The Ilocos Times

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —In a move to help avoid future wide-scale flooding in the province and with the effect of typhoon Ineng in 2019 still fresh on everyone’s minds, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) along with four government agencies officially launched Phase 1 of the Padsan River Restoration Project through a ceremonial dredging in Metro Gabu, this city, on Dec. 15, 2022. PGIN, through the Provincial Quarry Office, has been collaborating with the Depts. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), as well as the official contractor, He Sha Prime Sand & Gravel Aggregates Philippines Inc., to conduct vital research, studies, and campaigns for the project. Present during the ceremonial dredging were Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc, Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, regional d...

The waste issue is a global problem as shown here in a photo of a dump site that can be found everywhere in the world. (File photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —In a concerted effort and continuing action of a global scale to address the negative impact of the excessive use and disposal of hazardous wastes, the city government here has reiterated the ban on the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam packaging. City environment and natural resources officer (CENRO) Mylene Isabel Pascual said the use of said packaging has resulted in environmental degradation, flooding, problems on sanitation and worst of all, climate change. The local government units (LGUs) “has a sublime responsibility must have to protect the constituency from the harmful or even fatal effects as ill results of disregarding the environment and therefore must support this move to save Mother Earth from total degradation”. Citing Article II Section 6 of the Philippine Constitution, it provid...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) City of Batac —As the Christmas season goes into high gear the New Year beckons, four local government units in the province said they will have a reduction of their annual budgets in 2023 compared to this year. Batac Vice Mayor and Sangguniang Panlungsod presiding officer Atty. Windell D. Chua said this city will have a decrease of PHP70 million for next year compared to the current budget. From the PHP903,677,575.48 2020 annual budget, the Batac council only approved PHP833,473,836.08 for the 2023   annual budget. Among the major reasons for the decrease, Chua said, was the National Tax Allocation (NTA) share reduction wherein the city government here had PHP 107 million less, or 14.46%, from their last year’s share. Chua promised though that services offered by the city government,   particularly in the agricultural sector, health, social welfare and infrastructure projects will not be affected, adding only the budget for ...

By Noralyn Dudt I'm writing this on board the Viking Jupiter cruise in the South Atlantic. To mitigate the effect of the tons of delicious foods that I am eating, I have been going   to the gym   to run on the treadmill. It has been days and I'm still here. My running at a speed of 5.5 km per hour has not gotten me anywhere. And with the vast ocean around me, there seems to be no "land" in sight. The cleaning crews do their cleaning and scrubbing early in the morning, and do it all over again by midday, and in the late afternoon.   All of these remind me of the term "Sisyphean."   It's never ending, not arriving at any place....a Sisyphean task it's called. Where and how did such an odd-sounding   term originate? Sisyphus in one of the Greek myths was the founder and   king of Ephyra ( now known as Corinth ) who was punished for his trickery by being forced to roll a massive boulder to the top of a steep hill. Every time the boulder neared the t...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —As the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system has proven effective on both deterring and solving crimes, the Sangguniang Panlungsod here amended City Ordinance No. 2020-054. The amendment expands the coverage of its application, requiring a minimum specification, number and location of CCTV installation, and regulating the examination, duplication and recording of CCTV footage along with penalties of violations. Laoag councilor Jason Bader Perera, who authored the ordinance said the ordinance shall now include business establishments with a capital lower than PHP500,000, and on their own discretion may install a CCTV security system in accordance to their needs. Bader added that this include all restaurants and carinderias, irrespective of the amount of their capitalization, that are serving alcoholic beverages to the public. The amended ordinance also includes all privately owned educational institutions and dashboard ca...

The following is an open letter penned by Ofelia A. Laguardia addressed to Dept. of Migrant Workers Sec. Susan Ople pleading for her help in the case her husband, Manual P. Laguardia Sr., which has now dragged on for three years. “WHEN THE Dept.   of Migrant Workers was created by the Marcos Administration, my husband and I—among the multitude of Filipinos beset with problems overseas—saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. “My husband, Manual P. Laguardia Sr. worked in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as civil engineer for 37 years and yours truly as educator for 20 years. We both retired three years ago and I was able to return to our beloved Philippines; but my poor husband was left behind wallowing in sickness and despair because his passport was confiscated by his employer in Saudi Arabia for reasons we could not fully comprehend. “Our separation led us both to fits of depression and helplessness as since then, we were both unemployed and that our savings was being depleted...

  By Noralyn O. Dudt In 279 BC, King Pyrrhus of Epirus (an ancient state in Greece) defeated the Roman legions in the Battle of Asculum. Although he was the victor, he lost many of his Macedonian troops including his commanders and his friends, a toll so devastating that it was tantamount to defeat.   A "pyrrhic victory"   it was. Pyrrhic victory is a phrase that may not be familiar to many.   The term is used as an analogy in business, politics and sport to describe struggles that end up ruining the victor. It's a victory that comes at a great cost. The losses are so high and heavy   that they outweigh the gain   so as to render the struggle not worth the cost. It's a triumph that negates any true sense of achievement and ultimately   damages long-term progress. The journal, "The Military Engineer" explains that regardless of what happened with the landmark battle,   King Pyrrhus was a brilliant historical example   of hard-won, hard-...

Singapore , a small country in Southeast Asia has been dubbed an economic "miracle."   On what account they call it so, I am not so sure.   I always thought a miracle was something that only a Divine Being could perform when something is deemed hopeless. To the secular, it may be called magic, like when Cinderella's fairy godmother turned a pumpkin into a coach as her ride to the Palace ball. So how did this once   upon a time sandbar   called Singapore become an economic "miracle." Did it suddenly find favor from a god who decided that Singapore needed a better economy? Or did Singapore's government have magical qualities that could just wave a wand and turn this little backwater place into an economic tiger? Let's take a look at what kind of people populate this city-state. It has a diverse population,   the result of considerable past immigration. The Chinese in Singapore are Singapore's largest ethnic group making up three-quarters of the cou...

