P’gasinan lady mayor thrills with Duterte’s “kiss”

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANGALDAN – The lady mayor here was elated to the hug and the faire la bise or cheek to cheek she had recently with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte when they met at one of the hangars in the Davao City International Airport.

“You write a news story on it,”  Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno told Northern Watch Newspaper in banter.

RODY’S HUG – President Rodrigo Duterte and Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno hugged and faire la bise or cheek - to - cheek with each other when the hizzoner and the 23 members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Pangasinan Chapter met recently with the fiery president at his private hangar in Davao City International Airport. 

She said that she was part of the 24 members delegation of the  League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Pangasinan Chapter invited by Duterte for an educational tour of the local government offices like the Davao City Central 911 Emergency Response Center that was held last June 27 to 30, 2018.

She cited that after the meeting in the hangar with the president the latter promised that he would come back from Manila so he could interact  further with them.

“I gave him my project. Siya mismo ang nakatangap, kita mo ha?! We talked about the project I would like to do in Mangaldan, then supportive siya,” she stressed.

She said the attention she got with the president in the second meeting ensued because the ambivalent mostly male mayors of the 48 towns and cities’ Pangasinan province egged her to be their spokeswoman with the feisty president.

 THE FIST - The 24 members delegation of the  League of Municipalities of the Philippines - Pangasinan Chapter  pose the PDP-Laban  Laban signature's "fist sign" with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in a meeting in Davao City.

“Aside from me, the only lady mayor there was San Nicholas Mayor Rebecca M. Saldivar,” she quipped.

The meeting with the president also included Secretary Christopher ”Bong” Go in Davao City who was supposed to be the guest of honor here when the newly elected 30 villages chiefs were sworn into office last June 20.

The delegation of the Pangasinan mayors in the durian city was led by LMP-Pangasinan Chapter President and Laoac Mayor Silverio Alarcio.

The group was toured to various government offices like the Emergency Response Center, the police, and other offices Parayno considered as hectic three days affair.

“Emergency services, command center. How they take care of Davao City in terms of safety. Pati chief of police namin dito dinala ko”.

Other department heads like this town’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) joined this local government unit’s delegation to that Southern Philippines’ city.

 Mayor Parayno said that Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino III told her group that he wanted to emulate the Davao City Central 911 Emergency Response Center for the province.

The Center is both a call center and a dispatch center that will link the residents needing assistance with the emergency resources of the government - the police, firefighters, medical workers, and rescue services. 
"For convenience and easy memorization, the combination of numbers 9-1-1 was selected as the access number to the facility. That is why when the facility, better known as Davao City Central 911. It is the country’s first fully integrated emergency response service using GIS Technology. Davao Light’s light posts are used to locate emergency cases and used as markers for the ambulance in rural areas. A year after its launching, Central 911 added to its ensemble its very own Emergency Medical Services Unit, Urban Search and Rescue Unit, Fire Auxiliary Service Unit, and K-9 Unit," according to the website of the local government of Davao City.

“We don’t have time to go to Samal Island to see the pristine water  and other attractions there. Our schedules were too tight visiting other offices of the LGU,” Fernando Saguisag Cabrera, administrative officer 4 of the local government here, cited.