P'sinan bags 7 regional awards

LINGAYEN, Philippines – Pangasinan recently bagged seven out of eight awards given by the Regional Development Council (RDC) following evaluation of various provincial government programs for 2010.

Pangasinan was also adjudged first runner-up in the recent 2010 Search for the Cleanest, Greenest and Safest Province in the region with a few points behind La Union.

Gov. Amado Espino Jr., in his brief speech during the regular flag-raising ceremony last week, thanked all provincial officials as well as utility workers, security guards and administrative aides for working hard to support his administration’s effort to make the province “number one.”

Espino said all the awards were the results of “hard work, focus and determination not only of the officials but likewise of the employees of the provincial government.”

With or without the competitions, Espino said the provincial government would continuously strive for excellence to attain its mission to be “number one” and to realize its vision to make Pangasinan “the best place to live, work, invest, and raise a family.”

Topping the awards conferred to Pangasinan by the RDC were the Hall of Fame Award for the National Statistics Month celebration 2008-2010, and Hall of Fame Award for Most Outstanding Coastal Resource Management Implementer 2009-2010.

The other awards were the Best Provincial LGU Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Project Implementer for 2010; Best Project Implementer 2010; Best Poverty Reduction Program Implementer; Champion-2009 Search for the Best LGU Province based on Local Government Performance Management System; Champion-2010 Search for the LGU Best Practices; and first runner-up in the 2010 Search for the Cleanest, Greenest and Safest Province.

Meanwhile, provincial administrator Rafael Baraan said Pangasinan has set its sights on similar awards on the national level.