READY FOR R1AA

READY FOR R1AA. Dagupan City delegates to the Region I Athletic Association (R1AA) Meet line up at the People’s Astrodome on Wednesday to receive their uniforms for the regional sporting event scheduled on February 21-27 in San Carlos City, Pangasinan. (photo by Venus May Sarmiento/PIA-1, Pangasinan)

DENOUNCED

DENOUNCED. Members of Aro Mo Ako Sambayanan (AROMAS) and complainants against Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. and co accused on the illegal mining of magnetite black sand in Lingayen, Pangasinan at the Ombudsman denounced the governor et al in a press conference recently at the Star Plaza Hotel & Restaurant in Dagupan City,

Barangay Sabangan Councillor Jaime Palisoc (extreme left) assailed Vicente Oliquino, the primary complainant at the Ombudsman, for back tracking on his case. Palisoc insinuated that he suspected Oliquino was bribed by abandoning them against their criminal and administrative cases against Espino.

He said the governor and co accused were into illegal mining because they dug 20 feet of the soil at the beachfronts in Lingayen that smacked on their earlier pronouncements that they just want to get rid the magnetite surface of the soil so they can grow grass for the golf course of the province’s eco-tourism project. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

Mayor Castaneda: Nolan Evangelista was the toughest rival

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

LINGAYEN - It is not Vice Mayor Nepthalie  Pasiliao, Vice Mayor  Editha Hallare, and others that threatened the reelective lady mayor in this capital town of Pangasinan.

Lingayen Mayor Josefina "Iday" Castaneda

Mayor Josefina”Iday” Castaneda disclosed that the toughest mayoralty opponent her family encountered was former mayor Nolan Evangelista and not the present crops of challengers for her mayoralty post.
She said that in the first encounter of her husband then mayor Jonas Castaneda and former mayor Evangelista the former led the latter with a thousand votes.
“In the rematch, Mayor Castaneda led by only 500 votes,” a certain Adiong, the private contractor of the mayor, butted in.

Then Mayor Jonas Castaneda used to be the vice mayor of Mayor Evangelista. Castaneda succumbed to a heart attack in March 2013. He was succeeded by Vice Mayor Hallare who tangled with Castaneda’s widow Iday but the latter dumped her with tens of thousands votes led in the 2013 election.
In the 2013 electoral race, the lady mayor dusted off too former Board Member Von Mark Mendoz with thousands of votes.
“Board Member Mendoza trailed by 8000 votes Mayor Iday while Vice Mayor Hallare settled with a measly 4000 votes,” Adiong added.
This town has more than 40 thousand voters.
The records of the Commission on Election said that Castaneda (Nationalist Party) got 22,928 votes while Mendoza (Nationalist People’s Coalition) and Hallare (Liberal Party) contented themselves with 9,272 and 9,130, respectively.

So should have sued Espino as brain behind jueteng

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – A former ally of Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. should have incriminated the latter as brain behind the multi-million pesos illegal number game jueteng but did not pursue it.

BEST ACTOR. Abono Party List Chairman Rosendo So jocularly presented to media men a trophy to Pangasinan Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. the “Best Actor Award” after the latter accused So as behind his final indictment by the Ombudsman of his and co-accused involvement on the illegal mining of the magnetite black sand. The amused guy on the left side is Jojo Bigay, a back runner who bids for the Guinness World Record. Bigay denounced the governor after soiling his family’s surname after his brother former Provincial Engineer Alvin Bigay was dragged by Espino in the illegal mining and was sacked from office by the Ombudsman by cancelling his eligibility, forfeiture of retirement and benefits and perpetual disqualification from reemployment in the government service.

Abono Party List (APL) Chairman Rosendo So told reporters here last Tuesday that when jueteng baron  Fernando "Boy Bata" Alimagno and then Bugallon Mayor Ric Orduna, Espino’s alleged jueteng bagman,  sued him at the Ombudsman for plunder, the governor asked him to convince Bata to desist from the case in exchange of ten million pesos bribe.

“Ito ang masasabi ko Amado T. Espino, Jr. kung talagang gusto kitang kasuhan doon kay Boy Bata tinawag mo ako noon, sabi mo sa akin tawagan iyong kaibigan natin sa Isabela kung puwede para mag backed out si Boy Bata (This what I tell you Amado T. Espino, Jr. if I want to criminally charge you on the Boy Bata case I could have sued you. You asked me then to call our common friend in Isabela to convince Alimagno to backed out from the case),” the APL chairman declared.

He said he and the lawyer of the governor met with Bata in Manila.

As the illegal gambling baron told the APL chairman that because jueteng operation in Pangasinan had been being clamped down by authorities he bought Meridien Vista Gaming Corporation’s Jai Alai Kingpin Atong Ang to Espino.

As quid pro quo between Espino and Ang, the former promised Bata, according to So, two percent of the monthly revenue of Jai-Alai – a number game played just like jueteng.

“Kasi may commitment si Governor na two percent sa akin, sabi niya. Dati nakatangap kami ng sampung milyones (The governor promised me two percent. I used to earn ten million pesos a month when we were running jueteng),” Bata said.

