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Gov. Arnan C. Panaligan recently left for Melbourne, Australia with 22 other governors as a member of an official delegation of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP). The governors visited the State of Victoria in Australia, the capital of which is the city of Melbourne as official guests of the Victoria Local Governance Association.
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The LPP delegation was led by the top officers of the league, namely, Gov. Loreto Leo Ocampos (Misamis Occidental), LPP President, Gov. Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar), Secretary General, Gov. Arnan C. Panaligan (Oriental Mindoro), Vice President for Luzon and Gov. Salvacion S. Perez (Antique), Vice President for Visayas. LPP Assistant Secretary General Jojo Villano also accompanied the delegation.
Among the 22 governors who joined the delegation are Gov. Josephine Ramirez Sato (Occidental Mindoro), Gov. Natalio Beltran III (Romblon), Gov. Jose Antonio Carrion (Marinduque), Gov. Bellaflor A. Castillo (Aurora), Gov. Telesforo Castillejos (Batanes), Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin (Abra), Gov. Carlito Marquez (Aklan), Gov. Deogracias Victor Savellano (Ilocos Sur), Gov. Olga Kho (Masbate), Gov. Roger Espina (Biliran), Gov. Sally Lee (Sorsogon), Gov. Corazon Malanyaon (Davao Oriental) and Gov. Valentina Plaza (Agusan del Sur).
The governors left at 8:00 in the morning last August 25, 2008 on board a Philippine Airlines flight. The trip took 9 hours with a brief stopover at the Sydney airport. The delegation landed at the Tullamarine International Airport in Melbourne at 8:00 in the evening, Australian time which is 2 hours ahead of Manila time. They were met at the airport by Philippine Honorary Consul General Raul Hernandez.
The next day was a busy working day for the governors. In the morning, the delegation visited the city of Darebin where they were briefed about the development programs of the city government. They were later toured at the city waste segregation and recycling facility where the governors observed how garbage is handled, disposed of or recycled and reused.
The governors then proceeded to downtown Melbourne where they met with the representatives of the Victoria Local Governance Association (VLGA) led by Ms. Rhae Perry. The LPP signed a memorandum of agreement with VLGA for capability training programs of Philippine provinces and for technical assistance and linkaging with development aid agencies.
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