BALANGA City: Bataan celebrated its 268th Foundation Day Saturday with a long parade participated by thousands from the government and private sectors under the theme “Selebrasyon ng Matatag na Pamilyang Bataeño.”
The Capitol Drive in Balanga City, a busy street leading to The Bunker, seat of the provincial government, was closed to traffic and instead stalls of for sale food and non-food items, including a photo booth and an inflatable playground for children, lined the road.
The celebration highlighted the strength and unity of Bataan families as basis for the province’s progress and success.
After the parade, Gov. Jose Enrique Garcia 3rd delivered his State of the Province Address (SOPA) at the Bataan People’s Center, sharing the capitol’s programs and initiatives that brought positive changes in the province the past year.
Ang mga piling programang nakatanggap ng parangal nitong 2024 “ay naging dahilan upang kilalanin tayo bilang modelo sa iba’t ibang sektor ng lipunan at ituring na modelo ng kaunlaran ng iba’t ibang probinsya sa buong bansa,” the governor said.
He thanked Vice Gov. Cris Garcia, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and all the capitol department heads for helping him to continue bringing changes to the lives of Bataeño families.
Here are some of the awards received by the provincial government in 2024:
* 7th Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) from the Department of the Interior and Local Government
* 1st Highest ratio of locally-sourced revenues to total current operating income in 2022 and 2023 at 4th Highest locally-sourced revenues in nominal terms in 2024 from the Bureau of Local Government Finance
* 5th in the Top 10 provinces and HUCs in terms of per capita GDP at constant 2018 prices in 2022 from the Philippine Statistics Authority
* No. 10 rank in Cities and Municipalities competitiveness index from the Department of Trade and Industry
* 10 Outstanding Local Governance Program for Bahay Wika from the Galing Pook Foundation
* Best Institutionalized Culture and the Arts Program for Bahay Wika from ATOP-DOT Pearl Awards
* Best Tourism Souvenirs for “Remember Bataan” from ATOP-DOT Pearl Awards
* National Best PESO from the Department of Labor and Employment
* Most Outstanding Stakeholder for Paleng-QR PH Plus Program from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
* Best Public Service Campaign for “Kwentuhan Tayo, Bataeno” mula sa Presidential Communications Office
* Beyond Complaint recognition for the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMO) from the Office of Civil Defense on the occasion of 24th Gawad Kalasag
* Highly-functional citation for the Provincial Committee on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and their Children from the Department of Social Welfare and Development
* High performance rating for the Peace and Order Council and Anti-Drug Abuse Council from the Department of the Interior and Local Government
* Ideal Functionality citation for the Local Project Monitoring Committee from the Department of the Interior and Local Government. (30)
