Hired Killer Betrays His Patron

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

I dropped by recently at the ritzy mansion of a first class town mayor in Northern Luzon since I did not break bread with him for a long time.

I met there too some of his seasoned political leaders that spiked up and spiced up our conversation about politics.

When I told them about the audacity of assassins murdering this year politicians like former La Union Congressman Eufranio Eriguel, Sudipen, La Union Mayor Alexander Buquing,Balaoan, La Union former mayor and incumbent Vice Mayor Alfred Concepcion, and former Bayambang, Pangasinan Councilor Levin N. Uy, the mayor told me about the aborted murder hatched against him.

He narrated that a year ago somebody called him that his perennial bitter rival, who supports a relative for the mayorship, wanted to assassinate him.

He immediately contacted his police brass’ friends at the regional command and sought their help to unmask the perpetrator of the threat.

“They have technological marvel that could trace the location of the owner of the mobile phone whenever it rings,” he enthused.

“Ya, I know that StingRay liked gadget. When my cellphone was surreptitiously taken by a theft from my opened shoulder bag in Mangaldan seven years ago, I told the incident to the then chief of police of Dagupan City where the device traced the location of my phone in Barangay Caranglaan of the city,” I cited.

Mayor Spent P6M To Solicitors In A Month Alone

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

A first class town mayor spent six million pesos to well wishers and solicitors who go to his house last Yuletide season.

“I did not hide from my constituents who want some Christmas’ dole outs. I stayed in my house thus I spent six million pesos last December alone,” the successful contractor and mayor, who asked for anonymity, in central Pangasinan told this writer in Tagalog.

He said his vice mayor who is running for the May 13, 2019 election has been absconding his constituents who seek financial aid even before and after the Christmas season.

“Ano lang naman ang pera niya hindi stable iyong pagiging contractor niya sa ibang tao,” the seasoned politician cited.

The mayor said that his post is a thankless job because he spent hundred of millions of pesos for his personal saving to help the town’s folks since he joined politics two decades ago.

Was Jacinto Paclibar mayor of Kidapawan?

(ARTICLE TAKEN FROM KIDAPAWAN OF THE PAST)

Here are the facts to one of North Cotabato's pioneer settlers:

Jacinto Aguilar Paclibar was born in 26 March, 1909 in Passi, Iloilo to Venancio Paclibar and Dionesia Aguilar, farmers. After finishing high school in Iloilo, Jacinto found himself employed as a train conductor in the Capiz-Iloilo line. After fourteen years in this job he also worked as a 'kapatas' in the Sugar Central in Iloilo.

After hearing of the abundant land in Mindanao, Paclibar brought his family to Upi (now in Maguindanao province) in 1930. By 1937, the Paclibars had moved to M'lang, then part of the Municipal District of Buluan. M'lang counts him as one of its first settlers.

Jacinto acquired vast tracks of land in M'lang, including portions of today's poblacion and the land on which the Notre Dame of M'lang stands. He became prosperous as a farmer, setting up rice and corn mills.

During the Second World War, Paclibar was appointed Chairman of the Civil Emergency Administration under the 118th Infantry Regiment of Wendell Fertig's 10th Military Division, which at the time was stationed in M'lang. Sources also say he was appointed Comptroller of Supplies by Udtog Matalam, one of the leaders of the regiment. The exact dates of his tenure are not known.

During this time, Alfonso Angeles Sr was also known to have been appointed 'Mayor of the Upper Cotabato Sector,' while sources name Filomeno Blanco as the civilian mayor of Kidapawan appointed by the Japanese.

M'lang, where Paclibar was based and where he held office, would only be part of Kidapawan by 1947, and Executive Order No. 82 of 1947 (which creates the Municipality of Kidapawan) actually says it was still part of Buluan prior to Kidapawan's creation as a municipality.

Paclibar held office in M'lang at a time when M'lang was still not part of Kidapawan. So it may not be being accurate to say that he was mayor of Kidapawan, .

