THOUSANDS of people from all walks of life trooped to the beaches of Pangasinan on Thursday to participate in Pistay Dayat (Sea Festival) which coincides with the celebration of Labor Day on May 1.

They came by cars, buses, jeepneys and trucks from nearly all corners of Luzon to soak in the Invigorating waterS of the Lingayen Gulf and beat the intense summer heat in their homes.

Many held picnics in the beach with just towels covering their heads while they were eating. Others rented sheds.
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SAN CARLOS CITY—The bust and life size statue of the late Mayor Julian Resuello were unveiled Wednesday in this city on his first death anniversary.

The bust was unveiled by Resuello’s eldest son, Mayor Julier Resuello, in front of the San Carlos City auditorium, where he was shot and mortally wounded on the night of April 28, 2007.

He died two days later at the St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City.
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IT was an enchanting evening of fine music with the Philippine Madrigal Singers, a multi-awarded and world-class choir taking the center stage Wednesday night in front of the Capitol building here.

The concert that formed part of the program “Say Dayat tan Musika” (The Sea and Music), was among the many features of the Pangasinan Pista’y Dayat (Sea Festival) that started on April 25.

The 42 year-old Madrigal Singers did an excellent rendition of soulful, classic and novelty songs, paving once more that they deserve the reputation as one of the world’s best choirs for all time.
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By FREDDIE G. LAZARO

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The National Food Authority regional office has warned all its accredited outlets of revocation of their licenses if they are found violating the guidelines in selling government rice.

NFA Regional Director Joseph Dela Cruz said that 60 “Palengke Watch Teams” were already deployed on daily basis to various markets in the region to monitor and apprehend violators of the guidelines.

The move is in consonance with the instruction of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to ensure the visibility of NFA rice in the market, Dela Cruz said. Read more

STA. CRUZ, Ilocos Sur— A preacher died when the motorcycle he was riding on was bumped by a car from the side along the national highway in Barangay Villa Garcia, last Wednesday.

Chief Inspector Jojit Prado, chief of police of Sta. Cruz, identified the victim as Fernando Puli, 66, of the Iglesia Independiente Aglipayana.
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PROPONENTS of the Tri-City Ferry System will meet again on May 12 in San Fernando City to further discuss mechanics of the project to make sure that it will really succeed.

Director Martin Valera of the Department of Tourism, who is involved in crafting the mechanics of the Tri-City Ferry System, said the three mayors will hear the presentation of one of the private companies interested to operate the project.

The meeting will be hosted by Mayor Pablo Ortega of San Fernando City, to be attended by the other proponents, Mayor Hernani Braganza of Alaminos City and Alipio Fernandez Jr. of Dagupan City. Read more

IT was a question of who danced best that, by some providence, also became another question of who danced best — in the rain.

Mapandan and Agoo street dancers in the recently-concluded Bangus Festival showed they deserved the honors, respectively, bagging the grand prizes in the first and second categories of P150,000 each in the highly successful “Festivals of the North”staged last weekin Dagupan City.

Mapandan dancers thrilled the crowd no end with their well-choreographed dance in their own “Pandan Festival” while garbed in their colorful costumes to capture the top prize in the first category. Read more

A YOUNG and dynamic official of Dagupan City who helped in the back-breaking preparations for the just concluded Bangus Festival 2008 succumbed to a massive heart attack Saturday.

Reginaldo “Reggie” Ubando, chief of the city’s Waste Management Division, was rushed to the hospital but doctors failed to revive him.

Ubando, whose unit as in past editions of the Bangus Festival found itself greatly challenged in keeping the city physically clean and orderly despite the big event, held the position since the past Lim administration. Read more

VIGAN CITY—This year’s Viva Vigan Festival of the Arts and the Binatbatan Festival is on starting from May 1 to 6, City Mayor Eva Marie Singson Medina announced.

It is the 7th Binatbatan Festival and the 16th Viva Vigan Festival of the Arts. The Binatbatan Fest was launched on May 2002 in honor of the well-known Abel – Iluko fabrics of the city, while the Viva Vigan Fest of the Arts was launched in May 1993 to promote the city’s unique historical arts and cultures. Read more

By Venus May H. Sarmiento

THREE natural wonders of the Philippines may just make it to the world’s ‘Seven Wonders of Nature’ if we campaign and vote for them online.

Waiting to be included in the much coveted list are the Tubbataha Reef in Sulu, Chocolate Hills of Bohol and the Underground River in Puerto Prinsesa, Palawan.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo exhorted all Filipinos here and abroad to help the government in its campaign for the three wonders to win in the search. Read more