Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #54

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER VOL. 3 NO. 54

MARCH 8, 2013

WHAT’S INSIDE

GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

John Yap resigns; Christy Clark to remain in position John Yap, Multiculturalism Minister, is the latest to step down over a leaked document detailing the Liberal Party’s “quick win” strategy to secure ethnic voters in May’s provincial elections. (On page 19)

World's Richest A record 1,426 people around the world made Forbes magazine's latest annual tally of billionaires, up 16 per cent from last year. (On page 20) SOBERING NEWS. Princess Jace Kiram updates her father, Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, on the bloodshed between Malaysian police and Kiram's followers, who had refused to leave Sabah after their incursion on Feb. 9 to press their claim over what they call homeland.

Nur warns P-Noy of ‘total chaos’

BY NIKKO DIZON AND TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer MORO National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari lambasted President Aquino for his alleged mishandling of the Sabah conflict and warned any attempt to arrest Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III would plunge the country in “total chaos.”

President Aquino in a TV address on Monday spoke about the alleged involvement of former officials in the previous Arroyo administration in the Sabah conflict.

He said he had no evidence yet of this conspiracy and did not give details but news reports have tagged Misuari among the conspirators, along with former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, and several others.

Gonzales denied the reports. “Does he feel guilty? The President never mentioned anybody. He said that ‘I will not name names until I have sufficient evidence,’” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters.

Lacierda said that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was looking into the role of the personalities in the standoff, and would determine what charges to file against the players and conspirators.

Siding with enemy “What he has done is very bad. It is unbecoming of a head of state, to be siding with the enemy of his own people,” Misuari told reporters at the house of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Taguig City. He arrived as Princess Jacel Kiram, the sultan’s daughter, was wrapping up a press conference.

“And for what reason is he (Mr. Aquino) aligning this country with Malaysia, a colonial power occupying the land of our people? I am against that, totally against that with all my soul. I hope the President will be properly advised. I hope he will recant. Otherwise we won’t forgive him,” Misuari said.

“And there is an attempt even to arrest the sultan, I understand. Let them do that. The country will be in total chaos if they do, I promise you.”

Misuari also belied allegations that he “inspired” the Sulu sultanate to sail to Sabah and renew the claim over Sabah, which he described as “our homeland.”

He recalled that he used to cross the seas to go to Sabah as a young man without a passport “because it is our homeland.”

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News-Phils

...from page 1

Misuari said that he could not have “inspired” the sultanate to reclaim Sabah now with only some 200 men because “that is not my way of doing things.”

He said that when the MNLF decided to resolve the problem about the Abu Sayyaf’s kidnap-for-ransom trade, around 4,000 MNLF fighters were deployed to face the terrorist group.

Misuari said that he had warned Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak that fighting the sultan’s men “would be tantamount to war.”

Nonetheless, Misuari said he still wanted a peaceful end to the conflict.

He said he was willing to send his grandnephew who lived in Malaysia and was a relative of Najib to dialogue with the prime minister if the Malaysian leader allows it.

No impeachable offense Lacierda also challenged former Sen. Richard Gordon to cite the specific law violated by the President that could qualify as an impeachable offense in the handling of the Sabah crisis.

Gordon said that Mr. Aquino may be courting impeachment for violating Republic Act No. 5446, the old baselines law, which he said stated that Sabah was part of Philippine territory.

Lacierda reminded Gordon that RA 5446 had been repealed by RA 9522.

“There was a baselines law that was enacted in the time of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. And it repealed Section 2 where the demarcations of Sabah were removed. So, I don’t know where Senator Gordon is getting his legal knowledge but the law that he is invoking is already been repealed by the new baselines law,” he said.

The new baselines law did not repeal the claim to Sabah, he added, suggesting that Gordon “update” his research.

“And let me also educate you further.

The constitutionality of the new baselines law was questioned before the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court answered in very categorical terms. The new baselines law did not repeal the claim to Sabah,” he said. ■

Photoshop OK for bets, but...

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer THANKS to the graphics editing software Photoshop, candidates in the May 13 elections need not worry about skin imperfections and unflattering camera angles.

With the click of the mouse and the stroke of a digital brush, they can now look better or even 20 years younger.

But whatever happened to truth in political advertising?

Rep. Toby Tiangco, campaign manager of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), acknowledged the importance of improving a candidate’s looks, at least in campaign posters and television advertisements.

Through the photo-editing application, candidates can get rid of blemishes, sagging eyelids or receding hairline, at least in their campaign photographs.

Tiangco said politics is perception, which explains the huge investments by moneyed candidates in media— particularly TV— advertising.

But Tiangco believes there should be a limit to the computer enhancement.

Closer to the truth “It should be close to the truth, at least,” he told the INQUIRER in an interview, likening digital manipulation to cosmetics.

It should simply “enhance” a candidate’s looks, he said, not “transform” him into an entirely different person.

“Because it might also backfire,” he said. “Sometimes voters might ask, ‘How come you don’t look like the one in the posters?’ Photoshop is OK, but you don’t have to look 20 years younger.”

President Aquino himself appears to benefit from digital technology. His hair doesn’t look as thin in political ads, his face more radiant and smooth.

Tiangco need not look any further to illustrate his point. No less than ousted President Joseph Estrada, one of the three senior UNA leaders, appears in campaign posters looking at least a decade younger, not necessarily a result of the rejuvenating stem cell procedure he underwent in Germany. Estrada is 75.

There is no denying it’s a younger Estrada in those posters, including those of his son, San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito. Some posters show Ejercito’s picture superimposed on an image of his father, a common practice among candidates banking on the name recall of more popular relatives. ■

Nido Petroleum to invest in 4 exploration wells

BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer AUSTRALIAN firm Nido Petroleum Ltd. is expected to invest $75.5 million—roughly P3 billion at the prevailing exchange rate—for its share in the planned drilling of exploration wells within four oil and gas service contracts off northwest Palawan.

In a report, global investment bank Canaccord Genuity disclosed that Nido Petroleum’s “net share” in terms of prospective resources in these four wells alone would reach 995 million barrels of oil and approximately 1 trillion cubic feet of gas.

“Nido has a strong portfolio of development options going forward. In the success case, Nido will hit production of 1.5 million barrels per year in 2014 (equivalent to 4,040 barrels per day),” noted the Canaccord Genuity report.

Nido and its partners are expected to drill within the Apribada prospect, which is covered by Service Contract 63; Lawaan prospect, within SC 54A; Pawikan prospect, SC 54B; and the Balyena prospect within the SC 58 block.

The planned investment for these four wells is on top of Nido’s expected investment in the Galoc oil field off Palawan, where partners are embarking on the Galoc Phase II development plan.

Under this plan, partners are looking to drill two wells to extend the life of the field and increase daily production up to 12,000 barrels of oil per day.

A third well may likewise be drilled

by Nido and its partners in Galoc, within the so-called Galoc northern exploration prospect. A decision is expected by endMarch.

“The Galoc northern exploration prospect is an exciting opportunity that has the potential to double Galoc field reserves. It provides significant upside to Nido beyond the Galoc Phase II development. With the operator, Otto Energy Ltd., currently completing subsurface work with volumetrics and risking, we anticipate a drilling decision by end of the first quarter 2013,” the report further stated.

Nido Petroleum and its partners are also looking to redevelop the West Linapacan site, covered by SC 14C2.

“The company has strong production from its existing Philippine operations, Galoc Phase I and we see significant short- term production growth from the Galoc Phase II expansion and West Linapacan. Nido also has a large inventory of exploration assets and we see the company’s high working interests and independently certified estimates as attractive to potential farm- in parties,” the report stated. ■

News-Phils

BY SEAN YOONG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia unleashed airstrikes and mortar attacks Tuesday on nearly 200 Filipinos occupying a Borneo coastal village but could not declare an immediate end to a three-week siege that has turned into a security nightmare for both Malaysia and the Philippines.

The assault follows clashes this past week that killed eight Malaysian police officers and 19 Filipino gunmen, including members of a Muslim clan that shocked Malaysia and the neighbouring Philippines by slipping past naval patrols last month and storming the obscure village in Borneo's eastern Sabah state.

The clansmen, armed with rifles and grenade launchers, had refused to leave the area, staking a long-dormant claim to Malaysia's entire state of Sabah, which they insist is their ancestral birthright.

The crisis has sparked worries of a spread of instability in Sabah, which is rich in timber and oil resources. Other armed Filipinos are feared to have slipped into other districts in the area recently.

As dusk approached, many hours after fighter jets were deployed in the morning, national police chief Ismail Omar said police and military personnel were still hunting for Filipinos in an area of about 4 square kilometres (1.5 square miles) that includes rough terrain and plantation land. ``We believe there are still enemies in the area,'' Ismail said. He said authorities ``hope they have not escaped,'' but refused to provide details about any captives or casualties.

Ismail said the ground forces encountered resistance from gunmen firing at them, but

Malaysian security forces attack armed Filipinos occupying Borneo village for 3 weeks Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said no injuries occurred among Malaysian police or military personnel.

Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the offensive, saying Malaysia had made every effort to resolve the siege peacefully since the group's presence in Lahad Datu district became known on Feb. 12, including holding talks to encourage them to leave without facing any serious legal repercussions. ``For our sovereignty and stability, we will not allow even an inch of Malaysian territory to be threatened or taken by anyone,'' Najib said.

The Filipinos who landed in Lahad Datu, a short boat ride from the southern Philippines, say Sabah belonged to their royal sultanate for more than a century. The group is led by a brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Abraham Idjirani, a spokesman for the Filipinos, told reporters in Manila that the group would not surrender and that their leader was safe.

Idjirani said he spoke by phone with Kiram's brother, who saw jets dropping two bombs on a nearby village that the group had abandoned.

L L CA

``They can hear the sounds of bombs and the exchange of fire,'' Idjirani said. ``The truth is they are nervous. Who will not be nervous when you are against all odds?''

He said they will ``find a way to sneak to safety.'' ``If this is the last stand that we could take to let the world know about our cause, then let it be,'' Idjirani said, describing the assault as ``overkill.''

M a l a y s i a n officials said they were taking no chances with public safety, sealing off areas within about 30 kilometres (20 miles) of the village and refusing to allow journalists in.

The Philippine government had urged Malaysia to exercise maximum tolerance to avoid further bloodshed.

In Manila, presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said Tuesday that Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario was in Kuala Lumpur meeting with his Malaysian counterpart. ``We've done everything we could to prevent this, but in the end, Kiram's people chose this path,'' Carandang said.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman told the TV3 station that Malaysia regards

S E N I P P I L I H

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as low as

6

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FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 4 the Filipino group as ``terrorists'' who have committed ``atrocities and brutalities.''

Officials are studying what laws could be invoked against them, Anifah said, adding that Manila should also take legal action against Kiram.

Some in Muslim-majority Malaysia had called for patience in handling the Lahad Datu group. But after the Filipinos fatally shot two Malaysia policemen on Friday and six other personnel were ambushed and killed by other Filipino assailants while inspecting a waterfront village in a separate district on Saturday, the Malaysian government declared the time for talk was over.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III went on national TV twice this past week to urge the Filipino group to lay down its arms, warning the situation could imperil about 800,000 Filipino settlers in Sabah.

Some activists say border security and immigration policies must be revamped for Sabah, where hundreds of thousands of Filipinos have headed in recent decades - many of them illegally - to seek work and stability.

Malaysia has repeatedly intensified its naval patrols, but the long and porous sea border with the Philippines remains difficult to guard.

The crisis could have wide-ranging political ramifications in both countries. Some fear it might undermine peace talks brokered by Malaysia between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the main Muslim rebel group in the southern Philippines.

It might also affect voter sentiment in a Malaysian general election that must be held by the end of June. Najib needs strong support from voters in Sabah to fend off an opposition alliance that hopes to end more than five decades of federal rule by his National Front coalition. â–

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COA: 3 senators’ pork went to bogus NGO JPE, Estrada, Revilla tied to P195-M scam

BY CYNTHIA D. BALANA AND NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer SOME P195 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of three incumbent senators and a former congressman went to a questionable nongovernment organization in 2011, according to a report of the Commission on Audit (COA).

The PDAF, a pork barrel that funds pet projects of members of Congress, is a known source of kickbacks for lawmakers. Yearly, a senator is entitled to P200 million in PDAF and a member of the House of Representatives, P70 million.

The audit report identified Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., and then Buhay Rep. Rene Velarde as the sources of the P206 million in PDAF for the Department of Agriculture that was released in several batches in 2009 and 2010.

Of the amount, P201 million was turned over by the agriculture department to ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp. (ZREC), a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC), which in turn transferred P194.97 million to Pangkabuhayan Foundation Inc. (PFI).

Of the amount received by PFI, P74.69 million came from Enrile’s pork barrel; P106.7 million from Estrada’s, P9.7 million from Revilla’s and P3.88 million from Velarde’s, the COA said.

The COA report further said that the financial statements and income tax returns from 2006 to 2008 indicated that the government was PFI’s only source of funding.

Estrada seeks probe Estrada confirmed that part of his PDAF went to the foundation during the Arroyo administration.

Estrada wants an investigation of how his PDAF was spent if indeed PFI was a bogus NGO. Enrile withheld further comment until he had checked his records.

“I cannot make a statement. I will have to check records and facts,” he said in a short reply coursed through his media staff.

First time “This is the first time I heard about ZNAC Rubber Corp. and Pangkabuhayan Foundation Inc., he added.

Revilla gave no comment. He sent word that he had yet to go through the records.

The COA said the offices of Enrile,

Estrada, Revilla and Velarde all nominated the PFI as the beneficiary of the funds to implement its claimed livelihood projects.

Sought for comment, Enrile said this was the first time he heard of ZREC and PFI. The ZREC is involved in commercial crop production, particularly rubber.

It operates a plantation on a 1,000-hectare property in Tampilisan, Zamboanga del Norte province.

The ZREC uses the land owned by Zamboanga del Norte Agricultural College, under a usufruct agreement for 50 years.

The ZREC was formally incorporated and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 1984. In 2010, it was on the list of 36 “underperforming” GOCCs that Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez wanted abolished.

Fake documents The COA report reiterated its previous recommendation to ZREC to require PFI to refund P162 million “due to fabricated documents and forged signatures it submitted for the liquidation of funds received from ZREC. The COA also recommended that ZREC inform Enrile et al. “that PFI should no longer be granted any fund assistance and have it blacklisted.”

Livelihood projects State auditors raised doubts on the legal personality of the recipient nongovernment organization which claimed to have been implementing livelihood projects and programs in Ilocos Norte in Luzon; Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Aklan and Iloilo in the Visayas; and Camiguin, Sulu, TawiTawi, Zamboanga City and Basilan in Mindanao.

Office address The PFI listed its office address as No. 050 D&E Building on Roces Avenue corner Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.

Its previous address was No. 31 Ignacio Avenue, North Susana Executive Village, Matandang Balara, Quezon City.

The COA report noted that PFI had five tax identification numbers (TIN) based on different documents submitted to various government agencies.

For example, PFI’s certificate of incorporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had TIN 006-728526 but a different TIN 229081-506 was reflected in the general information sheet, which it also submitted to SEC. In the PFI’s certificate of registration

with the Bureau of Internal Revenue dated April 26, 2007, it had TIN 251538- 626- 000 but used TIN 026- 723526 in its income tax return for 2006 to 2008. However, a copy of PFI’s purchase request obtained by auditors showed its TIN as 004- 574- 001.

Questionable “Based on the information above, the validity and accuracy of the documents submitted by PFI were doubtful which also put to question its legal personality,” the COA report said.

