DESPITE opposition by mayors and governors, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is seeking to devolve jail management and fire protection functions from the national to the local levels, a department official told the Senate Monday.

DILG Undersecretary Marius Corpus, DILG undersecretary, revealed this during a hearing by the committees on public order and illegal drugs, local government, and finance.

Len Sicat of the League of Cities of the President however said municipal and city mayors were opposed to the proposed devolution if it would not be funded by the national government.
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THE red tide scare is wreaking havoc on the livelihood of producers as well as traders and vendors of shellfish products in Pangasinan. Thousands of people dependent on the province’s shellfish industry are ruing the red tide scare which has badly affected sales of the product.

“We eat what we could not sell and nobody among us had ever been hospitalized,” said Gemma Quinto, 41, an oyster vendor of barangay Lucao, hoping to disprove there’s red tide toxin in Pangasinan waters.

Quinto said even if they kept on telling customers there is no red tide in the Lingayen Gulf, particularly in Bolinao where her oysters come from, still many people refuse to buy oysters, mussels, “kampis” and other shellfish products. Read more

SAN JUAN, Ilocos Sur – A four-kilometer sleeping mat made from a local palm called “buri” (silag to the Ilocanos) will be paraded on Dec. 27 during the celebration of the town’s “Buri Festival”.

Mayor Benjamin Sarmiento said in making the four-kilometer mat, the people would like the name of their town to be etched in the Guinness Book of World’s Record. Read more

LINGAYEN – The police are closely monitoring the reported recruitment of boys and girls in the Ilocos region into the ranks of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil cited the case of a certain ‘Ka Gina’, a 17-year old lass from Bagulin, La Union, who surrendered to the police after only more than a month with the NPA. Read more

By DANNY O SAGUN
PIA Dagupan Infocenter

OPERATORS of colorum vehicles particularly vans can now apply for legalization at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Started last month, the program seeks to legalize the operations of public utility vehicles including vans that are used to transport passengers on a “point to point” system, according to administrative officer Minerva Ducusin of the regional office of LTFRB in a radio interview.

She said that as monitored by their office, about 70 percent of vans servicing various routes in Region l were found to be operating illegally.

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CONSTRUCTION of the new Domalandan bridge in Lingayen will be completed before Christmas, House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. enthusiastically announced Friday.
Damaged by strong currents due to floods some seven years ago, the vital link to western Pangasinan needed at least P700 billion to reconstruct it. Budget constraints coming in installments had delayed its reconstruction.
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IT just makes sense.

A press release from the office of Senator Ralph G. Recto reaching our editorial desk said it all about the matter of government budget and disbursements. We’d rather let him say it unexpurgated (with just a couple of editing here and there for clarity.):

“The problem is not lavish spending but lack of spending. It isn’t ‘labis’ spending but ‘kulang’ spending.

“Government underspent P63 billion in the first 8 months of the year. It was supposed to spend P739.5 billion but ended up disbursing P676.4 billion from January to August.
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By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

GOVERNMENT is on the right track pushing for the so-called “medical tourism” program for the country.

In brief, the program is about promoting the various medical skills and specialization available in the Philippines at more affordable prices than are provided by European and North American doctors and therapists. Many foreigners now look outward to Asian shores for their health treatments that come, as in the case of the Philippines, with the unique Oriental care and devotion.

As Filipinos right here in our homeland, we feel the hospital and clinic fees and rates for our own family’s medical treatment are already too high by common family economic standards. But to other nationals, especially their elderlies and handicapped, the bill is quite affordable and easy enough on their pockets.
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Nen MARIO F. KARATEKA

DIAD sakey a dueypoan daray kakaibad medya, asaglawi so nipaakar ed ibatik tonia konoy Heneral Arturo Lomibao, retiradon director-heneral na Pilipin Nasyonal Polis, ed inka-gobernador na Pangasinan. Singa itopa to kono, kuandaray karakel ya pris relesyons opisers tora, so inkasaysikato ed saray higanten Agbayani, Estrella, Lambino, Espino tan no siopakamanidtan ya politikon beteranon manggegetmad Urduja House.

Samay sakey ya kaiba kuanto et akording to da surbi (aliwan sobri man, a!), nen gapo walad oti-otit so ngaran nen Heneral Art, balet diad sankabaloan ya surbi (aliwan sobri man, a, oliten ko pa), atapewan tolay kapara ton datin opisyal na PNP a si Kongrisman Amado Tutaan Espino no bilang ombatik iya ed inka-gobernador. Wadman nid tagey ira di Bise Gobernador Oscar Lambino tan Mrs Jamie Agbayani, asawa nen GobVictor. Read more