GMA AT THE PRISAA. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (foreground) formally opens this morning the Private Schools Athletic Association national games at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen. With the President are (L-R) third district Rep. Generoso Tulagan, second district Rep. Amado Espino, Gov. Victor Agbayani, PRISAA national chair Emmanuel Angeles, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and PRISAA national president Gonzalo Duque. (PStar Photo by Butch Uka)

LINGAYEN – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today formally opened the 2006 Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) national games at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center here.

The President arrived at about 10:30 a.m. and immediately proceeded to the grandstand, where she addressed some 4,000 athletes and athletic officials from the different regions of the country.

“I declare the 2006 PRISAA national games open,” the President said before a cheering crowd of 5,000 students and other spectators occupying the grandstand.

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By DANNY O. SAGUN
PIA-Pangasinan Infocenter

EXCEPT for sugar, prices of basic goods remained stable even with the implementation of the reformed value added tax, according to the trade and industry provincial office.

Marjury Loresco of DTI Pangasinan said that prices of basic commodities like canned goods, cement and other manufactured products remain practically the same as when last monitored a week ago.

She said that portland cement is selling from P155 to P160 per bag for several days now. If there was any price increase for other products, she said it was only minimal, ranging from 25 to 50 centavos.

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AGNO-RIS REHAB. Gov. Victor Agbayani (second from left, seated) leads the signing of a memorandum of agreement for the rehabilitation of the 1,000-hectare Agno River Irrigation System in Barangay Bactad East, Urdaneta City. Signing the agreement with him are Federico Puno, president and chief executive officer of the San Roque Power Corporation, OIC Regional Director Nestor Domenden of the Department of Agriculture, Regional Director Leodencio Baraquio of the National Irrigation Administration, Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr., Villasis Mayor Nonato Abrenica, Asingan Vice Mayor Carlos Lopez, and Helen Valenzuela, president of the Urdaneta-Villasis Irrigators Association. (PIO Photo by Emil Mari)

BANGUS (milkfish) may soon be dislodged by prawns and siganid, both high-value fish, as the number one cash crop in fishponds, pens and cages here.

Binmaley municipal Councilor Leo Urmaza, who comes from a family of noted bangus raisers, raised this possibility following the success of the ‘Bingalo tan Malaga’ (Prawn and Siganid) Festival in his town Thursday night.

The festival showcased the town’s tasty prawns and siganid that fish farmers in Binmaley are now raising extensively in their ponds, pens and cages all-year round.

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LINGAYEN – The province of Pangasinan continues to remain free from the dreaded Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) since it was declared as such in December last year.

This was disclosed by Dr. Benedicto Perez, provincial veterinarian, who said the National FMD Task Force has certified that Pangasinan is already FMD-free since Dec. 16 last year.

The province earned the credit as no FMD case was noted in any part of the province for the last three years.

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THE city government thru the Sangguniang Panlungsod has passed a P357 million budget for Dagupan this year.

Increased by only P7 million from last year’s P350 million outlay, this year’s budget was enacted through City Ordinance No. 1856-2006 during the regular session on January 9.

Councilor Michael Fernandez, SP committee chairman on finance and ways and means, expressed optimism that the recent enactment of the updated revenue code would enable the city to increase its revenue collection to meet its expenses.

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SOME sectors may not like him, but a group of Chinese-Filipino businessmen has commended the police provincial director for doing his job.

The Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Central Pangasinan thru its director, Rosendo Go commended Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima during a conference of the group last Wednesday at the Pangasinan Universal Institute.

Purisima, as guest speaker, outlined before the group his thrusts in the campaign against criminality in the province.

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IS Dagupan ready for February 15 when all open garbage sites in the whole country like the one located in Tondaligan will be closed for clean environment reasons under the law?

The city appears ready to beat the deadline as it rushed the putting up of materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in various areas in Dagupan the past several weeks.

Reginaldo Ubando, waste disposal in-charge, said that if all barangays will only cooperate in the implementation of the waste segregation law, the city can finally and totally close the Tondaligan dumpsite.

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THANKS to the Reformed Value Added Tax, fashionably called R-VAT, the inventive mind of Filipinos, particularly the manufacturers, is again at work.

Just a day following the coming of this Darth Vader of a revenue-shoring measure unleashed upon us by the Taxman, what do you hear but the Department of Energy getting into the ‘por kilo’ game by urging liquefied petroleum gas suppliers to offer cooking gas at a much more affordable 1 kilogram-tanks, a virtual retail scheme.

Conventional tanks, as you know, are bulky 11-kg cylinders that fetch for P520 to P540 per kilo at present.

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