Anda Mayor Pulido defends elephant statues
TO HONOR ANDA’S ANCIENT PAST
ANDA–Elephants in Anda?
Definitely, says Anda Mayor Nestor Pulido as he slammed his critics who chided his efforts to promote the culture and the arts on the island by building elephant statues.
Pulido said elephants are part of the ancient history of Anda as verified by archeological findings of elephant fossils in the early 19th century.
The mayor told newsmen that the elephant statues are not a waste of money as insinuated by members of the town council because the elephants remind both the island town and the province as whole of its humble beginning.
“Local government executives must not only provide food for the stomach but also food for the spirit,” said Pulido, who has been in constant conflict with the town council, particularly over Anda’s annual budget.
The elephants, he said, are an important part of the town’s history because Anda is the only spot in Northern Luzon where elephant fossils were unearthed and this proves that elephants are, indeed, indigenous to the Asian mainland.
“The studies show that at one time, about 500,000 years ago, Anda was part of the Asian mainland, connected to China through land bridges,” Pulido pointed out.
“Shouldn’t we be proud of that?” he said.
Pulido told his critics in the municipal council that his effort to preserve Anda’s ancient history is not a waste of money since it also promotes the town to both tourists and academicians.
Anda is the only island town in Pangasinan connected to the mainland via a bridge built during the administration of President Fidel Ramos.
A steel bridge, saved from the ruins of the collapsed Don Teofilo Sison Bridge between Villasis and Rosales towns, now connects Anda to barangay Catubig, Bolinao.—LM
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
