LINGAYEN — Guam’s billion-dollar project needs Pangasinan workers.

This was learned following the signing of a “Sister City” agreement between Guam and the province of Pangasinan in a ceremony held at the Guam Legislature last September 24.

Authored by Guam Senators Rory J. Respicio, Judith P. Guthertz and Thomas C. Ada, the passing of Resolution No. 299-31 (COR) will foster economic interaction between the two communities from different countries.

Sen. Guthertz said that skilled workers in Pangasinan will be given priority as part of the manpower of the relocation project of US military-based from Japan to Guam, an island territory of the United States of America.

“They also have well-trained workforce that will be very much able to infuse in our island, skills that will be needed for the future particularly in the build-up,” Guthertz told members of 31st Guam Legislature during its regular session.

The billion-dollar project will need quality skilled workers such as carpenters, masons, welders, tile setters, pipe fitters, brick layers, scaffolding erectors, heavy equipment operators, steel men and the like.

“The province of Pangasinan produces goods and promises to export all over the world and Guam should be a beneficiary of their exports. They have products that they produce that are useful here in our construction industry. They have products that they produce that are usable in our home design industry,” Guthertz added.

Guthertz expressed elation over the passing of the resolution defined as “long-term partnership between the two communities from different countries” which materialized after almost a year of deliberation.

He said he and Sen. Respicio have waited for almost a year for this to happen .

The sisterhood ties declared the “establishment of a “Sister City” relationship between the Province of Pangasinan in the Republic of the Philippines, and Guam, in order to encourage the further growth of friendship, camaraderie and commerce for the benefit of the people of both regions.”

Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. led the Pangasinan delegation to Guam for the official tie-up of the two neighbours in the Western Pacific Ocean.

By Venus May H. Sarmiento

THE Commission on Elections has a new provincial election supervisor for Pangasinan.
Atty. Marino Salas, who assumed office today, yesterday, Monday, said he is ready to face the herculean task of election duties in this vote-rich province.

Salas said he has a 39-year vast experience in the Comelec that will help him accomplish his election duties here.

“Malaki ang Pangasinan but with my experience, kaya ko naman gampanan ang nakaatang sa balikat natin,” (Pangasinan is huge, but with my experience, I can perform the duties asked of us), Salas told the Philippine Information Agency this morning.

Before his assignment here, Salas served as the PES of the provinces of Ilocos Sur and La Union. He was also stationed in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the latest of which is the national registration where he was assigned in Tawi Tawi.

He also had a stint in Alam inos City during previous political exercises like the last plebiscite. where he had a stint in Alaminos City.

Salas thanked former Officer-in-Charge Atty. Jenifer Balarbar who, he said, kept the office organized and completed its needs.

He and his new team are preparing for the filing of candidacy for those running for public office scheduled from October 1-5 this year.

Pangasinan has six congressional districts. As of August 22, 2012 it has a voting population of 1,524,342. (PIA-Pangasinan)

ANA LOUISE J. VELASCO,  RN

I ONCE met a young couple who incidentally joined a mass wedding initiated by the City Population Office of Dagupan.

Mina, not her real name, met a young man from Villasis through text messaging. After a week of exchanging messages through SMS, the couple decided to meet here in Dagupan to go on a date.

Another rendezvous followed and soon Mina found herself already heavy with a child. Mina’s parents were aghast. They wanted the couple to be married at once. And so, young as they may be, Mina and her husband went through the wedding rituals and tied the knot. Read the rest of this entry »

“WE were only asking.”

Provincial Administrator Raffy Baraan stressed this point when asked if the release of a video footage of fishponds at Hundred Islands was a demolition job against Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza.

Indeed, no one from the provincial government –provincial  info officer Butch Velasco and Task Force Kalikasan deputy chief Tommy Cabigas – directly accused Braganza when the footage was shown during the KBP Forum last Thursday. But the fact that the famous tourist destination is being operated by the city government, it is but natural that the blame would likely fall on the entity in charge in case irregularities arise. Read the rest of this entry »

THE report issued by the provincial government to the media last Thursday over the alleged illegal fishpond structures built in the outermost part of the Hundred Islands has been described as “irresponsible” and “exaggerated” by Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza.

Braganza said officials of the provincial government behind the supposed “expose”, “if they were diligent in their work, should have learned that the fishpond structures were built some 20 years ago, and that it had already been the subject of controversy then, and that, now, it is still being resolved by the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB).

He said Governor Espino must be familiar with the issue as well because he was the provincial commander of the police around the time the issue of the titling was first raised. Read the rest of this entry »

Mayor Braganza explains city’s hands

tied by legal issue behind  awarding

By ORLY GUIRAO

ALAMINOS CITY – The world renowned Hundred Islands National Park, centerpiece of Pangasinan’s tourism industry, is now fast turning into a vast sanctuary for fishpond production.

Several clusters of islands on the national park’s southeastern portion have been closed for tourism after earthdikes and coral stones were constructed to interconnect the islands, thus forming big lagoons in-between and made as fishponds by big-time businessmen and influential entrepreneurs. Read the rest of this entry »

THE city budget office has proposed the allocation of P568 million as Dagupan’s budget for 2011 to guarantee good and responsive governance particularly in the delivery of basic services as mandated by the Local Government Code.

City Treasurer Romelita B. Alcantara said the estimated total resources for the budget year will reach P568 million. Some P283,131,901 or 50% of this will be derived from Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).”

“From a high  revenue share of around 70% to 75% a few years ago, we have broken almost the 50% barrier, a result of our firm resolve to gradually break free from our heavy dependence on the IRA share for our budget,” Alcantara said. Read the rest of this entry »

THE Philippine Atmospheric Geo-physical Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA) admitted its difficulty in translating into layman’s terms some of the technical jargons in weather forecasting but is doing something to make these terms easily understood by the end-users.

Venus Valdemoro, officer-in-charge of PAGASA’s Public Information Unit, said their agency has tapped the help of the National Language Commission to translate some of the terminologies into terms that are easily understood by the public. Read the rest of this entry »

“MORE fishpen owners are now voluntarily dismantling their structures along our river system compared to the first month when we started our campaign against all illegal structures in the rivers.”

These were the words of City Agriculturist Emma Molina on the on-going demolition of all illegal structures in the rivers after a week’s lull of operation because of typhoon “Juan.”

“Generally, nakita natin na kahit meron tayong mga losses sa nakaraang bagyo, hindi na ganun kalaki yung pinsala sa ating mga fishpen operators kasi marami na yung mga nagtanggal at nag-demolish sa mas malaking ilog natin, yung Pantal river,” Molina reported. “ Read the rest of this entry »

LINGAYEN- A top police official in Pangasinan has reminded local chiefs of police that the one-strike policy on jueteng is still in effect and warned them of the bad consequence should they be found to have relaxed their guard over the menace.

The reminder came from Superintendent Harris Fama, deputy police provincial director for operations, due to reports that guerrilla style of jueteng has surfaced in several areas, like Asingan and San Carlos City.

Fama said there is a standing order from Senior Superintendent Rosueto Ricaforte, police provincial director, that guerrilla or not, jueteng must be stopped, otherwise the chief of police will suffer from the one-strike policy. Read the rest of this entry »