OFF-THE-AIR

(The following article was published in the Feb. 1, 2008 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.)

By Gabriel Cardinoza
Northern Luzon Bureau

STO. TOMAS, PANGASINAN – If Dagupan City grilled milkfish in 2003 and Villasis town barbecued eggplants in 2005, this small eastern Pangasinan town will broil corn ears on Feb. 10 in its bid to break the Guinness World Records’ longest barbecue.

Vice Mayor Timoteo Villar III, chair of the first Corn Festival here, said his town would build a 5-kilometer barbecue along the highway to break the world record held by Hermosillo, Mexico, when it built a 1,290.4-meter barbecue on Nov. 20, 2006.

The Mexican effort toppled Dagupan’s 1,007.56-meter record set during the Bangus Festival on May 3, 2003.

“With the outpouring of support from our town mates and residents of neighboring towns, we are very confident that we will achieve our goal and that is to make Sto. Tomas get a world record,” said Mayor Vivien Villar.

The longest barbecue event will be among the highlights of the town’s centennial celebration, which began on Feb. 1. Sto. Tomas was founded on Feb. 10, 1908.

FULL STORY

(The following article was on the front page of the Dec. 22, 2007 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Unfortunately, this was not posted in the paper’s online edition.)

By Gabriel Cardinoza
Inquirer Northern Luzon

DAGUPAN CITY — Somewhere in cyberspace, Pangasinenses around the world converge. 

Pangasinan Online (www.pangasinan.org) has allowed them to connect and interact with their loved ones, find long lost friends, and organize help for the poor in their hometowns.

Thanks to Fernando Mariñas, a San Diego-based network system administrator of a US government agency, who created the website six years ago. Mariñas is from Tayug town in Pangasinan.

“This site is dedicated to the people of Pangasinan, Philippines and those who trace their roots, or who have studied, worked, lived in there or just simply love the place,” said the website’s home page.

To date, Pangasinan Online is the most visited Pangasinan website in the World Wide Web. Its hit counter has registered more than 3.3 million visitors.

“Many more are going through the backdoor, meaning they create a shortcut going straight to their hometowns or school pages, by-passing the site’s counter,” Marinas said.

According to Alexa (www.alexa.com), a website that provides web traffic information, Pangasinan Online visitors far exceeded those that visited the Pangasinan provincial government website (www.pangasinan.gov.ph), which was launched in 1997.

‘Bridging the distance’

Marinas said he started the website in 1999 as Tayug.com, a site “with the sole purpose of bridging the distance” that separated his town mates around the world.

Inspired by the growing Internet technology in 2001, Marinas said he created Pangasinan Online that included all towns of Pangasinan. He adopted a simple, easy-to-navigate web design.

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VILLASIS, Philippines — Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor appealed to the Ombudsman on Friday to temporarily stop the suspension of local officials, who are facing various charges.

Defensor, who inaugurated the town hall here, said the implementation of suspension orders ahead of the May elections had been used by members of the opposition in criticizing the Arroyo administration.

“We do not intend to preempt the Ombudsman because it’s an independent body, but we hope they will see that we do not need these situations in the middle of an election period,” he said.

He said the suspension or dismissal of local officials had repercussions on the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Read full story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer 

DAGUPAN CITY — A German arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Alaminos City on Wednesday for alleged acts of lasciviousness was found dead early Thursday at the NBI detention cell here.

Jose Doloiras, agent-in-charge of the NBI here, said Uwe Krause, 54, committed suicide by hanging himself with nylon bag straps tied to the iron ceiling grill of his cell.

Doloiras said Krause’s death was discovered at about 4 a.m. when his 25-year-old girlfriend noticed the German was not in his bed.

Read full story in Philippine Daily Inquirer 

DAGUPAN CITY — Mayor Ricardo Evangelista of Aguilar, Pangasinan said here today he was surprised to have learned that he was being suspended from office by the Ombudsman for a complaint against him that he did not know about.

