Gov. Bong Lacson’s Message on the Province’s 2021 Galing Pook Awards:

Yesterday, Negros Occidental was recognized as one of the Top 10 Winners of the 2021 Galing Pook Awards out of 206 LGU applicants nationwide.

The award was due to our outstanding Local Governance Program, the Network of Alliances for Coastal Wetlands Conservation.

We proudly attribute this victory to all the members of NOCWAMA. To all the Local Chief Executives of our 10 member LGUs composed of the cities of Bago, Himamaylan, and Kabankalan; and the municipalities of Pulupandan, Valladolid, Pontevedra, San Enrique, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, and Ilog, Government Agencies, NGOs, People’s Organizations, the Academe, and to everyone who is part of the Alliance, my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation.

With the state of our environment, including the decline of the state of our wetlands, we are in a race against time to save and conserve our natural habitat. Thank you for your committed efforts to make sure that these places are maintained, preserved and protected.

To the Provincial Environment and Management Office, thank you for forging the establishment of the network and for all your support to our member LGUs. It is your pioneering initiative that gave rise to this recognition.

May this honor given by the 2021 Galing Pook Awards inspire us to do better and explore more ways to conserve our wetlands and environment.

GOD bless all our endeavors! Abanse Negrense!

* The Neg. Occ. Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area was declared as the 7th Ramsar Site Wetland of International Importance of the Philippines last October 20, 2016 and the 4th East Asian Australasian Flyway Site.