‘Vengeance for death of 7 NPA guerillas: AFP forms probe body on killing of 11 soldiers

LAGAWE, Ifugao -- The military formed on April 26 a special investigating body to look into the killing of 11 soldiers including an Army captain and a civilian in an ambush by suspected New People's Army guerillas in Tinoc town of this province Wednesday morning.

            The ambush was perceived as vengeance for the death of seven of the NPA guerillas’ comrades in an earlier encounter in nearby Natonin, Mountain Province on April 21.  

            In Manila, Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., military spokesman, said Maj. Gen. Rommel Gomez, commander of the 5th Infantry Division created the probe body following reports that the 11 soldiers were "executed" by the rebels.

            Reports said most of the slain soldiers were only injured after their vehicle tumbled when their driver was hit by a sniper fire.

            The rebels reportedly finished off the defenseless soldiers.

            “If this is true, this is clear a violation of the Geneva Convention barring the execution of wounded or injured soldiers,” Burgos said.

            Burgos said that the probe body would also determine if there were security lapses on the part of the ambushed government troops.

            Aside from the investigation, the main concern of the troops is focused on the pursuit of the perpetrators and ensuring the safety and security in their area of jurisdiction.

            Led by Lt. Col. Eugene Batara, commander of the 86th Infantry Battalion, the government troops were waylaid by by more or less 40 NPA rebels in Barangay Gumhang, Tinoc town in Ifugao province. Batara and his men were on their way back to their headquarters in Kiangan town after attending a command turn-over in Tinoc.

            In the fighting that ensued, Batara’s operations officer, Captain SeigfredKafilas was killed along with 10 others soldiers and a civilian who were reportedly executed by the rebels.

            The remains of the slain soldiers were taken to the headquarters of the 5th Infantry Division in Gamu, Isabela for the necessary honors before they are turned over to their respective families.

            Burgos said elements of the 86th Infantry Battalion are now conducting full-scale operations against the rebels.

            Col. Miguel Puyao, Civil Military Operations officer of the 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu, Isabela, identified the other slain soldiers as Staff Sgt. Torres, Corporal Lazaro, Privates First Class Salud, Lakitero, Veloria, Dawaton, David, Naliw, Lorenzo, and Sanadan, who died in the hospital.

            A civilian rider, Aimee Labug, was also killed while Jefferson dela Cruz was wounded along with Lt. Nabatias and Private First Class Lopez. Labug and Dela Cruz were civilian members of the Army band.

            The ambush led to a fierce gunbattle that dragged on until 12:15 p.m.

            The Philippine Air Force had to deploy a helicopter to the area to provide air cover for the pinned troops.

            The same helicopter later evacuated the wounded soldiers to the hospital. 

            Alst April 21, seven NPA guerrillas, including a woman fighter, were slain in an encounter with government troops in, Natonin, Mountain Province, the military said.

            Natonin is only a few kilometers from Tinoc.

            Men of the 54th Infantry Battalion, were reportedly providing security to a medical mission in Banawel village in Natonin when they chanced upon a group of some 30 armed rebels along the Natonin-Paracelis border around 6 a.m.  

            A five-hour firefight ensued, resulting in the death of the seven rebels, whose identities were still being verified, said Col. Miguel Puyao, spokesman of the Isabela-based 5th Infantry Division.

            “Reports of the rebels’ death were based on information provided by civilians. In fact, they also told us that many more rebels were seriously injured in the encounter,” Puyao said. 

            The firefight also led to the discovery of the insurgents’ bunkers and three outposts in the remote mountainous area and the recovery of several high-powered firearms, including two rifle grenade launchers, reports said.  

            The rebels were reportedly led by a certain ArtusTalastas, who heads the NPA unit operating in eastern Mt. Province.

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NPC-Pangasinan still backs P-Noy

By Jennelyn Mondejar

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan — The Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), considered the ruling party in Pangasinan, assured support Tuesday  for President Benigno S. Aquino III.

