The Ilocos Times

STA. MARIA, Ilocos Sur—State-run Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) opened its first “Agri-Hub” in this province, the LANDBANK Sta. Maria Agri-Hub, on January 15, 2021. The LANDBANK Sta. Maria Agri-Hub will provide financial and technical services to the Bank’s clients, especially to more than 10,000 farmers and fisherfolk in the municipalities of Sta. Maria, Burgos, and San Esteban. LANDBANK’s “Agri-Hubs” are strategically located in the top rice-producing provinces in the country and designed to provide a wide array of services. This includes banking services such as account opening, withdrawals, and check encashments; lending services such as the processing of loan applications; and agrarian services such as processing of AR bonds and handling of agrarian-related concerns from landowners, bondholders, and Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs). The LANDBANK Sta. Maria Agri-Hub will also offer LANDBANK’s various digital banking platforms, including the digital onboarding sys

HUMAN MILK BANK. The medical personnel of the human milk bank of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center processes a 10-liter donated human milk on Dec. 28, 2020. The first of its kind in the Ilocos region, the facility is established for the purpose of ensuring that babies, particularly those born prematurely and are undernourished, will have immediate access to breast milk. Photo courtesy of Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center. City of BATAC—Newborn babies here will no longer lack of safe breast milk as the first human milk bank (HMB) in Ilocos Region is now open in the biggest public hospital in Ilocos Norte. More than two years in the making, the HMB in Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center (MMMH&MC) here was established to aid in the nutrition and protection of babies especially those who are born prematurely and undernourished. In a country often plagued by natural disasters, HMBs also play a vital role in ensuring that babies

Young Filipinos intending to have a positive impact in their communities are invited to apply By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Applications are now being accepted for the Youth Leadership for Democracy (YouthLed)’s 2021 Leadership and Democracy (LEAD) Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind program aiming to empower youth for civic participation and democratic governance. Thirty youth leaders, ages 18-30, are targeted to participate in a series of leadership and skills development activities, real-world application training, and network-building engagements spread out from May 2021 to March 2023. “We are looking for youth leaders from diverse backgrounds, particularly those who are active members of a private, public, civil society organization, educational institution, and community organization. We need champions of civic engagement, democratic participation, and activities for the benefit of the community. The program is completely free” says Ching Jorge, Chief of Party, Youth

Vintar municipal health officer Dr. Heidi Albano (standing, right) speaks to the members of the Sangguniang Bayan presided over by Vintar vice mayor Amado Victor Racimo (seated, left) on the Jan. 18, 2021 regular session regarding the plan of the said municipality for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Vintar , Ilocos Norte—Of the 23 local government units (LGUs) in the province, Vintar is still among those few which has yet to pass its 2021 annual budget. In an interview with Vintar Sangguniang Bayan member Arlene Ruadap, she disclosed that the proposed budget of said municipality for CY 2021 was still under review due to lack of documents needed and they are still incorporating additional items. In the proposed budget, Ruadap, who chairs the committee on finance and appropriations, said the municipality of Vintar deemed it proper to incorporate financial assistance for the transport sector, like the tricycle and jeepn

By Bernardo B. Ver II  (Contributor) Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos has called on the government to prevent pork importers from taking over local market supply and pushing Filipino producers out of business. “The slaughter of our local hog raisers will begin if the Department of Agriculture (DA) executes its plan to raise the minimum access volume of pork imports by as much as three times the present 54,000 metric tons,” Marcos said. “The DA may be overcompensating in its rush to increase imports to reduce consumer prices. It may deal the coup de grace to our pork industry before Vietnam could release a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) later this year,” she added. Marcos, who chairs the Senate committee on economic affairs, said the DA should instead speed up its investigation into the hoarding of pork products that may be causing an artificial hike in market prices amid the spread of ASF, particularly in Luzon. “Many local hog raisers have already shut

By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte—Coastal villagers at Brgy. Caparispisan, this town, cheered with glee as they watched a female green sea turtle measuring 102 centimeters long and 97 centimeters wide crawl its way to the sea on Jan. 14, 2021. Henelyn Alterado, president of the lifeguard association in this town said in a phone interview that a fisherman spotted the green sea turtle nestling in a beach front owned by the family of Pagudpud mayor Rafael Benemerito at about 3:00 am on Jan. 14, 2021. "The fisherman immediately reported what he saw to a village chief tanod and relayed it immediately to local authorities,” said Alterado who is also an active member of the Pagudpud Pawikan Conservation Group. Following the conduct of a training on Pawikan conservation, Alterado said more and more villagers are now becoming more aware of their responsibilities towards nature particularly on saving these endangered species. Since November last year,

  By Bernardo B. Ver II (Contributor) LAOAG CITY—Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Saul Paulo A. Lazo received a plaque of appreciation for his “invaluable assistance and generous support” from the Department of Education-Division of Ilocos Norte on January 7, 2020. Lazo is one of the recipients from the provincial government who supported the education sector. He is also provincial board’s education committee chairperson. The stakeholders in the education sector are helping DepEd in “building quality education in the new modalities of learning in today’s academic challenges”. According to senior education program specialist Valerie Talamayan, the distinctions are an aspect of the “partnership appreciation” program as a “sign of gratitude in attaining excellence in education”.