The Ilocos Times

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY-- Philippine Army has called on the support of local government units (LGUs) here to help them in eradicating a “long-time virus that is deadlier than the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)”.   BGen. Audrey L. Pasia, Brigade Commander of the 702 nd Infantry Brigade 7th Infantry Division has asked the local chief executives present during the joint Peace and Order Council and Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council meeting on December 21, 2020 to get rid of the so called ‘white areas’ in Ilocos Norte where communist terrorists are likely to infect various sectors such as farmers and students among others. In his presentation during the meeting, Mr. Pasia identified several personalities in the province who are allegedly supporters of the CPP-NPA. “We are not red-tagging anybody here but there are some local threats in Ilocos Norte and some of them have surrendered already with the help of our LGUs,” said Mr. Pasia citing LGUs can

By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Marcos, Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here proposed three-storey town hall from the existing 50-year-old two-storey old building. Marcos town mayor Antonio Mariano announced this in an interview saying, “it’s about time to construct a new building municipal hall of Marcos”. As of press time, the mayor said all offices at the municipal hall are all getting ready in transferring their office supplies and equipment temporarily to the rural health unit (RHU), ABC building and other offices outside the municipal hall. “Makita tay metten a daan detoy municipyo tayon ta agob-obo pay ketdin no kasta nga agtudo ta agarup nasursurok payen ngem 50 years nan , ” Mariano said. The neophyte mayor added that the municipal government has applied for a loan from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in the amount of PHP132 million with a 2.5% percent interest per annum payable for 15 years. The mayor hopes that construction will sta

By John Michael Mugas (Contributor) LAOAG CITY—The biggest public hospital in the province of Ilocos Norte was recognized on December 16, 2020 by an international health association for its commitment on providing exceptional health services amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) was one of the 103 hospital recipients across 28 countries of the International Hospital Federation’s (IHF) Beyond the Call of Duty For COVID-19 award. The recognition came as Ilocos Norte experienced a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in the past days breaching the 400-mark. MMMH&MC shared the award with other hospitals from the Philippines including Caba District Hospital, Makati Medical Center, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, Manila Doctors Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Region II Trauma and Medical Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. The list of winners was a

Mayor Albert D. Chua leads the blessing and inauguration of various projects in the city of Batac. ( CMO Batac photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) City of Batac—Delivering on its commitment to build safe, resilient and livable communities, the city government here lead the blessing and inauguration of various projects in this city. On November 10-11, 2020 Batac mayor Albert D Chua, along with Batac vice mayor Windell Chua distributed garlic and onion planting materials and fertilizers. Aside from the said farming materials, each of the 682 garlic and onion farmers also received 15 kilos garlic bulb, 25 kilos complete fertilizers, 25 kilos sulfate and 1 kilo foliar fertilizer. On November 15, was the celebration of mayor Chua’s birthday. A total of 43 computer units were donated by the city government of Batac to DepEd Batac for the Science and Technology Academic and Researched-Based Openly Operated Kiosk System (STARBOOKS) that will be rolled out to the 43 b

Laoag City recently won as the cleanest and greenest city in the province. (File photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —The National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) commended Laoag City’s 10-year solid waste management (SWM) plan. Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon presented the plan to the 14-members NSWMC group who came from the different government sectors and non-government organizations, particularly in the recycling and plastic industry. The mayor said the 10-year plan is all about the future strategy and course of action of the city regarding the proper management of wastes. The presentation included the city’s projection on the collection, storage, transfer and disposal of wastes collected from the different households and establishments including diversion of wastes for the next 10 years.   According to the mayor, the city’s SWM plan garnered favorable response from the NSWMC compared in the past 20 years when city failed to present the plan