EDITORIAL - November 2017 - Ang Iba’t-Ibang Mukha ng Nobyembre

EDITORIAL - Ang Iba’t-Ibang Mukha ng Nobyembre

Nagmistulang isang roller-coaster ride ang buwan ng Nobyembre pagdating sa emosyon. Nagsimula ang buwan sa katatakutan at katatawanan sa pagdiriwang ng “Zumba ng mga Zombies,” isang Halloween celebration. 

Di naglaon ay nagtagisan naman ng lakas at talino ang mga taga-LGU sa taunang sportsfest na kinatampukan ng isang parada at cheerdance competition. Naging mahigpit ang labanan, kaya’t mapait na karanasan ito sa mga hindi nagwagi pero nagpursigi rin naman ng todo – subalit ang tunay na layunin nito ay isulong ang camaraderie at ipagdiwang ang Health and Wellness Month.

Sinundan ang LGU Sportsfest ng nakatutuwang pagbibida ng mga musmos na kabataan sa National Children’s Month Celebration. Nakakatuwa ring malaman na 15 sa 35 na paslit na sumailalim sa massive feeding program ng Municipal Nutrition Action Office ang nagsipagtapos na sa pagiging malnourished. Ang mga aktibidad tulad nito ay patunay lamang na ang Bayambang ay isa ngang child-friendly municipality. 

Naging mas pinaigting naman ang pagdiriwang ng SingKapital ngayong taon na siyang pumukaw muli sa ating sense of pride bilang Bayambangueño. Sa unang pagkakataon ay naimbitahan ang mga representante ng mga gaya nating naging kabisera ng bansa: ang Malolos, San Isidro (Nueva Ecija), Bamban (Tarlac), at Tarlac City.

Para sa Environmental Awareness Month, nagkaroon tayo ng isang seminar na kung saan hinikayat ang mga mamumuhunan “to go green in their business” upang makatulong sa pangangalaga ng kalikasan. 

National Reading Month din ang Nobyembre kaya’t naisipan ng Municipal Library ang maglunsad ng isang storytelling activity at quiz bee na nilahukan ng mga estudiyante upang ipalaganap ang pagbabasa sa mga kabataan nang di sila mauwi lamang sa pagte-“text, tweet at twerk,” gaya ng pabirong sabi ng isang manunulat.

Sa Nobyembre rin nagkaron ng isang malawakang job fair para sa mga naghahanap ng trabaho, isang paalala sa reyalidad na mataas ang unemployment rate sa ating bayan dahil marami ang walang hanapbuhay. 

Gayunpaman, napakagandang mabalitaan na ang Bayambang LGU ay nag-grand slam sa SGLG dahil tayo ay pumasa sa ikatlong sunud-sunod na pagkakataon sa masusing evaluation ng DILG. At hindi lang iyon – naging No. 1 din tayo sa Pangasinan at No. 2 naman sa Region I sa Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index ng National Competitiveness Council.  

Ngunit nakakalungkot na sa kabila ng mga magagandang nangyayaring ito, may mga taong nagagawa pang manira sa administrasyon. Paalala lang sa lahat na “slander is equivalent to murder.” Isang mabigat na kasalanan sa Diyos ang manira ng kapwa, nasa poder man ito o hindi.

EDITORIAL - January 2018 - Fast-tracking change to make the best things happen

Editorial for January 2018 Yearend Report

Fast-tracking change to make the best things happen

The year that was – 2017 – may be characterized by one thing: the desire to fast-track change. As the local chief executive himself was often heard saying during meetings, “O, pakibilisan ha!”

The impatience for delays is understandable, even necessary, given the often circuitous bureaucratic process, particularly the longish paper trail. It can also easily be explained away by the fact that change – meaningful if not profound change – has long been overdue for a long-suffering town and thus in fact much-awaited.

2017 was therefore a string of programs and projects that were sped up to give the people concrete proof of change. Building on 2016’s landmark achievements (new offices, CCTV command center, emergency hotline, dialysis center, etc.), Bayambangueños continued to witness so many firsts in the history of the town in so short a time: official hymn, murals along the Agno dike, contest for babies, Color Run, traffic lights, modern ‘welcome’ marker, barangay talipapas, a fleet of official vehicles, community service card, LGU computerization, flower garden at the plaza, Tourism Month celebration, Pasalubong Center, the hiring of Palafox Associates for long-term planning, Anti-Poverty Summit, the purchase of several ambulances and more CCTV cameras, giant animated Christmas display, etc.

Old ideas that worked were not relegated to the backburner but were revitalized and leveled up: local bodies and cooperatives, LGU and inter-barangay sportfests, Bb. Bayambang beauty pageant, book and school supply donations, free medicines, and monthly mobile outreaches offering an entire suite of municipal services other than the medical-dental.

There was also a construction boom around the municipality, requiring the emergency hiring of almost a thousand people. This paved the way for the renovation of the old Covered Court (now the Events Center), Tricycle Terminal, and Bus Stop (now with the Police Community Precinct #1 on top of it) and the construction of the new Municipal Library, new drainage systems in Poblacion and nearby areas, Kusina ng Balon Bayambang, Balaybuaya Footbridge, and core local access roads and other construction projects in the barangays. Construction was also started for RHU III in Carungay and RHU IV in Macayocayo.

