The Ilocos Times

Experts from the plant industry are intensifying quarantine and pest-risk analysis (PRA) procedures to protect consumers and farmers from the entry of unsafe imported rice and palay. “PRA is a very important part of the pre-border quarantine to identify risks associated from commodities imported to our country like palay. This is to avoid the threats of pests and seed-borne diseases from other countries,” said Gerald Glen F. Panganiban, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)’s Assistant Director for Regulation. Mr. Panganiban explained that as pre-offloading quarantine measure, experts examine the conditions of imported commodity, its performance, and risks attached to its importation. Study published in the book, “Competitiveness of Philippine Rice in Asia,” found that farmers from neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, “intensively apply” pesticides throughout the rice growing season. With the lifting of the quantitative restriction, a larger volume of imported ri

Laoag City— With the aim to increase the number of health personnel and doctors practicing in Ilocos Norte, the provincial government headed by Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Marcos-Manotoc is finalizing the inclusion of medical scholarship in its integrated provincial scholarship programs. Mr. Marcos-Manotoc confirmed this during his “First 100 Days Report”: “We have just finalized our ‘doctor scholarship’ which will be implemented next semester at Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU). With this, we hope that we will produce more homegrown Ilokano doctors in our province.” Provincial education officer Matilde Nery reiterated that they have completed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the scholarship: “We have actually finalized its IRR, together with the dean of the MMSU-College of Medicine and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. It will be endorsed to the province’s Chairman of the Committee on Education for the creation of its ordinance. It will cover

By Bernardo B. Ver II Contributor LAOAG CITY – Seven of the 21 municipalities and two cities in Ilocos Norte namely: Bacarra, Bangui, Banna, Burgos, Currimao, San Nicolas and Vintar received the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) awards for 2019. The DILG conducted its national validation in the different local government units (LGUs) in the entire Philippines after passing the assessment criteria and qualifications for the SGLG screening. In 2018, the towns of Piddig, Bacarra, Currimao, Paoay, and San Nicolas received the same award. The SGLG qualifiers must attain the criteria on a progressive assessment system such as: financial administration: foster transparency and accountability; disaster preparedness: prepare for challenges posed by disasters; social protection: broaden access to social services especially the marginalized and most vulnerable in the community; peace and order: protect the community fro

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter Batac CITY—A total of 759 new scholars from the second district of Ilocos Norte received their notice of award at the Imelda Cultural Center in Batac City on October 11, 2019. Funded under the “Tulong Dunong” program of the Commission on Higher Education’s tertiary education subsidy, each beneficiary will receive PHP12,000 worth of financial assistance per year. During an orientation program with the new scholars and their parents, Danilo Bose, CHED Region 1 officer-in-charge explained the program is meant to ensure education to be accessible for all. To qualify for the program, the applicant must be a high school graduate whose gross income of parents when combined must not exceed PHP400,000 per year. He or she must not also be a recipient of any CHED scholarship or financial assistance program. Following the Supreme Court Ruling on the unconstitutionality of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in Novemb

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff Reporter LAOAG CITY—The National Food Authority based in Ilocos Norte assured rice farmers in the province it is ready to buy more rice stocks in the province. NFA provincial manager Eleonor Andres announced that they have leased three private warehouses in various parts of the province to ensure they can serve more farmers in the province. These are the Johnny B. Lao’s Warehouse in Barangay 5, Callaguip, Batac City; Wil-lys Cereal Trading Corp. Warehouse in Barangay Sta. Cecilia, San Nicolas; and the Calsada Rice mill and Palay Trading Warehouse in Barangay Libtong, Bacarra, Ilocos Norte. “We enjoin our rice farmers to sell their produce to these buying stations near them,” said Ms. Andres as she reiterated those who will sell more than 50 bags must coordinate first with the assigned team leaders in the identified buying stations to facilitate smooth transaction or contact directly the NFA office located in the city. Due to

Laoag City —In an effort to curb the increasing number of road accidents in the province, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc ordered local government unit executives to intensify implementation of traffic laws, particularly those for motorcycles. In a letter addressed to the Association of the Barangay Council presidents, Mr. Manotoc reminded all concerned authorities to strictly enforce Republic Act 10054, also known as the “Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009,” to ensure the safety of riders and passengers from life-threatening incidents.   “We have begun the strict implementation of laws for motorcycle riders. This has been one of my emphasis which is to ensure all our motorcycle riders [in Ilocos Norte] are of age, they have license, and they use helmets especially when on major roads,” he remarked during his “First 100 Days Report” on October 8, 2019. The Motorcycle Helmet Act mandates: “ All motorcycle riders, including drivers and back riders, shall

Dr. William Dollente Dar, acting secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), bares “new thinking” as strategy to achieve four-fold agriculture growth and double farmers’ income. In his acceptance speech early this week, Mr. Dar, who have served as the DA secretary from 1998 to 1999, noted that Philippine agriculture, for the past decade, only grew 1.1% annually, while population has been increasing at 1.8% yearly. “We are faced with the painful and stark reality that Philippine agriculture has barely grown this past decade. Today we can only produce 93% of our rice requirements, and import the balance…. President Duterte himself has acknowledged that the agriculture sector is the weakest link in our economy,” he said. With “new thinking,” the department targets growth for at least 2% from August 2019 to July 2020, 2.5-3% in 2021, and 3-4% in 2022. As the revised DA vision and mission, “new thinking” is composed of eight paradigms, in which the department’s strat