Given the significant role that sports play on the comprehensive well-being of youngsters, the officialdom of the City of Batac carry on its athletic programs designed to encourage students in participating and engaging into sports activities for them to develop and value team play and sportsmanship.

City Mayor Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta accentuated in his message that active engagement in sports provides both physical and psychological benefits that support academic achievement and over-all well being.

The pioneering efforts of this interscholastic athletic competition, then Senior Legislative Member and now City Vice Mayor Ronald Allan M. Nalupta, bring to fore the mental stimulation and social interaction that comes with involvement in athletic event. “Whether playing, watching or cheering, our children enjoy the physical aspects of sports. Kids have a keen interest in basketball and we want them to compete, enhance their skills and perceive the import of sportsmanship”, he said.

Over the last five (5) years, basketball tournament has been a part of the elementary schools’ calendar of events. With twenty six (26) elementary schools participating, this year’s competition ran from January 28 until the 6th day of February 2010, with games being held at the Imelda Cultural Center. Competing schools were categorized in three (3) groups, i.e, body build, age, skill, to avoid mismatching of teams or individual players.

The teams of Hilario Valdez Memorial Elementary School, Rayuray Elementary School and Baoa East Elementary School demonstrated their teamwork and tenacity by finishing 1st place for group A, B and C respectively. Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School, Payao Elementary School and Camandingan Elementary School finished a strong second. Though other teams struggled, they displayed perseverance and had some needed training that will prepare them for future competitions.

Introduction:

The year 2009 that is about to end may not be the kind of year everybody would have wanted it to be. The country, still reeling from the onslaught of the global economic crisis, a succession of calamities wrought havoc to many parts of the country. Neither sparing the entire Province of Ilocos Norte, and our very own City of Batac. But with great optimism, faith in God, and the Ilocanos’ natural resiliency to withstand vicissitudes and problems, we soon found ourselves extricated from all these troubles.

Hence, 2009 in the City of Batac, may be regarded as an interesting and eventful year, punctuated by the succession of premier anchor projects: 2009 – “Year of the Barangays…continues”: I declared in my inaugural speech on June 30, 2007, that the years 2008-2010 will be the golden years of Batac’s 14 urban and 29 rural barangays. The period that will usher significant milestones and breakthroughs never before imagined in this historic and quaint “Home of Great Leaders”.

Coinciding with the yuletide season, the fiesta celebration runs from December 8 to December 30, 2009.

This month-long celebration comes at a time as the city government strengthens the call to green and inspire commitment of every Batacqueños to take active parts in the efforts to take care of Mother Earth.

It is a matter of survival – this is how crucial every individual contribution and commitment is, in addressing environmental concerns. We continue to face unprecedented array of perils but the short respite of festivities like this reinforces the more the capacity of the Batacqueños to rise to all challenges.

The Opening Day

December 8, Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. a Thanksgiving Mass in celebration of the feast in honor of the Immaculate Conception – the city’s patroness, herald the beginning of days of colour and fun.

Expectedly, local fiesta–goers and those from out of town crowded the main street and streets corners to watch the Civic Parade, from 3:30 p.m. onwards, with the gorgeous muses conveyed in carts and other participants wearing their ilocano/filipiniana costumes. To most, civic parade maybe viewed as a tradition or simply one of the usual practices, but certainly this is more than just a ritual. This gathering has a more transcendent meaning for it rests upon unity and cooperation among Batacqueños.

At 6:00 o’clock p.m. on the same day, around the hour of sunset, the Electric and Lights Parade was staged, and this was quite as interesting as anticipated. This is the 1st nighttime illuminated parade in the city. Participants in costumes depicting the gaiety and pageantry of Mardi Gras marched the main street with their glow products, battery powered lights and light reflectors as illuminations. Everybody seemed to have enjoyed a cool nighttime parade where floats were beautifully decorated and accented with colorful holiday lights. The elected officials led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta were a captivating sight in a platform mounted on a truck in their western cowboy costumes. Truly, it provided a magical experience for the whole community.

To take care of the evening entertainments, a brief program had been prepared in the front activity area of the Imelda Cultural Center. Dubbed in the past as “Rabii ti Ragragsak,” where city and barangay officials, schools, NGOs and NGAs  gather to bond and celebrate, the evening program this time was a perfect venue of performances and presentations where high schools showcased spectacular production numbers. A special feature was the Showdown of the Broadway Musicals of the Nine Clusters.

Worth mentioning was the message delivered by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta during the program where he underscored the substantial value of unity and solidarity in these difficult and trying times. He said that amidst all the adversaries that have come our way, rising to all the challenges is a fitting testimony of our strength as a community. He hastened to add that with solidarity among us, the City of Batac will proceed in the united pursuit for its growth and development.

