By Rex Catubig   THEY were high school kids in their teens — tabula rasas eager to absorb colors and paint dreams. I was a young college grad bursting with idealism and desirous to impart social consciousness and awaken young minds to the harsh realities of a world in the…

By Rex Catubig IT was like high tide, as if the rivers and tributaries had overflowed and flooded the city. The ginormous crowd was like shoals of fish that were washed ashore and swarmed all over the downtown loop. The parade crowd and spectators for the city’s 75th Diamond Jubilee kickstart…

By Rex Catubig   THE founding of the City Charter took place on June 20, 1947. It was the culmination of the fervent dream of the city fathers—embodied in Republic Act 170 that House Speaker Eugenio Perez, of neighboring historic San Carlos, authored and which was signed into law on…

By Rex Catubig   THE  fiesta frolic is lackluster minus a visit to the certified blockbuster feature — the holiday bazaar on Galvan Street. This street bonanza showcases a surreal array of motley clothing, walls of shoes and slippers, prismatic sunglasses adorning wire trees, cornucopia of food, fruits, vegetables, and…

By Rex Catubig   I’VE always been enamored with bridges. My generation was awed by the Bridge on The River Kwai and stomped to its marching music. But my forever love is the romantic Golden Gate Bridge that straddles the strait between San Francisco and Sausalito. It is the reason…

By Rex Catubig   HE only finished grade 6. Because they were poor. Life was hard and a constant struggle. He did all kinds of odd jobs—pushcart mover, barker, househelp–he had done it all. “Mairap so manbilay na siamiran anak” (It’s difficult to raise nine children), he sighed, though without…

By Rex Catubig   I always fell asleep on my way to Dagupan during my sem break from college. Despite being cramped elbow to elbow on the wooden bench seat of the Pantranco bus, the wind surge from the open sides, the drone of the engine, and the rocking motion…

By Rex Catubig    AS we continue to rally and promote the restoration and revitalization of the old PNR Train Station, which is at the center of our advocacy, skeptics are quick to raise the issue of priority. “Bakit yan ang ginagawa, wala namang pakinabang ang tao diyan?” Coming from…

By Rex Catubig   EVERY culture has its own unique way of grappling with the concept of death and redemption; of life here and life hereafter. Of life in full circle. It manifests itself in some odd rites and rituals: perhaps bizarre, absurd, irrational and fanciful. But beneath all that,…

By Rex Catubig   THE Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan, the forerunner of PNR, began building in 1888 following a royal decree issued by King Alfonso of Spain mandating the laying out of a railway system in the island of Luzon. After years of extensive construction by Filipino labor, the railway started…