SENATOR Cynthia Villar lauded the resiliency of the people of Benguet during the celebration of its 118th Foundation anniversary and 2018 Adivay Festival.
“Tayo po ay talagang hangang-hanga sa Benguet. Kayo lang ata iyong probinsiya na malayo sa Maynila and yet ang inyong kahirapan kasing baba ng Maynila. Siguro dahil doon sa kasipagan ng mga taga Benguet,” Villar said who graced the Benguet celebration on Friday.
“Kapag kayo ang tinamaan ng calamity dahil siguro sa sipag niyo nakakarecover kaagad kayo whereas in other regions tinamaan ng calamity years hindi pa makarecover. It’s also the will of the people to recover,” added villar.
The senator remains bullish on the complete rehabilitation of the province facing challenges including the consecutive typhoons and calamities.
After the province was hit by calamities, Benguet Governor Crescencio Pacalso reiterated the simple celebration and recalled the awards bagged by the province in the different sectors namely the Philippine National Police, Agriculture, and Municipal level.
“Today we are once again celebrating our 118th Foundation Anniversary celebration together with our Adivay Festival. This was not the usual, however due to the calamities that happen in the past in consideration of the families of the victims of last typhoon, we decided to tone down our celebration instead of the grand cañao, a parade and Benguet awards,” Pacalso added.
Ronald Cosalan, the lone district representative of Benguet said the province is in the verse of moving forward to greater heights.
“We still have a lot to go up because of our improved Infrastructure in the province. We have concreted 95 percent national roads in the province, many farm to market roads, municipal and provincial roads,” the solon said.
Cosalan added the improvements in the roads have benefited farmers giving them the opportunity to easily bring products not only in the Benguet capital town, but also to other provinces. Aside from infrastructure, the solon also stated improvements in the education and health sector.
“Overall, if we look at these improvements for the past several years it will lead us today to our 118th Anniversary as a we move forward for improvement in the future,” he added.
On the same day, messages were delivered by guests from City Mayor of Fuchu, Tokyo Japan Norio Takano and a signing of Sisterhood Agreement with Ha Giang Province in Vietnam led by Chairman Ha Giang Province Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Son.
The Benguet province has accepted the offer of Ha Giang Province, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for a cooperation agreement that would be of mutual benefit to both provinces in the fields of culture, agriculture, tourism and investment as well as other business opportunities that will strengthen their relations and promote products.
Highlights also include awardees for Benguet Leadership, Everlasting, Achievement and Outstanding Student Leadership nominated by individuals or organizations.