The Ilocos Times

PAGUDPUD  third term and consistent senior SB member Ferdinand Garvida formally announces his intention to run for mayor the coming 2022 local and national elections  (Doms Dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Pagudpud , Ilocos Norte—A three-way fight for the chief executive post in this town looms in the coming elections next year. Three-termer and consistent senior Sangguniang Bayan member Ferdinand Garvida disclosed his intention to run for mayor in the upcoming election. “ Saan a mailingeden appo ta agradwarak met ngaminen ket ti unus iti tallo a pinag konsehal ko, siyak latta iti nagbalin a number one kas resulta iti pinangay-ayat dagiti tao kaniyak ,” Garvida stressed. He said his family has already decided for him to run for mayor. His family includes his sister Pagudpud Liga ng mga Barangay president and Sangguniang Bayan ex-officio member Maricel Garvida, who will be his running mate. He likewise added that he has already formed his lin...

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The Ilocos Norte provincial government keeps on inspiring farmers to increase their productivity with the continuing distribution of livelihood assistance such as additional agricultural inputs and equipment to mango, rice and vegetable growers in the province. Recently, the provincial government distributed a total of 2,749 bags of commercial fertilizers, 23,200 packs of humus, 1,120 carrageenan and foliar fertilizer to registered rice and corn farmers, both in the first and second districts of Ilocos Norte.  For mango and vegetable growers, they likewise received 845 bottles of insecticide and 3,860 vials of fruitfully attractant while other high value crops associations and backyard vegetable growers received 800 units of knapsack sprayer, 30 power sprayer, 525 rolls of irrigation hose, one unit shredding machine, 50 units grass cutter and 40 units of jetmatic pump courtesy of the Sustainable Development Center (SDC)...

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) urged anew local government units (LGUs) to avail of its free contact tracing training program (CTTP) as the country is now experiencing a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. It can be recalled that at the onset of the pandemic last year, TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña immediately ordered the registration of more health-related programs and tasked the agency's Qualifications and Standards Office to develop competency standards on contact tracing. He likewise directed the TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs) nationwide to register the program and partner with barangay health centers, LGUs, Philippine Red Cross (PRC), or Department of Health (DOH) facilities in their areas. With this, TESDA, in September last year, has started offering free contact tracing training program to support the country's fight against the spread of COVID-19. From September last year up to March this year, based on r...

By   Noralyn Onto Dudt A year has passed since most of the world populace was told to stay in place; to stay put or they may end up "killing" each other. A year of uncertainty, a year of wearing masks, a year of physical distancing, a year of not visiting parents, grandparents and friends. A year of no touching and no hugging each other. It has been a year that had almost all of us gripped with fear as we watched others become critically ill and were rushed to fill hospital beds. As the kings and queens of centuries past, with their "coronas" (crowns) on their heads, wielding power that put fear into their subjects’ hearts, the coronavirus has been wielding its power and our hearts have been terrified.   And with this fear gripping us, the way we carry on with our lives has been changed forever. As the virus was proving to be so deadly and with so many people dying, businesses collapsing, and people losing their jobs, the government of the United States went into...

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY–Army Brig. Gen. Audrey L. Pasia, the commander of the army’s 702 nd Infantry Brigade in the Ilocos Region urged all sectors of the community including government workers to be more discerning with the so-called “long-time virus” which is deadlier which is deadlier than the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In time for the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) 52 nd anniversary on March 29, 2021, Pasia said the insurgency issue has continuously infected various sectors and the government sector is no excuse. "All sectors—including government employees, media, church, professionals, and laborers among others have already been targets. So please, let us all be discerning. We may not know it, but they may already be in government that is bent on destroying us,” he said in a virtual presser on March 29, 2021. Out of the 12 identified municipalities in Ilocos Sur that were earlier reported to b...

LAOAG CITY—Small farmers in rain-fed farmlands of Ilocos Norte will now have a chance to grow high-value crops even during summer by harnessing the power of the sun as alternative energy. Tapping the sun's energy is the new craze at Brgy. Lang-ayan in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, where a solar-powered irrigation system with at least four solar panels was installed near a communal food garden where its residents can grow off-season fruits and vegetables. Funded by the province’s share from the tobacco excise tax, there are four units of this kind of small-scale irrigation project being pilot tested in the second district of Ilocos Norte where water is scarce during the summer months of March to May or even longer due to prolonged El Niño phenomenon. The other units are located in the rural Barangays of Camguidan and Camandingan in Batac City and Barbar, Pinili town. The solar-powered irrigation system worth PHP486,250 per unit may be a bit costly for small farmers but in the long...

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—Another batch of 1,000 farmers received a soil fertility package covering 250 hectares last week in the continuing soil restoration program of the Ilocos Norte government. For every hectare, the local government provides at least 20 sacks of organic fertilizer, urea (nitrogen fertilizer), and gypsum (soil conditioner) to help rehabilitate farmlands and boost production efficiency. Soil experts say agri-gypsum is a good source of calcium and sulfur and improves soil characteristics. It helps soil better absorb water and reduces erosion. “This is enough to restore the soil fertility if we get the appropriate measure for every hectare. That is why we are asking our farmers to do their share,” Edwin Cariño, head of the Sustainable Development Center, said during the March 16, 2021 ceremonial distribution at the Rizal Park here. Cariño said the soil restoration program started during the term of then-Ilocos Norte Governor and...

