THE year 2021 may have a lot of ups and downs but for Davao de Oro province, it was a year of major feats and recognition, thanks to Bayanihan governance Governor Jayvee Tyron Uy introduced during his administration.
Bayanihan governance, according to Uy, is a consultative, facilitative and cooperative governance, a localized version of "whole-of-nation" approach, where every agency and every stakeholder are involved to achieve a common goal of developing the province to greater heights.
"Our main thrust kasi is anchored on the 4Ps Plus program framework, which is based on the UN Millennial Development Goal. It is not actually a copy of UN Millennial Development Goal but we based on it; 4PS Plus stands for People, which pertains to human resources; Prosperity - our economy and infrastructure; Peace - of course we know that it is our priority since we started in 2016, we wanted our province to be insurgency-free; Planet - which focuses on our environment and agriculture; and the Plus - which is administrative governance. Kinahanglan i-capacitate and atong mga empleyado, atong mga opisina aron maging mas efficient and effective ta maghatag og serbisyo sa katawhan," the young governor said.
Thus, it is no wonder Davao de Oro achieved many accomplishments which were heightened in the year 2021.
First on the list is receiving its ISO 9001 certificate, one of only a few provincial local governments that received such. ISO 9001 certificates are given to institutions that pass the international standards on efficient service delivery and customer satisfaction.
Davao de Oro also received from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) the Pag-asa Awards for its Bayanihan para sa Kalusugan-Kusina ng Kalinga, a school-based feeding program that is implemented uniquely in Davao de Oro. The province's former governor and currently its Senior Board Member, Arturo Uy, who is also the program’s action officer, was also hailed one of the most outstanding government workers of the Philippines.
The province was also recognized as one of the Top 12 with Best Initiatives on Tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic. The award was given by the Department of Tourism and the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines. Davao de Oro is the only province that received the award from more than 50 nominations all over the country.
The province was also hailed the fifth highest local revenue growth in the entire country- an award given by the Department of Finance-Bureau of Local Government Finance. Davao de Oro placed fifth in the year-on-year growth in local revenues. The growth signifies business dynamism in a place.
Aside from that, Davao de Oro was also declared as the 2nd Most Competitive Province in Davao Region by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11. The award was measured through four main rubrics - government efficiency, resiliency, infrastructures, and business dynamism. The award signifies the increased confidence of businesses and investments in Davao Region.
It is noteworthy that in 2016, Davao de Oro placed last in the competitiveness ranking of the provinces in Davao Region.
Three out of the five most competitive 1st to 2nd class municipalities in Davao Region are also from Davao de Oro, namely, Maragusan (1st), Compostela (2nd), and Nabunturan (4th).
Laak also placed first in business dynamism and was proclaimed as the most improved 1st-2nd class municipality in the entire country.
Compostela also placed 9th in the infrastructure category.
Davao de Oro also bagged the Rice Achiever’s Award from the Department of Agriculture. This award is given to areas where rice production consistently hits 100 percent or even more which simply means that the province is rice-sufficient.
It was also hailed as the 4th Most Visited Province by domestic tourists in 2020, according to the Tourism Statistics from the Department of Tourism. In 2019, it placed tenth, a six-spot jump to its current ranking.
Davao de Oro also was awarded a Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). DILG awarded CMGP to the five units/bodies under the Provincial Government of Davao de Oro for their excellent implementation of road and infrastructure projects.
These bodies/units/offices are the following- Construction Performance Evaluation System (CPES) Implementing Unit, Local Road Management Team, LRMT Technical Working Group for Local Road Asset Management, Provincial Engineer’s Office, and the PLGU-Davao de Oro’s Internal Audit.
Davao de Oro is also the first province in Davao Region that was able to complete all CMGP projects.
Davao de Oro's unique digital innovation, the Call DdOC - an online and tele-consultation program, was hailed as among the Top 20 Most Outstanding Local Governance Program in the Philippines.
Its Household Profiling and Needs Assessment (HPNA), a digitalized survey, also placed third in the Digital Governance Awards 2021.
In 2020, Davao de Oro bagged four awards for its digital innovations, namely Call DdOC (Government’s Response to Covid-19 Category), 1DdO Helpline (Government to Government Category), Funds Utilization Management System (Government’s Internal Process Category), and Serbisyo Oro Mismo (Government to Customer Category).
Gov. Uy was also given the Military Commendation Medal and Military Civic Action Medal, awards extended for the young governor's outstanding contribution to the improved peace and order situation in Davao Region.
Aside from being rice-sufficient, Davao de Oro was again given the Sandugo Award for its voluntary blood donation program in which the rate exceeds one percent of the total population. Thus, the province is considered "blood-sufficient". It can be remembered that the province also received the same award in the previous years.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) also bestowed the Kabalikat Award to Gov. Uy and the province for his advocacy on technical skills development.
Davao de Oro was among the Integrated Hospital Operations and Management Program Awardees as well, with the Provincial Hospital-Pantukan hailed as the best Level I hospital in Davao Region by the Department of Health (DOH).
And recently, just last December 29, the province received its latest awards: the Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping, an affirmation of the status of Davao de Oro's sound financial management, transparency, and accountability; and the Gold Award of the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council - an affirmation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the province's campaign against illegal drugs.
For Senior Board Member Arturo “Papa Gov” Uy who was the governor succeeded by the young governor, the feats of the province are “fruits of unity and hard work.
“The Bayanihan governance we introduced during our time was continued and successfully enhanced by Gov. Tyron... We thank our people for believing and continually working with us to bring Davao de Oro to greater heights,” the former governor said.
For her part, Vice Governor Maricar S. Zamora said the year 2021 is the year of victory for the province.
"We have been victorious for the past year. Victorious in the sense that we won awards; we made projects; we implemented projects; and we improved our system, we developed our people. In short, we made change happen," the vice governor said during the first Convocation of PLGU-DDO for 2022 on January 3.