EDITORIAL
Pilot town
Many big things happened in October 2018. That's because
Bayambang continues to make great strides in different fields. For instance:
·
The town leads the region in integrated
computerization across the LGU system, including the use of an emergency
response system (#4357), among other innovations, thanks to having the "father
of Philippine IT" as the local chief executive.
- Bayambang is also a leader in poverty reduction,
if not eradication, with the highest number of 4Ps graduates in the region.
Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao notes that there's probably no other town in the country
with a 10-year poverty reduction plan like the Bayambang Poverty Reduction Plan
and, we might add, an out-of-town omnibus service caravan like the
Komprehensibong Serbisyo sa Bayan.
·
The mayor is also poised to pioneer agricultural
mechanization, at least in the town itself, with the introduction of mechanical
rice planters and other farm machinery, on top of other big projects to boost
food production. It is only in his administration that culture and the arts is
being given full support, wherein the special local bodies participate and
cooperate with the programs of the LGU.
·
For the first time, every department in the
municipality knows exactly how much is its budget.
·
For the first time, municipal employees have
been given career and skill development seminars to hone their skills.
·
Passion for public service is championed like
never before, as again and again the Mayor reminds all employees of the LGU
that if only they took to heart the weekly pledge of a government employee
('Panunumpa ng Kawani ng Gobyerno'), the municipality would surely be in good
hands.
·
Now more than ever is democracy alive in
Bayambang, where rule of law flourishes, where political will and not political
patronage is being observed.
Such is his love for the municipality that he could have a blissful,
worry-free life in the metropolis but he decided to come back to his hometown.
Prior to his being elected in office, he had seen how slow was the development
in his hometown that for the past 400 years, apathy, corruption and lack of concrete
direction made the town remain agricultural.
The town has been a pilot town of sorts before when it
became a pioneer in experimental education and community training, with the
establishment of the Philippine-UNESCO Community Training Center in the grounds
of the then Pangasinan Normal School in 1953. But the latest breakthroughs in
Bayambang would not have been possible if not for the Quiambao-Sabangan
administration's best practices in governance and Mayor Quiambao's pioneering
spirit and unconventional leadership. For the sake of transparency and not to
harp on his generosity, since 2002, his foundation, the Kasama Kita sa Barangay
Foundation, has been helping the municipality silently, from large donations
such as road construction projects down to little numerous unrecognized
donations.
A spearhead, a trailblazer, an engineer (or architect) of
progress -- these are not exaggerated words to use when referring to Balon
Bayambang and Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao's leadership. In fact, these are only most
apt even in the most objective sense.
