Pangasinan’s longest-running newspaper ends 70-year run

DAGUPAN CITY—After seven decades of chronicling the lives, triumphs, and struggles of Pangasinenses, The Sunday Punch, Pangasinan’s longest-running community newspaper, has published its final edition, closing a remarkable 70-year chapter in local journalism.

Its farewell issue, dated July 5–11, 2026, carried the poignant banner headline: “Our last hurrah: Final issue after 70 years of punching.” The lead story opened with a bittersweet message:

“What was expected to be a celebration of seven decades of community journalism has instead become a moment of farewell as The Sunday Punch publishes what is expected to be its final print edition after 70 years of serving Pangasinan.”

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Instead of the usual lineup of news stories, the commemorative issue was devoted entirely to the newspaper’s history, memories shared by its staff, and tributes from readers, public officials, and community members whose lives it documented through the decades.

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Challenges of print

The paper’s closure was announced by its new owner, who has not been made public and who acquired the publication from the late Ermin Garcia Jr., its longtime publisher and editor in chief who died in July 2025 at the age of 77.

The newspaper’s new owner did not issue a statement explaining the decision to cease publication. However, a staff member said the closure was likely driven by the same challenges confronting many print newspapers today, including declining advertising revenues, rising operating costs, and a shrinking readership as more people turn to online content.

Another employee said the staff was caught off guard when they were informed less than a month ago that the newspaper would stop operations.

‘Bittersweet’

”It’s really painful,” an administrative staff member said, reflecting the sentiment shared by many employees.

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“It comes at a time when the paper marks its 70th anniversary—a bittersweet coincidence that has left readers, former staff, and the local community saddened by its end,” the farewell banner read.

For those who worked in its newsroom, The Sunday Punch was more than a newspaper—it was a lifelong mission.

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Eva Visperas, who joined the publication as a reporter and columnist in 1991, said the discipline, integrity, and values instilled by Garcia Jr. remain among the greatest gifts of her journalism career.

“It is a treasure that we will carry until our last breath,” she said.

Visperas also recalled the staff’s unwavering commitment to ensuring every issue reached its readers.

Truth came at cost

“Not a single issue was missed. Neither rain nor floodwaters, earthquakes, massive flooding, nor even the COVID-19 pandemic stopped us,” she said.

Founded in 1956 by Garcia Sr., The Sunday Punch built its reputation on fearless community journalism. That commitment to truth came at a tragic cost.

On May 20, 1966, Garcia Sr. was shot dead inside the newspaper’s editorial office by a politician and two armed companions after refusing to stop the publication of a report exposing the official’s alleged involvement in a payroll-padding scheme.

In a 2016 column, Garcia Jr. recounted that a Lingayen town councilor arrived at his father’s office on a stormy day determined to suppress the story.

“The politician, a protégé of a Malacañang senior official, was armed and so were two of his henchmen. He pumped three bullets into my father’s chest when my father flatly rejected his demand. These were the firsthand accounts of my father’s visitor in his office that time and two of his office staff,” Garcia Jr. wrote.

Garcia Sr.’s sacrifice and steadfast defense of press freedom were later honored with a street in Cubao bearing his name—a lasting tribute to a journalist who gave his life in pursuit of the truth.

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As The Sunday Punch falls silent after 70 years, it leaves behind more than bound volumes of old newspapers. For its readers, it leaves a legacy woven into the history of Pangasinan—a trusted chronicler of its people, a steadfast guardian of accountability, and a community voice that never missed an issue until its final goodbye. INQ