CITY OF MALOLOS—The Bulacan Provincial Government continues to strengthen its partnership with the province industry sector and business community through a sponsored thanksgiving event dubbed as “Governor’s Ball,” held on Tuesday at Grand Hyatt Manila in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.
About 1,000 businessmen members of the Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) attended the occasion including Vice Governor Alex Catsro, former Governor Roberto Pagdanganan, other Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB) officials, guests and friends.
Fernando made a toast with the group led by BCCI Chairman Cristina Tuzon as they seal a continued partnership and successes of Bulacan being now the center of development in the country because of macro transportation—airport and train projects and other billion worth of infrastructures and investments.
The Capitol sponsored the event to celebrate the strong unity and partnership of the PGB and the BCCI and to open more doors of collaboration with the hopes of securing a brighter and more progressive future for the province of Bulacan because of what the San Miguel Corporation’s P754-billion New Manila International Airport (NMIA), the North South Commuter Railway Project, the MRT-7 and other key projects will bring to the province.
Fernando raised the level of excitement in the event as he broke the good news that 700 hectares of the 2,500 hectares airport site were already reclaimed and that the NMIA will be operational just barely three years from now.
According to the governor, based on recent meeting he had with Mr. Ramon S. Ang, president and chief operating officer of SMB, the NMIA will ground break July of 2023 which would be attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Just about two months ago, me and Mr. Ramon Ang had a meeting, I was informed they have already reclaimed 700 hectares in the project site and by July of 2023, we will have the groundbreaking which will be attended by President Marcos and former President Digong,” the governor said.
“By 2026, Bulacan will fly, it will have its first take off and because of that, we call on all interested investors that the best time to invest in Bulacan is now. Today is the best time to invest in the province,” he also said.
“Bulacan will make its first take off. The world will land in our province and all of us will board the flight of success. Nobody, not even one, will be left behind,” the governor added.
Bulacan is already a Hall of Fame awardee for Local Revenue Generation by the Department of Finance-Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF). In 2021, it received the Top 1 Richest Province Award for Local Revenue Generation by the DOF-BLGF because of high rate of tax and other revenue collections paid by the business and industry sectors.
“This event is just one way of appreciating and thanking all of your hard works for our province economy, the works and employment of our people amidst the wrath of the pandemic”. Fernando also boasts that Bulacan is already a Hall of Famer in the Most Business Friendly Province, an award by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry which he received from President Marcos.
Bulacan is also recently awarded as 10th Most Competitive Province Award during the 10th Cities and Municipalities Summit by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The governor calls on the Bulakenyo youth to become young entrepreneurs, to put up their own business particularly online or put up a cooperative, as this is now the trend.
“Kayong mga kabataan, magtayo kayo ng negosyo, mga online businesses, kahit maliit lang, mag-tayo kayo ng kooperatiba para sa katagumpayan ninyo at n gating lalawigan hanggang sa mga susunod pang panahon,” (You as youth should out up your own businesses, online business, even you start with just a small ones. Form cooperatives as these are now the trend for you, your family and the province to continue to succeed in the next generations to come), he said.
BCCI Board of Trustee Rina Aniag said the BCCI continue to advocate for the development of Bulacan through the enduring partnership of the civil society and those in the local governance.
Recently, she said, the BCCI was awarded the Most Outstanding Chamber in the country and the province has no other way to go but towards further growth and macro developments.
“All you have to do is ride with the development, Lipad Bulacan, walang maiiwan,” she said.
Tuzon said the more than P500,000 she and other BCCI members had just pledged during the occasion will be used to train this year’s 100 young entrepreneurs from different industry sectors who will become the next micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s) players in the province.
Pagdanangan founded the BCCI in 1988 to bolster economic development in the province through a very active and dynamic business and investment sectors and its partnership with the provincial government.
