Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #48

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER VOL. 1 NO. 48

JANUARY 25, 2013

WHAT’S INSIDE

Jason Kenney, Jonathan Kaiman battle it out on The Guardian

RAFFY LERMA

The battle started after a British paper published a piece written by Kaiman entitled “Maple leaf ragged: what ails Canada?” (On page 19)

SERENO TAKES CHARGE. Justices of the Supreme Court take positions in the hearing of the first oral arguments on cybercrime law presided over by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno (center). Flanking the Chief Justices are Justices Antonio Carpio and Tereista Leonardo de Castro.

Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Marivic Leonen make their entrance.

Senate rejects Enrile bid to quit Move described ‘masterstroke’

BY CATHY C. YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer IT WAS described as a brilliant stroke by a wily politician to redeem himself in the face of what he called a campaign by his enemies and critics to portray him as a “liar” and “traitor” and cast the Senate “under a dark cloud of suspicion as a house of thieves.”

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile yesterday offered to step aside for his staunch critics—Senators Miriam DefensorSantiago, Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter and his sister Pia Cayetano—to take over his post and secured a rousing vote of confidence in the process to retain his post.

Eleven senators—Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Majority Leader Tito Sotto, Assistant Majority Leader Gregorio Honasan, Franklin Drilon, Francis Escudero, Teofisto Guingona III, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Ralph Recto and Ramon Revilla Jr.—rejected Enrile’s motion to declare his post vacant.

The number was enough to overturn the yes votes of Senators Aquilino Pimentel III, Trillanes and Enrile, himself as movant.

Senators Joker Arroyo and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. abstained.

Political analyst Clarita Carlos called Enrile’s move a “masterstroke” and another commentator described it as an attempt to lift the sagging Senate candidacy of his son, Rep. Jack Enrile.

early With

Santiago and the Cayetano siblings were not in the session hall when Enrile delivered his privilege speech lashing at his critics on his distribution of the “maintenance and other operating expenditures,” or MOOE, just before Christmas, which a senator described in an exclusive INQUIRER report as “unconscionable.”

Santiago, who has called on Enrile to account for his role as martial law administrator in the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship, was on sick leave; Alan Peter Cayetano was in Cebu while his sister Pia was abroad, according to her staff.

Trillanes hours earlier confidently told Senate reporters that the move to oust Enrile would take place within the nine remaining session days.

Asked why it was necessary to remove Enrile, Trillanes said, “because we can,” adding that the group that would take over More on page 3 PHILIPPINE CANADIAN

Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Joe Damasco His story shares a common thread with all other immigrants to Canada. (On page 26)

Caramoan Island: Hidden Paradise Previously unknown to locals, Caramoan took center stage when it became the setting for Survivor: Philippines. (On page 45)

Special Offer Bring this ad

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO CANADIAN NEWSPAPER

News at your Fingertips

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up to date Philippine and Canadian news!

times telecom

Get 10 pcs Thigh & Leg only 14.99 + H.S.T. Church's Chicken 2504, Kingsway and Slocan, Vancouver, B.C. Valid only at this location

Cannot be combined with any other offer. Expires 1/31/2013

f i n d u s at

Ring in the New Year

BURNABY Crystal Mall . Metropolis at Metrotown .

Cornerstone at SFU RICHMOND Aberdeen Centre . Parker Place SURREY Central City Shopping Centre VANCOUVER Hudson . UBC Pharmacy

www.timestelecom.ca 1-888-980-8380

With the Newest superphones

Samsung Galaxy SIII

Samsung Galaxy Note II

While supplies last. Additional terms and conditions will apply. See in store for more details.

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 2

News-Phils

3 FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013

...from page 1 was only waiting for the chamber’s four Liberal Party senators to join them.

The three LP senators present yesterday were Drilon, Guingona and Recto. Drilon and Recto told reporters before the session started they were not part of any plot to oust Enrile.

In his speech, Enrile said he offered to step down “to pave the way for… Santiago, Trillanes or any of the Cayetano siblings” to succeed him as Senate President.

He added that the post was also open to “anyone who shared the sentiment against me… and is secretly interested in this job.”

Enrile scored the INQUIRER, which he did not name but described as a newspaper known for its tagline “Balanced News, Fearless Views” for joining the crusade to allegedly malign him in public. The charge apparently stemmed from the INQUIRER’s exclusive story on Enrile’s selective distribution of MOOE to the senators in December.

Distorted, misleading The four senators Enrile singled out and tagged as his “adversaries” were also those whom he deprived of the second and third tranches of additional MOOE totaling P1.6 million for each of the other 18 senators.

He said that efforts to tag additional MOOE as “cash gifts,” “Christmas bonuses” and “bribes” were “distorted information and deliberately misleading phrases.”

“I cannot blame the public for their sentiments and outrage over what they have

been made to believe,” he said, blaming the INQUIRER for purveying “what they want the public to know and to believe and what facts to ignore.”

“They enjoyed the freedom to carry on their own crusade, that is to make sure that Enrile, this humble person, shall forever be known as… a liar, a traitor, a thief and a villain,” he said.

‘Cantankerous critic’ “In their passionate desire to destroy me, my enemies and critics have not only dragged the reputation of my other colleagues, wildly accusing them of taking bribes and pocketing the people’s money.

They have succeeded as well in placing this very institution... under a dark cloud of doubt and suspicion as a house of thieves.”

Enrile described Santiago his “most cantankerous critic.” She went public on the day the INQUIRER broke the story about the additional MOOE and deplored Enrile’s leadership style of playing favorites. Santiago said she returned the P250,000 “cash gift” that Enrile gave her because he returned the cookies she gave him last Christmas.

Enrile chided Santiago for announcing she was sick and unavailable for interviews after Lacson called her a “crusading crook.”

Mind-boggling “Her audacity in calling her colleagues my ‘cohorts’ and painting them as crooks is indeed mind-boggling. When it was her turn to be challenged regarding her own integrity and to be called ‘crusading crook’

and ‘hypocrite par excellence,’ it seems that alone was enough to pose a danger to her own health and whatever remains of her equanimity and sanity,” Enrile said.

He said that Pia Cayetano’s office “kept following up with my office and the Senate budget office about the release of her additional MOOE last December.”

Enrile said that when the four senators apparently confirmed among themselves that they were not among those who got the second and third tranches, “Senator Santiago started whining. She even cited the equal protection clause of the Constitution, a very silly argument indeed.”

“SenatorAlan Peter Cayetano and [Trillanes] swiftly followed with their own attacks and accusations and Senator Pia Cayetano, who was following up her additional MOOE, was conspicuously silent,” he noted.

Pork commissions “What could have they done if the funds were given to them? Would they have whined and complained? Or as… Santiago herself suggested… would they have pocketed it instead of using it appropriately for operational expenses of their own offices?” Enrile asked.

Enrile recalled a portion of an interview that Santiago gave to Radyo Inquirer, where the senator accused some colleagues of taking a percentage (10 percent on the average) of their Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel.

“I wonder… is she speaking from her own experience or field of expertise? I never bribed anyone to gain support for

myself… I did not enter into any unholy deal or plot to assume this position of leadership twice or to cling to it like a leech,” he stressed.

Enrile said he had endured “countless acts of betrayal and ingratitude and the most vicious and virulent attacks on my character in my 46 years in politics and public service. This wave of systematic demolition is really nothing new to me.”

He then took another dig at Trillanes. “On my own, I have fought many battles alone.

I do not run away like those who make a show of it in plush hotels and run away like a dog with his tail... behind [his] hind.”

Enrile said the offer of resignation was his way of sparing the chamber from “the rapacity and the sly cunning and ruinous machinations of some people among us here who only have their political ambitions and self-interest in mind.”

Advertising plots Referring again to Trillanes, Enrile said one senator “is so desperate that he has repeatedly and shamelessly invoked and sought Malacañang’s involvement and intervention just to get enough support to oust me.”

Enrile said he has had enough of coup rumors in the Senate.

“I am way too old to be threatened by anyone, least of all by cowards and hypocrites,” he huffed.

“Replacing me does not have to take so much effort, planning or plotting. I am tired of plots. And I don’t advertise plots…

That’s only the work of braggarts,” Enrile added. ■

tration s i g e R d e Limit AP Apply AS

Guaranteed Transfer to BCIT Transportation Course without IELTS and TOEFL

（Automotive Service Technician）

（Aircraft Maintenance Engineer）

We only accept international students as trainees, semester is 26 weeks long.

Successful graduates are guaranteed entry into the corresponding BCIT program.

1885 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1Y5 Tel : 604-879-8686 Fax: 604-874-8686 Email : info@dorsetcollege.bc.ca Website: www.dorsetcollege.bc.ca

News-Phils

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 4

Don’t let elections distract you, P-noy tells gov’t execs

THE LONG campaign season should not distract elected officials, especially those who are running, from continuing to discharge their duties to their constituencies.

“Running this government has to take precedence (over) politics,” said President Aquino in Mandaue City when asked his thoughts on the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) appearing to jump the gun on the campaign period and beginning to run TV ads and go on provincial sorties.

Mr. Aquino brought along five of the administration senatorial candidates to Mandaue City where they met with local Liberal Party (LP) leaders of vote-rich Cebu province.

It may have escaped the President that he himself was engaging in early campaigning when he joined the LP senatorial candidates on a stage in front of a crowd of supporters.

Malacanang Photo Bureau

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC Philippine Daily Inquirer

Much to prove Mr. Aquino, chair of the LP and head of the administration coalition being challenged

by UNA, brushed aside suggestions the LPled coalition had yet to get its campaign machinery up and running less than a month before the formal start of the 90day campaign period.

“Well, of course we have our own (strategy) but we are actually also tasked to run this government,” he said.

“We should understand that the other side has much to prove compared to us who, I think, have been able to show it already,” he added.

“So they (UNA candidates) have to catch up, hence, the need to have all of these sorties at this point in time,” he said.

The President met with the LPled coalition slate in Malacañang last week, the first time since he presided over the launch of the administration senatorial ticket on Aug. 1.

Only reelectionist senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Francis Escudero, and former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, all LP guest candidates, did not come to the Palace then.

L L A C

Rest of LP slate Also running on the LP slate are reelectionist senators Loren Legarda and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Rep. Sonny Angara, former senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Jamby Madrigal, former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, censors board chair Grace Poe-Llamanzares and Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, the President’s cousin.

Mr. Aquino said the LP candidates would strictly follow the airtime limits set by the Commission on Elections.

“I think we will religiously comply with not just the letter of the law but the spirit of the law,” he said.

Candidates may air 120 minutes of TV ads and 180 minutes for radio.

Budget Secretary and LP stalwart Florencio Abad said the administration

coalition would not resort to mudslinging.

“The message of the campaign will flow from the theme underlying the President’s social contract with the people: ’ Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.’ The centerpiece will be good governance and how it has enabled the Aquino administration to address poverty and expand the economy,” said Abad in a text message.

UNA ‘sorties’ For his part, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, one of UNA’s top leaders, said he agreed with President Aquino that UNA’s senatorial candidates needed to do a lot of catching up to the candidates of the LP-led coalition.

“That’s true. We have a lot to prove because we are the alternative.

The administration has nothing to prove because they have the reins of the government,” Enrile said in a telephone interview.

Enrile said he was in his home province of Cagayan to introduce the UNA candidates to his province mates much the same way President Aquino introduced the LP slate in Cebu.

“I have to swear some new members into UNA so I brought some of the candidates with me, not to campaign, but to introduce them,” Enrile said. ■ With a report from Norman Bordadora

PUSONG PINOY

S E N I P P I L I H P as low as

6

¢

No Hidden Charges.

No connection fees.

Online statement with call details.

Guaranteed clear quality.

/min

*Long distance call to the Philippines 6 cents per minute for the first 30 minutes every month. 11 cents for landline and 13.5 cents for mobile per minute, thereafter.

Tickets are limited in supply and first come first serve. Additional terms and conditions will apply, visit www.philindependence-van.ca/ for more details.

Call now: 1-888-980-8380 Or Visit us at: timestelecom.ca/Six-Sense

5 FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013

News-Phils

Comelec cuts total airtime on TV to 120 minutes

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer

TELEVISION, radio and cyberspace will be quieter during the campaign period with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) imposing stricter rules that will minimize political advertising and cut airtime of candidates’ commercials.

For the first time, the election body has also set regulations on election propaganda online, which has a wider reach and has become a powerful tool for engaging and connecting with the public.

Under Comelec Resolution No. 9615, a candidate running for a national post is only allowed a total of 120 minutes of airtime on TV and 180 minutes for radio in all networks during the 90-day campaign period beginning Feb. 12. Local candidates are given 60 minutes of TV and 90 minutes of radio advertising throughout the 45-day campaign period starting March 30.

The new resolution, which radio and TV networks may not be happy about, scrapped an old rule that allowed candidates their respective allotted airtime for each TV or radio network.

“For candidates/registered political parties for a national elective position, not more than an aggregate total of 120 minutes of television advertising, whether appearing on national, regional or local, free or cable television, and 180 minutes of radio advertising, whether airing on national, regional, or local radio, whether by purchase or donation (will be allowed),” stated the resolution.

Joint ads Local candidates and political parties will be permitted “not more than an aggregate total of 60 minutes of TV advertising, whether appearing on national, regional, or local, free, or cable television and 90 minutes

of radio advertising, whether airing on national, regional or local radio whether by purchase or donation.”

“Tandem advertisements” pertaining to ads of a party-list group carrying a candidate or “joint advertisements” that feature multiple candidates will be counted against the airtime limits allotted for each of the candidates, according to the new rule.

“Tandem ads or joint ads will be charged to airtime of each

candidate so appearing,” stressed Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. in an interview with reporters.

Under the resolution, the cost of these advertisements will also be considered as expenditures of each of the candidates, regardless of whoever paid for them and for whom the said materials were donated, Brillantes said.

However, appearances on any “bona fide” newscast, interview and documentary that can be considered “incidental” to the presentation of the subjects covered by news events including those sanctioned by the Comelec will not be deemed as campaign propaganda, the Comelec said.

But the poll body noted that for TV appearances to be considered “bona

fide,” broadcast stations and other media entities must seek prior approval from the Comelec and must ensure that all candidates and parties will be given equal opportunities to promote their candidacy.

Online campaigning In the same resolution, the Comelec presented for the first time rules on campaigning online or over the Internet.

It enumerated ad specifications and dimensions for posting online. The Comelec said online advertisements would not be allowed to be published more than three times in a week per website during the campaign period.

“For this purpose, the exhibition or display of the online advertisement for any length of time, regardless of frequency within a 24-hour period shall be construed as one instance of publication,” the resolution stated.

Brillantes said online election propaganda also covered social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter although they were not mentioned in the resolution.

He said the Comelec would closely monitor campaigns being aired through these sites.

‘Innovative’ “This is new. This is something that is innovative, this social media. We will see how effective it is during the start of the campaign period,” he told reporters.

“Tweets or posts not falling within the scope of personal opinion ... paid or promoted tweets and FB posts, paid blogs and PR-ran posts and social media campaign fall under election campaigning,” he added.

Any violation of the rules and regulations on election campaigning is considered an election offense, which under the Omnibus Election Code is punishable with imprisonment of one to six years, the removal of the right to vote and disqualification to run for public office. ■

Spare the trees, DENR urges poll candidates

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer AHEAD of the official campaign season, candidates running in the May elections were reminded once again to spare the trees and avoid the use of plastic materials.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje urged political parties and candidates in the coming midterm polls to stick to an “earthfriendly campaign” by refraining from nailing or tacking posters on trees.

“Trees are also living creatures; they could get hurt or sick from infection.

Worse, they could die if left untreated for a long time,” he said in a statement.

Paje also urged the candidates to use campaign paraphernalia made of locallysourced and reusable materials instead of plastics and other nonbiodegradables.

The campaign period set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for senatorial and party-list candidates begins on Feb. 12, and for local elective positions, it starts on March 29. All campaigning ends on May 11, two days before the May 13 polls.

“We are calling on all well-meaning candidates to be mindful of the environment when they hit the election campaign trail,” Paje said.

“They should put waste avoidance and reduction at the heart of their strategy to win in order to minimize trash and its impact on the environment and humans,” he said.

He asked the candidates to instruct their supporters not to leave trash in campaign sorties and remove their posters and banners after the polls.

“Let us change the face of Philippine politics with clean elections defined not only by an intelligent electorate, but a trash-free exercise as well,” Paje said.

Under the Fair Election Act, the Comelec may authorize political parties and partylist groups to erect common poster areas for their candidates in not more than 10 public places such as plazas and markets.

The size of the poster area should not exceed 12 by 16 feet.

Independent candidates with no political parties are also authorized to erect common poster areas in the same number of public places. The size of the poster area for independents should exceed four by six feet.

Candidates may also post propaganda material in private places with the consent of the owner. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net PHILIPPINE CANADIAN

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO CANADIAN NEWSPAPER

News-Phils

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 6

New military chief: I will make armed struggle irrelevant

LT. GEN. Emmanuel Bautista said he would work to make communist insurgents “irrelevant” during his term as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Bautista, who was named by President Aquino to head the 125,000-strong military, spearheaded the crafting of the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan, a multisectoral approach in ending the decades-long insurgency problem in the country anchored on “winning the peace.”

Under his watch, Bautista said the military would “hasten the tempo” of the campaign against the 44-yearold Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

“I am now in a position to influence the implementation of Bayanihan as chief of staff because I now become its operational commander. Unlike when I was the CGPA (commanding general of the Philippine Army), I had a limited role as the force provider. But now I will have a direct hand in the implementation of Bayanihan,” Bautista said.

“That is our goal, for the NPA to be irrelevant, for the armed struggle to be irrelevant,” Bautista said when asked if communist insurgents would be weaker or inconsequential at the end of his term.

President Aquino named Bautista to succeed Gen. Jessie Dellosa who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on Jan. 20. The change of command ceremony will be held at Camp Aguinaldo today to be presided by Mr. Aquino, the Commander in Chief.

http://www.army.mil.ph

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer

Incoming military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista: Direct hand in Bayanihan.

In a statement of thanks, Bautista said he was humbled by the President’s appointment. “I can only repay this trust and confidence by devoting the remaining days of my career in the service of our people and the performance of the AFP’s mandate.”

Bautista, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Dimalupig” Class of 1981, will serve as AFP chief of staff until he turns 56 years old on July 20, 2014.

Under fire Bautista had already been under fire from militant groups who claim that his IPSP Bayanihan was no different from the counterinsurgency campaign of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called Oplan Bantay Laya.

Bautista’s appointment “signals the escalation of human rights violations under the Aquino (administration),” said Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan.

In a statement, Palabay said that there were 137 incidents of extrajudicial killings and 154 cases of

frustrated extrajudicial killings as of late last year even “under the ‘people-centered’ and ‘respect for human rights’ catch phrases” of the IPSP Bayanihan.

“Contrary to claims of the Aquino (administration) and the AFP, Oplan Bayanihan is no different from Gloria Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya,” Palabay said.

Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of Peoples Lawyers, called the IPSP Bayanihan a “notorious counterinsurgency program.”

“The appointment of General Bautista, who is reputedly the brains behind a notorious counterinsurgency program, fits in perfectly like a velvet glove in an iron fist. It jibes with the overall antipeople design that has resulted in continuing and disturbing human rights violations,” Olalia said in a statement.

Not unexpected Olalia also branded Bautista as one of the “hawks” in the Aquino administration and said that his appointment as military chief was not unexpected “despite unresolved accountability for extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture and now even more vicious and orchestrated filing of fabricated and false charges against activists and dissenters.”

Bautista said that he would ensure the AFP’s adherence to the security sector reform program of the government, the nexus of good governance, security and development.

Military analyst Rommel Banlaoi has written that “the security sector transformation aims to implement effective governance of the security sector through democratic processes.”

Under the security sector reform program, adherence to justice and human rights are primary considerations for the AFP as it carries out its task of protecting the people from internal and external threats. ■

Call Home Wherever, Whenever.

UNLIMITED Local Calling for landline and mobile. Free PC and iPhone dialer. Your very own caller ID. Voicemail, 88 free minutes to Canada and USA, and more.

The Basic Home Phone

The Only Phone You’ll Ever Need.

*BONUS

FREE 88 Minutes to call Canada and USA

per month

$

59 .90

*Prepayment for 1 year

http://www.timestelecom.ca/BasicHomePhone *Additional terms and conditions will apply. Prices subject to change without notice. Free minutes do not include Philipppines.

SAVINGS OF

$300!

CALL NOW

1.800.264.2176

7 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

News-Phils

JPE recalls Senate staff detailed to Alan, Sonny GMA, allies were top House absentees

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer SENATE President Juan Ponce Enrile has recalled Senate employees detailed to the offices of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Sen. Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV in a move that Cayetano said was meant to teach him and his fellow reelectionist a lesson in having to toe the line.

Indicating there was no politics involved in the staff movement, Enrile confirmed that he ordered the recall to their respective Senate “mother units” of the four “high-salaried” staff members after their assignments of detail to the Cayetano and Trillanes offices expired as early as Dec. 6.

Cayetano told the INQUIRER that the recall of the Senate staff reminded him of what then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did to influence lawmakers to junk moves to impeach her during the latter years of her administration.

“It’s part of teaching Trillanes and I a lesson,” Cayetano said in a telephone interview.

Cayetano said Enrile caused the recall of two Senate employees each on his and Trillanes’ staff.

He said the move was the result of the positions that he and Trillanes had taken against those of the Senate President over the course of the present Congress.

“The Senate President didn’t support the RH (reproductive health) bill and the sin tax bill. What if the administration also cuts fund releases to his office? That’s what he’s doing to us,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano said the issue wasn’t about resources but about principle. “Let me ask [Enrile], did

Enrile reaction In a statement, Enrile confirmed that the Senate Secretariat employees, erstwhile assigned to the two senators’ offices, were recalled to their mother units effective Jan. 15.

“However, I would like to point out that I gave such instruction to the Office of the Senate Secretary to recall these employees as early as Dec. 6, 2012,” Enrile said.

“The assignment for their detail had actually expired already and it was only proper that these high-salaried personnel should be sent back to and be utilized by their respective mother units,” he added.

Enrile said the two employees detailed to Cayetano’s office were actually employees of the Blue Ribbon Office while the two detailed to Trillanes’ were from the Senate Economic Planning Office and the Office of the Senate Secretary.

“I should also point out that even when employees detailed to their offices have been recalled, there are still two Senate Secretariat employees who have remained assigned to the office of Sen. Alan Cayetano, and one Secretariat employee still detailed to the office of Senator Trillanes,” Enrile said.

According to Enrile, the Office of the Senate Secretary signed and issued the recall order on Jan. 3 and became effective on Jan. 15.

Enrile precedent “We wouldn’t actually be crippled but they are good researchers, good writers,” Cayetano said of the two employees recalled by the Senate from his office.

Cayetano said one was a writer-researcher while the other one was a liaison officer.

Cayetano earlier expressed alarm over the possible implications of Enrile’s release of additional maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) to selected members of the Senate.

“This is really a bad precedent. This Enrile precedent is the first time wherein regular funds for MOOE are given to senators based merely on whom the Senate President favors,” Cayetano said.

“For me, this is more of an issue of how the majority sees the impact of this on the Senate as a whole rather than how the minority feels about receiving less funds,” he added. ■

Malacanang Photo Bureau

Video grab from GMA7

he also recall those from the offices of the other senators?” he said.

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer ILOILO Rep. Augusto Syjuco and Pampanga lawmakers Anna York Bondoc and Gloria MacapagalArroyo led the House members who missed the most number of sessions in 2012, according to official records from the House of Representatives.

Syjuco and Bondoc attended only 35 out of 61 sessions in 2012, the records showed.

Arroyo, who was detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for most of last year because of a plunder case, had the lowest attendance record at 33.

On the other hand, 35 out of 283 representatives registered perfect attendance in 2012, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

Arroyo’s son, Camarines Sur Rep. Dato Arroyo, was present in all 61 session days.

The other lawmakers who registered the lowest attendance were Pampanga Rep. Carmelo Lazatin, who attended 37 sessions; and Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron and Masbate Rep. Narciso Bravo, who both attended 40 sessions.

Attending 41 sessions were Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya, Negros Occidental Rep. Jules Ledesma, Cavite Rep. Erineo Maliksi, TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza, and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao.

Abra Rep. Jocelyn Bernos and Davao del Sur Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas attended 43 sessions each, while Cebu Rep. Pablo John Garcia attended 44 sessions.

The House of Representatives usually had a relatively full session hall for most of 2012, but began having quorum problems in the last quarter of the year at a time when it was supposed to be rushing the approval of crucial bills.

Officials attributed the absenteeism late last year to the lawmakers’ preparations for the 2013 polls.

But the House did manage to muster a quorum when it tackled the controversial reproductive health bill.

Several lawmakers are concerned that the nine session days left before the campaign period begins may be plagued by absenteeism.

But Belmonte had said he believed that majority of lawmakers would be present when Congress reopens on Jan. 21. He said he would remind House members of the need to attend the sessions. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

News-Phils

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 8

Bautista sees AFP as green warrior 122 smuggle cases filed

BY NIKKO DIZON AND TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer ON HIS ASSUMPTION as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista outlined the evolving role of the soldier in the era of climate change—saving lives in the face of more violent environmental disasters.

“Indeed, in recent years, the effects of climate change have been more adverse than armed conflict,” Bautista said in his speech at the turnover of command at Camp Aguinaldo ahead of the retirement on Sunday of Gen. Jessie Dellosa.

“This is an emerging concern that we need to pay serious attention to. Your soldiers have risked their own safety, and some have even laid down their lives to save our people during natural disasters,” Bautista said.

Seven soldiers were killed and four remain missing in the aftermath of Typhoon “Pablo,” which struck Mindanao last Dec. 4, flattening communities and farms with monster winds and leaving more than 1,000 people dead and 900 missing.

In his address, President Aquino gave Bautista his immediate marching order: “My challenge to you: the AFP, together with the national police, has the obligation to ensure that the forthcoming elections are peaceful and credible. The voice of the people should prevail and should not be gagged by gun, fear and violence.”

As deputies of the Commission on Elections during the polling, Mr. Aquino reminded the troops to follow the Constitution, and “side” with the people.

“Protect the right of the people to freely choose their leaders. Our goal: an election that is truthful, fair and lawful, from the campaign to the proclamation of the new leaders,” he said before a crowd of Cabinet and military officials, and guests who included Vice President Jejomar Binay whose party is the main opponent of the administration in the election in May. This way, the President stressed, the government could build on last year’s gains: economic growth, the allocation of funds for social services, and the initial benefits of inclusive growth that came, he said, with the administration’s policy of good governance.

“The question now is: Do we want to continue to tread the straight path that has brought the development that we’re now reaping? The Filipino people will respond to that in the coming elections in May,” he said.

