city of san fernando - Headline Gitnang Luzon

4EDITORIALPrivate touchHeadlineGitnang LuzonSEPTEMBER 06-08, 2013Privatization of government institutionshas spelled the survival of importantpublic installations in the Philippines.Be it a bank, school, media outfitor hospital, when government can nolonger sustain the decent operation ofany of these, privatization could be thestate’s last resort to at least keep themrunning and serve their purpose to theirintended clientele.Many government institutions havebeen privatized and are now improved interms of services and competitiveness.Had privatization been stricken out ofgovernment options, Filipinos couldhave bade these institutions goodbye.Today, however, they are among the topperformingcorporations in the country.The plan of Governor Lilia “NanayBaby” Pineda to seek a private partnerin managing Capitol-run hospitals istreading the same direction, albeit on amore limited scale. The provincial governmentis not surrendering all its rightsin the hospitals. It is only in search of ahelping hand that could provide the extraresources and expertise to furtherimprove the services of our governmenthospitals in Pampanga.The governor has already initiatedthe improvement of the facilities of thesemedical institutions but, with the waythe provincial government is helping allthose in need of medical attentions, itsresources might not be enough to sustainthe operation of the hospitals.But, this remains to be a plan as ofpress time. The governor wants the provincialboard to study the pros and consof a private-public partnership when itcomes to hospital services to ensurethat the Kapampangans will still get thebest yet affordable health services.With a private partner taking thelead in the provision of health services,the governor can now focus her attentionon other pressing matters in theprovince.HEADLINE Gitnang Luzon is a Daily Regional NewspaperGeneral Manager: Atty. Gerome n. TubigAsst. Manager: atty. rOWENA S. CUNANAN-MUNDOEditor-in-Chief: albert lacanlaleLayout Artist: JP ManalangPhotojournalist: Leo villacarlosReporters: CHARLENE CAYABYAB /MARNA D. DEL ROSARIOAdministrative Staff: sherylin l. riveraMarketing Head: ELAINE MAPILESMarketing/Circulation: Marlo francoAccount Executive: caren m. garcia/JOAN d. montemayorPublisher: I.N.I. NewspaperEmail: headlinegitnangluzon@gmail.comWebsite: www.headlinegl.comDISCLAIMER: Views expressed by columnists are theirown and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position ofHEADLINE Gitnang Luzon or its internet website: www.headlinegl.com. Thepublisher does not knowingly publish false information and may not be heldliable for the views of its columnists exercising their right to free expression.All rights reserved. Subject to the conditions provided for by law, no article orphotograph published by HEADLINE GITNANG LUZON may be reprinted orreproduced, in whole or in part, without its prior consent.Office Address: 2nd Floor, U2 Building, MacArthurHighway, Dolores, City of San Fernando, Pampanga, 2000Tel. Nos. (045) 435-0938“Progress demands morespace for the increasingnumber of motor vehicles butthe massive acacia trees thatgrow their branches archingtowards the road breatheoxygen into the carbon-monoxidetainted air.”Sta. Maria Libutad was mostlysugarcane plantation withdusty roads leading back tobarrio Sta. Ines. Every breakof dawn and sunset discharged aretinue of gareta (cart with woodenwheels) filled with are (hay) for thepulling damulag (carabao) while theherd of kambing (goats) leads the wayback to the balen (towncenter) after along day of backbreaking work in thebana (low lying rice fields). This is mychildhood recollection of Mabalacat,my hometown, now a city in transition.Gone are the rails for the bagon(train for hauling sugarcane) that ranlike a pair of black snakes across drysand. And from where I stood in myyouth one can now see like an alientransformer rising from a distancethe massive paper factory that hoardedmost of the sugarcane land there.That is progress and it gives me alump in the throat when I reminiscethe old days.I used to count the young acaciatrees along the old McArthur Roadwhile I tried to cushion the impact ofthe hard seat of the Philippine Rabbitbus speeding past Mabiga that wasstill largely open fields with communicationtowers of Clarkfield visibleon the horizon. A few days ago two ofthese several-decade-old trees whosecanopies have provided cool shade topassing motorists were uprooted by afreak gust of wind and downpour thatsuddenly came at a time when PA-GASA was assuring the public abouta few days break from the rainy days.The city agriculturist (Yes, agricultureremains an important concern ofthe Mabalacat City as provided for byMabalacat in transitionR.A. 10164.) explained that diggingsby the DPWH for the widening of thewhole stretch of MacArthur Highwayhave apparently weakened the rootbase of the old acacia trees. Theseare the same trees that are subject ofongoing contention between the environmentalistsand the governmentat the moment. To cut or not to cutremains a nagging dilemma.The reality of climatechange has added moreweight to natural heritagesuch as these acacia treesand modern developmentis faced regularly by thischallenge. Progress demandsmore space for theincreasing number of motorvehicles but the massiveacacia trees that grow theirbranches arching towardsthe road breathe oxygeninto the carbon-monoxidetainted air. That is elementaryknowledge but without the proddingfrom environmental activists infrastructureengineers find this hardto incorporate into their designs. Thelazy straight line is always the easierchoice, but in the transition stage ofMabalacat City, planners and developerswill have to identify better optionsthat are not necessarily the easierones. The dilemma on the acaciatrees provides an inkling on the kindof decision-making the city governmentwill be engaged in.In the years of my youth, who wouldhave thought that the acacia trees willbecome a big issue? Who would haveimagined that a modern expresswaywill cut through the Mabalacat canefields and trigger the conversion ofagricultural lands into subdivisionsgut feelLeny Manaloand commercial reserves? Whowould have predicted the Pinatubodevastation that finally drove awaythe US military bases from the country?Who would have thought thatthe day will come when one can enterthe Mabalacat gate of Clarkfield andbuy Stateside without any sponsoredpass?Clark is on the top list of concernof the Mabalacat City in transition.Mayor Boking, feeling that Mabalacatis being left out in the effort to promoteClark as an economic zone, hasinsisted that Clark is under the jurisdictionof Mabalacat. This positionshould be helpful to farmers who arefacing eviction from Clark. I learnedthat some of them have been tillingthe soil inside Clark since the time ofthe Americans there. More came toplant inside the former US Air Baseas reward for their help incleaning up the place afterthe Pinatubo eruption.They are now seeking theintercession of the city government,among others, tosave their source of livelihood.This matter was alreadybrought to the attentionof Congressman YengGuiao who earlier filed thebills creating the two authoritiesto replace CDCand CIAC. All these issuescould be taken up duringthe stakeholders’ meetingbeing scheduled by CongressmanGuiao sometime in October this year.After waiting for one administrationafter another Mabalacat finallytook the giant step forward into cityhoodunder the joint initiative of MayorBoking Morales and CongressmanCarmelo Lazatin. That was the easierpart. The more difficult task at handis fleshing out the organic law thatcreated Mabalacat City and provideits constituents with higher hopes forthe future. It is in this task that everyone’slove for Mabalacat City, fromits officials down to the citizenry, willbe measured. We want a city? We allhave to build it.Building the city is about maximizinguse of the increased budget tomodernize facilities, widen the reachof services and upgrade personnelskills. It is about laying the foundationof a robust economy that is environment-friendly,that places importanceon sustainability and thatis non-exclusive, meaning no sectorwill be left out. It is about discardingparochial culture and politics ofpatronage to promote the greater interest.From being a dusty sugarcane fieldto a budding city, Mabalacat, myhometown has gone a long way. •