But he was much more than mayor: after the War, Paclibar was appointed Deputy Governor of the unidivided Cotabato Province, a post he held until 1949 (two years shy of M'lang's separation as a Municipality). During this time he still held office in M'lang, perhaps contributing to the impression that he was mayor (he would be the highest official in Kidapawan at the time, as Cotabato City was still the provincial capital and seat of the provincial governor).

Paclibar never pursued a political career after his term as deputy governor ended. He focused on managing his land. In the troubles of the late 60s and early 70s he acquired property in Loreto, Agusan, and he spent his last years alternating between M'lang and Agusan.

Jacinto Paclibar died in M'lang in 1985, survived by ten children and his widow, Rufina Bornasal

READ MY OTHER COLUMN:

How Mayor, Guv, Solon Steal to Fund Their Election

ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN SAN CARLOS CITY ISO CERTIFIED

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

First Feat in the Philippines

SAN CARLOS CITY -  Why Pangasinan should be proud of the City Division Office (CDO) of the Department of Education here? It is the only International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certified school in the entire country.

“All schools! Buong Pilipinas kami lahat lang ang ISO nag undergo kami ng process, we started in September 10 last year,” this CDO Superintendent Sheila Marie Primicias crowed recently to this writer the 75 primary and secondary public schools under her watch that were given world class status by the Geneva, Switzerland based entity.

Aside from this feat,  she and her staff processed expeditiously the division office to be an ISO 9001 certified in just 90 days.

VISIONARY – Superintendent Sheila Marie Primicias of San Carlos City, Pangasinan's City Division Office (CDO) of the Department of Education lectures officials of one of the division offices in the country who visited the CDO in the city for bench-marking. They want to learn  how Primicias and staff breezed the twin International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certificates given to the CDO and the 75 government primary and secondary schools in the central Pangasinan city.

“Inuna namin muna ang division 90 days. Kami ang record holder na pinaka mabilis sa process sa buong Pilipinas ng DepEd,” she continued.

Because of their exploits many school officials from other parts of the country visited the SDO here to benchmark.

She cited the officials of the division offices of the provinces of Benguet, Abra, Pampanga, Malolos City in Bulacan, and others visited the division dubbed as the “prettiest” and swankiest edifice among the six SDOs in the gargantuan province of Pangasinan if not in the four provinces in Region 1. The sprucing up of the building ensued under the administration of Primicias.

DPWH, Solon Open P3.5M Bldg

 DPWH, Solon Open P3.5M Bldg

DAGUPAN CITY  - The Department of Public Works & Highway (DPWH) and Pangasinan Congressman Christopher de Venecia (4^th District) inaugurated  an almost four million pesos’ three rooms edifice the government constructed for the village officials of Barangay Bonuan Binloc here.

According to the district's DPWH Assistant Chief District Engineer Rebecca Zaratan, the building of the project had undergone three stages where it started during the watch of former congresswoman Gina de Venecia and continued by her incumbent solon son.

“Three  million pesos tatlong phases stage 1, stage 2… kay Manay Gina ni continue ni Representative Toff,” she stressed.

BRASS - Department of Public Works & Highway Fourth and Third Congressional Districts' District Engineers (DE) Edita L. Manuel (left) and Simplicio Gonzales.

Engineer Zaratan said the second storey is a conference hall while one of the rooms in the ground floor is for the day care center.

Barangay Bonuan Binloc Administrator Feliza Gonzales disclosed that her son Punong Barangay Jojo Gonzales intended the building for free for the residents here to hold their weddings, baptisms, and other events.

Representative de Venecia said that the conference hall will be used too as an evacuation center for the people here in case calamities like typhoon, flood, and other that hit the area.

