A meeting on the First North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle will take place in Leisure Coast, Dagupan City on August 17.

Presidential management staff (PMS) director general and designated champion for the North Luzon Super Region Arthur C. Yap will preside in the said meeting. Yap, whose mother is a Dagupeña, was the former secretary of the Department of Agriculture.

The meeting aims to discuss with local government units the commitment of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to develop North Luzon as an agribusiness quadrangle as announced in her 2006 SONA and determine various areas of cooperation.

During the affair, various government agencies will report on the status of on-going programs in the Super Region as well as discuss measures to ensure their effective implementation.

Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim along with the city officials and other local executives are expected to attend the meeting and participate in the discussion of agribusiness projects.

The one-day meeting will tackle farm-to-market road projects, irrigation projects, post harvest facility, energy projects, airport projects, seaport projects and road and expressway projects.

Mayor Lim is expected to bring up for discussion the proposed Bangus Processing Plant, the flagship agribusiness program of the city. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)

Dagupan City Civil Registry obtained a national award for its efficient performance and delivery of service to Dagupeños and non-Dagupeños.

The City Civil Registry placed sixth, under the extra large category, “in the performance and delivery of its Civil Registration programs, activities and services” during the period of January to December 2004.

The award was conferred by the National Statistics Office (NSO) during the 3rd National Workshop on Civil Registration on August 8 to 10, 2006 held at the Garden Orchid Convention Center in Zamboanga City. The national workshop is being held every two years.

Civil registrar Lina Beltran said the extra large category is conferred to giant cities in the Philippines, but Dagupan, a small city, was included in the category because of the big volume of documents it submitted to the NSO.

“The timeliness and accuracy of our submitted documents contributed to the recognition of the NSO,” Beltran said.

Beltran pointed out that the office ensures the prompt submittal of documents to the regional office on a monthly basis.

She further said that the City Civil Registrar is leading in the implementation of special laws on civil registration, such as Republic Act 9048 or Clerical and Error law and R.A 9255 or Affidavit to Use Surname of Father by an Illegitimate Child, in entire Pangasinan.

Prior to the national award, the Dagupan Civil Registry was a recipient of various regional awards such as: Leadership award on excellent performance in all registration program, March 21, 1996, Teacher’s Camp, Baguio City; exemplary performance (2nd place), 3rd Northern Luzon Alliance Workshop, September 28, 2000, Tuguegarao City Cagayan; and performer of the Region for the period of January-December 2001, First National Workshop on Civil Registration, June 27, 2002, George Dewey Convention Center, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. (Sunshine D. Robles)

The Dagupan City government is moving towards creating highly clean and organized offices in the City Hall in order to improve workflows and public service.

The City Hall will soon implement the 5S, a popular method that originated in Japan which is now a common tool for improving workplace productivity and safety.

The 5S system stands for: sanitize, sort, sweep, systematize and self-discipline.

“This undertaking aims to make discipline and orderliness a habit for every City Hall employee,” City Administrator Rafael Baraan said even as he pointed out that 5S serves as the basis for eliminating waste, boosting productivity, and doing quality work.

The implementation of 5S is also in line with the city government’s undertaking to obtain an accreditation from ISO (International Organization for Standardization) as a local government unit, Baraan said.

Prior to the implementation, all employees shall undergo training and orientation on 5S, records management, personality development especially proper grooming and time management which will start on August 8.

There will also be an Internal Audit Team that will be the implementors and overseers in the progress of the implementation.

“The audit team will also undergo orientation and training with the Regional Development Council,” City Tourism Office head and concurrent Internal Audit Team leader Dea Que said.

Que added that all offices will appoint their respective leaders who will organize and monitor the implementation of the 5S program in their respective workplaces. The leaders will also coordinate with the 5S Internal Audit Team on all matters relating to its implementation.

She said that offices or workplaces will be classified into two: big and small offices. The size of offices is measured through workload, files, office equipment and fixture and workforce.

She bared that top five workplaces in the two categories will receive Barangay City Hall Star Linis award, commendation certificate and a cash prize.

Que noted that the implementation of the 5S will establish convenient work practices, remove clutters and unnecessary materials inside offices and empower employees to sustain their work area.

She said that 5S also simplifies work environment and improves employee moral and pride by creating a pleasant workplace. (Sunshine D. Robles)

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the groundbreaking ceremony on August 9 for the construction of Pantal Bridge, the only long-span bridge among the bridges to be built under urgent bridges construction project, Package III.

“The construction of the Pantal bridge will further boost the status of Dagupan as center of commercial, trade, investment and education,” the president declared.