            Gov. Amado T. Espino told the media the exodus of Lakas Party politicians to the NPC is a concrete way of support to the administration of Aquino, who belongs to the Liberal Party (LP).

            NPC partymates here are known to have strongly supported in 2012 the candidacy of then Aquino and the party remains supportive to the country’s Chief Executive, said Espino.

            Last Monday, Espino returned his original party in an oath-taking ceremony held at the historic Sison Auditorium here, April 23. “NPC was my original party. I left the party temporarily when its founding chairman, Ambassador Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco,” became inactive.

            He said that the political party has a fraternal bond with the lofty aspirations of Aquino to improve the lives of Filipinos.

            Former 5th District Rep. Mark Cojuangco congratulated Espino as he welcomed him back to the party. “NPC is a party whose sights are set on practicality not seen in other parties. Members are dependent in identity and independent in thought. “Dito, walangiwanan,” said Cojuangco.

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Palace intervention to end John Hay impasse

By Dexter A. See  

BAGUIO CITY April 27 – Camp John Hay Development Corporation urged President Aquino to intervene in the current conflict with the state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority over alleged violations of the CJHDevCo of the lease contract for not paying their rent worth millions of pesos.

            Alfredo Yniguez, CJHDevCO executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the company has no plans of abandoning their contract with BCDA to develop the required 18 hectares out of the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone to provide tourists with alternative destinations and develop more condominium units, country and log homes for high-end individuals.

            “We are bullish about our projects within our leased area. Were bullish about the tourism potentials of Baguio,” Yniguez said.

            “We had been through four Presidents, six changes in the BCDA administration and four changes in the local government, thus, we will not just leave and abandon our investments.

            According to him, it is only President Aquino who can force BCDA officials to sit down in the mandatory arbitration as contained in the case filed by the developer before the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center so that the breaches of both parties could be pinpointed and possible solutions to the same will be immediately addressed.

            “CJHDevCo has already infused a little over P5 billion in investments and the put up of added infrastructure inside John hay over the past 16 years,” he said, adding that “the company has also paid to BCDA a total of P1.44 billion representing partial payments of its lease rentals prescribed in the original and revised lease agreements.”

            “Since we were awarded the right to develop John Hay in 1996, BCDA had already committed breaches in our contract, particularly the non-delivery of 32 hectares developable area and the delays in the issuance of the Environmental Compliance Certificate and the demolition of illegal structures within the leased area among others,” Yniguez said, citing that “such breaches resulted to the signing of the first revised memorandum of agreement in 2000.

            The CJHDevCo official claimed BCDA was only able to deliver 4.5 hectares out of the 18 hectares developable area up to the present, thus, they could not do the full blast development considering that their problems are compounded by the delays in the issuance of the required permits and clearances from concerned government agencies as committed by the BCDA in the third RMOA.

            “From 2007-2011, we were not able to implement our P5 billion investments to build more housing units and commercial town centers within the developable area which translated to over P11.6 billion in supposed income for our company,” Yniguez s said.

            Yniguez said there must be a “win-win solution” to be reached by both parties in the current conflict if they sit down together in arbitration and not through media campaign since it is the city government of Baguio which is at the losing end considering that the local government will not be able to get its 25 percent share from the lease rentals supposed to be paid by the developer to BCDA. 

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Stipends for poor seniors released

By Freddie G. Lazaro

VIGAN CITY— The Department of Social Welfare and Development  Region 1 office distributed a total of P20,344,500 stipend for a total of 13,563 indigent senior citizens in the four provinces of Ilocos region.

            According to DSWD Region 1 Director Marcelo Nicomedes J. Castillo, the release of the stipend to those covered by the Social Pension Program for senior citizen in 121 municipalities was completed in 17 days.

           

This was achieved by maximizing regular staff assigned to distribute the stipend in which each qualified senior citizen received P1,500 covering a three-month period from January to March this year, Castillo said.

