Punchline
Defying city hall is easy
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
FOR a while we were heartened by the report that Mayor Belen Fernandez, City Legal Officer Vicky Cabrera and City Assessor Roland Suni were finally in agreement last week that there is no legal justification whatsoever to exempt illegal fish pens owned by persons who claim their structures are standing on private property (?).
And so finally, City Agriculturist Emma Molina was rebuked, rejected. Or so we thought.
Nineteen days after the Oct 30 final deadline set by Mayor Belen, and two days after Molina was ordered by the mayor and the city legal officer, I received pictures of fish pens still intact where commercial feeds continue to be thrown into river as of Friday, Nov. 18! (The picture on page 1 is one of them).
If that isn’t a sign of outright defiance, insolence and thumbing of their noses at Mayor Belen and CLO Cabrera, by Molina and her cohorts of illegal fish pen owners, I don’t know what is!
But frankly, I wasn’t really surprised. She demonstrated that she could get away with it again like she always did. Is there something that she knows that the public deserves to know?
I texted Councilor Jigs Seen, chairman of the committee on agriculture and fisheries, for his reaction to the continued operation of some fish pens beyond the deadline set by the mayor. Curiously, I got no response. Deadma!
I texted Councilor Red Erfe-Mejia, being the minority leader supposedly the fiscalizer in the council, essentially the same message. No response. Deadma!
Only my text to Councilor Joey Tamayo was favored with a response. “Will support any move (to investigate) for the benefit of environment po.”
So let’s see what’s in store for the city. Will it be Molina who will continue to rule over the city’s rivers with a full rein and unimpeded to everyone’s exclusion, including Mayor Belen? Will she be made to account for her irregular activities? By whom? By the mayor? City legal officer? City council?
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BANGUS IN FISH CAGES. It would also be to Mayor Belen’s interest that she finds out for herself what other information that Molina has been lying to her about.
The ordinance prescribes fish cages with specifications for the authorized size. That’s the first marker. I don’t doubt the mayor has been told that some fish cages are found oversized but she’s not telling where and how many.
Then, the ordinance prescribes that the fish cages be used for high-value fishes that don’t need commercial feeds. Mayor Belen will be shocked to learn that many of these fish cages are actually holding bangus that need commercial feeds that pollute the rivers! Consequently, pollution and siltation are aggravated because it is bangus that’s found in the fish cages.
Again, how much is the withholding of truth worth in protection racket? Pray tell, CAO!
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NO HONOR IN FM BURIAL. The circumstances that surrounded the burial of FM last Friday were unfortunate as much as these were tragic. Being flown in secretly, away from the prying eyes of the nation, given burial honors with only the honor guards as witnesses were not what Marcos supporters had envisioned for their idol.
By burying FM in the Libingan ng mga Bayani under those circumstances robbed him and his family of the honor and dignity they thought were rightfully his.
Regrettably, now that the remains are buried at the LNMB, there will always be the risk of the marker being defaced, his memory openly mocked any day, any time.
If only the family had decided on burying his remains in his hometown Batac, the family could have even had a long cortege carrying his remains, surrounded by military honor guards, dignified with a 21-gun salute fitting for a past president, ceremonies that would have made admirers stand in awe and thousands of loyalists paying homage to his image.
Alas, FM’s burial will also now be remembered daily in infamy by the millions who detested his martial regime each time LNMB is mentioned. Tsk-tsk!
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CALLS FOR ACCOUNTABILTY. Largely left to pass in the acrimonious debates that preceded the secret burial is the call of some, yes, from both sides, asking then General Fidel Ramos as Philippine Constabulary chief and implementer of martial policies, and then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile, as one of the architects of the martial law, to explain their roles and make them accountable in lieu of the dead martial law president.
Some went as far as demanding from them the identities of the senior officers of the murderers, torturers and rapists in uniform and make them account. Indeed, how can the nation move on when so much injustice sears its soul.
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MERE LIP SERVICE? The update from Liga ng Barangay Provincial Federation’s president, Jinky Zaplan on the organization’s activities and concerns begged for more questions and answers.
Which towns and cities have complied with the resolution she filed and approved unanimously by the provincial board?
Sta. Barbara government is headed by her husband, Mayor Carlito Zaplan. Why couldn’t he compel her fellow kapitans to take the drug test under the supervision of the provincial police? Has she taken the test herself to demonstrate her leadership by example?
It’s been months since she filed her resolution, why hasn’t she met with P/Sr. Supt. Ronald Lee how else could she help in the campaign contra illegal drugs?
Has she found out how many barangay kapitans are on police watch lists? President Duterte has confirmed the listing of thousands of kapitans in the police’s watch list.
Pangasinan has been tagged by PDEA as a major transshipment point of illegal drugs, meaning a big volume pass the hands of local syndicates. And as everyone knows, no illegal activity goes past a kapitan.
BM Zaplan may not cherish her role today but she is the head of the federation so that makes her the accountable person. I’m afraid paying lip service to the cause will not be enough. There is a war on drugs that she must account for as head of the Liga.
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CARING FOR THE KIDS. The efforts of Mayor Belen Fernandez to ardently promote sports and music among the city’s young is most laudable. No other mayor in the past has spent so much time, efforts and imagination to improve their lot.
The civic and professional groups in the city should lend more of their resources to create additional activities to complement the city government’s efforts.
A monthly singing and musical contest among barangays will work wonders to create a music fever in the city. Ditto for sports events! This is a mission for all Dagupeños!
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FOOD TRIP. When was the last time you decided on a food trip at Todd’s in Dagupan? You have to try their latest on the menu. Speaking of steaming beef-wanton noodle soup, Amree gets my vote!
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