Punchline
BCS, shades of Hacienda Binay?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
IF you care to ask a grade school kid “How’s school?”, he or she will likely say: “Nothing great… a school is a school! Ugh!”
But if you ask a parent or a teacher in Bayambang, whose kids or pupils are enrolled at the Bayambang Central School (BCS), have been held hostage by local officials, DepEd and a businessman, you will likely get dagger looks, wondering on whose side you are on to ask that question. Why so?
The fate of BCS is already beyond what appears to be their face value – new facilities vs. old facilities, farther location vs. closer location to the poblacion, etc. Apparently, there are far bigger interests involved that’s certainly over everyone’s head in the community. Try half a billion pesos!
As things develop, it is becoming more obvious that the center of the controversy is not the plight of the pupils but a million-peso deal that has to be made or aborted for personal gains or political opportunities.
Watch how each side cashes in on events aimed at drawing public attention towards or away from the agenda of either side.
From the looks of it, it makes the tainted MC Adore sale deal in Dagupan City crafted by the Lim administration look like a tiangge sale!
So let’s watch this new teleserye! Shall we say we have our own version of Hacienda Binay here?
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BF IS DEPED RESPONSIBILITY. Speaking of schools, the Meguille Enterprises in Binmaley is having a problem collecting payments from the BF Construction (BFC), the designated contractor to build the school buildings in the region. It built for the Salapingao High School, Mangatarem National High School and the Quetegan High School in Pangasinan.
According to the storeowners, a certain Engr. Jun Guardo purchased the construction materials for BFC, but because of the alleged outstanding accountabilities of Guardo, the company is withholding payment. Duh? Company officials hinted at anomalies involving the engineer.
DepEd contracted BF for its projects and therefore, it has the responsibility to investigate the latter’s questionable activities with its suppliers. Unless DepEd can explain why BF cannot and should not pay its suppliers, the irregularity in the implementation of the project cannot but suggest that some DepEd officials are dipping their fingers in the project for a cut in the budget.
Is it possible that there are other suppliers in the same situation?
I strongly suggest to these suppliers whom BF has refused to pay, to write a strong letter to DepEd Sec. Armin Luistro who abhors any suggestion that his department is involved in corruption.
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ENTERPRISING POSO. The Public Order and Safety Office in Dagupan has been tasked by Mayor Belen Fernandez to strictly enforce the city’s jaywalking ordinance. Good luck Mayor!
I don’t see how your POSO can live up to that expectation when it cannot even mildly enforce the loading and unloading ordinance and the parking rules. My suggestion to the good mayor is to ride in an unmarked and unescorted vehicle and make the rounds, and she will see why her POSO cannot be expected to perform by her standard.
For instance, note how some stores in downtown area are allowed to fence off loading and unloading, parking areas as exclusive parking areas for their customers. Some buses are seen using loading and unloading areas as terminals, literally parked to pick up passengers. The area fronting the Maradel Bldg is a case in point.
Believe you me, Mayor, you have “enterprising” POSO officers around you! So before you become a laughing stock for another failed POSO responsibility, I suggest you withdraw your order for strict enforcement of jaywalking. Or you can start firing the enterprising hooligans in uniform.
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BACK WITH A VENGEANCE. The hitmen-riding-in-tandem are back with a vengeance. They chose a lowly public servant in the Capitol as their victim to announce their return.
It is obviously aimed at thumbing their noses and embarrassing the PNP provincial office that holds fort in Lingayen. Didn’t the PNP report that the campaign against the criminal tandem riders has been contained since the suspension of the permit to carry firearm outside of residence in the province? Well, the hired gunmen evidently used an unlicensed firearm and possibly a stolen motorcycle. A strategy that is not covered by PTCFOR but by Oplan Bakal and checkpoints!
Until suspected hired guns are lined up inside detention cells, it’s still every man for himself out there. The only thing going for would-be victims is they can at least try to fend off or hit back at their assassins with their licensed firearms while our cops do their thing, searching and entrapping their suspects running around in their stolen bikes.
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