Punchline
Good things happened
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
THERE were two significant events that put Dagupan City in the limelight last week deservedly.
The first was the appearance of Mayor Belen Fernandez as a presentation speaker at the 6th Global Conference of the Alliance of Healthy Cities sponsored by WHO on Oct. 30 at Crowne Plaza in Hong Kong. Beat that!
To earn that slot, her program, “Alagang Balon Dagupan for the Elderly,” had to be measured against the impact of other programs for senior citizens around the globe. To her credit, in truth and in fact, my fellow seniors in the city never had it so good until now. They are being cared for like they are the mayor’s own parents! Name a benefit, except getting a monthly stipend for being past 60 years old, and they have it!
I would have been surprised if WHO was not the least impressed by her program. Frankly, the thought of the mayor spending a lot of time and resources for the care of the elderly never crossed my mind. I imagined her to be spending more time fighting the corrupt in the system, alas, it was not to be, at least not in the intensity I had hoped for. Her priority for the elder is by no means less important than fighting corruption. As I see it, her transparency to keep public funds where these should be is a feat by itself.
But make no mistake, I am still looking forward to seeing Mayor Belen suit up for a “Damn the torpedoes” type of offensive against those who dared deposit the people’s money in their personal bank accounts. The city’s “Napoleses” disguised as among the respected Pinablin Dagupeños, are stil out there enjoying the comforts in life, courtesy of massive corruption during the Lim administration.
Anyway, I congratulate Mayor Belen for successfully creating her legacy in the world by simply doing what she would do for her own parents
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SITIO ALING. The second , the war vs. illegal drugs in Dagupan is making headway!
Last week, the police and PDEA raided Sitio Aling that has since been known to host drug traffickers but whom the police could not easily pin down because of the location. It yielded results that even the residents of Sitio Aling never imagined.
In one fell swoop, targeted suspects listed in the warrants of arrest issued by Judge Caridad Galvez of Regional Trial Court Branch 43, were picked up with bundles of sachets of shabu to boot. Three cheers for Judge Galvez!
Truth to tell, I am actually saddened by how Sitio Aling transformed itself into one big den for illegal drugs. I grew up in Arellano St. just a stone’s throw away from the narrow alley that leads to the sitio. I easily made friends with my age group in the sitio, played basketball and all. In fact, I recall how some parents of my older friends there became protective of me that they warned my friends (their sons) about teaching me to smoke cigarettes.
I saw a happy community that generously shared blessings among them. They were part of my youth as much as I was with the Dalton (gang) in the late 50s (in my early teens). Danny, he who runs the newsstand (adjacent to the Red Ribbon cake shop) that sells the most PUNCH copies, is one of my original acquaintances in the sitio. I never would have thought that our lives would cross in our adult life through The PUNCH after out-growing what we had in our teens.
But I guess all I have now of Sitio Aling are memories of the past when friendships were made because we were happy being neighbors.
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LOST AND BEATEN. The senate hearing last Thursday again showed Senator Alan Cayetano in his best elements.
This time, Senators Koko Pimentel, Sonny Trillanes and Cayetano took off their kid gloves and engaged Mr. Tony Tiu, the self-proclaimed owner of the Hacienda Binay, toe to toe, truth to lies, every inch of the way.
The arrogance and barefaced lies of Mr. Tiu at the hearing exposed him as the dummy of Vice President Jojo Binay because of his own doing! Gee, I can only wonder what was promised Mr, Tiu to risk all his legit business and enterprises just to cover up the follies of the Binay family. Is it possible he has been promised half of the hacienda? Tsk-tsk.
Mr. Binay is going down. He was his own undoing, no doubt about that. Not even his “poor vs. rich” card can help him now. When Mr. Tiu was finally confronted with admissions of the vice president’s daughter that the family owned the resort (and not he), the cocky Mr. Tiu was speechless, his face ashen and finally looked defeated. His arrogance was gone.
Let’s see if Mr. Binay will make good on his word to appear before the Senate on November 6, after Mr. Tiu was exposed for what he is – his dummy.
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