I was at the National Press Club in Manila when I learned that Jaime Aquino held a press conference right at the headquarters of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, to announce, among others, that Archbishop Oscar Cruz is a gay and that he “sexually molested” him when he was 18.
At first, I could not believe that Jaime did it. But then, knowing the man, his stunt should not come to me as a surprise anymore: he has done it before; he did it now; he will do it again.
As a case in point, Laoac Mayor Gregorio Tabayoyong pointed to Jaime as the one who engineered the filing of rape charges against the poor mayor and six of his policemen at about this time last year. The woman, of course, turned out later to be non-existent.
Broadcasters Allan Sison and Rannie Manaois also point to Jaime as the mastermind in the filing of the hold-upping cases they are now facing in Villasis.
And who can forget Jaime for his story four years ago in a tabloid, where he listed the names of Pangasinan media practitioners (including this writer) who are supposed to be in the jueteng payola?
There may have been other people that Jaime had victimized. He used his paper, the Northern Star, for “demolition jobs” by publishing black propaganda using fictitious bylines. Of course, he made big money out of it and he may be the only Pangasinan newsman now with the most number of libel cases.
As I watched Jaime that day in a late night television newscast, he looked like a pathetic and a confused clown acting before an angry mob. And as he spoke about his supposed “romantic relations” with the archbishop, the more that he gave himself away, with his nose doing a Pinocchio.
Jaime’s show came to a drastic end when Archbishop Cruz suddenly appeared in the news conference and Jaime did not even recognize him!
Poor guy. He should have studied his script well. Or his director(s) should have rehearsed him many times over until he’s ready for the act. At least, by doing a perfect act, he could have convinced the whole nation that he was a credible clown.
ENDNOTES: The city government is now manned by high school students, as part of Dagupan City’s 58th anniversary celebration. This is the second year of the Ogogaw ya Malingkor program, where students are selected to assume as the city’s mayor, vice mayor, councilors and department heads. This experience should provide them good training on leadership… While in Manila, I had an opportunity to meet former Gov. Oscar Orbos. We were both so happy to see each other again and we updated each other on the country’s political situation. Well, he’s not returning to Pangasinan politics anymore.
QUICK QUOTE: True, we love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Anda today
It must have been at this time of the year 10 years ago when I last visited Anda aboard a Navy barge via the Kakiputan channel.
At that time, the bridge, which now connects Anda to Pangasinan mainland, was already nearing completion and in the barge, people were teary-eyed as they marveled at the unfolding structure that for many years may have only existed in their dreams.
To them, the bridge meant the end of their miseries, the end of their isolation. It was a bridge to their future.
And true enough. Only a few months after Anda was connected to the mainland, its economic landscape gradually changed for the better. It metamorphosed from depressed and neglected community into a progressive and vibrant one.
Rough roads have been paved, new public buildings have been erected, local businesses have flourished. People finally had access to opportunities.
What used to be a torturous ride from across the bridge in Barangay Mal-ong to the poblacion, is now fast and comfortable because of its well-paved road.
(I would learn later from Mayor Nestor Pulido that even the road to the island’s famous Tondol Beach has been cemented, attracting more tourists to the place.)
In the poblacion, what used to be a garrison-like public market has been replaced by an imposing modern structure. The poblacion is now fast taking shape as a town center.
Anda’s public schools are now also getting their share of new buildings and classrooms, making them more conducive to learning.
And because it’s now easier to transport their produce to major markets, such as Metro Manila, the town’s businessmen are now also making it big, increasing in turn the town’s revenues.
And all these because of the bridge. With it, Board Member Alice Pulido, who was the mayor then, also did her part very well.
Losing no time, Manang Alice talked then to congressmen and senators to ask them for a share of their countrywide development funds to finance the town’s roadlines, which was the top priority then.
She obviously got what she wanted within months and by the end of her three three-year terms, Anda’s major road network has been paved.
In my visit there last week, Manong Nestor said that his focus is to make the island greener.
In his farm, which is about 200 meters away from his residence, are hundreds of mahogany seedlings for distribution to Grade 1 pupils.
“We should start them young. We should tell them that by these planting trees, they are saving for their future,” he said.
He is now also propagating bougainvillea cuttings for planting in the roadsides. Then, he will also be distributing langka and kasoy seedlings.
