Espino orders preventive and safety measures, cancels classes for one month

DUE TO THE THREAT OF COVID-19

 By Virgilio Sar. Maganes

 LINGAYEN- Pangasinan Governor Amado I. Espino III ordered preventive and safety measures to avert and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the province through Executive Order No. 0012-2020 dated March 13.

 The Order was issued after an Inter-Agency Consultation Meeting on March 13, 2020 held at the Provincial Training Center, which was attended by various stakeholders to include the Liga Ng Barangay, League of Municipal Mayors, Municipal Health Officers, Department Heads of the Provincial Government of Pangasinan, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Education (DepEd).

Stop spreading ‘fake’ news and information on COVID-19

 Amid the threat of massive spread of corona virus disease (COVID-19), which is alarming as it may cause death and health deterioration, there are still irresponsible people who make this situation laughable or a sort of joke. All over the social media particularly Facebook, we could read “fake news” that instead of allaying fears of the people, these heightened their fears leading them to being panicky about it.

In these times of internet and high-end gadgets as well as technologies, information move so fast. Everyone could easily access websites and share their contents. Everybody who has smart phones, laptops, tablets and computers could easily write and post what they want. However, let’s be wary that information should be critically analyzed whether these are factual or not. Social media although a modern platform of providing information must be treated as a tool to educate, inform and entertain people.

Mayor Lim appeals to Dagupeños to refrain from believing ‘fake news’

 By Virgilio Sar. Maganes

 DAGUPAN CITY- City Mayor Brian Lim has appealed to his constituents to ensure that the news and information they are receiving are true or not.

 “ In these times, many information come our way. Some are true, others are fake. Being Dagupeños, please see to it that the information you are getting are true or not,” Lim appealed in a Facebook video released by the city’s Public Information Office (PIO) on March 13.

 He said that to ensure right information the Facebook page of the city’s PIO will be the primary source of information from the city government.

ORTIGOZA: Experts blame pilots on PNP’s chopper crash

When I posted at Facebook my take on the ill-fated P435 million Bell 429 Super Ranger helicopter bought by the Philippine National Police from Canada in 2018, I had interesting responses from three persons who know the nuances of a chopper.

My post after the multi-purpose Bell 429 was shrouded by thick dark dust that caused her front skids to trip a high tension wire, tailspin, and plunge to the ground that hurt four generals, one of whom is my bilas (my missus brother-in-law) Director for Intelligence Major General Mariel Magaway:

“Iyong “turturugong tambaloslos”na mga piloto. Pag landing pa lang alam na na pag magtake off dudoble ang alikabok at pueding sumabit sa katabing gawad ng kuryente bakit hindi binasa ng tubig ng bumbero iyong landing ground?” I posted.

Pilot-Solon hits chopper crew’s inexperience

                            QUESTIONED THEIR FLYING HOURS IN BELL 429

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – An aircraft pilot and a congressman disputed claims that the ill-fated Bell 429 helicopter was piloted by seasoned crew.

“How can they be seasoned? The PNP just bought recently that chopper. Do they have 3,000 flying hours with the Bell 429?” Pangasinan Third District Representative Ramon “Mon-Mon” Guico III told this writer in a telephone call after he read the latter’s blog: Experts Blame Pilots on Police Chopper Crash.

Guico, a helicopter pilot, reacted to this writer’s statement quoting former Philippine National Police’s Chief Director General Ronald ”Bato” dela Rosa and PNP Directorate for Police Community Relations Chief Major General Benigno Durana that the two pilots who flew  the P435 million Bell 429 Super Ranger bought by the government in March 2018 in Canada, were experts.

“Bagong bago ito being operated by well-trained pilots ano and alam natin accidents hinde rin natin maiwasan kung minsan. They have been flying this helicopter for quite some time already,” Major General Durana told GMA-7 24 Oras News in March 6, 2020.

He added that the Bell 429 was a very reliable brand chopper.

Senator dela Rosa, who, during his stint as PNP chief the helicopter was purchased from Canada, told ABS-CBN TV that the two pilots who were lieutenant colonels were seasoned pilots.

Helicopters like those Bell UH-1 Hueys in the Philippine Air Force are operated by lieutenants and captains.

The chopper upon taking off on March 5, 2020 under cover of thick dust tripped a high tension wire with two of its two front landing skids that caused it to spin to the ground.

An eyewitness interviewed by GMA-7 Television said that a firetruck had drenched the dusty landing zone, a private property, in the wee hour of March 5.

Before the chopper landed however at 7 am of the fateful day, the area was still dusty.

The congressman said the pilots could be seasoned in other helicopters but they could not be experts in Bell 429.

The Bell 429 Global Ranger, according to Wikipidea, is a light, twin-engine helicopter developed by Bell Helicopter and Korea Aerospace Industries. First flight of the Bell 429 prototype took place on February 27, 2007, and the aircraft received type certification on July 1, 2009. The Bell 429 is capable of single-pilot Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Runway Category A operations.

 It received type certification from Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) on July 1, 2009. The helicopter is a single-pilot IFR Category A helicopter. It is capable of operating with one engine inoperative.

Guico questioned the character, attitude, and performance of the pilots when the aircraft land on a limited, probably sandy soil with high tension wires nearby and when it took off shrouded by thick dust in a zero visibility environment.

It ferried PNP Chief Archie Gamboa,  Director for Comptroller Major General Jovic Ramos, Director for Intelligence Major General Mariel Magaway, PNP Spokesman Brigadier General Bernard Banac, and others when it left the Highway Patrol Office in San Pedro, Laguna to a police regional command conference in Calamba, Laguna.

Guico did not only blame the pilots for  negligence but also the ground crew at the vacant lot in San Pedro, Laguna.