The President also paid tribute to Dellosa, who is stepping down on Sunday at the age of 56, by awarding him the Legion of Honor for his “exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service” as AFP chief of staff.

Tribute to late father It will be a year-and-a-half long tour of duty for Bautista as chief of staff, which he said he was dedicating to his father, the late Brig. Gen. Teodulfo Bautista who was killed with 34 of his men during a peace meeting with guerrillas of the Moro National Liberation Front in 1977 in Sulu.

“Our Constitution has bestowed upon us the distinct title of being the protectors of the people and the State, with the goal of securing the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory. We intend to fulfill this constitutional mandate through

the following thrusts: winning the peace, securing our national territory and assisting in disaster response and rehabilitation,” Bautista said.

He urged Filipinos to join the military in “calling for an end to armed violence and in advocating for peace, to allow us to focus on the important task of securing the sovereignty of our state and the integrity of our national territory and protecting our people from the adverse effect of climate change and environmental degradation.”

Bautista said that he would continue the military’s program to upgrade its disaster rescue and relief operations capabilities.

The military, Bautista said, will also “take part in proactive measures such as environmental protection to mitigate adverse effects of disasters.”

Counterinsurgency As the 44th AFP chief of staff, Bautista is largely credited with crafting the Internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan, the government’s counterinsurgency program that takes on a multisectoral approach.

“Bayanihan” attempts to lessen the need for combat operations against communist insurgents. Instead, the military partners with government agencies and the local governments to address the insurgency problem, by having “empowered communities and deepening democratic institutions.”

He called on the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing, the New People’s Army, to “pursue the road to peace and abandon the armed struggle.”

“As we have realized, armed struggle is not the solution to our problems,” Bautista said.

Bautista said that the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the developments with the Cordillera People’s Liberation Front and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng ManggagawaPilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade were “giant strides” for Bayanihan.

“We recognize that the biggest challenge ahead of us is normalization,” he said of the peace process with the MILF. “The details of this are still being discussed by the respective peace panels, but definitely, the AFP will be fully supportive of its implementation,” he said.

Respect for human rights Bautista also pledged that the military would respect human rights, the international humanitarian law and the rule of law as imperatives in all its undertakings.

“We shall harness the support of civil society, as well as national and multilateral monitoring bodies, in ensuring that these principles are promoted, respected and protected,” he said.

Bautista said that while the military supported the diplomatic efforts in addressing territorial issues, there was also a “need to upgrade our joint and combined operations capabilities to be able to contain any external threats.”

He vowed to continue his program of “professionalizing the military,” which he began in the Army as its commanding general.

“Soldiers shall be held to high ethical standard and strict codes of conduct ... We are likewise sworn to protect our democratic institutions and processes,” Bautista said. ■

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE BUREAU of Customs has filed a total of 122 smuggling cases against traders and brokers behind the illegal importation of more than P60 billion worth of goods from various parts of the world, according to a statement from the BOC. Thirty-one officers of four Central Luzonbased multipurpose cooperatives were the respondents in the latest smuggling case to be filed with the Department of Justice, said deputy customs commissioner Peter Manzano, who heads the Run After the Smugglers, or RATS program.

The four cooperatives—the Kapatirang Takusa Multipurpose Cooperative, Ugnayan Magbubukid ng San Isidro Cooperative and the Samahang Magsasakang Kapampangan at Katagalogan Mutlipurpose Cooperative, all based in Pampanga province; and the Bulacan-based Concerned Citizens Multipurpose Cooperative—were allegedly behind the smuggling of some 78,000 bags of rice from Vietnam through the Legazpi City port in Albay, the BOC said.

The illegal rice shipment, estimated to be worth P96.5 million, did not have the required import permits when it arrived at the Bicol port on Sept. 22, the bureau said.

“Moreover, the bags of rice that were illegally brought into the country by the four cooperatives were all beyond the balances of their imported rice quota allocation,” the BOC also said.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said the agency would “never allow any multipurpose cooperative to exploit their rice importation allocation privileges for illegal activities.”

“We will carefully review the entries of all rice importations to ensure that these are covered by the required permits and importation quota allocations are not violated,” he said.

According to Biazon, while the bureau has “not run out of smuggling cases to file with the courts,” only one case has resulted in a conviction. ■

9 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

News-Phils

Miriam asks COA to rule on savings

BY CATHY YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer APPARENTLY anticipating an adverse opinion from the Commission on Audit (COA), Sen. Miriam DefensorSantiago is getting ready to ask the Supreme Court to rule whether heads of offices can use savings “at their absolute discretion.”

Santiago wrote COA Chair Grace Pulido-Tan last week asking the commission for a “study, report and recommendations” that would define the constitutional word “savings” and the constitutional phrase “pubic purpose.”

However, Tan came out in media supporting the position of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile that he could realign the savings of the chamber, convert these into additional “maintenance and other operations expenditures,” (MOOE) and distribute the funds to fellow senators.

Enrile found himself in hot water after an unnamed senator deplored his move of excluding not only himself as Senate President but also Santiago and three other senators from receiving additional MOOE last Christmas.

Disappointed with COA chief Santiago said in an e-mailed statement that she felt “very disappointed and frustrated” at Tan’s position.

In her letter to the COA, Santiago would have wanted Tan to post on the Internet all income and perks of ranking government officials and how these have been spent after the commission defines the terms savings and public purpose.

“If ( Tan) said that, then she may have overlooked the constitutional provisions on due process and equal protection. I hope she did not mean that COA rules vest unlimited discretion on every head of office. Every discretionary use of budget funds is always limited by constitutional provisions,” Santiago said.

Still, Santiago said she would still wait for Tan’s official response to her inquiry submitted on Jan. 10.

“I am required by law to observe the principle of exhaustion of administrative remedies. This means that first I have to go to the COA, and request a study and report on the issue of constitutionality.

If the COA opinion differs from mine, only then will I be allowed to file a court case. If not, the court will dismiss my petition,” she said.

Santiago’s letter to the COA was a reaction to an INQUIRER report that said Enrile had realigned about P30 million of Senate savings and distributed these to fellow senators.

While all senators got P600,000 in additional MOOE from the savings in November, Enrile left himself out along with Santiago, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Senators Pia Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV from the distribution of two more tranches worth P1.3 million and P318,000 in December.

Cash gift Enrile also distributed P250,000 in “cash gift” to all senators drawn from his office’s savings.

Santiago said she returned her cash gift because Enrile had given back the cookies she sent him last Christmas.

In an interview with television host Karen Davila, Santiago mentioned Article 6, Section 25, Paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Constitution that pertained to public funds that would apparently serve as basis for her petition.

Santiago acknowledged that heads of the three branches of government, including the Senate President, were allowed by law to realign savings.

However, she said the “constitutional issue” was whether the head of a branch of government or constitutional commission could freely distribute savings to himself and/or subordinates by yearend.

Asked by Davila whether the idea was to save much during the entire year and splurge at yearend, Santiago responded: “That’s right! That is my point!”

Racket “So that on Christmas you can give yourself and your colleagues the savings to keep them quiet? Is that just? That is the basic question,” she added in Filpino.

Santiago said she was aware that this “racket” being practiced in the Senate was being copied by other government agencies not necessarily allowed by law to realign savings for other purposes.

“Is that just? So answer me! That’s with respect to Paragraph 5,” the senator fumed.

Santiago added that Paragraph 6 of the same article in the Constitution provided that discretionary funds be spent for public purposes.

“What does ‘ public purposes’ mean?

That you give a senator a cash gift of P2 million? What kind of purpose is that?

That senator will lie and produce a paper that would say that the money was for public purpose but actually pocketed it.

Let’s be real. Let’s get real, guys,” she added.

Santiago’s P2-million estimate consisted of the P1.6 million in additional MOOE that she was deprived of and the P250,000 cash gift that she returned to Enrile’s office.

Equal protection clause At one point, Santiago asked why Enrile did not include her or the three other senators from the distribution of additional MOOE. “What is your basis, what are your legal criteria? Under the equal protection clause, (if) you people are similarly situated, you must treat them the same way. So what is the law that gives him the power to pick and choose where (he) will spend the money,” she said.

Earlier, however, Santiago surmised in an interview with Radyo Inquirer that she and the other senators were excluded from Enrile’s list because they had at one time or another stood up against the Senate President on various issues that hounded the chamber. ■

Compensation for rights victims close to becoming a law

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE BICAMERAL conference committee is close to coming up with a final version of the compensation bill for martial law abuse victims. The remaining issue to be resolved is whether or not to conclusively recognize claimants in a Hawaii class-action suit as human rights violation victims.

The bicameral panel is trying to forge a compromise on the issue, and had already ironed the other conflicting provisions in the bill, according to Deputy Speaker Lorenzo Tañada III. Among the issues resolved was the composition of the nominations committee for the members of the compensation board, and the members of the board’s consultative body, Tañada said.

The panel decided to follow the provision in the House bill, with some modifications to include groups identified by the Senate.

The groups that would comprise these bodies include the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance, and Samahan ng Mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto, Claimants 1081, Karapatan, the Free Legal Assistance Group, and the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism.

As to how to consider the victims, Tañada said House contingent proposed that the

Hawaii claimants would be conclusively presumed as human rights violations victims, but the amount they would receive would be subject to validation.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said this means the amount to be awarded to them would have to be determined by the board depending on the kind of abuse they suffered. A point system would be followed.

Under this system, the Hawaii claimants would have to wait for some time before getting the compensation, he said.

The House version of the bill states that there would be a conclusive presumption that claimants in the Hawaii suit were victims of human rights violations, while the Senate version provides for a disputable presumption, meaning their claims would be subject to validation if challenged.

The conflict among the two provisions is expected to be resolved in the third bicameral conference committee meeting next week.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said that for him, the claimants’ ordeal did not come out of thin air and had been validated by human rights organizations in the Philippines.

They had also filed affidavits in the Hawaii court and presented testimonial evidence, Lagman said.

“What’s most important is that it’s final and executory and we must be able to satisfy awarded claims,” he said. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

News-Phils

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 10

People warned against ‘voodoo’ cancer cures

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer CANCER experts and the government warned the public against herbal supplements that are advertised as cures for cancer, saying these were “voodoo medicine.”

The Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) said these herbal supplements had no proven curative effects while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it did not approve any herbal medicine or health supplement as a cure for cancer.

“That’s what I call voodoo medicine .... There is no viable alternative to mainstream cancer treatment,” Dr. Ellie May Villegas, PSMO vice president, said at a press conference sponsored by pharmaceutical companies Roche and Fresenius.

Dr. Oscar Gutierrez Jr., chair of the FDA Policy Planning Office, said at the briefing that the agency had approved

a total of 650 food and dietary supplements—including 106 traditionally used herbal products like “lagundi” and 35 herbal medicines—but none of these were certified as cancer cures.

“We saw a dramatic increase in the viability of herbal medicines, food and supplements for cancer patients. Many of these ... are very attractive to cancer patients due to their claimed quick results and for their low prices,” Gutierrez said. “(But) the FDA has not approved any food and dietary supplement against cancer cases. Although in the form of tablet, liquid, or gels that give them a semblance of medicine, food and dietary supplements are not a replacement for drugs and medicine,” he added.

Fate of Enrile up to P-noy–trillanes

BY PHILIP TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE FATE of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will be decided in the next two weeks, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said.

Trillanes said he and his allies would decide on what to do about replacing Enrile and see if Malacañang would support their move.

“We will know that hopefully within the next two weeks. (By then,) the direction of the administration and this coalition would be clear ... if Sen. Enrile would be replaced or not,” Trillanes told a media forum in Manila.

Enrile should be removed because his continued stay as Senate President would be detrimental to the Aquino administration’s senatorial candidates in the May elections, said the coup-plotter-turned-senator.

As Senate President, Enrile will be able to strengthen the chances of candidates of the rival UNA (United Nationalist Alliance), of which Enrile is one of the three leaders, he said.

The other two are Vice President Jejomar Binay and deposed President and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada.

“His position and its resources might be used and we’ve seen how these resources have been used,” Trillanes said.

According to Trillanes, Enrile could be replaced by Sen. Franklin Drilon. He said

Sen. Manuel Villar was another possible replacement but Villar is on his last term at the Senate.

“If the change in leadership only happened earlier, Sen. Manny Villar might have replaced (Enrile). But now, the more appropriate choice would be Senator Drilon so that he could be carried over until the next Congress,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes said neither Drilon nor Villar was aiming for the Senate presidency.

At the same media forum, Trillanes called on Binay to show his true political colors.

With the midterm elections approaching, he said Binay should come out and declare himself as a member of the opposition, noting that he was fielding his own candidates in the UNA against the coalition led by the ruling Liberal Party.

“Let’s be true to ourselves. Show your colors and say that you are with the opposition,” Trillanes said.

“But these politicians are shrewd and they will not go against an administration that’s still popular,” he said.

Trillanes said it is for President Aquino to decide whether to keep Binay in the Cabinet.

“But if you are opposition, you have no business being in the Cabinet,” he said. ■

No curative effects Gutierrez said these supplements were approved to support nutrition and health care but not as substitutes for mainstream health care and medicines.

“They have no therapeutic claims and no documented curative effects.

Patients should always seek proper health care and treatment from their doctors,” he said.

Gutierrez said supplements were processed food products intended to complement the diet and should not be used as conventional food or as the sole food item.

“The FDA has issued circulars and administrative orders that put correct labeling for supplements to ensure that the products are not commercially sold or advertised with therapeutic claims.

We make sure that these products carry the label `No approved therapeutic claims,’” he added.

“The FDA ensures safety as well as truthfulness and validity of label claims. These products do not have curative effects and testimonials or anecdotal information associated with healing and curing are not allowed,” Gutierrez said.

Bio-resonance Villegas said some of the supposed treatments that the public should be wary about included bio-resonance

therapies, oxygen treatment, colonic cleansing, “megadosing” of Vitamin C, antineoplastons and immuno-augmentation treatment.

She said herbal medicines might actually interfere with chemotherapy or medicines used in cancer treatment. “ S o m e herbs cause problematic interactions with chemo, causing blood pressure swings and other complications,” Villegas said.

“The effectivity of the medicine could be adversely affected or it could interfere with the potency of the drug,” she added.

However, Villegas said “complementary alternative medicines” could be used with anticancer drugs.

They include acupuncture, music therapy and yoga.

Alternative treatment “We understand that cancer patients want to try alternative treatment.

Integrative oncology is a safe way for cancer patients to mix alternative therapies such as acupuncture, massage therapies, diet management, music therapy, meditation, or yoga alongside their standard cancer treatment,” Villegas said.

However, Villegas said these therapies could not treat tumors but only control physical and emotional symptoms.

“These methods should not be used alone to replace research-based and standard cancer treatment, but they can be used with them. It is important to retain proper cancer treatment to get best results,” she said.

PSMO president Felycette Gay Lapus said that while herbal supplements may seem appealing, patients should be vigilant that they were not being misled by false promises.

“We continue in our quest to arm the public with as much information as possible. Prevention and early detection are ultimate goals in decreasing the cancer incidence and increasing survival rates in the country,” Lapus said. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

11 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

News-Phils

Customs revamp: ‘3 Kings’ untouched ‘No. 1 picnic area’ a short THE BUREAU of Customs’ (BOC) first major top-level reshuffle during the Aquino administration has raised eyebrows because of the non-inclusion in the revamp of what BOC insiders refer to as the bureau’s “Three Kings.”

The insiders are referring to collectors Ricardo Belmonte, Rogel Gatchalian and Carlos So, the heads of customs operations at the Manila International Container Port (MICP), the port of Manila, and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), respectively.

Belmonte is a younger brother of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, while Gatchalian and So are said to be backed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and the influential Iglesia ni Cristo.

All three ports were among the 10 collection districts that had failed to meet their revenue targets for 2012, BOC personnel noted.

Biazon’s discretion Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, however, said that being the bureau head, the revamp was his “discretion.”

He said the revamp would be a “continuing thing ... [and] is just the initial phase of several other measures we shall undertake to meet our collection target for the year 2013.”

The customs bureau’s collection target this year is P340 billion, P7 billion less than the BOC’s goal in 2012.

Biazon said the revamp was “geared mostly towards improving collections.”

“We are doing a reconfiguration of our organizational structure, especially among our frontline officials, to reposition our district collectors where they can be most productive,” he explained.

Nonperformers He warned that he would “not hesitate to reassign or reshuffle Customs officials who may not be performing up to expectations.”

“We shall be closely monitoring the performance of frontline offcials ... I will now do a quarterly performance assessment of district collectors and other unit heads under the office of the commissioner and set a particular

quota for them, in addition to their revenue collection targets,” he told reporters.

Biazon also noted that, with some personnel due to retire this year, there will be some vacant positions, “so definitely, we’ll be assigning or transferring people to other positions.”

Biazon issued BOC Personnel Order No. B-14-2013 last Jan. 10, reassigning the following Customs officers: Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, head of the X-ray inspection project, has been named officer in charge of the Cagayan de Oro City port; Adelina Molina, chief of staff of the commissioner, to OIC of the Subic Freeport; Roberto Sarmiento, deputy collector for operations, to OIC of the Zamboanga City port; Ronnie Silvestre, Cebu district collector, to OIC of the port of Clark International Airport; Edward de la Cuesta, Clark district collector, to Cebu port collector; Carmelita Talusan, Subic Freeport collector, to X-ray inspection project head; Filemon Mendoza Jr., chief of the risk management office, to head of the ruling and research division; Romalino Valdez, chief of staff of the assessment, operations and coordination group, to deputy collector for administration; Anju Nereo Castigador, Cagayan de Oro City district collector, to the office of the commissioner.

‘Reachable target’ Meanwhile, Biazon expressed confidence the bureau would meet its collection goal this year, which he said was a “more reachable target.”

“We shall be adjusting our collection strategy every now and then to make the BOC responsive to present trends and needs,” he said.

From January to December 2012, BOC revenues totaled only P287 billion, or a shortfall of nearly P60 billion.

The MICP, which had the highest revenue target of P94.3 billion, collected only P72.5 billion.

The port of Manila registered only P56.5 billion, about P18 billion short of its P75-billion goal.

Batangas port, where most of the oil depots are located, had a shortfall of a little over P10 billion while Naia missed its target by P4.66 billion. ■

walk from ‘Km Zero’

Photo by Jill Thompson Jason Ransom

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper at Rizal Park

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer HERE’S another improvement to make Rizal Park a place with “less cement, more plants” and, of course, more fun.

Marking its 50th founding anniversary, the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC) formally opened the Binhi ng Kalayaan Garden, the latest attraction at the 54-hectare park. The spot was named after the bronze sculpture installed during the Philippine centennial celebrations in 1998.

What used to be a neglected area that served more as a dump is now a garden being promoted as the “No. 1 picnic area” for local and foreign tourists and an ideal reception venue for birthdays, weddings, product launches, art exhibits and other special occasions.

NDCP Executive Director Juliet Villegas said the agency spent roughly P10 million for the renovation. “To be very candid about it, this used to be a site for dumping garbage. But there are many trees; it’s very lush so we found it more appropriate to make sure that this is enjoyed by the public,” Villegas said in an interview.

The garden, nestled in the eastern section of the park also known as Luneta, invites visitors with concrete seats and tables and barbeque kitchens under the shade of trees At the entrance stands the Binhi ng Kalayaan monument dedicated to the unnamed Filipino men and women who fought for freedom during the Spanish colonial rule. A twostory building for social functions has also been built in the garden.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. commended the NPDC’s latest

project, noting that Rizal Park is becoming the country’s “prototype” for public park development.

“Because it is simpler, with less cement and more plants,” said Jimenez, who graced Monday’s opening along with Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Intramuros Administration chief Jose Capistrano Jr., and Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority chief operating officer Mark Lapid, among others.

“This is very rare for Asia: 54 hectares of a public park in the middle of the city. This is very important and we will continue to develop and redevelop it,” he said in an interview.

The park built around the monument of national hero Jose Rizal used to be a place for executions during the Spanish period. The spot is marked “Kilometer Zero” in official Philippine maps.

“This is also a very fitting move to mark the anniversary [of the NPDC] because of its efforts to make the park greener and friendlier using less of the people’s money,” he added.

Last year, the committee refitted the park’s lampposts with LED (light emitting diode) systems for brighter illumination and lower energy consumption. It also installed 30 close circuit television cameras around the park for increased security.

The NPDC was founded in 1963 to oversee national parks in the country.

It is currently managing Rizal Park and Paco Park in Manila and Pook ni Mariang Makiling Park in Laguna province.

This year, the Department of Tourism is aiming to draw more than 5 million visitors from abroad. ■

News-Phils SC told cybercrime law sucks like vampire

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO, JEROME ANING AND CATHY C. YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer LIKENING the cybercrime law to a vampire that “sucks the life out of freedom of speech and expression,” Sen. Teofisto Guingona III asked the Supreme Court to strike down specific provisions of the law. Guingona delivered the opening remarks at the start of oral arguments on the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, or Republic Act No. 10175, in the en banc session of Supreme Court justices.

The cybercrime law is covered by a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the tribunal following several petitions objecting to its more stringent penalties for libel committed online and a takedown provision that allows the justice department to unilaterally close down a website. Implementation of the law has been suspended for four months until February.

Guingona initially thanked the Supreme Court for the TRO that “has thankfully put to sleep… (this) CyberDracula.”

He urged the tribunal to enact a more permanent ruling on the law “to impale (it) of its ghostly provisions with the stake of reason. As cyber-Dracula lies helpless in its sleep, we plead for the final decisive action to banish our anger, anxiety and fears altogether.”

Twelve justices led by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno were in attendance to question the challenges put up by the petitioners who wanted the high court to strike down the law for allegedly being unconstitutional.

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 12

be penalized one degree higher than the penalty provided under the Code.

Double jeopardy Colmenares said the provision violated the constitutional prohibitions on double jeopardy, cruel and unjust punishment, and due process.

“The law allows what the Constitution prohibits so that law should be struck down,” he said.

Colmenares also argued that offenses such as libel through newspaper articles did not have a substantial distinction between libel committed via Internet, and information and communication gadgets, which the law penalizes.

“No new elements were added, so the penalty should not be raised,” Colmenares argued, responding to a query from Justice Diosdado Peralta on whether the law practically provided for a different kind of libel.

videotaped driving his car right through flooded waters.

“Would you agree with me that there were tweets and FB posts that were quite defamatory to Chris Lao?” Leonen asked Roque, who replied that he had no personal knowledge of the posts.

Derek Ramsey’s followers Leonen then pointed out that some people had a huge following in Twitter like actor Derek Ramsey who had Five provisions 840,842 followers.

The high court listened to petitioners argue on five “Some of them have a stronger following which can provisions of RA 10175 on online libel, cybersex, mean they have the potential and ability to destroy others,” punishing libel one degree higher than the penalty imposed he told Roque. by the Revised Penal Code, the “take-down” policy that Leonen asked Roque whether it was not the right of the allows the Department of Justice to block or restrict a State then to protect ordinary citizens. website with libelous content, the government authority “Therefore, is there not a right of the government, a to collect traffic data and penalizing an Internet user who State interest in coming in to remove the megaphones of abets a cybercrime. some individuals who are careless?” Leonen said.

Harry Roque, among the five designated petitionerscounsels, asked the high court to strike down on the basis Suicide of the principle of “overbreadth” (being too general) as For her part, Sereno said she was concerned about people well as vague Section 4 (c)4 and 4(1) that criminalizes libel who committed suicide because they could no longer wait online. for libelous posts against them to be taken down.

Roque cited for instance the fact that blogs on the Internet Sereno then asked Roque whether the State had the had spaces for comments. “What happens now if there is “right to regulate the invasion of privacy.” a libelous comment left on the comment space. Are blog Roque said he commiserated with people who ended owners liable for libel and is reposting links, actionable?” up killing themselves because of their situation but he he asked. also underscored the need to make a “delicate balance of Roque also asked whether under this provision social interests.” media networking sites like Facebook or Twitter and Sereno said that the high court was now trying to engage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) could be held liable for in exercising that balance of interests. having posts found to contain malicious statements.

Roque said that according to the UN Human Rights Committee, the way to achieve this balance was Laughter in court decriminalizing libel in a way that people who were It was the questioning though of Associate Justice Marvic victims of libel could seek civil damages against those Leonen that brought the audience outside the court to who offended them. laughter.

Several justices agreed with the arguments of Bayan Leonen cited the case of a former UP law student Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares that a cyber-offender and now lawyer Chris Lao who had been subjected to would be prosecuted for violating both the cybercrime law cyber-bullying. Lao gained Internet infamy when he was and the Revised Penal Code, and if found guilty would

All libel cyber-libel Under questioning by Justice Antonio Carpio, Colmenares agreed that all libel would now be practically considered cyber-libel because even newspapers use computers to send and process stories.

This is because the law does not distinguish whether a computer is connected online on not, Carpio said.

Rodel Cruz, who argued against the take-down provision of the law, said the rules concerning warrantless searches and seizures should be the same whether in the real world or in cyberspace.

Confisfactory Cruz said Section 19 was “confisfactory” because it allowed the justice department to restrict or block one’s access to his or her computer data should the agency deemed prima facie or on first appearance that the user was violating the law.

Jesus Disini Jr., who argued against the provision authorizing the government to collect real-time data, agreed with De Castro’s observation that “the coverage [of the provision] is any one or any group.”

“There is no assurance that only real-time data are being collected,” Disini said, adding that netizens could rely only on the “conscience of the law enforcer” that their privacy was not being violated by the data collection.

Person’s identity Asked by Carpio if collecting realtime data was just like the government asking for one’s mobile phone bill without the name and address of the owner of the account, Disini replied details on the bill could be used to reveal a person’s identity, the people he called or texted, their locations, or even the websites he visited if the cell phone had Internet connection, thus establishing his profile without the person knowing it.

Disini said any collection of realtime data should be covered by a court order so that that precise data to be collected would be specified.

The high court concluded its hearing after more than four hours.

The tribunal will convene again on Jan. 22, this time to listen to the arguments of Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza on the government’s stand on the law’s implementation. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

News-Phils

13 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Marcos victims ask Congress to use Hawaii class suit list

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer A GROUP of martial law detainees appealed to Congress to automatically consider some 9,000 individuals who won a class suit against the Marcoses in Hawaii victims of human rights violations entitled to government compensation.

Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda) directed its plea to the bicameral conference committee, which is hammering out the final version of a bill that seeks to indemnify victims of abuses during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. The remuneration would come from the P10 billion in Marcos ill-gotten wealth that Swiss authorities had returned to the Philippine government after the dictator’s ouster in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution.

Selda, which led the filing of the Hawaii case, said claimants must be conclusively presumed as human rights violations victims, as stated in the House of Representatives version of the bill.