By Noralyn Dudt For centuries , obesity has been viewed as a character flaw. Despite decades of research into the genetic and biological influences on body weight, people with obesity continue to be stigmatized,   more so than those with other chronic disease, as if their weight were their fault. In the latest issue of the European Journal of   Clinical Nutrition, researchers, clinicians and public health experts discussed and argued that overeating is not the primary cause of obesity. Looking at clinical trials and previous research,   they   came to the conclusion that the "process of gaining weight causes us to overeat." The usual way of understanding obesity is simple : if one consumes more calories than needed to fuel oneself, the surplus is deposited into body fat resulting in weight gain. Because, according to this approach, all calories are alike to the body   and the only way to lose weight   is to eat fewer of them, or burn them   off w...

MISS GAY ALLAWAGI WINNERS. (Counterclockwise) Miss Kyle Ranada (1 st  runner-up); Miss Gay Allawagi 2022 Miss Joanne Garduque (center); Miss Shane Marva San Jose ( 2 nd  runner-up); Miss Allen Inigo Butay and Miss KC Andrez.( Photo courtesy of Brgy. 11 SK officials) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte—Residents of Brgy. 11 in this town celebrated their Allawagi Festival Year 2 from Oct. 26-30, 2022 with a series of activities. “ Napalaos man iti pinagyaman ko kadagiti amin nga adda iti likudan iti pannaka-selebrar iti Allawagi Fesival Year II kalpasan a duwa a tawen a saan tayo a sinelebraran gapu iti saan a napak-pakadaan nga isasangbay iti COVID-19 pandemic” Brgy. 11 Punong Barangay Dominic Dela Cruz said in his message during the Miss Gay Allawagi 2022. The weeklong Allawagi Festival Year II celebration kicked off with a Walkathon, Zumba, Holy Mass in commemoration of the barangay’s patron saint San Fernando and a barangay assembly on Oct. 26, 2022 followed by the opening of t...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —Elected barangay officials in this city who had served for three consecutive terms in the same position will soon receive cash incentives from the city government. Laoag councilor Jason Bader Perera made this announcement after the Sangguniang Panlungsod unanimously passed a measure to this effect. Perera, who authored the said ordinance, explained that the incentives are for the barangay officials’ being in the frontlines in the delivery of basic services, maintenance of peace and order as well as other government services. He added that despite the work they give and provide, they receive “insignificant benefits”, and low honoraria, instead of regular salaries. Perera cited Section 458 (a) of the Local Government Code which empowers the Sangguniang Panlungsod to enact ordinances and appropriate funds for the general welfare of the city and its inhabitants pursuant to section 16 of this code. Section 393 of the same...

By Noralyn Dudt A mosquito bites you while sitting outside in the yard and you wonder why the fellow sitting next to you does not get a bite?   Have you ever thought that you might be one of those mosquito "magnets?" According to the journal Cell (a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes research papers across a broad range of disciplines within   the life sciences), mosquito-borne diseases impact about 700 million people per year, and experts expect that number to increase as global temperatures rise. The A.aegypti mosquitoes are known to live in tropical or subtropical climates, but the insect has adapted   and now breeds in the cooler regions of the United States. Some people are "magnets" for mosquitoes, emitting a tantalizing combination of chemicals that invites the pesky insects to dine on them. Scientists have known that mosquitoes have a preference for some humans over others but the reason wasn't fully understood. A laboratory at Rockef...

Indauluan da Gob. Jeremias “Jerry” Singson (Maikatlo manipus kanawan) ken Bise Gobernador Ryan Luis Singson (maikadua iti kanigid) ti pannakagetteng ti laso kas mangipasimudaag iti panaglukat ti Kape de Ylocos Trade Fair idi Octobre 24, 2022. Karaman kadagiti sangaili da Vigan City Mayor Bonito Singson, sigud a Mayor Chavit Singson ken LMP pres. Germelina Goulart. Vigan City— Tapno masustiner ti kinangato ti kalidad ti Rubosta a kape a patanor ti Ilocos Sur, inyusuat ti Gobierno Probinsial ti Ilocos Sur ti Kape de Ylocos Trade Fair manipud Octobre 24-28, 2022 iti Provincial Farmers Livelihood Development Center, iti Siudad ti Vigan. Sangapulo ken lima a coffee shops/establishments ken lima nga coffee producing upland municipalities ti nangipatakder iti booth -da. Inarak dagiti managkape nga Ilocano dagiti booth tapno ramananda ti templa dagiti propessional a barista a nagusar kadagiti local a binukel ti kape ( coffee beans ) a produkto dagiti ili ti Sigay, Sugpon, Salcedo ken S...

NEWLY  elected League of Mayors of the Philippines (LMP) Vice President for Luzon Dingras Mayor Joefrey Saguid (left) and LMP newly elected national president La Paz, Abra Mayor JB Bernos (right) pose with His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during their oath taking at Malacañang Palace. (Photo courtesy by LGU Dingras) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Dingras , Ilocos Norte—Following closely to the selection of Laoag City councilor Handy T. Lao as national interim president of the Philippine Councilors League, another Ilocos Norte elected official, Dingras Mayor Joefrey Saguid, is elected as the League of Mayors of the Philippines (LMP) vice president for Luzon. “It’s an honor to be one of the vice presidents in the LMP national level representing Luzon because it was unexpected that I will be given the chance to be elected, more so in the national level,” Saguid said.    He thanked the Almighty for another position he now holds as he also acknowl...