In celebration of women

By Marifi Jara

I am a feminist.  But that absolutely does not mean I hate men.

I love books by women writers, for example, but my top five favorite authors are all men: Irish Frank McCourt, Columbian Gabriel Garcia Marquez, global wanderer Pico Iyer and our very own Eric Gamalinda and Francisco “Manong Frankie” Sionil Jose from Rosales town here (not necessarily in that ranking).

I am proud that we are one of a few countries to have two women presidents, but I must say former President Corazon Aquino and GMA are not among my heroes.

At work, I have always found male bosses easier to cope with than women.
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A few good men

By Marifi Jara

The truth? You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth!

Not verbatim I think but those were some of the most memorable lines delivered by (the eternally groovy actor) Jack Nicholson in his powerful courtroom acting in the movie A Few Good Men.

I can almost imagine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo blurting out those words, perhaps with more fury than Nicholson’s stiff-collared Col. Jessep character, in the midst of the public uproar triggered by the series of scandals hounding her administration and her own family.
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Culture of secrecy

By Marifi Jara

While  the media was busy wringing every possible angle on the unfolding ZTE story, not much attention was given to what could well be a landmark decision involving the freedom of speech that we have, which, thanks to our own efforts  at fighting for democracy, is one of the most extensive there is in the world.

On February 15, a Supreme Court decision, penned by Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, was issued declaring that government warnings, even if not in the form of official orders or circulars, curtail press freedom.
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Collecting on the MDGs

By Marifi Jara

Without awareness of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), both on the part of the people and public officials, there will be no accountability in terms of keeping these promises.

Our local officials must realize that they need to deliver on what our government signed up to and the people must collect on the MDG pledges.

Tracking the numbers, as what many non-government organizations and the National Statistical Coordinating Board have been doing, is barely enough.

The numbers do not necessarily paint the real picture and the numbers can easily lie.
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Think MDGs, act LGUs

By Marifi Jara

The Millennium Development Goals, or the MDGs, has for a while now been a buzzword among the development sector. Non-government organizations and civil society groups have been keeping watch on the numbers as reported by the national government, particularly by NEDA and the NSO.

But media coverage has been sparse and as a consequence, awareness of the public, who stand to benefit from the achievement of the MDG targets, has also been, well, practically nil.
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Piece of heaven

By Marifi Jara

I planned on writing about the largely overlooked Millenium  Development Goals this week, but one e-mail that came through I feel deserves space. Talk of the MDG targets can wait a bit.

The e-mail is a reaction to Kristine Oineza’s Young Roots column last week from Mr. Max Mararac, originally from Barrio Quintong in San Carlos City. More than anything, it is inspiring to know that our young do inspire our readers. I am also moved by Mr. Mararac’s lovely tale of leaving but not really saying goodbye to Pangasinan.
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Drawn and hooked

By Kristine Oineza

I was born and raised in La Union but I, as I believe majority of us Ilocanos are, have strong Pangasinan links.

My father is from Bani. I have an aunt from San Fabian and another from Natividad. 

We never really went on family visits to their hometowns during my growing up years. But I have always been somehow aware of my ties with our neighboring province.
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In search of San Fabian’s identity

By Marifi Jara

MY town’s fiesta has once again come and gone.

It was the usual routine. Some program and ballroom dancing in the evenings, catered to various groups - barangay officials, the market community, balikbayans, civic organizations. Then there’s the perya at the huge vacant lot across the church. It is surrounded by stalls peddling all sorts of dry goods (so many products flooding in from China!) and food (so many of them selling tupig and cheap hamburger!), and along the side facing the highway, a line of makeshift joints for videoke singing. And what Filipino fiesta would be complete without the crowning of the queen and her court, with of course the subsequent parade around town.
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Love my neighbor

By Wilna Memorial

Pangasinan and La Union are neighboring provinces in Northern Luzon. With their geographical position, it is but natural that the two provinces create a special kind of friendship, a friendship that is embraced by the people from both provinces.

I am from La Union, born and grew in La Union, but I am proud to say that most of my close and loyal friends are from Pangasinan. Some I met during high school days but most of them I met in college.
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