Think about it
Illegal fishpens
By Jun Velasco
“An educated person is one who knows how to be ignorant intelligently,” E.C. McKenzie
OUR friend from Bani, Pangasinan Procopio “Pepe” de Vera called up yesterday from Beijing to inform us of China’s freezing weather (“parang ini-sliced ang laman ko”).
He said via his cellphone, “I beat your ‘four walls’ by making it to the 10th wall,” referring to the Great Wall which we scaled in 2001, while participating in the All-China Journalists Ass’n (ACJA) and the Philippine National Press Club forum.
The Great Wall is nine meters high and 1,500 miles (2,400 kms.) It was built in 214 BC by Shih Huang-ti, China’s first emperor, to guard the population from external attack by the enemy, the Huns.
De Vera, a PUP political science professor, used to reside in Dagupan as first founding president of “EARN,” a skills training pioneer school located at the Balingit building besides the DBP building.
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It might make Rizalistas and our National Hero’s admirers happy to know that Dr. Jose Rizal in April 1891 went to Sabah to ask the British authorities to allow the use of 100,000 acres of land for his countrymen to be converted into “a new country” to escape persecution in the islands.
For lack of details, our plan to elaborate on this North Borneo project of Rizal in Bagumbayan, Knights of Rizal international magazine, was shelved. We only learned lately from columnist Recto Mercene about historian Renato Perdon’s research on the subject in his book, “Jose Rizal’s Aborted Colony in Borneo.”
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Just to give you an idea of how fragile good government pronouncements are in Dagupan, you need only brush up with the mushrooming of illegal fish pens in our river systems.
A couple of months back, our “gardener” Johnny who works for University of Luzon and Carmen’s Little Shoe school complained of “poor visibility” when he’d go home to Sitio Tocok in Barangay Lucao. Pressed to elaborate, Johnny said “unlike before it’s extremely risky to steer his boat along the Tocok River without hitting the illegal fishpens.”
Tocok resident, balikbayan Alfredo Dawana, chair of the city’s Fishpond Owners and Operations Assn., who just arrived after a 6-month vacation in California, was also aghast at the wanton lawlessness by fish pen owners.
One reason Mayor Benjie Lim won in the last elections was the illegal fish pens which he blasted convincingly. Because of that drive, local tourism flourished.
How the illegal fishing structures proliferated overnight could be due to the city administration’s duplicity.
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However you look at it, you can’t blame local candidates of the Liberal Party for partying after President Aquino’s visit last week. Pnoy’s endorsement for local candidates means a lot. How can you deny the role of Malacañang in effective local governance?
In past elections, local elections were usually dictated by a word from Malacañang.
The President’s endorsement will make a difference in a close contest.
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We missed Class 63’s “mini-reunion,” as Brenda Manese described it, at the newly constructed Dagupan City National High School Abong na Alumni Saturday.
We then underwent our weekly laser session by Filipino medical fellow Dr. Val Yabes.
The laser is not what you casually know as a beam of light cutting through the body. It’s a procedure that strengthens and boosts energy. Many of our “classmates” are business tycoons, TV stars and political figures.
Back to Abong na Alumni, our city high class governor and Alumni Ass’n president Ope Reyna is moving heaven and earth to ensure this year’s Golden Jubilee celebration.
We wish to welcome balikbayan classmate Robert Zulueta who came just to attend the mini-reunion, classmate Minyong Gomez said.
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Our dear English teacher Mrs. Rosa V. Concepcion who fired up our budding literary embers to heights of poetry and literary gems in the early 60’s, has passed on.
It was thru her that we met Sunday Punch publisher Ermin Sr., in a writing lecture, of her class, a little giant event to our curious mind.
Mrs. Concepcion’s melodious voice, lovely metaphors and grammatical forays were inspiring. She was a muse and critic rolled into one.
May she find her rightful place in God’s paradise.
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