FLASHING PANGASINAN NO. 1 AND THE PATENTED FIST-PUMP OF PRES DU30. Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan National Vice Chairman Alfonso Cusi (center) is flanked by over 300 political leaders in Pangasinan to include 5^th District Representative Amado T. Espino, Jr. (3^rd from left), 1^st District Representative Jesus ‘Boying’ Celeste (right), Pangasinan Governor Amado ‘Pogi’ I. Espino, III (3^rd from right), Vice Governor Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim, Jr. (2^nd from right), all Sangguniang Panlalawigan members and some incumbent and former mayors, vice mayors and councilors in the province after the oath-taking of new PDP-Laban members held at the Sison Auditorium on November 30. The PDP – Laban is the biggest political party in the country today led by President Rodrigo Duterte. /Photo by RPG/MGNO

LGU  P’sinan ties up with RHUs

to strengthen public health drive

Lingayen – Governor Amado ‘Pogi’ I. Espino, III seeks to boost further the capabilities of Rural Health Units (RHUs) in the province managed by Local Government Units (LGUs) to strengthen public health programs for Pangasinenses.

Stating this during the 6th Provincial Health Summit which coincided with the awarding of 2015 LGU Scorecard, Governor Espino bared that he initially convened member medical practitioners of the Association of Municipal/City Health Officers of Pangasinan (AMHOP) where he brought out the formula on how to further level up the capabilities of RHUs to jive with the public health drive of the provincial administration.

“Tinutulungan namin kayo… at tinutulungan nyo din kami,” Gov. Espino told local health leaders in the province, as he looks forward to a strengthened partnership between the provincial government and the LGUs through the AMHOP which is essential to reinforce the health care development thrust of the province.

The provincial chief executive assured that under his administration, the Provincial Health Office and all district and community hospitals of the province are working diligently to make Pangasinan as the “Home of the Healthiest Filipinos”.

Governor Espino said, leveling up the public health programs delivery of LGU-managed RHUs and barangay clinics is also a strategy to assist community and district hospitals of the province in attending to basic public health issues and concerns.

AMHOP officers and member medical practitioners were again convened by the governor from December 8-10 to discuss how the provincial government could help them based on the exigency of their needs in health care delivery.

Meanwhile, Department of Health Assistant Secretary and Regional Director Myrna Cabotaje lauded the provincial government for launching the ‘I Love Pangasinan Kalusugan Karavan’ which brings various medical services down to the grassroots level or barangays.

To date, the mobile health caravan launched last September which was headed by Pangasinan First Lady Karina Padua-Espino has already provided quality medical and dental attention to about 33,000 Pangasinenses.

It was also learned that the increased number of patients who are confined in provincial government-run district and community hospitals also surpassed the DOH-prescribed bed capacity for the said public health facilities.

This, according to the governor, reflects the trust and confidence of Pangasinenses on the quality and affordable health services offered by provincial government-owned and managed hospitals.

Lingayen – “To make every Pangasinense healthy.”

Provincial First Lady Karina Padua-Espino thus stressed in her message as the purpose behind the unstoppable drive of the I Love Pangasinan Kalusugan Karavan (ILPKK) on its 13th leg in Barangay Pias in Mapandan on December 8.

Mrs. Espino added that the mobile health caravan is a way by which her husband, Governor Amado “Pogi” I. Espino, III, wishes to extend his love and care for his kabaleyans by bringing basic health care services to every village in Pangasinan.

During the caravan held at Pias Elementary School (PES), over 700 residents of the barangay received various free medical services and benefitted from the health advocacies brought by Mrs. Espino and the Provincial Health Office.

Aside from leading the supplemental feeding program, the provincial first lady also distributed school supplies and slippers for grade-schoolers, special blankets for elderlies and hygiene kits for expectant mothers.

Made available to the village folks were medical consultation, pediatric checkup, tooth extraction and filling, sputum test, chest x-ray, flu immunization, blood laboratory, anti-rabies vaccination and pharmacy-on-the-go services.

Maternal and natal health care, potable water and anti-dengue information and dissemination campaigns were also conducted.

Provincial Health Officer Anna Ma. Teresa de Guzman said that ILPKK shows that “Dito sa Pangasinan, sagot ni Gobernador Pogi ang inyong kalusugan!”

She said that Gov. Espino plans to purchase two customized Diagnostic Mobile Buses equipped with Ultrasound machines, modern x-ray and other state-of-the-art details that would enable performance of a minor surgery on board.

These hospital-on-wheels units will be used as an additional medical service within the reach of the citizenry, said De Guzman.

With the growing clamor the provincial government has been receiving from Pangasinenses to bring the ILPKK to their villages, the provincial health officer appeals to them to wait for their turn as Gov. Espino pledged to leave no barangay unvisited by the caravan.

Among the local officials joining them during the event were Mapandan Mayor Gerald Glenn Tambaoan and Vice Mayor Asuncion Calimlim, Liga ng mga Barangay president and Pias Punong Barangay Rolando Soriano and PES Principal Catalina Serapion.

Lingayen – Hundreds of political leaders in Pangasinan took their oath of affiliation with The Partido Demokratikong Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP – Laban)  on November 30 at the Sison Auditorium here as a show of support to the political party’s national chairman, President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

PDP – Laban national vice chairman Alfonso G. Cusi, on behalf of President Duterte, inducted former governor and now fifth district Congressman Amado T. Espino, Jr. as provincial president of the PDP-Laban in Pangasinan and he also administered the oathtaking of Governor Amado I. Espino III and Vice-Governor Jose Ferdinand Z. Calimlim, Jr. as members of the said political party.

