URDANETA CITY—The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) based here and the local government unit in this city launched the other day “Sagipin ang Puno, Mag Ipon ng Diaryo” that aims to establish socialized fuel plantations that will provide alternative livelihood source for charcoal makers while saving public forests from proceeds of selling old newspapers.

Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr lauded the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under Leduina Co, CENRO head in this city, for this “very worthy project”.

Co admitted that they now have zero budget for reforestation since 2003, or if at all there is fund available, it can only reforest 10 hectares every year compared to the 49,000 hectares of forest lands under her jurisdiction that covers 15 towns and this city in eastern Pangasinan.

Read more

DAGUPAN CITY—About half a million people are expected to converge here for the staging of the world- renowned Kalutan ed Dagupan (Grill in Dagupan) that has made this city a Guinness World Record holder for longest barbeque
on April 30 at 5:30 p.m.

This is the culminating activity of the Bangus Festival, now on its fifth year, according to Councilor Nick Aquino, this year’s Bangus Festival chairman. Aquino said the Kalutan promises to be the ultimate party where people from all walks of life can watch various well known performers along A.B. Fernandez Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare while they grill the tastiest bangus (milkfish) in the world.

There will be 12 concert stages to be set up to accommodate a host of celebrities and popular bands to perform during the affair.

Read more

This is an article from the Office of Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez of Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Philippines

Bangus fest to feature Dagupan’s Best

If you think you have the tastiest recipe for tocino, longganisa, boneless bangus and other Dagupan-made food products, then you can join Dagupan’s Best.

Dagupan’s Best, which will be held on April 27, 2006 at the New Malimgas Market, will be launched as part of this year’s Bangus Festival as a competition of original recipes for locally-made tocino, longganisa, tapa, lumpiang bangus, burong mangga, atsara, tinapang bangus, boneless bangus, ube, pastilyas and bocayo.

“This is our way of promoting special recipes for the different products,” said Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, chairman of the Dagupan’s Best project.
Read more

ROSALES, Pangasinan—His world revolves around works on engineering but his passion is into cycling.

Public Works Ilocos regional director Engr. Fidel Ginez of this town has been celebrating his birthday with the cyclists for already 13 years.

On April 30, Ginez will sponsor again the Engr. Fidel Ginez 13th Cycling Classic which brings together some 130 professional riders all over the country for a competition.

The 165-kilometer race starts from Asingan, San Manuel, Tayug, San Nicolas, Natividad, San Quintin, Umingan, Balungao, Rosales, Villasis and back to Asingan, Binalonan and San Manuel.

Ginez said since he became chief of Agno Flood Control Office in 1994, he started this project to help cyclists after the famous Tour of Luzon stopped. He said his family is very supportive of his intention and a yearly allocation from their budget is segregated for this purpose.

He said it’s worth his effort and resources as the race had produced cycling champs like Arnel Quirimit.

Ginez shoulders all the expenses for the holding of the race and politely shuns offers from interested sponsors, including politicians.

It was his father, the late Santiago Ginez who influenced him to develop fondness of cycling. During his childhood years, his father would tag him along during the Tour of Luzon to watch the cyclists on the road somewhere along Urdaneta City and Binalonan.

The young Ginez said he too tried his luck in local cycling race but was not lucky to win.

His cycling race was originally in Asingan only until no less than Tour of Luzon champion, Jess Garcia from Mangaldan town urged him to expand the coverage of the race. Garcia is helping him with his cycling project.

Since the race is held during his birthday, Ginez prepares five to six pigs to feed his visitors and well- wishers composed mostly of cyclists.

For this year, P12,000 awaits the champion and 10 major prizes.

Ginez said for as long as he is living, he will continue with his passion for cycling and in his mission to help the cyclists. –

DAGUPAN CITY—Unknown to many Ilocanos in Santa and Cauayan, Ilocos Sur, and in Abra, a fish named “pigek” or “bulidao” is as precious as gold that promises to give them fortune if properly conserved and preserved.

In fact, Dr. Westly Rosario, executive director of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) who is also the center chief of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Bonuan Binloc here, said BFAR is offering “double the price” of live pigek turned over to them in a bid to conserve the fish which is now in danger of becoming extinct in Cotabato area because of uncontrolled and unregulated fishing.

