The Ilocos Times

Umbi  Amado I. Yoro Ewa, Hawaii Yumbik dagitoy: kinasudi ti ayat sagutko kenka ita nga aldaw adtoy ti balonko sangakopita a diro arak ti rabii ti pammasangbay Riknaek ti dungngo dayta pusom  No umayak ita saan a  Naliday a sallapingaw Ngem naamo a kalapati Ti ayat  Bay-am a simsimak nga umuna Ti sardam; palludip iti apagdeppel Agek-iliw; karayo Iti bibig ni ayat. Ay-ayatenka: yumbi manen toy pusok Bay-am nga ubbaenka nga isala iti danggay ti samiweng sonata Anem-em ti diro ti darikmat Sirok ti bubongan-langit Ayan-ayatta, adtoyak! agkasingin a riknata Bay-am a mabartekak iti rabii Denggem-denggek naisangayan A talukatik ket ammomton Ti kaipapanan rinibu a kinaumel Iti nagtengko a nagsapalan Pasetnakon ti nabayag a panaguray Adtoy beggang ti ayat !

Protesters from Barangay Malasin, Bangui, Ilocos Norte. Lei Adriano By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Pagudpud , Ilocos Norte—A silent protest by about 15 families affected by alleged intrusive transmission lines put up by the Ayala-led North Luzon Renewable Energy Corporation marred the November 19 inauguration of the 81-megawatt Pagudpud wind farm. On board a white van with streamers decrying constitutional right abuses, the family of Joseph Baloaloa along with other families including children from Brgy. Malasin of neighboring Bangui town went to the NLREC main station at Brgy. Caparispisan  herein  Pagudpud as they held each other’s arms shouting for help from the government to mediate the possible relocation of some NLREC’s towers passing through their residential houses. “ Tulongan niyo kami. Nilabag ang aming karapatan. Huwag niyo kaming patayin. Ilayo kami sa kaba at alisin ang tower malapit sa bubong ng aming bahay ,” the pro...

PREPARING THEM. Schoolchildren of Caaoacan Elementary School in Laoag City participate in a nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill on November 14. The drill was organized by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. (Andy L. Mangapit)   By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters Laoag CITY— The regional Office of Civil Defense (OCD) spearheaded a five-day earthquake and tsunami drills in the city’s 14 coastal barangays. The drill, participated in by all barangay officials concerned, also included a discussion on the signs of tsunami as well as its catastrophic effects. The OCD officials and the City Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) chose Brgy. Caaoacan as site with the Ilocos Norte National High School campus as evacuation center. Laoag mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas thanked the OCD officials for their efforts as well as the CDRRMC members, barangay officials and Caaoacan residents for their cooper...

USA Today published on November 18, the results of a poll it conducted showing that 46% are against President Obama’s plan to issue an executive order granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens while 42% were in favor. Considering that USA Today is generally regarded as a liberal (translation pro Obama) newspaper, one can speculate that the margin of error is at least 10%, meaning that 56% could be against amnesty. A question of fairness and the rule of law During our radio talk show on community issues at KPRP in Honolulu on Monday morning the three panelists—Atty. Abraham Mariano, newspaper editor Rafael Alimbuyuguen, and this writer—albeit with different political persuasions, were unanimous in opposing Mr. Obama’s planned amnesty on the ground that it would be unfair to Filipinos who are following the law and patiently waiting in line for the visas of the relatives they petitioned to become available. I described the situation as akin to that of a movie theater’s p...

THEN AND NOW . With the help of Dr. Miramar Bumanglag and other donors, Cruzel Mae Bartolome of Bacarra, Ilocos Norte is given a new artificial eye. (Photo courtesy of Argie Lorenzo) A pencil scribbled the painful stage in the life of Cruzel Mae Bartolome, four-year old, of Barangay Sangil in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. When she was only one-year old, a pencil accidentally pierced her right eye. Since then, only one eye is making sight possible for Cruzel Mae—a reality which darkened a part of her life. Initially, she was given an artificial eye. But it was too small that it often fell off from her eye socket. Also, it looked so hideous that sometimes it made her a laughingstock in their neighborhood and in her preschool classes. Her parents—who are farmers—couldn’t afford to buy her a new artificial eye. But, they didn’t stop looking for ways to ease the pains of Cruzel Mae. In their desire to find help for their daughter, they approached Argie Lorenzo and Hanz Mab...

A multi-functional flying device called “Drone” is being considered as potential monitoring instrument that will help researchers gather accurate data and conduct studies efficiently. Roger Barroga, lead of Future Rice Program in the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), said that a training program on drone technology will be conducted following its recent introduction to the savants early this month. To be implemented with the University of Southern Mindanao next year, the training program will highlight flight tutorials and application of the drone`s features. The technology features a high definition camera, flight stabilizer, and GPS (Global Positioning System) that allows users to program its flight path. It can fly for 8-10 min and can travel up to a maximum distance of 2 km. Mr. Barroga said that the technology can be maximized for research activities such as data collection, tracking growth patterns, and pests and nutrient managem...

Members  of the Technical Working Group of the first Regional Convergence Initiative initiated by the local government unit of Piddig led by mayor Eduardo Guillen conducted a field inspection on Friday at the on-going organic coffee farm development in sitio Lammin, Barangay Dupitac, Piddig, Ilocos Norte. (Lei Adriano) By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Laoag City , Ilocos Norte—Who can say no to coffee? For at least 18 national and local government organizations in Region 1, the awakening aroma of world-quality coffee which will soon be brewing in Piddig, about 18 kilometers from the Laoag International Airport gave birth to the first Regional Convergence Initiative (RCI) which is expected to boost agribusiness and eco-tourism development in the upland area of Piddig, which is covered by tall pine trees. The technical working group tasked to extend support for the sustainable development of the P 62 million worth  Piddig coffee plantation...

