GOVERNOR PIÑOL NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE

My beloved people of the province of North Cotabato:

Today, I greet you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with mixed emotions.

I am sad because this will be my last Christmas and New Year with you as your Governor. But at the same time, I feel happy because the last nine years of my life have been the most meaningful years for me as a person and as a leader.

My first Christmas and New Year with you was in 1998 when we were trying to recover from the effects of the El Nino which ravaged our province and left thousands hungry and desperate.

My wish that Christmas and New Year was for God to give me a clear mind to be able to think of solutions to improve the lives of my people, lift them out of poverty and assure them of a better future.

The challenges then were daunting: We were identified as one of the 10 poorest provinces in the whole Philippines, our people in the remote areas lived in fear as armed groups attacked our villages with impunity, kidnappers operated even in the capital city of Kidapawan and very few jobs were available because investors were afraid to come to North Cotabato.

We persevered, we hoped and we prayed. Every time Christmas and New Year came, we all wished for a better North Cotabato.

Today, nine Christmases later, we can look back to where we started and proudly say that our prayers have been answered.

Kidnapping has been totally stopped, our people in the hinterlands no longer live in fear, investors have provided thousands of jobs for our people and most of all we have been identified as one of the 30 most progressive provinces in the whole Philippines.

The program that we have implemented- from the building of roads and bridges providing electricity to remote barangays, providing our people with jobs – are just too many to be counted with the fingers.

While we can proudly say that we have done a lot for our people, the mission of improving their lives and giving them a better future must continue. As we embrace the Year 2007 we will witness the start of two very important programs which are aimed at helping the poorest of the poor.

This January, poor families in our province will be registered under the Cotabato Health Insurance Program to provide them with free hospitalization with a very low payment of 100 a year. When fully implemented, this program will liberate our poor people from bondage of political patronage and give them the dignity as human beings.

We are now also in the process of finalizing the mechanics for the implementation of the Poor Man’s Emancipation Program where poor landless families will be given an opportunity to lay claim to at least 2 hectares of land where he could plant rubber or other high value crops.

Perhaps, more than anything else, these two programs are the most important Christmas gifts that I can give you my people.

And so today, as I greet you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for the last time as your Governor, let me urge you my people to continue working and praying for a better life for a better North Cotabato.

Where ever I will go, I will always remember the last nine years as your Governor as the happiest moment in my life because I was able to give you hope, made you smile and touched your lives. I will always love you my people and I will always pray and work for a better life for you.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.