5 Ilocos Norte prov’l board members bid farewell

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff Reporter

LAOAG CITY—Five members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan leave the halls of the Provincial Capitol session hall after the end of their terms on June 30, 2019.

Led by its presiding officer, Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Eugenio Angelo M.  Barba along with three-term board members Rogelio Balbag, Ramon Gaoat, Matthew Joseph Manotoc and Vicentito Lazo turned a bit emotional as they bid farewell to each other during the last session of the 10^th Sangguniang Panlalawigan on June 24, 2019 afternoon.

During the final conduct of the 127^th regular session, Mr. Barba expressed his gratitude to his colleagues, staff and supporters as he spent almost two decades of his life serving the province of Ilocos Norte as board member from 2001 to 2010 and then as vice governor from 2010 to 2019. The veteran politician looks forward to representing the second district of Ilocos Norte in Congress as he will assume his new office at the House of Representatives, Batasan Hills, Quezon City starting July 1, 2019. He also served as a former mayor of San Nicolas town prior to his election in the provincial board.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me through the years. All of you honed me to who I am now. What we have now is a teamwork made in heaven,” said Mr. Barba in his farewell speech before members of the board, staff and media workers who cover the SP session every Monday.

For SP secretary II Cristeta Udaundo, she said among the most significant accomplishments of the 10^th SP include the passage of the province’s environment code, giving incentives to investors of the province, anti-plastic and anti-littering ordinances, granting of various scholarship grants to deserving students, granting burial and medical assistance to senior citizens, ban of coal-fed power plants, institutionalization of the Capitol Express and Sustainable Development Council, children’s code and mandating private companies in the province to comply with the corporate social responsibility ordinance among others.

“Through the Sirib Young Leader Scholarship (SYLS), I have learned to wholeheartedly serve the community without expecting anything in return,” said Mark Vincent Tagalicud, one of the 84 beneficiaries of SYLS and Sirib Community Leaders Scholarship.

Mr. Tagalicud received his bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education major in Mathematics as cum laude on the 41^st Commencement Exercises of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) on June 7, 2019. He is a SYLS beneficiary since 2015.

As a priority program of the Ilocos Norte government, the Ilocos Norte board allocates more than PHP900 million annually for the scholarship program.

SP members Rogelio Balbag from Bangui, and Ramon Gaoat from Batac City who are both medical doctors were misty eyed as they took turns reminiscing their memorable experiences at the Sanggunian. Mr. Balbag said he is now retiring from politics while Mr. Gaoat will go back to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Batac City where he was first honed as a lawmaker.

On the other hand, lawyer SP member Vicentito Lazo will return to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Laoag City—not as a city councilor but to become the city council’s next presiding officer.

Senior SP member Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc also thanked everyone for the good memories as he is now preparing to take over his new post as governor of the province.

“I won’t be leaving as I will just be around and will continue to be reachable to everyone,” Mr. Manotoc assured.

The newly-elected provincial and municipal officials of the province took their oath of office at 8:00 am on June 29, 2019 at the President Ferdinand E. Marcos Monument in Batac City.