“With more trees, hopefully, more water will also be retained in our island for drinking,” he said.
ENDNOTES: Last Tuesday, Immigration Commissioner Al Fernandez celebrated his 62nd birthday at the Inn Asia Hotel and Restaurant. The place was full of guests, mostly Dagupenos, whom he served for almost two decades as a councilor, vice mayor and mayor… On June 20, Dagupan marks its 58th anniversary as a city. The activity is chaired by Sangguniang Panlungsod Secretary Jorge Estrada.
QUICK QUOTE: How could there be any question of acquiring or possessing, when the one thing needful for a man is to become -- to be at last, and to die in the fullness of his being. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
At that time, the bridge, which now connects Anda to Pangasinan mainland, was already nearing completion and in the barge, people were teary-eyed as they marveled at the unfolding structure that for many years may have only existed in their dreams.
To them, the bridge meant the end of their miseries, the end of their isolation. It was a bridge to their future.
And true enough. Only a few months after Anda was connected to the mainland, its economic landscape gradually changed for the better. It metamorphosed from depressed and neglected community into a progressive and vibrant one.
Rough roads have been paved, new public buildings have been erected, local businesses have flourished. People finally had access to opportunities.
What used to be a torturous ride from across the bridge in Barangay Mal-ong to the poblacion, is now fast and comfortable because of its well-paved road.
(I would learn later from Mayor Nestor Pulido that even the road to the island’s famous Tondol Beach has been cemented, attracting more tourists to the place.)
In the poblacion, what used to be a garrison-like public market has been replaced by an imposing modern structure. The poblacion is now fast taking shape as a town center.
Anda’s public schools are now also getting their share of new buildings and classrooms, making them more conducive to learning.
And because it’s now easier to transport their produce to major markets, such as Metro Manila, the town’s businessmen are now also making it big, increasing in turn the town’s revenues.
And all these because of the bridge. With it, Board Member Alice Pulido, who was the mayor then, also did her part very well.
Losing no time, Manang Alice talked then to congressmen and senators to ask them for a share of their countrywide development funds to finance the town’s roadlines, which was the top priority then.
She obviously got what she wanted within months and by the end of her three three-year terms, Anda’s major road network has been paved.
In my visit there last week, Manong Nestor said that his focus is to make the island greener.
In his farm, which is about 200 meters away from his residence, are hundreds of mahogany seedlings for distribution to Grade 1 pupils.
“We should start them young. We should tell them that by these planting trees, they are saving for their future,” he said.
He is now also propagating bougainvillea cuttings for planting in the roadsides. Then, he will also be distributing langka and kasoy seedlings.
“With more trees, hopefully, more water will also be retained in our island for drinking,” he said.
ENDNOTES: Last Tuesday, Immigration Commissioner Al Fernandez celebrated his 62nd birthday at the Inn Asia Hotel and Restaurant. The place was full of guests, mostly Dagupenos, whom he served for almost two decades as a councilor, vice mayor and mayor… On June 20, Dagupan marks its 58th anniversary as a city. The activity is chaired by Sangguniang Panlungsod Secretary Jorge Estrada.
QUICK QUOTE: How could there be any question of acquiring or possessing, when the one thing needful for a man is to become -- to be at last, and to die in the fullness of his being. -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Same old problems
With the opening of classes this week for the new schoolyear, our kids attending public schools were ushered in again by the same problems: lack of teachers, lack of books, lack of classrooms, etc. etc.
This situation may not be too evident in Dagupan City, but the problem exists. Only, we are better off than most barangay public schools in the province because our problems are not as glaring as what they have.
Until now, there are public schools in the province that hold some of their classes under the trees. Until now, there are still classes with more than 50 students. Until now, there are still classes where three students share one textbook.
As a result, the quality of our graduates suffers and the whole public school system takes the blame for this predicament.
We know that the government has been doing its best to improve the country’s public schools. In fact, the Department of Education has the lion’s share in the annual national budget. Even congressmen have joined the effort by allocating some of their so-called pork barrel to finance the construction of additional classrooms, purchase of books, etc. etc.
But despite all these, nothing seemed to have moved.
