By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

WITH reports of more frequent earthquakes hitting many parts of the country, the Phivolcs already warned that Pangasinan towns, particularly Dagupan City and other coastline communities, will likely be hit by the ‘Big One’ .

Our news report on it this week identified the three fault lines that will likely be the source of it.

Dagupan is already taking preemptive measures to minimize the impact another 7.8 magnitude earthquake on lives and properties. After all, the lessons of 1990 killer earthquake are there to learn from.

But is the provincial government already preparing towns and cities close to the fault lines cutting across and or surrounding the province?

At the very least, the provincial engineering office should start assessing the strengths of bridges and government buildings in primary areas likely to be hit by earthquake… and tsunami.

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WANTED: HELP FOR NFA. The NFA office in Pangasinan admitted it failed miserably to meet their rice purchasing targets to sustain its level of buffer stock.

NFA said its only chance to beat the rice traders to the farmers’ harvest is for mayors to provide the needed cash incentive to the town’s farmers and deliver their stocks to NFA instead.  Mayors??

This is an urgent distress call to the provincial government that has the capability to provide the incentives.

If only to ensure that there will be enough buffer stock for Pangasinenses in case a calamity strikes towns and cities, Guv Mon-mon should already consider providing the wherewithal to enable NFA to have greater access to the farmers’ produce.

The El Niño phenomenon is set to wreak more havoc in the province in weeks ahead. This can only mean that the volume of farmer’s harvest will be much less and further reduce NFA’s access to rice supply. 

So far, the Guico administration and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (under the baton of VG Mark Lambino) have not said a word to assure their constituents that the provincial government has contingencies in place to minimize the impact of El Niño in their communities.

Hopefully, they finally realize that welfare of their constituents should have priority over infrastructure development.

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WHEN WILL BELEN ADMINISRATION FIGHTBACK? Is the Belen Fernandez administration really powerless and content with its passive reaction to all the destabilization plots being launched by the 7 epaLiFes with impunity on every turn??

City residents are already getting sick and tired of reading and listening to news about the 7 epaLifes in the sanggunian lording it over, violating rules and humiliating her and her office. Her constituents are beginning to wonder if she has any plans of stopping their political shenanigans for good and finally stop her grumbling, merely repeating and repeating the negative impact of plotting after plotting that only make herself look pitiful and powerless.

Given what the 7 epaLiFes have done and gotten away with in the past 13 months, they are routinely taking her reactions to their moves as opportunities to further humiliate her office because she is predictably not going to do anything to effectively stop them in their tracks.

I hope Mayor Belen realizes soon that simply repeating and explaining the impact of the 7 epaLiFes simply no longer work on her constituents. They are tired of hearing her complain about the situation and not do anything.

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LESSON FROM 7 EPALIFES. I must give credit to the 7 epaLiFes for at least taking their ridiculous case to the court and the Ombudsman in their bid to stop the Belen administration. The complaint filed was completely absurd that even law freshmen taught by LNU Dean Farah Decano can easily detect the serious flawed legal arguments in their complaint.

It’s a big wonder why 7 epaLiFes, with Atty. Alfie Fernandez in their ranks, even believe for one moment that they have a strong case against the city government? It’d be interesting to know that whoever drafted that meritless, trashy complaint, should give up legal practice and remain a “marites”.

Nonetheless, it’s ironic that it was they who showed the Belen administration that there is another recourse in settling their issues other than a publicity war.  Their only usual mistake was their mindless arrogance believing in their lies. 

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ILABAN MO NA KAMI. By the 7 epaLiFes latest example, Dagupeños now wonder why she still refuses to sue the 7 epaLiFes in court and before the Ombudsman. The 7 epaLiFes, as the majority, are out to repeat their glory days in pushing Mayor Belen to the wall – to deliberately delay the passage of the 2024 annual budget this time.  The jurisprudence already showed that the 7 epaLiFes were culpable the first time they failed to pass the 2023 annual budget yet Mayor Belen did not dare file a case against the 7 epaLiFes.

Now that the city government is forced to work with a reenacted budget again after the majority refused to pass the 2024 budget past the December 31, 2023 deadline, it behooves the Belen administration to file a case finally with irrefutable and strong evidence of the 7 epaLiFes’ malicious intent to deprive the people of Dagupan of services due them.

What is beginning to dampen the fighting sprits of Dagupeños and city hall employees is the fact that she and the City Legal Officer Atty. Aurora Valle did say that they were going to file cases of administrative and criminal against the 7 epaLiFes, but they refuse to file any case after the series of sabotaging the city government’s social, health and economic programs.

Why the two even refuse to file cases against the key officials of the Brian Lim administration after documenting the corruption that was evident, is perplexing!

Why are Mayor Belen and Atty. Valle so afraid to act decisively for the city when the taunting, provocation and the slap on their faces by 7 epaLiFes appear interminable?

Mayor Belen should start listening to her allies egging her: “Ilaban no na kami”!

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OTHER MATTERS. Is our columnist Gonz Duque ready to resume his column “Out of the Fire “? He’s already seen rejoining the Akarestas walking group at the River Grove along De Venecia Highway! Abangan!!

And, here’s a tip to barangays in Dagupan City struggling where to begin crafting quick responses to an earthquake and tsunami.

https://emergency.oregonstate.edu/emergency-management/emergency-procedures/earthquaketsunami and https://oes.ucsc.edu/emergency-preparedness/procedures/tsunami.html

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