            “The Social Pension Program aimed to assist all qualified indigent – senior citizens for their daily needs particularly on food and medicine,” he said.

            “However, there are 185 social pensioners who were not able to attend the scheduled release due to unavoidable circumstances and health conditions. With this, the Regional Social Pension Unit had already coordinated with concerned workers at the LGUs to inform the unpaid pensioners and re-schedule the release of their stipend,” he said.

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51 marijuana plantations, raided in Benguet towns

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Government forces recently raided 51 marijuana plantations and one hashish processing facility in Benguet worth millions of pesos.

            Gil Cesario P. Castro, regional director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency bared this saying the sites were located with help from Philippine Air Force choppers.

            The plantations, which produce about 30 to 40 percent of  marijuana supply in the country, had reportedly been untouched since the 1980s.

            Castro said P260,972,800 worth of marijuana were uprooted during a massive eradication operation in the towns of Kibungan and Bakun town in Benguet April 16.

            The marijuana cultivation sites were reportedly found in treacherous, towering rocky mountains and cavernous, steep-sided valleys, needing some of the operating units to rappel or cross rivers.      

            The rows of cannabis plants were likewise interspersed between rows of corns or vegetables or concealed by sunflowers and other shrubs.

            These were also hidden among bushes, cemeteries or inside caves, he said.

            Watering hoses, pesticide sprayers and commercial fertilizers for the marijuana plants were likewise found in place.

            Meanhile, the marijuana processing site was discovered underneath a big rock, where a heavy-duty hydraulic jack, one marijuana brick molding box made of iron, wooden separator plates, dried cannabis fruiting tops wooden compressing box with a wooden compressor and other paraphernalia for converting the fruiting tops into brick form were confiscated.

            The nine-team regiment of anti-narcotic units was composed of operatives from PDEA – CAR, PAF 1AD TOG1, Police Regional Office – Cordillera, Philippine Army 5th Infantry Division 503rd Brigade Civil Military Operations Battalion and Military Intelligence Group 1, National Bureau of Investigation  and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Cordillera.

            Except for samples, the uprooted or seized marijuana were burned on-site.

            The samples were publicly burned at Camp BadoDangwa here last week participated in or witnessed by chairman Ronnie Ricketts of the Optical Media Board of the Philippines, media, local government units, civil society groups and operatives.

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Mayor: Change in land titling won’t abet squatting

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The planned shift from townsite reservation to direct award mode of land titling as contained in the proposed amendment of the Baguio City Charter will not abet squatting in the city as the new process, once approved, will not cover applicants with illegitimate and dubious claims.

            “This new process will not encourage squatting as it will cover only bonafide lot applicants and not those applicants with questionable claims including those in waterways, watersheds and road right-of-ways,” Mayor Mauricio Domogan clarified on Wednesday.

            The mayor said the change in the land disposal procedure as contained in the proposed charter amendment will on the contrary discourage land speculation as the titling process will be hastened in favor of the actual and qualified occupants of the land.

            The mayor said the city needs the shift to direct award mode of titling to address the mounting townsite and miscellaneous sales applications that remain unacted due to the slow process involved in the city’s present land disposition scheme which is based on its status as a townsite reservation.

            He said there are around 5,600 applications that remain pending in the city and if not disposed will cause more problems in the long run.

            He said many applications date back to as far as 30-50 years and the delay in titling opened the floodgates to squatting problems.

He said the delay also led to the shortchanging of the city government in terms of land taxes and permit fees as lot applicants because of the delay are allowed to occupy the land and build their homes without paying taxes and construction permits fees to the city government.

            He said if approved, the direct award will speed up the process of awarding these public lands to actual and qualified beneficiaries and in doing so, will address the squatting problem and at the same time will assure payment of land taxes.

