By Leonardo Micua

 

NOW it is becoming clearer that there were “flying scholars”, and worst, “ghost scholars” during the past Dagupan City administration, no different from the flying voters that managed to register and vote during the last election.

The “flying scholars” were non-residents of Dagupan who were granted scholarship by the city government despite their non-residency. (The city’s scholarship program is exclusive to Dagupan residents).

Ex-officio councilor and Kap Lino Fernandez, a member of the scholarship committee, told me by phone that during their meeting at Star Plaza Hotel, it was reported that there were some 30 scholars from Urdaneta City and as many as 50 scholars from either Alaminos City or Bolinao, and some from Binmaley and other towns, based merely on claims that they are voters in Dagupan.

If they, indeed, managed to register as residents before the City Comelec, that casts doubt on the integrity of the list of voters in the hands of the poll body here, and voted for their patrons’ chosen candidates.

Now, we  know there were those who padded the voters’ list with non-resident voters even for purposes of qualifying them to have access to funds of the city that was intended only for the Dagupan residents, like the scholarship program.

The existence of non-resident scholars was discovered following a verification made by a team from the new scholarship committee set up by Mayor Belen Fernandez. So far, the committee has yet to award scholarships to deserving Dagupan students because funds are not available.

The revelation of Vice Mayor and SP presiding officer Bryan Kua that there were missing scholars, is even worse. This gave rise to the suspicion that there were “ghost scholars,”  who collected the scholarship fund for their tuition and miscellaneous fees from the city coffers, but were not registered students.

Perhaps, this can of worms may not have been uncovered if the case of the 26 students had not reached out to the majority members in the Sangguniang Panlungsod for help to be registered as scholars but cannot because they were not issued their certificates of residency and indigency from Barangay Salapingao in Dagupan.

These students invoked their voter’s registration as proof of their residence in the barangay for the right to be issued their certificates of residency and indigency. However, a closer look of the students’ addresses, proved their houses are located in Salapingao-Binmaley, said Councilor Lino.

This move, in concert with the majority in the SP, only served to expose another irregularity committed by the past city administration.

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The city of Dagupan continues to endure inconveniences during high tide but Dagupeños can still consider themselves luckier because some towns in both Bulacan and Pampanga close to the Manila Bay are still submerged in floodwaters, whether it’s raining or not.

The balut-producing towns of Macabebe, Sasmuan (formerly Sexmoan) and Masantol, Pampanga, are still under water to this day because the level of water in Manila Bay is now higher than the coastal areas of the three Pampanga towns.

The cause of the sea rise is no other than global warming, that caused the melting of ice in the North Pole, a natural phenomenon that even advanced nations are incapable of preventing.

While we in Dagupan fret over our daily high tide, trolls are spreading the fake news that Mayor Belen Fernandez is to blame. Excuse me! How can it be Belen when she is only less than three months in office. Wag ganyan!

Belen is doing a Herculean job to make Dagupan a better city to live in for her people despite the regular flooding because of the high tide. A weaker Mayor with no experience hob-knobbing with the hoi poloi, cannot match Belen’s stamina. She is always visible anywhere in Dagupan, may it be in the Malimgas and Magsaysay markets, ready to wade in flood waters if need be to help ease the sufferings of her people. 

If we love our city, we should help her!

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Is it really time for us to discard our face masks outdoors? It is not for us individually to decide. Let the experts decide on the matter because they know better. And let’s follow them for our own good.

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