News

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LA UNION (May 27)—The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) in Region 1 has paid tribute to 10 exemplary state universities and colleges (SUC) graduates in the Ilocos region during the "Padyak Pagkilala: Gawad Parangal sa Natatanging Mag-aaral" held at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) on May 18. Commission on Higher Education celebrates 27th Founding Anniversary in Ilocos with tribute to 10 exemplary State Universities and Colleges graduates in Region 1 at the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University International Convention Center. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Honoring the 10 outstanding graduates coincided with the celebration of CHEd's 27th Founding Anniversary on May 17 and 1st National Higher Education Day on May 18 at the DMMMSU's Interna...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO LAGUNA (May 27)—The Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) has tapped a Philippine-based inter-government treaty organization to develop the guidelines for the utilization of digital technologies for agriculture in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Glenn Gregorio, director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), said his agency was tapped to develop the guidelines that will be part of the project titled "Enhancing Food Supply Chain Resilience and Food Security in Asean with Utilization of Digital Technologies" of ERIA with the Asean Secretariat. "Digital technologies and innovations are evident to support the Asean economic community transforming to a more resil...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO ILOCOS NORTE: A rare feat for any local government unit (LGU), the Commission on Audit (CoA) gave the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) the highest degree of audit opinion for 2020. In a letter to Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc, lawyer Chito Janaban, CoA Region 1 director, said they rendered an “unmodified opinion” on the fairness of presentation of the financial statements for reasons stated in the CoA's Independent Auditor’s Report. In auditing parlance, an unmodified opinion is made by an auditor when financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) as well as applicable regulations. Gayfelyn Labayan, CoA audit leader assigned at the PGIN Capitol, said o...

NGCP continues to improve the overall performance of the transmission grid since taking over as the country’s sole transmission service provider in 2009. Among the key indicators in which it continues to outperform is the Frequency of Tripping (FOT) which measures the number of times high-voltage transmission lines tripped or experienced forced outages for every 100 circuit kilometers (ckm).  NGCP’s 2020 performance shows a significant decrease in tripping incidents across all three major island grids.  In Luzon, the number has gone down significantly from 3.985 in 2008 to 0.932 in 2020, marking a 76.6 percent decrease in tripping incidents, Visayas recorded 4.542 to 0.335, a decrease of 92.6 percent and for Mindanao, the number went from 7.951 to 0.504, a decrease of 9...

BY LENDER C. DOMINGO Peter James Icalia Gann CONTRIBUTED PHOTO ILOCOS NORTE (May 20)—A university mentor here has been selected as ambassador of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), an international professional society devoted to the advancement of plant science research and education. Peter James Icalia Gann, an assistant professor of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development (CAFSD) will have a term of two years as ASPB ambassador. Founded in 1924, ASPB promotes the growth and development of plant biology, encourages and publishes research in plant biology, and advances the interests, growth and education of plant scientists in general.  Over the decades, the ASPB has evolved and expanded to provi...