Ebdane cites gains in provincial address

IBA, Zambales -  Gov. Hermogenes E. Ebdane Jr. on Monday delivered his third State of the Province Address (SOPA) and boasted of the gains made by his administration in various areas of public service.

Addressing residents and public officials in a ceremony at the People's Park here, Ebdane enumerated advances made by the provincial government in health, agriculture, infrastructure, tourism, human resource management, community development, peace and order, public access to information and social services.

“Through proper planning, budgeting, revenue mobilization, financial management and budget execution, procurement and resource mobilization, we have now arrived at a more progressive and developed Zambales,” Ebdane said.

“It is not enough to dream of progress, we should work hard to achieve it,” he said. “Progress doesn’t happen in an instant, it is attained through everyday struggle.”

He said the unity and support from various sectors enabled his administration to undertake in the past two-and-a-half years some P56-million worth of road and bridge projects; construct P68.5-million worth of school buildings; improve two protective dikes; install modern medical equipment and procure a fleet of emergency vehicles for the three government hospitals in the province; renovate and modernize the Zambales Sports Complex; and construct research and livelihood training centers and new potable water systems.

The governor also said the provincial tourism industry was given a big boost by the hosting of various sports events and festivals to showcase the natural and cultural attractions of the province.

At the same time, the agriculture sector received full government support providing funds and logistics assistance with the implementation of projects that benefited over 7,000 farmers and fisher folks, as well as over 400 fishpond operators.

After the address, Ebdane also announced the release of some P64 million for the 230 barangays in Zambales.

The fund will include P200,000-worth of aid to each barangay and the procurement of 15 L300 service vans for the Association of Barangay Captains of each of the 13 towns, the Federation of Barangay Captains in Zambales, and another for the remote barangay of Acoje in Sta. Cruz.

Ebdane said his administration will continue to improve services to the public by implementing projects identified in Blueprint 2020, the comprehensive provincial development plan formulated under the direction of the governor.