Hand over their hearts, City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim and Ms. Susan Roces, the actress-widow of the late presidential contender Fernando Poe, Jr., with the mayor’s wife,Celia, in background, sing the national anthem during last Friday afternoon’s ’s truth rally at the city plaza. In lower photo, former Governor Oscar Orbos, woman leader Marietta Primicias-Goco, former Congressman Teddy Cruz and the late FPJ’s sister, Elizabeth, with Dagupan’s First Couple on the stage with a backdrop streamer proclaiming “Hello Glori… Leksab La! Natan La! “, a local phrase for Resign…Now! (PStar Photo by Butch F. Uka)

By Gabriel L. Cardinoza

ACTRESS Susan Roces, in a sentimental homecoming to her late husband’s province last Friday, rallied Pangasinenses to reject the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, saying it is “dubious.”

“Ayaw natin sa kanya dahil duda tayo sa pagka-panalo niya. Hindi natin matatanggap na mamumuno sa atin ay kaduda-duda,” Ms. Roces told a rally crowd of about 1,000 at the city plaza here that cheered her pronouncements.

Pangasinan is the homeprovince of Ms. Roces’ late husband, actor and presidential candidate Fernando Poe, Jr. Poe hails from San Carlos City, in this province. Ms Roces was guest in a student symposium at the Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation this morning. She also met with the late FPJ’s relatives in that city.

Read the rest of this entry »

IF the city government fails to take containment measures soon, the spanking new Malimgas market could become a ‘ghost market’ in under a year.

Vendors at the less than one-year old three-storey public market here claim they are losing in their business stalls, owing to the stiff rental rate and lack of customers.

A city councilor, Alex de Venecia, chairman on markets of the city council, said the vendors, especially at the second floor of the market, are seeking reduction of their stall rentals because only few people are buying goods from them, contrary to earlier expectations.

They are seeking as much as 50 percent reduction in rental fees for them to at least break even in business.

The city council however said this is impossible to grant because the city government will have difficulty sourcing out funds to be able to pay the amortization of the P300 million loan it obtained from the Land Bank of the Philippines for the construction of the project.

With sellers outnumbering buyers in the second floor of the market, it is really difficult to survive in this present economic crisis, the Malimgas vendors said.

Even the third floor of the establishment intended as a parking area is not being patronized by motorists.

A centralized air-conditioning system and a functional escalator just like those in commercial malls has failed to attract buyers. Not even lilting tunes in radio jingles produced by City Hall’s favorite media promo contractors has convinced customers to go to the public market.

The vendors told the city council in a committee hearing last Monday that at least 46 stalls there had already been closed because their owners cannot afford to continuously pay high rentals without making any sale at all.

They said that if business continues to be slow, there would be no more stalls left there by December.

De Venecia noted that vendors are blaming the unfair competition from ambulant peddlers who are supposed to be weeded out by a task force of the city government but has so far failed to do after an initial burst of action by the team.

A bigger competition though is coming from surrounding private commercial malls that sell goods and even fish, meat and vegetables at much cheaper prices than the retail stalls in the new public market.

THE city government’s controversial purchased lot in Awai, San Jacinto town may soon be turned into a tourist forest park, if the Lim administration’s plans materialize.

Mayor Benjamin S. Lim said the Awai property has a potential of being developed initially into an orchard project, having already various fruit-bearing trees growing in it, including some that can be used for lumber and bamboocrafts.

The mayor noted that the Dagupan-based Duque clan also has a big parcel of land in Lobong, adjacent to Awai, which could be converted into a golf course.

“Several years ago, some prospective investors flew over the area to survey if it is feasible to put up recreational center facilities,” Lim said, adding that Awai and Lobong areas are unexploited and it is something only a few people know.

The mayor said the city will soon tap the services of the Bureau of Mines to also look into possible water deposits in the area. He stressed that Dagupan City and San Jacinto can both benefit from the minerals to be found in the site.

In the future, Lim said that the place can also be developed into a housing area if the population of Dagupan, San Jacinto and Manaldan grows immensely.

Lim bared his plans for Awai during the recent launching of the Adopt-a-Watershed project of the city government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

DCWD General Manager Ramon Reyna said the main objective is to have a watershed in the area which could be a good water source for both agricultural and domestic use in the future. A portion of the Awai property is inundated by rain water forming a natural lake during rainy season.

Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer Rogel Pimentel said the project can be compared to the La Mesa Dam, which is environment-friendly and a tourist spot project.

Pimentel said aside from being a future water source, the area can also be an educational site for students who have not actually seen a forest.

Lim signed a memorandum of agreement with Reyna and Pimentel to pursue the project. “The tree planting will become a weekly activity until we can plant 2,500 seedlings per hectare. And with 30 hectares of lot to be planted, we can plant 75,000 trees,”Lim said. (Sunshine D. Robles)

TWELVE outstanding high school students from Dagupan City will take part in the U.S. study exchange program as part of the sister-cities memorandum of understanding between Dagupan and Milpitas in California.

City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim, coming home from a two-week trip in the United States, signed the MOU with Milpitas City Mayor Jose Esteves on July 21, 2005.

He said that the Dagupeño students will attend classes at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious universities in the United States and in the whole world.

Lim said that aside from joining classes inside classrooms, the students will also participate in sports events, drama acting and visits to museums, libraries, exhibit centers, and outdoor adventure.

“Their stay will be hosted by families from various Dagupeño associations in the area,” he said. They will also be given a one-week break to stay with their relatives in the U.S.

The mayor will personally select the final 12 scholars who must belong to the cream of the crop as recommended by various public and private schools in the city.

This year, Public Order and Safety Office chief Robert Erfe-Mejia also participated in the “Emergency Training Seminar” at Camp San Luis Obispo in California, the only Asian who participated in that seminar which simulated disaster scenarios.

Mejia is now implementing and sharing his experience with members of the City Disaster Coordinating Council.

Lim also launched the Nandaragupan Coffetable book in the places he visited which included aside from Milpitas City: Seattle in Washington, Los Angeles and San Diego, California.

By Danny O. Sagun
PIA-Pangasinan

ENVIRONMENTAL sanitation is still the most effective means to fight the dreaded dengue fever disease, the head of the provincial health team in Pangasinan said Thursday.

Dr. Jose Soriano said that fogging operations cost a lot of money and do not necessarily kill all mosquitoes. “Yong hindi matamaan lumilipat lang sa ibang lugar o barangay,” he noted.

Maintaining cleanliness and sanitation in the neighborhood on the other hand costs practically nothing, but it is the most effective way to control any outbreak, he observed.

Breeding grounds of the day-biting mosquito aedes Aegypti, the carrier of dengue virus, are stagnant water likely found in cans, unused tires, and flower vase. Soriano cited as an example an unused aquarium in a house in Binalonan town that became the breeding ground of mosquitoes. He said two members of that household fell sick of dengue.

Health authorities are again alarmed by the rising incidents of dengue in the province lately. A lone fatality was recorded in Dagupan City. .

Soriano said he has yet to confirm a report that five died of the disease in Sison town. He said that health officers from the province were set to meet Thursday at the health team office at People’s Astrodome to assess the situation.

The sangguniang bayan of Binalonan recently declared the town under state of calamity but Mayor Ramon Guico vetoed the measure noting that the situation there was manageable and not so alarming as to merit such move.

The Region l Medical Center reported a total of 82 dengue cases from the pedia ward alone from January to August 4 with July registering a high 58 cases. The Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City reported 17 cases.

The provincial health office recorded some 63 cases as of July 31 with one fatality from Daguapan City as collated from reports submitted by the various district and community hospitals. The identity of the victim was not immediately known as efforts to get it from concerned agencies proved futile.

Soriano said there is a need to verify such reports by getting the name of the patient and other details as there may be duplication in numbers reporting.

Dr. Jesus Canto, chief of the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City called on residents no to hesitate going to the R1MC once they feel the onset of dengue symptoms like off and on fever for at least five days.

He said dengue is not a viral disease.

The R1MC, Canto said, is the only hospital in Region 1 with a blood separator, assuring itself of a steady supply of blood platelets when most needed by dengue patients.

By Sunshine D. Robles

THE book launch of Nandaragupan: The Story of a Coastal City and Dagupan Bangus at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) last Thursday turned out a resounding success.

Mayor Benjamin S. Lim led city officials in thanking dignitaries and guests at the event for being “one with our aim and desire in establishing Dagupan City as a progressive, peaceful and orderly city.”

Lim said the Nandaragupan book is a comprehensive description of the city designed to make Dagupeños and those with kinship to the city, especially Dagupeños now based abroad, acquire a vivid information and picture of Dagupan.

