Dagupan and Urdaneta Cities, and Pangasinan Province Thread 3

[koreanboy]

Thursday, November 19, 2009


LINGAYEN -- The regional director of the Department of Agriculture (DA) assured the Provincial Board that the agency will extend assistance to the farmers in the province affected by Typhoon Pepeng.

DA-Ilocos Director Cipriano Santiago said the assistance to be given soon is under the DA's Quick Recovery Program (QRP) designed to reduce the effects of the recent devastation.


The Quick Recovery Program includes provision of hybrid and certified rice seeds to farmers whose ricefields have been affected.

As explained by Santiago, based on the implementing guidelines, farmers of damaged areas with chance of recovery or partially damaged must be certified by the municipal or city agriculturist; validated by the DA-Regional Field Unit (those who planted this dry cropping season from September 16 and supposed to harvest by March next year.)

Each recipient will receive P600 per hectare seed subsidy, plus the regular seed subsidy of P600 per hectare for certified seeds and P1,000 per hectare for hybrid rice seeds.

For farmers whose ricefields have no chance of recovery (totally damaged) as certified by the municipal/city agriculturist and validated by the DA-Regional Field Unit, and will plant this dry cropping season, they will receive P1,200 worth of seed subsidy per hectare. If they are to plant hybrid rice seeds, they will be given another subsidy worth P1,200 per hectare.

They will also receive P5,050 fertilizer subsidy per per hectare (consisting of two bags of urea and three bags of complete fertilizer).

Vice Governor Marlyn Primicias-Agabas explained that their calling the DA regional director to the provincial board was one of the ways to fast-track whatever assistance coming from the National Government for the farmers.

Hardest hit were the farmers at the sixth district and part of the fifth, third and fourth districts of Pangasinan. (LCMY/Sunnex)

[koreanboy]

Thursday, November 19, 2009



By Liway C. Manantan-Yparraguirre

MALASIQUI -- Third District Representative Rachel Arenas categorically denied that one of her opponents in 2007 congressional race has won in the electoral protest filed against her at the Congress.

This as she slammed the columnist who wrote about it at a national broadsheet, saying "it is very irresponsible and outright presumptuous."

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In the November 17, 2009 of the said national paper, the columnist wrote that lawyer Galant Soriano was victor in the protest he filed at the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).

"The wrong information should be corrected immediately," wrote lawyer Hilario Delos Santos (Arenas's chief-of-staff) to the national paper.

"It is not true that Soriano won the protest that he filed against Representative Arenas. In fact, during the hearings conducted by HRET it was proven by the members of the Board of Election Inspectors of the contested precincts in Mapandan, Pangasinan that the election returns of Gallant Soriano were fake. Thus, the lead of Arenas increased," he further wrote.

"Two groups of officials were summoned by the HRET due to the irregularities and they confirmed that the anomalies were indeed done. The wrong information written by Ms. Cunanan in her column of November 17, 2009 should be corrected immediately. This is very damaging to the credibility of an elected official and to her constituents," stated delos Santos.

Arenas ran against Soriano (former deputy customs commissioner), Generoso Tulagan Jr., and former Bayambang Mayor Leocadio de Vera Jr.

It was a close fight between Arenas (62,046 votes) and Tulagan (61,429). Soriano came third with 60,564 votes and de Vera earned 22,099 votes.

No such HRET decision was being talked/discussed about in the district until the column was written.




Thursday, November 19, 2009




By Liway C. Manantan-Yparraguirre

MALASIQUI -- Third District Representative Rachel Arenas categorically denied that one of her opponents in 2007 congressional race has won in the electoral protest filed against her at the Congress.

This as she slammed the columnist who wrote about it at a national broadsheet, saying "it is very irresponsible and outright presumptuous."



In the November 17, 2009 of the said national paper, the columnist wrote that lawyer Galant Soriano was victor in the protest he filed at the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).

"The wrong information should be corrected immediately," wrote lawyer Hilario Delos Santos (Arenas's chief-of-staff) to the national paper.

