THE coming of television giant GMA-7 finally with its studios and crew to Dagupan can only be for the greater good of public service and information in Pangasinan and its four cities.

One way of viewing this development in the local information sector is that GMA’s setting shop here to pit programs with rival network ABS-CBN’s means there’s money to make in this part of northern Luzon, something you can hardly begrudge these giant telecom industries for wanting to have a piece of.

Another way of looking at GMA’s chosing to be in Pangasinan, specifically Dagupan, is that there’s a whole wide and fertile ground out there for public service and news-entertainment that eager servers can fill and often eagerly do. Read more

BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

MANY DAGUPENOS, pedestrians especially, are wondering whether there’s still the law regulating the operation of tricycles in Dagupan City. They feel that if the law has not been repealed or amended, perhaps it’s more honored now in the breach than in the observance.

One need only look at the buzzing, roaring tricycle units in the city roads today to realize what these observers mean – there are infinitely much more units running on the road now than at any other time and, hear this, six out of 10 of them do not have the mandated route and windshield numbers painted on them.

That could only mean they’re, in more sense than one, colorum (or unregistered) units. Woe to the passenger who meets an Read more

By DANNY O. SAGUN

RAINS spoiled what could have been a grand street party last Wednesday night, the Kalutan or Bangusan as this year’s organizers called it, at Dagupan’s main thoroughfare. There was no record to break unlike in the time of former hizzoner Benjie Lim so that there was less worry whether rains would spoil the event or not but it could have been merrier and drew more people considering that big names in the local rock/pop industry were invited.

Whether Lim grinned or not when heavy downpour played KJ (kill joy) to the fun and disappointed the city administration, the people, and the visitors no end, we nevetheless congratulate Read more

Nen MARIO F. KARATEKA

NENGNENG mo pay kalokoan daray totoo met, awa?

Imbes a mikasakey iratan ingen iyagel day siyudad da ed makapoy a pakabitla ed sayay kalabalabas ya Bangus Pistibal, sikarani so manderal na pakadayewan na siyudad.

Say tutukuyen ko aliwa labatlan satay apabalitan pigaran tuson pinalsan manga-alay kontribusyon ed saray lokal iran negosyantes para konod say Bangus Pistibal balet ibubulsa da labat so nakolekta, no ag ingen pati samay impinge-ekas na saramay “tarpaulins” ya anunsiyo na saray nanduruman aktibidades ed Pistibal. Read more

By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

FROM the balcony of the vintage landmark that is the Vicar Hotel building, I and several spectators watched the Festivals of the North street dancing parade pass by Saturday afternoon.

While there is no question the young participants and their drum and bugle corps gave everyone great thrill with their colorful costumes and choreographed dances (at some point, some of the groups performed breath-taking stunts, you wonder who’d foot the hospital bills if they took one miscalculation, one misstep and hurt themselves somehow – okay, am referring to the gay ‘stunt’ artist of the Sugpo Festival street dancers who’s hoisted up on two bamboo poles before swinging down and breaking into a sudden “split” on the hot pavement, ouch! ) still your heart goes out to the girls and boys literally baking under the sun to give everyone enjoyment. Read more

Nen MARIO F. KARATEKA

“AHON Pamilyang Pilipino” so sakey a balon programan ipapasompal na administrasyon nen Presidente Gloria parad saray mamairap iran kabaleyan. Ed silong na sayan programa, ikdan na Diparsmin op Sosyal Wilpeyr en Dibilopmint so pamilyan mairap-bilay a saraya et pilien kada barangay na anggad limanlasus pesos kateng-kateng binulan — ed kondisyon ya gaween dan amin so saray matonong ya panangitandoroy pamilya ra.

Antoratan bilang a kondisyones?
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By DANNY O SAGUN

PANGASINAN is at its merriest mood these days with all the scheduled festivities in almost every corner of the province.

The people of amputi layag in San Carlos City have their Mango and Bamboo festival. Mapandan has its Pandan festival and Calasiao its Puto festival. Dagupan City, nothwithstanding the change in administration, is living up to its claim as the ‘Bangus Capital of the World’ by having a three-week long Bangus Festival that started in April 16 and will culminate on May 4.

The provincial administration too continued the long tradition of holding Pistay Dayat (sea festival) not only on May 1 but for a good 10 days starting April 24.
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RIGHT off the bat, we ask: Would you prefer listening to the bad news messenger or to the good news deliverer?

Your answer to this and that of the rest of theoretical respondents will quickly reveal the percentage of the nation’s populace that want to bring this nation down and those who want it to rise – despite all odds.

Taken against the current preoccupation of media to herald the bad news about the rice situation by incessantly ranting from its own safe “pulpits” on the air, on print or in the blogs as though Armageddon was nigh and coming terrifyingly real, we can only wish many of these characters were the true pundits they proclaim themselves to be.
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By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

YOU can’t blame local officials and traders tripping over each other on radio to sing hallelujahs to business tycoon Lucio Tan the morning after his visit to Dagupan City to receive an honorary degree for leadership in entrepreneurship from the Lyceum Northwestern University. In this material world, it’s to each his own kind of praise, to each his own motive.

It’s rather unkind to say this, I know, but frankly a perceptive reading of their universal acclaim for the man who ranks No. 785 in Forbes’ Magazine’s Top 1,000 Billionaires of the world can be summed up this way: Come on, Lucio, pour us part of your billions here in Dagupan and Pangasinan and you, too, will be our God. A rather selfish, if disdainful, motive at paying tribute to a self-made man who made his pile by the sweat of his brow – and some uncanny sense of business timing.
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By DANNY O. SAGUN

NOW we understand why environmental pollution problems cannot be addressed or acted upon expeditiously: Provincial offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) cannot act on their own.

As a matter of course, they still have to bring public complaints on pollution problems to the regional office of the Environmental Management Bureau, a line bureau under the DENR, for proper action..
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