DAGUPAN CITY - Seven Sudanese students studying in Dagupan were caught by the police while conducting pot session along the beach in barangay Nibaliw Vidal adjacent San Fabian Sunday night.

The suspects, along with two Filipina lady friends, were found smoking dried marijuana leaves in a pot session along the beach, according to Superintendent Leopoldo Rivera, chief of police.

The suspects were identified as Mohamed Musa, 27; Abdul Salam, 25; Ahmad Musa, 127; Ali Bikhatem, 37; Hamet Ale, 34; Omer Mohammad Abbos; and Ramzi Naour, 37.

Their lady companions at the time of their arrest were Michelle Imbuido, 20; and Joy Imbuido, 37.

Confiscated from them were four partially burned rolled dried marijuana sticks, 26 pieces of rolling papers and 0.5 grams of dried marijuana leaves which were placed by them in white ball cap.

All suspects are now facing a case for Violation of Section II of Republic Act 9165 before the municipal trial court in San Fabian. (PNA)

VILLASIS, Pangasinan - The town of Villasis just north of the Agno river, is expected to assume a significant role in further shoring up the tremendous opportunities in the North Luzon Agri-business Quadrangle super region.

Sitting on 6,500 hectares of fertile land, most of which are agricultural, Villasis carved a name through the sweat and tears of its 60,000 inhabitant, being the vegetable bowl if not the ‘pinakbet’ capital of the province of Pangasinan.

Municipal Mayor Nonato Abrenica, responsible for turning around the economy of his town, said farmers of Villasis produce eggplants (salanum melongena), the chief condiment of the ‘pinakbet’, a favorite Ilocano dish. Read more

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - Six towns and one city have been taggd by the Philippine National Police as areas of concern in Pangasinan in connectin with the coming election.

Senior Superintendent Alan Purisima, police provincial director, identified these places as Natividad, San Carlos City, Tayug, Binmaley, Bugallon, San Nicolas and San Manuel.

These were pinpointed as possible areas where violence may erupt at a coordinating conference between the PNP and the Commission on Electins here last Wednesday.

Purisima said the Comelec personnel were spearheaded in the meeting by lawyer Reddy Balarbar, provincial elections supervisor in Pangasinan while he for the PNP.

Both the police and the Comelec tagged the seven places as areas of concern based on records of incidents in the past 2004 election. Read more

SANTA, Ilocos Sur - Tobacco farmers are now earning extra income by supplying the needs of the National Tobacco Administration-owned PGMA Multiline Food Processsing Plant here.

The first batc of tobacco farmers who ventured into hog production and turned their pigs over to the food processing plant received their first cash payments on Thursday.

Nestor Casela, deputy adminstrator of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) handed the individual checks to the farmers, who he said, earned net incomes ranging from P1,500 to P2,000 per hog.

The first batch of swine raisers turned in a total of 28 hogs. All these are from Barangay Malammin in San Juan, and San Pablo in Narvacan. Read more

From the Saltbeds by Restituto C. Basa

THE election campaign is on; the start of the filing of candidacy is on January 15.

Among the first to announce his candidacy for senator is Health Secretary Francisco Tiongson Duque III. He will be an administration candidate.

I hope the Pangasinan electorate will cross party lines to vote for him. As presently constituted, there is not a single Pangasinense in this senate.

We need at least one kaluyagan in the Upper House. If we could have two, so much the better.

I am endorsing the candidacy of Pincoy Duque for senator, not just because he is a kaluyagan. I have a deep attachment to the Duques. Read more

‘LAKAS has no gubernatorial bet as yet — Speaker JdV’ — headline. Now, if it turns out later that there is an oversupply of bets for the administration, it should just juggle the letters of LAKAS and come up with parties like AKLAS or KALAS or SAKAL for all of them; or just add one letter to form ALASKA dahil “ang dami namang pulitikong nanga-ALASKA rin lang!”

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Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Danilo C. Uy was virtually given a clean bill of health during the commitee hearing of the SP to ferret out the truth in the claim of spurious newspapers Banat and Upak that he is a drug lord. All right, to the tune of Paruparong Bukid, let’s sing:

“Masaya si Danny… UY!

Hindi raw siya drug lord… UY!

Kahit binanatan, kahit inupakan;

Malinis si Danny…. UY!

Kahit manalamin… UY!

Ang napatunayan:

Banat — sinungaling! Read more

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - The provincial governor of Pangasinan has assured help to the victims of sea tragedy in western Pangasinan last December 16, 55 persons of whom are still missing.

Gov. Victor E. Agbayani said on Wednesday that the Provincal Social Welfare and Development Office is now coordinating with the municipal social welfare offices of the affected coastal towns to complete the socio/economic documentation of the famlies of survivors, casualties and the missing.

Task Force Infanta headed by Lt. Colonel Gregory Cayetano of the Philippine Army, which spearheaded the relief and rescue operations for the affected fishermen, has already terminated its work last December 27, after the safe return and recovery of 202 persons. Read more

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated Saturday the newly-completed Domalandan bridge in Lingayen costing more than P700 million.

The bridge, a vital span between eastern and western Pangasinan across the Limahong channel that empties its water into the Lingayen Gulf, measures more than 600 meters and is one of the longest bridges in Pangasinan.

The new bridge replaced an old structure that was destroyed by a big flood in 1999 during the administration of former President Joseph Estrada.

However,  construction of the new bridge started only in 2001 when President Arroyo took over the funding coming from part of the yearly budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways. Read more

DAGUPAN CITY - Three towns and one city in Pangasinan had already been tagged by the Provincial Elections Office at this early as possible hot spots in the coming elections.

Provincial Elections Supervisor Reddy Balarbar expressed the possibility of recommending one of those towns to be placed under Commission on Elections control.

Reddy Balarbar identified this town as San Nicolas, located in the sixth district of Pangasinan, tagged as the post sensitive area of Pangasinan due to its history of political violence in the past.

At the same time, Balarbar foresees hot election contests in the towns of Binmaley in the second district, San Fabian in the fourth district and San Carlos City in the third district. Read more