Punchline
Making public officials account
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
We have not heard of how other local government units in the province helped alleviate the situation for parents whose children are enrolled in public schools. But if the report we received from Binmaley is an indicator of how the worsening situation in the public education sector is being helped, then we have reason to be optimistic about the future of public education in the province.
Under the stewardship of Mayor Simplicio Rosario, the Binmaley government showed the way by providing new school bags for all students of elementary and high schools in the town, assuming the costs of water and electricity of all the schools and stopped the practice of collecting P10 from each student to cover costs of exam papers.
How many local government units have done just as much or even more? The PUNCH will certainly be happy to report these in next issues if only school principals will tell us about them. (Oh yes, it’s easy to detect a “praise release”, so loyal wards of the mayors need not write).
In the same vein, this corner would like to hear from parents who feel their town/city officials have totally neglected the education sector in their areas. I assure our “Citizen Reporters” that their identities will be protected.
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ZERO FOR EDUCATION. In Dagupan City, the priority for the education sector is practically non-existent.
Consider Ordinance No. 0-305 passed in 2005. It reverted P4.2 million “from the personal savings of various offices in the Dagupan City government to the unappropriated balance of the General fund and appropriating the same amount to cover the costs of various expenditure as specified hereunder.”
The list enumerated 16 services and projects.
The biggest “awardee” was “Development Management of the City (a.k.a. the mayor’s pork barrel) – P.914 M. The second was “Special Projects & Programs of the City (again a.k.a. the mayor’s pork barrel) – P.644 M!
These were followed by Traffic Management/Peace & Order – P.5M; Public Enterprises & Revenue Generation Program – P.490M; Legislative Services Program (a.k.a. Councilors’ pork barrel) – P.440M.
Ecological and Environmental Sanitation Program – P.300M; Engineering Services – P.295M; Security and Protective Services Program (a.k.a. bodyguards for the mayor et al.) – P.223M; Anti-Hawking program û P.139M.
The rest, i.e., Health Services Program, Social Services Program, Agricultural Services Program, Nutrition Program, Publication and Information Program, Tourism Program, People Law Enforcement Board, all received a measly five digit budget ranging from P12,000 to P64,000)!
And ZERO for education!
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PRINCIPLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY. The killing and assassination of community leaders goes unabated in the province. The latest victim, gunned down obviously by hired killers riding tandem on motorcycles, was a school principal.
I don’t know what to make of this but it is either the police are so inept and incompetent or some elements of the military and police are behind these series of assassinations. But what one thing is certain, critical community leaders in the province are no longer safe from assassination.
The people of Pangasinan are holding Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima accountable! If he can’t explain his office’s inability to keep the province safe from hired assassins, then he must go quickly. (As it is, he can’t explain how and why jueteng has managed to resume operations in almost all towns in the province).
The people await Gov. Vic Agbayani and Vice-Gov. Oscar Lambino to make Mr. Purisima account for his failure to stop the assassinations and the resurgence of jueteng.
If they refuse to make him account, then it is they who should explain why they haven’t lifted a finger to keep Pangasinan safe and jueteng-free.
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ABSENTEE LEGISLATORS. What is it about being a legislator that makes one to be a habitual irresponsible truant without regard to a sense of decency and makes one lose his/her sense of dedication to public service?
Is it the salary and the kickbacks? The delusion of self-importance? Or is it about the lack of political leadership in the legislative departments? Whatever the reason, truancy appears to becoming endemic like a contagious sexual disease.
The House of Representatives has been suffering acutely from habitual absences of congressmen (Pangasinan congressmen included). Appeals for patriotism and dedication to duty almost always fell on deaf ears. But when the threat to withhold releases of the lazy, arrogant congressmen’s pork barrels, the stout-hearted men were instantly found inside the Batasan hall.
And they say it’s the presidential-bicameral system that’s pulling this country down.
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In Dagupan City, it is not unusual to hear of the city council adjourning promptly after convening in the absence of a quorum. To my recollection, the city council in fact adopted a resolution specifying P1,000 fines for unexplained absences.
At the rate the regular sessions were being cancelled owing to the onor-onors shameless truant habits, one wonders if the councilors’ collection kitty has already breached the disreputable P100,000 mark!
Let’s hear council secretary Jorge Estrada account for these fines. Or is it possible there’s nothing to account because no fines were collected because no one could be made to account for his or her absences.
My guess is the onor-onors, running true to form, have refused to pay the fines, much less account for their absences. Right, Mr. Estrada?
Haay, kaskasian met lay Dagupan.
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Now comes worrisome news from Bayambang.
The councilors in that town have not been holding sessions for over a month! And the truant councilors had the temerity to use the absence of formal notices for the regular sessions as the alibi for their absences. I didn’t realize that councilors now have to be reminded to do their primary mandated task – to attend regular sessions!
If that is not the height of arrogance and contemptuous behavior of a government official, I don’t know what is! Hindi na kayo nag-iisa, Dagupan City councilors!
Sadly, these obnoxious scums are getting away with it all because nobody wants to make these aberrant public officials account for their negligence and failure to perform. Again, one wonders, too, if the officials of the Department of Local Government ever remember that they have a code to enforce.
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