COA auditors had asked ZREC to explain the discrepancies in the information when informed of the audit findings but the auditors were told that ZREC could no longer contact Petronila A. Balmaceda, PFI president, and that she had not replied to its letter dated Jan. 27, 2011.

In PFI’s income tax return (ITR) for 2007 and 2008, the report said PFI paid an identical amount of P17,500. PFI declared P1.75 million in total income tax payable because it was indicated in the ITR that its tax payments for the first three quarters amounted to P1,732,500, the report said.

“However, there was no deferred income tax or prepaid income tax of P1,732,500 and income tax payable of P1,750,000 reflected in the financial statements for CY 2007 and CY 2008 which cast doubt on the ITRs and financial statements submitted,” the COA said.

No liabilities In 2007, PFI declared total assets of P5,668,594. However, there were no recorded liabilities, thus the fund balance was equal to the total assets.

“Likewise, total receipts and disbursements for CY 2007 amounted to P48,000,000 and P43,000,000, respectively, thus excess of receipts over disbursements amounted to P5,000,000. The above amounts were also the figures indicated in the CY 2008 financial statements.

“In short, the financial statements for CY 2007 and CY 2008 were the same,” the report said.

It said that from the financial statements for 2006 to 2008 submitted by PFI, there was no property, plant and equipment account, “thereby casting doubt as to how the foundation operated its business without any office equipment, furniture and fixtures which are essential in carrying out the day to

day operations of a company.”

Unqualified for state funds Neither was there a declaration of PFI’s other related business, if any, “prompting auditors to declare that from the start, PFI should not have qualified for entitlement as a recipient of government funds even if it was nominated by Senators Enrile, Estrada, Revilla and Congressman Velarde to implement the programs/ projects.”

The report reiterated its previous recommendation to ZREC that it request PFI to justify “why the water pumps, hand tractors, composting facilities, planting materials and vegetable seeds were purchased from supplier which were very far from the location of the projects.”

Estrada said he didn’t know the people behind PFI but acknowledged that it was an organization accredited by the Department of Agriculture.

“It was the DA that recommended it (to be a beneficiary of my PDAF),” Estrada told the INQUIRER. Before Aquino administration He said this was “way back” before President Aquino took office in 2010.

“Our function is only to identify projects.

The funds never passed through us.

That’s the case for all of us senators,” Estrada said.

On the report that the NGO was bogus, Estrada said: “Now, I want to join the investigation... I want to know where the people’s money went.”

News-Phils

7 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

H for Honasan, C for Corona, other Team Pnoy bloopers

BY CATHY C. YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

Actress Sheryl Cruz In a symposium at the BSU gym, actress Sheryl Cruz, standing in for cousin Grace Poe, reminded voters that her “manang” used to chair the MTRCB. “Do you know what MTRCB stands for?” Cruz asked the students.

“It stands for Movie Television Radio Classification Board,” she said authoritatively. MTRCB means Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

Reelectionist Sen. Aquilino “Koko”

to proxy for him in rallies of the administration ticket such as the one held on Tuesday in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental, where only Sen. Loren Legarda, Hontiveros, former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Benigno “Bam” Aquino were present.

GMA Network News

MALAYBALAY CITY—Bloopers marked Team PNoy’s sortie here yesterday.

Sen. Franklin Drilon was introducing to students of Bukidnon State University (BSU) the administration coalition’s new acronym, “TEAM LP CHAMP,” which stands for the first letters of the surnames of all Malacañang-backed senatorial candidates.

“Whose candidate’s surname starts with a C,” asked Drilon, general campaign manager of the Liberal Party-led administration ticket, hinting at Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano, a reelectionist of the Nacionalista Party.

“Corona,” the people shouted back, referring to ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona whom the Senate convicted in an impeachment trial last year.

“And whose surname starts with an H?” Drilon followed up, referring to former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, who is also running under the Team PNoy ticket.

“Honasan,” the crowd roared, thinking of opposition reelectionist Gregorio Honasan of the United Nationalist Alliance.

This is the trouble when candidates send proxies in their place; or worse, do not bother to show up at all at provincial sorties of the administration coalition.

As expected, they lacked the name recall that candidates who showed up gained as an advantage, or their proxies committed bloopers worthy of a YouTube posting.

Actress Sheryl Cruz was a stand-in for cousin Grace Poe

Pimentel doused expectations of high drama with his absence at the gym.

Pimentel’s appearance was highly anticipated since he replaced Bukidnon’s homegrown son Juan Miguel Zubiri as the real 12th placer in the 2007 senatorial election via a decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal.

Kibitzers would have wanted to witness how Pimentel would conduct himself and how the hometown crowd would respond to his presence in the symposium.

Pimentel’s cousin The senator sent in his place first cousin Astravel PimentelNaic, who told reporters that he was in the Senate chairing a hearing on the electoral reform committee, “along with Senator Cayetano.”

Cayetano was also not at the BSU gym.

But a check with the Senate website showed there was no hearing scheduled yesterday by the electoral reform panel.

Pimentel’s staff later corrected Naic’s statement, saying the senator was at the GMA 7 studios for an interview.

Apart from Naic, Pimentel also sent his mother Bing and sister Gwen

Heart Evangelista Sen. Francis Escudero may not be lacking in voters and fans but those who were expecting him to attend an LP-led sortie in Laguna on Valentine’s Day two weeks back had to content themselves with the knowledge that he would enjoy the occasion with girlfriend Heart Evangelista.

But before this detail was known, the audience at San Pablo National High School gym shrieked as his name was called, only to be shown a video of his campaign advertisement.

Drilon said some candidates had made commitments to other invitations before the senatorial campaign began on Feb. 12.

Cayetano, for example, has been busy the past two weeks with his PiTiK (Presyo, Kita, Trabaho) consultations with grassroots workers, like tricycle drivers and vendors.

“Alan told me he fixed his schedule for the past two weeks. I am confident he will be with us in future sorties,” Drilon said in an impromptu news conference.

Drilon said there were cases when administration candidates had made commitments that could no longer be withdrawn.

Such had been the case with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Legarda.

The staff of Trillanes even announces via e-mail the reelectionist senator’s sorties outside of those arranged by Drilon.

“It’s really difficult to complete the slate. But you saw how warm the reception was here in BSU. I was pleasantly surprised. We will relay to them what happened and hopefully … it would certainly help if they showed up,” Drilon said.

Presence important Observers note that physical presence could be more important now if the administration ticket wants to sustain its 9-3 dominance in the Senate race.

So far, the latest survey conducted by Social Weather Stations showed that Legarda, Escudero, Cayetano, former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, Poe, Pimentel, Trillanes, Bam Aquino and Aurora Rep. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara were in the Magic 12.

In yesterday’s sortie, only candidates Aquino, Villar and former Sen. Jamby Madrigal showed up.

A quick inspection of the gym showed that apart from the three, only Trillanes, Pimentel, Escudero and Angara sent people to put up tarpaulins and campaign posters.

Drilon said Angara was supposed to join them yesterday from Zamboanga City “but he wasn’t feeling well and returned to Manila.”

Drilon added that unlike UNA spokesperson Rep. Tobias Tiangco, he would not issue threats against prodigal candidates who failed to attend Team PNoy sorties.

“I am only the campaign manager.

We do not issue warnings. We appeal.

Walang ilalaglag (No one will be dropped),” he said, referring to UNA’s recent move to drop Escudero, Poe and Legarda as guest candidates for failure to show up in the opposition’s senatorial sorties.

‘Sure winners’ Drilon said he had requested Legarda and Escudero to be present in more rallies to campaign for the other candidates “since they were already sure winners.”

As he left the BSU campus, Aquino said he acted as stand-in during the 1986 presidential campaign of his aunt, the late President Corazon Aquino, and again in 2010 for President Aquino in some rallies.

So, does sending a proxy help?

“A person’s physical presence is always important. The success of a proxy depends on whether he is able to relay the message that the candidate wants to convey,” Aquino said.

Madrigal said her presence had no equivalent as far as the campaign was concerned. ■

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News-Phils Gov’t, business get low ratings in trust index study

BY DORIS C. DUMLAO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE CHURCH, the academe and the media are the institutions that Filipinos trust the most, while there is much less faith in government, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and business, according to the 2012 Philippine Trust Index (PTI).

The church (referring to all religious sectors combined) obtained a trust rating of 68.1 percent, the academe 45.1 percent and the media 32.3 percent, in the PTI, a research collaboration between the EON Stakeholder Relations communications firm and the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, which is now on its second year.

The trust rating of government was much lower at 15 percent, although this has improved from 7 percent in the previous year’s survey. NGOs and business got trust ratings of 12 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively.

The PTI said the study attempts to provide a deeper understanding of the factors that create trust among institutions as well as identify the qualities and traits that Filipinos value the most.

Instructive findings “The findings are instructive and will guide us in better understanding the way Filipinos think and establish trust, whether for an individual or an institution. For the Ateneo Graduate School of Business, the PTI highlights

trust as an important ingredient in shaping effective leaders in the Philippines,” said AGSB dean Albert Buenviaje at the presentation of the survey results yesterday.

“The findings show us that establishing trust is a dynamic process that all institutions need to pay close attention to—and we have seen that in the 2012 trust levels increased for the government, media and the church. This highlights the important role of communication and engagement among all organizations, whether they are building their brand, enhancing shareholder value or rebuilding their reputation,” said Junie del Mundo, chair and CEO of EON. The 2012 PTI covered 1,575 respondents, both from the “informed” and “general public” nationwide.

Face-to-face Face-to-face interviews were conducted between November and December last year and focused group discussions held in October 2012.

The “informed” public came from urban and rural areas, described as those who are 25 years old and above, within the economic classes A to C, has reached at least two years of college education and are a significant media consumer.

The study defined “general public” in a broader sense: 18 years old and above, from economic classes A to E and majority of whom have reached less than second year of

college and have less consumption of media.

The study noted a gap between the trust ratings from the “informed” and “general public” for some institutions. For instance, there is lower trust rating from the “informed public” on the church (56.3 percent), academe (39.5 percent) and media (24.8 percent), compared to the trust ratings that these institutions obtained from the “general public.”

The “informed public” was also noted to be more trusting of different government agencies in the 2012 PTI compared to when the index was first launched a year ago.

Trust level triples Trust levels of the Office of the President almost tripled to 21 percent from 9.4 percent; of the Cabinet, to 14 percent from 4.4 percent, and of local government units, to 14.7 percent from 7 percent. There were also improvements in trust levels for the Supreme Court, regional trial courts and Congress.

Claro Fernandez, investor relations head of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas who sat as one of the panelists at the presentation yesterday, said the improvement in trust ratings could be due to the strong economic growth posted by the Philippines.

He said the the prospect of a sovereign investment grade rating for the Philippines made the country stand out last year, while most of the West, the traditional safe havens, was in disarray.

Clarita Carlos, president of the Center for Asia Pacific Studies, said some level of mistrust was good, citing the recent Arab spring that ousted dictators in the Middle EastNorth African region.

“Once upon a time, we thought they were gods... The entire political landscape is changing altogether,” she said.

Mistrust power “Some level of mistrust is good for a democracy because when you say to government you trust them (too much), they can become arrogant and prone to abuse of power,” Carlos said.

The study suggested a high desire for a corruption-free government but noted that government must also deliver—such as in helping the poor, fulfilling campaign promises and providing jobs—to be trusted. ■

P-noy studying NBI report on Atimonan GMAnetwork.com

Pinoys trust Church the most

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 8

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer WHILE President Aquino is taking time to review the investigation report on the Jan. 6 killing of 13 alleged criminals in Atimonan, Quezon, Malacañang said yesterday there’s no hanky-panky involved.

Secretary Edwin Lacierda, presidential spokesperson, squelched speculations that the National Bureau Investigation (NBI) report was being deodorized to clear some officials of any liability.

“I can tell you nothing is being cleaned up,” Lacierda said in a briefing.

“We are very transparent.”

He said the President was sifting through the five-inch thick report, submitted by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Feb. 7 to the Office of the President, in a “very detailed manner.”

“He’s studying it thoroughly,” he said.

After reviewing the report, the President will clear its release to the public. Since some police officers were involved in the alleged shootout, Mr. Aquino tasked the NBI to investigate the incident.

Mr. Aquino himself admitted that the report was voluminous. “It’s actually not that long a document. It’s just five inches thick. It weighs over six kilos and the briefer on it is 64 pages. It was my first time to read a book looking up to the ceiling while seated at a table,” he said then.

Three police officers and 10 others were killed in the alleged 20-minute gun battle at a checkpoint along a sparsely populated stretch of Maharlika Highway in Atimonan.

Supt. Hansel Marantan, leader of the team manning the checkpoint, was the only one hurt among 50 policemen and Army special forces troops that allegedly shot it out with the group of alleged jueteng operator Victor Siman.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, chaired by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, has admitted giving Marantan some P100,000 for intelligence gathering on the operation to arrest Siman. ■

9 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

News-Phils

Kiram’s wife: Sulu group just having a picnic, like in Edsa ’86

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer WHAT incursion? It’s an excursion.

Playing down accusations that their family intruded into the Malaysian territory of Sabah, the wife of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III yesterday said their armed followers who occupied a village there were just “having a picnic.”

“What they did is a benevolent action... It’s actually like what happened during the Edsa [People Power Revolution in 1986],” Princess Fatima Cecilia Kiram said.

She also strongly denied President Aquino’s allegation that somebody was financing the members of the “royal forces” of the sultanate of Sulu who sailed to Sabah on Feb. 9 and had since been holed up in the village of Tanduao in Lahad Datu town.

“This is not rebellion. I actually refer to it as an excursion. Our people there were just having a picnic,” a smiling Fatima told reporters in a news briefing at the Kirams’ home in Taguig City.

Turning serious, she said the Kirams and their followers “have had enough” of the Philippine government’s

indifference to their plight and their decadesold struggle to assert the sultanate’s ownership of Sabah.

“We have not been remiss. We have repeatedly told the government that, ‘Hey, here we are. Can we do something (to) help you?’ What we need now is a written agreement. We will not entertain any verbal agreement,” she said.

Fatima also clarified that their followers did not go to Sabah on orders of her husband. She said the 235-strong group led by her husband’s brother, Agbimuddin Kiram, went to Sabah “on their own free will.”

In fact, she said it was Agbimuddin who convinced his older brother to allow the group to travel to Sabah and “settle down in their homeland.”

“We did not tell our people to start a fight and resort to violence. Our people went there voluntarily. It was their own free will,” Fatima said.

Fatima dismissed as speculation the President’s claim that Agbimuddin’s group may had received funding, saying it could be part of a “ploy, a desperate move of the government.”

to Sabah using “money from their own pockets.” She said the group raised less than P100,000 to buy gasoline for the motorboats they used to travel to Sabah from Tawi-Tawi.

Before the Malaysian authorities ordered a food blockade, she said, the residents of Tanduao provided food to Agbimuddin’s group since most of them were relatives of the Kirams.

Not about money “These speculations are part of their desperate move. They thought our people will not move without a financer.

If we have a financer, we could have had more than 250 people going there.

Our people may have had more than 30

firearms. In that case, what we will see is an invasion,” she said.

Although she admitted that the family was facing financial woes, Fatima maintained that the Kirams’ fight to take back Sabah was not about money.

“They say this is about our financial difficulties. We are not denying that we are facing financial problems. We may belong to the 70 percent of Filipinos living in poverty, but we survive because of the will of Allah,” she said, choking back tears.

“But there are more of us aspiring for a better life ... This fight is a fight to regain our dignity, pride and honor.

