Ilocos Norte News

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Province of Ilocos Norte - Archived News

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.
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Ilocos Norte

Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

New Ombudsman Morales holds testimonial bash in Ilocos

LAOAG CITY- Newly appointed Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales held yesterday her Testimonial party at the Ilocos Norte Convention Center here.

Morales, dressed in Filipiniana, arrived at the Convention Center with her family and greeted her co-Ilocanos with a smile and a thankful gesture.

Conchita Carpio Morales who comes from a family of lawyers, her father was a former judge, hails from the historic town of Paoay in Ilocos Norte.

She spent her childhood and grade school in Paoay Elementary School. She finished her Bachelor of Science in Economics and bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines.

In her testimony, Morales reiterated President Aquino campaign on eliminating corruption in the government.

Morales said she will uphold the dignity of good governance and eliminate corruption in the country.

Morales is previously an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 2002 under the administration of former President and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Traditionally, it is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines who administers the oath of office to the incoming President and the Vice President.

However, President Aquino formally requested Associate Justice Carpio-Morales to swear him into office together with VP Binay.

Present during the testimonial party are municipal officials of Paoay, Provincial Administrator Windell Chua and Sangguniang Panlalawigan members of Ilocos Norte.

Conchita Carpio Morales was born on June 19, 1941 in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. She is the daughter of Lucas D. Carpio, a judge, and Maria Claudio Carpio.

Damages in Ilocos Norte due to Mina reaches P312.9 million

Damages caused by typhoon Mina have climbed to P312.9 million including lost crops and destroyed roads, bridges and public buildings, the Provincial Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council said on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, agricultural crops such as rice, corn, high value commercial crops and fishery amounted to more than P40.2 million. Damages to infrastructure consisting of roads, bridges, irrigation facilities and school buildings have reached more than P270.2 million.

Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos presented the latest damage assessment during a press briefing this afternoon. Also present during the briefing were Congressman Rodolfo Fariñas, Laoag Mayor Michael Fariñas, Batac Mayor Jeffrey Nalupta and other provincial officials.

Marcos said the provincial government continues to deliver relief goods to affected families and works on rehabilitating damaged public facilities using the province’s calamity funds.

The province has been under a state of calamity since Sunday due to widespread flooding and several are areas still submerged due to heavy and continuous rains caused by typhoon Mina.

Marcos said the effect of storm Mina should serve as a wake up call to the public. “We have to admit that the environment has been overly burdened and abused by our acts. We need to rebuild not just damaged materials but rehabilitate the environment as well,” she said.

In Laoag, Mayor Farinas said damaged crops reached more than P10 million while roads and bridges including school buildings were pegged at more than P61.3 million.

He said flooding in villages near the Laoag river was aggravated by the absence of irrigation canal which should have slowed down rain waters that overflowed from the Sabo Dam.

For his part, Mayor Nalupta said Batac suffered minimal flooding in downtown Batac but damages to crops amounted to P10.7 million while public roads and bridges incurred some P5.6 million in damages.

Congressman Fariñas said he would work on the immediate release of rehabilitation funds for Ilocos Norte, on top of soliciting support from his colleagues in the House of Representatives.

20,000 families in Ilocos affected by 'Mina'

Around 20,000 families in Ilocos Norte were affected due to raging floods caused by Typhoon “Mina”.

Several parts of the province are still submerged in floods, particularly Solona and Dingras.

A river overflowed in Barangay San Francisco in Dingras, leading to the devastation of crops.

A bridge was also destroyed as logs were swept by raging floodwaters.

Authorities suspect that the logs came from illegal logging operations in the province.

Dingras has been placed under a state of calamity.

Damages in the entire province is estimated to cost P211 million.

Damages to infrastructure alone cost P176 million while damages to agriculture are estimated to cost P34 million.

Relief operations are being conducted to assist the affected families.

Mina leaves P155 million in damaged crops, infra in Ilocos Norte

LAOAG CITY- Storm Mina has left damages amounting to P155.6 million in damaged agriculture and infrastructure in Ilocos Norte, the Provincial Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council said as of Monday morning.

Damaged crops from rice to high value commercial crops reached more than P45 million while damaged roads, bridges and irrigation facilities reached more than P110 million.

Governor Imee Marcos motored to Batac City and Paoay town on Monday morning to assess damages that were caused by separate whirlwinds on Friday.

In Brgy. Masintoc in Paoay, at least 13 houses were partially damaged when whirlwinds swept through the village around 10 a.m. Sunday. Five (5) houses in Brgy. Rayuray in Batac City were also damaged due to the whirlwinds.