Concluding the Opening of the 3rd City Fiesta 2009 was the Street Party taking place in the areas fronting the Imelda Cultural Center, the City Hall and the Riverside Empanadaan. It was a night of dancing and partying.

The fun has just started. The Fiesta includes other major presentations that will certainly rack up attendance. There’s excitement and anticipation in the air as the City Government is due to host open-air free concerts and dance extravaganza. Lots of events including nightly variety shows are up.

May we all enjoy the festive mood in a happy, safe and peaceful manner.

Kudos to the fiesta organizers, chaired by Mayor Nalupta, for the marvelous spectacles.

The hope that this year’s celebration would outdo the previous years is forthcoming given the truly remarkable performances.

With its rating of 98.75%, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Batac is qualified to compete at the Regional Level of the 2009 Local Legislative Awards, Component City Category, having met the requirement that only contestants with Overall Performance Rating of not lower than 80 percent are eligible to vie in the regional level.

As a backgrounder, the said award system is a program of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL), in partnership with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the primary objective of which is to accord official recognition to the Sangguniang Panlungsod and Sangguniang Bayan that excel in legislative laws which ultimately contribute to the attainment of desirable socio-economic and environmental outcomes.

The search covers National, Regional and Provincial levels. An Awards Committee evaluates the Sanggunian based on the following criteria:
• Effectiveness of the Legislative Agenda
• Effectiveness of the Legislative Tracking System
• Availability of Legislative Documents
• Efficiency of Performance of the Sanggunian
• Quality of Office Set-up and Staff Complement

Upon official notification of the said award, Vice Mayor Ronald Allan M. Nalupta, the Chief of the Legislative Department of the City Government of Batac, expressed elation as he commended the worthy members of the City Council, the Secretariat and legislative staff for the noteworthy achievement. He thanked the Provincial Awards Committee, chaired by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Director Mario Ratuita, for recognizing the exemplary performance of the Sanggunian. He said that the award will inspire more the Sangguniang Panlungsod to undertake and strengthen its task to legislate measures that would help build the foundation of meaningful local administration and development.

For the first year of joining the Search,  the City of Batac was awarded as 2nd place in the 2008 Search for Outstanding Cities & Provinces implementing Nutrition Program in Region I.

The Search is conducted annually by the National Nutrition Council in order to assess the efficiency of local level plan implementation  for the past year , as indicated by the  outreach  activities undertaken relative to the local nutrition action plan; funds allocated and spent, as well as the management and support given by local executives and other implementing agencies;  and  to determine the extent to which nutrition is  integrated into local development plans and programs.

San Fernando City won the first place while Laoag City was awarded as the Third Place.  On the part of the Province,  Ilocos Sur bested Ilocos Norte by  just a matter of 0.24points. Pangasinan  landed third while La Union maintained the Nutrition Honor Award,  being a Consistent Awardee for a period of three years.

The awardees received  their corresponding awards during the Regional Nutrition Awarding Ceremony held at the DBM Conference Hall, San Fernando City, La Union on November 10 2009 with General Leopoldo N. Bataoil, Retired Police Director,PNP Diretorate for Police Community Relation as Guest of Honor and Speaker.

The City Government of Batac (CGB) and the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) conducted Building Wiring Installation Training on November 26-30, 2009 at the Department of Engineering, MMSU.

The training supports the Program on Jobs Generation and Skills Empowerment of Mayor Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta and the CGB, and the Department of Labor and Employment.

The training which was attended by 35 participants from 27 barangays was conducted to enhance the building wiring skills of barangay electricians, and to equip with such skills those who are interested to become barangay electricians. 

Barangays that sent their representatives were Ricarte, Valdez, Ablan, San Julian, Caunayan, Barani, Ben-agan, Baligat, Quiling Sur, Quiling Norte, Magnuang and Pimentel. Also participated were barangays Colo, Mabaleng, Camguidan, Payao, Parangopong, Capacuan, Naguirangan, San Mateo, San Pedro, Baoa East, Palongpong, Nagbacalan and Dariwdiw.

During a People’s Day Meeting, Mayor Nalupta said that the CGB will shoulder the expenses for the trade test of the TOP 5 participants that will be given by the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA).  He also said that a TESDA Certificate is a good document to support application for employment of the participants, either locally or abroad.

The implementation of the DA’s Quick Recovery Program (QRP) for areas affected by Typhoon “Pepeng” is already felt in the City of Batac especially on rice areas with complete damages.

Days after the typhoon, the City Government of Batac through the initiative of Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta decided to immediately request for Certified Seeds from the DA for the City to buy in order to rehabilitate the damages on rice.

Mr. Amador Sadumiano, DA’s Provincial Center Chief made a very quick response and convinced Regional Executive Director Cipriano Santiago to approve the request. In barely one week time, two hundred (200) bags of certified inbred palay seeds were delivered to the City to be used by the rice farmers with completely damaged rice areas for their second crop.

