Basista No. 3 in Ph. on DTI’s Resiliency Award

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BASISTA, Pangasinan – The Mayor of this thriving town is exhilarated nowadays after landing his local government unit (LGU) to No. 3 in the country’s most resilient towns amidst the economics challenges and natural calamities.

One of the examples was surviving economically the scarring pandemic’s Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) that wrought havoc for about two years in the country but through the chutzpah of Mayor Jolly Roque “J.R” Resuello, he still steered to boost the number of investors that come here.

NO. 3 IN PH. Basista, Pangasinan Mayor Jolly Roque “J.R” Resuello is flanked by the staff of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Bureau of the Department of Trade & Industry when his rustic town was feted as No.3 in the Philippines for being economically resilient amidst the challenges and calamities. 

“Buong Pilipinas pangatlo kami. No. 1 kami sa Pangasinan sa third and fourth class towns’ category,” he disclosed to Northern Watch Newspaper after the award for the third and fourth class towns' category given to him here by the top brass of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Bureau of the Department of Trade & Industry.

The plaque for the National Competitiveness Summit held last year was signed by DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.

CMCI Director Lilian Salonga, Assistant Director Jordan Darom, and party personally come here last Wednesday from their Manila’s office to personally give the plaque of appreciation to the young reelective Mayor.

Salonga said the duty of her office is to recognize the LGUs that excel on their mandates as public corporation like in the commercial competitiveness category.

“We really want that the national competitiveness be hinged on local competitiveness that makes the framework”.

The strength of the thirteen villages’ town, according to the Director, was anchored on her resiliency’s pillar.

Assistant Director Jordan Darom told this writer that they personally sought to hand the award to authenticate if the indices given to them by the central Pangasinan’s LGU were for real.

Compared to other third and fourth class towns in the gargantuan province, this town burgeoned after the Mayor increased the rentals of the stalls in the public market – whose occupants did not pay the rentals religiously in the past -  repaired and improve the market by using the revenues being paid to the public coffer, and aggressively invite various new investors like 7-11, basement priced selling Chinese owned store 988, Welcome Mart Grocery, Driving School Office, Siomai House, and more stalls that sprouted in the public market that erased her reputation as a sleepy town blamed on the young mayor's predecessors.

He said an investor for McDonald is looking for a land her to put shop for the U.S licensed based food chain.