wish to earn a college degree. Meanwhile, the Gov. Mariano Villafuerte College in Libmanan, Siruma, and Garchitorena are all in full-swing construction and shall be the first college of its kind to offer free education subsidized by the province. It is also his vision to have internet connectivity in all public schools in Camarines Sur. By the end of 2015, four municipalities, Minalabac, Pili, Milaor, Bula, shall have full internet connectivity.

Gov Migz has also prioritized Pabahay programs, one of which is the Cabalinadan Housing Program in the municipaliy of Tigaon. Twenty houses were built including a Day Care Center and a potable water system. Gov. Migz also allotted 150 housing units each to the municipalities of Libmanan and Milaor while constructing another 100 units in the municipality of Calabanga.

Also, a joint project with World Vision is to be realized at Pinahulugan, Lagonoy, where 20 climate-proof concrete houses are to be built.

Patubig is primarily aimed at enhancing production of the agricultural sector, particularly rice, through establishment of irrigation systems. Extensive areas of otherwise underproductive acreage in Abucayan in Goa, San Miguel in Tigaon, Cagbunga in Pamplona and San Francisco in Bombon, including areas of adjoining barangays are now fully productive and have benefitted thousands of farmers and their families.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015 Puhunan sa Negosyo is basically founded on organizing residents in selected key areas and providing seed capital for micro-financing operations. Thus far, thirty two (32) municipalities, including the two cities, Naga and Iriga, are in operation benefiting 14, 897 families through the financing of small-scale enterprises such as sari-sari stores, itik raising, handicraft making, fish and vegetable vending, and eateries, to name a few, with a total initial capitalization of P22.6 Million.

The 4 Ts program component are: Trabaho, a job placement project spearheaded by the CamSur Employment Center of the Office of the Governor, has facilitated the employment of 251 employees abroad and 849 employees in domestic position, with 1,490 referrals to overseas posting and 3,610 applicants to local positions. In joint undertaking with DTI, the CSEC launched this summer the Special Program for Employment of Students initially benefitting 97 recipients.

Project Tinampo, or road in its direct translation, has provided the repair and rehabilitation of a significant total of more than 51 barangay beneficiaries; 157 barangay who benefitted from the farmto-market road, inclusive of PRDP; road concreting and pathways for 318 barangays; in several strategic location and the construction and rehabilitation of more than 7 bridges; riprapping and concreting of 18 drainage canals through provincial funding and financial counterparting in with the municipal and barangay LGUs; and financial assistance for concreting of a total of 114 barangays.

Tubig na Inumon, an off-shoot of the times Governor Migz Villafuerte visited distant and isolated locations in the province and directly resulting from his own continuing school and barangay visitation program, when he discovered that residents have to trek kilometers to procure safe drinking water, if any are at all available. The project encompasses construction of new or rehabilitation of existing potable water systems, counterpart financing of LGU potable water system projects and distribution of over 2,000 deep well pumps, with over 10,000 beneficiaries.

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Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

Under the Training and Scholarship Program, a total of 18,115 scholarships for elementary, high school and college students were granted in the first year of Governor Migz’s tenure as governor. Other segments of the project include a continuing career coaching for graduating school students in public and private high schools, gender sensitivity and women empowerment training for various women groups, food processing and other livelihood training.

ENVIRONMENT Foremost among continuing programs marked to be sustained is the Provincial Government’s comprehensive thrust to preserve, protect and enhance the environment bannered by the El Verde Movement, a multi-faceted project principally designed as centerpiece of Governor Villafuerte’s advocacy to mitigate the effects and adapt to the global climate change crisis coupled with an objective of eventually transforming CamSur into the greenest, cleanest and most environment-friendly province in Asia.

Since the launching of the El Verde Movement in 2011 over 26 million trees have been planted province-wide, with over 21 million growing. Close to 10 million of them are various mangrove species in selected areas along the province’s lengthy coastline, over 115,000 bamboo and over 5 million fruit-bearing and indigenous species of hardwood trees. This only shows the young governor’s determination in fulfilling his commitment and vision to plant 40 million trees by the year 2020.

Protection campaigns are also aligned with appropriate research, development and information drives implemented continuously province-wide.

