Isabela Province Research Articles

Nutritive Value and Sensory Acceptability of Corn and Sweet Potato Buchi Based Food

This study focused on the production of corn and sweet potato buchi-based food product and the evaluation of their quality and potential for acceptance, aiming to improve nutrition and diversify the food sources of low-income families, especially in the City of Ilagan, Isabela. Corn and sweet potato buchi-based food were produced from white corn, sweet potato, and glutinous rice. An increase in nutritive content like thiamin and vitamin C in the product is obtained from corn and sweet potatoes. Every 150 grams of cooked white corn provides 0.33 mg, or 33%, of thiamine, and every 185 grams (1 cup) of purple sweet potato, boiled, provides 53.77 mg, or 72%, of vitamin-C. The developed food product was evaluated by the respondents to determine the level of acceptability in terms of appearance, taste, and texture, which garnered an overall descriptive rating of highly acceptable. An equal amount of white corn powder, sweet potato, glutinous rice, and other essential ingredients will produce excellent buchi dough. The study shows that the developed buchi product has more essential nutrients derived from corn and sweet potatoes as its main ingredients. Fruit fillings like mango, jackfruit, and other fruit jams are recommended for corn and sweet potato buchi. Being cheap in production cost, ease of preparation, abundance, and availability of ingredients, it is recommended that the developed food product be introduced and advertised in the City of Ilagan, the Corn Capital of the Philippines, and the Province of Isabela as a whole.

Data-Driven Decision Making in Scholarship Programs: Leveraging Decision Trees and Clustering Algorithms

Data-Driven Decision Making in Scholarship Programs: Leveraging Decision Trees and Clustering Algorithms

Profile and motivation of integrated small farmers regarding tiny circular economy practices in the Province of Isabela, Philippines

Profile and motivation of integrated small farmers regarding tiny circular economy practices in the Province of Isabela, Philippines

Socioeconomic Impact of a Credit and Development Cooperative on the Life of Members in the Province of Isabela

This study delves into the profound socioeconomic implications of a Credit and Development Cooperative (CDC) within the lives of its members and identify operational challenges faced by the cooperative. It also aims to explore and analyze its tangible impact on the lives of its members, shedding light on how their socioeconomic conditions have evolved over time. By employing a descriptive design, a survey questionnaire was utilized, gathering responses from 109 voluntary participants, the research endeavors to comprehensively assess the cooperative's influence on economic well-being, social dynamics, and overall community development. Ethical considerations are paramount, ensuring the protection of participant confidentiality and rights. By analyzing the gathered data, the research illuminates the multifaceted contributions of the cooperative to economic prosperity and social well-being of its members and community development. Furthermore, findings indicate a significant positive impact of the cooperative's services on the socioeconomic well-being of its members. While only 27 members reported encountering issues with cooperative operations, the primary concern was the delay and non-payment of member obligations. This issue, recognized as potentially undermining the cooperative's stability, contrasts with the substantial assistance the cooperative has provided in improving members' socioeconomic lives. Further research is recommended to ascertain the generalization of these results.

The Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on Crimes in The Province of Isabela

This paper focuses on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on crimes, particularly on the prevailing crimes, crime trends, crime schemes or commissions, and the Police response to the crimes between non-pandemic and pandemic periods. The study used an explanatory sequential approach to reciprocally support groups of data. The quantitative data is taken from the PNP Crime Information Reporting and Analysis System (CIRAS) of cities and selected municipalities affected by COVID-19 in the Province of Isabela. The qualitative data were collected through a semi-structured interview with the Chief of Police and investigators of the station. The study revealed that homicide, rape, violation of RA No. 11332, and vehicular incidents were the most committed. Intoxication is the key player in crimes and a shift to the subject was noted. The upward trajectory of crime during the pandemic was interconnected with the violation of the Republic Act (R.A.) No. 11332 through disobedience and arrogance to the person in authority. Income-related crimes are noted to have just emerged while work-and-business-related crimes have gone during the pandemic. The crime trend shows that if the pandemic persists, crimes dynamically trail an upward trend. The PNP in the Province of Isabela strictly adheres to its mandates and shows resiliency in pandemic crimes and COVID-19.

