24 August 2005
PHOTO: Noli in Lingayen
VICE President Noli de Castro (right), who chairs the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), looks over the plans and designs for the province’s resettlement projects in Lingayen with Alvin Bigay (center), chief of the Pangasinan Housing and Urban Development Office (PHUDCO) providing backgrounders during the vice president’s brief stopover at the Urduja House last Thursday. Governor Victor E. Agbayani (third from left, partly hidden) confers with other national housing officials in background. (PStar Photo by Butch F. Uka)
Noli: ‘Let’s pray GMA finishes her term’
“IPAGDASAL natin na walang mangyari sa Pangulo.”
Vice-President Noli de Castro made this comment when asked if he was ready and capable to assume the presidency in case President Macapagal-Arroyo steps down from office or is removed thru constitutional or extra-constitutional means.
De Castro, who visited the province Thursday to lead the inauguration of the provincial housing project in Lingayen, however stressed that he would play his role as successor in any eventuality, as embodied in the Constitution.
He said that when he ran for vice-president, he was well aware that he would be succeeding the President in case something happens to her.
At this time however, he clarified he was not thinking of that even as he urged the people to pray in behalf of Arroyo for her to continue in office and finish her term.
Media comments monitored after the visit appeared to still cast doubts however on De Castro’s leadership qualifications as these generally noted he was used by the administration during the elections because of his popularity and vote-getting prowess, he having been number one senator in his first attempt for the Senate seat.
De Castro, chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said his office in coordination with non-government organizations and other people’s organizations is making headway in providing homes for squatter families.
Vice-President Noli de Castro made this comment when asked if he was ready and capable to assume the presidency in case President Macapagal-Arroyo steps down from office or is removed thru constitutional or extra-constitutional means.
De Castro, who visited the province Thursday to lead the inauguration of the provincial housing project in Lingayen, however stressed that he would play his role as successor in any eventuality, as embodied in the Constitution.
He said that when he ran for vice-president, he was well aware that he would be succeeding the President in case something happens to her.
At this time however, he clarified he was not thinking of that even as he urged the people to pray in behalf of Arroyo for her to continue in office and finish her term.
Media comments monitored after the visit appeared to still cast doubts however on De Castro’s leadership qualifications as these generally noted he was used by the administration during the elections because of his popularity and vote-getting prowess, he having been number one senator in his first attempt for the Senate seat.
De Castro, chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said his office in coordination with non-government organizations and other people’s organizations is making headway in providing homes for squatter families.
CLO, SP okay more trikes for franchise
By Danny O. Sagun
THE number of tricycle units allowed in Dagupan City is now up at 3,800 from the previous 2,500, courtesy of the city legal office and the sangguniang panlungsod.
City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued said that the sangguniang panlungsod last Monday approved a recommendation by her office to increase the number of tricycle franchises for the city “to once and for all clean our records.”
She said that a study conducted on the matter showed that more than 3,500 units are already plying the city streets today although a previous city ordinance allowed only 2,500 units.
Baniqued noted that some owners maintain more than two units attached to their franchise.
The new measure, she said, is intended to do away with colorum and multiple units under a single franchise even as it will give a chance to operators who bought their tricycles thru installment plans to finally own them.
“We have to balance both sides,” she said referring to the measure regulating the number of units and the livelihood opportunities for the operators.
Told that the measure could only encourage owners to buy more units, she advised would-be buyers to inquire first with City Hall if there are still available franchises.
She bared that by 2007, the city will be enforcing the gradual phaseout or retirement of old and dilapidated units. She admitted that some tricycles plying the city are already unfit as public transportation because these are too dilapidated.
THE number of tricycle units allowed in Dagupan City is now up at 3,800 from the previous 2,500, courtesy of the city legal office and the sangguniang panlungsod.
City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued said that the sangguniang panlungsod last Monday approved a recommendation by her office to increase the number of tricycle franchises for the city “to once and for all clean our records.”
She said that a study conducted on the matter showed that more than 3,500 units are already plying the city streets today although a previous city ordinance allowed only 2,500 units.
Baniqued noted that some owners maintain more than two units attached to their franchise.
The new measure, she said, is intended to do away with colorum and multiple units under a single franchise even as it will give a chance to operators who bought their tricycles thru installment plans to finally own them.
“We have to balance both sides,” she said referring to the measure regulating the number of units and the livelihood opportunities for the operators.
Told that the measure could only encourage owners to buy more units, she advised would-be buyers to inquire first with City Hall if there are still available franchises.
She bared that by 2007, the city will be enforcing the gradual phaseout or retirement of old and dilapidated units. She admitted that some tricycles plying the city are already unfit as public transportation because these are too dilapidated.
Truck driver killed, 2 helpers serious in Villasis hijack try
VILLASIS – A truck driver was killed and his two helpers wounded when they were assaulted by four persons who attempted to rob them or hijack their vehicle along the national highway in the village of Bacag here at 5 a.m. last Wedneday.
Police Inspector Brandon Palisoc, newly assumed chief of police of Villasis, identified the fatality as Johnny Espina of Macatling in Sta. Rosa, Laguna who died on the spot from several bullet wounds.
Wounded and still unconscious while being treated in a local hospital were Victor Amodia and Rommel Yago, both helpers, who allegedly fought the attackers and were also shot in different parts of their bodies.
Investigation showed the 10-wheeler truck of the victim was parked along the roadside where they spent the night when a van, allegedly an Isuzu Crosswind, stopped at the back of their vehicle. Three men alighted from the van with drawn handguns and announced a holdup, said Palisoc.
Both Amodia and Yago fought back however prompting the armed men to open fire on them.
Palisoc said it appeared that the suspects were not able to get anything from the victims. They sped away towards the direction of Manila.
He said that based on the bullets fired by the suspects, it is possible that two or more firearms were used in the shooting.
Palisoc and his men chased the suspects till Dau in Mabalacat, Pampanga but their efforts proved futile.
Police Inspector Brandon Palisoc, newly assumed chief of police of Villasis, identified the fatality as Johnny Espina of Macatling in Sta. Rosa, Laguna who died on the spot from several bullet wounds.
Wounded and still unconscious while being treated in a local hospital were Victor Amodia and Rommel Yago, both helpers, who allegedly fought the attackers and were also shot in different parts of their bodies.
Investigation showed the 10-wheeler truck of the victim was parked along the roadside where they spent the night when a van, allegedly an Isuzu Crosswind, stopped at the back of their vehicle. Three men alighted from the van with drawn handguns and announced a holdup, said Palisoc.
Both Amodia and Yago fought back however prompting the armed men to open fire on them.
Palisoc said it appeared that the suspects were not able to get anything from the victims. They sped away towards the direction of Manila.
He said that based on the bullets fired by the suspects, it is possible that two or more firearms were used in the shooting.
Palisoc and his men chased the suspects till Dau in Mabalacat, Pampanga but their efforts proved futile.
Gastro rides with dengue onslaught; 236 now down
LINGAYEN – Even as dengue cases are still rising, gastro enteritis struck in Pangasinan, downing 236 people in San Jacinto alone as of the second week of August.
This was disclosed by Dr. Clarita Sabido, Medical Specialist III and chief of the Technical Services of the Provincial Health Office, who said most of the victims of gastroenteritis in San Jacinto were students, pupils and children. The number of cases listed was based on the number of patients registered in the town since May this year, Sabido clarified.
Municipal health officials however said there was no cause for alarm as only mild cases of gastroenteritis were noted in the town and those afflicted did not need hospitalization anymore.
Sabido said her office sent health teams to San Jacinto to conduct health education campaign among the people, especially food handlers, who may be serving contaminated food to their customers.
A report indicated that some, if not most, of those afflicted with gastroenteritis may have contracted the disease by eating contaminated food and water peddled by food shops inside and or outside schools.
Last year, gastroenteritis peaked in the province. Some 9,000 cases were recorded, at least 464 of these confirmed to be cholera.
On dengue fever cases, the PHO reported that there were 240 cases already recorded, at least 181 of which were confirmed to be dengue. Fifty-nine others were listed as suspected dengue cases.
Three persons were reported by the PHO to have died from dengue although separate reports by the Department of Health already listed seven deaths.
Sabido released statistics showing that most of the victims of dengue were aged 10 to 17 years old but she added that the disease had affected persons of all ages.
Top towns in number of dengue cases are Binalonan, 26; Sison, 15; Laoac, 11; Calasiao, 21; Malasiqui, 10; Mangaldan, 10; Mangaldan, 14; and Agno, 8.
She said, however, it is still too early to consider the situation an outbreak of dengue because the number of cases registered has not surpassed the more than 600 cases listed last year. (PNA)
This was disclosed by Dr. Clarita Sabido, Medical Specialist III and chief of the Technical Services of the Provincial Health Office, who said most of the victims of gastroenteritis in San Jacinto were students, pupils and children. The number of cases listed was based on the number of patients registered in the town since May this year, Sabido clarified.
