The Pangasinan Star ONLINE

Rep. Satur C. Ocampo (Bayan Muna) exchanges activist notes with Dagupan Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez during his visit to the city last Friday to induct officers of the student council of Dagupan City National High School. Fernandez, as acting city mayor, represented Mayor Benjamin S. Lim to the occasion. (PStar Photo by Butch F Uka)

By Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr.
PIA-Pangasinan

LINGAYEN – Pangasinan police led by Sr. Supt Alan LM Purisima, provincial police director, are reviewing anti-crime measures against gang robberies in the wake of at least two recent incidents in Urdaneta City that pointed to one and the same armed group behind it.

“We’re almost sure it’s one and the same gang” a senior police officer at the Provincial Police Office told the Pangasinan Star Thursday.

Supt. Ricardo Tamayo, police community relations officer, said last week’s failed holdup attempt on a cargo truck crew that had parked their trucks and rested by the roadside of the highway and last Wednesday’s noontime P500,000 holdup of an elderly couple in barangay Cabuloan, Urdaneta City, are strongly suspected to have been the work oof just one group of criminals.

The latest incident and previous attacks by armed holdupmen victimizing mostly bank clients who have just withdrawn huge sums of money and were probably tailed before being waylaid and held up has prompted the police to step up its community vigilance campaign among various sectors in order to secure quick and more accurate information on suspect descriptions and their possible escape routes from a more alert public.

In the truck crew’s failed holdup attempt where a truck helper was shot dead after he and his companions put up a fight, responding policemen did a hot pursuit of the fleeing culprits that took them all the way to Tarlac and Pampanga.

“It turned out to be a wild goose chase,” according to Tamayo, as the police only later learned the armed men had turned right towards barangay Lareg-laregin Malasiqui and did not escape towards Tarlac.

Tricycle drivers and other pedestrians belatedly told authorities that the fast-driving would-be robbers turned right off the main road just a few distance from where they assaulted the truck crew.

Last Wednesday’s holdup of old couple Francis Echalas, 78, a carpenter and his wife Lenila Asinit, 70, of barangay Cabuloan, Urdaneta, left Echalas wounded on the left arm after three men on a Honda TMX 155 motorcylce stopped them and fired at the vehicle when the occupants refused to open the door of their Expedition vehicle.

Frightened, the couple, together with their niece identified as Eva Mesalucha, opened the vehicle door and the men quickly grabbed the shoulder bag of Mrs. Echalas containing the money and sped off westward.

Police set up checkpoints immediately after the alarm was flashed to all possible routes of the holdupmen but the suspects eluded arrest.

OLD tricycle-for-hire franchise holders and new applicants can now transact with the City Legal Office (CLO) for the renewal and issuance of their Provisional Authority to Operate.

The CLO has released the application procedure for tricycle franchise applicants pursuant to City Ordinance No. 1849-2005 known as the Revised Tricycle Franchise of 2005.

Old franchise holders with pending application at the CLO should secure the following requirements: barangay clearance, fiscal’s clearance, insurance, professional driver’s license of authorized driver, police clearance, voter’s certification, latest mayor’s permit (for renewal only), court clearance and official receipt/certificate of registration of unit.

New applicants are also advised to prepare the said requirements.

“They must also coordinate with the accredited United Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) to ensure proper compliance with all the requisites,” City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued said.

The sangguniang panlungsod passed Ordinance No. 1849-2005 to provide an effective measure for a systematic, balanced and disciplined transport system.

The new ordinance amended Ordinance No. 1411-92 entitled: “Prescribing the Rules, Regulations and Procedures Governing the Grant of Franchises for the Operation of Tricycles-for-Hire within the Territorial Jurisdiction of the City of Dagupan.”

The revised ordinance strictly implements the one-unit-per-operator policy in the issuance of new franchise or renewal of the same, even as the available slots, within the 3,800 units, shall be granted to applicants on first-come-first-served basis.

URDANETA – Farmers in Pangasinan have incurred some P100 million in unsettled irrigation fees, it was gathered Thursday.

The figures are even a staggering P6 billion nationwide, according to Adoracion Soriano of the National Irrigation Administration regional office based in this city.She said the unsettled fees have accumulated since 1975.

Many farmers, she said, do not religiously pay their dues, always claiming poor harvest.
A farmer with a hectare of irrigated riceland is bound to pay NIA three cavans of palay or its equivalent price for the dry cropping and two cavans during the wet cropping., she said.

On behalf of her office, she asked the Philippine National Police to help NIA collect the dues during a courtesy call she and other members of the Pangasinan Association of Government Information Officers (PAGIO) made on Provincial Police Director Alan Purisima last Thursday.

Purisima however noted that such a move requires a court action before the police can directly intercede. But he said the police may escort NIA personnel in areas or circumstances considered risky.

Soriano bared that some farmers get angry when NIA personnel try to collect their unsettled fees. “Hinahabol nga sila ng itak,” she related. (PIA/DOS)

By DANNY O. SAGUN
PIA-Pangasinan

LINGAYEN – After telephone cable wire and manhole cover, thieves have switched their target to transmission tower parts.

Apparently unable to fully guard transmission towers from thieves, the National Transmission Corporation has enlisted the help of the concerned barangays and the Philippine National Police

Transco officer Jessie Arenas and Alejandro Quitoles relayed their request to Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima, PNP provincial director Thursday during a break in the board meeting of the Pangasinan Association of Government Information Officer (PAGIO) at the PNP provincial office.

The agency will need the assistance of the PNP in their information dissemination sorties in barangays being traversed by the transmission towers.

Purisima said he will instruct the police chiefs in the concerned municipalities to coordinate with Transco once a request reaches his office.

Thieves reportedly use acetylene torches to cut the imported and highly priced galvanized steel.

The latest incident was the cutting of vital tower plants in barangay Hacienda, Bugallon, Arenas said.

The imported steel is resistant to rust. It is a very good material for making wheel mugs or vehicle chassis, he disclosed.

The Transco officials said when support frames are stolen, the tower is weakened and could collapse, resulting in power trip offs if not immediately checked.

Transco towers in Pangasinan run thru several towns starting from San Manuel in eastern Pangasinan up to Sual in the first district.

Purisima revealed that junkshops are now constantly monitored to discourage sale of stolen steel or iron bars like those used for manhole covers.

A junkshop based in Calasiao had already closed shop and the owner transferred his business somewhere after was caught doing fencing activities in the past involving cut railroad tracks, it was gathered.

The provincial police director however noted the difficulty in pinning down those caught violating the anti-fencing law which he described as “the weakest law” so far enacted in the country.

He asked the public works and highways department to put markings in the manhole cover for easier identification of stolen materials and prosecution of suspects.

By SHEILA H. AQUINO

THE advent of modern technology has greatly influenced the local legislative work in the city government of Dagupan.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod recently adopted Resolution No. 5109-2005 to allow its presiding officer, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, to preside over its sessions via cyberspace.

Fernandez, now acting city mayor in the absence of Mayor Benjamin S.; Lim who is abroad, bared this development during the weekly meeting of department heads. He announced that the controversial measure is probably a first in the Philippines.

“This means that I can preside over SP sessions even if I am not physically present at the session hall so long as I am in the Philippines,” he explained, adding that if he were outside Philippine territory, he will not be part of the quorum.

The acting mayor said he can call the sanggunian via its IP address and connect to the SP information technology system. Using Microsoft’s Netmeeting software, he can then see and hear all discussions in the SP session.

The city councilors, in turn, could see the vice mayor via an LCD projector screen and hear him preside clearly through its surround sound system as though he were there.

“There will only be a second’s delay in the transmission on both ends. This is why the SP will apply for a higher bandwidth to offset the delay and minimize it the best way possible,” Fernandez said.

The resolution, however, gives a condition that SP members be informed of the vice mayor’s presiding via cyberspace at least three days before the actual session date and there must be a minimum of eight councilors present to allow such a session to proceed.

Fernandez said Dagupan City is now leading the way in cyberspace Philippine local legislation, earning the distinction in the same way that Olongapo highlights its cleanliness program and San Fernando City, its waste management program.

He noted that in the September 2 visit of British Ambassador Peter Beckingham to dagupan City, the diplomat was impressed by the conduct of the SP session with the councilors using laptops, making the meeting virtually paperless.

LINGAYEN – Local government units in the entire country are now seeking the go-signal to mobilize their forces in order to neutralize the street protests of the opposition, civil society and militant groups calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

This was disclosed by Binalonan Mayor Ramon Guico, Jr., president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, who said if the opposition can gather throngs of people in their anti-Arroyo rallies, the LGUs can gather much bigger crowds in support of the President.

Unfazed by reports that former President Corazon C. Aquino and actress Susan Roces are spearheading the rallies for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo, Guico believed these moves will not succeed because the people are now tired of people power.

