Mangaldan Honors as One of Most Competitive LGUs in Region-1

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANGALDAN, Pangasinan – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) feted this central Pangasinan first class town as one of the top performing local government units in the 2023 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Survey in Region-1.

GUV AND THE MAYORA. Pangasinan Governor Ramon V. Guico, III (7th from left) poses with Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno (seated) and her officials during Parayno’s 2023 State of the Municipal Address held on November 30 at the Public Auditorium of the first class town. The event coincides with the lady chief executive's birthday. (Photo by Mortz C. Ortigoza)

In the recognition held recently at the La Union Convention Center in the City of San Fernando, La Union, DTI Region-1 Director Grace Palgui-Baluyan lauded the administration of Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno as one of the awardees.

“In this regard, we are deeply honored to invite you as one of the LGU awardees. Your presence is a great source of inspiration to other LGUs and stakeholders in promoting the culture of competitiveness in the region, ”an excerpt of the letter of Baluyan to Mayor Parayno furnished to Northern Watch Newspaper.

The event dubbed as Fiestakucha: Rimat ti Amianan highlighted the exemplary contribution of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in the growth and development of the priority industry clusters.

Rankings of Cities and Municipalities are based on the sum of their scores on 4 Pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure and Resiliency. Provincial rankings are based on population and income weighted average of the Overall scores of cities and municipalities under a province.

This 30 barangays’ town raked this year numerous awards like the 2nd Place Overall Most Competitive Municipality in Region 1, 2nd Place Most Competitive LGU in the Pillar of Resiliency in Region 1, 1st Place Most Competitive LGU in the Pillar of Innovation in Region 1 and 3rd Place Most Competitive LGU in the Pillar of Infrastructure in Region 1.

LGU Mangaldan also garnered the award as the Top 3 Most Competitive LGU in the Pillar of Resiliency for 1st to 2nd Class Municipality Category in the Philippines during the Philippine Creative Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Congress last September 28 held at the Manila Hotel, Ermita, Manila.

Among the 48 towns of Pangasinan, Mangaldan is one of the few – like Sual, Binalonan, Bayambang to name few – that is most economically progressive.

On her proposed 2024 local government’s budget of P430, 000, 000, she leads the pack while the burgeoning municipalities of Lingayen (P408, 222, 843), Calasiao (P380, 000,000) and Binmaley (P324, 360, 000) follow.

Acorda to Retire on Dec. 3 or BBM extends his Term?

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Will each of the following names below - some of the remaining members of the elite Philippine Military Academy - become the successor of PNP Chief Benjie Acorda on December 3?

Or will President Marcos appoint a graduate of the Philippines National Police Academy as the heir apparent of Acorda thus ending the monopoly and influence of the PMYers in the helm of the PNP!

The last PMYers that were commissioned in the PNP were those of PMA Class of 1992 . They were either one, two or three - star's generals now and will be retiring next year or four years from now.

I know this because I met many of them when I worked at the information office of the PMA in the late 1980s.

Excerpt of a news report:

"Chief for Administration, Lieutenant Gen. Rhodel O. Sermonia; PNP Deputy Chief for Operations, Lt. Gen. Michael John F. Dubria; and PNP Chief Directorial Staff, Major Gen. Emmanuel B. Peralta.

Sermonia is a product of PMA “Makatao” Class of 1989. He is the last member of PMA Class 1989 in the PNP but will be retiring from the police force on January 26, 2024.

Dubria and Peralta are both classmates of Acorda from PMA Class 1991. Dubria will retire on December 20, 2024, while Peralta will mark his 56th birthday on August 24 next year.

Another member of PMA Class 1991, PNP Director for Comptrollership, Brigadier Gen. Rommel Francisco D. Marbil is also being mentioned as a candidate for the next top cop.

Born on February 7, 1969, the 54-year-old Marbil used to be the head of the PNP Highway Patrol Group who rose to become a Police Regional Office 8 director in Eastern Visaya".

Those alumni of Class 1992 of the PMA that could bag the top post of the former Philippines Constabulary:

Major General Romeo Caramat - my classmate at the College of Law in Pangasinan - , Major Gen. Junel Estomo, Brig. Gen. Matthew Baccay and Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee.

Lee, by the way is an Ilocano - like Acorda - and hailed from the City of San Fernando in La Union.

