The Ilocos Times

[Conclusion] By Noralyn Dudt The second part of this series on   Democracy   focused on the success of northern European countries with Lutheran backgrounds and homogenous populations (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany) in achieving the ideals of democracy.   As the previous discussion   may have inadvertently given the impression   that having   a Lutheran background is the only way to succeed in achieving democratic goals, let me point out those countries that do not have a Lutheran majority but also rated high. Canada whose population is almost as diverse as the United States is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Canada has been very welcoming to immigrants and values multiculturalism. There are services designed to help new immigrants find housing and jobs, improve their language skills that are funded both nationally and locally. Canada ranks high in the EIU democracy rating. So why was Canada ranked higher than the United State...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —To keep up with the increasing demands of local governance, the city government here has created various positions in its different offices. Laoag councilor Juan Conrado Respicio said that it is an imperative to create various positions in different office. Section 76 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the “Local Government Code of 1991”, states that “Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern—Every local government unit shall design and implement its own organizational structure and staffing pattern taking into consideration its service requirements and financial capability, subject to the minimum standards and guidelines prescribed by the Civil Service Commission.” Section 458 paragraph (a) (1) (viii) of the same code also provides for the power of the Sanggunian Panlungsod to determine the positions and the salaries, wages, allowances and other emoluments and benefits of officials and employees paid wholly or mai...

By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—A three-day travel fair in Manila has generated almost PHP4.5 million in sales for Ilocos Norte, contributing to the province's efforts to bounce back from the slump caused by the coronavirus disease 2019. Gervy James Gumarit, Ilocos Norte government information officer, said the province earned PHP4,394,520 from tickets, accommodations, tours, and visas, including additional sales from Ilocano food and non-food products amounting to PHP58,000, during the fair organized by the Philippine Tour Operators Association from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 2022. “Among our best-selling products at the fair were bagnet and longganisa among others,” he said, adding that they had to restock by the second day. Participating in the 33 rd staging of the Philippine Travel Mart were 300 exhibitors from 12 regions representing different brands and institutions in the tourism, hospitality, and travel and tours industries. “Our diverse options fo...

( First of a series ) By Noralyn Dudt “DEMOCRACY is messy, and it's hard. It's never easy,” is a famous Kennedy quote. If you prefer that everything should be controlled and organized, democracy would never be your choice of government. It's not neat, it is messy, it is hard. That's because it involves everyone who wants to participate. And all participants are human beings with brains and emotions, and robots these mortals   are not.   Some are new, some are experienced, some are rational, some are emotional. As a result, anything can happen. Democracy is neither a neat process nor a pretty one. But surely it can be lively. "Of the people, by the people, for the people," was how the late U.S. President Abraham Lincoln described how democracy works. A lofty concept it was,   and still is. I ponder the word and it looks almost “menacing” because one wonders how it could be attained by human beings who can be irrational,   emotional, and inexperienced. Hum...

 

Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss during his visit to Laoag City By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The Israel government has vowed to assist Ilocos farmers to boost their productivity by sharing their innovative solutions to modern agriculture. In his first visit to Ilocos Norte, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss said one of the big areas they are looking at for stronger support and longer cooperation is battling emerging diseases in mangoes and other promising crops in the region by tapping mango experts from Israel. “We have lots of expertise in the approach. See what we can offer if I can identify good experts that can come and help in identifying the disease and solution which is not always on more and more pesticides but try different approaches to look into it and come back to the governor,” he said. As a junior diplomat to the Philippines back in the 1990s, Fluss recalled that the Israel government had introduced a tr...

By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —The city-owned cockpit arena will soon to resume operations after the Sangguniang Panlungsod of here allowed its resumption for two years on its present location. Laoag councilor Jason Bader Perera said that the decision to reopen the arena is based on the amended part of the zoning ordinance which states: “A cockpit may be established in open agricultural areas providing a 100-meter radial distance from residential, commercial, institutional and educational uses, and in compliance with existing national laws, to, “a cockpit may be established in a commercial area providing a 20-meter distance from residential, commercial and institutional uses and 100-meter radial distance for educational uses and if it is an open agricultural area then a 100-meter radial distance from residential, commercial, institutional and educational uses, and in compliance with existing national laws”. During the discussion, Perera cited a jurispru...

( Second of three parts ) By Noralyn Dudt No, democracy has not died.   While it's flawed and failing in many parts of the world, it has been going strong in places like Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany,   New Zealand, Canada and several others.   While there are other nations that rank high on the scale like Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, I would like to focus on just   four at this time—ones that I am most familiar with as I have met and known people from these nationalities. As I have mentioned in my recent article, the EIU has given high ratings to Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Just what makes these countries unique? Geography? They are all in northern Europe—the Nordics they are called. Religious background?   Eighty-five to 95% of their population are of the Lutheran faith. Monarchy? Yes, except for Germany, they have kings and queens but no longer ruled by them. Again, It might be difficult to gauge just how these factors influenc...

5,037 farmers received P5,000 cash assistance from DA By Dominic B. dela Cruz   (Staff Reporter) City of Batac —The city government here is pilot testing the “walk-behind transplanter, one of the latest agricultural technologies at Brgy. San Pedro, this city. Batac Mayor Albert D. Chua said they began this by turning over one unit of the said transplanter to the San Pedro farmers. Chua added that this is a part of the city’s farm mechanization program wherein the equipment is expected to lessen labor cost as it reduces work load and ensures uniform spacing and plant density. They based the   adoption of this technology, according to the mayor, as an offshoot of a techno demo conducted by the Philippine Rice Institute (PhilRice) which the farmers witnessed and gathered its importance. The city government then purchased one of the said equipment and chose San Pedro as its pilot barangay for the project. The use of the transplanter supplants the usual use of four to...

Filipino-American Hollywood celebrity chef Vallerie Castillo-Archer with Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc. By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter LAOAG CITY—Filipino-American Hollywood celebrity chef Vallerie Castillo-Archer is back in her homeland in the City of Batac City, Ilocos Norte after more than three decades in the US. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc welcomed her at the airport, with a huge welcome tarpaulin waiting for her. The two earlier met at the posh Yamashiro restaurant in Los Angeles, California on July 15, 2022 where she works as the executive chef. In a short interview at the airport, Castillo-Archer said she never expected to become the first Filipino executive chef at the iconic Hollywood restaurant but her passion for food and cooking brought her there. Literally born inside a bakery owned by her grandfather in San Nicolas town also in Ilocos Norte, Castillo-Archer described her childhood as "the best,” referring to how she enjoy...