Reelected Gov. Matthew Joseph Manotoc on Tuesday vowed to continue programs he started during his first term but on a much grander scale.
In his speech during the formal presentation of documents for turnover at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Manotoc said while expectations are high for the province of Ilocos Norte and its new set of leaders, he sees no problem achieving their goals, especially under the incoming administration of his uncle President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
“We have the national government on our side. So, let us capitalize on the moment. We are at the forefront of the Philippines and everybody is looking at us. Let us make our president and our province mates proud,” Manotoc told the transition team and the department heads.
He said he will push for agriculture modernization, tourism investments as well as manufacturing and product processing to generate more jobs and livelihood.
"There had been a lot of delayed projects because of the pandemic. I hope we won’t be distracted by Covid too much,” he said.
In the past two years, the Ilocos Norte government has allocated a total of PHP562 million for agricultural machinery, equipment, and inputs. These include the construction of 272 small farm reservoirs, five small water impounding projects, 10 multi-purpose drying pavements, 64 tractors, eight combine harvesters, and 12 tobacco curing barns.
While encouraging more farmers to shift to high-value crops such as garlic, mango, dragon fruit, shallots, onions, and tobacco which are more marketable than palay, Manotoc assured all farmer-cooperators that they will be given full-service assistance, from pre-planting to marketing their produce.
Source: Philippines News Agency
