Northern Samar Governor's Report 2001-2010

ABIGAIL MYRA BENESISTO-CATUCOD Editor ARLYN CUI-TEPACE ROBIN M. CARDENAS SILVIO P. ABELLA Writers SYLMA ENTICO-LUTAO MOSES D. PARIAL Contributors ANALIZA TAN-FLORES CLENNETTE D. ONG FELICIDAD ADRIASOLA-ALVAÑIZ JOSEPH A. ESTANISLAO SHAILINI C. ALIPOSA Researchers ARLYN CUI-TEPACE Layout Artist CONRADO G. DE LA CRUZ, JR. Graphics Artist ROLANDO L. JAYME LUDINITO A. ABAYON Photographers This report is a product of the collaborative efforts of the departments and staff of the Provincial Government of Northern Samar (PGNS).

Acronyms …………………………………………………………… i Governor’s Message ………………………………………………. ii Part I - A SNAPSHOT OF NORTHERN SAMAR IN 2000…….. 1 Part II - DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS (2001-2010) ……………………………………………… 2 A. Governance 1. Human Resource Management and Development ……………………...………………. 5 2. Financial Management .…………………………… 8 3. Partnership Building ……………………………….10 4. Information and Communications Technology…..13 5. Disaster Preparedness and Emergency

Response ……………………….…………………..15 6. Facilities and Infrastructure Development ………. 16 7. Youth and Sports Development…………………… 20 8. Tourism and Culture Promotion …………………...23 B. Poverty Reduction (FLESHER Program) 1. Food Security ………………………………………. 25 2. Livelihood …………………………………………... 28 3. Education …………………………………………… 31 4. Shelter ………………………………………………. 34 5. Health ……………………………………………….. 36 6. Environment ………………………………………... 41 7. Revenue Generation……………………………….. 44 Part III - THE CHALLENGES AHEAD …………………………. 47

ABAP Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines AIP Annual Investment Plan AusAID Australian Agency for International Development BAS Bureau of Agricultural Statistics BEmONC Basic Emergency Obstetric Newborn Care BFAR Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources BHW Barangay Health Worker BIEPD Building Institutional Efficiency and Participatory Development BLGF Bureau of Local Government Finance CARD Center for Agriculture and Rural Development CBFEWS Community-Based Flood Early Warning System CBFM Community Based Forest Management CBMS Community-Based Monitoring System CEmONC Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Newborn Care CIIF Coconut Industry Investment Fund COA Commission on Audit CPC Country Program for Children CPMA Comprehensive Personnel Management Assessment CSC Civil Service Commission DAP Development Academy of the Philippines DBM Department of Budget and Management DENR Department Environment and Natural Resources DepEd Department of Education DILG Department of Interior and Local Government DOE Department of Energy DOF Department of Finance DOST Department of Science and Technology DPWH Department of Public Works and Highways EDF Economic Development Fund ELAC Environmental Laws Advisory Council EMB Environment Management Bureau eNGAS Electronic New Government Accounting System EPI Extended Program on Immunization eRPTS Electronic Real Property Tax System ESWM Ecological Solid Waste Management EVRAA Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association EXECOM Executive Committee FAAS Field Appraisal and Assessment Sheets FG Focal Group FGP Fundacion Grameen Pilipinas, Inc FLESHER Food Security, Livelihood, Education, Shelter, Health,

Environment and Revenue Generation FLET Fishery Law Enforcement Teams FMR Farm to Market Road GAAM Government Accounting and Auditing Manual GIS Geographic Information System GK Gawad Kalinga GTZ German Technical Cooperation HCAAP Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Project HCWM Health Care Without Harm HDI Human Development Index HRIS Human Resource Information System HRMD Human Resource Management and Development ILHZ Inter-Local Health Zone IRA Internal Revenue Allotment ISSP Information Systems Strategic Plan IT Information Technology JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency LDAP Local Development Assistance Program LFC Local Finance Committee LGU Local Government Unit MEDCAP Medical and Dental Civic Action Program MFI Microfinance Institution MIS Management Information System MISO Management Information Systems Office MOA Memorandum of Agreement MRF Materials Recovery Facility MRGG Municipal Revenue Generation Group

NAC Nortehanon Access Center NCC National Computer Center NDCC National Disaster Coordinating Council NGO Non-Government Organization NHA National Housing Authority NSCAPF Northern Samar Coalition Against Poverty Foundation NSCB National Statistical Coordination Board NSCIDC Northern Samar Coconut Industry Development Council NSPH Northern Samar Provincial Hospital NSWMC National Solid Waste Management Commission ORC Omnibus Revenue Code P/LPEM Provincial/Local Planning and Expenditure Management PACAP Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program PAGASA Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration PAGF Philippines-Australia Governance Facility PAHRDF Philippines-Australia Human Resource Development Facility PAMB Protected Area Management Board PAO Provincial Agriculture Office PDC Provincial Development Council PDCC Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council PDMU Provincial Disaster Management Unit PEAP Provincial Educational Assistance Program PEF Peace and Equity Foundation PGENRO Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources

Office PEO Provincial Engineer’s Office PESO Public Employment Service Office PGMA People’s Government Mobile Action PGNS Provincial Government of Northern Samar Philhealth Philippine Health Insurance Corporation PHRMDO Provincial Human Resource Management and Development

Office PIMET Provincial Interdepartmental Monitoring and Evaluation Team PIPH Provincial Investment Plan for Health PLC Powerline Communications PLDO Provincial Livelihood and Development Office PMS Performance Management System PMS-OPES Performance Management System-Office Evaluation System PMT Provincial Management Team PNP Philippine National Police PPDO Provincial Planning and Development Office PPIMM Provincial Planning, Implementation and Monitoring Manual PREC Provincial Research and Extension Center PSB Provincial School Board PSWDO Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office PSWMB Provincial Solid Waste Management Board PTCA Parents, Teachers and Community Association PVO Provincial Veterinary Office RA Republic Act RAS Responsive Assistance Scheme RDC Regional Development Council RDCC Regional Disaster Coordinating Council RFM Reimbursable Fund Management RGG Revenue Generation Group RHU Rural Health Unit RPT Real Property Tax RPTA Real Property Tax Administration RPU Real Property Unit SEF Special Education Fund SP Sangguniang Panlalawigan STC Skills Training Center STRIVE Strengthening Implementation of Visayas Education TLDC Technology and Livelihood Development Center TWG Technical Working Group UEP University of Eastern Philippines UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund WATSAN Water and Sanitation

Acronyms

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It is as if it were only yesterday, so they say.

My first term legally began on July 1, 2001. After I took my oath of office the day before, I was eager to start my job. Because July 1 was a Sunday, I had to wait for the following day, July 2, which was a working day.

As had been the practice, there was - and there still is - a flag ceremony for all officers and employees working in the Provincial Capitol. I decided to appear before the provincial workforce at the start of the ceremony.

I had expected to come before a happy, if not festive, group. For some reason, after I was introduced, the applause was sparse and the employees stared at me as if I were an intruder. This made me nervous and at a loss for words. My message was short and to the point: I asked for support and cooperation for the next three years of my administration. It was followed by an applause even more scant than the first.

As it is, almost nine years have passed, and I am now in the last three months of my final and third term. I have served in the best way I can, made not a few mistakes, and learned many lessons. But I have no regrets.

On that Monday morning of July 2, 2001, I entered a building whose physical appearance both disappointed and daunted me. The floors were of rough concrete as were the stairs from the ground to the second floors. My first trip to a comfort room horrified me. It was as if I had walked into an abandoned public toilet. Most of the women were either wearing low-heeled shoes or sandals because they were in peril of slipping on the rough concrete floors.

On the following day, when I visited a few offices, I immediately noticed that the furniture and equipment had been badly battered by time. I resolved to make the Provincial Capitol and its offices worthy, not only of the workforce, but also of the public whom we serve.

It did not take weeks for me to know that both the structure and the system of the provincial government were as old as the province itself, which was founded in 1965. To better serve the people, I immediately realized that we had to change, reform and innovate.

The process of change has already begun, and I believe the reforms and innovations have become institutionalized. The many programs and projects chronicled in this end report could not have and would not have happened without the will, determination and support of the officers and employees of the provincial government, of whom I am fiercely proud and to whom I am deeply indebted. This end report, patiently culled and competently organized by the staff, should be a lasting tribute to the entire PGNS personnel even as it can be a valuable guide for future governors.

I also thank both our local and foreign partners for passionately sharing our vision for Northern Samar and unselfishly helping us attain it.

RAUL A. DAZA

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6 March 2010, Catarman, Northern Samar

Part I: A SNAPSHOT OF NORTHERN SAMAR IN 2000

In 1991, R.A. 7160 (Local Government Code) introduced a major devolution of national government services, particularly in agriculture, health and welfare, infrastructure, environmental management, and tourism. Local government units (LGUs) were granted administrative autonomy, a share of revenues from the national government known as Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), and the power to raise local revenues in order to augment its financial resources.

However, 10 years after, most LGUs still had not attained their objective of self-determination. By 2001, they remained financially dependent on the national government through IRA and other subsidies for devolved services. They discovered that assuming responsibility for basic service delivery and countryside development requires much more than what the IRA provided. The IRA of most LGUs had gone mostly to maintenance and operating expense requirements, personnel services, and minimal physical infrastructure. It was therefore not surprising that economic development and quality service delivery had to take a backseat.

Northern Samar was ranked as the ninth poorest province in 1994 and 1997 with its Human Development Index (HDI) at 0.457 and 0.482, respectively (Philippine Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme). In 2000, the province’s HDI increased to 0.505, improving Northern Samar’s ranking to 14th place. In 2000, when the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) released its pioneer poverty statistics, Northern Samar ranked as the 32nd poorest province.

HDI is a summary measure of the average achievement in a country in three basic dimensions of human development: longevity, or a long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth; knowledge, as measured by basic enrolment ratio (or enrolment ratio of children, seven to 16 years old), high school graduate ratio of population aged 18 years and above, and functional literacy rate; and standard of living, as measured by real income per capita. NSCB’s poverty estimates were based on regional menus, prices of agricultural and non-agricultural commodities, and income and expenditures data.

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Part II : DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

(2001-2010)

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DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS (2001-2010)

During the inaugural address for his first term of office in 2001, Governor Raul Daza presented his vision of an improved quality of life for the people of Northern Samar that he sought to achieve through his development agenda called FLESH or Food Security, Livelihood, Education, Shelter and Health. With the inclusion of Environment and Revenue Generation in 2004, he fully launched this Poverty Reduction Program as FLESHER.

The efforts to attain the FLESHER objectives was complemented with governance initiatives, particularly on human resource management and development, financial management, partnership building, information and communications technology, disaster preparedness and emergency response, and support infrastructure and facilities improvement.

All these programs on poverty reduction and governance have created a difference and have contributed towards the vision that the governor conceived at the start of his administration. The Provincial Government of Northern Samar (PGNS) under his leadership, in partnership with national government agencies, NGOs and civil society organizations, and the private sector, takes pride in its notable accomplishments between 2001 and 2010, which are recognized by both government and non-government institutions.

R e c o g n i t i o n s i n t h e A r e a o f G o v e r n a n c e : Second among 30 Best Performing Provinces in Good

Governance (2003), National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB)

Reached income threshold of First Class Province (2007, 2008, 2009), Commission on Audit (COA)

First LGU in the Philippines to develop and implement a Performance Management System (2008), Civil Service Commission (CSC)

First and only province in Eastern Visayas granted Level II Accreditation based on Comprehensive Personnel Management Assessment (2009), CSC-8

Model Province in Eastern Visayas for Citizen’s Charter (2009), CSC-8

First LGU in Region 8 to craft and implement an Information Systems Strategic Plan (2005), National Computer Center (NCC)

Outstanding Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (2007, 2008), RDCC-8

First LGU in the country to develop an Internal Control Toolkit/Guide (2009)

Presidential Award for unwavering support in the fight of the government against illegal drugs(2010), Dangerous Drugs Board

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CSC Region 8 Director David Cabanag Jr. signs with Governor Daza the Memorandum of Commitment for the accreditation of the provincial government in the Civil Service Commission. CSC Northern Samar Provincial Director Rey Albert Uy, other CSC officials and PGNS staff witnessed the signing.

CSC national and Region 8 officials lead the launching of the Citizen’s Charter of Northern Samar on 8 May 2009.

CSC Assistant Commissioner Anicia de Lima congratulates Governor Daza after he handed her a copy of the PGNS Citizen’s Charter, the first in Region 8.

R e c o g n i t i o n s i n t h e A r e a o f G o v e r n a n c e (continued):

The only operational UNICEF-donated community radio station (Huni 102.9 DYNS-FM) in the Philippines, a joint project of UEP and PGNS (2002), UNICEF

First LGU in the whole Visayas to establish an IT Skills Training Center (2005), NCC

R e c o g n i t i o n s i n t h e A r e a o f P o v e r t y R e d u c t i o n : One of the ‘Elite 21’ Provinces to have attained Universal Coverage (2009), Philhealth

Outstanding Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in Region 8 (2008), Department of Labor and Employment

First Province in the Philippines to adopt province-wide Zero Waste Management Framework (2006), Mother Earth Foundation and Zero Waste International Alliance Planning Group

First Province in Region 8 to formulate a 10-Year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan (2009), National Solid Waste Management Commission

Second Best Performing Province in Real Property Tax Collection in Region 8 (2007, 2008), Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF)

Best Performing Province in Business Tax Collection in Region 8 (2007, 2008), BLGF

Best Performing Province in Economic Enterprise Collection in Region 8 (2008), BLGF

Best Performing Province in Fees and Charges Collection in Region 8 (2008), BLGF

First Microfinance Council established in the Philippines (2002)

First Province in Region 8 to organize an operational province-wide Microfinance Institution (MFI), NSCAPF (Grameen model) (2005)

Second Best Performing Province in Region 8 in the Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation on Nutrition (2009), National Nutrition Council

First and Only Province in Samar Island that has established a Tissue Culture Laboratory (2003)

Best Employer in Northern Samar for the Government Sector (2009), Philhealth

Outstanding Botica ng Barangay in Region 8 - Dalakit, Catarman - provided with P25,000 seed capital by PGNS (2008), DOH

UNICEF New York Program Performance Assessment Team visit DYNS FM, the lone operational community radio in the country , operated jointly by the provincial government and UEP.

Governor Daza distributes Philhealth cards to beneficiaries.

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS (2001-2010)

Governor Daza and other provincial officials try their hand on the newly installed computers during the opening of the Skills Training Center on 3 June 2005. AusAID First Secretary Angus Barnes and PAHRDF Facility Director Bob Wilson attended the event.

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In 2000, PGNS carried out an organizational assessment, which revealed that the absence of capability building and enhancement programs, an ineffectual performance evaluation and rewards system, unfavorable working environment, and disorganized records system, among others, contributed to the low performance of PGNS employees. Human resource management, which was confined to personnel administration and record-keeping functions, was a four-staff unit under the Office of the Administrator. Providing the backdrop to these problems was a 36-year aged organizational structure in place since 1965 (Figure 1) that stunted, rather than promoted, service delivery .

Soon after Governor Daza took office in 2001, he determined to bring out the excellent performance of employees.

Creation of the Provincial Management Team

Starting with the implementation of the AusAID-funded ‘Building Institutional Efficiency and Participatory Development (BIEPD) Project in 2001, PGNS developed a modern organizational structure that would lay the framework for enhanced performance and fit the evolving requirements of LGUs. Organizational development and human resource development experts deployed by the Philippines-Australia Governance Facility (PAGF) assisted PGNS in creating the Provincial Management Team (PMT), which was adopted as a governance structure through Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 12 dated 1 February 2002.

The PMT (Figure 2) is composed of the Executive Committee (Execom), Technical Working Groups (TWGs), and Special Task Forces. The PMT Execom, the policy-making body of the provincial government, is chaired by the governor, co-chaired by the vice governor, and with TWG chairpersons and key department heads as members. TWGs cluster departments with interrelated

PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

Human Resource Management and Development

GOVERNANCE

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Governor Daza deliberates with members of the Executive Committee issues involving the implementation of provincial government programs.

