The Ilocos Times

Near midnight of October 28, my Uncle Gerry in Hawaii posted a lengthy note at the Labayog Clan Facebook page. There was good news for the clan. (For the curious, yes, Labayog is the La in La Yumul.) My brother was elected as chairman of Barangay 7-A, Laoag City where his family has lived for around 25 years. I reside in nearby Barangay 5. The following is Uncle Gerry’s post quoted verbatim. “Wow! Again, the Labayog Clan made history. Herry Labayog Yumul is elected as kapitan . “If you are a Laoagueño, West Riverside is like a municipality within a city. It covers Barangays 1 to 10. Barangay 7-A is like its capital, being the center of the densely populated West Riverside. “Herry, who has the heart of a leader, deserves the position. When I attended his graduation in Baguio City, I already saw in him the makings of a leader. When his name was called, there was a thunderous applause and standing ovation. He even captured the heart of the most beautiful co-civil engineeri

WITH THE casting and counting of votes over and done with, we now welcome our new—and reelected—sets of barangay officials. Though allegations of vote-buying and voter terrorizing campaigns have surfaced during the short campaign period for the barangay elections, the October 28 polls turned out relatively calm and peaceful. It is, however, sad to note that even the most basic of political units in this country is no longer immune from tactics used in local and national elections. It does not help that most of the candidates for the barangay elections have been backed by politicians of all stripes and colors as this only pushed erstwhile simple folks to go the way of the very serious politicians. One thing that remained constant during the length of filing of COCs and campaign was the simple fact that the battle for 2016 began with the barangay elections. And whether or not the newly elected barangay officials would work for the good of their neighbors and villages in genera

HE MAY HAVE been seen by the generation of today as loose cannon, a nuisance candidate whose main purpose during elections is to make us laugh. But before all these, former Laoag City Mayor Cesar A. Ventura was a purpose-driven, results-oriented local chief executive. It was during his first and only term as mayor in 1992 that he foresaw the potentials of building a road leading to Laoag’s sand dunes at Barangay La Paz. Once built, it was unofficially named after him. And it is this very road today that has given life to the tourism industry not only in the city but also of the province. Ventura may have been a lot of things, but he was a gentleman of the first order and a public official worth emulating. Unfortunately for him—and for the city—he lost when he ran for reelection in 1995. And as much as this practically ended his political career, his contributions to the city’s progress then and now can—and should—still be felt. And as we bade farewell to the man, we hope

Sa panahon natin, ang mga tinatawag na “may K” ay mga taong may “karapatan.” May karapatan sa kanilang mga hangarin. May karapatan sa kanilang mga ambisyon. May karapatan sa kanilang mga propesyon.  At may karapatan sa kanilang mga posisyon. Kaya’t kung tinawag kang “may K”, isa itong positibong pagtingin sa iyong kakayahan, dignidad at maging sa buo mong pagkatao. Isa kang taong dapat pamarisan ng iyong kapwa at dapat bigyan ng karampatang respeto. Pero kung ika’y tinawag na “walang K”, isa itong malaking insultong inihampas sa’yong mukha. Itinuturing kang walang karapatan sa mga tangan mong hangarin, ambisyon, katayuan, propesyon at posisyon. Tila ba ipinagsisigawang wala kang kakwenta-kwentang nilalang na hindi karapat-dapat bigyan ng anumang paggalang.  ‘Yan ang dalawang klase ng tao sa pananaw ng tao—ang mga “may K” at mga “walang K” Subalit, kabaligtaran ito sa pananaw ng Ancient Rome , lalo na noong kasikatan ni Marcus Tullius Cicero. Noon, kung ti

Dr. Miriam E. Pascua, president of the MMSU leads the opening of the exhibit during the 25th Regional Symposium on R&D Highlights on Oct. 23 held at Teatro Ilocandia. Also in photo: Dr. Stanley Malab, retired ILARRDEC Consortium Director, Dr. Arthur Arganoza of PCARRD, Interim Consortium Director Leonardo Pascua of ILARRDEC, Wilma Ibea of DA, Dr. Prima Fe Franco, Vice President for research, extension and linkages of MMSU, and Dr. Arturo Sadumiano of DA. (Lei Adriano) By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Batac City —Over the years, this   pinakbet   capital of Ilocos Norte continue to produce outstanding farmers known for producing high-value commercial crops like fruits and vegetables including quality and high-yielding varieties of rice, corn, garlic and union among others. All these come with value-added processed food products and other product lines sold here and abroad.   These were made possible as researchers continue to develop technologies and innovations,

An alien whom we shall call “Fraudoriski” was petitioned by his mother, a lawful permanent resident of the United States, as a single person, although he was married with two children. The petition was approved and he was admitted to the U.S. He wants to petition his wife and children. Lawyer # 1 Fraudoriski went to Lawyer # 1 and asked what he should do. “Do nothing,” advised the lawyer. But I want to be reunited with my wife and children, he insisted. Lawyer # 1 said that if he petitioned his wife, his fraud would be discovered by USCIS because his marriage contract that he would submit to establish marital relationship would show that he was married before he was admitted to the U.S. In the unlikely event that USCIS is sleeping and misses that fact and approves the visa petition, U.S. Embassy is not likely to miss it, since they would be checking the National Statistics Office (NSO) on his civil status, and they would discover that his marriage occurred before he w