The bicameral conference committee is debating on whether to follow the House version or the Senate version, which states that there is a “disputable presumption” that the claimants are victims, meaning they are subject to validation. The panel is to meet following a first meeting last week.

In a statement, Selda chair Marie Hilao-Enriquez said that to make the claimants in the Hawaii case undergo a rigorous validation process again would undermine their efforts to seek justice.

“Such a provision is dangerous, for if this is included and passed into law, the victims who filed and won the Hawaii case will once again undergo and endure the painful and rigorous process to prove that they were indeed violated during martial law,” Enriquez said.

“We are adamant that conclusive presumption should be the principle adopted to automatically consider the 9,539 victims who pursued and won the Hawaii case under the proposed Philippine law,” she added.

Enriquez also said the group was pushing the compensation bill to enforce the 1992 judgment in the Hawaii case, which was to indemnify the martial law victims.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, one of the Hawaii claimants and a coauthor of the bill, also said that it would be dangerous to do away with the conclusive presumption clause.

He said some of the victims may be unable to present evidence to defend themselves if their application for compensation was contested, considering the many years that had passed.

Colmenares would not be filing any application for compensation since he was the author of the bill, but he added that he himself would be hard put to find the evidence to show he was tortured and imprisoned for four years.

Outrageous And if a Hawaii claimant was denied by the compensation board, it would just lend credence to the Marcoses’ claim that many of those who filed the court case were fake martial law victims, according to Colmenares.

“It is surely unkind to make the Hawaii victims, the majority of whom are very old now, to again relive before the compensation board their rape, torture and sufferings.

This is outrageous,” he said.

He also defended the House provision that states that 80 percent of the compensation fund would go to the Hawaii claimants, and the remaining 20 percent to other claimants.

About 10,000 purported victims have filed cases against the Marcoses following the long and tedious court processes in Hawaii. But Congress is not sure how many of those who did not file cases will apply for compensation, especially since 40 years have passed since martial law was declared in 1972.

Selda also said the compensation bill must recognize all human rights violations victims during the martial law regime, and not just those who were exercising their rights “peacefully” as stated in the Senate version.

“It will be the height of historical amnesia and ignorance to only recognize the rights violations against those who ‘peacefully exercised their rights,’ as if the situation during the martial law years would permit such an exercise,” Enriquez said.

She said those who marched and defended themselves against the Philippine Constabulary and those who joined the communist New People’s Army also had rights.

Joker slammed Enriquez criticized Sen. Joker Arroyo for reportedly derailing the panel’s initial meeting last week by insisting, as embodied in the Senate version of the bill, on limiting reparation to those who fought the dictatorship through peaceful means.

“Arroyo wants to exclude those who resorted to armed resistance during martial law, implying that in doing so, they had given up their rights,” Enriquez told the INQUIRER after a meeting in the office of Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chair of the Senate committee on peace and unification.

Asked for a reaction, Arroyo’s staff released to the INQUIRER without comment a letter from Loretta Ann Rosales, chair of the Commission on Human Rights, to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, pointing out that the 80-20 ratio provision in the proposed package would nullify the intention of the measure—to give reparation to all victims of human rights abuses.

Arroyo was one of the few prominent lawyers, including the late Jose W. Diokno and Lorenzo Tañada, who defended human rights victims during the martial law years. ■

10-Billion

Trillanes to DFA: Don’t be alarmist

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer SEN. ANTONIO Trillanes IV scored the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for its “alarmist” posturing against China in the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Trillanes, who conducted back-channel talks with China at Malacañang’s behest last year, said the DFA should let the Department of National Defense (DND) do its job and apprehend intruders in Philippine-owned areas in the sea, and not announce everything to the media.

“I was assigned for a long time to that area and we did what had to be done without making noise in the media.

We were able to protect our territory without making a big thing out of it in the press,” said Trillanes, a former junior Navy officer, in a media forum in Manila.

“I hope that would be the approach of the DFA and that it just lets the DND do its job on the ground without making any unnecessary scandal when there is still none,” he said.

“We are becoming alarmist when that is not necessary,” he added.

Trillanes said the DFA should quietly confirm any foreign incursions in Philippine territory without broadcasting it to the world.

In his time, he said, “our Navy boarded and immediately searched ships that (entered) the country’s territory and you didn’t need to announce that.”

He said the Philippines then took actions to assert its authority over the disputed territories, “without declaring war or agitating anybody.”

Now, he said, “we could put our map (including the disputed territories) on our money. If they can do that, we could do the same,” he said, referring to China’s inclusion of contested islands on maps on its passport.

“The bottom line is to resolve the dispute diplomatically so as not to agitate and reach a point that we cannot back away from,” Trillanes said.

He said that when he was negotiating with the Chinese last year, he was able to correct the shortcomings of the Filipino officials who were formally negotiating with Beijing over the standoff in the West Philippine Sea. “Tensions really heated up then because there were too many boats there and, only a few notches more, there could have been a firefight,” he said.

“We believe we were able to achieve what we were ordered to do, which was to lessen the tension. That was our only mission,” he added.

Trillanes said a third party should eventually help resolve the territorial dispute because neither country will budge.

“On China’s side or the Philippines’ side, no one is going to agree to give up (territory) so it should be resolved by a third party,” he said. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

News-Phils

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 14

‘Hacktivists’ strike again, attack Customs, ‘Eat Bulaga’ websites

BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO AND JULIE M. AURELIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Maritime Polytechnic, Cebu Port Authority and the Municipality of Jose Panganiban (formerly Mambulao) in Camarines Norte province.

“HACKTIVISTS” struck again on the day of hearing oral arguments in the Supreme Court for Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, a law that protesters say threatens freedom of speech.

Websites of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and noon-time television show “Eat Bulaga,” were defaced by hacker group Private X, a member of the larger hacker organization Anonymous Philippines.

Also hacked was the website of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD).

Anonymous Philippines hit several government websites to draw attention to the oral arguments in the high tribunal.

The sites that were hit were those of the National Food Authority, National

Same message Anonymous Philippines left the same message on the BOC home page as the one on the sites defaced.

The message read: “1987 Philippine Constitution.

Article III, Section 4 states that ‘NO LAW SHALL BE PASSED ABRIDGING the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.’”

The group added: “What happened to the law? Are all laws meant to be broken? Are they made to fool people, deprive them of their rights in exchange for what we believe as ‘Heavens for Politicians’? Some say we are against the law because it would hinder our ‘criminal activities,’ but WE do not oppose the said law in any way, if it is for the greater good.”

P-noy urged to certify antitrust bill as urgent

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT Aquino was asked over the weekend to certify the antitrust bill, which seeks to penalize “anticompetitive agreements and mergers” as urgent, for a healthier business environment.

Cagayan Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said there was still time to pass the antitrust measure or the proposed Philippine Fair Competition Act into law despite the tight legislative calendar ahead of the election campaign period.

“I don’t see a major issue against the bill so there is no reason not to pass it into law,” he told the INQUIRER in a phone interview. “I hope the President would certify it as urgent.”

A certification would allow both chambers of Congress to pass the bill on second and third readings on the same day. Sessions will resume on Jan. 21 but will adjourn on Feb. 8 to give way to the poll campaign period.

Although backed by at least 75 congressmen, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the antitrust bill has remained stuck in the period of debates.

But Rodriguez said this was only because it “took a back seat” when the House of Representatives concentrated on the reproductive health bill late last year.

“There is still time. We still have nine session days left,” said Rodriguez, whose centrist Democratic Party has been pushing for an antitrust law to go with efforts to lift the

Online libel criminalized The cybercrime law became controversial because it criminalizes online libel, among other things, angering journalists who have been campaigning for the decriminalization of libel. constitutional limit on foreign ownership of local businesses.

The bill will establish the Philippine Fair Competition Commission to help ensure that businesses would not enter into “anti-competitive agreements and anti-competitive mergers” and the “abuse of dominant position.”

“This would hit big businesses definitely, but this would also help improve the business climate and encourage more foreign investors,” said Rodriguez.

The bill will cover “cartels,” which are defined as a “combination of firms, providing goods in relevant markets, acting or joined together to obtain a shared monopoly to control production, sale and price, or to obtain control in any particular industry or commodity, or a group of firms that agree to restrict trade.”

The proposed commission will have the power to investigate “on its own initiative or upon the complaint of any person, any and all violations of this act and other competition laws and cause the issuance of a cease and desist order prior to the commencement of a preliminary inquiry, and/or the institution of a civil or administrative action.”

Under the bill, anti-competitive agreements could be either “horizontal” or “vertical.” The former refers to agreements “entered into between two or more enterprises operating at the same level in the market.”

Vertical agreements cover those “at a different level of the production or distribution chain, and relating to the conditions under which the parties may purchase, sell or resell certain goods or services.”

Another provision penalizes “prize fixing” or the “agreement among competitors to raise, suppress, fix or otherwise maintain the price at which their goods and services are sold.” ■

Shortly after President Aquino signed RA 10175 into law last Sept. 12, the high tribunal suspended its implementation for four months until February after consolidating 15 petitions against it.

Black webpage On the website of the QCPD, hacktivists put a blackthemed webpage condemning the cybercrime law.

The black webpage featured the logo of Anonymous Philippines and a statement titled “Protect our Right to Freedom of Expression.”

The hacking was first noticed by the QCPD Public Information Office around 2 p.m. As of press time, the website had not been returned to normal.

Fortunately, the website (http://www.qcpdpnp.com) had no sensitive data that could compromise QCPD operations.

“The website is mostly informative in nature where the public can read about our programs, accomplishments and what numbers to call. There was no serious security breach as to the QCPD’s operations,” said Senior Supt.

Joel Pagdilao, deputy district director for administration.

Less harmful The website also did not have a feedback, comment or e-mail mechanism which Pagdilao said made the hacking “less harmful.”

Part of the text on the website read: “We are the voice of the weak, the sense of the numb. We are bonded by cause and purpose. We are anonymous, we are legion, we do not forgive, we do not forget. Government of the Philippines, it’s too late to expect us.”

As of press time, the QCPD was working to restore the website.

Bid for attention Pagdilao said the hacking, timed with the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, was simply a “bid for attention.”

“This is the first time the QCPD website was hacked.

These people have so much talent which could be put to better use than hacking websites,” he added.

As part of the procedure, the QCPD reported the hacking incident to the Anti Transnational and Cybercrime Division of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Division.

Pagdilao said the CIDG would have the capability to track down the hacker.

The Eat Bulaga website’s home page was not defaced.

Instead, the site’s “About” page was replaced with a simple white screen with the phrase “u r alone.” written in plain black text. Private X claimed the hacking of the Eat Bulaga website on the hacker group’s Facebook page.

Centralize hosting of sites Earlier this week, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang was studying a proposal for the government to centralize the hosting of all government websites to improve security and fend off hackers.

He said “migrating” or moving all government websites to a government host would ensure safety from hackers.

“Those (websites) that are hosted by DOST (Department of Science and Technology) are secure; for instance (the) PCDSPO (Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office) and the OG (Official Gazette), they are hosted by the government and as much as the hackers have attempted to attack the OG (website), it has never been defaced,” Lacierda said. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

15 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

News-Phils

More people surf Web, read horoscopes than Bible

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer CHURCH leaders are looking at cyberspace as the main arena to keep the faithful.

In this predominantly Catholic country, the Bible is not only facing stiff competition from romance pocketbooks, horoscopes, feng shui (Chinese geomancy), it also is facing the challenge of the Internet, an official of the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) said.

Romance pocketbooks are popular among women while the young patronize more Internet shops instead of reading and reflecting on the Bible, said PBS general secretary Nora Lucero.

She added that a PBS study in 2011 also showed that 55 percent of Filipinos did not have their own copy of the Bible.

Many distractions “There are many [distractions].

It’s not just [horoscopes and feng shui books] because there are pocketbooks that are like telenovelas while the young spend more time in the Internet cafes,” Lucero said at a Church forum in Intramuros, Manila.

The Internet is becoming the main competitor of the Bible as Filipinos spend more and more time on online games and social networking sites, she said.

Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David has maintained that “all the activities in the life of the Church should be animated by the Bible,” Lucero said.

“Sometimes, the Church has many programs that are not linked to the Bible so it is really a great help if the

Church itself should push for Bible reading,” she added.

To increase Bible literacy among Filipinos, the PBS, which includes the Catholic Church and Protestant churches, launched a program in 2009 to distribute 5 million Bibles in five years. So far, they have been able to distribute 800,000 Bibles.

Funding needed “We are now trying to do more and are not looking at a five-year schedule because we also face other challenges like values formation and funding (Bible production),” Lucero said.

The printing cost for one Bible is P150, but the PBS sells its copies for only P50 each.

“So we have to raise funds for the P100 difference. We do that locally and internationally because there are also other Bible societies like us,” Lucero said.

Audio, e-Bible To neutralize the challenge posed by the Internet, the PBS has also produced an audio Bible and an e-Bible that can be downloaded online.

“We made the e-Bible available two or three years ago, while the audio Bible can be downloaded from the Internet,” Lucero said.

Despite the challenges, Lucero said their project was successful as the percentage of Filipinos with no Bibles had gone down from 60 percent in 2005 to 55 percent in 2011.

“We have touched several millions because, from 60 percent, it’s now down to 55 percent. Hopefully, this is a dent and there would be a continuing interest in the word of God,” she added. ■

Canadian kills 2 in Philippine court before being shot by officers THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MANILA, Philippines - A Canadian man facing charges of illegal possession of firearms opened fire in a Philippine courtroom Tuesday, killing two people and wounding a prosecutor before police fatally shot him, officials said.

The suspect, John Pope, appeared in court in central Cebu city to face the charges when he pulled out a gun and shot a lawyer and a physician who filed a case against him, police said.

He then fired at a prosecutor in the hallway of the building before police fatally wounded him, said police Chief Mariano Natuel.

Regional police director Marcelo Garbo said Pope ignored orders to surrender and tried to fire at police.

The Philippine Star reported on its website Tuesday that Pope, who was in his 60s, was carrying two firearms - a .357 revolver which he used to shoot the victims, and a .45 pistol police later recovered from a bag he carried.

Police said they were investigating Pope's background.

Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs said Canadian officials were in direct

contact with Philippine authorities and were providing consular assistance to Pope's family. ``Our deepest sympathies are with those affected by the terrible event in the Philippines,'' said spokeswoman Amanda Reid.

Philippine media reported on Pope in 2011, when he was held by police on charges of illegal possession of firearms.

The same physician who was killed in Tuesday's shooting accused Pope, his neighbour, of brandishing a weapon and threatening him and other residents in their condominium.

Pope was quoted as saying at the time that the pistol he was carrying was for self-defence. Apart from illegal weapons possession, he was also charged with malicious mischief and grave threats.

The Freeman, an English newspaper in Cebu, reported online Tuesday that Pope had been living in Cebu for 15 years and had been served with a deportation order late last year. The news outlet reported that Pope had not been deported before the shooting as he still had pending cases in the courts.

Tuesday's shooting came after several recent killings in the country that prompted calls for a tighter gun control. ■

Philippines says it is challenging China's claims in South China Sea at international tribunal

BY JIM GOMEZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines took a legal step against China's claims to virtually the entire South China Sea on Tuesday, formally notifying the Asian superpower that Manila is seeking international arbitration to declare Beijing's moves in the potentially oil-rich waters ``illegal and invalid.''

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said at a news conference that his department summoned Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing and handed her a note notifying the Chinese government that the Philippine government is bringing both countries' conflicting claims to an international tribunal.

The move is likely to bring an angry response from China, the Philippines' thirdlargest trading partner.

Several countries claim parts of the South China Sea, and China claims virtually all of it. It has confronted Philippine ships in a standoff over the Scarborough Shoal, which both countries claim. The Philippines withdrew ships from the shoal last June and has since protested China's buildup.

There are fears that territorial conflicts in the region, including a dispute between Japan and China in the East China Sea, could spark Asia's next major armed conflict.

The Philippines hopes that arbitration through an arbitral tribunal operating under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would lead to a decision that would direct China to respect the Philippines' claims. But even if a tribunal ruled against China, Beijing could choose to simply ignore the ruling.

Del Rosario said that the Philippines made the move after previous diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial rifts failed. ``The Philippines has exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime disputes with China,'' del Rosario said. He added the Philippine government hopes that the legal step it has taken ``shall bring this dispute to a durable solution.'' ``We are all for improving our economic relations with China but it should not be at the expense of surrendering our national sovereignty,'' he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing did not immediately comment, asking that questions be submitted by fax.

In the note handed by Filipino diplomats to the Chinese ambassador, the Philippines listed several aggressive moves it alleged were launched by China in recent years to fortify its territorial claims, including the occupation of South China Sea islands and the enactment of a Chinese law that would allow Chinese patrol vessels to block and board foreign ships passing through vast stretches of waters that Beijing claims.

Del Rosario said the Philippines' move was made independently of its ally the United States, which has called for a peaceful resolution of the claims and a guarantee that freedom of navigation will not be hindered.

Other countries clashing with China over South China Sea territory, including Vietnam, could benefit from the Philippine action without risking possible Chinese retaliatory steps. ■ --Associated Press writer Hrvoje Hranjski in Manila contributed to this report.

Opinion

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 16

THERE’S THE RUB

Don’t stop

BY CONRADO DE QUIROS Philippine Daily Inquirer IT’S ANOTHER one of those magic-realist quirks of this country that an 89-year-old man should be unctuously solicitous about the health of an adversary in her late 60s. He’ll pray for Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s swift recovery, Juan Ponce Enrile says, after their exchange of verbal fire last week, which had Miriam’s blood pressure shooting through the roof. It was in fact, say her doctors, a minor stroke—after her major stroke of shining a light again on Enrile’s past— which manifested itself in burst blood vessels in the eyes and not in the brain. Of course some will say too late, but let’s be kind and refrain from the jokes.

Of course I wouldn’t put it past Enrile to have meant his display of concern as a sly retort to Miriam saying, “tumigil-tigil na nga ’yang matandang ’yan.” He must have been sorely tempted to prescribe stem cell treatment for her but resisted it heroically.

My sympathies are with Miriam on this one, and I wouldn’t mind her clinging tenaciously to her cause of exposing Enrile, particularly in his role as martial law enforcer, which he has tried to obscure from view. That is not, as cynics might say, because as her doctors have warned pursuing that tack could lead to nasty consequences, baka matuluyan, but quite earnestly because I do think she is doing the country a favor by it. The elections being just round the corner, it helps monumentally to make the electorate remember what some of

the characters there have done to screw them in That was so because only she and three other the past. Indeed, to make the voters see the real senators got P250,000 while the 18 others got character of those characters.

P1.6 million, a patent case of Enrile wanting to It should also help to lessen the public’s punish her and the three other senators—Antonio perception of Miriam as the neighborhood, or Trillanes and the Cayetano siblings—for being senatorial, bully with the way she has gained less than tractable, or servile, before him. For renown, or notoriety, for picking on people who the public, Miriam’s spurning of her P250,000 can’t fight back. It’s time was just as patent a she showed she’s capable case of her scorning The elections being just round the corner, not the quality but the of taking on people her it helps monumentally to make the quantity of the gratuity. own size, figuratively speaking. electorate remember what some of the Not the amount being Of course the retaliation characters there have done to screw them undue and improper to was bound to come. It’s the taxpayers but the in the past. not just that Enrile wasn’t amount being undue going to take it lying and improper to her. It down, being depicted as lying through his teeth, wasn’t an injury to the taxpayers, it was an insult it’s also that Miriam isn’t exactly invulnerable to to her. attack. The pot is perfectly right to call the kettle Naturally Ping Lacson was quick to jump on black, but so is the kettle to call the pot black. it. Quite apart from the fact that it puts pressure Unfortunately for Miriam, the thing that got her on the other senators to return their P1.6 million, to mount her high horse and sally forth to slay the a thing they are exceedingly loath to do, he is ogre does not put her at a great advantage. It had to Enrile’s man. “A crusading crook,” he fired back do with money, which all of them are sullied with. at Miriam. And added with the same bile Miriam Specifically, it had to do with Miriam returning heaps on her enemies: “She is a hypocrite par the P250,000 she got in gratuity from Enrile last excellence who doesn’t have a single shred of December on the grounds that it was undue and integrity in her veins and moral ascendancy over improper. Her argument of course was solid. The any mortal on earth. Ask people who have fallen bonus was justified as supplemental budget, but, victim to her verbal threats and assaults and they she rightly asked, why should the senators be will tell you how much they shelled out (for her entitled to supplemental budget at the end of the to stop).” year when their work was already done?

Given a taste of how it feels to be ganged up upon, But the public, rather than seeing that as a sign or to be at the receiving end of her own tactics at of principle, saw it only as a sign of pettiness. Senate hearings, she ended up at the doctor’s office.

Enrile says they should all call a truce, the recriminations aren’t helping, they’re just destroying the image of the Senate. But not at all. That’s just the logic of l’etat c’est moi, or of people believing they are the institution, but are destroying the institution themselves. In fact these recriminations improve the image of the Senate, they strengthen the Senate. Exposing the rot inside institutions does not damage the institutions, it cleanses them of their dregs, it separates the innocent from the guilty, the lofty from the base. Unity is not just an overrated virtue, it is a downright vice when all it means is keeping it all in the family, not exposing dirty linen in public.

Hallowed institutions like the Senate do not say it best when they say nothing at all, they say it best, to paraphrase the song, when they say everything that needs to be said.

What Miriam said last week about Enrile needs very badly to be said. And I will applaud her if she continues to say it despite the odds.

It should be a test of character, it should be a test of mettle, it should be a legacy to be remembered by. Enrile’s role during martial law may not be forgotten and forgiven, may not be obfuscated or obscured. Miriam at least stands on solid ground there, her difference with Enrile during that time being the difference between day and night. She takes up the cudgels for those who suffered during martial law, as she once did for people like Lino Brocka, who knows, maybe she can find redemption after the fall. What can I say?

Serve the people. Don’t stop. ■

AT LARGE

Free Mali now!

BY RINA JIMENEZ-DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer IT’S A good thing that the makers of the film “Life of Pi” didn’t attempt to give human traits or a personality to “Richard Parker,” the adult Bengal tiger who shares a life boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with Pi Patel, a teenage Indian boy who survives a shipwreck where the rest of his family dies.

As Pi’s father warns him early in the movie, “Richard Parker” is a wild animal with the instincts of a predator, and in a moment of weakness or carelessness, could turn on the humans who keep him fed and sheltered.

Indeed, it is easy for humans to ascribe human qualities to animals we live with. We like to believe they “feel” like we do, are affected by events the same way we are, and even like the same food or accoutrements we prefer. Maybe this explains the penchant of too many pet owners to dress up their pets in all sorts of outfits, including coats and shoes in our warm, humid climate.

So it may not be so strange that the zookeepers at Manila Zoo and others working with Mali, the resident elephant there, feel reluctant to let go of the pachyderm. One photographer, who claims to have developed a “relationship” with Mali, has even issued an impassioned letter claiming that the elephant would be devastated if she were to be separated from her human “friends.”

Authorities at Manila Zoo, replying to an Juan Miguel Zubiri asserting that “assuming Mali appeal to ship off Mali to an elephant sanctuary is fit to make the trip to Thailand, she would be in Thailand, have said that she is not lacking for better off in a designated sanctuary, rather than company as “Mali considers her keepers to be kept in a zoo here.” *** her family.” Well, how do they know this? Has Mali ever said so? She may, after 35 years in PETA plans to place Mali in Boon Lott’s captivity, grown used to her keepers and their Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) in Northern Thailand, upon the daily routines. But has recommendation of several she developed a feeling of kinship and “love” with What are we teaching our school elephant experts who have them? Is it even possible children by keeping behind an evaluated numerous other for a wild animal to do so? enclosure a beautiful animal who is sanctuaries in Asia. For their part, the Ecowarriors *** clearly suffering and whose captivity say Mali could also be LAST week, members of the People for the Ethical has resulted in the deterioration of relocated to “The Thai Treatment of Animals her health?

Elephant Conservation (Peta), which initiated the Center” near Chiang Mai public call to transfer Mali for her own health (also in Northern Thailand) which currently and safety, delivered their formal petition to the houses more than 50 Asian elephants, including Bureau of Animal Industry for the immediate six of the King’s 10 white elephants.

At this point, wherever Mali might be transfer of the elephant. After public reports on Mali’s condition—she has been diagnosed with relocated, a sanctuary that affords her not just potentially fatal foot conditions—were aired last sufficient space, a natural setting and soft ground year, President Aquino ordered the Department of to roam, and the company of other elephants Environment and Natural Resources’ Protected which is especially important since elephants are Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) and the BAI natural herd animals, would be a far better place (of the Department of Agriculture) to study the than her enclosure in the Manila Zoo, which is possibility of transferring Mali. A report says the far too small, with a concrete floor, and two small authorities “are now trying to ascertain if Mali pools, one of which, says Peta, doesn’t even is in shape to make the trip, and looking into contain water.

Thailand’s quarantine protocols.”

In a sanctuary, says Peta, Mali “will be guaranteed Peta has been joined by other environmental and hands-on care 24 hours a day, and she will never go animal rights groups in calling for Mali’s transfer, hungry.” Plus, she will be able to “engage in natural which is rather urgent given her health condition. behavior, such as playing in rivers, socializing Among these are the Pilipinas Ecowarriors, with with each other, and foraging.” In contrast, the convenor (and senatorial candidate) former Sen. Manila Zoo has admitted that it has no veterinarian

especially trained in the care of elephants. Which may be the reason Mali developed potentially fatal foot problems and, as admitted by zoo authorities themselves, she “has never been administered medication other than topical ointments and laxatives” in reaction to Peta’s request to conduct blood studies of the aging elephant. *** IS THIS any way to treat a guest who was entrusted to the Filipino people? Mali was gifted by the Sri Lankan government to the Philippine government, then under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. She has been in the country for 35 years, providing education, entertainment and amusement to generations of children and other zoo-goers. She is now the only elephant in the Philippines.

Manila Zoo management admits that Mali is the major attraction of the zoo, and losing her may take a toll on the zoo’s gate receipts and attractions. True. But don’t you think that after 35 years of unstinting service to the country, Mali deserves a restful retirement, and the care that she deserves, especially the company of other elephants like her?

What are we teaching our school children by keeping behind an enclosure a beautiful animal who is clearly suffering and whose captivity has resulted in the deterioration of her health?

What is Mali’s continued captivity saying about us as a people, especially since Peta has volunteered to shoulder the cost of her transfer and promised to take utmost care that her transport will not result in any damage to her health or psyche?

What are we waiting for? Free Mali now! ■

17 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Opinion

PUBLIC LIVES

Where in the world is Mali?