Lee's wife Bong Lee came from Batac, Ilocos Norte. Pres. Marcos and Acorda - from Laoag City - are from the same province of Ilocoslovakia - the proud bailwick of the The Apo Ferdie - the father of BBM.

One of their mistah or classmates is National Capital Region Police Office Chief Jose Melecio Nartates (PMA. '92) who will be retiring on March 2027 (He was born in Santa, Ilocos Sur in March 1971). My Bubwit told me that Nartates and Pimentel are two of the few candidates being groomed to be the big boss of the PNP.

BUT WHAT THESE I GOT NOW FROM THREE SENIOR PNP BRASS: NO HEIR APPARENT YET FOR ACORDA NEXT WEEK.

"Wala pa! Tahimik lahat ayaw malasin!"

"Wala pa Mortz, baka ma extend!"

"Good evening Sir Mortz, wala pa maingay ngayon. Wala pa matunog lahat tahimik".

Those were their messages on my Messenger, sanamagan, to answer my poser.

They were different before Acorda was handpicked by President Marcos as the next PNP Chief despite the acrimony that Estomo (who was then "chummy - chummy" with Local Government Sec. Benjamin Abalos, Jr.) would replace last August 24, 2023 the beleaguered PNP Chief Director General Rodolfo Azurim, Jr.

I wrote on my October 13, 2022 - eleven months before Acorda became PNP Chief - political blog that on the birthday bash of Police Lt. Gen. Mariel Magaway (PMA' 86) in the posh Valle Verde in Pasig City, I met some Colonels and senior officers of the Directorate for Intelligence (D.I) led by their then chief Major Gen. Acorda . When my sister-in-law Liza Magaway – the Missus of Magaway (former Chief of D.I) – introduced him to me, she quipped to me and Acorda that the latter would be the next PNP to replace Azurin.

Upon hearing it, the following morning I wrote on my blog: Acorda will be next PNP Chief. That was a prescience or a scoop or whatever compare to the predictions of some opinion writers in the country because after 11 months the PMYer from Laoag City - and the younger brother of my friend's Revenue District Office Chief Trina Acorda Villamil of the Bureau of Internal Revenue - became the top whip of the national police force.

Basista Nat’l Awardee of ADAC

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BASISTA, Pangasinan – This small Pangasinan’s town under Mayor Jolly “J.R” R. Resuello has been feted recently by the Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) as one of the national awardees from the 246 local government units (LGUs) in the country.

The DILG said the awardees have been honored during the 2023 Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) Performance Awards held at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Quezon City.

NATIONAL AWARDEE. Basista Mayor Jolly R. Resuello (center) is all smile as he receives the national award from the Anti-Drug and Abuse Council held at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Quezon City.

DILG Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ Abalos Jr. said that the 246 awardees were chosen based on the ADAC functionality and sustainability of drug-free or drug-cleared status.

They were selected, Abalos said, based on the percentage of completion rate of graduates versus enrollees at the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP).

“ADAC is a multi-sectoral council responsible for the formulation of plans and the implementation of local anti-drug abuse programs, projects and activities in a particular locality,’’ he explained.

ADAC is chaired by the local chief executives at the provincial, city and municipal levels.

In addition to the ADAC Performance Awards, the DILG stressed that special recognitions were given to LGUs for their outstanding efforts in implementing effective drug rehabilitation programs and initiatives in their communities under the CBDRP.

The theme for the awarding ceremony is “Bayang Pinag-isa ng Diwa Laban sa Ilegal na Droga”, which is in line with the President’s call for the nation to unite against the danger of illegal drugs.

Basista was part of the 37 LGUs in Region-1 that received the national plaudits.

Aside from the town, other Pangasinan local government units that were feted were Anda, Burgos, Calasiao, Malasiqui, Mangatarem, Mapandan, San Manuel, Sta. Barbara, Sta. Maria, Tayug, Urbiztondo and Alaminos City.

 MEANWHILE, together with the officials of Basista, Mayor Jolly R. Resuello became a recipient of another award from the 2023 Gawad Parangal Ng Nutrisyon.

This town and the municipalities of Burgos, Mangatarem and Bayambang and the cities of Alaminos and Urdaneta all in Pangasinan raked seven of the seventeen awards given by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) – Region-1 to the local government units in the four provinces’ region.

