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[av_heading heading=’ MY SPIN | Antique’s firsts ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JUN ESCALONA
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Thursday, March 30, 2017
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FOR THE first time in Antique’s history, it is enjoying the respect of the Department of Education (DepEd) for allowing the 2017 Palarong Pambansa to be held in the province.
For the first time we know that Secretary Leonor Magtulis Briones’ grandfather hails from Antique, the town of Barbaza to be exact. According to reports, the almost teary-eyed Secretary assured everyone in a gathering at The Venue that she is an Antiqueña and will support the holding of the Palaro in the province.
Another first for Antique is that it has just been a recipient of a P5.5-billion windfall from the national government, the bulk of which was channeled through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for the construction of new lateral roads to connect with neighboring provinces in the island of Panay.
Funny though, it seems that Antique DPWH district engineer Gerald Pacanan, according to some media friends, thanked Cong. Paolo Javier in a press conference for setting aside more than P2 billion for public works projects.
And when Senate finance committee chairman Loren Legarda, with some assistant secretaries and regional directors, came to the province to announce her national appropriations for Antique, barkers from a group critical of new improvements in the province were not so happy. They saw another threat to their dominance in the next electoral processes.
Well and good, for the province where the senator’s grandparents were from, a healthy competition is good for everyone.
Of course, it is an established fact that the senator acknowledges she is the “Lady from Antique” in the Senate. Detractors, however, say Senator Legarda, fondly called Inday Loren by most if not all Antiqueños, had been senator for a long time but has not brought to Antique this kind of good news in the past.
Well, the good lady senator explained she is the finance committee chairman in the Senate now, on her last term, and this is why she was able to persuade, if not convince, department secretaries to allot more for Antique in the budget proposals for 2017.
She also made assurances that more will be coming in the next budget year if proposals are in place.
People are elated by the developments prevailing and wish no end to the good things happening to their province. It would take a long time to enumerate every item in Senator Legarda’s checklist of projects she intends to micromanage to ensure that funds go to the right projects and programs.
And as we have noted, some people are not too happy about this development, as it seems to boost the performance of Antique governor Rhodora J. Cadiao, another performer. Well, as they say, with God nothing is impossible, and to the determined performers and workers, the impossible merely takes a little more time to accomplish.
But there is a hitch to the popularity of the Palaro in Antique. Just recently Provincial Board member Fernando Corvera presented an idea for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to send a letter of thanks to Secretary Briones for supporting and wishing Palaro a better deal in Antique, but some were not so energetic about it. Corvera withdrew his draft resolution.
Better luck next time, huh?/PN
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