By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THERE’S a new entertaining game in Dagupan City. It’s called the “LiFe-Camera-Action” at the Sanggunian!

The cast is complete. The political objective is unmistakable. The agenda is self-serving. Hubris and bravado are its motivation. The level of play is immature and childish – for beginners only!

I can’t think of anything more precise to describe what the seven majority at the Dagupan Sanggunian (Councilors Dada Macalanda, Celia Lim, Red Erfe-Mejia, Alfie Fernandez, Alvin Coquia, Marilou Fernandez and Irene Acosta) have been doing so far.

I was brought to tears laughing at their comic antics, just to draw public attention to themselves: from boycotting the first session after the inaugural address, to wearing their campaign uniforms in the next session. I can’t wait to read about their next act.

Is it possible that they want their favorite songs played as each one enters the session hall? Do they want their biodata and pictures in their full blue and white regalia included in the weekly agenda? Aahhh… could they be thinking of having their individual interpellations fully recorded in video for their posting on their Facebook and Instagram accounts???

It’s obvious they are having a great time with their barkada mindset, forgetting their sworn duty to act, think and talk like honorable councilors like they promised the INC for the latter’s endorsement.

I still recall how the then councilors during the late BSL’s term earned the moniker “Onor-onor”!  They who were willing to sign away their names to anything that BSL wanted in exchange for a lot of “benefits” promised them. So, I surmise the new majority deserves a moniker more pleasant than being “Onor-onor”.  How does “EpaLiFes” sound?

Perhaps PUNCH readers have better ideas, so let’s have them.

*          *          *          *

LESSONS FROM MAYOR BRIAN. If there is one thing that the EpaLiFes have neither learned nor understand in governance, it is this – Say and do what you want, but the mayor has the last say!

This situation never changed since the word executive and legislative terms were defined. The Brian Lim administration, in fact, made this known clearly but the EpaLifes today didn’t seem to learn anything from their boss.

Mayor Brian did everything to teach them, from allowing rich business friends to own and operate illegal fish pens, to tolerating market marshals to continue their racketeering, victimizing poor vendors, to preventing city hall department heads to appear before the sanggunian, to tolerating the dumping of alien bangus in the city, to ignoring DENR’s directive to close the dumpsite, etc… name it! He did all that regardless of what residents or councilors or media had to say.

Do the EpaLiFes think the situation has changed since they have the majority votes in the city council? Not a chance. The EpaLiFes can sing and dance, do somersaults, demand pray-overs but Mayor Belen couldn’t care less. They can say whatever they want inside the city council but the mayor’s office can and will act as accountability dictates. 

They ought to learn that from their discredited boss.

As far as I can see, the EpaLifes can do little or nothing to obstruct Mayor Belen Fernandez’s governance. She’s a workaholic for good governance that their boss was not known for in spite of his being an ex-World Jaycee president!

Sure, the city council holds the purse but it must come up with a detailed major corruption issue to justify any move to deprive Mayor Belen’s administration of any need for additional budget for specific programs. The EpaLiFes will only be shooting themselves in the foot, (possibly on the head) if they think they can derail her program with their antics while in session.

So, here’s an unsolicited advice to the minority led by Councilor Jigs Seen… It’s needless and a waste of time to debate the EpaLifes’ obstruction agenda. Just state the ludicrousness of EpaLiFes’ position, show how it will hurt the Dagupeños… and be done with it. Give the EpaLifes more rope to hang themselves!

Mga pa epal, madaling supalpalin!

*          *          *          *

SENDING THE RIGHT SIGNALS. I am seeing a misstep on the part of Mayor Belen Fernandez’s her plan to rid the city’s rivers of illegal fish pens.

It appears she only wants the fish pens demolished but will not place exact accountability on the part of owners.  By doing exactly the same thing she did during her last her term, only demolishing the illegal fish pens without penalties imposed on owners, it was this that emboldened the same owners to follow the lead of Mayor Brian to restore their illegal operations but with strings attached, of course. He must have assured the businessmen that he will not charge them in and neither a Mayor Belen charge them in the future.

Did Brian read Belen right?

She can only hope to leave a legacy of being the anti-illegal fish pen buster by filing cases finally against the owners for violating the city ordinance. The owners not only illegally profited from their operations but destroyed the environment in the city’s river system.

If POSO is directed to cite motorists who park in ‘No-Parking’ zones for traffic violation, why should owners of illegal fish pens who earned millions and destroyed the city’s rivers go scot-free?

File the cases, Mayor Belen, and you will see a law-abiding citizenry overnight. It will also send a clear signal to residents and investors that the city is the place where laws and ordinances are enforced, and to corrupt businessmen that the city is not the place for them.

*          *          *          *

MORE PARKING SPACE, NOT NO-PARKING. Speaking of the planned enforcement of the No-Parking traffic ordinance in Dagupan City, city hall must rethink the objective and purpose for its strict enforcement.

If the objective is to improve flow of traffic, then parking along A.B. Fernandez and Perez Boulevard, is not the primary cause of the problem posed by traffic situation.

City Hall should seek first to strictly enforce the loading and unloading zones for jeepneys, buses and tricycles. It is these that obstruct the flow of traffic, refusing to properly use the designated zones. This was the same problem that created choke points along EDSA in NCR.  Properly parked vehicles don’t move to block traffic flow.

The main avenues in the city are wide enough to accommodate parking for vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles. What needs improvement are: 1) Marking of parking lanes for 4-wheel vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles. 2) Designate separate loading and unloading for jeepneys and tricycles. 3) Cite motorists, jeepneys, tricycles that double park for violation.  

4) Require habitual violators among jeepney drivers and tricycle drivers to attend an hour of reorientation. 5) Review rerouting of one-way streets and use of traffic lights in the city. (The traffic light at A.B. Fernandez and Rizal St. intersection is problematic).

Lest the city hall forgets, convenient and orderly parking for customers of establishments is a big factor for investors to want to do business in the city. To restrict parking areas will be a damper. Let orderly and more parking spaces be the come-on.

*          *          *          *

Congratulations to our Andromeda’s Vortex columnist, Atty Farah Decano, on her appointment as the new Dean of the College of Law at the Lyceum-Northwestern University.  L-NU is lucky to have her, a prominent, distinguished law practitioner, added to its array of distinguished faculty. Her father, the late Dean Hermogenes Decano was the PUNCH’s Internal Ombudsman.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments