21 December 2005
OPINION: Putting a virtual white elephant to good use
WINDOWS
Gabriel L. Cardinoza
I WAS in Manambong, Bayambang last weekend to witness the launching of a backyard animal dispersal project of businessman Cesar T. Quiambao, a dear son of Bayambang, who is also known as the man behind the Skyway project in Metro Manila.
But what caught my attention was the project venue: an imposing well-ventilated two-storey structure towering over the barangay. It was an evacuation center, I would learn later.
There are actually two of them in Manambong, and, according to DPWH regional director Fidel Ginez, there are eight more of these structures in seven other low-lying and flood-prone barangays in Bayambang.
For an evacuation center, the buildings definitely had the amenities that an evacuation center should have -- space, good ventilation, water supply, kitchen and comfort rooms. Its second level is open in the middle, allowing air to circulate within the structure.
Easily, each building can accommodate 3,000 evacuees. And because it was built in an elevated base overlooking a rice field, residents can also evacuate with them their animals, which can be tied in the spacious yard fronting the buildings.
Rep. Gener Tulagan, who was at the project launch, said that barangay officials have agreed to put one of the buildings to good use during dry months. Without floods, the buildings are virtual white elephants. He said that a local entrepreneur who owns ready-to-wear (RTW) factories in the Bataan Export Processing Zone has agreed to open one in Manambong utilizing one of the buildings, to provide a source of additional income to mothers and women in the barangay, who are mostly farmers.
The RTW factory will probably in operation 11 months of the year. And flood waters rise from the nearby Mangabul Lake and submerge the barangay, the factory can suspend its operations to accommodate the evacuees.
For a remote and depressed barangay like Manambong, opening a factory will also open to its people the door to growth and development. Not only will increased people’s income perk up the local economy. More importantly, the need to transport the factory products to the market will require building of its roadline, which in the end will also be beneficial to the farmers.
Mayor Leo de Vera, who was conspicuously missing during the project launch, can only smile in approval with the development. To him, any project that can help alleviate his townspeople’s situation is welcome. After all, improving the people’s lives and liberating them from the bondage of poverty is his reason for being.
Gabriel L. Cardinoza
I WAS in Manambong, Bayambang last weekend to witness the launching of a backyard animal dispersal project of businessman Cesar T. Quiambao, a dear son of Bayambang, who is also known as the man behind the Skyway project in Metro Manila.
But what caught my attention was the project venue: an imposing well-ventilated two-storey structure towering over the barangay. It was an evacuation center, I would learn later.
There are actually two of them in Manambong, and, according to DPWH regional director Fidel Ginez, there are eight more of these structures in seven other low-lying and flood-prone barangays in Bayambang.
For an evacuation center, the buildings definitely had the amenities that an evacuation center should have -- space, good ventilation, water supply, kitchen and comfort rooms. Its second level is open in the middle, allowing air to circulate within the structure.
Easily, each building can accommodate 3,000 evacuees. And because it was built in an elevated base overlooking a rice field, residents can also evacuate with them their animals, which can be tied in the spacious yard fronting the buildings.
Rep. Gener Tulagan, who was at the project launch, said that barangay officials have agreed to put one of the buildings to good use during dry months. Without floods, the buildings are virtual white elephants. He said that a local entrepreneur who owns ready-to-wear (RTW) factories in the Bataan Export Processing Zone has agreed to open one in Manambong utilizing one of the buildings, to provide a source of additional income to mothers and women in the barangay, who are mostly farmers.
The RTW factory will probably in operation 11 months of the year. And flood waters rise from the nearby Mangabul Lake and submerge the barangay, the factory can suspend its operations to accommodate the evacuees.
For a remote and depressed barangay like Manambong, opening a factory will also open to its people the door to growth and development. Not only will increased people’s income perk up the local economy. More importantly, the need to transport the factory products to the market will require building of its roadline, which in the end will also be beneficial to the farmers.
Mayor Leo de Vera, who was conspicuously missing during the project launch, can only smile in approval with the development. To him, any project that can help alleviate his townspeople’s situation is welcome. After all, improving the people’s lives and liberating them from the bondage of poverty is his reason for being.
* * * * *
Congratulations to DWRS-Radyo ng Bayan’s Bernie Errasquin for his election as president of the Pangasinan Tri-Media Association (Patrima) last Wednesday. For three years now, Patrima elections have always been fun, intrigue-free and non-controversial. No protests, no complaints, no vote-buying, but nonetheless, democratic.
I would like also to congratulate out-going president Roland Hidalgo for his successful one-year term. Despite his busy schedule, he somehow managed to organize activities for Patrima and represent it in various official functions.
With Patrima, it is now easier to differentiate the grain from the chaff, so to speak.
I would like also to congratulate out-going president Roland Hidalgo for his successful one-year term. Despite his busy schedule, he somehow managed to organize activities for Patrima and represent it in various official functions.
With Patrima, it is now easier to differentiate the grain from the chaff, so to speak.
