Isidro Ramos
30 Nov 2006

The local and national media could only do so much to exposed graft and corruption but the buck stops at the polling place. Pinoys should take a close look at the recent US election. The American people were tired of the arrogance, lies, and hypocrisy of their government so a change is needed. They booted out senators and congressmen who are not worth their salt. In short - Have the will to change and negate all that boat loads of excuses and complaints.

Sid Taylor
28 Nov 2006

I have been working for years on the busy streets of Perez Blvd., now I cannot park my car in front of our office even if we have provided a parking space for our clients despite the fact that there is still a space for the sidewalk, and nearby banks have cars parking and even have them on the major sidewalks. I know we should not park on sidewalks to prevent accident and traffic.

Dagupan is a fast rising business district, dapat man lang may parking sa may side street ng Perez blvd or PROVIDE a Safe PARKING AREA like Makati did. If only the other side lang ang may parking, syempre napupuno yun. Malapit na kasi election kaya ngayon lang nila ito pinatupad, but lalo silang hindi iboboto ng tao!

For me ang dapat nilang higpitan ay ang mga tricycles at mga jeeps na pupasada dito sa Dagupan, whose operators are mostly non-Dagupan residents. “Safety is Our Concern” yeah, true pero people now are not that stupid to believe in such timely Advertisement (malapit na election) blah blah blah. Trapos are too much! And I will keep an eye on these political jerks who are planning also to stage a “ONE month city fiesta”.

Eduardo Pontaoe
29 Nov 2006

Gonzalo Duque is on the right track. The true make-up of a crusader for the common good. He did not mind the torpedoes that he knew it would be coming his way. He faces the odds allied against him coming from that corrupted City Clowncil but he will overcome it because he is in the right. When he exposed this egregious violation of the public trust he touched a raw nerve. That’s why Alvin, the VM jumped, just a little poke on his butt he felt the heat….that unrelenting heat that Gonzalo Duque would be throwing at them until he is satisfied that this Dagupan’s problem is put to conclusion.

Looking at Alvin’s defense, you can easily see the tangled spider web the City of Dagupan is entangled with. His admission that if ever there was misappropriation of these lands it would come to 25 hectares. Corruption is corruption, Vice Mayor Alvin. The city of Dagupan couldn’t care less if it only involves the size of a “talipapa”.

Gonzalo Duque calling Vice Mayor Alvin his friend is a fatal mistake. A friend wouldn’t disavow what he told you and turned around and called you a liar. Alvin your friend, Gonzalo? You need no enemy. If you want a friend get a dog. I beg to differ with you Gonzalo, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez… is not his father’s son.

Divina S. Lacanilao
29 Nov 2006

Re: Harvest Time

Please give details on the following rice varieties its parents and other qualities. These are: Tubigan 1 to Tubigan 8. Or I would like to make comparisons which variety I am going to plant this coming dry season.

Thank you very much.

Nestor Tamayo
29 Nov 2006

Mr. Gonz Duque, keep up the goodwork nayari kayon talaga,sige, ikulong mo ratay matatakew ed Dagupan. wala ni manaya so kapara yo ra ya “honest ya totoo ed tapew na Mundo”, salamat ed kamaungan ya gagawaen yo. salamat ed inpan-exposed yo ed saratay karutakan ya gagawaen daratay politician ed baley tayo, linisan mon amin…… Salamat.

Your kababayan from Arizona, U.S.A.

Jeremias Andrade Carrera
28 Nov 2006

To the Honorable Mayor Simplicio Rosario:

If only the Governor and all the mayors of towns and cities abutting rivers are also honorable like you and follow your example, there will be abundant fish in Pangasinan and there will be less frequent occurrence of red tide. I always thought before that Pangasinan is lucky to have a Governor who is a civil engineer, but I was dead wrong. His performance in protecting the environment is the same as “OORONG-ORONG” OSCAR ORBOS.

