Illegal fish pens are back with a vengeance

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

HERE’S a heads up for Mayor Belen Fernandez.

Six months ago, she announced that the city is rid of all illegal fish pens. There will only be fish cages, she said.  Behind her back, it only took four months for more than 40 fish pens that extended all the way to Island Barangay Suit began to resurface. Worse, the barangay kapitan reportedly has his own illegal fish pen emboldening others to follow suit.  

Without a doubt, the city is seeing a repeat of the sudden proliferation of the illegal fish pens months into the 2013 election during the Lim administration. The question is – who’s behind it?

*       *       *       *

BFAR CASE, NOT CITY?  Another proof of the existence of the illegal fish pens operation today is an advisory from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources directing the fish pen operators in the two island barangays to dismantle their illegal structures.

That it took the BFAR and not the City Agriculturist to issue the directive has made residents believe that Mayor Belen has given her blessings to the return of the illegal fish pens. Then there is City Agriculturist Emma Molina, who is supposed to be aware of all fishing affairs in the city, who was never seen in Pugaro to investigate the return of the fish pens. I sent a text message to her asking for her comments on the return of the fish pens but she did not reply.

What perhaps Ms. Molina also did not inform Mayor Belen was the fact that a mini-fish kill recently hit the area and affected many fish pens.  (Nature, indeed, has a way of making sure that those who hurt the environment have their payback).

According to one resident, the rest of the illegal fish pen operators will not comply with the BFAR directive until they see their kapitan dismantle his own fish pen.

*       *       *       *

VICIOUS CYCLE. The residents fear that as the usual vicious cycle goes with the city hall, the operators will again be given grace period to dismantle their fish pens to allow them to recover their investment. That would be in January 2016.  Will Mayor Belen grant this again? They wonder.

Someone in the city hall is obviously making a ton of money again, and I wonder if any of the upright councilors dare investigate the rampant violation of the city’s amended ordinance?

Or will it be the vicious cycle  – “Share-share” policy for the 2016 election?

*       *       *       *

THE WRATH OF PANGASINAN.  Was former 5th District Rep. Mark Cojuangco behind the resumption of the killing of live trees along the Manila National Road (MNR)? This is the hushed question going around since news of the toppling of century-old trees along the Binalonan-Pozorrubio stretch of the MNR.  

But in fairness to Mr. Cojuangco, except for the fact and knowledge that he has been strongly lobbying for the cutting of the trees since the MNR reached Pangasinan, there is no proof nor indication, not even his name being used by officials of DPWH and DENR to earn the support for the sudden resumption of the cutting of the trees.

What only appears certain, however, is that Mr. Cojuangco will not go out of his way to stop the killing of the live trees because that would be inconsistent with his original advocacy notwithstanding the standing agreement by and among the provincial government, the non-government organizations, and the Secretaries of the DPWH and DENR to stop cutting the trees.

So unless the DENR’s regional director Paquito Moreno and DPWH’s 3rd District Engineer Emmanuel Diaz point to Mr. Cojuangco as the person who prompted them to resume the cutting, the two will have to bear the brunt or the full condemnation and wrath of the Pangasinan people.

I sincerely hope the board members will not simply let the two officials, PENRO chief Leduina Co and Urdaneta City CENRO chief Fernando Estrada Jr.  and DPWH contractor R.A.  Pahati Construction, get away with murder with a mere slap on the wrist.  

Meanwhile, here’s a piece of good news in the environment front. The province will host its own arboretum, a garden of trees in Mangatarem.

Now, the bad news. It will be established by the PENRO, the same office that didn’t lift a finger to stop the killing of trees along the MNR.

It’s almost a laughable situation being ironic that as the SP goes about probing the cutting of trees involving inept operations of PENRO that led to the killing of trees, it is the same office tasked to spearhead the establishment of an arboretum to promote the love for trees.

Am I missing something?

*       *       *       *

YOUR BARBER’S PROGNOSIS. At the rate developments in the political scene, both national and local, are changing almost every day, many are already getting confused how political ties are shaping up or being aligned for political, personal, business reasons.  

So allow me to weigh in on these myself better to confuse you even more. Since I’m no certified true blue political analyst, you don’t have to take my own thoughts seriously. Treat me like your neighborhood barber this one time.  So, here’s what I see as a potential scenario in the province.

Let’s start with Guv Spines and his son Pogi in the middle of it all. Consider this.

1. Guv Spines wants to but has not fully kissed and made up with the Liberal Party led by PNoy.
2. LP standard bearer Mar Roxas wants Guv Spines real bad since he has no one except Guv Spines that has enough political clout to carry him through.  
3. But PNoy is a second cousin of NPC’s Mark Cojuangco.  There’s still good blood there.
4. PNoy cannot allow Guv Spines to run roughshod over his cousin Mark Cojuangco.  
5. Mark Cojuangco is obviously running under the NPC flag. But NPC is supporting Grace Poe, not VP Binay.
6. Mark Cojuangco is supporting VP Binay, not Grace Poe.  

Mixing them all together, here’s my prognosis. I don’t see anything viable for Guv Spines and son Pogi donning the LP’s yellow color unless:

1. PNoy agrees to junk Mark Cojuangco, (and there will be bad blood there).
2. Mark Cojuangco will have to defy PNoy, NPC and his father Danding in order to go all out for VP Binay.  (His payback for LP’s support for Pogi Espino).  
3. Guv Spines will support Mar Roxas and forget that Mar Roxas and PNoy were instrumental in the filing of cases against him before the Ombudsman. (Expect extremely low level of trust and confidence between them along the way).
4. Mar Roxas will endorse Pogi Espino but he will have to turn his back on his best friend Nani Braganza’s dream of a payback for Guv Spines. (No blood but can cost friendship).

Overly complicated, isn’t it?

So what do we have? Ah, there is Fire player Gonz’s “manok”- Rody Duterte.  The Villar-led NP is already reportedly inclined to back the feisty mayor in his presidential bid that would have none of the above complications.

I may be wrong but I’m sure Gonz would not have it another way but to see Rody and Pogi (and Guv Spines) slugging it out together here in Pangasinan.  

Did I make sense or did I muddle the scenario further? Not to worry, I’m just your barber this week.  I’ll post another bold prognosis perhaps after two weeks at which time serious complications would have already been established.

(For your comments and reactions, please email to: punch.sunday@gmail.com)

Back to Homepage

 

 

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments