Featured Articles

Amidst the CoViD -19 pandemic, the Office of the Governor -Environment and Natural Resources (OPG-ENRU) joins the Lower Amburayan River System-Water Quality Management Area (LARS-WQMA) river clean-up at Sudipen, La Union on November 18, 2020.

The activity was conducted in collaboration with the members of the Governing Board namely Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environment and Managemetn Bureau; Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office; Municipality of Sudipen and its five Barangays covering the lower Amburayan river (Ipet, Poblacion, Old central, Ilocano and Namaltugan); and the PNP-Sudipen.

The activity with the theme “Let Our Rivers Heal Too” is a part of the LARS-WQMA sustainability plan. As a result, 39 participants were able to collect 205 kilograms of collectible solid waste considered as residuals such as plastic bottles and rappers, cans, and worn out shoes and clothes. Further, some metals/car part were also noticed. The waste collected were then segregated and handed to the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Sudipen for proper disposal.

LARS-WQMA is being managed by the established Governing Board/council covering three LGUs in La Union and six LGUs in Ilocos Sur chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and co-chaired by both mentioned provinces and was created to effectively manage the Amburayan River and its resources. Thus, the clean-up activity is a part of the interdependent support to the WQMA.

Board Member Maria Annabelle S. de Guzman, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Chair of the Committee on Public Works and Utilities called for a policy orientation meeting at the Conference Room of the La Union Police Provincial Office, Camp Diego Silang, City of San Fernando, La Union on November 18, 2020 to discuss matters pertaining to the implementation of the anti-road obstructions and road warning safety devices ordinances as well as the distribution on the Provincial Ordinance Violation Receipt to Chiefs of Police of the 20 Local Government Units of La Union.

QUIRINO DAY. The Provincial Government of La Union (PGLU) headed by Gov. Pacoy along with Vice Gov. Mario Ortega and Board Members Paolo Ortega, Nancy Bacurnay, Christian Rivera, Gerard Ostrea, Frank Sibuma, and Abraham Rimando, led the commemoration of the 130th birth anniversary of the late President Elpidio Quirino today, November 16, 2020, as they offered wreath before his iconic portrait displayed at the Provincial Capitol, City of San Fernando, La Union.
Mayor Francisco Angelito Fontanilla and Vice Mayor Divine Fontanilla led the celebration in Bacnotan, where a barangay and an elementary school are named after the late President.
In Caba, where a Quirino statue now stands, Vice Mayor Ronnie Mangaser represented Mayor Philip Crispino in leading the wreath-laying ceremony.
In Pres. Elpidio Quirino National High School in Agoo, LGU officials led by Mayor Stefanie Anne Eriguel and faculty members commemorated the birth of the president.
Born to an Agoo-native mother, Quirino spent his childhood in Aringay and served as a grade school teacher in Caba, before entering politics and eventually becoming the nation’s sixth president in 1948-1953.

LUNG CANCER, DIABETES AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. Nurses Charizza Ringor and Blesie Mayo discuss ways on how to prevent Lung Cancer and Diabetes in Bacnotan District Hospital (BDH) Out Patient Department on November 13, 2020 as part of BDH’s continuing advocacy campaign on the leading causes of mortality. They mentioned the importance of healthy lifestyle in combating such diseases.

The Office of the Governor -Environment and Natural Resources (OPG-ENRU) conducted mangrove assessment in Balaoan, Bacnotan and San Juan (BalBaSan) area in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Conservation and Development Division together with Office of the Provincial Agriculturist -Fishery Division in collaboration with the concerned Local Government Units on November 11-13, 2020.

The activity is a part of the BALBASAN Marine Protected Area Network’s (MPAN) three years sustainability plan. As a result, the group were able to identify eight mangrove species in the barangays of Balaoan (Paraoir and Almeida) while both the Municipalities of Bacnotan (Galongen Quirino and Baroro) and San Juan (Talogtog, Taboc and Ili Norte) both have seven mangrove species. Identified mangrove species included; Bakawan lalaki, Bakawan babae, Pedada, Nipa, Palaypay, Pototan, Lagiwliw, Buta – buta, Bakawan bato, Bungalon, Kalapini, Culasi, Tinduk-tindukan, Tawalis and Bantigue. All in all, there were 15 mangrove species found in the BALBSAN MPAN.

Mangroves are considered the most important components of the coastal ecosystem. The need to conduct mangrove area assessment plays an important role not only to have a baseline data for policy recommendation but mainly as foundation for the conservation and protection purposes.

The Office of the Provincial Assessor headed by Engr. Arnulfo A. Cacho in collaboration with the Municipal Assessors League of La Union (MALLU) conducted a two-day online training on Enhanced Real Property Taxation System (ERPTS) and AutoCAD Mapping on November 11-12 participated in by 72 staff from the Office of the Municipal Assessors and the Office of the Provincial Assessor.

