BY:
RACHELLE M. NESSIA
CEBU, July 8 (PIA) --- Cebu Gov. Hilario P.
Davide III highlighted the gains his administration has achieved on his first
year in office during his Report to the People yesterday.
In his report, the governor touted the
accomplishments particularly in health and social services, countryside
development, education, infrastructure, and environmental protection.
Hospital upgrading
Davide said the Department of Health
(DOH) has upgraded the status of 10 of the total 16 province-owned hospitals to
Level One, which means they now have the necessary hospital equipment,
supplies, and medical teams to perform surgical procedures.
Laboratory examinations and other
medical services such as ultrasound and ECG are also now offered in these
facilities.
Said hospitals are in Bogo City, Danao
City, Carcar City, Bantayan, Tuburan, San Francisco, Argao, Barili, Badian, and
Sogod.
The governor reported that DOH has
provided P173.5-M under the Health Facility Enhancement Program leading to the
complete rehabilitation of eight hospitals.
Badian District Hospital is 98%
complete while the Isidro Kintanar District Hospital in Argao is 75% complete.
Rehabilitation of the six other
district hospitals are currently ongoing.
New ambulances each worth P1.2-M were
provided to six provincial and district hospitals, namely: Balamban, Bogo City,
Danao City, Carcar City, Badian, and Oslob.
Davide said hospital personnel
upgrading is also now underway, from what was a total of 309 medical personnel
when he stepped in, there are now 542 medical personnel, including four medical
consultants.
He said they intend to hire more, as he
noted that the absence of skilled medical personnel was one of the issues they
had to deal with last year as a result of the policy of outsourcing of
temporary doctors and nurses.
“There shall be no more outsourcing of
medical personnel,” he stated in his speech.
Education
Davide’s administration also reached
out to the private sector in erecting better classrooms.
He reported that in cooperation with
Department of Education and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), more and
better classrooms and facilities were built for elementary and high school
students in the different parts of the province.
A total of P149-M was appropriated for
education this year to fund scholarship programs, school buildings, books, and
other learning materials.
The provincial government also allotted
P7-M to 31 public schools that were hit by typhoon Yolanda.
Davide said they partnered with Bluewater
Academy for a skills training program that will produce trained and better
qualified Cebuanos who can work in tourism industry.
Financial aid under the Special Program
for the Employment of Students was also extended to over 1,600 students under a
collaboration scheme between the provincial government and the Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Countryside development
Davide announced that he will propose
to the Provincial Board for the allocation of P1-M in financial assistance to
each local government unit here for the farmers’ training, production, and
marketing under the Farmer-Scientist Training Program (FSTP) next year.
He said that his administration has
revived and expanded the FSTP to increase yield per unit area of farm.
“Sustainable development begins with
ensuring food,” he said.
He added that they are now preparing
for the province’s participation in the P27.5-B World Bank-funded Philippine
Rural Development Program under the Department of Agriculture (DA), and working
on strategies to encourage organic agriculture, among others.
Infrastructure Development
With the aim of crafting a long-term
plan for urban development reaching out to the year 2050, the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is working with the private sector and
LGUs her on the east coast of Cebu for the Mega Cebu Project.
The project covers roads and transport,
gateways to neighboring islands, land zoning, drainage and sewerage, waste
management and urbanization issues.
“We do this because we want the future
Cebu to be better than today,” said Davide.
More than 170 kilometers of roads have
been rehabilitated and/or repaired to date.
A third Mactan-Cebu link is now being
studied spanning Barangay Pilipog in Cordova to Shell Island, a 15-B project
that is expected to start next year and operational by 2018.
The project will allow more convenience
for travellers from the southern towns of the province to access the airport.
Recovery and rehabilitation
The governor assured that the
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office will monitor the P12.2-B
rehabilitation and recovery plans in northern Cebu.
The Office of the Presidential
Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery has earlier approved the P12.2-B
rehabilitation plan for Cebu province.
Davide said the PDRRMO here is a source
of pride for the province, after the Office of the President cited their
efforts related to typhoon Yolanda.
The governor said that the President
has described as “the template” to be used nationwide Cebu’s quick assessment,
coordination with the private sector, programs and project proposals, including
the implementation, monitoring and evaluation to ensure transparency and
accountability.
Before ending his report, the governor
appealed to Cebuanos to join hands and “let us be comrades in this mission.”
“So much more needs to be done… let us work together and build a
solid gateway to progress,” said Davide. (rmn/PIA-Cebu)