The Ilocos Times

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) urged anew local government units (LGUs) to avail of its free contact tracing training program (CTTP) as the country is now experiencing a surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. It can be recalled that at the onset of the pandemic last year, TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña immediately ordered the registration of more health-related programs and tasked the agency's Qualifications and Standards Office to develop competency standards on contact tracing. He likewise directed the TESDA Technology Institutions (TTIs) nationwide to register the program and partner with barangay health centers, LGUs, Philippine Red Cross (PRC), or Department of Health (DOH) facilities in their areas. With this, TESDA, in September last year, has started offering free contact tracing training program to support the country's fight against the spread of COVID-19. From September last year up to March this year, based on r

By   Noralyn Onto Dudt A year has passed since most of the world populace was told to stay in place; to stay put or they may end up "killing" each other. A year of uncertainty, a year of wearing masks, a year of physical distancing, a year of not visiting parents, grandparents and friends. A year of no touching and no hugging each other. It has been a year that had almost all of us gripped with fear as we watched others become critically ill and were rushed to fill hospital beds. As the kings and queens of centuries past, with their "coronas" (crowns) on their heads, wielding power that put fear into their subjects’ hearts, the coronavirus has been wielding its power and our hearts have been terrified.   And with this fear gripping us, the way we carry on with our lives has been changed forever. As the virus was proving to be so deadly and with so many people dying, businesses collapsing, and people losing their jobs, the government of the United States went into

By Noralyn Dudt “God is great , God is good and we thank Him that great-grandma Rosalina is here with us to share this feast in this difficult Covid times.” Louie Samuel Vaughan, age 10 That was our 10-year-old grandson Louie Samuel Vaughan saying grace as we sat down for a meal on a recent cold January day in our home in North Bethesda, Maryland just 12 miles from downtown Washington DC. That great-grandma is Rosalina A. Onto, my octogenarian, soon to be a nonagenarian mother. This “feast” was a little more than elaborate than usual, but by no means a feast in the Filipino sense of the word. My mother is one daring woman who braved the 14 hour-flight from Manila across the vast Pacific to San Francisco, California to visit my sister's family and to see (aka inspect) her house that is being leased. I say "daring" because I cannot imagine myself, much younger than she is, having a double-mask and a plastic cover over my face for 14 hours! But daring she has always be

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—Residents eager to come home received good news from the Ilocos Norte government. Following the easing of border and quarantine protocols, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc announced that the cost of antigen tests for inbound residents will be reduced from PHP800 to PHP500. Antigen tests for non-residents will remain at PHP800. “This is to lighten the economic load of our residents who are coming home, now that travel requirements have been eased,” Manotoc said. Antigen tests detect the presence of a specific viral antigen, which implies viral infection. Pending the issuance of an executive order for the implementation of the new guidelines, he said getting to Ilocos Norte has been made easier with fewer travel requirements. Ilocos Norte has opened its borders to leisure travelers all over the country. Visitors from enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine (GCQ) areas must submit neg

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY – The offices of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan were placed on lockdown effective Feb. 22, 2021 as its more than 100 employees and officials underwent reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Dr. Josephine Ruedas, Ilocos Norte provincial health officer, in a telephone interview, said these employees are considered “primary contacts” of one of the secretaries of a provincial board member who was confirmed positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Feb. 20, 2021. “Should they test negative or not, all of them have to complete the 14-day quarantine period,” Ruedas said, noting the life-saving importance of self-quarantine when a person was exposed to a person who contracted the virus. It was learned that IN-C767, a 62-year-old provincial government employee from Brgy. 29, Santo Tomas this city, was previously exposed to IN-C759, who is her daughter-in-law. Both patients are symptomatic and current

  By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—To boost the confidence of tourists to travel again, the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines, the marketing and promotions arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT) has approved PHP7 million for the RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) testing of tourism workers in the province. Covering at least 2,000 DOT-accredited tourism workers composed of tour guides, driver-guides, hotel and restaurant workers among others, RT-PCR testing bearing negative result is required before they can mingle with pre-registered tourists visiting Ilocos Norte. Xavier Ruiz, tourism operations officer II of the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office said they were able to secure the fund since November last year as they were supposed to roll out the free RT-PCR testing of tourism workers in December if for the rise cases of COVID-19, mostly in this city. “The free RT-PCR tests of tourism workers is meant to lessen the burden of tourism

By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—The pandemic has hit the world hard and without remorse including a small province up north. While many businesses have closed, other business opportunities have also shoot up as they adopt to the change of time. The province of Ilocos Norte is emerging as an agro-industrial economy when the COVID-19 panic started. Everyone was forced to the confines of their homes except for people who have to report to work. Suddenly, it was all back to basic. People left at home focused on home improvement and gardening too, for those with space available. Technology has also become more than ever in demand, not only for kids who are on homeschooling but also for families who are separated by distance. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc acknowledged that 2020 has been a tough year for the province because of the presence and impact of pandemic but like in the past, the Ilocanos will continue to weather the storm and win the bat

By John Michael Mugas (Contributor) LAOAG CITY—The biggest public hospital in the province of Ilocos Norte was recognized on December 16, 2020 by an international health association for its commitment on providing exceptional health services amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) was one of the 103 hospital recipients across 28 countries of the International Hospital Federation’s (IHF) Beyond the Call of Duty For COVID-19 award. The recognition came as Ilocos Norte experienced a sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in the past days breaching the 400-mark. MMMH&MC shared the award with other hospitals from the Philippines including Caba District Hospital, Makati Medical Center, Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, Manila Doctors Hospital, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Region II Trauma and Medical Center, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. The list of winners was a

