The Ilocos Times

RECOGNIZING COMMUNICATION EXCELLENCE. LANDBANK bags six Quill Awards for communication initiatives that connect and empower Filipinos during the 22nd Philippine Quill Awards on 27 August 2026 at Solaire Resort North in Parañaque City. Receiving the awards on behalf of the Bank were Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs Catherine Rowena B. Villanueva (center-left), Vice President for Public Communications Gaudioso Carlos A. Garcia VI (center-right), and Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications and Events Melissa B. Calimag (2 nd from center-left), together with other officers and personnel from LANDBANK’s Corporate Affairs Group. LANDBANK’s efforts to connect Filipinos to opportunities, champion sustainability , and support underserved communities earned six recognitions at the 22nd Philippine Quill Awards, affirming the Bank’s development impact beyond banking. The state-run bank received three Excellence Awards and three Merit Awards in communication manage...

Manila — The governments of the United States, the Philippines, and Japan hosted today the inaugural Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) Investment Forum. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton, U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Deputy Director Thomas Hardy, Philippine Department of Finance Secretary Frederick Go, Philippine Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Ono Sho, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of Japan to the Republic of the Philippines, attended. Sponsored by USTDA, the forum brought together more than 600 investors, industry leaders, and government officials to mobilize private-sector investment and accelerate commercial partnerships in transportation, energy, digital infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing supply chains. It featured deal signings, project pitches, and discussions focused on improving connectivity, strengthening supply chains, and unlocking pr...

The Philippines may be losing as much as 10% of its gross domestic product (GDP) because workers are not always able to use their skills at their highest productive value, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) senior research fellow Michael Ralph Abrigo . Speaking at the 2026 Development Policy Research Month (DPRM) Kick-off Press Conference and Media Awards on September 1, 2026, Abrigo said the country’s challenge is not limited to the production of skilled workers. It also involves ensuring that workers are deployed and allowed to work in ways that make full use of their capabilities. “What we estimate is as much as 10% of our GDP is actually lost because of this misallocation of talent,” Abrigo said during the open forum. He explained that talent misallocation occurs when the system does not allow skilled workers to use their skills at their most optimal level. It is different from unemployment or a lack of skills. A person can be employed,...

Farmers using direct seeding may need to control weedy rice earlier than usual, after a study found that the weed gains its advantage before cultivated rice reaches its reproductive stage. The Philippine Rice Research Institute ( PhilRice )-led study found that weedy rice can outgrow cultivated rice because it emerges earlier, grows taller, produces more tillers, and develops larger and more highly branched roots. Dr. Leylani M. Juliano , PhilRice lead researcher, said that these traits help weedy rice absorb more water and nutrients from the soil. The weed can also continue using sunlight efficiently to grow even when nutrients are limited, giving it a stronger chance to compete in direct-seeded fields. She said understanding how the weed competes can guide researchers in improving the timing and design of management strategies, especially during the early stages of crop growth. The study showed that weedy rice builds much of its advantage from the seedling stage until be...

US and Philippine officials tour the new Community Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Reporting Center. PUERTO PRINCESA CITY —The US Embassy in the Philippines , through the Fish Right Project , launched the Community Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Reporting Center in partnership with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.   The new facility strengthens Philippine-led efforts to combat IUU fishing —a shared economic and security threat for both the United States and the Philippines. Building on the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development ’s existing coordination mechanisms with local and national agencies, Fish Right will integrate American technologies, such as Starlink and data visualization software EarthRanger , to strengthen connectivity, improve the collection and organization of community reports, and support timely information-sharing with Philippine authorities.   The Center will serve as a community hub for receiving a...

Arlington , VA—The US Trade and Development Agency announced that the governments of the United States of America, the Republic of the Philippines and Japan will co-host the inaugural Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) Investment Forum from September 10-11, 2026, in Manila, Philippines . Sponsored by USTDA, the Forum will bring together 600 international investors, industry leaders, project developers, and government officials to showcase opportunities in the LEC and connect investors with infrastructure projects ready for financing. “America’s leadership in the Indo-Pacific is built on trusted partnerships and a shared commitment to secure, high-quality infrastructure,” said Thomas R. Hardy , USTDA’s Deputy Director. “The LEC Investment Forum brings together the United States, Japan, the Philippines and partner nations from across the world around one goal: turning priority projects into commercial reality, while advancing our collective vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.” The ...

Many older Filipinos who are not officially classified as poor remain economically vulnerable. This suggests that poverty rates alone may fail to identify many seniors who could benefit from social protection programs, according to studies presented during the recent ‘Inclusive Social Protection Services in the Philippines’ Policy and Research Forum. The forum was organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) and Australia’s flagship Social Protection, Inclusion, and Gender Equality (SPRING) program in the Philippines. Presenting a study on household vulnerability to income poverty, PIDS supervising research specialist Deanne Lorraine Cabalfin said poverty statistics alone are insufficient for identifying older persons at economic risk. The study found that while only 7.8% of senior citizens were classified as poor in 2023, 24% were vulnerable to falling into poverty. The official poverty threshold measures whether households can afford a minimum basket of...

Researchers , journalists, broadcasters, and child rights advocates have called for more child-sensitive reporting on issues involving children, stressing the importance of responsible, evidence-based communication in protecting children's rights and welfare. The call was made during the launch of “Ang Bata sa Lente ng Pananaliksik at Midya,” a national webinar series organized by the Philippines Communication Society (PCS) in partnership with the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), and the National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT). Opening the webinar, PIDS President Philip Arnold P. Tuaño emphasized the role of evidence and responsible communication in shaping public understanding and institutional responses to children's needs. "The studies we tell, the images we share, the language we use, and the policies we advocate all influence how s...

San Nicolas Mayor Edmar Vincent Bonoan delivers his first State of San Nicolas Address (SOSNA) 2026 in a special session conducted by the Sangguniang Bayan headed by San Nicolas Vice Mayor and presiding officer Napoleon Hernando before the people of San Nicolas held at the Robinsons Mall Cinema 4 on August 10, 2026. ( Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz,  Staff reporter SAN NICOLAS, Ilocos Norte—Mayor Edmar Vincent Bonoan delivered his first State of San Nicolas Address (SOSNA) on August 10, 2026, highlighting the administration’s first-year accomplishments, ongoing programs and development priorities for the municipality. The address was delivered during a special session of the Sangguniang Bayan, presided over by Vice Mayor Napoleon Hernando, and attended by municipal and barangay officials, government agencies, stakeholders and residents. Bonoan thanked San Nicoleños for entrusting him and his administration with the responsibility of leading the municipality. He s...

  As the southwest monsoon (Habagat) continues to bring heavy rains across the country, a new Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) study has found that routine rainfall reduces the number of hours Filipinos work each week, with day-to-day and short-term workers bearing the greatest impact. In the discussion paper “When Rain Falls, Work Slows: Rainfall Variability and Working Hours in the Philippine Labor Market,” PIDS research specialist John Joseph Ocbina and Senior Research Fellow Dr. John Paolo Rivera analyzed nationally representative Labor Force Survey (LFS) data alongside regional rainfall records from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). The findings suggest that frequent rainy periods—not only major storms and typhoons—can add up to meaningful productivity and income losses across the labor market. “At the aggregate level, rainfall exerts a statistically significant but modest negative associa...