23 September 2005
PHOTO: Road to somewhere...further
It took a geographic information system (GIS) satellite photo tracking of the ongoing P300 million Dawel-Pantal-Lucao circumferential road project for the city government to learn, in utter surprise, that the DPWH had arbitrarily revised the originally approved plan for the infrastructure project, taking it further out than it should at much greater cost and right-of-way problems. Who authorized the revision and why it was implemented without due notice to the city is what Mayor Benjamin S. Lim wants to know, even if it reaches the court. (PStar Photo by Butch F. Uka)
DPWH PUTTING ONE OVER CITY?: BSL hits ceiling on diverted road
By DANNY O. SAGUN
DAGUPAN City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim has scored the public works and highways department for deviating from the original plan in the construction of the Dawel-Pantal-Lucao diversion road.
An irked Lim met Thursday with DPWH regional officials in his office to relay his concern noting that some P80 million additional expenses will be incurred if the original plan is not followed.
The original plan was to link the new road to the De Venecia highway in barangay Lucao passing right beside the posh Nelars subdivision, Lim said.
He said that the road, under its present revised status will instead pass thru the back portion of the CIS city mall and link up with the Mac Arthur highway adjacent to the present police community precinct in Lucao, some 500 meters west of the De Venecia highway.
Lim showed to newsmen a satellite photo of the ongoing construction to prove his point.
“Nothing personal,” he stressed in anticipation of possible reaction about his motive in raising the issue before DPWH and the media. It is widely known that his family’s mall business, Magic, is up against a stiff competitor, the CSI chain of malls being run by former Councilor Belen Fernandez whose crown area is in barangay Lucao.
Fernandez might have had a hand in altering the original plan in view of reports that she has donated some properties traversed by the roadline. It was very possible, sources at City Hall said, that the DPWH planners accommodated her request to have the new road instead pass thru the back of her mall in Lucao, instead of at the NelArs subdivision where it would already directly link to the present De Venecia highway.
The DPWH representatives led by engineer Yolly Tangco washed their hands off the matter, telling the mayor that the regional office had not been in any way involved in the preparation of the plans.
Lim warned he might go to court if the original plan which was shorter and cheaper for government is nor pursued.
The project, divided in six work phases, costs some P400 million including the construction of two short bridges. Excluded in the funds is the construction of a long bridge. Road preparation like filling and embankment are already completed in the Dawel area and ongoing in the Pantal and Lucao portions, according to second Pangasinan engineering chief Rodolfo Dion. The road, when finished, spans about four kilometers starting from the Dawel area up to Lucao.
A study by the city government would have Phase II of the diversion road directly exiting through De Venecia highway via the DNR property, or a road length of some 800 meters, or thru NELARS’s subdivision, with a length of only 650 meters—compared to the 2,950-meter distance if the road is extended to the Bautista road to connect to De Venecia highway.
An additional P80 million will have to be released to cover in part payment of right-of-way for properties affected by the project, it was learned. In exculpating his office from the possible complications brought about by Lim’s opposition, Dion said his office’s role was only to monitor the project.
Timetable for its completion is set by late 2007, he said.
DAGUPAN City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim has scored the public works and highways department for deviating from the original plan in the construction of the Dawel-Pantal-Lucao diversion road.
An irked Lim met Thursday with DPWH regional officials in his office to relay his concern noting that some P80 million additional expenses will be incurred if the original plan is not followed.
The original plan was to link the new road to the De Venecia highway in barangay Lucao passing right beside the posh Nelars subdivision, Lim said.
He said that the road, under its present revised status will instead pass thru the back portion of the CIS city mall and link up with the Mac Arthur highway adjacent to the present police community precinct in Lucao, some 500 meters west of the De Venecia highway.
Lim showed to newsmen a satellite photo of the ongoing construction to prove his point.
“Nothing personal,” he stressed in anticipation of possible reaction about his motive in raising the issue before DPWH and the media. It is widely known that his family’s mall business, Magic, is up against a stiff competitor, the CSI chain of malls being run by former Councilor Belen Fernandez whose crown area is in barangay Lucao.
Fernandez might have had a hand in altering the original plan in view of reports that she has donated some properties traversed by the roadline. It was very possible, sources at City Hall said, that the DPWH planners accommodated her request to have the new road instead pass thru the back of her mall in Lucao, instead of at the NelArs subdivision where it would already directly link to the present De Venecia highway.
The DPWH representatives led by engineer Yolly Tangco washed their hands off the matter, telling the mayor that the regional office had not been in any way involved in the preparation of the plans.
Lim warned he might go to court if the original plan which was shorter and cheaper for government is nor pursued.
The project, divided in six work phases, costs some P400 million including the construction of two short bridges. Excluded in the funds is the construction of a long bridge. Road preparation like filling and embankment are already completed in the Dawel area and ongoing in the Pantal and Lucao portions, according to second Pangasinan engineering chief Rodolfo Dion. The road, when finished, spans about four kilometers starting from the Dawel area up to Lucao.
A study by the city government would have Phase II of the diversion road directly exiting through De Venecia highway via the DNR property, or a road length of some 800 meters, or thru NELARS’s subdivision, with a length of only 650 meters—compared to the 2,950-meter distance if the road is extended to the Bautista road to connect to De Venecia highway.
An additional P80 million will have to be released to cover in part payment of right-of-way for properties affected by the project, it was learned. In exculpating his office from the possible complications brought about by Lim’s opposition, Dion said his office’s role was only to monitor the project.
Timetable for its completion is set by late 2007, he said.
Garbage mounts anew at Bonuan dumpsite
THE perennial garbage disposal problem of Dagupan City, “tamed” for the last two years or so, is once again rearing its ugly head.
The dumpsite in Tondaligan in Bonuan Boquig was temporarily closed Thursday because of the inability of the heavy equipment stationed there to move the growing trash. The place became so muddy as a result of continuous rains two day earlier, according to Reginald Ubando, who heads the waste management division.
Ubando maintained his earlier recommendation to close the dumpsite soon because of ill-effects to the environment. He admitted however that the plan could not be implemented totally due to the absence of an alternative site for garbage disposal.
The city government continues to face a problem of non-acceptance by residents of barangay Awai in San Jacinto where the city had bought several hectares of land to effect a landfill waste disposal system. Other surrounding barangays also protested the idea of hosting a waste dumpsite in that place.
Pending resolution of the issue, the city entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Dagupan water district to instead reforest the area.
But the Awai residents remain doubtful about the real intention of the city. The protesters said the move was just a ploy for the eventual setting up of the waste disposal system in their place.
As a stop-gap measure to arrest the burgeoning garbage problem, Ubando again called on the barangays to seriously take the lead in the disposal of garbage as mandated by law, noting that the volume of trash being collected is getting bigger again like in the past.
If waste segregation in the barangays is religiously followed, he said that very little waste would be left for the garbage collectors to collect and dump at the Bonuan site. He said that only about 10 percent of the total garbage is to be collected actually by his collectors if waste segregation is dutifully implemented in the barangay. (PIA/DOS)
The dumpsite in Tondaligan in Bonuan Boquig was temporarily closed Thursday because of the inability of the heavy equipment stationed there to move the growing trash. The place became so muddy as a result of continuous rains two day earlier, according to Reginald Ubando, who heads the waste management division.
Ubando maintained his earlier recommendation to close the dumpsite soon because of ill-effects to the environment. He admitted however that the plan could not be implemented totally due to the absence of an alternative site for garbage disposal.
The city government continues to face a problem of non-acceptance by residents of barangay Awai in San Jacinto where the city had bought several hectares of land to effect a landfill waste disposal system. Other surrounding barangays also protested the idea of hosting a waste dumpsite in that place.
Pending resolution of the issue, the city entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Dagupan water district to instead reforest the area.
But the Awai residents remain doubtful about the real intention of the city. The protesters said the move was just a ploy for the eventual setting up of the waste disposal system in their place.
As a stop-gap measure to arrest the burgeoning garbage problem, Ubando again called on the barangays to seriously take the lead in the disposal of garbage as mandated by law, noting that the volume of trash being collected is getting bigger again like in the past.
