LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—A four-cornered fight emerges in this premier province for the coming gubernatorial race in 2007, if elections push through, as political pundits consider it a real heavyweight battle.

This, as Governor Victor Agbayani is about to complete his three successive terms and the then strongest possible candidate in terms of influence and resources, Undersecretary Antonio Villar Jr of Local Governance under the Office of the President, expressed intention not to run in the coming elections.

Thus emerged Vice Governor Oscar Lambino, Reps. Amado Espino Jr and Conrad Estrella III of the second and sixth districts respectively and Dr. Jamie Eloise Agbayani as the heavyweight contenders for governor.

Lambino, Lakas provincial chairman, is now on his last term and might possibly have as his running mate Mayor Vivien Villar of Sto. Tomas town. If this tandem materializes, observers say Lambino gets a big boost in his bid as Villar is the wife of Undersecretary Villar who is the founder of Biskeg na Pangasinan (Strength of Pangasinan) which is a group of powerful political leaders in the province. The lady mayor has also assumed her post for many terms already. With this tandem, they will get voters from the vote- rich third and fifth districts of Pangasinan with strong support from neighboring towns and cities whose mayors and local officials give high regards to her husband who is acknowledged as the “Kingmaker in Pangasinan”.

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BINMALEY, Pangasinan–Townsfolk here are all agog as this town, known as the Fish Bowl of Pangasinan, will take the center stage when it stages the first-ever Sugpo and Malaga Festival on Feb. 2 as part of its 416th town fiesta celebration.

Sugpo (prawns) and malaga (siganid) are considered as the “hidden wealth” of this old and quiet town.

It will not just be purely fun and excitement when this big day comes as proceeds for this activity will be used for a noble purpose.

Municipal Administrator Josefina Victorio told this writer who also hails from this municipality that this historic affair also aims to inform Pangasinenses and everyone that the municipality produces the best and the greatest volume of (tiger) prawns in the province.

Municipal Councilor Leo Urmaza chairs the sugpo festival committee and the event is highlighted by a dinner-for-a-cause with sugpo locally known as bingalo as the main course cooked in different ways , as well as malaga (siganid) which is another top product of the town and other side dishes.

Incidentally, it was Urmaza's late father, former Councilor Marciano Urmaza Sr, who started the malaga culture here. This earned for the elder Urmaza to be cited as the Most Outstanding Fishfarmer from the national government then.

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ALAMINOS CITY—The Hundred Islands National Park (HINP) found here ranked third, out of 20 nominees, in the on-line survey conducted by the Asia Pacific Management Forum for the Best Place in Asia.

Mayor Hernani Braganza told local reporters that this good news brings back to the consciousness of tourists that there is this world-famous Hundred Islands, famous for its clear waters sparkling like diamonds as the sun’s golden rays touch the pristine sea, its white fine sand, lush green vegetation, deep blue water, unique rock formation and vast marine resources.

The 100 Islands is the only natural attraction in the Philippines located in Pangasinan province that made it to the paramount line-up all over Asia. It garnered an approval rate of 15.13 per cent or 477 votes out of 3,153 on-line voters besting other popular and beautiful tourist destinations in the country.
Penang, Malaysia was the top favorite followed by Koh Samui Thailand.

The “Best Place” category includes cities, small towns, country areas, event natural attractions or “special places” that for various reasons may have a unique and special attraction.

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DAGUPAN CITY—“I will never be able to get over the pain of losing my daughter,” says House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. after he started distributing firefighting suit to the Dagupan City Fire Department in memory of Kristina Casimira or KC de Venecia who perished in a fire that gutted their Makati residence City a year ago.

De Venecia, misty-eyed, told local reporters here the other day, “I will never get over the tragedy of losing my child”.

He said “it’s not part of psychological make up of man that we bury our children”.

“Our children should bury us. It’s a very difficult psychological barrier,” he added. KC was 16 when she died. Last Saturday was the first time de Venecia shared his sentiments to the media about KC’s untimely demise.

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BINALONAN, Pangasinan—Fight looms between Mayor Ramon Guico Jr. of this town and the provincial government as the mayor refuses to remit to the provincial treasurer’s office the collected real property taxes (RPT) here because of “unfulfilled promises” of Gov. Victor Agbayani.
Guico, also the president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines gave this challenge to Agbayani in a phone interview with this writer, saying,” Why not show us where the RPT is being spent?”
He added,” Kalokohan lang yan. Saan ba napupunta yan? Walang bumabalik na projects naman sa amin (That’s foolishness. Where is it spent? Nothing goes back to us)”.
He chided Agbayani for his promises which remain unfulfilled. He said these are the asphalting of roads in barangays Sili, Moreno, Camanggaan and Sta. Catalina which the governor pledged to undertake even before the 2004 elections.
He said only inspection and survey were made by the engineering brigade of the provincial government prompting him to do the projects himself.