 The feting of the award was held in November 23, 2023 at Ariana Hotel in Bauang, La Union.

The 13 villages’ Basista received the 2022 Green Banner Seal with compliance rating of 96.51% from the Monitoring and Evaluation of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELLPI) given by the Provincial Nutrition Committee of Pangasinan.

The award ensued because of the collaboration by Resuello – the Municipal Nutrition Committee Chairman – with Vice Mayor Dante P. Bustarde, Sangguniang Bayan Members Councilor Teresita S. Erguiza (Chairman Committee on Health), Ms. Lorelei G. Licuanan (Nutrition Officer II/Municipal Nutrition Committee Co-Chairperson), Dr. Lilibeth A. Fermin (MHO) and Barangay Malimpec Chairman Joseph Mamaril.

The Resuello Administration has been given also the following special recognitions:

• First 1,000 Days Program LGU Adopters in the Region • LGU with Established Nutrition Office • With Consistent Reduction on their Prevalence Rates from 2021 to 2023 basis on the Operation Timbang (OPT) plus results on the following indicators:

1. Combined Stunting and Severely Stunting; 2. Combined Overweight and Obesity; Combined Wasting and Severely Wasting.

Moreover, Dr. Ana de Guzman, the Pangasinan Provincial Officer 2 of the Provincial Nutrition Action Office (PNAO), bagged the 2022 Regional Outstanding PNAO in Region 1.

 

Cayetano Tututukan ang mga Suliranin ng Transport Groups sa Gitna ng Modernization

Nangako si Senador Alan Peter Cayetano nitong Sabado na tututukan niya ang mga suliranin ng transport groups na nahihirapan sa pag-modernize dahil sa laki ng gastos at sa kahirapan ng pagkuha ng utang.

"First and foremost, hundred percent I hear you… So count on me to be one of those na magbabantay at titingin [sa issue na ito],” sagot ni Cayetano sa tanong ng isang transport group adviser sa isang press conference sa Baguio City nitong November 25, 2023.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano

Ayon kay Joseph Cabanas ng Gabriela Silang Operators and Drivers Association, hindi naman tutol sa modernization ang mga transport group kundi humihingi lang ng tulong sa gobyerno para makapangutang. “Gusto namin [ng modernization]. Mangungutang kami pero may counterpart sana ang gobyerno.” wika ni Cabanas. Sinabi ni Cayetano na nauunawaan niya ang mga transport group dahil isa sila sa mga lubhang naapektuhan ng COVID-19 pandemic dahil karamihan ng mga tao ay hindi pinalalabas ng mga tahanan. Dahil tapos na ang medical emergency, patuloy na naghihirap ang maraming tao. “Just because the pandemic is over and big businesses have recovered doesn’t mean lahat ng Pilipino nakarecover na,” wika ni Cayetano. "The reality is iyong may mga parlor na maliit, carinderia, iyong mga nag-invest ng 1-2 million (pesos) sa small buisiness — kung naubos 'yan noong pandemic, hindi nila basta basta maproproduce ngayon ulit yan,” dagdag pa niya. Ayon kay Cayetano, hindi naisa-alang-alang ng nakaraang administrasyon ang pagkaka-iba-iba ng mga lugar sa bansa kaya’t ang inilatag nitong transport modernization program ay tila “one-size-fits-all.” “Kung sa gamot walang cure-all, sa programa ng gobyerno lalo in a country with more than 7,000 islands, wala namang one-size-fits-all,” aniya "Kasi hindi pare-pareho. May mga lugar na mas malalaki ang highway so mas maraming jeep than tricycle. Dito sa Baguio maraming taxi, then the buses papunta ng [malalayong lugar tulad ng] Dagupan, Nueva Ecija, Manila,” dagdag niya.