(From left) U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Sung Kim; Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel G. Romualdez; and U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Atul Keshap at the launch of the yearlong celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Philippines and the United States on 26 March 2021 at the Philippine Embassy in the United States, Washington, D.C.   Washington , D.C.—Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez and U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Ambassador Sung Kim officially launched today a bilateral campaign to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America. “Some say 75 years is indeed a long time to stay as friends, partners, a...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)-Laoag City/Ilocos Norte district office emerged the on top of collection of taxes for CY 2020 in the entire Region I, revenue district officer Ramos Navarro announced. Despite of the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in March of last year, the local BIR here never stopped in the collection of taxes, though a series of extensions were also granted to taxpayers. Upon assuming as the new RDO in February last year, Navarro was immediately challenged as the January 2020 Laoag City-Ilocos Norte district office was recorded as number one in collection efficiency and it lasted until December 2020. Due to a good response, Laoag City-Ilocos Norte was again number one this January 2021, with Ramos hoping it will continue for the rest of the following months. However, Navarro expected a little problem that may arise because the annual income tax return to be filed this year will be from Mar...

By Noralyn Dudt “God is great , God is good and we thank Him that great-grandma Rosalina is here with us to share this feast in this difficult Covid times.” Louie Samuel Vaughan, age 10 That was our 10-year-old grandson Louie Samuel Vaughan saying grace as we sat down for a meal on a recent cold January day in our home in North Bethesda, Maryland just 12 miles from downtown Washington DC. That great-grandma is Rosalina A. Onto, my octogenarian, soon to be a nonagenarian mother. This “feast” was a little more than elaborate than usual, but by no means a feast in the Filipino sense of the word. My mother is one daring woman who braved the 14 hour-flight from Manila across the vast Pacific to San Francisco, California to visit my sister's family and to see (aka inspect) her house that is being leased. I say "daring" because I cannot imagine myself, much younger than she is, having a double-mask and a plastic cover over my face for 14 hours! But daring she has always be...

Laoag City —The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) and the city government of Laoag will soon establish a nipa plantation in the city of Laoag. In a resolution, certified as urgent by Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon, and unanimously approved by the city council sponsored by the committee of the whole led by Laoag councilor Juan Conrado Respicio as movant, MMSU and Laoag City will enter a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the said purpose. Respicio, who chairs the committee on ethics, rules and regulations, said the nipa resource establishment supports the “Expanded National Greening Program” and the production of bio-ethanol, a climate change mitigation and a source of livelihood. The nipa, which is a mangrove species, has been shown by MMSU as a promising source of bioethanol to augment the shortage of locally produced bioethanol as required by RA 9367 known as Biofuels Act of 2006 and reduce the country’s dependency on imported fossil fuels. “The valuable economic and ecologi...

Dingras Vice Mayor and council presiding officer Engr. Erdio Valenzuela (seated left) and   SB member Charles Tadena (standing right) discuss the purchase of additional CCTV cameras for the municipality of Dingras while other SB members listen in the discussion. Doms Dela Cruz   By Dominic B. dela Cruz (Staff Reporter) Dingras , Ilocos Norte—Members of the Sangguniang Bayan here approved an urgent resolution authorizing Dingras Mayor Geoffrey Saguid to negotiate with various lot owners for the purchase of lots for the expansion of the public cemetery at Brgy. Bungcag, this town. Dingras Vice Mayor and council presiding officer Engr. Erdio Valenzuela announced that the measure was unanimously approved by all members present. SB member Joey Apostol authored the resolution but it was later manifested that it be sponsored by the committee of the whole. Valenzuela admitted that this has been one of the problems during his time as mayor in Dingras having lack of ...

Laoag City --The city government here is set to grant financial relief to displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are registering new business here. The approved measure was sponsored by Laoag councilor Handy T. Lao in connection with RA No. 11494 also known as the “Bayanihan Recover as One Act ” which provides that “the State shall establish mechanism to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 ion the socioeconomic well-being of all Filipinos through the provision of assistance, subsidies and other forms of socio-economic relief”. According to Lao, there are several OFWs from Laoag who lost their jobs, work or employment abroad during the COVID-19 either through “end of contract”, termination, resignation, dismissal, or other mode of termination that needs financial relief in registering new business during the year 2021. The urgent measure further states that the displaced OFWs shall submit proof of work or employment abroad, notice of termination or any proof of terminat...

  LAOAG CITY—The provincial government here is eyeing to increase its share in tobacco excise tax with strengthened monitoring this trading season. In partnership with authorities from the provincial government, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), and the Philippine National Police, the transport of tobacco outside the province will be monitored in border checkpoints to ensure that tobacco grown in Ilocos Norte are properly documented. Recently, the monitoring task force representing these four agencies convened a meeting at the NTA in the City of Batac to familiarize themselves with the legal basis for the issuance of NTA trading rules and regulations, as well as the rules and regulations in the implementation of regulatory activities. Luzviminda Padayao, NTA officer-in-charge, said during the orientation that the subjects of inspection include traders, vehicles carrying tobacco as well as its volume and capacity, amo...