New Manaoag Mayor Faces Challenges

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANAOAG, Pangasinan – The newly elected mayor of this first class town faces challenges to his governance like the influx of pilgrims, traffic congestion, and the plan for a massive make-over of the public market.

“So the challenges in Manaoag at a glance: Siyempre iyong visitors iyong mga pilgrims, traffic, vendors, parking boys, among others. So slowly we are having consultation with all the sectors,” Mayor Jeremy Agerico “Ming” Rosario told Northern Watch Newspaper.

Any conditions of those challenges reflect how other people see the landlocked local government unit (LGU) is being managed.

The major problems that snagged this burgeoning town are the perennial traffic congestion and the scarce parking spaces specially for the pilgrims that stream to the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Manaoag.

Because of the normalcy of the situation that comes from the scourged of the two years pandemic, mass is being held almost every hour in the iconic Catholic's church.

To mitigate them, the mayor formed a group of traffic enforcers to manage them.

“Coming from the LGU na nag augment diyan during the rush hours at specially during the weekend in particular Sunday na talagang napakarami ng bisita. So malaking bagay nakakatulong po sila to ease traffic”.

He consulted too the vendors like the sellers of religious paraphernalia how to better service their customers.

One of the solutions is to prevent them away vending in the national highway because it is prohibitive by law.

The local government unit (LGU) would create a better enforcement body he dubbed as public order and safety office (POSO) to manage the traffic in the highway and the thoroughfares.

“Puwedeng puwede. Dapat e adapt ang magandang practices from other LGUs,” he retorted when asked if he was privy to copy how the POSO in Dagupan City operates.

The old market place here needs to be changed totally because it mirrors the image of the town to the outsiders.

“Kailangan major overhaul – possible construction,” he said.

One of the options to make it materializes is for the private sector to construct a new one in a hectare spaced public market.

Applying for a loan in the bank is not an option under his administration.

“We will be doing it step-by-step”.

When Rosario assumed office in June 30, he did not retrench those temporary workers left by his predecessor then mayor Kim Amador who is the incumbent vice mayor.

“I did not bring with me my political color. In short for as long as it was assured by the department heads na maskin ano ang political color dito kung nakakatulong e re-renew”.

Rosario, a surgeon and a seasoned former provincial legislature, called his administration’s One Manaoag.

To make his administration more efficient, he adapted the best practices done by other LGUs in and out of Pangasinan. Some of them are the wellness center, organization of the employees association, and creation of cooperative for them.