The Ilocos Times

I think that so far, It is only the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that is successfully operating a purely online electronic commerce platform in the Philippines to "sell" a physical product in the form of paper documents. Right now, anyone can order birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates and certificates of no marriage records (CENOMAR) from the PSA, without the need for a personal appearance. Perhaps wanting to provide the next best thing, DFA, PNP and LTO are offering online applications, but they would still require personal appearances. Apparently, some Local Government Units (LGUs) are offering the purely online issuance of products in the form of paper documents, but it is difficult to find out which of them are doing so, and there appears to be no national standards that govern the conduct of these processes. Ideally, any citizen of any LGU should be able to "order" a physical product that could come in paper form, usually in t

  Coconut week in Pagudpud . In celebration of the Coconut Week, the municipal government of Pagudpud, headed by mayor Rafael Ralph Benemerito together with the CPA, PNP, the Army, different cooperatives, employees of the municipal government and farmers planted an initial 200 coconut seedlings of the total 18,000 seedlings at Brgy. Kaparispisan in this town.  (Photo courtesy of LGU-Pagudpud)

WASTE MANAGEMENT. Residents of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte trade in their wastes for household and school essentials in this undated photo. The waste diversion project has reduced the volume of discarded materials in sanitary landfills. (Photo courtesy of PBMES) By Leilanie Adriano San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte—Residents of this town have shown overwhelming support for the local government's waste management efforts by participating in the “Palit-Basura” program that allows them to swap discarded materials for school and household essentials. Orlando Pascua, principal of the Pasion-Barangay Memorial Elementary School, said that the program encourages responsible waste management. Teachers, students and parents gather discarded materials such as plastic wrappers, shampoo sachets and other packaging materials and traded them at the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) for corresponding points every Tuesday and Thursday. Through the program, Pascua said educat

Bangui , Ilocos Norte—The provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN), in partnership with the Dept. of Health (DOH), conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a four-storey annex building at the Bangui District Hospital in this town on Aug. 18, 2024. Bangui District Hospital, currently a 25-bed secondary hospital under the management of PGIN, stands as the primary healthcare provider in the northern part of Ilocos Norte. A budget amounting to PHP74 million from the General Appropriations Act of 2023-2024, through the DOH hospital enhancement project, has been allocated to upgrade the hospital from Level 1 to Level 2. The provincial government, under the leadership of Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc, continues to develop projects that aim to strengthen the healthcare system of the province to cater to the increasing medical demands of every Ilokano. "Today is another milestone in achieving the Level 2 status na gusto natin for Bangui Dis

By Noralyn O. Dudt AMERICA's electoral system has long baffled the world. A relic of another time, the Electoral College distorts results of the presidential election and thwarts the will of the people. Hillary   Clinton received almost three million votes more than Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election but still lost. During the 2000 presidential election, George W. Bush had fewer popular votes than Al Gore, but the electoral votes in Florida made Bush the winner.   There were three other occasions between 1960 and 1996—all because of an “antiquated” electoral process called the Electoral College.   Some experts have defended it, saying the process gives voice to less populated states. So, what is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is a process, not a place. It was created by the framers of the US Constitution as an alternative to electing the president by popular vote or by Congress. How to elect their president was among the thorny questions debated by

Senator Imee R. Marcos expressed increased optimism for the passage of her legislative measure since 2022 seeking a fixed six-year term for barangay officials, now that a counterpart bill has been filed at the House of Representatives. On Aug. 16, 2022, Marcos filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1195, which seeks to extend to six years the term of office of barangay officials and members of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK), amending Section 43 (c) of “The Local Government Code of 1991” (Republic Act No. 7160). On April 8, 2024, she filed SBN 2629, proposing a fixed six-year term for barangay officials. The proposed measure limits barangay officials to serve only two consecutive terms in the same position. “ Marami pong salamat sa mga kongresista na nakarinig sa aking panukalang batas na habaan ang termino ng mga barangay officials. Huli man sila, malaking tulong pa rin . Thank you po ,” the senator said, referring to House Bill No. 10747, filed at the [House] on Aug. 12, 2024. “ Matapos

Laoag City —Magdalena G. Gamayo, an Ilokana master weaver and a national living treasure from Pinili town in Ilocos Norte, celebrated her 100 th   birthday on Aug. 13, 2024. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) of the Philippines, in partnership with the provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN), organized an event at the Plaza Del Norte in Paoay to celebrate and honor Gamayo's centennial birth. "Nana Daleng," as she is fondly called by her provincemates, is one of the country's most revered cultural icons and a living embodiment of Filipino artistry and tradition. She started weaving hand-spun threads into her exclusive patterns and intricate designs at 16, allowing her to master traditional Ilokano weaving with excellence. In 2012, she was conferred with Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan by the NCCA. At 100, she continues her passion and dedication by training hundreds of young Ilokano weavers, a testament to her commitment to preserving and ens

