CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Provincial Development Council (PDC), led by Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda, proposed a Provincial Governance Reform Roadmap (PGRR) and Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) in a meeting held at the Executive House, Capitol here recently.

In behalf of the Governor, Provincial Administrator Atty. Jun Andres Pangilinan Jr. said the formulation of PGRR was mandated in accordance to Section 5.6.1 of the Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG) and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2017-002, dated April 26, 2017.

He also cited Section 17 of Republic Act 7160 which states that local government units shall exercise powers and discharge such other functions and responsibilities as are necessary, appropriate, or incidental to efficient and effective provisions of the basic services and facilities intended to service the needs of the residents of the province, funded by provincial funds including but not limited to provincial roads and bridges.

According to Pangilinan, the assigned teams already reviewed the available data in the localities and coordinated with Local Government Units (LGUs) with regard to the infrastructure municipality/city route around the province.

Governor Pineda, Pangilinan added, requested assistance from Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University (DHVTSU) faculty and students to conduct public transport surveys.

For this, the lady governor provided them financial assistance amounting to P60,000.

It can be remembered that one of the Pineda administration's priorities is infrastructure development.

The Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), headed by Engr. Josefina Pineda, expects to finish the proposed draft to be approved by the Provincial Board before 2018 ends.

The meeting was attended by Local Chief Executives and representatives of Non-Government Offices (NGOs) in the province. (Leah Isidro De Fiesta)