“Many Dagupeños living in foreign lands are able to say they are from Dagupan, but they have difficulties in actually describing their home, their city,” the mayor said.

Lim said that Nandaragupan doesn’t only show the history and culture of the city, but also the problems it surmounted particularly the devastating July 16, 1990 earthquake.

He credited the renaissance of the city to the enthusiastic Dagupeños under the leadership of then Mayor Liberato Reyna Sr. and Vice Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, for his part, honored not only the writers and photographers of the Nandaragupan book, but also the rich history, culture and legends found in the book.

“We will endorse the book to our friends in California, East Coast, Midwest and London where we will try to sell at least 5,000 to 10,000 copies of the book,” de Venecia said even as he sought the provision of a global airline ticket for Carmen Prieto, author and editor of the book, “so that she can start marketing the book all over the Philippines.”

Preito said that only a simple book signing in a bookstore was initially planned to launch the book, but with the help of some people, the CCP big affair happened.

Another highlight of the book launch is the presentation of a resolution by the Sangguniang Panlungsod to Philippine National Railways (PNR) Director Felipe Siapno.

Earlier, PNR formally turned-over the temporary custody of the vintage Manila to Dagupan locomotive to the city government to form part of its museum pieces.

Lim also presented an enlarged marriage certificate of Leonor Rivera and Engr. Henry Kipping, an English national and first railroad supervisor, to British Ambassador Peter Beckingham and descendants of Rivera and Kipping.

The Barangay Poblacion Oeste dancers, two-time champion of the Gilon!Gilon! street dancing contest in the city, and a photo exhibit on the contents of the book greeted the guests at the launching.

Dagupan-based restaurants Bangus Fiesta, Café du Marc, Jam Sweet Jam, Dagupeña and Plato Wraps served samplings of their specialties which highlighted the 101 Ways to Cook Bangus.

Taking careful aim at the firing range, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez leads shooters during last week’s shooting cup staged under his name. (PStar Photo by Butch F. Uka)

SOME 150 gunholders and shooters from the Ilocos region and outlying provinces like Tarlac joined the 2nd Vice Mayor Alvin D. Fernandez Cup held at the Don Pedro Balingit Firing Range in Bonuan Binloc from July 30 to 31.

The competition covered five categories: Open, Modified, Standard, Production and Single Stack.

Winners in each category were Cheng Ingimar of Baguio City (Open), Rico Papa of BB Dionisio Gun Club of Manila (Modified), Edwin Halili of Tarlac (Standard), Eduardo Yao of BB Dionisio Gun Club of Manila (Production) and Reynaldo Buan of Tarlac (Single Stack).

From the Local Government Unit (LGU), POSO Chief Robert Erfe-Mejia emerged as the winner with Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez and Councilor Joey Tamayo as 1st and 2nd runners-up respectively.

Vice mayors from different towns and cities of Pangasinan also joined the two-day shooting competition, each getting the chance to learn the different techniques of gun safety and gun handling.

Vice Mayor Alfredo Frias of Basista, Pangasinan who was among the first-time shooters, expressed joy at his new learning. “Enjoy talaga at ang sarap palang pumutok,” he said.

The Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez Cup was organized by the city vice mayor in cooperation with Dagupan Practical Shooting Association President Mario Lim, Range Director Louie Nazareno and Range Master Christian Yap. The Level 1 shootfest is sanctioned by Philippine Practical Shooting Association (PPSA). (CIO/ Leziel Cayabyab)

LINGAYEN – Cases of rape, acts of lasciviousness and child abuse are on the rise anew in Pangasinan, according to a report of the Police Community Relations Office.

The report signed by Supt. Ricardo Tamayo showed six of these cases being recorded last Wednesday in various parts of Pangasinan.

These incidents happened in Manaoag, Agno, San Manuel, Tayug and San Quintin towns.

All of the victims were minor girls, the youngest at five years old. The others were aged 11, 15 and two of them were 17.

The youngest of the victims was molested by a 14-year old boy who inserted his finger in the girl’s private part.

One of the teenaged victims was sexually abused by her own father while another victim was raped by her uncle.

The police said another teenage victim was raped twice by her sister’s live-in partner inside her room, while the other victim was embraced and kissed several times on her lips against her will by her suitor, a 17-year old boy.
All these cases were coursed through the Women and Children Complaints Desk in the concerned municipal police stations which are now also investigating these for the filing of corresponding complaints against the suspects.