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.
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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.
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DAGUPAN CITY–The regional trial court (RTC) here has granted the petition of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) to stop the implementation of Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) two resolutions that would phase out programs of higher educational institutions which have
low passing percentage in licensure examinations.

RTC Judge Rolando Mislang of branch made this move in his 15-page decision dated March 29 regarding the petition for certiorari, prohibition and damages with prayer for temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction by
the University of Luzon (UL) as petitioner and PACU as well as Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) as petitioners-intervenors.

Both UL and LNU are based in this city.

Mislang said “public respondents (CHED through Dr. Carlito Puno, Dr. Saturnino Ocampo Jr, Dr. Ma. Cristina Padolina, Dr. Hadja Luningning Umar, Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, Dr. Willima Medrano and Dr. Catherine Castañeda) and all or any of their agents are hereby enjoined from implementing Resolution No. 475-2004 and Resolution No. 120-2005 and from issuing further statement
in media print or radio or television or through internet or in any forum that is derogatory or damaging to the petitioner/intervenors”.

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Provincial board members are now more careful about endorsing matters concerning gambling operations in Pangasinan as they did not hurriedly pass a resolution involving possible small town lottery (STL) operations in the province.

Learning from its previous “hasty endorsement attempt” for STL
operations last year that prompted Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz to issue a pastoral letter against the provincial legislators, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the other day deferred the discussion of a resolution regarding this numbers game which became a hot news again this week due to its revival.

Truth is, the board members had their longest one minute recess when there were negotiations left and right among the members whose faces showed feeling of anxiety.

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—The owner of the barge that ran aground off the coastal town of Agno about three months ago acted swiftly to meet the 10-day ultimatum given by the provincial government on March 10 as it is now transferring the coal to another vessel followed by a towing of vessel.

Lawyer Virgilio Solis, provincial administrator who issued the
deadline upon the order of Governor Victor Agbayani to LCT Eisner based in Dagat-dagatan, Malabon to remove its vessel or face legal action, said since Friday, there was one tugboat, one barge and one crane barge to tow the vessel.

“They are really doing their best as of yesterday. Whether satisfied or not, we will see (first) their efforts”, Solis said.

The media, environmentalists and barangay officials are there
watching them, Solis told local reporters the other day.
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URDANETA CITY—Forest lands in the mountains of eastern Pangasinan towns totaling 42,529 hectares are in danger of being depleted due to “kaingineros”, according to a Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO).

Leduin Co, CENRO here told local reporters the other day that with only eight forest rangers assigned to take charge of 5,316 hectares each in the fifth and sixth districts of Pangasinan composed of 15 towns and one city, “kaingineros” pose a big problem on them.

She said that it is really impossible to guard the “kaingineros” composed of two groups: one are those who go to upland areas, clear the place and convert them to plant agricultural crops and the other, are the charcoal makers and fuel gatherers who cut down trees so they can have their produce which become their livelihood.

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ALAMINOS CITY—Tourism takes a big boom here as the city mayor reported a 70 percent increase of tourist arrivals in the world-famous Hundred Islands National Park (HINP).

Mayor Hernani Braganza told local reporters that 30 percent of the increase was contributed by foreign tourists and 40 percent by local tourists.

He said that their target tourist arrival this year is 250,000 which is a jump by 150 percent from their last year’s aim.

The entrance fee in going to the islands is pegged at P20 per person, the cheapest in the entire country, Braganza said.

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LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—After six recorded highway robbery/hijacking cases that involved delivery trucks, the provincial police have intensified their resolve to prevent the repeat of these incidents by intensifying “Oplan Harabas” and other countermeasures.

Superintendent Ricardo Tamayo, deputy provincial director for operations, told this writer that he presided a meeting recently in Binalonan town attended by more than 20 trucking service operators as well as police chiefs whose towns are possible targets of hijacking/highway robbery incidents particularly along the McArthur Highway.

Senior Supt. Alan Purisima, provincial police director, initiated the action and asked police chiefs from the towns of Rosales, Villasis, Urdaneta City, Binalonan, Pozorrubio, Sison, Calasiao, Sta. Barbara, Asingan and Sta. Maria to attend the meeting.

In 2005, there were three attempted hijacking in Villasis, Sison and Binalonan and this year, the same incidents happened in Sta. Barbara, Pozorrubio and Sison and another one in Binalonan recently where more than P1million worth of canned products was hijacked.
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SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan—This city that claims to be the mango and bamboo trading capital of Pangasinan will celebrate the Mango-Bamboo Festival last week of April.

Mayor Julian Resuello said the twin festival also reminds the public that the city produces the sweetest mangoes in the provinces and the city’s long stretch of bamboo plants of more than 200 kilometers along its rivers and creeks.

Resuello said many people rely on mango and bamboo production here and traders not only from neighboring towns but also 13 other provinces come here for mango trading.

Every harvest time, traders from other areas come here because they rely on the skills of city folks here classifying which mangoes pass export quality.
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The following is an email I received from Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Philippines Councilor Joey Tamayo who is gathering reactions, comments or suggestions before this ordinance will be tackled in their session.

Dagupeños now working or based abroad are expected to benefit from this measure. Those who would like to send their feelings or sentiments, are enjoined to participate here and I feel this blogsite could be of use to achieve this purpose. Here, kindly read on.

Greetings, The writer of this message is Joey Tamayo, your humble councilor in Dagupan City. With the present policy of the City government of Dagupan to drum up investment to pour in to our beloved City, this representation wish to consult our fellow Pangasinenses, particularly Dagupenos based abroad to peruse the following draft of an ordinance designed to give certain incentives to would be investors in Dagupan.

Please take note however that your active involvement in this law making process is solicited by sending via email your questions, comments, reactions and or suggestions, if any, in regard the proposal. If you approve of the proposal, your email embodying your acquiescence shall be greatly appreciated, for record purposes for use during the plenary before the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Dagupan. It is required that public hearing be conducted before an ordinance of such nature as the following. But since most of the beneficiaries of this ordinance are expected to come from abroad, the proposed measure is communicated to you via web.

Please send in your comments to joeytamayo@yahoo.com copy furnished vmalvin@yahoo.com. Lastly, it is requested that you please forward this message to all Pangasinenses and Dagupenos wherever they may be. Thank you for your kind attention. JOSE NETU ‘JOEY’ TAMAYO

– DAGUPAN CITY REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES CITY OF DAGUPAN SANGGUNIANG, PANGLUNGSOD INTRODUCED BY COUNCILOR JOEY TAMAYO DRAFT ORDINANCE NO._________ ORDINANCE 1) ENCOURAGING THE INFLUX OF INVESTMENT OF CAPITAL IN DAGUPAN CITY FROM BALIKBAYANS, FOREIGN INVESTORS AND OTHER ENTERPRENEURS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

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