A friend told me that the reason why most of the mayors and the Governor can not stop fish pens like jueteng is because of money and politics. Mayor Benjie Lim did some dismantling before but it did not go far enough or maybe something happened. I noticed that if an activity generates a lot of money, like jueteng, illegal drugs, fish pens, politicians and the police or those in power appears to be powerless to stop it. Like GMA is powerless to stop corruption so she always makes the pronouncements to stop corruption over and over. Para may naririnig naman ang Pinoy na medyo magandang pakinggan.

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(This space will be reserved for literary contributions from readers. The PUNCH encourages readers to write and email to us their thoughts about their impressions and ideas about life in and outside of Pangasinan, whether social or economic or cultural. No politics, please. Thank you. - Publisher).

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Where the Modern Times are linked with the Living Past

by Jose Sison Luzadas, Delray Beach, Florida

Before joining a holiday packaged tour to get a good look at those tumbled temples, pillars, façades, columns of Ionic, Corinthian or Doric designs or before taking a hands-on lesson deciphering eroded hardly readable inscriptions among the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome, here is a quick introduction that makes history interesting.

One good look at the picture will show how the ancient Greeks left a lasting impact in architecture. Not only did the Romans borrow and imitate the Greeks, they applied and introduced wherever they go to all the civilized world they conquered and governed in their vast empire that lasted centuries with one ruler, one common jurisprudence, one religion, one currency and one common language. A close scrutiny of the roof design, the façade and the massive Doric columns are typically Hellenic, the three sculpted aquila (eagles) and shields are popular military emblems of imperial Rome. Well, not the inscription which speaks of American republican theme found in most federal and state government buildings in the US and its acquired territories. It is not surprising to “discover” this Greco-roman-american influence in Lingayen, the seat of government the Americans chose during the early Occupation period.

The capitol building is a monumental RELIC, a historic reminder when the Philippines was then an American colony.

With the aid of a magnifying glass, the inscription reads:

PROVINCE OF PANGASINAN
ERECTED CAPITOL BVILDING AD MCMVIII
BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR ADMINISTRATION OF A CIVIL STATE
PROMOTING LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Could this be the “Appian Way” to the AMREICAN DREAM? Not so with the die-hard Filipino nationalists. It’s more of a NIGHTMARE, a grim reminder to them decades of American Imperialism.

For comments, email Jose Sison Luzadas: luzadas@bellsouth.net

Jess Delfin
28 Nov 2006

“A picture is worth a thousand words”.

Your editors maybe sleeping on their jobs because the picture does not even come close to reflecting your caption “Finally, Domalandan Bridge Is Ready”.

Your staff could use some training from you, Mr. Ermin Garcia, Jr.?

Personal appearances before the Ombudsman

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

Remember how Dagupan City Mayor Benjie Lim manipulated the process to have the overpriced street lights installed?

He ordered the city council to approve in a special session a draft resolution authorizing him to plan and negotiate the installation of the streetlights. The storyline was there was only one supplier who could provide the preferred specifications, hence no bidding was possible. He had the resolutions approved about 3 months after the streetlights were ordered! Of course, the city council of onor-onors replied with a resounding “arf-arf”! And everyone had a merry Christmas! It didn’t matter to them that I personally traced the named supplier and discovered that it was not even engaged in the business of streetlights but in the manufacture and distribution of threads! Thanks to an indifferent citizenry, they got away with it.

Obviously emboldened by that successful foray into the city’s funds, Mr. Lim and his ilk have plotted another script on basically the same storyline. This time, with Onor-onors Vlad Mata, Nic Aquino and Luis Samson Jr. (minus erstwhile pointman Teofilo Guadiz III), Mr. Lim again wants the city council to give themselves a merrier Christmas by approving an ante-dated resolution authorizing him to seek out a developer to negotiate the development of the area where Bugnay Commercial Center once stood, and finally to endorse the contract four months after he identified, negotiated with the developer Metrostate Realty Corporation.   

Nakaloko na, mang-gagago pa!
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