The Ilocos Times

By Cherry Joy D. Garma  PIA-Ilocos Norte LAOAG CITY– The transmission of election returns in Ilocos Norte has been delayed indefinitely due to system malfunction of the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS). “The CCS which is contained in the SD (Storing Device) card used to receive consolidated election result from every precinct cannot be opened,” said Julius Balbas, Laoag City Election Officer. However, Mr. Balbas said that the failure of the system will not affect the election result since the SD card is not the main source of the vote casts. “The system is the only problem here since automated election is very technical, not the votes or the result, it will not affect the results at all,” he said. Provincial election supervisor Atty. Marino Salas meanwhile said, there are three towns in this province that have yet to transmit their election results to the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC). “The town of Marcos is about to transmit today, while the

THIS was expressly articulated in the Book of Revelation. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (22,13) If God is where we come from and where we belong to, and if as his creature we have been made in his image and likeness, we can reasonably conclude that everything in our life—from our thoughts, words to our deeds and big projects—should also start with him and end with him. This can be considered the basic pattern of our life and everything in it. That could be the reason many of our prayers express that sentiment: “May every prayer and work of ours begin from You, and by You be duly ended.” A similar sentiment is expressed in St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” (3,17) We need to train ourselves to acquire this attitude and the relevant skills and virtues to make this truth a living reality in our life. It definitely is a lifetime project, but we shou

Here are some very good news for Filipino World War II veterans’ family members who are beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions. On May 9, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that beginning June 8, 2016, these beneficiaries will be given an “opportunity to receive a discretionary grant of parole on a case-by-case basis, so that they may come to the United States while waiting for their immigrant visa to become available.” When the visa become available, they may adjust their status under existing immigration laws. “Parole” allows an alien to physically enter the U.S. for a specific purpose. A person who has been “paroled” is not considered to have been “admitted” to the U.S. but remains an “applicant for admission.” DHS, as a matter of discretion, may issue an Advance Parole document authorizing an alien to appear at a port of entry to seek parole into the U.S. The document may be accepted by a transportation company in li

By Alfredo C. Garvida Jr. Contributor By the time this piece comes out of print, the national elections will be over and by then, we will know who our next leaders will be in both the local and national levels. I was invited by the party list KGB, headed by Gov. Antonio Cerilles of Zamboanga Del Sur and Atty. Felipe Favila to attend and cover the "miting de avance" of vice presidential candidate, Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, Jr., which was held in Mandaluyong on May 5, 2016. The "miting de avance" was originally scheduled to be held at the Luneta Park but for reasons unknown, the organizers shifted the venue to Mandaluyong. I went to the venue with Atty. Favila and his group but we were late and Bongbong's speech was already past halfway to finish. Our group had to walk more than ten blocks around to get into a vantage point as the crowd was immense, scattered around in several blocks to view the center stage via a great number of giant screens.

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Except for one shooting incident reported at Brgy. Mumulaan in Paoay, Ilocos Norte a night before election day, the Ilocos Norte police said the start of election in this province is generally peaceful. “There is no untoward incident recorded so far and it is generally peaceful." This is how the police officers assigned in different towns here described the election day on May 9 in Ilocos Norte. Police Sr. Insp. Ryan Retutar, Solsona police station officer-in-charge said the conduct of election in his town is peaceful and orderly. “No violations have been reported yet, and as of this time, election here is generally peaceful,” Mr. Retutar said. Solsona is one of the eight towns here declared as election watch list areas (EWAs) by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The other towns are Pagudpud, Bacarra, Bangui, Pasuquin, Vintar, Badoc, and Marcos. However, there were also no reports of violence in the said tow

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—Finally, the long wait is over for Ilocos Norte tobacco farmers as the province’s share in tobacco excise tax under Republic Act 7171 and RA 8240 for 2013 has been released. In an urgent appropriation ordinance certified as urgent by Ilocos Norte Governor Maria Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan unanimously approved on a total amount of Php 401,269,600 from the province’s share for various development undertakings, projects and services here. Also, another appropriation ordinance pegged at Php 1,365,526 from the province’s share in burley and native tobacco excise tax has been approved on the same day for the purchase of medicines for the effective provision of health services in the entire province. Last March, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced the release of tobacco excise tax shares of tobacco-producing provinces from the 2013 collection of taxes on locally ma

WITH THE 2016 general elections over and done with, the Filipino people should now take the time to heal the pains, applaud the candidates, and accept the results. The mudslinging and verbal barrages should stop now. The candidates who won and lost should start picking up the pieces. And the general population should return to normalcy—and start doing their share in nation building. This year’s election can easily become the most wicked in recent memory. All the words that have been said; all the actions that have been taken; and all the posts in social media have been filled with vitriol . When the heat of the election campaign starts to die down, some of us may offer apologies for words uttered and posted; but all of us must support the winners. For this is the essence of democracy—majority rules. And even if our chosen candidates were not as fortunate, our being Filipinos should behoove us to support the winners in all means possible. The 2016 elections brought out the