This may be because the task of rehabilitating our public schools is simply overwhelming that government effort is hardly felt. With a free elementary and high school education where no one may be refused admission, a public school is made to eat more than what it could chew, turning its problems from bad to worse.
While we recognize that public education is a right of every Filipino citizen, we believe that education authorities should now come up with a policy that would ensure quality education in every public school, without denying the right of an individual to education.
There has to be a policy that would effectively limit the number of students in each classroom to make it more conducive to learning. There has to be a policy that would send teachers to regular trainings. But most of all, corrupt education officials should now be weeded out of DepEd and sent to jail.
This move will be tough and difficult. But there has to be a solution somewhere. There has to be a solution that would benefit the students, the teachers, the school, and the country, in general.
We cannot go on producing graduates who are not ready to go to high school or to attend college. We cannot allow our public schools to deteriorate.
ENDNOTES: With the announcement that the rainy has officially begun, expect water-borne diseases to be here again. It was about at this time last year when hundreds of central Pangasinan residents were afflicted with gastro-intestinal ailments because they drank water from shallow wells. Health officials should now start sounding the alarm… Last Thursday, we had a new police provincial director: Supt. Allan Purisima, who took the helm from Supt. Mario San Diego, now the chief of staff at the Police Regional Office in Cagayan Valley.
QUICK QUOTE: The best things in life are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. -- Robert Louis Stevenson
This situation may not be too evident in Dagupan City, but the problem exists. Only, we are better off than most barangay public schools in the province because our problems are not as glaring as what they have.
Until now, there are public schools in the province that hold some of their classes under the trees. Until now, there are still classes with more than 50 students. Until now, there are still classes where three students share one textbook.
As a result, the quality of our graduates suffers and the whole public school system takes the blame for this predicament.
We know that the government has been doing its best to improve the country’s public schools. In fact, the Department of Education has the lion’s share in the annual national budget. Even congressmen have joined the effort by allocating some of their so-called pork barrel to finance the construction of additional classrooms, purchase of books, etc. etc.
But despite all these, nothing seemed to have moved.
This may be because the task of rehabilitating our public schools is simply overwhelming that government effort is hardly felt. With a free elementary and high school education where no one may be refused admission, a public school is made to eat more than what it could chew, turning its problems from bad to worse.
While we recognize that public education is a right of every Filipino citizen, we believe that education authorities should now come up with a policy that would ensure quality education in every public school, without denying the right of an individual to education.
There has to be a policy that would effectively limit the number of students in each classroom to make it more conducive to learning. There has to be a policy that would send teachers to regular trainings. But most of all, corrupt education officials should now be weeded out of DepEd and sent to jail.
This move will be tough and difficult. But there has to be a solution somewhere. There has to be a solution that would benefit the students, the teachers, the school, and the country, in general.
We cannot go on producing graduates who are not ready to go to high school or to attend college. We cannot allow our public schools to deteriorate.
ENDNOTES: With the announcement that the rainy has officially begun, expect water-borne diseases to be here again. It was about at this time last year when hundreds of central Pangasinan residents were afflicted with gastro-intestinal ailments because they drank water from shallow wells. Health officials should now start sounding the alarm… Last Thursday, we had a new police provincial director: Supt. Allan Purisima, who took the helm from Supt. Mario San Diego, now the chief of staff at the Police Regional Office in Cagayan Valley.
QUICK QUOTE: The best things in life are nearest: breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. -- Robert Louis Stevenson
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Card system
With the way the so-called card system has been hotly debated in the Sanggunian floors during its two hearings last week, one immediately senses that the Public Order and Safety Office (Poso) will have a hard time convincing a “small but noisy” group of drivers and operators to give the traffic reduction scheme a chance.
While most of the jeepney associations (25 out of 29, Poso figure) had nothing but praises for the card system, downtown loop drivers did not like it because they said it has substantially reduced their daily earnings, encouraged drivers to gamble while waiting for their turns, and greatly inconvenienced their passengers.
Downtown’s position was valid: they are a loop service and their trips have no fixed beginnings and ends. Or as a driver had aptly put it, they are not vice-versa, no definite origins and destinations. Meaning, if you put them under a card system, where they are to ply the downtown loop by intervals, it would be to the great inconvenience and disadvantage of the commuters because they would be made to transfer everytime a downtown loop jeepney approaches its holding area and stops there to pass his card.
