The Ilocos Times

  In Celebration of the 73rd Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China By Sun Weidong, Acting Head of Post & Consul Consulate of the People's Republic of China in Laoag October 1 st , 2022 is China’s National Day, the 73 rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Over the past 73 years, China has made great achievements in the development of various undertakings and China-Philippines cooperation has achieved fruitful results. On behalf of the Chinese Consulate in Laoag, I would like to take this opportunity to extend our warm greetings and good wishes to people from all walks of life, overseas Chinese, Chinese-funded enterprise personnel, Chinese students and Chinese communities in the consular district.   New achievements in China's development In 2022, with the complex and ever-changing international situation, the human society has faced challenges continuously and consistently. Even so, under the stro...

  BBM's INSPIRATION. President-in-waiting Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visits the grave of his father former President Ferdinand E. Marcos on Tuesday (May 10), a day after the national elections that show him winning by more than 16 million votes over his nearest rival. The young Marcos is grateful to the Filipino people for giving him the landslide victory and to his father who  have  been his inspiration throughout his life and taught him the value and meaning of true leadership. (Photo: BBM Media Bureau) By Noralyn Dudt Ferdinand Marcos Jr. the newly-sworn in president of the Philippines won the presidency by a landslide. To some people in the United States, countries in Western Europe, and Japan, this is difficult to imagine as the only "news" they have been receiving from the mainstream media and social media have been that of a dictator, Imelda's shoe collection, and martial law. To the majority of Filipinos, especially to those 31 million voters who voted for him, F...

By Noralyn Dudt Conclusion The Augustinian friars   must have been a very dedicated group of apostles. Such dedication is exhibited in the   still standing churches of the Ilocos region. The friars would build a church in one town and then use that as a center for evangelization of the surrounding area.   Visitas or peripheral missions they were called. The church in Bacarra was such a center --to reach the most   northwestern tip of Luzon Island : Bangui, Burgos,   Vintar. Pasuquin, Adang ( the current Adams) Banban ( now a barrio of Bangui) and Vera ( its new name unknown). The Batac church served as the center of the Visita to Dingras and Paoay. While the San Agustin Church in Paoay has been completely rebuilt and had made it to the World Heritage List,   it took some time to convince and motivate others to help with renovating the seriously-damaged   St. Joseph Church of Dingras. My good friend and former dorm mate Evita Castro de Alban wrot...

(First in a series) By   Noralyn Dudt Of the four that are categorized as baroque earthquake churches in the Philippines and are  in the UNESCO World Heritage list,  two of them are in the Ilocos region: the San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte and the Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. Both the Paoay church and Santa Maria church were built in portions throughout a century, started in  1694 for Paoay; and the Santa Maria in 1618. Father Antonio Estavillo, a friar and an architect incorporated many Baroque features in the design and made sure these structures would withstand the elements. The San Agustin Church in Paoay, Ilocos Norte  The Augustinian friars were the founders and first apostles of the Catholic faith in the Philippines. They were instrumental in establishing the first Catholic missionary settlements throughout the archipelago especially in Northern Luzon. The missionaries were led by the navigator and Augustinian...