Cleaning 111-year old Pangasinan t’s the 111th founding anniversary of Pangasinan on November 13, the first under Governor Amado Espino Jr., a new leadership in the province following a long line of Agbayani administration. But the governor, who convincingly won in the May election, won’t be home for the celebration….

Vote-buying still rules First the bad news. It came as no surprise that last Monday’s barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections were marred by vote-buying. The practice is so culturally ingrained that the Pangasinan language actually has a word for it: Pakurong. Language, indeed, is one of the most earnest reflections…

It takes a village The barangay may be the smallest government unit but it is a political structure that is deeply rooted in the Filipino soul. In pre-colonial Philippines, long before the country’s progression towards the concept of nationhood, barangays were already in place. Our forefathers formed small communities and…

The truth and nothing but…. W HEN Joey, the son of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., blew the whistle on the now cancelled NBN deal with China’s ZTE, not everyone readily believed him. The political connection is too telling. And his company was a failed bidder in that project. The…

Big hero Offenders, more so the petty ones, are often heard defending themselves from the crime they committed by citing poverty as the main factor that pushed them to err. And so when a poor 11-year old boy hands over to the authorities a bag containing P18,000 in cold cash…

Getting on with the election THE Commission on Elections is ready. The police force is ready. Even the overworked teachers are ready. And the voters, they surely are ready. So what’s with the “urgent” stamp engraved by Malacañang on the bill seeking the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan…

Beyond whim One of the biggest ails of our country is the lack of a comprehensive development plan, one that is thoughtfully-crafted and institutionalized so that programs can be solidly pursued regardless of who holds power. As things stand now, priorities and policies hinge on the whims of our politicians….

Troubleshooting the city The administration of former Dagupan Mayor Benjamin Lim has left a long trail of flawed ventures. The Malimgas Market, which is pretty much an imposing edifice at the heart of the city center, continues to bleed out money from the local coffers in the form of operational…

The PNP vs. guns-for-hire industry More blood has been shed this week, this time in the coastal town of San Fabian, less than a month after the spillin San Carlos City. The victims and the circumstances of the slaying are chillingly similar: both victims were lawyers, still at the prime…

Honesty not the best policy The proposal to postpone the scheduled barangay election on October 29 has brought to the fore a major ill in the country’s systemof governance – patronage politics. We’ve all known about this for a long time now, this “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”…