The province of Bulacan received a total of 24 national and regional awards during the first six months of Gov. Daniel Fernando’s second term, the Bulacan Provincial Public Affairs Office (PPAO) said on Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Fernando dedicated the awards to the officers and employees of the Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB) who helped him realize his dreams for the province.
According to PPAO, the province bagged the 2022 Most Business-Friendly Province award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and was named as the 10th Most Competitive Province in the country by the Department of Trade and Industry.
As a result of good governance, the PGB received from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) its sixth Seal of Good Local Governance and four other awards from the 2022 Gawad Timpukan Central Luzon Award.
The province also excelled financially this year and was able to get the Top 3 spot in the Local Revenue Generation Hall of Fame Award for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 to 2020, and the Top 2 rank in Highest Locally Sourced Revenues for FY 2021 from the Department of Finance (DOF)-Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).
The province was also recognized with five awards for its health programs during the 8th Central Luzon Excellence Awards for Health of the Department of Health (DOH).
The agriculture sector also bagged five awards for the province.
The province also got the Beyond Compliant Seal of Excellence from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) during the 22nd Gawad Kalasag Seal for Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Councils and Offices.
In addition, Bulacan was also adjudged as the 2021 Top Performing Public Library in the Philippines (Provincial Category) by the National Library of the Philippines and Asia Foundation. It also received the Energy Efficiency Excellence Award from the Department of Energy.
Meanwhile, SINEliksik Bulacan became the Best Program for Culture and the Arts grand champion of the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines–Department of Tourism.
Fernando was also recognized as the 2022 Most Influential Elected Official by the Gawad Amerika Awards.