P'NAN NEWS: Lingayen-Binmaley Hub Threats to Dagupan’s Entertainment District

By Jhona Lyn C. Abulencia and Mortz C. Ortigoza

After a recent birthday party of a matriarch of an illustrious family in a central Pangasinan town held in the snazziest popular hotel in the gargantuan province, grandchildren - who came as far as the plush subdivision in Metro Manila - of the celebrant have been overheard to be badgering a cousin to jump into their vehicle and ride gung-ho to a full of ambiance entertainment hide away near the bay walk that stretches the national highway along the coastal areas of Lingayen and Binmaley’s towns.

“Saan iyong sinasabi ninyong magandang gimikan na bar? Paulo, a resident of Valle Verde in Pasig City, asked his cousins who were young urban professional colloquially called yuppies.

Bali-Bali Beach Bar (Credit to photo owner).

“Sa Lingayen malapit lang dito kaya kong e drive iyan ng 15 minutes,” Clarisse, a pretty law student of Ateneo de Manila University who drives a slick Toyota Fortuner’s sports utility vehicle, retorted

The watering hole the five cousins wanted to fancy could either be Tres Marias Sports Bar & Resort, The Yellow Beach Villas, Above Sea Level, Bali Bali Beach Bar, Norseman, Purok Marcela Beach Resort,El Puerto Marina Beach Resort & Spa, or other resort hosted by the two neighboring coastal towns.

Indeed, the stretches of the bay walk became a magnet for promenaders where other patronize too the entertainment businesses there nestled in the accretion of the sands and soils brought by the Lingayen Gulf and the river from the Benguet Province. These spots continue to sprout like mushrooms and positioned to replace the glittering chrome neon lights blinking entertainment bars’ hub in Arellano Street in the nearby Dagupan City that cater since time immemorial to customers in and out of Pangasinan.

Above Sea Level Bar (Credit to photo owner).

The capital town's mayor collaborated the perception of this newspaper that the municipality will become an attraction to folks because of the draws it can offers.

“Yes, I can see that Lingayen will benefit the spill- over of the urban centers like Dagupan, Alaminos, even Mangatarem, or Camiling (Tarlac). So, if you’ll look at Lingayen, it’s a convergence plus the fact that it’s the capital own of the great province of Pangasinan. As the capital town, dito ang provincial center. No. 2 it is the educational center. Alam ninyo ba na dito nag-aral si FVR (former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos) noong araw? No. 3 it is the historical center because dito naglanding si (infamous Chinese Pirate) Limahong noong 1574. Dito rin naglanding si (Pacific Supreme Military Commander General Douglas) MacArthur noong 1945. And it is also a commercial center and many other benefits. Kaya I can foresee a fast growing community in this municipality. And we intend to preserve all those heritage sites like for example the Casa Real as the first provincial capitol of Pangasinan so I labored to have that preserved,” narrated by Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil – a former nine years’ Congressman of the Pangasinan Second District.

Bataoil’s vaunted brain child bay walk that connects his town to neighboring Binmaley immediately “afflicted” by its wonder Pangasinan Fourth District Representative Christopher “Toff” de Venecia who replicated it to connect Dagupan City and San Fabian town.

“Kinonsult ako ni former (House of Representatives) Speaker (Jose) de Venecia. Kaya noong mabalitaan niya here and abroad iyong sprawling Lingayen Gulf Bay Walk’s covering Binmaley - Lingayen he called (Department of Public Works & Highway) District Engineer Boy Dion to also design a bay walk for Dagupan to San Fabian. Hinanapan naman ni Congresswoman Manay de De Venecia (ng funds) at pinagpatuloy naman ni (De Venecia’s son and incumbent Congressman) Toff kaya nagawa na iyong San Fabian Bay Walk at meron na rin sa Bonuan”.

THE 2.5 BILLION project according to the Department and Public Works & Highway that involves the construction of a four-lane with biking and jogging lanes six-kilometer by-pass highway that will connect Lingayen, Pangasinan to Dagupan City. Completion of work will be next year. (DPWH Photo)

Bataoil revealed the genesis of the renowned bay walk.

