Palawan Governor Amy Alvarez reaffirmed her commitment to prioritizing health and education services as she began her term as the province’s chief executive.
During her oath-taking Monday, Alvarez said the health care system of the provincial government needs immediate attention, emphasizing three specific programs to address concerns on facilities and services.
She pointed to the current status of Palawan having only one hospital bed for every 1,725 people, far below the ideal of 2 per 1,000, and the high maternal mortality rate of 284 deaths per 100,000 live births.
She said that these figures are “way too high and far too distant from the national 2030 goal,” and that the provincial government will bring these numbers down.
“We will fix our hospitals, not just the buildings, but the systems. We will invest in equipment, training, and above all, quality service,” she said, noting that hospitals will be open to all.
“This is not just policy. This is personal for me,” she added.
She also said hospital services and medicines will be available and given for free in the entire province, just like what she did in San Vicente when she was the mayor.
“Under our watch, the 16 hospitals of the province will no longer be places of frustration and anger. They will be centers of compassion: fully stocked, properly staffed, and always ready to serve,” she said.
“We will end the shameful practice of turning away patients because kulang ang supply. No one will be sent home untreated. No more out-of-pocket costs that burden families,” she added.
For education, the new governor said providing electricity to schools, especially in remote areas, will be prioritized to break inequality, as one in every four households is still without electricity.
“How can a future be built when the present is still in darkness? We cannot speak of progress if a generation is being left behind,” she noted.
“We will power our schools with electricity, internet, and imagination. Our Special Education Fund will train our teachers, lift their morale, and bring dignity back to the noble profession that builds all other professions,” she said.
She vowed to expand the scholarship program of the provincial government to cover other courses “not just for doctors and nurses, but for engineers, entrepreneurs, software developers, and accountants.”
She also said local government units will be strengthened by investing in capacity-building for better planning, budgeting, and delivery; digitizing local processes to cut red tape and empower frontline workers; and encouraging inter-municipal collaboration for roads, hospitals, disaster preparedness, and ecozones.
Inter-local zones of shared development where adjacent towns and barangays can work together on joint tourism circuits, logistics hubs, coastal protection, and livelihood chains will be created.
“Our aim is not to control, but to empower; not to centralize, but to connect; not to compete, but to co-create solutions that uplift all,” she stated.
“This is my vision: a province that governs not from the top, but side by side with its people. A province that grows not in pieces, but as one united system of care, competence, and collaboration,” she added.