Native Chicken Beauty Contest for Agritourism in the Philippines and Thailand

Agritourism industry shows a promising future in the Philippines and Thailand. The countries of the Philippines and Thailand are known to be culturally diverse coupled with magnificent land and water biodiversity. Due to this characteristics various agritourism initiatives is being introduced. The native chicken beauty contest is one among the initiative. This paper assessed the perceived socio-cultural impact of the native chicken beauty contest as an agritourism initiative in the province of Isabela, Philippines. Data were gathered among randomly selected stakeholders on the initiatives. The study was participated mostly by female respondents who are at their adulthood, married and those who are educated by at least the basic education. Most of the respondents are engaged in farming and government employment. Most of the respondents are raising less than 50 heads of native chicken, the respondents are positive that the initiative that it can be a form of entertainment and recreational. Also, they belief that the initiative can promote local heritage and cultural conservation. This result can imply that the initiative is well accepted and is recommended for the continuance since the stakeholders of the activity has a positive assessment on the impact to their social and cultural development. Statistically, when group according to their sex the participants have comparable positive perception on the impact of the initiatives. In addition, the participants who are at their middle age, unemployed, with higher educational attainment and higher number of native chickens being raised, have more positive perception on the impact of the initiatives.

Water words guiding water relations: Agta water epistemology informs water security practices

Indigenous peoples’ relationship with water challenges paradigms of resource scarcity, and extends beyond extraction and consumption. The Agta foragers of Isabela province in Northeastern Luzon, Philippines engage with water through their knowledge systems and practices, forming a distinct Indigenous epistemology of water which includes both material and non-material dimensions of water relations. This paper reports on an ethnographic investigation involving semi-structured interviews and water mapping activity to examine the material and non-material dimensions of water security among 25 members of Agta forager communities living in the towns of Dinapigue, Divilacan, and Maconacon. The paper focuses on descriptions of Agta water sources, mobility and settlement patterns related to water, intergenerational water knowledge, and “water guardians” to show the components of Agta epistemology of water that can be used to inform water security practices. The authors use a hydrosocial approach based on Indigenous water relations studies to analyze the complex connectivity of material and non-material dimensions of water security. Scholars often do not include Indigenous epistemologies in their analysis, thus this paper advances understanding of how to use such frameworks.

Liquidity Risk Management of Agricultural Cooperatives in Isabela, Philippines

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examinethe liquidity risks the cooperative is exposed to, the effectiveness of liquidity risk management activities and the challenges faced by these selected agricultural cooperatives in Isabela in managing its liquidity risks. Theoretical framework: Cooperative development encompasses a wide range of individual and economic development issues. It is challenging for cooperatives of all sizes to control liquidity risk and assess the degree of uncertainty in their liquidity position. Since strategies for risk management are costly, cooperatives have had difficulties in reducing these liquidity risks, which might result in an increased rate of insolvency and pose problems for the financial condition of cooperatives. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data were gathered from 25 agricultural cooperatives located in the province of Isabela, Philippines through a four-point likert scale survey questionnaire, open and close-ended interview questionnaire and information from annual reports and financial statements. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings: The results of the study revealed that agricultural cooperatives in Isabela are exposed to liquidity risk at low level. Numerous activities were implemented to minimize liquidity risk through liquidity risk identification, liquidity risk evaluation and liquidity risk mitigation. Moreover, cooperatives face various challenges in the implementation of risk management activities even though most of the cooperatives practice an effective liquidity risk management. Research, Practical & Social implications: The study will benefit the stakeholders of agricultural cooperatives in Isabela since cooperative operations are always evolving and liquidity risks are inherent in every organization. Originality/Value: The research examines agicultural cooperatives which is one of the organizations that provide assistance to the community. By producing liquidity risk management assessment, cooperatives will impove its operations and provide more support to its members.

