Oscar S. Moreno

MisOr

2009 ANNUAL STATE OF THE PROVINCE ADDRESS

(Note: The following article is the actual speech delivered by Gov. Oscar S. Moreno during the Annual State of the Province Address delivered at the Provincial Capitol grounds on July 13, 2009. Copies of the written version of the speech, outlining in detail the major accomplishments of the Capitol under the watch of Gov. Moreno were distributed to the guests during the SOPA.)

Thank you very much, Vice Gov. Norris Babiera. The Rock. Firm and solid as the Rock. Thank you very much.

The Honorable Majority Floor Leader, Mr. Debater, Frank Bade. The Hon. Oliver “Mr. Classroom” Actub from the Second District. Hon. Emmanuel “Mr. Appropriations, Mr. Airport” Mugot. The Honorable Family Man, Dr. Santiago “Mr. Philhealth” Sabal. Also from the Second District representing the Philippine Councilors League – Misamis Oriental, “Mr. Three Points” who has now shifted to boxing, the Honorable Eduardo Ayunting. Representing the Sangguniang Kabataan, Lugait to Magsaysay, Hon. Den Carlo Estenzo. Former three-termer of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, now representing the Association of Barangay Captains of the whole province of Misamis Oriental, the Hon. Jun Kho. “Mr. Misoret”, a cluster of six municipalities from Kinoguitan to Balingasag that has reached higher level, the first president and founder of that cluster, the Hon. Benedict Lagbas of the First District. “Mr. Tourism”, the Hon. Jigjag Pelaez from the First District. “Mr. Gingoog Bay” former member of the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Gingoog and former Vice Mayor of the City of Gingoog, the Hon. Wayne Militante from the First District. Also from the First District, “Mr. Infrastructure”, init ug ulan, libak ug liki, abog kakapoy gi-agwanta ang tanan, who is now in his conditioning stage to prepare him for bigger battles ahead, the Hon. Jimmy Eballe Caina.

My colleagues in the Provincial Government, our mayors who are here with us to join us in this very special occasion, our colleagues from the national government, partners in government. I’m afraid I might miss some of you if I begin naming those whom I see. Suffice it to say that you are our partners in every way in bringing the government closer to our people, in making our people feel in the physical sense, the government. As government reaches out, serves our people from Magsaysay to Lugait, I want you to know, our colleagues in the national government, that you are very much an integral part of this whole process.

Sa atong mga kaigsoonan sa tibuok lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental gikan sa Magsaysay paingon sa Lugait, dakbayan sa Gingoog, sa atong mga kaigsoonan sa dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro who share the same past with the Province of Misamis Oriental and who certainly have the same future as that of the people of Misamis Oriental. Sa atong mga silingan sa Bukidnon, Camiguin, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, our partners from Carraga, Western Mindanao, Lanao del Sur, sa inyong tanan, maayong buntag.

Constitutionally, it is only the President who is mandated to report to the people every year via the State of the Nation Address which the President is duty-bound to deliver as Congress begins its regular session every fourth Monday of July. The Constitution mandates that because the President as the Chief Executive of the land owes a duty to our people to report on the state of the nation and also to outline the programs ahead so that our people will know. So that our people will understand because after all the President is a mere trustee of the people of the Republic of the Philippines. Consistent with that philosophy, while there is no law that mandates me to report in the same way as the SONA is delivered, we thought in the beginning of my term in 2004 that we must report to the people of Misamis Oriental, our principals, our masters who gave us the trust, the mandate to lead them. The fiduciary duty that every public official owe to the people who have brought them to where they are. So that our people will know, so that our people will understand what we have done. The results of all our efforts as well as what we planned to do ahead.

For this State of the Province Address, I have caused to prepare a speech and thanks to those who have helped me with this, to every department head who has given a report for each department. I would not read the speech but I hope you will find the time to read it. I have titled my speech this way – LET US ALL FURTHER INTENSIFY OUR HARD-EARNED MOMENTUM. I say momentum because the past five years we have seen government getting closer to our people by way of services and we have seen government, composed of the various levels, from the national level to the provincial level, to the municipal level all the way down to the barangay level. Government acting together as one in partnership with one another. All the levels in government, we have seen over the past five years, hand in hand, working together and getting closer to our people together. When I was a congressman for two terms representing the First District of Misamis Oriental, I defined my role as the bridge between my people on one hand and the national government on the other. As the title suggest, a congressman is a representative. Whenever your name is called in the halls of Congress, the name of your district is called together with your name. And as such, I defined my role as the bridge, the spokesman of the people of the First District of Misamis Oriental. Everything that I did, everything that I said were all in representation of my principals – the people of the First District.