“These rallies will only (compound) the economic problems of the country, fan chaos and confrontations which will not do good to the country and the people,” Guico said.

He said the opposition men must respect the decision of Congress that junked the complaint of impeachment against President Arroyo which they themselves participated in but failed to muster the magic number of 79 to send the complaint directly to the Senate for trial.

Unfortunately, they did not have the numbers, so the impeachment complaint failed to reach the senate, Guico said, adding that it would have been the other way around had the opposition succeeded in convincing some more endorsers, he said.

Guico is a second cousin of Mrs. Arroyo.

A SUSPECTED bomb placed in an ice box made of styrofoam and left at the city plaza here momentarily spawned a bomb scare in the area.

This happened at about the same time congressmen were holding a nominal voting on the report of the justice committee at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Not leaving anything to chance, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Dagupan Police blew up the ice box, after making sure it was wedged in with old car tires before 4 p.m. Tuesday. The SWAT used a C-4 bomb attached to a fuse and battery charger to blow up the suspect package.

The ice box however turned out to contain nothing but rubbish that may have been left hours before by park habitués and even picnickers.

Members of the SWAT, in full battle gear, arrived in the area after the police received a call from a plaza security guard who discovered the ice box near the left side portion of the plaza stage.

This was where a big number of school pupils and students, and members of a band were crowding at that time.

Approximately three kilos in weight, the ice box was lifted by SWAT men with the use of a long cord tied to the trunk of a tree and placed in the middle of the plaza where it was detonated at about 3:45 p.m.

At that time, no city official was aware of the unfolding event in the city plaza as they were too busy watching on television the impeachment proceedings against Mrs. Arroyo in the House of Representatives. (PNA)

THE Dagupan City Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) bagged once again the Best Fire Station of the Year award, besting all participants from the different class A cities throughout Region 1.

City Fire Marshall Jesus Orpilla received the plaque of recognition from BFP Regional Director, Senior Superintendent Rodrigo Abrazaldo, during the 14th BFP Anniversary recently at the Sea and Sky Hotel and Restaurant in San Fernando City, La Union.

The BFP Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE) chaired by Regional BFP Senior Inspector Aurelio Giron was guided by the following criteria that best favored Dagupan City for the Best Fire Station of 2005 award. These include effective fire protection activities, cleanliness and orderliness, maintenance of fire fighting equipment and observance of norms of conduct to BFP personnel.

The Dagupan City BFP under Orpilla has always maintained its high standard of service and operational effectiveness to the public. Orpilla himself was named outstanding city fire marshall of 2002 and arson investigator of the year 2004.

“We work hard in maintaining our status by regularly lecturing on fire prevention, conducting fire drills and checking on our personnel’s courtesy to the public,” Orpilla said.

The Dagupan City BFP was a consistent Best Fire Station in Region 1 from 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2005. Listed as its other achievements and distinctions are: highest fire code fees collection 1996, cleanest fire station 1996 and best maintained fire truck 2004. (CIO/ Leziel T. Cayabyab)

LINGAYEN – The family planning program in Pangasinan will continue despite the announced pull out of commodity assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in two to three years.

Gov. Victor Agbayani however clarified that due to the shortage of funds, the provincial government can only provide the need for contraceptives of poor couples in the province. Pangasinan is second to Cebu in terms of population.

He told the Regional Development Council last Tuesday that the province will try to fill the gap to be left by the USAID which has been providing commodity assistance to the country’s family planning program since 1972.

USAID has announced that it is completely phasing out all its commodity donation to the country’s family planning program either in year 2007 or 2008.

The governor warned that if the local government units will not act fast, the pullout of commodity assistance of the USAID might leave the country’s population program in disarray, adding that for three long decades, the agency was supporting the Philippines in its family planning program.

He noted that the national government is not doing anything to rescue the country’s family planning program because its hands are tied, not only for lack of funds but also because of the strong opposition to the program by the Catholic church.

Statistics from the Provincial Population Office showed that over half of those who accessed family planning contraceptives from government health and family planning clinics were couples who can actually afford to buy these.

LINGAYEN – The president of the Pangasinan State University has apologized for the arrogance and misbehavior of his security personnel towards some media men who were covering an affair inside his school sometime last July.

Dr. Rodolfo Asanion, president of the PSU, e-mailed his apology to a staff member of another newspaper, more than one month after the incident where representatives of various media organizations were refused entry into the university.

It was learned that media men were invited to the university by House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. who was to deliver a speech and inaugurate a new two-storey information technology building which he helped build for the university.

The offended media men issued a strongly worded manifesto sent to Asanion and various media groups and organizations to which they were affiliated denouncing the brusque treatment of the university against them and threatened to boycott any activity of the university henceforth.

Asanion said he had the chief of the Blue Eagle Security investigated for his misconduct but disowned any involvement in the incident, saying that it was no longer his (Asanion’s) immediate responsibility to oversee the security service at that time.

“It is very unfortunate and unfair to note that the alleged incompetence and arrogance of the security officer is attributed to me in relation to the controversial issues, which my detractors have been using in their concerted efforts to destroy my credibility and integrity,” the PSU president said.

“I just wish to be given a fair shake, a process which is most common among officers and gentlemen, he requested.

LINGAYEN – Health authorities reiterated their call to the public to be on guard against the deadly dengue fever as 56 more cases were noted in the province in the last two weeks, bringing the number of recorded cases since January this year to 310.

Dr. Edwin Murillo, provincial health officer, said that although cases of dengue fever have tapered off – with only four fatalities recorded so far – the danger of contracting the disease remains.

Murillo urged Pangasinenses to heed the call of Gov. Victor E. Agbayani for them to keep their surroundings free of stagnant water, the favorite breeding ground of the day-biting mosquito that transmits the virus.

“The threat is always there as long as there is stagnant water where the Aedes aegypti mosquito could lay eggs,” he said.

Citing the full support that the governor has been extending to the fogging and larvicidal activities of the PHO, Murillo also noted the increased level of public awareness and cooperation in the effort to eradicate the disease, especially among municipal and barangay officials. (Donna F. Domagas/PIO)

ARCHBISHOP Oscar V. Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese expressed his vigorous opposition to the revival of small town lottery (STL) which was proposed by city and municipal mayors as a substitute for the illegal numbers game called “jueteng”.

Meeting in Palawan for an anti-jueteng summit, the mayors spearheaded by Palawan City Mayor and national anti-jueteng czar Edward Hagedorn proposed the revival of the STL as a substitute for jueteng.

Cruz, the country’s number one critic of jueteng, however describes STL as the same as the “corrupt and corrupting numbers game called jueteng”, saying this was already tried before and proved to be a big failure.

The STL was introduced in various parts of the country during the administration of former President Corazon C. Aquino but it did not succeed in dislodging jueteng which was already popular in many parts of the country. Noting reports that there is now an effort to perfect STL, Cruz said those who thought of this underestimate the vicious ingenuity of seasoned gambling moguls and their cohorts.

In opposing the introduction of STL as a substitute for jueteng, the prelate recalled a statement of Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye thus: “There is enough gambling in the country”.

He said Bunye must have noted the corruption and wickedness brought about by gambling and must have also felt that gambling strongly cultivates indolence and dishonesty.

Agreeing with that statement, Cruz cited the casinos being administered by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) designed for the wealthy and influential people and lotto and bingo for the middle class with money to throw away and the time to lose.

He said there are also jueteng , masiao and other illegal number games for the poor and destitute.

MEMBERS of a syndicate involved in the distribution and sale of counterfeit and fake medicines are now on the run following the arrest of a drug store owner from Alaminos City September 2 during a raid conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Food and Drugs of the Department of Health.

Julie Galang de Guzman, 34, a native of barangay Lasip, Calasiao, owner-proprietor of the Cristia Med Drug Store in Alaminos City, was the first store owner and the fifth suspect so far arrested by lawmen in their campaign against counterfeit and fake medicines.

Two other women were arrested by the Calasiao police in early August, and an Indian national and his driver were nabbed two weeks later by the National Bureau of Investigation in Dagupan City.

All the suspects were also charged with violation of the anti-drugs law because among the counterfeit medicines found in their possession were several tablets of the regulated drug valium, a sedative.

Dr. Reynaldo Jacinto, chief of the standard and regulations division of the BFAD regional office based in San Fernando City, La Union, said more drugstores in Region 1 that may be keeping the counterfeit medicines in their shelves are now under surveillance by a roving team from his office.

Pangasinan was tagged earlier by Department of Health Regional Director Eduardo Janairo as the favorite dumping ground of counterfeit and fake medicines believed originating from Region III and Metro Manila.

Jacinto said over a local radio station Sunday that his office has fielded over 200 trusted informants all over the province who are conducting test-buys in various drugstores suspected of selling counterfeit and or fake medicines.

