ALAMINOS CITY – The town of Anda is finally doing away with all fish pens and cages by January next year so the big fishkill that happened sometime in June this year will not recur anymore.

In that fishkill which caught the attention of Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap no less because of its magnitude, some P10 million worth of bangus was lost.

Mayor Nestor Pulido told newsmen here on Monday that so far only seven fish cages remain on the Anda side of the Caquiputan Channel, a body of water which his town shares with Bolinao. Read the rest of this entry »

THE Dagupan city government, through the city agriculture office, is now implementing a color coding scheme for the river system to guide fisherfolk in their daily aquaculture operations and activities.

City agriculturist Emma Molina said that water quality monitoring boards carrying three different colors will be deployed within the 10 identified critical zones and water sampling stations, namely: Pugaro, Lasip Grande, boundary of Dagupan and Binmaley Talaib-Tocok, Watac area, waiting shed near DCNHS, Dawel, Calmay Ilocano, Calmay-Carael and Magsaysay area. Read the rest of this entry »

ALAMINOS CITY – Three sites have been checked out by the Department of Transportation and Communication as possible location of a proposed international airport to be built here hopefully starting next year at a cost of half a billion pesos.

City Mayor Hernani Braganza said the three sites were the subject of an ocular inspection two weeks ago by a technical team from the DOTC that found all sites recommended by the city government to have passed the criteria as possible location of the Pangasinan International Airport. Read the rest of this entry »

By VENUS MAY H. SARMIENTO

URDANETA CITY – This eastern Pangasinan city became the latest recipient of medical and dental services Tuesday, as part of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s ‘Walang Kupas Roadshow’ staged in the Ilocos region.

City Mayor Amadeo R. Perez ,Jr thanked PCSO for choosing Urdaneta as a beneficiary. He said indigent patients started arriving as early as 8 am

“Akmang- akma nga itong walang kupas na tema ng PCSO,” Perez said.” Alam naman nating all these years, when you speak of charity, when you speak of help to the poorer sector of the community, ang ahensiya ng gobyerno at walang kupas na naninilbihan ay ang PCSO, kaya maraming salamat sa PCSO”
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SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The new Machine Readable Passport will soon be available to applicants applying for a Philippine Passport for the first time and to those renewing their old passports at the Department of Foreign Affairs – Regional Consular Office-1 (DFA-RCO 1) here.

DFA regional director Eleonor B. Belgica said first timer or renewal applicants have to personally appear to sign and thumb-print their application form before a Consular Officer at DFA-RCO 1

Applicants are also required to submit three copies of their passport-size photograph taken against a royal blue background, instead of the white background required in the old system. The photograph, signature and thumbprints of the applicant will be stored in the passport database, Belgica said. Read the rest of this entry »

ALAMINOS CITY – A giant rare sea turtle (pawikan) was released to the sea shortly after it was turned over to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) here.

Celso Salazar, CENRO for western Pangasinan, said the sea turtle was released in Baquioen Bay, Sual, soon after this was turned over to his office by Dr. Carlito Arenas, director of the Trauma and Specialist Hospital in Dagupan City.

Arenas, a member of the Rotary Club of Dagupan, said he bought the rare sea turtle from a boy in Sual for P500 so he can turn it over to the DENR to be released to the sea. Read the rest of this entry »

BINMALEY – The Manat river here has been chosen a pilot area for oyster farming by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

Mayor Simplicio Rosario said a model oyster farm will be put up in this river jointly by the BFAR and the municipal government with the support of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

This will become a show window for oyster raising in the whole of Pangasinan. Read the rest of this entry »

ALAMINOS CITY – The provincial board is conducting a province-wide consultation with municipal and city mayors on the plan to devolve the position of sanitary inspectors to municipal and city governments.

Vice Governor Marlyn Primicias-Agabas said that at present, the provincial government is shouldering the salaries of 47 municipal and sanitary inspectors, which is a big drain to the scarce resources of the province. Read the rest of this entry »

LINGAYEN – Several high-powered firearms and ammunitions were seized by the police in a raid at the residence of an alleged leader of a cattle rustling syndicate in western Pangasinan.

Federly Namoca of barangay Ranao, Bani is now facing a case for violation of Presidential Decree No. 1866 as amended by Republic Act 8294 for illegal possession of firearms. Read the rest of this entry »

A MILD fishkill that broke out in Dagupan City last week caused P186,000 in opportunity losses to fish farmers engaged in the culture of milkfish (bangus).

City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina said the fishkill was caused by oxygen depletion in the water that occurred during neap tide caused by the changing face of the moon, a natural occurrence.

The fishkill occurred in parts of barangay Pugaro, Salapingao, Lomboy and sitio Sabangan in Bonuan Gueset. Read the rest of this entry »