By Leonardo Micua   THE latest rigodon in the Senate, which saw Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III succeeding Francis Escudero as Senate president, hardly came as a surprise. It was, in fact, an ouster waiting to happen. When Sotto’s closest ally, Senator Panfilo Lacson, exposed in a privileged speech the existence…

By Leonardo Micua   THE recent assurance from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 1 Director Rommel Tan that there are no ghost projects or substandard flood control initiatives in the region is a welcome relief. Coming from the very agency tasked with implementing all national government-funded infrastructure…

By Leonardo Micua   A day before PNP Chief General Nicolas Torre III was relieved of his post by Malacañang, Mayor Belen Fernandez, Vice Mayor Bryan Kua and some members of the Dagupan City council were at the office of Acting City Police Chief, Lt. Colonel Lawrence Keith Calub to test…

By Leonardo Micua   ​IT is widely understood that flood control projects relating to major rivers draining into the sea fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Despite this public knowledge, critics of Dagupan Mayor Belen Fernandez have been unfairly targeting her, attempting to…

By Leonardo Micua   BUSINESS tycoon ​Ramon Ang,  chairman of the board and CEO of San Miguel Corporation, has once again made headlines with a dual proposal for Metro Manila. In addition to offering a flood control solution at no cost to local governments, he intends to build a waste-to-energy…

By Leonardo Micua   THE recent actions of Dagupan City’s lone opposition councilor, Librada “Dada” Reyna, have sparked considerable discussions and scrutiny within political circles, particularly given the current composition of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. With an overwhelming “Super Majority” of 11 members allied with Mayor Belen Fernandez, many are questioning…

By Leonardo Micua   WE motored to Manila last Wednesday to pay our last respect to our boss, Ermin F. Garcia Jr., who made THE Sunday PUNCH , the jewel in Pangasinan journalism, just as what his father, Ermin E. Garcia Sr., wished when he founded the paper in 1956….

By Leonardo Micua   TYPHOON “Crising” caught many towns and cities not only in Pangasinan, but also in many parts of Luzon, the islands of Mindoro and Palawan, and some areas in the Visayas by surprise. They did not expect that kind of weather disturbance could trigger prolonged torrential rains that…

By Leonardo Micua    IT will no longer surprise many of us if the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) proceed on December 1 as scheduled. The announcement from the Commission on Elections that it is resuming the registration of new voters for the BSKE in August after postponing it…

By Leonardo Micua   THERE’S a whale of a difference between the present and the past Sangguniang Panlungsod of Dagupan City. Firstly, there is no more dividing line that separates the majority and minority councilors, a first in the city, with an 11-1 composition. In contrast, the past SP was…