“We are puzzled with the number of mini-tornados that struck the province as a result of typhoon Mina. We need to know what caused them so that our people would know how to prepare when another typhoon comes,” Marcos said.

On Saturday, separate tornados struck in Sarrat, destroying 19 houses and in Laoag uprooting trees along the way in Laoag.

Marcos said residents were caught unprepared with Mina after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA) initially reported that it will not cross Ilocos Norte.

“But it was not entirely PAGASA’s fault because Mina was sucked in by the southwest monsoon and compounded by monsoon rains and high tide that brought so much amount of rains,” she said.

Widespread flooding in the province has affected 292,374 persons in 16 towns including Laoag and Batac cities.

“We really need the support of the national government to rehabilitate the province,” she said. Meanwhile, the body of Cherilyn Tolentino, 14, from Caoayan, Ilocos Sur was found along the shores of Badoc town on Monday morning.

Police Insp. Laurel Gayya, Badoc Philippine National Police chief, reported that Tolentino had been reported missing since Tuesday after she and friends went to the beach in Caoayan for a picnic.

The PDRRMC said only 84 year-old Andres Calaro of Sarrat town was reported to have died from Mina after he drowned in a creek in Sarrat on Saturday night.

Whirlwinds destroy houses in Ilocos Norte village

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos visited families in Sarrat town after a pre-dawn whirlwind destroyed houses and displaced families there.

A separate whirlwind in this city also uprooted trees and blocked a road in the village of Cataban around 10 am today.

The provincial Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council reported that the pre-dawn whirlwind damaged at least 19 houses, seven (7) of which were totally destroyed in Barangay 18 in Sarrat town . No injuries on residents were reported.

The Laoag City Engineering Office immediately conducted clearing operations in Barangay Cataban.

Marcos visited Sarrat town and brought relief provisions to affected families. She also motored to Piddig town to visit families that were flooded due to heavy rains beginning dawn. “We advise residents to stay in-doors and be alert for floods,” she said.

Pagasa has placed Ilocos Norte under storm signal No. 2 with 60 to 100 kph winds in its 11 a.m. weather advisory.

Saturday flights of the Cebu Pacific from Manila to Laoag and vice versa were cancelled due to bad weather.

Maintenance crew of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) was also dispatched to various villages in this city after strong winds snapped several power lines.

William Marders, INEC’s information officer, warned residents to stay away from broken power lines and wait for the crew to fix them.

'Mina' slams North Luzon, Tornado hits Ilocos Norte

Power and communication lines were knocked down while roads and bridges were rendered impassable as super typhoon “Mina” battered the northern part of Luzon with heavy rains and strong winds after making landfall Saturday.

As “Mina” was pounding Cagayan and the rest of Northern Luzon, a tornado hit a residential area in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, destroying 18 houses.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the eye of “Mina” (international name: Nanmadol) directly hit the landmass of Naglocsadon Point in Gonzaga, a town located at the northern tip of Cagayan at 7:55 a.m. Saturday, defying earlier forecast it won’t make landfall.

So far, the weather disturbance has already left at least two people dead while hundreds of others were forced to flee their homes, officials said.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Benito Ramos identified the fatalities as Reajen Bautista, 6; and John Rey Bautista, 5.

Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said two children were the reported killed when they were buried alive after a landslide flattened their house in Barangay Rabon in San Fabian, Pangasinan at 5:45 a.m. Saturday.

“The house is owned by a certain Rolly Bautista, the report we received is that his two children were the ones who were buried in mud,” said Cruz.

Cruz said the house is located in a hillside portion of the barangay.

Ramos said landslides were also reported at Kennon Road (Camp 1 section), Gurel-Bokod-Kabayan Road (Bugaw section), Baguio-Bontoc Road (Ambasador Tublay Section and Topdac, Atok km 279-700, and Cotcot section), Mountain Province-Nueva Vizcaya (Sukit section), and Baguio-Bontoc Road (Balitian Section). All affected roads were closed as clearing operations were being conducted as of press time.

There were no reported casualties in any part of the country affected by “Mina,” but two people were reported missing in La Union and Catanduanes.

Ramos said reports reaching his office also showed “Mina” has already affected 2,888 families or 11,720 people in 27 barangays in four provinces in Northern Luzon, Bicol region and Western Visayas.

Power and communication lines were knocked down in most part of Cagayan where the weather disturbance made a landfall, said Chief Supt. Francisco Villaroman, director of the Cagayan Valley (Region 2) regional police.

“At least six bridges were also not passable in Cagayan,” said Villaroman.