Aflatoxin levels and Aspergillus species in maize in the Province of Isabela, Philippines

AbstractThe province of Isabela is the top maize producer in the Philippines. The intensive cultivation and the tropical climate in the region may favour fungal growth and aflatoxin contamination in maize grains. Thus, the study aimed to determine the occurrence of aflatoxin and mycotoxigenic Aspergillus species in maize varieties in this region. Samples were obtained in six municipalities from hybrid (Bt) maize (n = 101) and open‐pollinated varieties (n = 6) during the dry season (March and April) of 2019. Aflatoxin levels were quantified through enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, and Aspergillus species were identified through cultural and molecular methods. Aflatoxin was detected in 50.5% of maize samples; 49.5% of samples were less than the limit of detection (3 μg/kg), 16.8% with 3–20 μg/kg, 10.9% with 21–50 μg/kg and 22.8% above 50 μg/kg. Samples within the acceptable level were 66.3% for food (<20 μg/kg) and 77.2% for animal feed (<50 μg/kg), while 22.8% of samples were above the acceptable level of the Philippine National Standard for raw maize grains. More than 90% of Aspergillus species detected were A. flavus. Other species identified were A. tamarii and A. terreus. Despite the dry production season in the province with low relative humidity during harvesting, inadequate post‐harvest practices and the presence of A. flavus elevated the level of aflatoxin in sample grains. Additional work involving multi‐year surveys is needed to confirm the results and conclusions of this study.

Iot Based Flood Detection, Alarm and Monitoring System Using Multilayer Perceptron and Regression

Flooding is a common natural event caused by heavy rainfall and high tides in the Philippines. While this disaster cannot be prevented, people can prepare themselves to face it. The City of Ilagan in the province of Isabela is one of the highly prone areas to flooding caused by the welling of the Cagayan River. Many communities are living in low-lying areas which most likely experiencing floods. An analysis of the location is conducted including the people living in the area. The analysis resulted in the development of an IoT-based technology for detection and early warning signals to people using sms notifications that can help lessen the difficulty of evacuation. The system uses Arduino UNO as a microcontroller where sensors are attached. These sensors are Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) for flood level measurement in feet (ft), Rain Gauge to measure the precipitation rate (mm/hr), and Flow Rate Meter to measure the fluctuation flow of the river in (L/hr). Data gathered from these sensors are processed and sent immediately to people living nearby to monitor the flood level in real-time. The predictive models are developed using the Pinacanauan River dataset taken from the river stations. The multilayer perceptron is used to develop the predictive model with 99% accuracy. The data from sensors are used also and processed using linear regression and calculated as 88% accurate and significant for prediction.

Development of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Charger as Alternative Power Source

The study was focused on the development of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Charger with D.C Air Compressor to address power shortage in the coastal area in the Province of Isabela. This project development research tried to achieve the following objectives; a) Design and Construct Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Charger with D.C Air Compressor; b) Test the functionality of the project by conducting various activities concerning to basic electrical and electronics circuits, blade adjustment and experiments; c) Determine the acceptability of the project in terms of functionality, workability, durability, safety and instructional applicability as evaluated by the respondents; and d) Make an activity manual to supplement the developed project. The five-point’s Likert’s scale was used to determine the descriptive meaning of the indicators of the variables used. Furthermore, the Weighted Average Mean (WAM) was used to interpret the equivalent meaning of the data gathered. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to determine the significant difference between the evaluations of the respondents. The completed project was evaluated by selected twenty (20) technology instructors 25 students, ten (10) Engineers from Isabela State University-Ilagan, Roxas, San Mateo, Cauayan Campus and TESDA Ilagan Evaluation result shows that the project obtained an overall mean of 4.52 which means the Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Charger is “HIGHLY ACCEPTABLE” to the evaluators based on the criteria of functionality, aesthetics, workability, durability, economy, safety and instructional applicability.