’Win-win’ formula ang PTK

Sinabi ni Cayetano na ang isa sa mga programang inumpisahan niya — ang PTK (Presyo, Trabaho, Kita/Kaayusan) — ay napatunayan nang mabisa sa pagsagot sa mga pangangailangan ng mga sectoral groups na nahihirapang kumuha ng pautang. Ikinuwento niya ang karanasan ng isang PTK group sa Iloilo na nakatanggap ng P250,000 sa kanyang programa at napalago ito hanggang sa nakabili ng 90 buses gamit ang isang P100-million loan. Ngayon aniya, kumukuha ito ng isa pang P100-million loan para sa karagdagang electric buses. "What do they have na wala sa iba? A win-win formula. Wala namang problema kung magkautang basta sure kang mababayaran mo at sure kang makakautang at sure kang kikita,” aniya. Sabi ni Cayetano, ito ang “hugot” ng isa pa niyang programa na nagbibigay ng P10,000 sa mga nangangailangan. “It was not standalone. Ang kasama ng programa na y’un is how to provide financing na merong at least one to three years na grace period… Huwag ka munang magbayad ng one to three years hanggang makabawi [ang negosyo mo],” wika niya. Sinabi ni Cayetano na tiyak niyang gugustuhin ng mga transport group na magmodernize basta makakakuha sila ng katulad na programa. “Basta win-win, most [drivers and operators] papayag [sa modernization],” aniya.

Busty Actresses Prostituting with Politicians

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Former Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan, Jr. was convicted recently by the Sandiganbayan (criminal court) with 210 years of jail time after he embezzled P44.184 million from the provincial government of Maguindanao – whose governor then was his father and namesake Andal, Sr. – of fabricated delivery of 1.14 million liters of diesel.

Photo of a sultry lady is an internet grabbed.

An excerpt of the conviction by the court considered the poser: how could Andal owned Shariff Aguak Petron Station delivered in year 2008 1.14 million liters to the various infrastructure projects of the literally poorest province in the Philippines when Petron Corporation only delivered 618, 000 liters and its underground tank that has only a capacity of 31,000 liters?

The acts of Andal and conspirators were evident bad, patently fraudulent and palpably dishonest. We called this as INCREDIBLE delivery of goods, son of a gun!

***

The conviction of the former mayor – known for his eccentric behavior – coincided on the 14^th anniversary of the gruesome massacre of 58 people – including the 32 reporters who joined the convoy. 

It ensued on November 23, 2009 when the evil Unsay commanded the murder of Genalyn - the wife of then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu – a schoolmate in the early 1980s at the Southern Baptist College in M’lang, Cotabato – when he challenged the younger Ampatuan for the 2010 governorship election of the landlocked province in Mindanao.

There was evidence on that horrendous killings that at least five of the female victims, four of them reporters, were raped before being murdered while "practically all" of the women had been shot by guns on their genitals by the men of Andal, Jr.

Andal, along with his brothers Zaldy and Anwar Jr., were found guilty of 57 counts of murder over the ghastly massacre.

                                                                                    ***

When I attended the 60th birthday of fellow Ilonggo and Cotabato trucking magnate Don Roberto “Jun” Alba, Jr. held at the swanky and cozy Sirmata in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, one of the kasimanwas (fellow Ilonggo in English) used to be the agricultural consultant of Unsay.

“Don’t you know the huge hectares of his corn farms succumbed to insect infestation and he lost multi-millions of pesos of his money there,” he told me in a huddle.

“Maayo waay ka niya ginpapatay sa bulong nga ginhambal mo sa iya as his farm consultant? (Good that he did not order you killed after what you advised him what insecticides he would use on his farm?),” I inquired with curiosity.

My friend said the Datu was not angry and told him instead: “We could not do anything. It’s Allah (God) Will”.

My friend, who asked on conditioned of anonymity, told me that when they were in Manila Andal allegedly hired the sexual services of voluptuous busty Manila actresses who moonlighted as prostitutes to moneyed individuals. Two of them have first letters “A” and “V” on their first names.

I told him one of them fornicated with a rich Pangasinan’s politician. The other lady who had tryst with the moneyed man was the then sultry young actress with an “A” on her first letter of her name and a “Z” on her surname. She married before a debonair actor and a hot runway model but their marriage was annulled by the court probably because of the promiscuousness of the gorgeous thespian.

“I spent more or less P1.3 million for her on her various visits in the hotels in Dagupan,” my politico pal told me almost two decades ago.  

Those actresses I mentioned are still active on the celluloid screen business.

If you're dead curious what are their complete names, just asked me gently on my Messenger, hahaha!

 

 

 

Cayetanos Treat P'sinan Reporters with Gifts, Chows

 

SALAMAT SA MAAGANG PAMASKO Senators Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano and Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano!

Chows treat at Grumpy Joe - Dagupan City by the staff of Senator Allan Peter for the members of the fourth estate in the gargantuan province's Pangasinan.

