Lingayen – Ninety (90) athletes of Team Pangasinan are now undergoing in-house training and conditioning at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) provided by the provincial government in preparation for their participation to the forthcoming Batang Pinoy (BP) national games slated on November 27 to December 2 in Cebu City.

The Pangasinense athletes – 16-year-old and below – won in their respective sporting events during the BP – Luzon Leg held last July in Malolos City, Bulacan.

Athletes who will compete in the national finals of Arnis, Athletics, Cycling, Boxing, Chess, Karatedo, Lawn Tennis, Sepak Takraw (girls), swimming, taekwondo, volleyball (boys), basketball 3/3 (girls) and wrestling will undergo in-house training from November 14 – 22.

‘Team Pangasinan’ which taps the best athletes from various towns and cities in the province was conceptualized by Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. to become the official delegation of the province in Batang Pinoy, a grassroots development program of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for the Filipino youth.

Provincial Sports Director Modesto Operania said that Governor Espino released the marching order for the conduct of the training to assure that Team Pangasinan will field competitive and well-conditioned contenders in the BP national games.

In a briefing before the training, Operania told 31 coaches and trainers from various DepEd schools divisions in the province: “We aspire to maintain or level up our over-all performance in the national finals, so we must double our efforts in preparing our athletes.”

Over the past four years, Team Pangasinan was able to improve its performance in the regional, Luzon leg and national games in a field of hundreds of participating delegations.

Team Pangasinan’s exemplary performance in the national games has been reflective of its placements in the over-all ranking from 2011 (18^th place), 2012 (15^th place), 2013 (11^th place) and 2014 (9^th place).

Governor Espino is expected to lead the send-off ceremony of Team Pangasinan on November 22, 9AM at the Health and Wellness Center within NRSCC.

Lingayen – “Give respect to your competitors because they bring out the best in you,” thus stressed by Board Member and Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial President Amado “Pogi” Espino, III to athletes during the opening program of the 2015 DepEd Pangasinan 1 Meet held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) gymnasium on November 12.

Speaking before 2,000 athletes, coaches and school heads from three congressional districts of DepEd Pangasinan 1, BM Espino, who represented Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. as guest of honor and speaker, said that respect is vital in every game and must always be accorded to everyone.

The young Espino, who served for three terms as Mayor of Bautista town before he was elected as board member, likewise asked the young Pangasinan athletes to refrain from doing things which might lead them to bad direction.

“As you compete, you not only carry the banner of your respective schools and municipalities or cities, but also, you take pride in hoisting the banner of the province of Pangasinan,” BM Espino said.

Meanwhile, Schools Division Superintendent Ma. Celia Fernandez noted that athletes must change the obsolete perception about competition which is ‘competing with others,’ and added that a player must struggle and compete against himself to surpass his previous performance.

An athlete competing individually, Dr. Fernandez added, enables himself to break borders that limit what he can achieve further.

The schools division superintendent has also asked the teachers and coaches to remain supportive to their players as involve in agreeable things and procedures during the tournament.

Athletes representing their respective clusters will vie for dominance in various sporting events to earn a chance to represent the schools division on the forthcoming Region 1 Athletic Association (R1AA) Meet.

SUPPORT TO FARMERS AFFECTED BY TYPHOON LANDO. Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. (4th from left), Department of Agriculture Regional Dir. Valentino C. Perdido (3^rd from left) and Provincial Liga ng mga Barangay President Amado “Pogi” I. Espino, III (2nd from left) lead the distribution of farm inputs and planting materials to farmers affected by Typhoon Lando on November 12 at the Sta. Barbara Provincial Nursery as part of the rehabilitation effort of the DA and the provincial government.  With the Governor is Provincial Agriculturist Dalisay Moya.  MVSadim

LINGAYEN — The provincial government under the stewardship of Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. opened three more agricultural facilities to further improve the productive capability of local farmers.

The facilities which include a rehabilitated farmers’ pavilion, a mushroom culture research and production center and nursery seedling propagation and grow-out project, were inaugurated during the massive distribution of certified seeds to farmers whose crops were devastated by the recent super typhoon “Lando” on November 12 at the Provincial Agriculture Office in Tebag in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan.

The funding of the newly rehabilitated farmers’ pavilion came from the P4 million prize incentive received by Pangasinan as a National Rice Achievers’ Awardee to which the province has been elevated to the Hall of Fame for being among the best provinces in the country in rice production for three consecutive years from 2012 to 2014.

Expressing concern over the plight of the farmers and fishermen sector, Gov. Espino said the facility is intended mainly for the farmers’ use and their families.