They are the Tawi Bridge in Peñablanca town, Abusag and Bagunot Bridges in Baggao, and the Capatan Bridge in Tuguegarao City, all in Cagayan; and Dimaluadi, Dinapigue, Cabagan-Sto-Tomas Bridges and Sta. Maria, Cabagan Alicaocao Bridge in Cauayan, Isabela.

A total of 67 families or 264 persons were evacuated in Cagayan Valley region – 13 families or 55 persons in Maconacon, Isabela; 49 families or 209 persons in Gonzaga, Cagayan; and five families in Tuao, Cagayan.

Chief Supt. Villamor Bumanglag, director of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) police office, said four major roads in the region were rendered impassable – the Halsema Road, Kennon Road, Baguio-Vizcaya Road, and Kapangan-Kibungan Road.

“We have not received any report of landslide or untoward incident that resulted in casualties at this time, but we are on alert,” said Bumanglag in an interview at noon Saturday.

“Search and rescue teams and even evacuation teams were already prepositioned in flood and landslide-prone areas in the region,” he added.

Aside from Cagayan, Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina, director of the Highway Patrol Group, said the report they received from his men in the field was that there was a total power shutdown in Abra.

“All roads in Ilocos region are passable, except in Barangay Bolasi in San Fabian, Pangasinan which is not passable to light vehicles, we are assisting in terms of traffic management,” said Espina.

In the tornado that hit Ilocos Norte at 5:45 a.m. Saturday, no casualty was reported, said Senior Supt. Marlou Chan, director of the Ilocos Norte Police.

Aside from destroying 18 houses, the tornado uprooted a lot of trees, causing traffic jam in the area.

Chan said Gov. Imee Marcos immediately proceeded to the area to see for herself the extent of the damage wrought by the tornado.

The official said clearing operations were immediately conducted in the affected roads while Marcos led the distribution of relief goods to the affected families.

With “Mina’s” strong winds, at least 15 flights were cancelled.

As of 1 p.m. Saturday, the Media Affairs Division (MAD) of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport had recorded flight cancellations on seven turn-around flights between Manila and Batanes, Busuanga, Laoag, Masbate. and Tuguegarao

Air Philippines cancelled a Manila-Tuguegarao-Manila flight and a Masbate-Manila flight because of the weather disturbance.

Cebu Pacific also cancelled turn-around flights between Manila and Busuanga, Manila and Laoag, Manila and Masbate and Manila and Tuguegarao.

South East Asian Air cancelled a turn-around flight between Manila and Basco in Batanes while Zest Air cancelled a scheduled flight between Manila and Masbate.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, storm Signal No. 4 was lowered as “Mina” weakened.

However, Signal No. 3 was hoisted over Cagayan, Babuyan Group of Island, Calayan Group of Island, Apayao, and Batanes.

Areas placed under Signal No. 2 are Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Isabela.

Signal No. 2 was raised over La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, and Nueva Ecija.

“Mina” now packs maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour (kph) near the eye and gustines of up to 200 kph.

PAGASA weather forecaster Gener Quitlong said “Mina” continues to move slowly at 7 kph.

The weather disturbance is moving northwest or toward Taiwan.

Quitlong pointed out that “Mina” may maintain its strength or further intensify as it moves towards the coastal waters.

If it maintains its speed and direction, Quitlong said “Mina” would be out of the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Wednesday afternoon or evening.

“Improving weather condition can be expected by Tuesday or Wednesday,” he said.

Meanwhile, Quitlong warned residents in Metro Manila, and western sections of Central and Southern Luzon, and Visayas of light to moderate rains due to the enhanced southwest monsoon or hanging habagat in the next two days.

As of 4 p.m. Saturday, the weather disturbance was located 50 kilometers (km) northeast of Aparri, Cagayan.

The typhoon is expected to be 230 km north northwest of Aparri, Cagayan by Sunday morning and 490 km north of Aparri, Cagayan or 280 km north northwest of Basco, Batanes by Monday morning.

By Tuesday morning, it will be 500 km northeast of Basco, Batanes.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has prepositioned P21.16 million worth of standby funds and relief supplies in areas affected by “Mina.”

“DSWD allocated P2 million standby funds and relief supplies worth P19.16 million in Regions I, II, III and CAR ready for augmentation if needed by the affected local government units,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman said.

She said DSWD Field Office in Region 1 has prepositioned 500 family packs in Ilocos Norte.

DSWD-Region 1 has also prepositioned 500 family packs in Ilocos Norte and has identified evacuation centers and community kitchens in areas hit by the typhoon.

Meanwhile, DSWD-Region 2 has sent food and non-food to the 65 evacuation centers, ready to be augmented by the local government units.

DOLE goes “green” in the workplace

LAOAG CITY- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional office will start incorporating green strategies in its work place to boost productivity.

