The Ilocos Times

By Grazielle Mae A. Sales PGIN-CMO In its fourth year, the Semana ti Ar-Aria (Ghost Week) Festival returns on October 24 with its activities aiming “to encourage families and friends to spend quality time together”. Organizers will retain the Semana activities which received positive reception and huge number of attendees for the past years such as the Parada Iloca-Locana, Taray Ar-Aria (Zombie Night Run), and the Capitol’s Halloween Trick or Treat. The Ar-Aria Short Horror Film Festival which kicked off on Oct. 3 in the event’s official Facebook page ( facebook.com/IlocosNorteHalloween ) had its screening on October 24. Running successfully for three years now, it does not only intend to introduce Ilocos Norte as a growing media hub but also aims to gather young Ilocanos for fun and creativity. “This is one of our most successful Halloween activities because we have many suki (regulars) from various universities since 2012. The number of competing groups als

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Laoag City —Following the successful turnout of the first province wide SIRIB leadership camp earlier, at least 70 outstanding student-leaders from the 21 municipalities and two cities in Ilocos Norte are now ready to lead over 500 Ilocano youth on Saturday, October 25 for another round of leadership training at Brgy. Navotas in this city. The same promising student-leaders will graduated Oct. 24 at the Navotas camp site as they undergo a two-day cadre training starting Oct. 23. James Ventura, president of the Sirib Ilokano Kabataan Association (SIKA) said those who successfully graduated to the first cadre training will automatically become training facilitators for the next leadership training to be held at the same camp site on October 25-29. Hosted by the provincial government of Ilocos Norte, the Ilocano youth are given the opportunity to participate in nation-building through their active involvement in participatory youth

Win elevates town to Hall of Fame By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff reporter San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte—The multi-awarded San Nicolas municipality again shone in the national arena after it was chosen as one of the most business-friendly local government units in the country. The win this year—third in a row—also elevates the municipality into the search’s Hall of Fame. San Nicolas officials led by mayor Melanie Grace P. Valdez and vice mayor Alfredo “Boying” P. Valdez received the award for the Most Business-Friendly Municipality Level 1 on Oct. 24 at the Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel. Highly respected businesspersons led by Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Alfredo M. Yao personally handed the award to the Valdez couple. In an interview after receiving the award, Ms. Valdez said she is very thankful to the organizers for choosing San Nicolas as the top winner in its category in the last three years. She stressed that this

In our national  fixation over Vice-President Jejomar Binay’s crumbling stature, we overlook a vital concern: In next door Malaysia, the opposition is being subjected to bare knuckle pressure by the ruling but increasingly brittle United Malays National Organization. “The Malaysian opposition is in the cross hairs of a sedition blitz,” Agence France Presse Dan Martin reports. Malaysian attorney N. Surendran appeared in court to defend a fellow opposition lawmaker accused of insulting the powerful ruling party. A few hours later, he faced a sedition charge of his own. Prime Minister Najib Razak, pledged two years ago, that UMNO would scrap the Sedition Act. It formed part of broad liberalization promises to shore up sagging voter support. But reforms foundered amid conservative resistance within UMNO. And a crackdown is under way to stifle dissent and thwart the opposition’s growing electoral success.  Najib's office insists the Sedition Act will be replaced with a &quo

Publication Notice R.A. 10172 Republic of the Philippines Province of Ilocos Norte Municipality of Bangui OFFICE OF THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRAR CCE-0043-2014    RA 10172                                                     October 22, 2014           In compliance with the publication requirement and pursuant to OCRG Memorandum Circular No. 2013-1 Guidelines in the Implementation of Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 2012 (IRR on R.A. 10172) notice is hereby served to the public that LUZVIMINDA G. OAÑA has filed with this Office, a petition for correction of gender from “ MALE ” to “ FEMALE ” in the Certificate of Live Birth of LUZVIMINDO GAOR OAÑA at Bangui, Ilocos Norte and whose parents are Policarpio Oaña and Maria Gaor.           Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his/her written opposition with this Office not later than November 10, 2014. (SGD) GLORIA B. AMUDO Municipal Civil Registrar Oct. 27-Nov. 2, Nov. 3-9, 2014 _______

WE are all familiar with that gospel lesson that those who have been blessed and gifted much, much is also expected and demanded. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” (Lk 12,48) This sounds commonsensical enough. We don’t have to argue about it. The problem is how to apply this rule to specific situations and how to ‘quantify’ the ‘much’ involved in what is given and what is demanded. Considering the way the world is now, plunged as it is in confusion, ignorance, error, if not in sin, perversions and other anomalies—all this in spite of the many advances in many fields of our life—getting to know the answers to these questions is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Take the case of the controversy arising from the recently concluded synod on the family. There is definitely a need to reach out to people in some difficult situations, like those who are divorced and remarried and st

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Laoag City —The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has asked the Environment Management Bureau to conduct a field validation and thorough investigation on the alleged dumping of liquid waste of the Laoag City General Hospital (LCGH) into a rice field. In a letter-complaint, former Laoag City mayor Roger C. Fariñas sent to provincial environment and natural resources officer Juan delos Reyes Jr. on October 14, 2014, Mr. Fariñas reported that the Laoag City government-run hospital has been allegedly disposing contaminated liquid waste from its dialysis facility. Mr. Fariñas alleged that said liquid waste was siphoned from the septic tank twice a week and dumped into the adjacent rice field. To verify this report, Mr. Delos Reyes said they have already requested technical personnel from the EMB based in San Fernando City, La Union to immediately conduct an investigation. According to Mr. Delos Reyes, the EMB is