By Gonzalo Duque THE circus or spectacle thrown into the PBBM administration is now becoming an irritation. It is very clear that the organization of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) was meant to render the investigation by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee useless. As of press time, ICI…
By Leonardo Micua THE 2026 budget of Dagupan City, amounts to P1. 83 billion, made history when it was passed during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) on October 14, 2025 – the earliest annual budget ever approved in the city’s history. Thanks to Vice Mayor Bryan…
By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo POLITICIANS often underestimate the common sense of ordinary citizens. To them, the public is there to give them votes, in exchange for their “little mercies” during elections and disasters, where their names appear on every donation they make, taken from the public’s collective taxes used…
By Farah G. Decano WHEN former Mayor Al Fernandez, Jr. proudly presented to the public his administration’s annual savings, the astute political observer Atty. Gonzalo Duque offered a sharp counter: savings often resulted from unimplemented or poorly planned projects. Following this logic, we cannot help but question the recent narrative that the swiftness of passing the…
By Eva C. Visperas IN a time when noise often drowns out truth, it becomes necessary to see things with our own eyes. And that is exactly what we did —a quiet, unannounced inspection of the Edades-Bernal Museum site in Dagupan City on October 7, 2025. What we found…
By Rex Catubig THE Franklin prevailed despite the predicaments that plagued its reincarnation. Despite its travails of survival, yet another daybreak came, and a silver lining appeared when the visionary Belen T Fernandez was elected Mayor. She had envisioned the Franklin as part of the grandiose plan to develop…
By Gonzalo Duque THE findings that there were 421 ghost projects related to flood control nationwide exposed the weaknesses of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as an institution mandated to accomplish its task of providing and addressing the infrastructure needs of our country. Other than addressing…
By Leonardo Micua THE habagat season has just ended and the amihan season has begun blowing in. Yet strangely, the floodwaters in some parts of Calasiao town and Dagupan City have not eased a bit. The sight of submerged streets and stranded residents has become disheartening — a routine which…
By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo RECENTLY, so many “pa-cute” reels of politicians pass through my feeds, on Facebook, Thread, Instagram, and X. Some of them pose like harmless, beautiful, desirable faces, love teams, others post tender moments with their families, others lace the reels with humor, even rehashed curses, the…
By Farah G. Decano MY conversation with a Commission On Audit (COA) Supervisor quickly transitioned from a routine client query to a deep dive into the controversial Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects. What she revealed highlighted a significant disconnect between national infrastructure goals and local governance….
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