The Ilocos Times

VINTAR  residents revive loom weaving that once thrived in the community. (Photo courtesy of Erwin Suguitan) By Leilanie G. Adriano Vintar, Ilocos Norte—A vintage photo of a woman manually spinning thread in Vintar, Ilocos Norte, documented by an American writer in 1920, has sparked interest among residents to revive a cultural gem that once flourished in this landlocked municipality. Vintar, located some 330 miles north of Manila, was once known for Abel Iloco or Inabel, the traditional loom weaving industry. "A good friend sent this photo to me and I thought what a glorious way to display the history and culture of Vintar,” municipal tourism officer Erwin Suguitan told The Ilocos Times . He said the industry was said to have flourished “in the north of the river,” citing as proof a loom weaving machine displayed at the Museo de Siwawer at Brgy. Abkir. “And now, here comes this picture and its writeup that was copyrighted by a certain H. V. Rohrer and taken from the US

By Noralyn Dudt In one of the first recorded Bitcoin transactions in 2010, a hungry computer geek in Florida spent 10,000 of the cryptocurrency on a couple of takeaway pizzas. By late 2017, the cost of those pizzas at Bitcoin's then market price was close to US$200 million. Not too long after that, the leading crypto's market value surpassed many of the world's largest companies, including Boeing, Toyota and McDonald's. Unbelievable? Such a vast sum, yes   for little value. Was it real ? Yes it was... but it didn't last long because it was just a bubble floating in the air. As with many other "bubbles" in the past this bubble also burst. Surely investors'   initial giddiness and excitement was soon wiped out when they realized that   their money was gone. But how can one explain   such irrational and irresponsible thinking—that investing a dollar in something "in the air" would yield a million times in such a short time?   It has to be

By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) City of Batac —As the Christmas season goes into high gear the New Year beckons, four local government units in the province said they will have a reduction of their annual budgets in 2023 compared to this year. Batac Vice Mayor and Sangguniang Panlungsod presiding officer Atty. Windell D. Chua said this city will have a decrease of PHP70 million for next year compared to the current budget. From the PHP903,677,575.48 2020 annual budget, the Batac council only approved PHP833,473,836.08 for the 2023   annual budget. Among the major reasons for the decrease, Chua said, was the National Tax Allocation (NTA) share reduction wherein the city government here had PHP 107 million less, or 14.46%, from their last year’s share. Chua promised though that services offered by the city government,   particularly in the agricultural sector, health, social welfare and infrastructure projects will not be affected, adding only the budget for capital o

LAOAG CITY—Small farmers in rain-fed farmlands of Ilocos Norte will now have a chance to grow high-value crops even during summer by harnessing the power of the sun as alternative energy. Tapping the sun's energy is the new craze at Brgy. Lang-ayan in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, where a solar-powered irrigation system with at least four solar panels was installed near a communal food garden where its residents can grow off-season fruits and vegetables. Funded by the province’s share from the tobacco excise tax, there are four units of this kind of small-scale irrigation project being pilot tested in the second district of Ilocos Norte where water is scarce during the summer months of March to May or even longer due to prolonged El Niño phenomenon. The other units are located in the rural Barangays of Camguidan and Camandingan in Batac City and Barbar, Pinili town. The solar-powered irrigation system worth PHP486,250 per unit may be a bit costly for small farmers but in the long

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—Another batch of 1,000 farmers received a soil fertility package covering 250 hectares last week in the continuing soil restoration program of the Ilocos Norte government. For every hectare, the local government provides at least 20 sacks of organic fertilizer, urea (nitrogen fertilizer), and gypsum (soil conditioner) to help rehabilitate farmlands and boost production efficiency. Soil experts say agri-gypsum is a good source of calcium and sulfur and improves soil characteristics. It helps soil better absorb water and reduces erosion. “This is enough to restore the soil fertility if we get the appropriate measure for every hectare. That is why we are asking our farmers to do their share,” Edwin Cariño, head of the Sustainable Development Center, said during the March 16, 2021 ceremonial distribution at the Rizal Park here. Cariño said the soil restoration program started during the term of then-Ilocos Norte Governor and now

Laoag City --The city government here is set to grant financial relief to displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are registering new business here. The approved measure was sponsored by Laoag councilor Handy T. Lao in connection with RA No. 11494 also known as the “Bayanihan Recover as One Act ” which provides that “the State shall establish mechanism to reduce the adverse impact of COVID-19 ion the socioeconomic well-being of all Filipinos through the provision of assistance, subsidies and other forms of socio-economic relief”. According to Lao, there are several OFWs from Laoag who lost their jobs, work or employment abroad during the COVID-19 either through “end of contract”, termination, resignation, dismissal, or other mode of termination that needs financial relief in registering new business during the year 2021. The urgent measure further states that the displaced OFWs shall submit proof of work or employment abroad, notice of termination or any proof of terminat

