Monday, March 21, 2016

AKLAN IN 2015*
    *AKLAN IN 2015 is the State of the Province Address of Aklan Provincial Governor Florencio T. Miraflores during the Regular Session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan held on February 3, 2016 at the SP Session Hall, Capitol, Kalibo, Aklan. (Second of 5 parts)


    My dear Aklan province employees, if the National Government knows how to reward the Local Government units for excellent performance, we also know how to reward our own.  
    Dahil sa inyong pagtinguha nga magtrabaho it husto, ku nagtaliwan nga dag-on, rong productivity enhancement incentive hay gin baton ninyo.
    Ginpasundan pa gid naton it dugang nga cash incentive nga ku nagtaliwan nga disyembre hay hatao sa kada empleyado.
    Abu gid saeamat sa atong mga mahugod nga empleyado, ag sa atong opisyal nga pamilya sa administrasyon it probinsya.
    May we continue exuding good governance practices while providing better public service.
    Hard work in government should be perpetual.
Currently, our total number of Provincial Government Employees is 2,759.
Human Resource Development for such a number is a big challenge.
    But such gartantuan task is just a necessary consequence of a growing province.
    So let us not spend time limiting our challenges and move on to business by challenging our limits.
    With the Provincial Human Resource Management Office on the lead, let us continue to strengthen our strategic Performance Management System. 
    The Office and individual performance commitment and review (OPCR/IPCR) of every department and personnel should be clear and on point.
    If our best resource has clear office targets and complete grasp of their functions and contributions year after year, all I can foresee are smiles from our constituency.
    Talking about making our constituency happy, I have my eyes and ears set at our  front-liners especially those that directly deal with our indigents.
    Yes, I have received reports and heard testimonies.
    Nagakasubo ako kon makabati nga may kliyente kita eabi gid do mga pobre natong igmanghod nga naga-reklamo nga ku-eang  ro atong pagtatap kanda eabi gid sa atong mga ospital.
    Let us be extra-sensitive to them however toxic our working situation may be.
    Some of them may scream or swear, some may just be too annoying to bear.
    If I, your Governor, can keep my calm amidst the daily stress that comes my way in and out of the office, so should you.
    Do remember that all of you are an extension of me.
    Let us do what we swore to do and continue to care.
    We will finalize the Human Resource Development plan for health.
    We don’t primarily seek recognition to be the first province to develop such a plan but if this successfully leads to quality health care for our people, then our sense of fulfilment and their appreciation are enough reward.
    I’m pleased to share that our PHRMO’s innovation and collaborative effort with the Philippines Australia Human Resource and Organizational Development facility paved the way for the operation of the provincial government’s pool of facilitators.
    As the only province equipped with such resource, we need not go far or outsource trainors for our learning and development programs.
    Last year I talked about our “Smallness” in terms of political value was not a hindrance to us rubbing elbows with big-league provinces.
    Last January 20, 2016, in ostentatious fashion, we made it again in the National News.
    How can it be denied when the name of our province is placed first out of 81 provinces in terms of generating locally sourced revenues in 2014?
    The figures 492.9 million pesos of locally sourced income as to the annual regular income of 1.1 billion pesos or 42.4 percent is a result of years of careful planning and hard work.
    We took inspiration from the belief that only if we maximize our own revenue generation capacity, we will have more to spend on basic services for our people.
    Our small province Northwest of Panay has etched its name as a major contributor in nation building due to our self-sufficiency.
    Aklan has been true to the mandate expressed under section 3 of Republic Act 7160, or the local government code. The local government units “Have the Power to Create and Broaden Their Own Sources of Revenue.”
    Our successful but never-ending quest for self-reliance reinforces the essence of local autonomy.
    The Department of Finance no longer puts us in the same level as big provinces whose allocations from the National Government still continue to account for the bulk of their annual regular income.
    Alongside revenue generation is collection.
    I’m elated to report that last December 3, 2015, our Provincial Treasurer’s office was awarded as the Most Outstanding Provincial Treasury Office for Calendar Year 2014 in the whole region with 97.5 percent rating by the Bureau of Local Government Finance.
    Besting the 2013 second place ranking, our Aklan PTO’S Fund Management Performance is an illustration of our see page 4
sustained commitment to fund management excellence.
    This commitment in concrete terms is demonstrated in our implemention of the Enhanced Tax Revenue Assessment and Collection System (ETRACS), a technology which will upgrade the tax revenue collections and other business transactions of the province leading to efficiency and transparency.
    It is also worth mentioning that our treasury office is one of the best 5S implementers among the provincial treasury offices in the region.
    Congratulations Provincial Treasurer’s office and Ms. Suzette Pioquid!
    Our Provincial Assessor’s Office was able to process 5,367 real property units for 2015 translating to 20.7 million pesos of income.
    We have successfully conducted the appraisal and assessment operation on all real properties in the island of Boracay.
    This will generate 17.7 million pesos of additional tax for our coffers.
    Likewise, we have also prioritized the encoding for real property units for ETRACS covering the whole province.

    Our budget theme for this year is “Strategic Budgeting Towards Sustainable Economic Growth, Transparent and Accountable Governance and Disaster Preparedness for Aklan”. ( To be continued next issue)./MP


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