He said the building will serve as venue for activities and gatherings of farmers and groups in the agricultural center.

The Provincial Mushroom Training Center, on the other hand, will be used to train the various rural-based groups in Pangasinan who are interested to venture in mushroom production as additional source of income.

The Plant Nursery Seedling Propagation and Grow-Out Project is intended to boost the province’s existing project in the production of seedlings to be planted in watershed areas, eco-parks and school compounds.

Following the blessing of the new facilities, the governor and Dr. Valentino C. Perdido, the OIC Regional Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field Office I, distributed farm inputs and planting materials to the typhoon Lando affected farmers as part of the rehabilitation effort of DA-RFO I and the Pangasinan Provincial Government.

Gov. Espino and Perdido distributed 30,365 bags of seeds composed of 15,584 bags of certified inbred seeds and 15,051 bags of hybrid seeds.

The governor said the volume of seeds available from DA will only satisfy the seed requirement of 30,635 hectares out of the 37,150 hectares, but Gov. Espino has assured the farmers that the province will augment the lacking seeds to complete the seed requirements.

Assorted vegetable seeds and mungbean seeds were also distributed during the event where Perdido said at least 4,725 kilogram of mungbean seeds were given to farmers including some 300 cans of red onion seeds and shallot seeds for farmers of Bautista and Bayambang while cans and packs of assorted vegetable seeds were provided to farmers from 31 municipalities of Pangasinan.

Meanwhile, Gov. Espino told the farmers that in line with the mitigation of the anticipated El Nino, the province will start next week the repair of communal irrigation system and construction of some 183 shallow tube wells around the province as he assured to upgrade the facilities in the coming year upon the approval of the P50 million budget proposed for the project.

He also urged the farmers to seek the help of the provincial government and DA for their farming needs so that they can help provide their needs to improve their productivity as the province remains to be a farming community in the next 30 to 50 years.

Perdido likewise called on the farmers to give importance to the assistance they are provided and use them well towards the upliftment of their living conditions as he expressed admiration to the able leadership of Gov. Espino who has willingly provided help to his people in distress. /ADV

CONG. ROBREDO PAYS COURTESY VISIT ON GOV. ESPINO. Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo, Liberal Party (LP) Vice Presidential candidate (3^rd from left) pays a courtesy visit on Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. (2^nd from left) shortly before meeting with a crowd of 7,000 incumbent barangay and local officials in Pangasinan for a dialogue held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) gymnasium on November 11. Cong. Robredo was escorted by 2^nd District Congressman Leopoldo Bataoil (4^th from left) during the courtesy call. Also present are: (from left) Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim, Jr., Board Members Raul Sison, Nestor Reyes, Liberato Villegas, Angel Baniqued, Jr, Danilo Uy and Amado ‘Pogi’ Espino , III. /Photo by MVSadim

Lingayen – Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robrero, Liberal Party (LP) Vice Presidential candidate, hailed Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. for his transformative leadership that is made evident with the conferment of the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) award, now upgraded as Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to LGU – Pangasinan earlier this year.

In her visit to Pangasinan today, November 11, for a dialogue with about 7,000 incumbent barangay and local officials from various districts of the province led by stalwarts of the Partido na Pangasinan (PnP), Cong. Robredo said: “receiving the SGH/SGLG award reflects the kind of leadership of a leader.”

“Nakukuha lang po ‘yun ng mga magagaling sa pamumuno,” Cong. Robrero said as she recalled what her late husband, former DILG Secretary Jessie Robrero, told her about the exemplary leadership of Governor Espino. It was the former DILG secretary who started SGH award.

Cong. Robredo likewise stressed three key elements in good governance which include accountability, transparency and people’s empowerment and noted that engaging ‘the ordinary people’ in governance would resolve more problems faced in the community.

Earlier, 2^nd district Cong. Leopoldo Bataoil escorted Cong. Robredo in a courtesy call on Governor Espino at the Capitol building.

LGU – Pangasinan romped off with 2015 SGLG award from Department of the Interior and Local Government after the province met all the criteria of core components (good financial housekeeping, social protection and disaster preparedness) and essential components (business-friendliness and competitiveness, environment management and peace and order) of the seal.

The provincial government also bagged the SGH in 2011 and 2012 in recognition of its good performance in internal housekeeping, particularly in local legislation, development planning, resource generation, allocation and utilization, customer service and human resource management and development.

For receiving said SGH/SGLG awards, the provincial government received Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) cash incentives which were utilized for the construction of various infrastructure projects and school buildings in the province.

