De Venecia: Japan as Ph Closest, Most Reliable Ally

NIPPON PLEDGES P210-B INVESTMENT, ARMAMENTS

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – A prominent Congresswoman described Japan as the Philippines closest and most reliable ally for many decades after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. spoke to the Diet (parliament) in his May 26-29 state visit there.

“So when the Japanese Parliament invited our President to address their lawmakers directly, it sends a very strong message that the Philippines is viewed as a serious, stable, and important parties in the region,” Pangasinan 4th District Rep. Gina P. de Venecia said.

Pilot Calls Marines: Army Mill Around Drums of Gas

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

SHUTTLING with various military planes between Awang Airport in Dinaig, Maguindanao and Nichols Air Base (the present Villamor) in Pasay City when I was a kid in the late of 1970’s until the retirement from the air force of my father in 1981, one of the experiences that still embedded in my rich neocortex was when the fire proof flight fatigue suit clad pilot of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane that would take off in Pasay to Maguindanao barked to the various branches of services of soldiers spitting and whittling around: “Palapitin ninyo sa akin ang mga Marines diyan! Kayong mga Marines bantayan niyong maigi iyong mga drum na iyan. Puno iyan ng gasolina! Bantayan ninyo ang Army na sisindi ng sigarilyo habang lumilipad ang eroplano natin”.

Writer as a teenager shuttling with various military planes between Awang Airport in Dinaig, Maguindanao and Nichols Air Base (the present Villamor) in Pasay City.  (Illustration by Gemini)

Those dozens of cold rolled steel drums of 100/130 aviation gasoline (a high-octane leaded piston aviation fuel) and the JP-4 (kerosene-based aviation turbine fuel) would be used by the air force for their T-28 “Tora-Tora” Trojan radial-engine planes and UH-1H helicopters that bombed and strafed the Moro rebels hiding at their strongholds and redoubts in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and some parts of Lanao.

Infras, Services Not Affected by Tax Reliefs on Quarry Operators - Capitol

THANKS TO ROBUST TAX COLLECTION IN THE 1ST QTR 

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Infrastructure projects and social services of the provincial government here could not be affected despite the tax relief given to quarry operators and the reduced toll fees imposed on them because of the robust revenue collections.

“(P)ag create po ng budget ng probinsya meron tayong expected na revenue at iyong revenue na iyan ay pampondo sa mga programa o proyekto ng probinsya. Sinagot po iyan ng provincial treasurer noong tinanong ko noong Friday lang iyong reduction sa collection natin. Ang sagot po niya ay ganito: Noong first quarter po natin maganda iyong collection ng province. We actually went beyond the target so kung ano man iyong surplus na kulekta natin because of the reduced rates. So wala pong existing na programa na maapektuhan o ma-cancel dahil una maganda ang collection natin,” said by Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino.

Can a Mayor Run in a 4th Term Because of a Broken 3rd-Term?

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza, MPA

In my exchanges with politicians lately, a case of a third–term mayor cropped up who told some confreres that he could run for reelection despite the three-term (nine years) ban, as mandated by law.

His justification that his six months’ preventive suspension and the twelve months’ suspension meted in his second term because of the administrative cases from the Office of the President early this year broke the CONSECUTIVENESS (emphasis mine) of his three years’ terms.

Batas sa Vest, Light sa 2-3 Gulong na Sasakyan Sinuri

 Ni Mortz C. Ortigoza

SAN FABIAN, Pangasinan – Sinusuri ng mga miyembro ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan sa pamumuno ni Bise Gobernador Mark Ronald Lambino ang ordinansang ipinasa sa bayang ito na nagpapatibay sa ordinansa ng pamahalaang panlalawigan ukol sa pagamit ng high-visibility reflective vest at light para sa mga rider ng mga sasakyang may dalawa at tatlong gulong.

Sa Ordinansa Blg. 4, Serye 2026 na isinumite ng mga miyembro ng Sangguniang Bayan dito para sa pagsusuri  ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan sa Lingayen, Pangasinan, ang ordinansa ay may pamagat na:

3 Basista Laws Undergo Reviews from the Prov’l Board

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza, MPA

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Three newly passed Ordinances of Basista town have undergone review by the provincial lawmakers as required by law.

These ordinances are: Institutionalizing a drug-free workplace in the Local Government of Basista, Pangasinan and Appropriating Fund for the Implementation Thereof; Transferring Plantilla Position from One Office to Another in Some Offices of the Local Government Unit of Basista; and Prohibiting and Regulating the Use, Sale, and Distribution of Some of the Single Use Plastics in the Municipality of Basista, Pangasinan and Prescribing Penalties for Violation Thereof.

Lawmaker Sues at the Ombudsman for Distribution of Guarantee Letters

By Mortz C. Ortigoza, LL.B, MPA

BINMALEY, Pangasinan – A lawmaker in Pangasinan has been sued administratively and criminally at the Ombudsman by fellow government official after the former “illegally” issued Guarantee Letters from the Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) to patients.

MAIFIP is a Department of Health (DOH) program in the Philippines that provides financial assistance to help eligible patients pay for hospital bills, medicines, and medical procedures.