Stressing that he had long warned the drug store owners not to patronize peddlers of counterfeit and fake medicines, Jacinto said the drive against these products will continue whoever will be hurt.

He said in this campaign, pharmacists employed by drug stores should help detect counterfeit and or fake drugs and not be in cahoots with those who make a profit from these commodities. They should advise their employers to desist from selling these products or they will be prosecuted too, along with their employer, he stressed.

ANDA – Mayor Nestor B. Pulido is fast earning the ire of barangayfolk here engaged in catching the expensive Red Lapulapu fish with compressors and cyanide, in violation of a provincial ordinance banning the use of such in catching fish.

Most of the affected and incensed fisherfolk are from barangay Batiarao, some 10 kilometers from the town proper, who have been caught by the Bantay Dagat crews and some people’s organizations while violating the provincial ordinance.

Batiarao, which faces barangay Lucap (gateway to the Hundred Islands in Alaminos City), has waters reportedly teeming with Red Lapulapu.

The fish specie, according to Pulido, is a delicacy well-liked by wealthy Chinese in Manila or even in Hongkong and China, who allegedly pay as much as P2,000 per kilo of the fish.

“What can I do? It is the law. I cannot just stand there and see the law violated right in my town!” Pulido said of the fishermen’s protests over his strict policy.

He explained that the use of cyanide in catching the costly fish will in turn destroy the marine corals in Anda’s navigational waters and fishing grounds. Corals, according to Pulido, are the specific areas where fish lay eggs and where fish grow after hatching.

“Fishermen who go after the Red Lapu – that’s how we call that fish here – use compressors when diving underwater in pursuit of the fish. It is there where they use cyanide on the Red Lapu once spotted. The cyanide merely stuns the Red Lapu and does not kill it, as there is a need to capture the Red Lapu alive,” Pulido said.

Chinese buyers will only pay the high price if the Red Lapulapu is caught fresh and alive, “They will not buy a dead one,” he explained.

Pulido said this has become the livelihood of many Batiarao fishers because of the good price it commands, especially when their Chinese buyers from Manila export the fish to Hongkong and the Chinese mainland.

According to the mayor, Batiarao folk argue that banning them from catching the Red Lapulapu virtually denies them their right to live.

“I can fully understand their predicament; but there is a law to be followed and numerous corals to protect so that other folks can earn legitimately and legally from these,” Pulido declared.

Anda has a fish sanctuary where fishing is banned within its 20 to 40 hectares of coverage. The town has four or five such sanctuaries which the mayor said must be preserved and kept from harm.

LINGAYEN – The low-cost housing and resettlement programs of the provincial government got a much-needed boost after the sangguniang panlalawigan approved an ordinance creating the Pangasinan Housing Trust Fund.

Authored by Board Member Emmanuel Caracho, the trust fund is expected to generate initially some P8 million which will ensure continuous funding for socialized housing projects of the provincial government.

One of the top priority programs of Gov. Victor E. Agbayani is to provide low-cost shelters to employees, market vendors, drivers, policemen, and those belonging to marginalized sectors of the community.

The governor has also expanded its resettlement program to facilitate the relocation of squatters occupying public lands, especially along the Lingayen Gulf coast.

Last August 18, Vice President Noli de Castro, who heads the National Housing and Urban Development Council, distributed certificates of lot entitlement to the beneficiaries of the third phase of the governor’s Lingayen Gulf Resettlement Project in barangay Pangapisan here.

Engr. Alvin Bigay, head of the Pangasinan Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Office, said the trust fund will be sourced from the proceeds of the sale of underdeveloped land in barangay Maniboc here, including proceeds from the resettlement project. (Donna F. Domagas/PIO)

URBIZTONDO – A government lawyer from this town is under fire for being arrogant during a pre-litigation conference at his residence last August 27, it was gathered Monday.

Officers of the EJS Multi-Purpose Cooperative led by board chairman Alberto Salomon initially sought the help of public attorney Dante B. Untalan Sr. to help effect a settlement of unpaid loans of some 23 members and non-members of the cooperative, for which the lawyer set a conference at his house.

During the meeting however, instead of hearing both sides to arrive at a solution to the problem, Untalan supposedly openly berated three officers of the board in front of the debtors, accusing the latter of charging exorbitant interest on borrowers and bleeding them dry.

The officers present were vice-chair Elsa Sabangan, coop manager Porferio Garcia and bookkeeper Vidal Vedana.

Sabangan said Untalan even belittled the educational qualifications of the officers to lead the cooperative. “Tepetan takayo pa no walay inaral yo?” (Let me just ask you if you are educationally qualified)” he reportedly told the coop officers.

She said her group did not have the chance to present their side, “Inabet to kami tami” (He scolded us), she said.

The cooperative had a total collectible of some P300,000 from the delinquent borrowers, Salomon, who failed to attend the conference because of other pressing matters, said.

One borrower-member incurred a total P37,525 in unsettled account with the coop as shown in a list prepared by the officers.

A subsequent verification made on the borrowers showed, according to Salomon, that some of them were either related to Untalan, or were his kumadres or godchildren.

Salomon said the coop in an emergency board meeting decided to terminate the legal service of the government lawyer and instead seek assistance from another lawyer.

“Imbes di tulongan to kami, ininsulto to kami laingen,” he lamented.

He said that had Untalan not acted the way he did and became a good mediator, the cooperative was ready to offer at least three options for the borrowers to settle their obligations – condonation of interest or penalties, restructuring, and re-scheduling of payments. (DOS)

Pangasinan Gov. Victor E. Agbayani leads the signing of a memorandum of agreement with the Pangasinan State University (PSU) and Tanggol Kalikasan for the creation of the Institute of Environmental Governance. The IEG will provide training for barangay officials in the province on coastal environmental management, protection, conservation and law enforcement. Signing the agreement are, from left, (seated) Provincial Agriculturist Jose Almendares, PSU President Rodolfo Asanion, Agbayani, Tanggol Kalikasan President Roberto Bersola, and Dean Rolando Cerezo of the PSU College of Fisheries. (CIO Photo/Bob Sison)

THE Task Force on Comprehensive Survey, Recovery and Management of Public Lands (TFCSRMPL) and Task Force on Housing and Squatter Relocation (TFHSR) of the Dagupan City government met recently with the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) in Lingayen to explore the possibility of reacquiring the Inarangan lake that straddles barangays Malued and Lasip Chico.

City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim wants to restore the area into an eco-park and explore its vast tourism potential and environmental significance.

The estimated 12-hectare facility which is under the management of the provincial government of Pangasinan through the OPAg, has been converted into a fish farm.

Based on the report of the two city task forces however, the over-all physical facilities of the farm now require immediate restoration and further improvement of its operations to truly function as a demo farm.

Problems on informal settlement, encroachment and titling have been observed in the area.

The guard houses are no longer functioning even as power and electric installation need urgent upgrading. Sserious improvement on rearing nursery and hatchery ponds are also required.

More dismayingly, the farm or office is flood prone and consequently, all records pertaining to the farm operations have been ruined by the flood.

In a letter to Governor Victor Agbayani, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez said the city is concerned over the proliferation of informal settlers in the area which is within the territorial jurisdiction of Dagupan City.

“We want to explore the possibility of a mutual undertaking and management of the facility or possible turnover of the administration of the area under the provisions of Republic Act 7160 on devolution,” according to Fernandez.

City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina said documents collated from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) show the Inarangan Lake was leased from the city government in 1963 for 25 years.

“If that is the case, the lease should have ended in 1988 and it is probably the proper time for the city to reacquire the lake,” TFHSR vice chairman, Engr. Rodolfo Fernandez said.
TFCSRMPL Chair Atty. Teofilo Gallang said if the present area is not productive, it will be best if it is turned over to the city to augment the limited space within which it is trying to cramp its numerous programs.

SAYAN INDIO
Mario F. Karateka


SIKATOLATAY kuanko et, no angawat kay kuartad makilot ya nanlapoan, walan-walay panaon ompawil itan pian guloen toka. Sayay nagagawad bansa tayo natan no iner agmola amtay panisiaan mod biek tan biek, no siopay mangibabagay katua-an tan no siopay mamapalikdo, asabilan pati saray obispo tan papari na simbaan et napipilanlanor lad gutgotan.

Angawat kono na kuartan parad mamairap manlalapud Pilipin Amyusmint en Geyming Korporesyon (Pagcor) so pigaran atagey betang ya Obispo manonaan lay Monsinyor Fernando Capalla na Davao, Monsinyor Ricardo Cardinal Vidal na Cebu tan Monsinyor Paciano Aniceto na Pampanga. Sanlasus libo (P100,000) anggad limanlasus libo (P500.000) so inter ya aginaldod Krismas kono ed saray opisyales na Simbaan Katoliko
Nanonotan ya sarayan obispos et singa maasingger so liknaan dad si Presidente Arroyo tan ingen singa tinestigoan dan mardeen tan malinis so agawan eleksiyon nen 2004 ed luga-lugar da.

