Congressman Mark O. Cojuangco and Mayor Kimi recently faced off with Department of Education officials who claimed in their report, during President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit in Lingayen to inspect the progress of post typhoon relief funds released to the Department of Education, that eighty percent of all schools have been rehabilitated after damages suffered from typhoon Cosme. Our feisty and courageous mayor stood up to contradict the claim as untrue.
In front of the media, Mayor Kimi Cojuangco showed President Macapagal-Arroyo photographs of the dilapidated conditions of schools in her district, of which, no federal relief has been received for, two months after its release. Congressman Cojuangco, who was also in attendance at the meeting with the President, quickly jumped into the fray to confirm Mayor Kimi’s claims. Proclaiming “Let’s not waste money on pigpens!” referring to the shoddy construction of schools.
The Mayor also addressed her environmental/Green policy. She said that one of her main projects is to ensure that Sison remain an Agricultural town. She doesn’t want another Dagupan where there’s traffic and over building of businesses. She wants Sison to grow but to grow smart AND retain the natural charm that all Sisonians appreciate. She wants to make Sison an ecological destination without ruining the environment. She is in the process of hiring a consultant to do a feasibility study to ensure proper development of the town that will ensure a balance with nature. I asked the Mayor about any NCC plans of extending the cement factory into the neighboring barangays? What is her husband’s company doing about the environment and fixing the mountain in Labayug? The mayor states that there are no plans of extending NCC. She said she understands the question and doesn’t want to be hypocritical and say that her husband is environmentally correct—the business is not, look at that mountain, she says, it’s a big hole! Yes, I looked already…then she added that the company IS doing something about the problem. The company has started planting trees to replace the damaged land. It will not be fixed overnight but they are doing something to start fixing the problem. She has raised the taxes that NCC pays to Sison! Continue Reading »
Reported by Ophelia “Babot” Pasibe Glasser
The video below is part three of the conversation at the mayor’s home.
What about the rumor that you’re moving the current Town Hall to a space in Paldit? What are your plans for Paldit? We read about the articles that you’ve already closed down a few beer-joints. Is this true? Continue Reading »
Reported by Ophelia “Babot” Pasibe Glasser
The video below is part two of the conversation at her home.
I had a really nice one-on-one conversation with the Mayor. She was warm, friendly and genuinely eager to help Sisonians. Her idealism is, I must admit, contagious. She was a definite pleasant surprise. I have a real good instinct about people and their character. I’m willing to bet that she is serious in her quest to make Sison a better place. Like her husband says, her heart is in the right place.
She wanted to get to know me better and rather than sit down for more question and answer session, she just handed me a copy of her speech that she was to deliver at another group meeting in San Diego the following day. She just casually said, “here, this will answer all your questions”. I think she did answer our questions and then some. We have been sharing parts of that speech, in quotations, on these posts. Here are some of the questions we posed to her. I think I’ll have that glass of wine now Mayor Cojuangco. Continue Reading »
Congressman Mark O. Cojuangco and Mayor Kimi recently faced off with Department of Education officials who claimed in their report, during President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s visit in Lingayen to inspect the progress of post typhoon relief funds released to the Department of Education, that eighty percent of all schools have been rehabilitated after damages suffered from typhoon Cosme. Our feisty and courageous mayor stood up to contradict the claim as untrue. 