LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—Employees welfare is one of the significant keys in raising the bar of excellence in the provincial government.
This, too, became the starting point of the 6,000 workforce to go the extra mile in achieving goals and aspirations.
And three of the nearly 600 casual employees that were promoted to permanent the last three years have the governor to thank for as their decades of service have been finally recognized and rewarded with secure positions.
Arlan Cruz Ligayo, a solo parent of four, waited for 31 long years before he was promoted for the first time two months ago.
Ligayo has been a casual employee of the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital (PPH) for three decades. His employment has been a problem with every new provincial leadership changes especially during the time when his wife passed away.
Due to his dedication and hard work, Ligayo’s services were renewed from the old Agbayani to the next four other provincial leaders. But, fate did not work in his favor because he was never given the chance to climb up the ladder.
Finally, last March 27, his prayers were answered. He was among the third batch of promoted employees under Governor Ramon V. Guico III.
Today, Ligayo, now an Administrative Aide VI, is now assured with security of tenure which means that even a change of leadership, his services will not be terminated.
Another dream that came true is that of Glicerio D. Moran, Jr., who for 32 years was a non-permanent employee of the Provincial Information Office (PIO), now the Pangasinan Information and Media Relations Office (PIMRO), when he was promoted to a permanent position.
Moran, now 62, started working for the provincial government in 1992 as a messenger and videographer. In 2007, his service was renewed when then Governor Amado Espino, Jr. took office, but was terminated in 2009..
For six months he was jobless but in April 2010, he was hired anew on a job order (JO) status. For seven years, he was on a JO status until he was given a casual status in 2017.
Under labor laws, job orders have no employee-employer relationship and are not automatically entitled to benefits under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) but may be eligible for coverage under Social Security System (SSS) as voluntary members.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Moran came when Governor Guico approved the reorganization of the PIMRO to include the creation of new permanent positions that prioritized career progression in the department.
Recognizing the length of service, work dedication and integity of provincial government employees, Gov. Guico signed Moran’s permanent position as driver III along with seven PIMRO staff in April 18 last year.
“Misasalamat ak ed Gov. Monmon Guico ta a-promote ak. At least, atawayan koy napermanente antes ak ya manretire. Say antak agko la nagamuran iyan pakapermenentek (I thank Gov. Monmon Guico because I was promoted. At least, I felt how it is to become a permanent employee before I retire. I thought I will never experience being a permanent employee),” Moran said.
Serving the government for 31 years as a casual employee of the housing office, Roman Abalos had lost hope of being promoted to a permanent position until his long time dream came true last March 27.
Abalos, was among the third batch of provincial government employees who were given permanent positions after decades of stagnancy.
“Akala ko di na ako ma-propromote kasi division lang noon ng Governor’s Office ang opisina namin. Noong naging separate department ito under Governor Guico, na-abolish then (na)create ng bagong positions kaya nabigyan ako ng chance na maging permanente,” Abalos disclosed.
HRMDO record, reveal that number of appointed/promoted employees from July 2022 to March 2025 under Gov. Guico totalled to 584 while the past administration recorded a total of 477 from 2019 to June 2022.
“The appointments during this period were distributed across all offices and hospitals and covered a full range of positions—from rank-and-file to managerial levels,” the report stated.
Sectors with the highest number of appointments/promotions came from the social sector particularly education and social welfare. Other sectors which were given opportunities for career growth were from the health and economic sectors.
It can be gleaned that career progression under Gov. Guico can be attributed to the commitment and priorities he has set for the provincial government notably the implementation of corporate local governance which he instituted at the start of his tenure. (Ruby F. Rayat/PIMRO)
