The Ilocos Times

By Noralyn Dudt About three weeks ago on Dec. 15 th , 2022, I lost my bragging rights on board the Viking Jupiter along the coast of Puerto Montt in Chile. That was my 15 th day on the cruise and I tested positive for the coronavirus, finally.   I was asymptomatic (no symptoms) so, of course it came as a surprise. I would have never known had it not for   the Viking protocol to conduct PCR tests on   all 900 passengers and 400 crew members every morning. For two years I have been sort of bragging with "humility"   that the corona would never be able to get past my immune system. I have been healthy, didn't have underlying conditions and best of all I have had the two doses of the mRNA   vaccines plus the three boosters for the variants. Additionally, I have been wearing a mask in crowded and closed-in places. I was very sure that I was forever shielded from the virus and why shouldn't I have been entitled to some bragging rights? Those bragging   rights I lost, bu

By Noralyn Dudt In one of the first recorded Bitcoin transactions in 2010, a hungry computer geek in Florida spent 10,000 of the cryptocurrency on a couple of takeaway pizzas. By late 2017, the cost of those pizzas at Bitcoin's then market price was close to US$200 million. Not too long after that, the leading crypto's market value surpassed many of the world's largest companies, including Boeing, Toyota and McDonald's. Unbelievable? Such a vast sum, yes   for little value. Was it real ? Yes it was... but it didn't last long because it was just a bubble floating in the air. As with many other "bubbles" in the past this bubble also burst. Surely investors'   initial giddiness and excitement was soon wiped out when they realized that   their money was gone. But how can one explain   such irrational and irresponsible thinking—that investing a dollar in something "in the air" would yield a million times in such a short time?   It has to be

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —In a move to help avoid future wide-scale flooding in the province and with the effect of typhoon Ineng in 2019 still fresh on everyone’s minds, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) along with four government agencies officially launched Phase 1 of the Padsan River Restoration Project through a ceremonial dredging in Metro Gabu, this city, on Dec. 15, 2022. PGIN, through the Provincial Quarry Office, has been collaborating with the Depts. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), as well as the official contractor, He Sha Prime Sand & Gravel Aggregates Philippines Inc., to conduct vital research, studies, and campaigns for the project. Present during the ceremonial dredging were Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc, Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos, regional d

The waste issue is a global problem as shown here in a photo of a dump site that can be found everywhere in the world. (File photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —In a concerted effort and continuing action of a global scale to address the negative impact of the excessive use and disposal of hazardous wastes, the city government here has reiterated the ban on the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam packaging. City environment and natural resources officer (CENRO) Mylene Isabel Pascual said the use of said packaging has resulted in environmental degradation, flooding, problems on sanitation and worst of all, climate change. The local government units (LGUs) “has a sublime responsibility must have to protect the constituency from the harmful or even fatal effects as ill results of disregarding the environment and therefore must support this move to save Mother Earth from total degradation”. Citing Article II Section 6 of the Philippine Constitution, it provid

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) City of Batac —As the Christmas season goes into high gear the New Year beckons, four local government units in the province said they will have a reduction of their annual budgets in 2023 compared to this year. Batac Vice Mayor and Sangguniang Panlungsod presiding officer Atty. Windell D. Chua said this city will have a decrease of PHP70 million for next year compared to the current budget. From the PHP903,677,575.48 2020 annual budget, the Batac council only approved PHP833,473,836.08 for the 2023   annual budget. Among the major reasons for the decrease, Chua said, was the National Tax Allocation (NTA) share reduction wherein the city government here had PHP 107 million less, or 14.46%, from their last year’s share. Chua promised though that services offered by the city government,   particularly in the agricultural sector, health, social welfare and infrastructure projects will not be affected, adding only the budget for capital o

By Noralyn Dudt I'm writing this on board the Viking Jupiter cruise in the South Atlantic. To mitigate the effect of the tons of delicious foods that I am eating, I have been going   to the gym   to run on the treadmill. It has been days and I'm still here. My running at a speed of 5.5 km per hour has not gotten me anywhere. And with the vast ocean around me, there seems to be no "land" in sight. The cleaning crews do their cleaning and scrubbing early in the morning, and do it all over again by midday, and in the late afternoon.   All of these remind me of the term "Sisyphean."   It's never ending, not arriving at any place....a Sisyphean task it's called. Where and how did such an odd-sounding   term originate? Sisyphus in one of the Greek myths was the founder and   king of Ephyra ( now known as Corinth ) who was punished for his trickery by being forced to roll a massive boulder to the top of a steep hill. Every time the boulder neared the t

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —As the closed-circuit television (CCTV) system has proven effective on both deterring and solving crimes, the Sangguniang Panlungsod here amended City Ordinance No. 2020-054. The amendment expands the coverage of its application, requiring a minimum specification, number and location of CCTV installation, and regulating the examination, duplication and recording of CCTV footage along with penalties of violations. Laoag councilor Jason Bader Perera, who authored the ordinance said the ordinance shall now include business establishments with a capital lower than PHP500,000, and on their own discretion may install a CCTV security system in accordance to their needs. Bader added that this include all restaurants and carinderias, irrespective of the amount of their capitalization, that are serving alcoholic beverages to the public. The amended ordinance also includes all privately owned educational institutions and dashboard ca