BY RANDY DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer THERE’S PROBABLY not a single country left in the world today where one would not find Filipinos. In any war that breaks out anywhere, any major disaster that happens on land or at sea, in every hijacking of a cargo boat, or any terrorist attack in a crowded public place in any big city—chances are one of the victims could be a Filipino worker. This has made the everyday outlook of the average Filipino global. In the short span of 40 years, we have, by necessity, become interested in what is happening in the rest of the world because of the broad dispersal of our overseas workers.

Yet, our perspective on global events has remained painfully parochial. The first, and often the last, thing we seek to know in the face of events like these is whether there are Filipinos among those who have been killed, kidnapped or hurt.

Seldom do we concern ourselves with knowing what’s happening to the countries in which our people live and work or, even less, what we can do to help or express our solidarity with the inhabitants of these troubled places.

I know that it’s often been said that we are not a big power, and that therefore it’s not for us to say anything that could jeopardize the position of our overseas workers. That indeed may be so.

But even from the narrow perspective of national interest, it certainly behooves us to understand the general state of the countries, regions and

continents to which we deliberately send our the basic goal appeared to be no more than to workers. take foreign captives and hold them for ransom.

A good case in point is North Africa, which Mali occupies a large portion of the Sahara has been the site of the world’s most dramatic desert. Since 2008, its northern section has been political transformation in the last two years. under the control of highly-mobile al-Qaida This whole region continues to be perilously militants and other armed groups engaged in the in flux. The hostage-taking last Thursday by trafficking of drugs, arms and humans. National so-called Islamist militants at a natural gas borders mean nothing to these roving bands. field in eastern Algeria cannot be separated Pursued by military forces in one country, they from the political upheavals that produced the move to the next with ease. Their intrusion into dramatic regime changes in Tunisia, Libya what was supposed to be a tightly-secured gas and Egypt. field in neighboring Algeria demonstrates their According to the initial sketchy reports, more boldness and capability. than a hundred individuals, mostly foreigners, This whole region remains a site of were herded and held at tremendous political instability gunpoint by members of Seldom do we concern ourselves notwithstanding the ouster of an armed militant group. with knowing what’s happening to its infamous tyrants. Indeed, Algerian special forces the countries in which our people following the overthrow of launched a hurried rescue live and work or, even less, what the Gadhafi regime in Libya, when they saw that the a market in assorted firearms we can do to help or express our began to flourish in that gunmen were about to move the hostages and transport solidarity with the inhabitants of region. Sophisticated weapons them to neighboring Mali. these troubled places. that had been part of Gadhafi’s Many hostages, including a arsenal quickly found their number of Americans, Japanese and Europeans way into the hands of various militia groups, working at the gas plant, were killed in the including those linked to the al-Qaida, that roam crossfire. Two Filipinos were among the the vast desert stretching from Mauritania to Niger. seriously injured, while 34 other OFWs were To all intents and purposes, Islamist forces reported to be among the 600 workers who identified as the “al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb” were safely pulled out of the site.

(AQIM) have taken control of Northern Mali, What was the motive for this hostage-taking? dislodging the Tuareg secessionist rebels with The Islamist gunmen announced that it was in whom they had been previously in alliance. The retaliation for the French intervention in Mali, a Mali government itself is in a difficult transition huge landlocked country just below Algeria. But following a military coup in March 2012.

France, Mali’s former colonial ruler, has taken upon itself the responsibility of helping the interim government push back the Islamist offensive and prevent the radical Islamists from extending their control to Bamako, the capital city located in the southern part of the country where most Malians live. Observers say this will not be easy. Even Algeria opposes the French meddling in Mali.

Intervention in Mali could be to France what the invasion of Afghanistan has been to the United States, a burdensome war without a foreseeable end, an adventure that could drain the energy and wealth of France.

The allusion to Afghanistan is what is making the United Nations sit up and take a serious look at the situation in Mali. The UN prefers that any intervention be led by an African coalition of forces. But such a coalition is probably more difficult to put together than the Arab alliance that failed to congeal against Gadhafi. None of these African countries would risk provoking retaliation from al-Qaida. Who then will care about Mali?

Until recently, I myself wasn’t even sure where Mali was exactly. But, one day, my 3-year-old granddaughter Jacinta, who loves locating the most obscure countries on a globe, showed me where it was—on the western side of the vast African continent, boxed in by Algeria to the north, by Mauritania to the west,

by Niger to the east, and by Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso to the south.

Knowing where countries are on a world map has truly become a necessity for every Filipino in this globalized era. ■

AS I SEE IT

Solve traffic jam first before Edsa repairs

BY NEAL H. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer BEFORE THEY even think of embarking on a massive two-year repair work on Edsa, they should first solve the infernal traffic jams there.

Even on the best of days, a trip by motor vehicle from Quezon City to Makati takes at least one hour. On the worst days, especially during Fridays, paydays and bargain-sale days (in any of the shopping malls along the thoroughfare), the trip is usually more than double that long.

Imagine what will happen if the whole stretch of Edsa is repaired, for two years! It would be hell on earth!

Government agencies, especially the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), seem at a loss on what to do with the traffic problem there. Yet any damn fool can see what is causing it—too many vehicles on the same street at the same time. As the saying goes, “You cannot put 10 pounds of s--t in a 5pound bag.” To be able to do that, you have to reduce the 10 pounds of s--t into 5 pounds. It is the same thing with Edsa: You have to reduce the number of vehicles there according to the holding capacity of the thoroughfare. The government itself says that Edsa endures daily three times the number of vehicles it was designed for. Ergo, reduce the number of vehicles there by twothirds. The question is, how?

The MMDA has tried color-coding or, more accurately, the “numbers game.” Vehicles are banned from Edsa on a certain day of the week,

depending on the last digit of their plate number: The trouble is that there are too many fixers in the 1 and 2 on Mondays, 3 and 4 on Tuesdays and LTFRB who secure franchises with the cooperation so forth. But the trick hardly makes a dent on of their accomplices inside the regulatory agency. the vehicle volume on Edsa. The operators and How can we now reduce the number of buses on owners of buses and private vehicles simply Edsa without violating franchises? switch their plates. So the government had the Simple, as I see it. Suspend, then cancel the plate numbers of the buses painted in big black franchises of buses in serious accidents or whose numerals on the sides of the buses, but no such drivers have committed many traffic violations. thing can be done on private vehicles; many Just making them pay fines is not enough to owners simply buy a teach them to obey traffic spare vehicle—on easy The government itself says that Edsa rules. installment terms—for And why do the drivers the days when one of their endures daily three times the number violate traffic rules vehicles is banned from of vehicles it was designed for. Ergo, regardless of the penalty? reduce the number of vehicles there Because of competition Edsa.

Among the biggest by two-thirds. The question is, how? caused, again, by too many causes of traffic buses. These buses dawdle congestion on Edsa and at bus stops, waiting for other streets are those big, lumbering buses passengers, blocking the buses and other vehicles driven by undisciplined drivers. The bigger the behind them, thus slowing down traffic. When vehicle, the more space it occupies, right? But the drivers see passengers waiting for rides, even the bigger vehicles can carry more passengers, away from bus stops, they suddenly swerve to also right? Except that many of those big buses pick them up, often causing accidents. Again, the are half-empty, even during rush hours, burning answer here is obvious: Reduce the number of precious imported fuel and polluting the air with buses on Edsa. their exhausts. Ergo, there are much more buses Former MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando once than necessary to carry the passengers who need planned on having bus terminals near Edsa, them. The answer is also obvious: Reduce the where city buses could wait for passengers and be number of buses on Edsa. But again the question dispatched as needed. That way, not only would is, how? competition be reduced, so would the number of These buses have franchises; they have the right vehicles plying Edsa, the quantity of fuel wasted to operate on Edsa. The culprit here is the Land on half-empty buses and due to heavy traffic, and Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board air pollution. Also the wear and tear on buses (LTFRB). It issues too many franchises although it would be minimized. That was a good plan, but has been told that Edsa can hold only so many buses. what happened to it? The present MMDA chair

either does not want to implement it or does not know how to go about it.

And then the bus congestion was exacerbated when the previous MMDA put up bus stops on Edsa for provincial buses. As provincial buses, they should operate only in the provinces, right? Their terminals should be outside city limits where they can load and unload passengers. The city buses can then ferry the passengers to their destinations in the inner cities. That was a sensible plan but, again, the MMDA is either reluctant or afraid of the provincial bus operators, or does not know or dare to go about it.

The elevated rail lines were expected to starve the buses of passengers so that they would be phased out and thus reduce the number of buses plying the streets below. No such thing happened.

The elevated rails do not have enough trains and coaches to carry all the passengers who want to use them. We can see this inside trains overloaded to the brim with passengers crammed like sardines, and in the long lines of commuters waiting to board at train stations. Again, the answer is obvious: Increase the number of coaches and trains.

But the government and the private operators are unwilling to spend more for trains and coaches. Why invest more when they are already making a killing with the present arrangement? The government, meaning the taxpayers, pay for whatever governmentguaranteed profit the private firms don’t earn from the train operations. What better deal can you get than that? ■

News-Phils

PNP report: No shootout

BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer THERE was no shootout. But there was a deliberate effort to make the crime scene look like the site of a gun battle. And the possibility of an ambush cannot be ruled out.

Those are among the findings of the police investigating team that looked into the supposed shootout between government security forces and alleged criminals that left 13 people dead in Atimonan town, Quezon province, on Jan. 6.

The report by the Philippine National Police fact-finding committee also found that excessive force was used on the victims, as indicated by their gunshot wounds and the number of bullet holes on their vehicles: Vehicle 1 with 174 entry bullet holes; vehicle 2 with 45 entry bullet holes. Eleven victims were shot in the head.

The PNP submitted the report to the National Bureau of Investigation.

President Aquino ordered the NBI to investigate what appears to be ganglandstyle killings.

Investigators said that one of the victims, Leonardo Marasigan, driver of the first vehicle, “initially had no firearm but later a firearm was placed near his hands and head.”

The investigators identified the firearm as a .45 cal. pistol, which was unfired. But they said Marasigan’s right hand tested positive for gunpowder.

They said one of the slain soldiers, Air Force SSgt. Armando Lescano, “initially had a firearm tucked in his waist, but later a firearm was placed near his hands.”

“An M16 that was initially slung behind the headrest of the seat in front of SPO1 Gruet Mantuano in the lead vehicle was later found between his legs,” the investigators said.

Spent cases of assault rifle ammunition reported by police to have been recovered from the first vehicle were actually recovered from the second vehicle, they said.

Doubts The investigators said they doubted that all the firearms reportedly recovered from the victims were actually used because of the firearms’ location in relation to the positions of their bodies when they were found.

They said they also doubted that two men whose bodies were reportedly found outside the vehicles were actually found there.

Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) police, was hit in the hands and foot, reportedly prompting the policemen and soldiers to return fire, killing all It was also doubtful that the victims the occupants of the first two vehicles.

Occupants of the third vehicle also actually had guns in their hands when fired on the security forces then turned they were shot, the investigators said.

The muzzle of a firearm recovered from one of the vehicles was taped, they said.

They said the M16 found between the legs of Mantuano was pointed “muzzle down,” indicating that the rifle had not been raised during the supposed shootout.

The investigators also said the Quezon provincial police crime scene investigators received “a standby call about the incident at 4:00 in the afternoon from Deputy Police Provincial Office Supt. Renato Alba,” but were not called to the site until 4:25 p.m., 45 minutes after the supposed shootout.

The crime scene investigators arrived at the scene at 5:45 p.m., the investigators said.

But the investigation did not begin at once. The investigators were told to wait for Chief Supt. James Melad, chief of the Calabarzon police.

Three policemen and three soldiers were among the 13 men killed at the joint policemilitary checkpoint along Maharlika Highway in Barangay Lumutan in Atimonan.

Local police reported that the security forces flagged down three sports utility vehicles at the checkpoint, but the occupants of the SUVs opened fire.

The leader of the police team, Supt.

Hansel Marantan, deputy chief of intelligence of the Calabarzon (Cavite,

back and fled, local police said.

The Quezon police called the encounter a shootout, but the families of the 13 men charged that the victims were summarily executed.

President Aquino himself observed “inconsistencies” in the early police reports, and ordered the NBI to find out what really happened.

Coplan’s target The PNP investigation is a separate inquiry into the supposed shootout, in which among those killed was Victor “Vic” Siman, allegedly an operator of the numbers racket “jueteng” in Laguna and Batangas provinces in southern Luzon.

Siman is one of the two targets of “Coplan Armado,” a police operation against jueteng and guns for hire in the Southern Tagalog region.

The other target was Mayor Joven Hidalgo of Balete town, Batangas province.

Hidalgo has denied involvement in jueteng and gunrunning in southern Luzon.

Sources in the PNP have told the INQUIRER that the supposed shootout was triggered by a turf war between two jueteng syndicates in Southern Tagalog.

One of the sources told the INQUIRER that Siman’s group appeared to have been ambushed by the other group.

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 18

In their report, the PNP investigators said the “possibility that an ambush happened cannot be discounted.”

Instant deaths The PNP probers said “excessive force” was used on the victims, as indicated by 175 bullet entry holes on the first vehicle and 45 on the second vehicle.

“The multiple gunshot wounds in the different parts of the bodies of the victims caused extensive and fatal injuries resulting in instant deaths,” the investigators said.

The trajectories of the bullets that hit the vehicles showed that the shots were fired from different directions and at different angles, including from elevated positions, they said.

But how Marantan was hit could not be ascertained, “since he refused to submit himself for physical examination,” the investigators said.

They said Dr. Arturo de la Peña, director of St. Luke’s Medical Center, refused to turn over to the investigating committee the slugs recovered from Marantan.

Charges recommended The fact-finding committee recommended the filing of criminal charges against the policemen and Army special forces who took part in the supposed shootout.

They also recommended administrative charges against the policemen involved.

Recommended charged were Melad; Marantan; Senior Supt. Valeriano de Leon, Quezon police director; Supt.

Ramon Balauag, chief of intelligence of the Quezon police; Supt. Glenn Dumlao, commander of the Regional Public Safety Battalion of the Calabarzon police; Chief Insp. Grant Gollod, Atimonan police chief; Senior Insp. Ferdinand Aguilar, leader of the police team at first of three checkpoints in Atimonan at the time of the supposed shootout; and Insp. Evaristo San Juan, team leader at the third checkpoint.

The PNP investigators also said the policemen violated checkpoint rules.

They said that the police used no marked vehicles at the second checkpoint, where the supposed shootout happened.

There were also no signs at the second checkpoint.

The fact-finding report was signed by the chair of the investigating committee, Chief Supt. Federico Perez Castro, and its members—Senior Superintendents Rene Diaz Ong, Rosvi Cunanan Manulid, Allen Bantolo Bantolo, Reuben Theodore Casenas Sindac and Philip Gil Mallare Philipps. ■

19 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Jason Kenney, Jonathan Kaiman battle it out on The Guardian

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer

IT'S THE WAR of words between the two “J.K.'s”...Jason Kenney, Canada's Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, versus Jonathan Kaiman, writer for the British paper, The Guardian.

The battle started after the paper published a piece written by Kaiman entitled “Maple leaf ragged: what ails Canada?”

In his article, Kaiman warns of “trouble brewing in Canada”, saying that an “undercurrent of anxiety courses through the country's public discourse and its media; it dominates conversations in coffee shops and university hallways”.

He then goes on to criticize the Conservative government's policies, finding fault with immigration reform laws, intolerance of other cultures deemed rampant in Quebec, the development of the northern Alberta tar sands, and the recently publicized issues surrounding the First Nations.

Kenney is not taking these accusations lightly. He is fighting back with his own article published in The Guardian, “Canada has not become ugly and intolerant.”

In his response to Kaiman's criticisms, Kenney says that “nine out of 10 Canadians” believe that “Canada is the greatest country in the world,” according to an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted recently in partnership with Maclean’s.

In his article, Kenney chooses to deal with Kaiman's criticisms of the immigrations policies.

“I will confine myself to correcting Kaiman's slanders against the most open and generous immigration system in the developed world,” he says. He touted that Canada is not only increasing immigration, but also making the system more flexible.

“We're still a pluralistic nation and welcome legitimate migrants; recent government reforms are about tackling abuse,” he emphasizes.

He further clarifies that health care for refugees has not been eliminated, as suggested by Kaiman, and then points out that in Canada, neither is there a “harsh crackdown” on illegal immigrants.

After listing percentage rates for immigrations acceptances in recent years, Kenney goes on to highlight Canada's greater levels of tolerance and acceptance, compared with most other nations of the world.

“Canada is frequently lauded as a model of peaceful pluralism. Our government's recent reforms have made Canada more open to legitimate immigrants but harder on those seeking to abuse our generosity," Kenney stresses.

He then saves his most solid rebuttal for the very end, at which point he says, “It is a pity that Kaiman has aligned himself with the radical fringe of racial grievance-mongers in mistaking the rule of law – the backbone of a free and open society – for discrimination.”

Comments to Kenney's articles from readers of The Guardian are mixed, with many criticizing the minister's defenses, and others. showing support for his rebuttal of Kaiman's criticisms. ■ (Read more about this at http:// www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ sep/14/maple-leaf-what-ails-canada and http://www.guardian.co.uk/ commentisfree/2012/sep/27/responsecanada-immigration-jason-kenney)

NEWS BRIEFS Feds pay bills for CEOs on Harper China tour OTTAWA - The Conservative government covered expenses for some of the country’s top executives as they accompanied the prime minister around China a year ago, a move business leaders and officials defend as a good investment. The trip signalled a change of approach for Stephen Harper, who for years eschewed the idea of leading big trade offensives abroad.

NDP pushes for mandatory credit card rules OTTAWA - The federal Opposition on Monday called on the Harper government to stop credit card companies from charging businesses higher fees for using premium cards.The call came as a federal competition tribunal prepared to rule on whether Visa and MasterCard are engaging in anti-competitive behaviour.

Quebec creates its own flag day QUEBEC - Quebec will create its own annual flag day to fete the Fleur-delis, every Jan. 21.Premier Pauline Marois made the announcement today on the 65th anniversary of the adoption of the Quebec flag, which replaced the Union Jack in the province in 1948.

Saskatchewan municipal police to carry Tasers REGINA - Saskatchewan is expanding the use of stun guns, allowing every municipal police officer across the province to carry them. The Saskatchewan Police Commission said Monday it knows Tasers are potentially dangerous, but they are also effective in the right circumstances.

Canada News

As Canada warms up, more extreme weather is the new normal: Environment Canada

BY SUE BAILEY THE CANADIAN PRESS ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Environment Canada says warming trends across the country will mean more severe blasts of rain, wind, snow and heat from Mother Nature.

Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist, says 2012 was the 16th year in a row that saw higher than normal temperatures across Canada.

Over the last 10 years, just four of 40 seasons were cooler than normal. ``So that certainly is a trend there,'' Robichaud said from Halifax where he also works with the Canadian Hurricane Centre. ``The climate change experts are saying that we're going to get heavier rainfall events and more frequent non-tropical type storms. So in that respect, we have to be ready for it.''

Over the last year, Canada saw intense heat waves, extreme flooding in B.C. and an especially active hurricane season that culminated in Superstorm Sandy.

The massive Atlantic hurricane collided with another weather system, churned a path of destruction through seaside New Jersey and left wreckage and lost business costs estimated at more than US$65 billion.

U.S. President Barack Obama, in his second inaugural speech Monday, did not mince words on the need for environmental action. ``We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations,'' he said. ``Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms.''

Environmental campaigners will be watching to see if Obama backs up those strong words with strong measures, and the extent to which Prime Minister Stephen Harper may respond. The federal Conservative government has been accused of using inaction on climate

change south of the border as an excuse for not doing more to cut greenhouse gases in Canada.

In St. John's, N.L., a powerful blizzard on Jan. 11 dumped about 52 centimetres of snow and packed wind gusts of more than 100 kilometres an hour. Mayor Dennis O'Keefe can't recall a storm like it in his entire life, all 68 years of it spent in St. John's. ``I mean, my house shook,'' he said in an interview. ``That wind howled, and for the very first time I wondered whether or not I was going to have damage to my house which, thank God, I didn't. ``I could actually see things vibrate on the inside of the house.''

O'Keefe says the city, like others across Canada, will have to assess the extent to which more wild weather could be costly. ``No doubt about it, there is damage when we have these extremes, when you get into hurricane winds. The cost is

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 20

potentially, depending on what happens in the next 10 to 15 years, into the hundreds of millions of dollars when it comes to infrastructure, flooding costs, damage to public buildings, damage to private homes and so on. ``We're going to have to look at all of these issues in terms of how we build for the future.''

The recent blizzard in St. John's followed widespread wind damage caused in September by post-tropical storm Leslie and the havoc caused by hurricane Igor on Sept. 21, 2010.

Igor swept across eastern Newfoundland, dumping more than 200 millimetres of rain in some regions as swollen rivers and creeks blasted through roads and wiped out bridges. The storm caused about $125 million in damages, temporarily cutting off 90 communities as 22 of them declared states of emergency. â–

Business lobby says regulation costs average of $6,000 per employee each year

BY LINDA NGUYEN THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - Unnecessary red tape is not only frustrating, but it's costing Canadian businesses about $31 billion a year, according to a study released Monday.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says small businesses spend an average of $5,942 per employee each year on regulatory compliance - about 45 per cent more than their counterparts in the United States who spend $4,084.

And according to the report, that figure has remained relatively unchanged since the federation, one of the country's largest private-sector lobby groups, began tracking the cost in 2005.

Tony Clement, the minister who heads the Treasury Board, says the federal government began soliciting suggestions for reducing red tape in 2010 but adds that it takes time to put changes into place. ``We sought out advice from those most affected by red tape on how we could alleviate the situation,'' Clement said during a policy announcement Monday. ``We announced our plans to move forward with over 90 recommendations and what you're seeing now is the official roll out of these recommendations.''

Although the government is focused on cutting these costs for businesses, it must be done without compromising necessary regulations, Clement added. ``We think there is a lot of room to reduce that burden without negatively impacting on Canadian's health and safety.''

The minister was at a downtown Toronto pharmacy to announce that regulated pharmacy technicians will now be able to oversee the transfer of prescriptions from one pharmacy to another - a task currently restricted to pharmacists.

The change will see Canadian pharmacies save $8.7 million per year in administrative

costs related to proposed changes in federal food and drug regulations, the government said.

The policy change coincides with similar initiatives announced Monday by the federal government, including the reduction of corporate reporting for businesses with revenues between $10 million and $200 million. It says that move will generate $1.2 million in reduced regulatory burden, and apply to about 32,000 businesses.

The government also announced that call agents at the Canada Revenue Agency will now have to provide an agent ID number when greeting business clients, to ensure more accountability.

The CFIB's latest report was released at the beginning of what has been dubbed Red Tape Awareness week.

Executive vice-president Laura Jones said businesses in the United States and Canada indicate regulatory costs could be reduced by 30 per cent without harming important health and safety objectives.

Jones said her members don't have a problem with rules that govern health, safety and the environment but rather, disagree with the ``garden-variety red tape'' like unnecessary phone calls or audits from the Canada Revenue Agency that can be detrimental to small businesses. ``It's really the bad government customer service, the confusing rules that deliver no health and safety benefit - that's what we're talking about when we talk about red tape,'' she said.

The results were compiled by the federation from 8,562 surveys conducted online and through mail by small- to medium-sized businesses in Canada. It has a margin of error of 1.06 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The U.S. results were compiled by pollster Ipsos Reid from 1,535 online surveys, with a margin of error of 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20. â– - With files from David Paddon

World News

21 FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013

Obama takes public oath of office, sets out bold agenda for Term 2

BY LEE-ANNE GOODMAN THE CANADIAN PRESS

as a devastating economic recession was taking hold, thwarting some of his loftiest legislative goals and compelling his administration to spend billions in efforts to ward off a fullfledged depression.

It's also been marked by nasty partisan brawling incited largely by a Republican opposition that made no bones about its determination to put the brakes to Obama's legislative agenda

flubbed the oath of office in 2009, swore in Obama this time without any hitches - it was the president, in fact, who briefly stumbled over the words ``United States.''

As the inaugural festivities played out on Capitol Hill, hundreds of people were gathered just down the street at the Canadian embassy to watch history unfold. The party at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, hosted by Ambassador Gary Doer, was one of the hottest tickets in the U.S. capital given its close proximity to the Capitol building.

It boasts a stunning view of the action from its sixth-floor rooftop patio.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and some American VIPs were among those in attendance noshing on BeaverTails, poutine, Tim Hortons coffee and Crown Royal cocktails, among other Canadian fare.

Obama begins his next four years in office amid far different circumstances than he did in 2009, when his soaring messages of hope and change dared millions of Americans to dream that their country could be the better, brighter place that King himself envisioned decades earlier.

And yet the commander-in-chief now presides over a bitterly divided U.S. Congress, although the dramatically changing face of America, in particular the growing number of Hispanic voters, helped to decisively propel him to a second victory in November.

The president's first term kicked off

at every turn. They also vowed to deny him a second term, an ultimately fruitless mission.

Obama made pointed reference to the congressional warfare on Monday. ``Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time - but it does require us to act in our time,'' Obama said in his address. ``Decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat namecalling as reasoned debate.''

In the past four years, Obama has had major successes - the president managed to do what so many in the Oval Office had failed to achieve, passing a sweeping overhaul to the country's health-care system that provided health insurance to millions of Americans. He also authorized the successful Navy SEALs raid that finally captured and killed Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida mastermind behind 9-11.

There were failures - Obama did next to nothing on immigration reform, failed to close the Guantanamo Bay military prison as promised and was utterly unable to make deals with John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, on taxes, spending cuts, the debt ceiling and the so-called fiscal cliff.

And there were tragedies, most notably a series of horrific mass

Video grabbed from BarackObama.com

WASHINGTON - A solemn President Barack Obama took the oath of office for the second time in as many days on Monday, this time before an estimated 800,000 jubilant citizens who cheered on his appeal for Americans to come together and fight for cherished U.S. principles of justice and equality.

Obama's glitzy public swearingin at the majestic Capitol building, featuring pop star Beyonce singing the national anthem, took place on the national holiday devoted to revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The wife of Medgar Evers, another slain civil rights leader, spoke at the second inauguration of the country's first African-American president. Myrlie Evers-Williams spoke of ``witnesses - unseen by the naked eye, but all around us thankful that their living was not in vain.''

Obama embraced his wife and daughters as the crowd roared its approval after he swore the oath of office.

He then delivered a spirited, substantive 19-minute address that touched on his administration's priorities. Obama didn't shy away from some of the most hot-button debates currently raging in the United States, including immigration reform, gun control, climate change and same-sex marriage. ``Our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts,'' he said to an eruption of cheers and applause. ``Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.''

It was thought to be the first time any U.S. president has mentioned gay rights in an inaugural address.