Through the “Greening our DOLE Program or GODP,” the department will integrate sustainable environmental protection in work processes by re-tooling employees of knowledge, skills and attitudes towards eco-friendly practices and passing the skills on to the grassroots level.

An initiative of Labor Chief Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, the GODP action program outlines the initial steps which employees must undertake namely establishment of paperless transactions, reduction of utility expenses and carbon footprints, disposal of inactive records and unserviceable properties.

The program also adopts waste segregation, assessment of occupational safety and health, implementation of sustainable 5S and 3Rs, participation in the National Greening Program and advocacy among the agency’s social partners.

Regional Director Henry John Jalbuena said green productivity will result in clients served with higher performance and better value by using fewer resources, less energy and reduced wastes.

“The idea is to mainstream 5S, 3Rs, energy conservation, pollution/air emission control, and waste management in the workplace to achieve better service delivery and protect the environment,” Jalbuena said.

Elderly couple shot dead

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya ,Philippines – An elderly couple was shot dead allegedly by their former house boy while having their siesta in front of their house in Solsona town, Ilocos Norte Friday night, police said.

Senior Superintendent Marlou Chan, Ilocos Norte police director, identified the victims as Patricio Esteban, 78, and his wife, Leonila, 79, both reportedly pensioners, of Barangay Manalpac, Solsona town.

“They were sitting in their yard just after taking their dinner when the gunman fired at them five times,” he said.

Reports said both sustained gunshot wounds in the head, causing their instant death.

Chan said a suspect, identified as Cristobal Pablo, 36, is now under their custody while double murder charges are now being readied against him.

The suspect, the couple’s former household help, was arrested in a videoke bar hours after the killing, reports said.

Laoag now under dengue calamity

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte, Philippines — Local officials officially declared this city as under a state of calamity due to the spread of the dengue virus. The Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) passed and approved a resolution declaring the city under state of calamity due to dengue upon the request of Mayor Michael Fariñas.

Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) President Chevylle Fariñas said the declaration allows the use of the calamity fund for a massive campaign to battle dengue. The City Health Office reported that 250 residents have been downed by dengue with eight of them succumbing to the disease.

DAR completes P16M farm-to-market road for Ilocos Norte town

CURRIMAO, Ilocos Norte- The Department of Agrarian Reform will turn over a P16.3 million farm-to-market road, jointly funded by the governments of the Philippines and Japan, to the agrarian reform communities of barangays Pias Norte, Anggapang Norte and Sur on August 25.

The project was also a collaborative work of DAR and the Japan International Cooperation Agency with the Department of Public Works and Highways as implementing agency.

Christianne Suguitan, provincial agrarian reform officer, said the road concreting was under the phase III of the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (ARISP) of the department.

The formal turn over will be held in Currimao town to be attended by Governor Imee Marcos, Representative Imelda Marcos and other project proponents led by Ma. Celerina Afable, national project manager of ARISP, Engr. Veniedo Reyes, DPWH regional director, Homer Tobias, DAR regional director and their provincial counterparts.

Laoag eyes by-pass roads to ease traffic woes

LAOAG CITY- The Laoag city government is eyeing to establish by-pass roads to ease traffic flow in the city’s business district.

According to Laoag Mayor Michael Fariñas, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has already approved the road project amounting to P100 million which is set for construction in 2012.

Before the project starts, the city government will have to conduct a study to determine the areas where the road will traverse.

Initially, the by-pass road will cover Bacarra road, Vintar road and the Laoag City public market area, which are all considered main arteries to downtown Laoag.

The DPWH will then submit a report to Department of Budget and Management for the release of the fund.

Farinas said the bypass road will ease traffic woes and ensure the residents’ safety and security. “On top of fixing traffic woes, the bypass road will also minimize road accidents,” he said. Traffic in the city’ business district has become tight due to growing business activities in the area.

In Barangay Nangalisan leading to Robinsons Mall, for example, traffic has become heavier even during off peak rush hours due to the volume of vehicles that enter and exit the mall compound.

The city government also expects the same scenario once the SM Savemore supermart begins its business operation in the city’s central downtown area.

The SM mall will reportedly break ground before the year ends.

Imelda Marcos slips before song number in Cebu

CEBU CITY, Philippines—Former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos scared her audience when she lost her balance and fell on the floor while she was about to sing at the Capitol Social Hall about 3 p.m. Saturday.

Her children—Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos—as well as Gov. Gwen Garcia rushed to the 82-year-old widow of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos to check on how she was.

Her two security aides also helped her up.

But the former first lady said she was not hurt and and went ahead and sang the famous Cebuano ballad “Matod Nila” with Rep. Pablo Garcia of Cebu’s 2nd district, the Cebu governor’s father.