Figure 2. PGNS PMT (Since 2002)

Figure 1. PGNS structure (1965-2001)

functions, such as Food Security; Community Organizing, Livelihood and Employment; Health and Welfare; Environment, Ecotourism and Cultural Management; Housing, Infrastructure and Land Use; Development Support Services; and Protective Services.

The TWGs undertake planning, implementation and management of programs and projects while the Special Task Forces on Training Management and Action Desk provide training and advocacy support to the organization. The Provincial Interdepartmental Monitoring and Evaluation Team (PIMET) is another task force that provides the Execom with information on TWG operations and status of projects, and recommends policy changes and problem resolution options.

Membership in the PMT is highly regarded by PGNS employees because it signifies excellence and dynamism. As the elite corps of the organization, members are selected on the basis of rank, technical expertise, leadership and management skills, and commitment to change and innovation, when necessary.

Human Resource Management and Development Office

At the core of the dramatic change in the PGNS organization was the transformation of the Provincial Human Resource Management and Development Office (PHRMDO). Sangguniang Panlalawigan Ordinance No. 23 upgraded the office into a full-fledged department on 12 October 2001.

The Philippines-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF) opined that the sustainability of their capacity development programs for PGNS depended on PHRMDO’s assumption of that status. Thus the first PAHRDF trainings assisted PHRMDO in crafting the first PGNS Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) Plan for 2005-2007, which embodied the human resource competencies and skills required to complement the FLESHER program implementation. Revised in 2008, the new HRMD Plan for 2008-2010 adopted new personnel mechanisms.

Creation of the Provincial Training Pool

PAHRDF trainings also brought about the organization of the PGNS Training Pool and the formulation of the Training Guidebook. Through Executive Order No. 06, series of 2006, Governor Daza formalized the creation of the Training Pool. The PHRMDO Training Division serves as convenor of subject experts from

different departments and resource persons from outside institutions.

The Training Pool conducts regular training needs assessment of the 1000-plus PGNS staff, provides in-house trainings, and recommends employees to invitational and specialized trainings. In 2008 alone, Governor Daza allocated P1 million for training and development, a proof of his commitment to sustain the organization’s capability enhancement program.

To date, the Training Pool has conducted a total of 27 training activities, including Supervisory Development Courses, Client Relations and Customer Service Trainings, Values Orientation Workshops for entrant employees, Basic Business Correspondence Skills Enhancement Seminars, Orientation-Workshops on Basic Records Management, 5S of Good Housekeeping, Capability Building for HR Point Persons, Pre-Retirement Trainings, and Performance Management System Orientations for department Measurement Development Teams, among others.

Performance Management System

The development and installation of the new Performance Management System - Office Performance Evaluation System (PMS-OPES) was backed by Governor Daza and funded by PAHRDF. The system contained in the PGNS PMS Manual provides for the objective performance rating of departments and offices using the point system as basis for performance actions such as promotions, incentives and rewards and administrative sanctions.

Formulation of the Citizen’s Charter

The PGNS Citizen’s Charter was another expression of the provincial government’s enthusiasm to improve its service delivery. It is a written commitment of the provincial government to provide services, and comply


Governor Daza, with Board Member Albert Lucero, exhibits the CSC-approved PGNS Performance Management System Manual on its launching at the Capitol.

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with the requirements, procedures and timeframes within which such services may be availed of, and the persons or offices responsible for their delivery.

Personnel Discipline

While Governor Daza is keen on developing the human resource, he does not tolerate abuses by employees and even department heads who, at some point in their jobs, have neglected their responsibilities as civil servants. PHRMDO records show that between 2001 and 2010, a total of 17 employees were given disciplinary penalties (13 were suspended and 4 dismissed) - more than by all his predecessors combined since 1965.

The use of bundy clocks and biometric machines has been implemented to ensure that employees render the required number of hours of public service.

Personnel Welfare

While Governor Daza is a no-nonsense taskmaster, he looks after the welfare of PGNS employees. Offices in the Capitol were improved, if not modernized, and provided with air-conditioning systems, sanitary toilets and safe water dispensers to create a conducive working atmosphere. Employees who get sick are provided free hospitalization in the Infirmary ward, which was established exclusively for PGNS employees. Other benefits, aside from the usual allowances, bonuses and cash gifts, include free medical and laboratory check up every two years, and low-cost housing.

The governor also negotiated with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for a field office in Catarman to spare employees from the hassle of traveling to Catbalogan for membership requirements and loan applications. At his behest, Landbank installed an ATM at the Capitol lobby.

The first, and so far, the only province in the Eastern Visayas Region, PGNS was granted Level II Accreditation by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on 10 November 2009. By virtue of CSC Resolution No. 091412 dated 26 October 2009, CSC approved the accreditation of PGNS based on positive findings in the Comprehensive Personnel Management Assessment made on 23 April 2009. The accreditation accords PGNS the authority to take final action on its appointments.

In the commitment-building ceremony and awarding of Certificate of Accreditation, CSC Region 8 Director David Cabanag Jr. extolled PGNS for its commitment to continue the operationalization of CSC-approved personnel mechanisms as CSC’s partner in human resource management and development.

CSC also recognized Northern Samar as the first LGU in the country to develop and implement a CSC-approved Performance Management System (PMS). Director Cabanag expressed that PGNS could be the only remaining LGU in Region 8 whose PMS continues to be operational.

CSC Assistant Commissioner Anicia De Lima also congratulated Governor Daza for being the first LGU to have completed the Citizen’s Charter in Eastern Visayas, a primary requirement of the Anti Red Tape Act of 2007.

On a flag ceremony, Governor Daza reminds employees to constantly practice honesty and good customer relations in their day-to-day service to the public.

CSC Assistant Commissioner Anicia de Lima beams with Region 8 Director David Cabanag Jr. as they and Governor Daza show off the newly-completed Citizen’s Charter of the province to the cheer of PGNS officials and staff.

RESULTS

The separation of the treasury, assessment, budgeting and accounting functions under the Local Government Code compartmentalized the specialized but interrelated finance function into separate and independent offices. This resulted in the confinement of each unit to its specific segment of the system and losing sight of the bigger picture, which is a unified fiscal system.

Added to the challenges of the process is the commitment to the principle of participatory development as a cornerstone of good governance. This principle is defeated whenever development ‘priorities’ are discussed only between the governor and a few staff.

With the LGU’s meager resources provided mostly

by IRA and insignificantly, by local income, Governor Daza recognized that, like any gainful undertaking, the only way to proceed for the provincial government was through a sound financial resource planning. This meant setting his development directions and priorities clear at the outset.

Customized Northern Samar Provincial Planning, Implementation and Monitoring Manual

To improve the Provincial Government’s institutional efficiency, particularly on financial management, Northern Samar obtained assistance from AusAID through the Philippines-Australia Governance Facility (PAGF) in 2001. The project ‘’Building Institutional Efficiency and Participatory Development’ produced the first edition of the Northern Samar Provincial Planning, Implementation and Monitoring Manual (PPIMM), which embodied the Provincial Planning, Implementation and Monitoring Framework. The Framework and Manual were digested from intensive participatory workshops and focus group discussions that were aimed to customize planning and budget preparation, project implementation, and monitoring and control systems responsive to the

PGNS requirements and conforming to national standards.

While the oversight agencies of the national government ordered the harmonization of plans, budget and expenditure through Joint Memorandum Circular 1 series of 2007, and came up with the manual on Provincial/ Local Planning and Expenditure Management (P/LPEM) in 2008, Northern Samar started the institutionalization of its PPIMM way ahead in 2002. The adherence to the procedures set in the manual eventually resulted in systems improvement and a second version, which was released in 2008 with the assistance of PAHRDF.

The PPIMM is credited with starting the groundwork for the desired plan-budget linkage, setting up budget controls through the required submission of project implementation plans, and creating the Provincial Interdepartmental Monitoring and Evaluation Team (PIMET) that tracks financial disbursements vis-à-vis physical accomplishments of programs and projects.

Harmonizing budgeting, accounting, and internal control In 2009, PAHRDF provided the ‘Harmonizing

Budgeting, Accounting, and Internal Control’ training, which was successful at developing the PGNS Internal


Before 2001, financial management shortcomings included weak plan and budget linkage, poor local revenue collection, and inefficient budget execution, accountability and control. Provincial plans such as the Annual Investment Program (AIP) had little to do with strategic development directions. Project workplans did not relate to project objectives, nor were target outputs specified. These policy-determining documents were produced merely for political and compliance purposes with which to access the IRA for the budget. The province was also ineffective at generating local revenues, which manifested in its 98% dependence on the IRA.

Financial Management

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Provincial Planning, Implementation and Monitoring Manuals, 2002 and 2008 edition

Control Systems Manual and Toolkit/Guide. The manual serves as a ready reference for all the relevant issuances that guide PGNS budgeting, accounting and internal control. The Internal Control Toolkit/Guide, which is the first of its kind in local governments in our country, also comes with the manual. Through the flowcharts, the otherwise esoteric financial processes make internal control a layman’s task, thus encouraging transparency in government financial transactions.

The HR activity also defined the finance departments’ functions and responsibilities, management and institutional coordination systems, strategic operations plan, and enhanced the knowledge and skills of the finance departments’ key employees.

Governor Daza likewise committed to implement the Electronic New Government Accounting System (eNGAS) once it is rolled out. The system not only speeds up financial transactions and generates financial reports to aid decision-makers in planning and budgeting, but also promotes transparency in managing the LGU’s affairs.

Reimbursable Fund Management (RFM)

The Reimbursable Fund Management (RFM) is an administrative reform designed to facilitate service delivery, and financial disbursement and recovery for the hospital system. The main objective is to ensure that hospitals are efficiently replenished with drugs and medicines that could be availed of especially by indigent and low-income patients. The cost of drugs and medicines is given priority in an indigent’s billing statement and the uncollected cost of drugs and medicines are paid out of the hospital’s regular appropriation for drugs and medicines.

The RFM also allows provincial hospitals to retain a portion of their income from revenue generating units such as pharmacies and laboratories and deposit in a trust fund, which serves as the hospital’s revolving fund.

In 2009, PGNS entered into a drug consignment

arrangement wherein unused drugs and medicines could be returned to the supplier anytime free of cost.

Setting up other support mechanisms

Other support mechanisms that were developed include the formulation of the 2006 Operational Fiscal Plan and Provincial Fiscal Plan 2008-2010, and the revision of the Omnibus Revenue Code (ORC). In 2005, the Revenue Generation Group laid down policies and approaches that would institutionalize revenue generation and enhance

fiscal administration in the 2006 Operational Fiscal Plan. The Provincial Fiscal Plan 2008-2010 later set out strategies to sustain improvements made in fiscal performance and administration.

Figure 3 shows Northern Samar’s annual budget

and expenses between 1996 and 2008, wherein the LGU sustained the net income that it experienced in 1999. This proves that the sound financial management controls installed in the system have paid off. Moreover the Commission on Audit (COA) reported on 8 May 2008 that the average annual income of Northern Samar for the period 2004-2007 reached P436 million, which falls within the income bracket for first class provinces set at P300 million and above.

PGNS again fulfilled its target to reach the new first class province income threshold of P450 million when it registered an income of P655 million and P565 million in 2008 and 2009, respectively. LGU classification assessment is conducted once every four (4) years, and the next round will be in 2011.

Financial Management

RESULTS

Figure 3. Northern Samar’s Annual Budget and Expenses, 1996-2008 (Source: COA)

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Internal Control Toolkit/Guide is the first of its kind in local government in our country

Partnership Building

In 2001, the governor recognized that one of the reasons for the weak link between PGNS and local partners is the unwieldy bureaucracy of the provincial government that did not seem to regard coordination and partnership as a vehicle to fulfill the development vision for Northern Samar. Moreover, he discerned that civil society would only have the chance to play its role if it shares social trust and mutual confidence with the government.

Governor Daza saw partnership as the most strategic approach because of a number of reasons: the limited financial and quality human resources of PGNS, seal of the constituency’s approval of support, and urgency of response to the development and service delivery requirements. He believed that the involvement of civil society in provincial initiatives also promoted transparency, participation, and empowerment.

Interdepartmental Coordination

Governor Daza wanted to establish links with non-PGNS partners and the best way to start is with the provincial government. With the adoption of the Provincial Management Team (PMT) as its governance structure, departments with interrelated functions and common key result areas were clustered into Technical Working Groups (TWGs), which instituted interdepartmental coordination. TWGs started organizing meetings to discuss sectoral strategies and activities, something that

the old LGU structure that was in place since 1967 did not promote. This improved coordination mechanism opened up PGNS to external linkages and partnerships.

Vice Governor Antonio Lucero’s promotion of consensus decision-making helped bring about the kind of legislative support needed, which looks beyond political affiliations.

Partnership with the Civil Society

The Local Government Code recognizes the role of civil society in development and encourages LGUs to partner with NGOs and POs in the delivery of certain basic services, capability building and livelihood projects, local enterprise development, agriculture diversification, promotion of ecological balance, and enhancement of the economic and social well-being of the people.

Governor Daza tapped the Nortehanon Access Center (NAC), a consortium of NGOs and POs, as a conduit in encouraging partnership with PGNS to plan and implement development programs and projects. PGNS and NAC partnership ranges from the implementation of agriculture projects like Steer Dispersal to health projects like Water and Sanitation.

PGNS also established strong ties with Gawad Kalinga (GK) to help in the latter’s vision of building 7,000 homes by 2010. During the GK Partners Forum held in Ibabao Hall in 2005, Governor Daza talked about his plan to make Northern Samar a ‘GK Province’. Aside from the provincial government’s contribution of P1 million for the


‘Participatory development’ became a buzzword in the mid-1990s that followed ‘people empowerment’, and accompanied the rapid increase in the number of non-government organizations (NGOs). These events in the development arena could be attributed to the passage of the Local Government Code of 1991, which promotes partnerships between government and civil society organizations such as people’s organizations (POs) and NGOs. The provincial government though, at around the same time, continued to hold the helm of governance, and grassroots participation or feedback on the efficiency of its service delivery may have yet sounded unfamiliar. Governor Daza, with UEP President Mar de Asis and provincial veterinarian Jose Luis Acompañado, turns over cattle

to project beneficiaries of the buddy-buddy cattle dispersal program, a joint undertaking of the provincial government, Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program and the University of Eastern Philippines.

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construction of ‘GK Saving You Village’ in Bgy Daganas, Catarman, Governor Daza also regularly meets with GK representatives to help resolve housing-related concerns throughout the province.

PGNS, represented by Governor Daza, also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Representative Paul Daza and the mayors of San Roque, Mondragon, Bobon, Allen, San Jose and San Isidro for the establishment of GK Villages in these municipalities. Partnership with the Academe

PGNS entered into partnership with the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) College of Agriculture in 2003 to establish and operate the first and only Tissue Culture Laboratory in the whole Samar Island. UEP put in research, technical personnel and the building that housed the laboratory, while PGNS financed its operations, provided laboratory equipment, and support staff. This facility had been distributing pest-free tissue-cultured abaca plantlets to farmers.

The Buddy-Buddy Cattle Dispersal Project funded by the Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP) under its Responsive Assistance Scheme (RAS) was also a joint venture between PGNS and the UEP College of Veterinary Medicine. The project has distributed 32 heads of cattle to farmer recipients. Multi-sectoral Partnerships

Through Executive Order No. 3 series of 2009, Governor Daza created Focal Groups on critical sub-sectors, including Rice, Coconut, Pili, Abaca, Handicraft, and Nutrition, composed of PGNS

staff, members of the academe, government agencies, NGOs, and private sector.

These multi-sectoral partnerships through the Focal Groups aim to build in sustainability into the development of these priority areas, particularly in the province’s major products, which are poised for industry formation. Governor Daza believes that the provincial government can only pump-prime the local economy but the real economic drivers are the stakeholders themselves.

The governor sits as convenor of all the Focal Groups with a co-convenor from lead partner government agencies or NGOs in each group. In support to the Focal Groups operations, Governor Daza regularly provides funding and attends its major activities.

