Brian-Red in US amid COVID-19 crisis

By Leonardo Micua

 

AS we are writing this column Friday morning we have yet to read a post in the social media from the Dagupan City Hall if it is proceeding with the Dagupan Bangus Festival slated this April amid the order of President Duterte for a lockdown of Metro Manila from March 15 to April 10 and people to observe social-distancing because of COVID-19.

Yes, we are relying only on social media posts of PIO Dagupan on any update at city hall because since day one of the Lim administration, it has not issued press releases for the consumption of the mainstream media. Nor has it invited us to cover events relative to Mayor Brian’s activities.

In these times of emergency, information from city hall is so vital and needs to be disseminated not only on social media but also in print and broadcast media, which have been deliberately discriminated against for so long.

Everybody in Dagupan is seriously concerned about COVID-19 and would like to know what city hall is doing to keep them and their families safe, especially now that Metro Manila will be locked starting this week as ordered by the President.  But Mayor Brian and his consultant Red Erfe-Mejia, are out of the country.

City residents have been kept in the dark on what’s going on at the city hall. Is it because nothing is happening since Brian-Red flew to US of A? Nothing is said nor heard about the city’s welfare but the fun time the duo are having in the US to sign the sisterhood ties with Milpitas City (which Brian has chosen to give priority over COVID-19). We’ve not read posts in social media informing the people on what they are doing to calm them amid the threat of the virus.

Do we hear the duo saying “Manigas kayo dyan”?

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Of course, only Mayor Brian can decide if the city will finally do a way for this year’s Bangus Festival because of COVID-19. The latest word we got is that Brian and Brian are not flying in from California U.S.A until Friday.

While they may think that Bangus Festival should not be spoiled by COVID-19, methinks Bangus Festival must be canceled in the light of the announcement on national TV of the President banning all crowd-drawing events to prevent the spread of COVID-19, especially because there is now a localized transmission of the virus.   

Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong already canceled the crowd-drawing Panagbenga Festival which was supposed to be staged by around this date. Ditto for the Palarong Pambansa and all the regional and district meets under the wings of the Department of Education. 

Even Governor Amado Espino III already toned down the activities for the Pangasinan Day on April 5 and the Pista’y Dayat on May 1 including the cancellation of the Limgas na Dayat beauty pageant and all the pomp and pageantry that it used to have.     

Dagupan is not an island that it can go against the tide to fight COVID-19. Maybe Mayor Brian Lim thinks he has every reason to balk at the order of the President because his staff has already spent so much time preparing for this year’s festivities. But he cannot sacrifice the health of the people just to prove that the Bangus Festival under his administration is better than Mayor Belen’s. 

Even Dr. Rosario Pamintuan, chief of the regional disease surveillance unit of DOH Region 1, suggested to the management of Bangus Festival and LGU Dagupan to rethink their steps amid the current national public health emergency posed by COVID-19.

Hopefully Brian-Red will have a change of heart after they see how the US government is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The provincial ordinance of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan seeking to declare all the lands around the Daang Kalikasan as environmentally protected areas could be too late in the day as most of the forest lands were already subjects of tenurial instruments signed by the DENR with people’s organizations and other groups.

We just hope that DENR signed these instruments with the right parties as there were reports that there are already illegal occupants, especially now that the Daan Kalikasan has a potential as a tourist destination.

Board Member Nestor Reyes fears that the situation at the coastal areas that saw the mushrooming of illegal squatters will also happen around Daang Kalikasan because of DENR’s undoing.

We hope it will not.

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