If waste segregation in the barangays is religiously followed, he said that very little waste would be left for the garbage collectors to collect and dump at the Bonuan site. He said that only about 10 percent of the total garbage is to be collected actually by his collectors if waste segregation is dutifully implemented in the barangay. (PIA/DOS)
DOH going after fake drug test centers around LTO offices
AN official of the Department of Health said today that bogus drug testing laboratories are teeming in the four provinces of the Ilocos region with their owners continuously playing a game of cat-and mouse with authorities.
Dr. Reynaldo Jacinto, chief of the enforcement and regulations division of DOH regional office, said three drug testing laboratories had already been padlocked and another was already suspended twice for making a mockery of the law.
All of these were located near branches of the Land Transportation Office where persons applying for driver’s licenses or seeking renewal of the same, including those applying for jobs locally and abroad, flock to daily.
Jacinto refused to comment on whether the LTO had any hand in the sprouting of drug testing laboratories near their various offices in the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, including the cities and capitals.
He said that based on his evaluation, 20 more of the remaining 65 drug testing laboratories in the entire Region 1 are set to be closed beginning next year, when they will be renewing their respective licenses.
All were found to be violating certain provisions of the expanded dangerous drugs act of 2002 or Republic Act No. 9165, which tasked the DOH with the duty of accrediting drug testing centers with the standards set by the DOH.
The drug testing laboratories must follow the standards in order to ferret out those who are really using drugs, otherwise, drivers’ licenses may be issued even to persons who have dangerous drugs habit.
Padlocked by the DOH since last week were the JPG Drug Testing Laboratory and Jecart Drug Testing Laboratory, both in Burgos, Ilocos Norte and Estat Laboratory in Sinait, Ilocos Norte.
All three were found to be conducting drug testing and urine examination for applicants for drivers’ licenses without having any accreditation from the DOH.
At the JPG Drug Testing Center, Jacinto confiscated 72 drivers’ licenses, some of which already expired and others about-to-expire with respective supporting papers from the LTO, which was allegedly being fast-tracked for issuance of drug testing certificates even without the presence of the owners thereof to personally take the drug test.
Taking charge of the drug testing center was not the accredited analyst but only the urine collector.
Suspended twice was the Hashy Drug Testing Laboratory in Dagupan City after it was found by the DOH to be performing and conducting drug testing and urine examination without a registered and trained analyst who must be a medical technologist.
Jacinto said that a duly accredited drug testing center must present the result of the drug test, whether positive or negative, in computer printouts. The results in bogus testing center are usually presented manually or written in long hand by the supposed center “analysts.”
Dr. Reynaldo Jacinto, chief of the enforcement and regulations division of DOH regional office, said three drug testing laboratories had already been padlocked and another was already suspended twice for making a mockery of the law.
All of these were located near branches of the Land Transportation Office where persons applying for driver’s licenses or seeking renewal of the same, including those applying for jobs locally and abroad, flock to daily.
Jacinto refused to comment on whether the LTO had any hand in the sprouting of drug testing laboratories near their various offices in the provinces of Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, including the cities and capitals.
He said that based on his evaluation, 20 more of the remaining 65 drug testing laboratories in the entire Region 1 are set to be closed beginning next year, when they will be renewing their respective licenses.
All were found to be violating certain provisions of the expanded dangerous drugs act of 2002 or Republic Act No. 9165, which tasked the DOH with the duty of accrediting drug testing centers with the standards set by the DOH.
The drug testing laboratories must follow the standards in order to ferret out those who are really using drugs, otherwise, drivers’ licenses may be issued even to persons who have dangerous drugs habit.
Padlocked by the DOH since last week were the JPG Drug Testing Laboratory and Jecart Drug Testing Laboratory, both in Burgos, Ilocos Norte and Estat Laboratory in Sinait, Ilocos Norte.
All three were found to be conducting drug testing and urine examination for applicants for drivers’ licenses without having any accreditation from the DOH.
At the JPG Drug Testing Center, Jacinto confiscated 72 drivers’ licenses, some of which already expired and others about-to-expire with respective supporting papers from the LTO, which was allegedly being fast-tracked for issuance of drug testing certificates even without the presence of the owners thereof to personally take the drug test.
Taking charge of the drug testing center was not the accredited analyst but only the urine collector.
Suspended twice was the Hashy Drug Testing Laboratory in Dagupan City after it was found by the DOH to be performing and conducting drug testing and urine examination without a registered and trained analyst who must be a medical technologist.
Jacinto said that a duly accredited drug testing center must present the result of the drug test, whether positive or negative, in computer printouts. The results in bogus testing center are usually presented manually or written in long hand by the supposed center “analysts.”
Manaoag veem Garcia dies; 69
MANAOAG – The vice mayor of Manaoag, who served as town mayor for three consecutive terms or nine years passed away Tuesday after suffering a heart attack.
Vice Mayor Pedrito Garcia, 69, died on arrival at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City past noon Tuesday where he was rushed by aides after he collapsed while at the town’s Pyramid of Asia Resort.
Still unmarried, Garcia was mayor of Manaoag from 1995 to 2004, completing the three-term limit. In his desire to continue his service to his constituents, he ran for vice mayor as an independent bet in last year’s May election and still won.
Mayor Napoleon Sales, who was vice mayor of Garcia for nine consecutive years, led his townmates in mourning the demise of Garcia.
As mayor, Garcia was the chief architect in the emergence of Manaoag as one of central Pangasinan’s fast-moving municipalities, living up to its reputation as religious capital of the province of Pangasinan.
A loyal partner of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan, Garcia was a lawyer by profession who responded to the irresistible call for public service.
He will be succeeded by Councilor Kim Michael Amador, the youngest member of the municipal council, who topped the council race on his first political try.
Amador himself is facing an election protest filed by a defeated candidate for councilor which is still pending before the Commission of Elections.
The new vice mayor is the son of Alcide Amador, an official of the Department of Environment and National Resources in Region III and the former Dahlia de Guzman of the Philippine Tourism Authority. (PNA)
Vice Mayor Pedrito Garcia, 69, died on arrival at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City past noon Tuesday where he was rushed by aides after he collapsed while at the town’s Pyramid of Asia Resort.
Still unmarried, Garcia was mayor of Manaoag from 1995 to 2004, completing the three-term limit. In his desire to continue his service to his constituents, he ran for vice mayor as an independent bet in last year’s May election and still won.
Mayor Napoleon Sales, who was vice mayor of Garcia for nine consecutive years, led his townmates in mourning the demise of Garcia.
As mayor, Garcia was the chief architect in the emergence of Manaoag as one of central Pangasinan’s fast-moving municipalities, living up to its reputation as religious capital of the province of Pangasinan.
A loyal partner of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan, Garcia was a lawyer by profession who responded to the irresistible call for public service.
He will be succeeded by Councilor Kim Michael Amador, the youngest member of the municipal council, who topped the council race on his first political try.
Amador himself is facing an election protest filed by a defeated candidate for councilor which is still pending before the Commission of Elections.
The new vice mayor is the son of Alcide Amador, an official of the Department of Environment and National Resources in Region III and the former Dahlia de Guzman of the Philippine Tourism Authority. (PNA)
DPWH readies bike lanes for province
ROSALES – The Department of Public Works and Highways has ordered its district engineers in Pangasinan to look for national highways where bike lanes can be designated.
DPWH Regional Director Fidel Ginez coursed the order to the province’s four highway district engineers in line with the government’s austerity program being actively supported by his office.
He said the bike lanes along national highways could be declared exclusively for bikers and off limits to motorists to minimize accidents.
The move, he said, seeks to encourage employees and even students to ride on bicycles in going to their respective offices and schools for them to save on cash and gasoline in this period of fuel crisis.
Ginez however said full caution will be exerted by authorities, knowing that national highways in the province are where motorists usually overspeed , thus posing great risk to bikers.
National highways in the provinces are traversed by fast-moving vehicles, unlike in Metro Manila, where vehicles normally travel at a slower pace, he said.