Obama also made mention of voter disenfranchisement, a particular problem for African-American voters in Florida in November. ``Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote,'' he said. ``Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity.''

On Sunday, Obama was sworn in by John Roberts, chief justice of the U.S.

Supreme Court, during an intimate ceremony at the White House. That's because the U.S. Constitution requires presidents take the oath of office on Jan. 20; when it falls on a Sunday, the public festivities are held the next day.

One of Obama's appointees to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, administered the oath to Vice President Joe Biden on Monday as the president beamed. Roberts, who famously

shootings - one that almost killed a Democratic congresswoman, another that left 12 dead in a Colorado movie theatre and perhaps the most heinous of all, the massacre of 20 young schoolchildren in small-town Connecticut last month.

Indeed, the carnage in Newtown, CT, at the hands of a troubled young man toting his mother's assault rifle shook the president to his core. It's resulted in a renewed White House push for gun control that seems certain to be a hallmark of Obama's second term.

Even as inauguration festivities played out across the U.S. capital all weekend, gun rights activists held a Gun Appreciation Day as a form of protest against Obama's proposals to combat gun violence. Five people were injured Saturday at gun shows in three states in accidental shootings.

After four difficult years of governing, a greyer, more sombre Obama addressed the crowd on Monday.

In addition to gun control, the next four years will also include a major push for immigration reform from the White House. The Obama administration wants a sweeping bill that would include a path toward citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already living stateside.

Obama will also face continuing pressure to bring the country's US$16 trillion national debt to heel. There will also be a decision in the weeks to come on the fate of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline.

Obama touched on climate change in his address. Keystone XL opponents are urging him to nix the project because they insist Alberta's carbon-intensive oilsands will contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissons. ``Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms,'' the president said. ``The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God.'' There are myriad issues confronting Obama on the international front.

Israel continues to pressure the White House to launch military action against Iran in order to stop it from building nuclear weapons. There's also an ongoing civil war in Syria, increasingly tense U.S.-Russia relations, hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians and trade disputes with China. â–

CuStomER PAyS

$

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

27,873 - $ 6,880

CuStomER PAyS

$

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

13,445 - $ 1,000

up to 72 mo.

0% Fin.

12,445

$

$

$

1.9% Fin.

up to 48 mo.

30,998

37,098 - $ 6,100

$

$200 GAS CARD CuStomER PAyS

$

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

0.9% Fin.

up to 60 mo.

17,995

20,545 - $ 2,550

$

CVT, a/C, CD, all power options

1.8SL HATCHbACk

CuStomER PAyS

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

2012 nissan VeRSA

$300 GAS CARD

automatic, 4x4, a/C, CD, all power options

S 4X4

22,228

25,728 - $ 3,500

$

2012 nissan XTeRRA

CuStomER PAyS

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

$

1.9% Fin.

up to 48 mo.

32,528

37,528 - $ 5,000

$

$200 GAS CARD

$

2.9% Fin.

up to 60 mo.

16,415

Priced from

in SToCk now

CuStomER PAyS

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

THE aLL nEW 2013 nissan SenTRA

$500 GAS CARD

7 passenger, V6, all power options, alloy wheels

3.5 SV

$

CuStomER PAyS

$

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

$200 GAS CARD

CuStomER PAyS

$

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

1.9% Fin.

up to 72 mo.

20,193

21,693 - $ 1,500 $

6 speed, all power options

1.8 SV

0% Fin.

up to 48 mo.

32,900

39,600 - $ 6,700 $

2013 nissan juke

$300 GAS CARD

3.5 SV

32,748

36,248 - $ 3,500

$

CVT, 3.5, V6, leather, sunroof, all power options

CuStomER PAyS

SPECIAL SAVINGS

SELLING PRICE

2012 nissan mAXimA

up to 60 mo.

1.9% Fin.

3.5 S

all wheel drive, all power options

2013 nissan muRAno

2012 nissan queST

$300 GAS CARD

1-866-787-9280

Richmond Auto Mall

"PROUDLY SERVING THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY"

www.panpacificnissanrichmond.com

Pan Pacific Nissan Richmond

leather, sunroof, power group, only 44722 kms stk#80903A wAS $30,988 now $28,988

2008 Rogue 2.5 SL awd

cvt, a/c, alloy wheels, power group, only 66887 kms stk#90974A wAS $12,988 now $10,988

2009 Versa 1.8SL Hatchback

auto, a/c, power group, only 47500 kms stk#110868 wAS $13,988 now $12,988

2011 Versa 1.8S Hatchback

cvt, a/c, power group, only 22835 kms stk#110789 wAS $15,888 now $13,988

2011 Sentra 2.0

leather, sunroof, power group, only 22512 kms stk#120976 wAS $39,735 now $28,988

2012 maxima 3.5SV

Pre owneD nissans

premium package, leather, sunroof stk#12 AC017 wAS $33,493 now $29,493 (1.9% finance rate available)

2012 Altima Coupe

cvt, a/c, alloy wheels, power group, stk#12 S126 wAS $20,649 now $16,995 (0% finance rate available)

2012 Sentra 2.0

auto, a/c, power group stk#12 V125 wAS $18,745 now $15,795 (0.9% finance rate available)

2012 Versa 1.8S Hatchback

All Wheel Drive, leather, sunroof, navigation stk#12 R058 wAS $36,232 now $27,988

2012 Rogue 2.5SL

V6, leather, sunroof, power group stk#13 A001 wAS $34,597 now $32,388 (1.9% finance rate available)

2013 Altima 3.5SL

Manager’s DeMo’s & CsV’s

Value

13220 Smallwood Place

Model codes are as follows, 2013 Sentra (C4LG13 AA00), 2013 Rogue (W6RG13 AA00), 2012 Xterra (8CLG72 AE00), 2012 Versa Sedan (B4RG52 AA00), 2012 Versa Hatchback (B5SG12 AE00), 2012 Frontier (2CLG72 AE00), 2012 Maxima (U4SG12 AA00), 2013 Juke (N5RT53 AA00), 2012 Quest (V6PG12 AA00), 2013 Murano (L6RG13 AA00). All posted sale prices are for cash and can not be combined with Nissan’s low interest finance rates.

Gas card offer only applies to posted special prices and can not be combined with any further discounts. Gas card offer is for in stock vehicles only. All prices are plus $499 documentation fee and all applicable taxes. Vehicles displayed in the ad may be different option packages than special prices. Vehicle may be subject to dealer locate. Gas card only applies to vehicles purchase or leased between Jan.11th to Jan.20th.

$200 GAS CARD

aM/FM CD, anti-lock brakes, VDC, TCs

1.6S SedAn

up to 84 mo.

0% Fin.

20,993

$

2012 nissan VeRSA

$500 GAS CARD

automatic, a/C, CD, all power options, alloy wheels

S king CAb

up to 48 mo.

0% Fin.

2.5 S

CVT, all power options, CD, a/C

2013 nissan Rogue

2012 nissan fRonTieR

$300 GAS CARD

offeR eXPiReS jAn. 20TH @ 5Pm

fRee PRe-PAid gAS CARd wiTH eVeRy new niSSAn. up to a $500

now eVenT

0% finAnCing AVAiLAbLe on SeLeCTed modeLS

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 22

Immigration

23 FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013

Crown to appeal B.C. court ruling striking down portion of human smuggling law

BY DENE MOORE THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER - The Crown will appeal a B.C. Supreme Court decision that struck down a section of the federal government's human smuggling law.

Prosecutor Peter LaPrairie told the judge Monday that the Crown fears the ruling leaves a gap in the law which could affect immigration cases, extradition and other human smuggling prosecutions. ``I'm hoping we can conclude this case as quickly as possible and appear before the Court of Appeal,'' LaPrairie told Justice Arne Silverman during a brief hearing in Vancouver.

The case will return to court Friday, when the Crown will ask the judge to stay the charges, pending an appeal of the ruling in the case of four men accused of human smuggling.

In a decision rendered under a publication ban and released publicly last week, Silverman found that section

117 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is overly broad.

The law states: ``No person shall knowingly organize, induce, aid or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons who are not in possession of a visa, passport or other document by this Act.'' Silverman suggested the federal government reword the law that was amended by the Conservative government with much fanfare after two ships carrying Tamil migrants arrived off the B.C. coast. ``It is clear that Canada's objective in passing s. 117 is to stop human smuggling and to protect victims of human smuggling in accordance with her international obligations,'' Silverman wrote in the Jan. 11 ruling.

However, that section of the law ``captures a broader range of conduct, and persons, than is necessary to achieve the government's objective.''

While the term ``human smuggling'' appears in the heading, it does not

Are you:  An Internationally Trained Professional wishing to return to your field of work in Canada?  A Canadian Citizen or Permanent resident residing in BC?  A recipient of foreign credentials or designations?  Lacking affordable financial support to cover:  Tuition fees for short-term training  Professional Association Fees  Qualification Assessment  Examination Fees

We can HELP!

We offer a competitive low-interest loan ranging from $1,500 to $15,000! Contact us to learn more about this great opportunity.

#238- 8131 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC V6X 1A7 604-232-1100 fcrloaninfo@success.bc.ca www.success.bc.ca/FCRloan Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Pan-Canadian Innovations Initiative

appear anywhere in the body of the law, which means it could criminalize the activities of humanitarian workers and family members helping refugees, Silverman wrote. ``Section 117 does not expressly refer to human smuggling or to smuggling operations,'' the judge wrote. ``This section is much broader than that, criminalizing any assistance given to persons coming to Canada who are not in possession of appropriate documentation.''

Silverman declared this section of the law of no force and effect.

Peter Edelmann, the lawyer who represents accused Hamalraj Handasamy, said it will be up to the Crown whether to file other charges, but the human smuggling case will end this Friday with either a stay, an acquittal or quashing of the indictment against his client and three co-accused. ``But with respect to s. 117, it's clear this prosecution will not proceed ... unless Justice Silverman's ruling is overturned on appeal,'' Edelmann said outside court.

Handasamy, Francis Appulonappa, Jeyachandran Kanagarajah and

Vignarajah Thevarajah are charged with human smuggling in relation to the arrival of 76 people aboard the MV Ocean Lady off the B.C. coast in October 2009.

Another ship carrying 492 Sri Lankan migrants, the MV Sun Sea, arrived in August 2010.

Six men face human smuggling charges in the Sun Sea case, and those prosecutions are in limbo pending the outcome of the Ocean Lady appeal.

The Crown suggested in court Monday that two other human smuggling prosecutions currently before the courts are also affected.

In the Ocean Lady case, all of the accused remain out on bail and are living in Ontario, while two of the six accused in the Sun Sea case remain in custody.

Among the 76 men who arrived on the Ocean Lady in fall 2009, 15 have been accepted as refugees, 15 have had their claims rejected, one claim has been withdrawn and three men have been issued deportation orders.

Of the 492 Tamil migrants aboard the Sun Sea, 50 have been accepted as refugees, 63 people have had their claims rejected and 23 claims have been withdrawn. ■

Canada: Seen and Scenes

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 24

Rotary World Help Inspection Tour Elena Agala visits three Philippine Rotary Districts

Elena Agala and friend Lorna Simms decided to mix business and pleasure in December 2012. They visited their respective home towns but made also an inspection tour to 2 Rotary districts.

Academic Conference with guest At the UBC Filipino Students’ Association’s page 46. on Article s.

Catalan and PCI’s Melissa Brione

speakers Josh Melegrito, Bruce Ganase, Jay

At Gothong National High School Library Hub - a recipient of hundreds of books from RWH.

Visited a birthing center in Basak, Pardo where one of the ultra sound machines was donated.

At the Labangon Elementary School Computer Laboratory which received 50 computers from RWH.

OFMF - The Ontario Filipino Mini sterial Fellowship elected their offic ers who will be serving for the year Pastor Teck Uy (standing on the s 2013 and 2014. rostrum) has been given another mandate as he was re-elected as shown in photo (from left to right President. Others ) include Julius Tiangson, Larry Roch a (auditor), Marites Fernandez (Tre (Secretary), Choi Boto (VP), Teck asurer), Vicky Wong Uy, Rod Filomeno, Mike Harrison , Manny Limpin, Junn Lagud, Ben Eli Diolanda. Not in picture are Roy Mapa, Elmer Manzo and Verzosa, Bong Gonzales and Telly Vallada. They are all based in the Canada. (Romy Zetazate, St. Jam province of Ontario, estown News Service)

25 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Canada: Seen and Scenes

25 FRIDAY DECEMBER 07, 2012

DUAL CITIZENSHIP OATH TAKING which included West sworn recently the new dual citizens Philippine Consul General Junever Mahilum Club of Ontario ( PPCO). He Press pine Philip the of er memb and of er Antonio Ang, a Freelance Photograph documentation sco to re-acquire his Filipino citizenship. The was encouraged by newspaperman Joe Dama a member of que, Manri Emma by preparation was assisted and oath taking documentation and oath taking - Manny Papa e) Servic News stown Jame St. sco, Dama staff of the Philcongen Office. (Photos By Joe

At the birthday party of Vancouver community

leader, Treenee Lopez.

TFCKat Canada Grand Winner, Russel Figueroa (center, in chec kered shirt) is in Manila to compete and audition for Pilipinas Got Talent Season 4 together with other TFCKat winners worldwide.

Marco Amoranto (left-most) , Man aging Director of TFC Canada, was there to give him support. Pilipinas Got Talent Season 4 will be showing in Canada through TFC very soon.

My Story

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 26

Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Joe Damasco

BY DINDO ORBESO & KATHERINE MARFAL-TEVES WHERE THERE is a need to adapt, there is a need for change - sometimes drastic, sometimes not so, but oftentimes jarring. Most often than not, however, change comes with a purpose.

So it was for Joe Damasco.

When Joe immigrated to Saskatchewan in March 1989, adapting was not easy for him. On the lighter side, he was excited to see and experience snow, which he only glimpsed on postcards.

The young leads the way Joe was already administrator of a subdivision in the south of Manila, when he left the Philippines. It was a work he enjoyed, and although he tried, he could not find an equivalent one in Saskatchewan.

His story shared a common thread with all other immigrants to Canada.

The first year, the second, the third were the hardest - because finding a job equivalent to his training and skills is, for lack of a better word, tough.

However, his 9-year-old daughter enjoyed Canada, their new home,

and she made the situation bearable for Joe. So he relied on his college degree as a fall back - he was a Fine Arts graduate who majored in Advertising and naturally wanted to a be a designer - starting at a position that is as close as he could get to that: he became operator of a wallpaper stamping machine.

Through time, he arrived at some realizations and decided instead to look at the positives - there

were many. He also embraced new experiences and decided to enjoy it.

He went to night school to acquire computer skills. He joined a Filipino newspaper in Toronto and became one of its columnist (he wrote about Filipino jokes and humour). He worked as a Roving Reporter for a Saturday radio program in Toronto, covering events in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. In the midst of this, he became manager of a friend's printing press.

Media Man However, his media work was what he enjoyed. Because through this, he was exposed to several activities of the different Filipino organizations in Toronto, some of which he joined or co-founded.

Joe was Public Relations Officer for many years of the Culture Philippines of Ontario in Mississauga, which showcases Filipino culture in Toronto. He is also an active member of the Knights of Rizal, and was a founding member of the Philippine Press Club of Ontario.

From his humble beginnings in Saskatchewan, Joe also now handles distribution of several Filipino newspapers, including the oldest, Atin Ito, to the newest player, Philippine Canadian Inquirer, in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

He has come full circle and has found his calling - that is, being in the midst of the Filipino-Canadian community, and a positive contributor in the cultural mosaic that is Canada.

Now, he knows why he left the Philippines.

Change, although difficult, could be for a far more noble purpose. ■

Sen. Enverga leads a simple life sans trappings of power

BY WILLIE JOSE OUR RECENT visit to Senator Tobias “Jun” Enverga Jr was a simple courtesy call to the First Filipino-Canadian in the Senate and also our way of re-connecting with him—an old-time friend. And when my family and I were new here in Canada in the early 90s’, we had a chance to attend some get-together gatherings hosted by his family. His wife Rosemer is a close friend of my wife. When Rosemer’s Mom was still in the nursing home, my wife, Lilia was the nursing supervisor in that

facility, so in short that’s the way we came to know the Envergas.

When I arrived in his home together with some friends, Sen. Enverga or Jun—we were more at ease calling him Jun, despite the protocol of formally addressing him Mr. Senator. By casually calling him Jun, we could feel more connected with him—and he wouldn’t mind that--so when he opened the door for us and we walked in, he greeted us “ Tuloy Kayo”.

He was dressed in a casual T-shirt and casual pants or should I say feel-at-home attire, so all these led to a laid-back environment in the Envergas’ home.

After the normal exchange of pleasantries, we shook hands and Jun immediately ushered us in to the dining table where some of his friends were already eating. “Kumain muna Kayo”. While I was discreetly watching his movements, and gestures, what struck me most, was his behavior--he’s remained simple and good-natured in his ways, a soft-spoken and self-effacing guy who has not been affected by the trappings of his high office; he’s still the same old friend who would do whatever he could to make his friends feel at home.

At one point, I asked him in what ways his lifestyle has been radically affected by being a senator, he said “ Well, it’s a seven-days- a -week work because, from weekdays, I have to focus on my work in the parliament and occasionally, I would spend the weekends attending to some functions, speaking at different community gatherings in Toronto and all over Canada.” “ I have to go home weekly to see my family, so maybe in the near future, I may get an apartment in Ottawa, so I don’t have to go home regularly on weekends.” he said.

At present, Sen. Enverga said he’s staying in a hotel in Ottawa and he has to take with him a suitcase of clothes and other personal belongings in going there “but I have to take back home my soiled clothes for laundry.”

More on page 38

27 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Acupuncture and alternative healing

BY HEIDI NG Philippine Canadian Inquirer

AT THE HEART of Vancouver is a wellness center being run by someone who has a fondness for anything Filipino. Giselle Bobonski, born at the Manila General Hospital, spent her first two years in Manila and then returned for another four years (from 1979-1983) when her father held the post of Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines. While there, she attended the International School of Manila and was an active member at the Manila Polo Club because she was an avid rider and extremely active in sports. Apart from being an equestrienne, she was also involved in the women’s soccer team and the long distance running team. In Manila, she was also in the choir and band.

Prior to living in Manila, her family spent 3 years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

She says that Jeddah at that time was very underdeveloped. Most “residential areas” were simply sandy roads with houses and broken ruble in empty lots.

She said, “There were no supermarkets and basic things like milk were not available until the last year I was there.

So naturally, coming to the Philippines, with all its fruits, lushness, and the warmth of the people was like coming to Paradise. There was always that feeling of joy around you. The Filipino people knew how to live life and the friendships that I made there have been cemented.

I would also say that my own positive and exuberance comes from my native homeland.”

Being the ambassador’s daughter, she was exposed to the different projects of the Canadian government especially with Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). At that time, the Canadian government, through a CIDAaid program, was helping villages have access to water. Children in these villages weren’t going to school because they had to carry water. Many of these

villages’ supply of water come from some 5 kilometers away. The Canadian government was instrumental in helping install fresh water pumps into 60-70 villages while Giselle was there. She adds, “I was lucky enough to be able to accompany my father and photograph some of the villagers. Clearly these were the happiest and yet the poorest children I had ever met in my life. As a teenager, I marveled at their genuine joy for life.

I had grown up traveling from one country to the next, but it was and still is the Philippines that holds a special place in my heart forever.”

It was this experience of seeing the reality in other people’s countries that had a great impact on Giselle and only later as an adult would she would realize how much. It was because of this that she became determined to help people. Even if her family have left Manila, she continues to fulfill her dream to help people. She graduated from University of British Columbia with degrees in Psychology and Education. After running an education company for 15 years, she decided to partner with her husband, Mihael Mamychshvili, a Shiatsu therapist, to open Angel Hands Wellness. Meeting her husband, who is also into alternative healing, is a natural evolution in opening their wellness center. To date, Angel Hands Wellness has branches at North

Vancouver and Vancouver. This wellness center has been the product of 10 years of research, and experiencing the richness of alternative medicine. Giselle, who had to go through her own journey after a major trauma, discovered Tai Chi and studied with a Buddhist monk in private classes.

needles accordingly. The healing energy of the group can become quite powerful.

There’s nothing to fear with needles Initially, I was very afraid of the needles.

The Chinese doctor at Angel Hands, who has more than 15 years of experience behind him, was adept in explaining about the points he will manipulate. I have had problems with constipation, and that was what he addressed. After a very relaxing drift to sleep, I was awakened by the doctor and it was time to take out the needles. It was painless. There was a slight tingling sensation, sometimes numb, but painless, nevertheless. After the session, the bowel movement was a bit easier and regular, much to my pleasant surprise. I felt at ease with the thorough knowledge of Giselle and her doctors, the relaxing ambience of the wellness center, and I believed in their thrust of alternative healing.

The Center also has private acupuncture, massage therapy, and a doctor of Naturopathic Medicine who is available for consultations, spa treatments, yoga, educational workshops, mother’s support circle, meditation circle and a variety of community events. ■ Angel Hands Wellness Suite 201 – 1416 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6H 1C9 (604) 558-192 http://www.angelhands.ca/

Wellness Center and Group Acupuncture Angel Hands offers an integrated and holistic approach to wellness. More than being a wellness center, they wanted to offer an alternative for people who could not afford to treat their chronic issues.

Through Community Acupuncture, Giselle and her husband hope to help more people battle their problems in a more affordable way.

Group Acupuncture is a new grass roots movement towards affordable healthcare and allows people to attend group sessions for $30-$40 and receive the same relaxing treatment that they would in a private session. Acupuncture treats patients by manipulating thin, solid needles that have been inserted into acupuncture points in the skin. By stimulating these points, it is said to correct imbalances in the flow of qi (life energy). Participants relax on recliners with blankets and are encouraged to enter a state of deep relaxation while the acupuncturist assesses and places the

Experience Group Acupuncture for FREE.

Book now. www.angelhands.ca or contact us at: 604.558.1926

(*2 for 1 special price for a limited time)

Vancouver Location: 201- 1416 West 8th ave.

North Van. Location: 201 - 132 East 14th St.

Lifestyle

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 28

Expect a lot of green, hints of neon, relaxed fit–and a few classics

BY CHECHE V. MORAL AND ALEX Y. VERGARA Philippine Daily Inquirer

JC Buendia, fashion designer Every year, there’s a forecast color, but every time we always end up with black. I feel though that this year, color will be back. There will be a renewed desirability for such shades as green and orange.

Tops will have lots of couture manipulations—unexpected tucks, pleating and bias inserts. Pants will be more structured. Skirts, either flounced or embellished, will come in more festive shapes and looks.

Last year, I collaborated with Kashieca. I’m not yet free to reveal the details of our future collaboration this year, but hopefully there will be one.

Francis Libiran, featured menswear designer, Myth For men’s fashion, must-haves for 2013 are still skinny pants with stretch material, including stretch cotton, for easy movement.

Super shorts for this summer are out.

Instead, men should buy shorts with a more relaxed fit and hemlines just above the knee.

Prints, in the form of animal, camouflage and various fun prints, combined with vibrant colors are also in, especially this summer. Since the mood is generally fun and vibrant, forecast colors include happy ones like yellow, jade and bright blues.

With regards to suits, the double-breasted style, with a slimmer fit, is also making a comeback. Not too many Filipino men are used to accessorizing their suits, but incorporating such items as a pin or a flower is ideal for double-breasted suits.

FASHION TRENDS 2013 Insiders suggest soft, tailored silhouettes for women, and slimmer, double-breasted suits for men RANDY ORTIZ, fashion designer, creative director of Myth Mood: Vintage-modern bohemianRenaissance with Mediterranean inspiration (flowy frocks, soft tailoring) for Spring/Summer 2013.

Invest on classic silhouettes like basic shifts and sheaths, slouchy tops, blousons, palazzos, flowy bias skirts, couture shorts. Fabrics: Soft to hard.

Color statement: Green!

TOP and maxi skirt by Raoul

FLOWY dress by Tory Burch

Nautical stripes by Michael Kors

DRESS by Raoul

Ruby Gan, fashionista, chief operations officer of Shop Manila Inc. (Myth, Schu, and Chocolate by Schu boutiques) I see more pastel and neon colors on clothes, accessories, bags and shoes. I would suggest that shoppers get edgy pieces like a pair of bright/neon pair of danglers or necklaces in pastel and gold combination so they can easily update their wardrobe. Last year’s sorbet colors can easily be updated with these accessories.

Degradé is once again relevant, this time in denim (either top or jeans).

Joel Escober, fashion designer Peek-a-boo veilings, couture ruffles, and a new take on the kimono. People should invest in good white tops, whether tailored, with ruffles or sheer.

Rhett Eala, fashion designer, creative director of Plains & Prints Tailored black pantsuits like what Raf Simons did for Dior; printed dresses, long and short; white eyelet pieces with nude lining. Wedge cork shoes in neon shades of orange and green.

Green is the color of the year. Emerald green is my favorite.

Noel Crisostomo, creative director, Collezione; featured designer, Myth There’s no major trend for 2013 because not a few designers in the world’s fashion capitals offered so

many looks this year. Having said that, the must-have look for 2013 for women is, ironically enough, heavily influenced by menswear, such as tailored pieces with enough lady-like chic.

As far as colors go, bright colors and hints of neon for men and women as well as black and white graphics, also with hints of neon, will be big in the coming months.

A major look for summer 2013 for men is nautical. For Collezione, I created the traditional navy and white striped polo shirts with hints of bright yellow and green.

Consumers should invest on formal wear this year. Every man should own at least one dark color suit that can take him to a formal wedding or a dress-up black-tie event.

Women should invest on a classic evening gown. Pick a style that is on-trend but still classic with just a hint of bling.

At Myth in Greenbelt 5, I’m offering styles that are classic but effortlessly chic with just the right amount of drama and bling, which I hope the ladies would find perfect for almost any formal occasion.

Sheree Gotuaco, CEO of Elite Garments International Inc. (Ensembles, Freeway, Solo boutiques) Leaf green would be a fresh color addition to the past holiday “brights.”

As for investment on wardrobe, it’s always good not to be victim of trends.

It’s more important to choose styles that flatter your figure. In the end, you will tend to gravitate toward such pieces anyway. You’re bound to make more worthy purchases if you know your body as well as your strengths and limitations well. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net PHILIPPINE CANADIAN

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO CANADIAN NEWSPAPER

29 FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013

Lifestyle You’ll work out like crazy

The highintensity, strenuous Insanity Workout has been called ‘the hardest fitness program ever put on DVD’–and here’s why

BY ANNE A. JAMBORA Philippine Daily Inquirer REMEMBER HOW curiosity killed the cat? Well, this workout may not kill you, but it sure can leave you feeling nauseous and vomiting if your heart is not strong enough. So before jumping on the latest “phenomenal” home-video workout bandwagon, know that the Insanity Workout is not for everybody.

