Albay LGU to emulate Capitol’s 2 programs
The local government of Tabaco City in the province of Albay in the Bicol region may soon adopt the Sugbo Negosyo and Suroy-Suroy Sugbo programs of the Cebu Provincial Government.
Albay Provincial Administrator Sheina Onrubia, who is with the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials of around 24 villages in Tabaco City, was at the Cebu Provincial Capitol yesterday as part of their Benchmarking Tour in the province and found the initiatives valuable.
During the program, Onrubia and her team were presented with the projects of the Cebu Provincial Capitol, which includes Sugbo Negosyo and Suroy-suroy Sugbo.
Sugbo Negosyo is a program launched by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in September 2020 to repurpose, uplift, or enhance micro-enterprises heavily affected by the pandemic.
Beneficiaries chosen under Sugbo Negosyo were given digital cards with a quick response (QR) code payment utilizing the disbursement of financial assistance and enabling real-time monitoring of the beneficiaries' expenditure transactions.
The Suroy-Suroy Sugbo, on the other hand, is Garcia's flagship program offering a group tour package that brings participants to various towns in the province where they can visit tourist sites and experience each town's festival presentations and delicacies.
Onrubia expressed interest in the two programs and believed they could be applied in Tobaco City, stating that the local government of Tobaco is eyeing the city to focus on pandemic recovery, particularly in the aspect of the economy and tourism.
It can be recalled that Albay lost roughly around P5 billion within its tourism industry alone due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We find it (Sugbo Negosyo) very interesting because the provincial government does not give out money, instead (they give out) cards. We love the scheme na navi-verify nila and using technology... Also, yung Suroy-Suroy na hindi lang po isang festival kundi idi-develop po yung festivals at iba pang mga towns for overall countryside development," said Onrubia.
She said she will present the programs to Tobaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro and Governor Edcel Grex Lagman and hope that they could be implemented as soon as possible this year.
SISTERHOOD AGREEMENT
Onrubia also said that the Albay provincial government had proposed a sisterhood agreement with the Cebu provincial government.
Onrubia is hopeful the Cebu Provincial Board approves the initiative which will allow the support and coordination between the two local government units (LGUs) to come easily and efficiently and for them to share each other's best practices.
The agreement, if approved, will be formalized through a ceremonial signing, she said.
She cited how Albay could help Cebu in terms of strengthening its disaster response which the province really practices.
Aside from Onrubia's delegation, another group of delegates from Tobaco City will also visit Cebu Provincial Capitol on Thursday for another benchmarking tour.