The Ilocos Times

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter For the first time in Ilocos Norte history, hundreds of potential youth leaders from the entire province will converge in one place for a  summer leadership camp set on April 6 at the Dungon-dungon estate in  Burgos, Ilocos Norte. Hosted by the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, the five-day  Sirib leadership camp consists of an intensive workshop and hands-on  training of leadership skills and basic parliamentary procedures among  others. “After the interactive workshop, we hope that participants will be  able to appreciate more the province of Ilocos Norte and lead fellow  youth in the barangay, town or school they are in,” said June Arvin C.  Gudoy, Communication and Media Office (CMO) head. On April 6-7, the first batch of participants composed of 100  student-leaders will undergo training for trainors and the second  batch which will immediately follow on April 8-10 will be participated  by about 500 studen

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Laoag City treasurer Ma. Elena Asuncion is urging all dental clinics operating in Laoag to secure their mayor’s permit. Asuncion explained that the city government will not tax them in the practice of their profession but if they are operating a clinic, they should secure a mayor’s permit to operate. In view of this, Asuncion said they will again issue a second notice to the owners of dental clinics here for them to secure mayor’s permit. Asuncion disclosed that even during the time of former city treasurer Erlinda Ragasa, only 14 dentists complied while the others resisted. Laoag City General Hospital chief of hospital Dr. Francis Dacuycuy, for his part also believes that not all members of the medical society who have private clinics in the city fully understand the limitations of the professional tax receipt (PTR) in the conduct of their clinics. Dacuycuy suggested that there must be a conference between the medical

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Mango production in some areas of Ilocos Norte may fall from the expected yield this harvest season as a pest called cecid fly or “kurikong” in the vernacular has been attacking mango farms here. Agriculturist Edwin Cariño, Millennium Development Goals program head of the Ilocos Norte government reported on March 19 that several mango growers have already noticed a decline in their production due to these flies, infesting mango farms across the country. Earlier this year, mango growers in Pangasinan reported that up to 40 percent of the 460-hectare mango plantations covering 21 towns here have been attacked by cecid flies, also known as “buti” or “armalite” in Luzon. Apparently, the infestation has already spread in the southern towns of Ilocos Norte such as in Badoc, Pinili, Currimao and Batac City, according to Cariño. Experts from the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac City said an adult mango cecid fly resemble

( First of a series ) “MAHARLIKA”……A word, an image, a concept, a symbol, an archetype…..How deep can a word reach? How can a word transcend and transform our consciousness? How can a word be usurped and degraded? How can a word redeem itself? How can a word re-create the destiny of a nation? How can a word guide us into the past, present and the future?” Grace Odal-Devora, Ph.D University of the Philippines, Manila Last month , Ms. Romelene Pacis and I got invited to present at the plenary of the 1 st Maharlika Summit held at the Asian Center Auditorium, GT-Toyota Hall of Wisdom, University of the Philippines, Diliman.  The organizers, the UP Diliman Alumni, Friends and Benefactors of the Asian Center or AFBAC Inc., the Humanistic Studies 20 Class of Professor Grace Odal-Devora of the University of the Philippines, the UP Manila Alamat Society and the Katipunan ng Samahang Maharlika contacted us to do an analysis and share our perspectives on the future of the Maha

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter CARJACKING incidents in the city are rising. This is based on police records where it show that there has been nine carjacking incidents as of March 19, 2014. This was also confirmed by Laoag City police officer-in-charge P/Supt. Jeffrey Gorospe as he reported that there had been two carjacking incidents each in January and February, and five as of March 19. In the police reports, the incidents involved motorcycles with the latest even occurring on the parking area at the back of the Provincial Capitol and at the side of the Laoag City Hall, wherein both cases happened in the morning. Gorospe added that if the motorcycle cannot be jacked, perpetrators settle for motorcycle parts. To help stop these incidents, Gorospe held a meeting with all barangay tanod chiefs in the city to discuss the rise in carjacking incidents in the city. He urged the barangay security forces to be more vigilant to stop these crimes. Gorospe

By April Rose Ragmac PA II, DOST 1 The department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) released the result of September 2013 DOST Scholarship Exam for Academic Year 2014-2015 last March 04, 2014. Out of 35,562 graduating high school students who took the examination, 182 passers came from Region I: 37 from Ilocos Norte; 35 from Ilocos Sur; 27 from La Union; and 83from Pangasinan. DOST Secretary Mario G. Montejo said the Department’s scholarship programs will provide the new awardees access to quality education in leading public and private institutions as it targets to substantially increase the number of scientists and engineers needed to boost economic productivity and knowledge creation in the country. Specifically, the passers of 2014 DOST Scholarship exam will have the following privileges: tuition and other school fees (P8,000/sem for RA7687 and Merit), book allowance of P5,000 per year, PE uniform allowance of P500 for the first se

File photo of an earthquake dril at INNHS Senator Loren Legarda reiterated her proposal to conduct monthly fire and earthquake drills and other disaster preparedness measures in educational and healthcare institutions. Legarda, UN Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, made the call following the 1st Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake drill spearheaded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on March 19 in selected schools in every region. “When an earthquake occurs and a fire ensues, would our kids know what to do and where to go? Would the teachers and school staff know how to keep the children calm and guide them to safety? They would not know unless they undergo safety drills like the earthquake drill conducted by the NDRRMC. What I am proposing is to do these drills every month in educational and medical establishments, such as hospitals and schools,” she said. “The regular cond