State of the Province Address: Negros Or. Gov. Degamo focuses on HELP

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, in his recent State of the Province Address, disclosed his plans for the province that he has anchored on four major concerns – health, education, livelihood programs and projects – also known as HELP.

Degamo said that, for health concern, he would repair the district hospitals in different municipalities and cities in the province, and finish the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital that the late Governor Emilio Macias II had started.

He said bidding procedures for the building construction were completed by the bids and awards committee, and works would start soon this year. He also planned to have a Mobile Surgical Unit that will conduct surgical missions in remote places of the province.

"We want to bring the government services closer to the people … this could be one of the solutions to insurgency problem in the province,” Degamo told The Freeman, adding that seven new physicians were already hired for the provincial hospital system.

 For education concern, the governor promised to continue the programs of his predecessors Macias and Agustin Perdices. Additional college scholarships will be given to poor but deserving students, and additional teachers would be hired to fill in the vacant 40 teaching items for the province, said Degamo.

For livelihood, Degamo said the province will produce more jobs via tourism programs. He wanted to promote eco-tourism in Negros Oriental, specifically the development of the Tambobo Bay in Siaton town. “We have allocated almost P20 million this year for the development of the province’s various tourism sites,” he said.

The business sector further challenged the governor to uplift the standard of living in the province. Greg Uymatiao of Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry said they wanted to see a developed province by elevating the lifestyle of Negrenses.

Uymatiao believed that the two major ordinances that Degamo wanted to be approved by the PB – creation of the Economic Enterprise Office and the Revenue Code of Negros Oriental – would help improve the economy of the province.

“It is easier for us to attain our goals if we HELP each other and work harder. Work, as they say in Spanish is DEGAMO. Therefore, to pick up from the favorite catchwords of my predecessors: “Basta NEGOR: Kasaligan, and may I add MagDEGAMO Ta," said the governor. – THE FREEMAN