The Pantal bridge, which will connect the almost 5-kilometer Dawel-Pantal-Lucao diversion road, measures 380 meter long.

Aside from spurring growth in the city, Arroyo said the infrastructure will increase the use of land area of Dagupan by one third.

Arroyo said that from the P8 billion project cost of the almost 200 bridge projects in the Philippines, P 800 million will be allotted to the Pantal bridge construction.

She added that the Pantal bridge project is one of the biggest projects under the Medium Term Public Investment Program of the national government.

Arroyo thanked the Japanese government and its people for their support in the Philippine development, noting that Japan is by far the biggest source of official development assistance to the Philippines.

The Pantal bridge, along with the other 199 bridge projects to be built under the Urgent Bridges Construction Projects for Rural Development, is funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) through a concessional financing of 30 years with interest rate of less than 1%.

Before introducing the president for her speech, Speaker de Venecia, in his message, said that the new infrastructure will boost the commercial center status of Dagupan by 30 percent.

Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim expressed his gratitude to President Arroyo and Speaker De Venecia for the Pantal bridge and Diversion Road project.

“Ito ay isang pangarap na nagkatotoo. Isang pangarap na maisasakatuparan na. Ang paggawa ng tulay na ito ay makakatulong hindi lamang sa lungsod ng Dagupan kung hindi sa buong Region I,” the mayor said in his welcome remarks.

Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamasaki said that the occasion is part of the year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Philippines and Japan.

Yamasaki pointed out that the bridges construction project aims at contributing to the safe and efficient flow of people and goods and in turn, support the development of regional economies.

Other dignitaries present during the occasion were: Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez, Jr., Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, JPIC chief Hiroshi Tugo, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, 3rd district representative Generoso Tulagan, 2nd district representative Amado Espino, Governor Victor Agbayani, Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, Mayor Jonas Castañeda (Lingayen), Mayor Mojamito Libunao (San Fabian), Mayor Napoleon Sales (Manaoag), Mayor Rolando Columbres (San Jacinto), Manay Gina de Venecia, Councilors Alex De Venecia, Joey Tamayo, Vladimir Mata and Eric Muñoz.

The Pantal bridge construction is set to be completed by September 14, 2008.

The idea of constructing a Pantal bridge was conceived way back during the term of City Mayor Liberato Reyna. It was further developed during the term of then City Mayor Alipio Fernandez, Jr., now Immigration Commisioner who made the project as part of the CAMADA (Calasiao-Mangaldan-Dagupan) plan.

It was during the first term of Mayor Lim when the diversion road, an integral part of the Pantal Bridge project, started.

He gathered all stakeholders and staged series of meetings attended by city government executives, fishpond owners and informal settlers affected by the project, DPWH engineers and Japanese consultants.

Some informal settlers have been relocated to the Gawad Kalinga-Bangusville site in Bonuan Gueset. The city bought the land at a special rate from the Samson family.

Some affected fishpond owners were also given tax credits by the city government for a road right of way.

The Pantal Bridge project is made possible by Speaker Jose De Venecia. The construction of the diversion road, on the other hand, comes from the Speaker’s Countrywide Development Fund (CDF). (Sunshine D. Robles)

For having brought the police system closer to the community it is serving, the Dagupan City Police Station was adjudged Best City Station in Police Community Relations (PCR) this year.

Police Superintendent Edgar O. Basbas, city police chief, received a plaque of merit embodying the award from Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor during the awarding ceremony at Camp Crame on July 31 in the presence of the Police Director General Oscar Calderon, Chief, PNP.

Basbas said the major thrust of the Philippine National Police is better community relations, or “satisfying the security needs of the residents.”

“We should not only apprehend criminals but we should make the city residents feel safe and secure,” Basbas said.

Towards this end, the city police have been implementing several projects such as the “Beat Patrol System” or the deployment of police personnel along busy city streets and crime-prone areas.

“Police visibility is a deterrent to crime,” Basbas noted.

The police is also readily accessible through number 166, a hotline that can be reached by both subscribers of PLDT and Digitel telephone companies.

Monitoring teams

The city police likewise practice community-oriented policing system or getting the support of barangay officials, non-government and civic organizations in watching over the communities against illegal activities.

“We have mobilized the barangay tanods to monitor against unlawful actions in the villages,” Basbas said.

Complementing the tanods’ efforts are multi-sectoral monitoring teams such as Task Force Bantay Dagupan, the Public Order and Safety Office, different civic and communications groups (Action, Kabayan, Delta and Spectrum), army reservists, Guardians, and Phabi,

Basbas commended the groups for “actively cooperating with the police in crime monitoring, reporting, prevention and control.”

