The Ilocos Times

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

CONTINUING EDUCATION SUPPORT PROGRAMS AMID PANDEMIC. BDO Unibank donated nearly PHP3 million-worth of protective supplies, online learning tools, and other school materials to more than 1,100 public schools nationwide as part of its corporate social responsibility programs supporting public schools. Receiving the items are (left) Mr. Pepito Cagunot, assistant principal and (middle) Dr. Ruben Opeňa, principal IV of Nagpayong Elementary School. Representing BDO Network Bank-Salary Loans Group is Mr. Sonny Agapito, regional sales head-NCR. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, BDO Network Bank (BDONB) pushed through with its corporate social responsibility programs supporting public schools. The rural banking arm of BDO Unibank donated nearly P3 million-worth of protective supplies, online learning tools, and other school materials to more than 1,100 public schools nationwide. The programs, namely the Brigada Eskwela & Balik-Eskwela (DepEd initiated activities supporte

BARTER FOR A CAUSE. Children in Barangay Lagui-Sail, Laoag City receive a learning kit courtesy of A&A Foundation and the Ilocos Norte 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company. Some of the donated school supplies were sourced through an online barter system where a kilo of calamansi is exchanged with a writing pad, pencil or crayons. ( Lei Adriano) By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY–At least 50 incoming Day-Care pupils at Barangay Lagui-Sail, this city are beneficiaries of a locally organized “barter for a cause” program, which is becoming a trend online, at least in the province of Ilocos Norte. On July 1, 2020, four-year old Ysabel Pastor from Sitio West of the said barangay, received her very first eight-color crayons along with pencils, writing pads, sharpener, eraser and a pack of multivitamin syrup from a group of Ilocos Norte cops spearheading the gift-giving activity. Ysabel is among the incoming Day-Care pupils of Barangay 54-A Lagui-Sail that benefited in

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —City Mayor Michael M. Keon thanked the Chinese government for donating 10 tons of rice, or 2,000 bags, on June 10 at the City Hall multi-purpose court. The rice was turn over personally by Consulate of the People’s Republic of China in Laoag head of post and consul Zhou Youbin personally turned over the rice with Ilocos Norte Governor Mathew Joseph M. Manotoc also gracing the event. Of the 2,000 bags of rice, he city government will donate 40 bags to the Mariano Marcos Memorial and Medical Center in Batac for the nurses and frontline workers while the rest will be distributed to jeepney and tricycle drivers in the city. The Ilocos Times learned that the Chinese rice donation is the first relief operations of the Chinese government to the city during this pandemic. The distribution coincided with the 45 th anniversary of the China-Philippine diplomatic ties. Mr. Keon hopes that both governments will continue to have a “

By Consul & Head of Post Zhou Youbin On June 9, 1975, former President Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos from Ilocos Norte paid a successful state visit to China that opened the door for exchanges between China and the Philippines. President Marcos and China's Premier Zhou Enlai jointly signed a communique which established the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and over the past 45 years, this bilateral relation have gone through ups and downs but kept moving forward. Since 2016, under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Rodrigo Duterte, China-Philippines relations have witnessed a turn-around, consolidation and elevation, and entered a new golden era. The two countries have elevated our relationship into one of comprehensive, strategic cooperation. And through practical cooperation, fruitful results have been yielded bringing benefits to both countries and their peoples. Moreover, the exchanges and cooperation between the

By Leilanie G. Adriano  Staff Reporter  LAOAG CITY—Michael Opiña and six other families composed of 23 members from Bagong Silang, Caloocan City were stranded in a Laoag boarding house when Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc declared a total lockdown in the province on March 30, 2020.  Relying on their daily income from selling promo detergent powder which they sell from house to house in the city, Mr. Opiña said they are thankful for good Samaritans such as members of the Philippine National Police manning the village checkpoint near them who share their food whenever they have extra.  Seeing the plight of the stranded sellers along with their small children whom they brought along with them in the city made the Barangay Pila bypass road border control personnel sad as they are just among those families who are struggling for food in time of the COVID-19 crisis.  Police Staff Sgt. Randy Canonizado of the Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office and one of those assig