Pigek is a highly priced fish in southern Philippines and caught in commercial volume in Rio Grande de Mindanao, Tamontaka River and Polangi River, Cotabato. It has an excellent taste comparable to other priced fish like grouper “lapu-lapu” and blue marlin. Latest information on its market price is about P1,000 per kilogram in the area and it is presented as a gift to some high ranking government officials in Manila.

Read more

SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan—This city keeps its lead as the top mango producer in Pangasinan for the last 15 years and shows its supremacy through the holding of another year of the Mango/Bamboo Festival set this April 29.

Mayor Julian Resuello told local newsmen that San Carlenians have mastered the mango industry and in fact the skilled workers in mango farming including capitalists go to 13 other provinces in the country to share their skills and earn money by taking care of other mango farms in Cagayan Valley, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Ilocos Sur,
Ilocos Norte, among others.

“We have very sweet mangoes here perhaps due to our soil,” Resuello said. The city is known for its sweet carabao mangoes. Describing mango growing as “very profitable”, Resuello said each kilo of three pieces of green mangoes sells at P21 while ripe mangoes are priced at P40 a kilo.
Read more

DAGUPAN CITY—Philantropist and “Patroness of the Arts” Rosemarie “Baby” Arenas made a sentimental comeback to her second home here after she was conferred for the first time Doctorate in Humanities honoris causa by the Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) last week in recognition of her
charity works to uplift the lives of the poor in the country.

In her sentimental commencement speech, Arenas, who joined 648 other graduates, traced her tender moments spent in this city as a young girl in the company of her Auntie Celing Calimlim-Reyna, a cousin of Arenas’ late mother, Remedios Bosch Jimenez. Reyna was the wife of former Dagupan City Mayor Liberato Reyna who ruled here for long years, making himself referred to as “the mayor for life”.

Arenas said her family loved this place where they had their
vacations in the Reynas’ mansion which they fondly called as “the White House”.

Read more

DAGUPAN CITY–Marital infidelity has particular relevance to those who hold power and influence, according to Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz.

Cruz said in a statement yesterday that marital infidelity appears to be becoming a non-issue among more and more individuals. For husbands and wives to engage in extramarital affairs seems to be a reality that is taken as a matter of course, he said.

He said provided it is kept discreet and it is not exposed, then the practice simply goes on.

Read more

DAGUPAN CITY—A German-based group that helps 65 countries all over the world including the Philippines is set to expand its programs on civic education, vocational training, rural development, and giving trainings to administrators in the North after it has given about 26 million Euro ($33 million) since it started operating in the country for the past 26 years.

Dr. Rainer Gepperth, director and deputy general manager of Hanns Seidel Foundation based in Munich, Germany told local reporters here that they do not only give financial but also software aids to Filipinos for the necessary skills trainings especially in rural areas.

He said he first arrived in the Philippines in 1978 and comes to the country twice a year thereafter.
Read more

MANGALDAN, Pangasinan—The Sigaw ng Bayan Movement spokesman spearheading the campaign for the shift to parliamentary form of government said he is “hoping
the opposition should not resort into argumentum ad hominem or the lowliest form of debate trying to associate the move to change the Constitution in order to benefit only the President”.
Lawyer Raul Lambino told local newsmen in an interview in
his residence in barangay Bari here town that “we would like to make a disclaimer (to what the opposition keeps on saying that Charter change (Chacha) is intended to benefit President Gloria Arroyo) because when we talk of charter change, what we have in mind is the welfare of the nation, the welfare of the future generations of the Filipinos”.
He added it is farfetched in their objective to give particular
benefit to an individual political personality such as the President or any of those who are in favor of shifting the form of government from presidential to parliamentary.
He added that the opposition leaders keep on saying that Chacha will benefit the President and certain personalities in the administration. “What they are not saying though is that the reason why they’re opposing this because if they are saying that this will benefit the administration, well, we can also lay claim that they’re opposing because they have plans of becoming senators, they have plans of becoming President, that’s the reason why they are objecting to this Chacha”.

Read more