Rich Towns Bare 2024 Budgets

By Mortz C. Ortigoza, MPA

Six first class towns in Pangasinan have already submitted their year 2024 budget to their respective legislative bodies for approval.

The thriving towns of Mangaldan, Lingayen, Binalonan, Calasiao, Binmaley and Manaoag have P430, 000, 000 plus, P408, 222, 843, almost P400, 000, 000, P380, 000,000 plus, P324, 360, 000 and P268, 000, 000, respectively, proposed appropriation ordinances. 

MAYORS OF FIRST CLASS towns in Pangasinan: (Left top photo and clockwise) Binalonan Mayor Ramon Ronald V. Guico, IV, Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno, Manaoag Mayor Jeremy Agerico Rosario, Binmaley Mayor Pete Merrera, Calasiao Mayor Kevin Roy Macanlalay and Lingayen Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil.

MANGALDAN

Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno, who attended the November 11 second committee hearing called by the lawmaking body, said that she hoped the budget should be passed immediately by the august chamber since there are countless activities for the town next year.

Some of them are the Mangaldan Birthing Clinic that was certified already by the Department of Health (DOH), the proposed Animal Bite Center and the thriving town’s bid for the certification of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

LINGAYEN

Mayor Leopoldo Bataoil told this newspaper that it has a P408, 222, 843 proposed budget for next year.

“Our national tax allocation (NTA) is P313, 222, 843 and local income is P95, 000,000,” he told this writer on a short messaging service.

BINALONAN

Pangasinan Governor Ramon “Monmon” Guico, III told this writer that his town – where he was a mayor there for nine years – has P392,554,000.00 proposed budget for 2024.

The governor’s younger brother Ramon Ronald Guico, IV is the newly minted mayor of the landlocked town.

The governor said that the NTA – the successor of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) – of Binalonan is P191,264,614.00. while it has a bigger collection of P201, 289, 386 from the local taxes and revenues.

“Our goal was to be IRA independent and that the local income will exceed the IRA,” he told Northern Watch Newspaper.

Just like the first class town’s Sual, Pangasinan that derived its huge business and real property taxes from the mammoth San Miguel Corporation runs 1,200 megawatt coal power plant it hosted, Binalonan has the monolith’s Japanese owned Sumitomo North Philippines Wiring Systems Corporation and other Manila based businesses that put shop there.

What makes this eastern Pangasinan first class town unique compared to the other five rich towns mentioned at the second paragraph of this news article, Binalonan has the lowest population of 56,382 (2020 Census) among them all.

CALASIAO

Calasiao has more than P380 million for 2024 according to Mayor Kevin Roy Macanlalay.

“Naka submit na (2024 budget) for approval sa Sanggunian. P380 (million) plus,” Macanlalay recently told Northern Watch Newspaper.

BINMALEY

Mayor Pedro A. Merrera told this newspaper that his administration had only added six percent for this year’s budget that will make the next year’s appropriation at P324, 360, 000 when asked by this writer about the modest budget of one of the most populated municipalities in the eight towns’ Second District.

To buttress it, Merrera said he asked his staff to aggressively monitor and implement the fees on building construction’s permits.

“Actually kung titingnan nga natin mukhang maliit talaga. That’s why we are trying to upgrade our local source funds kasi iyan lang iyong isang uri kasi lahat dito ay tinitingnan even these building permits even the building construction lahat na mga business – tinitingnan namin kasi iyan din iyong payment of these taxes balang araw maibibigay din natin ang kagandahan ng bayan”.

But if one quantified the town’s P71, 287, 329.85 supplemental budget approved by the lawmaking body, the coastal municipality has P377, 287, 330 this year.

The strategy of Merrera to boost his town’s taxation was done in year 2022 by Lingayen Mayor Bataoil.

 In his First 100 Days Report to his constituents on October 10, 2022, Bataoil zealously told the public that he would collect more taxes like those in the market stalls, real property taxes and other sources to buttress the public coffer.

MANAOAG

Manaoag Mayor Jeremy Agerico Rosario told Northern Watch Newspaper that his administration will have proposed appropriation budget of P268, 000, 000 next year.

The pilgrims’ town has a population of 76, 045 (2020 Census).