Multi-event assessment of typhoon-triggered landslide susceptibility in the Philippines

Abstract. There is a clear need to improve and update landslide susceptibility models across the Philippines. This is challenging, as landslides in this region are frequently triggered by temporally and spatially disparate typhoon events, and it remains unclear whether such spatially and/or temporally distinct typhoon events cause similar landslide responses, i.e. whether the landslide susceptibility for one typhoon event is similar for another. Here, we use logistic regression to develop four landslide susceptibility models based on three typhoon-triggered landslide inventories for the 2009 Typhoon Parma (local name Typhoon Pepeng), the 2018 Typhoon Mangkhut (local name Typhoon Ompong), and the 2019 Typhoon Kammuri (local name Typhoon Tisoy). The 2009 and 2018 inventories were mapped across the same 150 km2 region of Itogon in Benguet Province, whilst the 2019 event was mapped across a 490 km2 region of Abuan in Isabela Province. The four susceptibility models produced are for the 2009, 2018, and 2019 inventories separately, as well as for the 2009 and 2018 inventories combined. Using the area under the receiver operator curve (AUROC) validation, the accuracy of the models is found to be 78 %–82 % for the Itogon models and 65 % for the Abuan model. To assess landslide time dependency, we use the AUROC validation and the Itogon models to quantify the degree to which susceptibility models derived from one event(s) in time can forecast/hindcast the landslides triggered by another. We find that using a susceptibility model for a typhoon event in one year to forecast/hindcast a typhoon in another leads to a 6 %–10 % reduction in model accuracy compared to the accuracy obtained when modelling and validating each event separately. This suggests some degree of time dependency in typhoon-triggered landslides in the Philippines. However, using a susceptibility model for two combined typhoon events (2018 + 2009) to forecast/hindcast each typhoon event separately led to just a 1 %–3 % reduction in model accuracy. This suggests that combined multi-event typhoon-triggered landslide susceptibility models will be more accurate and reliable for the forecasting of future typhoon-triggered landslides. Finally, by undertaking a high-level comparison of the Abuan and Itogon susceptibility models through space, we preliminarily suggest that there may be spatial dependency in typhoon-triggered landslides in the Philippines but that further work into issues of spatial dependency in this region is required.

The teachers’ self-efficacy for motivating senior high school students of Isabela province

The teachers’ self-efficacy for motivating senior high school students of Isabela province

The Acceptability of Yellow Corn (Zea mays) Flour as the Main Ingredient in Making an Energy-Rich Food Bar (Corn Bar)

Corn is the world’s most important grain, based on the production volume. In 2016-2017, a production level around 1.07 metric tons of corn was achieved (Shahbandeh, 2017). Isabela province is the top corn producer in the country peaking its production at 1, 049, 954 metric tons. The most produced corn in the country came from the City of Ilagan and because of this it was hailed as the “Corn Capital of the Philippines”. Due to the high supply of corn in the City and the limited product produced out of corn, the researchers developed an Energy Rich Corn Bar using Yellow Corn flour as the main ingredient in the development of the product. The general objective of the study is to develop a healthy snack bar which can be served both as a snack and a dessert using corn flour as the main ingredient. The researchers tried different proportions of corn flour: T1 (100% yellow corn flour), T2 (70% yellow corn flour) and T3 (50% yellow corn flour) and baked in an electric oven. They got an overall grand mean of 4.26 and gave a qualitative description of “Highly Acceptable”. It indicates that the Corn Bar is generally “Highly Acceptable” by the evaluators. Therefore, making corn bars using corn flour is possible and acceptable.

Satellite-Based Flood Inundation and Damage Assessment

Because recurring floods in the Philippines have become more damaging throughout time, risk assessments, quantifying, and visualizing flood damages as accurately as possible become imperative. To deal with an up-todate database and a practical assessment tool, a satellite imagery-based method was used which aimed to map flood inundation and estimate damages brought by the flood during Typhoon Ulysses. This paper presents a framework for an integrated flood risk management in a river basin context with the following components as follows: 1) collection of the comprehensive database containing information relevant for flood analysis; 2) use of a satellite-imagery based method for flood inundation map using Google Earth engine; 3) validation of map accuracy through quick post-flood participatory approach. Analysis of the recent flood inundation event in November 2020 in Cagayan Valley, Philippines showed the inundation of an extensive area of 620.88 km2 affecting the Cagayan province at 55.91% and Isabela province at 44% share of inundation. The flood severely affected approximately 614.05 km2 of the total croplands. Using a participatory validation approach, the overall accuracy of datasets used is 97.78% while flood extent is 95%. Through this study, the framework, approach, and methodology can be replicated in other locations in the Philippines and in other countries which recurrently experience flooding.

