A bad idea By Leonardo Micua THE call of Agriculture Secretary William Dar for provincial governments to take an active part in the procurement of palay directly from farmers gravely affected by the low farmgate price of their product, is not a well vetted proposition.  We are not a pessimist but local governments going to…

Wanted: Super body to check flooding By Leonardo Micua WHILE most of us were still snoring in bed, Tropical Depression Jenny crossed Northern Luzon and sneaked past Dagupan City and Pangasinan. And before we could switch on our TV to get the latest update on the weather, “Jenny” was already howling…

Political persecution By Leonardo Micua WE read several posts on the social media that our good friend Finnela Sim is now out as sports commissioner of the city government. Councilor Joey Tamayo said as much in his own Facebook account: “Mam Finnela Sim. I heard the news that you gave…

Brian’s indecisiveness By Leonardo Micua AFTER drawing flak for suspending classes of pupils and students too late on August 9,  Mayor Brian Lim made another slip four days later on August 13  (Tuesday). He told newsmen in an ambush interview: “Sa lahat ng decision-making na nagyayari sa City Hall, ang pinakamahirap…

Dagupan BFP’s poor response time By Leonardo Micua BOTH the Bureau of Fire Protection in Dagupan and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) suddenly found themselves facing the eye of the storm when the San Fabian BFP was the first to respond to the fire that gobbled…

Problems created by Dengvaxia scare By Leonardo Micua MANY welcomed an announcement by Malacañang through Presidential Spokesman Sal Panelo just few days ago that it is open to the use of Dengvaxia vaccine amid the alarming spike in the number of dengue cases nationwide, particularly in the Visayas. Recall that…

Taxis vs. tricycles By Leonardo Micua WE heard reports that the taxis will begin to operate in Dagupan and Pangasinan starting August 15 this year. If this is true, the commuters peeved by motorized tricycles that often overcharge their passengers to their destination, will rejoice. “Magkano ang ibabayad ninyo?” is…

Teaching Thurman a lesson By Leonardo Micua NO doubt, all Filipinos are glued to their seats today in front of their TV sets to watch the epic battle in Las Vegas, Nevada between our own fighting Senator Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao against the undefeated super welterweight champion, the trash-talking Keith Thurman….

Transport modernization is here By Leonardo Micua  “WOW”, one or two netizens posted on social media, in reacting to an earlier Facebook post made by fellow media man Ike Pallinar who took photos, through his cell phone, of a fleet of brand new and air-condition taxis that will soon take…

The challenge of flooding By Leonardo Micua ABALANG ko no onsabi la’y balon mayor, nabalang la’y delap”, an exasperated woman vendor on Galvan Street whined just a few meters away from us on day one of the administration of Mayor Brian Lim. We did not give this a hoot as…