This involves the patrimony of the Filipino people.” ■

UNA: Demolition job on our leaders

No financier She said the sultanate’s followers went

Estrada: Targeted

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE UNITED Nationalist Alliance (UNA) smells something fishy in a Commission on Audit (COA) report linking two of its leaders to the release of some P195 million in pork barrel to a bogus nongovernment organization.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada were clearly the targets of the COA report published by the INQUIRER on Thursday, said Rep. Toby Tiangco, the coalition’s campaign manager.

“They are leaders of UNA, and the clear intent is to hit our leaders hoping it would affect UNA candidates,” Tiangco said in a statement.

He said it was clearly an act of desperation. “But it also reveals their desperation,” he added, referring to President Aquino’s Liberal Party (LP).

Demolition work “The demolition work against UNA leaders has intensified because the LP cannot deny what is happening on the ground: Big crowds are attending UNA

rallies and sorties, while their political events are nilalangaw,” he said.

But Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, an LP spokesperson, said the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund was not about who disclosed it to the media but whether it was true.

“I think my friend, Representative (Toby) Tiangco misses the point,” Tañada said.

Tiangco insisted that Enrile and Estrada should not be the subject of campaign attacks, noting that they are not candidates.

But if this would be so, he said UNA could also return the favor to Sen. Franklin Drilon, his counterpart at the administration coalition.

“We could just as easily ask Sen. Franklin Drilon, their campaign manager, to answer the long-festering questions about his purchase of property in Forbes Park, but we won’t, because he is not a candidate,” he said.

Tiangco said the COA report was made public “without fail” in time for the elections “for obvious political purposes.”

“Without fail, complaints are filed in the Ombudsman against political personalities and candidates based on COA reports,” he said.

He said this year was no exception.

“But what sets this election year apart from the previous elections is the eagerness with which the LP—the so-called party espousing a righteous path—has embraced the discredited practices of the Arroyo regime of harassing political enemies with trumped-up allegations which will not stand in a court of law.” ■

News-Phils

BY JULIE M. AURELIO AND CYNTHIA D. BALANA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE NEW law granting compensation and recognition to the victims of martial law is an opportunity to correct whatever distortions in history have been made concerning the atrocities of the Marcos regime, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said yesterday.

The Human Rights Violations Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 will thwart any cover-ups or attempts to erase from memory the excesses of the Marcos dictatorship, said CHR Chair Loretta Ann Rosales.

“The new law serves as an impetus for intensified human rights education for the security sector,” she told a press briefing.

Rosales said the military and the police must correct their behavior and realize their role as protectors of human rights, territorial integrity and public safety.

She said textbooks and other reading materials at all levels must be reviewed and corrected to reflect the truth about martial law and to celebrate the sacrifices of those who had opposed it.

She said a Roll of Martial Law Victims, as well as a museum and library and archives in their honor will be established.

These activities will be initiated by the Martial Law Victims Memorial Commission with the help of the Commission onHigher Education.

The memorial commission is an independent institution attached to the CHRfor administrative and budgetary purposes, and is run by a board headed by the CHR chair.

Rosales said the ill-gotten wealth amassed by the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his family and his cronies and returned to the Philippines by the Swiss government in 1997 will be used to recompense the victims.

“This measure of justice would not have been made possible without the strong efforts of the international community, particularly the Swiss government, who have always been our steadfast partners,” she said.

“This law concretizes international law in helping the state realize its threefold obligation to promote, protect and fulfill human rights for all,” she added.

Too late for many victims Playwright Bonifacio Ilagan, a martial law victim, said the passage of the reparation law was “very significant,” but lamented that it came too late for many victims like Carlos Ortegawhodied before he could get any kind of compensation.

‘Righting martial law distortions next’ Ilagan, who is vice chair of Samahan ng ExDetainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda), remembers seeing a frail Ortega queueing last year to claim his $1,000 check for martial law victims whose payment a United States court had ordered.

According to Ilagan, Ortega, a union leader who had been arrested and tortured, ended up not getting his check at all as his name was not found on the list.

Ortega died in 2012 without receiving reparation. Early this year, Ilagan thought of calling up Ortega’s wife when he learned that the victims reparation act was about to be passed.

He was aghast to learn that the wife had died too.

“No one among us fought martial law thinking that we would be rewarded in the end. We fought those battles in our youth because we wanted to serve the country,” said Ilagan, who was also delisted and was unable to claim his check last year.

He pointed out that while they welcomed the signing of the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act for the victims of martial law, their quest for justice would not end with the financial compensation.

After real justice “What we are after is real justice.

Morethan the measly amount in reparations, what we want is for this dark period to be never forgotten and for the perpetrators to be prosecuted,” said Ilagan.

“It took a bit long, 12 years since we first lodged a bill in Congress. But, like they say, better late than never. For all martial law victims, the law is very significant,” said the playwright.

At a press conference yesterday, Selda said the passage of the reparation law was the result of the efforts of thousands of human rights victims of the Marcos regime.

Under the law, the government will provide P10 billion to pay compensation to the victims. It also

mandates the teaching of the atrocities of the martial law period in the schools.

The original master list included 9,539 victims although Selda expects this to go beyond 10,000.

According to Ilagan, Ortega was in his 30s when he was arrested.

He said it was many years before he saw Ortega again, and this was last year when Ortega, rail thin from illness and advanced age, joined the queue to claim his $1,000 check which never came.

400 victims have died “He really expected that he would receive it. It would not have made him rich, but it would have helped a lot because he was already sick,” Ilagan said.

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 10

Selda estimates that at least 400 victims have already died.

“Each month, I receive at least three advisories that some of our members have passed away. Most of us are in our 50s, 60s. Some are in their 70s,” said the 61-year-old Ilagan.

Selda chair Marie Hilao-Enriquez said it was not enough that the government offered reparation.

“This law is about indemnification.

We also want the perpetrators to be prosecuted and to publicly apologize,” she said.

Enriquez lamented that the Marcoses and their allies were back in power.

“As long as human rights violations continue, with or without martial law, we stand with the people for justice, democracy and human rights. Never again will we allow the enemies of the people to perpetrate the same injustices, oppression and exploitation against the majority of the Filipino people,” she said. ■

Worms scourge of public school pupils, agency finds

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer NEARLY half—44 percent—of the 22 million public school students in the country have worms, the head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said yesterday.

NIH Executive Director Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr. said the government’s deworming program was not as effective as it should be due to the lack of information and preparation on the ground. “(In 2004-2006), 70 percent of Filipino schoolchildren had worms.

The latest check we did—we were funded by the Department of Health to do a study at sentinel sites— showed this went down to a 44-percent infection rate,” Belizario said in an interview.

“This is still not acceptable because the World Health Organization (WHO) says it has to be under 20 percent,” he said.

Belizario said the national deworming program covered only 20 percent of affected schoolchildren, way below the 75-percent recommended by the WHO, even as the government buys

millions of pesos worth of drugs annually to fight worms.

“It looks like it is not just the medicines but the infrastructure that has to be prepared to implement school-based deworming,” he added.

Belizario said the deworming program only covered students aged 1 to 14 who were given medicine twice a year. He suggested the program include students up to 18 years old.

He said a single worm passes “hundreds of thousands of eggs” that are infectious for up to two years.

In the private schools, Belizario said the infection rate was 10 to 20 percent.

The government, Belizario said, could make the deworming program more effective by addressing complaints like the bitterness of the medicines, the stomach pains and the expulsion of the worms through the mouths of the children.

“You need to tie up with local health units so that if there are side effects, you can take the children there, like when there have stomach pains or the worms come out of their mouths, which is normal. The public should not be frightened about that,” Belizario said. ■

11 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

News-Phils Lawmakers slam Ongpin for historical revisionism FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 12

“The whole concept was discipline. We had no “[Ongpin] claims to have saved the country money to defend the peso. The only thing we had was from a crippling economic crisis that was largely moral suasion, or immoral suasion,” Ongpin said. brought about by him and his ilk to begin with?

LAWMAKERS yesterday slammed former Trade “The traders were using their money. The treasury The staggering foreign debt, corruption-riddled Minister Roberto V. Ongpin for his purported attempt was bankrupt. I had the President sign arrest and white elephant projects and crony monopolies?” he said. to rewrite Philippine history and paint the dictator seizure orders for each of the black marketers.”

Ferdinand Marcos, his family and his cronies in a ‘Still doesn’t get it’ Historical account better light.

“Good Lord! More revisionism?” said Sen. “Almost three decades on and he still doesn’t get it. Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said: “We should have an Serge Osmeña, who instigated a Senate blue ribbon The results of the snap election are irrelevant. No historical account of the 20 years of Marcos misrule committee probe on Ongpin for alleged insider rigged and thoroughly corrupted polls could confer and make it part of our educational curriculum.” trading of Philex Mining Corp. shares, profiting from legitimacy on Marcos. The people had had enough of Guingona said historians with “firsthand” experience a behest loan granted by Development Bank of the the dictatorship, so the people kicked them out,” said with martial law should be tapped to write this chapter of the country’s history.

Philippines in 2009 and acting as a front for former ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio.

“Ongpin’s revisionism highlights the urgent need “I remember reading the column of Ambeth first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. “These are matters of history. It’s amazing that Ongpin is making for a thoroughgoing review of how the history of the Ocampo (of the INQUIRER) that Raul Roco, when these claims only now,” said Speaker Feliciano martial law period is written, discussed in public and he was secretary of education, was talking to him taught in our schools. In Germany, no one can speak about it. He would have been commissioned by the Belmonte Jr. In an interview last week with the INQUIRER, favorably about the Hitler period without being called Department of Education to write about those 20 Ongpin said: “With the election, a lot of people felt to account. It should be the same here regarding the years of Marcos rule. Unfortunately, it did not push through,” Guingona said. ■ that he (Marcos) lost. You know, he won. In my view, Marcos era,” Tinio said. he really won.”

“This is a case of historical revisionism. An insult to the heroism of thousands of Filipinos who fought Sulu sultan one of Palace VIP guests at signing of peace deal for the ouster of Marcos. A reminder to be vigilant should be an acknowledgment of the recognition of against Marcos apologists who want to rewrite history BY TJ BURGONIO the traditional leadership in [the Autonomous Region Philippine Daily Inquirer and justify the crimes of the past,” said Kabataan in Muslim Mindanao],” he said.

Rep. Raymond Palatino.

Contrary to Jamalul’s claim that the sultanate was Belmonte found it strange that Ongpin would WHEN the government signed a preliminary peace left out of the talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation deal with Moro rebels in October last year, it didn’t follow Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s lead in Front, the government panel met with him before the expect that one of the guests in Malacañang would trying to revise history.

“What about the claim that there was really an cause an international crisis and deprive President agreement was signed, Lacierda said.

“In the discussions on the peace ambush prior to proclamation? It’s a different tune Aquino of sleep. process, the panel met with Sultan Sultan Jamalul Kiram III was one of from before,” Belmonte said, recalling Enrile’s claim Jamalul Kiram. In fact, they during the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution hundreds of guests who crammed were consulted. That’s the that Cory was the real winner in the snap election a hall in the Palace to witness reason why if you look the signing of the Framework that month and that his ambush, which led to the at the Bangsamoro Agreement on the Bangsamoro proclamation of martial law in 1972, was staged. framework agreement, on Oct. 15, 2012, Malacañang there is a provision said yesterday.

Binondo Central Bank there, there’s respect Little did Malacañang Osmeña also blasted Ongpin for his alleged attempt for customary laws, to window-dress his brainchild, Binondo Central know that Jamalul, one of traditional leaders,’’ the heirs of the sultanate Bank, which controlled the black market for dollars he said. of Sulu and North Borneo, amid the flight of capital and refusal of exporters The claim to Sabah to bring their dollars back home following the was feeling left out of the was not tackled during assassination of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. in agreement and would order the consultations a group of his followers to August 1983. “primarily because Sabah to occupy the territory in “Nothing noble about the use of police powers they recognized the peace to suspend the law of supply and demand to cover an attempt to press his clan’s claim process involved,” he added. to the land. up the plunder and gross mismanagement of the

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

economy and keep the Filipino people in ignorance and misery,” Osmeña said.

In the interview with the INQUIRER, Ongpin said that the Aquino assassination ignited massive withdrawals of short-term dollar placements and required extraordinary measures to avert hyperinflation similar to those experienced by economies torn by wars and civil strife. Foreign currency traders in Manila’s Chinatown were having a field day, steadily debasing the peso.

“The country was headed for a runaway inflation, like Argentina. We were right there on the brink. I told Marcos the only way, if you want me to do it, is to get these guys and put the fear of God in them and tell them you’d better do it. And they did. It was horrible,” Ongpin said.

No ringside seat?

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told a press briefing yesterday that Jamalul could not complain about not being given a good seat in Malacañang because he, too, had no seat.

“It was such a historic event. People just wanted to come in. There were so many important people there.

Even the ambassadors were seated. There was not a section devoted to the diplomatic [corps]. Everybody present sat with one another,” he said.

“The atmosphere was one of hope and one of optimism. It was unfortunate that he’s complaining only now. But the fact that he was invited ... we recognized the fact out of the millions of Muslims in Mindanao, he was invited to come to the Palace. That

Staying up late Stumping in Cagayan de Oro City for his administration’s senatorial candidates on Tuesday, President Aquino admitted staying up till 3 a.m. that day to write his televised appeal to Jamalul to order his followers to leave Sabah or face charges in court.

“Last night we prepared the statement about the Sabah incident. That lasted until 1:30 a.m. After that, Gov. [Mujiv] Hataman reported the outcome of his talks with the Kirams, and that was around 2 a.m. Everything was finished by 3 a.m. I got up from bed at 7 a.m. to deliver the statement, and then we flew here,” he told a large crowd in the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sports Complex. ■

13 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

News-Phils

Bangsamoro transition panel formed PRESIDENT Aquino has named the 15 members of the Transition Commission that will craft the basic Bangsamoro law.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal leads the MILF representatives in the TransCom, presidential spokesperson Secretary Edwin Lacierda announced yesterday.

The TransCom was created through Executive Order No. 120.

The others in the MILF side are Robert Alonto, Abdulla Camlian, Ibrahim Ali, Raissa Jajurie, Melanio U. Ulama, Hussein Munoz and Said Shiek.

The seven-man government contingent, on the other hand, is composed of Akmad Sakkam, Johaira Wahab, Talib Benito, Asani Tammang, Pedrito Eisma, Froilyn Mendoza and Fatmawati Salapuddin.

“The appointment of these individuals who represent vital Bangsamoro constituencies and have proven their commitment to pursuing amity and goodwill in Muslim Mindanao is a key step on the road map to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Political Entity,” Lacierda said in a briefing.

He said this was proof of both camps’ seriousness to uphold the October 2012 framework agreement on the Bangsamoro to draft the Basic Bangsamoro Law and “move forward in the peace process.”

Who are covered Under the agreement, the Bangsamoro are “those who at the time of conquest and colonization were considered natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago and its adjacent islands, including Palawan, and their descendants, whether of mixed or full blood.”

The constitution of the TransCom came two weeks after the President launched a socioeconomic program in the MILF stronghold in Sultan Kudarat to address the health, educational and livelihood needs of the rebels in the next 18 months.

The government and the rebel group hope to seal a final comprehensive peace agreement by March.

The TransCom, created in December last year, has three functions: Draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law; work on proposals to amend the Constitution with a view of “entrenching” the parties’ agreements in the Constitution, and coordinate development programs in Bangsamoro communities.

Once drafted, the Bangsamoro basic law will be certified urgent by the President and submitted to Congress.

