PNoy: Braganza for Governor!

President Benigno Aquino III urged the people of Pangasinan Friday to support Alaminos mayor Hernani ‘Nani’ Braganza, Team PNoy’s candidate for governor of Pangasinan, saying Braganza is the man the province needs to develop its full potential. “Para Gobernador po, ang tiwala ko po’y buong-buo kay Nani Braganza. Di po tulad ng iba, hindi niya isusugal ang inyong kinabukasan (I have full faith and trust in Nani Braganza. Unlike others, he will not gamble away your future, he will not use power and force to stay in power),” the President said in his meeting with local leaders and residents of Pangasinan communities held at the CSI Stadia, CSI Mall in Dagupan City.
 In backing the Alaminos City mayor as his Liberal Party’s gubernatorial bet, Aquino took a swipe at reelectionist Governor Amado Espino Jr. “Wala sa bokabularyo niya ang paggamit ng lakas at dahas, para kumapit sa kapangyarihan, at ipagsapalaran ang pagkakataong umangat ang kabuhayan ng kanyang mga kababayan (It is not in his vocabulary to use violence to hold on to power and gamble away the opportunity to raise the quality of life of his province mates),” the President said.
 He explicitly urged Pangasinenses to vote Braganza if they wanted to have an honest government and to see their province progress. “Kaya kung gusto po natin ng malinis na pamamahala at asensong umaarangkada, iboto po natin si Nani Braganza,” he said.
 Espino, who is seeking his third term as governor, is facing murder charges at the Department of Justice, along with Pangasinan Representative Jesus Celeste, for the death of Infanta Mayor Ruperto Martinez last December 15. Martinez was shot by motorcycle-riding assassins in front of his house and while he was being interviewed by a reporter hours after he allowed residents who are objecting to a local infrastructure project to rally at the town plaza.
 The incumbent governor was also charged with plunder before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly receiving kickbacks from the illegal numbers game, jueteng.
 Speaking before Alaminos City residents in a visit to that Western Pangasinan city held a few hours after his Dagupan visit, the President again took a swipe at Espino and reiterated his call for residents to vote Braganza. “Saksi kayo kung gaano kasalimuot ang magkaroon ng pinunong puro paninindak, puro katiwalian, at palaging isinasangkalan ang interes ng lalawigan para sa pansariling kapakanan. (You have witnessed how difficult it is to have a leadership that is full of bullying and corruption, who brushes aside the interests of the province to put first selfish interests),” he told a huge crowd of thousands of Alaminos residents.
 He urged Pangasinenses to grab the opportunity to change their leaders, pointing out that the people of the province now have a chance to also experience the reforms and good programs implemented by Braganza in Alaminos. “May pagkakataon kayo ngayon na baguhin ang umiiral na sistema sa inyong probinsya. May pagkakataon kayo ngayon na ibahagi sa buong lalawigan ng Pangasinan ang mga reporma't mabubuting bagay na nangyayari sa Alaminos, dahil sa subok nang pamumuno ng ating magiging gobernador Nani Braganza,” Aquino said.
 The President also assured residents that Braganza’s vow was simply to serve without taking chances or gambling with the future of Pangasinan. Braganza, he assured, will serve without any stain of criminality, corruption, bullying and violence, but only sacrifice and hard work. “Simple lamang po ang panata ni Nani bilang inyong susunod na Gobernador: paglilingkod na walang halong sugal o tsamba, walong halong ilegal o katiwalian, walang halong sindak at karahasan. Sa halip, tuloy-tuloy na pagsisikap, tuloy-tuloy na tapat at may malasakit na pamamalakad sa buong Pangasinan. Iyan po si Nani Braganza,” Aquino said.
 Pangasinan is one of the biggest provinces in Luzon by the number of registered voters in 2010.
 It has 1.62 million registered voters spread out in six districts covering 44 municipalities and four cities. Clear development plan for Pangasinan The president said his administration has a clear development plan for Pangasinan to reach its potential and if this plan is to become a reality, he needed Pangasinan leadership to be a partner in undertaking the ‘straight path’. “Siyempre, kailangan natin ng mga kakamping hindi tataliwas sa tuwid na landas, di po ba?” he told the cheering crowd at the Dagupan stadia.
 He said he was sure Braganza was someone who did not need to be watched to ensure that leadership in Pangasinan was honest. “Si Nani po, ‘pag bilang gobernor niyo kung inyong pahintulutan, hindi ko na ho siguro kailangang bantayan araw-araw para siguradong tama ang tinatawid niyong daan.” “Noon pa alam nila ang direksyon natin dapat sa tuwid na daan; siya po ang magpapatuloy,” Aquino said.
 He also pointed out that while he was only halfway into his term, the positive effects of an honest government dedicated to sacrifice and service could be felt. “Wala pa po tayo sa kalahati ng ating termino, pero nararamdaman na po natin ang positibong resulta ng malinis at mapagmalasakit na pamamahala,” the President also said during his address.
 Infrastructure, agriculture, health, tourism The president also said the government would implement more development projects in Pangasinan to continue its strategy to develop that province.
 This includes building new infrastructure such as roads, bridges and irrigation systems including the 88-km Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway Project that will connect the three provinces in the region.
 The project will cut travel time from Tarlac City to Rosario, La Union from the three and a half hours to one hour. Around The project will benefit 20,000 motorists who are expected to traverse the road daily.
 With the first phase of the project is currently underway, Aquino said he expects the final part of the project -- phase III -- to be completed that before he steps down from power in 2016.
 Also meant to cut travel time and boost business is another project, the San Nicolas-Natividad-San Quintin-Umingan-Guimba Road, which the President said will be finished before the end of March.
 For more than 5,400 motorists daily, the road will slash travel time by half from one hour to 30 minutes. To develop Pangasinan’s agriculture, the government has released P10 million to complete the Poblacion-Quinaoayanan Farm-to-Market road, Aquino also said. Funds for the P360-million Macidem Small Reservoir Irrigation Project, which will supply water to 600 hectares of farmland in the province, have also been released, he said. Aquino also reported that an additional 17 irrigation projects in Pangasinan, which will irrigate more than 2,100 hectares of farmland, have received more than P150-million budget from the national government. Providing quality healthcare to the people of Pangasinan is also one of his government’s priorities, Aquino said a few hours earlier in a visit to inaugurate the Emergency Room Complex of the Region 1 Medical Center also in Dagupan City.
 He said this project was a priority of his government because the facility served people not only from the Ilocos region but also from Central Luzon provinces Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Zambales. He said the national government is allotting more funds for the medical equipment, rather than the structure: P15 million has been allotted for the buildings, while P50 million was spent for the procurement of modern medical equipment of the new emergency room complex. Pangasinan muna, hindi bulsa muna
 This is the way things are done in the straight path, the President said. Government funds are used only for initiatives that benefit people -- and do not go into the pockets of those in power. “Iyan po ang kalakaran sa tuwid na daan. Ang kaban ng bayan, ginagamit lamang sa mga inisyatibang may pakinabang sa mamamayan, at hindi napupunta sa bulsa ng mga maimpluwensiya’t makapangyarihan,” he noted.
 President Aquino graced the big rally of Team PNoy at the Dagupan stadia, but the team’s Pangasinan sortie had opened earlier Friday with pocket rallies at Mangatarem town plaza and Bugallon Park. At noon, Team PNoy candidates joined local leaders in the “symbolic deboning of bangus,” to promote the province’s favorite product.
 Last year, the President led in the inauguration of the Core Shelter Project, a relocation site in Pangasinan for those displaced by typhoons Emong and Pepeng.