Municipal health officials however said there was no cause for alarm as only mild cases of gastroenteritis were noted in the town and those afflicted did not need hospitalization anymore.
Sabido said her office sent health teams to San Jacinto to conduct health education campaign among the people, especially food handlers, who may be serving contaminated food to their customers.
A report indicated that some, if not most, of those afflicted with gastroenteritis may have contracted the disease by eating contaminated food and water peddled by food shops inside and or outside schools.
Last year, gastroenteritis peaked in the province. Some 9,000 cases were recorded, at least 464 of these confirmed to be cholera.
On dengue fever cases, the PHO reported that there were 240 cases already recorded, at least 181 of which were confirmed to be dengue. Fifty-nine others were listed as suspected dengue cases.
Three persons were reported by the PHO to have died from dengue although separate reports by the Department of Health already listed seven deaths.
Sabido released statistics showing that most of the victims of dengue were aged 10 to 17 years old but she added that the disease had affected persons of all ages.
Top towns in number of dengue cases are Binalonan, 26; Sison, 15; Laoac, 11; Calasiao, 21; Malasiqui, 10; Mangaldan, 10; Mangaldan, 14; and Agno, 8.
She said, however, it is still too early to consider the situation an outbreak of dengue because the number of cases registered has not surpassed the more than 600 cases listed last year. (PNA)
4,000 young athletes compete in 8th Milo Little Olympics
LINGAYEN – Some 4,000 young athletes from the elementary and high schools in four regions of the country will see action in the 8th Milo Little Olympics for Luzon on Aug. 20, 21, 27 and 28.
Tess Bernardino, Milo sports organizer for Regions I, II, III and the Cordillera Administrative Region, said the opening ceremony for this sporting event was held here Friday with Rep. Amado Espino, Jr. leading the torch lighting along with Department of Education Assistant Secretary Teodoro Catindig and Pat Goc Ong, Milo sports executive.
She said the athletes will go for medals in 11 sporting events, namely athletics, badminton, chess, football, gymnastics, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball.
The athletes will come from the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Cordilleras.
All the events will be held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen except for gymnastics which will be held at the CSI The City Mall in Dagupan City, football at the provincial headquarters of the Philippine National Police, and table tennis either at St. Columban College or at the Pangasinan School of Arts and Trade (PSAT).
Bernardo said the yearly sporting event is a project of Nestle Philippines, Inc., maker of Milo chocolate drink, in cooperation with the province of Pangasinan, the Philippine Olympics Committee, and the Department of Education offices from all participating regions. (PNA)
Tess Bernardino, Milo sports organizer for Regions I, II, III and the Cordillera Administrative Region, said the opening ceremony for this sporting event was held here Friday with Rep. Amado Espino, Jr. leading the torch lighting along with Department of Education Assistant Secretary Teodoro Catindig and Pat Goc Ong, Milo sports executive.
She said the athletes will go for medals in 11 sporting events, namely athletics, badminton, chess, football, gymnastics, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball.
The athletes will come from the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Cordilleras.
All the events will be held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen except for gymnastics which will be held at the CSI The City Mall in Dagupan City, football at the provincial headquarters of the Philippine National Police, and table tennis either at St. Columban College or at the Pangasinan School of Arts and Trade (PSAT).
Bernardo said the yearly sporting event is a project of Nestle Philippines, Inc., maker of Milo chocolate drink, in cooperation with the province of Pangasinan, the Philippine Olympics Committee, and the Department of Education offices from all participating regions. (PNA)
PHOTO: Champion cheerers
The top-performing Dagupan City National High School Cheering Squad performs a fast and leggy number at the opening of the 8th Milo Little Olympics 2005 at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen. Set to compete with other cheering squads from four regions as the defending champion in the last staging of the sports event, the DCNHS cheerers found no challenger coming up and thus had to just perform an exhibition number, to the delight of the NRSCC audience. (PStar Photo by Butch F. Uka)
VP de Castro mum on San Mateo raid
VICE President Noli De Castro, on a whirlwind visit to Pangasinan Thursday, claimed complete innocence on the raid conducted by lawmen in a subdivision in San Mateo, Rizal where they seized 32 election returns (ERs) and other election paraphernalia last Wednesday.
The room raided by government agents was being rented by Segundo Tabayoyong, a former document analyst of the National Bureau of Investigation, whom former vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda claimed was her primary witness in her election protest filed against de Castro.
Tabayoyong is from Laoac and Manaoag, Pangasinan. He is a nephew of Laoac Mayor Gregorio Tabayoyong who had worked in the NBI since Marcos’ time.
“I don’t know that (raid). I only read that in the newspapers when I was on board a helicopter on my way to Pangasinan,” de Castro told newsmen who interviewed him in Dagupan.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) are under fire from opposition leaders for the raid that did not seem to have enough justification.
De Castro also said he was unaware that Tabayoyong is Legarda’s prime witness in her electoral protest against him, telling newsmen here to just ask Legarda for confirmation.”
He said he does not know anything about certificates of canvass (COCs) because as far as he is concerned, he left all these to his lawyers.
In his talk to newsmen after meeting for some 30 minutes with Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, he said he is not at all bothered by his detractors because even as a former broadcaster, he had too many of these within the industry.
De Castro called on Archbishop Cruz at 2 p.m. last Thursday but he said they did not discuss anything controversial
De Castro explained this was just a normal call on the archbishop as a side trip since he was in the province anyway to distribute certificates of lot entitlement to housing beneficiaries in Bugallon and Lingayen.
Cruz, chairman of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng” (Crusade for Jueteng-free Philippines), gained national fame when he spurred the Senate to conduct an investigation on jueteng.
De Castro admitted this was the first time since after the election that he had a talk with the archbishop, pointing out that before the polls, he was only among only two national candidate who signed a covenant supporting the crusade against jueteng.
Asked what they talked about in their more than 30-minute meeting, the vice president said they discussed religion, jueteng, exercise and little politics.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not know of his visit to the archbishop, de Castro explained.
The room raided by government agents was being rented by Segundo Tabayoyong, a former document analyst of the National Bureau of Investigation, whom former vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda claimed was her primary witness in her election protest filed against de Castro.
Tabayoyong is from Laoac and Manaoag, Pangasinan. He is a nephew of Laoac Mayor Gregorio Tabayoyong who had worked in the NBI since Marcos’ time.
“I don’t know that (raid). I only read that in the newspapers when I was on board a helicopter on my way to Pangasinan,” de Castro told newsmen who interviewed him in Dagupan.
Members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) are under fire from opposition leaders for the raid that did not seem to have enough justification.
De Castro also said he was unaware that Tabayoyong is Legarda’s prime witness in her electoral protest against him, telling newsmen here to just ask Legarda for confirmation.”
He said he does not know anything about certificates of canvass (COCs) because as far as he is concerned, he left all these to his lawyers.
In his talk to newsmen after meeting for some 30 minutes with Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, he said he is not at all bothered by his detractors because even as a former broadcaster, he had too many of these within the industry.
De Castro called on Archbishop Cruz at 2 p.m. last Thursday but he said they did not discuss anything controversial
De Castro explained this was just a normal call on the archbishop as a side trip since he was in the province anyway to distribute certificates of lot entitlement to housing beneficiaries in Bugallon and Lingayen.
Cruz, chairman of the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng” (Crusade for Jueteng-free Philippines), gained national fame when he spurred the Senate to conduct an investigation on jueteng.
De Castro admitted this was the first time since after the election that he had a talk with the archbishop, pointing out that before the polls, he was only among only two national candidate who signed a covenant supporting the crusade against jueteng.
Asked what they talked about in their more than 30-minute meeting, the vice president said they discussed religion, jueteng, exercise and little politics.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not know of his visit to the archbishop, de Castro explained.
Awai, Lobong folk still wary of Dagupan’s real intention
SAN JACINTO --- Residents of barangays Awai and Lobong here are wary and not readily swallowing moves by the city government of Dagupan to project its intention of turning a 30-hectare land the city purchased in hilly Awai into a watershed and reforestation area only.
Four years ago, after Dagupan bought the lot, residents here mounted massive protests on learning that the city planned to develop the area into a big sanitary landfill for its garbage.
The deep resentment and suspicion of the barangayfolk was revived two weeks ago when City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim, accompanied by their mayor, Rodolfo Columbres visited the place to plant tree seedlings preparatory to a massive tree planting by city employees in order to create a watershed and forest park in Awai.
Maria Banda, barangay chief of Lobong, next-door to Awai, said her constituents believe the tree-planting could only be a smokescreen for the ultimate plan to push through with the landfill project in the area to accommodate Dagupan’s overflowing garbage.