The draft charter will then be submitted to a plebiscite in the envisioned core territory of the Bangsamoro. Upon the charter’s ratification, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) would be deemed abolished.

The Bangsamoro is expected to pave the way for an end to the decades-long Muslim insurgency in Mindanao.

The Bangsamoro basic law will replace the organic act, Republic Act No. 9054, that created the ARMM, which was part of the peace agreement that the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed with the government in 1996.

No MNLF member Quoting Secretary Teresita Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, Lacierda said the MNLF chose not to endorse a member to the TransCom. “But we are certain that among the appointees are people who know the situation and perspectives of the MNLF on the ground,” he said.

The seven appointees of the government panel were vetted by a TransCom selection body composed of Deles, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Secretary Mehol Sadain of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.

“The selection body agreed on the following qualification requirements for each appointee: A Bangsamoro, a track record in support of the peace process and established probity, untainted by any charge or suspicion of corruption or abuse of power, among other things,” Lacierda said.

The MILF representatives were recommended by the rebel group. ■

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Law makes voting easier for all

Benny M. Abante

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Thrive in a professional career with a constantly expanding market.

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT Aquino has signed into law a measure requiring the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to set up precincts that are readily accessible to persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens ahead of the May 13 polls.

Mr. Aquino signed Republic Act No. 10366, An Act Authorizing the Commission on Elections to Establish Precincts Assigned to Accessible Polling Places Exclusively for Persons with Disabilities and Senior Citizens, on Feb. 15.

The law addresses the concerns of PWDs and senior citizens on election day.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said RA 10366 mandates the Comelec to provide PWDs such assistance

as separate and accessible voting precincts.

Either a relative by consanguinity or affinity, within the fourth civil degree, or a member of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) may assist PWDs in casting their vote, if need be, said Valte in a recent radio interview.

“This law will require the registration or (recording) of persons with disabilities and senior citizens with the Comelec, so that they can identify those with disabilities needing assistance when it comes to the voting,” she said.

Aside from the PWD-accessible voting centers, the Comelec should come up with “assistive devices” and other forms of services to PWDs, Valte said.

“Our ballots should also have reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities and senior citizens. Of course, this includes assistance in the accomplishment of the ballots because we can’t rule out situations where we have PWDs in need of assistance,” she said.

As a result of this law, the Comelec is required to have all its staff undergo appropriate training programs.

Covered by this training requirement are those who perform electoral duties, including field officers, BEI members and accredited citizen arms, “to familiarize themselves with the needs of PWDs and senior citizens,” said Valte. ■

News-Phils P-Noy to PH: Never again

AMID THE HOOPLA of the People Power I celebration, President Aquino yesterday signed a law compensating close to 10,000 victims of human rights violations during martial law as he exhorted Filipinos to “celebrate a race that will never again be oppressed.”

The colorful commemoration at the Edsa People Power Monument of the 27th anniversary of the People Power I that toppled strongman Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986 served as a backdrop for the signing of the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013.

“It’s clear: Our quest for justice doesn’t end with today’s commemoration. That’s why today, we have signed the HumanRights Victims Reparation Act of 2013 as a recognition of the suffering experienced by many people during martial law, and show that even after a generation has passed, we never lost heart to rectify the mistakes of the past,” Mr. Aquino said before a large crowd, mostly clad in yellow shirts.

gov.ph

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Healing of wounds Mr. Aquino thanked Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and countless other lawmakers who pushed for the passage of the measure and ensured that the government recognize the victims’ suffering and lead them to a “complete healing of the wounds of the past.” Enrile is a former Marcos defense minister and a key player in the 1986 peaceful revolt.

Former President Fidel V. Ramos and former Sen. Agapito “Butz” Aquino—two key players in the revolt—as well as Vice President Jejomar Binay, Belmonte, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, other Cabinet officials, lawmakers, ambassadors, student and youngsters witnessed the signing.

Conspicuously absent from the celebration were Enrile, who led the defense ministry’s defection from Marcos in 1986, and Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan III, Enrile’s aide at the time. Enrile is one of the three leaders of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance, and Honasan is seeking reelection under its banner.

Apart from obligating the government to compensate victims of gross human rights violations, RA 10368 underscores the need to “unravel the truth from the lies” about martial law, contributes to the process of ending impunity and serves as a “symbol of solidarity,” she added.

Remember past Martial law victim and survivor Bonifacio “Boni” Ilagan hailed the enactment of the law.

“For those who fought against the dictatorship, for those whose rights had been trampled upon, the Human Rights Victims’ Reparation Act of 2013 is very meaningful. More than the monetary help, this is one way for us to always remember the past. We know the tragedy that awaits us if history is erased from our memory,” Ilagan said in a speech.

Its lasting legacy is “posterity and a challenge to learn from history,” he added.

Edsa 1 solidarity In his speech, the President reminded Filipinos that Edsa I, which catapulted his mother Corazon C. Aquino to power, was not the property of only a few, or even its key players in 1986.

“This can’t be owned by a few faces that we see in the papers, or the Filipinos who massed on this thoroughfare. They merely responded to the united call by the entire country for freedom, dignity and justice,” he said.

“Like the traditional game ‘palo sebo,’ Edsa is not about who is popular; or who is on top or below. This is not about people who topbill the news. This is about a wideranging solidarity to achieve our aspiration of change,” he said.

From many parts of the archipelago, decent Filipinos gathered together to achieve the impossible and open a new chapter of the country’s history, Mr. Aquino said.

“Every Filipino who suffered, every Filipino who had been denied of a future, every Filipino who dreamt but had doubts, theirs is the collective call for

Mend ways Loretta Ann Rosales, chair of the Commission on Human Rights, said Republic Act No. 10368 should warn “instruments of injustice to mend their ways.”

“That soldiers and policemen, such as those we see before us right now, are protectors of the people and not of conjugal dictators, unjust politicians and greedy businessmen,” said Rosales, herself a torture victim during martial law.

At least P10 billion Under the law, the 9,539 victims who filed a class action suit in Hawaii against the Marcoses will be awarded compensation using $246 million, at least P10 billion, that the government recovered from Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth deposited in Swiss bank accounts.

The P10.5 billion is held in escrow at the National Treasury and has earned at least P2.3 billion in interest, according to Malacañang.

The victims won in 1995 a $2-billion judgment from a US district court in Hawaii against the Marcos estate. Under the new law, they would be presumed victims of martial law abuses and do not have to prove their claims for compensation.

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 14

a meaningful change that toppled the dictatorship,” he said.

Twenty-seven years later, the country is reaping the fruits of democracy that was restored after Edsa I, the President said.

Economy brings hope “If before, the world admired us for the hope that we brought to other oppressed races, now they’re admiring us for our economy that is bringing hope to the rest of the world dominated by gloom. We have recovered again and we can be proud of our recovery from the potholes of history,” he said.

But then again, the President said Filipinos should not be content with “falling and recovering” from every challenge, but learn to move forward.

He said he was aware of the many challenges ahead, noting that stumbling blocks to the right path have not been totally removed.

“It’s clear those who benefited from the previous status quo are still here. If we fall gain, if we let go of each other’s grip, if we allow ourselves to be tempted by self-interest, these people will seize the opportunity and take advantage,” he added.

Honor of the race He said the spirit of Edsa I that restored democracy should serve as an inspiration for the country to forge ahead toward development.

“Every day let’s celebrate the honor of a race that will never again fall, that will never again be oppressed, that will never be contented with the culture of recovery. Every day, let’s commit to heart the new culture of not having any second thoughts, and not having any fear to advance,” Mr. Aquino said.

The anniversary celebration began with Mr. Aquino, Binay and other officials hoisting the Philippine flag at the left side of the monument, coinciding with flag-raising ceremonies in cities in Metro Manila.

After the ecumenical prayer, the hosts asked the crowd for a moment of silence for the late Fr. James Reuter, S.J., who directed the rebel radio station Radyo Bandido during the people power revolt.

Awardees Shortly after, Spirit of Edsa Foundation Awards were handed out to Reuter (posthumously); June Keithley, broadcaster of Radyo Bandido; Ronald Gadayan, glass cleaner and janitor at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 for his honesty; Luneta coachman Jaime Mayor; and Cris Kesz Valdez, 2012 International Children’s Peace Prize Awardee.

Confetti This culminated in the reenactment of “salubungan” with Ramos, then military vice chief of staff and retired Brig. Gen. Ramon Montaño leading the military side, and nuns and seminarians heading the religious side, each group backed by a tank decked in yellow flowers. A shower of confetti dropped from a helicopter as both contingents mingled.

The actual salubungan occurred on Feb. 23, a day after Ramos and then Defense Minister Enrile defected from the Marcos government and the late Jaime Cardinal Sin and Butz Aquino called on people to go to Edsa and protect the rebel forces. ■

15 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

News-Phils

LP leaders see coalition problems in local polls

BY CATHY C. YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer LIBERAL Party (LP) officials yesterday said they foresaw issues arising from the administration’s decision to field or support local candidates facing rivals belonging to its coalition with other parties.

“When we signed the coalition, we were conscious of the fact that we cannot be perfect at the local level. We cannot solve everything. We realize there would be local issues in the local contests that would be out there,” Sen. Franklin Drilon, LP general campaign manager, told reporters in a news conference.

In one major city in the Visayas, for example, Drilon said the LP is supporting the candidates for congressman, mayor and vice mayor in a common slate of the LP and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC).

“But when it comes to the candidates for councilor, each of the LP, NPC and Nacionalista Party (NP) has its own candidates so we declared the area

a free zone, as far as candidates for councilor are concerned,” he pointed out.

Aurora Rep. Edgardo “Sonny” Angara stressed in the same forum that the Team PNoy coalition is holding for the senatorial candidates of the LP, NP and NPC. Angara is one of the candidates. “There’s never a perfect congruence for the local bets,” he said.

It was the NPC’s Sen. Tito Sotto who cried foul over the LP’s decision to field candidates against NPC incumbents seeking reelection at the local level.

The NPC expected the LP to support its member, Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino, who is seeking reelection.

Sotto said the NPC was surprised to learn that the LP would be supporting Alaminos Mayor Hernani Braganza, a known supporter of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo, who switched to the LP from Lakas.

Sotto said the NPC also smarted from the LP’s decision to back an Aksyon Demokratiko candidate for governor in Isabela instead of the NPC’s incumbent ■

Metro cleared of illegal posters–DPWH

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer METRO Manila should be practically free of campaign materials in prohibited areas by now after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) launched a clearing drive recently.

The provinces, however, is another story, according to sources in the DPWH. This has prompted Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson to order DPWH offices nationwide to strictly comply with Comelec Resolution No. 9858 which deputizes the DPWH and the Metro Manila Development Authority to assist the poll agency in “removing all unlawful election materials.”

In a memo, Singson directed DPWH central and regional offices to “form core teams of supevisors and field personnel to coordinate with Comelec offices in carrying out their deputized tasks for the automated national elections.”

The teams should “concentrate on violations committed within the scope and jurisdiction of our agency, particularly along national roads and bridges,” Singson said.

“These unlawful election materials, many of which pepper road safety and traffic signs, pose a danger to motorists.

Oftentimes traffic direction signs cannot be legibly read by the drivers,” he said.

He also ordered the removal of billboards and streamers trumpeting the names and

accomplishments of politicians supposedly responsible for public works projects.

“This is our way of supporting the antiepal campaign, or the citizens’ call on politicians not to use government projects as accessory resources to drumbeat their accomplishments,” he said.

Singson urged the public to “help the department in identifying violators by sending location details of illegally posted campaign materials through Text 2920, website www.dpwh.gov.ph or DPWH call center hotline 16502.”

Beth Pilorin, head of the DPWH public information office, said the department’s intensified campaign against illegal campaign materials was an “ongoing activity.”

Two weeks ago, the Comelec warned election candidates to remove their campaign materials from prohibited areas or face charges for violation of the Fair Elections Act. The poll body also reminded candidates to comply with the prescribed poster sizes that should be put up only in Comelecdesignated areas.

Under Comelec guidelines, campaign posters made of cloth, paper, cardboard or any other material, whether framed or posted, should measure only two feet by three feet.

Posters should only be tacked on in common poster areas. Posters in private areas are allowed if they have the consent of the owner.

Streamers or tarpaulin should not exceed three feet by eight feet and must be removed the day after the campaign activity for which they are only allowed.

Reports reaching the DPWH said that even before the start of the official campaign period on Feb. 9, campaign posters had sprouted in unauthorized areas. ■

Comelec hails SC ruling

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) yesterday welcomed a Supreme Court decision junking a losing bidder’s petition to stop the election body from awarding the compact flash (CF) cards contract to Smartmatic-TIM. In an interview with reporters, Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. said the ruling of the tribunal should serve as a lesson to other losing bidders that they cannot make shortcuts in the process by immediately questioning and appealing their bids before the courts.

“It now clarifies the process... that you cannot just go to the courts without asking first for reconsideration from the Bids and Awards Committee and

then the commission en banc for final ruling,” said Brillantes.

The Supreme Court en banc on Wednesday said it does not have any jurisdiction over the case filed

by LDLA Marketing, which lost the bidding for the supply of 82,200 CF cards for the precinct count optical scan ( PCOS) machines.

In a 13- page petition, LDLA Marketing urged the high court to issue a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the contract. It also asked the high court to compel the Comelec to invalidate Resolution No. 9600 and award to them the contract for the supply of CF cards instead.

It also questioned the Comelec’s decision to award the contract to Smartmatic, which supposedly submitted the highest bid price of P45.2 million (originally priced P50.9 million). ■

Opinion

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 16

THERE’S THE RUB

Written in water

BY CONRADO DE QUIROS Philippine Daily Inquirer SERGE Osmeña and Sonny Belmonte are aghast.

After Juan Ponce Enrile, comes now Roberto Ongpin revising history.

In an interview with the Inquirer run during the 27th anniversary of Edsa, Ongpin felt emboldened enough to claim a couple of things.

One was that Ferdinand Marcos and not Cory Aquino actually won the snap election, and two was that he actually did the Philippines a favor by putting up the so-called “Binondo Central Bank” after Ninoy Aquino was murdered and money began to fly out of the country.

“Good Lord,” exclaimed Osmeña, “more revisionism?! There’s nothing noble about the use of police powers to suspend the law of supply and demand to cover up the plunder and gross mismanagement of the economy and keep the Filipino people in ignorance and misery.”

Belmonte was floored: “What about Enrile’s claim that there was really an ambush prior to Marcos’ proclamation [of martial law]? It’s a different tune from the one he sang before (while holed up in Camp Aguinaldo).”