Extent of Typhoon Ulysses Flooding and Flood Risk Management Interventions of Heavily Affected Households in Isabela Province, Philippines

The study assessed the extent of typhoon Ulysses flooding and the flood risk management interventions of heavily affected households in Isabela Province. A total of 3,000 respondents were selected through quota sampling technique in four municipalities, namely Cabagan, San Pablo, Sto. Tomas, and Santa Maria. Microsoft Excel and open source GIS software were used in the processing and analysis of data. Results show that in Cabagan, about 3,380 hectares of land were submerged to flood, including about 1,925.56 hectares of cornfields and 407.96 hectares of rice fields. In Santa Maria, about 16.04 percent (245.39has.) of its total land area has been flooded with the cornfields (991.10has), which contributed to the largest area flooded, followed by rice fields and grasslands with 546.76 and 193.72 hectares, respectively. In Sto. Tomas, about 2,724.7 hectares have been flooded, including 1,363.53 hectares of cornfields and 836.65 hectares of rice fields. In San Pablo, the total area flooded was 321.4 hectares. Cornfields represent the largest area flooded (244.8has.) followed by the built-up areas (33.1has.). Based on the survey respondents, the top three interventions made before the onset of widespread flooding were: stay alert on MDRRMC’s notice and media news, buy emergency kits, and store food. In relation to the provision of immediate help from the government and non-government organizations, all participants received relief goods, cash aid, clothing, and beddings. In contrast, few received hygiene kits, agricultural inputs (seeds for sowing, seedlings, and fertilizers), and home reconstruction materials. However, there is a need to improve the government’s response to the calamity.

Integration of Ecumenical Care Practices in Providing Holistic Care for Patient

Ecumenical care practices is a sacred practice connected to chaplain practices that the nurse must provide to every patient. It is well defined that spiritual care practices are a component of holistic care, which is an integral part of the nursing profession, the ideal practice in giving care to the patient and considered the most crucial subset, which can easily be executed by nurses. The main objectives of this study is to determine how no significant relationship between the demographic profile and nurses ecumenical care practices and to assess the ecumenical practices of nurses in the provision of holistic care. The researchers used descriptive-correlational design. An online survey was done due to the limited interactions brought about by the pandemic. The researchers limited the study in the province of Isabela wherein they chose all the nurses in three (3) chosen hospitals, a private sectarian, non-private sectarian and government hospital. The researcher used Frequencies and Percentage, Weighted Mean, Mean Score, Chi Square Test and Anova Test as Statistical Treatment. Annova Test shows Significance F - value was less than 0.05. The null hypothesis is rejected. There is significant difference between the ecumenical care practices of nurses when they are grouped according to their profile variables. Chi Square shows significance C values for all the profile are greater than 0.05. The null hypothesis is accepted. There is no significant relationship between the level of integration of nurses of the ecumenical care and their profile sex, age, educational attainment, school graduated from, religion, patients each shift and time of shift. Ecumenical practices plays a vital role in every patient, in both sick and well so, it is important to respect the patient’s religion and integrate the practices in appropriate time and place. The researchers recommend that the nurses must be transcultural in addressing their patient to prevent bias and provide a good relationship with the patient for them to be comfortable and verbalize feelings to the nurse. Keywords: ecumenical care; holistic care; nursing practice

