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| Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc (Alaric Yanos) |
Laoag City—Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc culminated his first 30 days in office through an accomplishment report on August 1, 2019.
Presenting the report in front of the members of the media, he was accompanied by Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos alongside the heads of the different departments of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN).
“I already met with our department heads after my very first flag-raising ceremony [as governor]. I gave them guidelines. One of the main points was to reconsider and rethink everything that we do: our organizational structure, systems, and procedures to make sure that we are as efficient as possible,” Mr. Manotoc remarked.
Among his first initiatives as governor is ordering the Human Resource and Management Department to assess employees’ status.
“We are looking at filling in the most necessary and essential positions while also abolishing ‘yong mga hindi na kailangan. The ultimate goal is to equip our departments fully and accomplish our objectives. If we fill in these key positions, I am sure our departments will be more effective,” he explained.
Moreover, also included in the list of his accomplishments are his attendance in a three-day training with other provincial governors conducted by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG); election of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP); and the first regular session of the 18th Congress, followed by the President’s State of the Nation Address.
Further discussing his accomplishments, Mr. Manotoc reiterated his battle cry: Salun-at a sigurado, umili produkto [A healthy community is a productive community].
On top of his priorities are strengthening the province’s bid to develop healthcare offerings through providing quality services and facilities, and reinforcing its commitment to promoting sustainable measures for the protection of environment.
Conducting a series of meetings and consultations with various agencies and local government units, Mr. Manotoc looks forward to addressing issues on road safety and traffic congestion; solid waste management and sanitation; and land revitalization and improvement of irrigation facilities, among others. (Edison Justin B. Deus)