It’s the workout the super-fit US Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate in last year’s US presidential election, is a huge fan of.

Developed by American fitness trainer Shaun T. for Beachbody, the same guy who created the popular Hip-Hop Abs vid in 2006, the Insanity Workout is a 60-day, six-times-a-week, 10-DVD set based on a technique called Maximum Interval Training (MIT).

MIT is a method that requires exercising strenuously for three to four minutes, rest for 30 seconds, before starting the whole process over again. By “strenuous,” it means hitting a training heart rate of up to 85-90 percent, resting for 30 seconds, and pumping it up over again. Sustain that for 45 minutes to one hour, and you’ll know why Insanity Workout has been called the “hardest fitness program ever put on DVD.” Traditional interval training alternates mild and strenuous exercise for about equal lengths of time. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has a 2:1 ratio of workout to recovery periods (a 50-second hard sprint alternates with a 25-second jog or walk, for instance).

MIT demands so much more than that.

“With Insanity, you go from max to moderate to max again. The recovery is so short. Ten or 15 minutes after the workout your heart rate is still high, even for a very fit person,” says Reijo

del Prado, personal trainer and gym instructor at FTX Fitness Exchange in Salcedo Village, Makati City.

Workout boost Reijo has completed the 60-day Insanity Workout program. He now mixes the MIT technique of Insanity in his clients’ training sessions. A five- to 10-minute MIT, he says, is usually enough to give his clients that extra workout “boost.”

Insanity Workout is a total body workout with four types of exercises in different variations—jump, squat, plank and CSit. For instance, it requires you to perform Twists with Knee or Single Leg Raise while in the C-Sit position. The more muscle groups are exercised, the more blood it requires to enter the muscles, so the heart works on the double with very little “rest” in between.

Reijo says you will need strong legs to get through the routines. And if you don’t have strong legs, they are guaranteed to become strong.

“It’s very challenging. I would give a prayer of thanks after I’m done with a session,” says Caren Gaudiel, a registered nurse working in Houston, Texas, who finished the 60-day program last year.

Gaudiel, who wanted to lose weight for a high school reunion, had been reasonably fit prior to doing Insanity.

She regularly worked out in the gym and attended spinning classes. When she decided to try Insanity, however, she was forced to quit the gym just so she could focus on the program.

Insanity Workout, cautions Reijo, is not for those looking for the magic pill for weight loss. It is for people committed to losing weight, working hard and getting in shape.

Completing the program requires a lot of willpower and dedication.

A workout buddy, even one from a different timezone, will help get you through the challenges.

For the relatively unfit population who still want to give the Insanity Workout a shot, Reijo says they should follow their own pace instead. If 10 jumping jacks is all it takes to get you to near-exhaustion, then just do 10. Build up your strength slowly until you are able to keep up with the program.

“One of the advantages of home video workouts is the Pause button.

Press Pause, catch your breath, and Play again. It takes time to build your strength. Give your body the time it needs to adjust to the program,” Reijo says.

If you are obese, hypertensive, have diabetes, cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic diseases, consult your doctor. The Insanity Workout set, which also comes with a nutritional diet book, is not cheap at $120. But if you stick it out with the program, the $120 investment can do wonders—and not just physically, says Reijo. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 30

Say Mabuhay to Filipino entertainment with Shaw.

Shaw Starter Bundle *

$69.90 Per month for the first six months $94.90 per month regular price

Sign up today and receive: • Personal TV • High Speed 10 • Home Phone Basic • Free Digital Box rental • Free WiFi modem rental

Plus, choose one of the following Filipino Theme Packs at 50% off for the first 6 months.

Filipino 2 Pack

$17* Per month

Filipino 3 Pack

$17* Per month

∆

$25* Per month

To order call 604 565 7445 or visit shaw.ca today.

*Offer subject to change without notice. Price shown does not include tax. Shaw TV service is required for the Filipino Theme Pack. A Digital Box is required to view programming. Channel availability varies by market. Installation fees may apply, not to exceed $29.95. Equipment not purchased by you must be returned to Shaw if any of your services are cancelled. All Shaw services are subject to our Terms of Use located at www.shaw.ca. Other terms and conditions may apply. ∆ Available in select markets.

SHW_Filipino Ad for PCI_10x13.indd 1

12/11/2012 5:27:26 PM

31 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

on camera. The shows weren't all that good. The network got raked over the coals. People thought the network would be doing a million viewers (on average) and it's doing a third of that.''

The Discovery networks save money by sharing services, yet OWN had set up its own fiefdom. That ended. Discovery brought in its executives to take over legal and business affairs, and OWN laid off one-fifth of its staff last March. To the outside world it looked like a sinking ship, while to Discovery the ship was being righted. ``We were always a lot more confident internally than it looked externally,'' said David Leavy, chief communications officer for Discovery.

Like all cable networks, OWN has a dual revenue stream with advertising income as well as payments from cable and satellite operators to carry it on their systems. In its early days, OWN was operating on fees negotiated for its predecessor network, Discovery Health. Now much larger fees negotiated specifically for OWN are kicking in, many of them at the first of this year. Discovery says OWN will turn profitable this year.

A network still needs viewers to sustain itself, and there are some signs of life there, too. OWN's prime-time audience averaged 310,000 in 2012, up 30 per cent from 2011, the Nielsen company said. Isolate the last three months of each year and the increase is 61 per cent, even more among the target of middle-aged women.

OWN is carving out a small niche where it hadn't expected.

The Saturday night lineup of ``Welcome to Sweety Pie's,'' about former Ike and Tina Turner backup singer Robbie Montgomery's soul food restaurant that she operates with her family, and ``Iyanla: Fix My Life,'' an advice show with inspirational speaker Iyanla Vanzant, represent the most successful non-Oprah shows. Another new program, ``Six Little McGhees, which follows the life of an Ohio couple with sextuplets, is also on the Saturday lineup.

The shows have drawn an audience of African-American women put off by more youth-focused programming on networks

considered newsworthy enough to rush, but also because Winfrey had scheduled and promoted a talk with Drew Barrymore for Sunday.

Considering many viewers still have to search to find the network on their cable system, that's a particularly strong lineup for OWN. She's more competitive with the much bigger broadcast networks than could have rightly been considered.

The impact of the Armstrong interview won't be known for a while, Logan said.

Winfrey has called it the biggest interview of her career and it has already drawn more attention to OWN's content than anything else so far. Removing the stench of failure in itself would be a big step.

The interview could also help OWN reach the 20 million or so cable and satellite subscribers across the country that currently don't have it on their systems, Adgate said. ``They'll be calling their cable operators and saying, 'How come I'm not getting this?''' he said. ■

NEWS BRIEFS Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

NEW YORK - Oprah Winfrey's interview with Lance Armstrong is more than an illustration of a hero athlete tumbling from the heights. It's also a pivotal moment for a famous media figure trying to climb the ladder back up.

Winfrey's OWN network is showing signs of life after a rocky start, and the Armstrong interview offered a chance for many more viewers to check it out. The former Tour de France cyclist admitted to cheating with performance enhancing drugs throughout his career during the first half of the interview Thursday night.

That program was seen by a total of 4.3 million viewers in Thursday's back-to-back airings, OWN said Friday. But it drew only 3.2 million viewers in its first airing, an audience that fell short of OWN's mostviewed telecast: an interview Winfrey conducted with the Whitney Houston family last March following the singer's death the previous month.

The second half of the Armstrong interview is to air Friday night.

The interview ``showcases the No. 1 asset this network has over everybody else - and that's Oprah Winfrey,'' said Erik Logan, copresident of the network with Sheri Solata. It also showcased about everything else; OWN relentlessly advertised its programming on just about every commercial break.

Winfrey, who hosts ``Oprah's Master Class,'' ''Oprah's Life Class`` and a weekly interview show on OWN, attended a reallife television management class over the past three years. The network launch at the dawn of 2011 came during the last season of Winfrey's popular syndicated show, and that proved to be a major strategic error.

The daily talk show gave Winfrey's fans their Oprah jolt, and they had little reason to watch the Oprah Winfrey Network. Winfrey wasn't much of a presence there, anyway.

She was concentrating on making sure her syndicated show went out with a flourish.

OWN flailed for direction with littlenoticed celebrity reality shows featuring the Judds and Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. A Rosie O'Donnell talk show was an expensive flop.

Discovery Communications, which sunk a reported $250 million into OWN, told Winfrey she needed to be more involved with OWN, on and off screen. In July 2011, she became CEO as well as chairwoman of OWN, replacing Christina Norman. ``The initial expectations for this network turned out to be unrealistic,'' said Brad Adgate, an analyst for Horizon Media. ``Oprah wasn't

like BET. OWN's audience is roughly onethird black.

OWN recently reached a deal to develop scripted programming with Tyler Perry, the creative force behind movies like ``Madea's Family Reunion'' and the TBS series ``Tyler Perry's House of Payne.''

Winfrey was known for attracting stars and confessions on her syndicated show - remember Tom Cruise's couch jump? And even before landing the Armstrong interview, Winfrey has delivered the goods as an interviewer on her Sunday night show, ``Oprah's Next Chapter.''

Her talk with David Letterman that aired earlier this month was one of the most remarkable interviews the reticent CBS host has ever given. Besides last year's interview with the Whitney Houston family, high-rated episodes of ``Oprah's Next Chapter'' have featured Rihanna, Usher, Pastor Joel Osteen, the Kardashians and Steven Tyler.

The Armstrong interview aired before the usual Sunday night time slot partly because it was

Video grab from guardian.co.uk

BY DAVID BAUDER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Courtesy of Oprah Winfrey Network | Telegraph.co.uk/video

Winfrey's Armstrong interview draws 3.2 million viewers, short of OWN's most watched telecast

Radcliffe conjures brave new role as gay poet PARK CITY - Daniel Radcliffe doesn’t mind hearing that schoolgirls were staking him out at the Sundance Film Festival, hoping for a Harry Potter sighting. In fact, Radcliffe is happy if his Potter fame conjures up interest for what he wants to do with the rest of his career, such as his bold turn as young gay poet Allen Ginsberg in the Sundance premiere ``Kill Your Darlings.’’

However, Dane DeHaan, one of Daniel Radcliffe’s co-stars in the Sundance premiere, shared a deep, dark secret with the ``Harry Potter’’ star at the festival: DeHaan’s just now getting around to catching the flicks about the young wizard. ``Dan, I never told you,’’ DeHaan confessed in an interview Saturday alongside Radcliffe. ``I started watching them when we got finished filming’’ on ``Kill Your Darlings.’’

Radcliffe asked how many DeHaan had watched and was disheartened that his co-star so far had just caught the first few, when the ``Potter’’ star was a kid still learning his craft. ``Oh, no, you’ve only done the early ones. Why are you doing them?’’ said Radcliffe, who stars as a young Allen Ginsberg in ``Kill Your Darlings.’’

DeHaan promised that he eventually would watch all the ``Harry Potter’’ films but said his real admiration was for the actor playing the Hogwarts hero. ``I’m a Dan fan,’’ DeHaan said. ■

Beyonce, Jay Z, other celebrities at Capitol for Obama inauguration WASHINGTON - Beyonce drew a loud cheer Monday at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration even before her impressive rendition of the national anthem.

The applause started when she took her place with Jay-Z at the Capitol to watch Obama take the oath before hundreds of thousands of people.

James Taylor kicked off the musical performances, strumming his guitar and singing ``America the Beautiful.’’ Kelly Clarkson followed with an unusual arrangement of ``My Country ‘Tis of Thee.’’ Then Beyonce was introduced, and the crowd again roared its approval.

The pop goddess may have been the star musical attraction, but she had plenty of company from Hollywood at the Capitol. Katy Perry and John Mayer sat side-by-side, with Perry in an orange-striped coat and wide hat.

Actress Eva Longoria was seated on the platform outside the Capitol after making an appearance at a Kennedy Center performance Sunday night. ■

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 32

IN THE PRESS conference of “Ina, Kapatid, Anak” Book 2, Kim Chiu could not help but to burst out her sentiments on Gerald Anderson and Maja Salvador’s budding romantic relationship.

“Yung taong sinabihan ko nung time na down ako... eh parang kinain niya lang 'yung sinabi niya.

(The person who I poured my heart out to when I was at my lowest seemed to have just forgotten what she said).”

With the turn of events, Kim was obviously shocked, but she also made it clear that she’s happy for both Gerald and Maja.

"Wala naman pong masama, pareho naman po silang single at maging masaya na lang po tayo para sa kanilang dalawa. Nakakalungkot lang kasi 'yung friendship ay nasayang.(There’s nothing wrong if they are dating because they are both single. Let us just be happy for the both of them. I am just sad because our friendship was wasted).”

Kim revealed that Maja sought her permission.

"Bakit kailangan pang magpaalam eh wala na ako RAYVER CRUZ and Cristine Reyes finally admitted that they had already ended their relationship several kay Gerald... wala na talaga. Naano lang ako na ang months ago. They confirmed the news in a taped daming taong nagtatanong sa akin about Gerald. interview aired on ABS-CBN’s “The Buzz” on Bakit? Tagal na, three years na, ang dami pang babaeng dumaan after ko, hindi lang ako. (I was just Sunday, January 13.

Rayver said: “Matagal na kaming hiwalay ni AA wondering why she needed to ask my permission. It (Cristine’s nickname), last year pa. And we did our has been 3 years, there were many women after me, best dito sa relationship namin. Pero siguro talaga, it was not just me).” hindi naman halos lahat ng relationships, nagwowork, di ba? ( We split up last year. We did our best to save our relationship but sometimes reality bites and not all relationships work).”

Entervrexworld

Kim and Maja’s friendship got strained because of Gerald Anderson

Kim affirmed that her working relationship with Maja in their primetime series is okay, however.

The former added that she is sick and tired over queries about Gerald. "Till My Heartaches End" (2010) and "24/7 In Love" (2012) were the last two films of Kim and Gerald.

Holding back her tears, Kim said, "I don't care, I don't care about them. She knows Gerald, who Gerald is." ■

Kris thinks of retiring after 3-5 years

Mutual decision According to Rayver and Cristine, the breakup was a mutual decision and no third party was involved.

Rayver added: “Ang maganda dito, okay kami dahil magkaibigan kami. ( What's great is we’re okay because we’re still friends).”

Cristine replied, “Siyempre, andito pa rin ako para sa kanya. Hindi ko ibabalewala yung pinagsamahan namin. (Of course, I am still here for him and what we've been through -I could not discard it just like that).”

The former sweethearts explained that they remained mum about their breakup because they believe that this is the right thing to do.

Rayver said: “Dine-cide namin na i-discreet na lang, na wag na lang maingay, wag na lang sabihin in public kasi nag-start kami, nag-start yung relationship namin na sobrang daming nadaanan, sobrang daming naapektuhan. So feeling namin, ganun ang tama. (We’ve decided to be discreet about this issue because when we started a lot of people got hurt. We felt silence was the better route).”

He added, “Pero sa huli kasi ang dami nang nakakahalata, and AA has been unfairly judged na naman sa mga nangyayari. So nag-decide ako na dapat sabihin na namin. (But in the end, people have started to notice and AA was again being judged so we’ve decided to tell the public the truth).”

Cristine ended: “Siguro bata pa kami pareho, gusto muna naming mag-focus sa work. (Maybe we’re just young and we want to focus on our work first).” ■

know that you can retire. Kasi parang ayaw ko talagang umalis na ayaw na akong panuorin.

So, napakaswerte ko pa ngayon na yung mga ginagawa ko ngayon (ay) nagri-rate, nagbabayad yung mga tao ng pera. So, parang, know when to go. (Many people are telling me that I need to set a specific age for when should I retire. Because I don’t want to reach a point when people don’t want to watch me anymore. I am lucky that my projects are still rating well and people are paying to see me. It's just that I need to know when to go).”

In her interview with the “The Buzz” on Sunday, January 13, she admitted she still wants to work for 3-5 more years before finally settling down.

After retirement “Alam ko na darating yung panahon na, also naman talaga, hindi naman siguro selfish na at some point in my life, gusto ko rin naman malagay sa isang happy, peaceful and content and lasting marriage. I know na that can only happen kapag hindi na ito ang trabaho ko. ( I know that time will come - maybe it's not selfish to think - that someday I would be in a happy, peaceful, content and lasting marriage. I know that can only happen if I am no longer in showbiz).”

Kris will be working again with Robin Padilla KRIS AQUINO has a new policy in her showbiz and Anne Curtis in ABS-CBN’s upcoming career: Know when it’s time to go.

“May nagsabi sa akin na set a number in your teleserye, “Kailangan Ko’y Ikaw”. She admits that head. And when you reach that number, then she’s very excited about her new project. ■

twitter.com/krisaquinonews

Fashion Media Philippines

Rayver and Cristine admit breakup

Entertainment

33 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Entertainment

Cesar would like to see a Bonifacio bio pic

which Bonifacio founded. At the time of the Spanish-Filipino war, Magdiwang supported Bonifacio in his rift with Aguinaldo.

Montano said a movie about Bonifacio would give younger generations a different perspective of history. “We owe it to them to tell the Supremo’s side of the story,” he stressed. “El Presidente” was an entry to the recently concluded 38th Metro Manila Film Festival.

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer CESAR Montano, who recently bagged an award for playing Andres Bonifacio in the Emilio Aguinaldo bio pic “El Presidente,” has challenged filmmakers to make a movie, this time, from the viewpoint of the country’s revolutionary hero.

Reacting to comments that “El Presidente” favored Aguinaldo and depicted Bonifacio as the villain, Montano defended its director and writer Mark Meily by saying: “Let’s first look into how he came up with the story. He says he based everything on books and other documents written about Aguinaldo.”

Montano told the INQUIRER: “Most of those documents were written at the time of Aguinaldo’s rule. It was possible that anyone caught saying things against him at that time was executed. I think it would be interesting to know Bonifacio’s story, based on tales by the members of Magdiwang or the Supremo’s living relatives.”

Magdiwang is one of two factions in the revolutionary group Katipunan

Moving on …

The 50-year-old actor has since started shooting another bio pic, this time, on Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. Montano is the writer and director of “The Turning Cradle,” which tells Lim’s story from the time he was left by his mother on the steps of the Hospicio de San Jose in 1930, to his rise as a decorated police officer in the late 1960s.

Montano based his film on the Nick Joaquin book “May Langit Din ang Mahirap.”

He began filming on Nov. 26 , with Melissa Ricks playing Lim’s wife Amalia. The film is scheduled for nationwide screening on Feb. 27.

The actor-director said the biggest challenge was to find a location that would best depict Manila in the 1960s.

He added that he made sure “The Turning Cradle” would be totally different from three previous Lim bio pics.

“I was very aware of those. I worked hard on this script. We want to tell a story that will give the audience a glimpse of things that happened in Lim’s life as a young boy that shaped who he is today, why he is dubbed as the man with a heart of steel and an iron fist. Hopefully, viewers will find the answer in this movie,” Montano said.

“The Turning Cradle” also features Tirso Cruz III, Nonie Buencamino, Jackie Lou Blanco, Marc Abaya, Alvin Anson, Alwin Uytingco and Gloria Romero. ■

Sarah evades cases by fleeing the country

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer “DEAD-END cases” was how lawyer Ferdinand Topacio described the suits filed by GMA 7 against its contract artist Sarah Lahbati, who left the country.

Sources from the Bureau of Immigration confirmed that Lahbati boarded an Etihad Airways flight to United Arab Emirates on Sunday night. Lahbati earlier announced she would take a break from work and go to Switzerland to continue her studies.

The actress is facing a libel suit filed by GMA 7 executive Annette Gozon-Abrogar and a P7-million civil suit for breach of contract filed by the network last week.

No jurisdiction For these cases to prosper, Topacio said Lahbati had to be physically present to accept the summons. Since Lahbati was no longer present, Topacio said she would not be able to present her counteraffidavit, “which she has to personally hand to the prosecutor. She would also have to swear before him (prosecutor) that her affidavit is true and correct.”

“The cases will then be archived until the court already has jurisdiction over her...

This is a sad fact,” Topacio elaborated when the INQUIRER sought his opinion.

In a text message on the same day, Abrogar said she was studying the possibility of filing a case in Switzerland, should Lahbati continue “to tweet libelous statements while she is there.” Abrogar noted: “Switzerland’s cybercrime laws are quite developed.”■

For his bets, Dong would work for free

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer DINGDONG Dantes, who campaigned for President Aquino in the 2010 national elections, is keeping his 2013 election bets a “secret” for now.

“I support candidates I believe in; they don’t even have to ask,” he told the INQUIRER at a press con for his GMA 7 teleserye, “Pahiram ng Sandali.” In fact, he said, he was working on “something” for a candidate.

Dantes is chair of YesPinoy Foundation, established in 2009 to give full college scholarships to children of fallen Philippine Marine soldiers.

At the height of Typhoon “Ondoy” that year, YPF conducted relief drives. It has since launched Oplan Restore Paaralan for public schools destroyed by natural calamities.

“I promote causes that benefit not just a person or an administration, but the country. I see things long-term, to benefit generations,” Dantes said.

As for the situation tackled in “Pahiram”—his character falling in love with an older woman—the Best Actor winner of the last Metro Manila

Film Festival (for a role in another romantic heavy drama) said: “That happens for a deeper reason than lust. A woman is not a thing you can borrow and then give back to the owner. It’s better to commit to one person. I am the loyal sort; I don’t waste my time playing games.” ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

Entertainment

BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer “I am so scared,” actress and Batangas Governor Vilma Santos whispered to executive producer Joji Alonso and director Jeffrey Jeturian at the end of her first day of work for the Cinemalaya entry, “Extra,” on Thursday.

Santos had just attended a production meeting with the film’s cast and crew and finished a camera test.

During the production meeting, Santos candidly asked for the cast and crew’s help. “I will be feeling my way around in the first few days. Please guide me. I need to familiarize myself with the indie way of filmmaking.”

Although she was nervous, Santos asserted that she was giddy with excitement as well. “In anything in life, you have to take risks. You need to keep challenging yourself.”

Ground rules Alonso decided to hold a getting-toknow-you session with the entire cast, to set a few ground rules.

The No. 1 rule in the executive producer’s list? In true indie fashion, the “star for all seasons” should not be treated like a star on the set.

“She is not supposed to stand out.

She needs to blend with the rest of the crowd,” Alonso explained.

Since she is playing an every woman in the film, co-actors should try not to get star-struck, too.

For her part, Santos was willing to look deglamorized for the part, Jeturian pointed out.

“She won’t wear as much makeup, unlike in her mainstream films. She is ready for a more natural style of acting, too,” said Alonso.

Certified Vilmanians In spite of the uncertainty, Santos need not fret because Alonso and Jeturian are self-confessed Vilmanians.

Alonso said: “Jeffrey and I have always been her admirers. She has played so many roles and has delivered outstanding performances. But we both feel there’s still so much we can squeeze from her.”

They’ve been presenting projects to Santos for the past three years, Alonso

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 34

It’s the star for all season’s first indie film Young star learns all about love scenes

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

admitted. “Finally we found the right script for her with the help of our producer Ferdy Lapus.”

Santos so loved the script that she waived her talent fee for the film.

“When I was young, I used to cut classes in San Beda to watch her movies in (nearby theater) Cinerama,” Jeturian said.

When he became a production assistant, Jeturian worked with Santos in Marilou Diaz-Abaya’s “Alyas Baby Tsina” in 1984. Three years later, he was in charge of script continuity in Eddie Garcia’s “Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-Ibig?”

Sincere “Working with her, I realized just how sincere she is,” Jeturian said.

“Whenever we would see each other at awards shows, she would remind me about our plan to work together.”

Santos was quick to point out that she wasn’t going indie simply because it’s a raging trend in the movie industry.

“I’m not doing this for other people … I’m going indie for myself. For selffulfillment,” Santos said.

Bit player In the movie, Santos will portray the titular bit player. “I’ve never experienced being an extra. In my first movie, ‘Trudis Liit,’ I was already cast as the lead. I’ve always wondered what’s it like to be an ordinary movie worker.”

As a child actress, she remembered being awed with the glamorous stars of Sampaguita Pictures.

“My sister and I would sit on the

sidewalk and watch as the actors entered the Sampaguita compound.

The most beautiful star for me then was Gina Pareño,” Santos recounted.

It was serendipitous that she mentioned Pareño’s name.

Jeturian and Alonso were responsible for Pareño’s indie breakout movie, “Kubrador,” which won a slew of awards here and abroad.

“I bought a copy of ‘Kubador’ and it was an original DVD ha,” Santos quipped. “I always wanted to know how indie films are made. It looked as if the actor walked for 24 hours in those long takes. Lakad nang lakad (They kept walking and walking).”

Big crew Upon seeing the “Extra’s” big crew, Santos likewise expressed surprise: “I didn’t know that there were a lot of people in the staff of an indie film. I thought there were only five people on the set.”

The team, which also includes executive producer JV Tence, hopes to finish the film by March, long before the election fever heats up in Batangas, where Santos is running for reelection as governor.

“I’ve already told Atty. Joji and Direk Jeffrey that the province is my priority. If there’s an emergency, I may need to rush back to the provincial capitol,” she said.

But surely they could shoot near her office? “One scene can be set in a sugarcane field in Batangas. I know the perfect location for it,” she remarked.

Looks like she could act as location manager for this movie, too. (bayanisandiegojr@gmail.com) ■

YOUNG actress Meg Imperial, who plays the lead role in the Joel Lamangan sexy drama “Menor de Edad,” learned three important things while working on the film, especially when she did her love scenes with costar Wendell Ramos.

“First is that you should be openminded,” the 19-year-old told INQUIRER. “Once you’ve agreed to do it, you should be willing to meet all the requirements, all the way.”

These were her first love scenes since she started acting more than four years ago.

Meg continued: “Second, you should be familiar with camera tricks that could be employed in executing sensitive scenes.”

Lastly, she said, “Be prepared to tap into your emotions. You must be able to express the right feelings in every scene.

It would help if you are convinced that you are making a good film.”

Meg joined the biz as a commercial model at age 9. She appeared in TV shows “Ysabela,” “Maria Flor de Luna,” “Midnight DJ,” “MyDriver Sweet Lover” “PO5,” “Bagets” and “Glamorosa.” She recently signed up as a talent of Viva Entertainment. “Menor de Edad” opens in theaters nationwide on Jan. 23. How did you convince your parents to allow you to go sexy?

When I told my parents how good the material was, they gave me their blessing.

I said I wouldn’t do frontal nudity or back exposure. What was it like shooting your first love scene?

I was so nervous, partly because I did it with Kuya Wendell, who is older. How did Wendell treat you?

Very gently. He told me that this was just work, and that actors have to do at least one love scene in their career. You described this one as a “steamy” love scene.

