Vice guv: We’re doing our best to improve Samar

CATBALOGAN CITY - Vice Governor Stephen James Tan the Provincial Government is doing its best to address poverty in the province despite limited budget and political issues among local leaders.

“We are doing what we can (to improve the lives of our people),” Tan said as the province celebrated its annual Samar Day Thursday.

Acknowledging that poverty affects majority of the residents, he said that under the administration of his elder sister, Governor Sharee Ann Tan, necessary programs are being undertaken to address the problem.

He cited the concreting of roads across the province, particularly in far-flung areas.

Based on records of the regional office of the National Statistical and Coordinating Board (NSCB), Samar province remains one of the poorest provinces in the country.

Its poverty incidence hovers at 45 percent with an annual population growth rate of 1.2 percent.

It has more than 700,000 population based on the 2010 survey.

Tan said that based on the annual investment plan the Provincial Government is doing for next year, close to P200 million would be set aside to construct farm-to-market roads.

This highlights the importance being given by the Provincial Government on the agriculture sector, as majority of the people rely on farming as their means of livelihood.

He also said that various jobs fairs are being conducted across the province with the help of private sector as a way to create employees in Samar. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)