Dagupan’s prospects

AN economic boom is within reach of Dagupan City, Pangasinan’s main commercial hub, and the benefits from this growth could readily extend to its neighboring towns. Several big businesses are raring to make an investment in the city, including mall giants SM and Robinsons, and the city’s own CSI Group of Companies.

The city must grab these opportunities by clearing out obstacles and help investors set up shop which will open employment prospects, prompt a domino effect in economic activities, and bring in taxes for the local government.

Moving those obstacles lay largely in the hands of the city administration as it has the power to draw up plans for a sensible and sustainable urban development and create an environment that is both investor-friendly and beneficial to the city as a whole.

There is room for more malls in the city, and there definitely is a need for a big resort/hotel complex as proposed by the CSI’s Fernandez family if Dagupan hopes to position itself as a major tourism destination.

The city cannot dilly-dally on these prospects because other towns and cities would do nothing less to lure these investors and developers into their arms.

Archbishop Cruz’s unbending courage

IT was a year ago when Archbishop Oscar Cruz was given the nod by the Catholic hierarchy to take his retirement from religious service. Even then, the 75-year old prelate, the most resolute crusader against the illegal numbers game jueteng in the country, made it known that he will take advantage of his retirement from church duties by devoting more time to his social and political advocacies.  And he has been true to his promise.

To declare him persona non grata in Pangasinan, where he lived for 20 years and 18 of those as head of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese, because he allegedly named Governor Amado Espino Jr. as one of those in involved in jueteng is ill-advised.

Cruz is by no means on a campaign to deflect the development of Pangasinan. Neither is he on a vendetta to specifically tarnish Espino’s name and accomplishments. Cruz is dedicatedly involved in the much bigger fight against illegal gambling, a serious problem that he strongly believes can be ended because there are local government units that have successfully done so. In Cruz’s earnestness, he has boldly divulged his collated information and did not let anything or anyone influence him on who and what are in the list.

Pangasinan, as the rest of the country, should at the very least be grateful for his unbending courage worthy of emulation.  Woe is the country when the day comes for someone like Archbishop Cruz to stand and up be counted and there’s no one rising to the occasion.

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