The retrofitting and shoring of the rear of the centuries-old San Nicolas Parish Church was finished on October 12, 2011. It can be recalled that the big vertical crack of the rear portion of the church has been a serious concern for more than a decade now. Several factors have caused the damage which include the wear and tear over the years, storms and earthquakes.


Several options for intervention to preserve the structure were suggested by structural engineers. After thorough evaluation, the method which was undertaken was retrofitting or shoring. Thus, they constructed columns and beams on both sides of the damaged structure to clip the wall. And this was within the budget of Php 1.5M. They tried to move around the outlay and there has to be an addition to the beams and go high with the columns.

Rev. Laeda said that they wanted to move the beams even until the top to clip the whole structure but the budget was no longer possible, thus, dowels had to be left exposed on the columns because it will be easier in the future to move upwards when funds shall be available. He added that there is still a balance of Php 150,000.00 they owe at the construction supply where they got the materials because they had to buy 40 gallons of industrial epoxy to connect the vertical cracks. This, plus additional expenditures has caused the balance at the supplier. Cost of the contract for labor was Php 650, 000.00 and materials totaled to about Php 1M.

He also said that there should be a continuation of the project. Industrial epoxy should be applied to the big crack above the doors of both the north and south portions. About 30 gallons will be needed which will cost about Php 90,000.00.

Former parish priest, Fr. Mario Garaza spearheaded the initial fund raiser for the project. In July 2008, Rev. Laeda and Mayor Alfredo P. Valdez, Jr. went to the US to raise funds for this project. Mayor Valdez staged two concerts, one in Hawaii and another in California.

San Nicolas ranked second as Most Outstanding Local Government Unit Category A in the 2012 National Literacy Award search given by the National Literacy Coordinating Council of the Department of Education.

The award was received by Mayor Alfredo P. Valdez, Jr. together with the members of the Municipal Literacy Coordinating Council Technical Working Group and the DepEd Region 1 family on September 19, 2012 during the National Literacy Conference and Awards in Baguio As a beginner in this search, the municipality submitted its entry DAMILI LITERACY: MOLDING MINDS, MOLDING LIVES, EMPOWERING THE SAN NCIOLEÑO, which in every respect is founded by people empowerment as it revolves in the first forms of functional literacy in the municipality, the Damili. Mayor Valdez said that the municipal government is guided by the mission that the attainment of a fully developed community can be best achieved through people empowerment.

“We toiled and persevered and now we can say that we succeeded in almost all areas of public service. Rizal was really right that we need an educated citizenry to be able to rise and conquer all the adversities of life,” he added.


One of the most highlighted programs on literacy that the municipality implements which gained popularity is the heritage and cultural literacy. This program is centered on the preservation, enhancement and promotion of the rich cultural heritage of the San Nicolenos with the Damili being incorporated in the school curriculum, a first in the entire region and the establishment of the School of Living Traditions which assures the transferability and sustainability of the Damili industry.

The 16 literacy programs empower all San Nicolenos, both young and old from all walks of life. With the knowledge and skills acquired by the learners, using these knowledge and skills to improve their quality of life is one of the manifestations that the Damili Literacy has contributed to the almost eradication of illiteracy in San Nicolas.

Considering the importance of literacy and continuing education, Mayor Valdez provided an all out support for the implementation of the program and encouraged all punong barangays to allocate funds for the purpose.

On June 26-28 this year, the national evaluation team of the National Literacy Coordinating Council came to San Nicolas to validate the 16 literacy programs comprising the Damili Literacy and to prove that the municipality has 99.5% literacy rate.

Mayor Valdez said in an interview that the award is a manifestation of the cooperation of all stakeholders in the community, hence, he shared said award to all the San Nicolenos. He said that he is very glad that all the efforts of all the stakeholders were not wasted.

“Having landed second place is laudable considering that it is the first time that the municipality joined said contest while our competitors were already veterans in said search,” Mayor Valdez stated.

“Winning this award does not mean that we shall stop implementing our literacy endeavors. We have to continue educating our people until we can finally say that San Nicolas has 0% illiteracy. We are insatiable in providing our people continuing education and learning programs as this will lead to poverty alleviation and improvement of their quality of lives because they are our greatest resource, “he said.


Mayor Valdez expressed his gratitude to all the men and women behind the award – the Liga ng mga Barangay, DepED, Mayor Sandra Eriguel of Agoo, La Union, Mayor Rey Uy of Tagum City, Mr. Santiago Baoec of DepEd Ilocos Norte, Mr. Lorenzo Agustin of DepEd Region I and Mr. Marianito Raquel also of DepEd Region I.


Aside from the trophy, Mayor Valdez also brought home cash prize amounting to P80,000.00 which will be used for the literacy programs, projects and activities of the municipality and part of the winning will be shared to all barangays.
Front-runners in the category were Plaridel in Bulacan, 1st place; followed by Laak in Compostela Valley, 3rd place; Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon, 4th place and Calauan in Laguna, 5th place.

Meanwhile, before the plenary sessions started in the afternoon of September 19, Mayor Valdez serenaded the attendees of the conference who became his instant fans. He was introduced as the singing Mayor and doctor by his avid fan, Dr. Fe Hidalgo, who was one of the validators.
The 2012 National Literacy Conference and Awards with the theme “Literacy for Life and a Sustainable Future: Learning Together for the 21st Century,” is geared towards the sharing of good practices in the universalization of literacy programs and towards the recognition of outstanding implementers of literacy programs, projects and activities. ~nayreniallordnomis

United States Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Harry K. Thomas, Jr. visited the municipality of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte on August 24, 2012 as he paid a courtesy call to Mayor Alfredo P. Valdez, Jr. and the members of the Sangguniang Bayan.

