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…
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…
The wasted opportunity for a WTE in Dagupan
By Leonardo Micua THE recent actions of Dagupan City’s lone opposition councilor, Librada “Dada” Reyna, have sparked considerable discussions and scrutiny within political circles, particularly given the current composition of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. With an overwhelming “Super Majority” of 11 members allied with Mayor Belen Fernandez, many are questioning…
Reyna wants documents, a driver et al
By Leonardo Micua WE motored to Manila last Wednesday to pay our last respect to our boss, Ermin F. Garcia Jr., who made THE Sunday PUNCH , the jewel in Pangasinan journalism, just as what his father, Ermin E. Garcia Sr., wished when he founded the paper in 1956….
Carrying on with Ermin’s legacy and devotion
By Leonardo Micua TYPHOON “Crising” caught many towns and cities not only in Pangasinan, but also in many parts of Luzon, the islands of Mindoro and Palawan, and some areas in the Visayas by surprise. They did not expect that kind of weather disturbance could trigger prolonged torrential rains that…