Next year’s budget of all the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays in the Philippines is based on the national government’s tax collection in year 2021 – the year where the economy was recovering from the ravaged of the dreaded Corona Virus-19 pandemic in 2020.

According to the Local Government Code, 40 percent of the national taxes by the national government should be shared by the provinces (23 %), cities (23 %), towns (34%) and barangays (20%).

Seaplanes Eye to Spike Tourism in P’sinan

The operation of commercial seaplanes is expected to boost more Pangasinan’s tourism industry.

Gov. Ramon V. Guico III along with his father, 5th District Congressman Ramon Guico Jr., were the prime passengers ferried by the seaplane from take-off at Binalonan and successfully landed at the Limahong Channel here recently.

SEAPLANE takes off in the Lingayen sea boarded by Pangasinan Governor Ramon 'Monmon" Guico, III and his father and namesake the Congressman of Pangasinan's 5th District.

From Lingayen, the Governor and his namesake father were on board the Airtrav RP-C1208 en route to the City of Alaminos and Bolinao where they were joined by 1st District Congressman Arthur Celeste.

With seaplanes as a means of transportation, tourists and passengers are expected to have an amazing travel experience with a shorter time of one hour from Manila to Lingayen and the Hundred Islands.

Gov. Guico, a pilot himself, said that the seaplane can accommodate about ten passengers.

The seaplane is expected to take the route from Manila Bay to Lingayen, the Hundred Islands, and other coastal towns in Pangasinan should the project push through.

The seaplane project will not just be another Pangasinan’s first but an eloquent expression of the governor’s great love for his province and people, with the aim of securing a stable and sustainable future for Pangasinenses.

The proposed project is in collaboration with Cong. Celeste. (PIO News)

VIDEO Q&A WITH A DRIVER OF THE VINTAGE WALL-LESS VICTORY LINER BUS

 My video interview with the driver of a vintage opened wall bus of Victory Liner being displayed at the Capitol ground in Lingayen, Pangasinan. This bus is nostalgic for me upon seeing it because of the similar busses Dangwa, BAL and others that passed by our house at the PMA, Baguio City in the early 1970s.

 V I D E O

Victory Liner's driver Francis Patacsil of Baguio City told me that the open busses of Victory Liner plied from Baguio City to Olongapo City vice versa in the 1950s to the 1970s. Victory started, he said, as a logistics bus business but when people rode on it for a fee, the owner put the cargoes at the roof and skirt panels while he built passengers' seats to accommodate the burgeoning number of the riding public that patronize the company.

***

I had an animated conversation yesterday with Francis Patacsil (at the lower right photo) - a driver of Victory Liner, Inc. open walled bus being displayed at the Capitol Ground in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

When I told him that when I was working at the Philippines Military Academy in Baguio City in the late 1980s, I saw U.S built Peterbilt colossal dumped trucks (a photo of the truck is at the top photo) passing infront of the main gate of the Academy.

"Wala na iyong mga Peterbilt, Sir. Noong si (Tycoon) Manny Pangilinan na ang nagpatakbo ng Philex Mine pinalitan na ang mga lumang Peterbilt ng Volvo (lower left photo)," Francis, a son of the driver of the Peterbuilt at Philex told me.

"Volvo! German made din iyon e di mahal din," I retorted.

He said the U.S made Peterbuilt is equivalent to two Volvos. Philex tried, Francis added, to use Japanese huge dumptrucks to carry ore and other minerals from the punishing zigzag rough and tumble routes of Philex to Poro Point in San Fernando, La Union but they did not last thus the procurement of Volvo.

By the way, Francis said that Victory Liner is using China made Yultong aircon busses because three of the busses are equivalent to the price of one Nissan made Japanese aircon bus.

Merrera: No Issues Vs. Cong. Cojuangco

ON THE SEAWALLS

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

BINMALEY, Pangasinan – The mayor here has no beef with Pangasinan 2^nd District Rep. Mark O. Cojuangco on the stretches of seawalls being built at the shorelines here and in Lingayen town.

Mayor Pedro A. Merrera said that what offended him during the public hearing called by the sangguniang panlalawigan (provincial lawmaking body) in September 14 was when the engineers of the Department of Publics Works & Highway (DPWH) designed the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet file's walls that could not stop the plunging waves that cause the flooding of the residential areas of the two towns.

