Monday, July 07, 2008 Nalzaro: Improved poverty rating By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
DIPOLOG CITY - The province of Zamboanga del Norte was listed as the poorest province in the country based on 2003 poverty incidence survey conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).
The survey results had caught local officials and residents, including this columnist who is a native of the province, by surprise. There are a lot of provinces that are farther behind than Zamboanga del Norte in terms of economic development and progress. Masbate was listed as second poorest province, much poorer than its neighboring province of Biliran.
During his state of the province address, Gov. Rolando Yebes proudly announced that based on the 2006 Family Income and Expenditures survey report of NSCB that was released recently, the province’s poverty incidence is down by 1.5 percent, from 64.7 percent in 2003 to 63.2 in 2006.
Based on this latest survey, Yebes said, the province is no longer the poorest province now under his administration. He assumed office in 2004 and he is on his second term. He said his administration has delivered a great part of its commitment to solve the poverty problem that has victimized more and more of the people in the barangays in the last three surveys since 1997.
Yebes’ pro-poor programs have helped raise the economic condition of the province, changing its image and distinction of being the poorest province in the country. Basic infrastructure—farm-to-market roads, education, health services and tourism—are the priorities of his administration. The province is rich in natural resources and mining is one of its revenue-generating industries.
The provincial government has been aggressively promoting the name Zanorte instead of the full-word Zamboanga del Norte to specifically identify the province from the rest of the Zamboanga peninsula, whose peace and order situation is deteriorating. Muslim separatist groups and terrorists only operate in the provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
We cannot promote tourism if the peace and order situation of the other parts of the peninsula is unstable. If we talk of Zamboanga, people in the rest of the country and foreigners might think that the peace and order situation of the whole Zamboanga peninsula is deteriorating, Yebes said. He also laments the habit of some news organizations that use Zamboanga in their dateline when the negative news they are reporting actually happened in the provinces of Sulu and Basilan, which are miles away from the Zamboanga provinces.
Tourism is one of the centerpieces under the present administration. The province has many potential tourist destinations—from blue crystal waters, enthralling caves, cascading cool waters and nature. The provincial government has invested in developing Aligway Island located between Dapitan City and Oriental Negros, as a tourism site. The road leading to the world-class Dakak Beach Resort in Dapitan City has been rehabilitated for the convenience of visitors.
The biggest accomplishment so far under the Yebes administration is its health program in the form of the P300-million Zanorte Medical Center. The center is located in an elevated part of Barangay Sicayab, the site of the old provincial jail. Full operation of the 300-bed medical center will start on Aug. 8. Patients need not go to Cebu or Dumaguete for a checkup or for confinement as the newly built medical center can cater to the medical needs of the province’s constituents with its new facilities.