The US Embassy delegation was welcomed by the jovial music of the San Nicolas National High School Drum and Lyre Corps and was serenaded by the San Nicolas Male Choir.

Mayor Valdez made a brief presentation of the USA and San Nicolas connection which is evidenced by the large number of San Nicoleños who have migrated to Hawaii from the 1900s to present. He said that the visit of the US Embassy officials is a manifestation of the stable peace and order situation of the town and will definitely boost its tourism industry.

They also exchanged ideas on issues related to tourism, culture and development.
The US Embassy officials together with Mayor Valdez and Vice-Mayor Barrett had a festive mood during the of the courtesy visit as they enjoyed the taste of the bagnet and pinakbet pizzas.

Both government representatives exchanged tokens. As part of the San Nicoleno’s hospitality, a token depicting San Nicolas’ rich cultural heritage was given to Ambassador Thomas. Ambassador Thomas and party also mingled with the municipal officials and employees.

The presence of the US Embassy officials in San Nicolas was part of the two-day road show dubbed as “America in 3D” which was held at the Robinsons Mall Ilocos Norte.Prior to the US envoy’s visit to San Nicolas, he visited the American Corner of the Mariano Marcos State University, the UNESCO World Heritage Church in Paoay and Laoag City and the Ilocos Norte Capitol where he met with Governor Imee R. Marcos. ~rrdsimon

Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos turned over the equipment for the REGALA project to Mayor Alfredo P. Valdez, Jr. on August 31, 2012 at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Session Hall, Provincial capitol.
In her message, Gov. Marcos said that she rallied to have two pilot municipalities for the project, one rural and one urban municipality in order to test the system in revenue generation and in so doing, address the pressing concern in the province to fastrack revenue generation and collection. She also said that San Nicolas was chosen because it has a booming economy and she hopes that with the total computerization of processing business permits, it will be easier for business owners to settle their financial obligations to the municipality.
Mayor Valdez in his response thanked the provincial government through Governor Marcos and the Land Equity International for having San Nicolas as one of the pilot municipalities for the project and recipient of the equipment. He reiterated the commitment of the local government to pursue the project as this will be of great help in revenue generation and land administration once the system will be set and operational.
Heads and staff of the treasurer’s office, planning and development office, assessor’s office and information technology of the municipality were present during the turn-over.
Also present during the ceremony was Mayor Eddie Guillen of Piddig, another pilot municipality for the REGALA project who also received their equipment as well as heads of offices of the treasurer’s office, planning and development office, assessor’s office and information technology of the province.
To recall, a 5-day Systems Configuration and Networks Administration Training for System Administrators were attended by Mr. Victory Allan Romosod on August 6 to 10. The team composed of system administrators from the provincial government, municipalities of Piddig and San Nicolas and from the municipalities of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental and Legazpi, Albay, the previous grantees of the same project were in the municipality on August 8. They had the network configuration installation and set-up. Virtualization was also done on the server enabling it to do multiple operating systems on the same physical platform.
Moreover, Mr. Brian Garcia, the Project Coordinator was in the municipality on September 14 and conducted a briefing on Land Tenure Improvement Planning in preparation for the next activities to be conducted. He presented the importance of having most if not all untitled lots in the municipality to be titled using the system, thus, generating more income as regards to tax and revenue collection. In the part of the titled owner, he will have the legal document to present that he is the owner of the lot, for in the country, an untitled lot belongs to the state as embodied in the constitution.
As of this writing, the municipality of Piddig just finished its hands-on training on the Enhanced Tax Revenue Assessment and Collection System. The provincial government and the municipality will have separate trainings in October. ~cathleenjoybelbdelacruz

In response to the call of the national government for LGUs to fast track the preparation/updating of their Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP), San Nicolas sent its personnel to attend the seminar workshops in relation to said endeavor conducted by the Housing, Land Use and Regulatory Board (HLURB).
The CLUP is a planning document prepared by LGUs to rationalize the allocation and proper use of land resources. It projects public and private land uses in accordance with the future spatial organization of economic and social activities.
Under the Local Government Code of 1991 and other pertinent laws, all LGUs are mandated to continue to prepare/revise/update their comprehensive land use plan which shall be enacted through a zoning ordinance. The CLUP and the Zoning Ordinance shall guide and determine the development direction of the local government unit which among other will be the basis for regulation of subdivision and housing development, industrial location, and reclassification of agricultural land to urban uses.
The municipality uses the CLUP for 2000-2010 which was approved in 2001. With the present blueprint of the town’s general land use, there is a need to update and revise the former ten year plan which will cover the period 2012-2022.
Earlier this year, LGU personnel headed by Mrs. Edna Tolentino attended the first four modules – 3 of which are related to the revision of the CDP and the other is CLUP related.
On September 3-7, 2012, municipal employees attended workshop on Module 5 which is the Hands-on Preparation/Updating of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Part II) conducted at the Egi Albergo Hotel in Baguio City. Participants from the municipality were the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer, Information Technology Mappers and writer-encoders. Continued on page 25