The Ilocos Times

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UNITED STATES Secretary of State John Kerry met with Philippine and local U.S. business leaders in Manila on December 17, thanking the private sector for its work in the wake of typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), welcoming the prospect of the Philippines’ joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks, and discussing how to advance the U.S.-Philippine economic relationship.  American Chamber of Commerce President Rhicke Jennings welcomed the secretary to the gathering of top Philippine and local American business leaders. Kerry began by thanking the business leaders for their efforts in saving lives and bringing relief to victims of typhoon Yolanda. In the days after the storm, he noted, local U.S. and Philippine companies such as Coca-Cola, Dow, FedEx, Procter & Gamble, and Citibank made vital contributions of relief supplies, and the business community continues to engage in initiatives to boost the local economy and provide livelihood to families affe

CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO—72 top cops from the different local police stations of Region 1 finished the PATROL 1O1 training after a simple closing ceremony here on December 17, 2013. The police commissioned officers (PCOs) who serve as chiefs of police (COPs) in their assigned area became the second batch of graduates.  Weeks ago, 70 COPs from the cities and first class municipalities took the same training.  Acting as guest of honor and speaker was P/Sr. Supt. Moro Virgilio M. Lazo, deputy regional director for administration, who became the officer-in-charge PRO1 after Director P/Chief Supt. Ricardo C. Marquez took the Directorate for Operations post at Camp Crame.  A new regional director is still to be chosen by Chief PNP Alan LM Purisima.     In his message, Lazo congratulated the participants and quoted Marquez. “Patrolling is the bread and butter of police works, let us strengthen patrolling because we do not believe in magic, that is why, we take procedural

Kiniddaw ni Ilocos Norte Gobenador Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos kadagiti taga Marcos, Ilocos Norte ti sangsangkamaysa a mangitandudo kadagiti programa ken proyekto ni Marcos Mayor Arsenio Agustin. Inbatad ti gobernador a napateg iti panagkaykaysa ken agnanayon nga adda iti likudan dagiti mangidadaulo iti ili. “Ti napudno a panangsuporta dagiti umili iti agdama a mayor iti Marcos nasisita para ti naan-anay a panagdur-as iti ili a Marcos,” inlawlawag ti gobernador. Nupay napintas a nagan ti ili a Marcos, maud-udin iti panagdur-as no idasig kadagiti sabsabali nga ili ditoy Ilocos Norte, innayon ti gobernador. Gapu iti daytoy,  impaganetget ti ina ti probinsia a  kasapulan iti  nayon panagkikinnammayet tapno magun-od ti al-alisto a pas dur-as ti Marcos, Ilocos  Norte. ( PGIN-CMO )

YES, indeed , let the spirit of Christmas be a daily affair for all us. It should not just be a yearly observance which we drown with a lot of fanfare and merry-making. It should not just be a historical event that we want to remember with some magical nostalgia. Christmas has to be way of life itself. It’s a spirit, more than anything else, a truth of faith that is supposed to animate every cell and pore of our being. It’s the marvellous reality that whoever and however we are in this earthly life, we are actually with Christ, conformed to him, formally or informally, regardless of whether we acknowledge it or not. That’s why Christmas always evokes joy and peace. Amid the ruins left by the natural calamities and the even bigger man-made disasters due to our pride and attachments that cause a Yolanda of partisan anger and hatred, a storm surge of collective cruelty and insensitivity among ourselves, the spirit of Christmas is what we need most urgently. The radical obje

San Juan , La Union—The National Food Authority in Region I is set to receive around 35,000 metric tons of imported rice from Vietnam as part of the 500,000 metric tons additional imported rice sought by the agency through the government-to-government import scheme. Dir. Carlito G. Co said the imported rice is meant as “pre-cautionary stocks” of the government until it would start procuring palay anew from the farmers during the summer cropping season next year. He added that the first batch of the imported rice is expected to arrive at the Port of San Fernando middle of December and the remaining volume to be delivered to the region until March 2014. Co said the rice import will help shore up the existing inventory in the region even as it continues to buy palay from the farmers. This recent development, he stated further, is also seen as a way to ease up farm gate price of palay which he said is still very high. “The infusion of the imported rice will hopefully cushi

By Cherry Joy D. Garma PIA The Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO) has shifted to providing hybrid tilapia fingerlings to fish growers after the latter observed increased production compared to ordinary varieties. Jose Ariston, a recipient from Barangay 2 Vintar town, said the hybrid tilapia brings in more harvests than the ordinary breed the PAO used to distribute. “The hybrid one grew faster than the usual tilapia breed. In five-month time, they are ready for harvesting,” he said. Ariston owns four fish pond near his house where tilapia is commercialized. “The income is better now, because aside from shortened harvest time, the product is (of good quality),” Ariston said. PAO regularly visits the fisheries to teach growers more technique in raising fish. The project was realized under the provincial government’s innovative program “Manang Imee’s Capitol Express.” Manang Imee’s Capitol Express is a pro-poor program of the provincial government that