It was really hot on the set and I was sweating. There were so many lights!

You also had a “rape” scene.

I prepared myself emotionally. The scene took so long to do and was quite violent. I did it with three actors; it helped that they were my friends. I was confident that they wouldn’t take advantage of me.

We didn’t rehearse it, so it came out very real. When they strangled me, though, my fear was real, and so were the tears.■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

35 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Viewpoints

How I ran and lost at Barangay polls

BY WILLIE JOSE I THINK there is nothing new under the sun when we read in newspapers or watch on the Filipino TV channels stories on vote buying, ballot snatching, killings and other violent incidents that have marred the holding of elections back home.

One morning while I was watching the news at ABS-CBN”s TV Patrol World, I couldn’t help but reflect on the wisdom of having an election like this one -- with lots of violence, all in the name of money, popularity and the pursuit of power. I knew all these things because once upon a time I had taken part of this exercise.

Dear readers, let me tell you my story.

Running in an election is not easy; as they say, one should have the 3Gs: gold, guns and goons in order to insure victory. I didn’t have any of the 3Gs except my guts and big heart.

I thought that maybe I could use this election as a stepping stone to greater heights in politics. Perhaps, I could change the world with my idealism, masyadong ideyalistik.

Lacking the needed ammunitions, I still decided to try my chance—running for a barangay councilman in Quezon City in the early 90s.The election campaign period was an eye-opener both for me and my daughter Mao. When we visited some squatters colonies in the Barangay Bahay Toro, we

Ang Dalagang Pilipina, Part I

BY RUDY M. VIERNES FILIPINOS have a checkered past. For 377 years of Spanish rule, 46 years of American, and a forgettable 4 years of Japanese, it is not surprising that many Filipinos tend to look more Latin than Asian. Add a bit of Chinese, Indian, British, Arabian influences and you get a country endowed with a rich history, culture, language and arts with beautiful people.

Filipinos are of Malay origin whose skin is dusky-brown which accounts for the joke: the Caucasian is half-cooked, the African is over-cooked, the Filipino is medium-cooked.

It was said that when the Creole friars from Spain came to the country in the 16th century after it was discovered by Magellan, Filipinos (especially its women) became fairer. The Filipino woman indeed was the colonizer’s delight for her virginal innocence and naiveté. She, too, looked up to the friars and conquerors in awe and reverence, and fresh as a daisy she proved to be too tempting a morsel. The progenies of those (sometime illicit) unions were half-breeds or mestizas (anak pari), with Castilian features. The most prominent literary example was Maria Clara, believed to have been sired by Fr. Damaso and who fired the imagination of a nation through Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.

Many years later, the Filipina beauty was enhanced further when the Thomasites came.

These were young American educators sent to the Philippines after the Spanish-American war to introduce

English and to replace Spanish in the schools. In no time, the Filipino became literate in English (93.9%). English also became the lingua franca in legislation, in the courts, in trade and commerce, in diplomacy, and in formal gatherings.

The Philippines became the third largest English speaking country in the world by population percentage-wise, behind the US and UK . Because of the Englishspeaking skill of Filipinos, the information technology industry, also called call centers, had its hub in the Philippines .

Many of these young Americans got married to local belles. The result: smoothhewn facial features, soft hair, thin lips, thin noses. Most the result of these mixed marriages became movie stars: the likes of Gloria Romero, Amalia Fuentes, Susan Roces who were the prologues, and Marian Rivera, Bea Alonzo, Kim Chiu who are our current. They are "tisay" (fair) and fitting for beauty pageants (Mukhang pang Miss Universe).

The Peace Corps volunteers, through a program initiated by President Kennedy, also came. Many also settled in the country after they found Filipino spouses.

These added further to the mix. Since then the Philippines has become a favorite destination of these volunteers because of the fabled warmth, hospitality and loving care of the Filipinos. And the intermarriages go on to this day and the genetic line improves. On a personal note, we have many friends and contemporaries whose children got married to foreigners, especially to Caucasians, and whose offsprings have fair features and obviouslyhybrid good looks.

Speaking of Miss Universe, there have been countless Filipina beauties who have won international beauty titles like Miss International, Miss World, Miss Earth.

Miss Asia, Miss Tourism, because of their heritage that has endowed them with pretty faces. In each and every one, the Filipina has won a place. And these Filipinas who were thrust into the limelight via these pageants - their lives were never the same. ■ To be continued.

had seen the deplorable condition of our poor kababayan who lived in a 2 metersquare floor area serving as their living room, bedroom and kitchen; and the shanty’s front door covered with either a cardboard or GI sheet to serve as their bathroom.Some would even be seen taking a bath in front of their house with their clothes on, so there was no need for any covering.

Mao, who was then a high school student at St. Paul in Quezon City, was really shocked to see people eating their lunch— with some plain rice plus either bagoong (shrimp paste) or toyo (soy sauce). Remember, this was the time when Pagpag (leftover food taken from restaurants) was not yet popular among our poor kababayan. So I told her that she should feel blessed enough since we could still put good food on the table.

A big estero in the Project 8 area served as the dumping site for the people’s garbage. In one of the squatters’ areas, there was a big concrete wall with a small hole separating the shanties and a government hospital.

But in case of fire, that small hole was not enough to serve as an exit because hundreds of people were living in this compound.

During my campaign sorties, a number of tough guys (siga siga) living in a squatter area in Project 6 served as my escorts; roaming these squatters' areas was not easy because some guys having a drinking session right there on the eskinita (narrow pathway) and they would ask me for money for their drinks. One time we almost got into trouble when one of the guys escorting me felt bad when he thought these men were extorting money from me; I just calmed him down and told him that was part of the game and we could not do anything about it since we were there specifically wooing their votes.

At the early stage of the campaign period, I had a hunch, that I would not be able to win that election simply because when people would ask me for some basketball uniforms, balls, badminton rackets, shirts, etcetera, I would frankly tell them that I was just an ordinary journalist, getting a regular pay, and I was not a rich man. That instead of giving them anything, I would rather conduct a “ teach-in” telling them that even if I lost the election, I’d like them to realize their potentials, the need for them to put their acts together – not allow other people living in some gated subdivision around their area to come to them and buy their votes.

With their sheer number, they had the power to elect a councillor-- coming from their own ranks—to the City Hall. Even my wife, Lilia, was half-hearted in giving her full support because my supporters had turned our house into a virtual barangay hall where people would come and go, cook at our backyard with their tamales. She’s quite a homebody and she’s not used to seeing a lot of people going around the house.

Despite my winning the majority votes in Project 6, my votes were not enough to declare me the winning councilman because my area was but a small part of the whole Barangay Bahay Toro which in the 90s was the biggest barangay in

the Philippines with a voting population of more than 40,000.

Way back when During the early 90s, the duties and responsibilities of the Barangay captain and his councilmen were only to maintain peace and order in their jurisdiction. What moved these early barangay leaders - then - was their deep sense of civic-mindedness and the Bayanihan spirit of volunteerism. They did not even get any pay.

However, these barangay officials are important conduits - go-betweens - of candidates running for Mayor, Councillors, and Congressmen. And since these village officials have the direct contact and influence in their community, they are the ones being wooed and bribed by these candidates.

For people who have less in life, election time is just an ordinary day to earn a few bucks; others would say though that they would get the money but still they would vote the candidates they want..

The situation now is different: these barangay captains receive a monthly pay, they receive a budget from the internal revenue allotment and they determine how this budget should be spent. As expected, these barangay heads would get commissions from the contractors doing public works in their communities.

Some of these barangay heads are even authorized to carry firearms.

The TV Patrol World cited one poor barangay in Manila getting an IRA allotment of P2.5 million and its village captain receives monthly salary of P16, 000.

And because of all these perks and other powers, candidates fight tooth and nail and even to death just to get elected in office.

Some overstaying village officials would not give up their posts despite the law which prohibits them from running again.

Despite this cycle of elections, be it national or local, the obvious fact remains that million of our kababayan still live in abject poverty; most of them are hungry and have been victims of oppression and injustice.

On hindsight, I didn’t regret losing in that barangay election because later in life, I’ve gained the spiritual wisdom from the Holy Scriptures that “ it does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jer.10: 23) We need God’s intervention in the conduct of human affairs to bring about lasting solutions to mankind's problems such as hunger, oppression, injustice and poverty.

Man’s bright future is now near because the Bible assures that “ And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin.

And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Dan. 2:44) And with the coming of this kingdom, God “ will wipe out every tear from their eyes and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry, nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Rev.21: 4). ■

Family

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 36

A Strong Hand and an Outstretched Arm

BY FELICHI PANGILINAN-BUIZON SOMETIMES you’re up, sometimes you’re down. As I look back in 2012, I can attest to a year of mountain and valley experiences. Joy and pain were companions that have helped me grow.

As I meditated on Psalm 136, I found comfort and courage for 2013. The psalmist declared God’s enduring love in good times and bad. Clearly, God’s love is not influenced by our circumstances.

When we are down, it does not mean He loves us less and when we are up, it does not mean He loves us more. The truth is He loves us (period).

The psalmist enters God’s gates with thanksgiving. I wrote several times last year about the power of giving thanks and I am just as eager to appreciate God for all He has done and for all He will do this coming year. Then, the psalmist narrates the triumphs and trials Israel encountered thus far, and how the Lord’s love was present in every turn.

Where would we all be without His mercy?

I am thankful for verse 12 that reveals a proactive God that demonstrates His love “with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. “ This phrase is often used in Scripture to refer to the Lord and His wonder-working strength and ever present help. For many of us who are tired and weary, this brings great comfort. What a blessing to know that nothing is too hard for our God who renews our strength and is ready to rescue us His way.

But as I mulled over this phrase, I gleaned something new. I equate a strong hand with purposeful pain and an outstretched arm with persistent help.

There was a time, I was seated in the passenger seat and I was not wearing my seatbelt. The car came to a sudden halt and I lurched forward. The driver of the vehicle immediately extended his right arm to keep me from hitting the dashboard. Though his strong arm hit my upper body, my face was kept from greater harm. I could easily resent a strong hand but how can I despise God’s strong hand that is never used to harm but to protect me? Learning that pain has a purpose is empowering. I have realized how delays and denials are simply God’s schedule at work. Rejection is most often, God’s redirection.

Life can include days with heavy clouds threatening but more and more, I experience His grace sending showers of blessing with it.

What about His outstretched arm?

During the holidays, we revisited the trilogy of Lord of the Rings. As I mulled over God’s outstretched arm, I remembered Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s dearest hobbit friend. In the last movie, Frodo was wearily hanging on a precipice above the raging lava in Mordor and faithful Sam stretched out his arm to rescue him. As he stretched it out, he kept repeating, “Don’t you let go.” Sam was a faithful and persistent friend that only wanted what was best for Frodo. And to think God’s commitment to us is much deeper! And His constant whisper, “I will never let go.”

I am thankful that the phrase marries both the strong hand and the outstretched arm of God. It just reminds me, God is completely aware when life brings us down, and He is ever ready to lift us up when we, like Frodo, choose to hold fast to Him. As I look back to 2012, my version of Psalm 136 would be something like this: Thank you, thank you, thank you, LORD for being more than good. Your love endures forever.

Thank you that you are the Most High God (no one else higher) and You are above all lords. Your love endures forever.

Thanks to our awesome Wonderworker, God of sweet surprises, Your love endures forever.

How You impressed us with a beautiful multi-colored sunset during our mission in Virac. Your love endures forever.

For shaping the earth such that our home sits on higher ground in a flood prone area, Your love endures forever.

For a breath-taking fireworks show viewed from the 19th floor at Eastwood last New Year, Your love endures forever.

For the sun that dried all our laundry last year, Your love endures forever.

For the entertaining feature film “La Luna” about the moon and the stars before the main attraction, “Brave” on family night, Your love endures forever.

For the health issues that slowed me down, Your love endures forever.

For the stroke that took my father’s swallowing abilities away, the dengue that struck our boys, and the ovarian mass taken out from a loved one, Your love endures forever.

For sending Your word to heal both boys, restore Dad’s swallowing ability, and render the mass completely benign, Your love endures forever.

For your stronghand and outstretched arm, Your love endures forever.

For Your strength that sustains and your immediate help in trouble, Your love endures forever.

For your grace that allows us to enjoy the fruit of our labor and even what we did not sow, Your love endures forever.

For granting the desires of our hearts in most unexpected ways, Your love endures forever.

For remembering us in our afflictions and the U-turns You allow, Your love endures forever.

For the time we got a double flat, and immediate help was available, Your love endures forever.

For defeating worry, anxiety, deception, doubt, aimlessness, distraction, discouragement, rebellion, Your love endures forever.

Despite my aversion for the kitchen, I learned to prepare hit dishes for my family. Your love endures forever.

Through the loss of Manny and the havoc by Pablo, Your love endures forever.

Our deepest thanks, O Lord.

For inspiring and praying friends and family and for the hope of a problemfree eternity in heaven, Your love endures forever. ■

37 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Dining

Wilbur and Sabastian

BY ISABELLE DOCTO STICKING to a Filipino style, family atmosphere Wilbur and Sabastian Smoke House and Bistro in Port Coquitlam continues to thrive by serving dishes that bring you back to the comforts of homemade, family meals with a modern twist.

Christina Sepidoza-Walter, owner and Chef of Wilbur and Sabastian takes the family, home made influences of her WITH the cold winter season in full effect, the chiller temperatures have me craving childhood comfort foods. As a young girl, my Mom would whip up a warm bowl of arroz caldo, rice porridge with chicken, to help settle me after a tough day at school or to give me strength to fight a cold. Arroz caldo is like the Filipino version of chicken noodle soup, offering a delicious remedy to nurse the weary back to health!

Arroz caldo truly embodies the diversity and richness of Philippines' history. While the name is a Spanish term meaning "rice soup", the soup itself reflects its Chinese influences of congee, which is rice cooked in water or broth for long periods of time until it develops a thick porridge consistency. In the Philippines, congee is also referred to as "lugaw" in Tagalog.

Often served as a meal on its own, arroz caldo is made with chicken, ginger, onions and garlic then garnished with slices of hardboiled egg, chopped green onions and crispy fried garlic.

I like adding some fresh lemon or calamansi juice to help brighten up all the flavours.

To help give you that extra boost of TLC during these colder days, try making a batch of warm and hearty arroz caldo. The perfect meal that can bring comfort to all ages.

Did you know? Arroz caldo is influenced by the Spanish colonial settlers who adapted the dish to their taste by adding saffron and black pepper.

or things in pastry school, I learned how to cook from my grandmother,” said Sepidoza-Walter.

The menu consists of simple comfort food that she takes pride in. It includes dishes such as ribs with your choice of their house-made barbeque sauces, a hearty beef mechado stew, and even a mini rack of pork ribs for the little ones.

“It’s nothing anybody hasn’t had before. They’re all flavours that people are relatively familiar with,” explained Sepidoza-Walter. “It’s stuff that their grandmother’s used to make or they forgot about it…there is a bit of nostalgia to our menu.”

Comfort food is what they aim to create for their craving customers, but with contemporary twists to reintroduce these old recipes to today’s generation. A dish such as their Russet Chips, which are skinon potato chips tossed with their barbeque rub and served with housemade Roasted Garlic Mayo turns a staple junk food into a refined appetizer.

Contrary to the notion of greasy, sinful comfort food, Sepidoza-Walter Filipino background and translates that into also focuses on using healthier, local the menu and the ambience of the restaurant. ingredients. She makes sure to get “At the end of the day, before I most of the ingredients from local learned to make all these French dishes

Arroz Caldo (Filipino Rice Porridge) INGREDIENTS: - 2 tbsp vegetable oil - 3 cloves of garlic, minced - 1 medium white onion, chopped - 1 tbsp ginger, grated - 1 lb of chicken thighs (or 4 pieces), cut in half - 1 cup white uncooked rice - 4 cups of low sodium chicken broth - 2 tbsp soy sauce - 1 tsp patis (fish sauce) - 1/2 tsp black pepper - 1/8 tsp of saffron - 1/4 cup of green onions, chopped - fried garlic pieces - 1 lemon, cut into wedges or calamansi, cut in half - 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced - patis to taste Tasty Tip: To keep your extra ginger from going bad simply place unpeeled ginger in a freezer-safe container and pop it in the freezer. Then to use the ginger, remove a piece from the freezer and grate as much as you need. There is no need to thaw it first; in fact, frozen ginger is easier to grate than fresh.

Preparation: 1) In a large sauce pan, heat vegetable oil to medium heat then saute onions until soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic then saute for another minute.

farmers, and from their own garden of vegetables.

“The menu is all homemade and we get the ingredients as local as we can get them,” said Michael Goncalves, assistant chef. “We try to support our local economy as much as we can.”

The restaurant opened in 2006 and was originally located in Coquitlam, but in 2011 the restaurant’s following had grown, and so the move to a larger space in Port Coquitlam was necessary.

Loyal customers and staff were sure to follow them to their new location as part of the family that Sepidoza-Walter has encouraged.

“You can serve really good food, but you also have to provide an atmosphere.

The ambiance that we try to parlay here is a neighbourhood family type feeling. It’s got to be cosy, casual, and comfortable,” she explained.

The family type atmosphere also spreads to her and her staff.

“It’s like my second family here,” said Melanie Shim, who has worked as a server at Wilbur and Sabastian for six years.

As of now Sepidoza-Walters is focusing on maintaining a stable restaurant, and has no major plans for the future just yet. ■

5) Serve your arroz caldo immediately while hot and garnish with pieces of hardboiled eggs, green onions, fried garlic and lemon or calamansi wedges. Masarap!!

Try this: Substitute the chicken with prawns, pork or Chinese sausage. For those heat seekers, drizzle some Thai Sriracha or sweet chili sauce for some added spice.

Did you know? Lugaw is the Filipino variation of Chinese congee but boiled with fresh ginger and traditionally served with tokwa't baboy (diced tofu & pork), calamansi and patis (fish sauce).

2) Add chicken thighs and fresh ginger.

Cook the chicken until it's half way done and the skin turns a golden brown, 5 minutes. Add the uncooked rice and stir with chicken for 2 minutes.

3) Pour in the chicken broth, soy sauce, patis and pepper. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Taste the soup and adjust your seasonings accordingly. Make sure to stir occasionally until the rice is fully cooked, 35 to 40 minutes.

4) Once rice has been cooked, add the saffron for colour and additional flavourings.

Toasted Garlic Heat 1/2 cup of vegetable oil to medium heat in a sauce pan. Then fry 1/2 cup of sliced garlic pieces in hot oil, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from burning. When the garlic has turned crispy and golden brown, remove it from the pan and drain the pieces on a paper towel.

Enjoy on top of arroz caldo or sinangag (Filipino fried garlic rice).

Candice Macalino is a Filipina born in Singapore and raised in Vancouver.

She developed Candice's Cusina as her journey to share her festive, fun and friendly Filipino heritage through food. To learn more Filipino recipes, subscribe to Candice's Cusina at www.candicescusina. blogspot.com.

Did you know? Rice porridge or congee is a staple in many Asian countries and despite the countless variations, they all consist of rice that is slowly cooked in water or broth to give the soupy meal that distinct soft and creamy texture.

Doing Business in Canada What Every Small Business Owner Should Know About Trademarks SMALL BUSINESSES make three common mistakes when it comes to registering trademarks: - they don’t register trademarks that need to be registered; - they spend too much money registering worthless trademarks; and - they waste too much time filing trademark applications that have no chance of being approved by Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

Small business owners make these three mistakes because they don’t know what they don’t know and because they are afraid to ask a lawyer due to less than stellar reputation of the legal profession. It is my hope that with the help of this article, I can contribute to eradication of both these reasons that stand between small businesses and effective brand management.

So what are trademarks and why do we need them?

Trademarks can take many forms.

The traditionally recognized forms of trademarks are: - word trademarks (either for the name of a product or a service, or a slogan); and - design trademarks (for logos).

Recently, many jurisdictions (Canada among them) have started allowing registration of some of the socalled non-conventional trademarks: - color trademarks; - sound trademarks; - shape trademarks; - animated trademarks; - hologram trademarks; - smell trademarks; and - taste trademarks; - texture trademarks.

Regardless of the form of a trademark, its function is to distinguish products and services of one business from identical or similar products or services of another business.

For example, hundreds of fast food places sell burgers with very similar recipes. The function of a trademark is not to make customers choose a burger over a pizza. The function of a trademark is to make customers who already decided that they want a burger to choose a particular one.

In this sense, the function of the trademark is to address the question “which?”, rather than “what?”

So if you have a successful burger, you want to make sure that consumers never confuse it with other burgers.

How do you do it? You mark the exterior of your restaurant with the your trademark, you come up with a unique name for your burger, you place your trademarks everywhere in the restaurant, including menus and the uniform, and you make sure you place your trademarks on the packaging of the burger when you wrap it up for the customer.

There are several corollaries from this function of the trademark that are extremely important to understand.

Trademarks vs. Trade Names First of all, trademarks serve a very different purpose from trade names. Trade names are used to identify a business or a company (that’s why they are also often called “business names” or “company names”). Trade

names are the “who” of the business. Customers do business with a business bearing a particular trade name.

As stated above, trademarks are used to identify products or services. They are used to identify that, which your business offers to the public. Customers buy products and services bearing the trademark.

In very simplistic terms, customers buy trademarks from trade names.

Every business registered with the Registrar of Companies or incorporated (provincially or federally) has a trade name. But neither the reservation of a corporate name nor the formation of a corporation create an absolute right to use the business name of the corporation in that jurisdiction.

Rights in corporate names are treated like rights in unregistered trademarks, which means that unless you are actually known under that name in a specific geographical area, there is not much you can do to stop others from adopting a similar or even identical name.

Even if you register a corporate name that no one else had thought of before, it does not give you the right to stop others from using it, unless you can prove that other person’s use of the name creates confusion.

Just because you came up with a fancy company name that helps you attract customers for whatever products or services you are offering does not mean that your name, or brand, is a trademark. If you are not using your trade name as a trademark, your don’t have trademark protection for your trade name.

A trade name can be registered as a trademark, but only if you use it as such, that is, to identify products or services.

Let’s say, your company is called Awesome Software Inc. and you make software. If you phrase your marketing materials to say that “Awesome Software Inc. offers such great titles as Text, Calculator and Presentations”, you are using “Awesome Software” as a trade name, but not as a trademark. If you phrase them to say “We offer Awesome Software™ Text, Awesome Software™ Calculator and Awesome Software™ Presentations”, then you are using “Awesome Software” as a trademark, even though it is also your trade name.

The classic example is, of course, Microsoft® Windows® or Microsoft® Excel®. We don’t buy Microsoft, we buy from Microsoft. But because “Microsoft” is a part of the name of the product we buy (and part of the reason why we buy it), it is also protected as a trademark in its own standing.

On the other hand, corporate registries don’t really check if the name submitted for registration violates any prior rights. In other words, just because a provincial corporate registry approved your company name for registration does not mean that you don’t violate someone else’s prior right (in a trade name or a trademark) and that you will not be compelled to change it in the future.

You could probably register a company called Microsoft Awesome Software Development Inc. in British Columbia today. But if you started using that name in your business, it wouldn’t be long before you get a letter from Microsoft’s lawyers demanding that you immediately cease using that name and possibly also pay a hefty amount for infringement of their trademarks.

To be continued. ■ This article is not and is not intended to be legal advice. It contains simplified legal information that may or may not be applicable in your specific situation.

For more information contact Andrei Mincov at http:// mincovlaw.com or 778.869.7281

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 38

...from page 26

While we were in the dining table conversing, Jun’s daughter, Rocel, a special child, would from time to time lovingly embrace Jun and he in turn would hug and kiss her, prompting one of my friends to comment that “she’s the one bringing the success and happiness to the Envergas”. The Envergas have two other grownup daughters.

A typical Filipino, Jun is prudent when it comes to spending the money allocated for his office, and if he could have his way, he would save some dollars officially allotted to cover his travel expenses by taking on the plane’s economy class; in fact, he’s entitled to have a first-class accommodation doing his duty visiting the various Filipino and other ethic communities throughout Canada. Rosemer said, "there was a time when Jun while aboard the plane’s economy class, the stewardess upon recognizing him to be a senator, decided to serve him some snacks (Only passengers on the first -class cabin are entitled to have snacks)."

When I asked him why he had accepted Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s offer to appoint him as a senator despite the fact that he had been doing quite well in his job as an IT specialist at the Bank of Montreal and at the same being a trustee at the Toronto Catholic District School Board, his reply was “ This is an offer which is hard to refuse and I know this appointment will bring pride and honor to the Filipino community. Ito’y para sa ating lahat na Filipino.” “ Unlike back home, senators here in Canada don’t have pork barrel and all our expenses are well accounted for,” Enverga said. His salary? Well, Rosemer didn’t give us an exact figure regarding Enverga’s salary as a senator, except in saying that “Jun was getting more before with his combined salaries as a trustee of the school board and an IT specialist at the Bank of Montreal”.

One of the topics that Sen. Enverga discussed with us was the need for our kababayans here in Canada to empower themselves, stressing that with "our big number, in Toronto alone, we are almost 300,000, and another 200,000 throughout Canada, so we can easily produce three more members of the parliament (MPs) who can help us in addressing the various problems and other concerns facing our communities”. “ But we have to work together, sama –sama tayo at sa dami natin kaya natin ito,” he said. “ As we assimilate in the mainstream, we should not forget our values and culture because this is one way we can prevent elder abuse, suicide and family break-ups.

Enverga said.”

Since the Philippines in the main source of skilled workers coming here in Canada, Enverga advised our kababayans that they should be more assertive in their workplaces and not to be “mahiyain” in order for them to move up in the managerial levels in their work.

After our dinner and animated conversation with Jun and Rosemer, we thanked both of them for their hospitality and as we were about to leave, they accompanied up to the doorway, telling us “maraming salamat at mag-ingat kayo.”

While going home that night, I was thinking that since Sen. Enverga will have the opportunity to serve the Senate until the age of 75, he has all the time in the world to be of service to the Filipino communities— much is expected of him but with his kindness and humility, we all know he will never fail us. ■

39 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Business

Net ‘hot money’ inflows slipped in ’12 Outflows rose as Filipinos invested abroad, says BSP

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer FOREIGN portfolio investments in 2012 hit the highest in a decade as the favorable outlook on the Philippine economy boosted demand by foreigners for peso-denominated stocks, bonds and other financial instruments.

The significant inflow of foreign “hot money” last year came as the Philippines was given better credit ratings, which are now just a notch below investment grade.

T h e Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported that the gross inflow of foreign portfolio investments reached $ 1 8 . 4 6 billion last year, the highest in a decade. The amount was also up by 12 percent from $16.47 billion in 2011. “[Growth in foreign hot money] was fueled by renewed interest in securities listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange, coupled with sustained investor confidence on the country’s solid macroeconomic fundamentals,” the BSP said in a statement.

