Editorial - December 2023 - Isang Taong Pagpapala

 

Editorial

 

Isang Taong Pagpapala

Ang tunay na mabuting pamamahala ay nagbubunga ng mabubuting gawa na nauuwi sa mga pagpapala. Sa taong 2023, marami tayong dapat ipagpasalamat.

Ating binuksan ang RHU VI sa Mangayao, inexpand ang operating room ng Bayambang District Hospital, nirepossess ang Bayambang Central School kahit umaandar pa ang kaso, naging puspusan ang wire-clearing operations para maging maaliwalas ang mga daan sa sentro, nakasecure ng pondo para sa Wawa Bridge sa tulong ni Congresswoman Rachel Arenas, at nakatanggap ng sunud-sunod na grant (P30M DPWH-DOT, P10M DA Swine Project, P5M DA Kadiwa). Bukod sa wing van para sa mga magsasaka at bagong sasakyan ng MSWDO, may parating tayong dalawang bagong dumptruck at isang bagong ambulansya.

Hindi tayo nakaligtas sa bahang ibinuhos ng bagyong ‘Paeng,’ ngunit salamat pa rin at nairaos natin ang mga araw na yun dahil sa pagtutulungan ng lahat ng ahensya at departamento.

Ang pagputok ng digmaan sa pagitan ng Russia at Ukraine ay nakasama siyempre sa ekonomiya ng bansa at pati na rin sa lokal na ekonomiya dahil sa pagtaas ng inflation rate at mga presyo. Kaya naman sinikap nating magbigay ng mga oportunidad sa ating kababayan upang makatanggap ng iba’t- ibang uri ng ayuda, makatipid sa mga gastusin, at magkaroon ng mga oportunidad upang kumita. Isa sa mga ginawa nating paraan upang makatipid sa kuryente ay ang pagconvert sa solar power.

Habang nagbigay din ng agam-agam ang pagsiklab ng giyera sa pagitan ng Israel at grupong Hamas sa Palestine, patuloy tayong nagpakatatag at ginawa ang nararapat: ang ipagpatuloy ang mga nasimulang pagtulong sa ating mga mahihirap na kababayan sa iba’t-ibang pamamaraan.

Di nanalo sa Miss Universe ang pambato ng Pilipinas, ngunit sa pinakaunang pagkakataon, nakakuha naman ang LGU ng unmodified opinion mula sa Commission on Audit at nasungkit pa natin ang ISO 9001:2015 certification, na siyang nagtatakda ng isang quality management system para masiguro ang de kalidad na serbisyo publiko.

Dahil nauso ang AI (artificial intelligence) gamit ang ChatGPT atbp., sinubukan natin ito upang mapadali ang trabaho. Dahil sumabog ang ilang balita ng hacking ng PhilHealth data at iba pa, pinag-usapan natin ng masinsinan ang ukol sa data privacy at cybersecurity.

Habang ang lahat ay nakatutok sa hiwalayang KathNiel sa pagtatapos ng taon, nakabuo naman tayo ng isang trending at Instagrammable na tourism project at nagbigay ng tuwa’t saya sa madla: ang Japan-inspired Paskuhan sa Bayambang 2023 na dinayo ng napakaraming turista at magiliw na kinover ng mga vlogger at media mula sa iba’t-ibang panig, pati na rin ang kauna-unahang 3D LED screen sa bansa sa labas ng Metro Manila.

Di nakapagtataka kung gayon na sa pagsasara ng taon ay humakot tayo ng iba’t-ibang parangal sa halos lahat ng aspeto ng pamamahala. Tunay nga na ang administrasyong Quiambao-Sabangan 2.0 ay hindi puro salita kundi puro gawa na nagbubunga ng tunay na pagbabago: nakikita, nadarama, nalalasap hindi lang ng iilan kundi ng lahat. Datapwat marami rin ang naging balakid na kinaharap at marami-rami pa ring dapat maisakatuparan sa lalong madaling panahon, marami sa mga ito ay kasalukuyan nang pinagkaka-abalahang paghandaan at unti-unting tapusin: Ligue Elementary School, Bayambang Central Terminal sa PSU, Bayambang Pump Irritation Project, Pantol to San Gabriel Farm-to-Market Road with Bridges Project, Septage System, Municipal Bonery, atbp.

