The Ilocos Times

By Noralyn Onto Dudt Watch what you eat. You eat the wrong stuff and your arteries will be clogged, your pain will be worse, and your brain will be fogged.   Blame inflammation which comes from a chemical reaction initiated by your immune system. Inflammation is the immune system's response to injury and infection. It is the body's way of signaling the immune system to heal and repair damaged tissues as well as to defend itself against foreign invaders. The attacker could be a foreign body, such as a thorn, an irritant, or a pathogen. Pathogens include bacteria, viruses, and other organisms which cause infections. When you cut your finger, white blood cells produce chemicals to combat the invader and to protect the infected area.   These chemicals are then released into the bloodstream, increasing blood flow to the area, causing inflammation.   In cases like these, inflammation is temporary and promotes healing. However, there are times when the immune system does not sw

COMPLETE D. Rep. Ria Cristina Fariñas (Ilocos Norte. 1 st  district) meets with BHW, BNS, BSPO, tanods and day-care workers during the AICS distribution at Brgy. 11 Sta. Rosa in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte as she assisted the DSWD personnel in giving the financial assistance to beneficiaries. ( Doms Dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —The Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) distribution for the first district of Ilocos Norte is complete, Rep. Ria Cristina Fariñas (Ilocos Norte, 1 st district) announced. Of the 12 local government units (LGUs), including the Laoag City, and with a total of 285 Barangays and about 5,331 recipients received PHP2,000 each. In total, PHP10,926,000 were distributed. Records show that the Laoag had the highest number of recipients for the AICS distribution with 1,455 barangay health workers (BHWs), barangay tanods, barangay nutrition scholars (BNS), barangay service point officers (BSPOs), and barangay day-care

Manila —PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the largest fully integrated telecommunications company in the Philippines, called for innovative solutions that would address the threats to the well-being of students and teachers as they continue eLearning in the next normal. During PLDT Enterprise’s recently held eBossing Online Class—dedicated for the members of the   Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU)   and their 3,000 university and colleges heads, faculty members, and admin officers—Dick Perez, PLDT Enterprise Assistant Vice President and Corporate Relationship Management Head for Academe & FMCG, said that the toll of increased workload on teachers and other associated effects of the pandemic should not be underestimated. A study from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found that more than 28 million students, educators, and parents are grappling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which also affects their heal

Manila —Globe is partnering with Phil-Tower Consortium, Inc (PhilTower) to ramp up its aggressive network rollout in more areas in the National Capital Region and Luzon. Boosted by the Bayanihan 2 law which streamlined the permitting process, the partnership aims to install 500 new cell sites within the year.  Globe believes the partnership with PhilTower will boost the company's response to its customers’ ever-increasing need for better, reliable and accessible connectivity in the new normal. “Our partnership with PhilTower will help us accelerate our cell site expansion. Consequently, this will bring better services to Globe subscribers in more locations in the country,” said Vincent Tempongko, Globe Vice President for Site Acquisition.  PhilTower, on the other hand, emphasizes its role in advancing the telecommunication infrastructure in the country. “As a communication solutions enabler and digital infrastructure provider, we help power critical digital network expans

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Marcos , Ilocos Norte—The Philippine National Police ( PNP ) Regional headquarters recognized Marcos Mayor Antonio V. Mariano with a plaque of recognition as one of the stakeholders for his enormous contributions in the PNP’s different programs and projects. Region I National Police Commission (NPC) Legal Affairs Unit chief Atty. Mary Hazel Bela-o and PNP regional director P/Brigadier General Emmanual B. Peralta handed the award during the kick-off ceremony of the 26 th Police Community Relations Month celebration with the theme, “Pulisya at Pamayanan, BARANGAYanihan sa Hamon ng Pandemya at Laban sa Krimen” held at Police Regional Office I, San Fernando, La Union on July 5, 2021. Mariano thanked the PNP for the award; he said he was surprised by it and that he was not expecting anything in return for his personal help to the different PNP stations including the PMFC, Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office (INPPO) and as far as PNP regiona

By Noralyn Onto Dudt We have not gotten out of the "COVID-19 woods", yet. The Delta variant is sweeping the globe and new laboratory research on this swiftly spreading variant is highlighting the threats posed by viral mutations. It's an urgent call for accelerated vaccination efforts across the globe. First, it's important to understand how this version of the virus emerged. Viruses cannot live alone and, technically, they are not living things. They need a host, a living host.   They invade the host's cells and hijack their machinery to get energy and replicate, and find ways to infect other living organisms and start the process over again. The coronavirus can mutate when it replicates, especially when circulating at high rates (a.k.a. the absence of vaccinations). Mutations involve changes in the sequences of an organism's genetic code.   As we have learned, viruses typically mutate more rapidly than human cells do. This is because human cells have me

Newly installed BIR-Ilocos Norte District Officer Marilou Sapungan fields questions from the local media as she announces that the Laoag City-Ilocos Norte district office has reached its target collection for June—PHP135 million. ( Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Laoag City —Despite the COVID-pandemic, newly installed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)-Laoag District Officer Marilou G. Sapungan announced that they reached their PHP135 million target collection for June. She added that she hopes they will also reach their PHP142 million target collection this July, or an increase of PHP7 million from last month. The Ilocos Times learned that target collection for the Laoag District for 2021 is PHP1.8 billion; and Sapungan is hopeful they will realize this with the help of taxpayers here who usually pay their obligations “promptly and honestly.” To reach this goal, Sapungan said they will strictly implement the district’s plans and programs including the