DAGUPAN CITY—Five dolphins were seen along the coastal waters here the other day and two of them beached. However one died while the other was wounded but released back to the sea while the rest casually swam back.

Dr. Westly Rosario, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) center chief here, told this writer that before lunch Saturday, Emma Molina, the city agriculturist reported to him about one wounded dolphin which was kept inside an empty fish cage in Bonuan Sabangan here.

Rosario instructed his aquaculturist Rocky Ferrer who was trained about caetaceans (whales and dolphins) to look into the dolphin’s condition and to give the necessary medical aid.

After treating the bottle-nosed dolphin (Stenella longinostris), grayish in color, with whitish belly and about four feet long, it was brought back to the sea.

But based on the account of a certain Charlie Dacanay, a beachgoer, he allegedly saw five dolphins.

Later, about 5:00 p.m. Saturday, the maritime police went to the BFAR center here located in Bonuan Binloc to turn over another dolphin which had also bullet wounds. It was believed that this is part of the group of five of dolphins sighted along Bonuan area that day.

However, while Rosario was giving instructions to his men on what to do about it, the second dolphin died and was buried inside the 500 square-meter lot whales and dolphins cemetery inside the BFAR compound.

Rosario appealed to the people not to harm these sea animals especially that there are three more in the group which are believed to be swimming around the area.

Several dolphins and whales sharks have been sighted along the coastal areas here and in the towns of Binmaley, Lingayen and San Fabian. Some of them beached after being wounded with gun shots. Some were successfully treated and brought back to the sea while others died.

SAN NICOLAS, Pangasinan—The secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
(Bayan) in Pangasinan was gunned down while his younger brother was wounded
after two unidentified suspects shot them while they were on their way home
around 10:30 a.m. yesterday in barangay Camanggaan this town.
Inspector Fernando Paneda, police chief here told local newsmen that
the fatality, Jose Doton, 62, also president of Timpuyog Ti Mannalon a
Mangwayawaya (TIMMAWA) An Association of Farmers Seeking to Free Agno River)
bore three gunshot wounds, two in his breast and one in the head that led to
his instant death.
His companion who is his younger brother, Diosdado alias Cancio,
57, sustained two gunshot wounds at the back of his body. Diosdado was
driving the motorcycle when the incident happened. The two went together at
the town proper and were on their way home to barangay Cabuloan but the
suspects wearing helmet shot them from behind in a close range.
He was rushed to nearby Tayug Family Hospital where he underwent
operation. As of press time, he is still under observation.

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DAGUPAN CITY—Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz maintains that jueteng exists in the country, no matter what cover up gambling operators and their hired disciples do.

Cruz, top anti-jueteng advocate in the country who heads the Krusada ng Bayan Laban sa Jueteng (Jueteng-Free Philippines Crusade), said in a statement that gambling operators are trying hard to master the art of deception with the help of their hired disciples.

He said they fervently say something and yet intend to do exactly the opposite. In substance, the art of deception is to promote what is false and to cover-up what is true, he added.

“The better falsity is accepted as truth, the more deceit is perceived as reality, the more perfected become the art of deception,” Cruz said.

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DAGUPAN CITY–People's Initiative, Da Vinci Code, the repeated official claim of a great up and coming national economic progress are three good fictions making the rounds in the country these days, according to Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz.

Cruz said in a statement yesterday that the People's Initiative is the blitzkrieg of no less than the national leadership for all conceivable reasons but the cause of national unity and prosperity. Not the people but the government agencies are pushing it, he said.

He said public officials as well as public funds are used to promote it. Even the government printing office is used to push government’s initiative for the country to have a charter change, sparing nothing and no one, he added.

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—In its first round of random operations on the reported resurgence of jueteng in this province the other day, joint elements of Task Force Anti-Illegal Gambling rounded up 11 alleged jueteng bet collectors in two towns and one city.

However, the operatives from the national level of the Criminal
Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which was given the mandate to go after illegal gambling operations, together with those from the region, provincial and the local police, were surprised because those “invited” for questioning, a term preferred to be used by the police rather than the word
arrested, were found to be EZ2 collectors.

The lawmen consequently released the “suspected” jueteng bet
collectors from San Jacinto, Urbiztondo and Urdaneta City Tuesday night after further interrogation for lack of evidence. The raiding team said those invited for questioning were very willing to present themselves.

The operatives also conducted operation in San Fabian town, hometown of Chief Supt. Alfredo de Vera, police Ilocos regional director, but they claimed their operation yielded negative result.

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ALAMINOS CITY—Come to Hundred Islands National Park but strictly no eating of its giant clams.

A Taiwanese national who came here learned a hard lesson when he was apprehended by Bantay Dagat personnel for killing a giant clam (Tridacna gigas) at the Quezon Island apparently as an aphrodisiac food.

Mayor Hernani Braganza told this writer in a phone interview that Tsoa Kuang-Chih, temporarily residing at Baguio City, was arrested for violating Section 97 of the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (RA 8550) and the National Integrated Protected Area System Act (RA7586).

Perhaps amazed by the presence of several giant clams in the park, Tsoa could not resist harvesting one and cooked it kilawen style ( its meat sliced and mixed with vinegar, ginger, onions, pepper and salt).