I have never realized, because then I thought that a congressman is the closest to the national government agencies. Little did I realize that a local chief executive, be it a mayor or governor or even a barangay official can even be closer to a very large extent to the national level. Why? Because a congressman represents his district, so he is still part of his district whereas a local chief executive – if he does a project together with the national government, not as a local chief executive but as a partner of the national level, together they form one fictional entity and that is the partnership. The partnership is no longer the local executive OR the national level. The partnership is the local executive AND the national level. That, we have seen here in the province of Misamis Oriental and I’m very, very happy. Over the past five years, we have seen all levels of government acting together, working together, bringing services to our people not as a level of government but as one component government, as one united government. It didn’t matter whether this was being contributed by a particular level. What mattered was a particular thing, a particular service was brought to the doorsteps of the people. Everything that the province of Misamis Oriental has done was done in partnership with the national level. Dinhi nato nakita kon asa diay kasayon taliwala sa kadaghang problema, taliwala sa kadaghang kalisud, nga naa man diay mahimo ang gobyerno ngadto sa katawhan. With optimized results, maximizing the limited resources of every level of the government, and this I call TEAMWORK. We are one team and that team is the government. Not only the province, not only the town, not only the barangay, not only the national level but the GOVERNMENT. The GOVERNMENT that the people are supposed to expect to be of service to them. After all, enshrined in our constitution is the Republican principle that sovereignty resides in the people and all governmental authority emanate from the people regardless of what level. Still, the people are supreme. Still, the people are sovereign. Mao kana mga igsoon, because of that teamwork, we have seen many things happening. Many of these have not even been imagined even by myself. As I started in my first term in 2004, I just wanted to serve the people the best way I can. And I called upon our colleagues to help me because I can not do it alone. I called upon the bureaucracy of the province of Misamis Oriental to make things happen because it is through the bureaucracy that everything happens. Bisan asa ka-anindot sa mga programa namo, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and myself, bisan asa kaanindot, that remains a plan, that remains an intention, it can never be done without the bureaucracy.

As I hold office in the second floor, every now and then, manambo ako sa bintana. Akong makita ang mga dahon sa atong mga kakahoyan. Almost every second, a leaf falls. This has given me some insights. As I watch every leaf falls, of course, I realize that kung daghan kaayong mga sagbot dinhi sa Kapitolyo, kinsay basulon, ang Gobernador. Kung hugaw ang Kapitolyo, sala sa Gobernador. But I can not physically do it because if I were to do it, I can not do anything else. I can not physically remove or pick up the leaves that fall every second. The bureaucracy does it for me. Sa atong mga cleaners, bisan sila apil sa bureaucracy. Sa atong mga utilities, bisan sila apil sa bureaucracy. You and I are parts of that bureaucracy. Sa atong kapin sa 1,900 nga mga empleyado, apil ang mga casuals, kamo, I want you to know that you are very much a part of what the provincial government has done from the very beginning.

Now, to give an insight on what we have done, guided by the prepared SOPA message.

On the issue of revenue generation, kalooy sa Diyos, our revenue generation has continually increased every year since 2004. Thanks also to the ordinance that was approved by the previous term of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, sponsored by then Kagawad Norris Babiera, our honorable Vice Governor. Salamat niadto kay nakatabang gyud pag-generate sa revenues especially sa real estate tax. In terms of local revenues, between 2007 and 2008, we have seen an increase of 45.59 percent. Increments in our local tax have resulted to services and projects nga atong gipadangat sa katawhan sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental. Of course, other departments from the Capitol have helped in our revenue generation.
Sa atong Provincial Health Office, I will touch later our hospital system, dako ang tabang sa atong Provincial Health Office particularly sa atong pito ka hospitals in generating revenues. Revenues that have never even been imagined we would generate.