“They should have drenched the ground from a firetruck. They should have evaluated the area before landing and taking off, read their indicators as reflected by the chopper’s instrument”.

Guico agreed with the observation of pilot and mechanic Ferdinand Senior of Louisiana, USA who told earlier this writer that the thick dust not only prejudiced the visibility of the pilots but damaged compressor and the turbine of the Bell.

“Pinakita ko ang video ng heli ng magtake off sa mga kasamahang kong pilots at aircraft mechanics dito sabi nga nila bago palang take off pag suck ng intake sa alikabok at small debris may tama na compressor at turbine at yong pilot, too crazy for doing it sabi nga nila seconds lang IFR na agad yan pag take off”.

Senior said what the pilots had done was violation of the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).

Guico cited an incident when thick particles enveloped the chopper he piloted at the family owned WCC Aviation’s Aeronautical College in Binalonan, Pangasinan.

“When I landed, I was met by thick dust coming from  the far part of the runway. I asked our personnel to douse with water the area so it could not affect the take off and hamper my sight”.

He deplored how the two pilots maneuvered the rotary winged aircraft.

“Because of the incompetence we wasted hundreds of million pesos Bell helicopter,” Guico, whose family bought last month a P130 million Cessna Caravan, said.

Bayambang cancels ‘Pista’y Baley 2020’

By Virgilio Sar. Maganes

 BAYAMBANG- This agricultural town in the third district of Pangasinan has joined the towns of Mangaldan and Calasiao in cancelling the annual fiesta celebration.

This after the Pista’y Baley 2020 Committee has decided to not pursue the fiesta celebration due to COVID-19 that continuously affect various countries including the Philippines.

“ This is a difficult decision but we are looking  after the health and welfare of the Bayambangueños. We have been preparing for the celebration for months, so it is with a heavy heart that we have come to this decision,” the Committee announced in the town’s Facebook account Balon Bayambang.

 The local government headed by Mayor Cesar T. Quiambao has however assured the townspeople that there are “no recorded cases of COID-19” in the town.

“ We are doing everything to make it stay that way. We advised you to practice proper hygiene by regularly washing your hands and using alcohol,” Mayor Quiambao said.

The P5 million donations from the Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation Inc. intended for the fiesta celebration will be used as a seed money to start a revolutionary fund  for the town’s Poverty Reduction Plan.

 

 

 

EDITORIAL: Mag-ingat sa sunog, pahalagahan ang mga kababaihan at magtipid ng tubig

Tatlong malalaking selebrasyon ang binibigyang tuon ng ating pamahalaan sa buwan ng Marso.

 Una dito ay ang “Fire Prevention Month” na nagsimula noong Marso 1 na may temang “ Matuto Ka, Sunog, Iwasan Na”, na naglalayon na turuan ang mga tao ng mga pamamaraan sa pag-iwas ng sunog. Inilunsad ito ng Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) sa isang pambansang motorcade na  nilahukan ng lahat ng mga opisina ng BFP sa buong bansa.

 Sa ngayon, ang mga kawaning BFP ay nagsasagawa ng mga information drive campaign at mga fire drills. Nagsasagawa rin sila ng mga inspeksyon sa mga pampubliko at mga pribadong gusali at tinitingnan kung may mga sapat silang kagamitan upang maapula ang apoy kung magkasunog man. Huwag nating ipagwalang bahala ang sunog. Sabi nga nila, mas mainam pa ang manakawan dahil may maiiwan kaysa masunugan lalo na kung matupok ng apoy ang buong kabahayan na walang maiiwan.

MAGANES: The empowered women in our society

I miss my mother so much as I am writing this article. I am thinking that if only I had the power, I won’t let her die. She was my source of inspiration, strength and love.

 She passed from this world almost four years ago at the age of 93. I couldn’t help but to reminisce the good things she has done not only for me but also for my siblings.

Before the buzzword “women empowerment” came into existence, my mother was already an empowered woman. She was our father’s partner in providing for our needs, being a fish vendor. After selling fish, she was with my father working in the field.

 I recall that when we were young, she was our great storyteller. She read us stories lifted from the Bannawag ( a popular Ilocano magazine) and “impambilay.” She did not finish her elementary grades, but she was very articulate on issues about politics and development. It was even said that she taught my father how to write and read thereby making him an autodidact.

Visible changes, reforms in the Pangasinan Provincial Jail

By Virgilio Sar. Maganes

 LINGAYEN- Persons deprived of liberty (PDL) at the Pangasinan Provincial Jail here have found a “ big brother“ who care for them and treat them humanely until their cases will be decided on by the Courts.

 This ”big brother” is Provincial Jail Warden Ferdinand Natividad who hails from Agno town. He is barely four years in his position  from being the Assistant Provincial Jail Warden for several years.

 “ We have to initiate reforms in handling our PDLs specially because  they are not still convicted by our Courts. They should have facilities where they could be comfortable in, especially their living quarters in their dormitories that they can call their homes,” he said in one of the interviews by the Northern Watch on February 28.

SM Foundation holds qualifying exams for aspiring scholars in Region 1

By Virgilio Sar. Maganes

 DAGUPAN CITY- SM Foundation conducted the 2020-2021 College Scholarship qualifying examinations on March 2 at the University of Pangasinan.

A total of 145 graduating senior high school from Region I took the examination.  

SM Foundation’s College Scholarship Program started in 1993 and is currently supporting 1,200 scholars with 3,500 graduated under the program.

Those who will pass the qualifying examination can pursue courses like Accountancy, Engineering, Information Technology and Education, among others.

The Foundation covers full tuition and monthly allowance so the student can wholly focus on his or her studies.