Think about it
Guv’nor Spines’ Camelot
By Jun Velasco
YOU have to give it to Gov. Amado T. Espino Jr. (ATE, for short, not ZTE, huh!) when it comes to talking about a dream.
Thursday night on the Capitol grounds, the governor repeated in a speech at the Media Night that the province, touted for a long time as a “premier province,” has miserably lagged behind its ace counterparts like Rizal, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Negros, etc.
On second thought, his claim which he had told his audiences in the U.S. the previous fortnight, may just be the killer punch that should wake us up from an over-extended slumber. It’s a bitter pill, a painful truth. Just try to compare Pangasinan with the aforementioned provinces!
But the question is, is the small guy (look who’s talking!) the right man to envisage and realize a Pangasinan Camelot? Is he the right man for the job? Can we rely on his leadership to turn things around?
It’s exhilarating to hear Spines vow to transform the little giant monkey into a growling economic gorilla, a mission impossible, if you just give it a casual thought. Is Spines biting more than he can chew?
At the media night, the dreamer gave us a fantastic portrait of what these robust, politics-torn descendants of Malong and Palaris would eventually get given his three years – and possibly another three years – in the saddle.
In his first six months, he has indeed made modest inroads – starting with a redesigned Urduja House and the Capitol building and the environs (physical), giving the public a sweet breath of a changing scene.
He has also started re-engineering Capitol employees’ attitudes, maximizing output from a lean and mean organization. Provincial Administrator Raffy Baraan, the battle-scarred action man of former Dagupan City Mayor Benjie Lim; heads his economic team which includes closed-in adviser Pat Orduña, former Mayor Monching Morden, former Vice Mayor Modesto Operaña, media czar Cesar Carpio and a coterie of Agbayani department heads.
Legislative support is assured with a lady presiding officer Vice Guv’nor Marlyn Primicias-Agabas, a lawyer, and balanced by a phalanx of critical collaborators like veteran Alfie Bince, Angel Baniqued, Von Mark Mendoza and Jerry Rosario.
The ingredients of success are there, but in our view, it would take more than human resolution to achieve Spines’ dream world. . He would need billions of money to supplant the antiquated infrastructures – physical and human – province-wide.
But we are all for it, why not? This is no time for cynicism, because we’ve been left behind too far, as the guv’nor would tirelessly hammer out, encouraging assent and a gamble with the future.
In its meeting last week, we proposed to the Metro Chamber of Commerce and Industry that all its business development plans, and ditto with its affiliates in Eastern and Western Pangasinan, should find their mark in Spines’ and other LGUs’ economic plans – to delete what are irrelevant, inferior, redundant and wasteful. Presided by former Vice Mayor Jun Calaguio, a rural banker, the meeting agreed to collaborate with LGUs, especially with the Guv’nor’s economic team, to formulate its blueprint for local entrepreneurs.
At the Media Night, voices of support from the leaders – Jess Perez, Butch Velasco and Marvin Modelo- kindled a positive chord for Spines’ heroic moves. He made a stirring appeal: help me make Pangasinan great! He appealed to his critics to attack with finesse and excellence, adding in a muffled voice, “kayo rin if you attack in a lousy manner, the public won’t listen.”
Go for it, Spines. We are for your Camelot!
* * *
The governor might as well meet with the leaders of education in the province. The academe is very much a part of development. In case you don’t know, it was a literati guru who said, “Poets are the unsung architects of the world.” More than the physical edifice, we should work for the human infrastructure and the human spirit.
Merry Christmas!
(Readers may reach columnist at junmv@yahoo.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/think-about-it/ For reactions to this column, click “Send MESSAGES, OPINIONS, COMMENTS” on default page.)
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