In building the coconut industry, the provincial government is working closely with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF), LGUs, NGOs, POs, coconut farmers, and traders. The collaboration launched the First Provincial Coconut Summit which resulted in the organization of the Northern Samar Coconut Industry Development Council (NSCIDC), with Governor Daza as chairperson. The provincial government has conducted various technology trainings on coconut processing like buko juice, coconut sugar, buko pie, nata de coco, among others.

The successful formation of the NSCIDC has inspired the conduct of the First Regional Coconut Summit held on 29-30 August 2008 in Tacloban City.


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NAC executive director Edgar Dones shakes hands with Governor Daza after both sign a memorandum of agreement for the partnership of PGNS and NAC in the implementation of some FLESHER programs.

Mayor Ben Jao signs an agreement with Governor Daza and Representative Paul Daza to establish a GK village in Bobon.

A farmer receives cattle from Governor Daza as part of the buddy-buddy cattle dispersal project of the provincial government, in partnership with UEP and PACAP . UEP President Mar de Asis joins Daza in the turn-over.

Governor Daza and Fiber Industry Development Authority Regional Director Jeffrey Espeña sign a Memorandum of Agreement during the launching of the Abaca Nursery Development Program in Catubig.

Aside from industry building, the provincial government is also a member of the Northern Samar Peace and Development Forum (NSPDF), which is a partnership of the church, government, academe, and the civil society. NSPDF was initially formed to advocate against mining and environmental destruction in the province but has later evolved into a forum for the advocacy of peace and development. The group is an active member of the island-wide Samar Island for Peace and Development (SIPPAD).

Still on the promotion of peace and order, Governor Daza works in collaboration with the Philippine National Police, Philippine Army and other members of the Provincial Peace and Order Council which is chaired by the governor. On 26 February 2010, he was awarded by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through the Dangerous Drugs Board for his unwavering support in the government’s fight against illegal drugs.

Partnership with Foreign Funding Donors

PGNS has also established a good credibility with donor agencies because of the commitment and professionalism shown by Governor Daza. The provincial government has maintained its partnerships with foreign funding donors, like the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), among others.

Some of the provincial

government’s ongoing partnerships are with AusAID, on the Philippines- Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP) and the Philippines-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF); JICA, on the Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Program (HCAAP); UNICEF, on the Sixth Country Program for Children (CPC 6); GTZ, on disaster risk management; and US Peace Corps, on coastal resource management.

Governor Daza shows his personal commitment by conducting regular meetings to discuss and resolve project implementation issues, and appropriating PGNS counterpart funds. He sits as chairperson of the HCAAP Project Steering Committee and the PACAP Provincial Stakeholders Committee.

Participatory Planning

In development planning, the seal of the constituency’s approval and support is important to ensure that development plans benefit the people, and stakeholders would assume their role in turning these plans into reality. The provincial government observes participatory planning by subjecting long-term and medium term development plans of the province to public consultations.

The Annual Investment Programs (AIP) also go through consultations with partner NGOs and POs prior to the approval of the Provincial Development Council (PDC) and Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP). Community-based projects funded by PGNS are also implemented in partnership with NGOs and POs.


Governor Daza signs an agreement for the implementation of the Focal Group – Rice Project, ‘Wealth in Rice Farming: Enhancing and Sustaining the PDF Farms through Crop Diversification in the Catubig Valley’.

Governor Daza shares some views in maintaining the peace and security in Samar island as Bishops Crispin Varquez, Emmanuel Trance and Isabelo Abarquez follow on his remarks. Other stakeholders also actively joined in the discussion of peace and order concerns.

Governor Daza and UEP president Pedro Destura bares a hybrid variety of rice being grown for rice sufficiency at the UEP demonstration farm through its tissue culture laboratory, a partnership project among the Department of Agriculture, the provincial government and the university.

Governor Daza discusses programs for funding by AusAID and UNICEF during a special dialogue with donor agencies attended by Australian Ambassador Ruth Pearce and UNICEF country representative Terril Hill.

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Computerization Program guided by an Information Systems Strategic Plan

In Region 8, Northern Samar is the first province to craft and implement an Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) in 2005. Under the AusAID-funded ‘Capability Building for Effective Management Information Systems – Information Technology (MIS-IT) Services’ training program of PAHRDF, consultation workshops were held to formulate the ISSP 2005-2007 with the guidance of the National Computer Center (NCC) and the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).

The ISSP 2005-2007 laid down the framework for the entire MIS-IT program, and contained the priority information systems that would best support the implementation of the FLESHER program. Updating the plan into ISSP 2008-2010 was not as difficult as the first as PGNS already has in-house MIS specialists who have acquired short-term and postgraduate trainings.

While Governor Daza was keen on automating basic operations of the provincial government, requests for computer purchases only get approved if the ISSP warrants it. In compliance with the Intellectual Property Rights Law, software licenses were later required with computer purchases.

Information Systems Development The ISSP made way for the institutionalization of

management information systems. Through Executive Order No. 7 issued on 21 June 2005, Governor Daza created the Management Information Systems Office (MISO).

Within a few years of its operations, MISO has developed and installed various information systems identified in the ISSP. The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is now used by PHRMDO for accurate and timely processing of service record certifications and updating personnel profile. Other information systems that were deployed and are now used include the Rice Production Information System, Patient Administration Information System, and Legislative Tracking System.

MISO is developing other development administration information systems. These are the Geographic Information System (a spatial planning tool that also supports real property tax collection), and information systems for hospital laboratory, procurement monitoring, check, payroll, and micro-finance. Meanwhile,

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Information and Communications Technology Way back in 2001,

Governor Daza noted that majority of PGNS employees, including department heads, did not know how to operate a computer. Typewriters were used to prepare reports and office memos, while Manila papers and pens came handy for visual presentations. Connecting to the world through the internet was known only to some (that already includes the governor), which was why electronic correspondence or ‘email’ was hardly heard. But soon after information technology caught up with Northern Samar, computer purchases began to use up the funds for capital outlay.


MISO systems designer Ruel Saludaga with Engineer Basiliso Arban, Provincial Bids and Awards Committee secretary, and other MISO staff, develop the design of the bids and awards information system which MISO intends to develop for PBAC.

MISO-STC personnel conduct computer literacy training to non-PGNS staff at the Skills Training Center.

the Real Property Tax System for six municipalities whose RPU encoding got completed will soon be deployed.

In addition to its IS development function, MISO also takes charge of PGNS computer repair and maintenance. A total of 114 computers owned by the provincial government got repaired in 2005, which increased to 169 in 2008. With a minimum of two computer units repaired a day at the STC, PGNS has significantly reduced expenses for computer repair, charged by private technicians at P1,000 per unit on the average. Suspensions or delays in office operations due to computer malfunction were also minimized.

PGNS also invested in setting up a provincial Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) and Provincial Poverty Map to channel poverty reduction efforts to the province’s most impoverished areas.

Skills Training Center

PGNS boasts of being the first LGU among all provincial governments and other LGUs in the whole Visayas to have established an in-house IT Skills Training Center (STC). AusAID Development Cooperation First Secretary Angus Barnes, PAHRDF Facility Director Bob Wilson, DAP Executive Fellow Elizabeth Manugue, and NCC-Visayas head Frederick Amores joined Governor Daza in the STC inaugural rites on 3 June 2005.

The STC provides the training component of the IT program. Trainers from the adjacent MISO man the STC and conduct both basic computer literacy and advanced computer courses to PGNS and community partners and

clients.

As a matter of policy, Governor Daza included computer literacy as a requirement for entry to rank and file positions in the provincial government, and required all regular personnel to undergo at least the basic computer literacy training.

Internet connectivity

Governor Daza introduced the ‘global village’ technology to the province barely a year after he assumed as chief executive and connected the Capitol to the internet for the first time in 2002. The increased computer literacy of PGNS staff brought an increased demand for internet service. Emails took the new form of correspondence with partner institutions, making internet connectivity a necessity to office operations.

The provincial government is now engaged to provide internet connection using wi-fi and powerline communications (PLC) technology, which is expected to boost interdepartmental and inter-agency coordination and exchange of information. With the new wireless internet service, offices within and outside the Capitol building can now access the internet anytime.

Community Radio

With the assistance of UNICEF, Governor Daza supported the set up of a community radio, DYNS FM, on 23 July 2002. The station has its base in the UEP College of Arts and Communication where various sectors host different radio programs for free, and at the same time serves as a training facility for broadcast communication students. In 2009, Governor Daza upgraded the transmitter of DYNS FM for broader coverage and audience reach.

Access to the right information at the right time has

led to sound planning and decision-making. Needless to say, the pooled effects of being guided by an ISSP, the ease of information and data retrieval brought by information systems that were established, internet connectivity, and most of all, the high computer literacy of PGNS employees have radically aided office operations and service delivery.

RESULTS

A MISO –STC employee checks for defective hardware in the central processing unit of a PGNS computer, a routine practice in all other computers brought to the office for repair.

Information and Communications Technology

DYNS FM production manager announces on air the station’s daily program line-up.

Governor Daza and AusAID First Secretary Angus Barnes cut the ceremonial ribbon for the launching of the STC. PAHRDF facility director Bob Wilson, and other provincial officials also witnessed the opening.

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As practiced for decades, disaster activities often took the response-oriented approach. The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) chaired by the governor, mobilizes rescue and relief operations in the event of calamities. Otherwise, the council is at rest. Although five percent of the budget is earmarked as calamity funds to be disbursed for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work and services, these are often insufficient when there are just one too many disasters that strike the province.

Creation of the Provincial Disaster Management Unit

Because of the PDCC’s response-oriented approach, the demand for a permanent government unit that would be responsible for disaster coordination increased. As a major step, Governor Raul Daza created the Provincial Disaster Management Unit (PDMU) on 4 July 2005 through Executive Order No. 9 to institutionalize community disaster preparedness and risk reduction programs, and strengthen local disaster control capability as mandated by Presidential Decree 1566. In addition, the PDMU acts as the technical secretariat of the PDCC.

Increasing community awareness and participation

Turning into a more pro-active approach, PDMU has been actively conducting pre-disaster activities such as participatory disaster risk assessments where risks are identified based on the location and history of a community or area, and orientation-seminars to local disaster coordinating councils and LGUs on disaster preparedness and management, family preparedness,

and climate change. Likewise, fire and earthquake drills have been organized and conducted in offices and schools.

Disaster risk reduction

Northern Samar, the location of the Catarman and Catubig watershed areas, was chosen as a partner of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and United Nations Development Program’s Hazard Mapping and Assessment for Effective Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (READY) Project spearheaded by the Office of Civil Defense-National Disaster Coordinating Council, Philippine Vulcanology and Seismology, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration-Department of Science and Technology (PAGASA-DOST).

The project, which was launched in Northern Samar on 17 September 2008, aims to help vulnerable communities prepare for disaster through contingency plans and installation of Community-Based Flood Early Warning Systems (CBFEWS), such as water gauges, to communities along the Catarman and Catubig watersheds. The installed equipment gives automatic feeds to the PDMU Operation Center for information dissemination. PDMU is a member of the CBFEWS yahoo group networking.

Phase 1 of the project focused on multi-hazard identification and disaster risk assessment, while Phase 2, which is ongoing implementation, involves CBFEWS distribution and installation, communications set-up, dry-runs and tsunami drills.

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Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response


Northern Samar’s geographic location vulnerably exposes it to natural disasters. Situated within the ‘typhoon belt’, the province is often ravaged by typhoons, storm surges, heavy rains leading to floods, landslides, and mud flows. These natural disasters claim lives and destroy valuable farmlands, settlements, and important infrastructure. But the adverse effects brought by these calamities are amplified because of the absence of disaster prevention and mitigation programs.

A disaster victim of a recent flooding in the province receives financial assistance from Governor Daza.

PDMU staff installs a river gauge in Bgy. Polangi, Catarman.

A large part of socio-economic development depends on support facilities and infrastructure. For decades, local government officials prioritized infrastructure projects because of their convincing visual impression on the electorate. But sometimes, infrastructure investments have proven to be a big loss of resources, or served as ‘white elephants’ when engaged without sufficient information and concrete guidelines.

Facilities and Infrastructure Development

Rescue and relief operations

The PDMU office is manned 24/7 by trained rescuers and first aiders who are provided with rescue gear and equipment. During relief operations, the PDMU office serves as Disaster Operation Center. Because of the overwhelming task of relief goods distribution, PDMU draws on the assistance of other PGNS departments and agencies. The Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office identifies victims and assesses damages, the Provincial Engineer’s Office and Philippine Army provide trucks to transport the relief goods, and the Provincial General Services Office lends additional manpower. The Provincial Health Office and district hospitals are also called for medical assistance and ambulance services for the transport of patients to higher medical institutions.

Community assistance

PDMU has had access to funding from foreign development partners. GTZ provided five toilets to Lope de Vega, and the barangays of Polangi, Somoje, Baybay, and Central II in Catarman. Additional toilets for barangays Dalakit and Cawayan are pending negotiations.

The Northern Samar PDCC, under the leadership of

Governor Daza, was twice awarded by the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council as the best PDCC in Eastern Visayas for 2007 and 2008. RDCC likewise recognized the active participation and valuable contribution of PDMU to the implementation of the disaster risk management program of the province.

In one of its seminars, PDMU staff demonstrates proper response during emergency situations such as fires and earthquakes.

Amancio Unay, PDMU chief, explains to barangay officials some strategies of responding to disasters.

PDMU installs an automatic weather device on the roof of its office to be used in weather forecasting.

RESULTS

Now the Ibabao Hall

The third floor of the Capitol Building in 2001.

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Facilities and Infrastruture Development

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In 2003, the Philippines-Australia Governance Facility (PAGF) assisted PGNS in the formulation of its 2004-2013 Provincial Physical Framework Plan, which laid out the settlements, land use, and infrastructure components of provincial development. In 2007, GHD Consultants, a team of Australian and Filipino engineers, also helped PGNS assess the Provincial Structure Plan with inputs from sectoral stakeholders. The major infrastructure issues identified were the concentration of road networks on shorelines, which greatly limits internal mobility and access of people especially in the remote areas to markets and basic services such as education and health. Hospitals and schools were also concentrated in urban centers. The expensive and unstable electric power supply proved to be the major deterrent for investments in the province.

To address these issues, PGNS identified the strategic infrastructure requirements that would create a difference in the lives of the people of Northern Samar. The provincial government spent a total of P269.67 million for infrastructure development between 2001 and 2009.

National, provincial and farm to market roads

Between 2001 and 2009, the provincial government has invested P85.85 million in farm to market roads (FMRs). Included in this capital outlay is the provincial government’s counterpart for the FMR construction of 4.9 kilometers

Las Navas-Quezon-Magsaysay-Bulao-Hagbay road under the Japan-aided Help for Catubig Agricultural Advance Project (HCAAP). The location of this FMR makes for faster transportation of agricultural products and connects the three (3) irrigation systems of Catubig, Bulao, and Hagbay. This FMR project has shortened market access by as much as 85 percent. The HCAAP project’s other components include irrigation and drainage (National Irrigation Authority), national roads and bridge (Department of Public Works and Highways), water supply facilities (Municipalities of Catubig and Las Navas), agricultural support services (Department of Agriculture), and schistosomiasis control (Department of Health).

Governor Daza also lobbied for the implementation of other high impact projects funded by the national government in order to hasten development to the province. These include: (1) Samar Pacific Coastal Road (also called the ‘Northern-Eastern Samar Inter-Provincial Road Link’) that runs along the 124-kilometer Oras-San Policarpio-Arteche-Lapinig-Gamay-Palapag-Laoang Road; (2) Catarman-Lope de Vega-Calbayog Road Link; and (3) Lope de Vega-San Isidro Road Link.

The Samar Pacific Coastal Road completes the circumferential road network of the whole Samar Island and is expected to stimulate economic exchange and promote ecotourism in the inaccessible municipalities of the two provinces. The Lope de Vega-San Isidro Road Link, on the other hand, will give road access to the interior barangays of Lope de Vega,


Street–concreting Project in Bgy. Erenas, Victoria

Improvement of San Antonio Circumferential road (Dalupirit section)

Improvement of NSPH Driveway

Farm to Market Road, Las Navas

Catarman, Bobon, San Jose, Lavezares and Victoria.