Banda cited as basis for their suspicion the fact that barangay officials were brought to San Fernando City, La Union last July 21 to visit the sanitary landfill project there to gently persuade them to give up their opposition to the Dagupan project.
“We were not impressed with what we saw because even before we reached the place, we already smelled the garbage,” she said, adding that their people will never allow Awai to be the dumping ground of garbage from Dagupan.
Explaining why Lobong seems to be very much against it when it is in neighboring Awai where the lot is located, Banda pointed out that garbage coming from Dagupan enroute to Awai will be pasing thru their barangay.
The barangay residents also fear that garbage lecheate from decaying matters might flow to Lobong and pollute their groundwater.
Four years ago, after Dagupan bought the lot, residents here mounted massive protests on learning that the city planned to develop the area into a big sanitary landfill for its garbage.
The deep resentment and suspicion of the barangayfolk was revived two weeks ago when City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim, accompanied by their mayor, Rodolfo Columbres visited the place to plant tree seedlings preparatory to a massive tree planting by city employees in order to create a watershed and forest park in Awai.
Maria Banda, barangay chief of Lobong, next-door to Awai, said her constituents believe the tree-planting could only be a smokescreen for the ultimate plan to push through with the landfill project in the area to accommodate Dagupan’s overflowing garbage.
Banda cited as basis for their suspicion the fact that barangay officials were brought to San Fernando City, La Union last July 21 to visit the sanitary landfill project there to gently persuade them to give up their opposition to the Dagupan project.
“We were not impressed with what we saw because even before we reached the place, we already smelled the garbage,” she said, adding that their people will never allow Awai to be the dumping ground of garbage from Dagupan.
Explaining why Lobong seems to be very much against it when it is in neighboring Awai where the lot is located, Banda pointed out that garbage coming from Dagupan enroute to Awai will be pasing thru their barangay.
The barangay residents also fear that garbage lecheate from decaying matters might flow to Lobong and pollute their groundwater.
After Mirant, province eyes telecom, electric coops tax
LINGAYEN – Fresh from its successful negotiated settlement of its real property tax case against Mirant Philippines, where it earned a whooping P196 million in arrears and current levies from the multinational company, the provincial government of Pangasinan may just push its luck and resume efforts to go after delinquent telecommunication companies and electric cooperatives doing business in Pangasinan.
A top provincial department official told The Pangasinan Star that with the Mirant tax case out of the way, the long pending legal suit against Digitel, the telecommunications company, would be “followed up” in due time by finance and legal officers of the province.
It was learned that the tax case against Digitel already had a “final” decision a few years back .Just when the provincial government was awaiting execution of the court order however, yet another decision came, leaving the province confused as to which “final resolution” was to be implemented.
“There was apparently a legal maneuver by some influential people upstairs to correct the first final decision,” a Capitol source said.
The Pangasinan Star source also said the province is planning a more positive effort at collecting tax dues from electric cooperatives who have been banking on the exemptions granted by the Cooperatives Law to avoid paying up.
A check with the Cooperatives Development Authority (CDA) has confirmed that these electric cooperatives are not registered as such entities with that office, making their claim at exemption from local taxes “questionable at the very least,” he added.
The provincial legal office is reportedly preparing arguments for a “test case” on the electric cooperatives’ tax exemption claims, the source said.
Meanwhile, Provincial Treasurer Ramon Crisostomo said similar precedent cases in power plants of Mirant in Pagbilao, Quezon and elsewhere, where the plaintiff local governments won their tax appeal cases against the power plant operator, could have prompted Mirant to go the way of a settlement with Pangasinan.
Crisostomo, who was part of the team that pursued the case against Mirant, however said the province itself had to forego with the compounded interests on the tax dues being sought as part of the condition of Mirant to “settle.” Otherwise, he said, the case could have dragged on for more years as Mirant officials were inclined, if their “condition” was not granted, to fight it out in court.
In the end, he said, the provincial team that apprised Governor Victor E. Agbayani, of the options, decided it was in the better interest of the province to accept the settlement terms “so (that) many provincial projects can already move or resume” for the larger benefit of Pangasinenses.
The P196 million received by the provincial government two weeks ago has been duly divided, based on the set percentages of sharing, between the provincial government, the municipal government of Sual and barangay Pangascasan, the host village of the Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant of Mirant.
A top provincial department official told The Pangasinan Star that with the Mirant tax case out of the way, the long pending legal suit against Digitel, the telecommunications company, would be “followed up” in due time by finance and legal officers of the province.
It was learned that the tax case against Digitel already had a “final” decision a few years back .Just when the provincial government was awaiting execution of the court order however, yet another decision came, leaving the province confused as to which “final resolution” was to be implemented.
“There was apparently a legal maneuver by some influential people upstairs to correct the first final decision,” a Capitol source said.
The Pangasinan Star source also said the province is planning a more positive effort at collecting tax dues from electric cooperatives who have been banking on the exemptions granted by the Cooperatives Law to avoid paying up.
A check with the Cooperatives Development Authority (CDA) has confirmed that these electric cooperatives are not registered as such entities with that office, making their claim at exemption from local taxes “questionable at the very least,” he added.
The provincial legal office is reportedly preparing arguments for a “test case” on the electric cooperatives’ tax exemption claims, the source said.
Meanwhile, Provincial Treasurer Ramon Crisostomo said similar precedent cases in power plants of Mirant in Pagbilao, Quezon and elsewhere, where the plaintiff local governments won their tax appeal cases against the power plant operator, could have prompted Mirant to go the way of a settlement with Pangasinan.
Crisostomo, who was part of the team that pursued the case against Mirant, however said the province itself had to forego with the compounded interests on the tax dues being sought as part of the condition of Mirant to “settle.” Otherwise, he said, the case could have dragged on for more years as Mirant officials were inclined, if their “condition” was not granted, to fight it out in court.
In the end, he said, the provincial team that apprised Governor Victor E. Agbayani, of the options, decided it was in the better interest of the province to accept the settlement terms “so (that) many provincial projects can already move or resume” for the larger benefit of Pangasinenses.
The P196 million received by the provincial government two weeks ago has been duly divided, based on the set percentages of sharing, between the provincial government, the municipal government of Sual and barangay Pangascasan, the host village of the Sual Coal-Fired Power Plant of Mirant.
Urmaza: No ‘fixers’ at Dagupan LTO
THERE are no ‘fixers’ at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Dagupan City, according to its chief transportation regulations officer.
CTRO Patricio ‘Pat’ P. Urmaza categorically denied the alleged presence of “such unscrupulous individuals” at the LTO here.
Urmaza explained that some people may be mistaking “insurance agents not connected to the LTO who look after those needing insurance for their vehicles as fixers”.
“However, I do not allow them to ply their trade inside the office itself but only outside. Moreover, I see to it that, even if they are outside the office, they are also legitimate insurance agencies and not the blacklisted ones, for vehicle owners’ protection,” Urmaza pointed out.
He emphasized that when it comes to matters related to the actual registration of vehicles, all vehicle owners are advised to deal directly with legitimate employees of the LTO, no matter where that LTO office is located.
“This can easily be known by the client of the office because LTO-Dagupan posts an organizational chart which can be conspicuously seen in the office. Deal only with the employees or officers found in the chart,” Urmaza advised.
He explained that he cannot legally drive away such insurance agents to leave the LTO compound because of the element of free enterprise, as long as this is not against the law.
Urmaza said there are roughly from 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles of various types in Pangasinan, with some 40,000 of these under the Dagupan LTO.
CTRO Patricio ‘Pat’ P. Urmaza categorically denied the alleged presence of “such unscrupulous individuals” at the LTO here.
Urmaza explained that some people may be mistaking “insurance agents not connected to the LTO who look after those needing insurance for their vehicles as fixers”.
“However, I do not allow them to ply their trade inside the office itself but only outside. Moreover, I see to it that, even if they are outside the office, they are also legitimate insurance agencies and not the blacklisted ones, for vehicle owners’ protection,” Urmaza pointed out.
He emphasized that when it comes to matters related to the actual registration of vehicles, all vehicle owners are advised to deal directly with legitimate employees of the LTO, no matter where that LTO office is located.
“This can easily be known by the client of the office because LTO-Dagupan posts an organizational chart which can be conspicuously seen in the office. Deal only with the employees or officers found in the chart,” Urmaza advised.
He explained that he cannot legally drive away such insurance agents to leave the LTO compound because of the element of free enterprise, as long as this is not against the law.
Urmaza said there are roughly from 80,000 to 100,000 vehicles of various types in Pangasinan, with some 40,000 of these under the Dagupan LTO.
Mangatarem still drugs ‘hot spot’ 13 fall in raid
LINGAYEN – The campaign against illegal drugs scored anew when 13 suspected pushers and or users were arrested Friday afternoon in simultaneous raids conducted by lawmen in three separate houses in Mangatarem town.