National Action Plan Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Secretary Vicencio Dizon. (PGIN-CMO photo) By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—As the province of Ilocos Norte re-strategize to prevent and contain the novel coronavirus infection here, National Action Plan Against COVID-19 deputy chief implementer Secretary Vicencio Dizon assured officials and residents they are on the priority list to avail of the vaccine once it is available in the country. Mr. Dizon and other members of the National Task Force on Coordinated Operations to Defeat Epidemic (CODE) were in Laoag City on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020 to augment the on-going containment strategies being implemented amid surge of cases of COVID-19 in the province. In a meeting held at the Laoag City Centennial Arena, Mr. Dizon said getting vaccinated is the surest way to move on from the pandemic. “Ilocos Norte is one of our priority areas specially for our front-liners. Hopefully, the vaccine will arrive by th

By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Senator ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos called on the government to prepare for a possible spike in COVID-19 cases after Christmas, even as community quarantines remain in place and a karaoke ban and the use of ‘yantok’ are being considered to enforce health protocols. Ms. Marcos said the public’s “quarantine fatigue” amid muted festivity this Christmas could swell infection rates that remained “significantly high” at the end of November, particularly in Metro Manila, Batangas, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Tacloban City, Iligan City, and Lanao del Sur. “Let’s already settle what contact-tracing system should be put in place, contingency measures in hospitals if critical levels are reached, coping mechanisms that can be devolved to local government units,” the senator noted. “We are likely to remain in a public health emergency until next year, yet Bayanihan 2 is already due to expire when Congress adjourns next week,” she pointed out. Th

By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos has asserted that face-to-face classes should resume as soon as possible where schools are capable of enforcing health protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Ms. Marcos said schools may reflect the prevailing infection rates in their communities but that no proof exists of their being venues for spreading COVID-19. “The Philippines is the penultimate country in the world to keep our schools shuttered,” the senator pointed out. She also criticized the “baffling priorities” of the IATF-EID (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases), which issued a resolution on October 15, 2020 that allowed the opening of cockpits over schools. “Has gambling now become an essential activity to Filipinos and education a frivolous luxury?” she asked. Ms. Marcos expressed confidence that teachers and schoolchildren can strictly observe the wearin

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte—The most business-friendly town in Ilocos Norte is losing businesses due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Jean Merry Talavera, head of the business permits and licensing office at the municipal government here confirmed this in a radio interview saying 94 local businesses in the area have closed shop. "Among these include bars and other businesses that belong to non-essential category,” she said. Pre-pandemic, this town has earned its Hall of Fame award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the country’s most business-friendly municipality under the municipal category level 1. To date, San Nicolas town is the home of Robinsons Mall, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, Balai Condominium, 365 Center, Savemore, 7-Eleven, car sales branches of Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Ford; Metro Bank branch, Gertes Resort, Midland Terraces Resort, Black Nazarene Hospital, Coral Sand Lumber

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—This city will revert to the less restrictive general community quarantine (GCQ) starting Dec. 12, 2020 after a two-week reimposition of a strict modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ). Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc announced this on the evening of Dec. 9, 2020, saying the decision was  based on the significant decreasing number of average daily positive COVID-19 cases in the city”. "Things will normalize in Laoag and we will gradually go back to our new normal,” he said as he reiterated that even if they remove barricades and checkpoints in barangay and city borders, he reminded residents not to be complacent as the threat of the COVID-19 is still here. Of the 262 total confirmed cases in Laoag, as of press time, at least 88 had recovered. At present, there are 174 active cases but 101 of them are persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) at the Ilocos Norte provincial jail. All of them did not show

By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —As the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continue to increase in this city, the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed three resolutions, which Laoag mayor Michael M. Keon earlier certified as urgent.   Public jeepneys to transport APORs within the city Foremost among these is the granting of authority to the mayor to sign a memorandum of agreement with Laoag jeepney operators and drivers to ferry authorized persons outside residence (APOR) from the city’s boundaries to designated unloading areas, and vice versa. Laoag councilor Edison Bonoan, the council’s transportation committee chair and the measure’s sponsor said the MOA will last until the provincial government lifts the localized modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) that took effect on Nov. 27, 2020. Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc’s localized MECQ order bars public transportation from entering the city. As a result, APORs who do not

I only have a few regrets in life, and most of these regrets result from incidents when I was not kind enough, not from times when I was not harsh, vindictive, self-affirming enough. In these times of crisis, I consciously choose to be a lot kinder to people, our leaders included. There will be a time to evaluate their performance. The moment of reckoning will inevitably come. But, for now, they're all we've got. This is what’s on my mind as Ilocos Norte ranks on top among provinces that recorded COVID-19 cases in a day (92) and as Laoag City is placed under localized modified enhanced community quarantine. The latest turn of events actually come as a surprise because Ilocos Norte is known to have heavily regulated and heavily guarded borders. Why the spike in cases? We do not want to point fingers, but I think we should stop blaming our people. By and large, they, we, are not pasaway . People will follow strict measures as long as these are consistently and intelligentl