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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SAYAN INDIO
Mario F. Karateka

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

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