Friday, October 05, 2007 Pangan: San Francisco and its Boy Cruz By Benjie R. Pangan At Close Range
AFTER Dau, Mabiga and Dapdap (particularly Madapdap Resettlement), Barangay San Francisco is moving up on its own.
This barangay did not get its name from the famous Golden Gate state of the United States but rather, it took after St. Francis whose feast, by the way, is observed every October 4 of the year.
Landlocked and without the traditional business and commercial aura, set up and sites, like Dau and Mabiga, Barangay San Francisco is home to the now recognizable drum and bugle corps, a conglomerate of young boys and girls whose tour de force is a xylophone, Kamikaze shrine, the old public cemetery, Mabalacat public market, St. Anthony College of Science and Technology, an INC chapel, two subdivisions and a sputtering of small shops and stores.
At the helm of the barangay affairs is chairman Marcelino "Boy" Cruz, who took over Roberto R. Torno in 2002 and presides up to the present. Previous barangay leaders were: Baldomero T. Lugue (1946-1955); Francisco Calilung (1955-1961); Segundino T. Pena (1961-1982); Ralph M. Perez (1982-1985); OIC Segundino T. Galang (1985-1987); Segundino T. Pena (1987-1994); Rodolfo M. Catacutan (1994-1997); and Roberto R. Torno (1997-2002).
A thorough public servant, Boy Cruz has recently distinguished himself as a national awardee for having neutralized the plague and scourge of almost all the barangays not only in Pampanga, but also in the whole country -- rampant drug abuse.
On August 8, 2003 at the Far Eastern University, Manila, no less than President Arroyo, through Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Dangerous Drugs Board, gave Boy Cruz a plaque of recognition "in grateful recognition of its (his?) commendable support to the government's national anti-drug campaign by initiating and implementing a barangay-based anti-drug abuse program which resulted in the arrest of 23 drug pushers and rehabilitation of 55 drug users in the barangay..."
Aside from drug pushers and users, Boy Cruz and his officials have apprehended and caused to be charged in court, several petty thieves, snatchers on motorcycles and other bad elements roaming in the barangay. Remember Jopilan, a road once inhabited by notorious drug pushers and users? Boy Cruz and his team had minimized (not to use the word neutralized again) the activities of these society's menace.
Barangay San Francisco is populated by about 15,000 warm bodies (to distinguish them from the departed ones at Sitio Aguso's public cemetery) and the voting population is about 7,000.
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Finally, recognition from the DFA Manila, for the Regional Consular Office Clark Field headed by director Ernesto "Nestor" H. Belardo and Imelda "Imee" delos Santos.
In a recent memo to this office by acting Assistant Secretary Domingo Lucenario, Jr., DFA Manila officially recognized the hard work and dedication to duty of the officials and staff of the RCO and as incentive therefore, the head office is now offering the chance of having foreign assignments and promotion. Definitely, Belardo and company deserve the recognition and the incentives.
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Very alarming. Social Weather Stations (SWS) has reported that a record-high of 3.8 million families or 21.5 percent had experienced "involuntary hunger" at least once in the last three months.
Figures for "moderate hunger", which refers to families who experienced involuntary hunger "only once" or "a few times" in the last three months, also rose to a record high, from 12.5 percent in June to 17.4 percent in the latest survey. Those who have experienced "severe hunger" or hunger "often" or "always" in the last three months also rose from 2.2 percent in June to 4.1 percent in September. So, what say you, President Gloria and your men about these very serious incidents of hunger in the country? And you, honorable men and women in Congress, what have been doing to stem the tide of poverty and hunger? Could you please stop your grandstanding and junkets and do something drastic to save our poor countrymen? (Next: The clash at Dapdap).