The Sagip Kalikasan Task Force of the province actively apprehends illegal logging, mining, quarrying and other activities that adversely affect the environment.

Collateral to forest protection vigilance is a unique and first-of its-kind project in the country dubbed Project SILYA in collaboration with the DENR and DepEd whereby materials confiscated in illegal logging apprehensions are fabricated into

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school chairs for donation to various public schools around the province. To date, 2000 Project SILYA chairs have been constructed and distributed.

Similar protection, enhancement and development programs have also been initiated focused on coastal and riverine resources, of which the province of CamSur has been amply blessed. Among the frontline concerns in this area is the Bicol River Development program aimed at cleaning up this extensive internal water network and develop this resource that traverses several towns and many of their barangays through auxiliary projects that shall complement other provincially initiated and sustained livelihood, tourism, and agricultural programs.

Gov. Migz also started the Lake Bato Conservation Project to reverse the effects of human activities by constructing engineered wetlands that help filter the water. Lake Bato serves as the main source of livelihood of the various communities that settle around it. The project also includes converting farming practices in areas around the lake into organic farming to eradicate the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers that contaminate the water.

As CamSur is situated at the path of the country’s perennial typhoons and their attendant flooding, equal focus has been extended to disaster risk reduction and management, including intensive research¸ capability building in terms of preparedness, rescue, response, relief and rehabilitation and modernized equipment. As PDRRMC Chairman, Gov. Migz makes sure quick and proper actions are done to attain zero casualty in every typhoon. There is a continuous course for aspiring members of the Provincial Rescue Team, and just last September, a total of 45 new provincial rescuers graduated from said training. He is also quick to response to the immediate needs of the constituents through relief operations starting the day right after the typhoon.

He also reaches a hand to other provinces by sending a medical team to Samar and was even recognized by the Department of Health as one of the Unsung Heroes of Typhoon Yolanda. And to address the flooding problem in the Region, two (2) state of the art dredger machines were bought and imported by the provincial government and are to be situated in Lake Bato and Libmanan.

Outstanding Governorship Award 2015

be distributed throughout the 12 District Hospitals. He continues to seek more partnership with local and international organizations to provide better healthcare services in the province. It Is also important to mention that his major project for health, the planned Provincial Hospital, to be situated in Bula, has already been included in DOH National Budget and is scheduled to start construction in 2015.

Governor Migz Villafuerte’s advocacies and initiatives have risen to national attention and even being emulated by several provinces. Along the way his efforts has earned him, after serving as governor for barely a year, the prestigious designation as Philippines Climate Change Ambassador, an honor he is very grateful for and an responsibility he is very keen to comply.

“The mitigation of adverse effects and adaptation to climate change are shared responsibilities of all stakeholders and it is the common aspiration of every one to work closely together to ensure the horrors of the likes of Yolanda do not recur,” the governor said in a recent statement.

HEALTH Health services has also remained at the forefront of Governor Villafuerte’s priority advocacies, including the rehabilitation, modernization, and expansion of 12 Rural Health Units and 12 provincially operated District Hospitals. Recently, the governor received as donation P100M worth of medical supplies and equipment from Michigan, USA. That is only the first batch out of ten shipments totaling to over P200 M. The medical resources will

TOURISM Noteworthy, also, is the invigorated tourism development thrusts sustained or initiated with zeal that has propelled CamSur to a forefront position among top tourist destinations in the Philippines. Gov. Migz ordered for the full renovation of the Camsur Watersports Complex which maintains its title as the best and most progressive wakepark in the world. The park now features new rails and unique setups that are first of its kind in the world. Under his leadership, the province welcomed the international TV series, Survivor, who once again, chose the Caramoan Peninsula as the setting for their high-grossing show.

He also developed a new approach to CamSur’s holistic tourism program, making the province the Adventure Capital of the country. Surely the world will need to watch out for the all-new CamSur Adventure program of the Provincial Government.

For Governor Villafuerte, it does not matter how young one is as long as the will to serve is strong within him. He is the living testament that age does not matter in public service. For him, one can never be too young to serve others. It’s time for the youth to rise up, serve, lead and make things happen!

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