The Marcos family was in Cebu upon the invitation of Governor Garcia as part of the month-long celebration of the 442nd founding anniversary of Cebu province.

Imelda and Imee graced the opening of the Cebu Performing Arts Center inside the campus of the University of the Philippines Cebu College in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City on Friday night.

On Saturday afternoon, Imelda and her two children witnessed the signing of the sisterhood agreement between Cebu and South Cotabato as well as the distribution of P5 million in financial assistance to the flood victims in Albay at the Capitol Social Hall.

Imelda then spoke to thank Garcia for inviting her family to Cebu. She recalled her various visits to Cebu when her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, was President.

When she was about to sing and moved around the stage, she apparently forgot that she was on a platform. When she stepped on the edge of the platform, she lost her balance and fell on her left side.

A loud thud was heard and the audience was shocked.

After the event at the Capitol Social Hall, she and her children joined the provincial officials at the Cebu International Convention Center in Mandaue City for the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo festival.

Magnitude 5.4 quake shakes Cagayan, Ilocos provinces

LAOAG CITY- A strong temblor measuring 5.4 struck at 10:56 am today 23 kilometers southeast of Calayan in Cagayan Valley but caused no damages on property or injury to residents.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the earthquake was felt at intensity 4 in Calayan and Intensity 3 in Sanchez Mira both of Cagayan province.

The temblor was also felt at intensity two (2 ) in Pasuquin in Ilocos Norte and Laoag City.

It was the first strong earthquake that struck the Cagayan province this month.

According to Phivolcs’ earthquake intensity scale, an intensity 5 temblor is generally felt by most people indoors and outdoors while people asleep could be awakened by the shaking.

The shaking also causes hanging objects to swing violently while dining utensils clatter and clink. It also causes small, light and unstable objects to fall or overturn. Vehicles on idle may also rock noticeably.

Binay unveils 1st housing project for indigenous peoples

LAOAG CITY- Vice President Jejomar Binay said the Aquino administration will start providing housing units exclusively for the Aeta communities in Central Luzon.

Binay said the National Housing Authority has approved the P14 million housing project, which will generate 350 housing units for the indigenous peoples in Pampanga.

Considered the first housing project for Indigenous People (IPs), the program will benefit the Tribung Ayta ng Nabuklod from Floridablanca town in Pampanga.

“The ‘pabahay’ program has long been focused on informal settlers and the poorest sector but has not included the IPs who are likewise poor,” he said.

He said talks on providing housing support to IPs cropped up during his earlier consultations around the country.

He said the government will also provide housing units to other IPs around the country like the Lumads, Mangyans and Dumagats.

“We must remember that IPs are also Filipinos and basically poor,” he added.

The vice president also led the ceremonial awarding of 57 transfer certificate of titles to beneficiaries of Pagibig or Home Development Mutual Fund’s FVR-Palaris housing project and NHA’s housing units in Paoay town in Ilocos Norte and Candon City in Ilocos Sur.

Binay, also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, was in Laoag on Tuesday for the eight leg of the Pabahay Caravan.

He has gone to the cities of Cebu, Baguio, Tagaytay, Davao, Pampanga, Zamboanga and Tacloban.

VP Binay says Marcoses open to FM’s burial in Ilocos Norte

LAOAG CITY- Vice President Jejomar Binay said the details on the final resting place of the late President Ferdinand Marcos will be announced in the coming days once burial preparations have been finalized.

Binay had already recommended Ilocos Norte as Marcos’ final resting place citing a survey he conducted earlier this year showing that Filipinos favor military honors for Marcos in his home province.

President Benigno Aquino III tasked Binay to study the matter and come up with his recommendations so that the issue of giving Marcos a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani will be given closure.

Binay said the Marcos family has already agreed to the government proposal to have Marcos buried in his home province.

He said the discussions on the burial place have been trimmed down to two points.

“The main issue was (whether or not to have the burial at the Libingan). That became moot and academic because the burial place originated from (the late president) who made a wish to have his body buried at the Libingan,” he said.

“If (the Libingan burial) is not possible then we have to consider the family’s wish. But the Marcos family has already agreed to have the burial in Ilocos Norte,” he added.

Binay was flanked by Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos when the former issued the statement during a press forum upon his arrival at the Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel.

Marcos was one of the provincial officials who welcomed the vice president upon his arrival at the Laoag International Airport.

Binay did not say whether he has formally sat down with the Marcoses to discuss on the burial preparations.

“We will issue an official pronouncement on the matter in the coming days once we have ironed out the remaining details of the burial plans,” he added.

