Gov. Erico Aumentado Wednesday laid down his 10-point legacy agenda for implementation during his last term as governor that ends in 2010.In his inspirational message during the Provincial Level Development Agenda Setting Workshop for provincial government department heads and chiefs of national government agencies at the Ladaga Inn and Restaurant in Dauis town, the governor enumerated
them as giving agriculture a boost, increased tourist arrivals,
environmental management, increased influx of business investments, sustainable livelihood and employment generation, increased LGU revenue generation, partnership and alliance building, water and sanitation, effective delivery of social services and strengthening the bureaucracy.
Rosalinda Paredes, partnership adviser of the Local Government Development Project (LGDP), an Australian Government and Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) initiative that packaged a grant for capacity building for the department heads and chiefs of offices who facilitated the workshop said the activity answers the call for harmonization of local planning, investment programming, revenue administration, budgeting and expenditure management.
The call comes in the form of Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2007 issued by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Finance (DOF).
Paredes said through previous workshops, Bohol created integrated area development clusters that outlined financial, learning and growth, internal process and customer strategies, among others, aligned with objectives, measures and targets to accomplish the vision and mission of each cluster.
These and other development plans, however, would only be a waste of resources and time if not harmonized, hence the joint circular, she explained.
To ensure that Wednesday's and Thursday's live-in workshop outputs also harmonized with Aumentado's own vision and mission for the province, he enumerated his ten-point agenda.
For his part, lawyer Juanito Cambangay, provincial planning officer set the tone for the workshop through inputs on Planning and Budgeting in Philippine Local Government Units.
TEN-POINT AGENDA"The task ahead is very challenging. But I cannot do this alone. We need each other to make a big difference to Bohol in the next three years through this ten=point agenda for governance and development which I call as '10 in 2010'," Aumentado told the participants.
Agriculture being one of Bohol's economic drivers should be given a boost to match and parallel tourism development - the other economic driver, he said. Among doables to attain this is developing an agriculture value chain to ensure clear domestic and international markets.
"We should not just let our farmers plant, but we must find markets for their produce," he said.
LGDP is supporting the province in conducting such value chain study.
Support agricultural infrastructures should also be put in place, like farm to market roads, post harvest facilities, the Bohol Irrigation Project Stage 3 (BHIP 3) and others all contained in the Bohol Agricultural Master Plan (BAMP)
The province commissioned the Pacific Consultants International (PCI) in preparing the Bohol Tourism Master Plan set for presentation on July 11. The plan aims to increase tourist arrivals, improve tourism activities and diversify tourism activities, destinations and sites.
Because Bohol has emphasized eco-cultural heritage and agricultural tourism as its attractions, the environment must be kept at its pristine condition such that the Bohol Environment Code - the first crafted in the country - should be reviewed to keep up with the times.
"We are not mere spectators in the protection and conservation of the environment, hence there should be increased stakeholder participation where these are concerned in partnership with non-government organizations like the Bohol alliance of NGOs [BANGON]. Environmental resources, we all know, are sources of livelihood and food for our families," he said.
"We will continue to promote investments to spur local economy," he added, strongly urging the participation of the private sector like the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).
He also pressed the importance of sustainable livelihood and employment generation because "long term poverty reduction can not be achieved if our people do not have livelihood as sources on income." Jobs need to be generated to ensure both livelihood and income security, he said.
Taxes are the lifeblood of government hence increased LGU revenue generation is in his agenda. To accomplish this, he has been urging the municipalities to computerize their real property tax assessment and business licensing, as well as increase collection efficiency,
"When people have jobs brought about by a vibrant local economy, this can translate to increase in revenues through payment of local taxes.
Government does not have a monopoly of good governance. The challenges are great, hence the need for more allies and partners like BANGON and BCCI, among others - not political enemies and foes.
"Building bridges works better than building walls that alienate and set us apart from pursuing one goal and one vision," he said.
"Water remains to be a rare and elusive commodity in the province. With water comes sanitation. With the assistance of AusAID, GDP and GTZ, we will put in place a water supply system master plan that we can market to investors and donor programs as well," he added.
Along with the agriculture value chain study, LGDP is assisting the province in developing a water supply system master plan.
Meanwhile, Aumentado emphasized his bias toward effective delivery of social services. He wants further increase in enrolment of indigents into the coverage of the PhilHealth system, upgrade hospitals now being done with the donation of around P6 million by Jiangxi = Bohol's sister province in China, the Hospital Equipment Assistance Program (HEAP) with a grant from the Spanish government and local initiatives.
Also in his agenda is strengthening the local bureaucracy.
"People - human resource - must be developed to make our provincial government a strong organization," he said.
(The Bohol Chronicle, June 24, 2007)Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=1736.0
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