By IFM Dagupan News

 Schools welcome students from Christmas break 

THE Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office 1 assured parents and students on January 1 that all schools were ready to welcome their pupils and students  starting January 3 after the long holiday season.

DepEd Regional Director Tolentino Aquino was confident that the return of learners to their respective schools this year 2023 will be done without any big hassle even as he admitted that school attendance will not be 100 percent perfect during the first week of the new year.

Aquino called on parents to encourage their children to return to school to ensure that they maintain their academic performance. (Jhon Caranto)

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Mangaldan eyeing to become ASF-free, the first in Pangasinan

THE Mangaldan local government is eyeing to become the first town in Pangasinan to be declared African Swine Fever-free.

This after the blood samples of the swine in Barangay Alitaya showed the sentinel pigs being raised by residents are no longer infected with ASF.  The Municipal Agriculture Office considers the negative results on a number of hogs in Barangay Alitaya as an encouraging sign that Mangaldan will soon finally become ASF-free.

Municipal Agriculturist Merle Cuison-Sali said it would be a big boon to the hog industry if Mangaldan is finally declared ASF-free soon. A town or an area can be declared ASF-free by a certification from the DA.

She said the new development will encourage households to raise hog in their backyards and to regularly conduct disinfection in their pig pens to ensure that their hogs will be infected by ASF. (Jhon Caranto)

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Families drawn to Tondaligan Beach during Christmas break 

BEACH goers were seen continuously trooping to Tondaligan Beach in Dagupan City to swim, rest, relax and savor fresh air from the Lingayen Gulf during the long holiday season.

The Dagupan police continuously made their presence felt at Tondaligan Beach to guard against criminality in the area. Also on standby at the beach and ready to help swimmers who might be in distressed situation were personnel of the Bantay Ilog Task Force and lifeguard from the Tondaligan Park administration.

P/Lt. Col. Vicente Castor Jr. told IFM Dagupan, that there was no untoward incident that happened at the Tondaligan Beach during the entire Christmas season. Unlike in other beaches in Pangasinan, no drowning was recorded at Tondaligan during the entire holiday season. (Jhon Caranto)

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Thousands queue at various Dagupan terminals after New Year 

AFTER the long holidays, thousands of travelers were seen queuing at various bus terminals in Dagupan for several days for their return trips to their places of origin.

Most who lined up were for seats in buses plying Dagupan-Manila, Quezon City and Pasay City as well as Baguio City were students and workers returning to their classes and work places after spending the holidays with their loved ones in Pangasinan.

Eugenio Orpilla, dispatcher at a bus terminal in Dagupan, told iFM Dagupan that returning passengers began trooping at their terminal as early as 8:00 a,m. on January 2 and the long queue continued for two more days. Smarter travelers pre-booked their trips on line so they got first priority to board available buses ready to be dispatched.

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Catholics pack 3 big churches in Pangasinan on New Year

CATHOLIC faithful packed three big churches in Pangasinan – the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag, the Parish of St. Dominic De Guzman in San Carlos City and St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Dagupan City – during the first week of 2023 for their traditional prayers as a family to make the whole year blissful.

The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag is flocked by devotees all-year round and is easily the biggest destination of Catholic faithful and tourists in Pangasinan.

The Parish of St. Dominic De Guzman in San Carlos City, one of the earliest if not the earliest churches founded by Dominican fathers, as early as when San Carlos was yet known by its ancient name, Binalatongan. It is slated to be elevated to a Minor Basilica by virtue of a proclamation by Pope Francis in Rome  to be marked by a solemn ceremony on January 14 this year to be attended by Catholic dignitaries from Pangasinan and the neighboring provinces.

The St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Dagupan City is the seat of the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese headed by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, and devotees surged when the replica of Our Lady of Manaoag was installed by the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines.

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Labrador eyed to host first nuclear plant in PH 

THE town of Labrador is being eyed as the first town in the Philippines to host a nuclear power plant as a source of cheap energy.

This became closer to reality following a meeting in the town conducted by Second District Congressman Mark Cojuangco, the most ardent advocate for a shift of the country to nuclear energy, with officials and residents of Labrador along with representatives of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of South Korea,  as guests.

This was the second  meeting conducted by Rep. Cojuangco with officials and residents of Labrador  attesting to his desire to make Labrador  host the first nuclear power plant  in the country after the Bataan, Nuclear Plant, built at enormous cost to the Philippine government by Westinghouse, was mothballed for more than three decades.  (Rona Racca)

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Weakened CENPELCO electric pole complained

RESIDENTSs of Barangay  Cacaritan, San Carlos City complained of an electric pole of the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (CENPELCO) that need to be replaced because it could fall any time due to the weight of the number of electric meters of consumers attached to it.

Fearing that the children playing on a backyard near it will likely be hurt if it falls the resident raised the matter to IFM Dagupan who in turn called the attention of CENPELCO about an accident waiting to happen in their barangay.

Jerry Ignacio, area supervisor of CENPELCO,  assured the consumers that the weakened  electric pole will be replaced and the electric meters  of consumers will be transferred to a more stable pole.  However, CENPELCO is yet to schedule the date to effect the pole replacement and the transfer of consumers’ electric meters.  (Jhon Caranto)

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