The Ilocos Times

Clockwise from top left) UNP President Erwin Cadorna; UNP Vice President Dr. Ferdinand Pio Lamarca; Director  Edelyn Cadorna; Dean Joselito Dela Rosa; Dr. Florida Ursulom; and Prof. Arnold Pio. Vigan City —Aimed at sustaining a culture of research amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Northern Philippines, through its Research and Development Office, held the first Virtual Student Research Congress joined in by student researchers from various colleges. The poster entry of the College of Public Administration (CPAd), “Food Security Among the 4P’s Families during the Covid-19 Crisis in Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur” was most liked in social media. It was adjudged as first runner-up in the poster competition. Moreover, the paper “Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Awareness and Practices in the Municipality of Luba, Abra” ranked second runner-up in the oral presentation held July 8 through an online platform. Dr. Florida Ursulom, a seasoned researcher, mentored poster author

  Pinili Vice Mayor and council presiding officer Maynard Francis Bumanglag (seated left) listens to SB member Jerry Fernandez (standing right) as the later moved for his ordinance granting a milestone award to senior citizens in the municipality of Pinili on its third and final reading while other members listen. The said measure was unanimously approved by all members present during the July 5, 2021 regular session. ( Doms Dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Pinili , Ilocos Norte—All members of the Sangguniang Bayan here unanimously approved, on its third and final reading, a measure granting milestone awards to senior citizens ages 80 years old and above. Pinili Vice Mayor and council presiding officer Maynard Francis Bumanglag said the measure is a tribute to senior citizens who have been developmental partners in the municipality and incomparably contributed in strengthening family as an institution. “ Sapay la kuma ta daytoy a gakat ket makatulong kadagit

Piddig Mayor Eddie Guillen (upper right photo) represents the municipality of Piddig together with PLDT Enterprise and Smart executives during the virtual launching of the “Piddig Free Internet Connectivity” for all the 23 barangays here held on June 29, 2021. (LGU Piddig photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Piddig , Ilocos Norte—Not to be left behind, the municipal government here in partnership with PLDT Enterprise and Smart Telecommunications launched the free internet connectivity project by providing fiber connectivity and internet solutions to all 23 barangays here. “My dream has now [turned] into a reality,” Piddig Mayor Eduardo “Eddie” G. Guillen said by providing a reliable internet connection to all the barangays here to support online learning, improve governance capabilities and online business with their constituents. “This new project of Piddig would be of great help in the advancement of Piddig and our schools for learning, especially [in] this time of

  Eranio A. Mojica was standing beside a poster by the door of their office as he waited for the employees of the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to arrive. He was tapped to be part of an activity that would feature farmers-recipients of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund – Rice Extension Services Program (RCEF-RESP). Mojica, chair of the five-year-old First Damayan Bagsit Irrigators Association in Brgy. Bulawen, Palauig, Zambales, can be seen smiling even if half of his face was covered with a face mask as the PhilRice staffers approached him. “Welcome, Ma’am and Sir! These are the posters on PalayTandaan that you sent us,” he greeted the PhilRice staffers with eagerness. The First Damayan Bagsit is among the hundreds of farmers’ cooperatives and associations (FCAs) reached by the RCEF Extension Program. As part of the goals of the program to enhance the skills and capabilities of the farmers on modernized rice farming for impr

By Leilanie G. Adriano ( Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—More than 1,000 pigs in Solsona and its neighboring Dingras town in Ilocos Norte have been culled to contain the spread of African swine fever (ASF), the Provincial Veterinary Office reported. While depopulation is ongoing within the infected zone, Dr. Loida Valenzuela, provincial veterinarian, has urged hog raisers to cooperate with local authorities by reporting an unusual death of pigs in their areas and to refrain from feeding them with swills or getting their water from an irrigation canal. According to Valenzuela, they are still investigating what triggered the outbreak which started in the remote Brgy. Manalpac in Solsona with a few small hog raisers. During the course of their investigation, they found out that a farmer from Brgy. Maan-anteng in Solsona town dumped his dead piglets and sow in a water irrigation system that spread to other sub-villages. “All adjacent municipalities near the border of Apayao are being

Emerging data center market poses potential to be next big economic driver    Manila — The global pandemic has been a catalyst for digital transformation as there was a steep rise in the usage of consumer applications from social media to video streaming, gaming, e-commerce, online learning,  and  telehealth,  among others . The pandemic has also pushed the enterprise and public sector over the technology tipping point by accelerating their cloud adoption  by increasingly migrating workloads to the cloud and massively using collaboration platforms supporting work from home arrangements.  Speaking earlier this year at Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) 2021, Jeff Mendoza, Asia Pacific Regional Head of PLDT Enterprise said, “The digital transformation dictated by the pandemic among the enterprise and consumer sectors have pushed the hyperscalers  in the cloud and content provider space to step on the gas with their data center deployment

Photo by Dulce Valenzuela Ilocos Norte provincial treasurer and BLGF local representative Josephine P. Calajate (middle) leads the inspection of documents at the office of former Laoag City treasurer Elena Asuncion to help in the investigation of the missing PHP85.4 million from the city government’s coffers while city treasurer Diomedes Gayban (standing left) and other city hall employees look on. (Photo by Dulce Valenzuela) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —After five years of being padlocked and off-limits to everyone, the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Finance (DOF)-Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) have approved the re-opening of the padlocked City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) on June 22, 2021. Laoag Vice Mayor Vicentito M. Lazo said the opening of the sealed office was approved and signed by the local COA and BLGF representatives in response to the twin resolutions passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod addressed to the COA and the DOF f