 

 

 

Bongbong, bong-bong (traditional bamboo cannon) and other paputoks

 

Bongbong, bong-bong (traditional bamboo cannon) and other paputoks

 

Bongbong is a traditional cannon made of bamboo used as noisemaker on or before New Year's eve. 

Also known as bumbong or kanyong kawayan in Tagalog, it uses water and kalburo (calcium carbide) that, when lit by a flame, produces an explosion that is enough to rouse the neighborhood but not enough to cause damage to the bamboo tube or to the merrymakers.

 

The racket produced by these cannons comes in sharp, agitating sounds to help make the turning of the year eventful and memorable and supposedly to drive away evil spirits, most likely a belief that is Chinese in origin.

 

In modern times, the bongbong has been replaced by the boga using PVC pipe, plus a host of other paputoks (firecrackers and other pyrotechnics) that come in a wide range of decibels, forms, styles, and prices.

 

Households are routinely dissuaded by authorities, who bear the brunt of post-celebration casualties, from using these firecrackers, and are encouraged instead to use the safer alternatives such as torotot (toy trumpets) and panagtangtang (hitting pots, pans, cans, etc.). Other related practices include playing music at full volume and starting all motor vehicles to add to the incredible panoply of noise. To attract prosperity, there is also the opening all the lights and doors and windows at home, and the use of round objects in clothing and ornaments. Jumping up and down presumably will make oneself taller.

 

Instead of bringing luck, many of these modern pyrotechnics have the potential of wreaking havoc on an entire populace by starting a fire or causing health hazards including burns, amputation of limbs, and death by poisoning, that is why they are regulated by government agencies. In fact, in 2023, the Philippine National Police, according to news reports, has released a list of legal and illegal devices.

Legal paputok, pasilew (pailaw), or firecrackers/fireworks/pyrotechnics devices include baby rocket, bawang, El Diablo, Judas' belt, paper caps, "Pulling of Strings," sky rocket (kwitis), small "triangulo," butterly, fountain, luces (jumbo, regular, and special), Mabuhay, Roman candle, sparklers, trompillo, airwolf, whistle device.

 

Banned fireworks/pyrotechnics devices include watusi, piccolo, Super Lolo, atomic triangle, large Judas belt, large bawang, pillbox, boga, Goodbye Philippines, Bin Laden, Mother Rockets, Lolo Thunder, Coke-in-Can, Kwitom, Atomic Bomb, Five Star, pla-pla, giant whistle bomb, Kabasi, Goodbye Bading, Super Yolanda, and other unlabeled imported firecrackers.

 

Not mentioned on the list is the old term, rebentador, and do-it-yourself paputoks. And of course the illegal use of guns, which have tragically victimized the most innocent people just sitting inside the privacy of their own residence. The lunacy of it all in the name of 'good luck' is something locals seem most willing to risk life and limb for.

 

The names of these paputok make for an amusing linguistic study on cultural appropriation or assimilation, gendering (the word "lolo" or grandfather comes up most often), native sense of humor, and of course, identity formation.

 

At the Bayambang District Hospital, the old joke goes that, the medical personnel are all set for making dinuguan each time it's New Year's Day.