Well, revisionism is virulent and tends to infect. If Enrile can get away with lying harapharapan about his ambush in Wack Wack, so can others. Ongpin clearly thinks he can. It’s not unlikely the Marcoses will follow suit soon, particularly as the next presidential election is just three years away. They’ve already been doing so surreptitiously via entries on YouTube that make martial law out to be not as bad

as people think, if not the best thing to have II, yet none of it is greatly remembered today, if happened to us. It won’t be long before they’ll be at all it was so in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, doing it in-your-face. the problem goes deeper than can be solved by Antonio Tinio gives a good perspective on teaching things in school. The problem is the things. “The results of the snap election are political culture itself. irrelevant. No rigged and thoroughly corrupted What is that culture? You see it in the current polls could confer legitimacy on Marcos.” But election campaign, you see it in the current more than that, he gets composition of Team to the heart of things: If Enrile can get away with lying PNoy and UNA, you “Ongpin’s revisionism harap-harapan about his ambush in see it in the candidates highlights the urgent Wack Wack, so can others. Roberto who are currently doing need for a thoroughgoing exceedingly well. It is a Ongpin clearly thinks he can. review of how the history culture characterized by of the martial law period is written, discussed in personality rather than ideology, by popularity public and taught in our schools. In Germany, no rather than principle, by charisma rather than one can speak favorably about the Hitler period ideya. We see it starkly in this: In the United without being called to account. It should be the States, the first debate between Barack Obama same here regarding the Marcos era.” and Mitt Romney almost changed the face of Teofisto Guingona III agrees with the latter the elections. In this country, you can have as point: “We should have an historical account of many debates as you want—we did have them the 20 years of Marcos misrule and make it part for the presidential candidates in the past, which of our educational curriculum.” succeeded only in making Mang Pandoy known I’m all for teaching a truthful version of to Pinoys—and it wouldn’t matter one bit. martial law in schools—truthful defined as Elections are not won by what one stands for, hewing closely to the people’s actual experience by what plans one has for the nation. They are of it, not least the victims of torture, “salvaging,” won by how personable one is, how well one gets and forced disappearances, who are covered by along (pakikisama) with others. the reparations law. Education Secretary Armin The far-reaching effects of this are patent.

Luistro has repeatedly announced that it will find Three years after the end of the Japanese itself in the curriculum soon. It should have some occupation, and after the Filipino collaborators effect particularly where taught at elementary were tried for treason (trials that lasted only level. briefly and produced no major casualties), the But a sense of realism is also needed here. The collaborators were back in business running curriculum of the 1950s and 1960s also carried for public office. Government itself became accounts of Japanese atrocity during World War more concerned with wiping out the Huks,

who fought the Japanese, than punishing the collaborators, who helped them put up their vicious rule.

The same was true after martial law. A few years after martial law, and not long after the Marcoses and their cronies fled the country, the Marcoses and their cronies were back, Imelda and Danding Cojuangco running for president in 1992. Imelda never became a serious threat but Cojuangco did, claiming he lost the election only because he was massively cheated.

Government itself became more concerned with wiping out the NPA, who fought Marcos, than punishing those who helped him put up his vicious rule.

That is the political culture. Ideological concerns do not preoccupy it, political interpretations do not obsess it, historical memories do not cling to it. Of course, any mention of Hitler will cause violent upheavals among Germans, while any mention of Marcos will only spark a tidal wave of text jokes among us. I remember again someone telling me during the 2002 German elections: “The elections this year are boring. They are only about personalities, not about ideas.” The opposite is true here, of course.

That is what needs addressing, that is what needs solving. We have a saying that IOUs that are written in water, isinulat sa tubig, are not going to be paid. That’s what our culture does to our history, which makes revisionism not just possible but the easiest thing in the world. It’s not written in blood.

It’s written in water. ■

AT LARGE

Good breakfast beginnings

BY RINA JIMENEZ-DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer WHEN you get your mind around the idea of going to the International House of Pancakes— IHOP to most everyone—in Bonifacio Global City, keep in mind that you should bring more than an appetite.

I would suggest a comfortable pair of shoes, because I can almost guarantee you will be doing a lot of standing around and waiting. When we arrived there at around 8 a.m. last Sunday, we found a small crowd milling around the front doors. When we asked the door keepers how many were still on the waiting list, we were told that there were about 150 (not counting those who had been there as early as 6 a.m.), but that they were calling only No. 60 or so. As we waited for an available table, more customers arrived, with many having their names listed for lunchtime!

Despite the long wait, the customers were for the most part good-natured about it. Some gladly took the offer of plastic chairs which helpful waiters had brought out. Old friends greeted each other heartily. Many more were scrutinizing the extensive menu, brows wrinkled in concentration as they made choices among the omelets, pancakes, waffles and mains.

When we finally took our seats, I was reminded of previous trips to the United States, with a particularly memorable brunch at an IHOP branch in upstate New York on the invitation of my late sister-in-law Esther Bruno, whose favorite eatery

IHOP was. It was my first visit to IHOP, and I sausages as “appetizers.” With an order of bacon remember being overwhelmed by the Belgian omelet for sharing, we ended up with a not-sowaffles which was tempting to both the eyes little feast for our growling bellies. Everything and palate. I remember was washed down by pots of good coffee and tea and imagining the contrast orange juice. between the tart blueberries Imelda Sarmiento says native trees Needless to say, we and the rich whipped cream, are fast disappearing, due to and wasn’t disappointed deforestation, replacement by skipped lunch. And by when the dish—crisp “invasive alien species” and the time dinner time came waffles under a thick monocrop plantations that propagate round, we still had a hard entertaining the blanket of whipped cream only commercially popular varieties. time and drizzled with blueberry thought of taking in any more food. sauce—came to our table.

IHOP’s prices may be a little higher than I barely made a dent on this mini-mountain of goodness, and ever since then, every time the local average, but consider your savings on friends and family invited me to IHOP, I would subsequent meals! We left IHOP to find a crowd resolve to keep my greed in check—but end up still gathered outside its doors, while we felt the overindulging. Still, when news came my way need to walk around High Street to let all that that IHOP was opening here, I resolved that the food settle, seeking absolution for our gluttony in the warm sunshine. family should drop by the place for brunch. *** *** “Philippine Native Trees 101: Up Close and But the years, not to mention the toll of diabetes and age, have somewhat dampened my appetite, Personal” is a book put together, in the words of and so I thought I’d really be more judicious this its authors, “by non-botanists for non-botanists.” time.

So don’t worry about your unfamiliarity I thought I would be a good girl and ordered with the scientific names of trees or your a pair of blueberry pancakes, but on the side inability to identify a tree just by the shape of was a breakfast platter of bacon, eggs and hash its leaves or the width of the tree trunk. It was browns. The hubby opted for a simple waffle, our written, says daughter chose French toast with a rich shower Imelda Sarmiento of the Hortica Filipina of powdered sugar and whipped cream, while our Foundation Inc., “as a tribute to our native trees daughter-in-law took the wise option of ordering and to encourage their use.”

Indeed, my husband and I, after I received a “kid’s meal” of strawberry pancakes. Our son, whom we once nicknamed “The Vacuum a copy of the book, spent many a night trying Cleaner” because he took care of all our leavings, to identify the trees we knew of, including the ordered chocolate pancakes with all the fixings, trees in our garden and our surroundings in our and then proceeded to order Parmesan sticks and weekend home in Alfonso, Cavite.

A longtime advocate of native or indigenous flora and fauna, Sarmiento says native trees are fast disappearing, due to many factors like deforestation, replacement by “invasive alien species” and monocrop plantations that propagate only commercially popular varieties, often non-natives.

The book, then, is meant also to be a guide for property owners or public officials who wish to “green” their surroundings, helping them identify native trees and plants. Sadly, writes Sarmiento, many Filipinos have a preference for exotic or alien flora, which are “desired either as a status symbol or because their wider cultivation in other countries [assure] a more constant supply.” The sad part is that “non-use [of native trees] endangers the existence of our very own.”

There are some 3,600 native trees, says Sarmiento, 70 percent of which are endemics (found only in our country). “Something to be truly proud of!” she declares.

“Philippine Native Trees 101” is a project of “Green Convergence,” a social movement that includes close to 50 environmental organizations and networks like: Alyansa Tigil Mina, Network Opposed to GMOs, Eco Waste Coalition, Save Sierra Madre Network, Philippine Federation for Environmental Concerns, Environmental Education Network of the Philippines, Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission– Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, Civil Society Counterpart Council for Sustainable Development, and Youth for Sustainable Development Assembly. Green Convergence is headed by Dr. Angelina “Nina” Galang. ■

17 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Opinion

PUBLIC LIVES

When religion turns political

BY RANDY DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer AS A STUDENT of society, I see religion primarily as a form of communication. In simple societies, it may often permeate all of everyday life, making it difficult to say what belongs to religion and what does not.

As societies become more complex, they develop other ways of talking about the world that do not employ the code of religion. Examples of these are science, politics, art, law, the economy.

While it is true that almost all of these had religious starting points, now they are differentiated in varying degrees from religious discourse.

In the modern world, a person can remain deeply religious in her outlook in life, while maintaining a profound respect for what Benedict XVI refers to as a “healthy secularity.” Accordingly, she accepts the reality of a world in which things can have meanings other than those that religion may assign to them. What worries Benedict is not a world that is differentiated into autonomous spheres, but a world that makes no room for religion at all.

Faith, Benedict insisted, must purify reason and offer an antidote to nihilism and moral relativism.

But, in like manner, he saw the need for the “divine light of reason” to cure the “pathologies of religion.”

No doubt, he had in mind the excesses that result when religious belief is cynically employed as an instrument to attain strictly secular ends.

One of the many reasons he was called a “reactionary” pontiff was the sharp line he drew

between what he called the “political task” and communication as distinguished from, let us say, the religious task of “forming consciences.” Two political communication. I would argue, with years after he became pope, he spoke to the bishops Benedict, that religious communication revolves of Latin America, the birthplace of liberation around the teaching of “the great criteria and theology. He told them: “The Church is an advocate inalienable values” based on faith, and “offer[ing] of justice and of the poor precisely because a life choice that goes beyond the political she does not identify with sphere.” It should concern politicians or with partisan When the Church speaks about itself with teaching “the great interests. Only by remaining the need to promote a culture of criteria,” not with listing independent can she teach the down the names of political life, or to reject what it sees as great criteria and inalienable parties or of candidates for values, guide consciences and a culture of death, in reference public office. To resort to offer a life choice that goes to any public issue, it may be the latter is to risk making beyond the political sphere. argued that this is an integral religious communication To form consciences, to be the part of its teaching function. indistinguishable from advocate of justice and truth, political propaganda. to educate in individual and political virtues: that For the Church to put up gigantic tarpaulins on is the fundamental vocation of the Church in this the walls of a cathedral, enumerating the names area. And lay Catholics must be aware of their of senatorial candidates who must be elected or responsibilities in public life. They must be present rejected, as the case may be, solely on the basis of in the formation of the necessary consensus and in how they voted on a piece of legislation deemed opposition to injustice.” important by the Church, is to take on a directly Nowhere in these pronouncements is Benedict (and, I would also say, narrowly) political role. saying that the Church must not speak on matters The Commission on Elections precisely regards that are taken up by society as political or scientific these tarpaulins as political in nature, which is why or legal issues. But he is quite explicit in saying that it has called the attention of the Diocese of Bacolod it must stay within its distinct operational sphere. merely in regard to their size. The diocese has been The Church must avoid “transforming herself into ordered to reduce the size of the tarpaulins to make a directly political subject… identifying herself them conform to the rules on campaign posters. with a single political path and with debatable But, instead of abiding, Bacolod Bishop Vicente partisan positions.”

Navarra has asked the Supreme Court to restrain The point he makes here hinges very much the Comelec on the ground that the order violates on an understanding of the nature of religious the Church’s exercise of its freedom of expression.

If I were the good bishop, I would worry less about whether these tarpaulins are legal or not, and more about how the Bacolod faithful themselves view this overt expression of political preferences.

Do they accept it as a valid performance of the Church’s function? Or are they disturbed that the clergy is taking on an unmistakably political role?

The check must come from within the Church itself.

Benedict worried that if the Church transformed herself into a political subject, “she would lose her independence and her moral authority” as a teacher of values and virtues.

When the Church speaks about the need to promote a culture of life, or to reject what it sees as a culture of death, in reference to any public issue, it may be argued that this is an integral part of its teaching function.

But, when it takes the further step of naming candidates to be chosen or to be rejected, then it is substituting its conscience for that of the faithful. Campaigning for or against particular candidates is all right if this is done by the laity outside Church grounds in the exercise of their political rights, but not when it is done by the clergy in the performance of their religious function.

Benedict’s concern was always, above all, to make the Church’s distinct voice heard in a world riven by the clamor of many voices. Those political tarpaulins on the cathedral wall do a great disservice to the Church’s voice. *** public.lives@gmail.com

AS I SEE IT

Are used-vehicle imports good or bad?

BY NEAL H. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer IMPORTERS of used vehicles at Port Irene and the chief of the Manila Police District (MPD) were at the Kapihan sa Manila at the Diamond Hotel last Monday to air their sides on recent controversies hounding them, the vehicle importers on the alleged smuggling of used vehicles in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZF), and the MPD on the arrest of Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and his supporters for holding an alleged prohibited bingo game in Manila. Jaime Vicente, president of the Automotive Rebuilding Industries in Cagayan Valley, was accompanied by lawyer Kate Modesto, while MPD chief Alejandro Gutierrez was accompanied by the MPD legal officer, Maj. Dennis Wagas.

The crux of the vehicle importers’ arguments hinges on five issues: 1. That there is no car smuggling in Port Irene because all the vehicles are documented, are processed by the Bureau of Customs, with duties and taxes duly paid, and the vehicles registered with the Land Transportation Office. They boast that the BOC collects P300 million a year in duties for the vehicles.

2. That there is no car manufacturing industry that the used-vehicle market is allegedly killing. Citing 2012 figures, they said Thailand manufactured 2,453,717 vehicles, followed

by Indonesia with 1,065,557, and Malaysia with 509,620. In the same year, the Philippines “manufactured” (the correct term is “assembled”)

a measly 75,413 vehicles which represented only vehicle imports may finally kill it. Whether the 1.78 percent of Asean’s total output. So what automotive industry is allowed to die or the auto jobs from local car “manufacturers” are being rebuilding industry is killed, the effect is the threatened by the CSEZF imports? they ask. On same: Jobs will be lost. The important thing is the contrary, they say, it is the jobs of thousands that the law should not be violated. of workers in the automotive rebuilding industry 3. True. No comment needed. that would be threatened if used-vehicle 4. EO 156 clearly and unconditionally bans importation is banned, plus the loss of P300 the importation of used vehicles. This has been million in duties to the government each year. affirmed by the Supreme Court. EO 418 does not 3. That the Chamber of Automotive say that importation is allowed. That is only the Manufacturers of the Philippines also relies conclusion of the importers because it increases on the importation of brand-new vehicles to the duties on vehicle imports. Why would augment the measly local the EO increase duties if production, while the My comments: There may be no importation is not allowed?

Association of Vehicle outright car smuggling but there they say.

Importers and Dealers may be technical car smuggling; the But the legal principle is imports all the vehicles that between two laws, one Philippine automotive industry is very it sells, mainly from of which is clear and the sick and that competition from used Hyundai. other is not, the clear one 4. That Executive vehicle imports may finally kill it. should be paramount.

Order No. 156, which 5. If the importation of bans the importation of used vehicles, has been used vehicles is for poor Filipinos, why the many superseded by EO 418 which now allows it. luxury cars such as Porsches, Lamborghinis, 5. That the importation of cheap used vehicles BMWs, and Ferraris? These examples of helps poor entrepreneurs and other Filipinos conspicuous consumption have no place in a who cannot afford the very expensive brand-new poor country like ours. Of what use are these vehicles that auto manufacturers are selling. luxury vehicles in the Philippines where you My comments: cannot drive fast because of the heavy traffic in 1. There may be no outright car smuggling but the urban areas and the rough roads in the rural there may be technical car smuggling. Even if the areas? vehicles are processed and duties paid, there is * * * still technical smuggling if the law, such as EO On the affair involving Isko Moreno and the 156 that prohibits it, is violated. bingo game, General Gutierrez and Major Wagas 2. The figures are correct but they show, said bingo without a permit from City Hall is precisely, that the Philippine automotive industry clearly prohibited. The bingo games held in is very sick and that competition from used- shopping malls have permits, they said. Those

held at home are allowed, but those held in public places, such as on sidewalks and streets during wakes, are now prohibited.

