By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

HE has put his life on the line, that’s for sure – and he knows it.

Still, the man they call ‘1-O-1” or more fondly, Bebot — that’s Undersecretary Antonio Villar, Jr. of the Presidential Antri-Smuggling Group (PASG) under the Office of the President – dares to take on all comers. Like threats were ordinary peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast for him.

He’s, to be trite about it, the right man for the job.

Since he was tapped for the PASG, an assignment that we suppose not too many intrepid souls among President GMA’s stable of loyal officials would want to have, our cumpadre Bebot has shown a rare devotion to duty tracking down and stopping smuggling activities even at the expense of top, otherwise untouchable officials, especially in the Customs bureau.

That he is still at it, despite (we can imagine) stepping on so many sensitive toes, indicates he has the full backing of the President.

I relish seeing him on TV with his familiar scowl and raspy voice practically bearding the lions in their den and showing up the smugglers of untaxed goods, the latest one in that Makati auto repair shop where Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other luxury foreign cars that had no proper import papers were nailed by the PASG.

These are the Pangasinenses in the national scene, to include Health Secretary Francisco “Pincoy” Duque III, giving GMA’s Cabinet a fresh, do-good look and making all of us in this part of the Ilocos proud to be their provincemates.

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Having seen up close Usec Villar for a good many years, (though we’ve not been bonding with each other as often as before lately) I know he frowns on hanky-pankies. Wasn’t this same frank, unswerving principle of his that led him to quit the DOTC years back when he found the kitchen too hot for him? And to think he isn’t any newcomer himself when it comes to the ways of wheelers and dealers!

Now that he’s top honcho in a turf of his own, the PASG, Bebot is showing all the smugglers around he’s nobody’s patsy. From the looks of it, he’d be hauling in for the government coffers pretty soon more taxes due from the cheaters than many income-earning units and offices would ever collect, percentage-wise, in a year.
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Aggressive.

That’s one word to describe the present “marketing and promotion” moves of the Chinese in our neck of the woods in the Ilocos to include Pangasinan. And as if to underline the government’s warm welcome for the descendants of Confucius this part of the country, the Chinese now already have a consulate, yes, a consulate in Laoag City headed by Chen lei Ping.
Lei Ping, if you recall, himself recently came to Pangasinan on an apparent “familiarization and courtesy tour” with a delegation from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in tow a couple of weeks back. You saw Governor Amado Espino himself, all smiles, welcoming the visiting consul and attentively listening to the Chinese official speak of his country’s coming “investments” (one magic word that can make the Spines’ ear tingle these days) in Pangasinan.

Let’s face it, the United States has some reason to worry about this “blossoming” attachment of the country to the Chinese who, it seems, are all over town now, outnumbering the gringos who can only manage to put in one or two Peace Corps volunteers in areas where the shaolins are confidently treading in droves.

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And count in the Japanese too.

Our erstwhile wartime tormentors have come back with a vengeance too – and a whole lot of goodwill besides.

They’re into agriculture assistance with the local communities. For one, there’s that large-scale coconut plantation project that a Tokyo-based Pacific Biofields Corp. has launched in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. The project calls for the conversion of some 600,000 hectares of barren lands into coconut plantations throughout northern Luzon in order to generate sufficient coconut methyl ester (CME) for biodiesel production.

The variety of coconut seedlings used in this project is expected to bear fruits four years after planting, according to a report.

Under the agreement with local counterparts headed by a group led by former Ilocos Sur congressman Salacnib Baterina, 70 % of the CME production will go to Japan while the other 30 percent will remain in the Philippines.

Pacific Bio-fields’ pointman Moriaki Hayashida said CME is not only environment friendly but is a much better base for biodiesel compared to other sources like the much-heralded jatropha, locally called tagumbao.

And he drops the catch: “One liter of CME can reduce three kilograms of carbon dioxide presence in the air.”

Score one for climate warriors against global warming.
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SAID AND DONE: The “resurrected” Allan Sison is apparently catching up on his media circle layoff since he took three bullets from a gunman’s cal.45 pistol last month – and lived to tell the tale. Far from sulking and hibernating, he’s moving around and vows to return on the air pretty soon to resume his “Dr Heart” persona. ..He should be extra careful now though; that very program it seems has earned for him more than his fair share of troubles… We must now thank all those kindred souls who did not forget this poor writer in this merriest of seasons: Colegio de Dagupan’s prexy Voltz Arzadon, wife Lory and yes, Leo delos Angeles; the Speaker of the World, JDV; Governor (General) Amado Espino, Usec Bebot Villar of the PASG, the Big Woman with the Big Heart, Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez and, of course, the institutions of San Miguel Beer and Coca-Cola Calasiao Plant. Short list? Maybe, but they’re all we ever need to turn on a warm glow in our fireplace this Christmas.