By Leonardo Micua

 

TYPHOON “Crising” caught many towns and cities not only in Pangasinan, but also in many parts of Luzon, the islands of Mindoro and Palawan, and some areas in the Visayas by surprise.

They did not expect that kind of weather disturbance could trigger prolonged torrential rains that caused many rivers to swell and flood many rural and urban areas, bringing untold suffering to the people.

Metro Manila appeared to be the worst hit, with Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, and Rizal also badly bruised. The North Luzon Expressway was not spared from flash floods.

As a result, eight towns and one city in Pangasinan (and still counting) were forced to declare a state of calamity to enable the LGUs and the barangays to access their calamity funds and bring faster help to their constituents.

Since the flood is not confined to Dagupan City, there is no point for bashers to blame Mayor Belen Fernandez and her city administration for the flood that inundated the city.

And because floodwaters are still flowing into Pangasinan from the mountains through the local river system, the number of towns that may be placed under the state of calamity could still increase.

Note that as we were writing this column, we received an emergency alert on our cellphone from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office at  5:30 p.m. on Thursday of an Orange Rainfall Warning in Pangasinan and La Union.

This means that the ordeal of the flood victims, numbering 585,178 individuals so far in 24 municipalities and three cities, was not yet over.

Relative to this, we wonder, what’s preventing Gov. Ramon Guico III from calling the Sanggunian Panlalawigan to also hold a special session for it to likewise declare a state of calamity for the entire province, for the benefit of towns also needing a state of calamity status but haven’t had enough time to make a declaration.

It is not yet too late the hero for Gov. Guico, who has not been seen during the last few weeks and possibly left on a foreign vacation with his family, to earn some brownie points, as all along, Vice Governor Mark Lambino had been calling the shots at the capitol for weeks, but obviously kept this under wraps.

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Still at the Capitol, we received from the rumor mill the sad news that the head of the Provincial Information and Media Relations Office (PIMRO) in Pangasinan has tendered his resignation effective July 31 this year. 

Personal reason was reportedly cited by PIMRO Chief Dhobie de Guzman as his reason for resigning. He reportedly wants to spend more time with his kids, which he can only do once a week while with PIMRO.

He wanted to resign a few months back, but was prevailed upon because of the election. 

We don’t know if he was pressured to hand over his resignation for his inability and that of his erstwhile outfit, RNG to help Mrs. Maan Guico get elected as mayor of Urdaneta City. 

Mr. de Guzman was identified as the founder of the Baguio-based Regional Network Group, that cornered an P11 million yearly contract (for two years already) with the Pangasinan provincial government. 

But he said that when he was appointed as PIMRO chief, he divested all his interest in RNG and is not connected to it anymore. Really?

Fourth District Board Member Jerry Agerico Rosario, during the confirmation of Dhobie as PIMRO chief two years ago, wanted RNG to submit a performance matrix showing how the company was helping in the promotion of the programs and projects of Pangasinan.

Although he said he already divested his interests in RNG, Dhobie willingly answered the questions of board members on how the company’s promotional materials for Pangasinan are being disseminated.

He said RNG linked with two cable television companies, one in Baguio and the other in Pampanga, that agreed to use the RNG promotional production outputs about Pangasinan. But why in Baguio and Pampanga?

We hope that with Mr. de Guzman already out of the provincial government by July 31, RNG will not be given another extension of its  P11 million contract because the company till now has not submitted its performance matrix to the provincial board.

But we are bothered by unconfirmed reports that RNG was sold for an undisclosed amount to a public official, whose name does not appear on paper.

Someone says he smells a rat. 

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