COMMUNITIES everywhere in Pangasinan expected vote-buying spree in the last two days before May 9, everywhere except the Comelec offices. Despite all the threats of legal consequences in media by the Comelec officials, voters were up late nights and early dawn on the streets waiting for convoys to stop in…

THE time for reckoning for local government’s performance during the COVID-19 pandemic is on. Pangasinan’s voters will undoubtedly go to the polls on Monday with recent memories of how they fared at the height of the pandemic. How they were assisted by their elected officials will likely cross their minds…

THE country is headed for the homestretch in the campaign period for both national and local candidates to earn definitive support for their bid in the 2022 national and local elections. And to say that contest is getting exciting would be an understatement. At the local level, many communities are…

THE long coastline of Pangasinan is the envy of many provinces because it provides a natural environment that augurs well for the development and promotion of a province as a major tourism destination. Others need to be more creative to attract both investors and visitors to their provinces. But having…

THE Bible is all about love.  Taken into its entirety, the Good Book tells us that love is the ultimate thing in our earthly existence. As the Good Lord said, “Love one another as I love you.” Stray from that and you will be lost.  Forever. Even those you hate,…

A CASUAL road trip to neighboring province La Union, through the main highway from Pangasinan via Damortis in La Union will quickly make Pangasinan traveler wonder -what is it that makes La Union strictly implement and enforce campaign rules that Pangasinan can’t seem to do at all? Traveling from any…

WHO’S minding the store when nobody’s looking? The campaign fever for the local elections is heating up with little or no concern about consequences from complete disregard of minimum health protocols. Hundreds of color-coded uniformed teams of local candidates are seen scouring communities handing out flyers, competing for space for…

NOW that the local campaign has officially started, it’ time to get down to brass tacks. While we are holding the national and local elections simultaneously, the election that truly matters is the local elections. It is their results that will immediately impact on our communities’ and families’ lives. In…

AFTER two years of difficulties finding ways to reach relatives from both sides, Pangasinan and Metro Manila, in the least expensive and readily available transport between the two points since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, families today are finally able to plan and travel with ease on board buses with…

WITH still 12 days before the official campaign period for local elections, our communities are already riddled with posters. They are glued on walls, tied around electric posts, hung on cable wires and nailed to trees. And because there are no rules regulating use of posters until campaign officially starts,…