Ginez believes however that through sound planning on present and future highways, the bike lanes can be put up soon.
Ginez did not specify when the bike lanes are projected to be operational.
DPWH Regional Director Fidel Ginez coursed the order to the province’s four highway district engineers in line with the government’s austerity program being actively supported by his office.
He said the bike lanes along national highways could be declared exclusively for bikers and off limits to motorists to minimize accidents.
The move, he said, seeks to encourage employees and even students to ride on bicycles in going to their respective offices and schools for them to save on cash and gasoline in this period of fuel crisis.
Ginez however said full caution will be exerted by authorities, knowing that national highways in the province are where motorists usually overspeed , thus posing great risk to bikers.
National highways in the provinces are traversed by fast-moving vehicles, unlike in Metro Manila, where vehicles normally travel at a slower pace, he said.
Ginez believes however that through sound planning on present and future highways, the bike lanes can be put up soon.
Ginez did not specify when the bike lanes are projected to be operational.
PAGIO pushes for SEC Registration
By Venus May H. Sarmiento
LINGAYEN – The Pangasinan Association of Government Information Officers (PAGIO) the organization of information officers of various government agencies in the province, is set for registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In its board meeting held recently, P/Supt Ricardo Tamayo, community relations and information officer of the PNP and PAGIO president said all efforts are being done to make PAGIO a duly registered entity by next month. Duly accomplished membership forms are now complete and all requirements were already produced including the association’s seed capital.
Initiated and guided by the Philippine Information Agency-Pangasinan Information Center, two years ago, with the cooperation of the heads of government agencies, PAGIO provides a venue for members to orient other agencies on their own offices’ updated activities/projects for wider awareness and more mature interaction.
PIA InfoCenter Manager Behn Fer Hortaleza, Jr., during last week’s meeting provided insights on the rejected impeachment proceedings and how it impacts onm national development. He also asked the members to assist their respective offices in promoting energy conservation as the energy crisis is real.
Hortaleza also urged everyone to be properly informed of the basic reasons and arguments for Charter change irrespective of whether this takes the form of a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly.
Tamayo and Hortaleza finally reminded everyone not to be disturbed by what other people are doing to topple the administration. They instead urged everyone to remain vigilant and be the last people to withdraw support from duly constituted authorities.
LINGAYEN – The Pangasinan Association of Government Information Officers (PAGIO) the organization of information officers of various government agencies in the province, is set for registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In its board meeting held recently, P/Supt Ricardo Tamayo, community relations and information officer of the PNP and PAGIO president said all efforts are being done to make PAGIO a duly registered entity by next month. Duly accomplished membership forms are now complete and all requirements were already produced including the association’s seed capital.
Initiated and guided by the Philippine Information Agency-Pangasinan Information Center, two years ago, with the cooperation of the heads of government agencies, PAGIO provides a venue for members to orient other agencies on their own offices’ updated activities/projects for wider awareness and more mature interaction.
PIA InfoCenter Manager Behn Fer Hortaleza, Jr., during last week’s meeting provided insights on the rejected impeachment proceedings and how it impacts onm national development. He also asked the members to assist their respective offices in promoting energy conservation as the energy crisis is real.
Hortaleza also urged everyone to be properly informed of the basic reasons and arguments for Charter change irrespective of whether this takes the form of a constitutional convention or a constituent assembly.
Tamayo and Hortaleza finally reminded everyone not to be disturbed by what other people are doing to topple the administration. They instead urged everyone to remain vigilant and be the last people to withdraw support from duly constituted authorities.
2 MONTHS AFTER: Slain veem’s wife decries cold trail
MAPANDAN – The family of slain Vice-Mayor Adolfo Aquino has yet to see justice served more than two months after an assassin felled him with bullets.
Aquino’s widow, Eden, lamented that the police has yet to solve the case allegedly for lack of witnesses. “Sabi nila wala raw maglakas loob na magtestigo,” she said.
The National Bureau of Investigation however was able to interview some witnesses, she disclosed. Apparently, the public trusts the NBI much more than the police, she added.
The NBI is now looking for the assassin who is expected to spill the beans on the mastermind once he is caught and investigated.
She said the killer is still alive, this according to her sources, contrary to assumptions he might have been killed already to render the case unsolved like all other political killings in the province.
The suspect, she bared, enjoys the protection of a government official whom he however refused to identify.
Aquino was gunned down by a lone assassin on July 6 at past 6 pm while talking to a friend at the town hall premises. He had just come from the regular session of the sangguniang bayan and was about to go home on board his vehicle when he decided to stop and talk to his friend.
The suspect casually walked towards them and shot Aquino. He walked toward the cemetery after the incident where he lost himself from pursuing policemen.
For failure to respond immediately, the entire town police force including the police chief was sacked and the members ordered to undergo retraining.
PNP Director Arturo Lomibao personally visited Mapandan to assess the situation and formed Task Force Aquino under then provincial deputy director Edgar Basbas who has since been transferred to Dagupan as chief of police.
Supt. Jessie Cardona replaced Basbas as head of the task force No word has come out from Cardona either till now, the slain vice mayor’s wife said.
The police resumed investigation after CPP founder Jose Maria Sison in an interview over local radio disowned a claim that the NPA rebels killed Aquino for his alleged sins against the people. Sison said the rebels work by regions so that it was unlikely that Mindoro-based rebels would operate in a far province like Pangasinan.
A supposed NPA statement last month sent to and read by a radio station that supposedly owned up to the killing seemingly led police to consider the matter closed.
Aquino’s widow said she would not stop working for the solution of the case. She admitted that she and her family continue to receive threats. (DOS/PIA)
Aquino’s widow, Eden, lamented that the police has yet to solve the case allegedly for lack of witnesses. “Sabi nila wala raw maglakas loob na magtestigo,” she said.
The National Bureau of Investigation however was able to interview some witnesses, she disclosed. Apparently, the public trusts the NBI much more than the police, she added.
The NBI is now looking for the assassin who is expected to spill the beans on the mastermind once he is caught and investigated.
She said the killer is still alive, this according to her sources, contrary to assumptions he might have been killed already to render the case unsolved like all other political killings in the province.
The suspect, she bared, enjoys the protection of a government official whom he however refused to identify.
Aquino was gunned down by a lone assassin on July 6 at past 6 pm while talking to a friend at the town hall premises. He had just come from the regular session of the sangguniang bayan and was about to go home on board his vehicle when he decided to stop and talk to his friend.
The suspect casually walked towards them and shot Aquino. He walked toward the cemetery after the incident where he lost himself from pursuing policemen.
For failure to respond immediately, the entire town police force including the police chief was sacked and the members ordered to undergo retraining.
PNP Director Arturo Lomibao personally visited Mapandan to assess the situation and formed Task Force Aquino under then provincial deputy director Edgar Basbas who has since been transferred to Dagupan as chief of police.
Supt. Jessie Cardona replaced Basbas as head of the task force No word has come out from Cardona either till now, the slain vice mayor’s wife said.
The police resumed investigation after CPP founder Jose Maria Sison in an interview over local radio disowned a claim that the NPA rebels killed Aquino for his alleged sins against the people. Sison said the rebels work by regions so that it was unlikely that Mindoro-based rebels would operate in a far province like Pangasinan.
A supposed NPA statement last month sent to and read by a radio station that supposedly owned up to the killing seemingly led police to consider the matter closed.
Aquino’s widow said she would not stop working for the solution of the case. She admitted that she and her family continue to receive threats. (DOS/PIA)
Dengue cases waning but alert remains
LINGAYEN – The dengue disease may now be tapering off in Pangasinan but government doctors have warned that people should not lower their guard yet as the rainy season is still here.
Dr. Edwin Murillo, provincial health officer reported that for the past two weeks, only 56 cases of dengue fever were registered province-wide, bringing the number of recorded cases since January this year to 310.
Murillo said another indication that dengue is now on the way out is the fact that the number of fatalities remained at four.
There is still a need to heed the call for people to keep their surroundings free of stagnant water, the favorite breeding ground of the day-biting aedis aegypti mosquito that causes dengue, the PHO advised. .
