In his 2017 State of the Province Address, delivered before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan yesterday, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr. listed the accolades bestowed upon the province over the course of his administration.

“If you come from the gate beside the Casa Real and across Casa Plaza, you couldn’t miss the tarpaulin banner at the canopy announcing our achievement as the ‘Best Performing Province in Western Visayas’ from the the Excellence in Local Governance Awards of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, or EXCELL,” he said.

“Hall of Fame [status] has been conferred on the province of Iloilo for continuously exhibiting above-benchmark performance in all facets of governance – administrative, social, economic, and environmental – thus, consistently winning as ‘Best Performing Province’ for the years 2014, 2015, and 2016,” the governor added.

The speech ran for over 90 minutes./WDJ