22 February 2006
GMA does a greet ‘n go at Binalonan town fiesta
New market inaugurated, scholarship vouchers, health cards distributed
BINALONAN – President Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday inaugurated this town’s new public market building in time for the yearly town fiesta.
The President likewise distributed subsidy vouchers to some 50 poor but deserving high school pupils to enable them to enroll in private schools as well as 1,500 Philhealth cards to indigent families of this fifth district town.
Bucking threats of coup d’etats and destabilization efforts by her political enemies, the Chief Executive continues to visit the provinces either to open various projects or give assistance to calamity victims.
Only last week, she formally opened the national games of the private schools at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen during which she also distributed vouchers for pupils from some towns in central Pangasinan under the pump-priming education scholarship program.
She earlier graced the town fiesta of San Fabian to distribute irrigation pumps for farmers of the towns in the fourth district and to observe the education department’s feeding program in which underweight pupils are given a kilo of rice daily to encourage them to attend their classes.
Arroyo has been a regular guest of this town for its fiesta celebration being her mother’s hometown.
The new market building was funded with a P50 million loan from Quedan Guarantee Corporation payable in seven years, according to Mayor Ramon Guico, Jr.
Guico said he was confident of the town’s ability to repay the loan as the market project is self-liquidating thru collection of stall rentals and goodwill money.
More new buildings are still needed at the public market as the old buildings there already appear dilapidated and now more of an eyesore, it was observed.