            The mayor said the new process will shorten the procedures by localizing the members of the awards committee and by doing away with some of the steps including the bidding requirements.

            The composition of the awards committee along with the land disposition process’ conflict with the Free Patent Law remain as grey areas in the ongoing study of House Bill No. 3759 or An Act Revising the Charter of the City of Baguio.

            The bill is now pending before the Senate committee on local government chaired by Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

            The city is expected to submit its position paper on the bill this week for consideration by Marcos’ committee before the bill can be submitted for plenary debates and amendments in the Senate.

The city’s position paper will delve on the salient amendments particularly on the implementation of the direct disposal and award of alienable public lands and the revisions in the functions of city departments. 

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Labor Day job fair set in Baguio

By Julie G. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY - The city government shall conduct a jobs fair on May 1 and 2 at the Baguio Convention Center.

            According to PESO officer RomeldaEscano, the May 1 affair shall have no less than 35 local offices offering job vacancies while on May 2, interested applicants may look around for foreign employment from at least 25 agencies. 

            Other activities shall be conducted at the venue: seminar on anti-illegal recruitment, pre-employment orientation seminar, free online job search services, free overseas calls and free haircut and massage.

            The job fair and services are being sponsored by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

            A media sponsor ABS-CBN is also working with the offices for the benefit of employees and employers, both here and abroad, while other sponsors, opted to conduct jobs fair in their own respective venues.

            Vacancies include, for local employment; services for call centers, Information Technology, Medical Transcription, and Food and Beverage services. Foreign employment needs include medical services, engineering and construction and other skilled blue-collar jobs. 

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Army, NPA accusing me of taking sides due to peace zone, says gov

By Dexter A. See 

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Gov. Leonard G. Mayaen said the declaration of the whole province as a peace zone by the provincial peace and order council will subsequently spur economic development that will translate to improved living condition of local residents, especially those in far flung communities.

            Under the concept of a peace zone for Mountain Province, Mayaen said all communist rebels and the military will be required to leave the province in order to allow the people to move freely in their respective places to earn for a living of their families.

            “The problem is I am now being accused by both camps, the communist rebels and the military, as taking sides with their enemies,” Mayaen said,

            “We want our people to have a peaceful atmosphere to live and earn their livelihood without fear of being harassed or intimidated by the presence of communist rebels and the military in their villages.”

            Since the PPOC had been going around the 10 towns of the province conducting consultations on the planned declaration of a peace zone in the province, the governor disclosed harassment and recruitment activities of the communist rebels in far flung villages and military operations against the rebels had been significantly reduced considering that both parties do not want to be driven away from the province once the declaration of a peace zone will be finally approved.

            Mayaen added more communist rebels are now going back to mainstream society and giving up their armed struggle because of the difficulty of life running and hiding in the mountains.

            “We are now providing livelihood assistance to at least 40 rebel returnees under the rebel returnee program of the provincial government,” Mayaen said, citing that each of the rebel returnees is receiving P5,000 monthly allowance from the provincial government while helping in community activities in the barangays where they come from.

            Among the community works which the rebels returnees are engaged include tree planting and maintenance works, cleanup campaigns, construction of public works projects and beautification efforts.

            Mayaen said some of the rebel returnees also availed of livelihood assistance funds from the local government and concerned government agencies which they used to start up their own small and medium businesses to serve as the main source of income to sustain the living condition of their families.

             “Our people want lasting peace in the province. We are already tired of the inconveniences brought about by the hostilities between the rebels and military,” Mayaen said, citing “people want to go to their fields or go hunting without fear of being harassed or intimidated by either the rebels or the military.”

            The local chief executive revealed local residents have realized that taking sides on the rebels and the military have not done good on their part because they are often harassed and intimidated by either party upon learning that people in a village are backing the rebels or the military, thus, it is better for both the rebels and the military to leave the province and give lasting peace a chance to reign and allow the people to live the life that they want without being influenced by either party.