It was learned from Cong. Robredo that by next year barangays would engage in Bottoms Up Budgeting (BUB). This, she said, will be implemented through activating Local Poverty Reduction Team (LPRAT) which will determine recipient barangays of projects that will be funded by the national government.

Other PnP stalwarts present during the dialogue held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) gymnasium were: Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim, Jr.; Board Members Amado ‘Pogi’ Espino, III, Nestor Reyes, Raul Sison, Angel Baniqued, Jr., Liberato Villegas and Danilo Uy; incumbent municipal and city Mayors, Vice Mayors and councillors.

After the dialogue with local officials and presscon, Cong. Robredo held a separate dialogue with TODA officers also in Lingayen.

Lingayen – Provincial officials present during the 2^nd Youth Leadership Summit held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) gymnasium on November 10 exhorted about 4,000 youth leaders from various schools in Lingayen to “instil among themselves the vital virtues of discipline, love and respect as foundations of their life.”

In his keynote speech as guest of honor and speaker, Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr., emphasized to the participants that discipline must be learned and preserved to harmonize with four factors that shape the well-being of an individual which include the family, the community, schools and the church.

“All that we do now as your leaders are not for us anymore, but for you and the future generations,” Governor Espino said as he pointed out that discipline is the key instrument that made the incumbent provincial administration attain positive developments for Pangasinenses in terms of health care promotion, and peace and order, among others.

Citing the youth as ‘future of Pangasinan,’ the provincial chief executive likewise asked them to live up with their aspirations in life, saying: “Huwag kayong humintong mangarap sapagkat libre ‘yan… parang hangin na ating hinihinga.”

            The youth leadership summit conducted by the Lingayen District Hospital (LDH) led by Chief of Hospital Athena Marie Merrera served as an avenue for the youth to learn insights on the leadership styles undertaken by present-day leaders which they can emulate as youth leaders in their respective schools.

Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim, Jr., on the other hand, reiterated to the young Pangasinenses “to love their respective communities and the province of Pangasinan, value education, and refrain from the ill-ways of living, including peer pressure for illegal drugs.”

“Ito ang pagbubukas at pagpapamulat sa inyong papel sa pagsulong ng mga magagandang adhikain para sa kinabukasan ng Pangasinan,” Vice Gov. Calimlim said.

Meanwhile, Board Member and Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial President Amado ‘Pogi’ Espino, III, asked the students to give due respect to the efforts and sacrifices of their parents and relatives, and teachers who help them develop a good character, and live with self-respect.

The young Espino, who has been a public servant for 14 years, likewise urged the youth “not to rush on things which might lead them to the wrong direction.”

“In due time, your parents will be proud with whatever you will achieve. But for now, start the change within yourselves and lead by example,” BM Espino said.

Messages were also delivered by invited resource speakers during the summit. They were: PSSupt. Rolie Saltat, Officer-in-Charge of Police Provincial Office (Pangasinan Cares… for your safety), DepEd Pangasinan 1 Schools Division Superintendent Maria Celia J. Fernandez (Pangasinan Cares… for your education), Provincial Health Officer I Cielo Almoite (Pangasinan Cares… for your health) and BM Espino (Pangasinan Cares… for your future).

Participating youth leaders were from Pangasinan State University Lingayen Campus, Pangasinan School of Arts and Trades, Pangasinan National High School, Lingayen 1 Central School, Magsaysay Elementary School, Adelphi College and Lingayen Technological Institute.

GOV. ESPINO FETES CPA BOARD EXAM TOPNOTCHER AND 8^TH PLACER FROM PANGASINAN. Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. (5^th from right) flash the Pangasinan number one sign with Ralley S. Paragas (4^th from left), the topnotcher of the recent examination for Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) given by the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) and Fern Adriel Velasco (4^th from right), an academic scholar of the provincial government who placed 8^th in the said exam. Also present during a courtesy call on the Governor held on November 3 are: Colegio De Dagupan (CDD) President Voltaire Arzadon (5^th from left), Dr. Teofila Albay (3^rd from right), Dean of CDD’s School of Business and Accountancy, and parents and siblings of Paragas and Velasco. /Photo by TQuimson

Lingayen- – -“On top of hospital and curative health care, it is the moral obligation of every LGU to strengthen its internal capability for public health promotion, and disease prevention.”

This was disclosed by Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. during the 5th Annual Provincial Health Summit and LGU Scorecard Awarding Ceremony as he appealed for unity of purpose among local leaders in Pangasinan to attain the goal of making Pangasinan the ‘home of healthiest Filipinos.’