Marcos, who was silent during the forum, later told reporters in a chance interview that the family has yet to discuss the final burial plans.

“I leave the decision to God as to where Marcos should be buried,” she said.

Since 1993 when the Marcoses returned from Hawaii where they lived in exile, Marcos’ remains have been temporarily kept inside a glass coffin in an air-conditioned family mausoleum in Batac City.

After meeting local chief executives in the Ilocos Region for the forum on the housing program, Binay proceeded to the provincial capitol as principal guest of the birthday celebrations of the late Ilocos Norte Governor Roque Ablan, Jr.

Vice President Binay to lead housing caravan in the Ilocos Region

LAOAG CITY- Vice President Jejomar Binay will lead the housing caravan for local government units during its launching in the Ilocos Region on Tuesday, August 9.

Binay, also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, will also meet regional local chief executives in a forum titled “Strengthening local government units in housing delivery and local development planning.”

The two-day caravan, which begins today, seeks to assist local government units (LGUs) in financing residential plans for government workers.

The national government has earmarked P50 billion for housing loans for 2011. Out of the funds, LGUs can borrow P20 million for each subdivision project and P40 million for a medium-rise condominium project.

Binay had advised local governments to update their comprehensive land use plan and define commercial, industrial, agricultural a reas as suitable sites for housing.

The vice president will also meet heads of key shelter agencies namely the National Housing Authority, Home Guaranty Corp., Housing Land use Regulatory Board, National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., Social Housing Finance Corp., and the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pagibig fund which is hosting the affair.

Ilocos media men pin hope on President Aquino to bring justice to radioman’s slay

LAOAG CITY—Members of media organizations in Ilocos Norte remain hopeful that the seven-year-old murder case of radio commentator Roger Mariano would be given closure under the Aquino administration.

On July 31, officers of the Media Active in Ilocos Norte (Main) visited the site in Barangay Barabar in San Nicolas town where Mariano was slain while he was on his way home on the same day in 2004. They lighted seven candles to symbolize how long the murder has remained unsolved.

Melvin de la Cuesta, former Main president, said the group is pinning its hopes on President Aquino’s promise to resolve extrajudicial killings in the country and put an end to impunity.

“We are confident with [Mr. Aquino’s] commitment to bring justice to the families of slain journalists and put an end to media killings,” he said.

A former policeman and another suspect who were the principal accused in the murder were acquitted in August 2010.

Judge Reynaldo Alhambra of the Manila Regional Trial Court found no evidence directly linking Apolonio Medrano, a former policeman, and Basilio Yadao to the case which dragged for six years until it was terminated with the suspects’ acquittal.

But De la Cuesta said the murder case remains open until the real perpetrators are identified. “Investigators should pursue other angles which could lead into the identification of those who masterminded the murder,” he said.

De la Cuesta has been leading media workers in the province in marking Mariano’s murder since 2004. He initiated the building of a press freedom marker on a lot donated by San Nicolas Mayor Alfredo Valdez Jr., on the same spot where Mariano was gunned down.

Mariano was the first Ilocos Norte radio commentator felled by assassins’ bullets in what authorities believe was a result of his exposés on his radio program.

A list compiled by the the media watchdog Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) showed that 179 Filipino journalists were killed from 1986 to July 2011. It said 121 died “in the line of duty” or whose deaths were considered work-related.

In the year that Mariano was killed, 14 other journalists were murdered in the country. Eight deaths, including Mariano’s, were work-related.

The CMFR list showed that the highest number of work-related deaths of journalists, at 79, was recorded under the nine-year administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from January 2001 to June 2010.

Four journalists had been killed under the administration of President Aquino from July 2010 to July 2011, the CMFR said.

Stranded vessels

CAMP JUAN, Ilocos Norte, Philippines — Two cargo vessels have been stranded in waters between Baccarra and Pasuquin towns in Ilocos Norte due to gale force winds that have made conditions at sea bad for sailing, local authorities reported Saturday.

Senior Inspector Leonardo Tolentino, Pasuquin town’s chief of police, identified the stranded ships as Japan-bound “Eastern Galaxy,” cargo vessel from Manila, and “Mermaid Star,” also a shipping vessel bound for Indonesia.

Eastern Galaxy has 20 Filipino crew members led by Chief Captain Alfredo Querubin while the number of the crew of Mermaid Star vessel was not determined by police as of press time.

Tolentino said the two shipping vessels will temporarily stay along the shorelines between Bacarra and Pasuquin for safety.

“Our policemen are continously guarding these vessels until weather conditions become normal and these vessels may continue to travel,” he said.

