The Ilocos Times

  Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming part of newsroom operations in the Philippines, helping journalists work more efficiently and produce content more quickly. However, a new study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) warns that the technology also poses significant challenges to the long-term sustainability of news organizations, while raising concerns about information integrity and intellectual property rights. Titled “AI Use in Philippine News Media: Adoption, Impacts, and Challenges,” the study examined how Philippine news organizations are adopting AI and assessed its implications for journalism, media sustainability, and governance. Researchers found that AI is increasingly being used for tasks such as transcription, editing, fact-checking, content research, and audience analytics. These applications help newsrooms streamline routine tasks, boost productivity, and meet growing demand for digital and multimedia content. Despite ...

Is this what our future is going to look like? With climate change accelerating, sea levels rising, and floods becoming the “new normal,” I think we should at least entertain the possibility. And if that future does come, it won’t be entirely unfamiliar. After all, floating gardens and houses on stilts already exist—not only in faraway places, but right here in the Philippines. In many ways, these designs are not futuristic at all; they are ancient, time-tested responses to living with water rather than against it. The Bajau Laut in the Sulu Archipelago have lived in stilt houses above coral-rich shallows for centuries. In Bangladesh, floating gardens—known as dhap—keep food production going even during months of flooding. In Myanmar’s Inle Lake, floating tomato farms stretch across the horizon. And in Mexico, the Aztec chinampas remain as living proof that agriculture can thrive on water. So, if others have done it, why can’t we? But here’s the bigger question: Should we ch...

THAT’S what we can learn from that gospel episode about Christ’s disciples caught in a storm while in the middle of the sea. (cfr. Mt 8,23-27) They, at first, were gripped with fear, a very understandable reaction. And when they noticed Christ simply sleeping in the boat, they woke him up, expressing their fear. That’s when Christ simply stood up and calmed the turbulent sea, leaving them greatly astonished. But Christ faulted them for their lack of faith. Yes, we too can easily be frozen in fear when we encounter the different forms of life’s storms. But like Our Lord’s disciples, we should just go immediately to him and ask for his help. And to be sure, he will always be there to help, but maybe in ways that may escape our understanding. In this, we should not be surprised and start to loosen our faith in God’s powerful and wise ways. There’s really no reason to be too worried and anxious when we encounter some difficulty in our life. In fact, we have every reason to be conf...

  By Dominic B. dela Cruz,  Staff Reporter City of Batac —The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has launched a unified 911 satellite command center (SCC) in Batac at the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Station in Barangay Quiling Sur, this city.  A unified 911 satellite command center located at the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Station in Barangay Quiling Sur in the City of Batac. ( Photo courtesy of CMO Batac) The Ilocos Times learned that the newly established Unified 911 Satellite Command Centers (SCCs) in Regions I, II, VI, and VIII are now fully operational, further strengthening the country’s emergency response network and bringing life-saving services closer to communities. The SCC facility in Batac is one of the four newly established SCC in the country and will serve the entire Region I and which aims to improve emergency coordination and communication among response agencies to provide faster and more efficient assistance to comm...