Chief Inspector Harris Fama, head of the Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group of the Police Provincial Office, said the raids were conducted based on validated reports that three houses located on Maravilla street in Mangatarem were buying points of local drug users.
The raids wee covered by three separate search warrants issued earlier on the same day by Regional Trial Court Judge Rolando Mislang of Branch 42 in Dagupan City.
The raids confirmed previous intelligence reports that Mangatarem remains on top of the watch list of the police when it comes to illegal drugs, despite the arrest of big-time drug dealers and pushers there some months ago.
Fama spearheaded the raid along with elements of the Mangatarem Police headed by Supt. Ernesto Abuan, Special Operations Group led by Senior Insp. Plariel Balt, Intelligence and Investigation Branch headed by Supt. Noli Taliño and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency headed by Provincial Director, Chief Insp. Christopher Abrahano.
A total of two grams of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu placed in 10 plastic sachets, including drug paraphernalia and cash proceeds from sales of drugs, were seized by lawmen from the houses of Leopoldo Legal, alias “Pol”, Eddie Valle and Orlando Untalan.
All three were suspected well-known drug pushers and users in the town.
Of the three house owners, only Untalan was arrested. The other two were not in their respective homes when the raids were carried out.
Others arrested in Untalan’s house were Marlon Rosario, Froilan Pasiliao and Rolly Panlilio who, at the time of the raid, were conducting a pot session. All scampered in various directions but were later caught by lawmen following a brief chase. Their companion, identified as Norberto Rosario, alias “Erdie”, managed to escape. He is now the object of a police manhunt.
Nabbed in Legal’s house were his wife Maribel, Peter Jerwin Soriano, Jimmy Bautista, Victor Cruz and Bernadette Flores.
Chief Inspector Harris Fama, head of the Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group of the Police Provincial Office, said the raids were conducted based on validated reports that three houses located on Maravilla street in Mangatarem were buying points of local drug users.
The raids wee covered by three separate search warrants issued earlier on the same day by Regional Trial Court Judge Rolando Mislang of Branch 42 in Dagupan City.
The raids confirmed previous intelligence reports that Mangatarem remains on top of the watch list of the police when it comes to illegal drugs, despite the arrest of big-time drug dealers and pushers there some months ago.
Fama spearheaded the raid along with elements of the Mangatarem Police headed by Supt. Ernesto Abuan, Special Operations Group led by Senior Insp. Plariel Balt, Intelligence and Investigation Branch headed by Supt. Noli Taliño and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency headed by Provincial Director, Chief Insp. Christopher Abrahano.
A total of two grams of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu placed in 10 plastic sachets, including drug paraphernalia and cash proceeds from sales of drugs, were seized by lawmen from the houses of Leopoldo Legal, alias “Pol”, Eddie Valle and Orlando Untalan.
All three were suspected well-known drug pushers and users in the town.
Of the three house owners, only Untalan was arrested. The other two were not in their respective homes when the raids were carried out.
Others arrested in Untalan’s house were Marlon Rosario, Froilan Pasiliao and Rolly Panlilio who, at the time of the raid, were conducting a pot session. All scampered in various directions but were later caught by lawmen following a brief chase. Their companion, identified as Norberto Rosario, alias “Erdie”, managed to escape. He is now the object of a police manhunt.
Nabbed in Legal’s house were his wife Maribel, Peter Jerwin Soriano, Jimmy Bautista, Victor Cruz and Bernadette Flores.
Dad Michael forgives 3 in pubhouse row
DAGUPAN City Councilor Michael Fernandez has accepted the apologies of three persons he earlier charged with slight physical injuries during a melee at the Music Warehouse last year.
Fernandez said that the three – Manolito Taron, 33, Bernon Taron, 36, and Camilo Felarcia Jr., 25 – had written him to ask for forgiveness for unnecessarily involving him in the scuffle on Dec. 8, 2004 thus injuring the councilor and his friends.
Manolito and Bernon are both from Lingayen town while Felarca is from San Marcelino, Zambales.
In their letter, the three said that Fernandez was only trying to pacify them at that time and expressed their heartfelt apologies to the councilor “in the interest of peace and reconciliation.”
Fernandez has dropped the case he filed before the municipal trial court in cities (M TCC) against the three.
“They have come to me several times. They brought with them their relatives, and two of them are married with children. So, I have accepted their apologies,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez said that the three – Manolito Taron, 33, Bernon Taron, 36, and Camilo Felarcia Jr., 25 – had written him to ask for forgiveness for unnecessarily involving him in the scuffle on Dec. 8, 2004 thus injuring the councilor and his friends.
Manolito and Bernon are both from Lingayen town while Felarca is from San Marcelino, Zambales.
In their letter, the three said that Fernandez was only trying to pacify them at that time and expressed their heartfelt apologies to the councilor “in the interest of peace and reconciliation.”
Fernandez has dropped the case he filed before the municipal trial court in cities (M TCC) against the three.
“They have come to me several times. They brought with them their relatives, and two of them are married with children. So, I have accepted their apologies,” Fernandez said.
Ong, pioneer Lingayen restaurateur buried
LINGAYEN --- Noted businessman and civic leader Ruben M. Ong of this capital town was buried yesterday following a five-day wake that drew to his wake a legion of friends and relatives from both the public and private sector at the De Guzman Funeral Parlor.
Ong, 78, succumbed to complications from heart disease. He is survived by his wife, the former Asuncion
Torio and 12 children, now all professionals.
Ong’s family owned and managed the former Viscount Restaurant on Maramba Blvd., a landmark of Lingayen in the 70s to 80s just across the Provincial Capitol grounds, until it went under a new management. The site is where the present Consuelo’s Restaurant stands.
A popular figure in town, Ong cultivated friendship with many associations and was an officer in many of them.
At his wake, among the more prominent figures who paid their last respects were Philippine National Police Chief Arturo Lomibao and PNP spokesman, Gen. Leopoldo Bataoil, himself a Lingayenense, Mayor Ernesto Castaneda and many provincial and municipal officials.
Ong, 78, succumbed to complications from heart disease. He is survived by his wife, the former Asuncion
Torio and 12 children, now all professionals.
Ong’s family owned and managed the former Viscount Restaurant on Maramba Blvd., a landmark of Lingayen in the 70s to 80s just across the Provincial Capitol grounds, until it went under a new management. The site is where the present Consuelo’s Restaurant stands.
A popular figure in town, Ong cultivated friendship with many associations and was an officer in many of them.
At his wake, among the more prominent figures who paid their last respects were Philippine National Police Chief Arturo Lomibao and PNP spokesman, Gen. Leopoldo Bataoil, himself a Lingayenense, Mayor Ernesto Castaneda and many provincial and municipal officials.
Essay: ‘Quick, make me invisible!’
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
IT never ceases to amuse us, this familiar scene of a mayor or governor seated behind his desk patiently, if condescendingly, listening to all sorts of problems, personal and very personal, from a succession of visitors. Very early in the morning, they all come “to see the mayor” even if clearly, some of the woes they bring with them are best presented to someone else in the municipal or city hierarchy – the administrator, the engineer, the health officer, the social worker, and yes, the barangay captain.
To everyone troubled and baffled, the mayor is the “final solution”—what he says (sometimes even how he gestures, that’s for the truly fanatical) eases all the trouble and pain, no matter that he more often than not delegates the problem-solving anyway to subordinates.
This is partly the reason that we have, since we assumed a senior level in the rocking media world, tried as best we could not to step inside mayor’s offices, if we could help it. The scene of so many people seeking the mayor’s attention all at one time triggers this little voice within us to take only the minutest fraction of the former’s time as soon as we are granted an audience with him or her in consideration of the waiting crowd.
It’s almost too “criminal” to keep so many others waiting in line for that much-awaited mayor’s word – or smile – with them while you take your own sweet time shooting the breeze with him.
And into this whole busy milieu comes the ubiquitous and “solicitous” mediamen and mediawomen whose various body languages, while trying as best they could to catch the town executive’s welcoming eye, would have been such a delight to sketch or draw for the late caricature artist Gene Sendaydiego.
We can’t blame some municipal executives really for getting the creeps when a whole army of our media colleagues, men and women, descend into their offices to mix with their already overflowing number of callers – this, on an almost daily basis! And to think that only a few of these really belong to legit media outlets or organizations which would have made time spent with them worth their busy schedule.
Some mayors though, like Lingayen’s Jonas Castaneda, Urdaneta’s Amadito R. Perez, Jr., Alaminos’ Nani Braganza, Bayambang’s Leo Boy de Vera, even neophyte politician Jinky Zaplan of Sta. Barbara, we hear, (with pointers from her hubby, multi-term ex-mayor Lito) and Sto. Tomas’ former mayor Bebot and incumbent mayora Vivien Villar have mastered the art of, uh, “media accommodation” well enough they can live with it. No wonder they’re media darlings, anytime.
