Punchline
Our 1,074 kapitans are drug suspects
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
PDU30 is expected to name local government officials in the war on illegal drugs’ watch list this week. Great! The only trouble with such an announcement is that, it will surely disappoint many barangays, towns and cities if their known drug-protector-pushers are not included in the presidential list.
It is likely that the intention of PDU30 is to set an example for governors and mayors to follow. He wants the local executives to name the protectors in their areas.
Consider Pangasinan’s case. The PNP and PDEA already confirmed that 1,074 barangays in the province are drug-affected!
Translation: Without waiting for PDU30 to announce their names, we have 1,074 barangay kapitans as obvious prime suspects responsible for the proliferation of drugs in their communities – either as protectors, users-pushers (or both) in their communities.
This information should be enough for Guv Pogi to do a ‘PDU30’!
He can call the kapitans of the drug-affected barangays to a meeting by districts, to be attended by the PNP and PDEA regional/provincial officials. By providing the forum for our law enforcement agents, Guv Pogi can help fast-track the establishment of a Drug-Free Pangasinan, finally!
In fact, Guv Pogi, being the president of the Liga nga mga Barangay before he was elected governor, can be the elder brother to them, advising his former colleagues to come clean, confess their guilt then help him in the war vs. illegal drugs.
I would not be surprised if half of the 1,074 kapitans even signed a memorandum of understanding and pledges in the past to help eradicate illegal drugs in their communities to mislead the law enforcers. Tsk-tsk.
* * * *
ERASING THE STIGMA. There was a changing of the guards at the police stations of both cities of Dagupan and Urdaneta.
There is no doubt that both cities benefitted much from the services of P/Superintendents Chris Abrahano and Jeff Fanged. In fact, they probably were the best that both cities ever had.
But people and things have to move on, and there are unfinished business left behind for their successors, P/Superintendents Neil Miro and Marceliano Desamito Jr.
In their successors’ hands now lies the problem of erasing the stigma suffered by both cities, that Barangays Bonuan Binloc and Pantal (Dagupan) and Camantiles (Urdaneta) are tagged by PDEA as major sources of shabu in Pangasinan.
To Messrs. Abrahano and Fanged, thank you and God speed on your next assignment. To Messers. Miro and Desamito, good hunting and good luck!
* * * *
NEW BREED OF WATCHDOG. Here’s another piece of good news at the national front.
DENR Secretary Gina Lopez said she plans to organize a civic sector arm in the agency. It’s a long overdue proposition. It will most certainly augur well for the DENR’s mandate which has been the object of corruption by unscrupulous businessmen and politicians.
Environment issues were never and still are not deemed priorities by people. These became concerns only when communities are suddenly flooded, fishes are poisoned, people are deprived of shaded areas, water is finally polluted. In other words, environment issues only become immediate concerns as a consequence.
How often have we seen local governments, local DENR officials being overly lenient in enforcing environment laws and ordinances? In most cases, they act on their mandate when an outcry and a protest is heard from NGOs or civic sector.
Ms. Lopez’s plan is, therefore, timely. If that civic arm is officially organized, they can function as “initiators” as she likes to refer to the civic arm.
Her words: “I see the critical role of the civil society (in protecting the environment).” “The civil society closed the mining companies, not DENR.”
To my mind, they will be effective as “watchdogs” of local governments and, yes, PENRO and CENRO officials!
* * * *
RECONCILING TRAFFIC AND BUSINESS. The improved traffic in Dagupan City, particularly along Arellano St. proves only one thing – nothing is impossible in traffic management if political will is present. Mayor Belen Fernandez was hell-bent on cracking the problem.
Successful as it is, the residents in the area now maintain, the experiment needs calibration.
The task force led by former Brgy Kapitan Angel Gumarang and retired police officer Carlito Ocampo, correctly identified the choke points and solved it using barriers in the middle of the streets. That made motorists heave a sigh of relief and accept that discipline and strict enforcement are still the key.
The experiment, however, will now have to focus on how to balance the convenience for both the motorists and the business sector. Not a few businessmen have lamented that access to their establishments have been difficult for many customers, losing some business in the process.
What the experiment completely forgot is that the city is supposed to be a “business-friendly city.” It made business establishments suffer! But who says, both interests can’t be addressed at the same time?
Here’s this nosey motorist’s unsolicited suggestion: The presence of the barriers helps direct traffic but it is the presence of the strict traffic enforcers that manages the flow and helps instill discipline in the street. This means, even with fewer or no barriers, motorists now know what they can do and should not do.
Hence, with regular presence of strict traffic enforcers, and barriers denoting lane for loading and unloading, and restricted parking, two barriers should be installed in the middle of the street indicating where customers can make a U-turn or turn left to have easier access stores on either side of the street. The key: Trained traffic enforcers must manage the two U-Turn slots (one for each direction).
(The attempt of the Task Force to help advertise Silverio’s Restaurant by pointing to it as a U-Turn slot is suspect as it is absurd. The area which is more than 100 meters away from the chokepoints, is not even managed for U-Turn traffic)!
Yes, it’s possible to improve traffic flow and still keep the city business-friendly along Arellano St. !
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
