THE discovery of 154,000 bags of suspected smuggled rice in Bulacan last week is a sure indicator that the declared war with smugglers and hoarders of rice is far from over. In fact, it has not started notwithstanding the President’s brave words – Your days are numbered.” That successful raid…

FOR the past 11months, nothing has been heard from both Gov. Ramon Guico III and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan about a general direction and programs to boost livelihood of farmers and fisherfolks amid continued rising prices of basic commodities. The provincial government has not submitted a single plan for intervention, neither…

THE recent severe flooding experience by almost all the barangays in Dagupan City became a fodder for all types of critical commentary by opposing political groups in social media. The groups opposed to the Fernandez administration blame Mayor Belen for aggravating the flood situation by allowing the DPWH to construct…

RESILIENT people are those that have the ability to adjust, to recover readily from adversity, life changes, illnesses. Indeed, the touted resiliency of Filipinos has shown that we always recovered and adjusted to a life, coping with more than 20 typhoons every year, some deadly and destructive. We have found…

HERE we go again. Super Typhoon Egay came and went, and thank God, Pangasinan was largely unscathed, at least compared to other provinces in the Ilocos Region. The Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported only P34-million in damages to the “agriculture” sector. Still, it was about…

WHAT’S a senior newspaper like the Sunday PUNCH to do when it reaches 67? A lot more than when it was 15, 30, 50 years old! Unlike many journalists whose physical ages begin experiencing difficulties in movements and memory when they reach 65, The PUNCH’s mission as a community newspaper…

IF the basic terms for the planned construction of Pangasinan Link Expressway (PLEX) by the San Miguel Holdings Corporation as revealed by Gov. Ramon Guico III is true, no one can argue that it is, indeed, “a sweetheart deal” for Pangasinan. For starters, the governor assured us that his P34-billion…

THE recent brouhaha over the missteps in launching the “Love the Philippines” theme and slogan as the country’s tourism campaign may have dismayed local governments particularly by those that believe that only a catchy slogan national campaign will lure foreign tourists to our land. It is particularly that view that…

THE prices of rice, garlic and onions, three basic commodities produced in Pangasinan, have been increasing for over a year but consumers and households have not heard of plans and strategy from the Guico administration that can assure them of efforts to stabilize prices. Nothing has been heard from Governor…