The Ilocos Times

THESE are what we have to look for in choosing our public officials. Of course, to be realistic, we have to put these qualities in the context of the candidates’ popularity and electability. But for Pete’s sake, let’s not make mere popularity the main guide in electing our officials. We have to go beyond looks, PR gimmicks, smart sound bites, spins and vote-getting machineries. Sad to say, we cannot help but observe how local candidates tend to congregate around national candidates and political parties with vast and deep war chest. They are there more for the “fund” of it. Neither should we go by mere genealogy and pedigree—that one is the son or daughter of so-and-so, or that his father or mother died in some dramatic circumstances. This is a dangerous way to elect officials. It’s like impulse buying that leaves many of us with the buyer’s remorse. Neither still should we be guided by some forms of kinship—blood, political, cultural, social, geographical. While these f

Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. bared that he had fun in the vice presidential debate sponsored by the Commission on Elections at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on April 10 and that despite the mudslinging, he would never hold a grudge against any of his rivals. Mr. Marcos made the statement in a press conference in Jaro, Iloilo as he shrugged off the hardline tirades leveled against him saying it was just a “standard political strategy” of candidates who are trying to catch up with a frontrunner. “ Alam mo that is a standard political strategy, pagka gusto mong gumanda ang numbers mo e you attack the one who is leading. So ganyan naman talaga . Expected ko naman yan e kayat hindi ako nagugulat . So I hope that we can raise the level of discussion higher than what it was and bring it to the programs and the projects that we plan to do in the next administration,” he suggested. Despite the outbursts, he still enjoyed the d

Airman Regine Garcia By Nathan McDonald USN Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class NORFOLK—A 2004 Aura De Laurentus graduate and Olongapo, Philippines native is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier, PCU Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). Airman Regine Garcia is an aviation boatswain's mate (handling) aboard the Ford-class aircraft carrier operating out of Norfolk, Virginia. A Navy aviation boatswain's mate (handling) is responsible for flight deck firefighting and directing aircraft. “I like that we have the opportunity to save lives,” said Ms. Garcia. Named after the 38 th US President, Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr., the Ford-class aircraft carrier is 1,092 feet long and hosts a wide array of quality of life improvements and state-of-the-art upgrades from a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. New technology, including a new reactor plant, propulsion systems, electric plant, Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), advanced arresting gear

  Rheena Agpaoa. (PGIN photo) By Jennifer T. Pambid PGIN-CMO The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte’s (PGIN) animal dispersal program helped a resident of Brgy. San Ramon, Vintar fulfill her wish of raising livestock again after her pigs were washed up by a typhoon few years ago. Rheena Agpaoa, 38, thanked PGIN for giving her opportunity to start a small business and raise animals again. She was one of the beneficiaries of the provincial government’s rehabilitation program in the aftermath of typhoon Mario which lashed the province in 2014. Through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), she was given 21 broiler chicks as livelihood assistance. Her profit from the broiler chicks was used to purchase a piglet which she sold at PHP 6,000. She then bought another two piglets and at present, the business continues to grow. It is their source of money to support the studies of her first child who previously stopped due to fina

Marck Anthony Ranga of Marcos, Ilocos Norte, beneficiary of Iskolar ni Manang Imee and a magna cum laude of the Mariano Marcos State University, faces his next hurdle of passing the Certified Public Accountant board examination and looking for a job in Ilocos Norte in order to support as well as keep his mother company. (PGIN photo) By Mizpah Grace G. Castro PGIN-CMO After four years of diligent study for his degree in accountancy, Marck Anthony J. Ranga of Brgy. Elizabeth, Marcos, Ilocos Norte, earned a general weighted average of 1.36, landing him at rank two among 2,172 graduates of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) for the year 2016. Marck is the only   magna cum laude   out of 21 "Iskolar ni Manang Imee" beneficiaries who graduated with honors this year. According to him, it was Prof. Divina M. Cayabyab, head of scholarship and financial assistance at MMSU, who encouraged him to apply for the scholarship. "My happiness overflowed," he

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee R. Marcos during a Capitol Express event in Dingras, Ilocos Norte (PGIN photo) By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter With aggressive programs focusing on poverty alleviation, the province of Ilocos Norte reached the lowest poverty incidence rate in Region 1 at 15% in 2015, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report. PSA defines poverty incidence as the proportion of families (or population) with per capita income less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families (or population). Alejandro Rapacon, PSA-Laoag City officer-in-charge said the latest report could be attributed to dollar remittances sent to families back home by Ilocano overseas workers and immigrants, more local jobs generated by the province’s booming tourism industry and strong political will from government officials to promote investment and job generation here. “I am proudest of our poverty reduction program but I will continue

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—Election campaign paraphernalia nailed on trees and posted on non-designated campaign poster areas such as along national road is a no-no in the province of Ilocos Norte. To maintain its cleanliness, the Operation Baklas taskforce composed mainly of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Commission on Elections, Department of Public Works and Highways and other various private and non-government organizations organized its first wave of operation on the first week of April to remove all forms of advertisement and election-related materials which are illegally posted from the Badoc highway all the way Pagudpud, the northern most part of the province. From 46 kilos of nails removed from live trees and at least three truckloads of campaign posters collected in 2007 since the “Sagip Puno, Tanggal Pako” project was launched in the province, provincial environment and natural resources officer Juan Delos Reyes hop