During the June 24, 2025 meeting of the Provincial Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (PSMEDC) at the Capitol, a representative of the First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative, Inc. (FICELCO) lamented their non-inclusion either as member or observer of various special bodies in the local government.
It was stressed that the cooperative’s presence at the regular and special meetings of the Catanduanes Development Council (CDC), the Provincial Land Use Committee (PLUC), and other development-focused bodies, including the Virac municipal development council could make FICELCO aware of vital development projects or proposed investments that would impact electricity consumption in Catanduanes.
The co-op official told the council that it was unaware that the Albay-based Liberty Commercial Center (LCC) was planning to build two separate commercial complexes in Virac.
(It is claimed that ACC, not LCC, bought the property at the opposite corner of the Fiat Village compound for the planned construction of a grocery store in the coming months. This is apparently in preparation for the development of the two-hectare lot reportedly acquired by LCC somewhere in Cavinitan.)
Under existing law, each local government unit is supposed to have a Local Business Investment Development Promotion Office (LEDIPO) headed by a designated LEDIP Officer.
The LEDIPO takes charge of all activities related to LGU investment facilitation and promotion activities, local enterprise development, establishment of support mechanisms for the growth of MSMEs, provision of mechanisms for business retention and expansion, and other activities to attract investments and generate employment.
Among other things, the LEDIPO is supposed to provide support and facilitation assistance for prospective and new investors and maintain a local economic database to be able to provide information about business potentials of the LGU to prospective investors.
With the Azanza administration promising open and competitive business opportunities for investors, it would be wise to check if the LEDIPO and its designated head at the Capitol and in Virac are still existing at the very least.
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Those in the know say that the perception that the P280 million Provincial Integrated Terminal and Business Complex (PITBC) at the Virac Community Hub has been unused for years now without a valid reason is inaccurate.
Reliable sources said that in January 2022, four months before he left office, then Mayor Sinforoso Sarmiento Jr. signed the certificate of turnover and acceptance of the facility despite the fact that at the time, the PITBC’s electrical and water connections had not been installed by the contractor. Until now, the contractor maintains workers and a security guard at the complex, despite the DPWH regionak office’s claim that the project has been completed. It has yet to act on the complaint sent by then Mayor Samuel Laynes.
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Understandably, former Gov. Joseph Cua did not attend the turnover ceremony at the Capitol dome last Monday, June 30, 2025.
According to those in the know, he had already instructed to have Vice Gov. Obet Fernandez to deliver his message but apparently when the time came, the vice governor had to refuse as he had not received a copy of the speech.
Cua’s presence, had he decided to come, could have raised the temperature at the Dome despite the cool air.
A day earlier in an FB post. the then governor-elect said he would hold accountable those responsible for past anomalies, including that of the P107-M typhoon aid.
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ADVICE FROM THE ELDERLY. As the 20-year-old sets up his tee shot to aim down the fairway, the old man comments, “When I was your age, we used to hit over the trees, not around to the side.”
Feeling challenged, the young man readjusts and tries to hit over the trees… but he can’t clear them and loses his ball.
He tries again. Same result — another lost ball.
The old man watches silently, then finally says, “Of course, when I was your age, the trees were only six feet tall.”