Word is that Malasiqui Mayor Ponsing Soriano who once got fed up with the gall of some mediapersons now treads on and treats media presence more sparingly to avoid going thru a repeat of the abuso de confiansa by the local pests, er, Press which he denounced in harsh tones once before.
Indeed, some uninitiated mayors now feel, whenever the media comes around and loiters -- yes, loiters -- that their generic name is Angelo dela Cruz – wearing the orange shirt on the Internet video with his Iraqi captors.
Still wonder why some of them have been going on hide n’ seek games when they see the familiar media faces coming?
IT never ceases to amuse us, this familiar scene of a mayor or governor seated behind his desk patiently, if condescendingly, listening to all sorts of problems, personal and very personal, from a succession of visitors. Very early in the morning, they all come “to see the mayor” even if clearly, some of the woes they bring with them are best presented to someone else in the municipal or city hierarchy – the administrator, the engineer, the health officer, the social worker, and yes, the barangay captain.
To everyone troubled and baffled, the mayor is the “final solution”—what he says (sometimes even how he gestures, that’s for the truly fanatical) eases all the trouble and pain, no matter that he more often than not delegates the problem-solving anyway to subordinates.
This is partly the reason that we have, since we assumed a senior level in the rocking media world, tried as best we could not to step inside mayor’s offices, if we could help it. The scene of so many people seeking the mayor’s attention all at one time triggers this little voice within us to take only the minutest fraction of the former’s time as soon as we are granted an audience with him or her in consideration of the waiting crowd.
It’s almost too “criminal” to keep so many others waiting in line for that much-awaited mayor’s word – or smile – with them while you take your own sweet time shooting the breeze with him.
And into this whole busy milieu comes the ubiquitous and “solicitous” mediamen and mediawomen whose various body languages, while trying as best they could to catch the town executive’s welcoming eye, would have been such a delight to sketch or draw for the late caricature artist Gene Sendaydiego.
We can’t blame some municipal executives really for getting the creeps when a whole army of our media colleagues, men and women, descend into their offices to mix with their already overflowing number of callers – this, on an almost daily basis! And to think that only a few of these really belong to legit media outlets or organizations which would have made time spent with them worth their busy schedule.
Some mayors though, like Lingayen’s Jonas Castaneda, Urdaneta’s Amadito R. Perez, Jr., Alaminos’ Nani Braganza, Bayambang’s Leo Boy de Vera, even neophyte politician Jinky Zaplan of Sta. Barbara, we hear, (with pointers from her hubby, multi-term ex-mayor Lito) and Sto. Tomas’ former mayor Bebot and incumbent mayora Vivien Villar have mastered the art of, uh, “media accommodation” well enough they can live with it. No wonder they’re media darlings, anytime.
Word is that Malasiqui Mayor Ponsing Soriano who once got fed up with the gall of some mediapersons now treads on and treats media presence more sparingly to avoid going thru a repeat of the abuso de confiansa by the local pests, er, Press which he denounced in harsh tones once before.
Indeed, some uninitiated mayors now feel, whenever the media comes around and loiters -- yes, loiters -- that their generic name is Angelo dela Cruz – wearing the orange shirt on the Internet video with his Iraqi captors.
Still wonder why some of them have been going on hide n’ seek games when they see the familiar media faces coming?
OPINION: Istaring role iray Pangalatok ed Hilo Garci!
SAYAN INDIO
Mario F. Karateka
PUERA labat no burado lad sayan tapew na mundo si datin Komisyoner Virgilio Garcillano, a sayan posibilidad so papagaan nen Senador Ping Lacson lapud anggapometla lanti so balitad si Garci, anggapoy dudak ya naalmo odino onletaw met lamlamang iyan kontrobersiyal ya too.
Agto nayariay man-amot ya mabayag si Garci ta ditad komunidad na arom iran nasyones, anggapoy seselengen tan poprotektaan da. No nalmoy Interpol so panaayaman na datin opisyal na Komilik, anggapoy duaruwan erelen tan ipawil ed Pilipinas iya, laotla no say bansan kawalaan to et walay extradition treaty to ed Pilipinas. Sikatoya so rason no akin et singa agak manisian walad Estados Unidos si Garci ta diman nayarian dan erelen tan pasempeten laya.
Lapud ta saya et ibabagan pinmaway ed bansa panamegley na eroplano ya sinmipot dimad Subic sanen Hulyo 14 ni, ibabagan walay impinonong na pigaran ahensiya laotlay Byuru op Imigresyon pian papawayen ya pian agla makatestigo ed Senado ed gagaween ton imbestigasyon ed samay “Hello, Garci..” wayrtaping. Ke walay amta tod agawa odino anggapo, siyempre si kabaleyan tayon Komisyoner Al Pirnandis natan so walad inka-irirap ta singa ompapaway akapanpaolian so opisina tod saya.
Sanen imbeneg a simba labat, iababaga toni nen datin meyor tayon Al dimad Dagupena ya wadianid bansa si Garcia ta anggaponi kono so rikord na Imigresyon ya walay toon man-ngaran na Virgilio Garcillano ya pinmaway ed saray “major airports tan seaports” na Pilipinas. Singa apalusutan da sirin si Mama Al.
Imbagakni ed sayan kolum tayo nen pigay simba labat so apalabas ya asingsingger a nadawit met si Komisyoner Al kuanko ta sensitibo so puwesto tod Imigresyon no bilbilang makapuslit si Garci; agak aturingan.
Kanian pigaralan taga-Pangasinan o manugang na Pangasinan so natan alanlanor lad sayay drama na “Hello, Garci manlapu nen ginmapo iya: Si Garci mismo (a taga-Balungao), si Heneral Hermogenes A. Ebdane, Jr.,(manugang na Tayug) Heneral Arturo Lomibao (Mangaldan), si Ispiker Dyo de V (Dagupan) ed panpipilit to met ya paeren so krisis ed administrasyon nen GMA, si Arsobispo Oscar Cruz tan anggan si Tabako (Asingan) ed pitutulungan tod si Presidenta Gloria) tan si GMA mismo (apo na Binalonan) say prinsipal ya karakter ed nagagawan krisis politika.
Saray taga-Ibale, mabetbet ya bitbitlaen da iyay “Pangasinan connection” kono ed bengatlan nagagawan isyu ditad gobyerno nasyonal, manlapu la nen panaon nen Presidente Fidel V. Ramos. Kabaliksan to labat siguro ya saray anak na Pangasinan so talagan mangigi-giya ed batik na administrasyon diad sayan nasyon, awa?
Prawd kayo ta—odino andi?
Mario F. Karateka
PUERA labat no burado lad sayan tapew na mundo si datin Komisyoner Virgilio Garcillano, a sayan posibilidad so papagaan nen Senador Ping Lacson lapud anggapometla lanti so balitad si Garci, anggapoy dudak ya naalmo odino onletaw met lamlamang iyan kontrobersiyal ya too.
Agto nayariay man-amot ya mabayag si Garci ta ditad komunidad na arom iran nasyones, anggapoy seselengen tan poprotektaan da. No nalmoy Interpol so panaayaman na datin opisyal na Komilik, anggapoy duaruwan erelen tan ipawil ed Pilipinas iya, laotla no say bansan kawalaan to et walay extradition treaty to ed Pilipinas. Sikatoya so rason no akin et singa agak manisian walad Estados Unidos si Garci ta diman nayarian dan erelen tan pasempeten laya.
Lapud ta saya et ibabagan pinmaway ed bansa panamegley na eroplano ya sinmipot dimad Subic sanen Hulyo 14 ni, ibabagan walay impinonong na pigaran ahensiya laotlay Byuru op Imigresyon pian papawayen ya pian agla makatestigo ed Senado ed gagaween ton imbestigasyon ed samay “Hello, Garci..” wayrtaping. Ke walay amta tod agawa odino anggapo, siyempre si kabaleyan tayon Komisyoner Al Pirnandis natan so walad inka-irirap ta singa ompapaway akapanpaolian so opisina tod saya.
Sanen imbeneg a simba labat, iababaga toni nen datin meyor tayon Al dimad Dagupena ya wadianid bansa si Garcia ta anggaponi kono so rikord na Imigresyon ya walay toon man-ngaran na Virgilio Garcillano ya pinmaway ed saray “major airports tan seaports” na Pilipinas. Singa apalusutan da sirin si Mama Al.
Imbagakni ed sayan kolum tayo nen pigay simba labat so apalabas ya asingsingger a nadawit met si Komisyoner Al kuanko ta sensitibo so puwesto tod Imigresyon no bilbilang makapuslit si Garci; agak aturingan.