MVUC – motor vehicle user’s charge. Salamat sa atong Provincial Engineering and the Caina’s Army. Pero on leave ilang commander karon. Salamat for generating revenues. Not only have they been able to do the works, they’ve been able to generate revenues for the province of Misamis Oriental. Misamis Oriental – sa tibuok nasud sa Pilipinas, because of the deliberate and planned approach with regards sa MVUC, the share of Misamis Oriental has far exceeded the share of other provinces, even three times as big as the province of Misamis Oriental. Mao kini ang resulta sa atong pag-increase sa atong provincial road network as we had been able to reach out to our friends in the mountain barangays to bring them closer to each other. We had also on the side generated revenues for the province of Misamis Oriental.

Salamat pud sa atong Veterinary Office. Never before has this office generated revenues of this magnitude.

ENRO, a department that we created in 2007, now is generating revenues for our province.

MisOr Aggies, aside from helping in our agricultural productivity programs, tabang pud sila pag-generate sa revenues.

Infrastructure, aside from more than doubling our provincial road network, ang atong engineering department has done many things. Seven days a week, anaa sa field. Ang atong kontra, ulan ra. Mao ray makapaundang sa atong trabaho. Abog ug kakapoy gi-agwanta. Ulan ra kita surrender. We have spent over the past five years over a hundred million to capacitate our engineering department. Pagpalit sa mga ekipo and each of this, naa gamit kaayo sa atong lalawigan, kalooy sa Diyos.

Farm-to-market road projects, together with national agencies, naay concreting and we are now on our second phase ug basig dugangan ni Lalay (Lealyn A. Ramos, DA-10 Executive Regional Director) para before the end of this year, another phase. This was by way of “kurambos”. Eighty percent of the funding requirement was provided by the Department of Agriculure and 20 percent was provided by the provincial government.
And as to the implementation, dugang pa nga kurambos sa lalawigan by way of the utilization of our equipment and the procurement of the materials including ang semento that we buy from HOLCIM at plant price.
This partnership with Holcim has been going on for five years now. And one of the reasons why we had been able to do what we have done was precisely because of this partnership. So together, in each of this project, we contributed not only 20 percent of the cash component but also our equipment.
Together, this constitutes about half of the project amount. So matag project, money-wise is worth two million, but if you look at the project, it is easily worth four million pesos. Two million nga cash and another two million pinaagi sa paggamit sa mga ekipo. Together we are able to come up with a project that is worth two million. And this is the mark of what we have been doing, an element of every infrastructure project that we have done since 2004.
Anaay kurambos, diha sa Molugan, for instance, we now have ten classrooms to serve not only the young but also its neighboring barangays. All together the value of the classrooms would reach about P5M but if we also calculate the value of the landfill that has been done over this one-hectare lot, the landfill value alone is easily worth eight million pesos. So if you look at the project, that is not only worth P5M but easily P13M and would even reach more than P15M.

School buildings. We had been able to do over the past five years consistently. Something that was not even imagined before. So far, we have built more than 200 classrooms dispersed all over the province funded by our school board funds and we will build more classrooms in the future.

Misortel today is much, much better than what it was when we inherited it. The next step for Misortel is to upgrade its facility. Unahon nato ang switch and this is something the board of Misortel, composed of the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is very much aware of. And in fact, this is already long overdue. Unfortunately, Misortel, can not borrow. While Misortel’s operating income over the past five years had been more than enough for its operating costs, the liability that Misortel had when we assumed office in 2004 were just tremendously great. Hangtud karon gabayad pa kita sa utang sa Misortel. And that loan from DBP will take up to 2016, long after the equipment that had been bought will have been rendered obsolete and long after this equipment will have been disposed of or already unusable. Tungod niini nga utang, galisud ang Misortel to fund the purchase of new equipment. Naa pay usa ka utang sa Bureau of Local Government Finance, but kalooy sa Diyos, because of the operating revenues that Misortel has been able to generate, the past two installments in regard to the DBP loan, in August of last year and February of this year, this two installments were paid by Misortel using its own money that it had generated from its operations. Not a single centavo was subsidized by the province of Misamis Oriental unlike in the past years. Since the time Misortel started repaying its loans, the province had subsidized virtually all these repayments in the amount of at least P50M per annum. Kalooy sa Diyos, Misortel was able to pay these loans from its own pocket now. And imagine the money that was used to subsidize before, that money had been dedicated to services and projects now. Ipaabot ngadto sa katawhan sa lalawigan.

