The Ilocos Times

  The city government confiscated at least 340 kilos of hog meat shipped from Manila without papers and proper documentation. The confiscated meat was later put into a pit for burial to avoid ASF that is spreading in the country. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Laoag City —With the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country, city slaughterhouse officer-in-charge Sheila De Leon Rapatan announced that there is “zero case” in the city. “ Awan kaso ti ASF iti Laoag City kasi naiget a banbantayan dagiti meat inspectors tayo dagiti sumsumrek ditoy slaughterhouse tayo ,” Ms.   Rapatan stated. The city government’s meat inspectors recently attended a meeting conducted by the National Meat Inspection and Sanitation (NMIS) on how to deal with the ASF. As a result, Ilocos Norte banned the entry of live hogs from the provinces of Pampanga and Bulacan. A 24-hour quarantine in Badoc and partly in Sinait, Ilocos Sur will strictly c

Manila —Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos has sought to quell the panic of local rice farmers over cheap imports that threaten to push down the buying price of palay even more when harvest time begins in late September. Local farmers have lost as much as 41.6% of their investment in August, with the farmgate price of palay plunging to as low as PHP7 per kilo, compared to their average production cost of Php12. Marcos asserted that a number of near-term solutions were available to the government to at least bring back the 17-peso support price of palay, like activating provisions in the six-month-old rice tariffication law, tapping into existing support programs, and considering solutions adopted by other Asian countries. “Let’s not exaggerate that the situation of our rice farmers is hopeless and that little can be done,” Ms. Marcos said. The senator said that the government can provide more funding support for rice farmers by activating Section 7 of the

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Marcos , Ilocos Norte—Over 200 saplings of narra and other native trees were planted in the mountainous barangay of Elizabeth in this town on August 22, 2019 to rehabilitate its watershed. Tessie Diego, Ilocos Norte assistant provincial election officer said that as part of the 79 th anniversary of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), all employees of Comelec joined in the simultaneous tree-plating activity nationwide.   “The tree planting activity is our simple way of promoting green environment and to inspire others to care for nature,” said Diego after climbing her way up the mountains and did her share of planting some narra seedlings amidst the threat of stormy weather that is currently battling this northern part of Luzon. The Comelec has partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources whose primary mandate is to ensure environment protection. During the election period, both agencies of the gover

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Batac City —The city government here will soon implement the new PHP14 fare rate in the city. The fare rate increased from PHP11 to PHP14. Batac councilor Bismark Quidang, who chairs the Batac council’s committee on transportation, made the announcement. In his report during a Sangguniang Panlungsod session, he said he was “surprised why this ordinance was not yet implemented wherein this was approved by the previous Sanggunian last December 2018 and reviewed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan March this year”. The approved regular fare of PHP14 is for the first 1.5 kilometers and an additional PHP1 for every succeeding kilometer or any fraction thereof. Students, senior citizens and person with disabilities (PWDs) fare is P11.20, or a 20 percent discount provided identification cards is presented.          Batac Vice mayor and council presiding officer Atty. Windell D. Chua said this fare increase can only be implemen

Laoag City —To address the increasing number of dengue cases, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc signed Executive Order No. 15-19, enjoining the whole province to “exercise extreme vigilance against dengue,” on August 23, 2019. According to the Provincial Health Office’s (PHO) data, from January to August 16, 2019 Ilocos Norte recorded a total of 1,160 cases with two reported fatalities. PHO officer-in-charge Dr. Josephine Ruedas remarked that the province is on alert threshold, explaining, “Compared to last year, tumaas ang [dengue] cases dito . Last year, konti lang ang ating cases pero marami ang namatay .” As part of its response, the PHO is also conducting active surveillance in communities to identify the causes of the increasing number of dengue cases in the province. “We take this very seriously and I hope we can all do our part in combatting this problem,” Mr. Manotoc stressed. EO No. 15-19 also states that all local government units

By Bernardo B. Ver II Contributor LAOAG City —ZAK Green Energy Philippines plans to put-up a mini hydropower plant in Vintar, Ilocos Norte. The said project is set to generate electricity using water source from the river particularly at Brgy. Canaam in the said town using the modernized ‘diversion type hydro plant’.   From the water source, they will use large steel pipes down to the ‘Power House’ where the water turbines are located. The hydro plant can produce 12 megawatts (MW) of power that can cater to about 10,000 households near it. Atty. Jingboy Atonen, ZAK’s legal counsel said the project cost is more than PHP1.5 billion. The project’s completion will take up to five years, or in 2024 if it starts this year. The project’s design officer Engr. Warlito Ramos, meanwhile, assures that there will be no dredging activity in the area. Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Atty. Saul Lazo, however said he is worried about the hazardous effects of the said

  Laoag councilor and now PCL-Ilocos Norte president and Sangguniang Panlalawigan ex-officio member Handy Lao renders a privilege speech during his first session as PCL president on the September 9, 2019 regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. (Dominic dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff Reporter Laoag City —Two term Laoag councilor Handy Lao is the new Philippine Councilor’s League (PCL)-Ilocos Norte Chapter president. Mr. Lao ran unopposed in the PCL-IN elections attended by the municipal and city councilors on September 5, 2019 at the Centennial Arena. Mr. Lao expressed his “deepest thanks and gratitude” to all the councilors who supported him to represent them. In his privilege speech during his first session at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, he thanked Ilocos Norte Governor Mathew Joseph M. Manotoc, Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon and all provincial government officials who extended their “trust and support for his becoming the next PCL preside