THOUSANDS of Muslims flocked to the Muslim mosque in Tondaligan Park here Thursday to mark their last day of fast during the month of Ramadan that started Oct. 3 this year.

They were among thousands of Muslims who settled in Dagupan since the early 70s and were given by past city administrations a permanent place to stay in the city on a portion of the Tondaligan Park near the seashore.

Datu Michael Bagul, president of the Muslim Association of Dagupan, explained that Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar, a special month for Muslims all over the world.

Inside the mosque, they spent several hours praying and studying the Quran, the Muslim version of the Christian’s Holy Bible.
Bagul said during the Fast of Ramadan, they were not allowed to eat or even drink water during daylight hours. Smoking and sexual contacts were also prohibited.

“We were only allowed to eat meal and drink water at 6 p.m. We offered prayers and a meal called iftar,” said Bagul, adding that the fast is resumed the next morning after that.
Baguil said Allah would punish those who violate the Ramadan and those who may not believe in it.

LINGAYEN – An official of the Department of Health who earlier exposed that some government doctors in Pangasinan are the top promoters of counterfeit and or fake medicines did not show up before the provincial board last Friday to substantiate his charges.

Dr. Reynaldo Jacinto, chief of the standard and regulatory office of the DOH and head of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) regional office, was invited by the board during its regular question hour so that he can name the doctors he says are involved in the sale and distribution of counterfeit and or fake medicines.

Provincial Board Member Dionisio Villar said that because of Jacinto’s “reckless statement,” all government doctors in Pangasinan have become suspects.

Villar, chair of the provincial committee on health and sanitation, invited Jacinto to attend the board’s question hour for him to clarify issues about his allegation that doctors in various government hospitals in Pangasinan are promoting or selling counterfeit and or fake medicines to their patients.

“This is a very serious accusation as far as we are concerned. We will do everything we can so that the government doctors in this kind of illegal activity would get sanction if not disciplinary action,” Villar said.

Among the hospitals mentioned by Jacinto whose doctors are into such activity are the Region I Medical Center, Pangasinan Provincial Hospital, Western Pangasinan District Hospital and Don Amadeo Perez Memorial District Hospital.

Jacinto said that under the Generic Act, doctors can only prescribe medicines to their patients but never to dispense these to them or dictate from what pharmacy they would buy the medicines.

A report said Jacinto sent text messages informing newsmen that he did not attend the question hour because he had no travel order from his superior, Dr. Eduardo Janairo, DOH regional director.

Observers said however Jacinto really avoided facing the doctors whom he accused of wrongdoing in their profession because he lacked hard evidence yet against them on the issue.

Dr. Jackson Soriano, chief of the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital who was among those who waited for Jacinto to come, demanded a public apology from the latter for tarnishing the reputation of all government doctors in Pangasinan.

All government hospital chiefs in Pangasinan were at the SP Question Hour eager to confront Jacinto but were frustrated by his no-show act.

MALASIQUI – The provincial board will request the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the ambush-slaying of two persons and the wounding of four others along the highway in barangay Seselangen, Sual last Oct. 22.

Vice Governor Oscar Lambino, presiding officer of the provincial board or sangguniang panlalawigan, was informed that the NBI is ready to help investigate the case but is waiting for any party to make the request so no one will say the agency is encroaching on police work.

Lambino said if no one makes the request, the provincial board will do it to give justice to the two persons killed, one of whom was a student and son of an incumbent councilor of Alaminos City.

Killed in that incident was Allan de Guzman, 30, driver of a passenger van who was ambushed by seven hooded men armed with high-caliber weapons, and Gheorge Ringo Rivera, 18, a student on his way home to Alaminos City from Dagupan City.

“I will request myself for the NBI to step in and investigate the killing of the driver and the innocent student who, reports said, was already running away from the van but he was nevertheless shot in cold blood by the armed men,” Lambino said.

He said the ambush-slaying must be given immediate solution because the people are fast losing their trust and confidence in the capability of authorities, including the Philippine National Police.

THE vice mayor of Dagupan City was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo last Monday as the newest member of the 50-man Consultative Commission that will propose revisions to the 1987 constitution.

Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez was nominated to be a member of the commission by the Vice Mayor’s League of the Philippines (VMLP) of which he is the current national secretary-general and chapter president of the VMLP in Pangasinan. He is also the president of the Rotary Club of Dagupan.

Fernandez was informed of his appointment in a message faxed to city hall Wednesday by Presidential Management Staff chief Ribogerto Tiglao.

“I welcome my appointment and I thank President Arroyo for the trust and confidence,” said Fernandez, son of Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez, Jr., himself a former three-term mayor of Dagupan City.

Fernandez is the only vice mayor in the 50-member Commission, composed of prominent businessmen, constitutional experts, academicians, incumbent and former local officials and newspaper columnists.

The constitutional commission was created by Executive Order 453 on Aug. 19, 2005 and tasked to propose the revision of the 1987 Constitution to make it “more responsive, relevant and competitive to inward and global changes”.

The Commission, which was given a budget of P10 million, will have to submit a report to the President by the end of this year. The executive branch would then submit a report for the scrutiny and approval of Congress.
On his second term as vice mayor of Dagupan City, Fernandez also sits as member of the national executive council of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of all local government leagues in the country.

VIGAN CITY – The family of the overseas Filipino worker who was murdered and her body dismembered in Singapore has reconciled here with the family of the accused, also an OFW, who is still being held in jail in that country.

The reconciliation between the two families happened last Sunday in a meeting arranged by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis Chavit Singson at his residence in Baluarte, Vigan where the latter also distributed financial assistance to both families.

Singson handed P100,000 financial assistance to Eddie La Puebla, 32, husband of the victim Jane La Puebla, a native of Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya, and another P200,000 to Edwin Aguilar, husband of the suspect, Guen Aguilar. News reports said both La Puebla and Aguilar were friends in that island-state and the crime committed was a bizarre twist.

Eddie La Puebla was accompanied to Vigan by his aunt-in-law Sally Parangan. Edwin Aguilar was accompanied by Tagudin town Mayor Roque Versoza.

According to Singson, the presence of the La Puebla and Aguilar families during the mass officiated by Bishop Ernesto Salgado showed the spirit of reconciliation has worked between them.

He expressed hope that this might soften the heart of judges of the Singaporean Court handling the case of Guen Aguilar to dispense fair justice to both the victim and the accused.

Edwin La Puebla said there is no problem between them and the family of Guen Aguilar.
La Puebla said he will use part of the amount he received from the governor to pay the balance for funeral services of his dead wife, and the rest saved as trust fund for the education of his nine-year old son, Clifford.

Edwin Aguilar thanked Singson for the financial assistance, saying that the amount will greatly contribute to efforts to save the life of Guen. (PNA)

SAYAN INDIO
Mario F. Karateka

Singa kuanen Mama Sani Belyapania, “it’s about time” ya ongalaw metlad ontan a direksiyon so luyag na Pangasinan, aliwan singa natan a singa linmesa labatlan sengaw so aliling tonia ta agto amtay inkianak to.

THIS is definitely disturbing news for the now very popular online commentary medium more popularly called “blog”, short for Web Log, the current craze for those who want to say something but don’t have a newspaper or magazine to say it in. Or, if they had one, are restricted one way or the other by editorial policy or, yes, the ubiquitous legal parameters of fair comment.

A Quezon City regional trial court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on a blog post of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) about the background and credentials of Jonathan Tiongco, the alleged audio expert presented by Environment Secretary Mike Defensor back in August, this year to question the authenticity of the “Hello Garci” recording.

The court lent its judicial shield, albeit temporarily, to Tiongco’s wife who said the PCIJ blog post was an intrusion into her private and happy 12-year marriage with her husband, Jonathan and that it was a “grave violation of my rights and those of my minor children.” RTC Presiding Judge Ralph S. Lee was however careful enough to stress that it had not yet ruled on the merits of Mrs. Tiongco’s petition but that an order removing the particular blog post or item was “the safer and more prudent recourse in order to safeguard and balance conflicting rights and interests of the parties/litigants.”

The democratic space for free speech and expression once again comes under threat and test even as the PCIJ blogsite , and all other blogspots for that matter, may well be testing the limits of free expression in cyberspace and the extent of judicial coverage insofar as the internet is concerned.

Just how does one control the Internet? This PCIJ case should be an interesting piece for “bloggers” to watch, that is, if it ever reaches the appellate court or the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, not being a respondent to the case, those who post their comment on the TRO issue against PCIJ may not be cited for contempt as they do not fall under the jurisdiction of the court’s restraining order.

You be the judge on who’s the bigger loser in this kind of cyberspace “game”: the plaintiff or the respondent.

AFTER ALL
Behn Fer. Hortaleza

LIKE leaves falling to the ground.

Two of our Pangasinan media colleagues died over the weekend– oddly, they depart from this earth by twos lately – the voluble and energetic Napoleon Donato and the veteran and colorful Maximo T. Mendiguarin. Again, quite strangely, they died within hours of each other in the same hospital, the Nazareth General Hospital on Perez Blvd. this city.

Nap, actually a distant cousin of ours, fell victim to an apparent cardiac arrest yesterday and Cuya Max breathed his last as we go to press today, Sunday, after a long bout with prostate cancer, or so, according to some media friends. Their deaths, untimely and sudden as these were, somehow supports some observation that out here in Pangasinan, mediamen die of natural causes more than from any other causes to include “lead poisoning” or premeditated gunslaying like many of their counterparts in other provinces.

Their deaths surely diminishes humanity; Nap, because of his apparent zest for life, seemingly always on the go, mixing both his media work and business concerns with such flair nobody would have thought, lest of all us, that he (though quite like us) was in private pain from bouts with hypertension otherwise known as a “silent killer” , and Cuya Max, because of the permanent imprint he has left on vernacular broadcasting since he left his first job as a taxi driver to try his voice – and the unique style he brought to it – at radio newscasting and commentary.

Mediamen are mortals, that much is true. The younger set of newsmen and writers in the media scene today would do well to remember that always. Not to scare them about death or dying or anything but to have them ponder at least on the intangibles of the trade: a mark of true capability and skill, a dash of daring and gut feel and a name synonymous with the ideals of journalism for their children and their children’s children to take pride in long after they have gone from this world.

Nap and Cuya Max exemplified these traits in their own right and in their own ways. That their personal exploits will be remembered fondly by the media sector they served at one time is perhaps the greatest gift they may never get to feel or enjoy — but which their relatives would probably be talking about in family chats to bring on a moist eye or two in them in the future.

Let’s all say a prayer for these two gallant men of Media.

* * * *

FOR those using the automated teller machines (ATM) of banks, this news downloaded from the internet during our browsing should be fair notice to the usually careless and trusting. We may not have heard of this organized criminal activity locally yet but in Brazil and some parts of Europe, organized crime has gotten around to virtually stealing the identification of ATM users – card number and PIN – using an equipment discreetly installed inside ATM booths.

From this gadget or equipment, the criminals, sitting in parked vehicles nearby, are able to receive wireless transmissions recording the sensitive information of an ATM user. Called by investigators as “skimmers”, the equipment is usually disguised to look like normal, harmless ATM gadget and mounted to the front of the ATM card slot. At the same time, or usually, a wireless camera is disguised to look like a leaflet holder and is mounted from a vantage point where it can view ATM PIN entries.

The criminals later go to work and practically empty your account in a very short time using the bank ATM.

Like we said, there has been no local report yet of such modus operandi… but it always pays to be extra curious about any out-of-the-usual gadget you see in your favorite ATM booth. These days, you can lose your money in a variety of ways, believe you us!

THE PEN SPEAKS
Danny O. Sagun

DOES the city government have the personality or authority to impose parking fees along the major thoroughfares in the city to include the two national roads – A.B. Fernandez Avenue and Perez Boulevard?

We ask this question in the wake of a proposal to regulate parking in these thoroughfares and eventually impose fees. We thought al along that national roads are beyond the scope or authority of the city government so that the latter can derive financial benefits as parking fees.

If we recall correctly, there was a similar move during the late 1980s and early 90s but the proposed ordinance was archived and gathered dusts at the sanggunian secretariat.

Perhaps if the national government thru the public works and highways department grants such authority, then and only then can the city regulate the use of such roads to include imposition of parking charges.

But if that is possible, where will the money go — to the city coffers only?
* * * *
Motorists like us are always worried where we can park our vehicles particularly along A.B. Fernandez Avenue during peak periods as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There seems to be no space available most of the time.

