Playing with Fire
Celebration or eulogy?
By Gonzalo Duque
THE recent Pangasinan Day now on April 5 (the change of date was based on scholarly study and research) was a big success.
Hmmm… sikat la lamet si amigon Gobernador Amado “Spines” Espino Jr.
Ay lalasi kayo ha, ompiano nonognonoten yon abayaran yay makter ya lingkor ed panagdayew tod Mama Spines, pwede ba, all these plugs are unsolicited.
Just say we are happy with the way Spines is running the province. The foundation day celebration last Monday, April 5, was a stellar public holiday, graced by the province’s outstanding sons and daughters led by former President Fidel Ramos, our balitok awardee, along with the famous Frank Sionil Jose. Congratulations to all of them. Brod Pingkoy was an awardee, too.
In his behalf, we thank the awards committee. We are humbled.
Back to Spines. He has ruled the province for only three years, and yet his achievements have surpassed those of his predecessors combined. How could you ignore that? On a table of l to l0, he gets 9. His opponent, we can only give him a 6. So the choice is clear, isn’t it?
* * *
The city of Dagupan is once again in a festive mood. Why, because it’s Bangusan season. Dagupenos and visitors will converge in Bangus City to celebrate its Bangus Festival.
Unlike the one in the province, we have some reservations in the manner our city officials are managing this festival. No, the celebration per se is good but not great. It lacks some foundation. Look at this, in the last issue of this paper, two page l news articles cancelled each other out.
One news item was about Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez’s favorite Bangusan. That’s the positive side. The other news item, written by our friend Ding Micua, was about the admission of City Agriculturist Emma Molina that 50 percent of the fish pens in the city’s rivers are illegally operating.
We are happy that she, Ms. Molina, has finally reacted to the Punch’s weekly reminder about a well-known fact that most of the fish pens in the city are illegally operating. It took the Punch several months on its action line box unceasingly reminding Ms. Molina to identify the illegal fish pen operators (parang isang taon na ata a?) to get her response. Manhid talaga. We understand why it took her a long time to answer. It’s hell to answer it. Yon pala inadmit nia na napakarami ang illegal fish pen operators. Ay, nakakahiya! Papaano yan, Mayor Al?
Your City Agriculturist has admitted in public that 50 percent fish pen operators in Dagupan’s rivers are illegal.
That’s a classic admission of guilt. Wait a minute, balikbayan Alfredo Dawana told us it’s not 50 percent who are operating illegally but 90 percent! Que barbaridad! Dawana, who finds it difficult to negotiate his way home in Sitio Tocok by motorized banca is the fact that the navigational lane has been constricted by fishpens, and illegal pa!
We are a lawyer, and Ms. Molina’s open admission could land her and other city officials in jail. Ay, anak na, pan pistaan to ya nen Benjie at Al Fernandez’s expense.
At press time, Dawana reported that there was fish kill in Sitio Tocok as of last week. The El Nino and the increasing damage to our rivers partly as result of the proliferation of fish pens are to blame.
This bangus industry is a major one, a landmark, an institution in the city. On April 30, the city will be thrown in frolic, big fun, and almost bacchanalian celebration extolling the bangus. Are we not actually lampooning it? This is why we say, it’s not celebration that will be held, it’s eulogy to our dying bangus industry. As Rev. Villanueva would say it, bangon!
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