Singa nayarin ilaloan tayo, say Arsobispo na Lingayen-Dagupan a si Monsinyor Oscar Cruz et ag apilanlanor ed satan. Sikatoy sankasibegan ya kalaban na sugal laotlay jueteng kanian siguro no diad salitan bulgar, sikato et ag asingger ed patogan o arawid kusina. Si Cruz natan so sarag ton manetel ed saray kakaiba ton papari ed ontan lan abulgar ya pangaawat day kuarta na Pagcor.

“Dirty money is not laundered clean by its mere application for religious and/or charitable purposes,” (Say marutak a kuarta et ag nayarin naipesak tan nalinisan panamegley na panusar ed saya parad simbaan tan parad saray payabol), kuanen Arsobispo Cruz -- a tutukuyen to so panooras-lima na saray kapara ton arsobispo ya mangibabagan inusar met kono so palabon inter na Pagcor parad proyektoy simbaan ed saray mamairap-bilay.

Mikasakeyak ed ontan a posisyon nen arsobispo tan manisia ak ed pananalindegan to.

Agmet kulang na utek irayan opisyales na Simbaan pian agda amta o natebek ya say sugal et marutak, akin minonong o minabang irad saya? Anggapoy dinmiwit ed kawali ya ag naoringan, ontan so naynay ya ipupurek daray mangagaway korapsiyon ed antokaman a opisina o ahensiya, singa pandyastipay dad pakakadiwit odino pangaawat na pasuksok ed saray kliyentes da.

Malas labat na saray akinonong ed Pagcor ta singara natan nabablakmil na saray totoo na administrasyon. Agak mankelaw no onsoblay iran agew et mangipaway lay Katolik Bisyaps Komperens op da Pilipins na balo tan mas marandanet a sirkular pian paleksaben lay GMA. Ta siyempre, apabaingan met ira lanti.

Ontan natan so Pilipinas tayon Inararo! Ketket moak ta ibaknot takamet.

WE laud the efforts of the food and drug authorities and the police as they continue their campaign to catch drugstores suspected of violating the laws on the selling of regulated drugs and counterfeit medicine. Finally, after earlier reports on this illegal activity (as far back as last year, Health Regional Director Eduardo Janairo had already accused some drugstores in the Ilocos of selling counterfeit and fake drugs), we are seeing some action.

Apparently, the successful raid on a drugstore in Alaminos City last September 2 was a follow-up operation on the earlier arrest of two women couriers of the counterfeit medicine gang and an Indian national a few days later. The “blue book” or list captured from the two women couriers was obviously an A-1 lead for authorities to go by in breaking the back of the counterfeit drug syndicate. In that list, based on reports so far, the names of at least 12 doctors, several of them quite prominent, stood out, and possibly, too, the “client-drugstores.”

Now, might we ask: If BFAD and the NBI and the cops are really that dead earnest, how is it they’ve netted just one drugstore owner yet? How about the rest of those in the list –doctors, drugstore owners and yes, pharmacists – so far incriminated by the “blue book?” It’s not as if only 24 hours have passed since the arrest of the first suspects to allow the lead hunters of BFAD and NBI more generous time yet to do follow-up operation. It’s been weeks, for God’s sake!

Any lead, any trail that there might have been before would have gone cold by now. Even last week’s announcement by a BFAD official about sending out some 200 poseur-buyers to check if suspect drugstores are really selling the illegal products is so sickeningly funny. Telegraphing one’s moves is surely one way of forewarning the guilty.

Why not simply apply for a warrant and go check their inventories pronto, using the confiscated “blue book” as basis? If the cops can do this in search of suspected drug supplies, with nothing much but their tipsters’ word to justify the application, why not the BFAD in this quest to protect the health of an unwary population from unscrupulous merchants and mercenaries in the medical world? Or is some shielding going on now between hunter and quarry?

Windows
Gabriel L. Cardinoza


Last year, the city hall announced that it was ready to implement the recommendations of the University of the Philippines Center for Local and Regional Governance (UP-CLRG) for a top-to-bottom revamp of the city government to make it more efficient and effective in the delivery of services to the people of Dagupan City.

Four years ago, the UP-CLRG found in a management evaluation that the city government was totally disorganized and inadequate in responding to the needs of the people and to the demands of public service. It suggested the adoption of a lean and mean organizational structure that would clearly define each office’s functions and responsibilities and save the city from wasting millions of pesos of the people’s money every year for the salaries of employees who just sit in their offices all day and wait for the sunset.

Why the reorganization plan has not been implemented yet more than one year now after the city hall announcement is not clear to me. And no one has bothered to ask why.

While many Dagupeños welcomed the city government revamp, there were those who questioned the necessity and sincerity of the revamp. Some even saw it as mere witch-hunting – a desperate ploy to purge the city government of employees who did not support Mayor Benjamin Lim in the last two elections-- more than a desire to rid the city’s bureaucracy of deadwood and non-performers.

This perception was bolstered by a city official’s pronouncement that in the implementation of the UP recommendations, all city government positions will be declared vacant, in obvious defiance of the Civil Service rule on the security of tenure.

But there were others who believed that Lim was doing the right thing -- only at the wrong time. As a consequence of the revamp, almost 300 emergency workers will be the first to go. These include street sweepers, garbage collectors and traffic aides. The work that they will be leaving will be offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis to excess permanent employees from the different city government offices.

And in the face of the economic crisis gripping the country now, this is not the right time for anyone to lose a job.

But whatever Lim’s motives may be – political self-preservation or a sincere desire to serve – the city hall reorganization is long overdue. It certainly took him a lot of courage and political will to arrive at this decision.

Implemented properly, the revamp should be the first step in the installation of a truly professional bureaucracy in Dagupan City, where employees no longer have a false sense of security and the public is fully satisfied with the services they get.

ENDNOTES: Ryan Ravanzo, Vice Gov. Oscar Lambino’s executive assistant, left for Missouri, USA last Saturday as member of the Rotary Club’s Group Study Exchange delegation. Ryan, an active member of the Dagupan Jaycees Inc., was nominated by Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, Rotary Club of Dagupan president. He will be touring various US cities for one month... Last Friday, Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo was in town. He inducted the new set of Supreme Student Government officers of the Dagupan City High School. Before coming to Dagupan, he dropped by Bayambang for a breakfast with Mayor Leo de Vera, then he proceeded to San Carlos City to inaugurate a P1.2-million school-building that Bayan Muna funded at the Speaker Eugenio Perez Agricultural School.

QUICK QUOTE: Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it. --Margaret Thatcher

(You can reach Gabriel L. Cardinoza at windows@digitelone.com)

Ashok Vashandani, a prominent Indian trader in the city (left), receives from Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) Director , Dr. Jesus Canto a recognition and appreciation award for helping provide ease and comfort for medical patients thru donations of electric fans at the wards. Looking on at right is Dr. Felonila Canto, wife of the RIMC chief. Other civic-spirited citizens were feted by the medical center in simple ceremonies at the frontyard of RIMC last week. (Pangasinan Star Photo)

By Venus May H. Sarmiento

Assistant Secretary Antonio A. Villar, Jr. of the Department of Transportation and Communications has resigned his post Thursday, citing alleged corruption in the land transport sector as his reason for leaving.

Villar, founder and chair of the multiparty group Biskeg na Pangasinan, and a former multi-term mayor of Sto. Tomas, said his “irrevocable” letter of resignation submitted to President Arroyo Sept. 1, that he was “nauseated by the web of corruption in the bureaucracy, particularly in the land transport sector of the DOTC.”

Villar admitted that having already shown his disgust at the corruption in the DOTC, he was being wooed by elements in and outside the administration for their own ends and agenda. He claimed however he had no desire to jump over to “the other side of the political spectrum.”

“I would rather be a credible non-partisan critic of misgovernance,” the man credited for his town’s giving a “zero vote” for the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. in the May 2004 elections, said.

DOTC Undersecretary Ricardo Alfonso of the land transport sector, reacting to Villar’s inferences, however, said he does not understand what corruption the assistant secretary was referring to in his sector.

“Maybe, he was concerned about land transport in his hometown. I really don’t know what he was talking about,” Alfonso said.

A report said Villar has submitted a letter of resignation to Malacanang in late May, which was supposed to be effective on June 1. He had cited at that time his being unproductive in the air sector of DOTC because of lack of funds for his office. His resignation, however, was not accepted.

FEELING the aggressive stance of the Dagupan city government to collect taxes from big firms operating in the city, a telecommunications giant last Monday paid some P4.6 million in franchise tax.

Mayor Benjamin S. Lim received the payment from representatives of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. He promptly lauded the firm for showing the way to other big companies doing business in the city in settling their tax obligations.

