Manay Gina

WARM WELCOME. Manay Gina de Venecia, wife of Pangasinan Rep. and former House Speaker Jose de Venecia,Jr., gets a warm welcome from these residents of Mangaldan during their visit in the town last week. The former house speaker distributed Philippine Health Insurance(PHILHEALTH) cards to families in the towns in the district and in Dagupan City.

Ex-generals turn Pangasinan into battlefield

By Gabriel Cardinoza
Inquirer Northern Luzon

DAGUPAN CITY—At least eight retired and retiring military and police generals will be turning their hometowns and districts in Pangasinan into election battlefields if they push through with plans to run in the 2010 elections.

Three of them have been doing “reconnaissance” missions in the past months in three of Pangasinan’s six districts in preparation for their congressional bids.

Former Armed Forces chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr., now chief of the Presidential Management Staff, has been very visible in the sixth district; former Philippine National Police chief Arturo Lomibao, now Land Transportation Office head, has been frequenting the fourth district; and Director Leopoldo Bataoil, PNP police community relations chief, has been visiting various communities in the second district.

The rest will be aiming for mayoral seats in their respective hometowns. These are Director Silverio Alarcio, integrated police operations chief in Northern Luzon, in Laoac town; former Rear Admiral Virgilio Marcelo in San Manuel; former Director Joel Goltiao in San Nicolas; former Director Ismael Rafanan in Villasis; and former Chief Superintendent Dante Ferrer in Calasiao.

Read full story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer

On Agbayani-Espino word war: Let public decide – Ranjit

By Venus H.Sarmiento

DAGUPAN CITY -– A former vice governor said Thursday the ongoing ‘word war’ between Gov. Amado T. Espino Jr. and his predecessor is best left to the electorate for them to decide in next year’s elections.

“Let the voting public decide,” said Ranjit Shahani during the KBP Forum held at the Philippine Information Agency.

The camps of Espino and former Gov. Victor E. Agbayani, now second district congressman, are now locked in throwing charges and counter-charges on controversial issues.

Public told to be conscious of meat safety

By Venus H. Sarmiento

DAGUPAN CITY -– The National Meat Inspection Service has advised the public to be conscious whether a meat is safe to eat.

Dr. Cherry Ann Javier, Consumer Information and Assistance Division head said consumers should make sure that the meat they are buying has been inspected by the NMIS to have an assurance of its good quality.

Javier said her office has been very active in monitoring the safety of the meat being sold in the market. Trained local meat inspectors in every town are instructed to do their jobs well. They form part of the ‘Bantay Karne Task Force’ to ensure that each meat sold is of high standard. The task force also makes sure no ‘double dead meat’ enters the market, she said.

Province sets Statistics Month celebration

The Provincial Steering Committee for the 20th National Statistics Month Celebration has set in motion the plans for the province’s own celebration of the month-long event this October during its first meeting at the Malong Conference Hall last September 3.

Gov. Amado T. Espino Jr. created the Provincial Steering Committee (PSC) through Executive Order No. 0080-2009 to plan and implement various activities to ensure the success of this year’s Statistics Month celebration.

The chairman of the PSC is Board Member Amadeo T. Espino, President of the Federation of Liga ng mga Barangay and Chairman of the Committee on Public Order and Safety, and co-chaired by PS/Supt. Percival Barba, Provincial Director of PNP, and Mr. Dante Pescador, Provincial Statistics Officer of NSO.