Demand for peso-denominated stocks last year pushed the Philippine Stock Exchange index to record highs.

Meantime, the outflow of foreign portfolio investments from the country grew as well. The BSP said rising liquidity encouraged more locals to invest in foreign currency-denominated instruments.

The outflows reached $14.57 billion, up by 17.5 percent from $12.4 billion the previous year.

Thus, the net inflow of foreign hot money (gross inflows less outflows) reached $3.88 billion, which was down year-on-year by about 5 percent from $4.1 billion.

The BSP said the rise in foreign portfolio investments is welcome as this helps make the country’s capital markets vibrant.

However, the central bank said hot money could have adverse effects on the economy if these become excessive or if they are not properly managed.

The BSP said portfolio investments that involve speculation on the peso cause volatility of the exchange rate which, it said, is bad for businesses and the economy.

Given this line of thinking, the BSP last year implemented measures aimed at curbing speculative portfolio inflows.

If not for the measures, market players believe foreign portfolio investments to the country could have risen even higher.

In early 2012, the BSP imposed a higher capital charge on banks’ holdings of nondeliverable forwards.

In the middle of the year, a regulation prohibiting banks from investing money of foreign clients in the special deposit account facility of the central bank was revived.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. has said the central bank is keen on implementing more measures against speculation to help prevent excessive volatility of the exchange rate. ■

BIR keeps watch on hospitals’ tax compliance

SC ruling on St. Luke’s prompts tax agency’s move

BY RONNEL W. DOMINGO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue is tightening its watch on hospitals that invoke tax perks, following a Supreme Court ruling that St. Luke’s Medical Center Inc. is not tax-exempt.

The BIR has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 42013, dated Jan. 11, which requires tax- exempt hospitals to re- apply for the status.

“Some proprietary nonprofit hospitals, which are owned and/ or operated by non- stock non- profit institutions, were able to secure tax exemption rulings from the BIR on the ground that these are charitable or social welfare organizations,” according to RMC 4- 2013.

Section 27( B) of the amended Tax Code provides that such hospitals should pay a tax of 10 percent on their taxable income, subject to certain qualifications.

The BIR noted that the Supreme Court, in a ruling last September, laid down

the guidelines in determining whether a hospital was exempted from income tax.

“In order to uniformly apply these guidelines, it is necessary to re- evaluate tax exemptions previously issued to proprietary, non- profit hospitals or to nonstock, non- profit ( entities that operate) hospitals,” the BIR said in the circular.

Hospitals are advised to submit to their respective revenue district offices several documents that will enable the BIR to review their tax exemption.

Further, the BIR has voided rulings issued before November 2012 which granted tax exemption to these hospitals.

In the High Court’s 23- page decision dated Sept. 26, 2012, it ordered St. Luke’s to pay some P5.5 million in income tax for 1998.

St. Luke’s failed the requirements for a full tax exemption. The hospital does not operate exclusively for charity, the court said.

The decision, penned by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, stemmed from the BIR’s assessment of St. Luke’s “tax deficiency.”

Even then, the SC only partially granted BIR’s petition since it did not require the hospital to pay surcharges and interest on the arrears.

Citing the Tax Code, the SC said for an institution to be classified “charitable,” it must be a non- stock association and must be organized exclusively as well as operate exclusively for charitable purposes. ■

Banking sector resources up by 8%

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE RESOURCES of the country’s banking sector grew further in October as the expanding economy helped boost the profitability of industry members and deposits from the public.

This was according to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which said that the growing resources of banks indicated that the industry remained healthy despite the weakness of the global economy.

Data showed that the combined resources of universal and commercial, thrift and rural banks in the country amounted to P7.89 trillion as of the end of October, up by about 8 percent from P7.31 trillion in the same period in 2011.

The BSP said bank resources were largely boosted by growing deposits from enterprises and individuals, indicating their growing confidence in the Philippine banking system.

Of the total resources of the industry, P7.07 trillion was accounted for by universal and commercial banks. Their resources were up by about 8 percent from P6.55 trillion.

Thrift banks posted total resources of P632 billion, up by nearly 11 percent from P571 billion a year ago.

Rural banks, which cater to customers in the rural areas, accounted for the smallest

share of P187.76 billion, up by 0.5 percent from P186.77 billion a year ago.

The banks’ profits also form part of their resources.

According to the BSP, the sustained profitability of Philippine banks indicated that they were not significantly affected by global economic problems.

Concerns were raised earlier that a weak global economy, which dampened earnings of exporters, could cause a rise in loan defaults by export-oriented firms. In turn, banks were expected to suffer as well.

Latest data, however, showed that the combined net incomes of universal and commercial banks in the country hit P80.11 billion in the first three quarters of 2012, up year-on-year by 15 percent from P69.63 billion.

The rise in the profits of banks was attributed to the rising demand for loans and other financial services from a wide range of sectors.

Industry members said the performance of the banking industry was influenced largely by the growth of the economy.

The government earlier reported that the economy, measured in terms of gross domestic product, grew by 6.5 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2012. This was one of the fastest growth rates in Asia during the period. ■

Sports Azkals set 2 friendlies in February

FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013 40

No US bout for Pacman, Marquez

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE PHILIPPINES will be leaving no stone unturned in its buildup for the AFC Challenge Cup Group E qualifiers in March at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

A training camp in the Philippines and a couple of friendly matches have been lined up next month for the Azkals, who are targeting top spot in the group that will enable them to reach the main tournament in the Maldives next year.

The Azkals will face Myanmar in Yangon on Feb. 6 and could make a trip to Vietnam on Feb. 10 for another friendly.

The friendly against Vietnam is part of an earlier agreement with the Vietnamese Football Federation to play home-and-away matches against the Philippines this year, said Philippine Football Federation president Nonong Araneta.

The priority, however, will be fielding a wellprepared team for the AFC event from March 22 to 26. The Azkals play Brunei in the opener and tangle with Cambodia two days later.

Turkmenistan will be the Philippines’ last foe on March 26.

Azkals manager Dan Palami said among Europe-based players, only Rob Gier and Juani Guirado will join the February friendlies. ■

Weiss rejoining Azkals soon to stay on at the helm of the men’s national team.

Azkals manager Dan Palami revealed that a deal is in place for Weiss to handle the team anew in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Manila in March.

Offered six more months to stay with the Azkals, Weiss has been deep in talks the past few days with PFF general secretary Ed Gastanes on the extension of his two-year contract, which expired Wednesday.

“We agreed in principle but there are some small details (that need to be sorted out) and sometimes they make a big difference,” Weiss told the INQUIRER over the phone.

Palami said the deal for Weiss could extend up to next year if he steers the Azkals to the AFC

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Challenge Cup finals in the Maldives.

Philippine Daily Inquirer Weiss is hopeful that an agreement could be GERMAN coach Michael Weiss is nearing an reached within the next few days as he tries to agreement with the Philippine Football Federation prepare the squad for the Challenge Cup. ■

azkals.net

By Cedelf P. Tupas Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE FIFTH fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez is likely to push through in September, but not in Las Vegas as originally envisioned.

Promoter Bob Arum, miffed by the steep taxation being applied to high income taxes in the United States, told The Sweet Science Wednesday that he’s inclined to stage the titanic bout in gambling haven Macau, Marquez’s homeland Mexico or Singapore.

From 35 percent, prime tax rate in the US has been raised to 39.6 percent, prompting Arum to raise a howl of protest. “Enough is enough,” Arum said.

If ever, Arum thinks there’s no need to hype Pacquiao-Marquez V anymore.

Just the clip of Marquez knocking out Pacquiao cold with a right straight before the sixth round ended will lure fight fans in or prompt them to buy pay-per-view.

That brutal knockout is sure to earn Marquez his biggest paycheck ever, upwards of $15 million, in September. ■

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news

2BU

TORONTO

1-888-668-6059

1-888-668-6059

1-888-668-6059

1-888-668-6059

W I N N I P E G & S A S K AT O O N

1-888-668-6059

1-888-668-6059

1-888-668-6059

EDMONTON & CALGARY

1-888-668-6059

W oul dn t i t be gr ea t to a l wa ys ha ve thi s much peace of mi nd?

VA N C O U V E R

You can! B y creating your plan ahead of time, you will protect your wonderful spouse and children from uncertainty and stress. T hen you can all rest easy knowing the details are taken care of.

Funeral expenses have increased in cost exponentially over the past 20 years. A no frills service and cremation or burial can cost thousands! B ut today s seniors want something special, a personalized service that their family will appreciate one that celebrates life and will ease the grief during a time of loss.

W ith C anada P urple Shield, you can preplan your services and pay for it over time at a rate you choose. W e also have W orldwide Travel A ssistance P lan coverage that protects you while traveling anywhere in the world! O ur plans allow you to lock in current prices while saving your family from making hard decisions under pressure.

W hy worry? A ct now to plan with C anada P urple Shield. W e ve served C anadians since 1927, and we look forward to serving you.

F uneral ex pens es c an c reate a tremendous burden. B y planning now with C anada P urple S hield, you c an: • • • •

P rotec t agains t inflation Have plans that inc reas e in value B e protec ted while traveling C hoos e low premium rates that fit your budget • Have immediate c as h ex ac tly when you need it mos t

Would’t it be great to always W oul dn t i t be have this much peace of mind? gr ea t to a l wa ys can! By creating your plan ahead ha ve thi s much B esYou t of all: of time, you will protect your wonderful • No medic al required peace mi nd? and children fromof uncertainty • Pspouse lans are available to age 90

• P urplestress.

S hield isThan ac c epted funeral and youbycan all rest easy direc tors worldwide knowing the details care of.

Youare can!taken B y creating your plan ahead of time, you will protect your wonderful spouse and children from uncertainty and stress. T hen you can all rest easy knowing the details are taken care of.

C a ll (8 8 8 ) 5 7 9 - 2 2 3 3 for more infor ma tion Funeral expenses have increased in cost exponentially over the past 20 years. A

frills and cremation or burial A ll of this (and muc h more! ) provided by A s s urant no L ife ofservice C anada, the oldes t and larges t funeral ins uranc e c ompanycan incost thethousands! world. B ut today s seniors

F uneral ex pens es c an c reate a tremendous burden. B y planning now with C anada P urple S hield, you c an:

want something special, a personalized All of this (and much more!) provided by Assurant of Canada, the oldest and • P rotec t againsLife t inflation service that their family will appreciate

In Vancouver, Call Tel No. 604-551-3360 largest funeral insurance company in the world. one that celebrates life and will ease the grief during a time of loss.

W ith C anada P urple Shield, you can preplan your services and pay for it over time at a rate you choose. W e also have W orldwide Travel A ssistance P lan coverage that protects you while traveling anywhere in the world! O ur plans allow you to lock in current prices while saving your family from making hard decisions under pressure.

• Have plans that inc reas e in value • B e protec ted while traveling • C hoos e low premium rates that fit your budget • Have immediate c as h ex ac tly when you need it mos t

B es t of all: • No medic al required • P lans are available to age 90 • P urple S hield is ac c epted by funeral direc tors worldwide

W hy worry? A ct now to plan with C anada P urple Shield. W e ve served C anadians since 1927, and we look forward to serving you.

C a ll (8 8 8 ) 5 7 9 - 2 2 3 3 for more infor ma tion A ll of this (and muc h more! ) provided by A s s urant L ife of C anada, the oldes t and larges t funeral ins uranc e c ompany in the world.

In Vancouver, Call Tel No. 604-551-3360

HIRING FULL TIME BINDERY WORKERS

Do you want to learn how to make exquisitely handcrafted books & boxes?

Are you a detailed person?

Are you good with your hands?

No bindery experience? We will train you!

WHAT’S YOUR BRAND WORTH TO YOU?

REGISTER

Email your resume to info@irisbook.com

www.irisbook.com

YOUR TRADEMARKS FOR LESS THAN A COFFEE A DAY

1-888-668-6059

CONTACT MINCOV LAW CORPORATION NOW HTTP://MINCOVLAW.COM

778.869.7281

Burnaby : Walk from Production Way Station / Parking

ROOM FOR RENT IN QUIET QUEENSBOROUGH AREA WALKING DISTANCE TO WALMART $400.00 /MONTH CALL 604-551-3360 TO VIEW AVAILABLE BY JANUARY 1, 2013

1-888-668-6059

44 FRIDAY JANUARY 25, 2013

Arctic Kingdom Polar Expeditions – Signature Experience Collection™

BY LIZ FLEMING Courtesy of Canadian Tourism Commission IN THE land of the Midnight Sun, it’s hard to sleep but it’s not the light keeping you awake. It’s the excitement.

When Arctic Kingdom Polar Expedition’s convoy of snowmobiles and komatiks (wooden trailers on skis) heads off across the sea ice from Pond Inlet, en route to its base camp at Sirmilik National Park on Baffin Island, they launch into life-changing adventures.

Riding in the well-packed komatiks behind the snowmobiles, we feel the landscape assert its power. Stark mountains lie behind us. Ahead, nothing interrupts the endless sweep of ice. There’s no snow – just a crust on the ice that morphs from frosty white to shimmering blue. In places, a warm sun has melted the surface, creating ponds through which we splash like water skiers. Occasionally, deep cracks appear, stretching down to Arctic Kingdom guides don’t blink. the ocean itself, but the imperturbable After unhitching and pushing the

long komatiks across, they rev their snowmobile engines and leap the gaps like Cirque de Soleil acrobats.

From our base camp nestled at the feet of 15,000-yearold icebergs, we make daily expeditions to the floe edge and meet the wild face-to-face.

We wrestle into tight-fitting dry suits or zip on survival gear and head for the kayaks, frantic to be in or on the water when the whales come out to play. To see one eerily white beluga is awe-inspiring – to view dozens, cavorting just metres from you, is electrifying.

Like a boiling pot, the water churns

Living the Inuit Lifestyle

BY MARGO PFEIFF Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Hop on a qamutiq sled pulled by a team of trained dogs to try your hand at ice fishing, dropping a

line through the frozen sea ice to catch an Arctic cod. Squint at the wintry landscape following your keen-eyed Inuit guide’s finger. Finally you spot them – a mother polar bear and cub! Or, on a sunny summer day overlooking dramatic fjords, nibble tundra blueberries and pick up a few Inuktitut phrases from your Inuit host family as a delicious caribou stew simmers on a camp stove.

Nunavut is rich with living Inuit culture, but opportunities to experience and get to know the people and their way of life up close and personal are rare. Carrefour Nunavut offers a unique homestay that hooks up guests with Inuit hosts in the traditional

with life. Belugas give way to sleek brownish-grey narwhals that swim beside kayaks and slide between snorkelers.

“It’s like a wildlife highway down there,” bubbles Jens, a German biology professor, as the belugas swim past him. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Not many people have.

Days blend into one another, with no darkness to punctuate their passing.

We live surrounded by the wild, our soundscape filled with the breathing of mammoth bowhead whales and our landscape dotted with seals and polar bears, watching us as closely as we watch them. Gourmet meals are eaten quickly so we can hurry back outside to watch the sun dance across the ice and clamber up the sides of ancient icebergs. Each night, we stare at our watches in disbelief as we discover it’s long past midnight – again.

Reluctantly, we retreat to cozy tents and slip beneath downy comforters, but sleep is elusive. Arctic fever is a relentless stimulant.

Follow us on Twitter @ctccct / Suggested Tweet: Experience land of the Midnight Sun @arctickingdom ■

village of Kimmirut year-round for a week of “Living the Inuit Lifestyle”. Embedded in the community, you get to know the hamlet with insiders. Go with their flow, watching ladies create traditional sealskin boots, hearing elders’ stories, chatting with stone and ivory carvers about their work and joining in with drum dancing or throat singing sessions. The menu for your home-cooked meal of “country foods” depends on the family hunter’s good fortune – it might be Arctic shrimp, ptarmigan, seal or even polar bear stew!

Inuit love to spend time out “on the land”. In summer, hike the tundra in nearby Katannalik Park watching for snowy owls and foxes in round-theclock daylight, or become one of their extended family on a Soper Lake boat fishing trip. Then overnight, as they do, in a rustic outpost camp.

In winter, help your musher hook up the dogs for a sledding expedition, riding in comfort wrapped in caribou hides. In spring, take an Arctic safari to the ice floe edge to spot seals, whales, bears and migrating birds. Glide across the frozen sea to spend the night in a cozy rustic cabin. Or perhaps the snow is just right to build an igloo – go ahead and sleep warmly in it as technicolor Northern Lights dance overhead. ■

Travel

45 FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013

CARAMOAN PENINSULA is a group of islands, which is part if the Camarines Sur Province that is isolated from the rest of the province by a virgin forest. It is ideal for island hopping, scuba diving, cave touring, mountain climbing and swimming on its sparkling white sand beaches. But still, very few adventurers go and savour this remote paradise.

Caramoan has a population of 45,000 on its 277 square kilometers area and 71 kilometers coastline of white sand beaches. This rugged town is bounded on the north by the Pacific Ocean, on the northeast by the Camarines Sur mainland, on the south by Lagonoy Gulf, on the east by Maqueda Channel and on the west by the town of Presentacion.

Located 500 kilometers from MetroManila and 110 kilometers from Naga City, the word "Caramoan" actually

Caramoan Island: Hidden Paradise

means “sea turtle” which has been known to frequent the place when the Spaniards arrived in 1619 and coined the island's name. From 1995 up to the present, its population has increased by just 5,000.

It is said that its mountains and beaches surpass the beauty of Boracay beaches. Previously unknown to many, even to locals, the island has taken

Get Enough of Miami to Key West Tours THERE ARE several reasons why you should choose to cruise from Miami to Key West when you are on a vacation.

With travel packages available from the Internet, you can get to Key West in a daily round trip on shuttle services that will give you comfort during the three-hour ride.

Along the way, you can savor the taste of luscious meals for breakfast in restaurants around.

At Key West, snorkeling and diving activities await you in the dazzling waters that nest North America’s only living coral reel.

One of the most interesting attractions when traveling to West Key is the scenery that will greet

center stage when the internationally known U.S. program – Survivors – discovered it, and used it as filming site for its Survivor: Philippines. This was viewed by about 120 million fans and catapulted Caramoan to fame, and thus, giving a big boost to local tourism efforts.

Caramoan is best visited during summer dry months as this region

is the pathway of countless storms and northeast monsoon rains that occur during the period from October to January. It is best to visit the place from February to early part of June, when the sea waves are not dangerous.

Caramoan Islands could be reached either by land or by Air from Manila.

It is an 8-hour drive from Manila to Sabang Port, then by 2-hour commercial boat ride to Caramoan Port. By air, it is a 45-minute flight from Manila to Naga City Airport, then it will be a 2 hour drive on land to Sabang Port. Commercial boats from Sabang Port to Caramoan Port travel up to 11 AM in the morning only.

As some local tourism people described it as: “We don't subscribe to the normal concept of travel, we go beyond it! A dream of an unreal world…Everyone has a dream. A dream of something perfect, which is unique in every way.

So exceptional that it almost seems unreal…” ■

West Key and a free pick-up ride from hotel. Add $40 to enjoy snorkeling.

Many tourists have found the figures totally worthy of their experience, not to mention that it is relatively affordable.

If you have your children with you, w o r r y no more because they can go, too, for free. Other activities may include parasailing, g l a s s bottom boat, and jet-ski. Add all these to avail of the discounts that come with them. Plus, you only have to add $30 if you wish to return the next day. Your Miami to Key West cruise is already worth it.

The trip starts from hotels in Miami Beach where tourists will be picked up by shuttle services. Starting points may be from 601 Washington Ave,

235 9th Street or 1657 Washington Ave. Approximately, the distance from Miami to Key West is 161.7 miles.

Tourists can also get there by a ferry.

Key West travel tours have been engaging with Key West Express to offer ferry service from Ft. Myers and Marco Island. Inside the ferry is a galley and bar that cater to your needs for fresh drinks and cozy indoor and outdoor seating. For those who want a Miami to Key West cruise, there are also tours leaving from Bayside in Miami.

It is not advisable, however, to drive from Miami to Key West on your own, as the heavy traffic will definitely stall your trip.

Key West tours and attractions offer one of the best getaway destinations from the hustle and bustle of the city life. The trip brings you to different sightseeing activities, as hundreds of landmarks will satiate what your eyes are looking for. ■

Photos by Ma. Rio Abigail Juanane

BY KATHERINE MARFAL-TEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

your eyes. Prepare to be awed by the breathtaking sight from the 7-mile long bridge that covers 40 islands leading to the Southernmost Point Monument.

Tourists can get to Key West passing through the Florida Bay. Alternatively, they can take the trip along the Atlantic Coast.

Tourists need not to worry about spending the whole day seating in the vehicles that would pick them free from their hotels to their destination.

It would take only a little more than three hours in one day from Miami to Key West.

On an average, getting to West Key from Miami would cost $49 for an adult. Most travel agency packages include in the service a free map of

News at your fingertips.

www.canadianinquirer.net PHILIPPINE CANADIAN

For your daily dose of the most current and up-to-date news CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO CANADIAN NEWSPAPER

Canada

FRIDAY JANUARY 18, 2013 46

To the Filipino Youth in Canada MANY FILIPINOS - your parents - were doctors, lawyers, professors, engineers, architects, teachers and nurses in the Philippines before they came to Canada. Some have found that to survive, they needed to shed that image of themselves, which was difficult, if not downright impossible.

In so many ways, like them, you are starting the rest of your life. Unlike them (and maybe because you think you owe it to them), you think you are not allowed to make a mistake in choosing your path. It is after all expensive. But loneliness and dissatisfaction are more expensive, and damaging. So what I want to tell you is that we are given many chances, and allowed many starts. We can - in fact - be anything and everything we want. Our paths are not straight but meandering, allowing for that detour which would make us realize our fullest potentials. There may be in fact not just one path, but many paths, and many different sort of happiness and fulfillment.

Because tabula rasa, a blank slate - as some of your parents may have found out - is a good state to be in, especially here in Canada, which presents many unchartered beginnings and several delicious possibilities.

From being a Philippine lawyer to editor, my biggest lesson in this journey is that everything can be learned. And that humility - acceptance of the fact that we do not know anything but are ready to receive the lessons - was the magic wand that would open doors.

But let me also tell you about another reality - up is down and down is up and we do not know what the future will bring. Economies which appeared infallible are crumbling to pieces. Job security is turning to job insecurity.

So please allow me to lead you from your dreams of career and employment to an option. Something that will make the world economies - and hopefully, your economies - go round: entrepreneurship.

That other route.

Salaries can only be so much. But the potential of a business is illimitable.

But business have attendant risks and it takes a lot of work - but it is worth it. So pursue your careers but here are some tips you may want to try:

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones editor@canadianinquirer.net Associate Editors Maria Ramona Ledesma Frances Grace H. Quiddaoen Correspondents Lizette Lofranco Aba Gigi Astudillo Jay Decenella Angie Duarte Dr. Rizaldy Ferrer Stella Reyes Katherine Marfal Heidi Ng

1. Be in business.

How, you say, when you think you have little or no business sense? But it could be something that could be the spin-off of a hobby, like design, or baking, or planting, or painting. It could be a skill, like playing the piano or making up stories or writing love letters. You can also look at a franchise, or invest with or in a friend (caveat: money can break up friendships), or sell an idea.

We are in a great digital age and we can use it to our advantage. So make use of social media. Through it, small businesses are given leverage that it never enjoyed before.

2. Read, read, read.

About anything of interest, about finance. Too much of a good thing, in this case, is a good thing. Read as if the future depended on it. Look for mentors in books, and look out for skills that can be learned or developed. Be inspired.

While at it, attend seminars.

get lost in the preparation. Prepare, yes.

Study the business, yes. But fire. At all cost. The real excitement is there, the real lessons are there, the big money is there. Then adjust course accordingly.

Illustration Danvic C. Briones Photographers Solon Licas Ryan Ferrer Angelo Siglos Art Viray

5. Fail Nothing drives home a lesson or catapults a person to his or her fullest potential than many a night drowned in worry or sorrow or having the walls crash down. Learn the lessons and start again. And again, and again. Do not be afraid.

6. Say “thank you”.

“Thank you” reverberates in the universe and attracts little everyday miracles and more of the wonderful, great, awe-inspiring miracles. Try it.

Operations and Marketing Head Laarni de Paula 1-888-668-6059 laarni.liwanag@canadianinquirer.net Sales Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 alice.yong@canadianinquirer.net PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Managing Editor Maita de Jesus Junior Art Director Kimberly Claire Bernardo

7. Share.

Graphic Artists Reggie Goloy Maud Villanueva

Nothing multiplies blessings more than sharing it.

Sometimes the silver lining can be seen in the eyes of people and opportunities found in like minds. Go out, be seen.

Learn, follow, and lead. Be enthusiastic, be insatiable. And when an opportunity presents itself, grab it with both hands and do not let go.

Know that some time ago, in your present or in your past, someone dreamed your dreams for you. And that someone went to Canada because they want you to have a better life.

So the message is - you are loved enough to forego, sometimes, their own dreams, sometimes shedding their own definition of themselves.

All we want is for you to succeed and be happy. Good luck. And more power.

4. Ready, fire, aim.

Know when to let go. Know when enough preparation is enough and when the business should begin. A lot of ideas and business acumen die because people

The above is an excerpt of the speech given by PCI Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones during the Academic Conference held by the UBC Filipino Students Association.

3. Attend seminars, network, and meet people.

Graphic Designer Victoria Yong

The Philippine Canadian Inquirer welcomes your views and opinions. Please e-mail the editor at editor@canadianinquirer.net.Thank you.

Editorial Assistant Phoebe Casin Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva Jr. Associate Publisher Millicent Agoncillo Project Coordinator Lychelle Ang In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition

PHILIPPINE CANADIAN INQUIRER is located at Suite 400 North Tower 5811 Cooney Road, Richmond B.C. Canada Tel No. 778-383-6090 / 778-383-3203 / (604) 279-8787 ext. 1722.

• Email us at : info@canadianinquirer.net or inquirerinc@gmail.com

Member:

The first to go

nationwide IN PRINT

We are Now Going

DAILY on the web

everywhere, anywhere News at your fingertips daily

www.canadianinquirer.net

PHILIPPINE CANADIAN

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO CANADIAN NEWSPAPER

early With

Samsung Galaxy SIII

times telecom

Samsung Galaxy Note II

Ring in the New Year With the Newest superphones

f i n d u s at BURNABY Crystal Mall . Metropolis at Metrotown . Cornerstone at SFU RICHMOND Aberdeen Centre . Parker Place SURREY Central City Shopping Centre VANCOUVER Hudson .

UBC Pharmacy

www.timestelecom.ca

1-888-980-8380

While supplies last. Additional terms and conditions will apply. See in store for more details.