Solon, Mayors endorse Cojuangco-Macanlalay Guv’s Tandem

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

ROSALES, Pangasinan – The ten mayors of the 6^th Congressional District in Pangasinan unanimously endorsed recently here former congressman Mark Cojuangco and Calasiao town Mayor Mark Roy Macanlalay for the gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial race in 2016 polls.

M&M FOR P'SINAN 2016: Former congressman Mark Cojuanco
and Calasiao, Pangasinan Mayor Mark Macanlalay wait
for their time to be called on the press conference called by
all the mayors of the 6th congressional district of Pangasinan
who declared their support to the duo's gubernatorial and
vice gubernatorial bid.

 Cojuangco lauded the concerted efforts of the mayors to declare him and Macanlalay as the most qualified tandem for the race.

“It takes not only the governor a partner in public service. Mahalaga po na ang kasama ng governor na isang right hand man, isang kaya niyang pagkaka-tiwalaan. Ang isang kaya rin mag-capture ng imagination ng ating probinsiya in the future of the province. I find  such person in the person of the mayor of Calasiao young man, an upcoming force in Pangasinan’s politics no other than Mayor Mark Roy Macanlalay,” Cojuangco stressed at the residence here of Abono Party-List Congressman Conrado Estrella III last August 8.

Macanlalay, a former councilor and two- term mayor of the burgeoning town of Calasiao, said he was humbled by the trust and confidence reposed by the mayors and Cojuangco – a former three term congressman in the 5^th District of Pangasinan, to him.

---

“Kumpiyansa, dedikasyon, at ganoon din nakikita niya rin sa akin na malaki ang maibibigay nating tulong sa kanilang pagsisilbihan bilang governor sa Pangasinan, malugod po nating tinatangap ang magandang pagkakata-on na ito upang suportahan natin sila sa legislature,” the still single and soft spoken mayor said.

He added that he would be informing immediately his barangay chairmen and political leaders after Cojuangco and the mayors declared him here as a probable vice gubernatorial bet.

POLITICAL SUPPORTERS OF M&M: Aside from the 10 mayors of the
6th Congressional District of Pangasinan who came to the house of
Abono Party-List Congressman Conrado Estrella III (Extreme Right), the
District's Congresswoman Marlyn Premicias-Agabas (3rd from Right) and
District's Board Member Ranjit Ramos Shahani  (2nd from Left) swore their
support too. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

“Upang maipaliwanag naman po sa kanila ang kumpiyansa at dedikasyon sa atin (ni former congressman Cojuangco) at gusto rin natin makapag-paalam ng maayos. We will be making our (formal vice governorship's bid) declaration for 2016 (anytime from now)”.

Before Macanlalay’s name cropped up as a vice gubernatorial material, the rumor mills had been chalking information that the former would handpick as his vice gubernatorial bet either San Carlos City Mayor Julier Resuello, Provincial President of the League of Municipal Mayors and Dasol Mayor Noel Nacar, Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Gregorio Perez IV, 6th District Board Member Ranjit R. Shahani, or even former Pangasinan Governor Victor Agbayani.

But  a source of this paper who was privy on the realignment said that the mayor and his father, Vice Mayor Roy Macanlalay, had been meeting for several times with Cojuangco before the meeting  here last August 8 of the young Macanlalay's possible bid in 2016.

Na T.R.O ang Stupid No-Helmet Law

By MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

Hindi alam ng Dagupan City Council na pinangu-ngunahan ni Councilor Netu Tamayo na ang Ordinance No. 2013-2014 ay isang ticking time bomb sa siyudad.
Isa sa tatlong batas na saklaw ng Ordinance ay by amending Section 4 of Ordinance No. 1922-2008, Providing for Supplementary Rules on the Use of Motorcycle Helmets.”
Nakasaad: :
”..Mandated to remove the same at authorized checkpoints by law enforcement agencies; provided that motor vehicle riders with speed limit below 15 kph are likewise exempt from wearing helmets at the Central Business District, including but not limited to Caranglaan, Mayombo, M.H. del Pilar, Arellano, A.B Fernandez, Gulig, Malued, and such other areas hereafter identified as economically viable for growth”.
The Ordinance said that the fine shall be payable to the City Treasurer’s Office within three days or seventy hours from the date of the issuance of the Citation Ticket. Moreover, it said that upon payment of the required fine, the driver’s license shall be released immediately. However, if after three days, no penalty payment was tendered, the corresponding case for violation of the City Ordinance shall be filed in the Municipal Trial Court for appropriate trial.