“The threat is always there as long as there remains stagnant water where the mosquitoes can lay their eggs,” Murillo said.
The provincial government has been extending full support to the fogging and larvicidal activities being conducted by the Provincial Health Office ever since, Murillo added.
Health officials have noted the increased level of public awareness and cooperation in the effort to eradicate the disease as a result of massive information campaign waged from the municipal down to barangay levels.
Dr. Edwin Murillo, provincial health officer reported that for the past two weeks, only 56 cases of dengue fever were registered province-wide, bringing the number of recorded cases since January this year to 310.
Murillo said another indication that dengue is now on the way out is the fact that the number of fatalities remained at four.
There is still a need to heed the call for people to keep their surroundings free of stagnant water, the favorite breeding ground of the day-biting aedis aegypti mosquito that causes dengue, the PHO advised. .
“The threat is always there as long as there remains stagnant water where the mosquitoes can lay their eggs,” Murillo said.
The provincial government has been extending full support to the fogging and larvicidal activities being conducted by the Provincial Health Office ever since, Murillo added.
Health officials have noted the increased level of public awareness and cooperation in the effort to eradicate the disease as a result of massive information campaign waged from the municipal down to barangay levels.
City Fiesta 2005 preparations on
PREPARATIONS for the 2005 City Fiesta is in full swing to ensure another festive ambience for Dagupeños here and abroad.
This year’s hermano mayor Councilor Alex de Venecia, who was recently appointed by Mayor Benjamin S. Lim held a consultation meeting with various sectors last Tuesday to discuss possible highlights of the upcoming festivity.
De Venecia said that a first-ever search for Mrs. Dagupan International 2005 will be the main event of the fiesta celebration. All candidates vying for the title will be coming from abroad, he said.
The first three listed candidates are: Elvira Mitchell from La Mesa, California, Virginia Nonan from Vallejo, California and Pauline Perez also from California.
According to de Venecia, the search for Mrs. Dagupan International was organized by the city government to raise fund for its projects such as providing housing needs for the poor, revival of the Helping Hand Foundation and other similar livelihood projects. Part of the proceeds will also go to the purchase of laboratory equipment for the city health office.
Some of the initial proposed activities for the week-long city fiesta include a Battle of the Bands playing original composition of contestants about having fun in Dagupan, a river cruise, free concerts, caroling contest, swimming contest, badminton and bowling tournament, launching of Adopt-A-Barangay project, trade show, leisurely bike tour and street painting contest. (CIO/Leizel T. Cayabyab)
This year’s hermano mayor Councilor Alex de Venecia, who was recently appointed by Mayor Benjamin S. Lim held a consultation meeting with various sectors last Tuesday to discuss possible highlights of the upcoming festivity.
De Venecia said that a first-ever search for Mrs. Dagupan International 2005 will be the main event of the fiesta celebration. All candidates vying for the title will be coming from abroad, he said.
The first three listed candidates are: Elvira Mitchell from La Mesa, California, Virginia Nonan from Vallejo, California and Pauline Perez also from California.
According to de Venecia, the search for Mrs. Dagupan International was organized by the city government to raise fund for its projects such as providing housing needs for the poor, revival of the Helping Hand Foundation and other similar livelihood projects. Part of the proceeds will also go to the purchase of laboratory equipment for the city health office.
Some of the initial proposed activities for the week-long city fiesta include a Battle of the Bands playing original composition of contestants about having fun in Dagupan, a river cruise, free concerts, caroling contest, swimming contest, badminton and bowling tournament, launching of Adopt-A-Barangay project, trade show, leisurely bike tour and street painting contest. (CIO/Leizel T. Cayabyab)
Dagupan veem chides pro-impeach solons
PRO-IMPEACHMENT congressmen were urged to respect the rule of the majority that prevailed in the voting at the House of Representatives when the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was decided upon. .
Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez chided the fired up emotions of opposition congressmen when the complaint for impeachment was defeated by a vote of 58 “yes”, 51 “no” and 6 “abstention” in the longest session ever at the House of Representatives.
“The House of Congress must be the venue for the rule of law. As lawmakers they can not afford to project themselves as law-breakers. They should be gracious in accepting these realities,” he said.
Fernandez however saluted Rep. Peter Alan Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros) for best articulating his own view of what is right, according to his perception.
“Judging from what we heard and seen, it was the rule of law that prevailed. It is the standard of law which is by practice referred to jurisprudence made by the Supreme Court that was followed,” Fernandez said.
He said that in this standard, the outcome of the voting could be viewed as wrong in the opinion of some congressmen. Since the majority rules in a democracy however, the votes of a larger number of congressmen must be respected.
Fernandez said anyone who has a clear conscience and good faith in what he believes in, is right in what he feels is right, adding that as a human being, one must realize that freedom cannot be absolute.
Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez chided the fired up emotions of opposition congressmen when the complaint for impeachment was defeated by a vote of 58 “yes”, 51 “no” and 6 “abstention” in the longest session ever at the House of Representatives.
“The House of Congress must be the venue for the rule of law. As lawmakers they can not afford to project themselves as law-breakers. They should be gracious in accepting these realities,” he said.
Fernandez however saluted Rep. Peter Alan Cayetano (Taguig-Pateros) for best articulating his own view of what is right, according to his perception.
“Judging from what we heard and seen, it was the rule of law that prevailed. It is the standard of law which is by practice referred to jurisprudence made by the Supreme Court that was followed,” Fernandez said.
He said that in this standard, the outcome of the voting could be viewed as wrong in the opinion of some congressmen. Since the majority rules in a democracy however, the votes of a larger number of congressmen must be respected.
Fernandez said anyone who has a clear conscience and good faith in what he believes in, is right in what he feels is right, adding that as a human being, one must realize that freedom cannot be absolute.
Devotees flock to Bolinao to see alleged apparition
BOLINAO – Devotees are flocking to this town, some 280 kilometers north of Manila, to see an alleged apparition of the image of the crucifix said to have appeared in the concrete walls of the century-old St. James Catholic church.
Mayor Alfonso Celeste said over the radio that he saw the image of Jesus formed on the walls of the Catholic church. He said the image is more visible with little illumination at night than during the day.
The image of the crucified Jesus, he said, was formed from vein-like cracks over the walls of the church that was built way back in the Spanish era and believed to be the oldest church standing in the province today.
Long queues of vehicles bringing devotees have been arriving in the town. Tourism in the town has grown overnight.
A television crew from Manila is now in Bolinao documenting the alleged apparition and the swell of devotees to the town, the mayor said.
Bolinao was an old Spanish port lying west of the Lingayen Gulf. It served as a trading center in the Spanish era where Spanish galleons and Chinese sampans were stopping over to trade with the natives.
Mayor Alfonso Celeste said over the radio that he saw the image of Jesus formed on the walls of the Catholic church. He said the image is more visible with little illumination at night than during the day.
The image of the crucified Jesus, he said, was formed from vein-like cracks over the walls of the church that was built way back in the Spanish era and believed to be the oldest church standing in the province today.
Long queues of vehicles bringing devotees have been arriving in the town. Tourism in the town has grown overnight.
A television crew from Manila is now in Bolinao documenting the alleged apparition and the swell of devotees to the town, the mayor said.
Bolinao was an old Spanish port lying west of the Lingayen Gulf. It served as a trading center in the Spanish era where Spanish galleons and Chinese sampans were stopping over to trade with the natives.
Worried fishpen owners prematurely harvest
A NEW fishkill here spawned premature harvesting of milkfish (bangus) from various fishpens, forcing a slight decrease in the price of the commodity from P70 per kilogram to as low as P50 to P60 per kilogram.
Close to 100,000 pieces of bangus of marketable sizes were harvested overnight by fishpen owners of barangay Salapingao here since Tuesday morning after they noticed their milkfish jumping from the surface of the water as if gasping for breath.
Officials monitoring the situation initially blamed the fishkill to the sudden change in water temperature as a result of latest sudden heavy rains over the Dagupan City area that disturbed the water in various rivers.
