Pangasinan pursues two hard infra projects

By Danny O Sagun

Dagupan City (27 August) — The provincial government is putting in place two hard infrastructures to include the planned seaport in Sual town, a board member said Wednesday in a media forum.

Board Member Von Mark Mendoza said that the province is securing a P900 million loan with the Land Bank to finance its various infra projects. Out of the amount, P200 million would serve as the province’s counterpart fund for the seaport project. The national government thru the Department of Transportation and Communication and the Philippine Ports Authority has pledged P200 million while Sual town is allocating P100 million to complete the needed P500 million.

The other hard infra is the planned airport which may be funded by the national government or thru a private investor under the build-operate-transfer scheme. It will be recalled that President Macapagal-Arroyo mentioned the airport project in her State of the Nation Address in 2007.

Mendoza said that Pangasinan badly needs a seaport considering that 40 percent of transactions at the nearby Poro Point in la Union are intended for Pangasinan. “Pasok sana ang revenues na yan sa “tin,” he said.

Defending the P900 million loan applied with the bank, Mendoza said that all projects to be funded by the loan are specific. “Sa tagal ko ryan sa provincial board, ngayon ko lang nakita na specific ang mga proyektong pag-gastusan,” he replied when asked during an interview why the province was securing such a big loan while it has yet to fully repay the P600 million loan earlier acquired by the previous provincial administration.

He said the projects to be funded by the new loan include rehabilitation of government hospitals, farm to market roads, agricultural facilities and purchase of new road equipment. He said that the trucks and equipment purchased during the Orbos administration were now mostly under state of disrepair due to long use.

Meanwhile, Mendoza denied being a defender of Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. Guesting at the weekly Engkwentro forum at the Lenox Hotel Wednesday, he said he was only speaking for the facts being part of the official family. He also said that the governor is a party-mate at Kampi during the last elections along with three other board members.

He said that he and former Gov. Victor E. Agbayani, now second district congressman, were never party-mates. But he clarified that he had supported Agbayani in his endeavors although he (Mendoza) was with the minority during that time. “Di naman kami nag-away at ibinaon na namin ang anumang away ng pamilya namin,” he said referring to the reported feud between his father, Chris, who served as congressman, and Victor’s father, Aguedo, a former governor. Both are deceased.

He said that there was one thing clear that came out of the attacks and counterattacks coming from the camps of Espino and Agbayani, who reportedly confirmed already his plan to run for governor. “Ang nagawa ni Victor sa siyam na taon ay nagawa na ni governor sa loob lamang ng dalawang taon,” he pointed out. (PIA Pangasinan)