The police chief added that random checkpoints are set up to implement the No Plate, No Travel policy and the Pass Card System in the major chokepoints in the city.
The city police also intensified its operations against syndicates of illegal drugs, carnapping, street crimes and bank robbery, and against terrorism and kidnapping.

Basbas said that on deck are the following projects: The organization of the Community Police Action Centers (Compact) in coordination with barangay leaders and the city government; and the setting up of “Bantay Bangko” and “Dragnet” to address bank robbery/hold up and hostage taking situations.

Women and children friendly

The city police maintain a Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) and Family Juvenile Gender Awareness Desk manned by three personnel who are responsible for the programs on women and children’s welfare.

The desk is responsible for upholding the rights of women and children who may be victims or are in conflict with the law.

“The desk personnel have been attending seminars and dialogues on women and children laws, and have in turn been resource speakers during seminars on the issues in some schools and barangays,” Basbas pointed out.

Among the activities, plans and programs of the WCPD are campaign against prostitution, vagrancy and street children’s welfare; rehabilitation of victims of abuse and violence and seminars on children and women consciousness and awareness.

Basbas said that a partnership between the police and the community is the best system to fight criminality in the city.

“We are continuously reaching out to the community, and we are happy that the community has been cooperating with us in our battles against unlawful activities,” he concluded.

Most city disaster coordinating councils (CDCCs) in the country convene only during hydrological and meteorological disasters.

In Dagupan City, the CDCC is set to handle not just natural calamities but also man-made disasters.

Civil defense coordinator-designate Robert Erfe-Mejia said that CDCC members will undergo training on handling bomb threats, fire, hostage taking and other man-made disasters.

The two-day training is tentatively set on August 10-11 at the city museum for the seminar-workshop and at the city plaza for the simulation of man-made disasters.

Aside from the CDCC members, the training will also have the participation of hotel, restaurant and shopping mall managers, bank managers, school heads, department heads, barangay chairmen and chief tanods.

Organized by the CDCC, the training will be conducted by the Dagupan City Police Station, Dagupan City Fire Station, and the Philippine Red Cross.

Because of its expanded scope, the CDCC is looking for a permanent office where it can set up modern monitoring and communication facilities attuned on a day-to-day basis and available venue during emergency meetings and coordination.

Meanwhile, the CDCC formed quick reaction teams (QRTs) for close monitoring and possible evacuation of flood victims in some inundated areas of Lasip Chico, Lasip Grande, Poso Grande, Mayombo, Bacayao Sur and Bacayao Norte.

In a meeting on July 31, acting Mayor Alvin Fernandez told the CDCC to start buying gadgets to be given to the QRTs for rescue operations. (CIO)

“This year’s Dagupan City fiesta promises to be one of the most celebrated and best organized ever, “ announced councilor Librada Fe “Dada” Reyna, the 2006 city fiesta hermana mayor.

Designated by Mayor Lim on June 14 to be this year’s fiesta executive committee chairman, Reyna is tasked to oversee the celebration of the 2006 Dagupan City Fiesta and ensure the smooth flow of various activities.

“I highly appreciate the trust and confidence given to me by the mayor. This inspires me to do my best and maintain the tradition of excellence contributed by the past fiesta hermano mayors,” Reyna said.

Reyna said that compared to the previous city fiestas, this year’s festivities will highlight worthwhile activities for Dagupeño children and their families since the city fiesta coincides with the Christmas season.

Aside from that, she added that crowd-drawing activities are also included in this year’s calendar of activities.

She further said that Dagupeños and guests will expect a different celebration as this year’s activities are designed to draw the interest and attention of visitors from neighboring towns as well as from the international community.

The hermana mayor stressed that the support and cooperation of her colleagues in the sangguniang panlungsod and the chairmen of various committees will ensure the success of the city fiesta.

She also encouraged all Dagupeños to work together and unite to make this year’s fiesta celebration meaningful and memorable.

Apart from its religious significance, the city fiesta is one of Dagupan’s major tourist-drawing activities where thousands of guests and visitors flock to the city to witness the almost month-long celebration held every December.

The celebration of the annual fiesta is in honor of St. John the Evangelist, the city’s patron saint whose feast day is December 26. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)

The YMCA-based Dagupan City karate team displayed sports supremacy having won a total of four bronze medals in the Milo Super Karate Kids Championship held at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila on July 30.

The winners are John Meverick Edralin (Creative Montessori-Lyceum Northwestern), Gian Mark Tamayo (West Central Elem. Sch.), John Enrico Vasquez (Mother Goose) and Kurt Vidal (EDNAS Schoool).

