“We Will Succeed”*

(Third of a series)

* State of the Province Address of Aklan of Governor Carlito S. Marquez delivered during the 4th Regular Session held in Aklan Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Capitol, Kalibo, Aklan on January 29, 2009.

Trade and industry was one sector adversely affected by typhoon Frank. During the first semester of 2008, economic indicators on investment and domestic sales posted positive growth. The unprecedented disaster in June put all major economic activities to a standstill, however.

Business name regis-tration significantly dropped, falling short of the annual target by 20 percent. For the annual target of 1,614, registrants reached only 1,292 in 2008.

Incremental employ-ment for directly and indirectly impacted activities fell short by 30 percent: 3,477 only for the annual target of 4,932.

Incremental invest-ments for the period amounted to P408.8 million or 43 percent of the previous year’s performance of P958.6 million.

Export sales though falling short of the target indicted a positive 6 percent growth from $0.4054 million in 2007 to $0.4281 million in 2008. The good news is that our nitocraft exports increased by 11 percent.

Domestic sales of monitored firms in the four priority industry sectors (loomweaving, food processing, gifts and housewares, furniture) reached P194.3305 million, slightly short by two percent over the target for the year of P198.447 million.

We’re not exactly grasping for straws but the last thing we have to do under the situation is to despair. Let’s all think positive.

As DTI–Aklan has always been positive: determinedly organizing or participating in marketing events, trade fairs, product development activities, selling missions, trainings, "para maka-pundar it negosyo, pangitan-an, ag ma-empleyo ro owa it trabaho."

Another accomplish-ment in our trade and industry sector is the enactment on December 23, 2008 of the Aklan Investment and Incen-tives Code that will hopefully encourage the growth of businesses.

Thank you Provincial Director Diosdado Cadena, Jr. of DTI and staff!

Allocating The Funds: The 2009 Provincial
Annual Budget

Looking forward to 2009, our annual budget for the year is P811,204,096, P483,954,634 for the general fund and P327,249,462 for the Economic Enterprise Development Department.

In budget size, we have maintained our No. 3 position among Region VI provinces since 2007 when we implemented our Economic Enterprise Development Program.

The bulk of the expenditures goes to general public services with P246,964,556. Economic services will have P137,417,197 while social services will get P45,558,393. Some P29,489,755 will be allocated to debt servicing and P24,197,732 to the five percent reserve for calamity.

The theme of this year’s budget, "Toward Higher Grounds…Let Us Not Rest Until Our Good Is Better and Our Better Best. Bangon Aklan !", indicates our determined pursuit of betterment despite normal as well as abnormal hindrances as exemplified by the recent disaster.

Thank you Mrs. Grace Macahilas, Provincial Budget Officer and staff.

In line with our youth development program which should include the betterment of our edu-cational system, we had continued our provincial government college scholar-ship program. For the year 2008 we have 657 scholars in the program which cost the province P7 million.

The perennial lack of teachers and inadequate classrooms and facilities have always been a problem so that the provincial government in partnership with the DepEd and utilizing special education funds continued the hiring of provincial school board teachers now numbering 125 whose wages amounted to P8 million in 2008. Also, we allocated a total of P28 million for the repair, rehabilitation and improvement of our schools.

It has always been our policy to support the DepEd as our teachers had always been ready to support all programs of government – provincial or national.

Thank you, Dr. Victorina Laroza of DepEd and staff! "Saeamat gid sa atong mga maestro ag maestro!"

The Accounting Office

Our office of the Provincial Accountant has updated and improved the efficiency of the billing and filing of Philhealth claims and put into motion the use of stock inventory module of the Electronic Hospital Management Information System, the 1st electronic management tool adopted by a government hospital in region 6.

For CY 2008, the province thru the provincial accountant’s office received a total of P64.5 million from various government agencies and institutions for the implementation of specific programs/projects.

Due to the good financial position of the province, a 10 percent salary increase was implemented costing the province P10 million; hazard pay was paid to hospital personnel requiring P8.8 million; and an additional cash gift was also given to regular personnel for a total of P1 million. Casuals were also paid P1,500 each as cash gift.

Increase of internal revenue allotment included monetized IRA received by the province amounting to P16,909,092.64 and the increase in the internal revenue allotment which amounted to P45,110,344.

The province is expecting a surplus of more than P100 million for CY 2008 or a more than 170 percent increase in our CY 2007 surplus of P37 million. We attribute this to the hard work and determination of our personnel especially those from the economic enterprises of the province and our innovative schemes in revenue generation.

