Punchline
Who pocketed the P10-M?
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
ATTY. Ope Reyna, the hermano mayor of the 2013 Dagupan Fiesta has shown what transparency and accountability mean in real terms.
The terminal report that his committee caused to be published in The PUNCH last week was detailed enough for everyone to know how the funds were accounted for and spent. Note that Atty. Reyna did not even receive a single centavo from the city government to help him fund the whole event, a condition that he knew before he accepted the appointment from Mayor Belen Fernandez. Everything had to be sourced from the revenues earned mainly from the “Baratillo“ and other participation fees. And that’s exactly what Atty. Ope and his team did!
In stark contrast, each of the chairmen of past fiestas and Bangus Festival (appointed by the Lim administration) received a minimum of P3-M as subsidy and not one has submitted a complete liquidation report to the city. This is a fact confirmed by City Auditor Virgiliio Quinto. Still, these chairmen have been mum about the revenues paid to them by stall consignees which the Reyna’s report indicates to be at least P2.5-M each event!
So pray tell, Vice Mayor Brian Lim, Councilors Guillermo Vallejos, Red Erfe-Mejia and Alvin Coquia, where have all the P10-M due the city gone? In whose pockets? Unfortunately for the four, until their reports are submitted, they are presumed to have pocketed these.
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ASNA AWARDEES. The PUNCH celebrates again the choice of outstanding Pangasinenses who have distinguished themselves in their chosen fields of endeavors.
We are particularly heartened by the selection of both our columnists Gonz Duque (Playing with Fire) and Bebot Villar (Deretsahan), both for public service.
The two did not only distinguish themselves as game-changers like the other awardees but directly and actively contributed to the welfare and development of Pangasinenses here and overseas.
Gonz, as chairman of the ad-hoc committee tasked to establish the founding day of Pangasinan, was pivotal in the effort to accomplish the mission that now enables Pangasinenses to properly observe and celebrate its foundation. The Pangasinan Historical and Cultural Commission that he heads today has been instrumental in instituting cultural activities during Pangasinan Day. Now, one of the few credible tri-media practitioners in the province, Gonz is one who minces no words in raising issues of Pangasinenses to their political leaders.
Bebot, on the other hand, as chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, has labored consistently and persistently over the past years to date not only to eliminate the illegal drug trade in the province but to offer rehabilitation to victims of illegal drug trafficking. As the longest serving mayor of his town Sto. Tomas in the past, he has ably demonstrated that small towns can hold their own in development against big cities and towns. He has taken strong positions vs. illegal gambling in Pangasinan and corrupt officials in his weekly column.
Take a bow, gentlemen!
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MOTORING TIP. Here’s a tip to kabaleyans who arrived in Pangasinan to spend the Holy Week with family and friends and will soon motor back to Metro-Manila: Do not travel via the TPLEx -SCTX-NLEX! Take the widened MacArthur Highway to Metro-Manila!
Not a few residents and visitors traveling back to Metro-Manila in the past have consistently complained of 8-10 hour road travel. Their unusual long travel time was caused mainly by three things:
Firstly, all did not anticipate the huge volume of motorists returning from Ilocos Norte and Sur, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija! Little did they realize as well that hundreds of buses would take to the road transporting thousands of commuters through the same route.
Secondly, the tollgates at exit points simply cannot possibly serve the huge volume of vehicles even over a 48-hour period. The waiting time to pass through exit tollgates was as long as 45 minutes each time. (Traveling through the 3 expressways today means having to pay through 3 exit toll stations).
Thirdly, the average speed (if there are no accidents in between) was 50kph, lower than the allowed minimum speed limit. One road accident along the way resulted in 30-45 minutes delay to get through chokepoints. An average of three smash-ups were experienced in the past.
And those who thought they could beat the long stretch of slow-moving cars and buses by stopping at the gas stations’ promenade ended up frustrated because no service could be had in the SRO restaurants.
So be smart! Forget the expressways at this time! These are veritable chokepoints that provide no escape once you are trapped inside. Take the MacArthur highway’s two–way traffic that may appear to slow down travel but will, in fact enable faster travel back to Metro-Manila.
Extra tip for gassing up: There are two gas stations in Tarlac where you can fill up at cheaper rates: the Shell station in San Manuel and Petron station in Gerona.
Happy motoring! Beware of road rage!
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