By Rachel Magday

 

NUEVA VIZCAYA, Philippines — Governor Atty. Jose V. Gambito has directed department heads and division chiefs of the provincial government to accelerate the implementation of programs and projects, citing delays in execution as a major concern.

Presiding over the 1st Management Conference (ManCon) meeting held Monday, Gambito urged all offices to sustain the momentum and further speed up the implementation of programs and projects to ensure timely delivery of services. “We need to accelerate our efforts so that the people can immediately feel the impact of the services and projects of the provincial government,” he said.

To address the issue, the governor announced key administrative reforms, particularly the shift to a centralized procurement system. Under the new setup, procurement will no longer be handled individually by each office but will instead be consolidated under a specific unit.

Gambito said the previous per-office procurement system was identified as one of the reasons behind delays in project implementation.

Provincial Administrator King Webster Balawing said centralized procurement means one designated office handles the purchase of goods and supplies for the entire provincial government, instead of each department buying separately. He added that this system, required under Republic Act 9184 and implemented through the DBM-Procurement Service, is meant to make procurement faster, more transparent, and more cost-effective.

Balawing cited as an example the procurement of medicines for provincially managed hospitals. Under a centralized setup, purchase requests for medicines from all provincial hospitals can be consolidated so the province can buy in bulk, streamline delivery schedules, and help ensure that essential medicines remain available for patients.

While acknowledging that the reforms may be challenging, Gambito stressed they are necessary to improve public service delivery, particularly for priority initiatives.

“These reforms may be tough and there may be offices that will be affected, but we have to implement them,” he said. “We need to make sure that our programs—especially our flagship projects—reach the people and are truly felt by them.”

Gambito emphasized that the reforms aim to ensure taxpayers see tangible benefits from government spending. “Hopefully, the effects of these reforms and innovations will ensure that what the people pay in taxes will be returned to them through concrete programs and projects of the provincial government,” he said.

The governor also urged offices to fast-track implementation ahead of the expected election ban in October for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

“We need to implement our projects as soon as possible because once the election ban takes effect, it will slow down our operations,” Gambito said. “Be cooperative. We will try these new innovations to compensate for the lag that may be caused by the election ban.”