Agriculture terms

akas - land that yields little; maakas a dalin

alog - low-lying land that is filled with water after it rains

apaya - salinitrous land where they make salt

aporagdag - land that is loose, that is easy to till

balongobong - a canal, river, or a low land on which water flows coming from above

bakias - a type of low-lying ground that is full of water during the rainy season but dry after

karigkarig a dalin - a type of land in which mud never forms however it rains

konal - a type of soil that when you step on it sinks bringing you with it; kumunoy?; quicksand?

doborob - sandy area

gayon-gayon - a land that is next to a spring that at first sight it seems to be dry but underneath is a deep quagmire that if one passes there it sinks

loanloan - muddy earth that it takes a little time for it to become mucky

pagalo - jagged land

pisak - land that is low and damp

pola - colored earth used for making earthenware

yogmot - very thick grassland

lawak, kalawakan - desert

kulos - a big pond

***

baloyboy - fish pen

bonoan - fish pen to catch fish with twists and turns placed on rivers and lakes

pasabing - the same pen as bonoan (fish pen to catch fish with twists and turns placed on rivers and lakes) but made of bamboo and used in rice-producing towns

paleg is a pen to catch fish and also a trap for catching birds

pened  - pen used for fishing in rivers

sikop - another pen for fishing

tabagan - pen made of bamboo for fishing

alawa  - a woven bamboo net used to get the fish from the cage or pen

lubbuk - a net made of sacks in which the school of fish is gathering for catching

kemel - to use the hands for fishing

bayating -  a certain herbs whose seeds when thrown on water could kill fish

balisasa - an instrument used for fishing; also called nasa

bobo - a type of balisasa or nasa that is somewhat bigger, made of bamboo, and used for catching shrimps or crabs

sabokol - fishing net

salambaw - a special type of fishing instrument placed on a raft consisting of a vertical pole and a horizontal one in which a net is attached and on the other some stones to serve as weight in lowering and raising the net

***

dumaralos - farmer

kumakalokor, tumataksay, sumasabukol, sumisigay, sumasagap - fishermen

Source: "Pangasinan: Pinablin Dalin," an output of the Pangasinan Historical and Cultural Commission in 2015; local residents

Land and Water Forms

Longos - a point in land that forms river bends
Lonek - swampy area
Palandey - mountain
nipalpalandey - a hilly or slightly mountainous place
Pantay - flat level land on top of mountains
Pantal - land that leaves a river in some banks, which forms like an islet
Pantok, ontok - the summit of a mountain

Patad, patar - flat area
kapataran - plains
palanas - flat-level land
pasol - uneven land
mapasol a dalin -
kapasolan - rows of nipa trees whose land is rugged
pokdol - hill
pogo - land surounded by water
polo - island
kapolopoloan - archipelago
sakbit - mainland
onsakbit - one lands to the earth after navigating from the waters
talogtog - high ground or hill not good for planting rice
tanaytay - coastal area with no visible trees or undergrowth
tanap - a kind of land that is neither high nor low that when it rains much of it have water
tolod a dalin - a piece of land elevated from the others

dayat - sea
alosarsar - foot of the mountain
aliwekwek - cavity in the water as in rivers that is deepest than the rest
baybay - seashore or riverbank
kalayan - streams or creeks coming from the mountains or running through rocks or ridges
digdig - riverbank or seashore
ilog - river
libsong - lake
wawa -mouth of a river
pangdel - edge of the river

nibaliw -
sabangan -river mouth
taew - center of a river or the sea
cagubay - mountain in Aguilar?
sagod - west
bukig - east
likod - back
ibali - manila
payawas - depopulated place with no trees and weeds
palaway - a place clear and spacious with no trees and other things that will impede ventilation and view of a large horizon
palien - reserved place or tree that anyone who comes near it is said to be harmed

 

Source: "Pangasinan: Pinablin Dalin," an output of the Pangasinan Historical and Cultural Commission in 2015

History of Bayambang's Public Healthcare Institutions

History of Bayambang's Public Healthcare Institutions

Did you know that before there was Rural Heath Unit (RHU) I in the town of Bayambang, there was a Puericulture Center? It used to stand at the PNP station next to RHU I, and it was managed by a private organization under Dr. Santos.