Thank you Ms. Ma. Victoria Salido, Provincial Accountant and staff!

Agriculture

Our agricultural sector was the hardest hit. Our PDCC, now the provincial public safety and emergency management office, repor-ted that, second only to public utilities which suffered P550,680,000 in damages, crops and other agricultural produce lost to the winds and the floods totaled P488,544,000.

But we continue to implement the major agricultural programs: rice (hybrid, inbred, and commercial), high-value commercial crops (corn, mango, other fruits, and vegetables), integrated coastal zone management, integrated pest manage-ment or kasakalikasan, palayaman/kabuhayan, natural farming system, abaca production, and modified rapid composting.

As to be expected, due mainly to the June 21, 2008 typhoon and pests and diseases, palay production went down by 8.7 percent from 141,574 metric tons in 2007 to only 129,258 in 2008.

The positive note, however, is that Aklan still produces more rice than it consumes. In 2008, we ate 61,359 metric tons but our harvests after milling recovery registered 84,017 metric tons. Thus, our sufficiency level of 117.8 percent is a national high.

Our hybrid rice program suffered the same fate but it is our belief that the two-fold difference in production – with the ordinary rice variety producing 80 cavans per hectare and hybrid rice harvesting as much as 200 cavans – still make hybrid rice the ideal rice variety.

And so our P10,000 per hectare incentive for hybrid rice farmers continues and for 2009 we program 1,000 hectares for hybrid rice. We also propose to increase to 10 hectares our hybrid seed production.

We have continued our high value commercial crops program with mango production as one focus. From the 37.5 hectares in 2005 we have expanded the program to 230 hectares, generating 690 jobs.

And from 113 hectares in 2006 we have widened the coverage of the province’s abaca production program to 306, generating 612 jobs. As of December 2008, Aklan has 2,089.62 hectares planted to abaca. Produc-tion reached 1,724,392 metric tons valued at about P90 million. This indicates a 32 percent increase from the 1,299,835 kilograms in 2007.

With the increasing worldwide demand for abaca we see our fiber industry as one that can lift our farmers from poverty. So, we continue to provide financial as well as technological support for our abaca farmers. Of the P488 million damage to agriculture,. our corn production program was seriously affected. From a 924-metric ton produc-tion in 2007 we went down to only 474, a 50 percent decrease. Thru our 20 percent develop-ment fund, we propose the procurement of corn seeds as assistance to our corn farmers.

To intensify vegetable production and recover from the damage of the June 21, 2008 disaster, our office of the provincial agriculturist initiated a vegetable pro-ductivity contest and implemented the gulayan sa paaralan program.

For the year 2008 we continued the implemen-tation of our integrated pest management program which includes season long farmers-field schools for rice.

Funded by the Bureau of Soils/Water Manage-ment we established a modified rapid compos-ting site at Tondog, Tangalan covering 96 hectares of rice fields and benefiting 111 farmers. This is in line with our efforts to wean our farmers away from over-dependence on inorganic or chemical fertilizers which is not only expensive but which destroy the environment.
In the area of fisheries, we continued to implement our integrated coastal management program under which we established this year three concrete artificial reefs (Jackstone Type) at Mandong, Batan; Poblacion, New Washington; and Ondoy, Ibajay intended to benefit 150 fishermen.

A fish enhancing device was also installed at Barangays Mandong and Napti, Batan and at Barangays Ondoy, Aslum, and Bugtong-bato, Ibajay. A fish sanctuary was established at Barangays Ondoy and Aquino, Ibajay with a total area of 36 hectares.

In our efforts towards income diversification, seaweed projects were implemented at Union, Nabas and at Bel-is, Buruanga.

Although damaged by typhoon Frank, our freshwater aquaculture demo-farm, hatchery management project, and ISF nursery continue to operate with its fry dispersal program for tilapia.

Thank you Mr. William Castillo, Ms. Salome David and staff. Thank you Ms. Zelenia Dalida of FIDA and staff. Thank you Engr. Roger Esto and the PPDO staff!

The National Food Authority’s procurement activities may have been affected by the drop in production but its distribution program continues: accre-dited Tindahan Natin (both DSWD-funded and self-funded), LGU’s and government agencies.

Although for 2008 our inventory has only an average of 98.2 days to last compared to 2007’s 194.9, that was still well over the national average of 30 days.

Thank you Engr. Marianito Bejemino of NFA and staff! (to be continued next issue)/MP