Attrition as a bottom-up pathway to subnational democratization

Oftentimes, democracy is not spread out evenly over the territory of a country. Instead, pockets of authoritarianism can persist within a democratic system. A growing body of literature questions how such subnational authoritarian enclaves can be democratized. Despite fascinating insights, all existing pathways rely on the actions of elites and are therefore top-down. This article seeks to kick-start the discussion on a bottom-up pathway to subnational democratization, by proposing the attrition mechanism. This mechanism consists of four parts and is the product of abductive inference through theory-building causal process tracing. The building blocks consist of subnational democratization literature, social movement theory, and original empirical data gathered during extensive field research. This case study focuses on the ‘Dynasty Slayer’ in the province of Isabela, the Philippines, where civil society actors used the attrition mechanism to facilitate subnational democratization. This study implies that civil society actors in subnational authoritarian enclaves have agency.

Citizen Awareness and Satisfaction Survey: The Case of Tumauini, Isabela Philippines

Local governments in the Philippines are the nearest service units to its citizens. They are expected to deliver quality services to their constituents. As recipients of the different services, citizens are deemed in better position to assess whether quality services are delivered by the different municipalities in the country. In order to address the need to gather citizens’ feedback on the service delivery performance of the local government units (LGU), the Department of Interior and Local Government developed the Citizen Satisfaction Index System (CSIS). The municipality of Tumauini in the province of Isabela is one of the selected LGUs to implement the CSIS project in the country to measure its performance in service delivery for 2018.
 This study assessed the awareness and satisfaction of the people in Tumauini, Isabela on the services for Public Works and Infrastructure delivered by the LGU. There were 150 respondents selected using the multi-stage probability sampling method. In gathering the data needed, face to face interview was used with the aid of survey questionnaire.
 Overall, results revealed that citizens of Tumauini are aware and satisfied with the different service indicators of the Public Works and Infrastructure programs.
 Results of the study may help local government officials in crafting policies and making management decisions to improve the performance of the local government of Tumauini in the provision and delivery of Public Works and Infrastructure services to its constituents.

Short Communication: Rediscovery of Psychotria species, subspecies, and varieties collected in the 1990s and new records of Antirhea benguetensis (Elmer) Valeton and Ixora longifolia Smith (Rubiaceae) in Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, Luzon, Philipp

Abstract. Biag RD, Alejandro GJD. 2020. Short Communication: Rediscovery of Psychotria species, subspecies and varieties collected in the 1990s and new records of Antirhea benguetensis (Elmer) Valeton and Ixora longifolia Smith (Rubiaceae) in Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, Luzon, Philippines. Biodiversitas 21: 4524-4535. Tagged as the “last great forest” for it possesses the widest remaining tropical rainforest in the island of Luzon, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) in the province of Isabela is worth-conserving. Owing to the species richness and high levels of endemism in the said area, it was identified as a key biodiversity area for conservation and protection. After a botanical exploration in the park conducted from April to August 2019, 89 Rubiaceae species were found dominated by the genus Psychotria. These Psychotria species were then separated from other genera and were morphologically examined and eventually identified. This study, therefore, primarily aims to provide the list of Psychotria species that were collected long before, particularly in the 1990s and still exist in NSMNP continuously battling against the catastrophic activities within the forest. Eight Philippine endemic Psychotria species and varieties were recollected. As to their current conservation status following IUCN criteria, we herein propose these species, except for Psychotria pubilimba, to be treated as Data Deficient (DD) since there is lack of distributional data for these species. Additional surveys are to be conducted on the areas where these species were previously collected. In this way, information on population size and threats to the species can also be obtained. P. pubilimba is restricted to Cagayan and Isabela. Only one mature individual has been found; hence, a Narrow Endemic Species (NES). Being an NES, it was then assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) based on IUCN rules. It is also worth noting that new records of Antirhea benguetensis and Ixora longifolia species were found in the park, particularly in Divilacan, Isabela. The former has been regarded as Luzon endemic, known to be distributed only in Benguet, Ilocos Sur, Rizal, and Bataan. The latter, on the other hand, is mostly distributed in the provinces of Visayas and Mindanao, and only Masbate and Palawan for Luzon. Moreover, this flora has been recorded in other parts of the world like China, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.