They advised fishpen owners to use aerators in their pens to save their remaining milkfish as the water in various rivers is now almost stagnant and appeared not flowing anymore.
With aerators, fresh air is injected into the water for the fish to breath, they said. They advised pen owners to continue the process till the water quality improves.
A radio report said eight fishpen owners prematurely harvested their milkfish which they unloaded at the same time at the Dagupan City Fish Market, creating a temporary oversupply of the commodity.
The office of City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina has dispatched teams to the city’s island villages that are teeming with fish pens to find out if other fishpen owners were also affected. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources was also asked to conduct an environmental investigation in various rivers to ascertain the exact cause of the fishkill.(PNA)
Close to 100,000 pieces of bangus of marketable sizes were harvested overnight by fishpen owners of barangay Salapingao here since Tuesday morning after they noticed their milkfish jumping from the surface of the water as if gasping for breath.
Officials monitoring the situation initially blamed the fishkill to the sudden change in water temperature as a result of latest sudden heavy rains over the Dagupan City area that disturbed the water in various rivers.
They advised fishpen owners to use aerators in their pens to save their remaining milkfish as the water in various rivers is now almost stagnant and appeared not flowing anymore.
With aerators, fresh air is injected into the water for the fish to breath, they said. They advised pen owners to continue the process till the water quality improves.
A radio report said eight fishpen owners prematurely harvested their milkfish which they unloaded at the same time at the Dagupan City Fish Market, creating a temporary oversupply of the commodity.
The office of City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina has dispatched teams to the city’s island villages that are teeming with fish pens to find out if other fishpen owners were also affected. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources was also asked to conduct an environmental investigation in various rivers to ascertain the exact cause of the fishkill.(PNA)
PHOTO: Gov't information officers
The Pangasinan Association of Government Information Officers (PAGIO) with the guidance of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) move towards official recognition of their group with the signing of their application papers for registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)during last week’s board meeting at the PNP provincial office conference room. Photo shows PIA Infocenter Manager Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr. and PAGIO president and PNP-Pangasinan community relations officer, Supt Ricardo Tamayo, signing the registration forms assisted by Vice President Merlita R. Tibalao. The PAGIO officers and directors with PIA staff later posed with PNP provincial Director Alan LM Purisima during their courtesy call on the host head of office. (PIA Photos by Roland Naoe )
OPINYON: Baleg a ordinansa, dagdaiset balet so akabasa?
SAYAN INDIO
Mario F. Karateka
SIGURO, agmet natetel a tua yay kaaro tayon Senyor Robert Erfe Mejia na Pablik Order en Septi Opis (POSO) no ipasumpal toy ley, say balon ordinansa trapiko parad pinasimbalon “day coding system” na Dagupan, anggaman dakel so reklamo na draybers ya kulang kono so pakabat no kapigan inmepekto so asalitan ordinansa.
Si Mama Robert met lanti et igagangan labat na baley pian ipasompal ed totoo so atibokel iran regulasyones. Onia, mas o menos, so ebat nen REM nen tinawagan nen editor tayon BFH pian palinewen so ingongot tan ey-ey daray draybers nipaakar ed bigla (kono) ya impaneerel na POSO ed sikara ta manlapula nen Setyembre 8 anta tatalaranan day publikasyon na ordinans ed lokal iran dyrayo et anggapomet (kono) so abasa ra.
Duara ed taloran mankokompleyn ya draybers (sakey Downtown tan sakey Bonuan Boquig) ed kinen editor Behn mi et mangibabagan amta damet ya ipablis ni antis ya onepekto so ley, kanian ilaloan dan ibagamet ed sikara no kapigan tan no iner nipablis o niperyodiko so asalitan ordinansa – pian amta dan bilangen so agew kono tan nakabat do no kapigan onepektola.
Anggapomet kono so abasa ra.
Panon to tan natan ey, ta ineerel dalara tan panmumultaen na sanlibo sanlasus lapud pinmasadarad oras ya walanid paway na oras ya nigetar na ordinansa. “Ansakit a tuloy itay libon multa, “ kuandaray aboridon narel ya draybers.
Kuay Mama Robert na POSO balet, ag kinmulang so opisina ra ed abiso ed saray presidente na olopan o grupos na saray draybers – anggaman aminado met ya agdalara tinipon o miniting so amin a draybers tan opereytors dia ya manbilang na talon libo, onsolok ag onkulang. Arom a salita, impalimad saray presidentes na asosasyon daranian draybers so pangipakabat ed kapigan onepekto so ordinansa.
Nen impanlupaan kono nen Mama Robert so presidente na moyongay sakey grupo na draybers tan saray miyembro-draybers tora lapud sayan mismon kompleyn, say buwelta na presidente asosasyon kono et saramay manrereklamo et agira ondadagup ed miting kanian agda amtay nagagawa. Naksit ka balong!
Parad say siak met, walanin siansia so nankulangay gobyerno siyudad – atensiyon sanggunian panlungsod – ta no akin et amta kabat dan baleg so importansiya tonian ordinansa ta lapu lanti walay “penal clause” to odino multan getar ya makaapektod saray dakel a totoo (draybers) – saksakey so angipablisan dan dyaryo (o anggan duara ni) ed satan a ley.
Nepeg ta masyadon makaapektod publiko lanti, pinalaknab dani komon so publikasyon to ed anggan limara o anemiran dyaryo ni. Ag nipasompal so tuan getma na ley parad suston pakabat ta say agawa limitado labat so akabasa ed saman a ordinansa.
Say suririk: Isuspendi ni komon na sanggunian so saman ya ley tan abuluyan ya walay nagawan mas malaknab ya impormasyon pian agmet agrabyado iray kabaleyan ya draybers tan opereytors. Lorey ka tay nilibon multa ay, kasian yoray maniirap, agagi!
Mario F. Karateka
SIGURO, agmet natetel a tua yay kaaro tayon Senyor Robert Erfe Mejia na Pablik Order en Septi Opis (POSO) no ipasumpal toy ley, say balon ordinansa trapiko parad pinasimbalon “day coding system” na Dagupan, anggaman dakel so reklamo na draybers ya kulang kono so pakabat no kapigan inmepekto so asalitan ordinansa.
Si Mama Robert met lanti et igagangan labat na baley pian ipasompal ed totoo so atibokel iran regulasyones. Onia, mas o menos, so ebat nen REM nen tinawagan nen editor tayon BFH pian palinewen so ingongot tan ey-ey daray draybers nipaakar ed bigla (kono) ya impaneerel na POSO ed sikara ta manlapula nen Setyembre 8 anta tatalaranan day publikasyon na ordinans ed lokal iran dyrayo et anggapomet (kono) so abasa ra.
Duara ed taloran mankokompleyn ya draybers (sakey Downtown tan sakey Bonuan Boquig) ed kinen editor Behn mi et mangibabagan amta damet ya ipablis ni antis ya onepekto so ley, kanian ilaloan dan ibagamet ed sikara no kapigan tan no iner nipablis o niperyodiko so asalitan ordinansa – pian amta dan bilangen so agew kono tan nakabat do no kapigan onepektola.
Anggapomet kono so abasa ra.
Panon to tan natan ey, ta ineerel dalara tan panmumultaen na sanlibo sanlasus lapud pinmasadarad oras ya walanid paway na oras ya nigetar na ordinansa. “Ansakit a tuloy itay libon multa, “ kuandaray aboridon narel ya draybers.
Kuay Mama Robert na POSO balet, ag kinmulang so opisina ra ed abiso ed saray presidente na olopan o grupos na saray draybers – anggaman aminado met ya agdalara tinipon o miniting so amin a draybers tan opereytors dia ya manbilang na talon libo, onsolok ag onkulang. Arom a salita, impalimad saray presidentes na asosasyon daranian draybers so pangipakabat ed kapigan onepekto so ordinansa.
Nen impanlupaan kono nen Mama Robert so presidente na moyongay sakey grupo na draybers tan saray miyembro-draybers tora lapud sayan mismon kompleyn, say buwelta na presidente asosasyon kono et saramay manrereklamo et agira ondadagup ed miting kanian agda amtay nagagawa. Naksit ka balong!