  LAOAG CITY—The provincial government here is eyeing to increase its share in tobacco excise tax with strengthened monitoring this trading season. In partnership with authorities from the provincial government, the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), and the Philippine National Police, the transport of tobacco outside the province will be monitored in border checkpoints to ensure that tobacco grown in Ilocos Norte are properly documented. Recently, the monitoring task force representing these four agencies convened a meeting at the NTA in the City of Batac to familiarize themselves with the legal basis for the issuance of NTA trading rules and regulations, as well as the rules and regulations in the implementation of regulatory activities. Luzviminda Padayao, NTA officer-in-charge, said during the orientation that the subjects of inspection include traders, vehicles carrying tobacco as well as its volume and capacity, among o

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) LAOAG CITY—Residents eager to come home received good news from the Ilocos Norte government. Following the easing of border and quarantine protocols, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc announced that the cost of antigen tests for inbound residents will be reduced from PHP800 to PHP500. Antigen tests for non-residents will remain at PHP800. “This is to lighten the economic load of our residents who are coming home, now that travel requirements have been eased,” Manotoc said. Antigen tests detect the presence of a specific viral antigen, which implies viral infection. Pending the issuance of an executive order for the implementation of the new guidelines, he said getting to Ilocos Norte has been made easier with fewer travel requirements. Ilocos Norte has opened its borders to leisure travelers all over the country. Visitors from enhanced community quarantine and general community quarantine (GCQ) areas must submit neg

The Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (DTI-BPS) has recently included plywood under the list of products required to undergo its “Product Certification Schemes” through the issuance of DTI Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 20-06, series of 2020 on 15 October 2020. With the issuance of DAO No. 20-06, the new technical regulation concerning the mandatory product certification of locally manufactured or imported plywood, manufacturers of plywood are now required to secure the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality Certification Mark License before they can sell or distribute their products to the market. Importers, on the other hand, are now required to acquire their products from foreign manufacturers holding valid PS Licenses only. This technical regulation aims to strictly ensure compliance to specified quality requirements for plywood being sold in the Philippine market. Plywood is one of the most commonly used construction materials in the country

Over 10,000 public officials and students across the Philippines participated today in Microsoft Philippines’ largest-ever public sector cloud summit to date, " Asenso Pilipinas : Building Digital Resilience”. The Feb. 2, 2021 gathering aimed to enable stakeholders across the Philippine government and broader public sector to accelerate digital transformation on a national scale. These support the Philippine government’s ambitions to reignite economic growth in 2021 and beyond and return the Philippines to the ranks of high growth developing economies. "We confront the same challenges in 2021 that we did 2020,” said Microsoft Philippines Country General Manager Andres Ortola. “Management of the COVID-19 public health crisis will drive daily agendas for months to come. Meanwhile, as access to vaccines becomes more prevalent, the transition to economic recovery will be the top concern for governments across the world, including the Philippines. We at Microsoft seek to serv

As more savers opt to keep their money in banks, more deposit accounts in the Philippine banking system continue to benefit from deposit insurance provided by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage (MDIC) of PhP500,000 per depositor per bank. Latest data released by the state deposit insurer showed that as of September 30, 2020, 96.7%--or 76.1 million—of the 78.7 million total deposit accounts maintained in 537 banks nationwide are fully insured by PDIC. The total number of fully insured accounts was 11.8% more compared to the 68.1 million recorded in the same period in 2019. In terms of amount, 11.6% or PHP1.7 trillion of the PHP14.3 trillion total deposits is fully covered by deposit insurance and represents an increase of 11.3% from the PHP1.5 trillion insured deposits in the same period in 2019. The PDIC reported that the double-digit growth in the number of fully insured accounts year-on-year mirrored the double-digit

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) LAOAG CITY—Business owners may soon be able to apply or renew their business licenses online through an internet-based program developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to prevent direct contact and possible coronavirus transmissions. Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon said the city’s electronic business permits and licensing system (EBPLS) is the first of its kind in the region to ease business registration and license application procedures, which may take some time and may necessitate close contact with other people—violating physical distancing protocols. “This is a testament to our thrust for a more business-friendly, competitive, and progressive Laoag City by providing a more efficient way of doing business and eliminating red tape in the government,” he said. Mr. Keon added the new system will also facilitate the fast issuance of business permits which will be convenient for the business owners becau

