ONE WEEK OF UNLISERBISYO

By Belen T. Fernandez

 

AS I made my rounds to check the status of Dagupan’s rivers, kasama ko ang ating OIC city agriculture officer and members of Bantay Ilog Task Force. I was saddened to see our rivers teeming with illegal fishpens. Marami sa mga fish pens ay mga oversized at dikit-dikit, parang iisa ang may-ari.  Tama! These are owned ng ilang mga mapagsamantalang businessmen sa city and from outside of Dagupan.

They exploited the wealth of our rivers para sa kanilang profit interests, but at the expense of our people, lalo na sa ating mga small fishermen.

In our previous term, we removed all the illegal fish pens at yong mga fish cages na may sukat lamang na 10  x 7 meters, 10 meters apart lang ang pinayagan. And ownership of fish cages should be limited to barangay residents only.

So, I was shocked to see na sa loob lang ng tatlong taon na wala tayo sa puwesto, the illegal fish pens were back in vengeance and many are huge and oversized, na may sukat na hanggang 800 to 2,000 square meters.

Mayroon pang may sukat na 2,000 to 4,000 square meters. And what was saddening was the information na marami sa mga over-sized fish pens ay pag-aari ng iilang privileged individuals na may connection sa city hall.

It pains me na yong pinaghirapan nating alisin during my term were back and in bigger sizes and number. What we accomplished was undone overnight by the administration that took over from us.

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But now that we’re back  sa tulong ng ating mga mamamayan, we should enforce the law strictly—alisin lahat ng mga illegal fish pens na muling nagsulputan!

 Because fish pens are not only illegal but also destroy our environment, seriously affecting the quality of water in our rivers. Dark and brownish na ang  tubig sa ating mga kailugan because of decaying organic matters, including droppings ng mga bangus sa fish pens.

Dahil dito, lumalala ang pollution at nagre-resulta ng severe fish kills kahit sa mga  palaisdaan.

Kailangang kumilos tayo agad to save our dying rivers na inangkin na ng ilang mga oportunistang mga mamamayan. Kaya, I consulted ang mga ka-barangay sa Bonuan Gueset, Pantal, Pugaro, Salapingao at iba pang lugar about our plan to demolish all these illegal fish pens as soon as possible.

Kailangan nating ipakita ang ngipin ng batas sa mga ganid na financier ng mga illegal fish pens, parang sila ang may-ari ng Dagupan. 

Mas mabuti kung sila mismo ang mag demolish at hind na syudad kasi kung iiwanan nila sa atin ang demolition, sisingilin natin sila at kakasuhan agad.

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I was informed na may 26 students ang dumulog sa Sangguniang Panlungsod to seek help na mabigyan sila ng certificates of residency and indigency from Barangay Salapingao para mag qualify sa scholarship program ng city. Tama lang na hindi sila nabigyan.

I found out na tumanggap pala ng “flying scholars” ang dating administration, mga nag palistang scholar kahit sila ay taga-Alaminos at Urdaneta o Binmaley. Mayron pa ngang “ghost scholars”.

We are investigating this at gusto naming panagutin ang sinumang past officials responsible for this. Wala nang pwedeng flying scholar o ghost scholar sa Dagupan. Kaya nag-iingat kami sa ating bagong scholarship program. We will make it sure na yon lamang mga taga-Dagupan ang mabibigayan ng scholarship.

Kaya, I’m urging students na hirap sa buhay ang pamilya sa Dagupan, na hwag nang lalapit sa kaninumang Pontius Pilato para maging scholar. Come to me anytime!

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Ito pa isa. The long-hand backhoe na isa sa marami nating binili para maintenance sa Dagupan before 2019, ay sira. 7 months nang nakatengga sa isang talyer.

Hindi ko lubos maisip why it has not been repaired at all. We are set to file cases against the repair shop owner and officials of the past administration responsible for this. 

Without the backhoe, nahihirapan ang ating Waste Management Division na i-manage ang ating mga basura sa dumpsite. I can’t understand paano masira ang brand new backhoe. At bakit sa local repair shop pinapaayos when there’s a dealer that can facilitate the repair?

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Congratulations to our COVID-19 vaccination team led by Dr. Ben Bautista. The reports reaching me about their work are all very positive. At sumasama pa sila sa lahat ng events to do COVID-19 vaccination.

Also in every payout of DSWD, the vaccination team is around and ready to vaccinate anyone. Yan ang UnliSerbisyo.

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