THE Court of Appeals has spoken on the Nursing board exam scandal: some 17,000 of the more than 42,000 examinees can take their oath as new nurses as they did not appear to have benefited from the leakage.

The honorable court’s move has stopped dead on the tracks any attempt to further prolong the agony of the expectant nurses, a deep anxiety that, by force of circumstance, is shared by Pangasinenses because the topnotcher of that controversial June 2006 board exam happens to be a Pangasinense, Gringo Sandiego. Until the veil of doubt is lifted thru the action of a competent court such as the CA, the honor that Sandiego brought to the province thru his performance in the exam was at the very least, less edifying. When he is finally sworn in along with the other passers, it is as if he has been given the seal of worthiness, and the province, a saved face.
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By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

CLEARLY, whoever may have camped in that hilly property in Burgos overlooking the South China Sea had advanced information, if not actual experience about the terrain as being very ideal for just such secret activities and operations.

And we mean not just for manufacturing drugs as is widely suspected by local officials and police but for many other sinister purposes – like, possibly, underground training of terrorists. It wouldn’t really be surprising if that were the case; western Pangasinan’s topography, and relatively sparse population, makes it perfect for the conduct of secret and unlawful activities.
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By YOLANDA Z. SOTELO

IT’S such a queer name. And it’s not because it’s the name of a character in the 70s and 80s hit television show John and Marsha.

It’s not a queer name because it is a feminine name. It is a queer name because it was the name of my dog. And my dog was a male.

Marsha silently died in its sleep on February 9. A day before that, Jenny, the household help, told me he refused to eat. Whatever little he ate, he threw up. I gave him antibiotics and some water with sugar and salt. Then water with hydrite. I forced him to drink milk. As if to please me, he would drink a little then will leave me. I knew he was really weak when he laid down on a wet part of the porch. He hated that, always tried to find dry place. I followed him around, patting him, trying to comfort him.
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By DANNY O. SAGUN

THIS may raise eyebrows of water refilling station operators: the water that comes out of their purifying machines is already “dead.”

Why? Because the minerals which are natural components of water and which our body needs are already gone as a result of the purification process. Boiled water is also considered dead water.

Our lone guest at the Pantongtongan Tayo radio program of the Philippine Information Agency over Radyo ng Bayan-DZMQ last Tuesday, Dr. Ana de Guzman, assistant provincial health officer, clarified these points during our discussion on government measures to bring safe water to the households

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By LIWAY C. MANANTAN-YPARRAGUIRRE

WAKE up early, say between 5 a.m.-6 a.m., go outside and you will be gently kissed by, surprise, surprise, the fog. Yes, fog, as though you are in Baguio City. Yet, here I am in Dagupan City, in the lowlands, so to speak, and still being greeted by the morning mist. .
With the cold mornings (It’s still hot in the evening in this part of the city where we live), I can’t help but reminisce my college days in Baguio. Read the rest of this entry »

LINGAYEN – Pangasinan can expect before the year ends some P65 million in fresh funds for the repair of irrigation systems and projects, newly appointed Irrigation Administrator Arturo C. Lomibao said Friday.

Lomibao was in town to receive a formal recognition from the provincial board for his appointment as National Irrigation Administration head.

The funds will be apportioned per district, he said.
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TWO satellite offices of the Government Service Insurance System will rise in eastern and western Pangasinan within this year, it was gathered Thursday.

Assistant Manager Lotgardo Hernandez of the Dagupan branch told the Patrima Kapihan at the Philippine Information Agency office that the satellite offices manned by a five-man team each will be established in Sual and in Urdaneta City.

The idea is to make it easier for GSIS clients from far-flung sections of the province to make transactions like processing of loans and claims and other benefits. Non-life insurance transactions on fire, accident, and motor vehicle will however still be conducted at the Dagupan branch office, he clarified.
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By DANNY O. SAGUN
PIA-Pangasinan InfocenterIT’S FINAL. There was no outbreak of dengue this year in Pangasinan.

The consensus came during a recent consultative meeting and refresher course on epidemiology and disease surveillance where health authorities aimed to reconcile differing views on the health situation in the province particularly on dengue.

It will be recalled that the provincial health team under Dr. Calugay believed there was already a dengue outbreak this year based on the number of cases from January to July.
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LOCAL examinees of the 2006 Board Examinations for Nurses led by their topnotcher Gringo Sandiego, a Pangasinense from Mangaldan, hailed the decision of the Court of Appeals last Friday allowing some 17,000 of them to take their oaths as nurses, some two months after a court restraining order virtually put them in limbo.

The appellate court’s decision appears to have overtaken plans of the board passers from Pangasinan to file a petition for intervention with that court, articulating their position for “no retake” of the test.
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STA. MARIA – an extortionist posing as a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) was killed during a shootout in an entrapment set by policemen here Thursday night.

The dead man was identified through a card found in his wallet as Melchor Pagco, 25, purportedly a native of barangay Bayaoas, Urdaneta City. A verification with the Urdaneta City police on Friday however showed that name is non-existent.

Senior Inspector Arthur Amin, Sta. Maria chief of police, said the suspect together with his cohorts on a van and four motorcycles, were to pick up P100,000 which they demanded as alleged revolutionary tax from one Rodolfo Calpo,owner of Carruar gasoline station in Sta. Maria.
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