By HENRY EMPEÑO | Iba, Zambales

EVEN as the Covid-19 pandemic derailed government projects and programs in the country last year, the Zambales provincial government successfully sustained growth in key sectors while delivering effective response to manage the health crisis in the 13 towns comprising the province.

Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said in his recent State of the Province Address (SOPA) that the Iba Capitol recorded last year a 6.4 percent increase in total assets, thus making the province one of the 10 richest provinces in the country for the past three years.

And despite restrictions resulting from strict health protocols, Ebdane said the province also completed infrastructure projects worth P773 million; provided agricultural inputs that yielded a 38.2 percent growth in rice production; implemented projects and programs through a P1.6-billion fund approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan through the General Appropriations Act; and recorded an increase in revenue generated from mining, quarrying, and other environmental regulatory fees.

“Covid-19 struck in the first quarter of 2020, and that put everything to halt,” Ebdane recalled. “It was a frightening and a terrifying period, but we never let the situation bother us. We prepared—and came out prepared!” 

The governor said that after President Duterte placed the country under a state of public health, he immediately convened the Provincial Crisis Management Team, which eventually became the Zambales IATF in the Management of Covid-19. Meanwhile, the Capitol’s administrative, infrastructure, economic, and social services clusters continued with their respective work, thus allowing the Provincial Health Office to take on its major task of managing Covid-19 cases.

At the same time, the Office of the Governor and other departments collaborated in distributing some 250,000 food packs to Zambaleños and non-residents who got locked down during the quarantine.

“In a span of 10 months, we spent around P551.5 million for the management of Covid-19 in the province,” Ebdane said.

The anti-Covid measures included operating a dedicated hospital for confirmed Covid-19 cases and establishing alternative facilities for isolation and quarantine; setting up a molecular laboratory for Covid-19 testing; putting up checkpoints in the north and south entry points of Zambales; procuring  testing kits, medical laboratory and supplies; and rolling out regular rapid and antigen tests for government frontline workers.

Aside from these, the Zambales government provided free transportation and full salary for employees, including those who worked from home; free food, accommodation, and RDT test for medical workers; and free food packages, hygiene kits, and full hospitalization for Covid-19 patients.

The Zambales government also provided financial assistance of P25,000 to each of the 230 barangays in the province, and distributed food packages to local households in three waves.

“Our experience in handling Covid-19 cases has been an eye opener for us,” Ebdane reflected. “We now find it necessary to consider putting up a better and modern hospital that will provide appropriate health services to our people.”

“While Covid-19 challenged us, it also brought out the best in us. We became more caring of our families and friends, of our brothers and sisters. We have witnessed that the best language of service is compassion and kindness,” he added.

Ebdane said that in 2021, his administration will be gunning for “bigger, yet clearer and attainable goals for Zambales.”

On top of this agenda is the strategic revenue generation for the province’s economic recovery program, including a more strategic action for the local tourism industry, and the Covid-19 vaccination program for residents of Zambales. ~