Staff of the College of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, and the University Infirmary conduct free medical services as part of the farm festivity held at MMSU on January 31, 2020. (Reynaldo E. Andres) By Reynaldo E. Andres Contributor City of BATAC—More than 500 farmers and their families, including representatives of various stakeholders have received free medical and other social services on January 31, 2020 during a lively farm festivity held in the main campus of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in this city. Dubbed “Parambak Iti MMSU 2020” [Festivity in MMSU 2020], the activity provided free medical consultations, technology promotions, and served as a venue where everyone can buy cheap organically-grown agricultural commodities produced by the University. “This festivity has several components where various colleges of MMSU delivered their mandates to the community through the expert services of their staff,” said Dr. Aris Reynold Cajigal,

Laoag Mayor Michael Marcos-Keon hands over the PHP100,000 check from the city government of Laoag and a plaque of recognition to Laoag centenarian Eugenio S. Pedro of Brgy. Lagui Sail. Doms dela Cruz

Laoag City —As part of the continuing relief efforts for severely affected families in the province due to typhoon “Ompong”, which lashed the province in 2018, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN), through the support of the Department of Agriculture (DA) distributed another set of livestock assistance on January 9, 2020 at Motorpool Ground, this city. A total of 4,530 itik and goats were distributed to the local government units of Vintar, Pasuquin, Bacarra, San Nicolas, Paoay, Dingras, Pagudpud, Laoag City, and Batac City; an addition to the initial number of livestock distributed in the previous months. “ Nakumpleto na naming i -distribute ang mga itik . Hopefully sa susunod naman ay mayroon pang mga manok, dagdag na kambing, at tupa na manggagaling pa rin sa Department of Agriculture. All in all, mahigit 22,000 ang ibabahagi nating livestock para sa mga rice farmers dito sa probinsiya ,” provincial veterinarian Dr. Loida Valenzuela shared. Jessi

Laoag City —The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) extended support for the affected families of the Taal Volcano eruption in Batangas by sending a truckload of relief goods alongside a financial aid on January 16, 2020. Taal Volcano activity started on January 12, 2020 and intensified on succeeding days, resulting to the occurrence of ashfalls, greatly affected and displaced thousands of families in the said province, including its nearby provinces. Reliefs donated include canned goods for over 2000 families; 480 bottled mineral water (3 liters); 300 N95 face masks; and an undisclosed amount of monetary assistance to the Provincial Government of Batangas. Similarly, PGIN provided assistance to the victims of the earthquake incident in Batanes last July as well as the flood victims in Cagayan and Apayao last December 2019. Aside from the Provincial Government, various non-government organizations and other private groups in Ilocos Norte also initiated donati

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Piddig , Ilocos Norte—Employees of the local government here have set up several drop boxes where concerned citizens may drop off their goodies for victims of Taal volcano eruption. Anna Liza Gaspar, head of the Human Resource department said concerned individuals may drop off their donations such as water, food, clothing and hygiene kit at the municipal hall lobby on or before January 21, 2020. Interested donors outside Piddig town may also send their addresses for pick-up of their donations at their convenient time. “The employees of the municipal government of Piddig, Ilocos Norte have started a relief goods drive for the evacuees of the Taal Volcano eruption. Drop boxes are available at the municipal hall lobby. Here in Piddig, thru the leadership of Mayor Eddie Guillen, we help those who are in need,” said in the official Facebook Page of the Piddig local government unit posted on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Provincial Veterina