They added that corpses are being used by gambling operators to circumvent the law against gambling. Operators rent corpses for weeks and months so that gambling such as “sakla” and “monte” and yes, bingo, can be held during the wake.

Asked who had ordered them to raid the bingo game where the vice mayor was arrested, the police officers said nobody had to order them. They said there were complaints from residents in the area because the bingo game was hindering traffic.

“When there is a complaint, we have to act,” said Gutierrez.

When asked if Mayor Alfredo Lim had ordered them to raid the bingo game because it was being held by his political opponents to court votes, they said no, nobody had to order them.

When asked if policemen had been told to watch the film bio “Alfredo Lim”—with actor Cesar Montano playing “Dirty Harry”—because it is about police work, the two officers said they had neither been ordered nor invited to watch it but that they would buy tickets and watch it, anyway.

Asked what had happened to the cases against Moreno et al., they replied that those charged are under preliminary investigation by the Department of Justice.

What about the cases filed with the Ombudsman against the police raiders?

“We are providing lawyers for the accused policemen.”

Who do they think will win in the mayoralty election in Manila?

“Lim!” ■

News-Phils Public warned on Soup No. 7 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 18

US ambassador lists why it’s more fun in the Philippines

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer US AMBASSADOR to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. continues to spread the good word about his host country.

In his remarks during the closing program of the justconcluded Second Global Summit of Filipinos in the Diaspora on Wednesday, Thomas said there were many reasons why it was “more fun in the Philippines”.

“I learn something new every day,” he said. Expatriates like him “just don’t know what to expect” during their stay here, the US envoy told an audience that included Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Imelda Nicolas, the chair of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas which organized the summit.

“I bet the secretaries did not know that many Filipinos play (American) football every day. And that is one reason why it’s more fun in the Philippines,” said Thomas.

The envoy recalled the recent visit of a “balikbayan that you may not have heard of”.

Eugene Amano has been playing since 2004 as both offensive and and defensive lineman for the Tennessee Titans in the US National Football League.

“Born in Manila, he’s 100 percent Filipino,” Thomas said of Amano.

The 31-year-old Amano, who shuttles between Nashville, Tennessee and San Diego, California, where his family lives, “came home with his parents and he promised that he’s gonna come home every year to help energize football in the Philippines because there is a football league here,” he said.

Thomas extolled the Philippines’ economic resurgence, the energized relations between Manila and Washington, the improved governance and rule of law in the country, as well as President Aquino’s anti-corruption campaign.

“These efforts and others, such as what the Global Pinoys for Good Governance and so many others of you are doing bring about the best in our relationship and the best in the Philippine diaspora,” he said.

“I did not come here to tell you what to do. I did not come here to hector. You all know what to do to help the Philippines and the US. We’re very proud of your contributions to both our countries,” he told the summit participants.

Last year, the US market constituted 15.3 percent of the total 4.27 million inbound tourist traffic, bringing 652,626 visitors to the Philippines. The figure was up by 4.5 percent from 624,527 US tourists in 2011.

The Department of Tourism has expressed confidence that more US tourists would visit the country this year.

Early in his tour of duty, Thomas drew flak after he said that 40 percent of foreign male tourists come to the Philippines for commercial sex. He apologized for making the statement. ■

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer

“Some people are spending needlessly on these fake products. They are giving the public false hopes,” he added.

Mancao said legitimate stem cell therapies in the country cost from P750,000 to more than P4 million.

Olarte said that even with genuine stem cells, the public should find out first where they came from before using them for therapy.

“The government prohibits the use of stem cells from animals like rabbits, cows, pigs, sheep or aborted fetuses or human embryos,” Olarte said.

Clinics should be accredited first by the Department of Health (DOH) before they can offer stem cell therapies to their patients, he said.

A NEW broth called Soup No. 7 promises to improve one’s sexual appetite.

It is a take on Soup No. 5, a stew of bulls’ balls and condiments that are usually sold at roadside eateries and believed to boost a male’s sexual stamina.

But an official of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) warned the public against Soup No. 7 and other concoctions being peddled for their supposedly rejuvenating stem cells.

Dr. Leo Olarte, PMA vice president, said consumers should be wary of “lotions, tablets, shampoos and even soups” that are being sold to the public because they supposedly had stem cells.

Stem cell therapy is becoming popular in the Compatibility test country as a cure for degenerative diseases or for Before using stem cells from another person, these should be first tested if they were “compatible” with cosmetic purposes. the patient, according to Mancao.

“Or else these could lead to diseases that could cost Fraudulent claims “There’s even this soup called Soup No. 7 which one’s life. In Hong Kong last year, there were four is supposed to improve one’s sexual appetite patients who suffered from septic shock and one of because, they claim, that it has stem cells. But them died,” he said.

Olarte also warned the public against foreign that is fake. They’re making fraudulent claims,” Olarte said in a press conference in Quezon corporations from Malaysia, China, Russia and other countries that use stem cells from aborted fetuses or City.

He explained that stem cells were injected by human embryos. doctors in their patient’s bodies and were not Embryonic cells illegal introduced through other means.

“We appeal to the public to be vigilant because “This is a major source of concern because the use these products are not registered with the Bureau of embryonic stem cells is illegal in the country. of Food and Drugs. They are contraband and are The DOH is strongly against the idea of harvesting substandard medicine that we should not use,” human embryos or fetuses for stem cell therapy. That is killing human life,” Olarte said.

Olarte said.

He said there were offers for the use of embryonic Dr. Christian Emmanuel Mancao, an officer of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine, said stem cells “but I don’t think our doctors will be that stem cells could not be introduced into the body ignorant to accept these things. If you are licensed, a in “powdered” or tablet form because these cells Christian and have moral values, you won’t fall for these offers. They are illegal.” needed to be “alive” to be effective.

Olarte urged the Catholic Church and other Christian “You cannot powderize stem cells. They have to be alive so that they could subdivide or stimulate churches to come forward and inform the public about the “evil of killing human life for profit.”■ other cells to repair the body,” Mancao said.

News at your fingertips. www.canadianinquirer.net

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

19 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Liberal Party’s ‘Multicultural Strategy’: John Yap resigns; Christy Clark to remain in position Philippine Canadian Inquirer VICTORIA—John Yap, Multiculturalism Minister, is the latest to step down over a leaked document detailing the Liberal Party’s “quick win” strategy to secure ethnic voters in May’s provincial elections.

Last week, the New Democratic Party publicized one “Multicultural Strategic Outreach Plan,” a 17-page outline sent from the email account of Premier Christy Clark’s longtime advisor, Kim Haakstad, her Deputy Chief of Staff.

The “outreach plan” offended the ethnic community and was shown to have used tax-funded resources for election efforts. Haakstad herself had resigned days after the document came to light.

"It's full of disrespect,” said Canadian Reconciliation Society Chair Bill Chu. Chu referred to its “wording” and its agendas to “manipulate our community— not just [the Chinese] community, but the entire multicultural community,” said Chu in a press conference Friday.

One summary in the “outreach plan” stated that “some ethnic communities, particularly Chinese, feel that they are ignored by government between elections."

The plan suggested, among others, that the government apologize for historical wrongs in the legislature—this in light of reports that the B.C. government was set to issue an apology for the Chinese head tax before the elections.

Dated January 10, 2012, the email was sent to caucus and party officials, including Director of Community Outreach Pamela Martin, Senior Outreach Coordinator Barinder Bullar,

Multiculturalism Minister John Yap and BC Premier Christy Clark

and Brian Bonney, who at the time was the Communications Director for Harry Bloy, former Multiculturalism Minister.

Yap, in his resignation, accepted responsibility for the situation. "I'm the minister responsible. This is an issue that involves multiculturalism and the responsibility rests with me,” the former official said Monday.

But Yap insisted that he had never seen the document—“an old planning document,” he referred to it, from his predecessor Bloy, who admitted to leaking emails to a private company and thereafter resigned in March of last year. This, despite photographs that saw Yap working with four consultants hired at $25,000 each for nonpartisan work, according to TheRealStory.ca.

Clark herself had expressed that she was unaware of the document. The Premier issued an apology, admitting that “the document did not recognize there are lines that cannot be crossed in conducting this outreach and it is unacceptable.” Her statement acknowledged that “the language and some of the recommendations are absolutely inappropriate.”

PA-MAX-Lenten Special-Philippine Canadian Inquirer-BC (March 8th, 2013 Issue).indd 1

Clark also dismissed word of her resignation until conclusive proof comes to light. “When we all have the facts, and when the report is tabled, we’ll be likely required to take further action, and I will take action,” Clark told reporters.

Deputy Minister to the Premier John Dyble currently heads a team conducting a probe into the matter.

The investigation is set to look into the Premier’s office and a number of ministries to determine their involvement, if any, and whether government resources were spent. NDP House Leader John Horgan criticized the probe, citing that only an outside and unbiased party could investigate issue effectively.

Cabinet ministers and Liberal MLAs expressed their support for Clark, but there was a number among them who criticized their peers over the scandal.

A Liberal MLA since 2001, IndoCanadian Dave Hayer called the outreach plan “insulting to the intended target communities.”

“In all my 12 years as an MLA I have always reached out to all communities, regardless of ethnic background, because that is the right thing to do,” said Hayer, and expressed that he “believe[s] in doing the right thing, regardless of whether it will, or will not, ‘win the vote’ of any particular group.”

Minister of State for Seniors Ralph Sultan takes over Yap’s duties. ■

NEWS BRIEFS Interest rates likely to fall, analysts say

OTTAWA - Despite ongoing concerns about high levels of debt, analysts say interest rates in Canada are going nowhere except perhaps down - as demonstrated by one major bank's decision to shave the rate it charges for five-year mortgages.The Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) has dropped its posted five-year fixed mortgage rate by 0.10 points to 2.99 per cent in an effort to attract new borrowers ahead of the important spring real estate market.

Quebec corruption inquiry accused of attacks

MONTREAL - Quebec's corruption inquiry is being accused of ruining the reputation of a former municipal party fundraiser and his chances of finding an impartial jury.

The lawyer for a man famously dubbed ``Mr. Three Per Cent'' at Quebec's corruption inquiry says the commission is playing fast-and-loose with his client's reputation.

Target to open first Canadian stores Tuesday

GUELPH - U.S. discount giant Target is set to open its first stores north of the border tomorrow.Target Canada president Tony Fisher made the announcement today during a media tour of the retailer's Guelph store in southwestern Ontario.

Canadians no longer the biggest web addicts: report

TORONTO - Canadians have lost the dubious distinction of spending the most time online, according to a new report by the measurement firm comScore.The average Canadian Internet user was online for 41.3 hours per month in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 45.3 hours in 2011 and 43.5 hours in 2010.

13-03-01 5:28 PM

World News

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 20

Forbes: Carlos Slim world's richest for 4th year in a row, Warren Buffett drops out of top 3

Carlos Slim

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK - Mexico's Carlos Slim remains the world's richest man for the fourth year in a row, according to Forbes, while Warren Buffett dropped out of the top three for the first time since 2000.

And Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg saw his ranking drop 31 spots as his net worth declined by $4.2 billion.

A record 1,426 people around the world made Forbes magazine's latest annual tally of billionaires, up 16 per cent from last year. Their average net worth was $3.8 billion, rising 3 per cent from 2012. The total net worth for the list's billionaires was $5.4 trillion compared with $4.6 trillion a year ago.

Hong Kong businessman Li Kashing, 84, whose holdings include a significant stake in Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc. (TSX:HSE), was No. 8 on the list with a fortune estimated at US$31 billion. He maintained his status as the richest man in the former British colony, now a semi-autonomous part of China.

David Thomson, 55, whose family controls Thomson Reuters Inc. (TSX:TRI) and The Globe and Mail newspaper, was the only Canadian to make the Top 100 at No. 24 with an estimated US$20.3 billion.

The U.S. continued to house the most billionaires in the world, with 442 of them. It was followed by the Asia-Pacific region, with Europe rounding out the top three.

Warren Buffet

There were 210 new faces on the list, with Forbes saying many were helped by rebounding equity markets and strong consumer brands.

Slim's net worth increased to $73 billion from $69 billion a year earlier.

Bill Gates of Microsoft Corp. held on to second place with a net worth of $67 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Buffett slipped to the fourth spot with a $53.5 billion net worth. Buffett was surpassed by Spanish clothier Amancio Ortega, who jumped two spots from 2012 with a net worth of $57 billion.

While Buffett dropped in the rankings, he added $9.5 billion to his net worth - making him the secondbiggest gainer of the year. The largest gainer was Ortega, who added $19.5 billion to his net worth.

There were 138 women on the list, up from 2012's 104. Liliane Bettencourt - whose family owns a stake in L'Oreal - is the world's richest woman with a net worth of $30 billion.

Brazil's Eike Batista had the biggest drop in his net worth, with it declining $19.4 billion from the previous year.

Facebook's Zuckerberg saw his net worth fall to $13.3 billion from $17.5 billion. His ranking fell to No. 66 from No. 35 in 2012.

There were 60 people that dropped off the list entirely, including Zynga's Mark Pincus and former Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon. â–

Tiny village of Canadian papal contender prepares for media invasion

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD THE CANADIAN PRESS LA MOTTE, Que. - A media centre was being set up Monday in the hometown of Canada's presumed papal contender, as the tiny community prepares for a journalistic invasion during the upcoming vote to choose the next pontiff.

With Marc Cardinal Ouellet considered among the papal frontrunners, people in this northwestern

Quebec village of 439 people began transforming the basement of his old church into a media room.

Ouellet was baptized and eventually ordained as a priest in La Motte's StLuc Church, in the heart of town.

Today, the building serves primarily as a community centre after years of dwindling church attendance.

Village officials expect dozens of journalists - and several satellite TV More on page 28

21 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Immigration

Canada Welcomes Record Number Canada Continued to Welcome Highest Sustained of Immigrants through Canadian Level of Immigration in Canadian History in 2012 Experience Class Retaining the Best and Brightest from Around the World

CANADA’S fastest-growing immigration stream welcomed a record 9,353 newcomers in 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) makes Canada more competitive in attracting and retaining the best and brightest individuals with the skills we need.

These are people who have already demonstrated their ability to integrate into the Canadian labour market and society,” said Minister Kenney.

“The CEC allows these skilled and educated individuals to bring their

skills and talents, contribute to our economy and help renew our workforce so that Canada remains competitive on the world stage.”

This is 34 percent more than the 2012 target of 7,000. Admissions in the CEC, which targets skilled immigrants, are up 55.2 percent from 2011.

Introduced in 2008, CEC is an immigration option for international student graduates and skilled foreign workers with professional, managerial and skilled work experience in Canada. Unlike other programs, CEC allows an applicant’s experience in Canada to be considered a key selection factor when immigrating to Canada.

Recently, Citizenship and Immigration Canada streamlined the CEC work experience requirement to make the program faster and more flexible for applicants. As of January 2, 2013, applicants require 12 months of full-time Canadian work experience and now have more time, up to 36 months, to earn it. ■

FOR the seventh consecutive year, Canada continued the highest sustained level of immigration in Canadian history, according to preliminary 2012 data released today by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Canada welcomed 257,515 permanent residents in 2012, well within the Government’s planning range of 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents for the year. Each year since 2006, Canada has admitted an average of about a quarter of a million immigrants.

“Canada has been welcoming not only the highest sustained level of immigrants in Canadian history, we also have, on a per-capita basis, among the highest immigration rates in the world,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason

Kenney. “Immigration is a key part of the government’s plan to grow our economy, spur job creation, and ensure long-term prosperity for all Canadians.”

