Punchline
Bonanza and disappointment
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
BETWEEN efforts and initiatives of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and DILG Sec. Mar Roxas alone, Pangasinan has been reaping a lot of benefits for its people.
Last Thursday, Mr. Cayetano was in Dagupan and Bayambang to create more opportunities to improve the livelihood of market vendors and farmers, respectively. In Dagupan, he established another micro-financing project this time for the members of the Malimgas Vendors Association led by Kapitana Julie Perez. It was the 13th project under his Presyo-Trabaho-Kita/Kaayusan program.
It has been Mr. Cayetano’s advocacy to provide small entrepreneurs easy access to small loans for their daily operations at low-interest rates and eventually help shore revenues for the associations’ activities. In Bayambang, the Federation of Farmers acquired an irrigation pump with Mr. Cayetano’s help.
The following day, Mr. Roxas arrived in Dagupan to deliver a “Fish Finder” GPS and nets to fisherfolk in the city. The equipment will enable fishermen out in the sea to spot schools of fish and return to shore with a profitable catch. The main purpose, however, of his trip apparently was to discuss the advantages of local governments and how our towns and cities can grow leaps and bounds under the bottom-up-budget.
Mr. Roxas also took the opportunity to boost the national campaign vs. corruption in the city by lending his support to the “Hwag Magnakaw” campaign of Cardinal Luis Tagle and Ugnayan ng Barangay at Simbahan activities here. He also joined the Kompre regional meeting at the LNU gym!
Indeed, it has been a bonanza of sorts for our marginalized sectors this week!
Everything worked perfectly for the province except for one issue that Mr. Roxas refused to help the province with – the appointment of a permanent provincial police director. He had an opportunity to stand tall as a problem solver and to stop thinking as a politician, but he turned away from it. At the end of the day, I thought Mr. Roxas was a huge disappointment. Sayang. More on this next week.
By the way, where was Vice President Jejomar Binay? Pangasinenses would certainly be happy to hear and see him take an initiative to directly help our farm and fisher folks in their livelihood without resorting to cash dole-outs.
Also, what can he contribute to the cause of fighting corruption?
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NEW STRATEGY NEEDED. Read our page 1 story about an 11-year old boy who was recently arrested in Mangaldan town in a buy-bust operation. If that doesn’t alarm you, I don’t know what will.
As things stand, it’s obvious that the drug syndicates operating in the province are already feeling the pinch of the ongoing campaign vs. illegal drugs in Metro Manila. They have began operating with impunity, dead set to sell and dispose of the supply that could not be moved in Metro Manila. They have resorted to deploying minors to escape detection. After all, if caught, the minor can get away with just a slap on the wrists, no bribes needed for judges, prosecutors and cops.
While the report from the police only went as far as identifying the boy semantically as originally from Mindanao, holding temporary residence in the province, one can deduce that the kid is the son of Muslim parents, living in one of the Muslim communities in Dagupan City!
Curiously, the report said the parents of the boy did not even dare present themselves to the police even just to acknowledge that the boy is their son. How does one read this?
Is it possible that the Muslim parents were aware of the kid’s activities and simply didn’t want to be implicated because the parents are the pushers and the kid, their courier? Which brings me to ask: are our government agencies merely accepting the situation matter-of-factly and do nothing else?? Shouldn’t the DSWD have the parents arrested for refusing to acknowledge their own son? What do the city police know about the parents?
This is a matter that needs to be addressed by for the Provincial Peace and Order Council and the Dagupan Peace and Order Council – not only about the continuing involvement of some residents of the Muslim Villages in Dagupan in illegal drug trafficking, but the growing involvement of minors!
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CONTROVERSIAL DR. It seems the stench of the notoriety of the controversial Dr. Roland Mejia as medical director of the Region 1 Medical Center has already permeated even the already numbing smell senses of Dagupan City’s senior citizens.
In a totally unexpected situation during the visit of presidential wannabe Mar Roxas, Atty. Cornelia Español, president of the city’s federation of senior citizens, stood up in an open forum and asked Mr. Roxas why Dr. Mejia, as director of a government hospital, insists on charging senior citizens in spite of the coverage of PhilHealth. Since Dr. Mejia was present to welcome the big bosses, Mr. Roxas promptly referred the complaint to him and asked him to respond.
After some dilly-dallying on his part, the forum moved on, and the complaint was left unresolved. Did Dr. Mejia bother to approach Atty. Español to clarify the issue? Not on your life!
Meanwhile, an easy lifestyle check about him will easily reveal a mismatch in his capability to own a 3-floor building with a swimming pool and a fleet of luxury vehicles parked in his driveway. Anyway, that’s between him and his political patrons, COA, and Ombudsman… and Sandiganbayan.
In fairness to Dr. Mejia, with all the allegations of unethical and corruption swirling around his head, perhaps the Ombudsman, motu propio, should already file whatever appropriate cases can be determined so he can clear himself if he’s not guilty of any misdeeds as medical director of a government hospital.
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BOTTLENECK. Still at the R1 Medical Center.
The street and sidewalk fronting the medical center have become a veritable bottleneck, keeping traffic at a standstill from daylight to sundown. Pedestrians are left to fend for themselves on the streets because the vendors have permanently occupied the sidewalks. The streets are jammed leaving no space for emergency runs to and from the medical center because jeepneys have found a convenient terminal in the area.
So one cannot help but wonder – who’s earning the daily tong for allowing the area to be in such a messy state? Make your guess: Is it the police sub-station across the hospital? The POSO enforcers assigned to the area? Or the hospital management?
The Philippine General Hospital is at the heart of busy Manila on Taft Avenue. It used to be the scene of a daily traffic jungle survival until the city government decided enough was enough. The sidewalks were cleared of vendors, streetlights were installed, loading and unloading stations were moved away from the gates. Today, PHG can easily be accessed from any point.
Surely the madhouse in front of R1MC can easily be corrected once the tong issue is resolved!
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Thank you Kabaleyan JOE CERALDE of New Jersey, USA for renewing your Platinum Kabaleyan Club Membership. Your renewal helps keep our Online edition accessible to all Pangasinenses! Salamat ya balbaleg!
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