Electric power supply

The ongoing construction of the 138KV Wright-Calbayog Transmission Line and Substation resulted from the joint representations of Governor Daza and Representative Paul Daza to the Regional Development Council (RDC) chaired by Calbayog City Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento. The expensive and unstable power supply has long denied the province of investments in millions pesos and has created a setback of its economic development.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo herself recognized the urgency of the problem and prioritized its implementation because it addressed the power needs not only of Calbayog City and other Western Samar municipalities but also those of Northern Samar.

The Provincial Development Council (PDC) also endorsed a proposal to the RDC for a feasibility study of another transmission that would pass through San Jose de Buan, Eastern Samar to Las Navas to complete the power loop for Northern Samar.

The province recently availed of the Capitol Streetlighting Project from the Department of Energy (DOE). The project cost is an estimated at P2.1 million of which P1.6 million will be sourced from the provincial share of Northern Samar under Energy Regulation No. 1-94, which provides for the sharing in the income from the Tongonan

thermal power in Leyte.

Improvement of provincial and district hospitals and other health facilities

Governor Daza’s commitment to improve the health care system and facilities in the province is reflected in the huge allotments that the hospitals and other health facilities receive yearly, which total to P79.47 million. The Department of Health (DOH) also recently gave a grant of P7 million to the province for Basic Emergency Obstetric Newborn Care/ Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric Newborn Care facilities (BEmONC/CEmONC), and another P90.652 million for infrastructure and equipment upgrading of the NSPH, Allen and GB Tan district hospitals.

The governor predicts that in the near future the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital (NSPH) will become a tertiary hospital with state-of-the-art equipment such as CT scan and dialysis machine.

Construction and repair of schools

With education being one of his flagship programs, Governor Daza alloted P24.476 million for school construction and repairs between 2001 and 2009. The Provincial School Board (PSB) deliberates which schools to prioritize depending on the need and the number of schoolchildren served by these schools.

The rehabilitation of the Provincial Sports Center was also prompted by the hosting of athletic events in the province. A sports buff, he is an ardent advocate of a ‘healthy mind in a healthy body’.


NSPH new waste holding room

NSPH ramp outside emergency room

NSPH operating room

NSPH nursery intensive care unit

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Provincial Government facilities

Following the dictum ‘Charity begins at home’, PGNS also takes care of its own. The Capitol Housing Project, which is part of the employees’ welfare program, has received a total allocation of P17.43 million pesos for the four (4) phases of its site development.

Governor Daza also prioritized the completion of the Capitol Building, which remained unfinished when he assumed office in 2001. Project cost for the construction of the Center Wing and Ibabao Hall, construction of offices in the partially completed parts of the main building, as well as the improvements in the Old Capitol Building has totaled P39.268 million in the past eight years.

This cost, however, can compare to the sense of well-being and pride that employees of the provincial government feel when they come to work in an environment that allows them to maximize their productivity and willingness to serve the public.

Governor Daza has not neglected the welfare of prisoners in the provincial and sub-provincial jails

because he holds that they retain their human rights despite their transgressions against the law. Between 2001 and 2009, P13.38 million was allocated for jail facilities improvement.

Figure 4 shows the total infrastructure investment in the province.


Right: One-room school building in Bgy. Yabyaban, Laoang

From top left clockwise: The Capitol Building in 2001, the Capitol Building now, Provincial Library, Capitol Shuttle Bus , Capitol Lobby with its improved ceiling, and the Capitol gym.

Above: Pathway shed in Catarman I Central School

Youth and Sports Development

SPORTS PROGRAMS

As part of his efforts to curb drug addiction and the out-of-school youth’s apparent lack of direction, Governor Daza, an avid sports enthusiast himself, has promoted sports in Northern Samar, providing both the in and out-of-school youth the opportunity to discover and develop their potential to win in competitions. Governor Daza’s sports program not only served as a stepping stone to community participation and nation-building, but more significantly, it contributed to the physical, mental and moral well-being of the youth, averted drug addiction and other vices to a large extent, and reduced the incidence of crime and violence in the province.

Governor Daza made sports part of the major thrusts of the province. Since the province marked its founding day in June 2002, the governor has continuously urged the youth to participate in sports tournaments, which include boxing and basketball among others, especially organized by the provincial government to serve as a training ground for all eager to compete within and outside Northern Samar.

PGNS has also regularly supported the Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) Meet held every year in different parts of Region 8 by taking on the cost for the food, transportation, uniforms, equipment and other miscellaneous expenses of the provincial delegation. The most notable support that the province extended to sports was hosting the EVRAA Meet in Catarman in 2008, more than two

decades since the province last hosted the regional games. It accommodated more than 5,000 delegates from the 10 divisions comprising the six provinces and four cities of Region 8. It hosted among other activities the Search for Mr. and Miss EVRAA 2008, the Welcome Dinner, Socials and Cultural Night; Educators’ Congress; and the Awarding and Paalam Night. Moreover, it shouldered the expense for training of the regional delegation to the 2008 national games in Puerto Prinsesa City.

Preparing the Provincial Sports Center alone in Bgy. Cawayan, Catarman in time for the regional games entailed more than P9 million from the provincial coffers, which was spent for the construction of additional bleachers, repainting, repair of its Olympic-size swimming pool, existing grandstand and bleachers, road and oval rehabilitation, and water and drainage system installation. The sports facility is now being maintained and used for the training of athletes under the tutelage of top notch coaches and trainers hired by the provincial government

The provincial government organizes the Governor’s Cup Basketball Tournament as part of the provincial founding anniversary celebration in June 2006.

Photo: Conrado G

. dela Cruz, Jr.

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Northern Samar has a very ‘young’ population with the youth comprising 44 percent of its constituents in 2001. Some of these young people drop out of school involuntarily due to poverty or the sheer lack of interest in education.

Because schools help keep our youth from crime and drug addiction, staying out of it makes them easy prey. Youth development must therefore continue for all the young both in and out of school.

to develop the players’ skills as well as teach them discipline, endurance and strength.

On top of the list of Governor Daza’s renowned sports consultants are George Caliwan, former trainer of Olympic boxing medalist Onyok Velasco and also head coach of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP); Loreto “Popoy” Manaog, a former PBA player and now trains the Northern Samar basketball team; and chess national master Ricardo Bandal who coaches both the elementary and high school chess teams of the province.

Governor Daza also authorized giving cash incentives to athletes who win in the EVRAA, other regional and national sports competitions. Team champions receive P20,000, P15,000 for the second and P10,000 for the third. Winning pairs each receive P10,000 for every gold medal award, P7,000 for silver and P5,000 for bronze. For individual games, each gold medal is equivalent to a P5,000 cash incentive, P3,500 for silver, and P2,000 for bronze.

Since 2002, PGNS has also awarded scholarships to athletes who receive monthly allowance and tuition assistance. Boxing trainees receive food and living allowance. Provincial athletes also get free trainings, all at the expense of the provincial government.

The Capitol Gym, complete with comfort rooms, air-conditioning units, and gym equipment, was built for year-round trainings of the provincial boxing team before being sent to the regional and national competitions. Governor Daza also encouraged PGNS employees to use the facility to keep fit.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

All that the provincial government invested in sports has paid off. Talents have been discovered. Many children have been kept in school. Drug incidence was reduced. Crime rate remained low. And in many occasions, honor was brought to the province by its athletes.


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Governor Daza turns over to Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla the hosting of the 2009 EVRAA Meet in a meeting of the Regional Sports Committee at the Capitol in Catarman. The event was witnessed by DepEd Region 8 officials, DedEd Northern Samar Division key personnel

and local officials. Provincial athletes receive cash incentives from Governor Daza for bagging major medals in the 2009 EVRAA Meet held in Tacloban City.

Provincial dancesports enthusiasts competed for awards in the First Provincial Dancesport Competition sponsored by the provincial government on December 4, 2009 at the Ibabao, Hall, Capitol Building, Catarman.

First in the history of Northern Samar, it was overall champion in the 25-28 March 2008 EVRAA Meet, having bagged the most medals in the 24 events of the elementary and 28 of the secondary divisions.

The boxing team did not only won first place in the 2008 EVRAA Meet. It was able to win, in the person of Zosimo Apio, Jr., the bronze medal later in the 2008 PLDT/SMART National Open Women and Youth Amateur Boxing Tournament in Iloilo City, which paved the way for his membership in the 2008 Philippine Team. Six more boxers got awards, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals, in the 2nd PLDT/SMART National Open Amateur Boxing Championship in Bacolod City on 16-23 January 2009. The silvers were won by Eric Dulay of Laoang in the junior category and Rose Ann Monares of San Jose in the elite women category, while the bronze by Leonil Bordeos in the youth category and the rest in the elite men category. Aside from the cash incentives which all six boxers received from the provincial government, Monares and Dulay were made scholars by Smart, ABAP and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Meanwhile in the 2009 EVRAA Meet in Tacloban City, the province bagged again 23 golds, 25 silver and 13 bronze medals. Among the events in which the province placed first were the 1,500 meter-run for elementary girls, long jump-elementary girls, triple jump-secondary level, discuss throw-secondary level boys,

high jump-elementary boys, and dancesport-secondary level. The provincial team also became champion in the 2009 EVRAA, thus representing Region 8 in the Palarong Pambansa in Tacloban City and the National Open Baseball Competition Philippine Series in Manila held on 11-19 April 2009.

The province’s support to dancesport pair Mary Catherine Grace Villanueva and Kevin Quindao helped them bag the grand champion award in the 2009 Palarong Pambansa, Dancesport secondary category. Provincial delegate Angelica Getalado also won first place in the long jump-elementary category while boxer Paul Sacupon got bronze medal award in the school boy category, proving their versatility.

Governor Daza’s reputation as a sports enthusiast, as much as a sports supporter, has gained him long-term chairmanship of the Board of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) until 2008. He was also an honorary chairman of the Dancesport Council of the Philippines from 1996 to 2001.

At a flag ceremony, Governor Daza proudly presents provincial athletes who won silver and bronze medals in the 2nd PLDT-Smart National Open Amateur Boxing Championship in Bacolod City.

DepEd Undersecretary Franklin Sunga, Senator Mar Roxas and Governor Daza watch at the presentations by delegates in the opening of the 2008 EVRAA Meet at the Provincial Sports Center in Bgy. Cawayan, Catarman.

Governor Daza cheers with provincial athletes when declared overall champion in the 2008 EVRAA Meet held in Catarman.

Governor Daza, a dancesport aficionado, demonstrates his dexterity in the dance floor with his partner, the graceful and equally nimble Northern Samar Dancesport trainer, Sylvia Gonzales, in the recent town fiesta in Catarman.


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PGNS has also engaged the Canadian

Executive Services Organization’s (CESO) assistance through its Tourism Development Needs Assessment Mission, which produced the ‘Tourism Observations and Opportunities for Northern Samar’.

Marketing and promotion

The Provincial Tourism Office has been actively participating in travel and tourism fairs such as the yearly Philippine Travel Mart; WOW Philippines, Intramuros, Manila; Bahandi Eastern Visayas Trade Fair, Manila; and in other events such as the 4th Visayas-Mindanao International Travel and Tour Expo, Cebu (March 2008); RDC Week’s Regional Trade and Travel Exhibit, Tacloban (September 2008); One Visayas Travel; and Trade Fair, Cebu (February 2009).

A tourism information desk manned by tourism office staff was set up at the Catarman National Airport to attend to queries of tourists and guests. Brochures are displayed at the airport, hotels, cafés, restaurants, tourist establishments, and during travel fairs to inform tourists of what are in store for them in Northern Samar. The provincial tourism website was recently launched for wider market reach. Supplementary promotional materials like the full-color two-year Northern Samar calendar featuring the products and places of the 24 towns and the first ever postcard of Northern Samar highlighting its people, beaches, adventure activities, and products were also produced for distribution.

Media outfits that came to visit also provided media mileage for the province. ABS CBN’s ‘Tablescapes’ hosted by model-actress Angel Aquino and chef Bruce Lim featured Biri’s magnificent Rock Formation, Allen’s local ‘chili tahong in cocomilk’ recipe, and the native hand

-woven mats of Lavezares in one of their episodes; PAL’s Mabuhay and Cebu Pacific’s Smile in-flight magazines both featured Northern Samar in one of their 2009 issues. The province also found its way in the pages of the widely distributed Expat Travel and Leisure magazine.

The Provincial Tourism Office also spearheaded the establishment of the Catarman National Airport Pasalubong Center, which showcases quality bags and home decors made of indigenous materials by local entrepreneurs. Aside from these souvenirs, outgoing passengers, guests and tourists could also buy from the center native delicacy treats such as pili candies, piñato (a delicacy made of puffed rice, peanuts and sugar syrup), nilatikan (glutinous rice in cocomilk), rice puto seco, bottled tuna fish, crabs, and virgin coconut oil and coco vinegar products.

Tourism Development Support

To complement the tourism promotion program, the Provincial Tourism Office sought Representative Paul Daza’s assistance in coordinating with the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA). PTA has funded the construction of passenger pavilions in the municipalities of Lavezares, Biri, and San Antonio to provide a comfortable waiting area for tourists going to and from the islands. The passenger pavilion also provided indirectly a mechanism to regulate boat fares, and an embarkation-disembarkation system for the passengers’ welfare.

Tourism and Culture Promotion

Tourism and culture are inseparable; you cannot discover the first without experiencing the other. Northern Samar’s beautiful spots and diverse culture attract tourists from many parts of world, and the provincial government has no doubts as to the pivotal role that tourism plays in our economic development. To ensure that tourism and culture are amply provided attention during his administration, Governor Daza installed the Provincial Tourism Office and Provincial Culture and Arts Office in 2001. Various strategies have been designed to promote Northern Samar as a tourist destination.

TV host and model Angel Aquino chooses the Biri Rock Formations to feature in one of her ‘Tablescapes’ show.

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The Provincial Tourism Office also designed a competency and skills training program for tourism frontliners such as Tourism Appreciation and Competency Training for Tourism Frontliners and Service Providers, Tour Guiding, Festival Management Seminar-Workshops, Culture and Arts Workshops, Front Office Services, Housekeeping Services, Food and Beverage Services, Drivers’ Forum, and Tunay na Piyestang Pinoy Seminar-Workshop. The office also facilitates the Airport Group meetings and assisted municipalities in organizing their respective municipal tourism councils.

A good indicator of the bright prospects for tourism in the province is the increase in the number of airlines and flight frequencies serving the Manila-Catarman-Manila route (Table 1). For many years since the first commercial air carrier served Northern Samar, only one airline operates this route four times a week with an average of 40 passengers a day, or 160 a week. Presently, three airlines fly daily to Catarman with an average of 120 inbound passengers, or 840 passengers a week. The Cebu-Catarman-Cebu flight, which is expected to open soon, will surely encourage more island-hopping tourists to come to Northern Samar.

Historical Landmarking

Governor Daza regards culture and arts as anchors that keep people together in their quest for identity. To promote and preserve the Nortehanons’ culture and history, the Provincial Culture and Arts Office undertook a research on the historicity, authenticity, and antiquity of the churches of Bobon, Capul, Catarman, Catubig, Palapag, Pambujan, Laoang, and the Capul Lighthouse. The study used oral historical accounts of old townsfolk,

UEP Center for Samar Studies compilations, Rev. Msgr. Gaspar Balerite’s ‘Diocesan Ecclesiastical History’, and resources from the National Library and National Archives as references.

Research results were submitted to the Historical Preservation Division of the National Historical Institute (NHI) for consideration. In July 2009, the NHI team visited Northern Samar to conduct ocular inspection and validate the claims presented by the research results, which were confirmed as genuine and accurate.

The Capul church and fortress, Palapag church ruins and fortress, and the Capul lighthouse passed the standard criteria based on the NHI’s Standard Criteria for Selection of National Historical Landmarks. On the other hand, the churches of Bobon, Catarman, Catubig, Laoang, and Pambujan were classified as local historical landmarks because these structures have preserved only their external architecture while their original interiors have been altered.

