REELECTED two-termer Cotabato province governor Emylou Taliño-Mendoza emphasized continuing her “Serbisyong Totoo” brand of service, focusing on the health, infrastructure, and food security of Cotabateños.
Mendoza bared in her inaugural speech during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected officials of Serbisyong Totoo lineup on Monday, June 30, at Amas Gymnasium, Kidapawan.
“We’ve worked and strived so hard to sustain the gains and to make Cotabato stronger, a province that we can all be proud of. And now, we need to safeguard our progress to ensure the best future for every Cotabateños,” Mendoza stressed.
Mendoza committed to provide services centering in the 12-point agenda– People’s Participation and Empowerment; Women, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Senior Citizens, LGBTQIA+ Empowerment Programs and Benefits; Social Services; Cultural Preservation, Peace and Harmony, Tri-people Council for Peace: Health for All and Protection Against Infectious Diseases; Disaster Preparedness, Response and Resilience; Agricultural Productivity and Livelihood; Environment and Tourism Development; Infrastructure and Barangay Development; Education for A; Youth Empowerment and Sports Development at Moral Recovery, Good Governance, Accountability and Transparency.
For Health, a P500-million state-of-the-art 4-story building is intended to be constructed in a bid to upgrade the Cotabato Provincial Hospital in Amas, Kidapawan City.
The building will consist of an emergency room, OR/DR Complex, OB ward, and an additional 50 hemodialysis units.
Infrastructure projects are also a priority for Mendoza in her second term, aiming to enhance the economy of the province.
The governor reported that the Central Mindanao Airport will still push through despite the reduced funds for CY 2025 from P715 million to P100 million.
From 2016-2023, the funds earmarked for the airport reached P314 million, and P450 million for 2024.
The construction of the 4.109 km access road to the airport in Brgy. Langkong in Mlang is almost finished, while the 4.10 km in Brgy New Rizal has been completed.
Major projects include farm-to-market roads and the operationalization of Cotabato Agro-Industrial Park in Brgy Pag-asa, M’lang, Cotabato, the hub that aids the farmers in the postharvest process of their products and eases commercialization.
This also includes road concreting of barangay roads, electrification, and construction of water supply systems in various barangays, amounting to P360 million.
Apart from the existing programs under the Rice Revolution Program, the governor eyes to develop a location-specific technology for rice farming; and a special program for Indigenous Peoples, or the PoMuWa Program (Pagpananom og Magmauswagon sa Wais nga Aksyon) program for the food security of the province.
The governor also stressed the institutionalization of Harvest Festival for High Value Crops (mango, durian, coconut, coffee, and cacao), which will open opportunities for stakeholders to enhance the local industry being the “food basket in Mindanao.”
Biodiversity protection and forest conservation through sustainable tourism will also be pushed.
To note, in her last term as the governor, the province became “debt-free” in 2023, with an excess P751-million fund from the General Fund and Special Education Fund, raising these funds by 107% or P4.2 billion, compared to the P3.9-billion target.
Trade Union Congress of the Philippines Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, 1st District Rep. Edwin Cruzado, 3rd District Rep. Ma. Alana Samantha Santos, and eight newly elected members of the 18th Sanguniang Panlalawigan were also sworn in.