NO BEEF. Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Mark O. Cojuangco (left) and Binmaley Mayor Pedro A. Merrera.

The seawalls are the pet project of the Congressman.

The DPWH, Merrera denounced in that hearing, made a mistake when it designed a slope sea wall instead of the straight or curve seawall.

The mayor is a former District Engineer of the DPWH in Quezon City.

The slope seawalls, he explained, could not prevent the plunging waves to go ashore and flood the dried land and residential areas.

“Ang ating pinuprutektahan iyong mismong karagatan na once the swash that is the plunging wave na tinatawag the current na kung ginamit mo doon na slope seawall swash lang iyan papunta sa kabila. So wala ring kuwenta iyan dapat ilagay nila doon is more curve seawalls,” he said.

Merrera said he did not see any file bearing on the seawalls built on the seashore of his town. He doubted if the DPWH considered the per square inch of the swash of the waves against the walls. He questioned too the small three inches in diameter pipeline constructed by the public works to mitigate flooding on the residential areas near the shoreline. The pipeline is where the flood water enters and exits to the sea.

The proposed P1.7 billion 10 kilometers seawalls become acrimonious because opponents cited that the following civil, administrative and criminal offenses have been committed by the executives of the DPWH:

 They deviated from the purpose of the Tourism Road Infrastructure Program ((TRIP) provided in the General Annual Appropriation of 2023 of the Republic of the Philippines that gives P75 million budget for the bay walk in the stretches of Lingayen and Binmaley. The multi-million pesos’ allocation is for the construction or improvement of access roads leading to declared tourism destinations. Examples of TRIP are drainage construction, tree planting, and asphalt overlay;

They committed Technical Malversation. The crime has three (3) elements: "(a) that the offender is an accountable public officer; (b) that he applies public funds or property under his administration to some public use; and (c) that the public use for which such funds or property were applied is different from the purpose for which they were originally appropriated by law or ordinance (Article 220 Revised Penal Code of the Philippines);

They violated the Presidential Decree No.156 Series of 1993 known too as “Proclaiming Lingayen Gulf As An Environmentally Critical Area. The Decree says Lingayen Gulf is an area to be devoted to sustain production of fish and other marine products, preserve genetic diversity, protect natural features, and enhance outdoor recreation; and

Their failure to acquire Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on an area which bar them to create a wall because there was no significant flooding – as the sand dune stops the waves according to protest leader retired Col. Sonny Verzosa.

Combat Chopper's Gas Thieves

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

My experienced rubbing elbows with Huey's combat chopper gunners and crew was in 1981 when I was in my second 3rd year highschool (Yes Virginia, I was a repeater because of bad behavior) at the air force base in Sasa, Davao City where my father used to be assigned.

At 7 pm while I was sleeping in one of the military double decks ( just like those you saw in the flick's Full Metal Jacket) there, a town mate and neighbour Airforce First Class (AIC) Ronnie Nietes woke me up to borrow my new white Converse leather sneakers my father and I bought earlier in Gaisano. "To, hulamon ko anay sapatos mo ma baligya lang kami gas sa Davao City (Toto (my nickname) Ì'll borrow your shoes we are going to sell our stolen (a drum) gas (of the helicopter) to kerosene reseller in the City," he whispered to me. I acquisced with some bitchings.

9 pm he woke me up again to join their drinking spree at a residence in the "barrio" - a short distance from the barracks- of one of the crew.

"To, this one is a gunner and that one too. The fat one was the gunner of that film Scout Rangers (about the Ranger's hero Julius Javier -an Ilonggo- who visited our house at PMA in Baguio City when he was a cadet)," Ronnie proudly introduced them to me. He was, by the way, a highschool dropped out but was enlisted to the AirForce using fake diplomas and the intercession of an Uncle who was a Colonel and a C-130 cargo plane's pilot. Another reason why he always clad with those hands me down expensive fire proof U.S made fatigue Pilot's jump suits.

While imbibing a bottle of cold San Miguel's Pale Pilsen I saw there too some of the crew and gunners who did not only relish the spirit of the beers and the delicacy of the adobong aso as finger foods from the earnings of the stolen gas but got stoned smoking marijuanas - the narcs of that time - while listening to rock bands' Scorpions and Nazareth.

"Mga kawatan at adik pala ang mga ito. (These guys are gas theives and junkie)," I quipped to myself.

