The Ilocos Times

NOW that we are into some disasters and calamities, it’s good to remind ourselves that God writes straight with crooked lines. We need to strengthen our faith, making deliberate acts of faith to avoid letting the pillars of our ultimate beliefs eroded by the many trials and difficulties we are and will be experiencing because of them. God is all good, all wise, all merciful. He does not want to play tricks on us. He is not a hunter who likes to harass us and to strike us in our most vulnerable moments. He is a good father who understands us well, loves us no end, provides us with everything we need, and solves our problems in their final terms. He even assumes the mess that we make due to our sinfulness, and converts them into our way of reconciliation. His will and ways are actually simple and straightforward. What makes them to appear crooked are our own natural limitations, personal weaknesses and our own sinfulness that tend to complicate what is actually simple.

Manila —Ambassador designate Philip S. Goldberg was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines on November 21, 2013. From June 2010, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Prior to 2010 he served concurrently as the Coordinator for Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1874 on North Korea. Goldberg served as Ambassador to Bolivia (2006-2008), Chief of Mission in Pristina, Kosovo (2004-2006), and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile (2001-2004). Ambassador Goldberg, a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, served from January-June 2001 as acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs. He came to that position after having been a senior member of the State Department team handling the transition from the Clinton to Bush Administrations. Goldberg served as Special Assistant (1996-1998) and then Executive Assistant (1998-2000) to Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talb

Senator Loren Legarda said that Typhoon Yolanda is the new benchmark for disaster prevention and preparedness, which means that communities should be ready for typhoons with wind speed of above 300 kph, even if this means upgrading standards for buildings. Legarda, chair of the Senate Committees on Climate Change and Environment and Natural Resources, said that recent disasters in the country show the need to upgrade the standards for building infrastructure to ensure that they withstand strong winds and quakes. “We must build resilient, stronger and better communities, which means we have to raise the standard for building structures in the country. We must design structures that can resist winds of more than 300 kph and intensity 9 earthquakes,” she explained. “This would be challenging and may cost more, but it is more challenging and more costly to provide relief and rebuild communities every single time a typhoon arrives or a strong earthquake occurs because of lack

CHILL out! Let’s be cool. It’s not yet the end of the world. Though I’m no seer, I don’t think we have serious basis to think the world’s end is already in the offing. It’s understandable that with the big earthquake and the supertyphoon that we just had, we become edgy and without as much articulating it, we start thinking whether this is it, whether the apocalyptic image of the end of time is already at hand. We can again refer ourselves to what the gospel says to guide us in our thoughts and reactions to the extraordinary events we are experiencing these days. And what does it say? The closest and the bluntest clue we can get is what we read in Luke 21,5-19. It might be good to go through it again and meditate on it more closely to get a good idea of what to expect. One problem we have to overcome is the neglect we have with respect to our duty to thoroughly know the content of the Sacred Scripture, preferring to have our own sciences as the ultimate source of tru

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte along with the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have stepped up to ask all active non-government organizations and civil society organizations to apply for accreditation. Ilocos Norte Vice Governor Eugenio Angelo M. Barba said new and existing NGOs are urged to apply for accreditation to have a legal identity to participate with local government units’ special bodies. On November 18, several NGOs have submitted their application for accreditation at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan with duly accomplished form for accreditation including other pertaining documents such as certificate of registration and the purpose of representation in the local special body. Also, the organization is required to submit a list of current officers and members, annual accomplishment report for the immediately preceding year, as well as a financial statement. The financial statement must be signed by the organizatio