"It is not true that Soriano won the protest that he filed against Representative Arenas. In fact, during the hearings conducted by HRET it was proven by the members of the Board of Election Inspectors of the contested precincts in Mapandan, Pangasinan that the election returns of Gallant Soriano were fake. Thus, the lead of Arenas increased," he further wrote.

"Two groups of officials were summoned by the HRET due to the irregularities and they confirmed that the anomalies were indeed done. The wrong information written by Ms. Cunanan in her column of November 17, 2009 should be corrected immediately. This is very damaging to the credibility of an elected official and to her constituents," stated delos Santos.

Arenas ran against Soriano (former deputy customs commissioner), Generoso Tulagan Jr., and former Bayambang Mayor Leocadio de Vera Jr.

It was a close fight between Arenas (62,046 votes) and Tulagan (61,429). Soriano came third with 60,564 votes and de Vera earned 22,099 votes.

No such HRET decision was being talked/discussed about in the district until the column was written.
"sayang akala ko si mayor de vera ng Bayambang ang mananalo sa congressional race sa 3rd district last 2007 election,pero sa totoo lang napakarami nyang nagawa sa bayan namin,ano kaya babALIK kaya sya sa pagka mayor ulit?"From 3rd class to 1st class ang status classification ng bayambang ngaun,going to cityhood."

[koreanboy]

Wednesday, November 18, 2009


By Liway C. Manantan-Yparraguirre

DAGUPAN CITY -- Television reporter Maki Pulido has formally announced her intention to run for congressman at the first district of Pangasinan Wednesday morning at the Pangasinan Press Club (PPC) Engkwentro media forum.

“I will keep my integrity intact. I will bring in a new kind of public service. Ako ay magiging isang maingay at palaban na kongresista,” Pulido declared.


“I want to be an effective mouthpiece of the people of the first district, and push for legislations that are pro-poor and that would serve the interest of specific sectors in my district,” she added.

Maki was named Makibaka by his then activist father. Her eldest sister is Kala (kalayaan).

When her mother was mayor of their town more than nine years ago, she (Alice) was dubbed as the modern day Urduja of Pangasinan.

Alice strongly opposed big-time fishpen operators from saturating the town’s rivers, and going against dynamite and other illegal fishermen to protect the livelihood of their marginalized fishermen-constituents.

With the causes she is personally advocating for the benefit of the people, Maki said she wouldn’t mind if people will tag her as the “facebook generation” Urduja of Pangasinan.

“If that will be so, I will be honored and privileged as the legendary Urduja is a woman warrior,” she remarked.

Maki admitted that entering the political arena is one of the hardest decisions she has made.

“While with GMA 7’s I-Witness and Reporter’s Notebook investigative programs, nakasalamuha ko ang mga nahihirapan sa buhay, mga batang kailangan magtrabaho para matulungan ang mga magulang ng may makain ang pamilya, mga nanay na hindi makabili ng gamot o pagkain para sa mga anak at iba pa,” she explained.

“Media and politics are both public service. I said maybe even if I have to sacrifice if there is an opportunity, I have to step up and maybe go to a position where I can directly help the people. I have to go out from my comfort zone,” she further said.

Running for an elective position, she stressed, is an opportunity to really help and be able to directly be an agent of change.

“Hindi porke sinasabi nilang marumi ang politika ay pababayaan mong ganon na lang yon. You can be in a position to help and institute change,” she stated.

“Maintriga nga sa politika, pero kahi saang sector kagaya sa media, merong intriga. It is a matter of handling any type of problem and any kind of intrigue that go along,” she said.

As to running against moneyed politicians, Maki said she is not intimidated at all.

“I can say we have enough to run a decent campaign. I have always advocatd for clean and honest elections. I want and will engage into a decent campaign, yong hindi mo iinsultuhin ang electorate, present myself as (an alternative) candidate to the people of the first district of Pangasinan.”

The multi-awarded journalist said she will run under the Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) of former President Joseph Estrada, the political party of her mother ever since she entered politics.

Maki said Estrada was one of the persons who encouraged her to run for public office. "Bakit kaya ang mga artista pag di na sikat pasok sa poilitika,anu naman kaya ang hangarin ng mga journalist din noh.?"