Kanian pigaralan taga-Pangasinan o manugang na Pangasinan so natan alanlanor lad sayay drama na “Hello, Garci manlapu nen ginmapo iya: Si Garci mismo (a taga-Balungao), si Heneral Hermogenes A. Ebdane, Jr.,(manugang na Tayug) Heneral Arturo Lomibao (Mangaldan), si Ispiker Dyo de V (Dagupan) ed panpipilit to met ya paeren so krisis ed administrasyon nen GMA, si Arsobispo Oscar Cruz tan anggan si Tabako (Asingan) ed pitutulungan tod si Presidenta Gloria) tan si GMA mismo (apo na Binalonan) say prinsipal ya karakter ed nagagawan krisis politika.
Saray taga-Ibale, mabetbet ya bitbitlaen da iyay “Pangasinan connection” kono ed bengatlan nagagawan isyu ditad gobyerno nasyonal, manlapu la nen panaon nen Presidente Fidel V. Ramos. Kabaliksan to labat siguro ya saray anak na Pangasinan so talagan mangigi-giya ed batik na administrasyon diad sayan nasyon, awa?
Prawd kayo ta—odino andi?
EDITORIAL: Was Commissioner Al clueless on Garci escape?
IN the Garci escape caper, it’s either Immigration Commissioner Al Fernandez was in on the so-called “conspiracy” or – and we’d rather believe this – he was clueless about what some of his lieutenants were doing apparently at the bidding of unseen hands. It is reported that his associate commissioner, Teddy Delarmente, allegedly a classmate of former PNP chief and now DPWH Secretary Hermogenes A. Ebdane, Jr. went over his head and facilitated Garci’s escape.
A more compelling thought however bugs us, as well as some local immigration officers: Was it actually a grand “set up” they applied to get rid of Al whose position at the BI was earlier rumored being coveted by certain influential Malacanang allies but that they couldn’t find enough goods to anchor their sinister plans on the immigration boss just yet?
Now, if as a Dagupeno at the coffeeshop also suggested, Al must have had some foreknowledge of the whole escape plan which was to be hatched right in his backyard, but that he didn’t reckon with the Department of Foreign Affairs going public with its discovery of Garci’s trail in Singapore, and thus was caught in the backlash, it would look like Al’s been fed to the lions, or to the dogs, or to the crocodiles deliberately.
Like many good men who fall into misfortunes, Al’s bad luck was that the Garcillano episode had to happen during his watch at the Bureau of Immigration. It could have been some other man in there -- but now there’s no escaping the blame because it’s he who’s sitting on the hot seat.
Every Dagupeno and Pangasinense who knows the integrity of Al Fernandez can only hope he can weather this adversity thrown in his lap and that somehow the real culprit behind the Garci flight will be unmasked sooner or later. Dagupenos detest the idea that the multi-term former mayor of Dagupan had somehow been involved in abetting the escape of Garci, and with it, the raw truth about the wiretapped conversation.
A more compelling thought however bugs us, as well as some local immigration officers: Was it actually a grand “set up” they applied to get rid of Al whose position at the BI was earlier rumored being coveted by certain influential Malacanang allies but that they couldn’t find enough goods to anchor their sinister plans on the immigration boss just yet?
Now, if as a Dagupeno at the coffeeshop also suggested, Al must have had some foreknowledge of the whole escape plan which was to be hatched right in his backyard, but that he didn’t reckon with the Department of Foreign Affairs going public with its discovery of Garci’s trail in Singapore, and thus was caught in the backlash, it would look like Al’s been fed to the lions, or to the dogs, or to the crocodiles deliberately.
Like many good men who fall into misfortunes, Al’s bad luck was that the Garcillano episode had to happen during his watch at the Bureau of Immigration. It could have been some other man in there -- but now there’s no escaping the blame because it’s he who’s sitting on the hot seat.
Every Dagupeno and Pangasinense who knows the integrity of Al Fernandez can only hope he can weather this adversity thrown in his lap and that somehow the real culprit behind the Garci flight will be unmasked sooner or later. Dagupenos detest the idea that the multi-term former mayor of Dagupan had somehow been involved in abetting the escape of Garci, and with it, the raw truth about the wiretapped conversation.
OPINION: Whatever happened to the Generics Law?
AFTER ALL
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
WE have long been hearing of public complaints that some of the bigger drugstores in the city, especially those secretly owned or partly-owned by prominent physicians or big companies are the first to circumvent the Generics Law on drugs by actually refusing to have such generic (and therefore cheaper) drugs in their inventory. We thought it was all an unfounded whine among the poor who usually try to look for generic drug equivalent of their doctor’s prescription only to be told by such drugstores that they have none – only branded medicines are in their stock.
What is left for the poor buyer to do but to go home empty-handed to his sick kin and make do with herbal palliatives because he didn’t have enough money to buy the branded ones? It’s so cruel a scenario often played out in the counter of some of the bigger drugstores whose fat owners seem to have put profit above everything else in their “public service” How many drugstores carry the products of Unilab, the manufacturer of cheaper Rite-Med common medicine, you can count with the fingers of one hand. That, if you ask us, readily tells on the concerned pharmacies’ social conscience.
An antibiotic like cefuroxime capsule of 500 mg.,for instance which in its generic form fetches for some P50 plus would be sold at P80 in its branded version which the apparently “trained” pharmacy help would tell you is what’s only available at the moment.
A repeat visit to the same drugstore some other days for the same prescription would yield the same answer, uttered mantra-like: that they’ve run out of the generic form and only the branded is available. Will you take it, sir, or leave it?
* * * *
That is why we can only laugh sick when we hear of government health officials saying they are launching campaigns against “fake” or “counterfeit” drugs in the market with pharmaceutical company bigwigs like Mercury Drug and in Dagupan City, St. Joseph , for their allies -- like every other “smaller” drugstore was already guilty of substandard product by inference. Pardon us but isn’t this already past the border of fair action and already sounding like private marketing?
There was in fact this health official who unabashedly plugged for the big drugstores by vouching for their reliability, going to the extent of warning the public that if a drug is “priced much lower than others of its kind,” it’s got to be fake or counterfeit.
So, what happens now to generic drugs – that are naturally sold cheaper than “others of their kind”, if these are available at all? Discarded, with extreme prejudice, huh, Doc?
We’ll go with his warning though that drugs with foreign markings in their cover or label should be immediately viewed with concern by a buyer since these are obviously not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
The line about “feeling assured of safety and reliability” when a drug is priced high however is disquieting, to say the least, because immediately it preconditions the public’s mind that if they’re sick and want to get well, their only, repeat, only means of cure are those high-priced stuff peddled by name drugstore chains. Other than that, they might just as well keel over and meet their Maker. That’s just like a judge pronouncing a death verdict on a hapless accused.
The proper function of government officials and employees is to see to it that the best, affordable remedy is left open to the indigents and the needy –and not to act as marketing agents of interests whose line of business inevitably falls under their jurisdiction or supervision. Ever heard of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or the Government Employees Code of Ethics?
Ironically, before we forget, our poor barangaymates tell us it is in the “smaller” drugstores (those found away from hospital zones and doctor’s clinics) where they often find and are able to buy generic drug equivalent of their prescriptions. And, by the grace of God, they get well!
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
WE have long been hearing of public complaints that some of the bigger drugstores in the city, especially those secretly owned or partly-owned by prominent physicians or big companies are the first to circumvent the Generics Law on drugs by actually refusing to have such generic (and therefore cheaper) drugs in their inventory. We thought it was all an unfounded whine among the poor who usually try to look for generic drug equivalent of their doctor’s prescription only to be told by such drugstores that they have none – only branded medicines are in their stock.
What is left for the poor buyer to do but to go home empty-handed to his sick kin and make do with herbal palliatives because he didn’t have enough money to buy the branded ones? It’s so cruel a scenario often played out in the counter of some of the bigger drugstores whose fat owners seem to have put profit above everything else in their “public service” How many drugstores carry the products of Unilab, the manufacturer of cheaper Rite-Med common medicine, you can count with the fingers of one hand. That, if you ask us, readily tells on the concerned pharmacies’ social conscience.
An antibiotic like cefuroxime capsule of 500 mg.,for instance which in its generic form fetches for some P50 plus would be sold at P80 in its branded version which the apparently “trained” pharmacy help would tell you is what’s only available at the moment.
A repeat visit to the same drugstore some other days for the same prescription would yield the same answer, uttered mantra-like: that they’ve run out of the generic form and only the branded is available. Will you take it, sir, or leave it?
* * * *
That is why we can only laugh sick when we hear of government health officials saying they are launching campaigns against “fake” or “counterfeit” drugs in the market with pharmaceutical company bigwigs like Mercury Drug and in Dagupan City, St. Joseph , for their allies -- like every other “smaller” drugstore was already guilty of substandard product by inference. Pardon us but isn’t this already past the border of fair action and already sounding like private marketing?