Sa atong edukasyon, even from preschool age, naa ang atong Early Childhood Care and Development program which addresses part of our educational needs but the gist of the ECCD program is that from zero to six years old ang bata. Since the beginning, December 2004, we signed an agreement with the DSWD in regard to the ECCD program. Another kurambos project. Since then, the province had made a mark. We are the best province in terms of ECCD performance. Salamat sa mga men and women of the ECCD program.

Synergiea, many of you may not have heard of this. It is a joint program in collaboration with the private sector. Ang mga miembro ani sa Synergiea, ang mga kadagkoan sa academia, Fr. Beinvenido F.Nebres, S.J. is the president of this. Tulo ka lalawigan sa probinsya ang nahimong pilot project sa Synergiea – Magsaysay, Claveria and Villanueva. The executive director of Synergiea is Nene Guevarra whom I met when I was a member of Congress. She was then undersecretary of Finance. And we have developed a special kind of friendship and when I became Governor, nagkita kami and she talked about Synergiea. And I asked that we also become one of the beneficiaries or the target areas of the Synergiea program. She asked me one time, “Oca, can you give me two municipalities na maging beneficiaries ng Synergiea”. I mentioned Magsaysay and Claveria. After two weeks, she called me again and asked “Oca, are you sure of these two municipalities? Mga kalaban mo ang mga mayor dito?” Of course, former Mayor Rocky Calingin of Claveria is with us now, sa atong Misor Meteors and Mayor Ocot of Magsaysay. Kalaban in terms of politics lang pero hindi kalaban personally. The reason why I chose Magsaysay and Claveria is because these two municipalities had the most felt need, not because of politics but because I felt, based on the survey, that Claveria and Magsaysay needed assistance in terms of their elementary education. I told her “Ito and kailangan”. These are the two biggest municipalities that need this project the most. Then I told her “Ne, If we will succeed in Claveria and Magsaysay, we will succeed in all the province of Misamis Oriental.” Kalooy sa Diyos, Magsaysay is a showcase. Grabe and improvement sa reading skills sa atong mga gagmay nga mga pupils didto sa elementary schools in Magsaysay. A few weeks back, the province was invited in Davao for an annual assessment of the Synergiea program and the case of Magsaysay was made the showcase. Again, salamat sa pagtabang sa tanan including Xavier University and our sponsors. Claveria is also doing well in terms of Synergiea program.

Scholarship. Padayon gihapon ang atong scholarship. Salamat sa atong mga eskwelahan, MUST and MOSCAT, who are with us here. Salamat sa inyong tabang. We are empowering our young so that they will be better than us. And I repeat, we’re all in this para sa atong mga kabatan-onan so that they will become better than us.

Ang atong SCALA program is doing well. Salamat.

PLDT-Smart Gabay Guro scholarship program. Starting last year, we sent ten scholars sa MUST funded by PLDT and SMART. Ang ilang mga empleyado and ga-fund niini, not the corporations, to help develop our future teachers.

Salamat sa atong responsible parenting program. While we respect the freedom of choice, we have chosen the road in encouraging responsible parenting and natural family planning methods. Kauban nato ang simbahan and in fact, this program is led by His Emminence Archbishop Ledesma.

Environment programs. Kalooy sa Diyos, ang PAMB and Handog Titulo programs. So far, since 2004, we have distributed land titles to 6,269 beneficiaries covering an area of 8,766 hectares.

Poverty Alleviation. This is one area that we will continue to push. Of course, our Lantad experience is at the forefront of this agenda. Ug karon, dili lang ang Lantad, naa ang Brgy. Tama sa Magsaysay and we will continue to explore other areas. As I said before, after Lantad, nothing is impossible.

Salamat sad sa atong partnership with Northern Mindanao Medical Center. Salamat sa ilang tabang.