Braganza said Tsoa was with a group of visitors and they had a tourist guide who warned them that such act of getting giant clams is prohibited. But when the guide left, Tsoa followed his instinct and got one giant clam. A boatman saw him and reported the incident to the authorities.

Tsoa apologized for his act and claimed he didn’t know about Philippine laws governing giant clams. But he was nonetheless fined with P40,000 or less than a thousand US dollars.

The penalty was based on the gravity of his offense along with the number of years of the giant clam multiplied with its current value appraised by city’s fish examiner and Tanggol Kalikasan, Public Interest Environment Law Office based in the city headed by Atty. Nhelie Lagura.

Braganza said the city government allows tourists to take pictures, snorkel and hold the giant clams. “But we let them (tourists) know that they just cannot poach or hunt giant clams, collect corrals and gather bonsais at our city’s protected treasure,” he said.

In mid 1990s, then President Fidel Ramos, Braganza’s uncle, initiated the giant clam seeding at the Hundred Islands.

Braganza has taken huge strides in realizing his vision of making the park the Giant Clam Garden of Asia and conservation of the city’s protein bowl.

The Giant Clam and Corral Garden near the Quezon Island is one of the main tourist attractions today at the national park.

No less than 7,000 giant clams at the Hundred Islands are currently being protected by the city government’s Bantay Dagat and the local police.

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Very soon, Pangasinan will carve a new name as the Festival Capital of the country with its array of festivals in many towns and cities in the province.
In Metro Manila, May 1 is a day of street protest among workers pressing for wage increase and other benefits.

But not in Pangasinan where May 1 is a day of swimming and family picnic along the province’s long stretch of beautiful beaches. Not only Pangasinenses have made it a tradition to troop to the beaches, enjoy the summer heat by swimming all day long and partaking of home-cooked food for a day of picnic at the sea during the first of May.

What used to be a simple thanksgiving for the bounties of the sea has evolved into a week-long event of trade and food fair, singing and dancing, selection of Pangasinan’s most beautiful lady. And then came the parade of Pangasinan’s festivals which draws more and more tourists.
“

Each town has its own characteristics and traditions. In a sense, we unite everybody here by putting what we have,” said Governor Victor Agbayani.

Those who had established their own festival were invited to join the parade held in front of the Capitol Building here on May 1. On that day, thousands of Pangasinenses and those living in nearby provinces came and enjoyed the merriment as they watched street dancers gaily dance to the beat of the drums under the scorching summer heat, clad in colorful costumes and depict through their dance steps how their own festival came into existence.

Pandan Festival

Through the initiative of Mapandan Mayor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim, Pandan Festival highlights the unique product of the town, pandan (screw pine) from which its town’s name was derived from.

The first Pandan Festival in 2003 showcased the town’s agricultural wealth, a celebration of its people’s industry and diligence as well as a commemoration of the town history.
In 2004, Pandan Festival traced legends highlighting the origin and various uses of the pandan plant. Last year, the celebration focused on the status of the town as a community and the origin of its barangays.

This year, it featured its traditions and cultures as well as a one-of-a kind cookfest that exotic ingredients like frogs, bats, monitor lizard, among others.
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DAGUPAN CITY—House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr said he is fully supporting the action taken by President Gloria Arroyo and the Cabinet to reduce the tariff on imported oil.

De Venecia told local newsmen here that the rising cost of fuel is a global calamity.

He said he also hopes the Senate will now pass the Ethanol Law approved by the House of Representatives principally authored by Congressman Miguel Zubiri which the Lower House had passed several months ago but still pending in the Senate.

De Venecia who was in Romania last week said he discussed with the foreign president the possibility of large- scale importation by the Philippines of passenger trucks to be used in the metropolitan areas that are fueled by compressed natural gas.

He said this is advantageous for two reasons: one, it’s much cheaper and secondly, it’s much cleaner and there will be no pollution.

“I hope we can have as many as 5,000 buses all over the Philippines,” he said.

He said he has also invited the president of Romania to drill for oil and gas in the Philippines. As a result, the Romanian president directed his foreign ministry to draw up a framework agreement with the Philippines on the various proposals de Venecia made to him including the drilling for oil and gas.

De Venecia noted that almost a hundred years ago, Romania was ahead of the Arabs and has successful oil drilling among the European powers.

At the same time, de Venecia stressed the need to expand the country’s commercial ties with the Russian Far East which has major oil production in Sakhalin and nearer than the Middle East by tanker.

If this pushes through, he said tankers can go straight from Manila Bay to Sakhalin which is just off Japan and off Korea.

DAGUPAN CITY—House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr said “the people’s initiative is now far advanced”.

Talking to local newsmen in his Bonuan Binloc residence the other night, de Venecia said when Congress reconvenes on May 15, “Maybe by that time, the people’s initiative would have gone even much farther”.

But he added he believes that maybe by May 15, there will be a challenge in the Supreme Court.

At the same time, he said at that time, they will finalize their signature gathering in the House.

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DAGUPAN CITY–Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the response of the government to all those who dare go to the streets to protest doubtful government economic plans, programs and projects during the Labor Day celebration on May 1 is disturbing

Cruz said the government wants the workers to "be still, to keep quiet, to go home. Otherwise, have the 1017 once more!"

"There must be something very strong in a country when precisely during Labor Day, the laborers lambast the government instead of allow it to honor them," he said.
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