By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR

THE current Vice Mayor Julio Parayno-Councilor Higinio ‘Boy’ Agsalud imbroglio over in Urdaneta City has become one big spectacle – in large part, fanned by media itself. Parayno accuses the slightly-built lawyer Agsalud of making political capital of his (Parayno”s) alleged fund indiscretions.

In turn, Agsalud says his vice mayor is only trying to evade the basic issue which is that, under his term, Parayno has presided over the “bankruptcy” of the sangguniang panglunsod by hiring too many casuals whose salaries have eaten up practically the council’s whole annual budget by this month of September. Boy, a former vice mayor himself, says the sangguniang panglunsod has no more maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE)left to operate the town council with this last quarter because even the allocation for supplies, maintenance of vehicles, training and seminars under that expense code have all been used up to pay the excess casuals.

What a mess, really!
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But a bigger spectacle, as far as I am concerned, is the spillover effect of the word war to the local media. As of last week, two radio stations were outdoing each other defending or attacking either Urdaneta official like it was their own fight. What gives? Or should I say, who gives?

We know ethics in media has long gone out of style. But must our colleagues rub it in this much, this shamelessly. Any two-bit listener can quickly guess, going by their comments, that there’s more to the “righteous indignation” of the broadcast commentators than just an abiding faith to render public service, or even plain information. For godssakes, they were plain and simple “lawyering” for either of the protagonists.
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Speaking of media ethics or media professionalism, it’s grating to the ear to hear this lady announcer espousing by way of snide remarks (and this while doing a straight morning newscast on a husband-wife quarrel that went out of bounds!) the separation of married couples or the leaving of the woman to get even with a philandering husband.

While she and some others we know can easily do that without any compunction, it’s just too bad she’d want to inflict her own crooked sense of companionship to news listeners. And that she should opinionate while doing a newscast – a non-no in real journalism — makes her “crime” that much more disgusting!

That, of course, is what happens when men and women who never really trained in the finer art of journalism or shared devotion to its sacred tenets are made to suddenly sit in announcer’s booths or allowed to wield the pen – for, uh, lack of available qualified manpower.

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Better ready than sorry.

That’s what the municipal officials of Santa Maria in eastern Pangasinan , especially the sangguniang bayan led by Vice Mayor Reynaldo Corrales, are actually advocating when they passed recently their municipal ordinance for the control and prevention of Avian Influenza (AI).

While the feared bird-to-human transmission of the dreaded disease has yet to happen and while the entire country remains avian flu-free thus far, Santa Maria town, for all its tranquil, unsophisticated state, has seen fit to prepare for any eventuality. A moving, compelling case of small town, big mind.

Its effort (concern?) of course is well in sync with the continuing move of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to maintain public vigilance for any onset or outbreak of the bird-carried disease.

The Sta Maria officials, on the guidance of Mayor Jose ‘Choy’ Ginez likewise, have gone ahead in their contingency planning for, among other measures, strict surveillance, monitoring and possible quarantine of AI affected birds and humans — in case it happens in the town – all aimed at preventing or reducing the risk of further infections. You can read the Ordinance they passed on avian flu control and prevention somewhere in this issue of the Pangasinan Star.

Worldwide, as of September 2008, there have been 387 AI cases reported – none of it, yet, in the Philippines. Out of these cases, 245 have died but thankfully, again, there have been no human-to-human transmission case among these …yet.

Here’s hoping more towns and cities follow the path of vigilance taken by the municipal leaders of Sta. Maria.