By Leonardo Micua

 

THE Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) mapped out by the LTFRB,  based on studies on passengers’ needs, will be a big boon to the commuting public. It will not only reduce the number of commuter vehicles but will also merge existing routes to make them more viable to operators -drivers of commuter buses and jeepneys and more convenient to the riding public.

According Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator Benita Pizarro during the final consultation on the LPTRP, attended by members of transport cooperatives and associations in Lingayen last March 28,  it will also open new and uncharted roads.

For instance, the Bayambang to Lingayen route via Basista, San Carlos City and Binmaley then served by the defunct Pantranco, will be revived with the fielding of modern mini-buses along the entire route.  LTFRB  found the old Pantranco line to be very viable to transport investors and consistent with commuter demands.

Stakeholders hailed the move because commuters presently from Lingayen needing to go to Bayambang no longer have to go to Dagupan to board a mini-bus to Bayambang, coughing up more pesos and still takes longer travel time.

Soon my wife’s nephew from Barangay Pallas, Binmaley, no longer have to hitch a ride  with his co-worker from Lingayen to go to work at the Bayambang District Hospital daily. The daily bus trips from Lingayen to Bayambang via Binmaley will be convenient for him.

Meanwhile, commuters from San Carlos City to the capitol in Lingayen will also no longer need to board a bus in Dagupan to reach Lingayen, while commuters from Binmaley going to San Carlos City no longer have to hire motorized tricycles that over charge passengers.

Not only will LPTRP also unclog the highway from Bayambang to Dagupan via Malasiqui and Calasiao but it will also maximize the use of the well-pave roads from Bayambang to Basista, onward to San Carlos and Binmaley.

Another route that will be opened under the LPTRP is the Villasis to Binalonan route via Asingan that will link our agricultural communities producing eggplants and other vegetables. It will bring them closer to the big markets of Baguio City and Metro Manila.

Those who initially said the LPTRP is anti-poor, among them drivers of jeepneys and mini-buses who feared they will lose their jobs, should open their minds because plan presents new opportunities and benefits to the province’s population.

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The revival of the Bangus Festival after two years due to the pandemic must really promote the indigenous Dagupan bangus because its foothold in the local market is already seriously challenged by the Bulacan bangus that was allowed by the Lim  administration to be traded in the city.

Remember that tourists come to Dagupan just to have a bite of the freshly grilled Dagupan bangus. They will likely stop this habit if they discover that they are being served Bulacan bangus, not Dagupan bangus. Worse, some vendors cheat by offering the cheaper Bulacan bangus at the price reserved for genuine Dagupan bangus.

The cheating and exploitation caused by the Bulacan bangus flooding the city daily is ruining our local bangus industry. Since Vlad Mata left the city as city administrator and as acting city agriculture officer, we have not heard of any crackdown against the unloading of illegal cargo of Bulacan bangus in the city.

The ordinance clearly specifies maximum volume of Bulacan bangus that can be brought into the city but whoever is in charge at the agriculture office today couldn’t care less what it says.

If the rampant violation of the ordinance is not checked, our own Dagupan bangus brand may soon be extinct.  So thanks to the Lim administration, our Bangus Festival may soon be called “Dagupan-Bulacan Bangus Festival”. 

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It is clear that the destruction of the campaign posters of Team Belen-BK is the handiwork of their opponents who cannot fight fair and square in this election.

We were informed that in Sitio Barrera in Pantal, a boy—under the direction of a city hall workers—was given some cash to deface campaign posters of members of the Belen-BK team, but not to touch the campaign posters of members of the LiFe team.

When Team Belen-BK’s motorcade was passing Sitio Barrera, this official put up a placard  critical of Belen, then asked the boy to raise it with his two hands.

It’s clearly a sign of desperation for some city government officials who will lose their jobs when Belen returns to city hall on July 1.

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