Pangasinan provincial government to invest more on its farming industry, healthcare

BAGUIO CITY (November 20, 2024)-- Governor Ramon Guico III of Pangasinan vowed they are going to invest more on their agriculture and healthcare programs, maximizing its current revenue capacity reinforced by its P7.1 Billion budget for 2025.

Though Guico III said their annual budget for next year “is whopping” as he described it, it still lesser compared to the actual needs of the Pangasinenses to enjoy further improved services.

Aside from looking for additional resources, it is good to prioritize some aspects that will benefit the 3.1M people of Pangasinan, he stressed.

Last month, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pangasinan approved the province’s 2025 annual budget at P7,100,312,215.00.  This is historical, Guico III said, where it showed significant increase compared to the P5,729,765,891.00 budget for 2024 (i.e. remarkable difference of P1,370,546,324.00.). 

He said that aside from it is the first time that the Provincial Government have reached such amount, it shows how professional the provincial government manage its functions and mandate.

Guico III said that the budget will be used for the operational expenses of the provincial government including the upgrading of the salaries of its personnel, the programs and other official functions. 

“Corporate farming to become more efficient”

The governor stressing that among the priorities are the agricultural sector and the health of the people of Pangasinan said, they are convincing armers to consolidate and join forces just like a corporate industry.

He explained, they will have the opportunity to have a systematized plan of planting quality varieties of rice and other crops, using farm inputs in accordance to more scientific approach of managing the soils among other essentials of farming methods.  Through this, he added, “the farmers can sell their produce at a better price”.  This is where the government must actively help in providing needed support and guidance to them, Guico III reiterated.

Guico also stressed the need to have a serious education and information drive among Pangasinenses to know more about their rights to quality health care.  He said that most of the Pangasinenses are not having their check-ups for many reasons and “this should be addressed as the provincial government dreams of a healthy Pangasinan”.

The governor further said, ‘the people should know more about the Universal HealthCare Program of the government and their benefits that they can get from the PhilHealth system’.

Though he acknowledged that the PhilHealth had problems before, it has struggled to redeem and improve its system.  “The provincial government has the responsibility of getting the people to maximize its services”. 

Aside from doing this, Guico III said, the provincial government will actively assist the different health units and healthcare providers in Pangasinan to ensure qualitative services to the people.