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter City of Batac —With aims of improving the Bataqueños’ quality of living, the city government here is setting pro-poor programs and policies, primarily with regards to building application and other related permits. In a regular Sangguniang Panlungsod session, councilors here unanimously passed a measure that will set the city government’s thrust toward this goal. Batac councilor Lucky Rene Bunye, who moved for its approval, said the measure is based on the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as an indicator to accurately measure poverty. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Board Resolution NO. 01 series of 2017-129 determines the poverty threshold (PT) and has set the minimum income/expenditure requirement for a family/individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements. Section 209 of the National Building Code of the Philippines (NBCP) states that “Traditional Indigenous Family Dwellings shall

Dingras , Ilocos Norte—Bureau of Fire Protection officials in this town, led by SFO3 Marlou D. Colobong, gave a more meaningful Christmas to the orphans of Shekinah Home in this town. The Dingras firefighters exchanged their firefighting equipment for a fund-raising project to give the Shekinah Home orphans a brighter Yuletide season. Aside from treating them to sumptuous meals, BFP-Dingras personnel also gave them Christmas gifts with the BFP mascot “Berong Bumbero” leading the gift-giving ceremony at the orphanage’s compound in Brgy. Cali, this town. During the event, Mr. Colobong said, “Christmas should be for the children and as such, we at BFP-Dingras, are doing what we can to give these orphans a brighter Christmas”. Meanwhile, BFP-Dingras also implemented the “Oplan Paalala-Iwas Paputok” in this town. Firefighters distributed flyers to residences and local officials through the “Ugnayan sa Barangay” project. They also posted BFP advocacy tarpaulins

Laoag City —The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte, through the Ilocos Norte Youth Development Office (INYDO) and in partnership with Philippine Red Cross (PRC) called for blood donors as they conducted the “Sirib Youth Blood Bank” donation drive on November 29, 2019 from 9:00 A.M to 2:00 P.M., at the Philippine Red Cross Office, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. The ‘Sirib Youth Blood Bank,’ a quarterly activity of the INYDO and the PRC started in 2017, to celebrate INYDO’s fourth anniversary. “Aside from the fact that this activity promotes volunteerism among Ilokano community, particularly the donors, it is also one way of showing unity or panagkaykaysa . Simpleng aktibidad lang siya kung tutuusin , but it could help and save hundreds of lives; sa mga Ilokano families who will be needing blood supply,” Willie Jake Sib-at, local youth development officer remarked. Since 2017, the INYDO recorded almost 200 donors from various institutions, organization, and groups througho

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Batac City —Sangguniang Panlungsod member Violeta Daradar-Nalupta distributed at least 15 wheelchairs from Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III to persons with disabilities (PWDs) in this. Mrs. Nalupta requested the said wheelchairs through a council resolution, which the body approved unanimously. All council members also co-sponsored the said measure. Mrs. Nalupta said she personally delivered the wheelchairs to PWDs who could no longer walk far, including Splendor Pitpit of Brgy. Payao this city. She also disclosed that only seven local government units in the country received wheelchairs from the senator. With the help of the social works office here, the 14 wheelchairs were given to PWDs who are “less fortunate”, or indigents. “ Babaen iti daytoy, addan gundaway dagiti adda rangkap na aglalo dagitay saan a makapagna a makapasyaren babaen iti wheelchairs nga inted ni apo senador ket napalalo iti pinagyaman da iti d

Urges students to ‘contribute to our great home’ Laoag City —" Pag-isipan ninyo kung anong gagawin ninyo kapag nakatapos na kayo sa pag-aaral . I hope that you make the most out of this opportunity and I hope that you stay here in Ilocos Norte and eventually contribute to our great home,” Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc remarked in front of almost 2,000 provincial scholars during the mass stipend distribution at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena, Laoag City on October 31, 2019. The event was facilitated by the Provincial Education Office (PEdO), Ilocos Norte Youth Development Office (INYDO), and the Provincial Treasurer’s Office. In his speech, Mr. Manotoc assured that the scholarship program will be further improved, adding more slots in the future: “You are considered as ambassadors in the Provincial Government and the scholarship program is one of the most popular programs of the former Governor, now Senator Imee Marcos. Thus, as one of the m