Lim, at the same time, praised the efforts of City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued to demand tax payments from telecommunication companies doing business in Dagupan. Demand letters were sent to the companies to settle their back franchise taxes.

While PLDT complied with its obligation, rival firm Digital Telecommunications Company (Digitel) has yet to act on the demand letter, it was gathered.

Baniqued said Digitel failed to show its gross receipts as basis for tax payment.

While she was then the provincial legal officer of Pangasinan, Baniqued, it will be recalled, filed complaints against Digital Telecommunications for failure to pay its taxes to the provincial government. She also filed complaints against other companies like the Mirant Philippines/Sual which operates the Sual Coal-fired Power Plant.

Sual and the provincial government are now reaping a bonanza after Mirant agreed to a settlement and paid its taxes, minus accumulated interest slapped on it in the provincial government complaint. (DOS)

A GOVERNMENT doctor has confirmed that there are two strains of dengue found in Pangasinan patients based on the blood cultures analyzed so far.

Dr. Jesus Canto, chief of the Region 1 Medical Center, said these strains were a non-violent type found mostly among patients from western Pangasinan and the violent type that appeared to afflict those from western Pangasinan.

Canto said the violent type of dengue was what attacked two patients who have died, one of them from western Pangasinan. These, he said, were the first casualties from dengue, Canto said.

He added that the boy died a few minutes after arrival because when he was admitted at R1MC, his platelet count had dropped to as low as 2 to 4 as he already had continuous bleeding.

The normal platelet count of a person is from 150 to 300, he said.

Dengue patients need fresh platelets to replace those destroyed by the virus that cause the disease.

Canto said from August 1 to 27, a total of 65 dengue patients had already been admitted to R1MC compared to 60 patients admitted for the whole month of July.
Dengue cases are expected to rise some more this September because the rainy season is not yet over.

The R1MC is the usual destination of dengue patients in Pangasinan because it is the only hospital in the Ilocos Region that has a blood separator machine thus assuring them of a ready supply of blood platelets.

Acquired by R1MC two years ago, the blood separator machine separates all ingredients of the blood, like the Packed RBC, frozen plasma and platelet concentrates.

In the past, Canto said the hospital placed the blood on standby for many hours till the serum is separated.

With the blood separator, platelet concentrates are now available any time the patient needs it. If not for this machine, the hospital could be still buying its supply of blood platelets from Manila for use by its dengue patients, he said.

MANGALDAN – A priest at the local parish church was hospitalized after he was attacked by an unidentified man who sneaked into his room at the priests’ quarters at past 12 noon Monday for a still unknown reason.

The victim was identified as Fr. Francisco Posadas, an associate priest at the St. Thomas Aquinas Parish here, who was hit in the head with an empty bottle of softdrink, boxed several times in the body and face and bitten by the lone suspect in the left ear.

Posadas was rushed to the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City, where he was treated for injuries in the head and ear, and is now out of danger.

Investigation showed that while Posadas was talking to two visitors at the priests’ quarters, he excused himself to go to his room after he apparently saw or heard someone or something there. Inside, he saw a stranger who immediately attacked him with first blows.

Retired Navy Capt. Jorge de Vera, now a lay leader of the parish, was among those who helped rush Posadas to the hospital. De Vera theorized that Posadas may have been bitten by the suspect when he resisted and held on to the latter after being hit in the head with an empty bottle of softdrink.

The intruder could have inflicted even more harm on the priest had not one of his visitors, Amado Baluyo followed Posadas to his room. The suspect escaped and immediately boarded a white Toyota car with Plate No. PPP-795.

Mangaldan Police Chief, Supt. Segundo Adaliga said the get-away vehicle was found abandoned in barangay Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City, about five kilometers from Mangaldan town proper.

A check with the Land Transportation Office showed the plate number was issued to one Murphy Dustin of 12th Avenue, Quezon City, but there was a strong probability the car may have been stolen, police said.

Adaliga told newsmen that the National Bureau of Investigation was asked to help by lifting latent fingerprints that may have been left by the suspect on the abandoned get-away car.

THE dreaded meningococcemia has claimed its fourth victim in Pangasinan. A 40-year old man from Binmaley died last Wednesday in one of the private hospitals in Dagupan City.

Dr. Leonard Carbonell, city health officer in Dagupan City, said he talked to the sister of the victim over the phone who said the attending physician at the Villaflor Hospital told them to bury their dead within 12 hours and prohibited them from holding a wake.

The family did what was advised them but consulted Carbonell when they saw in the death certificate that the cause of death was septicemia.

Carbonell advised the family that the attending physician did the right thing because he was not so sure it was meningococcemia that caused the death of the patient, adding that septecemia was the safest description of the disease, which means bacteria was present in the blood.

In infectious disease such as meningococcemia, the blood culture of the patient is sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila for detailed laboratory analysis before a definite medical finding is ever announced.

Three other persons suspected to have died of meningococcemia were a six-year old boy from Malasiqui, and two middle-aged men from Balungao and Sta. Barbara, who all died in a private hospital in Dagupan on different dates.

Carbonell confirmed the death of the six-year old boy from Malasiqui in a private hospital based on a report relayed to him.

It was Dr. Jose Soriano, leader of the Provincial Health Team stationed in Pangasinan, meanwhile who confirmed the two suspected meningococcemia cases from Balungao and Sta. Barbara.

Soriano said it is not yet safe to say the patients died from meningococcemia because the results of the analysis of the blood culture of the patients have not yet been released by RITM.

Asked if the situation as far as meningococcemia in Pangasinan is now getting alarming, Carbonell said it is not if all safety measures are undertaken in all those cases recorded.
He said a hospital may be expected to register three cases of meningococcemia in a year but if the cases occurred in a span of one or two weeks, this can possibly be called an abnormal situation.

MIXED reactions greeted the ongoing hearing by the House justice committee on the impeachment charges against President Arroyo.

A quick response survey on a cross section of society in Pangasinan showed the local populace here is divided on whether to continue with the committee hearing and bring it to the Senate or terminate the hearing outright at the House.

A radio announcer of Bombo Dagupan said it was better for the justice committee to terminate the hearing since the motive of the pro-impeachment congressmen was very obvious, which is, to remove the President.

Another local mediamen who is writing for a weekly newspaper said there are more pressing matters that need more and immediate attention by Congress – the problems affecting the country like rising prices, oil price increases, terrorism, and other issues. But he clarified that if there is enough and weighty evidence against the Chief Executive, the House, he said, should bring the impeachment complaint to the Senate “for the people to know the truth” about the accusations against her.

An employee from Dagupan City who favored impeaching the President said that the move would not prosper at all because the pro-impeachment solons lack the number to elevate the complaint to the Upper House.

A lawyer-board member admitted that both sides, for and against, have made very good arguments on what to do with the three complaints. He said he would go for the provisions of the Constitution.

“Parang walang nangyayari sa impeachment proceedings,” observed a student from the University of Pangasinan, adding that while she was neutral, she wanted the proceeding to continue to once and for all know the truth about the allegations. “Dapat matuloy ang impeachment para lumabas ang totoo kung talagang nandaya ang Pangulo, para matapos na rin ang mga rallies,” a field researcher said.

LINGAYEN – Can public officials bring home their government-issued vehicle after office hours?

This query came to the fore in the wake of the carnapping of the service vehicle issued to Provincial Accountant Rodolfo Carolino last Sunday.

Provincial Administrator Virgilio Solis said government-issued vehicles are to be left at the motorpool after office hours per Executive Order NO. 31 Exempted from the rule however are vehicles issued to the governor, the vice-governor and department heads of the provincial government, he clarified.

He quickly added that such vehicles cannot be used afterwards since they are meant to be used for official purposes only. On using the vehicles for official trips that may occur even weekends, Solis said travel orders and trip tickets have to be secured.

Carolino, as an official of the association of certified accountants (PICPA) used his service vehicle lat Saturday. It was carnapped on the morning of the next day.

Solis said he has asked the provincial accountant to exhaust all remedies to retrieve the vehicle and also coordinate with the Government Service Insurance system about the car’s insurance (DOS)

URDANETA CITY – A Muslim youth high on drugs surrendered to the police after a one-hour standoff shortly after taking a girl hostage in a subdivision in barangay Nancayasan here Wednesday night.

Policemen led by Inspector Genevieve Battiw immediately cordoned off the house where Rashid Benito, alias “Paklay” held hostage seven year-old Anita Pimba, a daughter of another Muslim family.

The incident happened at 7:35 p.m. last Aug. 24 inside the Doña Loleng Subdivision. Benito took as prisoner the daughter of their neighbor, a Grade I pupil. He later agreed to lay down his weapon, a fan knife, after a one-hour negotiation, Battiw said.

After the rescue, the girl was rushed to the Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment of her stab wound in the abdomen. The police said appropriate charges are now being readied for filing against the suspect who was tagged as a long-time drug user. (PNA)

“WE owe Dagupeño children these four gifts.”

