Punchline
I, too, can dream, can’t I?
By Ermin F. Garcia Jr.
As the New Year sets in, I cannot but wonder what’s in store for our people in Pangasinan. I wish there are barometers to go by but I don’t see any. There being none, I hasten to share my wish (or dream) list.
For Pangasinan, I pray that –
1. Our province’s newly elected public officials will come to realize that unless and until they wean our people from jueteng, a big number of our populace will remain unmotivated to become productive.
2. One feeder airport similar to Caticlan airport in Aklan (for jet-prop planes) in Sta. Barbara, and a domestic commercial airport in Alaminos can be constructed.
3. A sanitary landfill will finally be constructed to serve Dagupan City and at least 7 more towns.
4. All garbage dumpsites in the province will be closed and province will strictly enforce their respective Solid Waste Management ordinances.
5. City and town officials will give higher priority to environment, education and health issues.
6. The Provincial Police can solve all the murder cases, and prevent commission of more.
7. There will be less deadly floods to hit towns.
8. There will be more employment generating activities in more towns.
9. The quality of education shall increase threefold, with more classrooms, chairs and books for students.
10. The Espino government will not pursue projects to commit graft.
For Dagupan City, I pray that –
1. Bus terminals outside Dagupan City’s downtown area will be established to finally put order in the city’s main streets.
2. The Dagupan City Council will be more resolute in investigating anomalies committed during the Lim administration, i.e., illegal towing and clamping operations, overpriced purchase of sanitary landfill, dredging operations, etc.
3. All illegal fish pens will be demolished and prevent more pens from being erected.
4. Plans will be drawn for the use of the former MC Adore Hotel.
5. Rivers and sewer pipes will be dredged regularly to prevent worsening of flooding in the city.
6. All illegal claims to the beachfront will be thrashed.
7. A neater, cleaner, greener and more orderly Tondaligan Park will evolve.
8. More tricycle drivers will be motivated to acquire new skills and move on to more productive livelihood.
9. The city will be known as the cleanest city in the region.
10. City Mayor Al Fernandez will finally spend more time at the city hall than in his furnished “fishpond”.
***
A WIN-WIN FOR THE DREAM AIRPORTS. Alaminos City Mayor Nani Braganza has reasons to be miffed by the not too subtle attempts of Guv Spines to finagle the airport project away from his city. His city has been working at it for over a decade and he’s not about to step back to give way to Johnny-come-lately dreams of new wannabes. Yes, Alaminos deserves the first crack.
At the same time, I cannot fault Guv Spines (and Sta. Barbara Mayor Rey Velasco) for trying to divert the attention of the national government and attempt to force it to take a second look at another airport project in the province.
The potential of an airport in Sta. Barbara, being centrally located is, indeed, promising but should not be pursued at the expense of Alaminos. (But Guv Spines would be well advised to stop dreaming about possible rehabilitation of the airstrip in Lingayen. That location is technically hazardous to planes taking off and landing because of the noted crosswind factor).
While the tug-of-war for the airport doesn’t have to end in an I-win-you-lose situation. There is a lot of room for compromise to make the twin dreams a reality.
Let Mayor Nani and Alaminos have their airport, they deserve it. Guv Spines must lend his full support.
But the Sta. Barbara airport dream need not die and be wasted.
A feeder airport can very well serve the purposes of that dream. The Caticlan (Aklan) airport experience is being served regularly by Asian Spirit, carrying passengers who want shorter traveling time to Boracay. For essentially the same purpose, businessmen and tourists originating from Manila can find a feeder service convenient to enable them to reach destinations in Central Pangasinan, i.e., cities of Dagupan, San Carlos and Urdaneta, Manaoag, San Fabian, Tayug, etc. in much shorter travel time.
Over time, it’s possible to have the feeder airport without having to rely today on funding exclusively from Malacanang. The governor and the congressmen from the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th districts can get together and agree to raise the initial seed money for its development. From there, the province can expect the national government to eventually channel more funds once convinced of the determination of the political forces to get it done.
***
MORE SKILLED WORKERS, NOT TRICYCLE DRIVERS. One cannot but note the increasing number of tricycle drivers in Dagupan City and in other towns and cities waiting idly on every corner for precious passengers to ferry. There simply are too many tricycles moving around the city and the province.
In Dagupan City, the over supply poses serious social and economic problems and one wonders whether the government is wont to do anything about it.
Firstly, the growing number of motorcycles plying the streets are contributing a lot to the pollution, both air quality and noise, as if the pollution caused by the hundreds of jeepneys and buses crawling around the city are not bad enough.
Secondly, tricycling as a livelihood has become the easy way out for the lazy and unmotivated. The drivers obviously have no other skills or don’t have other job or livelihood opportunities and cling to the false perception that they can earn their keep by driving a tricycle.
Thirdly, it’s seriously doubtful that the drivers are earning their keep by simply going out the streets, what with the stiff competition and the skyrocketing costs of fuel and maintenance. Their daily poor earnings will tempt many to resort to criminal means. Today, many simply gamble among themselves in the hope of augmenting their awfully meager earnings, leading many to go home empty-handed and poorer instead.
The news, therefore, that the Fernandez administration is keen on restoring the training facility of the Helping Hand Foundation is timely.
The city government must seriously look into making thousands of idle hands and minds, particularly among the tricycle driver sector, truly productive and skilled. Unless they are provided skills, the city will only be nurturing a population of lazy, unproductive tricycle drivers mindlessly polluting the air, further aggravating the horrendous traffic in the city’s streets.
(Readers may reach columnist at punch.sunday@gmail.com. For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/punchline/
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