But the most telling during last week’s two committee hearings were the drivers’ complaints that under the card system, they are being made to pay P5 to P10 by their associations everytime they leave their holding areas, making some city councilors wonder where these money go. This fee is separate from the monthly dues that are collected from them.
One jeepney association president, obviously after summoning enough courage, explained --after a driver angrily raised the issue-- that they needed to collect fees to raise money for the salaries of dispatchers they have employed in their holding areas. Another one said the same. Others chose to be silent.
But by simple arithmetic, the money being collected everyday from the drivers is a lot more than what is needed for the daily salaries, prompting City Councilor Farah Decano to ask if the associations are renting their holding areas, or the excess money will be used as a provident fund to benefit their member-drivers.
There’s really nothing wrong with collecting fees as long as these are reasonable and there’s transparency on how these fees are spent. Certainly, any driver, who was properly consulted about the fees and who knows why these are being collected, would not raise a howl and make a big fuss about it.
While this is an internal problem among jeepney associations, authorities should now step in quick to settle it before it is blown out of proportions; before names are dragged to be benefiting from it.
We don’t want the card system to be called a “quick-buck scheme,” do we?
ENDNOTES: We are saddened with the death last week of Dr. Marcela T. Velasco, 78, mother of Mel, a comrade-in-arms in journalism and a dear friend. Please accept our deepest condolences, pare. Also last week, Benjie Villa of Tarlac City, a former colleague in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Star, died at the age of 31. I first met Benjie during a PDI bureau conference in Munoz City in 1997, barely a year after his graduation from the Tarlac State University. I remember him as a chubby little young man who was soft-spoken but serious. We would again see each other later when both of us moved to the Star. To Benjie, goodbye, pare.
QUICK QUOTE: The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand. -- Robert Vallett
While most of the jeepney associations (25 out of 29, Poso figure) had nothing but praises for the card system, downtown loop drivers did not like it because they said it has substantially reduced their daily earnings, encouraged drivers to gamble while waiting for their turns, and greatly inconvenienced their passengers.
Downtown’s position was valid: they are a loop service and their trips have no fixed beginnings and ends. Or as a driver had aptly put it, they are not vice-versa, no definite origins and destinations. Meaning, if you put them under a card system, where they are to ply the downtown loop by intervals, it would be to the great inconvenience and disadvantage of the commuters because they would be made to transfer everytime a downtown loop jeepney approaches its holding area and stops there to pass his card.
But the most telling during last week’s two committee hearings were the drivers’ complaints that under the card system, they are being made to pay P5 to P10 by their associations everytime they leave their holding areas, making some city councilors wonder where these money go. This fee is separate from the monthly dues that are collected from them.
One jeepney association president, obviously after summoning enough courage, explained --after a driver angrily raised the issue-- that they needed to collect fees to raise money for the salaries of dispatchers they have employed in their holding areas. Another one said the same. Others chose to be silent.
But by simple arithmetic, the money being collected everyday from the drivers is a lot more than what is needed for the daily salaries, prompting City Councilor Farah Decano to ask if the associations are renting their holding areas, or the excess money will be used as a provident fund to benefit their member-drivers.
There’s really nothing wrong with collecting fees as long as these are reasonable and there’s transparency on how these fees are spent. Certainly, any driver, who was properly consulted about the fees and who knows why these are being collected, would not raise a howl and make a big fuss about it.
While this is an internal problem among jeepney associations, authorities should now step in quick to settle it before it is blown out of proportions; before names are dragged to be benefiting from it.
We don’t want the card system to be called a “quick-buck scheme,” do we?
ENDNOTES: We are saddened with the death last week of Dr. Marcela T. Velasco, 78, mother of Mel, a comrade-in-arms in journalism and a dear friend. Please accept our deepest condolences, pare. Also last week, Benjie Villa of Tarlac City, a former colleague in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Star, died at the age of 31. I first met Benjie during a PDI bureau conference in Munoz City in 1997, barely a year after his graduation from the Tarlac State University. I remember him as a chubby little young man who was soft-spoken but serious. We would again see each other later when both of us moved to the Star. To Benjie, goodbye, pare.
QUICK QUOTE: The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see, and knows what the mind cannot understand. -- Robert Vallett
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