The Ilocos Times

“We have a grand memory for forgetting,” said the best president the US never had. Adlai Stevenson’s crack comes to mind as we mark the 28 th anniversary of People Power.    Without bloodshed, Filipinos shattered the 14-year Marcos dictatorship. The Edsa model has replayed abroad. Czechoslovakia’s “Velvet Revolution” smothered communist rule. Ecuador’s “noise barrage” sent its president packing. Lebanon’s “Cedar Revolution” forced Syrian troops out.    Even the “Arab Spring” has not failed, the Economist asserts. Not a Middle East single country became a stable democracy over the last three years. True.    But this ignores “the long winter before.” Most Arabs do not want to turn the clock back....where the dictator’s brothers and the first lady’s cousins cream the best businesses....”The Arab spring is better described as an awakening from    “old  deadening dictatorships . The journey may take decades. But it is welcome.” Under the “New Society,” the Philippines b

The monitoring gagdet at Batac's Quiaoit River By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter BATAC CITY, Ilocos Norte—To promote science-based information gathering and to assist in deciding critical issues based on facts, a new website featuring real-time monitoring of critical watershed areas in the Philippines is now available to end users, particularly those involved in disaster preparedness and risk reduction from the national line agencies down to the remotest barangays in the country. Hosted by the state-run Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac City, the National Research and Development Project for Watershed Management in the Philippines (NRDPWMP) was formally launched on February 14, an online database containing vital information, researchers and scientists gather from at least three learning watershed areas initially identified by a team of experts to establish a long term watershed database in support of science-based policy and management decision mak

By Imelda A. Agdeppa, Ph.D. FNRI-DOST S & T The Philippines has been a melting pot of different cultures, religions, beliefs and traditions due to many years of colonization by different countries. However, one thing unites Filipinos—food. Filipino cuisine is filled with many sumptuous dishes, from the festive lechon to the unofficial national dish which is adobo . Filipinos definitely have a fondness for flavor. Taste is acquired and different environmental factors affect the development of food preferences among individuals. Many Filipinos prefer highly-seasoned foods. Salt and other condiments are always on the table to adjust the flavor of the food to suit one’s taste. This may be a usual scenario, but the chronic increase in consumption of sodium has led to the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the country. Sodium is an electrolyte in fluids found outside the body’s cells. The most common form of sodium is sodium chloride or table salt. Generally, tab

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter To strengthen intelligence gathering of the men in the Philippine National Police, 61 uniformed men of the Ilocos Norte PNP went through a three-month or an equivalent of 480-hours special schooling on intelligence course was held for the first time at the Takuat Training Center in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte. The schooling of commissioned and non-commissioned police officers is usually conducted at Camp Crame but this time, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte funded the police intelligence training worth approximately half million pesos and invited speakers from Camp Crame instead. In a joint closing ceremony of Police Intelligence Officers Course Class 2013-68 and Police Intelligence Course Class 20134-112 on Feb. 17 at the Plaza del Norte, Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos said she hopes the intelligence-trained men and women will apply their newly-acquired knowledge and skills in the pursuit of preventing cri

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Local officials and residents in this sunshine city of Laoag warmly welcomed more than a thousand employees of the Commission on Elections in Luzon led by their chairman Atty. Sixto Brillantes as they participated in a grand parade to kick off the opening of the 3 rd  Luzon Goodwill Games at the Ilocos Norte Centennial Arena in Laoag City. Drum and lyre contingents led the colorful grand parade around the city as decorated horse-drawn carrier or kalesa carried their muses and Comelec commissioners to the opening program. The two-day 3 rd  Goodwill Games, which happens every two years, was participated in by seven regions in Luzon to compete in various sports events including basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, track and field and shoot fest held in various locations aside from the Ferdinand E. Marcos Sports Stadium. One of the highlights of the event includes a tribute to Comelec chairman Brillantes who is retiring

Naruay manen nga umili ti naserbian kabayatan ti panagsubli ti Manang Imee’s Capitol Express idiay Solsona idi kalman. Kas gagangay, kangrunaan nga inarak dagiti umili ket ti libre a serbisio medikal nga ipapaay dagiti mangngagas manipud iti Provincial Health Office ken Municipal Health Office iti Solsona. Mismo nga indauluan ni Ilocos Norte Gob. Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos ti nagibunong kadagiti 17,800 nga an-anak ti tilapia kadagiti 24 a grupo dagiti agtaltalon. Uray ti pannakaibunong dagiti 27 a birth certificates manipud iti National Statistics Office ket personal nga inyawat ni Marcos kadagiti maseknan. Dagitoy nga an-anak ti tilapia ken authenticated birth certificates ket immunan a kiniddaw dagiti grupo kabayatan ti panagpasiar ti Capitol Express idiay Solsona itay napan a tawen. Mainaig iti daytoy, impeksa met dagiti natulongan ti Capitol Express ti nalaus a panagyamanda ken ni Gob. Marcos gapu ta naitungpal met laengen dagiti kalikagumda. Kinunada

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Following a series of earthquakes that shook Ilocos Norte, residents here are advised to stay on alert with possible aftershocks that may happen anytime. A regular bulletin issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) showed that at least 14 earthquakes shook Ilocos Norte since early January this year, with a 5.7 magnitude temblor registered as the strongest. The said earthquake occurred on Feb. 17 with its epicentre traced at 31 km. off Burgos, Ilocos Norte. The earthquake caused hairline cracks on several school buildings, houses and roads. No major damage or injury was reported. On Feb. 18 at about 4:20 pm, all Provincial Capitol employees were advised to move out of their respective departments to participate in an earthquake and a fire drill led by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in cooperation with the Laoag City and Ilocos Norte Fire Departments. As the Capi