By Gonzalo T. Duque
When I visited the island of Boracay in the past, its water—which was its chief attraction—was crystalline and pristine.
Years later, when I visited the place again, I saw so many buildings, hotels, and resorts rising and sprawling.
When I took a dip in the water, a foul smell—that seemed to be coming from different septic tanks of the buildings therein—went through my nostrils.
My daughter, Peebles, had her internship in one of the five-star hotels in Boracay. She also reported the same thing to me.
During the presidency of Digong Duterte, he ordered a total cleanup of the islands.
His political will became a golden opportunity for the island to re-establish itself as the number one tourist destination in our country.
Today, the same thing is happening to our Tondaligan Park in Bonuan, Dagupan City.
Mayor Belen Fernandez just closed the dumpsite because, in the past, the seepage of decomposing waste materials adversely affected the sea. With a lot of buildings constructed along the shore, it’s unavoidable that the different wastes from the septic tanks of these buildings will flow to the sea.
Let’s take the BJMP male and female dormitories, where the stench coming from the latter has caused many marine problems in the area.
Confronted with this problem, the BJMP has promised to address the seemingly intolerable situation, but as usual, the time to finally solve the problem cannot be ascertained due to a lack of funding from the national government.
I think only Mayor Belen, with the help of the Sangguniang Panlungsod, can solve the problem to save our Tondaligan Park and the sea.
It is not appropriate to honor the legacy of General Douglas MacArthur if the sanitary condition of Tondaligan Park is not resolved soon.
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The impeachment brouhaha going on in the House of Representatives seems to be a big farcical exercise.
When it comes to the impeachment of BBM, the Justice Committee of the House already acquitted the President for the lack of so-called substance in the two complaints filed against him.
The general tenor of the majority representatives acquitting BBM is based mainly on the lack or absence of evidence and the alleged questionable authenticity of the different documents submitted.
Parang Lutong Macao na! Let us see what happens regarding the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
I can only conclude that the Justice Committee will surely recommend the filing of the impeachment case against Sara even if the evidence does not warrant such a thing.
All these circuses, in the final analysis, do not amount to anything, except that our country has become the laughing stock of the international community.
The real problem is still the lack or absence of foreign investments coming into our country because of the distrust of the international community due to the unmitigated proliferation of graft and corruption never before seen in our country’s history.
With what is happening, I can only guess that the resolve to impeach Sara cannot be stopped.
I think Sara knows this. And she might not run for the presidency in the 2028 elections. But that’s just my conjecture.
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Let me congratulate the newly appointed Assistant Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Roberto ‘Bobby’ Ferrer Jr., a native of Binmaley, Pangasinan, and Dagupan City, and the son of the late former Pangasinan Board Member, Roberto ‘Bob’ Ferrer Sr., our former dean of Student Affairs at the Lyceum Northwestern University.
His father was a provincial board member when I was the Vice Governor of Pangasinan from 1988 to 1992. I can remember Bob as having the most resolutions filed even if you combined all the resolutions filed by all other provincial board members.
The younger Ferrer was a graduate of our university and was always an excellent student. He passed the tough Foreign Service Examination, which was his stepping stone on the ladder of the DFA.
From there, he rose through the ranks, having been appointed as Philippine attaché to Vienna, Austria, and Moscow, Russia.
Congratulations to you, Bobby. Your LNU family is proud of you. Mabuhay ka!