Laoag Mayor Michael M. Keon and Laoag councilor Handy Lao, chairperson of the committee on agriculture, lead the ceremonial stocking of modified intensive fry rearing of tilapia to advanced fingerling stage for village level production at Brgy. 60-B Madiladig. (Doms dela Cruz) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) Laoag City —To ensure quality fingerlings supplies for fisher folks in the city, the city government stocked at least 600,000 fries were at the Natures Wealth Probiotics Fish Farm located at Sitio Baldias, Barangay 60-B Madiladig, this city. Laoag mayor Michael M. Keon and Laoag councilor Handy Lao, chairperson of the council’s committee on agriculture, personally visited the site recently for the “ceremonial stocking of modified intensive fry rearing of tilapia to advanced fingerling stage for village level production”. Mr. Keon said this is a joint project between the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re

Manila—PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the Philippine's largest and only integrated telecommunications company PLDT, launches the “MVP Bossing 2020” campaign to inspire enterprises to rediscover and reinvent their businesses today to successfully thrive in the future. Semi-annually, PLDT holds the MVP Bossing Awards to give tribute to the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit, celebrating local business owners who have achieved success, with the aim of inspiring others to pursue their dreams and aspirations. This year, MVP Bossing takes on a digital format given the impact of the global pandemic on social events and gatherings. With the theme "Rediscovery. Reinvention”, PLDT Enterprise aims to convey a message of hope—as challenging times bring forth the call to reinvent and rediscover—through the stories of previous MVP Bossing awardees and new aspiring MVP Bossings that have strived to recover from the current situation. "Through this campaign, we want to inspire all of

By Leilanie G. Adriano  (Staff Reporter) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte—The most business-friendly town in Ilocos Norte is losing businesses due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Jean Merry Talavera, head of the business permits and licensing office at the municipal government here confirmed this in a radio interview saying 94 local businesses in the area have closed shop. "Among these include bars and other businesses that belong to non-essential category,” she said. Pre-pandemic, this town has earned its Hall of Fame award from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the country’s most business-friendly municipality under the municipal category level 1. To date, San Nicolas town is the home of Robinsons Mall, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, Balai Condominium, 365 Center, Savemore, 7-Eleven, car sales branches of Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, Ford; Metro Bank branch, Gertes Resort, Midland Terraces Resort, Black Nazarene Hospital, Coral Sand Lumber

Sarrat, Ilocos Norte—To further assist in the recovery of small businesses in the province, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN), through the small-medium enterprises (SME) office, distributed package containing various goods to micro-bakery owners in the town of Sarrat. Called the “Pandagdag Pangkabuhayan Program,” it is an initiative of Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc, which aims to assist distressed small bakery owners who are affected by the pandemic, by providing them items to replenish their goods. “ Ang mga bakery owners dito sa bayan ng Sarrat ang unang mabibigyan ng assistance. Mayroon tayong walong beneficiaries dito. Pero imbes na flour ang ibigay, dahil may expiry date ito at mabilis masira kapag na -stock, na -convert ito sa mga raw materials gaya ng mantika , white sugar, at brown sugar na magagamit pa rin nila sa kanilang negosyo ,” SME officer Elma Gabriel explained. The provincial government plans to give assistance to 80 micro b

  Batac mayor Albert D. Chua leads the distribution of 161 goats to farmers affected by typhoon “Ompong” as part of the city's rehabilitation program for affected farmers in cooperation with the Dept. of Agriculture regional field unit I. (CMO Batac photo) By Dominic B. dela Cruz  (Staff Reporter) City of Batac —The city government executive branch here has proposed an allocation of PHP735,688,227.36 annual budget for 2021. The budget proposal is at least PHP1 million short compared to this year’s budget of PHP736,647,586.14. The Sangguniang Panlungsod here is already tackling the budget proposal. During their October 26, 2020 session, the budget proposal was on its first reading and was referred to committee of the whole in preparation for budget hearings. Based on the budget message of Batac mayor Albert D. Chua, the proposed allocation breakdown is PHP73,114,406.36 for the beginning balance; PHP630,883,521.00 for general fund; and PHP31,690,300.00 for economic enterp

Laoag City —Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the city government of Laoag has opened the Laoag sand dunes and Aurora Park for tourists. City tourism officer Ana Carmela Remigio made this announcement after the two sites’ closure for months when the city was under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). In an executive order (EO) issued by Ilocos Norte Governor Mathew Joseph M. Manotoc, the province has re-opened tourism sites but only to the provinces in Region I and Baguio City under the “Ridge and Reef Travel Corridor” with a set of guidelines and facilities that support safe leisure travel starting October 1, 2020. It also states the need to revitalize the tourism sector and assist those who rely on it. For the sand dunes, Mrs. Remigio said operators are “on call” with the help and guidance of Laoag tour operators. In addition, the city tourism office has trying to innovate something to offer to tourists like the promotion of the Cataban Weavers Association products made of wate