PGNS, NHI and the Diocese of Catarman are set to unveil and landmark the historical and ecclesiastical sites of the Palapag church and fortress, Capul church and fortress, and Capul lighthouse this 2010. These historical and ecclesiastical sites are formally recognized as part of the Philippine history that every Nortehanon must be proud off.

Tourism and Culture Promotion

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Table 1. Northern Samar Tourism Statistics, 2008-2009 (Source: Provincial Tourism Office)

Tourism Indicators 2008 2009 No. of tourist arrivals 25,170 24,900

(Jan-Oct) No. of guests registered at the

Airport Tourism Info Desk 12,589

No. of airlines 2 3 Frequency:

Zest Air 4x/wk 4x/wk PAL Express 4x/wk daily Cebu Pacific daily

No. of bus operators 12 14 No. of recommended

accommodations 26 28

Total no. of recommended rooms

326 386

Air conditioned 221 223 Non-air conditioned 105 163

Total no. of dining facilities 14 18 No. of tourism related events/

activities 16 18

Commemoration of the 108th Anniversary of the Battle of Catubig on April 15, 2008 in Catubig, Northern Samar

In 2001, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) data revealed that the province had an average rice shortage of 21,000 metric tons (MT) or 21 million kilos a year between 1994 and 2001, with the highest shortage recorded in 2000 at almost 26,000 MT. This average shortage could be valued at roughly P400 million a year, the amount that leaves the provincial economy to cope with the domestic demand for rice.

The rice shortage has decreased under his administration (Figure 5). It is but logical that rice sufficiency tops Governor Daza’s program under Food Security.

From 2002 to 2009, Governor Daza allocated around P75 million for Food Security programs and projects, or an average of more than P9 million a year.

Farm Mechanization

Starting 2003, the Provincial Government of Northern Samar (PGNS) allocated about P8 million for Farm Mechanization to increase rice production by cultivating and converting idle lands into productive rice lands. The project bought 100 units of farm machineries like hand tractors, threshers and shallow tube wells and distributed these to rice-producing barangays, individual rice farmers, and farmer organizations at subsidized prices.

Rice Seed Program

The Rice Seed Program aims to increase the number of rice seed growers who will provide a steady local source of affordable and certified rice seeds especially during planting time and minimize supply dependence on other

Figure 5. Northern Samar Rice Deficiency (MT), 1994-2008 Source: Bureau of Agricultural Statistics


Northern Samar is an agricultural province with 55 percent of its 349,800-hectare total land area devoted to agriculture. Despite this agricultural advantage, the province suffers from production shortage of major agricultural products, namely, rice, vegetable, fish and livestock.

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POVERTY REDUCTION

Food Security

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provinces. Complementing this project is a series of Seed Production and Certification trainings, which is a requirement for accreditation as seed grower.

Another support project under the Rice Seed Program is the procurement and distribution of registered seeds to encourage seed growers to produce certified seeds. According to research, using certified seeds alone could increase production by around 8-10 percent. In 2009, the provincial government distributed 50 bags of registered seeds to seed growers under the ‘plant-now-pay-later’ scheme. PGNS also assists the Department of Agriculture on its Subsidized Certified Seeds Program.

Establishment of support facilities

To ensure the attainment of objectives of the Rice Sufficiency Program, PGNS established and operates support facilities like the Soil Laboratory, Seed Laboratory and Metarhizium Laboratory.

In 2008, the Metarhizium Laboratory was built to produce metarhizium, a fungus that destroys Rice Black Bugs and reduces infestation of rice areas in the province. Laboratory equipment, such as the inoculation chamber and laminar flowhood were purchased recently to increase the laboratory’s production capacity.

Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Project

The Help for Catubig Agricultural Advancement Project (HCAAP) is a P2.4 billion project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), formerly the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC). The

project aims to complete in the next 2-3 years an additional 4,500 hectares of irrigated ricelands in the Catubig Valley, which is considered the rice granary of the province and the region. When completed, these additional irrigated ricelands could provide 45,000 tons of rice a year, turning Northern Samar around from a net importer to a net exporter of rice.

PGNS takes an active role in ensuring the effective implementation of HCAAP. Governor Daza represents the provincial government in the HCAAP-Project Steering Committee composed of various implementing agencies, and sits as its chairperson. For its project counterpart, PGNS, through the Provincial Engineer’s Office, constructed the 4.9 kilometers of farm-to-market road in the Las Navas-Hagbay-Bulao area. It has

also deployed staff to the HCAAP Project Coordination Office to help monitor project implementation.

The construction of the Las Navas Bridge was another major support infrastructure of the HCAAP project. Completed in 2009 by the Department of Public Works and Highways, the bridge was inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on 16 June 2009. The bridge, which has connected the neighboring municipalities of Catubig and Las Navas with the rest of the province, and the concrete Las Navas-Catubig road, now allow farmers to easily bring their agricultural products from Las Navas to the market, and significantly reduces travel time from Las Navas to Catubig to 10-15 minutes. Previously, going to Las Navas from Catubig normally took 45 minutes to 1 hour mainly by boat.

Vegetable production

Another project under Food Security is the promotion of vegetable production. The provincial government funded municipal nurseries in various municipalities manned by PGNS agricultural technicians. These nurseries produce quality vegetable seeds that are

Food Security

Provincial Agriculturist Damian Acero explains to Gov. Daza and his staff the procedures in producing metarhizium, a green muscardine fungus which fights infestation of rice black bugs, at the Metarhizium Lab of the province.

The newly-renovated Provincial Research and Extension Center in Bgy. Galutan, Catarman where some agricultural trainings are held.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo unveils the Las Navas Bridge marker during its inauguration on June 16, 2009.

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distributed to farmers. In 2009, PGNS, through the Provincial Agriculture Office, conducted Organic Vegetable Production Training and distributed around 3,000 packs of assorted vegetable seeds. Other support facilities, such as the Provincial Food Terminal, serve as a market for farmers’ products.

To ensure that new varieties of vegetable and crops will thrive in our environment, PGNS maintains the Provincial Research and Extension Center (PREC) in Galutan, Catarman. Vegetable adaptability trials are held in this facility. Aside from researches and studies, the Provincial Research and Extension Center (PREC) also implemented the Sweet Corn and Luz Calamansi Production.

Livestock development

When Governor Daza learned that cattle population in the province was dwindling despite several cattle dispersals before and that consumers were shifting to carabao meat for their beef requirements, he immediately initiated a Cattle Dispersal Project in 2003. One-hundred fifty (150) heads of cattle have been distributed to recipient farmers and students. Aside from increasing the sufficiency of beef supply in the province, the project applied the buddy-buddy scheme such that each farmer recipient is paired with a veterinary or animal husbandry student of the University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) who resides in the same area as the farmer. This approach sought also to provide hands-on training to veterinary and animal husbandry students of UEP and, at the same time, provide a handy consultant to the farmer on proper cattle care and management.

Aside from the PGNS Cattle Dispersal Project, Governor Daza was able to secure funding from the Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program

(PACAP) to expand the Cattle Dispersal Project, this time, in partnership with UEP and using the Responsive Assistance Scheme (RAS). The PACAP-PGNS-UEP Cattle Dispersal Project has distributed 32 heads of cattle.

Fishery development

As a vital food source, the PGNS fishery projects do not solely focus on increasing production to meet local demand but also promotes the sustainability of our marine resources. In 2007, the provincial government initiated a consultative conference on illegal fishing, which aimed to create awareness and promote convergence in minimizing, if not eliminating, dynamite and illegal fishing activities in the province.

The activity paved for the organization of Bantay Dagat Task Forces in the barangay and municipal levels and prompted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Region-8 Office to provide patrol boats for the two districts of the province. The Provincial Agriculture Office also trained and deputized members of the Fishery Law Enforcement Teams (FLET) who conducted seaborne operations, and installed quarantine checkpoint signboards.

Payao fishing and small fishing gear assistance

PGNS also dispersed payaos and small fishing gears to discourage illegal fishing. Payaos attract fishes because they serve as food sanctuaries. A total of 30 units of shallow payaos have been installed in target coastal barangays, and are expected to boost fish catch in a sustainable manner.

The provincial government also bought around 500 sets of small fishing gears and distributed them to fishermen in Allen, San Isidro, Bobon, Lavezares, Catarman, and San Jose.

Food Security

Governor Daza distributes cattle to beneficiaries during project turnover on December 17, 2008 at the University of Eastern Philippines.

A beneficiary fisherman installs a payao in San Isidro, Northern Samar.

Provincial Research and Extension Center in-charge Carlos Ursua explains to farmers how to propagate sweet corn and Luz calamansi during a beneficiaries’ training at the PREC.

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Livelihood

Northern Samar’s increasing unemployment rate from 5.9 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2001 caused alarm to the new administration of

Governor Daza. The number of unemployed persons in 2000 was 56,000, with women composing the bigger percentage, as learned during the 2001 Poverty Summit he had convened.

Governor Daza’s definition of poverty is simply the lack of money, without which people could not buy food to eat, send their children to school, avail of health services, and enjoy other amenities. He believes that empowering people starts with creating opportunities that would enable them to sustain their income, and would eventually make them consumers of goods and services, especially education.

To develop the economic and social security of its

constituents, PGNS spent around P30 million in livelihood programs and projects between 2002 and 2009.

Northern Samar Coalition Against Poverty (NSCAP)

The Northern Samar Coalition Against Poverty (NSCAP) is a microfinance initiative of Governor Daza launched in 2004. It is patterned after the world-renowned Grameen bank approach, which originated in Bangladesh

and gained international recognition through the prestigious international Nobel prize awarded professor Muhammad Yunus, its founder. The Grameen replication in Northern Samar started with a series of scoping activities including the Unified Microfinance Workshop (2001), a microfinance training at the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Laguna (2002), creation of the Northern Samar Microfinance Council (2002), and an AusAID-sponsored study visit to Bangladesh (2004). Governor Daza joined the visit and immersed in its activities in Bangladesh for one week.


Figure 6. Northern Samar Rice Production and Rice Deficiency, 1994-2008 (in metric tons)

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While the PGNS investments are significant, the collaboration of the different stakeholders remains a key factor in achieving the desired results in all target areas.

In 2009, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) data (Figure 6) showed that our province’s rice shortage was significantly reduced from an average of more than 21,000 metric tons (MT) from 1994-2001 to 5,418 MT in 2008. Figure 6 shows that the declining rice shortage is attributed to the dramatic increase in rice production in 2008, which reached 60,604 MT.

RESULTS

Livelihood To buffer the

microfinance facility from political patronage, Governor Daza led the formation of the Northern Samar Coalition Against Poverty Foundation (NSCAPF) in 2003. The foundation started its operation in 2004 with a P19 million soft loan accessed by Governor Daza from the national government.

To cope with the clients’ increasing capital demand, NSCAPF entered into a memorandum of agreement with Fundacion Grameen Pilipinas, Inc (FGP) in June 2008 for an additional capital infusion of P18.5

million and transfer of management to it. The facility now reaches out to more poor women in the barangays, with improved systems and client-oriented staff. Through the joint efforts of Governor Daza and Representative Paul Daza, NSCAP clients had also availed of hospital assistance through free Philhealth insurance coverage.

NSCAP’s five-year operation has earned its reputation as a real pro-poor loan program - a 1.6 percent monthly interest, without collateral, and with an affordable weekly amortization. It has liberated poor women from the loan sharks who charge 20 percent (also known as ‘five-six’) monthly interest in addition to service and other charges. Its tremendous financial growth and service expansion are shown on Tables 2 and 3.

Industry Building

Coconut, abaca, rice and pili are among Northern Samar’s dominant agricultural products. Yet the lack of added value to these products deprives farmer producers of additional income and limits these products’ potential to become market-competitive.

Through Executive Order No. 3, series of 2009, Governor Daza created focal groups on coconut, abaca, rice, pili, and handicraft that will study the province’s comparative advantage with these products. The governor sits as convenor of all these groups with a co-convenor from lead partner government agencies or NGOs in each group.

Handicraft Project

The Focal Group-Handicraft, together with the Provincial Livelihood and Development Office (PLDO), conducted an inventory of different indigenous materials

Table 2. NSCAP Performance, 2004 and 2009

PERFORMANCE INDICATOR

AS OF OCTOBER 26, 2004

AS OF NOVEMBER

30, 2009 GROWTH RATE

No. of clients served 154 11,744 75 times increase; annual average of

15 times Barangays out-reached

3 386 43 times increase; annual average of 9

times Municipalities cov-ered

2 20 9 times increase; annual average of 2

times Loans portfolio P616,000 P68,900,00

0 111 times increase; annual average of

22 times Total assets P3,000,000 P86,600,00

0 28 times increase;

annual average of 6 times

No. of branches 1 11 10 times increase; annual average of 2

times No. of staff 4 53 12 times increase;

annual average of 2 times

Table 3. NSCAP Services and Number of Clients Served, 2004 and 2009

SERVICE AS OF OCTOBER 26, 2004

AS OF NOVEMBER 30, 2009

Loan program 154 11,744 Capital build-up (savings deposit)

154 11,744

Mabunga Bulig Asenso (special savings)

10,719

PhilHealth insurance 5,114 Higher education loan program

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A baker benefits from NSCAP’s microfinance program.

A resource person from the Cora Cares Foundation demonstrates how to make quality handbags during the Trainors’ Training in Bulacan attended by trainors from Northern samar.

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Livelihood available in the province, including the major products of abaca, coconut and pili. The inventory showed that the province has sufficient locally-sourced supply of raw materials for native handbags, which led to the launching of the ‘Northern Samar Handicraft Project’.

Cora Jacob, an internationally-known handbag designer and exporter, visited Northern Samar upon learning of the province’s abundance in indigenous handbag materials. She discussed with the Focal Group- Handicraft and PLDO arrangements to organize handicraft trainings for women. Five individuals were sent to the Cora Jacob Foundation in Bulacan for a month-long training in handbag making from 23 March to 25 April 2009. Four of the five trainees chosen came from the private sector as Governor Daza believes that business is the turf of the private sector.

Subsequent echo trainings by these five trained individuals followed in Northern Samar in: (1) Product Development Training for Weavers, 26 participants; (2) Product Standardization Machine Operation & Dyeing Techniques, 29 participants; and (3) Skills Enhancement Training for Mat Weavers conducted in the Municipalities of Las Navas, San Antonio, Allen, San Roque, Victoria and San Isidro, total 105 participants.

Some of those who have undergone the handicraft trainings are now into the handbag-making business and employ local weavers.

Coconut Industry Development

PGNS organized the First Provincial Coconut Summit on 3 April 2008, in partnership with the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) through Director Wilmar Lucero. The activity was attended by more than 200 coconut farmers from all over the province and brought about the creation of the Northern Samar Coconut Industry Development Council (NSCIDC).

The council aimed to promote the coconut industry and unify efforts towards its development. The governor sits as council chairperson, while Edgar Dones of Eastern

Visayas Partnership for Rural Development (EVPRD) representing the NGOs, sits as vice chairperson.

NSCIDC has prompted activities such as the Coconut Stakeholders’ Day (16-18 June 2008), Techno-Demo on Coconut Sugar Processing, and training on Integrated Coconut Processing (virgin coconut oil, coconut water, buko pie, and others). The NSCIDC also drafted the ‘Northern Samar Coconut Development Framework for Civil Society Organizations and Local Government Cooperation’, which was adopted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan as Resolution No. 21, series of 2009. The framework now serves as the province’s Coconut Industry Development Roadmap.

Skills Training

More than 2,000 individuals, mostly women, have acquired skills on candle making, sewing craft, baking and cake decoration, and others through PLDO’s various livelihood skills trainings in the past five years. PLDO is the merged department of the former Women’s Training Center (WTC) and Technology and Livelihood Development Center (TLDC).