He interceded for it on year 2018 in the national government and now the construction of the state of the art highway, overpass, and bridges are nearing completion as they inch to Dagupan City. The DPWH needs to hurdle the creation of a highway at a village in Binmaley that will integrate it to Barangay Pugaro, Dagupan City and bridge it to the mainland of the City.

“Malapit na ang Binmaley sa Barangay Buenlag. Barangay Sabangan na lang para mai-connect, the next barangay is Pugaro of Dagupan. Pugaro to Bonuan, diretso na ang baywalk doon”.

According to a report by DPWH Region -1 Director Ronnel M. Tan, he cited that Secretary Mark Villar said that the P2.5-billion project involves the construction of a four-lane, six-kilometer by-pass road made of portland concrete cement pavement which starts at the intersection of Pangasinan-Zambales Road and Lingayen - Labrador Diversion Road, traversing Lingayen Proper to Barangay Poblacion, in the municipality of Binmaley.

Purok Marcela Beach Resort.

Also included is the construction of four bridges, installation of road safety devices, drainage, slope protection structures, and an overpass. The road is seen to alleviate traffic congestion and will benefit an average daily traffic count of 18,942 vehicles.

Tan said the mega project will be completed by next year as scheduled by the agreement with the contractors.

“So noong meron pa kaming Pork Barrel na mga Congressmen, sabi ko gusto kong magamit yung Pork Barrel dito sa Second District in a very useful way. I approached Governor (Amado “Pogi”) Espino (III), tinanong ko kung saan niya gustong gamitin yung PDAP (Priority Development Assistance Fund) natin the pork barrel. He said anything about tourism. Ready na ako noon para akong boy scout. Pinakita ko sa kanya iyong plano ng DPWH. Sir do you like this? he asked, “What is that?’. Baywalk proposed project - Lingayen Bay Walk,” Bataoil expounded.

He told the brass of the DPWH there would be a big potential to Lingayen and the sleepy town of Binmaley because of the absence of an effective access of the people to the beaches there.

“Sa recommendation ng DPWH sabi nila gawin nating multi-purpose pavement structure which will not be just a baywalk but an alternate coastal road para kung ma-traffic sa national road dito ang alternate and it’s really happening”.

Bataoil said that aside from the four-lane highway for vehicles, the 15 kilometer by-pass road has bike and jogger lanes too making it a six-lane state of the art highway.

He moreover added the billions of pesos mammoth highway would be a linchpin too of attracting more human traffic was part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build-Build-Build Program.

When asked if he can emulate the river cruise of Loboc in Bohol as an added attraction to the tourism aesthetics of Lingayen and swashbuckle it as one of the tourism chutzpah in the country, Bataoil, a former three-star police general, cited the town’s Limahong Channel where he eyes a river cruise just like at Loboc River in Bohol.

The Limahong Channel was where the Chinese pirate Limahong proceeded north to Pangasinan when foiled of his attempt to establish a colony on the shore of Manila Bay. Pursued by the Spanish colonizers, he dug a channel in Domalandan, Lingayen that served as his escape route towards the China Sea (Jane Dacumos). Limahong built up a reputation for his constant raids to ports in Guangdong, Fujian, and southern China. He was noted to have twice attempted, and failed, to invade the Spanish City of Manila in 1574 (Wikipedia)

The Yellow Beach Villas (Credit to photo owner).

“Dito napakalapit na sa Manila, hindi na mag-eeroplano. May TPLEX (Tarlac -Pangasinan-La Union Express Highway) pa tayo. Sabi ko magki-click itong Limahong River Cruises because malapit and the historical backgrounds. And we can promote many things like our rice cakes, our folk songs. Maraming talent ang Pangasinan. If there will be some investors who will know the projection of development for Lingayen”.

The mayor told this newspaper that his town has an annual appropriation budget of P300 million for this year.

Is the town looms to be a new city in Pangasinan after the mayor maximizes the potential of the coastal town?

(Because of space’s constraint in our newspaper, Bataoil response will see print on the next issue of our paper. Moreover, this newspaper lauds the willing cooperation of the Mayor for this interview that he even showed in his office a video footage of the progress of the billions of pesos highway, over pass, and bridges. When this newspaper met Binmaley Mayor Sam Rosario in front of the municipal hall he did not allow even a minute of an interview for his reaction on the tourist draws in his town. He said he had something to do).