The highlight of the administration’s second year is its reaping of notable awards, recognitions, and commendations. These are as follows: Model LGU in Drug Rehabilitation Program, Model LGU in Materials Recycling Facility Management, Seal of Child-Friendly Governance, Regional Awardee in the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index 2016 (#2 in Region I and #1 in Pangasinan), DILG Commendation for Good Financial Housekeeping, Seal of Retiree-Friendly Community, and Seal of Good Local Governance in three consecutive years. Just as it reaped recognitions, the local government likewise did not shirk in honoring and recognizing outstanding Bayambangueños from all walks of life.

There is a cynical expression that goes, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Not here in Bayambang, where things change a lot and change fast to make the best things happen.

EDITORIAL - February 2018 - Signs of Love All Around

EDITORIAL

Signs of Love All Around

February is, of course, the month of love, and what better way to celebrate it than to train our spotlight on lovers. In LGU life, that means holding the Annual Mass Wedding. We had 100 couples to take care of, who availed of a comparably grand civil wedding which came complete with a pre-marriage counseling session down to a framed portrait of the couple on their wedding day to memorialize the occasion.

But love, though mysterious in its ways, as the popular ballad goes, comes in many forms, even beyond CS Lewis’ four categories. The local government thus expresses its love through other concrete means.

There’s caring for its children as expressed in the Search for the Orally Fit Child in “Ngiting Lodi 2018” to advocate self-initiated dental care among the very young. This is on top of the dental-medical-surgical mission we held with the help of the Bayambang Association of Southern California and the Philippine-Medical Association of Western Pennsylvania.

There’s also the love and caring for our fisherfolks as evidenced by the latest release of fingerlings in Langiran Lake to help revive the fishing industry there.

February inevitably reminds us of JS Prom, and so we are also reminded that our love for our students isn’t far behind, with the continued support given to 300-plus LGU scholars and the frequent recognition we accord to achievers in all academic and non-academic fields.

Perhaps the greatest love of all that we have expressed so far is no less than biblical in nature: our love for the poor, as exemplified by our 3-day crafting of Bayambang’s Poverty Reduction Action Plan.

The rest of the month is spent on tougher kinds of loving: through a mini-job fair, public consultation over a poultry farm, public hearing on the cause of reported brownouts, and frantic preparations for the fiesta.

Another song, a sad one, pointedly asks, “Where is the love?” In Bayambang, it can be found everywhere you look, if you look around hard enough.

EDITORIAL - March 2018 - Embracing Government Service

EDITORIAL

 Embracing Government Service

One of the busiest months of the year is upon us once again, with March being the month of so many things. But the huge amount of workload comes with the risk of burnout, so it is important for us to find ways not to be overwhelmed.

One strategy we find effective is finding each of our own formula for work-life balance. Because too much of anything is bad for the health and the soul, it is important that we take time off from time to time, to rest and recharge for the next batch of paperwork and projects.

Another essential thing we resort to is to prayer, particularly prayer for God to give us a servant's heart. Public service, we find, is no different from religious calling. The call to serve one's countrymen, even if only through secular means, is no less demanding and in need of deep commitment and faith, and this is not possible without grace -- that unearned power we can claim at no cost which can only be sourced from beyond the realm of human wisdom.

The third important ingredient is choice -- the choice to embrace one's calling to public service. Instead of regarding it as a burden or a mere means to regular pay or livelihood, we found it wise to reframe the situation by regarding it as an opportunity to serve or even a privilege, for it is a chance not given to everyone. Another way to look at it is through the opportunity of going back to our roots in order to give back -- for all the things it has given us: an identity, a firm foundation, a home.

With these strategies and mindset, we find -- despite our busyness -- how good and honorable it is to serve our people.

EDITORIAL - April 2018 - “NAGHIRAP. UMAHON, GUMINHAWA. Balon Bayambang: Mankakasakey Para ed Inawa’y Baley”

Editorial: “NAGHIRAP. UMAHON, GUMINHAWA. Balon Bayambang: Mankakasakey Para ed Inawa’y Baley”

This year’s theme hardly went through the usual deliberation process because the choice was unanimous among the members of this year’s organizing committee. The choice was obviously borne of the strong desire to see our town really bloom and transform into a progressive town.

Apparently, we are all anxious to turn Bayambang into a town of inclusive growth, where opportunities are made available especially to the least of our townmates so everyone else is lifted up – after all, we are all on the same boat.

What true Bayambangueño would not desire such a pure goal?

“Mankakasakey para ed Inawa’y Baley” therefore emerged as the most resonant of all the suggestions, and it helped that it has a nice ring to it as well. Unity in the name of progress is understandably a much sought-after commodity in a community where political and personal differences are quite insistent.

The town fiesta is a golden opportunity of proving that we are capable of rising as one in order to reach the same goal, despite differences, for the sake of something beyond ourselves – our beloved Bayambang and our esteemed patron.

By showing that it is possible to conquer the seemingly insurmountable through selfless devotion and commitment, we give a shining example of how to be good Filipino citizens and Christian witnesses.