Rep. Espina receives award from UN-funded group

Biliran Rep. Rogelio Espina together with his brother, Biliran Governor Gerardo Espina Jr., received the nationally-coveted “Gawad sa Makataong Pag-unlad Para sa mga Lalawigang May Malaking Pag-angat sa Kaunlarang Pantao” from the Human Development Network.

The province of Biliran has been nationally-ranked as second not only in the “largest gainer in standard of living” sub-category but also in the over-all-level list of the “most improvedPhilippine provinces“from 1997 to 2009. It is funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and its advocacy is to promote the concept of sustainable human development by giving awards to the most improved Philippine provinces in terms of life expectancy, education, and standard of living. The joint statistical research of the Human Development Network, United Nations Development Programme, and the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) shows that the island

The ceremony was held last July 29, this year. The Human Development Network (HDN) is manned by the country’s foremost economists, political scientists, sociologists, statisticians, and specialists in public administration, education, labor, and social work.

“Out of the 80 Philippine provinces in the list, the province of Biliran had been easily promoted from its 44th rank in 1997 to its 13th rank in 2009, because of the combined efforts of the people of Biliran and its political leaders to consistently upgrade our provincial healthcare services, educational system, and infrastructure,”Rep.Espina said.

Simultaneous with this year’s HDN award to Biliran is this year’s enactment of Republic Act 10409 which is the law declaring the Province of Biliran as a Tourism Development Area.

“With Biliran’s current tourism infrastructure upgrading, tranquil & pristine white beaches, and its track record of being one of the safest & most hospitable provinces in the country, we hope not only to become No.1 in the future rankings of HDN, UNDP, & NSCB but also to become the next premiere tourist destination in Southeast Asia,” Rep. Espina said.