CALASIAO–The taxman has unsheathed a new weapon to increase tax collection – “Fear Factor”. And to demonstrate its effectiveness, six popular seafood restaurants in the province were closed down temporarily by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for failing to pay the right taxes to the government and were given…

ROSALES–Construction of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) is expected to commence in August next year upon completion of the Right-Of-Way Acquisition (ROWA) from Tarlac to Gerona, according to Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr. TPLEx will run from the end of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway in La Paz, Tarlac…

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, who was in town late last week, admitted that there was a shortfall in revenue collection last year and he blamed this on the unfavorable economic situation worldwide. At the same time, Teves said that the overall deficit of the country as of May this year…

POZORRUBIO–Mayor Emma Zosima Chan, in her state of the municipality address last July 8, hailed the major contribution of the people here and abroad, citing them as the town’s new heroes. The town posted an P88 million income in 2008, higher than the P77 million the previous year and Chan…

The labor force in the region may yet celebrate an early Christmas this year. An official of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), Pangasinan Chapter expressed the view that there may be a need to adjust the wages of workers in the Ilocos Region this year.

ALAMINOS CITY –While the country is on full alert against the spread of swine flu, a swine killer has plagued this city’s piggery farms. Piggery farm raisers in two barangays have already suffered losses estimated at P10 million due to swine disease known as the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome…

Finding work in hotels and restaurants appear to be the aspiration of more college students in the region. This was gleaned from the increasing number of students enrolled in B.S. Hotel and Restaurant Management in colleges this school year across the region. Other courses topping the list preferred by students…

LINGAYEN–Governor Amado Espino Jr. said the Department of Transportation and Communication has given signal for the initial release of P100-million fund to start the construction of commercial seaport in Sual. Espino said that DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza gave the green light during their talk Wednesday. “May go signal ako na…

DESPITE the global economic crisis, Ilocos Region registered an increase of 4.4 percent on employment generation or about 79,000 more jobs for the people. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director Henry John Jalbuena said that compared to January 2008 where openings for 1.7 million jobs only were registered,…

BINMALEY–A group of depositors of a rural bank here that was placed under receivership by the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) agreed to bond themselves to revive the bank. The group, known as People’s Bank of Binmaley Uninsured Depositors Association (PBBUDA) headed by Armi Bangsal-Lorica, an…