The nation has been under water stress since 2007, with current water availability ranging between 1,000 to 1,700 cubic meters per capita, according to the National Water Resource Board (NWRB). At a recent Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) forum hosted on the Socioeconomic Research Portal of the Philippines (SERP-P), one of the presenters highlighted this critical issue and urged immediate reforms to the country’s water laws. NWRB Water Rights Division Litigation and Adjudication head Atty. Rebyanne Giselle Diaz emphasized the need to reexamine how water is allocated. She believes that the current legal frameworks of the Philippines and water allocation systems may not be sufficient to cope with the increasing scarcity of water and the changing patterns of water use. “If the trajectory we want is to be able to do more with less, the law should support that effort and not directly oppose it,” Diaz said. She emphasized that the law needs to be more adaptable to mee

Hereunder is the reply of DPWH National Building Code Development Office OIC-Executive Director Atty. John Alexander S. Belderol dated Aug. 8, 2024 as regards the concern: “This has reference to the letter received by this Office on July 08, 2024 relative to the electronic mail sent by Mr. Ramon Ike V. Seneres dated July 07, 2024 regarding his article entitled "The Mathematics of Supplying Water". The document proposes a method addressing the challenges in meeting the rising demand for potable water in the Philippines and outlines various methods for water collection and filtration systems. Given the nature and scope of the topics discussed, the National Building Code Development Office (NBCDO), which specializes in building standards regulation, is not in a position to provide a detailed feedback on the issues presented, if any. Moreover, the aforementioned letter did not specify the intended purpose or objectives clearly, which are essential in fully understanding the

THAT gospel parable about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son (cfr. Mt 22,1-14) reminds us that we should be ready when God calls us to himself. In that parable, the king was frustrated because all those whom he invited refused to come. And so, he ordered his servants to call whoever they would meet in the highways and byways. Still, he expected that those who would come would at least be properly dressed. This means that we should truly be prepared for the eventual call and invitation that God would give us so we can be with him as he wants us to be. In this regard, we have to know how to “govern” our life such that at any time we would be ready for this eventuality. Yes, some art of good governance over our life should be learned. We just cannot be at the mercy of chance and fortune. We need to know and be constantly aware of the real and constant purpose of our life, and arrange our life in such a way that that purpose is always pursued. Just like in any serious busin

 Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said.    Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel more secured

  VERTEXT CARES. Vertext chief executive officer (CEO) and Smart Ilocos Norte sales operations manager Bjorn Lao hands over grocery items to Laoag barangay officials as part of VERTEXT CARES sharing blessings from the Lao family after super typhoon Carina.   Vertext Cares  has been operational and has been helping people and organizations in need for about a decade now which was launched during the time of Laoag councilor Handy Lao as Vertext CEO. (Doms dela Cruz)

LAOAG CITY—The provincial government of Ilocos Norte announced that an initial amount of PHP300 million is ready for release for the payment of lots for the expansion of the Laoag International Airport this year. Lawyer Athena Nicolette Pilar, acting general manager of the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC), assured the payment of lots based on appraised value will be given to lot owners as soon as all the documentary requirements such as proof of ownership have been complied with. “We have a directive from the governor to protect the interest of the lot owners at all cost. That is why we conducted a public consultation with them last weekend to explain all the needed requirements and the importance of expanding the Laoag airport. Those who completed the requirements of the land acquisition to the provincial government will be paid this week,” Pilar said in a media interview. “We were assured to get our check payment five days after submission of complete documents,” said Fernando

INEC acting general manager Cipriano Martinez LAOAG CITY—The Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) said it is in talks with the Ayala-led ACEN Corporation for supply of clean energy and to lower the power rates in the province. “We are talking with power providers like ACEN to find ways where ACEN can come in to provide power to us,” INEC acting general manager Cipriano Martinez said in a statement, noting that the provincial government is also pushing for a possible tripartite agreement to ensure further decline in power rates for consumers. This month, households continue to enjoy a single-digit power rate of   PHP9.086/kWh as a result of efficient trading in the wholesale spot market and continuous negotiations with power suppliers. To sustain a steady decline of power rates, Martinez assured consumers that his team, with the support of the national and provincial governments, is working things out to get supply at a lower cost. Earlier, INEC entered into an emergency pow

The Laoag City delegation to Hawaii, headed by mayor Michael Keon and the 10 Sangguniang Panlungsod members pay a courtesy call to City and County of Honolulu chairperson and presiding officer Tommy Waters and members of the City Council. ( Photo courtesy of MMK) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —City mayor Michael M. Keon led the city government’s delegation to the State of Hawaii this August as per invitation of Honolulu city council chairperson and presiding officer Tommy Waters. Waters, in his invitation, expressed his gratitude for the signing of the sisterhood relationship between Honolulu and the City of Laoag a few months ago held here in the city that resulted in the strong foundation for future collaborations. It was learned that Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, Keon and Laoag vice mayor and Presiding Officer Rey Carlos Farinas signed the sister city agreement, renewing the two cities’ commitment to the prosperity of the relationship between them. A