“I was surprised. I did not know that there was a complaint against me,” Evangelista said in an interview over Aksyon Radyo here.

He said he never received any subpoena to allow him to answer the charges and he just learned about the complaint when the Department of the Interior and Local Government provincial office in Lingayen town served his supension order last Saturday.

The Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension of Evangelista four months for alleged dishonesty and misconduct arising from his alleged irregular disbursement of the town’s special education fund.

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SAN CARLOS CITY – The Commission on Audit has cleared Mayor Julian Resuello of any wrongdoing in various city government transactions, which were enumerated in a complaint against him here.

In a report released today, the COA Legal Adjudication Office, which formed a special audit team, said the complaint of one Carlito Naval of this city was baseless because the audit team did not find any anomaly in any of the transactions.

The report was signed by Carlos Francis Santiago, team leader of the special audit team.

In his complaint, Naval said that the city government renovated the old city mayor’s office for P500,000 without the benefit of a contract; bought heavy equipment vehicles for P60 million; and built a P7-million shed inside its new public market.

He also said that the Resuello bought 24 overpriced motor vehicles, which were used by the mayor’s relatives; and received an unrecorded donation of P500,000 for the construction of a waiting shed in front of the plaza.

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LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN – Gov. Victor Agbayani has finally broken his silence on the inclusion of his name in the administration’s senatorial slate in the May elections.

In a news release, Agbayani said he is honored to be included in the slate “as this may represent acknowledgment of all the work we have done in Pangasinan.”

“[But] this needs careful study. For one, I will need to consult our leaders in the province to determine how or in what capacity they would wish me to continue to serve,” Agbayani, who is on his last term, said.

Last Sunday, Speaker Jose De Venecia, told local media practitioners in Manaoag, Pangasinan that Agbayani was among those who have been recommended by administration coalition leaders in the senatorial line up, which included Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, also a Panagsinense.

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DAGUPAN CITY – Two congressmen, a vice governor, a former police general; and the doctor-wife of the governor may slug it out in a free-for-all gubernatorial race in Pangasinan this May.

Pangasinan’s second district Rep. Amado Espino Jr. had told newsmen here he has been aiming for the gubernatorial seat, which will be vacated by Gov. Victor Agbayani, who is now on his last term.

“It’s still an option and I’ve been preparing for it,” Espino, who is now on his second term, said.

Sixth district Rep. Conrado Estrella III, despite reports he had decided to seek reelection for his last term in his district, has not “completely dropped out of the race yet.”

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DAGUPAN CITY — The first of five overpasses in the city is now rising and will soon be operational by mid February.

District Engineer Rodolfo Dion of the Pangasinan II Engineering District which covers the second and fourth congressional districts of the province said the overpass being constructed in front of the Dagupan City National High School along Tapuac road is about to be finished.

Next in line is another overpass to be constructed in front of the Philippine National Bank and the City Hall in A.B. Fernandez Avenue, the downtown area Three more are to be constructed in the areas of Nepo Mall in Arellano street, the old Pantranco terminal along MH Del Pilar and in front of the West Central School - St. John Cathedral along Burgos street, all particularly busy pedestrian areas.

Read full story in Philippine Information Agency website

DAGUPAN CITY – Former Tour champion Romeo Bonzo died today after a speeding van sideswiped his motorcycle in Sual, Pangasinan.

PO1 Joel Ramirez, intelligence and warrant officer of the Sual police station, said Bonzo, 48, was riding on his motorcycle when he stopped to talk to somebody in a van parked by the roadside.

It was then, police said, that a speeding van attempted to overtake the two vehicles. But because a truck was on the opposite lane, the van driver, identified as Moises Moyano of Barangay Bolosan, this city, swerved to the right, hitting Bonzo.

Bonzo sustained head injuries. He died on arrival at the Trauma Center here.

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