Parad say siak met, walanin siansia so nankulangay gobyerno siyudad – atensiyon sanggunian panlungsod – ta no akin et amta kabat dan baleg so importansiya tonian ordinansa ta lapu lanti walay “penal clause” to odino multan getar ya makaapektod saray dakel a totoo (draybers) – saksakey so angipablisan dan dyaryo (o anggan duara ni) ed satan a ley.
Nepeg ta masyadon makaapektod publiko lanti, pinalaknab dani komon so publikasyon to ed anggan limara o anemiran dyaryo ni. Ag nipasompal so tuan getma na ley parad suston pakabat ta say agawa limitado labat so akabasa ed saman a ordinansa.
Say suririk: Isuspendi ni komon na sanggunian so saman ya ley tan abuluyan ya walay nagawan mas malaknab ya impormasyon pian agmet agrabyado iray kabaleyan ya draybers tan opereytors. Lorey ka tay nilibon multa ay, kasian yoray maniirap, agagi!
EDITORIAL: The shortest distance between two points is a circle?
WHY, in Benjamin’s name, should the government (translated: Department of Public Works and Highways) want to spend more when it can spend less? And why should it prefer to build a longer road when it can construct a shorter one and still achieve its purpose?
To those who are wise to the ways of government transactions, these questions would seem pretty, pretty stupid. They need not be asked at all. Without us spelling out the obvious reason though, we know that somehow, a politician like Mayor Benjamin S. Lim already has the answer.
In the case of the Dawel-Pantal-Lucao circumferential road project, the dream project of House Speaker Jose C. de Venecia, the bone of contention is the additional P80 million or so that will have to be taken from government coffers in order to complete the road project --under an arbitrarily altered road alignment plan. Were the original road alignment to be followed which would exit and link directly to the present de Venecia highway thru the NelArs posh subdivision, a distance of some 650 meters only, the expense for civil works would have been just P28.5 million.
Now that some wise guys at DPWH, for one reason or the other, decided to move earth, do fillings and embankments further down, extending the road to pass at the back of CSI The City Mall then circling the Arco-Bautista road before finally linking up with the De Venecia highway – an additional road length of 1,480 meters (by the city mayor’s office measurement) – the cost is up by P65.12 million.
We won’t go into the “business” angle that may have influenced this infrastructure design maneuver because, for all we know, despite the seeming ill-logic and impractical appearance of the change in plan, DPWH might just have “plausible” reasons for it the way it often does when caught in a bind.
What we’d just like to ask is why, thru all these months of construction of the road, no one but no one had bothered to tell the city, thru BSL, why there was a change in the plans. (And for that matter, was JDV informed at all too?) The way it happened, it looks like someone or some people were putting one over BSL, that’s the inescapable conclusion. For what great motive, that’s for the planners to hide and for the mayor to learn too late – except that he found out about the caper, and came up with a satellite photo evidence besides, rather early in the “game.”
To those who are wise to the ways of government transactions, these questions would seem pretty, pretty stupid. They need not be asked at all. Without us spelling out the obvious reason though, we know that somehow, a politician like Mayor Benjamin S. Lim already has the answer.
In the case of the Dawel-Pantal-Lucao circumferential road project, the dream project of House Speaker Jose C. de Venecia, the bone of contention is the additional P80 million or so that will have to be taken from government coffers in order to complete the road project --under an arbitrarily altered road alignment plan. Were the original road alignment to be followed which would exit and link directly to the present de Venecia highway thru the NelArs posh subdivision, a distance of some 650 meters only, the expense for civil works would have been just P28.5 million.
Now that some wise guys at DPWH, for one reason or the other, decided to move earth, do fillings and embankments further down, extending the road to pass at the back of CSI The City Mall then circling the Arco-Bautista road before finally linking up with the De Venecia highway – an additional road length of 1,480 meters (by the city mayor’s office measurement) – the cost is up by P65.12 million.
We won’t go into the “business” angle that may have influenced this infrastructure design maneuver because, for all we know, despite the seeming ill-logic and impractical appearance of the change in plan, DPWH might just have “plausible” reasons for it the way it often does when caught in a bind.
What we’d just like to ask is why, thru all these months of construction of the road, no one but no one had bothered to tell the city, thru BSL, why there was a change in the plans. (And for that matter, was JDV informed at all too?) The way it happened, it looks like someone or some people were putting one over BSL, that’s the inescapable conclusion. For what great motive, that’s for the planners to hide and for the mayor to learn too late – except that he found out about the caper, and came up with a satellite photo evidence besides, rather early in the “game.”
OPINION: Cops on the beat & ordinance that hurts
AFTER ALL
Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr
OH, yeah, we like it!
And so do many Dagupenos we’ve talked to.
The sight of regular uniformed cops walking by pairs in and around the city, something we’ve not seen for a long time, police chief after each reassigned police chief, gives many Dagupenos this added feeling of safety – and the quiet satisfaction that they’re finally getting their taxes’ worth from their sworn public protectors.
It was such a simple order to make and yet many previous police chiefs (provincial police directors?) somehow forgot to bark it to their men at the Dagupan City’s Finest – go out and really pound the beat, talk to pedestrians, watch out for suspicious characters, get direct and actual confidential info from otherwise hostile sources, observe the hour-by-hour pace of life of ordinary citizens like you were their true guardian angel.
We don’t know how long the welcome change among the men of Sr. Supt Edgar Basbas, the new police chief (he’s actually been in the saddle for a month or so now) insofar as physical police presence in the main thoroughfares will last. Maybe until their conspicuous grey-blue uniforms fade from the constant patrolling under sun and rain, or maybe until their regulation shoes get worn out on the heels. Someone quipped – until Basbas gets thrown out as in the vernacular term ibasibas.
Whatever, we’ve always believed police devotion to duty should always start with the basics. After all, that’s how the cops of old did their job, full sacrifice and great honesty, earning the admiration of a grateful populace.
Seeing the present uniformed ones engaged in friendly banters with people on the sidewalk, talking to a storeowner at a roadside in Malued one early morning, taking down notes as an ordinary barber blabs on in front of him at corner Perez-Herrero, watchful on any sign of something amiss among passersby along Arellano-Bani, even (and this, a friend had seen personally) helping an elderly woman in ragged clothes with his apo cross the street at the busy downtown area just rekindles tremendous affection and fondness for the often derided pulis.
Your friendly neighborhood cop is back. Let’s hope things stay that way.
* * * *
Thru this space, we’d like to take the cudgels up for city jeepney drivers who had meekly sought us out last week -- one of them as we rode on his Bonuan-bound jeepney and he somehow recognized us, glancing up to his front mirror as he talked and drove -- bewailing their being caught unawares by the effectivity of the new day coding system for public utility vehicles.
It turns out from our talks with POSO bossman Robert E.Mejia and sangguniang panlungsod info officer Ging Cardinoza that the ordinance indeed had already taken effect (“since last September 8,” Mejia said) after its publication in a local newspaper.
Now, it’s the familiar finger-pointing on how come some drivers and operators appeared not to know exactly when the ordinance was published - a vital knowledge that would have guided them about its actual start of implementation in order to avoid apprehensions and the gargantuan fine of P1,000 per violation. The drivers blame POSO for its heartlessness, the POSO blames the association presidents and representatives for failing to advise or notify their complaining members, the members blame their heads of association for not duly informing them and the heads of jeepney associations toss the blame back to the driver-members for not attending the meetings where such matters were disseminated.
In all these, one thing’s quite apparent: Not everyone read the ordinance published in a local newspaper. And so, not everyone knew that the counter for all violations had started. Thus,the griping and howling and cursing at the gates.
The sangguniang panlungsod may just want to correct the lapse in judgment and quiet down the noise by (okay gentlemen and ladies, just a studied suggestion here) suspending the ordinance implementation till such time that the requirement for due and adequate publication has been satisfied. What’s P25,000 or so for the additional publication of the ordinance in at least five more newspapers to gain the needed maximum public information?
That’s peanuts, some other expenses for “public welfare” of that body considering.