There was in fact this health official who unabashedly plugged for the big drugstores by vouching for their reliability, going to the extent of warning the public that if a drug is “priced much lower than others of its kind,” it’s got to be fake or counterfeit.
So, what happens now to generic drugs – that are naturally sold cheaper than “others of their kind”, if these are available at all? Discarded, with extreme prejudice, huh, Doc?
We’ll go with his warning though that drugs with foreign markings in their cover or label should be immediately viewed with concern by a buyer since these are obviously not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
The line about “feeling assured of safety and reliability” when a drug is priced high however is disquieting, to say the least, because immediately it preconditions the public’s mind that if they’re sick and want to get well, their only, repeat, only means of cure are those high-priced stuff peddled by name drugstore chains. Other than that, they might just as well keel over and meet their Maker. That’s just like a judge pronouncing a death verdict on a hapless accused.
The proper function of government officials and employees is to see to it that the best, affordable remedy is left open to the indigents and the needy –and not to act as marketing agents of interests whose line of business inevitably falls under their jurisdiction or supervision. Ever heard of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or the Government Employees Code of Ethics?
Ironically, before we forget, our poor barangaymates tell us it is in the “smaller” drugstores (those found away from hospital zones and doctor’s clinics) where they often find and are able to buy generic drug equivalent of their prescriptions. And, by the grace of God, they get well!
OPINION: Whatever happened to the Generics Law?
AFTER ALL
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza
WE have long been hearing of public complaints that some of the bigger drugstores in the city, especially those secretly owned or partly-owned by prominent physicians or big companies are the first to circumvent the Generics Law on drugs by actually refusing to have such generic (and therefore cheaper) drugs in their inventory. We thought it was all an unfounded whine among the poor who usually try to look for generic drug equivalent of their doctor’s prescription only to be told by such drugstores that they have none – only branded medicines are in their stock.
What is left for the poor buyer to do but to go home empty-handed to his sick kin and make do with herbal palliatives because he didn’t have enough money to buy the branded ones? It’s so cruel a scenario often played out in the counter of some of the bigger drugstores whose fat owners seem to have put profit above everything else in their “public service” How many drugstores carry the products of Unilab, the manufacturer of cheaper Rite-Med common medicine, you can count with the fingers of one hand. That, if you ask us, readily tells on the concerned pharmacies’ social conscience.
An antibiotic like cefuroxime capsule of 500 mg.,for instance which in its generic form fetches for some P50 plus would be sold at P80 in its branded version which the apparently “trained” pharmacy help would tell you is what’s only available at the moment.
A repeat visit to the same drugstore some other days for the same prescription would yield the same answer, uttered mantra-like: that they’ve run out of the generic form and only the branded is available. Will you take it, sir, or leave it?
* * * *
That is why we can only laugh sick when we hear of government health officials saying they are launching campaigns against “fake” or “counterfeit” drugs in the market with pharmaceutical company bigwigs like Mercury Drug and in Dagupan City, St. Joseph , for their allies -- like every other “smaller” drugstore was already guilty of substandard product by inference. Pardon us but isn’t this already past the border of fair action and already sounding like private marketing?
There was in fact this health official who unabashedly plugged for the big drugstores by vouching for their reliability, going to the extent of warning the public that if a drug is “priced much lower than others of its kind,” it’s got to be fake or counterfeit.
So, what happens now to generic drugs – that are naturally sold cheaper than “others of their kind”, if these are available at all? Discarded, with extreme prejudice, huh, Doc?
We’ll go with his warning though that drugs with foreign markings in their cover or label should be immediately viewed with concern by a buyer since these are obviously not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
The line about “feeling assured of safety and reliability” when a drug is priced high however is disquieting, to say the least, because immediately it preconditions the public’s mind that if they’re sick and want to get well, their only, repeat, only means of cure are those high-priced stuff peddled by name drugstore chains. Other than that, they might just as well keel over and meet their Maker. That’s just like a judge pronouncing a death verdict on a hapless accused.
The proper function of government officials and employees is to see to it that the best, affordable remedy is left open to the indigents and the needy –and not to act as marketing agents of interests whose line of business inevitably falls under their jurisdiction or supervision. Ever heard of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or the Government Employees Code of Ethics?
Ironically, before we forget, our poor barangaymates tell us it is in the “smaller” drugstores (those found away from hospital zones and doctor’s clinics) where they often find and are able to buy generic drug equivalent of their prescriptions. And, by the grace of God, they get well!
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza
WE have long been hearing of public complaints that some of the bigger drugstores in the city, especially those secretly owned or partly-owned by prominent physicians or big companies are the first to circumvent the Generics Law on drugs by actually refusing to have such generic (and therefore cheaper) drugs in their inventory. We thought it was all an unfounded whine among the poor who usually try to look for generic drug equivalent of their doctor’s prescription only to be told by such drugstores that they have none – only branded medicines are in their stock.
What is left for the poor buyer to do but to go home empty-handed to his sick kin and make do with herbal palliatives because he didn’t have enough money to buy the branded ones? It’s so cruel a scenario often played out in the counter of some of the bigger drugstores whose fat owners seem to have put profit above everything else in their “public service” How many drugstores carry the products of Unilab, the manufacturer of cheaper Rite-Med common medicine, you can count with the fingers of one hand. That, if you ask us, readily tells on the concerned pharmacies’ social conscience.
An antibiotic like cefuroxime capsule of 500 mg.,for instance which in its generic form fetches for some P50 plus would be sold at P80 in its branded version which the apparently “trained” pharmacy help would tell you is what’s only available at the moment.
A repeat visit to the same drugstore some other days for the same prescription would yield the same answer, uttered mantra-like: that they’ve run out of the generic form and only the branded is available. Will you take it, sir, or leave it?
* * * *
That is why we can only laugh sick when we hear of government health officials saying they are launching campaigns against “fake” or “counterfeit” drugs in the market with pharmaceutical company bigwigs like Mercury Drug and in Dagupan City, St. Joseph , for their allies -- like every other “smaller” drugstore was already guilty of substandard product by inference. Pardon us but isn’t this already past the border of fair action and already sounding like private marketing?
There was in fact this health official who unabashedly plugged for the big drugstores by vouching for their reliability, going to the extent of warning the public that if a drug is “priced much lower than others of its kind,” it’s got to be fake or counterfeit.
So, what happens now to generic drugs – that are naturally sold cheaper than “others of their kind”, if these are available at all? Discarded, with extreme prejudice, huh, Doc?
We’ll go with his warning though that drugs with foreign markings in their cover or label should be immediately viewed with concern by a buyer since these are obviously not registered with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
The line about “feeling assured of safety and reliability” when a drug is priced high however is disquieting, to say the least, because immediately it preconditions the public’s mind that if they’re sick and want to get well, their only, repeat, only means of cure are those high-priced stuff peddled by name drugstore chains. Other than that, they might just as well keel over and meet their Maker. That’s just like a judge pronouncing a death verdict on a hapless accused.
The proper function of government officials and employees is to see to it that the best, affordable remedy is left open to the indigents and the needy –and not to act as marketing agents of interests whose line of business inevitably falls under their jurisdiction or supervision. Ever heard of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, or the Government Employees Code of Ethics?
Ironically, before we forget, our poor barangaymates tell us it is in the “smaller” drugstores (those found away from hospital zones and doctor’s clinics) where they often find and are able to buy generic drug equivalent of their prescriptions. And, by the grace of God, they get well!
OPINION: Aquiling battles telecom towers
THE PEN SPEAKS
By Danny O. Sagun
CAN the sangguniang panlungsod stand up to giant Globe Telecom vis-à-vis the latter’s antenna being erected somewhere in Caranglaan without the former’s favorable endorsement or approval?
We saw how former city alderman Aquiling Bolinas made his passionate plea before the sanggunian in last Monday’s regular session saying he was directly affected by the presence of that tower being erected at a building just across his house. He said only about 12 persons signed a document that purportedly showed the neighbors’ acceptance of that telecom project when, he stressed, there were hundreds if not thousands of residents needed to be consulted for it. Why, of all available areas like the fields located far from the residential areas, that building in front of his house was selected, he wondered.
He also bared that the barangay was not fully consulted about it with the absence of any public hearing as admitted by the barangay captain.
A representative of the city engineering office told the council that Globe had already complied with requirements except the imprimatur from the sanggunian. Without that authority, the city engineer would not issue the so-called occupancy permit, a prerequisite by the Dagupan Electric Corp. But why the city engineer issued the corresponding building permit even without the sanggunian approval was in itself a big question.