During the event, the Governor said the local government officials, more than anyone else, should become more conversant and authoritative on the local health situation, and local health priorities because they should know better and therefore must take the lead in providing basic directions in local health programs to external and other partners like the Dept. of Health (DOH), the province, the NGOs, and donor agencies and institutions like the European Commission (EC) and the USAID.

Having stated this, the provincial chief executive hinted on setting politics aside so that all goals shall be attained for the benefit of the people especially those who are poor and sick.

“It would be a sad and embarrassing story, if the local government officials, instead of leading the way, have to depend on the dictates and prescriptions of their external health partners, because the LGU officials themselves are neither aware, nor conversant, of their local health situation, and consequently, are not in a position to propose what’s good for their respective constituencies,” Gov. Espino said.

On the part of the provincial government, the Governor said that the provincial government has done its share of prioritizing the health of the people which can be seen in the amount of budget being allocated which translates to about 25 percent of the total annual budget that goes to the health program alone.

He stressed that if there is one thing that he could leave as legacy to Pangasinan it would be the health programs and projects that were instituted during his term from July 2007 up to the end of his tenure in June 2016.

In connection, Dr. Anna Maria Teresa De Guzman, PHO chief, said that out of the P712, 249,248 total budget for health, a huge bulk of P544,306,705 goes to hospital services while P167,942,543 is allocated for public health.

Dr. De Guzman disclosed that aside from the enhancement of infrastructure and health facilities, the Espino administration has fully implemented one special project through the Point-of-Care (POC) program wherein a total of 25,679 poor families have been enrolled since March 2014 to June this year.

The POC, which is under the ambit of Universal Health Care, has been designed to further strengthen the “No Balance Billing Policy” and “No Payout from the Pocket” in government hospitals.

The total budget allocated by the provincial government per year sums up to P60 million while the actual premium paid went to as high as P61,629,600, the PHO chief stressed.

Dr. De Guzman, on the other hand, reported on the rapid coverage assessment wherein she revealed that 325,876 children were given oral polio immunization while some 288,118 children were administered with measles immunization.

With this, she said that Pangasinan has not recorded a single polio case to this date as she further stated that for the third year now, the province has no record on malaria disease making it an inch closer to being included as among the malaria-free provinces in the entire country by January 2016.

Meanwhile, Dr. Myrna C. Cabotaje, Director IV of DOH Regional Office I, commended the administration of Gov. Espino as she noted that based on gathered report regarding facility-based deliveries, Pangasinan scored 89 percent in 2013 and 92 percent in 2014 while the national target is rated at 90 percent.

On the other hand, Cabotaje reported that while the national target for the year 2016 on deliveries attended by skilled birth attendants is 90 percent, Pangasinan reached 96 percent and 97 percent for the year 2013 and 2014, respectively.

During the event, the provincial government recognized various LGUs and Inter-Local Health Zones (ILHZs) for their outstanding contributions on health program based on various health thrusts set by the present administration.

The five Best Performing LGU Municipality in Public Health Implementation are as follows: Infanta (Champion), Alcala (1st runner-up), Pozorrubio (2nd runner-up), Balungao (3rd runner-up), and Sual (4th runner-up).

Other LGUs were awarded with the following special citations: Basista LGU -Most Outstanding LGU for Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger; Laoac LGU-Most Outstanding in Reducing Child Mortality; Urbiztondo LGU-Best Performing on Measles Rubella Oral Polio Vaccine Mass Immunization, Burgos LGU- Effective Implementation of Maternal Health Programs.

Three most outstanding Barangay Nutrition Scholars were likewise recognized. They are: Rowena Dela Cruz (Brgy. Osmena Sr., Basista)-1st place; Beverly Godoy (Brgy. Alipangpang, Pozorrubio)-2nd place; Shirley D. Bonode (Brgy. Calzada, Mabini)-3rd place.

Special awards were given to the following BNS: Jojet Frances Dawanan (Brgy. Salasa, Bugallon), Sany Visperas (Brgy. Libsong, Lingayen), Elma Quillope (Brgy. Malayo, Urbiztondo), Chona Caragay (Brgy. Caviernesan, Mangatarem).

For the ILHZs the following are the best performing: Western Pangasinan District Hospital ILHZ (Champion), Urdaneta District Hospital ILHZ (1st runner-up), Bayambang District Hospital ILHZ (2nd runner-up).

Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital ILHZ also received a special recognition as Most Improved in Public Health Program Implementation.

Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim, Jr., and LIGA ng mga Barangay president Amado “Pogi” I. Espino led the awarding ceremony with Dr. Cabotaje and DILG Provincial Dir. Reggie Colisao. (Ruby R. Bernardino)