Over the seven years from 2006 to 2012, Canada averaged approximately 30,250 more admissions per year than in the decade previous, from 1996 to 2005.

“The government is continuing to move toward a modern and effective immigration system that attract the skilled immigrants that Canada’s economy requires,” said Minister Kenney. “This new fast and flexible system will respond more effectively to Canada’s labour market needs, support family reunification, and provide protection to genuine refugees.”■

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Canada: Seen and Scenes Malaysian Association of Canada, Chinese New Year and Chinese

Sen.Tobias Enverga, Jr. (far right) takes a break from busy Senate functions to join his colleagues at the celebration of the Chinese New Year in Ottawa. (L-R) Sen.Thanh Hai Ngo; The Taipei Economic and Cultural Officer; Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney; and, Indonesian Ambassador to Canada. Dienne Hardianti Moehario.

New Year's Celebration in Ottawa

Senator Tobias Enverga, Jr. at the Malaysian Association of Canada's event-hosting of the Chinese New Year on Feb.16 in Toronto, where he, together with other special guests (from 2nd left) Gopal Krishnan Simon, president of the Malaysian Association of Canada; Councillor Chin Lee - Ward 41, Scarborough Rouge River, and event chair, Henry Lee, started the symbolic acts on the Chinese Lunar New Year fete.

Gabby Kalaw (L) and Philippine Consul General Hon. Jose A.P. Ampeso (C) and MLA Richard Lee (R) at the Vancouver-Singapore Club Dinner held on February 24.

Lecture forum in Filipino health care presented by Miguel Gavar at

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 22

Bayanihan center in victoria

Senator Tobias Enverga, Jr., and wife, Rosemer (2nd and 1st from right) join Malaysian Ambassador Dato' Hayati (3rd from left) and other guests during the Malaysian Association of Canada's Chinese New Year's Gala in Toronto. Speaking before a crowd of 500 people, Sen. Enverga, Jr. spoke about the beauty of understanding one another's culture so that everybody could work together for the greater development of the diverse communities in Canada.

Darryl John Soliman, recently featured by PCI for his dream of going to outerspace via the Axe Apollo voting contest, visited the PCI office.

23 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Canada: Seen and Scenes

Kahirup Association of BC's Induction Ball held at Renfrew Commu

nity Centre on March 2. Photos by Bert Morelos.

Vancouver's Latin and Ballroom Dancers who attended the Induction Ball.

Ben Vencer Jr. Outgoing President and Director with Don Davis, MP.

The Newly Elected Officers of Kahirup Association of BC inducted

by Don Davis, MP: 1. Hercules Tupas-Sergeant-at-arms 2. Alan Alodaga- Presiden t 3. Eddie Tupas- Vice Pres. 4. Alma Develos- Asst. Secretary 5 .Niza Alodaga - Director 6. Tarhata Vencer- Treasurer 7. Linda Tupas- Asst. Treasurer 8. Julio ClorionBusiness Manager 9. Larry Munoz- Asst. Business Manager 10. Mert DuranaAuditor 11. Ben Vencer Jr. Outgoing Pres. & Director with Don Davis, MP in the middle.

PhilVets Memorial and Cultural Society of BC First Anniversary held in Vancouver, BC on March 3.

Anthony Achilles Mandap and wife, Mary Ann ReyesMandap with Luz Tante Stacy, Anniversary Queen 2013 and Asley Shane Joson, Philvets Princess 2013.

Guests at Philvet's 1st. Anniversary Party.

Anthony Achilles Mandap, Mary Ann Reyes-Mandap, Nicky Pallasigui Felipe, RoWelle RaMos and Norie.

Fernando salanga, President of Philvet, Mimi Reginaldo, Program Coordinator of Philvet, Luz Tante Stacey, Anniversar Queen 2013, Ashley Shane Joso, Philvets Princess 2013 and Family.

4th from left, Senator Tobias Enverga, Jr. and wife, Rosemer Enverga, (3rd and Ferrer (far left) Ben t, presiden Vice Centre' ity Commun Silayan respectively) joined . Silayan and his fellow officers at the organization's "Seniors working for Seniors" non-sectarian and t, non-profi ical, non-polit e, charitabl a is Centre ity Commun Filipino downtown Toronto volunteer-based service agency primarily serving the needs of the to help new Filipino community and surrounding areas. The organization was formed immigrants in resettling and adapting to the Canadian way of life.

Romy and Coney Mercado with Luz Tante Stacey, Anniversary Queen 2013.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL AWARDEES LEONORA CALDERON-ANGELES, Ph.D. She is a professor of Community and Regional Planning and Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada. A woman, a mother, a minority, an immigrant and a scholar who makes her community and Canada proud.

TANIA ARCHER She is a Canadian born and raised; first generation Canadian of blended Caribbean, Asian and South American heritage. She shows her perseverance and dedication as an Athlete Ambassador for Motivate Canada’s Esteem Team program which enable her to speak to 2000 young people per month about goal-setting.

DEMETRIO AVENDANO He is a mover and a shaker in the community where he lives. He tries his best to make a difference in organizations and associations he belongs to, by leading community events, organizing fundraising activities to help victims of calamities and in voluntarily promoting Filipino traditions in different parishes in Vancouver lower mainland.

TOBY BARAZZUOL He is a Vancouver-born entrepreneur, community builder and environmental activist and is the founder and president of Eclipse Awards. He has built over 3500 sq. ft of green space in the Downtown Eastside and contributes 20% of his time to building a positive resilient community.

MICHAEL RAMOS CALINGO Being visible and active in Vancouver’s multicultural community, Mike was fortunate and privileged to join the Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s official delegation to visit India, Philippines, and Hongkong to promote trade and business relations in November 2012.

CONCEPCION BAQUIRAN-COLOBONG She is the first and for 12 years President of the Circulo Cagayano Association of BC and currently serving as the adviser. She is elected as the Vice President of Multicultural Helping House Society.

She made significant contributions in the community as a leader and active fundraiser.

DR. EUGENIO R. COLOBONG, JR. Presently a practicing dentist in Surrey, BC and a recipient of numerous awards including the latest 2012 Maharlika award. He is a supporter and sponsor of various charitable institutions, as well as an annual scholarship benefactor for underprivileged children in the Philippines.

KIMWELL JOVEN BORJA DEL ROSARIO Kimwell del Rosario, is a violinist par excellence. He is a member of the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra and is also a certified recording engineer and is in charge of all Rosario Strings CDs around the world.

VICTORIA FRANCISCO She has established herself as a versatile and creative artist in the fields of piano, dance and Filipino ethnic instruments. She holds a Bachelor of Music Degree and has performed in duo-piano concerts internationally. She lives in Richmond and is active in the public art scene.

REYNALDO FORTALEZA He is former Olympian and is the President and Publisher of Reyfort Media Group. He is also the founding member of Maharlika Awards.

ALDEN E. HABACON He is an accomplished diversity and inclusion specialist, public intellectual, consultant and speaker in the area of multiculturalism in Canada, and diversity in the workplace and media. He is currently the Director, Intercultural Understanding Strategy Development for the University of British Columbia (UBC), and previously the Manager of Diversity Initiatives for CBC Television.

ROQUE PERONA JUATCO He is the publisher/editor in chief of the Philippine Asian Chronicle, the very first Filipino Canadian newspaper in BC. He is also a recipient of several awards and citations from different Fil-Canadian groups, seniors association, domestic workers’ association and from youth-oriented groups for volunteer work.

EDGARDO LANTIN He is the founding member of Canadian Institute of Portrait Artist and a signature member of the Dimasalang III International Artist Group. He received numerous awards, including, Best Portfolio Award during the 7th Annual the Art of the Portrait Conference in Virginia USA.

Queen Eli Diamond Ju

given to 25 deser

On Friday, February 28, 2013 at The Liu C UBC Campus in Vancouver, British Columbia recipients were awarded the Queen Eliza II Diamond Jubilee Medal. The medals presented by the Multicultural Helping H Society thru its President “Tatay” Tom Avend

The Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal mark 2012 celebration of the 69th anniversary o Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the The medal is a tangible way for Canada t Her Majesty for her service to the country same time it serves to recognize significant and achievements of Canadians of all ages a of life.

The inaugural presentation ceremony of the D on February 12, 2012 where “Tatay” Tom Aven 60 others. Mr. Avendano was the sole Filipin

Leonora Angeles, an educator at UBC and Ch Manager at Kitimat, B.C., delivered the thank for that night.

In closing, “Tatay” Tom said that the medal sh to continue their unwavering service to thei

To “Tatay” Tom, the medal serves as his rem address, he jokingly said, "I cannot cross the to imply that he walks very slow at age 84, b example.

izabeth II ubilee Medal

rving Canadians

Centre, a, 25 abeth were House dano.

ks the of Her Throne. to honour y and at the t contributions and from all walks

Diamond Jubilee Medal took place in Ottawa ndano was one of the recipients, along with no recipient that time.

harles Mcleod, a volunteer search and rescue k you address on behalf of all the recipients

hould serve as an inspiration to all recipients ir communities.

minder not to violate the law and during his e street until the pedestrian signal is on," not but that he should always be setting a good

QUEEN ELIZABETH II DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL AWARDEES LIMBANIA DEZA LAU A registered nurse by profession, is a former President of Circulo Ilongo Association of BC, whose main contribution was to raise funds for scholars and to the people of Western Visayas Philippines who have been victims of calamities. She is currently a member of Board of Directors of Multicultural Helping House Society.

HENRY BALDEMOR MAYUGA A Vancouver resident since 1974 and has been assisting the Multicultural Helping House Society with its facility and building programs from the beginning when it was still the Filipino Canadian Support Services Society. Designed and helped in the construction management of the expansion and renovation of the MHHS Newcomer Resource Centre and a volunteer mentor in the Bamboo Network Skills Connect program.

GERRY McGRATH A chartered accountant who has spent the majority of his working life in private equity investment management. He is also the Past member of the Board of Governors of Wilfrid Laurier University and the first-ever recipient of the Order of Wilfrid Laurier University.

CHARLES ROBERT McLEOD He has been active with Kitimat Search and Rescue for 51 years, the last 30 years as a Search Manager and trainer. He was a member of the RCMP Auxiliary policing program for 26 years, serving from 1967 to 1993. He is the Coordinator of the municipality of Kitimat’s Emergency Program, a volunteer role he has filled for over 20 years.

SOFRONIO YLANAN MENDOZA He was known to many as SYM. As the founder of the Dimasalang Group, Sym has become a world renowned and multi-awarded artist. He has carried his talent across the world and continues to share it with his friends, family and other artist in his community.

MICHAEL JAMES MORRICE He is the Executive Director of Sustainable Waterloo Region, a not-for-profit that advances the environmental sustainability or organizations across Waterloo Region through collaboration and was selected by the Waterloo Region Record as one of the Waterloo Region’s Inaugural Top 40 under 40 and in 2011.

AGUSTIN NAVARRO JR. He was a successful registered physiotherapist in BC for 21 years. A community volunteer and supporter of Fil-Canadian communities.

He received numerous awards, to name a few, MHHS Most Valuable volunteer in 2010, Who’s Who Awardee in 2006 from Dahong Filipino and 2012 Maharlika Awardee.

DR. RUFINO SALAZAR OLIVAR He obtained his dental degree from McGill University and worked for the Vancouver Health Department for two years. He started his private dental practice in 1968 and currently semi-retired but actively engaged in various community projects. He has never turn down involvement in projects that helps the community.

CARMELITA SALONG TAPIA She is the President of Southeast Asia Canada Business Council, a member of New Westminster Police Board and Diversity Committee Member of Vancouver Police Department. She is also the Director of School District of New Westminster #40 BC. She is involved in various multicultural events and community projects and in sending hospital equipment, books and other medical to impoverished countries.

DOROTHY UYBOCO UYTENGSU She is a celebrated classical duo pianist who has graced the international stages of 18 countries. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Magna cum Laude) from University of Sto. Tomas, Master in Music from Peabody Institute of J. Hopkins University and doctoral studies from University of Southern California.

DR. DANILO VARGAS He is a medical doctor specializing in Otolaryncology and Head and Neck surgery. His published work include Occult Primary of the Head and Neck. He is the President of the Canadian Medical Mission Society and was actively involved in the medical missions to Third World countries.

WILLIAM REID WEBB He is Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Gluskin Sheff + Associates. He is actively involved with Wilfrid University, SickKids Foundation and the Toronto Inner City Rugby Foundation. He always makes time to mentor young professionals and co-op students.

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FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 26

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Immigration

27 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

So, What Do You Bring When You Migrate? Only 12 citizenships revoked so far

BY BOLET AREVALO

PANGARAP : SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

before you. As you sort your valuables, your son’s first teddy bear or the first Barbie doll your Dad gave you pops up in your mind. And the temptation is to bring all these “firsts.” The opposite is also true. Anything that reminds you of pain or anger is the first to travel to the trash can, never to be seen again.

There is really so much we pack and unpack when we migrate, only to realize when we begin to settle in that none of the material things that we have brought with us will mean anything at all or will last us for long.

Having been through this, I almost like to believe that there are only two things that you could bring that will matter at all—your dream and your faith.

The “for the children” line is almost like a broken-record, so to speak. This line may be logical for those who have less in life or whose previous life has not been too prosperous, but what about those who had it good, a stable career, a solid fortune, a gorgeous and jet setting social life, a happy circle of friends and family?

Is leaving all these worth it?

One of my friends back home called me suicidal. She said she had not realized that I was a masochist. She knew how much I gave up to be able to bring my children to this country.

She knew how much it broke my heart to leave family and friends, and my wonderful job, to be able to give my children this option in life. They thought that I was so brave to get into this.

The truth is, I am the most cowardly person on earth to have made this decision. I was so scared that I would not have enough to leave to my children when I am gone. I was so afraid that nothing I left could ever secure their future.

I was gripped with so much fear that they would not make it as I had made it. They were not scholars, they were not geniuses, they were not so sociable, they were not aggressive, they were not confident, they were not good enough.

In my aloneness, I realize that it was so unkind of me to think of my children that way.

It was so unkind to ever think that God does not love them just as God has loved me. It was so arrogant to even think that only I could make it to a successful life. It is so irreverent to even think that I could be like a god and try to secure their own future. Can God forgive a mother?

God understands that I am a mother. God can forgive a mother, I said to myself.

Because mothers dream. Mothers have faith.

My dream and my faith will see us through.

Coming here was a fluid decision. As such, I feel that the long arm of God continues to lead the way in this journey of a dream and faith.

Whatever I have brought with me in the beginning may be gone, or almost gone by

FINDING yourself alone in a strange country can be so humbling that were it not for your dream and your faith, you will never make it.

In the previous issue of this column, we tried to answer the question, Must You Leave Everything Behind?”

You can literally leave everything behind, but we all know that you can never, never leave whatever is ingrained in your mind or etched in your heart.

But as we said, be that as it may, make sure there will be no reason for you to want to quit and go back home in the face of even the slightest failure or frustration in your search for a job or a new life somewhere else.

When we travel even as tourists, the more organized and systematic among us usually come up with a checklist.

This checklist includes things to bring, to buy, to settle, to pay, places to visit and people to call. The list is as huge as you yourself, with the certain age range you belong in, your civil status, the size of your family, and your clan or professional circle.

The Canadian immigration procedure, for example, extends this list to asking you to determine what to bring now and what to bring later or to follow Immigration Services: among what you Spousal/ Family Sponsorship possess now.

