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BOTOLAN, Zambales — Following the successful implementation of various infrastructure projects last year, the local government of Botolan is preparing for more developments in 2025 to sustain the growth momentum in this first-class municipality.
Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane said the Botolan LGU would undertake four construction projects worth more than P200 million this year.
These are the construction of a municipal administrative building for a P24.9 million budget, a municipal motor pool for P15 million, a municipal commercial building for P90 million, and commercial spaces at the New Taugtog Resettlement Area for P70 million.
SELFIE Botolan Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane snaps a selfie with students during the Handog Edukasyon program of Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. at the Polytechnic College of Botolan. BOTOLAN LGU PHOTO
The projects, Ebdane said in his recent State of the Municipality Address (SOMA), will boost economic growth, generate new revenues, provide additional office spaces for government services and create new jobs.
Alongside these developments, Ebdane said the local government was also acquiring four lots with a total area of 10.7 hectares at P26.97 million for the expansion of LGU operations and programs.
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These properties will be the location for the planned municipal motor pool, as well as new buildings for the town's fire and police stations; a municipal agri-demo center for various agricultural projects, including dairy industry development programs; a materials recovery facility for better waste management; and the future home for the barangay government at Eastern Nacolcol.
At the same time, Ebdane said the local government was processing titles for government facilities like the Polytechnic College of Botolan, which straddles variously titled private lots.
Ebdane also reported in his SOMA the accomplishments of his administration in 2024.
He said Botolan completed P41.8 million worth of infrastructure projects under the town's 20 percent development fund and P12 million worth of projects for disaster preparedness and mitigation.
The local government also doled out P8.5 million in grants for college students and P4.12 million for high school students.
Ebdane said that Botolan procured information technology (IT) equipment in 2024 to develop the first smart classroom in Zambales and, with the help of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), provided internet connection to schools in remote Ayta villages through a Star Link dedicated satellite interface.
For these projects, the municipality received several citations last year, Ebdane said, among them national awards for the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), for which the LGU received P1.3 million, and the Anti-Drug Abuse Council Performance Award, for which it received an incentive of P150,000.
Botolan also received a "Gawad Timpukan" citation from the Department of the Interior and Local Government in 2024 and topped the provincial competition for the High-Value Crop Development Program with its "Gulayan sa Barangay" project.
Botolan, which has the biggest land area among the 13 municipalities in Zambales, contributed the third biggest revenue in the province at P494.2 million, according to the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index in 2023.
The town has 31 barangay and a population of 66,739 based on a 2020 survey.