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DAGUPAN CITY— Where did General Douglas MacArthur and his forces really make their historic landing in Pangasinan?

Sixty one years after MacArthur and his allied forces landed in Lingayen Gulf on Jan. 9, 1945 during the World War II to liberate the country from Japanese forces, Mayor Benjamin Lim wants to know the truth behind the real place as to where the landing was exactly made: Was it in Lingayen or in Dagupan City.

Lim echoed this query again during the commemoration of the Jan. 9 Lingayen Gulf landings last Friday here where former President Fidel Ramos, Philippine Veterans Ba nk officials and war veterans were in attendance.

Lim said he wants to request the veterans and historians to help them “because Dagupeños have a secret evidence, two pictures where MacArthur landed in this part of Pangasinan”.

The first photo showed MacArthur walking along then Torres Bugallon now known as A.B Fernandez and the other taken at the Home Economics Building of West Central Elementary School where the general was giving instructions to his troop, according to Lim.

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DAGUPAN CITY— Do your homework and stop bellyaching!

These are the strong words of House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr, fed up by the constant “badmouthing” of Mayor Benjamin Lim against him, as he finally released his punches, so to say, against the mayor.

Lim accused de Venecia of blocking the bangus processing plant project and of giving only small projects in the city compared to other towns under de Venecia’s turf in the fourth district of Pangasinan, among others.
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While jueteng, a popular illegal numbers game, has its lull in most parts of the country, this is not enough reason for anti-gambling crusaders to rejoice as there is forthcoming small town lottery (STL) as a gambling salute to the New Year set to take off on Jan. 15.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, chairman of Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, said Friday that,” It (STL) is scheduled to be made operational this 15 January to exploit the poor more and make fools of the unwary—and enrich the already rich and famous”.

Those behind the operation of STL, according to Cruz, are “a known high ranking police official, a big financier, and an identifiable mayor”. They will have their franchise from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office for the STL operation whose mechanics are similar to jueteng, he added.

He said the sharing scheme would be 10 percent each for the mayor, collector and PCSO, three percent for the cabo and two percent each for the governor and the Philippine National Police.
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DAGUPAN CITY—The city government expects to have a plastic and styrofoam –free city with the passage of the Plastic and Styrofoam Regulation Ordinance of the City which is due for third and final reading when the city council resumes session on Jan. 16.

Councilor Nicanor Aquino, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and author of the proposed ordinance, told this writer that there is a very big chance the measure will be approved as there are only small things that need to be ironed out for its final approval. This includes a question by another councilor about the composition of a task force to be created to monitor compliance to the ordinance.
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DAGUPAN CITY–Life was never the same again for this man of cloth who hogged the headlines in 2005 for his unrelenting anti-jueteng campaign.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Cruz whose name is almost synonymous with the campaign against jueteng in the Philippines, is fighting the giants, as some people say, with his crusade to rid the country of this very popular illegal numbers game called jueteng.

Cruz, national chairman of Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (Jueteng-Free Philippines), recently told this writer that 2005 was the banner year for anti-jueteng campaign marked by unprecedented exposes about the illegal game’s influence in local and national governance during a Senate probe. Cruz prominently figured in the inquiry, bringing along with him witnesses like Sandra Cam, Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor, Richard Garcia, among others.

Known as the Juetengate II, a sequel of Juetengate I that toppled then President Joseph Estrada due to, among others, corruption charges including jueteng payola briberies, the 2005 jueteng scandal exposed by Cruz and his witnesses brought embarrassment to President Gloria Arroyo after her husband, First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo and son Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo and presidential brother-in-law Rep. Ignacio Arroyo were implicated as among the top beneficiaries of jueteng payola.

Credit goes to the indefatigable Cruz, whose crusade opened the eyes of the people and the officials that eventually led to the stoppage since late April 2005 of jueteng for the longest time in the province and in most parts of the country.

Cruz described 2005 as “the climactic conscientization of the people on the extent and evil that this illegal numbers game brings to the country.

He said his consolation was they were able to reveal that jueteng ties down the hands of the officials and its beneficiaries, silences the police, disables the national officials who are also their protectors and beneficiaries.

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