This new development battle cry takes off from the gains of the previous Albay Mabuhay development programs, supported by the national government, the most significant of which are:

1.  The DARAGA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT with a budget of P3.4 B,

2). REMING RECONSTRUCTION with relocation program, with 10,076 lots and almost 5,000 shelter units built, worth P1.25 B, the repair of 5,600 classrooms at P478 M and repair of public infrastructure worth P776 M

3. The installation of a MODERN DOPPLER RADAR worth P560 M which although put up in Virac, catanduanes, it principally benefits Albay, and actually an initiative of Albay Province

4. 4Ps (PANTAWID PAMILYANG PILIPINO PROGRAM) for the three (3) cities of Ligao, Tabaco and Legazpi, and 11 towns which would benefit 70,000 poor families at P1,400 per month for five (5) years with an annuan expenditure of P977.3 M, larget than Albay's provincial budget and would total P5 B  in five years.

The new development program of Albay Provincial Government, ALBAY RISING, aims to firmly put the province in the map of the country  and attract attention of investors, tourists and traders. It has five E’s:

ECONOMY

EDUCATION

ENVIRONMENT

EQUITY AND

HEALTH

Albay Rising: 5 “E”s

ECONOMY

·      Daraga International Airport that would optimize the geostrategic position of Albay as gateway to Bicol trade and tourism

·      Guicadale Business Platform that would spur integrate Albay and Sorsogon into one  common economy enlarging demand base and better economies of scale that would attract domestic and foreign investments while spurring greater competition that would lower cost of distribution

·      National Renewable Energy Capital which would increase our geothermal capacity to 640MW from the current 400MW making Albay the biggest source of green energy in Luzon

·      Medical Educational Ecocultural Tourism development anchored by Magayon Festival and MEET Albay.

·      AICASA (Albay Integrated Comprehensive Advance Strategies for Agriculture)  which posted a 23% increase in rice production making Albay the best performing province in FIELDS according the study of DA-UPLB-SEARCA and an aggressive Agri-rehab: 1.8m coco seedlings distributed, fisheries rehab

·      Disaster risk reduction combining institutional innovation, indigenous knowledge and information technology through APSEMO (Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office), AHEM (Albay Health Emergency Management), preemptive evacuation, permanent evacuation centers, safe schools, safe hospitals and facilities modenernization.

o  Gained recognition here and abroad, among which are Galing Pook, Gawad Kalasag from NDCC and LOCIM from UNDP and SNV, a Dutch aid agency.

o  We have procured 13 new rubber boats brining our capacity to 25, the biggest for any province, and 9 new ambulances increasing our response capability to 41, also the biggest for any LGU. We have acquired state of the art communications systems, the first for any LGU in Southeast Asia.

o  We are constructing six permanent evacuation centers at P30m, each funded by AECID so that we do not displace students from their studies even during evacuation. From the current state where classrooms are used as evacuation centers, these evacuation centers will serve as classrooms when there is no disaster. We are working with JICA for the establishment of bigger evacuation centers next year worth P380m.

EQUITY

·      Our flagship program is 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) - from only Libon to 14 LGUs including all three cities and 11 municipalities that could benefit 70,000 poor families at P1,400 per month for five years with an annual expenditure of P977.3m which is larger than our provincial budget and would reach almost P5bn in five years, even bigger than the international airport

·      Barangay Capacity Enhancement downloaded half of our development fund at P100T annually to every barangay for their own priorities and their own procurement and implementation. This amounts to P72m per year and would run its third year in 2010 or P216m

·      We have secured from the national government:

o  P32m SEA-K LOANS to Women’s Associations

o  P50m E-TODA LOANS to transport groups

o  P20m TESDA vouchers for welders, baristas, drivers and other vocational courses

·      CRABS (Cagraray, Rapu-rapu, Batan & San Miguel) converged with our GIDA (Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas) Health and our adaptation initiatives for small island coastal communities

·      Albay Tres, an approved program under JICA’s ARISP 3, covering our floodplains and rice granary - the 3 towns: Polangui, Libon, Oas, including PURE (Polangui Upland Resource & Environment)

·      Albay Mabuhay social assets program: continuing support to relocated communities

·      Marginal fishermen are our poorest sector particularly in the Albay West Coast. We are launching FISDA or Fisheries Integrated Sector Development in Albay with a P30m initial budget being sourced.

EDUCATION

·      Under AHECS (Albay Higher Education Contribution Scheme) which is based on the highly successful Australian model for college student financing, we are borrowing P1bn from Landbank to underwrite universal access to tertiary education with our goal of “A COLLEGE GRADUATE IN EVERY FAMILY, A COLLEGE DIPLOMA IN EVERY HOUSE”

·      Under EQUAL (Education Quality for Albayanos), we pursued universal scholarship grants in community colleges and satellite campuses and we have budgeted P37m annually since 2007 to support 14,000 college students.

·      GRASSP (Graduate Studies Subsidy Program) which provided financial assistance to those pursuing higher studies in order to attain our aim of  150 PhDs and 1,000 MAs/MS

·      TOTAL (Ten Outstanding Teachers of Albay): outstanding teachers and schools has been appreciated by our teaching community and acknowledged even by Metrobank

·      Provincial Department of Education: first and only in the Philippines. And with AHECS, it would soon become the biggest department of the provincial government

·      BU Modernization: We have mobilized almost P380m for the modernization of Bicol University to enable it to become a premier institution of learning south of Manila.

ENVIRONMENT

·      CIRCA (Center for Initiatives and Research on Climate Adaptation)

·      UNDP grant of P16m to CIRCA: Climate proofing of CLUPs (Comprehensive Land Use Plans)

·      Curricular development to include climate adaptation in basic education

·      Mangrove plantations

·      Linis-Kalog (Kanal at Ilog)

·      MOA with DENR for mangroves

HEALTH

·      Through our public health programs with 24% of budget for health - highest in the Philippines - Albay is among the first and few provinces to achieve MDG for Health - infant mortality, child mortality and maternal mortality - which we have already achieved as of 2008, well ahead of 2015

·      Universal Philhealth - 138% coverage, the highest in the country according to Philhealth, providing  health security and access to health services for our indigent families

·      As F1 partner of DOH, our PIPH (Provincial Investment Plan for Health) upgraded the facilities of all provincial hospitals and RHUs In particular, we are upgrading Ziga and Duran to secondary status

·      BRTTH modernization - best government health facility south of Manila, Philhealth ward, one of three HLK centers (heart-lung-kidney), our next project is a P240m Oncology Center which the President approved under a BOT arrangement.