As Aquiling was making his appeal, we noted that some councilors were not in their seats and only about two or three took time listening to his impassioned speech. We observed later that the others locked themselves in a small cubicle beside the table for the presiding officer. One by one they came out of that room. We wondered why Vice-Mayor Alvin or any of the aldermen did not question the quorum.
Will the legislators, some of whom like Chito Samson once rubbed elbows with Aquiling who sat in that very sanggunian some years back, now listen to him?
As a refresher, most of the telecom towers we see around if not all were just suddenly built, to everyone’s surprise before the proponents took time to secure approval from City Hall. And those fearsome structures (what if they fall during big typhoons or earthquakes?) remained there notwithstanding protests from various sectors. Residents of Arellano Bani roundly rejected the Globe tower in their midst. Ditto with the Smart tower on Burgos street. Did they succeed?
Other towers mushroomed in almost every part of the city following the same pattern in construction – the cart ahead of the horse, patayo muna bago permit. Protests soared left and right but in the end, the government just blinked.
We think Aquiling may just see his petition thrown into oblivion. He warned however he is going to court if the sangguniang panlungsod fails him. A TRO or an injunction writ may be his final weapon.
Abangan.
By Danny O. Sagun
CAN the sangguniang panlungsod stand up to giant Globe Telecom vis-à-vis the latter’s antenna being erected somewhere in Caranglaan without the former’s favorable endorsement or approval?
We saw how former city alderman Aquiling Bolinas made his passionate plea before the sanggunian in last Monday’s regular session saying he was directly affected by the presence of that tower being erected at a building just across his house. He said only about 12 persons signed a document that purportedly showed the neighbors’ acceptance of that telecom project when, he stressed, there were hundreds if not thousands of residents needed to be consulted for it. Why, of all available areas like the fields located far from the residential areas, that building in front of his house was selected, he wondered.
He also bared that the barangay was not fully consulted about it with the absence of any public hearing as admitted by the barangay captain.
A representative of the city engineering office told the council that Globe had already complied with requirements except the imprimatur from the sanggunian. Without that authority, the city engineer would not issue the so-called occupancy permit, a prerequisite by the Dagupan Electric Corp. But why the city engineer issued the corresponding building permit even without the sanggunian approval was in itself a big question.
As Aquiling was making his appeal, we noted that some councilors were not in their seats and only about two or three took time listening to his impassioned speech. We observed later that the others locked themselves in a small cubicle beside the table for the presiding officer. One by one they came out of that room. We wondered why Vice-Mayor Alvin or any of the aldermen did not question the quorum.
Will the legislators, some of whom like Chito Samson once rubbed elbows with Aquiling who sat in that very sanggunian some years back, now listen to him?
As a refresher, most of the telecom towers we see around if not all were just suddenly built, to everyone’s surprise before the proponents took time to secure approval from City Hall. And those fearsome structures (what if they fall during big typhoons or earthquakes?) remained there notwithstanding protests from various sectors. Residents of Arellano Bani roundly rejected the Globe tower in their midst. Ditto with the Smart tower on Burgos street. Did they succeed?
Other towers mushroomed in almost every part of the city following the same pattern in construction – the cart ahead of the horse, patayo muna bago permit. Protests soared left and right but in the end, the government just blinked.
We think Aquiling may just see his petition thrown into oblivion. He warned however he is going to court if the sangguniang panlungsod fails him. A TRO or an injunction writ may be his final weapon.
Abangan.
OPINION: Category A for Panelco III
Windows
By Gabriel L. Cardinoza
Among the three electric cooperatives in Pangasinan, there is no doubt that the Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Panelco) III serves best.
This is because I still have to hear complaints against its services and personnel from its more than 105,000 member-consumers in 17 eastern Pangasinan towns. And that includes me.
Unlike those from the central part of the province, where “Cen-pultot” has become a byword to denote the kind of service that the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Cenpelco) offers to its consumers to date, Panelco III assures an uninterrupted and stable supply of electricity. No unscheduled outages. No voltage fluctuations.
This may be the reason why the National Electrification Administration (NEA) upgraded Panelco III’s category from B in 2003 to A in 2004, compared to Panelco I’s and Cenpelco’s B category.
In its memorandum dated February 24, 2005, NEA also cited Panelco III’s prompt payments of loan amortizations, low systems loss, high collection efficiency, prompt payments to power suppliers and non-power cost within its approved operating budget.
Compared to the national systems loss average of 14.43 percent last year, Panelco III only had six percent, which is obviously way below the national standard. In terms of collection efficiency, last year, Panelco III achieved 95 percent and it intends to push it to 97 percent this year.
And because it is able to promptly pay its loan amortizations and suppliers, there is no doubt then that Panelco III is financially liquid.
To top it all, NEA cited Panelco III as among the few electric cooperatives in the country that “did not incur even a single demerit point.”
Because of these accomplishments, Panelco III was adjudged as “Outstanding Electric Cooperative” during the 26th Annual Conference of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca), where Panelco III general manager Neri Policina and Board of Directors president, Engr. Solo Villar, proudly received a plaque for the feat.
We will not be surprised if by now, Panelco III has prepared for the coming of the malls and other business establishments in eastern Pangasinan, especially Urdaneta City and Tayug, where rapid urbanization is taking place.
With the implementation of the Magna Carta for Electric Consumers, which provides for the provision of free electric meters by electric cooperatives, we will not also be surprised if all barangays in Panelco’s coverage area have been energized.
ENDNOTES: Councilor Michael Fernandez was the city’s acting mayor last Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 20-21). Mayor Benjamin Lim left for the People’s Republic of China last Aug. 15 and the designated acting city mayor, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, also left for the United States of America last Aug. 20 for a speaking engagement in Long Beach, CA. He will be on leave until the 24th. When Mayor Lim reports for work on Aug. 22, Michael assumes as acting city vice mayor. Two positions in five days. . . From the time we launched The Pangasinan Star Online in the Internet last week, we have been receiving positive reactions from Pangasinenses worldwide. Many of them have also given their comments on the burning issues in Pangasinan. Now, they are home.
QUICK QUOTE: The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. – Marcel Proust
(You can reach Gabriel L. Cardinoza at windows@digitelone.com)
By Gabriel L. Cardinoza
Among the three electric cooperatives in Pangasinan, there is no doubt that the Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Panelco) III serves best.
This is because I still have to hear complaints against its services and personnel from its more than 105,000 member-consumers in 17 eastern Pangasinan towns. And that includes me.
Unlike those from the central part of the province, where “Cen-pultot” has become a byword to denote the kind of service that the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Cenpelco) offers to its consumers to date, Panelco III assures an uninterrupted and stable supply of electricity. No unscheduled outages. No voltage fluctuations.
This may be the reason why the National Electrification Administration (NEA) upgraded Panelco III’s category from B in 2003 to A in 2004, compared to Panelco I’s and Cenpelco’s B category.
In its memorandum dated February 24, 2005, NEA also cited Panelco III’s prompt payments of loan amortizations, low systems loss, high collection efficiency, prompt payments to power suppliers and non-power cost within its approved operating budget.
Compared to the national systems loss average of 14.43 percent last year, Panelco III only had six percent, which is obviously way below the national standard. In terms of collection efficiency, last year, Panelco III achieved 95 percent and it intends to push it to 97 percent this year.
And because it is able to promptly pay its loan amortizations and suppliers, there is no doubt then that Panelco III is financially liquid.
To top it all, NEA cited Panelco III as among the few electric cooperatives in the country that “did not incur even a single demerit point.”
Because of these accomplishments, Panelco III was adjudged as “Outstanding Electric Cooperative” during the 26th Annual Conference of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association (Philreca), where Panelco III general manager Neri Policina and Board of Directors president, Engr. Solo Villar, proudly received a plaque for the feat.
We will not be surprised if by now, Panelco III has prepared for the coming of the malls and other business establishments in eastern Pangasinan, especially Urdaneta City and Tayug, where rapid urbanization is taking place.
With the implementation of the Magna Carta for Electric Consumers, which provides for the provision of free electric meters by electric cooperatives, we will not also be surprised if all barangays in Panelco’s coverage area have been energized.
ENDNOTES: Councilor Michael Fernandez was the city’s acting mayor last Saturday and Sunday (Aug. 20-21). Mayor Benjamin Lim left for the People’s Republic of China last Aug. 15 and the designated acting city mayor, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, also left for the United States of America last Aug. 20 for a speaking engagement in Long Beach, CA. He will be on leave until the 24th. When Mayor Lim reports for work on Aug. 22, Michael assumes as acting city vice mayor. Two positions in five days. . . From the time we launched The Pangasinan Star Online in the Internet last week, we have been receiving positive reactions from Pangasinenses worldwide. Many of them have also given their comments on the burning issues in Pangasinan. Now, they are home.
QUICK QUOTE: The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. – Marcel Proust
(You can reach Gabriel L. Cardinoza at windows@digitelone.com)