***
Ito ay inalmahan ng mga countless of the tens of thousands of listeners ni Ruel “Mapalakapak” Camba sa kanyang dalawang oras na umuusok na program sa DWPR-Power Radio noong ako ay sumawsaw sa isa niyang microphones.
Sabi ko ang dilemma (Sa Pilipino means pinsan ni Justice Secretary Leila de Lima) ng mga motorcycle riding public pag pumasok sila sa business center ng Dagupan na naka-helmet ay sila ay huhulihin at pagmumultahin ng personnel ng Public Order & Safety Office ng P200.00 for first offense, P300 for the second offense, P500 and imprisonment for the third offense and subsequent offenses .
Pag tinangal naman nila ang helmet nandiyan sa gilid nila, like an Albatross breathing on their neck (English po ito), si Land Transportation Office’s Regional Director Jojo Guadiz at ang kanyang army of field personnel para pag mumultahin ang mga violators ng  P1,500 for the first offense; P3,000 for the second offense, P5,000 for the thirds offense and P10,000 plus confiscation of driver’s license for the fourth and succeeding offenses ito ay naayon sa  national Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 10054).
Anak ng bakang dalaga, saan na ngayon isu-suot ng mga pobreng motorcycle riders ang sarili nila pag andito sila sa Dagupan City?
“National law (like RA No. 10054) prevails over an Ordinance (like the besieged controversial Ordinance No. 1922-2008), sabi ng jurisprudence ng Supreme Court na nakalagay sa diariong pambalot ng tinapa na nabili ko kahapon.
“Pag pinatupad nila ang “idiotic” law ng No –Helmet sasali kami sa rally kontra sa administration ni Mayor Belen Fernandez!,” ani ng isang listeners sa DWPR.
Pero hindi na kailangan ang rally for the meantime.
Si Retired Judge Victor Llamas, isang  motorcycle enthusiast, ay nag- file ng isang Petition for Declaratory Relief with Preliminary Injunction and Temporary Restraining Order laban sa stupid No- Helmet Policy sa Regional Trial Court sa Dagupan.
Kung ako kay kaibigang Attorney Joey T. Tamayo, kasama ang City Council i–amend ko na lang ang . Ordinance No. 1922-2008.
Hindi lang iyon controversial, sisira-in pa kayo niyan sa mata ng mga kababayan ninyo.
Baka itanong pa sa inyo diyan sa Council: “What were you smoking lately?” O, “Have you taken your med (medicine, ho) when you debated and hammered Ordinance No. 1922-2008?
Bakit hindi ninyo gayahin ang ginawa ng mga taga Columbia sa Latin American kung paano labanan ang mga motorcycle riding in tandem  (MRT)criminals doon.
Pinagbawal ng gobierno doon ang pagsakay ng back rider sa motorsiklo liban sa asawa at anak ng motorist kasi alam nila na ang MRT criminals would not resort in endangering the lives of their kin lalo na impossible na ang mister ang driver si missis naman ang nagpaputok ng .45 caliber na pistol sa victim.
Dahil epektibo ang  batas na iyon kontra sa MRT malefactors (synonym ng "offender"), ginaya tuloy ng City of Mandaluyong ang Colombia .
Dati rati pag na sambit ko sa mapagla-it na Dagupenong media men na si Harold Barcelona at si Tony “Text Back” de Vera  ang katagang “Mandaluyong” sasabihin nila sa akin “lugar daw ng mga sira ulo”.
Pero, anak ng buwaya, mukhang dito sa Ordinance No. 1922-2008 tayong mga taga-Dagupan, hindi ang taga –Mandaluyong, ang naging mukhang sira ang ulo!