Laoag eyes calamity state due to dengue

LAOAG CITY- Mayor Michael Fariñas has recommended the city to be placed under calamity state citing a report that the current number of dengue cases is threatening to breach the mark for an outbreak.

In a special staff meeting on Thursday afternoon, city health officer Renato Mateo reported that the present dengue cases already correspond to an alert level and that it is near the outbreak mark. “We expect to breach the outbreak level but not necessarily a calamity level. In my opinion, we can declare it as an outbreak level,” he said.

Based on the city health office’s monitoring, 186 residents have fallen ill with five deaths due to dengue.

Fariñas said he will ask the city council to immediately declare Laoag under calamity state so that they can utilize the calamity fund to assist victims and buy additional fogging machines.

He said the city government could now make use of its local disaster risk and reduction management fund or 30 percent of the amount as quick response fund for relief and recovery efforts.

Fariñas said the city government may need to buy a stronger dosage of insecticides and more fogging machines to drive away dengue-causing mosquitoes.

PDIC set to pay insurance claims of Banco Filipino depositors in Laoag

LAOAG CITY- Representatives of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) will be in this city to pay insurance claims of depositors of the shuttered Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank from August 4 to 18.

The PDIC said the scheduled payment dates would be the last opportunity for depositors based in the province to have their claims settled.

They also requested the Laoag city government to extend assistance to small depositors by providing free notarization of their affidavits.

In case they fail to show up during the scheduled dates, local depositors may still process their insurance claims from the PDIC Makati office starting August 29.

Pursuant to R.A. 3591 (PDIC Charter), as amended, the last day of filing claims for insured deposits is on March 18, 2013. The PDIC shall no longer accept any claim for insured deposits maintained with Banco Filipino after the date.

The bank closed down in March due to financial woes.


Agri-Kapihan is 25 years old

One group that has stood the test of time is the Agri-Kapihan, a forum for farming enthusiasts that is open free to the public. Last Sunday, July 31, the 25th anniversary of this forum was celebrated jointly with the 11th anniversary of the radio program “Kaunlaran sa Agrikultura.”

The event was attended by some 400 farming aficionados who had come all the way from the provinces (as far away as Batac, Ilocos Norte) as well as in Metro Manila. The large attendance is enough proof that it is one activity that is benefiting a lot of farmers, otherwise why would they attend?

The celebration at the courtyard of radio station DWWW was graced by no less than Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala who gave the audience a clear view of his vision towards staple food sufficiency in the country. Which means that the population should not only depend on rice for their staple food. He cited a program backed by the Institute of Plant Breeding in Los Baños whereby white corn production is being pushed, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao where white corn is a favorite staple

Alcala said that white corn seeds for planting are being produced under a program spearheaded by experts of the IPB. Aside from seeds, the IPB has also developed an efficient corn mill that will process corn grits in the village level. White corn is even a more nutritious food than rice. It has a lower glycemic index so that it is good for diabetics. It is digested more slowly than rice, hence the consumer feels full in the stomach longer. Because it is digested more slowly, the sugar in the cereal is absorbed in smaller quantities in the blood than in the case of rice. Hence, it is better for those suffering from diabetes.

Rootcrops are another substitute or supplement to rice. Camote, for instance, is a healthy food. The roots as well as the leaves are packed with nutrients needed by the body.

How did the Agri-Kapihan start? It all started when we were offered to edit the Agriculture page of the Manila Times when it was revived in 1986 after the EDSA Revolt. We thought that if we were to edit a page that would easily relate to the farming community – especially those who are literate and who read newspapers, we should have a means to meet them. And one way of getting closer to the farmers and getting their stories is to come up with a venue where we could exchange views and experiences with them.

The Agri-Kapihan may be called a non-organization because there are no officers, only volunteers who would make the meetings possible. Since there are no officers, there are no elections. Which means that there are no squabbles about electioneering, vote-buying and the like. There are no fees to pay. So there are no funds to squander by the organizers.

In the earlier many years, there was a caterer who served breakfast which was not free. If the attendee wants to eat, he has to pay for his meal. There are no corporate sponsors for meals.That was adopted as a policy because that could otherwise be abused.

Resource persons consisted of some of the best speakers on agricultural topics, especially those who are actually farming. There is no talent fee for the speakers, but there are many talents who want to share their know-how and experiences without any compensation.

The topics that have been discussed the past 25 years have been wide-ranging. These include crops, farm animals, fisheries, farm management, fertilizers, pest and disease control in plants and livestock, natural farming, urban gardening, vermiculture and so on. You name the topic and most likely it has been discussed at the Agri-Kapihan.

At the Agri-Kapihan, the attendees are able to pick up new ideas and stories that inspire them to undertake their own farm projects.

