By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo IN writing, I seek more to understand myself better than to enlighten others. There are times when inspiration only comes an hour after the deadline, with just a smell, a memory, a face. Anything could trigger a word. Others approach writing differently. My friend, historian…
By Farah G. Decano “PAKURONG” is a Pangasinan word which literally means “to allow the crawling of a person, animal, or thing.” Nowadays, the term refers to goods or money furtively given to the electorate at least hours before the voting process stars in exchange for the candidates’ names included in…
Pakurong
By Eva C. Visperas I never set out to be a fortune teller — far from it. But in my previous write-ups, I offered bold foresight on the electoral outcomes in several hotly contested areas – places where the battles were expected to go down to the wire. Those…
Reflections after the vote

By Rex Catubig IT’S a morality tale for all time. And it runs the length and breadth of the years—from the bible story of Judas losing his mind and killing himself, to the Greek dramaturgy of antiquities, on towards unraveling history and the present. It’s the same throughout, with…
Post-election TikTok tale
By Ermin Garcia Jr. THE endorsement of the whole Unliserbisyo team of Belen Fernandez-Bryan Kua by the Iglesia ni Cristo must have come as a big shock to the LIFE barkada and mother-son team of Celia and Brian Lim. It will be recalled that son Brian arrogantly warned of…
Can LIFE survive without INC?
By Gonzalo Duque AS I was writing this column, I heard that the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) just announced their candidates for Dagupan City, including mayor, vice mayor, and down to the last councilor – all from the Unliserbisyo team. One might ask why a religious group endorsed an…
INC backs entire Unliserbisyo team
By Leonardo Micua TOMORROW, May 12, the people will go to the polls to elect leaders who will take the mantle of responsibility in governing them for another three years for local officials, and six years for the senators. We just hope and pray that they will be making…
Pakurong is real
By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo I have met people who have always maintained that their religion is the only one that can save the soul, without any doubt. Most dominant religions profess their own as the only path to God. I believe otherwise. This kind of certainty negates the complexity…
Certainty
By Farah G. Decano “TRUST your gut,” the saying goes – that subtle, nagging feeling, the instinctual nudge that guides decisions without logical explanation. In Filipino, it’s called “kutob,” a rapid flash of unease or certainty. Have you ever felt an inexplicable aversion to someone, a feeling that defied…
Gut feelings
By Eva C. Visperas WITH just four days to go before the May 12, 2025 elections as I write this piece, the campaign trail in Pangasinan has been, surprisingly and thankfully, free of bloodshed. For a province known for intense political rivalries, this is a small victory worth recognizing….