The City Health Office called on barangay health workers and department heads who attended a recent orientation/briefing to stress on the 4 Gifts for Children in a conference at the Victorio Edades Hall of the City Musuem..

The “four gifts” are the Local State of the Children Report, Local Development Plan for Children, Local Investment Plan for Children and the Local Code for Children, according to the CHO.

The local Council for the Protection of Children will work with the barangays to update existing local reports or create new plans in time for the target ‘gift giving’ in October during the celebration of National Children’s Month.

Worksheets outlining child rights, indicators and status per indicator were distributed to participants to enable them to include child rights in local development planning.
City Social Welfare and Development Officer Elsa Santillan said the local council was created to orient people on the minimum basic needs of children. City Nutrition Officer Leah Aquino facilitated the workshop.

Children have the following rights: right to life, right to a name, nationality and identity, right to health, right to be protected from abuse and neglect, right of the disabled child to special care, right to social security, right to be protected from commercial and sexual exploitation, right to education, right to rest and leisure, right to opinion, right to freedom of association and right to freedom of expression;

Right to enjoy one’s culture and religion, right to adequate standard of living, right to parental care and support, right to information, right to privacy, right to be safe in emergency or especially difficult circumstances, and right to legal assistance and appropriate judicial processes. (Sheila H. Aquino)

SUSPECTED vigilantes may have been behind the fatal shooting of a suspected notorious drug pusher and his girlfriend in front of the Development Bank of the Philippines building on M.H. del Pilar street here at past 11 p.m. Thursday.

Dead were Reynaldo de Guzman, 40, of Perez Market site in Dagupan City; and Cristina Bellosillo, 20, of barangay Osiem in Mangaldan town.

Both were walking down the road going southward after coming out from the Caliman Lodge when they were shot by an unidentified gunman who used a Caliber 45 pistol as evidenced by two empty shells found near the crime scene.

De Guzman died on the spot while Bellosillo was rushed to the adjacent Region 1 Medical Center but died later from a gunshot wound on her left side, soon after identifying herself as a girlfriend of de Guzman.

Theories of a summary execution by vigilantes surfaced as a placard was found across the road, possibly left by the killer or killers, tagging de Guzman a holdup man and a drug pusher and urging the people not to emulate his deeds.

Records of the police showed Bellosillo was involved in several cases of snatching before and may have shifted later to shabu-pushing.

On the other hand, De Guzman was identified as a former henchman of a detained gun-for hire, identified as Willy Mendoza, alias “Samal”.

Supt. Edgar Basbas, police chief of Dagupan, said however that the placard found near the bodies of the victims was not a sure indication they were summarily executed because the perpetrators may have deliberately left it there to confuse police investigation of the incident.

“We can say this could be the work of vigilantes or their companions who may have eliminated them due to possible “double-cross” or (they may have) been salvaged, but these are all speculation and (are without) evidence to support the same,” Basbas said.

Basbas said there were still many people at the corner of M.H. del Pilar street and PNR road when the incident happened but apparently the possible eyewitnesses refuse or are afraid to come out.

Both de Guzman and Bellosillo were the second and third victims of alleged summary execution in Dagupan City since Basbas took over the helm of the Dagupan Police last Aug. 9.
The first victim was a man whose cadaver was dumped in an isolated place in barangay Bonuan Binloc two weeks ago after being shot on the left side of his face.

There were many more suspected cases of summary executions that happened in Dagupan City, the sheer number of which may now have made Dagupan second only to Davao in the number of possible vigilante killings.

Not one suspect has been arrested by the police yet.

The body of de Guzman was already claimed by his legal wife from a funeral parlor in Dagupan City while that of Bellosillo has been brought home by her relatives. (PNA)

MALASIQUI – Grief and anger among local residents mounted here after two students were found stabbed dead along the road in barangay Talospatang by still unidentified men who took away the tricycles the boys were riding.

Police are hunting down the perpetrators who mercilessly stabbed and killed the two boys Wednesday night along the barangay road leading to the town of Villasis.

The bodies of Nelson Hiteroza, 18, a second year student, and Jan-jan Antolin, 16, a third year student, were found lying in a pool of their own blood on each side of the road at about 6:30 a.m. last Thursday.

Both were last seen Wednesday night on board a motorized tricycle driven by Hiteroza.
The motorized tricycle was nowhere to be found and believed taken by the perpetrators who sped towards Villasis.

Investigators theorized both boys may have picked up passengers along the way who held them up or carnapped their motorized tricycle and stabbed them when they resisted. Killing of the two boys has alarmed classmates and teachers as well as other residents of Malasiqui. (PNA)

THE Dagupan Electric Corporation (Decorp) is seeking a P0.25 increase per kilowatt hour from its consumers because of the current economic crisis.

The Dagupan City council endorsed the proposed rate increase after finding it reasonable although the final approval will come from the Energy Regulatory Commission where Decorp coursed its petition since May this year.

Decorp not only serves the power needs of Dagupan City but also those of Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, part of San Carlos City, San Jacinto, San Fabian and part of Manaoag, Pangasinan.

Arzenio Zacarias, an official of Decorp, said they sought the rate increase because of the increasing cost of operations and maintenance, including materials needed by the power firm.

He said the weekly increases in the prices of oil and fuel has added burden to their maintenance, thus seriously affecting their operations.

Decorp maintained however that the increase is only minimal because they were only asking for P0.25 centavo per kilowatt increase.

Saying that they have studied carefully the proposed increase before applying, Zacarias revealed that last year they sought for 40 percent power rate increase but ERC only approved 12 percent. (PNA)

FILIPINO expatriates in California and the United States have been asked to adopt schools, preferably their alma maters, and build classrooms for them which the government cannot afford to build at this time.

This was the challenge hurled by Dagupan City Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez during the induction of the new set of officers of the Greater Long Beach Association, Inc. headed by Pepe Palaganas in Los Angeles, California last week.

The Dagupan vice mayor represented his father, Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez, Jr., as guest of honor and speaker in the activity.

Fernandez said most, if not all, of the expatriates graduated from elementary and high schools in the Philippines who are now well off in the land of milk and honey and may want to help their respective former schools anywhere in the Philippines.

He said the Adopt-A-School program would benefit Filipino pupils and students in public elementary and high schools who can not be accommodated in the few classrooms because of their sheer numbers.

Fernandez cited the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce that has been helping the Philippine government build classroom in rural areas where such are lacking

“Our public school children, who shall benefit from this worthwhile project, would be forever grateful for our contributions,” Fernandez told the Filipino expatriates. Citing the normal expenses of the benevolent Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce, Fernandez said each two-room school building costs some P380,000 or P190,000 per class.

UMINGAN – The police here reiterated its previous suspicion that the four men found dead and massacred in the hilly barangay of Casilan here Friday night could be connected with a cattle rustling group operating in adjacent Nueva Ecija.

Chief Inspector Eddie Granil, chief of police of Umingan, said the three victims from Umingan and one from Nueva Ecija were riddled with Armalite rifle and 12-gauge shot gun bullets when they were found sprawled near a dirt road.

At least 30 empty shells of Armalite rifle and one spent shell for 12-gauge shotgun were found by investigators near the bodies of victims Edwin Sobrepeñ, 18; brothers Masong and Ronald Camacho, all of Umingan; and Raymundo Miranda, 32, of barangay del Pilar in Rizal, Nueva Ecija.

Granil admitted there is a strong suspicion the victims were massacred by their own companions as a result of “double-cross” although he said nothing’s definite yet on the possible reason for the massacre. Granil revealed there has been no latest incident of cattle rustling in Umingan.

He theorized that the massacre was done in Umingan because the killers may have found the four men in this remote, boundary town.

It will be recalled that five other men, four of whom were found dead inside an L-300 van in barangay Montano, this town near the Nueva Ecija border suffered a similar bloody end in November last year.

In the previous incident, the involvement of vigilantes was suspected although this was never found out in the investigation.

TWENTY primary schools and 64 secondary schools in La Union and Pangasinan benefited from the 9,100 textbooks donated by the Shoemart (SM) Foundation.

The selected belonged to the municipality covered by the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) Program, which is now devolved to the local government units.

In La Union, 20 primary schools and 14 secondary schools were identified from the municipalities of Santol, San Gabriel, and Tubao. Each school was allotted books worth some P8,000.

In Pangasinan, 5,000 pieces textbooks that cost some P400,000 were turned over to the provincial government for the 50 secondary schools.

National high schools in the following municipalities of Pangasinan benefited from the SM program: Alcala, Bautista, Laoac, Mapandan, Natividad, Sta. Maria, Sto. Tomas, Agno, Balungao, Aguilar, Basista, Dasol, Urbiztondo, Infanta, Burgos, Anda, Bugallon, Labrador, Mabini, Dagupan City, Alaminos, Asingan, Bani, Bayambang, Binmaley, Bolinao, Calasiao, Lingayen, Malasiqui Manaoag, Mangaldan, Mangatarem, Rosales, San Fabian, Sison, and Villasis.

