Do you know the way to Baguio?
 By Al S. Mendoza
I WAS in Baguio only a while back and guess what I saw: A totally altered traffic in the City of Pines.
Has Mayor Bautista become a sudden fan of Bayani Fernando?
Fernando is that favorite bloke of Ate Glo - the favorite son of Marikina City whose penchant for roads and traffic is rivaled only by his obsession for everything pink.
Pink overpasses. Pink foot bridges. Pink public urinals. Pink bus/jeepney/taxi stops. Pink road railings.
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
A trip rooted to roots
 By Al S. Mendoza
I HAD a chance encounter with Mayor Rey Velasco of Sta. Barbara on Tuesday at the fabled Dagupeña Restaurant.
After the usual handshakes and hellos, I asked the good mayor, “What’s the latest on your airport project?”
Rey was quick to reply.
“The feasibility study is ongoing,” he said. “But don’t you worry a thing, Al. I’ll get my airport project done. I can guarantee you that. You’ll be the first to know when the ground-breaking ceremonies will be held.” So there. Right from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
El Nido is Hundred Islands of Palawan
 By Al S. Mendoza
I WAS in El Nido, Palawan last week and the place reminded me instantly of Hundred Islands in Lucap, Alaminos City, Pangasinan.
Why, because El Nido’s beach resorts resemble those of our very own Hundred Islands.
Tallish mountains proud as Pangasinan politicians.
Sea shores as white as those at Governor’s Island, Quezon Island and Children’s Island of the Hundred Islands. Schools of fish abound in the area.
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
My ‘Deep Throat’ in Pacquiao Team
 By Al S. Mendoza
NOW it can be told.
The reason why Doug Flescher was replaced by Tom Miller as one of the three judges in the recent Pacquiao-Marquez fight was through the instigation of a genuine Filipino boxing lover.
I cannot divulge his character here, lest I incur the ire of the guy himself and tells his friends at the US embassy to revoke my five-year I Visa (Journalist Visa) ASAP.
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
Marquez mars Manny’s day
 By Al S. Mendoza
MANNY Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez recently showed the other side of their lives.
Pacquiao is humble, Marquez rude.
Interviewed on TV by ABS-CBN on April 6 during the “Invasion: The Philippines vs The World” boxing card at the Araneta Coliseum, both fighters dished off contrasting personalities.
Marquez unleashed gutter behavior when he told Pacquiao during the interview by Dyan Castillejo: “You should immediately give me a rematch because you know that you lost the last time we met (March 16).”
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
The lure of homeland
 By Al S. Mendoza
MANY balikbayans are now looking for homes they say they’ll need when they retire and return for good to their country of origin.
Some prefer condos, others townhouses.
A few of my balikbayan-friends say they like lots where they can build a house and a vegetable garden and a mini orchard.
“I miss our vegetables, like ampalaya, camote, patola, eggplant, okra, allocon and saluyot,” said one of them, who’s been living in
New York City for the last 20 years or so.
The condo- and townhouse-seekers are doing their home-hunting in the metropolis, targeting Makati and Quezon City.
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
The swim suit of Kuya Leonie
 By Al S. Mendoza
FIRST, he sends me a text message from Los Angeles, California.
“I am arriving tomorrow on board a Korean Air jet,” he says. “Hope to see you immediately upon my arrival.”
“C yah when I C yah!”
Next day, he calls.
“I have just landed,” says he. “Am here at the airport. Where can I see you?”
“Now? Today?”
“Yeah,” says he. “You want a swim suit, right?”
“Ah, you are here for the summer, ha?”
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
Praise for National Punch
 By Al S. Mendoza
OK, OK, calm down, fellas.
Why must we fight?
Let’s leave the fighting to the boxers.
Why the whining?
It’s better to applaud than to upload anger. Like a smile, applauding is good for the heart.
So, let’s stop questioning the victory of Manny Pacquiao?
He won, period.
He won by the slimmest of margins, by the skin of his teeth.
What’s wrong with that?
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
Was Pacquiao saved?
 By Al S. Mendoza
AGAIN, in accordance with deadline rules, I wrote this piece four days before fight day today, March 16.
So by now, I believe that many of you already know who won in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Did our own Manny Pacquiao win? Or did our Pambansang Kamao lose to the Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez?
Of course, I had predicted as usual a Pacquiao victory.
I hope I was right?
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
Prospects for Pacquiao
 By Al S. Mendoza
THE TALK of the town is the Pacquiao-Marquez fight on March 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The most common prediction is Pacquiao will have a hard time against Marquez.
I can believe that. But Pacquaio, eternally oozing with talent, can handle things with ease - as always.
Marquez (Juan Manuel) can run because, against Pacquiao (Manny), the Mexican fights like he is on board a bicycle.
Marquez did that the first time he met the National Fist in 2004.
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Filed under Opinion, General Admission by Sunday Punch.
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