6Th COMMUNITY BASED MONITORING SYSTEM NATIONAL CONFERENCE

6th COMMUNITY BASED MONITORING SYSTEM NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Manila Diamond Hotel

December 8-10, 2009

ACHIEVING THE DEVELOPMENT VISION FOR ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE

By : Hon. Rolando E. Yebes

Provincial Governor

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Like most of my colleagues in the League of Governors in the Philippines, there is no better vision that we all desire to achieve, but the VISION to uplift the living condition of our respective constituencies; make a difference in their lives, and bring to higher heights of development the province that we are given the rare opportunity to serve.

This is one VISION that is perfectly attuned with the vision of the national government; for that matter, the vision kept in every Filipino’s heart.

When the Yebes Administration took the reins of government of the Province of Zamboanga del Norte in July 2004, the province was in the top of the list of the twenty poorest provinces throughout the country.

The outcome of the Family Income and Expenditures Survey conducted in the year 2003, showed the Province of Zamboanga del Norte with the highest poverty incidence rate of 64.6.

Ironic for the 8th largest province in the country, and one of the most blessed in terms of natural resources.

Sadly, ironic for the province with the biggest cash in bank, second to the Province of Cebu, per published information by the Commission on Audit at about the same time.

We were presented with the gargantuan task to make a turnaround for the better, and extricate Zamboanga del Norte from being the poorest province in the entire Republic of the Philippines. That was, and still continues today as our principal vision for the province.

After a hundred days in office, I was particularly interviewed and asked by the Malacanang Broadcasting Staff of my vision for Zamboanga del Norte.

My vision, I said , is to see my province progressive, and taken out from the list of impoverished provinces in the whole country.

By progressive, I meant, more investment and job opportunities in the areas of agriculture, tourism, trade and industry; improved health and social services and infrastructure; and sound environment. And when we metamorphose into an enriched province, we empower our people slowly become self-reliant economically, politically and socially.

We did not have the CBMS then, so we launched and conducted our own POVERTY MAPPING PROGRAM that provided us answers to the questions :

WHO are the poorest of the poor;

WHY are they poor;

WHERE are they;

WHAT do they really need.

We gave importance to starting right, because with limited government resources on hand, we have to make tough choices on our way to address the multi-faceted concerns on poverty.

We are now reaping the sweet fruits of the Poverty Mapping Program undertaken.

All initiatives conceived and implemented focusing on the identified indigent families, contributed immensely to the improvement of the poverty ranking of the province. We have effectively reduced the poverty incidence of the province by thirteen percent between the years 2003 and 2008.

In terms of magnitude, this meant, roughly 10,000 families living below the poverty line in 2003, are now empowered to provide for themselves the most basic human needs of family members.

This is one significant accomplishment that makes us all truly proud and stand tall.

To name a few of these initiatives; in the area of agriculture we launched the Hilly Lands Greening Program or the Hi- Green Program, Isdaan sa Barangay Program, Manukan and Kandingan sa Barangay Programs to ensure food on the table and augment the family’s income derived from farming and fishing, especially of families belonging to the province’s Indigenous Peoples tribes. The Hi-Green Program is likewise aimed at rehabilitating idle agricultural lands with great promise for agri-business.

We strongly push for the development and promotion of our tourism industry with the celebration of the ZaNorte Hudyaka Festival on a yearly basis starting in 2005, on the occasion of the Founding Anniversary of the province.

Of late, four years after we started, the ZaNorte Hudyaka Festival has gained national recognition when it was declared as the number four in the Search for Best Tourism Event of the year throughout the country by the Department of Tourism, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Manila Broadcasting Corporation.

The celebration of the Hudyaka Festival is actively participated by the province’s 2 cities and 25 municipalities. It showcases the culture that binds all ZaNortehanons as a people, ethnic dances and music, and beliefs that are give more color and joy to the celebration.

It brings about significant multiplier effects to the rest of the economy, namely, agriculture, transportation, business community, and food and restaurant industry, among others.

Starting in May last year, we fortified the access of some 27,279 indigent families to health services by enrolling them with the PhilHealth, with an appropriation amounting to P 20.0 Million.

In October this year, an additional 42,696 indigent households were signed-up with the PhilHealth, effectively expanding the coverage of those who benefit from the government’s health insurance thru our initiative and funding. This brings about to a total of 69,975 indigent families now with access to PhilHealth benefits.

We acted quickly in implementing the Poverty Mapping Program because, addressing poverty has an immediate and meaningful impact on the lives of our people who live below the poverty line.

Ladies and gentlemen, I could go on and on with what we have been doing to achieve our vision of development for the Province of Zamboanga del Norte. It’s a long journey to go to completely extricate he province from the list of impoverished provinces in the country.

We are going to that direction; we see the light of hope at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

With the CBMS scheme of identifying the priority needs of poverty stricken barangays, we are hopeful that by 2013, more significant headways can be achieved towards the vision of development that we keep in our hearts, for our people, and for the Province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Thank you and Abante pa ZaNorte!

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