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Tarlac-P’sinan road to cut travel time to Baguio

The state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), in collaboration with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and its private sector partner, is poised to provide the virtual “missing link” that will not only dramatically cut down travel time between Metro Manila and Baguio City, but will make the journey more comfortable and enjoyable.

            The link will come in the form of a 700-meter road connecting the existing Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) terminus in La Paz, Tarlac to the forthcoming Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX).

            A memorandum of agreement on the construction of the envisioned connector road has been signed by the BCDA, the DPWH and the Private Infra Development Corp.  (PIDC), signaling the launch of the road project under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

            BCDA chair FelicitoPayumo thanked DPWH Secretary Rogelio L. Singson for agreeing to fund and implement the construction of the connector road. He said the PPP scheme which is being championed by the Aquino administration as a linchpin of national economic development, takes off from the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model as adopted by the country through the BOT law which Payumo authored while still a congressman representing Bataan.

            Through PPP, Payumo stressed that vital infrastructure projects like the TPLEX of the DPWH are constructed at no cost for the government, with the private partners bankrolling the project implementation with the attendant commercial risks.

            For his part, BCDA President and CEO ArnelPaciano D. Casanova said that the seamless connection between the SCTEX and TPLEX will favor no less than the motorists  who will be traveling from Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon.

            “At the end of the day, the connector road and the resulting seamless travel from SCTEX to TPLEX provides the motoring public the best service government has to offer,” Casanova said.

            The connector road project is an initiative of the BCDA and the DPWH representing the national government, and will be constructed by PIDC which is a consortium of locally-owned contractors.

Incidentally, the PIDC is also undertaking construction of the 88.58-km    TPLEX that will run northward from La Paz to Rosario, La Union, traversing a handful of Tarlac and Pangasinan towns.

            Partial opening of its section up to Gerona, Tarlac is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

            The existing SCTEX is a 93.77-km expressway that traverses Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac provinces.

            It began commercial operations on April 28, 2008 with the opening of Subic-Clark Segment and Zone A of the portion of Clark-Tarlac Segment. The opening of Zones B and C of the remaining Clark-Tarlac Segment on July 25, 2008 signaled the full operation of SCTEX.

Currently, SCTEX has an estimated daily traffic of more than 25,000 vehicles.

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2 Baguio roads closed for repairs; coding suspended

By Julie G. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY- The city council last week approved partial closure of Kayang extension and Chanum Street for rehabilitation.

            Kayang Extension shall be partially closed from April 18 to June 1 while Chanum street would be totally closed May 15 up to July 3, this year.

            The road closures were requested by District Engineer IreneoGallato of the Baguio City District Engineering Office, Department of Public Works and Highways-Cordillera Administrative Region, in a letter to Vice-Mayor Daniel Farinas.

            Said closures have been announced during an earlier Traffic and Transport Management Council meeting with Mayor Mauricio Domogan as chair and presiding officer. The mayor directed City Engineer Leo Bernardez to install traffic signages for the public’s information.    

            Meanwhile, Administrative Order 044, s. of 2012 was issued for the suspension of the number coding scheme only for private vehicles on April 27, May 4, 11, 18, 25 and June 1, 2012.

            The mayor issued the coding suspension to “allow local residents and visitors to freely roam around the summer capital and enjoy its cool and romantic weather, pine-scented air and scenic spots,” specially during

the weekends until this coming month.

            The move was recommended to and approved by the mayor during an earlier meeting, through the Baguio City Police Office Traffic Management Branch.

            Anchored on Ordinance 107, s. of 2008, the coding may be suspended during activities sponsored and co-sponsored by the city government; and, the Local Government Code, wherein every local government unit shall exercise powers “for its efficient and effective governance, and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare of its constituents.”

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PNP urged to guard Forbes Park from land speculators

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city environment and parks management office recommended police patrols at the Forbes Park here to safeguard the area from intrusion.