Behn Fer. Hortaleza, Jr
OH, yeah, we like it!
And so do many Dagupenos we’ve talked to.
The sight of regular uniformed cops walking by pairs in and around the city, something we’ve not seen for a long time, police chief after each reassigned police chief, gives many Dagupenos this added feeling of safety – and the quiet satisfaction that they’re finally getting their taxes’ worth from their sworn public protectors.
It was such a simple order to make and yet many previous police chiefs (provincial police directors?) somehow forgot to bark it to their men at the Dagupan City’s Finest – go out and really pound the beat, talk to pedestrians, watch out for suspicious characters, get direct and actual confidential info from otherwise hostile sources, observe the hour-by-hour pace of life of ordinary citizens like you were their true guardian angel.
We don’t know how long the welcome change among the men of Sr. Supt Edgar Basbas, the new police chief (he’s actually been in the saddle for a month or so now) insofar as physical police presence in the main thoroughfares will last. Maybe until their conspicuous grey-blue uniforms fade from the constant patrolling under sun and rain, or maybe until their regulation shoes get worn out on the heels. Someone quipped – until Basbas gets thrown out as in the vernacular term ibasibas.
Whatever, we’ve always believed police devotion to duty should always start with the basics. After all, that’s how the cops of old did their job, full sacrifice and great honesty, earning the admiration of a grateful populace.
Seeing the present uniformed ones engaged in friendly banters with people on the sidewalk, talking to a storeowner at a roadside in Malued one early morning, taking down notes as an ordinary barber blabs on in front of him at corner Perez-Herrero, watchful on any sign of something amiss among passersby along Arellano-Bani, even (and this, a friend had seen personally) helping an elderly woman in ragged clothes with his apo cross the street at the busy downtown area just rekindles tremendous affection and fondness for the often derided pulis.
Your friendly neighborhood cop is back. Let’s hope things stay that way.
* * * *
Thru this space, we’d like to take the cudgels up for city jeepney drivers who had meekly sought us out last week -- one of them as we rode on his Bonuan-bound jeepney and he somehow recognized us, glancing up to his front mirror as he talked and drove -- bewailing their being caught unawares by the effectivity of the new day coding system for public utility vehicles.
It turns out from our talks with POSO bossman Robert E.Mejia and sangguniang panlungsod info officer Ging Cardinoza that the ordinance indeed had already taken effect (“since last September 8,” Mejia said) after its publication in a local newspaper.
Now, it’s the familiar finger-pointing on how come some drivers and operators appeared not to know exactly when the ordinance was published - a vital knowledge that would have guided them about its actual start of implementation in order to avoid apprehensions and the gargantuan fine of P1,000 per violation. The drivers blame POSO for its heartlessness, the POSO blames the association presidents and representatives for failing to advise or notify their complaining members, the members blame their heads of association for not duly informing them and the heads of jeepney associations toss the blame back to the driver-members for not attending the meetings where such matters were disseminated.
In all these, one thing’s quite apparent: Not everyone read the ordinance published in a local newspaper. And so, not everyone knew that the counter for all violations had started. Thus,the griping and howling and cursing at the gates.
The sangguniang panlungsod may just want to correct the lapse in judgment and quiet down the noise by (okay gentlemen and ladies, just a studied suggestion here) suspending the ordinance implementation till such time that the requirement for due and adequate publication has been satisfied. What’s P25,000 or so for the additional publication of the ordinance in at least five more newspapers to gain the needed maximum public information?
That’s peanuts, some other expenses for “public welfare” of that body considering.
OPINION: A slain vice mayor’s wife’s lament
The Pen Speaks
Danny O. Sagun
WE could feel the anguish and frustration of a widow who, two months after the murder of her husband, has yet to se the wheels of justice grind.
Mrs. Eden Aquino, her only child Sheila, and sister-in-law Verna, surprisingly showed up at our office last Monday afternoon apparently to seek the help of the media in bringing to justice the killer/s and the mastermind.
Eden and Sheila were in black, the traditional color for mourning, possibly a lifetime grief, unless the assassin who is reportedly freely roaming around under the protective wings of an influential government official, is finally caught and made to answer for his crime.
We met the slain vice-mayor, Adolfo [Podong to his friends] Aquino, 10 years ago as a private person then, while we were manning the press center at VMU in San Carlos City of the 1995 Palarong Pambansa. He was assisting the DECS region IV director in the latter’s quest to get a fair media coverage as attention was then being lavished, unfairly, he believed, on the NCR delegation. Friendly, amiable, and supportive -- traits we instantly noted in him as he approached us to request for a media group to attend a press con with the director, his wife’s boss at the regional office.
We did not see him after that national sports meet until eight years later in 2003 when he was already a vice-mayor. Mapandan was preparing for the presidential visit in time for the town festival. Podong hadn’t changed at all; he was practically still the same fellow we had seen the first time.
Sheila, who was forced to take a leave from her work in Australia, got her father’s looks. We instantly noticed her papa’s smile on her face.
Up to now, there seems to be no end to the family’s anguish. They fear the case may just turn up to be another unsolved political killing just like the other incidents in the past. Remember just-elected Mayor Angelito Nava of Aguilar who was gunned down while taking his regular morning jog a few meters from his house? Mayor Jose Peralta of Balungao too who was pumped full of lead by a killer while hearing mass at the town Catholic church. And who would forget what happened to the crusading vice mayor Bato of Bani, the tough hombre and ex-mayor Connie Rodrigo of San Nicolas and Tayug’s Mayor Guerra Zaragoza. Did we miss some others? Were those cases ever solved?
Eden was not giving up despite the odds, the threats she receives on her phone, and the fact that she is practically working alone. She has not abandoned her belief that politics had something to do with Podong’s murder. Ironically, she intimated to us, she could not just freely announce to the world possible suspects while others, even children, she said, innocently recite who they are.
We could only wish she gets the justice she deserves, the very justice promised her and the public by PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao, a provincemate, no less, who quickly went to Mapandan morning after the vice-mayor’s killing to condole and vow thorough investigation of the case.
We wonder: Are police task force investigations on killings of political figures meant to be like the line in the classical Mona Lisa song – “they just lie there, and they die there?"
Danny O. Sagun
WE could feel the anguish and frustration of a widow who, two months after the murder of her husband, has yet to se the wheels of justice grind.
Mrs. Eden Aquino, her only child Sheila, and sister-in-law Verna, surprisingly showed up at our office last Monday afternoon apparently to seek the help of the media in bringing to justice the killer/s and the mastermind.
Eden and Sheila were in black, the traditional color for mourning, possibly a lifetime grief, unless the assassin who is reportedly freely roaming around under the protective wings of an influential government official, is finally caught and made to answer for his crime.
We met the slain vice-mayor, Adolfo [Podong to his friends] Aquino, 10 years ago as a private person then, while we were manning the press center at VMU in San Carlos City of the 1995 Palarong Pambansa. He was assisting the DECS region IV director in the latter’s quest to get a fair media coverage as attention was then being lavished, unfairly, he believed, on the NCR delegation. Friendly, amiable, and supportive -- traits we instantly noted in him as he approached us to request for a media group to attend a press con with the director, his wife’s boss at the regional office.
We did not see him after that national sports meet until eight years later in 2003 when he was already a vice-mayor. Mapandan was preparing for the presidential visit in time for the town festival. Podong hadn’t changed at all; he was practically still the same fellow we had seen the first time.
Sheila, who was forced to take a leave from her work in Australia, got her father’s looks. We instantly noticed her papa’s smile on her face.
Up to now, there seems to be no end to the family’s anguish. They fear the case may just turn up to be another unsolved political killing just like the other incidents in the past. Remember just-elected Mayor Angelito Nava of Aguilar who was gunned down while taking his regular morning jog a few meters from his house? Mayor Jose Peralta of Balungao too who was pumped full of lead by a killer while hearing mass at the town Catholic church. And who would forget what happened to the crusading vice mayor Bato of Bani, the tough hombre and ex-mayor Connie Rodrigo of San Nicolas and Tayug’s Mayor Guerra Zaragoza. Did we miss some others? Were those cases ever solved?