The Northern Samar Public Employment Service Office (NS-PESO), which was named as Outstanding Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in Region VIII last 2008 by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), also partnered with Global School for Technological Studies in conducting technical trainings on Personal Computer (PC) Operations and Cellular Phone Repair/Servicing as well as Career Guidance and Employment Counseling, job fairs and employability enhancement trainings.

Pasalubong Center

In 2009, Governor Daza opened a Pasalubong Center in front of the Catarman Airport Terminal. The project came out of the governor’s intention to dignify vendors who wish to sell their products to airport passengers, guests and tourists.

Governor Daza looks on the handbags made by local weavers during a handbag-making training at PLDO.

Women make cakes as part of the free baking training sponsored by the provincial government at the Capitol’s Women’s Training Center.

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The center showcases quality products made by local entrepreneurs ranging from native delicacies such as pili candies, piñato (a delicacy made of puffed rice, peanuts and sugar syrup), nilatikan (glutinous rice in cocomilk), rice puto seco, bottled tuna fish, and crabs, to virgin coconut oil and coco vinegar products. Souvenir handicraft items such as quality bags made of indigenous materials and home decors are also available.

The provincial government works closely with the Association of Northern Samar Producers (ANSP) for the sustainable operation of the Pasalubong Center. The proposed area for another pasalubong center to be established at the Allen Seaport Terminal is under negotiations. Customers find for native tokens and delicacies at the Pasalubong Center located

across the Airport Terminal in Catarman.

Education

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The increasing enrolment in 2001, when Governor Daza was just starting his first term in office, carried with it many challenges in the basic education (BE) sector. Chronic shortage of schools, inadequacy in the number of teachers, and the low rating in the National Achievement Test, which showed that Northern Samar was weakest in the priority subjects of mathematics, science, and English indicated the declining education system in the province.

DepEd also has agricultural-industrial and technical- vocational curricula in 40 high schools in the province, yet it had no marked difference with the basic education (BE) curriculum. Graduates from these schools who cannot afford college or university education often ended up unemployed for lack of any special skills training.

Activation of the Provincial School Board

The governor lost no time in convening the members of the Provincial School Board, which he co-chairs with the DepEd Schools Division Superintendent Thelma Quitalig. Because there is no department in PGNS that handles education concerns, he looked to the school board as the venue to discuss pressing education issues. Northern Samar is the only province in Region 8, and probably one of the few in the country, whose school board meets at least once a month.

A product of the public school system, Governor Daza believes that ‘Education is the ultimate equalizer in a democratic society; It is the best measure of achievement for all, whether rich or poor.’ While education is commonly thought to be the sole concern of the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education, academic institutions, and schools, Governor Daza felt the compelling need to face the challenge of education development in Northern Samar by including it in his flagship program, FLESHER.


Governor Daza urges Lope de Vega National High School students to learn information technology in order to be globally competitive. The school received computer equipment from DepEd Secretary Florencio Abad.

Province-paid teachers and teacher extension positions

To deal with the teacher shortage problem immediately, Governor Daza and the PSB hired additional teachers paid from the Provincial Special Education Fund (SEF). Also, through Governor Daza’s ties with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and DepEd Secretary Florencio Abad, Northern Samar was allocated extension positions for teachers and principals. Table 4 shows the total number of extension positions obtained by Governor Daza.

Aside from having more students taught, a less obvious but substantial outcome brought by the 797 newly-hired teachers is the infusion of capital into the local economy through the teachers’ salaries. At P10,000 monthly salary, these employed teachers have brought in a total of P300 million approximately.

The province also hires personnel whenever schools express their need. Security guards or watchmen and utility workers are assigned to the different elementary and secondary schools to help maintain the

safety of students and cleanliness of school premises.

School facilities improvement

The water and sanitation (WATSAN) facilities of schools caught the governor’s attention in 2005 when he found out that of the 63 high schools in the province, 18 did not have any WATSAN facilities at all. Governor Daza issued a policy that future installations must always provide for both water and sanitation. UNICEF, at the request of the governor, granted P4 million for the construction of school WATSAN facilities, and US Peace Corps provided technical assistance. The Peace and Equity Foundation, through the Nortehanon Access Center, also gave a P3 million grant, while P2.5 million was accessed from Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), all for the same purpose.

School repairs and other facilities improvement also utilized the SEF, and sometimes the Economic Development Fund (EDF) of the province. Between 2001 and 2009, P24.47 million went to the improvement of school facilities and equipment. PGNS also partnered with UNICEF for school building construction with WATSAN facilities amounting to P2.4 million.

Strengthening Implementation of Visayas Education

AusAID saw through Governor Daza’s commitment to education. In 2007, the Strengthening Implementation of Visayas Education (STRIVE) project was launched in Northern Samar. The project aims to assist DepEd in

Education

Table 4. Number of Teacher Extension Positions Accessed, 2001-2009 (Source: DepEd)

Year Elementary Secondary Total

2001 28 8 36 2002 56 16 72 2003 27 16 43 2004 16 30 46 2005 12 23 35 2006 40 30 70 2007 55 54 109 2008 10 0 10 2009 189 187 376 TOTAL 433 364 797

Governor Daza discusses with members of the Provincial School Board measures to improve the performance of children in school.

Governor Daza turns over to DepEd officials the high school building constructed in Bgy. Galutan, Catarman .

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improving the performance of school students in mathematics, science, and English and to provide basic education and/or livelihood opportunities for out-of-school youth and their families.

The project’s components included strengthening education leadership and management capacity; enhancing the capacity of pre and in-service teacher training, particularly for improving the teaching of mathematics, science and English; supporting the adaptation, development, production and distribution of appropriate mathematics, science, English and other teaching/learning materials to schools; and assisting the delivery of basic education programs to retrieve out of school children and provide functional literacy and livelihood opportunities for out of school youth and their families.

Other support to Education

In March 2009, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Ordinance No. 4, series of 2009, authorized the provincial government to give cash incentives to elementary and secondary students who garner awards in regional and national academic competitions.

PGNS has established the Provincial Education Assistance Program (PEAP) to provide support through scholarships for underprivileged but deserving students. Every year, five (5) students per municipality avail free tuition and miscellaneous fees. A total of P2.65 million had been allocated for this program since 2002.

Students who wanted to earn money during summer breaks in preparation for school also availed from the Special Program for Employment of Students

(SPES), which was allocated a total of almost P2 million.

In 2003 and 2004, Lope de Vega National High School topped the NAT for two years in a row, with an average score of 86.67 (against the national average of 44.6 percent). This achievement put Northern Samar at the center of the country’s attention. DepEd, the Philippine Business for Social Progress, Microsoft Philippines, and Smart Communications Inc worked together and linked the school to the internet via satellite.

In the same year, five (5) other schools excelled in the NAT test: Alegria National High School, Bobon School for Philippine Craftsmen, Catarman National High School, Galutan National High School, and Victoria National High School.

For SY 2008-09, Northern Samar already topped the elementary net enrolment ratio in Region 8 at 87.4 percent (NSCB). The total number of high schools also increased from 58 in 2004-05 to 66 in 2008-09.

Education

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RESULTS

Governor Daza and Laoang Mayor Madeleine Ong accept the new school building at Rawis, Laoang from representatives of the donor, the Chinese Chamber Leyte

Chapter, Tacloban.

DepEd Northern Samar schools Division Superintendent Thelma Quitalig awards Governor Daza a plaque of recognition for his support to the education

Governor Daza gives a message during the unveiling ceremonies of the Basilio Chan Memorial Agricultural and Industrial School in Lavezares on 2 February 2003.

Shelter

Shelter is a universally identified basic human need that confronts mostly the landless and poor families. In development, the type of dwelling and tenurial security are socioeconomic indicators that imply the household occupants’ degree of protection and security, and possibility of displacement.

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Table 5 shows that in the 2000 Census, 1,078 (94,410 - 93,332) families in Northern Samar had no dwelling units. Of the 93,332 who had dwelling units, 21% or 19,559 households did not have tenurial security to their dwelling units, another report revealed. This situation also carries correlated issues of double occupancy and high dependency ratio.

Governor Daza took a proactive approach to the housing problem in Northern Samar when he assumed office in 2001. Although socialized housing is a mandate of the municipal LGUs under R.A. 7279 (Urban Development and Housing Act), the governor included Shelter in his flagship program, FLESHER.

He formed a new office, Provincial Land Use and Management Office (PLUMO), to take charge of housing (shelter).

GK Partnership

PGNS entered into partnership with Gawad Kalinga (GK) in building low-cost houses for the poor in Northern Samar. Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution No. 68, series of 2004 accredited the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation, Inc as a member of the Provincial Development Council (PDC). On 15 October 2005, the ‘LGU-GK Summit’ formally launched the partnership between GK and the provincial government.

GK is an internationally recognized NGO under its Executive Director Antonio Meloto, who was conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 2006.

GK ‘Saving You Village’ in Bgy. Daganas, Catarman was the pilot project of GK in Northern Samar. As in the GK model, labor was provided by volunteers and the intended beneficiaries. Sponsors donated

Type of Building Occupied Housing Units

Number of Households

Northern Samar 93,332 94,410 Single House 90,616 91,648 Duplex 1,098 1,127 Multi-unit Residential 267 273 Commercial Industrial/ Agricultural 58 59

Institutional Living Quarters 25 25 Other Housing Units 5 5 Not Reported 1,263 1,273

Table 5. Occupied Housing Units, Number of Households and Households per Occupied Housing Units by Type of Building in Northern Samar (Source: 2000 Census, NSO)


Governor Daza delivers his message during the LGU-GK Summit held on October 15, 2005 at the Capitol Building, Catarman.

materials to build 10 duplexes of two units, totaling 20 units for 20 families. PGNS contributed P1 million for the project. The GK beneficiaries were chosen by an independent committee from the homeless poor of Catarman.

After building the 20 housing units, PGNS continued to assist the site development such as the construction of access and concrete roads within the site, drainage system, and installation of water and power systems. Now, the ‘GK Saving You Village’ has a total of about 58 housing units.

With the success of the ‘GK Saving You Village’, PGNS entered into memoranda of understanding with six other LGUs to establish GK Villages in their municipalities, namely; Bobon, Mondragon, San Isidro, Allen, and San Roque. Governor Daza looks forward to the completion of the GK villages in these municipalities.

Capitol Housing Project

The Capitol Housing Project was conceived when Governor Daza discovered that most of the provincial government employees do not own the houses they live in. He brought the National Housing Authority (NHA) to a joint undertaking in the land development of the project site.

The Capitol Housing Project has an area of 4.7 hectares located in Bgy. Galutan, Catarman. NHA acquired the lot through Governor Daza’s countryside development fund when he was still a member of the House of Representatives. Soon after he assumed as governor in 2001, he negotiated with NHA to donate the land to the provincial government.

The site has already been subdivided into 282 housing lots. Governor Daza ensured that the housing project has basic support infrastructure like drainage, concrete roads and alleys. Power lines and water system will be installed this 2010.

At present, about 100 PGNS employees have availed of the housing project through contracts to sell. The Provincial Land Use and Management Office (PLUMO) facilitates the loan applications for lot acquisition of the beneficiaries with the Pag-IBIG Fund.

Community Mortgage Program

PLUMO also helped organize three (3) poor community groups in Bgys. Bangkerohan, Macagtas and Ipil-ipil in Catarman. These groups of informal settlers were formed into homeowners associations or cooperatives under the Community Mortgage Program.

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The Capitol Housing Project located in Bgy. Galutan, Catarman has the required infrastructure support.

The ‘GK Saving You Village’ in Bgy. Daganas, Catarman Governor Daza cuts the ceremonial ribbon to inaugurate the

GK Saving You Village in Catarman. GK Executive Director Antonio Meloto and land donor Thelma Singzon assisted.

Governor Daza turns over the symbolic key to housing beneficiary couple, Aldrin and Liza Sayde, during the awarding and turnover of provincial government-funded houses in ‘GK Saving You Village’ in Bgy Daganas, Catarman

Governor Daza and Engr. Virgilio Dacalos of the National Housing Authority shake hands after jointly unveiling the marker for the Capitol Housing Project

When health services were devolved to the province in 1991, many were optimistic that it would enhance healthcare delivery at the local level. Ten years passed, but the health profile of Northern Samar had not significantly improved as of 2001. The prevalence rate of malnutrition remained high. Common causes of mortality and morbidity were pneumonia, tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases while lifestyle-related diseases contributed to the rising mortality. Water-borne diseases such as schistosomiasis and diarrhea also persisted.

In the early part of his administration, Governor Daza declared Northern Samar a pro-life province. His stand is based not only on moral grounds, but also on economic and social ones. This he arrived at after due analysis and reflection.

Government hospitals, with their poor and inadequate facilities had the primary burden of health service delivery. There was also lack of access to safe water and sanitation facilities, no blood bank and no health insurance for the poor. Public health workers were poorly paid.

There were governance-related issues as well, such as limited financial resources, lack of knowledge on hospital financial management and reporting, inept hospital administrative management, inefficient health information, and faulty procurement and logistics management.

In response to these health issues, Governor Daza

came up with a comprehensive healthcare program which addressed both the preventive and curative aspects of health.

Hospital Facilities and Services

Healthcare services are primarily delivered by the provincial government through its network of hospitals: the provincial hospital in Catarman and eight (8) district hospitals located in Laoang, Catubig, Gamay, Allen, Biri, Capul, San Vicente, and San Antonio. Since devolution,

the provincial government has taken over the maintenance and daily hospital operations cost of all nine hospitals, allocating year after year extra fund for improvements and repairs. Since 2001, it has spent no less than P58 million pesos for hospital facility improvements and medical equipment excluding the cost of personnel services and other operational expenditures. In 2007 alone, P11.3 million went for the improvement of district hospitals.

Northern Samar Provincial Hospital. The Northern Samar Provincial Hospital, a secondary hospital, has been rendering outpatient consultations, in-patient services in pediatrics, internal medicine, OB-gynecology, emergency and elective surgery, dentistry, optometry, radiology and physical therapy. It has maintained a clinical laboratory, water testing laboratory, pharmacy and blood bank, in addition to its operating room, delivery room, and emergency room. It operates both free and private wards.

For quality healthcare delivery, Governor Daza has recruited competent staff to man the provincial hospital. The departmentalized services in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics and OB-gyne are presently headed by medical specialists who hold diplomates or are fellows in their respective sub-specialties. The Laboratory Department has a trained physician who has undergone four years Residency Training in the Department of Pathology and Laboratories, and has a diplomate from the Philippine Society of Pathologists. Governor Daza has also hired 174 nursing personnel for all its hospitals, along with medical technologists, other medical personnel, administrative staff and casual employees.

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Its 144 actual bed capacity, beyond its authorized bed capacity of 100, has enabled NSPH to cater to its in-patients, many of whom are from RHU referrals and from other hospitals and clinics.

Infirmary. Unlike other government hospitals in the region, NSPH, through Governor Daza’s initiative, installed an infirmary ward for the free and exclusive hospitalization of provincial government employees, both regular and casual, including their dependents.

Nursing Affiliates’ Base. NSPH serves as base hospital for the nursing affiliates of the University of Eastern Philippines College of Nursing, Colegio de San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila and the Eastern Visayas Central Colleges. This arrangement enables nursing students to gain practical knowledge and experience.

Hospital Upgrading. The rapid advancement in medical science and technology and the increasing demand for health services due to the increase in population prompted Governor Daza to work for the upgrading of the provincial hospital into the tertiary care level. This requires installation of additional infrastructures, facilities and equipment, and manpower support.

To complement the provincial government’s limited financial resources, Governor Daza lobbied for national government support which got him in 2008 a P13 million funding for the NSPH upgrading. Before June 30 of this year, Governor Daza expects the provincial hospital to be equipped with more modern facilities, with wards renovated and infrastructures improved.

With the crafting of the Provincial Investment Plan for Health (PIPH), Governor Daza ensured alignment of hospital improvements and management actions to achieve the goal of upgrading first the NSPH and afterwards, the district hospitals. Included are the construction of a building annex for laundry and carpentry; rehabilitation of the fire protection system through the installation of sprinkler system, extinguishers, hydrants and alarms; expansion of the hospital building for

additional 12 private rooms, and relocation of the isolation room; improvement of the blood bank facility and water system; and the procurement of additional medical and non-medical equipment.

