“IT is my vow to make Sta. Barbara a model town in governance, peace and progress.”

Thus said retired Police General Reynaldo V. Velasco, now the leading mayoralty candidate in his native town of Sta. Barbara, following a recent 30-minute interview with ABS-CBN’s Halalan 2007 hosted by Mae Viray.

Velasco was the lone retired police and military general featured with two other panelists from the Bayan Muna and a university student council president. Read more

A PETITION has been filed against a woman candidate for councilor in Calasiao town for not being a registered voter in the municipality.

The petition was filed against Raquel Victoria Lim, a candidate for councilor under the PDP-Laban whose name could not be found in the list of voters in Calasiao town.

Lim, actually born in Calasiao, is running for councilor under the ticket of former Calasiao Mayor Celso de Vera. Read more

CANDON CITY – The OIC district engineer of Ilocos Sur was critically wounded when he was gunned down by unidentified suspects inside his office in Barangay San Nicolas here at noon last Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent George Regis, Ilocos Sur police director, identified the victim as Percival Bitonio, 57, of the province’s 2nd Engineering District based in San Nicolas, Candon City. He is from barangay Bannuar, San Juan, Ilocos Sur.

The victim is the husband of San Juan town mayoralty candidate Amelia Bitonio, an independent candidate. Read more

A SCHOOL TEACHER from barangay Unzad in Villasis town is in hot water after a pupil whose ear she twisted on March 30 died about two weeks later.

The police identified the suspect as Zenaida Macaban, teacher at the Unzad Elementary School in Villasis who was accused of causing an injury on the ear of eight-year old Regine Datuin, 8, a Grade III pupil.

A police report said the incident happened inside the classroom when Macaban was apparently irked over the girl victim, who was then among several pupils attending Macaban’s class. Read more

FORMER Senator Heherson Alvarez said here on Sunday that if the people of the fourth district of Pangasinan will commit the mistake of electing someone who can not do better than House Speaker Jose de Venecia, “the whole nation will suffer”.

Speaking to local newsmen, Alvarez said de Venecia is an asset for the whole nation while his opponent, Mayor Benjamin Lim of Dagupan City—who may be industrious and handsome — lacks the caliber to become a national and global leader like De Venecia.

Alvarez is vice president of Luzon of the ruling party Christian-Muslim Democrats, of which De Veneica is the president and co-founder. Read more

CANDON CITY – An old, multi-awarded coconut grower from this city is among the top contenders in the Search for Outstanding Coconut Farmer for 2006 nationwide.

Jose Pajarillo, 70, was adjudged one of the finalists in the search for GAWAD SAKA sponsored by the Department of Agriculture.

It is actually, Pajarillo’s second time to vie for the national award. The first one was in 2003.

Now determined to win the most coveted national farmer’s award, Pajarillo was earlier adjudged as Ilocos region’s most outstanding coconut farmer in 2003, 2004 and 2006. Read more

RED TIDE, the seasonal contamination of sea water by toxic microorganisms, remains in part of shorelines of Bani town last week.

Local agriculture officials have advised against eating shellfishes coming from the areas until the public advisory is lifted.

The advisory on red tide affecting part of the shoreline in Bani, Pangasinan has not yet been lifted.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Agriculture issued the advisory April 4 this year saying high level of toxicity of samples of shellfishes harvested by fishermen from Barangay Wawa, Bani have been confirmed. Read more

PERHAPS, some sponsors of so-called Candidates’ Debate will need to restudy their less pleasant comments and actions against political aspirants who, for one reason or another, reject or, if they accept at all, fail to show up on the appointed date for the grand battle of words.

Formal debates, by their nature, are clothed with the mantle of civility and fairness, absent which educated argumentation among men can quickly degenerate into a shouting, insulting match or pure muckraking. From the choice of venue to the selection of overall theme, to the studied phrasing of topics/questions to be put forward to the debaters, to the type and number of audience who Read more

By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR

SO what’s cooking now in the exciting four-cornered congressional race in the Third District of Pangasinan?

Latest scuttlebutt is President Arroyo had this visitor with whom she had a three-hour lunch on Good Friday during the Holy week vacation of the First Family and her Cabinet in Baguio City.

Not that it should surprise you immensely but my Palace source revealed that GMA was all smiles and full of mirth during her tete-a-tete with, well, whadyaknow, former Customs deputy commissioner Gallant D. Soriano, who’s running for congressman of the Third District! Read more

By LIWAY M. YPARRAGUIRRE

SHE arrived unexpected but was warmly welcomed with pure love and care. She changed the couple’s world upside down.

Suddenly Mrs. Y found herself washing baby clothes in the evening while Leila is asleep, water fetched up at the second floor terrace which serves as laundry area,

The ‘sleeping like a log’ habit changed to half asleep, suddenly jerking to life with every small sound created by the littler one who sleeps between papa and mama.
She occupies a bigger sleeping area. Read more