Lingayen– -In line with the celebration of this year’s National Tourism Week which is celebrated in the month of September, Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. created the Provincial Steering Committee of the 2015 Tourism Month Celebration to oversee the successful implementation of the different activities that will highlight the event.

The creation was made possible through Executive Order No. 0063-2015 in pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 894 which stipulates that the month of September is officially declared as the National Tourism Week.

In view of this, the provincial board reciprocated via the drafting and approval of Resolution No. 401-2014 which declared the month of September as Pangasinan Tourism Month.

The executive order signed by the governor states that ”observance of the occasion is aimed at instilling national consciousness on tourism as an instrument of progress towards an accelerated national development, unity, and identity as a nation.”

With this, the executive order added that the Department of Tourism enjoins local government units, national agencies and the private sector to actively support and participate in the celebration by initiating various activities that will raise tourism awareness and promote the industry.

The Provincial Steering Committee of the 2015 Pangasinan Tourism Month Celebration are as follows: Chairman- Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim, Jr.; Vice-Chairman- Maria Luisa A. Elduayan (Prov’l. Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office); Members- Atty. Verna Nava Perez (Prov’l. Board); Orpheus M. Velasco (Prov’l. Information Office); Engr. Antonieta C. Delos Reyes (Prov’l Engineer’s Office); Dalisay Moya (Prov’l. Agriculturist Office); Col. Rolando Diaz (General Services Office); Dir. Martin S. Valera (Dept. Of Tourism-Region I); Dir. Cherrie Melanie Anchieta-Diego (Commission on Higher Education); Mayor Noel Nacar (Pangasinan Mayors’ League); Dr. Gerardo U. Acosta (Pangasinan Tourism Officers Association); Enrique Esguerra (Pangasinan Tour Guides Association); and, Michelle Lioanag (Pangasinan Visitors Bureau).

All city and municipal mayors are included as members as well as all schools division superintendents of the Department of Education. (Ruby R. Bernardino