Eden was not giving up despite the odds, the threats she receives on her phone, and the fact that she is practically working alone. She has not abandoned her belief that politics had something to do with Podong’s murder. Ironically, she intimated to us, she could not just freely announce to the world possible suspects while others, even children, she said, innocently recite who they are.
We could only wish she gets the justice she deserves, the very justice promised her and the public by PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao, a provincemate, no less, who quickly went to Mapandan morning after the vice-mayor’s killing to condole and vow thorough investigation of the case.
We wonder: Are police task force investigations on killings of political figures meant to be like the line in the classical Mona Lisa song – “they just lie there, and they die there?"
OPINION: Beyond seminars and training programs
WINDOWS
Gabriel L. Cardinoza
In October 2003, Dagupeños were horrified and outraged at the sight of the uncollected garbage that had literally flooded the City of Dagupan.
No, the city’s garbage collectors did not go on strike then. That day, ironically, was the first day of the city government’s belated implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on December 20, 2000 and December 12, 2000, respectively, and approved by President Arroyo on January 26, 2001.
R.A. 9003 mandates, among others, waste segregation in every household, the recycling and composting of wastes in the barangay level and the collection of residuals-- wastes that cannot be recycled or composted—by the municipal or city government.
There is no doubt that the city government only had the people’s welfare in mind when it implemented RA 9003. It was in keeping with its plan of transforming Dagupan into a healthy and an environment-friendly city; a city that would ensure the protection of public health and environment.
But whether it was successful or not in preparing Dagupeños for the implementation of the new law was the subject of the heated discussions that ensued in the days that followed.
As far as the Waste Management Division (WMD) of the city government is concerned, it has done its part in preparing the people for the new garbage disposal system by conducting a series of waste segregation trainings among government employees, barangay officials, students, teachers, barangay health workers and other village-based sectors since early this year.
WMD chief Reginaldo Ubando said that in these seminars, it was made very clear to all the participants that with the implementation of the new law, the city government would only collect the residuals, which, by his estimate, was only about eight percent or 12.8 tons of the 160 tons daily total produced by the city. (Recyclables comprise 48 percent, while compostables, 44 percent.)
But as it turned out, there were no residuals to collect. To date, strewn all over the city are the same mixed household garbage and commercial wastes that Ubando’s office used to gather every morning and dump at the city’s 50-year-old open and unsanitary dumpsite, which is located inside the sprawling Tondaligan Ferdinand National Park just a stone’s throw away from the waters of historic Lingayen Gulf.
There, scavengers sift through the dumps in search for recyclables, re-usables and even edibles, at the same time that flies, dogs, cats and rats feast on whatever food is left for them to forage.
On the part of barangay officials, there is still nothing to recycle or to re-use and to compost because the households did not segregate. In implementing RA 9003, the city government had to shut down the city’s dumpsite then not only because the new law already prohibits its existence but also to force barangay officials to convince their residents to segregate. But not long after, it had no choice but to reopen it.
Obviously, the preparation of Dagupeños and other stakeholders for the implementation of RA 9003 should have gone beyond waste segregation training sessions and seminars.
The city government should have at least conducted a “walk through” for its implementation to immediately spot the problems that may arise when the real program is set in place. Or, it should have piloted it in one of the city’s 31 barangay.
The city government should have also formulated first a solid waste management plan, as required by RA 9003, to serve as a road map in its implementation of the new law.
It is no wonder then that at the height of the heated discussions on the problem, irate residents repeatedly questioned the waste segregation policy, saying they are too busy eking out a living to have time for it. “How much more with composting?” another one said, adding that he lives in a rented room and that he does not have even a square foot of land for his own grave when he dies.
And to make matters worse, even if recyclables had been generated, the residents would have also nowhere to take them as the city government has yet to set up material recovery facilities, which according to RA 9003, shall serve as redemption centers for recyclables in the barangay.
Finally, the city government should have known that “there is a seething gap on how to effectively change the people’s throwing-away and non-segregating behavioral pattern and the burning, dumping, and back-end practices for disposal,” as pointed out by the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines.
“[And] the challenge,” the group added, “is to change these to patterns of resource conservation, segregation, re-use, recycling, and composting. This shift is basically attitudinal and culture-based and such task may be realized by a confluence of efforts.”
And, yes, it takes some time, too.
The city government, in its eagerness to see results, may have also simply forgotten that even Rome was not built in one day.
Gabriel L. Cardinoza
In October 2003, Dagupeños were horrified and outraged at the sight of the uncollected garbage that had literally flooded the City of Dagupan.
No, the city’s garbage collectors did not go on strike then. That day, ironically, was the first day of the city government’s belated implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on December 20, 2000 and December 12, 2000, respectively, and approved by President Arroyo on January 26, 2001.
R.A. 9003 mandates, among others, waste segregation in every household, the recycling and composting of wastes in the barangay level and the collection of residuals-- wastes that cannot be recycled or composted—by the municipal or city government.
There is no doubt that the city government only had the people’s welfare in mind when it implemented RA 9003. It was in keeping with its plan of transforming Dagupan into a healthy and an environment-friendly city; a city that would ensure the protection of public health and environment.
But whether it was successful or not in preparing Dagupeños for the implementation of the new law was the subject of the heated discussions that ensued in the days that followed.
As far as the Waste Management Division (WMD) of the city government is concerned, it has done its part in preparing the people for the new garbage disposal system by conducting a series of waste segregation trainings among government employees, barangay officials, students, teachers, barangay health workers and other village-based sectors since early this year.
WMD chief Reginaldo Ubando said that in these seminars, it was made very clear to all the participants that with the implementation of the new law, the city government would only collect the residuals, which, by his estimate, was only about eight percent or 12.8 tons of the 160 tons daily total produced by the city. (Recyclables comprise 48 percent, while compostables, 44 percent.)
But as it turned out, there were no residuals to collect. To date, strewn all over the city are the same mixed household garbage and commercial wastes that Ubando’s office used to gather every morning and dump at the city’s 50-year-old open and unsanitary dumpsite, which is located inside the sprawling Tondaligan Ferdinand National Park just a stone’s throw away from the waters of historic Lingayen Gulf.
There, scavengers sift through the dumps in search for recyclables, re-usables and even edibles, at the same time that flies, dogs, cats and rats feast on whatever food is left for them to forage.
On the part of barangay officials, there is still nothing to recycle or to re-use and to compost because the households did not segregate. In implementing RA 9003, the city government had to shut down the city’s dumpsite then not only because the new law already prohibits its existence but also to force barangay officials to convince their residents to segregate. But not long after, it had no choice but to reopen it.
Obviously, the preparation of Dagupeños and other stakeholders for the implementation of RA 9003 should have gone beyond waste segregation training sessions and seminars.
The city government should have at least conducted a “walk through” for its implementation to immediately spot the problems that may arise when the real program is set in place. Or, it should have piloted it in one of the city’s 31 barangay.
The city government should have also formulated first a solid waste management plan, as required by RA 9003, to serve as a road map in its implementation of the new law.
It is no wonder then that at the height of the heated discussions on the problem, irate residents repeatedly questioned the waste segregation policy, saying they are too busy eking out a living to have time for it. “How much more with composting?” another one said, adding that he lives in a rented room and that he does not have even a square foot of land for his own grave when he dies.
And to make matters worse, even if recyclables had been generated, the residents would have also nowhere to take them as the city government has yet to set up material recovery facilities, which according to RA 9003, shall serve as redemption centers for recyclables in the barangay.
Finally, the city government should have known that “there is a seething gap on how to effectively change the people’s throwing-away and non-segregating behavioral pattern and the burning, dumping, and back-end practices for disposal,” as pointed out by the Solid Waste Management Association of the Philippines.
“[And] the challenge,” the group added, “is to change these to patterns of resource conservation, segregation, re-use, recycling, and composting. This shift is basically attitudinal and culture-based and such task may be realized by a confluence of efforts.”
And, yes, it takes some time, too.
The city government, in its eagerness to see results, may have also simply forgotten that even Rome was not built in one day.
