Punchline

By November 14, 2017Opinion, Punchline

Mega Dagupan City

 

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

DON’T look now but the Dagupan City government is breaking barriers in governance.

Who would have thought that after 4 years, the city’s P300-M budget would triple!

Note that appointing figures for the budget cannot be whimsical; it must prove that it has the capacity to produce the revenues to cover the expense budget, and apparently, the Fernandez administration says it can!

And once the budget is approved, the government is expected to spend for all the items it defined and listed in the budget. Hence, the pressure on government to produce the revenues is inherent in the passage and adoption.

So, the first order of the day to keep a balanced budget is to ensure that there are no wastage, no areas for corruption and employees will have to perform at their peak levels.

So far, Mayor Belen Fernandez has proven to be a good manager of manpower and financial resources, and that’s a big plus for her and the city. Indeed, Dagupan is ready for the mega title.

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ANARCHY IN THE STREETS. There are, no doubt, at least more than 1,000 motorcycles plying Dagupan streets on any given hour. Translation: 1,000 accidents waiting to happen.

Like tricycle riders, they don’t observe laws and traffic rules and they, more than the cars and trucks, pose several serious hazards to both pedestrians and motorists.  Worse, police and traffic enforcers on the streets and highways don’t seem to care a hoot about them. Could it be because most of them have taken to riding motorcycles themselves?

I have yet to see a motorcycle rider being flagged down for speeding, reckless riding, driving without helmet (in barangays), etc. by police, traffic enforcers or barangay officials.

Without anyone caring to impose the rules, from ‘no plates’ to speeding, to reckless overtaking to riding without helmets, from overloading with riders to refusing to stop on thru stop corners and pedestrian lanes, from illegal counterflow to illegal parking, etc., it’s no wonder criminals have taken to using motorcycles as the most effective way in committing homicide and murder anywhere and anytime!

The only time and place when motorcycle riders are confronted is when checkpoints are in place for security purposes. But then, there aren’t any police checkpoints set up precisely to check motorcycle-riding criminals.

Curiously, since our police are already provided with motorcycles, why aren’t they given the added task to monitor, enforce traffic rules on motorcycle riders, and give chase, if need be?

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WANTED: NEW PARKING POLICY. Speaking of traffic, the Dagupan City council recently approved a resolution authorizing another traffic experiment in the city anticipating gridlocks during Christmas holiday and December fiesta. It’s a good move.

And while the city is at it, I suggest it starts looking into parking regulations as well.

The “park on any empty space“ policy on the city’s main streets is already creating havoc in the streets.  This policy must level up and follow the lead of the malls –designating parking areas separately for vehicles and motorcycles! Painting curbsides for parking no longer serve motorists.

With chaotic parking in the city, Dagupan may soon be labeled as business-unfriendly city.

It’s time the city starts –

  1. Painting (marking) slots for parallel vehicle parking to maximize space and eliminate practice of ‘reserve’ parking spaces of stores.
  2. Designating motorcycle parking spaces along downtown area loop. Motorcycle parking boxes (good for 7-10 units) should be designated every 40 meters alongside parking slots for vehicles.
  3. Prescribing maximum 1-hour free parking on main streets, and impose fees for hours beyond.
  4. Collection of authorized parking fees should be privatized.

5.. Regulate parking rates in private lots.

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SKEPTICISM THAN OPTIMISM. With the police pulled out from the war on drugs, we are sensing growing skepticism and cynicism about the capabilities of the town and barangay officials to sustain their drug-free status as validated by the provincial police and Provincial Anti-Drug Advisory Council.

The drug syndicates are known to be always several steps ahead of the law enforcement agencies in whatever situation, war on drugs or not. With the undermanned PDEA at the helm, and the hands of our police tied behind their back, could the situation have already changed the tide in the drug syndicates’ favor?   

Couple this with the tendency of the Church to promptly condemn the government for every reported death of a suspected drug pusher, could the government still say it is winning the war? However you look at it, the drug syndicates have found a reliable ally in the bishops, and that’s a win-win for the drug syndicates.

By incessantly questioning the justification for the deaths of the 3,900 drug personalities killed during legitimate police operations, I do wonder a lot if the bishops and their allies in the political opposition would be happier if the 3,900 casualties were our law enforcers, and not the drug pushers. 

So, unless the greatly undermanned PDEA can sustain the momentum, which is doubtful given the number of their operatives alone, I’m afraid any assurance by police and PDEA leadership that they are still winning the war is hard to believe, not without more news of more drug suspects being arrested (and or killed) in drug operations.

But under the present set-up, the information that most towns and cities in Pangasinan are now drug-cleared is actually working against the campaign. Wouldn’t it be contradictory if the PDEA and police report more arrests at this time when the communities are supposed to be drug-cleared? Yet, there’s no doubt the drug pushers are back. 

What is certain is there will be a lot more work ahead when the police are finally recalled to be proactive in tandem with PDEA to recover lost grounds during this period.

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FINALLY, PERMANENT CHIEFS. We welcome the permanent appointment of P/Superintendent Franklin Ortiz as chief of police of Dagupan City, and we hope all other towns and cities in Pangasinan will also have permanent police chiefs soon.

The PNP “officer-in-charge“ policy introduced by the Aquino administration marginalized the campaign against illegal drugs. Was it deliberate? In Pangasinan, provincial directors were being switched even before designated OICs could assess the situation on the ground. Since no one was being held accountable, it didn’t worry anyone except the communities under siege.

Also, it was not fair to the police officers who wanted to prove they had what it takes to the job. Everyone simply moved on to their new assignments with no sense of accomplishment.

With permanent appointments, police chiefs now know that they are fully accountable and their performance can now be measured by the communities they serve.

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