The Ilocos Times

Laoag mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Laoag City —Mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas decried rumors that seven city government employees are allegedly working at their Brgy. Vira residence. The rumor alleged that the said employees are working as house help. Ms. Fariñas said she earlier did not dignify the issue stressing that there was no truth to it. But as the continued to fester, she decided to reply by saying, “There is no truth to that.” She however admitted that there are some city government employees who go to their residence but this is only for them to bring documents for her signature or those of her husband, Laoag vice mayor Michael V. Fariñas. She stressed that there are time when their approval is urgently needed which is why city hall employees would need to go to their residence. She cited the use of the city government’s ambulances where the need for them could not be limited to office hours. The city mayor’s

OUR HEARTS may go out for fellow Filipino Erik Spoelestra, but the absolute best team won the NBA championship this season. And their win erased the bitterness of last year’s devastating loss—a choke, really—against the very same team whom they flattened to the ground during the five-game NBA finals. The San Antonio Spurs, although boasting of their own “Big Three”, have shown the world what basketball is really all about—a team game with no one player outshining everyone else. Truly, this may been what James Naismith envisioned when he invented the game: selfless basketball plays where the open man almost always gets the ball. We have seen it coming as stats do not lie: the Spurs shot 52.8% from the field for the whole series, capped by a NBA finals record 75.8% field goal accuracy for the first half of game 3. All these came from the Spurs’ effective offense of always moving the ball to find the open man. There was rarely a time when the Spurs went on isolation or

By Krtina Marie P. Apayyo DOST The yearly application for Undergraduate Scholarship Programs implemented by the Department of Science and Technology thru the Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) is now available. The scholarship is open to talented and deserving students who wish to pursue four- or five-year courses in priority Science & Technology fields. There are two program categories, the RA 7687 Scholarships and Merit Scholarships that both aim to produce and develop high quality human resources who will help in the realization of the Science and Technology (S&T) and Research Development (R&D) goals of our country. Qualified applicants for the scholarship programs are secondary senior students and high school graduates who have not undertaken any college units. Application form and scholarship brochures can be obtained in all DOST and Provincial Offices. Forms can also be downloaded at science-scholarships.ph. The last day for filing of appli

By Ephraim Jovid G. Bulusan PGIN-CMO Following the success of the paperless job fair held April 29-30, 2014, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) has introduced a jobs website for the mutual benefit of job seekers and employers alike. The launch was held on June 5, 2014 at the La Tabacalera Function Hall. In line with Ilocos Norte Gov. Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos’ Task Force Trabaho and spearheaded by the  Provincial Public Employment Service Office (PESO), the  project’s goal is to make job searching and employment within the province easier through a more efficient and technologically-updated process. “It is a job-matching website for provincial use. Job applicants can post their resumes or create their profiles on the website, and look for job vacancies. On the other side, employers can post their job vacancies in the website while at the same time be able to search and filter for resumes of applicants. All they have to do is register. And best of all, it

WOMEN CARE IN LC. The officers and trustees of the Breast Cancer Imperative (BRCAI) Inc. headed by its president, Delia C. Baquiran in cooperation with the Timoteo and Luisa Cachola Fund launch the Philippine's 1st Mammovan held at Laoag City. The project was inaugurated by Laoag mayor Chevylle v. Fariñas and Health Assistant Secretary Gerardo V. Bayugo. (Doms dela Cruz) Laoag CITY— The Breast Cancer Imperative, Inc. (BRCAI), a non-profit corporation, celebrated the launching and blessing of the MAMMOvan—a Philippine first—in Laoag City. The MAMMOvan—the first of its kind in Southeast Asia—is a mammography unit on wheels which will offer free screening mammography services to underserved women in Northern Luzon and subsidized screenings to  those who can afford them. “Costs and access are the two main barriers for a very low mammography adoption in the Philippines,” states breast cancer survivor and BRCAI president and founder, Delia C. Baquiran. “I consider myself

Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—Goodbye mini-skirts, shorts and leggings. Starting June 2, government workers particularly those fashionable women at the Provincial Capitol are no longer allowed to wear micro or mini-skirts, shorts, leggings and other extra-revealing clothes during office hours. For men, black slacks and denim pants including T-shirts with collar may do on a “free” day like every Friday starting June. In a memorandum circular issued by the Human Resources and Management Office (HRMO), Sonia Siazon, HRMO department head, reminded all employees to observe the appropriate dress code while inside their offices. “As government workers, we should maintain modesty and proper decorum,” Ms. Siazon said. For several times now, some Capitol employees are observed not wearing their office uniforms and instead they wear trendy clothes such as mini-skirts and sleeveless tops which is a no-no in the corporate world. Ms. Siazo

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Bacarra , Ilocos Norte—Local officials here are urging the Maritime Group of the Philippine National Police to establish a detachment here to run against illegal fishermen proliferating in the area. Bacarra mayor Nicomedes dela Cruz said he is offering the municipality’s speedboat to be used by the maritime police to patrol the coastal waters here including its neighboring towns with several reported incidents of blast fishing. According to Mr. Dela Cruz, blast fishing has become rampant in his territorial jurisdiction with the absence of law enforcers and their lack of logistics to run after them. To date, the 104 th  Maritime PNP based at Gaang, Currimao, SPO4 Rommel Lazaga, the team leader, said they only have six personnel covering the 150-kilometer coastline of Ilocos Norte as two more personnel are currently on schooling to advance their career. He admitted that their mobility in law enforcement response is very l