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.
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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.

A free bag and some school supplies for all elementary and high school students of this town helped increase the enrolment for this school year, according to Binmaley Mayor Simplicio Rosario.

Rosario said the municipal government embarked on the project of giving bags and school supplies because many residents are poor that the parents could not send their children to school, although education in both elementary and secondary levels is free.

"Because of this project, some pupils already nine year olds enrolled in Grade I," he said during the distribution of the supplies in the different schools of the town.

However, he said there was no data yet on the enrolment as of presstime. "I want to lessen the illiteracy rate in my town. I hope all children will finish high school," he added.

The town has almost 15,000 youth enrolled in the public schools and each of them benefited from the projecFree bags, free school supplies

Call me a feminist in reverse. Many women I know are struggling to
"free" themselves from the bondage of housekeeping, mothering and other
traditional women's roles. They want to join the working force, okay,
have a career outside of the house.

 These women have  been complaining about having to keep the
house clean, feed the children, keep them clean and healthy, discipline them
wash the clothes, iron the clothes, cook food three times or five times a day, feed
the dogs and the cats.

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Some groups may dismiss beauty contests as exploitative of women, but Limgas na Dayat  (sea maiden) 2006 Jamile Ann Aggabao said winning the contest enabled her to help her father seek medical attention.

The Limgas na Dayat beauty tilt is one of the main features of annual Pista’y Dayat (sea festival) celebration being managed by the provincial government. Aggabao was crowned by Governor Victor Agbayani and Mutya ng Pilipinas 2003 Jamie Liz Castillo on April 30.

Aggabao, 20, said she joined the contest thinking that if she won the top prize of P75,000, she will use the money for the medical needs of her father who had been suffering from a stomach ailment for  years. Read more

Alarmed by the growing number of charcoal makers who contribute to the depletion of forest trees in eastern Pangasinan towns, the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in Urdaneta City launched a program to wean them from the forests.

The Sagipin ang Puno, Mag-ipon ng Diaryo aims to collect old newspapers and used papers from local government and private offices to be sold for recycling, and the money be used to initially fund the establishment of socialized fuel wood plantations.

“This project will provide alternative livelihood source for charcoal makers while saving our forests,” said Leduina Co, Cenro of Eastern Pangasinan, said.

Co explained that while charcoal-making is illegal, many poor people depend on it for a living. Through the newly-launched project, the Cenro will identify charcoal makers who will be tapped to plant seedlings in the socialized fuel wood plantations in the different towns.

They will also be organized and be the ones who will harvest the mature branches of the trees once matured, Co said. The trees to be planted are ipil-ipil and madre cacao which are known to be good charcoal materials.

Several government offices, banks and civic organizations pledged their commitment to the project during the launching.

Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr., saying it may take long to come up with the needed amount, pledged P20,000 as initial fund. He lauded the project, recalling the days of his youth when the city was full of trees and clear water flowed from the irrigation system called Tangal Amerikano.

“The project is very much needed now,” Perez said.

Co said a ten-hectare fuel wood plantation would cost P230,000 to establish in three years. We need 46 kilos of newspapers (at P5 a kilo) to come up with the amount.”

Aside from unabated charcoal making, the other problems confronting the forests of eastern Pangasinan are overpopulation, illegal occupancy,  clearing for agricultural purposes, poverty, timber poaching, forest fire, erosion and others.

“We are bringing to you the problems. It may be embarrassing to admit it but the DENR cannot solve these problems on its own,” Co said.
 

One night, as we were about to hit the sack, my son asked me: Mommy, why are my armpits emanating a metallic smell?

He's almost 14, that age when many bodily changes take place. I plunged into a lecture about growing up, puberty, hormones, the works. When I finished, his only comment was: "How do I get rid of this smell?

Again, a lecture about cleanliness and using deodorants or the always reliable tawas.

Son: HOw many days will I be using deodorants before the smell's finally gone?

Me: Maybe forever.

Son: But I have been scrubbing my entire body each time I take a bath.

(He takes a bath at least twice a day. He also rubs alcohol on his armpits, his way of getting rid of the metallic smell).

Me: It's not enough. You still need deodorants.

(He finally slept)

I think we're never free from those lotions or sprays or whatever so as to not emit that "metallic smell." 

Wonder what our forefathers use when deodorants were not in vogue yet.

Mango and bamboo, which rhyme and exist together to propel this city’s economy, were “honored” by the residents during the Mango and Bamboo Festival on April 29.

