eGwen in Medellin dismays governor

CEBU, Philippines - Governor Gwendolyn Garcia was not pleased to see her program unimplemented in the Municipality of Medellin.

In a visit, Garcia found out that the town has not planted flowering plants along the highway, which is supposed to be part of her Expanded Greening With Our Environment that Nurtures (eGWEN) program.

Garcia expressed her disappointment during a consultative meeting with the town’s barangay and school officials.

Nenita Loreto, principal of Medellin National High School, apologized to the governor and explained that they initial thought the program only requires the planting of jackfruit trees along the roads. Loreto said they were not made aware of the kind of flowering plants to be planted.

Garcia said the lack of awareness of the program is caused primarily by the absence of an eGwen unit in the municipality. She said the town should coordinate with the provincial unit to get updated with developments of the programs and to know how to implement them.

Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said the town’s officials are often busy during evaluation by the eGwen Team, something that Vice Mayor Alfonso Lim admitted.

Lim explained that they have been busy attending to local concerns but assured the presence of barangay captains in next round of evaluation.

Ramirez invited the governor to visit the town again to check on the progress of the eGwen program there.

Board Member Sun Shimura promised to give P20,000 to each barangay in Medellin for projects in line with the eGwen program.

Gibitngil Island Barangay Captain Sophonias Sinambong denied not coordinating with the provincial government and even pointed out that the 10,000 bags of cement he requested in January this year were only delivered days before Garcia’s visit yesterday. (FREEMAN)