Playing with Fire
Watch out for Belen Fernandez
By Gonzalo Duque
I WANT to felicitate the new officers of the Rotary Club of Uptown Dagupan headed by Dr. Lucy Honrado, the winningest of them all, on their induction recently at the newest and the biggest Jimmy Fernandez Convention Center in Barangay Lucao, Dagupan City.
The center, by the way, was named after Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez’ father and is reportedly the biggest north of Manila, which can house more than 7,000 people at one time.
The induction of Honrado and company was very enjoyable, what with the vivacious Edna Torio, past president of the club, as life of the party. In case you have forgotten, yours truly was the charter president of the club.
Back to the center’s being the biggest in Northern Luzon, the convention center now can properly give the city the tag, Convention Centre City. I remember former Mayor Benjie Lim openly wished to build one like it in Tondaligan Park. It did not push through.
Now it can be told that with Belen around, most of the things we thought were impossible to build have been or are being built.
I heard that Belen is eyeing the development of sitio Tocok per the request of the residents led by former Tapuac Barangay Captain Alfredo Dawana who had earlier voiced the residents’ request to Speaker Joe de Venecia and Mayor Al Fernandez.
Being both super busy, the speaker and mayor Al must have endorsed it to Belen who enthusiastically accepted the challenge.
Watch out! Belen is effectively showing everyone that she is the Dagupan leader to watch. I heard a group of newsmen who had a heart to heart talk with Belen at the inauguration of Kharmina Velasco’s tutorial center that Belen is by her devotion to the welfare of the cityfolk and her gargantuan resources, likely to end up as the next mayor of the city.
Belen is not talking, but I could read her lips, which say, “if Benjie Lim can be mayor, why not me?” Magkarival yang dalawa sa business e. That’s what you call friendly and fruitful competition.
* * *
At the second meeting we had with Speaker Joe de Venecia as guest of honor of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, it may be fair to predict that the next president of PACU will be a Pangasinense.
I will not mention his or her name yet. But I will soon if I won’t be overtaken by events.
Masyadong magaling daw si Speaker, sabi ng mga fellow officers ko. I simply said “ahem- ahem-” They knew that I fought in two congressional races, but I lost. Later however, I won his friendship. Which has made things ok between us. The relationship has even brought certain education reforms and projects in our province closer to implementation.
* * *
Someone close to me made a rather wary comment that Governor Amado Espino began his term with a bang, exposing misexpenditures of the past administration.
My neighbor said “it should have started with positive and friendly note. Honeymoon stage, they call it. But nandyan na yan e.
Let me have this opportunity (again) to remind Governor Espino about my much publicized concern that our province has no official founding date, even just the year.
Jose Rizal said, we can only know our future if we know our past. Or words to this effect: “Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay di makakarating sa patutungahan.”
November l3 is fast approaching, and don’t tell me that you’d call it Pangasinan Day again. It’s not. It’s the birthday anniversary of the late Speaker Eugenio Perez Sr.
What we want is a specific date of the province’s founding so that we can chart its future. How about it, Spines?
(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/playing-with-fire/)
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