Gov. Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” R. Ortega III applauded the assessors for their efforts to remain devoted in their commitment to provide quality services despite the challenges brought by the pandemic.

“Despite the uncertainties and adversities brought by the pandemic, we remained steadfast in our commitment to provide high quality services that all our Kaprobinsiaan deserve. Hence this training is instrumental in keeping the Municipal Assessors abreast with the latest technologies to ensure, enhanced public service delivery,” he said.
On the first day of the training, Bureau of Local Governance Finance Region I Director Peter D. Baluyan congratulated the Assessors team for their hard work as the Province of La Union seats number one on collection efficiency in the entire Region I. “I would like to sight your target in 2019 which was Php224,063,950 and out of that, your actual collection was Php364,369,007 which translates to a collection efficiency of 154%, you did a very good job for being number 1 in the entire Region and possibly have a place in the entire country,” he said.

The Information Technology and Land Patent Unit discussed the basic history and conceptualization of the ERPTS and later followed by the hands-on operations and actual management techniques of the system.

On the second day, the trainees participated in an actual plotting and uploading of map using the AutoCAD application. Engr. Cacho made it more interesting by initiating a contest on the fastest participant to plot and upload a map using the AUtoCAD and eRPTS as Naguilian Municipal Assessor Myra Fe Riñon emerged victorious.

The training served as a refresher course and realignment for staff at the Municipal Assessor’s Offices in aid to merge gaps and break barriers as the OPAss and MALLU collaborates for Stronger La Union.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Committee on Finance, Budget and Appropriations chaired by SPM Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V spearheads the two-day budget hearing of the proposed CY 2021 Local Expenditure Program of the Provincial Government of La Union on November 11 and 12, 2020 at the SP Conference Hall, Provincial Capitol, City of San Fernando, La Union.

To ensure health and safety, the budget hearing was conducted face-to-face and virtually. Only limited number of participants were physically present and others joined the deliberations via Zoom.

27 PGLU Offices and five District Hospitals presented and defended their respective 2020 budgets. Before they recommended for its approval, the legislators thoroughly reviewed the offices’ and hospitals’ budget to ensure that the funds will be properly allocated and spent.

The budget proposal contained in the letter of the Gov. Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” R. Ortega III was received by the SP on October 16, 2020, which is in compliance with the mandate of the Local Government Code of 1991. The proposed CY 2021 budget amounts to more than P1.8 billion, which is approximately 4.9% higher than this year’s budget. Getting the biggest chunk of the budget for 2021 are the following departments – Provincial Health Office, Sangguniang Panlalawigan and Office of the Governor. This further reflects the focus on the updated transformative strategy on Response, Recovery, and Local Economic Development to achieve a secure, self-sufficient and sustainable province under the new normal. A big portion of the budget is likewise intended to address the effects of the CoVid-19 pandemic to various sectors and to achieve the vision of the province to position La Union as the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by the 2025.

The Committee on Finance, Budget and Appropriations will submit its Committee Report on the plenary after the proposed budget has been finalized. The SP is committed to approve the proposed CY 2021 budget before the year ends to ensure the continuous implementation of programs and projects that are geared towards building a Stronger La Union, a province worth living in.

The Office of the Provincial Governor – Environment and Natural Resources Unit (OPG-ENRU), in partnership with the Office for Provincial Strategy (OPS), met with partner offices on November 9, 2020 at the OPG-ENRU Conference Hall to share the environmental sustainability plans, programs, and projects for La Union and establish linkages with partner offices for the implementation of the said plans.

EnP Annalyn Rosario-Valdez, Supervising Environmental Management Specialist presented and discussed the plans and programs for forest and coastal resources management.

Ms. Diana E. Jutba, Environmental Management Specialist II, presented the solid waste management programs as well as the water quality management and monitoring of the Province. She further discussed the plans moving forward for solid and wastewater management in La Union.

Engr. Rommilyn V. Torio, Environmental Management Specialist II presented the monitoring results of quarry areas in La Union and further discussed the plans and programs for mines and geosciences services.

EnP. Shereal Catbagan also shared the scheduled activities for the formulation of the Provincial Local Climate Change Action Plan.

Present during the meeting were Provincial Administrator Agnes Grace Cargamento; Provincial Engineer Ressie Estrella and staff; Provincial Agriculturist Ramon Laudencia and staff; Provincial Health Office representative Engr. Candy Miguel; Provincial Planning and Development Office representative Mr. Darius Cargamento; Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office representative Mr. Edgar V. Gamer; Provincial Treasury Office representative Ms. Rina Joy Andrada; Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office representative Mr. David Ken Salamanca; and OPS representative Ms. Emmanuelle Dominique Mendoza.