RAMPANT VOTE-BUYING. Many Pangasinenses are considered lucky because of the reported rampant vote-buying by politicians in many villages of Pangasinan, unchecked by the Comelec to this day.

Vote-buying is already being done openly, in broad daylight in many places, including in one gasoline station in a town adjacent to Dagupan. That place is mobbed daily by people lining up and jostling for a chance to get their share of the pie, regarded by many as manna from heaven.

Traffic fronting the gasoline station became a chokepoint one day that a policeman had to be called to open the traffic.

Why has it come to this? Are our politicos have become so thick-skinned that they stopped being discreet about their illegal activity? Just asking.

My spy said that now that the election is nearing, people are beginning to skip work in order not to miss out in the vote-buying station where they could earn at least P1,000 per person and P5,000 per family of five, certainly much higher than what they earn as daily wage.

Where you see throngs of people headed in one direction at anytime, you can be sure there is a vote-buying station in progress. What used to be reserved on the eve of the election is now a 24/7 activity. What a shame!

Aren’t candidates no longer bothered by their conscience that the only reason they won the election is because of vote-buying? Aren’t voters wondering where the politicos who resorted to vote-buying and won will attempt to recover his expenses for vote-buying? Gising Pangasinan! – Leonardo Micua

 

POLITICS AT THE CHURCH’S DOOR. Dagupan became more popular, not only for its undoubtedly number one product bangus, but more because it was the venue of the third and last leg of the presidential debate last April 24.

Everyone was in festive mood that day. The heat index was so irritating but I must confess I enjoyed watching supporters of presidential candidates doing their respective cheers, especially when the aspirants arrived one after the other.

Earlier that day after attending the 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Mass at the St. John The Evangelist Cathedral, I was surprised to see at the main entrance/exit door a group of Aetas.

They were obviously handed several small tarpaulins for them to raise and be read by the people.

“Kaninong gimik kaya ito?,” I asked myself.

Then I remembered a presidential aspirant whose complexion and height resembled our brother Aetas. Someone told me their candidate was there, too.

I just smiled, shook my head and said,” Oo nga pala, andito ang mga bida. Pero bakit naman pati sa simbahan, may ganun pang eksena?”—Tita Roces

 

TIMELY FORUM ON BBL. With the 15 congressional candidates in the province, only three and a representative attended. We could understand Cong. Bataoil’s absence as he was sick but for the other candidates, it seems they have no interest in the peace agenda. Although, Mindanao is miles away from our province, the issue on BBL and peace and order are relevant concerns for the whole country. The laws that will either benefit or destroy the peace and order in our country will pass through the hands of the members of the House of Representative, where they wanted to be part of.

The forum would have been an appropriate avenue to make their stand known or submit another alternative bill to the controversial BBL After all, their primary duties and responsibilities as congressmen is to create laws, not roads or infrastructures. Mindanao may be far from Luzon but the resources and funds to be allocated for the BBL will still be sourced by taxes paid by every Filipino including the Pangasinenses, and Mindanao is still part of our country. Maybe Comm. Camlian was right when he said they (Bangsamoro people) were treated as second class citizens as manifested by some congressional candidates in Mindanao.

Kudos! To those who took time to attend especially those who came ready with research on the agenda, despite their busy schedule in campaigning and performing their duties as incumbents. – Hilda Austria

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