TRAFFIC woes are expected to turn from bad to worse in the city with next week’s closure of a vital access road to the city proper here.

Set initially for temporary closure starting yesterday, Monday, and totally by March 15 is a portion of the national highway in barangay Tapuac here which is due for upgrading.

The road, a perennial flood-prone area, is set to be raised by .074 meter, beyond reach by the flood anymore.
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IT’S a bitter pill to swallow but it’s reality staring him in the face.
Constituents of Rep. Jose C. de Venecia who was ousted from the House speakership last month say they still love him and support him but in the same vein, proclaim they remain loyal to President Arroyo.

This consensus emerged during De Venecia’s consultation with political leaders of his own district recently, the first one he held since he was unseated as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

All of De Venecia’s staunch allies including Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. and Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez of Dagupan City; Mojamito Libunao, Rodolfo Columbres, Napoleon Sales and Hermino Romero, mayors of San Fabian, San Jacinto Manaoag and Mangaldan, respectively, said they cannot just turn their backs to the President.
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LINGAYEN — Ilocos Norte remained unbeatable, retaining its crown for the ninth straight year in the Ilocos Region Athletic Association (IRAA) meet both in the elementary and secondary levels held in this Capital town last week. Pangasinan II finished a close first runner-up while La Union was second runner-up.

Ilocos Norte’s remarkable victory came mostly from its winning in various sports events which started on February 24 to 29 at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen, particularly in baseball, football, softball, volleyball, chess, archery, tennis, gymnastics and swimming.
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BARANGAY officials to include sangguniang kabataan chairmen from Dagupan City will undergo two days of orientation and training on enhancing efficiency at the Pinkie’s restaurant on March 10-13, according to city local government officer Expedita Callanta in a radio interview.

All the barangay officials whether old or new including treasurers and secretaries were expected to attend for them to enhance their proficiency in the administrative and legislative aspects of their work, she said.
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SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — Chief Superintendent Romeo Hilomen, former head of the Police Security and Protection Office (PSPO), assumed office Wednesday as acting director of the Ilocos Police Regional Office in a turnover of command where the outgoing officer was somewhere else outside the country.

The sudden change of command in the Ilocos police office caught Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, the reassigned police regional director, still in Fujian, China for a goodwill visit together with ranking police officers of the region, following the Ilocos PNP regional office’s winning a national award as the best throughout the country.
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RESIDENTS of Arellano Street, a thickly populated area in Dagupan City, are up in arms against the construction of a gasoline station near their area.

Led by businessmen and professionals, the complainants said the construction of a gasoline station within their neighborhood poses great danger to their health and life.

Dr. Edwin Aguirre, executive assistant to Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr., said the proposed gasoline station should be constructed far from a residential area.
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BANTAY, Ilocos Sur—At least two pieces of vintage bombs of World War II type were recovered by police operatives in a junkshop in Barangay Naguiddayan this town recently.

A junkshop worker reported to the police station about the unusual types of materials he found in the premises of their shop.
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THE soon-to-be constructed Seafoods Processing Plant in Dagupan City will provide opportunities to exporters of processed fish so that their products can meet world standards.

Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. said the proposed plant that will be financed by a grant of U.S. $2.2 million from the Korean government will have world-class facilities.

Set to be constructed starting in June this year, the plant will have modern refrigeration and vacuum pack facilities, among others, which are all products of Korea.
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THE Asia Fisheries Academy (AFA) was inaugurated recently, promising to put Dagupan City and the Philippines even more prominently in the aquaculture world map.

Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan, along with Dr. Westly Rosario, interim executive director of the National Fisheries Research Development Institute (NFRDI) presided over the inauguration.

Rosario, who represented Director Malcolm Sarmiento of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, said AFA was de Venecia’s brainchild in order to hasten the dissemination of improved aquaculture technology all over the Philippines and Asia.
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ALL development projects promised by former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., congressman of the fourth district of Pangasinan in his district will push through even if he is no longer the House Speaker.

Dagupan City Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez said Congressman de Venecia himself assured this in his meeting with political leaders of the fourth district the previous Saturday and Sunday.

This includes the new police station of Dagupan where de Venecia promised last year a counterpart of P3 million from his own Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
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