Agricultural productivity. We are very happy sa atong agricultural productivity program. Salamat sa MisOr Aggies. Last year alone, between 2007-2008, sa atong role of enhancing the production of staple crops, palay production has increased by 9.4 percent. One of the fastest growing provinces in the region. Salamat sa tabang sa DA.
Ang atong production has increased by 56 percent. Giabot sa 140,621 metric tons. Salamat sa corn seeds ni Lalay. Abot-abot sa kabukiran iyang mga corn seeds.

Root crops, increment of 47 percent in one year. Fruits and vegetables also increased by 1.6 percent and 9 percent respectively. Naay atong mga tractors that we utilize consistently. Land preparation costs has been reduced by 50 percent generating more profit for our farmers. Uban pang mga kurambos programs sa Ginintuang Masaganang Ani, MINCIADPI, NEDA-10, sa ilang Kennedy Round 2 sa Rural Bank of Talisayan, AJ Beltran Foundation, Sa BLEND, ATI, DTI-10, Nestle Philippines.

Bisan sa atong seaweeds program, we are doing well, mariculture park sa Balingasag and hopefully more mariculture parks in the province of Misamis Oriental.

In conclusion, let me read what our head of MisOr Aggies had said. Kay ako siyang gipangutana,”Dan, are you proud of what you have done over the past year, and if you are proud, you tell me so that I can relay it to the people of Misamis Oriental.” I also said the same thing, to Roland Pacuribot, to every department head sa Kapitolyo.

Mao ning closing statement ni Danny. “As an outcome of the frequent exposures sa mga rural-based organizations, 90 percent of the delegates of Region 10 of the recently held RBO National Convention in Tagbilaran City were selected from the best and talented RBO members in Misammis Oriental. An achievement that we can truly be proud of. Salamat Dan, very good. That is what we want to develop. To have pride in ourselves, to have pride in what we have done. Kining RBOs are the rural-based organizations. Tua kini sa mga kabukiran. Tua kini sa mga kabaryohan. And these are the people who have carried the banner of Misamis Oriental with pride and with dignity. And for them to have done that, we are proud of them and we are proud of our province.

Now, my friends, I ought to talk about the airport. The airport is not over 45 percent complete sa civil works. And December 31 of this year, as regards sa civil works, the airport would have been 60 percent complete. And by the end of the first quarter of this year, nahuman na ang runway, nahuman na ang taxiway. So that the President would be given the singular honor nga siya ang unang makagamit ana nga airport even before its operations while she is in office. And rightly so, because that airport is, iya nga baby when she was undersecretary of DTI during the time of Cory Aquino. When she became senator, she was the only one who ensured nga naay funding ang Project Management Office sa Cagayan-Iligan Corridor program which included the airport in Laguindingan as one of its flagship project. In January 2006, she opened up the door in that airport. After the preliminary activities have been done, land acquisition, etc., 2008 nagsugod ang construction. The construction is now 8 months old and already we are over 45 percent. By the third quarter of 2011, the airport would have been completed. Ang original schedule, didto unta sa 2012, but because of the teamwork gikan sa national level paingon sa barangay diha sa Moog, Tubajon, Gasi, Liberty, Kibaghot ug Mauswagon, tungod niana nga teamwork, kalooy sa Diyos, the airport is doing very well, better than expected. And we will continue to support that.

Of course, angay pud estoryahan ang ship part building diha sa Phividec. A few months ago, we were asked by the President to join her in her trip to Korea. That was the ASEAN-Korea Summit held in Korea. Ang I’m very happy nga giuban si Mayor Oliver Ubaub sa Laguindingan and Mayor Oloy Emano sa Tagoloan. Unfortunately, Villanueva was not represented. Unfortunately. Didto sa Korea, there was a tremendous outpouring of goodwill and friendship, not only between the national government officials of Korea and the officials of Republic of the Philippines but also the chairman of Hanjin and the Philippine officials.

The trip, to me, was an act of humility that restored friendship and hopefully that friendship is reinforced. Salamat ako kang Mayor Oloy Emano for joining the trip on a very short notice. I told President Arroyo and the President of Hanjin, this is an act of humility. And because of that, wala na estoryahi ang nahitabo. There was simply an outpouring of goodwill and friendship.

