NURSING SCHOOLS ISSUE

The Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities  (PACU) initially won its battle against the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in connection with the latter’s two resolutions setting minimum limits to percentage of graduates for schools  to retain their licenses to operate. 

A Regional Trial Court in Dagupan City has granted the petition of PACU to stop the enforcement of   the two questioned resolutions.

The temporary restraining order issued by RTC Judge Roland Mislang effectively stopped CHED from implementing its Resolution No. 475 s. 2004 which set a minimum of eight per cent passing of graduates of educational institutions in government licensure examinations and Resolution NO. 120 s. 2005 which set the minimum 30 per cent passing for nursing board examinations.

In his resolution, Judge Mislang enjoined CHED from implementing its two questioned resolutions and from issuing further statements in media, print or television or through Internet or through any forum that is derogatory or damaging to the petitioner-intervenor.  Read more

 
A plan of the city government to implement pay parking scheme in all national roads of the city can lead to a number of legal issues, including being sued for accidents on these roads.

The concerns were raised by Highway District Engineer Rodolfo Dion during the public hearing on the implementation guidelines of the ordinance.

In describing the legal scenarios, he interposed his office’s objection to the enforcement of the ordinance. 

Dion added that while the city may have the best motive to impose pay parking in all major national roads, he said the move may even worsen traffic in the city.

Dion, along with a legal officer of the DPWH, appeared before the city council during a public hearing last Monday to comment on the proposed ordinance seeking to impose pay parking in both city and national roads here. Read more

The reorganization of the association of barangay captains was completed but its validity remains uncertain.

Consequently, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez told beleaguered Councilor Eric Muñoz to remain in his office and continue attending sessions of the city council as ex-officio member despite the reported reorganization.

Fernandez said he will prevent Muñoz from attending the session if the just recent reorganization of the Liga ng Barangay chapter that picked Barangay Captain Guillermo Vallejos as president is validated by James Marty Lim, national president of the League of Barangays of the Philippines.

Munoz was accused in a petition sent to Lim by 29 of the 31 barangay captains of the city last March 4 for his habitual absences and for allegedly failing to perform his duties as president of the Liga ng mga Barangay. Read more

AS envisioned, the international training center for aquaculture students and technicians will soon be opened this year.

Dr. Westly Rosario, interim executive director National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), said the Asian Aquaculture Academy located inside the 24-hectare National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center in Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City is set to operate.

Owned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) of the Department of Agriculture, the AAA will be supported by the Network of AquaCulture Center in Asia-Pacific (NACA), Southeast Asian Fisheries Technology Development Center and BFAR.

 
Rosario told newsmen that the AAA building was funded by the development assistance fund of House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. Read more

Joan De Venecia, a Dagupeña and a University of the Philippines College of Law valedictorian, is this year’s topnotcher in the traditionally back-breaking bar examination with only 27.22 percent of the total examinees hurdling it.

She scored 87.20%and is one of only three topnotchers from UP.

Joan took her legal management degree at Ateneo de Manila University before studying law proper at UP. Three Ateneans almost made it to the magic ten circle.

A law associate of Sycip Gorres and Velayo law firm, Joan is the 10thdaughter of former Judge Tony and Norma De Venecia, and a niece of Speaker Joe De Venecia. Read more

filipinos maybe poor, but not unhappy.

Lingayen-Dagupan  Archbishop Oscar Cruz asserted this to belie a recent  Roper Report   that said that the Filipinos are the “unhappy people” in Asia.

“This is rather far from the truth, to say the least,” he said

He contended that the Filipinos may have certain ambivalent if not altogether negative  traits, but these do not support the Roper conclusion although this, he added, may  appear true at first glance on account of the many unhappy socio-ethical  elements in the political and economic circumstances taking place in the  country. Read more

MANAOAG - The town’s Municipal Engineer is under fire from the municipal council for granting special permits to people who constructed their houses but failed to secure the required building permits.

Councilor Ed Pascua said Municipal Engineer Rey Galano must be investigated for his questionable transactions, for allowing certain individuals to build their projects without any building permit at all.

Pascua said the mere fact that Galano admitted that a few individuals were granted special permits by him is an indication that he committed acts inimical to the public service and should be made liable for his acts. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - The police are ready for the month-long ‘Bangus Festival’ in Dagupan.

Supt. Ed  Basbas, Police Chief, said that his station’s major concerns will be the traffic flow, security of tourists and visiting VIPs during the ‘Bangus  Festival’ that will run from  April 1  to  31.

Basbas said this big influx of visitors will surely create traffic jams but the police, he said, have prepared contingencies to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

He added that the expected arrival of a number of top officials of the country will necessitate added police security.

The city,  being  the  record-holder  of  the  longest barbeque in the Guinness book,  will  showcase a series of events that involve the participation of adjacent towns of the   4th  District  of  Pangasinan,  namely Mangaldan, Manaoag, San Jacinto and  San Fabian.

Basbas said that his office has also coordinated with the PNP Provincial Office for augmentation of personnel during the festivities.-APE     

HAVING learned its lesson in the past, the provincial board members don’t appear eager and rushed to endorse any gambling measure like the Small Town Lottery (STL) operations in the province this time. 

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan the other day deferred the discussion of a resolution regarding this numbers game after  the local media got wind of the proposal that reached the board, but not after the board members had their longest “one minute recess”  trying to determine how it should handle the resolution.

It will be recalled that the last time the board hastily endorsed a similar resolution last year, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz promptly responded with a pastoral letter against the provincial legislators. Read more

ALCALA–It’s all systems go for Alcala town’s bid for the Guinness World Records.

After three dry runs, the people of Alcala are confident that their rustic town by the bank of the Agno River will soon land in the world map by breaking two world records in the Guinness Book.

Mayor Manuel Collado expressed optimism that the town can break the world longest grill record  at 32.84 meters (107 feet, eight inches) made by the residential home Haus Ostertat, St. Wendel Werschweiler of  Germany on May 14, 2004 as part of the home’s 10th anniversary festival.

Hundreds of townspeople watched the last March 25 dry run in front of the Alcala Central School and knew that it is now only a matter of time before they can annex the record for world’s longest grill and the world’s longest barbecue. Read more