A New Year Story 
 
(This story was written on January 1, 2008. It was for a national daily. But then, it was not published, so I’m posting it here. Yeah, I know it’s late! But there must be a lesson somewhere…)
The Earth shook, large firecrackers exploded with roaring noises, thick smoke rose into the air.
 
It’s 12 o’clock in the afternoon of January 1, the time and day Pogo Grande village in Dagupan City  welcomes the New Year – perhaps the only village in the county that celebrates new year just as everyone is woozy from the past night’s revelry.
For more than 10 years this village has been holding the activity, said barangay chair George Galvan. It was started during the term of then chair Saturnino Siapno when the residents who manufacture firecrackers wanted to explode their unsold products.
It has grown grander yearly, he said. This year, a total of 75,000 firecrackers were strung together and hung above the street or lined along the road of Centro of Pogo Grande. In the western part of the village called Sagur, another 50,000 firecrackers were also exploded. Read more

Peace has returned to Pindangan Estate in Alcala town, albeit temporarily, with the disbandment of the armed group harassing the residents, according to the police.

The Pangasinan police and the Philippine Army yesterday “neutralized” the armed goons which tried to wrest control over the 491-hectare estate that belonged to the government and which two contending groups fight over.
The several-hour long gunfight resulted in the death of two members of the “goons,” wounding of one and surrender of three.  Dead were Felipo Galleno and Rogelio Montero.But the goons’ alleged leader, retired Supt. Conrado Perigrino Jr, who resportedly was wounded during the firefight, was able to escape. There was no casualty on the side of government forces. 
 “Unless the ownership of the land has been resolved, the problem will always come back,” Supt. Noli Taliño, deputy provincial police director, said.
Read more

The school opening brings to fore a major headache of the school authorities: Fraternities and the troubles they bring like frat wars and hazing.

This city is home to several universities attended by thousands of students from different towns and provinces, most of who join the different organizations and fraternities in their schools.

There was no information on the seriousness of the situation, but school administrators deemed it alarming enough to ask the Sanguniang Panglunsod to enact an ordinance masterlisting all fraternities in the city and to establish an effective process of accreditation and tracking of fraternity members.

The scheme was proposed by lawyer Gonzalo Duque, chair of the education sector of the city development council and co-chair of the city peace and order council.

Mayor Benjamin Lim said the legislation is needed as “fraternity-related violence has intensified which may jeopardize our image as the educational center in the Ilocos Region. “With the ordinance, only fraternities with legitimate causes will be allowed to recruit members and organize activities in the city. Their movements and activities will then be strictly monitored to prevent fraternity wars and acts of violence,” Lim said in his letter to the SP.

The SP has not acted on the request. In a press release, Vice Mayor Alipio Fernandez said the SP has no authority to ban organizations in the city.

During a recent joint meeting of both councils, Duque said the councils were not asking the SP to ban the fraternities as long as these are within the bounds of law.

Only organizations of minors can be banned especially because of violence erupting in high schools, Duque said.

Ernesto Cabansag, peace and order coordinator of the Dagupan City National High School, said the organizations in the high school are not called fraternities but gangs although some of them do hazing at the back of the school.

Another concern raised by the school administrators is when the fraternities undertake hazing outside the school campus, are the schools still liable for the misconduct? “They do illegal activities outside, but near schools. Can we still run after them? Can we expel them? This is a gray area in the law,” Duque said.

Another issue raised was that there was no rehabilitation center for “incorrigible offenders” who are minors with no cases filed against them. City Administrator Rafael Baraan said the city government was pushing for the enactment of the ordinance regarding fraternities so we can put integrated mechanisms to address the problems.

Police Director General Arturo Lomibao reinstated on Monday Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima as the provincial police director of Pangasinan whose relieve two weeks ago was met by protests among local officials.

The reinstatement was made after the investigation on how a raid on video game operation in one town was conducted was found to be "dubious."

Purisima was relieved from his post on March 21 because of the police's "three strike policy" after slot machines were confiscated by Crame's Anti-Illegal Gambling Task Force ( AIGSOTF) in Urdaneta City, Bautista and Basista towns. Read more

Just like jueteng which has allotted certain percentage for government and police officials, the proposed Small Town Lottery has also an allotment for the officials, Archbishop Oscar Cruz said, quoting sources from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
 He said under the proposed scheme, the mayors will get 10 percent, the police, five percent; the governors, five percent; and the congressmen; 2.5 percent.
Read more

Support for Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima  is like a downpour. We hope the authorities do not get swept away by the current.This letter came from Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin Lim. 
 
Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima
Provincial  Commander
Philippine National Police
Lingayen, Pangasinan
 
 
Dear Sr. Supt. Purisima,
 
            News about your relief from your post as PNP Provincial Commander came as a surprise to us, local government officials, who have worked closely with you in establishing peace and order in our respective localities.
Read more

And this folks, is what Archbishop Oscar Cruz has to say on Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima's relief as provincial director of Pangasinan:

I happen to know Provincial Director Alan Purisima not only on a personal way but in his official competence. The truth is Pangasinan has been jueteng-free by and large and therefore I find it quite unfair that a mere presence of certain videos would mean his relief. Read more

This is the letter of Governor Victor Agbayani to Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno as regards the relief of Sr. Supt. Alan Purisima as provincial director of Pangasinan. It is dated March 22, 2006
Dear Secretary Puno,

 This pertains to the sudden relief of PSSupt. Alan La Madrid Purisima as provincial director of Pangasinan provincial office effective March 22, 2006, reportedly due to the three-strike policey of the PNP and in conjunction with the alleged confiscation of slot machines on three occasions in the province by the Anti-Illegal Gambling Task Force or AIGSOTF.

 It has come to my attention that the members of the  AIFSOTF who conducted operations in this province were actually arrested earlier for extortion activities in San Manuel, Pangasinan. This same group I understand has been disbanded by the Chief PNP. We therefore respectfully ask, why should the basis of his relief be the reports of a discredited group? Read more

Police Director General Arturo Lomibao has "deactivated" the Anti-Illegal Gambling Special Operation Task Force, the members of  which were sued by a businessman from San Manuel town allegedly for attempted robbery/extortion.

But Lomibao said the deactivation was not because of the case filed but because the task force's lifespan, or purpose, had expired. Read more