By Gonzalo Duque MERRY Christmas to all our readers. We have been writing for The Sunday Punch for quite a long time. Each Christmas party of The Punch, our Publisher Ermin Garcia Jr. would invite us to attend. I have never hesitated to grace the occasion, especially when asked…
By Leonardo Micua WISHING everyone a joyful Christmas! As the angel proclaimed to the shepherds the birth of Jesus Christ, we also say: “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All!” This holiday season, have you noticed a significant reduction in fireworks compared to previous years? We notice this nightly…
Playing cat and mouse with cops?
By Farah G. Decano IT is a common observation that those who hold the reins of government often grant special privileges to the wealthy—whether in exchange for private favors or to avoid conflict with the influential. Conversely, policymakers provide subsidies and social safety nets to the marginalized, often securing…
The Disregarded Middle Class
By Eva C. Visperas IT looked like an ordinary Monday morning at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan—the last regular session of the year. The usual faces were there. The usual routine unfolded. Media practitioners quietly settled into their familiar corners of the session hall and the Vice Governor’s lounge, ears tuned…
When words hurt more than politics
By Rex Catubig POPPING up like a repressed traumatic memory, amid the heartbreaking stories in the wake of Typhoon Odette some years back, is the brave birth of a baby on a sidewalk lashed by rampaging wind and rain. It harks back to similar stories, in different locales, but under…
Christmas it’s not
By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo THE death of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral involves no foul play, according to Secretary Jonvic Remulla of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). This very quick assessment was tempered by the statement of Jose Melencio…
The “Cabal” on Cabral
By Gonzalo Duque I have not written about Speaker Joe de Venecia for quite some time until I saw a personal invitation for his 90th birthday in Manila to be celebrated on December 28, instead of his December 26th birthdate. There are a lot of stories to be told…
Manong Joe at 90, outlives most PH leaders
By Leonardo Micua WE note about 2nd District Rep. Mark Cojuangco being passionate about the construction of a nuclear power plant in Labrador, same as what he’s doing for his two other mega projects— the Lingayen Gulf Seawall, and the conversion of the Lingayen-Binmaley Baywalk into a six-lane national…
Nuclear power plant construction
By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo “TUNGANGA” has different meanings depending on the context of the person saying it. For example, when confronted with exceptional beauty, one is likely to say, “Napatunganga ako sa ganda!” (I was awed at the beauty!). That is the context of my late mother, who loved…
Tunganga
By Farah G. Decano THE intensifying legislative debate over regulating political dynasties centers on the proposed Anti-Dynasty Bill. The urgency has escalated, with numerous bills filed in Congress, even before the President’s call to prioritize the measure. A recent proposal by Representatives Sandro Marcos and Faustino Dy III has already…