“Sana magamit po ng barangay family and mga Barangay Health Workers para talaga ma implement ang mga pangangailangang pangkalusugan para sa kabarangay like vaccine sa mga babies. Sana magamit  ng senior citizen para sa magandang samahan sa inyong organisasyon at baka sakali maka contribute sa kabutihan ng ating barangay,” Congressman de Venecia cited.

Engineer Zaratan said that the construction of project like the one here and those in the other parts of the Fourth and Second Congressional Districts were smoothly implemented because of the supervision of District Engineer (D.E) Edita L. Manuel.

Manuel replaced last March this year former D.E Rodolfo Dion who retired after serving the DPWH for 41 years.

According to Dion there is roughly P1.5 billion projects primordially from the national departments and agencies intended for the one city and four towns district in central Pangasinan.

Meanwhile, DPWH Pangasinan Third Engineering Office District Engineer Simplicio Gonzales, whose office is based in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan, told this newspaper early this year that the one city five towns's district has P1 billion projects mostly from the national offices in this year, too.

Many of these infrastructures were intended for flood mitigation. (MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA)

Abalos shoo-in for Mangaldan’s ABC top post

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANGALDAN – The young but seasoned village chief (barangay captain) of Barangay Maasin is a shoo-in for the election of the presidency of the prestigious Liga ng Barangay (LnB) here on July 16, 2018.

Rolly Gubatan Abalos, 43, cited that he and his slate in the LnB (the former Association of Barangays Council) were unopposed after they filled on the first day of the three days of the filling of candidacy that started last July 9 and ended on July 11 this year.

The LnB's electoral exercise is under the supervision of the Department of Interior & Local Government.

LIGA PREXY - Maasin, Mangaldan Punong Barangay Rolly Gubatan Abalos poses with former Congresswoman Gina de Venecia in a social function somewhere in the Fourth Congressional District of Pangasinan. Rep. Christopher de Venecia and Mangaldan Mayor Bona Fe D. Parayno, sources said, are supporting the election of Abalos as the top man of the Liga ng Barangay (LnB).The LnB’s post means membership in the nine men Sangguniang Bayan (legislative council) of the thriving town.

Abalos, a successful businessman, eyes information dissemination and dialogues among the 30 punong barangays here, improvement of the cooperation among fellow captains, and construction of the Liga’s building here where the members of the Liga can meet and thresh-out what the best for them and this town.

“Ayusin natin iyong samahan na nawala para mas magiging matibay ang samahan para at least makapag trabaho sila ng maayos doon sa kanilang mga barangay,” he stressed.

The oath taking and proclamation of Abalos on July 16 will make him as ex –officio councilor of the nine members’ Sangguniang Bayan (legislative council) under the stewardship of Vice Mayor Pedro Surdilla.

POK-POK PRICING SYSTEM

BY MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

When I opined at Face Book the order of President Rodrigo Rodrigo Duterte to the Department of Labor & Employment to convene the Wage Boards in the various regions in the country to increase the minimum wages, I cited that the spikes will only make the employers’ recoup their expenses for the wages from the masses – their end users.
My wife then posed to me:
“Paano iyong mga pokpok (prostitutes, harlot, and whore), Marcelo (psst my real name son of a gun!), magtataas din sila ng presyo?”

Surprised, I gave her my following answers:
1) The vaunted Pokpok Pricing system will not go with the weakening of the peso versus the U.S Dollar, or the spike of petroleum from $80 per barrel to the $100 per barrel Saudi Arabia and Russia want to happen;
2) According to friends at the squatter area when I quaffed beer with them, an 18 to 30 years old prostitute in Dagupan City could peg at P500 but if a customer knows the trade, he could avoid the pimp (bugaw) and transact directly with the pokpok for P250 to P300 in three hours short time at a motel where he would either be paying P250 for an airconditioned room, P180 for a room ventilated by an electric fan, or P80 for no ventilation at all.

"Doon na lang ako sa walang electric fan sir, P80 lang mura, malayo sa P250 na aircon," my errand boy Galman joined in a supposedly family's conversation.