Recovery is something that happens, it’s just a question of when. In every crisis, there is recovery. Bisan asa ka mupaingon. Bisan asa nga parte sa history sa kalibutan, in every crisis is a silver lining. Naa ang bidlisiw sa kalamboan. And kalooy sa Diyos, ang Korea is well in position as we near the recovery phase. I am very confident that as the economy recovers, mahitabo ra gihapon ang pag-construct sa planta diha sa Phividec. Ang importante lang is we learn from that sad experience. We learn with humility and with humility is a renewed friendship and a renewed commitment. As the President has said, that project, is not only a project even of Region 10, even of Mindanao, it is a national project. That’s how significant is our project to our country.

Mga igsoon, let me touch sa atong hospitals. When we assumed office in 2004, the hospitals had given many of us a traumatic experience. I myself had gone through a traumatic experience diha sa Balingasag. We decided to improve the hospitals. We did not know how. What we just knew is what we wanted to do. To improve the hospitals. Para ang atong mga kaigsoonan sa lalawigan will not have to come to Cagayan to seek hospital care. Available na diha sa atong pito ka hospitals sa Manticao, Initao, Claveria, Balingasag, Magsaysay, Talisayan and Gingoog.

We had four common problems in the seven hospitals that were devolved to the local government units as early as 1991 when the local government code took effect. Four common problems that were getting bigger and bigger every year. Walay tambal, walay, ekipo, walay medical personnel, infrastructura. All of these were present in all of the seven hospitals. We embarked on a hospital improvement program. We did not know, we did not even imagine that we will succeed. But we just wanted to do our best. Salamat sa tanan nga nagtabang. Of course, Provincial Health Office, sa atong Sangguniang Panlalawigan who has given me the wholehearted support in every step of the way. Salamat sa Philhealth, salamat sa DOH, salamat sa katawhan sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental. We now have a good hospital system and it will become better from hereon. Over the past years, we have spent more than 100 million para lang sa pag-improve sa hospitals. I didn’t realize nga moabot ta diha. But kana nga value, nakadaginot na gani ta diha because again, of the landfill that we did ourselves. More than 100 million para sa hospitals over the last five years. Manticao – ang cost moabot sa 13.4M. Naa pay duha ka phases that are ongoing. And we will inaugurate Manticao in mid-September, this year. Initao – nahuman nato at a cost of P8M. Level 2 status na ang Initao. Talisayan hospital was completed in 2008. We spent more than P15.5M. Balingasag, from where it was and from where it is now, ang atong gigasto P24M excluding the landfill. Gingoog, naa pay duha ka building that remain to completed. Ang atong estimate at least P48M for the whole complex para ma-eligible pohon para ma-tertiary level. Magsaysay, our target is P8.5M. We will continue with the rehabilitation of Magsaysay, fourth quarter of this year or at the latest first quarter of next year. Mao gihapon ang Claveria, we wil spend P11.6M. Atong nagasto sa Claveria, niabot na ug P3M. Magsaysay, giabot na sa P2M.

Philhealth, from 2005 to this year, premium alone, ang atong gigasto giabot na sa P164M. Pero out of that, about P43M, mobalik pud sa ato by way of capitation fund. And 20 percent of that maoy atong gigamit para sa hospital upgrading. So katong atong P100M atong gigasto para sa hospital infrastructure, 20 percent of that gikan sa capitaition fund. Major hospital equipment, naa na karon sa atong mga hospitals. We have spent more than P25 million. And I asked Dr. Sonny Moreno,” Doy, we have spent so much sa infrastructure, we have spent so much sa Philhealth, we have spent so much sa equipment, unsay returns?

The returns consist of two parts, one is the financial return we generate from the operations of this hospitals. The bulk of that returns gikan sa Philhealth payments. The other return is didto sa paggamit sa katawhan sa atong hospital. These hospitals are now there. Gigamit ba sa katawhan sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental? Ang atong average occupancy rate last year 2008 was 150 for all the seven hospitals. Average occupancy rate per day. If you calculate pila ang na-confine sa atong mga hospitals for the year using three as the average number of days of confinement, muabot kana sa 18,300, 150 ang average occupancy per day. 18,300 nga dili na angayan nga mogasto pa sila pag-anhi sa Cagayan de Oro, dili na mahadlok magpa-confine kay naa nay hospital that offers appropriate hospital care. Mao kini ang katawhan sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental who do not have the resources to go to the best hospitals here in Cagayan de Oro.