A month after the typhoon, the DA’s Quick Recovery Program (QRP) implementation guidelines for rice were downloaded to the DA Provincial Offices and LGUs stating therein that completely damaged rice areas which will be planted with the same crop this dry cropping season will be provided by the DA-RFU-I with rehab inputs of 1 bag certified inbred seeds, 3 bags 14-14-14 and 2 bags urea per hectare. Partially affected areas will be provided with 1 bag certified inbred seeds or P 1,600.00 government subsidy for hybrid seeds per hectare as rehab material for the dry cropping season 2009-2010. Those who were not affected by the typhoon will avail of the regular 50% government subsidy on certified inbred seeds.
The total area validated by the DA and the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics as completely damaged in Batac is 212 hectares, thus said area will receive the full subsidy which was earlier announced.

After some time of waiting, the City of Batac has already received the two (2) units of flatbed dryer from the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit I, intended for Barangays Tabug and Palongpong..

Said facility has been delivered to the recipient- barangays for its establishment.  Engr. Sonny Gagni, focal person of the project, with Mr. Rosendo Tallon of the DA turned-over the materials to the recipient- organizations in the two (2) barangays. This was witnessed by Mrs. Merryline Gappi, City Agricultural Officer, the Agricultural Technologists assigned in both barangays and some of the CAO staff as well as the Barangay Chair and Barangay Officials of the two ( 2) barangays.  City Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta and SP Committee Chair on Agriculture Violeta Nalupta were also present to witness said turn-over of the flatbed dryers.

The facilities shall be installed in both barangays in an area of 500 square meters.  The component of said facility are the drying bin, blower, and heater with biomass- fed furnace, moisture meter and tarpaulins  and the construction of the shed to cover the dryer.

When operational, the project is expected to help reduce postharvest losses and recover at least 5 % attributed to  improper drying of palay not only for the recipient barangays, but as well as their neighboring barangays.

Corollary to its continuing commitment to proactively promote healthy lifestyle through sports as well as to support the development of young people academically and athletically, the City Government of Batac opened the 2009 Inter-High School Sportsfest on November 09, 2009.

It kicked off with the Parade of Teams from the five (5) government and four (4) private High Schools in the City, at 8:00 o’clock in the morning at the Imelda Cultural Center.

This was followed by the Opening Ceremonies where the Honorable Mayor Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta delivered a message citing the importance of sports in the life of the youth. He underscored the value of sports as an efficient tool to prevent occurrence of crimes and juvenile delinquency.

Competition proper ensued. This year’s edition of the Sportsfest marked the first Sports Jazz Dance Competition in lieu of the Cheer-Dance Contest of the previous years.

Worthy to note is the Billboard Competition wherein students exhibited their skills in art outlining and depicting the drive of the City Government against the growing menace of drug addiction and dependence which is destroying the youth.

Highlighting the event in the evening was the Search for the Mr. & Ms. Inter-High School 2009 with the concept – “Save the Quiaoit River, Save Batac’s Watershed” Project. This is a focused program of the City Government which aims to zero-in on the cleaning and bringing of life back to the Quiaoit River.

During the pageant, the candidates manifested and affirmed their commitment for the preservation of our environment by dramatizing the phantoms of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng”.

From November 10 onwards, the sports facilities of the City Government see hot action as the City’s bests battle it out for supremacy in the Basketball, Volleyball and Badminton Tournaments. With temperatures running high, literally, it is one of those must-see displays of grit and sportsmanship.

A salute to the City Officials headed by Mayor Jeff for this high energy event as it is an ideal venue and opportunity for the youth to come together to hone their talents and build their camaraderie.

Pepeng’s wrath wrecks Batac, worst in 2009

The entire Province of Ilocos Norte, including the cities of Laoag and Batac were not spared form “Typhoon Pepeng” as it directly hit Northern Luzon in the morning of October 3, 2009 and strengthened its force the whole day and night the following day.

Low lying areas were flooded, rooftops and wall of some houses were blown by the strong winds; tall trees fell over houses; landslides; trees were uprooted; and worst, agricultural crops, mostly on early reproductive stage were completely damaged, especially rice.

Damage to the agricultural sector was finally assessed at P93,755,568.00 worth and the greatest loss (P51,964,440.00) fell on rice crops. Lots of vegetables were also devastated adding to the burden of the farmers who have put in large capital but were not able to reap at all. Likewise, some animals like cattle, goat, sheep, swine and poultry were drowned. Moreover, agri-infrastructure project like diversion dams, irrigation canals, spillways, farm to market roads and retention walls were heavily damaged.

It would be very hard for the farmers of Batac to recover such great loss but they must have to move on to continue with their mission to feed the people with their produce. What consoles them is the presence of a very responsive and supportive local governance who listens and immediately implements measures to rehabilitate such losses.