By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

AS I was looking forward to the installation and investiture of Dr. Voltaire Arzadon over the week, as the first president of Universidad de Dagupan, I recalled how I began working with the founders and presidents of the colleges in the early 70s long before their colleges earned their university status.

First, I had the privilege of working closely with Dr. Blas F. Rayos, the gentle and eminent founder and owner of the then Dagupan Colleges, the forerunner of University of Pangasinan, now owned by Phinma.

It was Dr. Rayos who harnessed me, then 23-years old, to lend myself to the cause of the Pangasinan YMCA while he was president. He not only gave me complete freedom to interact with the college’s student leaders in and out of the campus but also supported my advocacy to organize a volunteers’ group among the students to assist in calamities.  One day, when he learned that I earned my college degree in behavioral science at the Ateneo, he asked me to consider teaching psychology to student nurses. It was an offer I had to decline without thinking. (I was single and I dreaded the thought of teaching young ladies without being distracted, attracted to some and embarrassed on being found out).  But I took his offer to enroll in Law because I knew it would come in handy when covering courts for news and know more about libel law.  However, being a student to my news subjects (lawyers, fiscals and judges) had its disadvantages. My professors that included then Fiscal Saroca and Dean Hermogenes Decano, obviously wanted to make a good lawyer out of me. To accomplish that, they made me memorize and recite legal definitions and some Supreme Court rulings regularly. Needless to say, they overestimated my faculties. I could not cope with their expectations while I was regularly covering news. I had to drop out after one semester but long enough for me to know how I can avoid being convicted of libel.  Dr. Blas, like a doting father, was disappointed that I gave up but that did not our “partnership.”

Then there was the amiable Luis Samson, Luzon Colleges president. I recall meeting him in his office after our Wednesday Rotary Club of Dagupan meeting. He asked me to intercede for the school in resolving some issues with the student nurses. Recall that student activism was beginning to take roots in those days. “Sammy” knew I was interacting with student leaders of all the schools in the city, including his students. He arranged for me to meet with the student nurses billeted at the nurses dorm in Tapuac. And I did. To make the long story short, after meeting with the students in their pajamas before their study period one evening, their issues were resolved with “Sammy’s” authority.

Then there was the energetic Ado Duque of Lyceum-Northwestern. He founded the Metro Dagupan City-Civilian Reconstruction Fund Foundation Inc. after the 1990 killer quake hit the city.  He presided over series of meetings in his office discussing the rehabilitation and future of the city. He was a strong advocate of engaging national agencies, compelling them to set up regional operations in the city to accelerate the recovery of the city from the ruins. The Central Bank operations at the Tondaligan was the result of that advocacy. But I recall disagreeing with his proposal to have roads fully cemented (cut down the trees) and allow only buildings built with cement to be constructed to ensure that the city will never be in ruins again. Of course, the irrepressible Gonz, who later succeeded Ado, became the PUNCH’s “Playing with Fire” specialist.

Then there was Computronix computer school, established by Voltaire Arzadon and wife Lorie, in what I recall was a three-room affair with rows of computer desktops in the 80’s. Their operations were just a building away from my PUNCH office. Voltaire was the rising accountant and entrepreneur, and son of the illustrious Fidel Arzadon, a fellow Rotarian and prominent accountant. I’ve witnessed how he and Lorie bucked all odds, never looked back and went on to establish the Computronix College, to be known later as Colegio de Dagupan, the proud forerunner of his Universidad de Dagupan. Voltaire made sure The PUNCH was the first to know about Colegio de Dagupan’s achievements paralleling those of the three big universities in the city. Today, his vision is realized with a big plus – his Universidad de Dagupan firmly establishes Dagupan City as THE prestigious University City in the region.

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PRRD’S PH 101. Last Wednesday, I decided to watch and listen to the recorded March 16 “President Rodrigo Duterte addresses the nation” weekly session on Facebook. I had stopped doing it for a long while after finding most of it in the past were basically monologues with little significance to current events.

To my pleasant surprise, this particular session had a full business agenda that saw Cabinet secretaries discussing in layman’s terms, explaining and proposing possible executive actions to address major issues, from Finance Sec. Sonny Dominguez’s thoughts about taxes pertinent to the fuel crisis to Neda Sec. Ken Chua on the impact of high inflation to Filipinos’ daily lives, to Energy Sec. Alfonso Cusi’s situationer on fuel prices and what to expect, to DTI Sec. about current prices of food prices to food security, livelihood and networking, to Labor Department’s proposal for wage increases, to DOTr Sec. Arthur Tugade’s discussion of transport fare hikes and status of negotiations with transport groups, to Pagcor chairman Andrea Domingo’s pros and cons of e-sabong’s continued operations or suspension, to Secretaries Francisco Duque III, Carlito Galvez and Vince Dizon on status of vaccination campaign vs. COVID-19, to name a few.

It was like a PH 101 refresher course.  The session had a lot of data to digest that should help all sectors understand the constraints of government and to learn what can be expected in the weeks ahead.

The session was very instructive. (PRRD had to ask the cabinet secretaries to speak in Pilipino even in their awkward translations of their English presentations). I would recommend it to be viewed especially by those who are overwhelmed by current events. They can find the answers to their many troubling thoughts, questions and anxieties.

Watch it on https://fb.watch/bN0x3qSa7E/

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MAYORS AND E-SABONG. One issue in the discussion of e-sabong, that stood out was the critical role of mayors in promoting or regulating the operations of e-sabong.

Chairperson Andrea Domingo hinted how mayors contributed to the dilemma of Pagcor. Like the promotion of Small Town Lottery of PCSO and Jai-Alai, many mayors granted permits practically unregulated and left it to the PNP and NBI to monitor the illegal activities being operated by syndicates, who use these as fronts for their illegal operations.

The promotion of e-sabong in towns and cities are no different. She conceded that the loopholes in the limited regulatory policies of Pagcor have been exploited to the max.  Consolidators of bets, who also act as the loan sharks that service desperate addicts’ need to recover losses, accept any and all bets using fake e-wallet accounts to avoid detection by Pagcor.  The mayors know this too well and have closed their eyes to this violation obviously with benefits. If operators like Atong Ang who confessed to earning trillions so far, one can imagine how much mayors are raking in for closing their eyes.

One of the proposals of Pagcor to beat the consolidators, is to peg the minimum bet at P100 and bettors that cannot show a minimum P1k as balance in their e-wallets will not be allowed to bet.  Cockfight studios (establishments that feature e-sabong on a giant TV screen and consolidate bets on the sly) were also required to install CCTVs in their perimeters. This move will expose the studios that accept bets from minors.

However, what I missed hearing is a proposal that will make mayors accountable for failing to act on irregularities being committed by e-sabong studios/promoter in their areas.

PRRD stated in no unmistakable terms that he is against gambling, that he is even open to the proposal to suspend e-sabong if warranted by facts of the worsening social costs to families. He said his most serious constraint is having to let go of a major source of funds, knowing how much the government is earning to support efforts to contain the pandemic and boost national economy. Government can no longer borrow foreign funds amid the trillions worth of loans already secured for the Covid pandemic.

Since Ms. Domingo left the decision whether to stop, suspend or continue e-sabong to PRRD given the proposed set of new regulatory policies that she seeks to implement, I’m afraid more overnight e-sabong addicts will be robbing stores, bystanders, hapless employees on the streets, and more reports of addicts committing suicides out of shame and fear of constant intimidation.

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