As the provincial president of the PDP-Laban in Pangasinan, Congressman Espino administered the oathtaking of all members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan followed by 16 incumbent mayors and the mass oathtaking of some 300 other other political leaders from various parts of Pangasinan.

Cusi, who also serves as Energy Secretary, bared in his speech that President Duterte has been very appreciative of Pangasinan’s overwhelming response to his advocacies to eliminate illegal drugs, corruption and criminality in the country.

“Isusulong natin ang tunay na pagbabago sa pangunguna ni President Duterte,” said Cusi, who also took pride of the Espino’s brand of governance which enabled the province to soar high as a premiere and fourth best-performing province in the country today from being ranked 64th in 2007 before former Pangasinan Governor Espino assumed his first term as provincial chief executive.

Representative Espino, who was earlier sworn-in as PDP-Laban member after the national election, said that the mass affiliation of Pangasinan political leaders to the PDP-Laban was a reassuring statement of support to the Duterte administration.

Expressing gratitude to President Duterte for welcoming Pangasinan political leaders in his political party, Cong. Espino recalled that President Duterte visited him twice: the first one in January 2015 when he was still contemplating whether to run in the presidential race and the second, a month before the May 9 elections when then Mayor Duterte sought the support of Pangasinenses for  his presidential bid.

Upon knowing the campaign agenda of then Mayor Duterte which focused on the fight against proliferation of illegal drugs, corruption and criminality, then Pangasinan Governor Espino vowed to support Duterte, citing the similarity of their platforms of good governance.

Cong. Espino likewise assured the PDP – Laban that political leaders in Pangasinan will comply with the political party’s Constitution and By-Laws (CBL) as he noted that a one-day seminar on PDP party affiliation which is required to anyone entering the organization is being worked out this December.

Governor Amado ‘Pogi’ Espino, III, on the other hand, stressed that the zeal of his provincial leadership complements President Duterte’s platforms of good governance as he extended the all-out support of the officials of the province on the programs and projects of the president.

Cusi was accompanied by former Pagcor Chairman Efraim C. Genuino, PDP-Laban deputy Secretary General Melvin Matibag, DOE Usec. Donato Marcos, PNOC President Rueben Lista, among others.

First District Representative Jesus “Boying” Celeste who had earlier sworn-in as member of the PDP – LABAN, also attended the oathtaking ceremony.

‘ONE WITH DU30’. Pangasinan leaders flash the DU30 Fist sign to proclaim their allegiance to the country’s ruling political party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), right after the mass oath-taking ceremony administered by newly inducted Provincial President of PDP-Laban Congressman Amado T. Espino, Jr as witnessed by the party’s national vice chairman Alfonso Cusi last November 30 at Sison Auditorium in Lingayen. PDP-Laban is chaired by President Rodrigo R. Duterte. /RMCL (Meinard V. Sadim)

Lingayen – A total of Php 3.345 million worth of livelihood assistance checks were distributed by Governor Amado “Pogi” I. Espino, III to 26 recipient entities in a program last November 28 at Urduja House, Capitol Compound here.

Gov. Espino said that his administration is sustaining the Livelihood Assistance Program (LAP), the flagship poverty-reduction program initiated by former governor and now Congressman Amado T. Espino, Jr. of the 5^th district, to bolster economy by aiding the local entrepreneurs.

This distribution marks the 6^th batch of distribution for 2016 and the 2^nd for the incumbent provincial chief executive.

Among the recipient entities of this batch were 23 multi-purpose cooperatives (MPC) and 3 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), comprising 913 individual beneficiaries.

Loan grants amount varies per beneficiary in a six-month cycle, ranging from Php 50,000 to Php 180,000. Some of the recipients are availing the loan for the first time while others are renewing for up to the fifth time.

Ellsworth Gonzales, Provincial Population Office officer in charge, said that the supervised credit program enjoys a high loan repayment rate of 94 percent due to the considerate early payment rebate system they are employing for the borrowers.

“It is our way of encouraging them to pay their commitment. So that when they pay, others can also be given the opportunity to avail the assistance,” he said.

Gonzales bared that paying at least a day ahead of the cycle deadline can ensure beneficiaries a downsized interest rate of 1.5 percent from the regular 4 percent, which could save them a huge chunk that they can use for additional operative capital.

Though a “non-collateral loan” policy, LAP participating MPC or MSME must be duly registered to the Department of Trade and Industry, an existing business in operation and a current market.

Aside from consistent monitoring of the recipients, LAP also provides trainings on organizational and financial management for the beneficiaries, to name a few.

“We are capacitating them to help them become as transparent as possible to ensure sustainability of the program. From the start, the former and the present governors want the beneficiaries to be self-sustaining and be independent of assistance,” Gonzales said.

LAP started during the first term of the elder Espino in October 2008 to develop entrepreneurship among women at the grassroots level but has since grown into a credit facility designed to aid Pangasinenses on their livelihood ventures and entrepreneurial activities.

At present, total amount of livelihood assistance distributed since LAP’s inception has reached almost Php 78 million.