The boy in me was flabergasted. These were our braved young men in the air force who have countless experiences "spraying" those lethal bullets of their M-60 machine guns attached at the two sides of the U.S made helicopter (just like in the photo) against Communist and Muslim guerillas in the hinterlands of Agusan, Davao, Maguindanao, and Cotabato Provinces.

It’s the U.S not the Colombians that destroyed Escobar

MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

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I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.

Gung-ho Tax Execs Vs Quarry Opr with Hired Guns

 By Mortz C. Ortigoza

I rubbed elbows recently with bigwigs from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) that run eastern Pangasinan whose office is in Urdaneta City and those in central Pangasinan whose office is in Calasiao, Pangasinan.

Those in the eastern part told me that many contractors and their dump-trucks have been shunning Pangasinan in their quarry operations because of the new taxes imposed by the provincial government. They instead do their sand and gravel operations in Rosario, La Union. Rosario and Sison, Pangasinan share a boundary.

“Hanggang sawa ang pagku-quarry nila sa ilog ng Rosario pagnakabayad na sila ng P1,000  lang doon,” a tax executive quipped.

His companion told me if that would be the case, they would put their personnel in a checkpoint at the highway of Sison and flag and impound those dump trucks loaded with sand and gravel.

“Alam mo ba na hindi na kailangan ng BIR ng warrant sa korte, we can just seize the properties of the errant taxpayers and arrest them whom we think don’t pay their excise taxes to us,” she told me about Section 15 of the Internal Revenue Code.

The law says: The Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioners, the Revenue Regional Directors, the Revenue District Officers and other internal revenue officers shall have authority to make arrests and seizures for the violation of any penal law, rule or regulation administered by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Any person so arrested shall be forthwith brought before a court, there to be dealt with according to law.

When I told them if they need a cop or cops to implement their plan, they answered in the negative.

“Those people are reasonable after we explained to them why we seized their properties,” an answer I got.

How about if they arrest em’ would they still be reasonable? That I forgot to ask, hahaha!

When I narrated the aggressive attitude of those bigwigs in eastern Pangasinan to the brass in central Pangasinan, he cautions them to practice prudence.

He said those errant quarry operators are wealthy people whose business runs into multi-million pesos money churning machine.

“Papahintuin mo ang ganoon ka laking negosyo, delikado ka!”

 He told me that his counterpart in eastern Pangasinan should be wary of killer riding in tandem on a motorcycle at the behest of the businessmen they offended.

“Ano ang halaga ng certificate of appreciation sa pag impound ng mga trucks at pag penalize nitong mga quarry operators kung mamatay ka naman?” he posed to me.

After evaluating the positions of the two tax officials on the knaves and scoundrels I mentioned, I just quipped to myself: A gung-ho and a vacillating taxmen versus their query -- the tax evading quarrymen.

Query and quarry? Damn, they rhyme!

***

As a seasoned Tax Code reading sanamagan reporter that covered the BIR, I know those bigwigs (whose loved one became collateral victim) were ambushed by hired guns because of their zealousness to implement their mandate from the government.

My friend retired BIR Assistant Regional Director Ernesto De Vota was driving his Toyota Corolla (ETJ-333) before 6 P.m. of January 24, 2008 when an unidentified armed man blocked his path and fired at him in Valenzuela City. The then district revenue officer of Valenzuela sustained minor wounds in the shoulder and hand.

The down-to-earth Deputy Commissioner Arnel Guballa - whom I interviewed at the main BIR office in Quezon City – because of his ardor to implement his brainchild’s Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) a malefactor threatened by the RATE hired someone who shot to death his wife Evelyn in June 24, 2006 while attending a prayer meeting at Barangay Sto. Cristo, Quezon City. A pastor who attempted to shield Evelyn from the gunman was also killed in the incident.

Guballa was then the national chief of the feared National Investigation Division (NID) when the gruesome treacherous incident ensued. We became friend when he became the regional director of the BIR in Region-1. De Vota was his assistant director then.

BIR Revenue Region 8-Makati City Director Jonas Amora was shot to death by still unidentified assailants riding in tandem on a motorcycle in November 21, 2016. His driver Angelito Pineda was wounded.

And I am not yet citing those Chief of Collectors and Examiners being peppered to death by the bullets of assassins here and outside of the province.