            CEPMO officer-in-charge Cordelia Lacsamana suggested this in a report to Mayor Mauricio Domogan following an on-site investigation conducted by the CEPMO forestry team on incidents illegal dumping of earth materials at Parcel No. 1 of the forest reservation.

            The mayor last Monday ordered the CEPMO to investigate the reported soil dumping activities in the area saying the lots which are now the subject of reclaiming proceedings, have to be guarded against land speculators.

            He said any construction should not be allowed in the area pending resolution of the city’s petition for the nullification of the Certificates of Ancestral Land Titles (CALTs) issued by the National  Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) over parcels of the forest reservation.

            In her endorsement to the mayor, Lacsamana reiterated the recommendations of acting forestry division chief Walter Aguirre for the police to apprehend the dump truck drivers who undertook the dumping of soil and for the creation of an inter-agency composite team to conduct an indepth probe over the incident.

            Aguirre in his report said he noticed an estimated 20 cubic meters of earth materials dumped at the portion of Forbes Park while part of the wire fence was cut to give way to vehicles.

            He chanced upon one dump truck whose driver when confronted admitted voluntarily dumping the soil.

            Aguirre said on April 20 he returned to the area after receiving a text message on another soil dumping which he said he was able to stop.

            Aguirre said there was no concrete evidence on who gave the authority to dump the soil in the area “unless the drives of the dump trucks will be apprehended and give their statements under oath.”

The mayor earlier called for vigilance in protecting forest reservations and public lands now in dire situation due to bogus land claims and titles.

            Apart from Forbes Park, Wright Park, Botanical Garden are also now in danger due to the issuance of spurious CALTs while Busol watershed is also mired in squatting cases which remained unresolved due to NCIP’s interference.

            The mayor said that while the city government is doing its best to protect the said supposed reservations, support and vigilance from the public is necessary to rally authorities into acting in favor of the city in its on-gong legal battle to recover said forest reservations and retain them as such.

            “These are the bigger problems (for which) we need everybody’s support because if we lose in our legal battle to reclaim these areas, then we can just imagine what will happen to our environment and to our city,” the mayor stressed.

            The mayor said this cause is more realizable as the lots involved are not private properties but part of public domain that are supposed to be inalienable.

            The city has pending petition through the Office of the Solicitor General with the Court of Appeals for the cancellation of the CALTs issued over parcels of land within said reservations and of titles covering prime pieces of property which were subdivided and eventually expanded by several hectares in Pacdal and Dontogan barangays.

            He said the city legal office has also filed a petition for the cancellation of the CALTs issued over Botanical Garden.

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Charges dropped against Ba’deshi on mine permit

By Gina Dizon

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Court charges have been dropped against a Bangladeshi and two drivers for not being able to present ore transport permits pursuant to section 53 of the Mining Act of 1995 have been dropped, the Office of the Prosecutor here bared.

            Earlier, Bontoc Association of Barangay Chairmen (ABC) president Bryan Bellang reported to the Bontoc Police Station Feb. 1 this year, a white Isuzu dump truck loaded with suspected mineral ores and mine tailings.  

            Said vehicle was registered to RojohnPio of RAR Aggregates and driven by a certain Jeffrey Beadoy, 38.

            Police reports  said the truck parked  at sitioBalitian, Bontoc Ili, waited for a blue elf truck  loaded with sacks  of suspected mineral ores  and mine tailings  believed to have come from Mainit, Bontoc, and had these transferred to the dump truck.  

            The blue elf truck registered to David Bitao was impounded at the Bontoc PNP.

            Beadoy said a Bangladeshi hired his truck after his (Bangladeshi)  blue elf  truck malfunctioned  at  Guinaang Bontoc.   

            Bellang’s Ford Fiera was earlier sideswept by  a blue elf truck .

            Police reports said Beadoy and  his  helper identified as   Rommel  Guminiguin did not  present ore transport  permit  making Bontoc police to impound their vehicle. 

