The Ilocos Times

By Reynaldo E. Andres Contributor CITY of BATAC —More than 1,000 employees of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) are expected to enjoy a festive Christmas holiday with granting of the PHP25,000 collective negotiation agreement (CNA) incentive, or Yuletide bonus this year. Dr. Oscar M. Agpaoa, director of the university’s Financial Management Office disclosed that the university had reserved a budget of more than PHP21 million for the payment of the employees’ CNA incentive. "MMSU personnel who were entitled to the CNA incentive are those regular, casual, and contractual employees," Dr. Agpaoa said. Personnel appointed between July and September 2019 were entitled to a pro-rated CNA, while those who have retired from the service before September 30, 2019 shall also be authorized a pro-rated share. The CNA incentive is given based on the savings of the university from expenses in electricity, travel, communication outlays, repairs and maintenance

  MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis (seated, center) and PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza (seated, right) sign the memorandum of understanding for the establishment of the Economic Zone Institute in Region I which will help promote export-oriented investments and increase productivity and income in the countryside. (Photo courtesy of MMSU-OP) By Reynaldo E. Andres Contributor BATAC City —The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in this city and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) have agreed to establish a Special Economic Zone Institute in Region I, which will help promote export-oriented investments and increase productivity and income in the countryside. A memorandum of understanding was formally signed on September 25, 2019 at the Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila between MMSU President Shirley C. Agrupis and PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza. Dr. Agrupis said MMSU is the only state university in the Ilocos region which shall ser

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Batac City —Due to public demand, the Sangguniang Panlungsod here passed a resolution requesting Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) through the President Shirley Agrupis to offer maritime/seaman and criminology courses. Batac Sangguniang Kabataan federated president and council ex-officio member John Gabrielle Dominique M. Daguio and Batac councilor Bismark Angelo Quidang sponsored the said measure, with all who voted in favor it becoming co-sponsors. Upon the motion of Mr. Daguio, all members present during the session approved the measure on its second and final reading. According to Mr. Quidang, only private higher academic institutions offer said courses in the entire province of Ilocos Norte. He added that with state universities now offering free tuition fee and if MMSU and other education officials grant these, “dagitay arapaap dagitay kalugaran tayo a kayat da met iti ag seaman ken kayat da met iti rumang-ay it

BJMP Batac District Jail persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) prepare the fruiting bags as one of the steps for oyster mushroom production. MMSU personnel conducted a two-days skills training on oyster mushroom production at BJMP Batac from July 23 to 24, 2019. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Batac City —The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Batac District Jail and the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) are teaming up to begin oyster mushroom production. As a preparation, MMSU personnel conducted a two-day skills training on oyster mushroom production from July 23-24, 2019. MMSU director for extension Dr. Aris Reynold V. Cajigal said this program is no longer new to the BJMP considering that they have launched the same for the past year and was successful. As a result, J/Sr. Insp. Antonio Sapaden has again requested MMSU for assistance for the said project. “ Ta ngamin dagidi immunan a nag training ket nakarwar da

  PROFESSIONAL  Regulatory Commission (PRC) commissioner Jose Y. Cueto Jr., M.D., the founding dean of the MMSU College of Medicine addresses the 14 pioneer graduates of Doctor of Medicine of MMSU Batac during the university’s 1st Commencement Exercise at the MMSU Batac Teatro Ilocandia on June 24, 2019. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Batac City —The Mariano Marcos State University’s (MMSU) College of Medicine in Batac made history as they held their first-ever commencement exercises for their Doctor of Medicine course on June 24 at the MMSU Teatro IIocandia. MMSU President Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis proudly announced that their “collective hopes and dreams has resulted in establishing the first medical school in Ilocos Norte”. “A dream that came true because of the efforts of countless men and women who did not only share vision but also translated vision into action,” Dr. Agrupis added. Among these visionaries, Dr. Agrupis si

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Batac CITY—Scattered rain showers did not stop over 2,000 delegates from the 23 state universities and colleges in Regions I, II, III, and the Cordillera Administrative Region to show their strength and will power to join the 2019   Association of State Colleges and Universities-Solid North (ASCU-SN) Summer Olympics held at the Mariano Marcos State University main campus in this city on May 7-10, 2019. In her welcome speech, MMSU President Shirley Agrupis, also the incoming president of ASCU-SN, said she is delighted to see the largest gathering of inter-regional groups of state colleges and universities in the country which aims to foster solidarity and promote health and wellness among employees and the communities they serve. “Even Mother Nature is excited to have you here. In the past weeks, the heat was almost unbearable and so were very happy when it rained a few days back and we started praying for the rain to st