***
O gayahin ninyo ang Quezon City-- lugar ni slapping  Mayor Herbert Bautista. Lahat ng motorcycle riders doon may blazer na may nakalagay sa harap at likod na plate number ng bike nila.  Hindi iyong papatangal ninyo iyong helmet dahil takot kayo sa MRT criminals.
Paano naman iyong national law na mumultahan ang nahuhuli na violator?
Sige kayo, pag hindi ninyo ni-amend iyang Ordinance na iyan sisikat si Jojo Guadiz (na dating loyalist councilor ni former Mayor Benjie S. Lim) at si Ruel Camba na best friend sa media ni Dagupan City Vice Mayor Brian Lim at kasalukuyang sumisikat dahil sa araw-araw na pagbibira sa mga kapalpakan sa Dagupan.
(You can read my selected columns at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com and articles at Pangasinan News Aro. You can send comments too attotomortz@yahoo.com).

Cojuangco Bemoans Espino's Resignation Remarks

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Has the season of electoral intramural started this early in this gargantuan province? Former Congressman Mark Cojuangco lamented the remarks of former ally Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino Jr.  when he and kin submitted their resignation as party members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

SOLIDIFICATION: Mark Cojuangco (2nd from Right) with mayors of the
1st Congressional District of Pangasinan when they met recently at the
party's headquarters in Manila to buttress their alliance.

Cojuangco Answers Espino Charges

“Is it "partisan activity" to inform the people that I am running for governor in 2016? Is it "grossly improper" to introduce myself to our province mates? From what I know, this is called "freedom of speech" and "freedom of expression",” Cojuangco in a statement recently sent to media men.
Last July 31, Espino, his brother Bautista Mayor Amadeo T. Espino, and son Bugallon Mayor Jumel submitted their resignation to NPC President Georgidi B. Aggabao who acknowledged receipt of the letter in August 4.
While son and namesake, Provincial Federation of Liga ng mga Barangay President, Ex-Oficio member of the Provincial Board Amado III sent his resignation last August 5 through electronic mail at the NPC’s headquarter in Metro Manila.
Last July 29 Espino, a last term governor, has finally come out from months long of deafening silence by declaring to media men that he endorsed Amado Jr., as a gubernatorial bet for the 2016 polls.

Court to hear Demolition of Magic Mall

After Supreme Court says Mall’s Illegal

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MALASIQUI – The writ for motion of demolition of the vast multi-million pesos mall of Magic Group of Companies (MGC) here will be tried at the Regional Trial Court Branch- 52 in San Carlos City after the Supreme Court decided that its presence was illegal.

DEMOLISH OR DONATE?: The besieged Magic Mall in Malasiqui,

Pangasinan declared recently by the Supreme Court with finality as illegal.

On August 15, the Regional Trial Court in San Carlos City, Pangasinan

will hear the motion for demolition raised by the plaintiff against the edifice

owned by Dagupan City former Mayor Benjie S. Lim.