Regional Director Porfiria M. Bernardez expressed hope the generosity of SM Foundation will go a long way in helping the students improve their intellectual faculties in addition to the learning they acquire in their regular classes.

For the past few years, SM Foundation has been providing thru the Department of Social Welfare and Development food commodities, used clothing and other basic needs to families affected by disasters or typhoons. (Iryn Q. de los Reyes, Info Officer)

LINGAYEN – Government cars are now fair game for carnappers.

This was found out by the provincial government the hard way when an Isuzu Highlander XTRM issued to the provincial accountant of Pangasinan was stolen while parked inside his compound on Amado-Tapuac street in Dagupan City.

In hot water because of the carnapping is Provincial Accountant Rodolfo Carolino, 64, who woke up Sunday morning to find out that his provincial government-issued vehicle with Plate No9. SMI-174 was already missing.

Three cars were in Carolino’s compound the night before but for unknown reason, the carnappers chose to take the red-plated one. Provincial Administrator Virgilio Solis, Jr. on learning of the incident, called for a province-wide alert for the missing provincial government vehicle.

He said however he was not fully blaming Carolino because as one of the deparment heads of the provincial government, he (Carolino) was allowed to bring home the provincial vehicle issued for his official use.

Solis said there was a memorandum of Gov. Victor Agbayani that officials and employees are not allowed to bring government vehicles to their homes after office hours and on weekends and holidays.

Exemptions to this rule, however, are provincial department heads like Carolino, he said. But nevertheless, the department heads cannot use the vehicles for their private trips except if they are on official mission and in such a case, should be issued corresponding trip tickets.

Solis said he ordered Carolino to exert utmost efforts to retrieve the vehicle and if it can not be found anymore, the vehicle’s insurance with the Government Service Insurance System will answer for its loss.

SAN CARLOS CITY – More than P5.5 million went up in smoke when two barangay high schools here burned separately under mysterious circumstances two days apart last week.

First gutted down in the evening of Aug. 26 were four school buildings of the Abanon National High School estimated to cost P5 million, including 20 water-damaged computer units in the school’s computer room.

Burned aside from the computer room were the Parents-Teachers Association building, and the administrative building of the elementary school.

The following night, a two-room building of the Bacnar National High School also burned down on August 28, with damage placed at P450,000. One of the gutted rooms was where eight computer units were installed. From the computer room, the fire spread to the principal’s office and dental clinic.

San Carlos City Fire Marshal Jovito Quilateg said initial investigations showed faulty electrical wiring was the cause of the first blaze and on overheated unplugged computer or air-conditioning system in the second blaze.

He admitted however that arson is not being ruled out yet, adding this would be found out in the investigation now being conducted by his office.

Investigators are now trying to find clues of arson among the ashes of the burnt school buildings.

Even San Carlos City Mayor Julian Resuello believes arson was a possible cause of the two fires due to reports of the existence of heaps of papers and flammable materials near the two school buildings before these were gutted down.

Reports said the blaze may have something to do with the purchase of the computer units for the two barangay schools. (PNA)

British Ambassador Peter Beckingham addresses the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Dagupan during his visit to the city, his second this year, last Friday during which he explored with local officials led by City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim and Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez (both seated at extreme right) possible British assistance in terms and trade and culture for Dagupan. (Pangasinan Star Photo by Butch F. Uka)

EIGHTEEN-year-old Arnel Florentino of barangay Cataray, Bayambang was almost at hid death throes – cyanotic, very faint heartbeat and his skin was cold and clammy – when he was brought into the Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) around 3:30 pm of August 20. He had been bitten by a poisonous snake in his left ankle while cooking at the Quitaleg Dormitory on Posadas Avenue, in San Carlos City.

The deadly effects of the snake bite was ravaging his body and a hospital in the city to where he was first rushed, decided to refer his case to the R1MC after worried relatives noted eh was going numb and dizzy despite emergency medications. It was a timely decision; by the time he reached R1MC, his condition had turned for the worse.

He was admitted at the R1MC at 5 p.m. of the same day. Doctors quickly intubated him and hooked him to a cardiac monitor. Dr. Jesus T. Canto, medical center chief, after being apprised of the patient’s progressively worsening condition and knowing time was of the essence, ordered the administration of cobra anti-venom which was readily available at the hospital pharmacy on the now-violet-skinned and totally numbed Arnel.

A toxicologist was also called in for additional orders and closer monitoring of Arnel’s medical reactions at the ward. Ten hours after he was admitted in near-death condition, the patient woke up. Seven days after, the patient was ambulatory, coherent and “miraculously without any neurologic deficits,” his attending physicians reported, and was discharged good as new.

Arnel consumed 25 ampules of cobra anti-venom (15 ampules provided by the hospital pharmacy and 10 were additional requests fro the Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine) all given for free.

Based on previous cases, Arnel’s medical condition at time of admission was a “Glasscow 3 status” where a patient usually recovers but with neurologic deficits or mental lapses. In his particular case, however, thanks to the quick and alert staff and management of R1MC led by Canto, the patient went home as if nothing happened, all his faculties and senses intact.

Canto said he had always insisted on having standby medicines for such rare medical cases as snake bites at the pharmacy, despite the cost and potency preservation requirements for such. “Nothing beats anticipation and preparation,” the R1MC chief said.

True enough, the R1MC records show the anti-venom ampules have saved not just Arnel’s extreme case but that of seven other since August last year, all victims of snake bites: Robert Ydio, 58, of Mangaldan; Sally Castro, 17 at the pedia ward; Jimmy Bajo, 41, Mangaldan, who was treated twice on September 25, 2004 and again lat April 25, this year; Rolando Yangao at the surgical ward; Marvin Espinosa, 21, medical ward; Bernabe Nibre, 58, of San Fernando, La Union; and Paulino Dulay at the emergency room.

SAYAN INDIO
Mario F. Karateka


MAKAPATAKTAKOT itay sakit ya meningococcemia ya akaonalan amerwisyo ed sikatayodia nen imbeneg a taon, no iner pigaran bilay met na kabaleyan tayo, maslak ed saraya et kapanlapo da o kapambisita da ed ambetel a siyudad na Baguio, so atigway.
Balet mas makapapaga natan, diad dilin isip tayo, so singa agla masyadon derderlengen na totoo so sayan sakit. Agko ibabagan singa normal na publiko laya, no ag say singa agira masyado la amon manaalwar laban ed sayan sakit.

Diad luyag, no agkayo mandedengel na balita, walalay taloran inatey a suspetsadon kasoy “meningo” so sengegan ed sayan taon. Samay sakey balet ibabagay doktores et dengue amo (sakit a naalad ketket na ageyet ya aedes aegypti) , aliwan meningo. Alagaren metni so pinal a kompirmasyon manlapud Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) no talagan “meningo” soinateyan daranmay arom balet.

Nanonotan ko nin agaylay paga tan alwar na saray totoo, nen onaan ya niobawag so inka-delikado tonian sakit. Mas dakel iray nankulong ed abo-abong da, aglara paway-paway, mas dakel so inal-alwaran day resistensiya da nagsiinom na Bitamina C tan mas dakel so mapagan linmad doctor ed bektan aliway pakalikna da.

Natan ey? Wadtan ya mas laba-labay da so onsurob ed karaklay totoo a singa bilang “malls” odino diad saray sinean, mas dakel so singa ipapasubayang day laman da ed makapoy a klima – tan mas dakel lay onsesegep ed Baguio.

Asalitay Baguio, anggad natan, anggaponi so malinew tan siyentipikon paliwawa no akin et say maslak a napepeketan na “meningo”et saray manaayam odino nanlalapurad Baguio. Antola kasi so agawad impan-aral tan impansukisok daray eksperto’d abig-laman tan medisina ed saya?

Puro tepet, puro paga labatla so sarag tayon gaween ed sayan ambelat a sakit natan. Tekepan tilay pikasi o dasal ed Ama pa met ya komon agmetlaya onloor ya salot ed Pangasinan.

HURRICANE Katrina’s damage to the United States may be viewed with detached feelings by some Filipinos who perhaps sit before their television sets or Internet monitors silently thanking The One Above for sparing them such kind of destruction. The fact though is that natural calamity in the distant part of the world impacts on us as well.

With their oil rigs in or around Mexico severely affected by Katrina, which would take long to put back into operation, the United States would be increasing its oil requirements and demands, further pulling up the already prohibitive cost of the commodity in the world market. And, in a tug-of-war between the giants and pygmies like the Philippines, you can quickly tell who’ll win.

Consequnetly, that would leave the Philippine energy situation even bleaker than ever, with local oil price going stratospheric in the next several weeks and months.

