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NegOr guv expects to sustain peace, dev't gains this year

By Mary Judaline Partlow

January 1, 2023, 4:57 pm

<p><strong>POSITIVE OUTLOOK.</strong> Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo is optimistic the province will fare better in 2023 despite challenges his administration is facing, such as the PHP500-million cut in its Internal Revenue Allotment. The governor gave a run-through of accomplishments and awards in 2022 during his year-end press conference in Dumaguete City on Saturday (Dec. 31, 2022). <em>(Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)</em></p>

POSITIVE OUTLOOK. Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo is optimistic the province will fare better in 2023 despite challenges his administration is facing, such as the PHP500-million cut in its Internal Revenue Allotment. The governor gave a run-through of accomplishments and awards in 2022 during his year-end press conference in Dumaguete City on Saturday (Dec. 31, 2022). (Photo by Judy Flores Partlow)

DUMAGUETE CITY – Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo has expressed optimism about a better year ahead even as he noted the province's gains in 2022.

Degamo, in his year-end press conference on Saturday, pointed out his administration’s accomplishments and the awards it reaped in the midst of a controversial electoral row over the governorship of Negros Oriental.

“I am thankful that I am back in the office now so that I may continue what I have started in 2022 to ensure that the delivery of basic services to the people as well as peace and development projects will not be interrupted,” he said in mixed English and Cebuano.

Degamo's rival candidate Pryde Henry Teves was declared winner in the May 9, 2022 elections by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

But a legal battle that reached the Supreme Court later resulted in the Comelec en banc nullifying Teves’ victory after the votes of nuisance candidate Ruel Degamo were counted in Roel Degamo’s favor, making him the duly elected governor of Negros Oriental.

Teves voluntarily stepped down on Oct. 11.

Degamo said it is time to buckle down to work as he hoped for unity between the executive and legislative branches of the provincial government.

The governor reiterated that his administration’s priority will be his flagship program HELP -- acronym for Health, Education, Livelihood, Programs, and Projects for Peace and Development.

He noted that recouping from the pandemic with the province starting to open up borders, ease quarantine restrictions and bouncing back from the economic losses, HELP activities continued last year with a renewed vigor from various government agencies, the private sector and other stakeholders collaborating for better outcomes.

These resulted in various recognitions the province received while setting out to take on new endeavors.


Awards and recognitions

The citations gained by Negros Oriental include the 2021 Best Performing Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council, High Function Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council, Functional Peace and Order Council Awards, Top Performing Local Government Unit Award, and the High Five for Inter-Agency Collaboration from the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Degamo expressed gratitude and attributed these accomplishments to the collaboration among all concerned sectors, saying that “Negros Oriental can always reach new heights for as long as everyone is on board towards a common goal”.

He said his administration has vowed to provide adequate health care to its people, spurred by the lessons learned from the pandemic, and in the process, raked in accolades.

The province received several commendations in the 2022 Local Health Systems Awards of the Department of Health for its “commitment to make medical services accessible to our people”, Degamo said.

Negros Oriental was also hailed as the Top Performing LGU for exceeding the national target on Increased Budget Allocated to Health based on the 2021 LGU Health Scorecard in Central Visayas.


Inching forward with more gains

Other accomplishments include educational assistance to deserving youth in the province; centenarian assistance to 12 individuals who reached the age of 100 and financial incentives to 782 daycare workers amounting to almost PHP3 million throughout the province.

On education, the province hired 345 teachers along with 260 Administrative Aides/Utility Workers; PHP5 million was allotted for the construction/completion of school buildings and facilities; 120 units of Android/Smart Television Sets were donated and distributed to different public elementary and secondary Schools.

Jobs were provided locally and overseas through the Provincial Public Employment Service (PESO) while workshops and livelihood skills training for the marginalized sectors were provided, which led to many individuals engaging in fish processing, cake baking, meat processing and fruit and root crop processing.


Strengthening the framework for peace and development

With the province still grappling with the insurgency problem posed by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), which Degamo chairs, has identified priority programs and projects that would cater to the needs of the people in the conflict-affected areas.

Farm-to-market roads and river control projects were among the priority infrastructure that the province highlighted to ensure easier transportation of farm products from the hinterlands and far-flung areas to various markets.

Serbisyo Caravans in the barangays brought government services to the people while Local Peace Engagements, Youth Leadership Summits, and Peace Concerts were also initiated by the Philippine Army and other partners in the different LGUs/villages.

The provincial and local ELCAC task forces facilitated the surrender of former NPA rebels and their enrollment to the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) to start a new life and reintegrate into mainstream society.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., who visited Negros Oriental on Tuesday (Dec. 27), said he has given stringent orders to the Philippine National Police to go after those engaged in the illegal drugs trade, "e-sabong", and all forms of criminality.

Abalos also said he will personally and closely monitor the peace and order situation in Negros Oriental.

The DILG secretary made a quick visit to the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, accompanied by Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr, the PNP chief, and met with the governor and provincial police official. (PNA)

 

 

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