Dagupan lies to DILG Sec. Año

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Brian Lim administration in Dagupan! It heralded an impressive 95% rating in the clearing of roads and sidewalks of obstructions! No doubt, it has impressed the DILG of its resolve to comply strictly with the presidential order.

But before DILG finds out it has been lied to by the city government and its city director, and embarrasses the city by summarily withdrawing the “very good” rating, Mayor Brian would be well-advised to take a walk and cross the city’s Quintos Bridge accompanied by his usual entourage. Hopefully, he can see what’s very wrong and illegal happening right under his very nose, before he can think of boasting of a more colorful bright Christmas lights on the bridge.

To construct and install the colorful lights on the bridge, one-half of the space for bridge’s pedestrian/sidewalk, has to be occupied, leaving limited access to the bridge’s sidewalks to only one person each way. If that is not illegal obstruction, I don’t know what is!

I sure hope this is not Mayor Brian’s idea because the construction is an illegal obstruction in clear defiance of the president’s order. Tsk-tsk. If it is his, then he owes the city an apology for inconveniencing residents and visitors crossing the bridge and embarrassing the city for the cover-up and lying to the President and DILG. If it is not, the “bright volunteer” who espoused the not so bright idea should be terminated mismo without any second thought of their relationship as fellow Jaycees.

Then, I hope DILG’s City Director Marilyn Laguito realizes that she can be suspended if not reassigned to a class 3 municipality in Cordillera Autonomous Region if her boss Sec. Eduardo Año finds out he’s been lied to by recommending a high rating for Dagupan when the city government in fact is deliberately defying his direct order.

Paging DILG Regional Director James Fadrilan and Provincial Director Randy dela Rosa!    Forgive the city for it knows not what it is doing.

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WHAT FREE TRADE? Still in Dagupan City, Majority floor Leader Michael Fernandez was right to return the proposed ordinance to the two committees intending to regulate the sale of Dagupan bangus, specifically to further study the use of the word “imported” and its definition.

Personally, it doesn’t really matter whether the word “imported” is qualified in the ordinance or not. What’s horrifying about the proposed ordinance is it has virtually opened the city’s gates to all that will make Dagupan bangus, the city’s One Town-One Product, equated with the rest of inferior bangus raised in the country.

Obviously, the councilors and the stakeholders in the city’s bangus industry have been fooled to accept that under the free trade principle, the city cannot ban bangus growers from other provinces! Utterly false!

The free trade simply means, anyone can sell any product at any price BUT subject to regulations established by a government or by any legal authority. If we uphold the proponents view that a TOTAL BAN IS violative of free trade, then why are some of our exports banned in other countries? Why does our government refuse the entry of swine from countries that suffered from African Swine Fever? Why does the Food and Drug Administration set standards for approval for products?

The reason is obvious – to protect the people and their local industries.

Even if you liken free trade to free speech, there are limitations to protect the reputation and integrity of persons. The law prescribes that no one should be free to malign, slander and libel another person without consequence!

There is no such thing as absolute freedom in the freest democratic country, not even in the Philippines!

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PROTECT AND PRESERVE.  What was originally thought would be the objective of the ordinance – to protect Dagupan bangus as a brand of the city’ OTOP – I note that it is proceeding in the opposite direction, setting regulations that would surely kill and obliterate the Dagupan bangus brand, and will be soon be known as no different from the Bulacan bangus or La Union bangus or Bolinao bangus, etc.

By scheduling frequency of entry of bangus growers from other places alone, it has virtually guaranteed the demise of the Dagupan bangus brand. That ordinance guarantees all growers to have access to Dagupan bangus brand regardless of their quality. With the guarantee that outside growers can sell bangus in the city, nothing will stop them from selling that inferior bangus as Dagupan bangus, and claim that the lower price is simply to cover costs of overproduction. Yes, in time, all bangus sold in the city will be passed on as Dagupan bangus with all the features of Bulacan bangus!

What the city needs is an iron-clad ordinance that will protect the Dagupan brand. It must establish the rule that no bangus grown outside Dagupan can be sold in the city’s market unless subjected to daily inspection and examination by a body mandated to inspect and examine the cargo of bangus to be sold in the city.

And a special section in an area outside the city’s wet market must be designated for outside growers and must not be allowed to sell in sections where Dagupan bangus is sold exclusively.

By establishing a difficult protocol to be observed by outside growers, these growers will now opt to look for another market for their produce.

Sure, such a rule is ideal for corruption but not if serious penalties are provided for misconduct, abuse of authority and corrupt practices of government personnel in the ordinance. And an oversight function is provided for the committee on agriculture and laws.

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VISION AND MAYOR BRIAN. So to councilors Lino Fernandez and Joey Tamayo, leave a legacy that will preserve and protect the city’s OTOP, not an ordinance that will guarantee to kill it. The argument that a restrictive ordinance will leave many families without livelihood, I’ll use the same argument once the Dagupan bangus industry is waylaid, that’s worst!

Let the world know that if one wants to buy a guaranteed Dagupan bangus, outside of Dagupan, ask for a DTI-registered certification. Or better still, buy your supply personally in Dagupan City… and enjoy many other pleasures offered by the city.

This was the vision of all that mayors that preceded this administration. Mayor Brian has the opportunity to make it happen under his watch.

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PAGING SITG ESPINO JR: It’s been 4 weeks since the ambush, and still no one is arrested? No results of ballistic tests of recovered high powered firearms?  

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