By LIWAY C. MANANTAN-YPARRAGUIRRE

BISKEG na Pangasinan , the only accredited provincial political party in Pangasinan had there board of directors and membership meeting last Tuesday evening at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.

Presided by Biskeg na Pangasinan founding chairman and president, Undersecretary Antonio “Bebot” Villar Jr., the meeting was well attended. And the special guest? It was First Gentleman Mike Arroyo no less who arrived at the lobby of the hotel casually with only one person trailing him.

Through the motion of San Fabian Mayor Mojamito Libunao, FG Mike was unanimously adopted as (the first, and only, I heard) honorary member of Biskeg.
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By DANNY O. SAGUN

CAN THE city sustain its campaign against sidewalk vendors which it re-launched this week with the opening of the Mac Adore compound as temporary place for them?
Ambulant vending has long been a problem facing the city officialdom since the time of the late Mayor Opring Manaois as far as we can recall. Many measures have been passed and tested to solve the problem but up to now we have yet to see the city succeed in its drive to rid the streets of obstructions of which the presence of ambulant vendors is a major factor.
The campaign (particularly by overeager members of the police or an assigned task force as in the case of the present anti-hawking office led by Butch Gutierrez) usually leads to animosities between vendors and law enforcers. Blood is spilled sometimes as had happened many years back when a policeman known to be hard on the vendors was shot and killed right at the marketsite. Patrolman Domingo’s case remains unsolved to this day. Read more

By YOLANDA Z. SOTELO

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em>Behind a successful man is a woman; Behind a successful woman is herself.
GOT that quote from the email. Don’t argue with me. I’m not in the mood for any argument. I will just tell you the story of village women in San Nicolas town, who were able to improve their economic lives, and ultimately, able to help their husbands, too.

The womenfolk of Salingcob village, all of them stay-home housewives and mothers, started an organization in 1998 when the Provincial Population Office (PPO) identified the village as a potential area for the program “Improving the Status of Women in Pangasinan.”

The PPO personnel selected 100 women of reproductive age as prospective beneficiaries, 30 of whom participated in organizational mechanics and teambuilding training. Twenty seven remained as core members.

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ELEVEN students of the Virgen Milagrosa University Foundation (VMUF) in San Carlos City were awarded scholarships by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) during the recent launching of the ladderized education program in Pangasinan held at the Dagupan City Astrodome.

The launching of the program coincided with the introduction of the nationwide “Career Caravan” led by Secretary Augusto “Boboy” Syjuco, TESDA director-general.
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A TIANGGE-type Tinday Labi will be launched on November 10 along A.B. Fernandez Avenue to bring life to the downtown area during the night business- and tourism-wise, it was learned Friday.
Councilor Nick Aquino said the night market (the section from Rizal Avenue down to the city plaza) would be open to all vendors selling various kinds of goods. The idea was copied from Cagayan de Oro City, Makati and Hong Kong, he said.
He said musical bands have been invited too. Read more

THE junking of the people’s initiative by the Supreme Court has sent a strong signal to incumbent and aspiring elective officials. to intensify their visibility campaigns in preparation for next year’s elections. Before the High Tribunal’s decision, wannabes were observed to be holding their punches as they were not sure if elections would push thru next year because of the move to change the Constitution. Now that the Supreme Court—by a close 8-7 decision – has denied the petition for a people’s initiative, aspirants for various political positions are starting to campaign subtly but aggressively.
A hotly-contested post now in view of the number of aspirants is the third congressional seat to be vacated by three-termer Rep. Generoso Tulagan. At least five names are mentioned – Rachel Arenas, daughter of socialite Rosemarie “Baby” Arenas; Bayambang Mayor Leocadio de Vera; Customs Deputy Commissioner Gallant Soriano; Generoso Tualgan, Jr. and retired police general Reynaldo Velasco. Read more

THE CITY’S anti-hawking task force began clearing away ambulant vendors from major city streets last Thursday urging them to relocate to a pre-designated place, it was gathered during the Patrima Kapihan at the Philippine Information Agency office.
The task force — composed of elements from the anti-hawking office, the city police, and the public order and safety office (POSO) — first cleared sidewalks along the streets of Jovellanos, Galvan, Nueva, Zamora and the front section of CSI Market Square, according to anti-hawking chief Butch Gutierrez.
The team vowed to clear obstructions in all sections of the city including Arellano, Tapuac, Perez and the whole stretch of A. B. Fernandez avenue. Read more

THE South Korean government grant offer of U.S. 2 million dollars (more than P100 million) for the establishment of a fish processing plant in Dagupan City still stands.
Talking to newsmen last Monday at his residence before flying back to Manila, House Speaker Jose de Venecia reiterated that the grant was conveyed to him by the South Korean prime minister through their foreign minister when he was in South Korea early this year.

He asked the Dagupan City government headed by Mayor Benjamin Lim to take advantage of the grant so that they will not borrow money from the bank anymore in order to build the project.
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THE first micro-finance bank in Pangasinan will open sometime next month, according to Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. who contributed part of his Countrywide Development Fund as initial capitalization of the bank.
De Venecia told newsmen that the 1st Pangasinan Micro-finance Bank to be led by Jose Oviedo will have an initial capitalization of P17.5 million.

To be based in Dagupan City, it will be patterned after the successful Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, for which de Venecia’s friend Muhammad Yunus, founder, was recently awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.
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THE ruins of the now historic Franklin bridge, left by a big flood in Luzon in 1935, will be spared demolition during the construction of the P906 million new Pantal bridge here and will remain as a memento for the new generations.
This was assured by Department of Public Works and Highways regional director Fidel Ginez, responding to a letter he received from the Dagupan city government.

The letter asked Ginez to order the project contractor, Toyo Construction Corporation of Japan, not to demolish the remaining structures of the old bridge for its great historical value, being among the declared heritage sites in the city.

The old Franklin bridge was constructed during the American regime to provide the people of Dagupan and eastern part of the province their shortest link to the capital town of Lingayen.
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