Punchline
Looking back
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
FROM where The PUNCH sits, there never was a dull moment in covering the news that matter in and around the province from day 1 of 2011.
Ever mindful of how local public officials comport themselves in office, how affairs of governance are promoted or prostituted, how Pangasinenses celebrate life and cope with daily challenges, how laws affect families, etc. The PUNCH certainly had its hands full covering as much given its own limited resources.
Let me start with the Dagupan City government whose issues had taken much of the space in our pages. Here are some of the events we reported worth recalling:
First the good news.
The city government under the Lim administration introduced a new seal for the city.
A river cruise project aimed at promoting the city’s tourism was launched with the inauguration of the Daongan ed Dawel facility.
The 2011 versions of the Bangus Festival and city fiesta proceeded without a hitch.
The plan to produce and market Dagupan Lechon was announced.
The Seafood Processing Plant, funded by a grant from the South Korean government, was inaugurated and commenced test operations immediately under the management of the Department of Agriculture, specifically the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Efforts were undertaken to restore the lost patronage of the Dagupan Bangus in the local and world market as a result of the fishkill in Bolinao and Anda.
The damages to life and properties in the city during the typhoons that hit the province were minimized by the preparedness of the city hall.
Mayor Lim organized a symposium on illegal drugs, attended by residents of Sitio Silungan in Bonuan in a bid to combat the menace.
The city’s peace and order was relatively good until the last week of December when tandem-motorcycle-riders shot a businesswoman in front of the market.
Farmers affected by typhoons Pedring and Quiel received palay subsidy from the city government.
Senior citizens were given more health benefits and cultural activities received a boost.
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Now, the bad news about the city government.
Mayor Benjamin Lim fired the first shot over the 2011 budget that triggered a series of skirmishes with the city council presided by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez. He issued the gag order to the city’s department heads to prevent them from responding to questions by the city council. (We are seeing a repeat of the same scenario over the 2012 budget as of last month).
The mayor broke tradition by snubbing the invitation of the city council to deliver the State of the City Address at the sanggunian and instead organized his own audience in another venue.
Mayor Lim attempted to negotiate the sale of the MC Adore hotel without authorization from the city council. The negotiations eventually stopped. He also blamed former Speaker Joe de V for the failed development of the property as the new city hall.
Councilor Brian Lim, the mayor’s son, dared the members of the majority in the city council to sue his father-mayor over the illegal release of calamity funds in a media forum. Councilor Alfie Fernandez, representing the group, accepted the dare but his group eventually backed down after Majority Leader Maybelyn Fernandez opted out of the group’s agreement “all-for-one, one-for-all” to file the case.
The construction of the Daongan ed Dawel facility for the river cruise project was completed without the benefit of a public bidding prior to construction. Mayor Lim bandied it as “value engineering”. Then he abandoned his restaurant project by the Dawel Bridge when threatened with a suit by the national government and a private landowner for illegal occupation of the land.
The barangay kapitans’ junket to Singapore, arranged and organized by city hall ostensibly as a “Lakbay Aral” event using barangay funds, was roundly criticized.
The University of Luzon and Lyceum Northwestern University filed separate court cases against the city government over business taxes that they deemed as “illegal exaction” contrary to the intent of the city ordinance.
Several business establishments were found illegally occupying public land on beachfront areas at the Tondaligan Park. They were set to be demolished but the office of the city mayor refused to issue a direct order for the demolition. When the city council pursued its fact-finding mission, “fake” waivers and permits for electric connection bearing the signatures of the mayor and City Administrator Vlad Mata surfaced. The city hall refused to call in the NBI to investigate.
The calamity funds released to barangay kapitans were never unaccounted for.
BFAR suspended the test operations of the Seafood Processing Plant after Mayor Lim notified the latter of the absence of a business permit to operate. After clarifying that no business permit was necessary, the city hall imposed other requirements to keep the plant closed.
The executive committee of the city fiesta was found to be collecting rental fees for stalls at the Baratilyo and Tinday Labi for as much as P40,000 per without issuing an official receipt from the city government. Hermano Mayor Guillermo Vallejos and his deputy, SK federation chairman Chester Gonzales, refused to account to the city council for the illegal collection of fees.
The city police never stopped the “drop-ball” gambling that was rampant in the barangays throughout the year.
(Next week, I will list the summary of the events and developments in and around the province, the worthy initiatives and mishaps of the Espino administration, etc. ).
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WHAT A PARTY! Those who were fortunate to make it to the 75th birthday bash of former Speaker Joe de V at the Golden Bay Restaurant were treated to a sumptuous Chinese dinner in the presence of foreign dignitaries and former Malacanang bigwigs.
JDV’s loyal friends at the House of Representatives, where he held fort for decades, were seen gamely reliving the good old days while celebrator Joe hammed it up for endless souvenir pictures with his guests. There were the kagawads and barangay kapitans in the 4th district, the mayors, councilors and provincial officials (past and present). He went around to welcome known political supporters, famed relatives and long time friends in the media. There were certainly more than a thousand guests in the room, dressed in their best, to celebrate with JDV!
The role of a perfect politician’s wife-hostess was played to the hilt by forever smiling Rep. Gina de Venecia the whole evening, forgetting for a moment that it’s actually now her husband who is the perfect politician’s spouse.
What an evening it was!
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