According to Enrico Vasquez, Philippine Wado Ryu Karate-Do Federation president and Region 1 director, the Milo Super Karate Kids is the biggest karate tournament in Metro Manila organized by MILO and the Association for the Advancement of Karate-Do.

“The participation of Team Dagupan in the prestigious karate tournament exposed our young athletes to the Kobe Osaka international rules, which is being adopted in the World Karate Cup, and it helped them develop their character against the best of Manila players,” Vasquez said.

Pocholo Veguillas, MILO national organizer and president of the Association for the Advancement of Karate-Do, said that the Dagupan Team has the potential to succeed in higher karate competitions.

The event was participated in by teams from AAK Megamall, AAK SM North, AAK Mall of Asia, AAK Las Piñas, AAK Batangas, Japan Karate Association-Lipa, Batangas chapter, Association of Shotokan Karate-do in Cavite, St. Paul College, Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle-Zobel, Wado Ryu Karate-Do Institute in San Carlos City and San Lorenzo Ruiz College. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)

Twenty-two additional housing units will be officially awarded by the city government and the Couples for Christ to the family beneficiaries of the Gawad Kalinga-Bangusville housing project on August 18.

Mayor Lim, along with wife Celia, will lead the awarding ceremony as well as the turn over of the symbolic key to the indigent beneficiaries at the Gawad Kalinga site in barangay Bonuan Gueset.

According to Ricky Castillo, GK project coordinator, the housing project has given priority to the homeless and less privileged citizens of the city, especially the poorest of the poor who were displaced because of the construction of the Dawel-Pantal-Lucao diversion road.

He added that most of the family beneficiaries come from Brgy. Pantal and Arellano.

“This is another manifestation of our sincere commitment to uplift the lives of the poor by providing them livable settlements that will encourage them to make a positive contribution in building the community,” said Lim.

Castillo bared that aside from the 22 housing units, 10 more houses will soon be awarded to another batch of beneficiaries as its construction will be completed after two weeks.

Castillo also announced that the GK-Bangusville site already has its own learning center for GK children and a multi-purpose hall donated by the Rotary Club of Dagupan East.

At present, the Gawad Kalinga housing project of the city has already provided 74 housing units for the homeless and less privileged citizens. (CIO/Leziel T. Cayabyab)

Mayor Benjamin S. Lim, together with five high school students in the city, left for Japan on July 27 for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the sisterhood pact between the cities of Dagupan and Iwata.

The Iwata City government prepared a program of activities for the celebration slated from July 27 to 30.

“Our visit to Iwata opened new doors for economic and cultural exchange between Iwata and Dagupan,” Mayor Lim said.

He said that the Iwata government has plans to visit Dagupan to further strengthen the ties between the two cities, and at the same time seek opportunities for investments here.

“We will also talk about the proposal to stage a student exchange program between the two cities like what took place between Dagupan and Milpitas,” Lim stated.

On July 28, Iwata City Mayor Nozomu Suzuki welcomed the Dagupan delegates in his office. Later, the delegates explored the beauty of Iwata during a city tour. The 30th anniversary ceremony followed in the evening.

The mayor said that a video presentation on Dagupan in Japanese translation was shown to the Iwata City officials. A nanDAraGUPAN book was also presented to the Iwata people.

The next day, a students’ forum was staged. The activity was a venue for the students of Dagupan and Iwata to exchange viewpoints about their respective cultures and the sisterhood program.

Because of the sister cities relationship, he said, around 100 Dagupeño-trainees on carpentry and welding are now in Japan. He noted that more Dagupeño-trainees will be sent to the country.

The sister city covenant between Dagupan and Iwata was formalized by then Dagupan City Mayor Cipriano Manaois and then Iwata Mayor Katsumi Yamauchi on February 19, 1975.

A Japanese team had earlier visited Dagupan to personally invite and inform Mayor Lim about the celebration in addition to the invitation letter sent by Mayor Suzuki.

The team was composed of Tsunemi Hirano, chairman, Chuen Overseas Technical Training Center; Kazuhiko Shimamura, Genkei Automotive Ltd; Kenji Kawasaki, president, Phil-Japan Gijutsu Iten Foundation; and Rosemarie Kawasaki, vice president, PGIF.

The Iwata City government provided free transportation and accommodation for the delegates composed of Mayor Lim, Antonio Uy, Romualdo Patrick Siapno and students Paul Francis Co, Jr., James Dy, Jr., Joanna Mei Hufano, Christa Mariel Lolim and Aldrin Brian Lao. (Sunshine D. Robles)