By Eva C. Visperas AS Holy Week approaches and the air fills with reverence, I felt compelled to step away momentarily from the political landscape that often dominates our conversations. Instead, let’s focus on a significant moment of spiritual transformation for Bayambang – one that highlights the deep-rooted faith…
By Rex Catubig IT was 2,000 years ago when a Johnny-come-lately with his posse of peers, ventured out on a foot excursion across 91 miles of mountainous wasteland and desert from Nazareth to Jerusalem, walking 30 hours to their destination, to spend the Passover—a freedom celebration. From the Mount…
Tarp Sunday
By Ermin Garcia Jr. DAGUPEÑOS should thank their stars that it was Mayor Belen Fernandez who won the 2022 elections over former Mayor Brian Lim, and not the other way around like when the latter dislodged the reelectionist Fernandez in 2019. After listening to and reading the endless rants…
Mayor Belen’s political will
By Gonzalo Duque RECENT developments in our country may not look good for the Marcos administration in the light of the “illegal” arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte. In my previous columns, I wrote that unless there is a “triggering factor” where the administration of PBBM might suffer defeat…
Rage!
By Leonardo Micua THERE is no doubt that the announcement of COMELEC chairman Erwin George Garcia that barangay officials are allowed to campaign for their respective candidates in the coming election bodes well for the campaign of Mayor Belen Fernandez, Vice Mayor Bryan Kua and the rest of candidates of…
Kapitans and kagawads for the win
By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo I wrote “Yellow Light” to start the Poetree Train, a chain of poems about trees to celebrate the World Poetry Day nine years ago, 01 March 2016 published in “Kiew: An Anthology of Tree Poems”, a collection of 148 tree poems and ten translations into…
Trees, Kisses and the Yellow Light
By Farah G. Decano I recently watched an impassioned call for the return of former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (FPRRD) to the Philippines by a mother whose child was raped and killed by a drug addict. To her, illegal drug users do not deserve a day in court and…
Of amygdalas and prefrontal cortex
By Eva C. Visperas AS the political climate heats up for the May 12 midterm elections in Pangasinan, the use of dirty tactics in campaigning has reached new lows. I don’t usually get glued to Facebook, but lately, I’ve found myself doing so as a way of assessing the…
The filthy campaign trail online
By Rex Catubig TO prepare for a reluctant friend’s birthday dinner, I cruised around to scout for some down-home stuff to make into hors d’oeuvres and crudites as a prelude to dinner. I found the “biggest oysters” in town. Not homegrown as I had wanted, but imported from neighboring…
Beyond birthday candles
By Ermin Garcia Jr. A thought deemed most unlikely to happen, happened at the highest national political level last week. Sen. Imee Marcos, elder sister of PBBM, bolted her brother’s political party with an unprecedented twist. She decided to politically distance herself from her brother’s politics upon getting her…