Batac mayor Jeff Nalupta By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff reporter Batac City —The city government here is expecting a multi-million peso increase in its 2015 annual budget after the passage of their new revenue code. The local finance committee however is still finalizing the consolidated estimated local revenues and expenditures as of the second week of November. Batac mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta is hopeful they would complete and pass the budget in time for its approval by the Sangguniang Panlungsod. He disclosed that next year’s budget would be higher that this year as the forecasted increase in revenues from the newly amended revenue code has been factored in. The Ilocos Times learned that the delay in the finalization of the proposed budget was due to the new revised revenue code, which the local finance committee waited for. The approved revenue code however will still need the final approval of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Batac officials howev...

THAT gospel story about Bartimaeus, the blind man who unashamedly begged Christ that “I may see” (ut videam) (Lk 18,35-43) is a story worth reiterating since it contains precious lessons for all of us. First is that we, like Bartimaeus, should acknowledge our own blindness. Though we may enjoy good vision at the moment, we have to realize that to be able to see things properly and completely, we simply do not rely on our eyes nor any of our senses. Our eyes and senses can only capture a little part of the whole reality that governs us. They can only perceive what are called the sensible realities, still light-years away from the intelligible, not to mention the spiritual and supernatural aspects of reality. Still what they get and gather are very useful and in fact are indispensable, since the data they give are like the raw material that will be processed by our more powerful faculties of intelligence and will. In this sense we can already consider ourselves as suffering ...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff reporter Laoag City —All local government units (LGUs) in the province are in the thick of preparations for the coming 4 th Tan-ok Festival of Festivals set on Nov. 29, 2014. Tan-ok showcases all the festivals of Ilocos Norte’s municipalities and city. Laoag set to defend title Laoag City mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas said the city will continue the story of Pamulinawen Festival, last year’s grand champion. Ms. Fariñas said the Pamulinawen Festival tells the story from Laoag’s discovery up to the present. She said the choreographers have conducted auditions for dancers, which primarily would be from elementary and secondary schools. Ms. Fariñas disclosed that the city government has allocated P1 million for their participation for this year’s Tan-ok. She related that the big budget would be for participants, which would include drummers, their meals and snacks, honoraria for trainers and choreographers, and for costumes, props and ...

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Vintar , Ilocos Norte—Sangguniang Panlalawigan members have initiated the conduct of field visit of an alleged sub-standard farm-to-market road in the remote upland Brgy. Isic-Isic, this town. Led by SP member Vicentito M. Lazo in his capacity as chairperson of the committee on ways and means and ex-officio board member Domingo Ambrocio, federated president of the Philippine Councilors League-Ilocos Norte chapter, a coring test was conducted on Nov. 4 by the Department of Public Works and Highways in the province’s first district. A coring test is usually performed using a machine to determine density or cracks on a road pavement. Result of the field visit will be presented to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Early this year, the Isic-Isic farm-to-market road project worth P24.2 million was funded by the Department of Agrarian Reform through its agrarian reform communities program. There is also an on-going road widenin...

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Laoag City, Ilocos Norte—The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte and the Department of Education organized a province-wide education summit cum Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) congress on Nov. 11 to explore the major issues and challenges faced by Ilocano families today. Attended by educators, government workers, church leaders, parents and youth organizations, the first of kind PTA congress and education summit brought to the fore a public discussion affecting every family household such as incidence of teen pregnancy in Ilocos region, migrant parents, depression and suicide including drug problems. Dubbed “Pasingkedan ti kinasinged ti pamilia dagiti Ilokano (Strengthening Ilokano family ties),” as theme of the whole-day congress, different resource speakers talked about these major issues affecting Ilocano families and how  can this be addressed with the help of good parenting, counselling and awareness of t...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff reporter Dingras , Ilocos Norte—“The earlier, the better”. This was the statement of Dingras vice mayor Jeffrey Saguid after the Sangguniang Bayan passed the P101,963,867.80 2015 annual budget on Nov. 3. The annual budget includes the 20 percent development fund as the highest amount allocated particularly on the economic, social and other services. The maintenance of street lights, water supply program, improvement and upgrading of day care centers and the improvement of Gulayan sa Paaralan are under the social services. Mr. Saguid also said that the municipality also allocated an amount of P800,000 for tourism development as one of the pet projects of Ilocos Norte Gov.  Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos. As an agricultural town and “rice granary” of the province, the municipality also allocated P1.2 million as assistance to farmers and about P250,000 for agrarian reforms support in the municipality. Construction and maintenan...

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Bangui , Ilocos Norte—The vice mayor of this town, retired Gen. Fidel Cimatu has assumed the mayoralty post in an acting capacity on Nov. 17  following  the suspension of Bangui mayor Diosdado Garvida for six months. Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos’s suspension order for Garvida was received by the Office of the Mayor on Nov. 14. The governor suspended Dr. Garvida for six months as a result of an administrative complaint filed against him at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for indiscriminate firing while trying to apprehend an illegal quarry operator in this town. Municipal employees however remain confused as to whom to follow between Mr. Cimatu and Dr. Garvida as the suspended mayor continues to hold office at the municipal hall. On Nov. 17, Dr. Garvida attended the flag ceremony and proceeded to his office telling all municipal employees that he is still the elected mayor of Bangui town....