            Beadoy said  a certain  Bangladeshi named  Melon AnikeHossain, 33,  married and with residence at  Naguilian, La Union  hired  his  truck  to transport the mineral ores  and mine tailings  from Mainit  to sitioBalitian  to the waiting  Isuzu dump truck.

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Dagupan City holds lechon cook-off

DAGUPAN CITY – Thirty roasted pigs vied last week for the top prize in a cook-off at the city plaza in the first-ever Lechon Festival here.

            Maximo Tan Jr., chairman of the Lechon Festival, said lechoneros from as far as Ozamis City in Mindanao joined the contest.

            The roasting started at 8 a.m. and lasted before lunchtime. The winners were judged according to taste, aroma, crispiness, and overall appearance.

            The city government each gave the participants a pig to roast, charcoal, some materials and P1,000 for their other needs. Each lechonero had two assistants.

            The city government under Mayor Benjamin Lim said the pigs were raised by residents of Barangays Mangin and Salisay under a livelihood project. FeedPro, a company that manufactures special, all-natural feeds, provided the “almost organic” feeds for the hogs, Tan said.

            Dagupan’s Best Special Lechon contest is Lim’s brainchild as part of this city’s ongoing Bangus Festival, now on its 11th year, chaired by his son, Councilor Brian Lim.

            Winners were Melchor Corpuz from Barangay Bonuan Gueset, first prize; Virgilio Raga from Barangay Lasip Chico, second prize; and Richard Tamayo from Barangay Malued, all in Dagupan City, third prize.

            They received P50,000, P30,000 and P20,000, respectively.

After the 30 entries were paraded and judged, spectators partook of the lechon.

            The cook-off is part of Lim’s TatakDagupan project to promote not just the city’s most popular aquaculture product, the bangus (milkfish), but other alternative products like lechon, too, Tan said. 

There are 12 registered lechon establishments in the city, but there are also many backyard lechoneros.

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Mayor pushes plan to ease Baguio traffic

By Julie G. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan during the transport and traffic management meeting last week requested a detailed study be done on a proposed traffic scheme on its effect on the environment and motorists’ convenience before experimentation and implementation.

            The scheme as presented plans to put back two-way vehicular routes in roads once deemed one-way areas was presented to the Transport and Traffic Management Committee (TTMC) last Thursday.      Planned to ease traffic to and from the Central Business District and the University of the Philippines loop area, the scheme was contradicted as it was seen to increase traffic build-ups in adjoining roads and cause more vehicular fume emission, thus the mayor’s call for a study.

            The TTMC also tackled a request for permanent space for parking, loading and unloading of an out-of-town jeepney line at Harrison road, due to displacement at Governor Pack road.

            Said request was given a temporary status until the completion of road repairs.

            From the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), is an announcement that Chanum street, Upper Kayang extension and M. Roxas streets shall be closed for repairs.

            Traffic signs shall be installed by the City Engineers Office (CEO), for the public’s information, it was learned.

            Requests for exemption from the coding scheme from motorcycle food services were also denied as with additional on-street parking. Institutions should provide parking areas for their personnel and clients, it was made known.       

            The TTMC headed by Mayor Domogan also endorsed to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) requests for lines, provided that the subject lines meet: conditions set: the need for said transport route and that a private parking area is provided.               

             So as to lessen vehicle volume on the roads, operator-driver organizations are encouraged to arrange their schedules on the road; as done by the Trancovillejeepney lines.

            And as to the vendors insisting on their right to stay at General Luna road, a dialogue is reset between them, Punong Barangay officials, Saint Louis Center Parents Advisory as to its status and use of the area.       

            Earlier, the space was maintained as a portion of the school and later said to be part of the city road. School officials later insisted no permit was given to the vendors and the space is now needed as loading and unloading area for school service vehicles. The matter is expected to be resolved before the next school year starts.   

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