Government back in remote Abra town

Bangued, Abra – Government once again is back in the remote and neglected town of Tineg, in Abra.

Not long ago in February this year, the Philippine flag was flown high by policemen in a bid to bring back local governance there. Because six years before that, residents attest, not even a small shadow of local governance was felt. 

And finally, tomorrow “genuine governance,” not by “remote control,” will be back in the town as Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin vows, as he pities the people of this large hinterland town who have been neglected by their own town officials.

Tineg, despite its area - 82,893 hectares - the biggest in all of Abra, getting almost P50 million annual Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

In spite of it’s huge IRA sum, however, it is considered the most neglected among the 27 Abra towns. It has also the highest poverty incidence, enough reason why Gov. Bersamin vows to push its plan of bringing the long sought after basic social services in the town.

It will be an early Christmas for Tineg residents as free medicines and a medical/dental team together with the provincial and national government officials trek to Tineg, some four hours to a bumpy ride from Bangued, Abra’s capital town.

Philippine National Police director General Jesus Verzosa, who, when he was Cordillera police director prioritized Tineg town and Abra’s peace and order upkeep as his pet project, will also be in Tineg to celebrate the early Christmas there.

For months, government agencies have been preparing for their “Tineg caravan” and are eager to make their presence there, said Cordillera police director Chief Superintendent Eugene Martin.

For many years, local government operations were transacted in the capital town of Bangued.

Even policemen seemingly were absent in Tineg because most government functions were going on in the capital. – Artemio Dumlao