The plaintiff however said that the mall could be spared if

the owner donates the edifice to the local government unit of the

town.MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

According to plaintiff Mario Armas, the final decision of the Supreme Court in Baguio City last April 7 had sealed the fate of the mall built and operated by MGC.
“There will be a hearing for a Motion of the Issuance of Writ of Demolition on August 15 at the RTC-Branch 52 in San Carlos (City).  I invite all the media practitioners to attend,” Armas, a non-lawyer but lawyers himself and co-plaintiff Osmundo Lambino in winning the petition for a provisional remedy for the construction of the mall at the local government unit's (LGU) land  at the Supreme Court, said.
The mall was built in late 2000 after the members of the Sanggunian Bayan (SB or town council) haphazardly if not surreptitiously approved it while Mayor Domantay signed it into law for MGC to lease the municipal lot.
Armas and Lambino questioned it at the Regional Trial Court in San Carlos City, and after it rejected their petition appealed to the Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court   and won their case primordially on manifest abused of authority and contract disadvantageous to the LGU here by the members of the SB who railroaded it despite the absence of the necessary two-third votes mandated by the Local Government Code of 1999.
Armas explained that after the high tribunal's decision the present members of the SB can not just pass a resolution extending to MGC the lease contract with the LGU here its former building just to skew the Supreme Court's decision.
“No, because under the law the Magic building is now considered beyond the commerce of men by analogy and therefore they can not touch the building, but they can touch the land (where the mall is erected). Now there was a rumor here in Malasiqui that they will pass an ordinance with all the members of the SB will sign the same in order to maintain the status quo ante – meaning  (mall owner) Mr. Benjie Lim will be the one to lease the building. That is not allowed under the law otherwise they would be liable for indirect contempt of court,” he explained.
He said indirect contempt metes a penalty of six years of incarceration.
Mayor Domantay deplored that the demolition of the mall would result to the loss of 250 workers job. He said 75% to 80% of those personnel come from here.
“Ngayon iyang 250 may tatlong anak, 750 kaya parang gugutumin mo iyong 750 na taga Malasiqui”.
Armas said the best thing to save those jobs and for the legal thing for the Lim family is to donate the edifice to the town.
He said it would be far fetched for the Lims to demolish the edifice as it would cost them another one to two million pesos.
Domantay said he honors any decision of the court on the fate that awaits the MGC here.
“Basta ako I am a law abiding citizen. I respect the decision of the court”.
Political spectators on the Magic issue here say the victory of the plaintiffs in the high court does not conclude that the Domantay Administration losses. In reality his administration and the people here won because the mall, if donated, become the property of the LGU here.

Cojuangco Laments Gov. Espino's Resignation Statement

I can not believe that a simple announcement for candidacy would cause so much consternation to the good Governor.

NPC's Gubernatorial Bet Mark Cojuangco (Right)

"Partisan activity" ba na magpahayag lang ng; "tatakbo ako sa 2016"? "Grossly improper" ba ang pagpapakilala ng sarili sa ating mga kaprobinsiya?

Sa pagkaalam ko, ang tawag doon ay ang pag gamit ng "freedom of speech" at "freedom of expression".

He really should not criticize the party because The NPC (Nationalist People's Coalition) was shelter for him when he needed shelter, it welcomed and was kind to him. It seems that he now has other needs. The least he should say is; "thank you".

Governor Espino's Press Release

Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr., his brother, Bautista Mayor Amadeo T. Espino; and two sons, Bugallon Mayor Jumel Anthony I. Espino and Board Member Amado "Pogi" I. Espino, III have tendered their irrevocable resignation as members of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) effective immediately.

Taiwanese Students Tour the Capitol

 Some 36 volunteer high school
 and college students from the county of Taichung in Taiwan tour the
Capitol Complex as part of their 10-day “Work Camp” in Pangasinan.
In partnership with Young Men Christian Association (YMCA)-Dagupan,
 the Taiwanese students extended community service to a community
 in Brgy. Salapingao, Binmaley. /VFS

Gov. Espino, brod, sons resign from NPC

Press Release

Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr., his brother, Bautista Mayor Amadeo T. Espino; and two sons, Bugallon Mayor Jumel Anthony I. Espino and Board Member Amado "Pogi" I. Espino, III have tendered their irrevocable resignation as members of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) effective immediately.

Expressing deep regret in filing their resignation letter to NPC President Georgidi B. Aggabao, the joint resignation letter of Gov. Espino and Mayors Amadeo and Jumel dated July 31, 2014, was received by the office of Aggabao on August 4, while the separate letter of BM Espino dated also on August 4 was sent via email to the office of the NPC president on the same day.

"As elected leader of the entire province of Pangasinan, the undersigned Governor finds it grossly improper, and totally out of place, to announce political preferences, or to actively take part in any partisan activity, at this point in time when the next elections, in May 2016, are still a long way to go," the letter stated.

The letter said that there is a proper time to do that especially the incumbent officials who are sworn to serve everyone, regardless of political affiliations.