The old Annex Building beside the Municipal Hall used to be the Bayambang Emergency Hospital, which opened on July 16, 1980 during the tenure of Mayor Jaime P. Junio. Dr. Ernesto Mataban was the first director, and Dr. Nicolas Miguel was its first resident physician.

The hospital was transferred to Mataban's donated land in Brgy. Bical Norte on July 1, 1985 and became the Bayambang District Hospital.

The facility vacated at the old Annex Bldg. must have been converted into an RHU after the said transfer. As RHU, it was first headed by Dr. Amado Layog, followed by Dr. Nestor Pascual before Dr. Paz F. Vallo took over in 1993 after she transferred from RHU II.

Presently, starting from the term of Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao and Vice-Mayor Raul R. Sabangan, the local government of Bayambang has been operating six RHUs from only two before July 2016. Now every Bayambangueño can receive free birthing services, medical check-up, medicine, various vaccines, and other services from these small facilities spread out in various districts. (Dental services are free only for indigent patients.)

RHU I was eventually relocated to the left-most end of the Municipal Hall compound, possibly during Mayor Calixto Camacho's term.

RHU II, located in Brgy. Wawa, was also built during Mayor Calixto Camacho's term. According to old-timers, prior to being established as RHU II, there was already a Wawa Barangay Health Center in place at the same site since 1978 under the Department of Health (DOH). RHU II per se was constructed by the DOH only sometime in 1990, with Dr. Paz Vallo as the first resident doctor. Because of government's devolution policy, its management was eventually transferred to the local government of Bayambang in 1992.

RHU III in Brgy. Carungay opened on April 3, 2018 and was built on a lot donated by Punong Barangay Virgilio Romano's family. It was first headed by Dr. Adrienne Estrada, then by Dr. Roland M. Agbuya in 2020.

RHU IV in Brgy. Macayocayo opened on November 25, 2020 and was built on a lot donated by the Macayocayo Barangay Council under Punong Barangay Mario Cariño.

RHU V in Brgy. Pantol opened on February 2021. It was built using funds donated by 3rd District Congresswoman Rose Marie 'Baby' Arenas.

RHU VI in Brgy. Mangayao was built on a lot donated by Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao and opened on February 22, 2023.

Today, RHU I and IV are operated under Dr. Vallo, while RHU II and V are under Dr. Estrada and RHU III and VI are under Dr. Agbuya.

The RHUs' work encompasses a dozen of health programs, namely:

1. Nutrition Program

2. Mental Health Program

3. Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control Program

4. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health

5. Health Education and Promotion

6. Child Health Program

7. Maternal Health and Family Planning Program

8. Rabies Prevention and Control Program

9. National Tuberculosis Control Program

10. Voluntary Blood Service Program

11. Environmental Health and Sanitation Services Program

12. Local Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Program

References:

Dr. Paz F. Vallo

Dr. Nicolas O. Miguel

Dr. Adrienne Estrada

Dr. Roland M. Agbuya

Rural Health Units' 12 Health Programs

 Rural Health Units' 12 Health Programs

1. Nutrition Program
2. Mental Health Program
3. Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control Program
4. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health
5. Health Education and Promotion
6. Child Health Program
7. Maternal Health and Family Planning Program
8. Rabies Prevention and Control Program
9. National Tuberculosis Control Program
10. Voluntary Blood Service Program
11. Environmental Health and Sanitation Services Program
12. Local Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Program

More Pangasinan words for taste and smell

More smell terms

maangdod

maanteng - maanglit

maanglem

maaptot

maanglem

maanglo

mansamyong

makapureg


abureg?

makapaelew

masangsang


ambalingit

manasengseng


Taste

maakdar, maapgar, maatgar, maatdar


mankliseng (ed apseng)

makapailol

maarat

tabal

maambal

lamitan

malamsak


marayrayok?