Tacloban City”•Hugpong ng Pagbabago and Tingog Sinirangan are committed to uplift Eastern Visayas from being the country’s second poorest region, said Leyte First District Rep. and Tingog party-list first nominee Yedda Marie Romualdez.
Romualdez said they also followed the lead of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, founder of the Hugpong regional party.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter “has the political ascendancy and credibility to lead other regional political parties towards the direction of regional development based on federalism, internal self-determination and inclusive economic growth, the political ideals to which both our two political parties strongly adhere.”
“With this goal in mind, Tingog is committed to foster a strong partnership with Hugpong ng Pagbabago in pursuing the agenda of positive social change, economic growth, peace and order and security, and overall national development,” said Romualdez.
Duterte-Carpio said she formed Hugpong “to pursue the ideals of what we all want, a strong region, a secure life for our constituents, good governance and effective leadership of the members of the party.”
Hugpong has a constituency that is spread across Region XI (Davao Region).
Romualdez said Tingog is willing to support “in whatever possible role that our party may undertake that would further the aims and mission of Hugpong ng Pagbabago, so that together we can be an effective voice that will serve the best interests of the people.”
According to Tingog second nominee Jude Acidre, their party will serve as the voice of the people of the islands of Samar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran.
Tingog “will amplify their often unheard hopes for inclusive progress and sustainable change, through meaningful political participation especially through the party-list system of representation in the House of Representatives,” he added.
With over 200,000 active party members from 143 city and municipal chapters in Eastern Visayas, Tingog is committed to play a dynamic role in building a truly caring, prosperous and democratic Filipino society, said Acidre.
On Nov. 7, Hugpong, Tingog and the Lakas-CMD national party headed by former Leyte First District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, the husband of Rep. Romualdez, formally signed their alliance agreement in Tacloban City.
Tingog’s current leadership is composed of former Tanauan, Leyte mayor Mark Gimenez as party chairperson, former Kabataan Barangay stalwart Glenn Capucion as party president, and Rachel Rodeles-Santiago as party secretary-general.
The other nominees of Tingog are Jaime Go, an entrepreneur and community volunteer from Javier, Leyte, as third nominee; Alexis V. Yu, a pharmacist and community leader from Basey, Samar, as fourth nominee; and Jennifer C. Padual, a community leader and human resource management professional from Guiuan, Eastern Samar, as fifth nominee.
Tingo’s legislative agenda that “will help further the development of Eastern Visayas” include:
Intensify investments in infrastructure support especially in rural communities, strictly within standards and adhering to disaster-resilient designs.
Boost rural-based education through the creation of an alternative farm and trade school system in the countryside, with the goal of improving the quality, as well as expanding access to, basic education.
Institutionalize universal access to free healthcare through the service delivery network of healthcare facilities and rationalization of PhilHealth benefits.
Increase agricultural productivity and sustainability through the creation of agricultural growth centers in identified regions in the country, farm-to-market facilitation, adoption of good agricultural practices, and provision of incentives to clusters of small and marginal producers.
Ensure greater economic parity among regions by providing performance – and needs-based economic stimulus aid to the five poorest regions in the country.
Define stronger incentives for regions that host power-generation facilities.
Institutionalize increased social protection for vulnerable sectors – especially the youth, women, and the elderly – through the creation of government bodies such as the Department of Culture, Sports, and Youth Development and the National Senior Citizens Commission.
Expand agricultural insurance, especially in expanding coverage of other crops, increasing capital stock, developing index-based insurance, among other developments.
Institutionalize of the integrated farming system including farm infrastructure, pre- and post-harvest machinery, equipment and facilities, production support and provision of credit support, soft loans and risk insurance.
Expand scholarship and research programs for agriculture and fishery students and training programs for farmers and farm workers.
Establish mechanisms to cushion individuals and families from sudden loss of income through an establishment of unemployment insurance, enhancement of social protection for the informal sector, facilitation of workers’ transition from the informal to formal economy, and strengthening of mechanisms to ensure enrolment in the social security systems.
Support the formulation of a Comprehensive Science and Technology Policy
that will strengthen technology transfer and adoption, ensure integration of technology and innovation in enterprise development and establish technology business incubators to promote innovation, encourage start-ups, and provide other business development services.
Support the establishment of Local Culture and Arts Councils with mandatory funding allocation similar to Gender and Development (GAD) Fund.
Empower barangay workers by ensuring a more adequate and stable compensation and benefit structure for long-serving barangay secretaries, treasurers, tanods, and health workers.
Strengthen and institutionalize the roles of Regional Development Councils and other similar bodies as active stakeholders in regional development.