The sessions used to be held every Saturday morning at the Manila Seedling Bank in Quezon City. The place was offered for free use by the MSB management which was beneficial to the company because the attendees were prospective buyers of the seedlings it has been selling.

There are two special occasions observed at the Agri-Kapihan. One is the anniversary celebration which was originally held on the Saturday nearest to August 2. Today, since Kaunlaran sa Agrikultura radio program has adopted Agri-Kapihan as its own project, the forum is held every last Sunday of the month. The other special occasion is Christmas celebration.

In both occasions, the practice is potluck style. Each attendee brings something to eat which could be shared with the other attendees. But there are those who bring more than others. Like last Sunday, Pio Rodriguez who sells tractors donated a whole cow lechon. Mario Rabang brought a native pig lechon while Sec. Alcala donated three pig lechons. There was an overflow of food.

Up to now attendees report the good news about their projects. Some have become agribusiness entrepreneurs because they have found the idea at the Agri-Kapihan. The AANI or Agri-Aqua Network International is a progeny of the Agri-Kapihan.

The founders of the AANI have observed that people are hungry for farming technologies. So it was organized by people who have become friends through the Agri- Kapihan. AANI has pioneered in conducting agricultural seminars which is continuing up to this day. It was also a pioneer in coming up with weekend markets, first with the Sidcor which used to be held at the the present site of Makro in Cubao, Quezon City.

AANI used to have its weekend market at the Magallanes Center in Makati and at the TESDA in Taguig. Its biggest weekend market is at the FTI with more than 200 stallholders. The latest is at the St. Vincent Seminary in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. All these and many, many more came about because of Agri-Kapihan.

Ilocos Norte media pin hope on P-Noy to resolve broadcaster’s murder

SAN NICOLAS, Ilocos Norte - Members of the Ilocos Norte media remain hopeful that the seven year-old murder case of radio commentator Roger Mariano will be given closure under the Aquino administration. Officers of the Media Active in Ilocos Norte (Main) visited the site in Barangay Barabar in San Nicolas town where Mariano was slain while riding home on July 31 seven years ago.

They lighted seven candles to symbolize how long the murder has remained unsolved. Melvin de la Cuesta, former Main president, said the group is pinning its hopes on President Aquino’s promise to resolve extra-judicial killings in the country and put an end to impunity.

"We are confident with P-Noy's commitment to bring justice to the families of slain journalists and put an end to media killings," he said.

A former policeman and another suspect who were the principal accused in the murder were acquitted in August 2010.

Judge Reynaldo Alhambra of the Manila regional trial court found no evidence directly linking former police officer Apolonio Medrano and Basilio Yadao to the case which dragged for six years until it was terminated with the suspects’ acquittal.

But de la Cuesta said the murder case remains open until the real perpetrators are identified. “Investigators should pursue other angles which could lead in the identification of those who masterminded the murder,” he said.

De la Cuesta has been leading the media group in marking Mariano’s murder since 2004. He initiated the building of a press freedom marker on a lot donated by San Nicolas mayor Alfredo Valdez, Jr. on the same spot where Mariano was gunned down.

Unlike the previous years, Mariano’s widow and her children would show up at the site and join Mariano’s colleagues in marking his death anniversary.

De la Cuesta said Alma Mariano did not reply to his text message informing her of the commemoration last Sunday.

He said he would often visit Alma in her home in Dingras town and advise her of the media event but that he failed to see her personally before the commemoration.

“But residents said they would often see fresh flowers and candles at the marker,” he said. Mariano was the first Ilocos Norte radio commentator felled by assassins’ bullets in what authorities believe as a result of his exposes on his radio program.

Laoag residents on guard for tropical depression ‘Lando’

LAOAG CITY, Residents have been advised to be on guard with the entry of another tropical depression named Lando, which will bring scattered to widespread rains in Luzon and Visayas.

As of 11 am today, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that Lando was estimated to be at 280 km west of Laoag City.

The weather bureau advised the public and the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils to take appropriate actions noting that Lando has remained almost stationery over the West Philippine Sea.

PAGASA said Lando is slowly moving north, northeast and is estimated to be 190 km west, northwest of Laoag on Tuesday morning; 160 km north of Laoag on Wednesday morning and 240 km north, northeast of Laoag or 110 km north, northeast of Basco, Batanes on Thursday morning.

It said the country is not directly affected by Lando but it enhances the southwest monsoon bringing scattered to widespread rains over Luzon and Visayas particularly the western section.

Lando is expected to bring an estimated rainfall amount of 5 t 10 mm per hour within the 300 km diameter of the tropical depression.

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