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Batac CITY—In an effort to bring its brand of education closer to people, the state-run Mariano Marcos State University visited Dumalneg, an Indigenous Peoples community in the province on May 19, 2019 to administer the college freshmen admission test (CFAT) to all interested graduates of senior high school. MMSU President Dr. Shirley Agrupis said in an interview that a number of incoming college freshmen had been wanting to take the CFAT but some fail to do so due to lack of transportation and allowance when going to Laoag or Batac campuses where CFAT is being administered. “We want as much as possible that Ilocos Norte graduates should benefit from the prime state-funded university so we are bringing CFAT to our IP communities,” said Dr. Agrupis. Based on 2018 CFAT data, she reported around 6,000 students made their reservations online but during the actual exam, only more than 3,000 showed up. “If we cannot bring CFAT to

By Reynaldo Andres Contributor Batac CITY—A voluntary blood donation drive is being promoted among medical students in Ilocos Norte to ensure adequate blood supply for accident victims, people needing surgery, and those suffering from certain diseases, as well as for medical research. With this, the state-run Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), College of Medicine partnered with the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center in this city plans to have its own blood bank. As of this posting, around 80 bags of blood intended for MMSU constituents and their relatives were initially deposited at the blood bank, courtesy of a recent bloodletting activity, participated in by medical students and other stakeholders. “Since our population here at our college is relatively small, we decided to extend this activity for the undergraduate students, faculty members, and the community residents of Batac City,” said Jamie Nalupta, head of the MMSU Blood Dri

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Dingras , Ilocos Norte—At least 10 Japanese officials from the garlic capital of Takko in Aomori Prefecture, Japan joined farm festivities at Brgy. Madamba in Dingras, Ilocos Norte as one of the highlights of the month-long celebration of the state-run Mariano Marcos State University’s (MMSU) 41 st founding anniversary. Attended by hundreds of multi-sectoral stakeholders from public, private and non-government entities, the “Parambak Diay Talon”, an Ilokano term which means farm festivities is meant to celebrate good harvest and offer thanksgiving for all the blessings MMSU have reaped throughout the year. “In Asia, festivities have become part of our culture. We celebrate for so many occasions and these farm festivities express our heartfelt gratitude for all our partners who helped us achieved our goals,” said Dr. Shirley Agrupis, president of the premiere university in northern Philippines. With invited guests from J

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—The state-run Mariano Marcos State University in Batac City is set to host the Association of State Universities and Colleges-Solid North (ASCU-SN) summer Olympics slated next year. With MMSU President Shirley Agrupis as the newly-elected ASCU-SN vice president, she said the premiere university of the north is more than ready to host the event. Ms. Agrupis is also set to take over as ASCU-SN president upon the end of the term of the current ASCU President Dr. Eduardo T. Bagtang of Kalinga State University. ASCU-SN is composed of 23 state universities and colleges in Regions I, II, III, and the Cordillera Administrative Region. In time for the on-going ASCU-SN Summer Olympics at the Benguet State University in  La Trinidad, Benguet held June 18-21 , the member state universities and colleges unanimously voted for MMSU as host and venue for next year’s summer Olympics on June 19-21. This year, about 93 athletes

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter BATAC CITY—Mariano Marcos State University president Shirley C. Agrupis in this city has asked the help of members of the National Panel of Technical Experts (NPTE) of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) for the funding of seven development programs, which might lead to the transformation of MMSU into a “dream university”. Ms. Agrupis said this kind of university will surely help the CCC in its mandate to minimize the adverse effects of climate change and, at the same time, serves as a springboard towards national development. The seven proposed projects are: 1) strengthening the development of a smart-farm green and innovative university; 2) establishment of a National Research Center for Climate Change; 3) green wall model project for climate change mitigation; 4) establishment of renewable energy engineering model farm; 5) intensification of the One-Town-One-Technology (OTOTech) approach for people and com