Garapalan and Paldwa-an among Onor-onors By Ermin Garcia Jr. The recent brazen attempt of some Dagupan City councilors to allocate for themselves P10 million in pork barrel (evidently as despedida gift and a chance to recoup their campaign expenses) through the last minute passage of a supplemental budget, just two…

Where did you and I go wrong? By Ermin Garcia Jr. As we continue to read accounts of brave witnesses from Mindanao who were used for wholesale and retail cheating in the last elections and came out to tell the truth, one cannot help but wonder why has the culture…

How to get rich quick in Dagupan City By Ermin Garcia Jr. Leave it to our incumbent city officials at the Dagupan City hall to show you how to get rich quick at the expense of the city government.        First they must know that you come from a…

Are we now a nation of vote-sellers? By Ermin Garcia Jr. Now that the people have spoken (either out of conviction or after having sold their votes to the highest bidders), I can only wonder whether Pangasinan’s towns and cities will continue to have a better deal, or more of…

Mayor Resuello, just another statistic today By Ermin Garcia Jr. At the rate the peace and order situation in the country is deteriorating, it would seem today  that the tragic death of  San Carlos City Mayor Jolly Resuello will mean nothing much but another statistic added to the PNP’s database…

Is ‘Operation Talsik Joe’ on? By Ermin Garcia Jr.  I hope our readers will oblige us with a bit of  breast-beating this once, crowing if you may, but we in the PUNCH are absolutely on Cloud 9, exhilarated over our being adjudged last week as the country’s Best Edited Weekly…

The “secret” COMELEC rule By Ermin Garcia Jr. Candidates beware!             There is a new and little known Comelec rule that hangs like a Damocles sword over your heads that can lead to your disqualification.             Curiously, the local Comelec officials in the province are ominously silent about its recent…

And the survey says… By Ermin Garcia Jr. After   four long days of respite from the campaign trail, the candidates must be raring to get back to the hustings while the electorate eagerly awaits the results of more recent surveys if only to confirm their own predictions on who the…

1,000 days as payback time By Ermin Garcia Jr. It’s showtime, folks! Watch out for the singing, dancing, baby-kissing clowns with their toothpaste smiles, their campaign vests stashed with P20, P50 and P100 bills, all hoping to lure voters with their “caring” stances.  But after the lowliest of the lowliest…

Another conspiracy in the offing By Ermin Garcia Jr. There are questions about the ongoing illegal construction activity inside the Magsaysay Park in Dagupan City that just boggle my mind. If the city engineer says the construction was never issued a building permit, and that her office has no knowledge…