By Leonardo Micua WE gladly welcome House Bill 5133 filed by Abono Party-list Representatives Robert Estrella Jr., with perhaps all, if not most, of our Pangasinan reps as co-authors, seeking the reapportionment of the big province into eight legislative districts from its present six. This move is actually long…
By Leonardo Micua THE 2026 budget of Dagupan City, amounts to P1. 83 billion, made history when it was passed during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) on October 14, 2025 – the earliest annual budget ever approved in the city’s history. Thanks to Vice Mayor Bryan…
A budget way ahead of deadline
By Leonardo Micua THE habagat season has just ended and the amihan season has begun blowing in. Yet strangely, the floodwaters in some parts of Calasiao town and Dagupan City have not eased a bit. The sight of submerged streets and stranded residents has become disheartening — a routine which…
Temporary solution turns tragic
By Leonardo Micua WE heard that Dagupan City is hosting a Flood Summit this month to tackle the problem that has long been tormenting its people—flooding. This is one summit we should not miss. Believing that the solution to Dagupan’s frequent flooding lies in engineering and science, the organizers…
A summit for flood solutions
By Leonardo Micua THE sudden resignation of two top executives from the Pangasinan provincial government two weeks ago has sparked widespread speculation. The resignations of Provincial Administrator Melicio Patague III and Provincial Accountant Marlon Operana came as a shock to many. Both had been with Governor Ramon Guico III…
Get the secrets out
By Leonardo Micua THE latest rigodon in the Senate, which saw Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III succeeding Francis Escudero as Senate president, hardly came as a surprise. It was, in fact, an ouster waiting to happen. When Sotto’s closest ally, Senator Panfilo Lacson, exposed in a privileged speech the existence…
Senate shake-up
By Leonardo Micua THE recent assurance from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 1 Director Rommel Tan that there are no ghost projects or substandard flood control initiatives in the region is a welcome relief. Coming from the very agency tasked with implementing all national government-funded infrastructure…
The politics of flooding
By Leonardo Micua A day before PNP Chief General Nicolas Torre III was relieved of his post by Malacañang, Mayor Belen Fernandez, Vice Mayor Bryan Kua and some members of the Dagupan City council were at the office of Acting City Police Chief, Lt. Colonel Lawrence Keith Calub to test…
‘Militics’ and Torre’s fall
By Leonardo Micua IT is widely understood that flood control projects relating to major rivers draining into the sea fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Despite this public knowledge, critics of Dagupan Mayor Belen Fernandez have been unfairly targeting her, attempting to…
Who’s in charge of flood control infrastructure?
By Leonardo Micua BUSINESS tycoon Ramon Ang, chairman of the board and CEO of San Miguel Corporation, has once again made headlines with a dual proposal for Metro Manila. In addition to offering a flood control solution at no cost to local governments, he intends to build a waste-to-energy…




