The Ilocos Times

Solsona Sangguniang Bayan member Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino (standing right) speaks during the deliberation of the annual investment plan (AIP) disapproval, which was moved by SB member Mark Dennis Del Castillo (seated left) while other members including Solsona vice mayor Bobby Sacro listen. Said motion for disapproval was later approved. ( Doms Dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Solsona , Ilocos Norte—The Sangguniang Bayan (SB) here disapproved the annual investment plan (AIP), which is a pre-requisite in the approval of the annual budget for CY 2021, on December 14, 2021 during their outreach session held at Barangay Talugtug in this municipality. As a result of the lengthy discussion, the voting profile showed that five members of the Sanggunian disapproved the AIP, while three voted in favor with one member abstaining. SB member Mark Dennis Del Castillo, who sponsored the measure said the reason for the disapproval was the “failure of different de...

I t’s a common narrative of success when farmers increase their yield and sell their harvests at a competitive price. In an industry where the middlemen often take home the biggest share, it may be a little bit hard to believe that farmers can succeed in marketing their own produce. In just three years, an Ilokano farm cooperative, reached PHP2.5 million in assets. Unbelievable, but it happened. Ruthbell Pammit, 56-year-old chair of the Rayuray Farmers’ Agriculture Cooperative (RFAC), walks us through their journey and on how they have transformed themselves from rice tillers to “agripreneurs”.   The beginning An unusual opportunity to lead knocked on Ruthbell’s door in 2017. Upon learning that the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) was launching a program in Batac City to help farmers start their own businesses, Ruthbell gathered some of his farmer-friends and together, they established a small cooperative with the intention of joi...

From the ashes of the old, a new world will rise. Or so they say, the pandemic has hit the world hard and without remorse. Sure, every now and then, you’ll see a person saying “Oh, it’s nothing, the COVID-19 panic is simply the ‘flu’ that you can cure with (insert old and barbaric ways to cure an ailment here)”; or worse, “The covid-19 panic is simply something the government uses to make business out of us”. It’s as if the pandemic hasn’t exposed a sheer magnitude of incompetence by the governments of the world. But we’re not here to talk about the politics of that, or any politics at all. When the pandemic started, everyone was forced to the confines of their homes; of course, we have a few stragglers here and there, walking about as if they are immune to the virus; or the people who have to report to work but most of us are locked in. The dreaded cabin fever sets in as people get at each other’s throats after being stuck with them for so long, everything we used to do, suddenly c...

National Action Plan Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Secretary Vicencio Dizon. (PGIN-CMO photo) By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—As the province of Ilocos Norte re-strategize to prevent and contain the novel coronavirus infection here, National Action Plan Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Secretary Vicencio Dizon assured officials and residents they are on the priority list to avail of the vaccine once it is available in the country. Mr. Dizon and other members of the National Task Force on Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) were in Laoag City on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020 to augment the on-going containment strategies being implemented amid surge of cases of COVID-19 in the province. In a meeting held at the Laoag City Centennial Arena, Mr. Dizon said getting vaccinated is the surest way to move on from the pandemic. “Ilocos Norte is one of our priority areas specially for our front-liners. Hopefully, the vaccine will arrive b...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Vintar , Ilocos Norte—Vintar vice mayor Amado Victor Rasimo proposed the establishment of a financial aid for children with disabilities (CWDs) program. He said this will affirm the municipal government’s role in providing additional benefits and privileges for persons with disabilities (PWD’s) as provided under RA 7277, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons as amended by RA 9442. Mr. Rasimo explained that the program aims to institutionalize the grant of a regular financial aid “to those who have less in life”, particularly indigent children with disabilities. As the author of the measure, the vice mayor and council presiding officer said the Vintar government adheres to the declared policy of the state by prioritizing the needs of the underprivileged, sick elderly, disabled, women and children as provided in Article XIII, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution. The program will provide to all qualified indigent ...

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—Business owners may soon be able to apply or renew their business licenses online through an internet-based program developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to prevent direct contact and possible coronavirus transmissions. Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon said the city’s electronic business permits and licensing system (EBPLS) is the first of its kind in the region to ease business registration and license application procedures, which may take some time and may necessitate close contact with other people—violating physical distancing protocols. “This is a testament to our thrust for a more business-friendly, competitive, and progressive Laoag City by providing a more efficient way of doing business and eliminating red tape in the government,” he said. Mr. Keon added the new system will also facilitate the fast issuance of business permits which will be convenient for the business owners b...

  Laoag mayor Michael M. Keon receives a plaque of recognition and a P250,000.00 check as the winner in the search for the cleanest and greenest city in the province of Ilocos Norte. The awarding was witnessed by VG Cecilia Araneta Marcos, PENR officer Ms. Estrella 'Baby' Sacro and DENR-IN provincial director Vic Dabalos.  (CMO-Laoag photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —Laoag City and the municipality of Nueva Era emerged as this year’s “cleanest and greenest” local government units (LGUs) of Ilocos Norte.   Under the “Narimat nga Aglawlaw” (A Brighter Environment) campaign of Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc, the provincial government, through its environment and natural resources office (ENRO), started the province-wide “Search for the Cleanest and Greenest Competition” last year to challenge component local government units to improve their waste management.  Held at the Sirib Mile on December 9, 2020, Laoag...

