In spite of the black sand controversy, the provincial government of Pangasinan has garnered five major awards for employing “best practices on environmental protection and local governance” from the Regional Development Council.
“I [have been] vindicated here,” said Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino Jr. in a news conference shortly after the awarding ceremonies at Oasis Hotel here.
Espino was referring to charges filed against him at the Office of the Ombudsman for his alleged role in destroying sections of the Lingayen Gulf coastline after a golf course developer ordered the extraction of black sand in the ecotourism zone there.
The Environmental Management Bureau stopped the extraction activities pending the issuance of an environmental compliance certificate for the project.
The provincial government won the top awards in these categories: Best practices for massive river cleanup and dredging operations, best performing local government unit (LGU) based on a local governance performance monitoring system, best implementor of LGU poverty reduction program, LGU millennium development goals project, and best project.
Pangasinan was also first runner-up in the search for cleanest, safest and greenest LGU. It was elevated to the Hall of Fame for consistently winning the title for being best in coastal resources management.
“These awards are concrete acknowledgment and recognition of our efforts to improve the delivery of good governance in our province,” Espino said. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon