The Small Town Charm By Glaiza Bernadeth Pinto I had been in Alcala, Pangasinan for more than a decade now. It has been a decade of knowing the new culture, trying out the cuisine and practicing beliefs, following their societal norms and using the language of this small town.

Inflation By +Oscar V. Cruz D. D. “Inflation” is a supposedly technical term reserved for the understanding of professionals in banking, business and industry. The reality of an already high and still progressively higher inflation rule in the country is periodically revealed by the government agency concerned. And from time…

Independence granted not “proclaimed” By Gerry Garcia ON JULY 4, 1946, the church bells in the city of Manila rang loud the joyous news. While one flag was lowered, another was raised, and a new nation was born the Republic of the Philippines. This historic grant of independence from Mother…

Munching the hard nuts By Jun Velasco WE saw on TV the other night our friend, Philippine Air Lines vice president for media, Rolly Estabillo, taking an LRT ride for home. Instead of using his car, Rolly — he was our editor in a Manila daily in the early 80’s…

Congrats, Guv’nor Spines! By Gonzalo Duque ON the occasion of Governor Spines’ first year anniversary last July first, we wish to say something good about him. So, Butch, it’s not true that we have changed political color ha, when you read our glowing article about Congressman Victor Agbayani, who is…

Farm wastes help sustain soil productivity By Sosimo Ma. Pablico At the rate prices of inorganic fertilizers are soaring to high heavens, farmers may as well learn to use their farm wastes such as crop residues, farm manures and weeds to sustain the productivity of their farms.  For most farmers,…

Manang Mani By Glaiza Bernadeth Pinto She is a main fixture in campus and many students turn to her for motherly advice or simply for just some friendly chitchat. Her name is Lolita Lazaro, but we, and several generations of students before us, fondly call her Manang Mani. Manang Mani,…

Study of contrasts By +Oscar V. Cruz D. D. There must be a thousand and one substantial and incidental contrasts existing in the country, the most distinct and appalling one being the great divide between the powerful and the helpless who are identified with the wealthy and the impoverished, the…

Public toilets, public shame By Gerry Garcia GUV sues jueteng boss. Eddie Panlilio, the first ever priest-turned-governor of Pampanga, resumed realm of jueteng lord  Bong Pineda’s kingdom, is up against what the experts say are  “the odds”. In the first place, aside from Bong being a gambling boss in a…

Get a life By Jun Velasco LIFE’s paradox continues to befuddle us with the gory accident at the Visayan sea with hundreds of Pinoy passengers of our local version of Titanic killed  by drowning. You can’t blame diminutive Pangulo for fuming (please remove the “mad” — Al Mendoza) because the…