But the governor, according to Alimagno, reneged on his promise to give him two percent of the proceeds from the game thus he exposed him as the jueteng lord in Pangasinan at a press conference in Manila.

“Sabi niya, bata nga pag iyong lollipop tinangal mo iiyak iyan. Kaya ako umiyak sa media,” So quoted Boy Bata.

In that Manila expose’ in December 14, 2012, Bata was joined by Orduna, then Secretary Mar Roxas of the Department of Interior & Local Government, and several brass of the police hierarchy.

In a sworn statement submitted at the Ombudsman, Orduña called Espino the "Big Boss" of jueteng in Pangasinan who received P800 to P900 million in jueteng money.

Because of So’s intervention, Alimagno backed out in the plunder case he jointly filed at the Ombudsman with Orduna against Espino.

NEWLY RECONSTITUTED BAC INVITES MORE SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTORS

DAGUPAN CITY – The city’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) is inviting more suppliers and contractors to apply for accreditation with the city soon after Mayor Belen T. Fernandez appointed City Administrator Farah Marie G. Decano as chair of the newly reconstituted BAC.

The invitation is in compliance with Republic Act 9184 otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act” and its Implementing Rules and Regulations which prescribes the necessary procedures for the modernization, standardization and regulation of procurement activities of the government.

Decano replaced City Planning and Development Officer Engineer Romeo Rosario as chairman of the BAC after he retired from government service last January.

The creation of the BAC is mandated by the law in all branches, agencies, departments, bureaus, offices or instrumentalities of government including government-owned and/or controlled corporations, government financial institutions, state universities and colleges and local government units.

The other members of the newly reconstituted BAC are General Service Officer (GSO) Melchor Guiang, City Budget Officer Luz De Guzman, Engineer Josephine Corpuz of the City Engineering’s Office, and City Legal Officer George Mejia.

Fernandez also appointed Engineer Athena Arenas of the City Engineering’s Office as BAC Secretariat chairperson along with Rosie Macaranas and Steely Raga of the City Treasurer’s Office; Jocelyn Siapno, Manolita De Venecia and Executive Assistant IV Jocelyn C. Ibaan of the City Mayor’s Office as members.

DAGUPAN RECEIVES AWARD FOR EXCEPTIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT

DAGUPAN CITY – Another award was received by the city of Dagupan three days after it received an award   from the Department of Social Welfare and Development  (DSWD)  last February 12 for having the Most Functional City Advisory Council of 4Ps in Region 1.

The new award presented during a program after the flag-raising ceremony at the city plaza on Monday came from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) in Region 1 in recognition of the city’s exceptional disaster risk reduction preparedness.

This is the Gawad Kalasag Exceptional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Service Award won by the city last December 4, 2015 at Hotel Ariana in Bauang, La Union in an award ceremony presided over by Melchito M. Castro, Regional Director, Office of the National Defense and chairperson of RDRRMC 1.

The award was presented to Mayor Belen T. Fernandez by City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head Ronaldo De Guzman who earlier received the award from RDRRMC.

The award was in recognition of the city’s exemplary actions and unprecedented support in Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery promoting DRRM (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management) at its optimum especially in extending help and assistance to the affected villages during the onslaught of the past typhoons despite the adversities of various disaster operations.

The award meant that the city never faltered to respond to the call of public service in attaining the optimum goal of saving lives and properties and that Mayor Fernandez never stopped in increasing the city’s preparedness through the upgrading of the city’s DRRM equipment and knowledge towards the realization of a safer, adaptive and disaster resilient community.

Cayetano: 5 months after tanim bala, gov't failed to bring back order to victims' lives

                 

Five months after the uproar over the "tanim-bala" scam which plagued the country's airports, vice presidential contender and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said the government failed to bring back order to the lives of the victims.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano PHOTO CREDIT. PhilStar

Citing the example of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Gloria Ortinez, who was wrongly accused of carrying a live bullet to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Cayetano said the victim remains jobless.

"Nawalan ng trabaho dahil tinaniman ng bala. Pero imbes na itama ang pagkakamali at alisin ang gulo sa buhay ni Aling Gloria, walang ginawa ang gobyerno para bigyan siya ng alternatibong kabuhayan. Mas masahol, ang malalaking isda na nasa likod ng tanim bala ay hindi pa rin napaparusahan," Cayetano said.

It was reported that Ortinez was terminated by her foreign employer just days after her arrest in October 25, 2015.

Cayetano said that, if elected, he will eliminate the climate of fear at the country's airports. The senator also pledged to hold accountable all those behind the scam.

"Bibigyan natin ng matapang na solusyon at mabilis na aksyon ang problemang ito," Cayetano said.

"First, we will dismantle all the syndicates operating inside our airports and jail all those behind these groups. Second, we will pursue the cases I filed against several public officials who are administratively liable for the scam," Cayetano explained.

"Third, we will abolish all unnecessary permits and procedures for OFWs, and establish a department solely dedicated to protect and promote the welfare of OFWs. Ang nangyari kay Aling Gloria ay hindi na dapat maulit. Tama na ang hirap at gulo. Panahon na para sa sumaya ang Pilipino," Cayetano ended. ###