Guv: Power is in the people

“SOVEREIGNTY always resides in the people,” according to Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno during his last State of the Province Address (Sopa) on Monday morning.

Moreno said with the unprecedented standard for governance being set in his incumbency since the implementation of the Local Government Code, the values of self-reliance and collaboration were inculcated among the local government units, giving more emphasis in the attainment of the eight-point agenda of his administration.

“Gone are the days when community is isolated and remains deprived,” he said.

Emano said the eight-point agenda -- poverty alleviation; revenue generation; investment in infrastructure; resuscitation of the Misamis Oriental Telephone System (Misortel); education and environment protection and management; hospital and health systems; agricultural productivity; and teamwork and streamlined bureaucracy -- served as baseline for the year-to-year monitoring and evaluation in meeting the objectives and targets.

In his Sopa, Moreno noted a decrease in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) dependency from 84 percent in 2004 to 72 percent in 2011.

He also reported that Misamis Oriental was chosen as one of the seven original provinces in Visayas and Mindanao that were included in the Philippines Provincial Road Management Facility (PRMF) of the Australian Aid for International Development (AusAID).

“Through strategic organizational reforms, the Provincial Government, now on its third year, is beginning to feel the start of internal transformation through capacity development and automation of key administrative services of the provincial government,” Moreno added.

Present during the Sopa was Vice Governor Norris Babiera, Provincial Board members Jesus Jardin, Geodiguel Ursal, Jabi Bernaldez, Jimmy Caiña, Emmanuel Mugot and Hendrick Galarrita, heads and representatives from different government agencies, local and barangay officials, private sectors, civil society groups and the academe. (Abigail Chee Kee Malalis)