This year, 35 thousand are enrolled sa Philhealth. Dili na mahadlok masakit, dili na mabalaka mosulod sa hospital unlike before. Today they go to our hospitals with a smile. I go to them every chance that I have. Mangutana ako kanila “Philhealth?”, they will answer with a smile and a thumbs up sign.

My friends, many more still need to be done. We have gone a long way since 2004. But the road ahead is still long. It’s even much longer than the five-year road that we have taken. The journey ahead is much longer that we have so far made. Our time is limited. And I say this with all humility. Our early healthcare program, karon lain na ang title, “fit for school”. But Misamis Oriental started this program three years back. Salamat sa DEP-Ed and DOH. That model has now been followed by more than 30 provinces.
We can not do it alone. We need you. Sa atong mga private sector, sa atong friends sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental, academe, and the local chief executives. Gikan sa Magsaysay paingon sa Lugait.

Ang election sa 2010 is still a long way from here. Naa pay at least seven months nga wala pay kampanya. And let us optimize this seven months. Instead of focusing on politics that divide us, instead of focusing on politics that polarize the people of Misamis Oriental, LET US FOCUS ON WHAT WE NEED TO DO TOGETHER. Make our people happy as we serve them. Make them proud of our province.

Ang Balingasag Hospital that you see now, pareho kana sa Lantad. This was what I said during the inauguration. In Lantad, it was not as if I had imagined much less planned nga buhatan ug dalan paingon sa Lantad. No, to be very honest. It was not as if nga nag-ingon ako nga buhatan nato ug dalan ang Lantad because I was of the belief nga dili gyud mabuhatan ug dalan ang Lantad because that was the notion then. That was what people believed in. But we defined that. Ang ato lang was, taman sa makaya. Kung walay trabaho kay nag-ulan, okey lang. Until finally, our grader, our bulldozer reached the top. We did not imagine that we can do that. But we just wanted to do the best that we can.

Mao gihapon kana sa Balingasag. Mao gihapon sa Gingoog, sa atong mga hospital. Mao gihapon kana sa Pelaez Sports Center. We just wanted to do the best that we can, dealing with our limitations and our handicaps and believing in ourselves. We did not know nga ingon ana ba diay kaanindot ang atong mahimo.

So the message that I would like to share with you is trabaho lang ta. Let’s just give our best. Maningkamot lang ta. At the end of it all, even the results will surprise us. Let us not be contented with what we do in a cursory manner. Dili kanang mantener lang. Everything we do, we give our best. Because we are privileged to be where we are now. It is an honor to be of service to our people. And that honor is not given to anyone, that privilege is not given to anyone. The most important is the little successes inspire us, encourage us. And as far as we are inspired and encouraged, we achieved far greater successes. That is the story of Misamis Oriental over the past five years. Still a fraction of what we can do for the future of Misamis Oriental. So kay nahimo man, mahimo pa nato and there is still room for improvement. Let us help one another.

We have more ambitious projects. Ang Lasang ni Maam Dotty. (former tourism regional director Dorothy Jean Pabayo). I thought that in her retirement, mawala na ang fire in her eyes. But believe me, the fire in her eyes that I see whenever we talk about Lasang is even much greater than the fire in my eyes. We will launch that towards the end of this month. And we have this ambition to build a complex diha sa Lasang which will certainly become a major tourist destination.

So sa tanan, daghan salamat sa inyong tabang. Dili si Oca Moreno ang nabulahan niini. Nabulahan ako for the honor and the privilege of being part of this team and I want you to know that all the members of this team, pareho ang credito for being part of this team.

What we have done would have created a standard that the people will expect long after we will have been gone. Dugang pa nga trabaho ang gikinahanglan. And bugti nianang dugang pa nga pagpaningkamot, ang dugang pa nga kalipay sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental.

Salamat kaayo ang good day to one and all.