By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Senator ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos called on the government to prepare for a possible spike in COVID-19 cases after Christmas, even as community quarantines remain in place and a karaoke ban and the use of ‘yantok’ are being considered to enforce health protocols. Ms. Marcos said the public’s “quarantine fatigue” amid muted festivity this Christmas could swell infection rates that remained “significantly high” at the end of November, particularly in Metro Manila, Batangas, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Tacloban City, Iligan City, and Lanao del Sur. “Let’s already settle what contact-tracing system should be put in place, contingency measures in hospitals if critical levels are reached, coping mechanisms that can be devolved to local government units,” the senator noted. “We are likely to remain in a public health emergency until next year, yet Bayanihan 2 is already due to expire when Congress adjourns next week,” she pointed out. ...

By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos has asserted that face-to-face classes should resume as soon as possible where schools are capable of enforcing health protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Ms. Marcos said schools may reflect the prevailing infection rates in their communities but that no proof exists of their being venues for spreading COVID-19. “The Philippines is the penultimate country in the world to keep our schools shuttered,” the senator pointed out. She also criticized the “baffling priorities” of the IATF-EID (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases), which issued a resolution on October 15, 2020 that allowed the opening of cockpits over schools. “Has gambling now become an essential activity to Filipinos and education a frivolous luxury?” she asked. Ms. Marcos expressed confidence that teachers and schoolchildren can strictly observe the we...

Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon and Laoag councilor Handy Lao, chairperson of the committee on agriculture, lead the ceremonial stocking of modified intensive fry rearing of tilapia to advanced fingerling stage for village level production at Brgy. 60-B Madiladig. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —To ensure quality fingerlings supplies for fisher folks in the city, the city government stocked at least 600,000 fries were at the Natures Wealth Probiotics Fish Farm located at Sitio Baldias, Barangay 60-B Madiladig, this city. Laoag mayor Michael M. Keon and Laoag councilor Handy Lao, chairperson of the council’s committee on agriculture, personally visited the site recently for the “ceremonial stocking of modified intensive fry rearing of tilapia to advanced fingerling stage for village level production”. Mr. Keon said this is a joint project between the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquati...

Laoag City —At the beginning of his term, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc pledged to "further develop Ilocos Norte by investing in the health of Ilokanos," recognizing his constituents as "greatest assets" of the province.   With this, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte has been expanding its healthcare infrastructure to increase the capacities of all government-managed hospitals in the province. For the fiscal year 2020, the provincial government allocated over PHP118 million for the improvement, rehabilitation, and renovation of the Governor Roque B. Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital (GRBASMH) and the province’s district hospitals. Included in the completed infrastructure projects in GRBASMH are the improvement of the computerized tomography (CT) scan building, renovation of the intensive care unit (ICU) room, and the rehabilitation of comfort rooms. Also included are the rehabilitation of the operating and delivery rooms of Dingras Distri...

Batac mayor Albert D. Chua leads the lighting of the giant Christmas tree on Dec. 8, 2020 at the heart of the city. ( Doms Dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) City of Batac —The city government here led the commemoration of the feast of Immaculate Conception of Mary—the Principal Patroness of the Philippines—and the opening of the annual city fiesta, despite the threat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). A mass held at the Immaculate Conception Church in the morning kicked off the festivities followed by the blessing and inauguration of 43 barangay multi-purpose vehicles, which the city government later distributed to all the 43 Barangays in this city. Rev. Fr. Philip Anthony Dimagiba led the blessings of the 43-brand new multi-purpose vehicles witnessed by Batac mayor Albert D. Chua, Batac vice mayor Windell D. Chua, city councilors and all the punong barangays with their kagawads. Mr. Chua said the PHP50 million L300 multi-purpose vans are for the...

  Laoag City —Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc and the provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) started the province-wide gift-giving activity to shed a light and bring joy in time for the holiday season and amidst the pandemic. Through the “Narimat a Paskua: Handog ng PGIN sa mga Ilokano,” the different capitol departments have prepared over 27,000 economic and social welfare assistance to various sectors in the province. A total of 17,000 noche buena packages with 250 gift vouchers and another 1,300 leisure incentive vouchers were given to COVID-19 frontliners. Likewise, millennium development goals family-beneficiaries and tourism workers will be receiving one of the 1,115 and 1,200 noche buena packages, respectively. Moreover, 3,000 senior citizens will also receive grocery packs, and some 200 beneficiaries of “assistance to individuals in crisis situation”, support services. PGIN has been handing out presents including assorted grocery items, b...

Manila—PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the Philippine's largest and only integrated telecommunications company PLDT, launches the “MVP Bossing 2020” campaign to inspire enterprises to rediscover and reinvent their businesses today to successfully thrive in the future. Semi-annually, PLDT holds the MVP Bossing Awards to give tribute to the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit, celebrating local business owners who have achieved success, with the aim of inspiring others to pursue their dreams and aspirations. This year, MVP Bossing takes on a digital format given the impact of the global pandemic on social events and gatherings. With the theme "Rediscovery. Reinvention”, PLDT Enterprise aims to convey a message of hope—as challenging times bring forth the call to reinvent and rediscover—through the stories of previous MVP Bossing awardees and new aspiring MVP Bossings that have strived to recover from the current situation. "Through this campaign, we want to inspire all of...

  Republic of the Philippines Province of Ilocos Norte CITY OF LAOAG   SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD   EXCERPT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE 58 TH REGULAR SESSION OF THE 11 TH SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF LAOAG HELD AT THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD SESSION HALL, LAOAG CITY ON OCTOBER 14, 2020. PRESENT: 1.        Hon. Vicentito M. Lazo                                                 City Vice-Mayor/Presiding Officer Hon. Juan Conrado A. Respicio II                                              S.P....