DAGUPAN CITY – The new and redesigned seal of the city will be presented to the public during the Bangus Festival in April, Mayor Benjamin S. Lim said Saturday.

He said Secretary Jorge Estrada, chairman of the ad hoc committee that will study, initiate, and supervise the redesigning and registration of the official corporate seal of the city, has been tasked to come up with a design that would reflect the true historical, economic, and cultural values of Dagupan.

The present seal was designed way back in 1948 by the late Archbishop Mariano Madriaga but was never registered with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. (Liezle Basa Iñigo)

Hagedorn lauds logging ban
Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn has lauded President Aquino for issuing Executive Order No. 23 banning logging in natural-growth and residual forests nationwide.

Hagedorn issued the statement in the wake of the strong clamor in his city and in all of Palawan for government to go after illegal loggers and ban mining operations in areas vulnerable to flooding and landslides.

The mayor has been at the forefront of the campaign against logging in Puerto Princesa, site of a 17-kilometer underground river and the watershed in forested zones of Palawan. (Marvyn N. Benaning)

B.P.A.T. boosts Rizal security
RIZAL PROVINCE – The police here has intensified its anti-criminality drive, this time, with the full participation of the so-called “force multipliers” in all the barangays of each town in the province.

This came as Rizal Police Provincial Police Office (PPO) director, Senior Supt. Manuel Cesar Prieto has instructed the chiefs of police of the 14 localities in the province to encourage the active participation of the Barangay Peace-keeping Action Team (BPAT) members who are composed of leaders of civilian volunteer organizations and non-government organizations.

Every BPAT group is led by a beat policeman who will act as over-all team leader who guides the members in the performance of their duties in the team as barangay peacekeepers. (Nel B. Andrade)

Viaduct planned on Kennon Road
BAGUIO CITY – Technical personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are recommending the construction of viaducts and rocksheds along the historic and scenic Kennon Road to ensure that it will become an “all-weather road” as envisioned by national and local leaders.

The viaducts and rocksheds, which will be similar to the one constructed along the landslide-prone area of Marcos Highway in Badioan, Tuba, Benguet, will serve as the catchments of the debris that fall from the mountain slopes. (Dexter A. See)

Ifugao rice draws int'l interest
LAGAWE, Ifugao – Authorities said over the weekend that this province is gaining international interest for cultivating the aromatic tinawon rice variety for the last 2,000 years.

In 2006, 3,393 metric tons of this native rice made its way to the international market through the assistance of the Revitalized Indigenous Cordillera Entrepreneurs (RICE), an international non-government organization linking the world heritage province to the global village in terms of producing the aromatic native rice. (Dexter A. See)