Health Personnel Benefits

In recognition of their dedicated hospital work, Governor Daza, in 2008, increased the subsistence allowance of health personnel to P1,500 and laundry allowance to P150 per month or a 100% compliance of the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers subsistence and laundry allowance requirement. Meanwhile, in 2009, the provincial government paid 20% of the required hazard pay of public health workers, increasing it to 40% at the opening of 2010.

Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Health Stations

Since he assumed the provincial chief executive seat in 2001, Governor Daza has maintained more than 2,500 barangay health workers (BHWs) to assist in the delivery of basic healthcare services in the barangay level. During his incumbency, he increased the incentives of BHWs from P50 to P150 a month to promote health workers’ efficiency in the monitoring of the nutritional status of children, vaccine administration, nutrition education, health awareness campaigns and other basic healthcare service delivery. Starting January 2010, BHW incentives were further increased to P300.

To enhance the program, Governor Daza required all BHWs to undergo revalidation, discontinuing the services of inactive health workers. Those retained were re-trained for updating of their knowledge and skills in first aid, prevention and management of simple illnesses and other basic health information.

The provincial government also authorized the construction of barangay health stations in the province, allocating more than P2 million in 2004 alone.

Medical and Dental Missions

In the last nine years, the provincial government has also worked with charitable institutions, and local and international organizations, in the conduct of medical and dental missions. Aside from the use of hospital facilities, it has deployed medical personnel and staff in the various medical missions conducted in the province. The Medical and Dental Mission of St. Luke’s Medical Center last January 24-30, 2009 has recorded 80 eye operations performed at the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital,

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The hallway leading to the infirmary ward at NSPH

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more than 1,000 dental patients served in Lavezares, and a significant number of major operations at the Allen District Hospital.

The provincial government, through the Provincial Health Office (PHO) and NSPH, also extended assistance to the People’s Government Mobile Action (PGMA) Medical and Dental Mission held on 17-19 March 2009 in Catubig, San Roque, Rosario San Jose and Catarman. A total of 4,085 medical and 942 dental patients were served by the mission.

Other medical and dental missions in collaboration with the provincial government were the Caravan of Social Services organized by the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas on 8 July 2009 where more than 1,000 availed of free medical treatment and 300 of dental treatment; Medical and Dental Civic Action Program (MEDCAP) on 4-5 December 2008, which rendered dental and circumcision services in Bgy. Malobago and Coroconog, San Roque; National Kidney Transplant Institute Medical, Surgical and Dental Mission on 19-22 May 2006; and the 75-person contingent of the Philippine-Minnesotan Medical Association Medical and Dental Mission in 2006 in three locations: Northern Samar Provincial Hospital, Allen District Hospital and G.B. Tan Memorial Hospital (Laoang). Some of these missions performed also free minor and major surgical procedures.

Health Insurance for the Poor

To give every Nortehanon, especially the poor, access to hospital care services, the provincial government devised a health-insurance-for-the-poor-program, targeting 60,000 families or 85% of the province’s indigent population. As of December 2009, 57,195 families have already been enrolled by Governor Daza and Representative Paul Daza in Philhealth. This program allowed beneficiary-enrollees to access hospital treatment,

laboratory procedures, medicines and hospitalization in any Philhealth-accredited hospital or medical facility in the country.

The initiative has sent waves of good reviews from the top management of Philhealth, which cited PGNS through Governor Daza as Best Employer in the province for the government sector on 24 February 2009. In 2009 also, Philhealth recognized Northern Samar as one of the ‘Elite 21’ provinces to have attained universal coverage.

Water and Sanitation

Underscoring Governor Daza’s commitment to address the water and sanitation problem of the province, the provincial government convened the Sangguniang Bayan and Sangguniang Panlalawigan Health Committee chairpersons and planning officers from the 24 towns as well as representatives of national government agencies, academe, business sector, NGOs and POs for the First Provincial Water and Sanitation Summit on 16 March 2009 at the Capitol.

The event led to the organization of the Provincial Water and Sanitation Council, tasked to periodically review the water and sanitation situation of the province, recommend policies on water and sanitation, and coordinate with other agencies on environmental protection.

In her keynote address on the occasion, UNICEF Country Representative Vanessa Tobin appreciated the strong leadership of Governor Daza and thanked him as well for his support to UNICEF’s programs.

Governor Daza, has long partnered with UNICEF, municipal LGUs, Department of Education, PACAP, and the PTCAs, in the implementation of water and sanitation projects.

Barangay health workers listen to Governor Daza speak about the provincial government’s health program during a recent distribution of BHW incentives at the Capitol.

Governor Daza witnesses elderly patients examined by eye experts of a free medical-surgical mission conducted at the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital.

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Philhealth beneficiaries receive insurance cards from Governor Daza under the Philhealth Para sa Masa program of the provincial government and First District Rep. Paul Daza.

These include 6 units of deep well projects in Poblacion, Gamay; 2 units of deep well in Bgy. Look, Lapinig; elevated water tank in Bgy. Mabini, Lapinig; 2 well in Bgy. Tarusan, Laoang; water supply system in Bobon Provincial Jail; water supply facility in Galutan National High School; and rehabilitation of the Somoroy Water System in Palapag.

The provincial government, jointly with UNICEF, has also completed the following water and sanitation programs:

Community water supply facilities in Bgy. Jangtud, Palapag, Bgy. San Agustin, Lavezares and Makiwalo Integrated School, Mondragon

Toilets with water facility in Potong National High School, Lapinig; Bantayan National High School, San Roque; Cawayan Integrated School, Catarman; Silvino Lubos Vocational School, Silvino Lubos; San Isidro Agro-Insductrial School, San Isidro; Jangtud Integrated School, Palapag; Bobon Central Elementary School, Bobon; and Libas Elem. School, Lavezares

School toilets in Pangpang Integrated School, Palapag; Buenavista National High School, Rosario; Cabatuan National High School, Palapag; and Bgy. San Agustin, Lavezares

Blood Bank

In response to the increasing incidence of AIDS and other transmissible diseases resulting from unsafe blood transfusion, Governor Daza established the blood collecting unit, also known as the provincial blood bank, in the Provincial Health Office.

He supported an intensified campaign for voluntary blood donations through blood program orientations and

blood-letting campaigns initially at the Provincial Capitol, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila school, Catarman PNP Station and Camp Sumoroy of the Philippine Army, and later extended to the other areas of Northern Samar. This produced a collection of 1,210 blood units in 2008, exceeding the blood bank’s target of 670 units per year. Blood collection increased to 1,368 units in 2009 following 16 blood-letting advocacy campaigns in different parts of the province and registered 237 new voluntary donors which included professionals, national and local government employees, students and private citizens.

Lifestyle-related Diseases Control Program

The provincial government also invested in a lifestyle-related diseases control program focused on the

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Governor Daza, UNICEF focal officer Augusto Rodriguez and DepEd schools division superintendent Thelma Quitalig open the newly constructed toilet with water facility in Cawayan Integrated School, Catarman, one of the water and sanitation projects of the provincial government in partnership with UNICEF, DepEd and the PTCA.

PACAP Northern Samar project coordinator Lourdes Olmedo inspects with Governor Daza the newly completed water system project in San Jose, prior to its turn-over to the barangay.

Blood bank staff extracts samples from on blood donations and conducts screening for hepatitis, HIV and other transmissible diseases.

The Blood Collecting Unit periodically conducts mass blood-letting provincewide.

The blood refrigerator where blood collected is stored.

prevention and control of life-style related ailments such as cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or TB, and asthma. The program widely promoted healthy and disciplined lifestyle of no smoking, no alcohol, no drugs, proper nutrition, exercises and stress management. Advocacy and health education campaigns were made during diabetes month celebrations in July of each year, heart month program in February and lung month in August.

In 2009, Governor Daza approved the conduct of healthy lifestyle trainings where 76 RHU personnel and school nurses from the 24 towns of the province participated. The program included the establishment of healthy lifestyle clinics in the RHUs, with 20 lifestyle clinics organized at the close of 2009. It also distributed 80 CD copies of the DOH-produced ‘Hataw ‘ exercises to the RHUs, PGNS offices, NSPH and the 8 district hospitals of the province.

The provincial government’s TB program, in cooperation with the Department of Health, has provided the necessary facility and medical personnel for the examination and treatment of patients. Likewise, its anti-dengue campaign, also in coordination with DOH, has made possible the monitoring, treatment and fumigation of dengue-positive areas to destroy breeding sites.

During the recent swine flu threat, Governor Daza instructed a massive information campaign and the monitoring of suspected cases of the deadly virus in the province.

In addition to its disease prevention efforts, the provincial government through its designated program

coordinator also aided diabetics in managing their day-to-day health. Through the Northern Samar Provincial Diabetics Association organized in 2003, it assisted in the regular monitoring of the members’ fasting blood sugar (FBS), blood pressure and cholesterol levels and distributed maintenance medicines. As of 2009, it has recorded around 350 active members.

Nutrition Program

Governor Daza, in a move to reduce malnutrition in the province, allocated a total of P5 million for the program in the last three years. This helped intensify nutrition education in the 24 towns, conduct of mothers’ literacy classes, 90-day feeding program for pre-school children in nutritionally-depressed barangays, and greater advocacy campaign for LGUs’ support to nutrition program management. He also took in more barangay nutrition scholars (BNS) to support the provincial government’s nutrition activities in the barangay. Northern Samar was recently declared by NNC as 2nd best performing province in Region 8 in its Monitoring and Evaluation on Local Level Plan implementation (MELLPI) award for 2009.

Country Program for Children – Health Component

Through the Country Program for Children (CPC), a partnership project with UNICEF, the provincial government has engaged in extended program on immunization (EPI), vitamin A supplementation to mothers and children, supplementary feedings in the barangays, and conduct of trainings for basic child care and management of early childhood illnesses. Health personnel conduct trainings for obstetrics care to reduce maternal mortality.

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Provincial Health Office staff dance the healthy lifestyle ‘Hataw’ exercises as part of their advocacy on the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases.

Governor Daza administers vitamin A to a child during the Libreng Bakuna and Vitamin A supplementation program at the Capitol which promotes immunization, breastfeeding and food supplementation of children. The program is jointly sponsored by DOH and UNICEF.

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Being largely an agricultural economy, the province also feels the threat of climate change, which is expected to have greater impact on agricultural economies. The governor just knew that Environment had to be included in his priority programs.

Creation of the Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office

To enable the provincial government to focus on the province’s sustainable environmental conservation, Governor Daza issued Executive Order No. 13 on 13 August 2006 creating the Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office (PGENRO). With the establishment of PGENRO, the provincial government got an arm that would focus on environmental concerns such as solid waste management, forest resource management, coastal resource management, biodiversity and protected area management, and small-scale mining and mines-related concerns. In just a span of more than three years, the PGENRO has made significant achievements for sustainable ecosystems.

Ecological Solid Waste Management Program

Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001) prohibits open dumpsites. Yet municipal LGUs were all practicing the ‘hakot-tambak’

system. The province generates approximately 278,452 kgs. of daily waste. To solve the waste disposal problem, the Provincial Solid Waste Management Board (PSWMB) was organized with the governor as chairperson. Northern Samar was the first province in the country to champion the ‘zero-waste’ model of solid waste management (SWM).

Northern Samar is also the first province in the country to formulate a 10-year Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, which outlines the future ecological solid waste initiatives of the province from year 2008 to year 2017. The plan was formulated and endorsed by the PSWMB on 11 December 2007, reviewed by the Department of Environment and Natural

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Northern Samar’s beautiful and rich environment is being threatened. In 2001, Governor Daza immediately saw the unsystematic collection of solid wastes, called ‘hakot-tambak,’ which were disposed into open dumpsites. Despite Northern Samar being declared a part of the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP), logging and slash-and-burn activities continued to despoil our forests. Coastal resources were declining. ‘Kinis’ or mud crablets the size of matchboxes are rampantly poached for other provinces. Various economic and livelihood activities, unregulated use, and the rapid increase of resource users altogether put a strain on our limited natural resources. Governor Daza took appropriate and urgent steps against environmental destruction.


A member of the Luisita Upland Farmers’ Association plants a tree in Bgy. Luisita, Victoria, N. Samar where 6 hectares of forestland is being rehabilitated by the group.

The Capul Agro-Industrial School Material Recovery Facility was adjudged champion in the Search for Waste-Free School.

Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Region 8, and approved by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) in 2009.

Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) is piloted in the municipality of Mondragon. Prior to the piloting, PGENRO conducted waste analysis and characterization study and facilitated the formulation of barangay ESWM operational plans to 18 barangays. The municipal solid waste management operational and action plans were augmented by the creation of the municipal solid waste management boards (MSWMB). Seventeen (17) municipalities have MSWMBs and 12 have municipal solid waste management plans. To expand the ESWM implementation, the province has initiated eco-police deputation seminars in the municipalities of Catarman, Mondragon, Palapag, and Gamay.

PGNS has also conducted searches for waste-free barangays and school champions in 2007 and 2008 in partnership with DepEd-Northern Samar Division, Mother Earth Foundation, and municipal LGUs. In 2009, the provincial government launched the Green Ibabao Zero-Waste Award (GIZA) to enhance SWM advocacy in the municipal and barangay levels.

PGENRO continuously provides LGUs with ESWM technical assistance through trainings and seminars, waste analysis characterization survey, and IEC materials.

Health care wastes

In 2008, PGENRO partnered with the international NGO, Health Care Without Harm (HCWM), which advises on health waste issues. Northern Samar was the first

province to mainstream health waste concerns with municipal solid waste management programs. It ensures that health care wastes which are classified as hazardous, infectious, and toxic (HIT) are confined only within health care facilities. Five district hospitals (Allen, San Antonio, Gamay, Laoang, and Catubig) have availed of needle crushers from HCWM.

Because of the lethal effects of mercury on humans and the environment, PGENRO has also teamed up with HCWM in conducting environmental health fora in the province, advocating against the use of thermometers, sphygmomanometers, and other health care gadgets that contain mercury. Mercury spill kits were also provided to the Northern Samar Provincial Hospital and San Vicente District Hospital.

Coastal Resources Management Program

Coastal resources management protects and manages the living and non-living components in the coastal areas in a sustainable manner. “The coastal environment as an open-access resource should be protected from wanton use and exploitation,” is Governor Daza’s burning call to Nortehanons towards sustainable use of natural resources.

PGENRO partnered with different agencies to revitalize the Biri-Lavezares-Rosario-San Jose (Biri-LAROSA) protected landscape-seascape. The Biri-LAROSA Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) members drafted the general management and eco-tourism business plans of the area to ensure that the present state of these protected areas will not be compromised. PAMB Biri-LAROSA has 58 members from local and national government agencies (PGENRO, Provincial Agriculture Office, Provincial Tourism Office,

ENVIRONMENT Environment

Bgy. Chairman of Cababto-an, Pambujan receives from Governor Daza a shredder machine under the Small Fund Assistance Program of the

provincial government

Governor Daza, with former Mayor Francisco Rosales and other local officials, inspects a proposed dump site. The province has been providing support for the development of Catarman’s dumpsite.

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Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources), barangay local governments (Biri-8, Lavezares-14, San Jose-8, and Rosario-8), non-government organizations (KPSI, SPPI, CERD, and TROWEL), and people’s organizations (SAMPCA and YES-MOVE).

With PGNS assistance, three fish sanctuaries have been declared. The Cabaungon Grande in San Jose, Sangputan in Rosario, and Hirapsan in Mondragon. These were found abounding with corals, which serve as carbon sinks. The provincial government allotted P280,000 for fish sanctuaries maintenance. PGENRO also initiated the reconstitution and deputization of Bantay- Dagat and Bantay-Baybay Dagat task forces in the municipalities of Biri, Lavezares, Rosario, and San Jose, in coordination with BFAR. An ordinance was also enacted which bans the poaching of less than matchbox-sized crabs.