It is the world market that dictates the price of oil, and to top our woes further, the country’s oil deregulation law still keeps the government from controlling local oil prices. Our only hope, it appears now, is the development of alternative sources of energy like geothermal, hydro, wind and even solar to lessen our dependency on oil importation.

Yet, even this, we must admit, would be taking quite a long time yet – if it ever gets off the ground in the next few months, given the unstable political environment.

The next best and practical solution to the looming (some say it’s very well here now and worsening) energy crisis therefore is conservation – of what little energy supply we still have. Not that we still need to be dragged and pulled to be convinced of its urgency; for sooner than later, we may really need to bring out the old clay ovens and rusty gas lamps and trot out the reliable caromata or kalesa (horse-drawn rigs) in order to get by in our daily lives.

It isn’t all that bad, if you get used to it, really. Our grandparents and parents pretty much raised us on those Spartan amenities. Life is a cycle, or didn’t you know?

AFTER ALL
By Behn Fer. Hortaleza Jr.


EVERYTIME we hear officials and civilians talking about measures to conserve power consumption, generate savings and develop alternative sources of energy, we think about our friend, Jaime P. Imbat , a very unassuming, “small-time” local technology inventor from barangay Cablong, Pozorrubio, this province. For years, Mang Jaime has been contacting the entire gamut of science, energy and technology agencies to get them to at least listen and try his “substitute fuel” invention that, he says, makes use of lime component, a natural resource which, we must agree, is abundant in the Philippines.

He has, bless the guy, even challenged -- and this, all according to him – Mirant Philippines to try his lime-powered invention to lessen the Sual plant’s dependence on imported oil and bituminous coal to run the plant. Mr. Imbat even throws in some rather technical insights on how best, if not better, to control pollution in coal-fired or thermal power plants.

Like all, if not most, inventors though, the man’s problem is Capital. From my own assessment, without yet actually seeing (despite the nearly five years of our acquaintance) how his invention generates the heat and power, Mang Jaime has knowledge and experience in these complicated power generation systems. He rattles off these technical terms like he was just munching on peanuts during his periodic visits to the Star office. He has in fact showed us a prototype of the limestone, wrapped carefully in pieces of newspapers, that he says, when properly treated, produces tremendous amount of heat that is not easily consumed. We noticed he was carefully keeping his “product” away from “unauthorized” eyes.

By his narration of data on the Mirant Plant, the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant and other power-generating stations, we can tell he’s been to these plants and studied (we don’t know how exactly) the process of their energy production, which, he says with a little smirk, could definitely stand improvement on fuel savings.

The Department of Science and Technology in Taguig, Rizal, thru Undersecretary for Research and Development Rogelio A. Panlasigui is only one among the latest top brass he’s communicated with in his desire to help “save” the Philippines from its current economic, energy-related, problems. Mang Jaime gave us a copy of Usec Panlasigui’s August 1, 2005 letter-reply to him (apparently, his earlier letter to the Presidential Action Center based in Malacanang about his invention was endorsed to the DOST) where it was apparent DOST was seeking more information on his alternative fuel invention “to help us in assessing the full capacity of the product.”

Mang Jaime has replied to Usec Panlasigui thru a letter dated August 18, 2005 outlining the characteristics of his alternative fuel product (capacity to produce heat up to 2000 degrees Centigrade -- more than enough to run industries requiring tremendous heat like power plants, steel and blooming mills, cement factories, etc – renewable form, non-conventional, locally produced solid fuel in block form 12” x 16” x 24” which can be resized to suit needs and other tidbits.

He ended with the note that he was willing to discuss finer details and demonstrate it to the DOST.

Surely we hope – and –pray – Mang Jaime gets to see the light of day with the DOST on his invention. Who knows it could be the country’s long-awaited way out of the energy mess!

The Pen Speaks
By Danny O. Sagun


ON about the same day (Tuesday, was it?), two police officers figured in shameless actions that surely brought headaches to their respective bosses. One was accused of slapping nine fishermen from Bagong Baryo in Bonuan Gueset during a confrontation on the latter men’s allegedly engaging in illegal fishing activities. The other reportedly showed his police ID card and gun instead of his driver’s license to a traffic enforcer when the latter flagged him down for apparent traffic violations. Both were said to be reeking of liquor.

These are just samples of the kind of policemen we have in our midst. Our parents of old related to us how men in uniform during those days were looked up to by the people, yes, they earned that respect and honor. Now, policemen are either feared (don’t ever cross path with them or else…) or despised (because of shenanigans and irregularities).

Dagupan police chief Supt. Ed Basbas reportedly dressed down the policemen doubling as passenger jeepney driver in a confrontation at the police station. The cop did not have a license to show, and so he thought he could get away with it by showing his police ID and firearm. The traffic aide was somehow intimidated but he managed to call for help from his supervisor and the city police.

The officer is said to be based at the provincial police office where Basbas used to be deputy director for operations before his assignment here and thus might have known that fellow before. Basbas reminded him that the police hierarchy was doing its best to reshape the image of the PNP but that bad eggs like him are sabotaging the effort.

Can the police still change its image? Maybe. But it won’t probably be in the next few years, considering that ranking police officers themselves are suspected of involvement in anomalies and payoffs.

***
I am reminded of something we always forget to tell our friend Col. Ric Tamayo about whenever we meet at the PAGIO (information officers association in Pangasinan) meeting.

We had wanted to tell the good colonel, who heads the police community relations office our observations that policemen by and large, especially during their night duty, are often seen drinking liquor or beer right at the police station. Alcohol, as we know, affects one’s alertness and judgment. What happens when an urgent call is received by the station and the drunk policemen have to respond? Can they still respond normally? Not even chewing Chicklet can hide their alcoholic breath, right?

Policemen are not allowed to drink during their tour of duty. But this policy is always set aside. Some police chiefs even join their men for the “happy-happy.” And even if he does not, his men will do their thing once he leaves the station to knock off for the night. If this simple rule, like other rules, is neglected, we can only conclude that the image of the police will remain in the negative – if it doesn’t get worse. Too bad for the department.

Windows
By Gabriel L. Cardinoza


I was shocked to see on television the extent of devastation that hurricane Katrina eft in Louisiana and Mississippi. I couldn’t believe it was happening to America, which is supposed to have everything in the world to protect its people.

I was especially touched to see Americans wading in waist-deep floodwaters and waving white clothes and placards from their rooftops to ask for help.

In one instance, a young mother was helplessly clutching her five-day-old baby on a roadside until the police saw her and took them to a safer place. In another scene, a teary-eyed mother, who obviously didn’t know what to do and where to go, was hugging her sick three-year-old boy as they sat in a stairway.

Everybody was tired, confused, scared and hungry.

Elsewhere were flattened houses and debris from the massive destruction. There were people everywhere and some of them had to loot groceries just to have food. It was, as President George Bush said, the worst natural disaster in American history.

And, as it turned out, despite America’s super infrastructures, it wasn’t super enough to protect its own people. The massive flooding in New Orleans was caused by a breached levee and no sandbagging was able to stop the rampaging floodwaters from submerging the whole city.

Fortunately for them, they are in America. Unlike in a third world country, they won’t have to wait for international aid anymore to rescue and rehabilitate their people. Although it took more than 24 hours before the American people realized the extent of the damage, it didn’t take long for government officials to organize rescue and medical teams.

There were helicopters everywhere. Five hundred buses were sent to New Orleans to evacuate the homeless to neighboring Texas. Truckloads of food and water were also sent to the area. Even their battleships were mobilized. America, indeed, had everything and those of us who are in poor countries could only wish we had the same resources during natural calamities.

If at all it was any consolation to us, it was while watching Fox News that I learned that the people in New Orleans were already told to evacuate even before Katrina’s landfall. But they did not budge, just like the way many of our people here react when told to move to higher grounds.
Hard-headedness, after all, is international.

As the world watches America rebuild New Orleans from its ruins, there will always be lessons to learn, especially in the areas of flood mitigation, rescue and relief operations, evacuation and rehabilitation. But, to my mind, the most important lesson has been learned – that even a super power is no match to nature’s wrath.

ENDNOTES: By the time this paper’s issue hits the newsstands, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez shall have again assumed as acting city mayor. From what we heard, Mayor Benjamin Lim will be in India for a personal trip from Sept. 3-10… Last Thursday, Vice Mayor Fernandez and the Rotary Club of Dagupan, which he heads, conducted fogging operation in Barangay Carael upon the request of Barangay Captain Perfecto Velasquez, to destroy the breeding grounds mosquitoes, especially those cause the dreaded dengue fever. The activity also involved the City Health Office.

QUICK QUOTE: When you reach the end of what you should know, you will be at the beginning of what you should sense. --Kahlil Gibran

(You can reach Gabriel L. Cardinoza at windows@digitelone.com)