The Ilocos Times

Laoag City —Aira Cassandra S. Castro, a scholar of the provincial government of Ilocos Norte's (PGIN) Doctor of Medicine Scholarship Program, topped the recent March 2023 Physician Licensure Examination (PLE) with a grade of 89 percent. Castro made history by becoming the first medicine graduate from the Mariano Marcos State University College of Medicine (MMSU-COM) rank first in the board examination. Along with Dr. Castro, Dr. Christian Alvin Arca, Dr. Marianne Shem Caraang, Dr. Neil Justine dela Cruz, and Dr. Mida Dorothy Manayon also passed the PLE and achieved a 100% passing rate, giving the university its seventh straight perfect record in the board exam for medical doctors since it began fielding examinees in 2020. The Doctor of Medicine Scholarship was an initiative of Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc, which aims to provide Ilokano doctors who will ensure the delivery of healthcare service in the province, particularly in far-flung areas. Aside from m

By Noralyn Dudt A story full of oddities it certainly is. From the world's point of view, twelve men from an odd place with odd personalities could not have been the main actors over 2,000 years ago when another odd man discipled them and sent them around the Roman world to preach and proclaim the Good News. They were revolutionary ideas about loving your enemies,   ideas that were at odds with what   are   sensible to the human mind. What was so blessed about being "poor in spirit" anyway? And what was so blessed about being meek ? And "turning the other cheek?" Truly revolutionary. But eleven of the original   Twelve   plus one other later, whose   name was Paul went around preaching those odd ideas, and the   world was being turned upside down. How each one of these Twelve   and another one named Paul were called to follow this man who grew up in a carpenter's home was another odd thing. This man who then was called "Rabii" or Teacher was w

By Noralyn Dudt A small pocket of the vast Roman Empire in the little town of Nazareth is a place where no one would have ever expected someone to turn the world upside-down. It was an undistinguished,   obscure place. Although Yeshua (Jesus, Joshua) was a Nazarene, he was born in another town where his parents were traveling to the city of David in Bethlehem. There was a decree by Caesar Augustus that all citizens of the Roman world should be registered (census) at the place where their ancestors were born. Mary and Joseph who both descended from the line of David were on this trek when Mary was about to give birth. As there was no room for them at the inn,   they retreated to a stable where the animals were kept for the night. The baby Yeshua came into our world there, and placed on a manger which was a place where the animals ate. He was raised by a mother who "treasured up all these things and pondered them   in her heart" when right after the birth, shepherds from the