PGENRO also spearheaded coastal clean-ups in different municipalities coinciding with the Annual International Coastal Clean-up in September.

Forest Resource Management

Aside from raw materials for economic activities, the forest ecosystem provides carbon sinks, impelling Governor Daza to call for the “sustained and consolidated efforts to protect our environment not only for the present generation but also for all generations to come.”

Towards this end, the province had been working closely with DENR and supported the implementation of

the ‘Catubig Watershed Rehabilitation Project’. It has likewise endorsed the planting of pili in erosion-prone and watershed areas in Allen and Lavezares with funding assistance from PACAP, in collaboration with NGOs and POs.

The provincial government of Northern Samar sponsored the Samar Island Natural Park (SINP) to become a ‘legislative protected area,’ a United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-assisted project that aims to preserve the remaining forests in Samar Island.

In order to regenerate the once denuded areas, four community-based partners received assistance from the provincial government for its Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM): Luisita Upland Farmers Association (LUFA) of Bgy. Luisita, Victoria; Samahan ng Magsasaka sa Palanit of Bgy, San Isidro; Cervantes Farmers Association of Bgy. Cervantes, Catarman; and Bgy. Cablangan, Mondragon. To date, 42.6 hectares in the province have been reforested. PGENRO also initiated the planting of 20,000 tree species in Bgy. Luisita, Victoria and Bgy. Palanit, San Isidro, as well as distributed thousands of fruit trees (lanzones, rambutan, calamansi, and pili) and indigenous tree species (narra, apitong, lawaan, almaciga) in the four CBFM partner beneficiaries.

Climate change

Climate change has become a global issue that has not spared even our province. The greenhouse effect, or increase in global temperatures brought about by waste gases, is expected to cause changes in global air and ocean circulation patterns, which in turn will alter climates in different regions of the world.

As the provincial government’s proactive response, PGENRO has been linked with local and international partners for the establishment of a ‘provincial sovereign forest’ that would become the province’s carbon sink. Seven hundred thirty-three (733) hectares of protected forests is being worked out with the municipalities of Victoria (329 hectares), Catarman (200 hectares), and San Isidro (104 hectares). To safeguard these forests, the provincial government, in coordination with the Environmental Laws Advisory Council (ELAC), conducted an orientation-seminar on Protection Forest in CBFM areas for the deputation of 32 Bantay-Gubat groups in Victoria (4), Palanit (6), Cervantes (2), Mondragon (6), and province (14).

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San Vicente residents participate during the September 2008 International Coastal Clean-up.

Revenue Generation Local government units were bestowed with tax collection powers by the Local Government Code of 1991. Yet many LGUs have not fully exercised this authority to their advantage. In 2001, Northern Samar’s 98% dependence on the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) manifested in its inability to generate local income, brought by the lack of a revenue generation program, an outdated revenue code, poor record- keeping, obsolete tax maps that do not reveal

land development and improvements, and manual tax assessment.

When Governor Daza assumed office in 2001, he faced the realities of local government financial resource constraints. In an effort to methodically work the province out of full dependence on IRA, Governor Daza created the Revenue Generation Group (RGG) through Executive Order No. 11, series of 2004. The group, composed of Local Finance Committee (LFC) members and other revenue-contributing departments, was an expanded LFC. In addition to LFC-mandated functions such as forecasting collections for the budget year and estimating revenues and receipts to support proposed budgets, RGG was tasked to source out new revenue policies and measures, and institute new tax collection schemes for improved efficiency.

Capacity development for Revenue Generation Group members

The RGG might have been filled with enthusiasm to commence their work, but its members realized that they did not know how and where to start. In 2004, RGG members were sent on a study tour to the provincial governments of Bulacan, Batangas, and Albay, three of the top LGU performers in the area of revenue generation, to learn from their experiences. A follow-up training program, ‘Strengthening the Provincial Government’s Financial Governance through an Institutionalized Revenue Generation Program’ was conducted by the Philippines-Australia Human Resource Development Facility (PAHRDF) in 2006.

The training produced, among others, the 2006 Provincial Fiscal Plan, which served as RGG’s first

roadmap towards achieving objectives along revenue collection increases and enhanced tax collection efficiency. Priority programs included in the plan were the revision of the Omnibus Revenue Code, the adoption of the electronic Real Property Tax System (eRPTS) and the development of information systems (IS) that support revenue generation, such as Geographic Information System (GIS).

Policy formulation

The enactment of the Northern Samar Omnibus Revenue Code through Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Ordinance No. 23, series of 2005, approved by Governor Daza on 11 January 2006, was considered as a major breakthrough by RGG members, who set to motion the crafting of the code. Prior to the Code’s revision, the province was deprived of income that could have been collected from new sources and services, as well as

PAHRDF trainees, including past RGG chair Leisser Africa and incumbent chair Allan Valenciano confer with the head of the enterprise department of the Provincial Government of Bulacan on product packaging and labeling.


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Revenue Generation

Encoders input data from the cleansed Field Appraisal and Assessment Sheets (FAAS) into the eRPTS database under the supervision of Emmanuel Tafalla, project coordinator from the Provincial Assessor’s Office.

Eduardo Custorio, assistant department head of the Provincial Assessor’s Office, leads the parcillary mapping activities.

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increments arising from the effects of inflation and price increases.

Later the Implementing Rules and Regulations were passed through SP Ordinance No. 1, series of 2006. With the authority provided by the code, PGNS has been able to collect taxes and fees from sand and gravel, cockpit arena operators, passenger ports, as well as rent from PGNS properties. Notable increases in Real Property Tax (RPT) collections paved the way for increases in the Special Education Fund (SEF), which helps finance the Education program of Governor Daza under the FLESHER agenda.

The 2005 Omnibus Revenue Code is being reviewed and amended.

Tax-mapping

Tax mapping is an inventory of real properties to identify property owners and boundaries and eliminate tax records inconsistent with field data, non-existent real property units (RPUs), and double assessments, all of which could result in bloated tax base and uncollected real property taxes. Moreover, tax maps establish a systematic property records system that is easily adapted to data computerization or eRPTS.

Out of the province’s 24 municipalities, only 16 were mapped under the USAID-funded Local Development Assistance Program – Real Property Tax Administration (LDAP-RPTA) project implemented by the Department of Finance (DOF) in 1993. RGG reinvigorated the tax mapping activities of the seven (7) remaining municipalities by entering into memoranda of agreement with these municipal LGUs. The MOA stipulates that PGNS will provide 50 percent of the tax mappers’ wages,

tax mapping forms, and technical assistance.

Electronic Real Property Tax System

The electronic Real Property Tax System (eRPTS) was designed to provide efficient, accurate and transparent processing of assessment and collection of real property taxes. As soon as the system was deployed by the National Computer Center, Governor Raul Daza did not waste time adopting it.

In 2007, PGNS allotted P4.66 million to commence the implementation of the eRPTS program with the objective of improving tax administration. The Provincial Assessor’s Office validates the data that encoders input from the cleansed Field Appraisal and Assessment Sheets (FAAS) into the eRPTS database.

When project monitoring revealed that the rate of encoding was slow, Governor Daza approved RGG’s recommendation to pay data encoders per FAAS inputted into the eRPTS database. The new payment scheme propelled the rate of encoding and in a span of five months, the encoding achieved a 50 percent accomplishment, or 63,300 out of the 125,000 total number of FAAS. Completion of the database build-up is expected before the second quarter of 2010.

The provincial government also advocates the adoption of eRPTS by municipalities in order to unify the municipal and provincial tax records, assessment and collection. Municipalities with completed RPU database or eRPTS-ready include Lavezares, Rosario, Allen, San Jose and Pambujan. PGNS extended technical and financial assistance to Lope de Vega for the deployment of the system in 2009.

Partnership with municipal treasurers and assessors

Real property taxes (RPT) compose 71 percent of our local taxes, shown by Figure 7, which is why PGNS

needs the cooperation and partnership of barangay and municipal LGUs. In recognition of the role of the municipal treasurer’s office, the provincial government awards plaques of recognition and P5,000 cash incentives to high performing treasurers who attain a collection efficiency of 65% on the current year and 35% on the collectible amount from prior years.

Figure 7. Sources of Local Taxes, 1997-2008 (Source: COA )

PGNS also agreed through a MOA with municipal mayors for the conduct of tax mapping activities in the remaining seven (7) unmapped municipalities. The municipal assessors lead the organization of tax mapping teams that are composed of locals who are familiar with the municipalities’ terrains. Orientations and trainings to the tax mapping teams, tax mapping forms, 50 percent of taxmappers’ wages, and project monitoring are provided by the provincial government.

Municipal LGUs have also organized their municipal revenue generation groups (MRGGs) to synchronize with the provincial RGG’s operational plans. Six of these MRGGs are functional as reported during the 2010 Provincial Local Revenue Generation Action Planning, which was participated by the municipal treasurers and assessors. The RGG intends to assist the revitalization of 14 non-functional MRGGs.

One-time tax relief

When the RGG found out that tax delinquent accounts have accumulated to P92 million since 1995, the RGG caused the passage of Sangguniang Panlalawigan Ordinance No. 13, series of 2007, or the ‘One-Time Tax Relief’. This civil remedy provides for the condonation of interests and surcharges of unpaid real

properties from 2003-2007 on condition that real property owners pay their five-year tax delinquency in lump sum. Delinquent real properties are put up for auction if remain unpaid.

The effectiveness of the revenue generation

strategies adopted by the RGG is captured in the dramatic increases in local revenues that average P5.3 million annually. In real property tax collection alone, the P1.29 million collected in 2001 became P4 million in 2008 (Figure 8).

Percentage increases in the local revenue collection could not keep up with the percentage increases in IRA, which is why IRA dependence went down only by as much as 5%. However the upward trend in local revenue collection (Figure 9) shows that the program’s sustainability looks promising.

Revenue Generation

RESULTS

Figure 9. Trends in Local Revenue Collection and Percentage of Local Revenue to IRA, Northern Samar, 1997-2008 (Source: COA)

Figure 8. Real Property Tax Collection, Northern Samar, 1997-2008 (Source: COA)

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“I want to see Northern Samar walk without crutches’”, said Governor Daza when he saw the empowering effect of the PAHRDF capacity development trainings.

During his watch, Governor Daza has achieved significant improvements in governance as well as in poverty reduction.

The major challenge of his successors is to remain on the road that leads to the vision for Northern Samar. Whoever succeeds him this year or in future ones should see the merits and benefits of what he has started and sustain and improve on them.

To ensure that the gains in governance are sustained, it is important to continue along the area of human resource development the capacity building activities of the Provincial Training Pool, maintain if not improve on the Level II accreditation accorded by the Civil Service Commission, and support the performance management and personnel discipline systems. Human resource management that includes career path development, employees’ welfare and benefits, and adherence to the service pledges stated in the Citizen’s Charter must be improved.

In financial management, the use of manuals such as the Provincial Planning, Implementation and Monitoring Manual, Internal Control Systems Manual and Toolkit, office business systems, as well as the interdepartmental coordination and common key result areas approach must continue for the easy and harmonized flow of provincial government transactions and program/project implementation. Bottlenecks in the procurement process must also be reviewed vis-à-vis the requirements of project implementation and service delivery.

The healthy culture of internal coordination has enabled PGNS to strengthen its partnerships with municipal LGUs, civil society organizations, national agencies, and the academe. Participatory governance and convergence deserves a more pronounced presence of the business sector in provincial development efforts, especially in industry formation.

Information systems (IS) development must continue. The Management Information Systems Office must update its directions and organizational structure to provide for smooth operations. The IT Skills Training Center must extend its IT skills training to external clients, particularly in enhancing the constituents’ employment opportunities through improved skills on information technology.

Disaster risk management must be mainstreamed into the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan. The Provincial Disaster Management Unit’s capability for partnership with all stakeholders must be strengthened to match disaster response requirements. Part of the enabling mechanism is to provide ample manpower and organizational support.

Infrastructure is key to development. An arterial road system that connects the municipalities in the inner part of the province to the coastal municipalities will create the desired internal mobility of goods and services. The ongoing Lope de Vega-San Isidro road construction and the proposed road links of Lope de Vega-Silvino Lubos and Silvino Lubos-Las Navas-Lapinig will complete the provincial road network. Critical farm to market roads, particularly those that connect production areas to the market, will spur community economies and reduce urban concentration. Schools and health facilities will also become accessible. The development of the renewable local energy sources, as well as the construction of the Pinipisakan Falls hydropower plant in Las Navas, will make the province energy independent and self-sufficient.

The 2006 Poverty Statistics released by NSCB in 2008, which ranked Northern Samar as the 7th poorest province in the country dampened the provincial government’s spirit for a moment. After some reflection and with stronger resolve, PGNS chose to maintain its FLESHER program. When UNDP released the 2008 Philippine Human Development Report rating Northern Samar’s HDI at 0.493 as of 2006 and ranking the province 11th poorest, the provincial government was assured that Northern Samar had achieved an encouraging improvement.

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THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

On poverty alleviation, the challenges swell along service delivery points or at the community level. In the agriculture sector, to complement the efforts of PGNS and government agencies who work doubly hard to increase rice production towards self sufficiency, farmers must be ready to adopt new technologies such as using hand tractors, paddy dikes and high yielding rice varieties.

In the area of livelihood and employment, the province must create an investment-friendly climate to complement the approved Provincial Investment Code. The industry formation that has been started for the province’s major products, rice, abaca, coconut and pili, must be carried to the farmer-producer level. The sustainability of community-based economic enterprises will depend much on the farmers’ paradigm shift to farmer- entrepreneurs.

The commitment of the Provincial School Board to advance basic education in the province can be further spread by involving other education stakeholders in the process. DepEd, as the lead national agency on basic education, can strengthen the link between national priorities and the local education landscape. The University of Eastern Philippines can also dovetail its programs, particularly on agriculture development, with provincial development priorities.

The Capitol Housing Project and GK-partnered low cost housing must be continued and replicated in communities where there are pronounced needs, such as those in typhoon, landslide, and flood prone areas.

In the health sector, the full implementation of the Inter Local Health Zone (ILHZ), which builds up the preventive aspect of health management within identified health zones, will eventually lessen the burden on hospital systems. There is also a need to advocate health care programs and systems that are community-based, such as proper nutrition, to move away from the persisting mindset that relies on the government, and start cultivating the people’s responsibility for their own wellbeing.

Environmental programs that need to be sustained include Ecological Solid Waste Management, Forest Management through reforestation projects, and Coastal Resource Management through strengthening the Bantay Dagat teams. Given these functions of the environment office, creating it into a department will provide the organizational backbone for its operations.

Aside from sustaining local revenue generation, the provincial and municipal Revenue Generation Groups need to be institutionalized. Given the number of the provincial government’s revenue generating units, the creation of a department that will oversee PGNS economic enterprises is in line.

-oOo- Editorial Staff

Photo: Conrado G. de la Cruz Jr.

48

HIMNO SAN NORTEHANON Music: Bonifacio S. Durens

Lyrics: Raul A. Daza

Kita an mga Nortehanon, Nga sadto anay mga Ibabaonon, Tugob kita sin paglaom San kanan Diyos gahum.

Pagsarayo, pagburutok kita! Kabubuwason kaptan ta! Amay, iroy, bata ug arog Sa kahulop dire magpadaog!

Mga tulin kita ni Sumoroy Ug sayo la tuna nga iroy. Natuo kita san kagawasan Ug hingyap an kauswagan.

Pagsarayo, pagburutok kita! Kabubuwason kaptan ta!

Amay, iroy, bata ug arog Sa kahulop dire magpadaog! Amay, iroy, bata ug arog Sa kahulop dire magpadaog!

By the year 2013, Northern Samar shall be a progressive province with an agri-industrial economy actively managed

and sustained by empowered people enjoying economic security, respecting their own culture

and living in peace with dignity in an ecologically balanced environment.

The Provincial Government of Northern Samar shall provide the necessary leadership and create the appropriate environment conducive to growth and development

by mobilizing and harnessing each resource to ensure the realization of its vision

for the Nortehanons.

Documents

Northern Samar Governor's Report 2001-2010