ILOCOS NORTE

>> Monday, July 2, 2007

RP ready to produce biofuel from sweet sorghum, exec says
BATAC, Ilocos Norte – The country is ready to venture into the production of biofuel (ethanol) from sweet sorghum.

This was bared by Dr. Heraldo Layaoen, vice president of the Mariano Marcos State University here and overall coordinator of the sweet sorghum project of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research.

Layaoen presented the project’s significant finding at two science fora held recently in Quezon City under the auspices of the DA-BAR and Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Agricultural, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development.

He recalled use of sweet sorghum as feedstock for the production of the bioethanol (blending ethanol and gasoline) was a brainchild of Dr. William Dar, former acting agriculture secretary and now director-general of India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.

In early February last year, Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam, accompanied by Dar, presented to President Arroyo at Malacanang foundation seeds of sweet sorghum developed by ICRISAT.

With the funding from DA-BAR headed by Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar and the Commission on Higher Education under the project “Commercial Production and Utilization of Sweet Sorghum in North Luzon,” MMSU began field-testing the ICRISAT varieties.

Of the varieties tested, five were found to have high content of juice and good grain yields, and are adaptable in all parts of the country, Layaoen reported.

The varieties – NTJ 2, ICSV 93046, CSR 93034, and ICSF 700 – are ready for large-scale production, he added.

Agriculture Secretary Yap, elated by the encouraging results of the studies on the crop, said in a recent DA-BAR-sponsored technology-investment forum, “sweet sorghum is going to be major player in the country’s drive toward energy independence because of its many uses.”

Yap also said: “With the sweet sorghum, nothing is wasted. From it comes the biofuel that will produce the energy to support our drive for energy independence. From its grains to its stalks, everything is utilized as human food, feeds, and forage.

The initial studies have also showed that sweet sorghum can yield as much 110 tons per hectare of cane stalk for cropping seasons in eight months. Its yield is higher with a much shorter cropping season (one season for sugar cane is 12 months compared four months of sweet sorghum).

Other studies have also focused on food products developed out of sweet sorghum (cookies, vinegar, basi, or local wine, jaggery), juice quality and grain yield, and its pests and diseases. -- FL


DILG exec denies issuing SK statement

LAOAG CITY -- Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Brian Raymund Yamsuan of the Department of the Interior and Local Government denied issuing any statement regarding the conduct of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections this October.

Yamsuan said he had never issued any statement nor was he interviewed by the media on this issue.

He added he had never recommended nor even commented on the issue of doing away with the Sangguniang Kabataan, as falsely reported by some media outlets.

“These reports are fabricated. I have never been interviewed nor have I issued any statement to the media about the barangay and SK elections,” Yamsuan said. “I am not in a position to comment on these issues, much less recommend that we do away with the Sangguniang Kabataan, which I believe remains an effective and potent instrument in initiating programs that will benefit our youth and presenting the issues and concerns affecting them, to the national government and the public. “ -- PIA


Batac, Tabuk towns cities after plebiscite

BY JUN GUIANG AND EAJ

BATAC, Ilocos Norte – Two more cities have been created in Northern Luzon following plebiscites among constituents in Ilocos Norte and Kalinga provinces.

Batac, the famous hometown of the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos became a full-fledged component city of Ilocos Norte as “yes” votes won overwhelming in the plebiscite held here on June 23.

Municipal election officer Josefina Balbas said poll results showed f the 13,021 voters, 11,750 voted “yes,” and 1,433 voted “no.”

As the province’s second new component city, Batac is expected to get P250 million in annual revenue allotment (IRA), said outgoing Mayor Jesus Nalupta Sr.

Nalupta and his son, Mayor-elect Jeffrey Nalupta expressed their gratitude to their townmates for supporting the cityhood of Batac.

Meanwhile, the capital town of Tabuk in Kalinga also became a city following a plebiscite also held on June 23.

Residents ratified Republic Act No. 9404 converting this town into a component city to be known as City of Tabuk.

The “yes” votes overwhelmed the “no” votes, 17,060 to 2,333. The votes came from 217 precincts of the 222 precincts of the municipality.

The municipal board of canvassers didn’t wait for election returns from the five precincts as these could no longer affect the results.

Only 45 percent of the 42,952 voters in 217 precincts cast their votes.

Tabuk was created as a regular municipality on June 16, 1950 pursuant to Republic Act No. 533.

Tabuk, a first-class municipality, had an estimated population of 98,863 in 2006. The population is a mixture of Kalinga natives and immigrants from various parts of the country, including Muslims traders from Mindanao.

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the people of the new city. Due to its wide and fertile lands, Tabuk is known as the “Rice Granary of the Cordillera.”

The Chico River traverses this town, Tabuk has an area of 73,300 hectares, making it the second largest city in the country, next to Davao City.

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