The Tarlac governor, unopposed in her second reelection bid, was guest at the Balitaan forum of the Capampangan in Media Inc. at Bale Balita, Clark Freeport Zone over the weekend. Here’s her take on various issues raised in that forum, in her own words, as transcribed by Joann Manabat.
Inclusive growth
If the government services have already trickled down ‘dun sa laylayan ng ating society, that we can feel walking around in the streets, I am not a governor that sits in my office. I walk in the barangays and [engage] in mano-manong usapan. I-gauge ko kung masaya sila, and feel that the services of the government have reached them. In these past five years, I am proud to say they do. So, I believe naging inclusive po sa lahat ng sectors ang growth ng probinsya.
Food security
You know, nauso yung community pantry di ba, but kami ni-launch namin last year during the pandemic, not community pantries but community farming where each barangay should come up with 2,000 sqm of idle lands where the community will be the one to work on it but I provided all the inputs from the seeds to the… lahat ng kailangan nila para hindi nag-aantay nung delata at saka cup noodles. So, they are self-sufficient even during the pandemic para pag nag lockdown they have food and they make money out of those. So, out of 511 barangays, we were already at 150 barangays who joined us in this program. It is sustained, may pa-contest pa kasi. Para maging sustainable, they have to sustain it for a year cycle, at the end may prizes.
Okra: top export
For high value crops we are already exporting to Japan. Our okra, saluyot, kung hindi nag-pandemic we would have already expanded to tempura products, a complete tempura line for export: okra, sweet potato, kalabasa, not talong kasi medyo mahirap. And then yung mga preserves, yung ginger na pine-preseve yung ina-add sa sashimi, yung red ginger, we are doing that na rin. Pero our biggest export is still okra. We’re developing the others.
Hacienda Luisita
The Luisita lands have been distributed to the farmers. And sugar is still the primary produce there. Sections have been purchased by Ayala Land, Robinsons I think has also purchased… There are things we have to change in the future. In fact, our meeting kanina with Cris Bautista, my agricultural officer, is really to do a road map on how to transform Luisita area and make it more usable. Hindi lang naman Luisita. There are so many tracts of land, ‘yung mga ARPs [agrarian reform programs] na nagdi-distribute but [for some reasons] ano, hirap ‘yung farmers, it is not enough [for them] to survive.
What we’re looking at [as] I have several tie ups with international agencies, is to expand our export of high value crops. Pero, ito kasi will require bigger investment kung mag-green housing so I’m working with DBP and Landbank to make it accessible to farmers and probably do more cooperatives. We have this surety fund. When coops invest in our trust fund, they are able to loan ten times what they have invested with us and this is a partnership between the provincial government, DBP, and Landbank.
Helping entrepreneurs
Iba yung Tarlaqueno sa Kapampangan. Dito nagsu-survive ang restaurants nyo. Sa amin mago-open and give it about six months, wala na. Iba yung habits eh, kasi kung gustong gumimik, dito [Angeles] ang takbo talaga. Parang habit na, na kabisado pag-gabi dito.
In Tarlac, especially the Ilocanos are in their homes by 6 o’clock. We don’t expect them to go out. Di ba hind talaga lumalabas? Pag day time they are okay. So, hirap din ang small entrepreneurs namin. Here’s where I am active with them, giving them financial access especially in this time of Covid whereby they secure loans anywhere from P10,000 to P75,000 to P100,000 and two percent lang ata yung interest.
Birds homing in Tarlac
Migratory birds seem to be migrating from Candaba, Pampanga to Canarem Lake [a wetland area and habitat to several wild bird species] in Victoria, Tarlac.
I’m trying to procure it back because that’s already titled to, may mga private owners eh, but even then we are trying to develop it. Kasi pag private they do mga kung anu-anong developments so they disturb the ecosystem. Luckily, we were able to convince the land owners. Talagang wild birds flock there, so there is a need to maintain the ecosystem there. And I think we’re making motions already para ma-protect ang area. And bird watching is great! Ako, surprised na puro foreigners ang dumarating doon.
Opening up to tourists
Okay lang [no all-out promotion of natural tourist attractions]. Yung carrying capacity [of the area] when the tourists come, need to be prepared. It is a case of and give and take. Okay, we want to open it up but are we ready? We were opening access to the western side, the mountainous areas of Tarlac. But when we started doing the road access, people were leaving their trash everywhere. We had to put up gates, physical padlocked gates.