This city (pop: 170,000) is known as the biggest producer of mango in Pangasinan, the number one province in the production of the national fruit in the country, said Mayor Julian Resuello.

About 2,200 hectares of land in the city are planted to mango with an estimated 200,000 trees, with about 150,000 already fruit-bearing.

But aside from producing the sweet fruit, San Carlos is also known as a trading center of mango, Resuello said.  “Only 20 percent of mangoes traded in the city are produced here, while 80 percent are from other towns of the province.”

Many city residents have mastered the technology of mango production and are hired in other provinces for their skills. “They know the technology starting from growing mango trees to flower induction to marketing the fruits,” Resuello said.

Mango producers from the city are scattered to over 13 provinces with mango orchards, he added.

However, the city has no processing plant for mango and the fruit is sold fresh locally and internationally.

Bamboo is another gift of nature to this city with about 150 kilometers of rivers and creeks crisscrossing it. “The banks are planted to bamboo which the residents turn into furniture like sala sets and beds, decors and bahay-kubo,” Resuello said.

The city has a market exclusively for bamboo products and traders usually come to buy wholesale. The idea of  building transferable bahay-kubo actually came from a city resident.

The city grows bamboo known locally as “kawayan tua” and “kawayan bayog.”

At least 17 barangays are involved in bamboo crafts, Resuello said.
 
 

As the world celebrates the international Year of the Turtle (2006), a coastal village where a sea turtle nested in the last months has been enjoying “visits” and interactions with the sea creatures.

Mayor Domingo Doctor said at least four sea turtles of different species were seen in the Iloi-iloi (pronounced Iliw-iliw) village this April. Three of them were tagged and released to the sea but one died before it can be freed.

The villagers were “thrilled” by the visits and since they already know the importance of conserving wild life, they “surrender” the sea turtles to the local officials which coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the release. Doctor said.

Nicanor Braga, the town’s agricultural technologist and fishery coordinator, identified the sea turtles as Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) which measured 60 x 63 cms) which got caught in a fisherman’s net; Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) which measured 29 x 25) and a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) measuring 34 x 27 cms. The Hawksbill and the green turtle were caught while swimming near the beach.

The dead one was a Hawksbill which died because it got entangled with the seaweeds where the fishermen tied it. It was already weak when the fishermen surrendered the turtle to the authorities, Braga said.

The village recently played host to an Olive Ridley turtle which nested in the area. Only six of the eggs however, were seen to have hatched and the hatchlings were released to the sea.

“Most of the eggs rotted maybe because it rained for several nights and the water seeped into the nest,” Doctor said.

He said he prohibited fishing in the rocky portion of the coastal village to lure more sea turtles in the area. The local government is contemplating to declare the place as a wildlife marine sanctuary.

The last time sea turtles were seen in the village was in 2003 when an Olive Ridley swam near the beach. A green turtle was caught by the fishermen in 2000 and a green turtle, in 2002.

When asked if something was going amiss in the sea which makes the sea turtles go ashore, Angelita Viloria a biologist involved in the DENR Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau’s (PAWB) pawikan conservation project, said “no.”

“Actually, this is a happy news. It means that the sea turtles are starting to thrive because of conservation efforts,” she told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

All the sea turtle species are listed as endangered by the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species, according to a paper Viloria furnished to the Inquirer.

A press release of the PAWB said 23 member countries of the Indian Ocean-South East Asian Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding declared 2006 as International Year of the Turtle with the theme “Cooperating to Conserve Marine Turtles – Our Ocean’s Ambassadors.” The declaration was made on March 1 in Bangkok, Malaysia.

Among the seven species of marine turtles known to exist all over the world, five species are frequently encountered in the Philippines, including those seen in this town. The two others are loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and leatheback (Dermochelys coriacea).

Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Act, prohibits the hunting, killing and collecting of marine turtles and their by-products. Fine ranges from P100,000 to P1 million and/or imprisonment of 6-12 years.

The only live “ludong” or “The President’s Fish” in captivity at the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources research center finally got company as some 40 fingerlings of the fish are also already being cultured at the BFAR.
            The ludong or banak (Cestreus plicailis) is known as “The President’s Fish” as it is the most expensive fish of the Philippines at about P4,000 a kilo. It is very rare and very elusive and is known for its unique taste and peculiar aroma.
            Westly Rosario, BFAR’s interim executive director and the research center’s chief, said “eldest” ludong (mullet) and  the 40 fingerlings donated by Dr. Lino Edralim Lim last January, are undergoing morphological identification (physical traits) and then will also undergo DNA fingerprinting. Read more