Where are all the vehicles coming from, anyway? Is it true that most of those parked vehicles belong to the owners of the establishments who have practically appropriated the road shoulder as their own permanent parking space? Look how they put chairs on the shoulder fronting a store, suggesting that the space is already reserved for the car of the store owner. One time, we had to call the attention of a traffic aide when the salesladies of a store refused to remove the chairs they put as barrier to others who wish to park there.

Will the charging of parking fees as proposed discourage such a practice? Maybe. But wait. The move might even encourage business establishment owners to practically “own” the spaces fronting them what with the proposal that they can bargain for a “wholesale price,” say, paying the fee monthly. Or, they could just “grease” the parking attendants who will look the other way and allow them perpetual use of such precious spaces without ay gain going to the city government.

A thorough study and deliberation by our concerned city officials is therefore a must.
In Baguio City, vehicle owners are charged parking fees along the roads surrounding the Burnham park. Dagupan may similarly charge fees for vehicles parked at the city plaza or in the sidestreets of Zamora, Galvan etc, which are city roads. With such designated parking spaces, the city can then ban parking on the shoulders of the national highways.

We will even have smoother traffic flow.

That will be the day.

WINDOWS
Gabriel L. Cardinoza

Until it took effect last Tuesday, I never realized that the impact of the Expanded Value Added Tax Law would be that immediate and sudden. That day, everything practically shifted to a higher plane, especially gas prices, which is now almost P40 a liter.

In the office the following day, everybody was cursing the E-VAT, as if it were a thief in the night that took away their most valuable possessions when they were fast asleep. But the E-VAT is here to stay, and my officemates all agreed they have no choice but to live with it.

According to a Bureau of Internal Revenue flyer, the E-VAT Law (RA 9337) simply removed the VAT exemptions of formerly exempt sectors of the economy, making “the burden of taxation now shared more equitably.”

Unfortunately, these formerly exempt transactions include medical and legal services, petroleum products, generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, among others. This explains why pump prices of oil products are now higher; the 10 percent VAT was passed on to consumers. Expect your November electricity bill to be higher when you receive it next month.

Ibon Foundation, an independent research-education-information development institution, said in a feature article that based on a study conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board, removing VAT exemptions and zero-rate privileges on petroleum products, power generation, transmission and distribution and medical and legal fees will increase household consumption expenditures by 1.9 percent.

Using data from the 2003 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) in its computation, the NSCB found that this would increase the average expenditures of the poorest 10 percent of Filipino families by some P40, the poorest 20 percent by P61 and the poorest 30 percent by P77.

“Since these families are already in debt, any additional increase in expenses as a result of the E-VAT will force them to borrow even more.

“The poorest 10 percent of families, for example, would see their monthly debt grow from P155.25 to P195. For a family who may be eking out an uncertain and irregular livelihood in the informal economy, this amount is substantial,” the article said.

The government, however, asserts that with the implementation of the E-VAT (They’re now calling it the R-VAT as the original “expanded” VAT was the one implemented over a decade back – Ed), the ordinary Filipino will have to sacrifice at the start but will reap the rewards in the long run in the form of more jobs and livelihood facilities, better social services, more infrastructure and less debts.

“The additional revenue will address the delivery of basic services, such as building and maintaining public schools, constructing farm-to-market roads, bridges and other infrastructure, maintaining peace and order, improving hospitals and public health services,” the BIR said.
What is disturbing though is the Department of Finance’s pronouncement that it has already earmarked 100 percent of E-VAT proceeds for 2005 towards debt servicing, 70 percent in 2006, 60 percent in 2008, and 50 percent by 2010. And this may be subject to further adjustment due to the delay in E-VAT’s implementation.

And with this, what would be left for the delivery of basic services?

Juan dela Cruz had argued, quite logically, we say, that the government did not actually need the E-VAT Law to meet its annual revenue targets. It just needed to improve its tax collection efficiency and eliminate graft and corruption.

ENDNOTES: Local media networks have taken an active role in social services. Last Oct. 29 and 30, ABS-CBN Dagupan conducted a Kapamilya Day and medical-dental mission at CSI The City Mall. Early on, Kapuso’s RGMA, DZSD-Super Radyo did the same at the Dagupan City People’s Astrodome. Last Nov. 5, it was Bombo Radyo’s turn when it conducted Dugong Bombo, a blood-letting activity at the CSI The City Mall, in cooperation with the Philippine National Red Cross.

QUICKQUOTE: Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. – Abraham Lincoln