By Rex Catubig I was raised on Caton, that handy vernacular alphabet primer that looked like a thin prayer book. While we had the primer on hand, the teacher wrote the alphabet with chalk on the blackboard, said them one by one, and we would repeat after her. It…
By Rex Catubig ARELLANO-Bani was not always bustling. In the past, it was merely the route that led to Bonuan Catacdang and onwards. In the ‘70s, aside from the honky tonky joints, the only identifiable establishment in the area was the Dawel seafood restaurant, whose name derived from the…
By Rex Catubig I always threw it a glance but never really acknowledged its presence so that it might as well be non-existent. The edifice has always stood there—conspicuous yet unobtrusive. It stands unperturbed amid the cacophony and chaos of the marketplace, the Malimgas market being its next-door neighbor….
By Rex Catubig THE eastern sky began to darken at 2p.m. Soon after, an ominous burst of thunder warned of a heavy downpour. By that time, it was already raining gallons in Sta Barbara; and Urdaneta was also getting drenched. It was imminent, it was just a matter of…
By Rex Catubig THE seasonal high tide brought on by the lunar cycle aggravated by monsoon rains and storms has made Dagupan vulnerable to flooding, with Typhoon Crising and Emong and Dante, and who knows which other weather cohorts, on its heels setting record high inundation. The rising water…
By Rex Catubig SHE was scheduled to leave for Baguio that sultry afternoon. Not to take a breather from the oppressive July heat, but to scout possibilities for building a movie house there. Youngest brother Kerwin had developed a passion for movies and as a doting sister, she helped…
By Rex Catubig DURING the enrollment of incoming first year at the Dagupan City High School in 1960, the school officials headed by the erudite but stern Principal, Mr. Eduardo Q. Edralin from Lingayen, conceived the idea of grouping together all the honor graduates from the various public elementary…
By Rex Catubig MY brother was a Civil Engineer and a pioneer OFW way before the acronym was coined. He was working at the Pangasinan Public Works and Highways, building roads and bridges across the province, when the war in Vietnam escalated and there ensued a demand for construction…
By Rex Catubig IT was the mid ‘70s: the height of flower power, make love not war, and the iconic peace sign. It was my first trip to good ol’ USA, it was summer, and there was much more to see and experience than the must-visit recreation parks. Luck…
By Rex Catubig THE patriotic fervor was at its crest. The centuries of unrest and uprising against two imperial powers and the gruesome resistance against a third would-be colonizer, had finally paid off. In July 4,1946, the Filipinos proudly raised its flag up high as it gained its penultimate…
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