It’s easy to spread the news but we want responsible tourists to go up there. Even our people, we don’t have to hammer into their head para alagaan yung lugar, otherwise I am not happy. We want people to see the beauty in it, but if they are the ones that are going to disturb and disrupt it, sayang. With the late Dr. Perry Ong, a biodiversity professor, we did a biodiversity study of the mountain ranges, and we discovered several species not known yet to man. We’re in the process of doing a catalog… a snake, and I think, the other one is a lizard. And they discovered these in only two expeditions up in the mountains. So, I don’t mind na hold it muna.
Road-building
Tuloy-tuloy yon. As for the roads, we’re doing Tarlac-Zambales Road and the peripheral link. We’re opening from San Clemente town all the way to the Tarlac-Zambales Road. Mahirap lang sa población eh. Restricted na ang parking. I was talking to the mayor, they have some political will, na pag nag-open ka ng negosyo dapat mayroon kang parking.
We assess all our provincial roads first [for rehabilitation or construction]. Whether it’s going to be gravel, small roads, and all that. Hindi yung, bakit nyo sinisira? Eh saying ang pera. Pasa nyo nalang sa amin. But you should already have inventory on roads that need to be repaired and new roads that need to be done. So that the funds go to the proper programs.
Meron kaming areas na we assess if reblocking is needed. The roads that have been constructed probably 50 years old and above na talagang makita mo na yung base course and sections, ‘yon binabasag to complete, it to restore it, pero still the needed consideration for drainage, and then sidewalk, and mga poste.
Human capital development
We have been a consistent awardee for five years, Kabalikat awards of TESDA. We’ve invested a lot on skills training of our people. I’ve put up already a vocational school, apart [that] from the TESDA. It was beautiful. Ginawa nang benchmark ng TESDA yon, that they want to replicate in other provinces. So Bulacan has been with us, and many other provinces have already come to our model. Mina-match namin, so training for our people to be job ready.
POGOs
What benefits do we get [out of them]? Ninety percent of employees are not Filipinos. Ang Filipinong nandoon janitor, di ba? Only the lessor is benefitted. What job generation does it bring? Taxation is not even clear yet, what is it to national government? Until the policy is clearly laid out to benefit my people, then I will support but what’s the benefit? To be clear, I am not against it. Just fix the policies behind it.
Vaccination
As of [Dec. 2], we’re 73 percent for the first dose and I think 50 percent na ang second dose. We’re doing boosters na rin.
Performance
For now, the measurement of my performance is [in] the awards we’ve been getting…practically all the national awards, whether it’s from DOLE, TESDA, PCCI, OCD… best implementers in different government programs. Those awards are difficult to get not only in the implementation side but even in the documentation and we’ve complied with all of them. That’s why my team, I’m really grateful for them. You know, we require aside from the civil service eligibility an additional exam na binibagay for those who want to join our provincial government.
Retirement
Kasi ako, one of the staunch advocates in Congress noon, I really wanted to remove that retirement age. Shouldn’t you be productive until the age of 80? I don’t believe in retiring people at age 56, 60 years old.
Megalopolis?
I know that here in Pampanga highly urbanized and developed na kayo. I met up with [former] President GMA a couple months ago and she said: “O, ‘San ha, nandiyan na ang development papunta na sa inyo sa Tarlac.”
Sagot ko: “Okay lang ma’am, masaya ang may development.” Pero I still want to balance yung agri. Ayokong mawala ang agri sa amin. I just strengthened it. Because we saw it in the pandemic. You see Manila now as a complete jungle people are going back to… uhm, di kami nag-scramble for food when the pandemic came. Hind nagkagulo. Unlike in the metro where you can have riot when access to food disappears. In our case, kalmado lang because there is food.
Being landlocked is a challenge because we don’t have, I mean in terms of tourism and that, the sea which is a natural magnet for visitors. But in the same way I’m happy at this point.
Of course, the development in Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, nauna kayo. In Tarlac we’ve seen the deficiencies of planning in Metro Manila, and even in Bulacan or the others where the road networks are not good. The infrastructure natin came in more as a demand rather than the LGU or government doing the planning. In Tarlac now, we have the opportunity to plan things first and look forward to what’s expected rather than addressing yung andiyan na, yung habol-habol. So, I think you’ll see Tarlac being transformed, having better planning on roads, yung CLUP [Comprehensive Land Use Plan] namin for industrialization, agriculture, housing, all of that I think we have opportunity more now to prepare it than naghahabol.
Regional development
Alam nyo ang tingin namin sa Pampanga, eh parang ate o kuya naming. Kayo yung parang hinahabol namin and Bataan for its industrialization. But exciting ang Region 3. I am the president of the Central Luzon Growth Corridor Foundation Inc. so, I take care not only of the tourism, investment, and trade opportunities of Tarlac but of the entire region.
Choice for Prez
I belong to NPC [Nationalist People’s Coalition], so magaantay po ako ng abiso nila.