Work, Student and Visitor’s Permit When you do Federal Skilled Worker Program the checklist, you PR Determination /Appeals will realize how Provincial Nominee Program cumbersome it can be. Or tel: 905.565.1908 perhaps, how cell: 416.908.7349 mushy. It is as Email: info@procareimmigration.com www.procareimmigration.com if your whole life flashes back

in 18 month crackdown on fraud

BY STEPHANIE LEVITZ THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA - Efforts to combat citizenship fraud are creating lengthy backlogs for would-be Canadians while only slowly weeding out bogus citizens, statistics from the Immigration Department show.

Last fall, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said the government had already revoked 19 citizenships from more than 3,000 people under investigation for fraud since a crackdown was launched in July 2011.

But his department now acknowledges only 12 of those revocations were explicitly connected to the fraud investigations.

And of the 3,000 suspected fraudsters, only 286 have actually been found by the department and given formal notice that their citizenship is on the line.

Ninety per cent have responded with notice of their own that they intend to appeal to the Federal Court, the Immigration Department says.

Hundreds more letters are in the process of being sent out to notify people their citizenship is at risk, said a spokeswoman for Kenney. ``The process to revoke citizenship is lengthy so it will take some time to revoke the citizenship of thousands of people, considering the process started only a year and a half ago,'' Ana Curic said in an email. ``But no matter how long it takes, we will ensure that the full strength of the law now. Yet, I know, only my dream for my children and my faith will remain in the end, and that, if I take care not to let these die, then I will be all right in this passage.

None of the material things you pack with you will mean anything. Only your dream and your faith will carry you along in this journey. Keep them alive and you will be all right. _____________ Nobody ever said that our journey, will be easy. But as I write and as you read, we share our strengths and we can hold to the promise that “Where two or Are you

Immigration Consultancy Inc.

is applied to anyone who lied or cheated to obtain Canadian citizenship.''

A citizenship fraud tip line set up in conjunction with the crackdown has so far received more than 22,000 calls, but has resulted in only 132 referrals for investigations. ``While the number of calls received continues to increase, the majority of these calls are not related to citizenship fraud,'' say minutes from a steering committee meeting, obtained through the Access to Information Act. The number of revocations in the last 18 months do represent a historical increase; the department says that between 1977 and 2010, only 66 people lost citizenship.

Once a person is notified the government wants to revoke their citizenship, they can ask for a Federal Court review. If the court sides with the government, the decision must still be approved by cabinet.

A tally of orders-in-council show at least 22 citizenships have been revoked since July 2011, but no names or details are revealed because of protections under the Privacy Act. Currently, grounds for revocation are limited to instances where citizenship is obtained by fraud, false representation or deliberately hiding information that could have affected a person's eligibility for permanent residency or citizenship.

There is no time limit on the process and

More on page 36 three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them,” Matthew 18:20.

(Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion. She is author-self publisher of the book: The Most Practical Immigrating and Job Hunting Survival Guide, proven simple steps to success without the fears and the doubts.

The book is available in Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other online bookshops worldwide, and in National Book Store and Power Books in the Philippines

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Global Filipino

Filipina nurse honored by Obama at the State of the Union Address

BY ANGIE DUARTE US PRESIDENT Barack Obama honored a Filipina nurse on February 13, calling attention to her compassion and concern for the welfare of others ; traits seemingly inherent to Filipino culture.

Obama praised the deeds of Menchu Sanchez, a nurse at New York University's Langone Medical Center, as he delivered his State of the Union Address. He highly commended Sanchez for her efforts to help save the infants at the hospital at the height of Hurricane Sandy, which ravaged the U.S. last year.

"We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness, she wasn't thinking about how her own home was faring. Her mind was on the 20 precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe," the U.S. President said.

In reference to the honorees, Obama encouraged Americans to "look out for our fellow Americans in the same way they look out for one another every single day, usually without fanfare all across the country," Obama said.

Sanchez was born and raised in the Philippines and in the 1980’s, immigrated to the U.S. where has worked as a nurse in New York for over 25 years. She currently resides in New Jersey, with her husband and 2 children, both of whom are in college.

The White House blog reported that Sanchez, along with other "extraordinary Americans who exemplify the themes and ideals laid out in the State of the Union Address,” sat in the viewing box with First Lady Michelle Obama.

This is an exclusive honor for those who have been deemed worthy of merit, and a tradition that is nearly three decades old.

Sanchez told reporters from New York's WCBS 880 that she led a team of nurses in moving 20 infants when the Langone Medical Center lost electrical power due to the hurricane. She and the others carried the babies down 8 flights of stairs, with no more than their cellphones to light the way. She recalled her thoughts that night, saying "I have a baby in my hands with a breathing tube in and I was thinking, 'if I'm going to miss just one step, everybody will fall with me.”

When asked to describe her meeting with the Obamas, Sanchez said: "I'm very, very excited. Once in a lifetime, I don't think I will be able to see them or meet them again."

Other honorees who sat in the viewing box with Sanchez and the First Lady included Alan Aleman, a Mexican immigrant who was one of the first to sign-up with the president’s program for undocumented youth; 102-year-old Desiline Victor, whose efforts towards getting people to vote have not gone unnoticed; and 12-year-old Haile Thomas, who holds the position of youth advisory board member in a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to the welfare of America’s youth.

There were also teachers, entrepreneurs and innovators, the White House blog noted. ■ Ref Source : http://ph.news.yahoo. com/obama-lauds-filipina--hero-nurse-054245080.html

...from page 20 trucks - will descend on La Motte during the upcoming conclave to choose the next pontiff. The farming community is nearly 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal in the province's Abitibi region.

The village does not have a restaurant or motel so, with the help of its two full-time office employees, La Motte is taking steps to make its influx of guests feel welcome.

Workers were busy Monday in StLuc's basement, where they opened up a wireless Internet connection, established cable TV hookups to allow journalists to follow the conclave live, and set up rows of tables and dozens of chairs.

Members of Ouellet's family, who still live in the area, are scheduled to hold a post-conclave news conference on the main floor of the building, near the altar.

They are expected to make public remarks, regardless of the vote outcome.

A date for the conclave has not yet been established by the cardinals, but an announcement is expected in the coming days.

Even though voting has yet to begin, La Motte is getting ready now for something it's never experienced before. ``Here the citizens are used to their peaceful setting, so we have to make sure that the citizens of the

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 28

(town) are not disturbed that much by... all these (extra) people,'' said Edma-Annie Wheelhouse, one of the municipality's two full-time office workers. ``We're a very welcoming place and we want to make sure that the way we are - the gentle kindness of the citizens - around the place... is just shown to the international media.''

With the help of the regional Abitibi tourism bureau, La Motte is also asking media to sign up before heading to the town during the conclave.

Wheelhouse expects journalists to spend many hours at the media centre, several days in a row, as they wait for the white smoke to billow at the Vatican.

La Motte does not have a hotel, so any visitors will have to stay in larger cities that are at least a 30-minute drive away.

When it comes to grub, the village has a convenience store but no restaurants.

Wheelhouse said the community will hire a caterer to serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner.

She said around 20 media organizations - from Canada, the United States and France - have visited the town since Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation last month. ``It's really new for us,'' Wheelhouse said of all the attention. ``Before this, we were really unknown.'' ■

29 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Retro Valentine's for a Cause SOCORRO-BABES NEWLAND

FYE CANADA! (MUSIC, ARTS AND CULTURE) VANCOUVER, BC -- On Friday the 15th of February, while most hotels and restaurants teemed with gift-giving love pairs over candle-lit dinners, the Hippo’s Sports Bar and Grill on SE Marine Drive Vancouver turned into one “hottest” watering hole in town that same night when all roads led to Vancouver’s biggest musical lounge act to raise funds for calamity victims in the Philippines.

Attended by approximately 300+ people, the event was a Valentine’s gift giving event like no other with the lone female lead vocalist of Philippine Multi-ALIW Awardee performing group-- REtroSPECT’s lone female vocalist “Goldie” donating her “100% pure love” and talent as she spearheaded this noteworthy endeavor. Currently on long-term vacation in the USA and Canada, Goldie gladly obliged to raise funds for the recent flashflood victims in the Philippines while enjoying her stay with family and long-time friends. In fact, fundraising shows are not entirely new to this multi-talented lady performer. Ever since she went on to becoming a solo artist last year, Goldie organized a couple of successful fundraising events both on the Island of Guam and the Philippines.

Special Guest Performers Some of Vancouver’s popular local celebrity artists who all trooped down to Hippo’s providing their own “gifts of love” were--2012 TFCkat Canada Grand Champion Russel Figueroa; other equally talented artists from the now-defunct MaxiPro Entertainment—JP Nilo, Tisha Newland, Jenessa Escabarte, Angel Escabarte, Ria Diy and Shawn Carbonell. And homegrown talents Jayson dela Cruz, Rolly Fortaleza and the equally talented backing up musicians—Jojo Palermo (keyboards), Frank Mike Almarinez (lead guitar), Lino Arbolodura (bass) and Francis Amanse (drums)

have each unselfishly contributed their own time, talent and resources in making this event a resounding success. Goldie’s one and only offspring-- Krister Jann Castro’s participation on drums (EWF’s “After The Love Is Gone”) became the special highlight with Russel, JP and Goldie doing vocals.

And upcoming 10-year pop jazz performer Jasmine Stacey belted out her own take of Sara Bareilles’ cover of Beyonce’s “All the Single Ladies”.

Overall, it was an unforgettable retro night filled with LOVE and nostalgic fun via Canadian-Filipino musical entertainment renditions at its finest.

Proceeds and Acknowledgements Big shout out especially goes to the following donors/supporters whose time and monetary contributions has covered all essential production requirements of the show—Times Telecom/Bell, Fiesta Filipino (on 3rd Street, North Vancouver), UMAC Express Cargo and Ms Janice Lozano of Hirit Team. Media partners Philippine Canadian Inquirer, TFC-Balitang Canada, Reyfort Media Group, Pinoy Buzz, Philippine Asian Chronicle and Philippine Journal. All proceeds will go to ABS-CBN TFC Sagip Kapamilya Foundation.■ Email: babescastronewland@gmail.com

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Entertainment

“Two lawyers, one degree” Consider this: in “Suits”, Mike Ross,

Having fun in the Philippines It wasn’t his first time in the Philippines, revealed the 31-year-old. “I went scuba diving the first time I was here,” shared Adams, whose father was a journalist and took him to places “off the beaten path.”

NEWS BRIEFS First lady: Not surprised by reaction to Oscars CHICAGO - Michelle Obama says it was ``absolutely not surprising'' to her that her satellite appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony provoked a national conversation about whether it was appropriate, after some conservative critics accused her of selfishly crashing the event in an attempt to upstage it. She attributed the chatter to a culture shift that has spawned legions of bloggers, tweeters and others who talk about anything and everything all the time.

Susan Boyle to make screen acting debut LONDON - Susan Boyle is making her big-screen acting debut in a Christmas-themed British period drama. The Scottish singer appears in ``The Christmas Candle,'' a story of angels and wishes set in an English village in the 1890s.

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

MANILA, Philippines—He wore a navy blue suit and a slim, grey tie, looking every bit his character. It was Patrick J. Adams—Mike Ross, to the viewing public, now famous as one stoner-turned-(fake)lawyer in “Suits”.

“I’ve been here three hours and have already eaten my body weight in mango,” Adams tweeted, and confirmed as much in his press interview Wednesday. But “no balut yet,” he said, pertaining to the popular street delicacy (fertilized duck embryo, boiled, sold out of baskets at street corners, and eaten straight out of the shell—often with a pinch or two of salt).

The Toronto-born Adams is in town to promote “Suits”. The series capped off its second season in the USA only seven days prior, as of press time. But it all began in 2011, when “Suits” hurtled to fame with its riveting, witty, fast-talking, pop culture-spouting twist on the legal drama. It had savvy yet quirky characters, will-they-or-won’tthey romance (every show needs one), and an uncanny premise.

gamely entertained questions and fans beside Adams.

The tour is set to end soon. The couple will find themselves on flights back to the US early next week, but in the meantime, Adams revealed he was keen to “take off to some secret location . . . we’re gonna visit a beach somewhere for a while.”

Aired on JackTV in the Philippines and Bravo! in Canada, “Suits” returns in June with an all-new season. ■

Heidi Klum new judge on 'America's Got Talent' NEW YORK - NBC says Heidi Klum (kloom) has been added to ``America's Got Talent'' as its fourth judge. The network announced Monday that the supermodel will join fellow incoming judge Mel B this summer for the talent competition's eighth season. Howie Mandel and Howard Stern will be back at the judges' panel.

Judge refuses to delay Lindsay Lohan trial LOS ANGELES - A judge is refusing to delay Lindsay Lohan's trial on charges of reckless driving and lying to police about a car crash last year. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Dabney said Friday there is no good reason to delay the case set for March 18.

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

BY APRIL SESCON Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Adams’ character— no job, no college degree, no nuthin’— stumbles into a position at a topnotch law firm in New York. His colleagues in this firm all come from Harvard. His colleagues wear fancy pants, go to swanky clubs, rub elbows with the elite.

But there’s one thing they don’t possess: eidetic memory.

Mike Ross has this ace tucked up his sleeve. Mike Ross can, and has, in fact, memorized the Constitution, front to back—plus, he’s passed the bar. He’s passed the LSATs stoned: true story.

Adams shares center stage with Gabriel Macht (“He’s like my brother, I make fun of him,” the actor kidded). Macht plays one Harvey Specter: senior partner, undefeated lawyer, and THE “best closer” in New York. It is Harvey who hires Mike, impressed by his effortless brilliance; Harvey who ushers Mike into this life: success with a side of cutthroat ambition; high-stake dealmaking with a sharp tang of deceit.

Adams seemed to embody Mike.

He was unassuming, affable. But he was also candid about his lack of this sort of ambition. “I never wanted to become a lawyer,” he confessed—he majored in theater. “My mom wanted me to become a lawyer,” Adams said, ruefully. “My mom wanted me to [wear] a suit everyday.” And now she laughs at the irony, chuckled the actor.

“We went to a resort in Cebu and we spent a couple of days in town,” recalled the actor, who was five at the time. “The water was beautiful. The people were warm and welcoming.”

Adams was joined by girlfriend Troian Bellisario. A TV star in her own right, Bellisario plays Spencer Hastings in teen drama "Pretty Little Liars”. Like Adams, she’s indulged herself in the local fruit. “I’m addicted to mangoes,” said the actress, who

K2 images / Shutterstock.com

Mike Ross in Manila: Canadian Star of ‘Suits’ visits the Philippines

cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com

31 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

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

Entertainment Side A back in Torontowith new band members

THEY’RE BACK! Multi-awarded recording artists Side A will once again serenade Filipino-Canadians with their brand of romantic ballads and upbeat performances on April 26, 2013, Friday at the Global Kingdom Event Hall, at 1250 Markham Rd., Scarborough. The concert will start at 7 p.m.

Platinum recording artists Side A awed fans in Toronto during a live performance back in 2005 as part of their North American tour that included several cities in the United States. Since then the band, best known for their 1995 hit single Forevermore, has released four more albums:

Titanium in 2003; Only One in 2009; compilation album Anthology in 2004 and; live album Side A Gig (All Hits Live) in 2005. Debuting in 1985 with their first hit single Eva Marie, Side A has endured the test of time owing to the band’s innovativeness and constant reinvention.

Side A is excited to introduce to Canadian fans new members Lee Von Cailao on lead guitar and Ned Esguerra on bass replacing Kelly Badon and Joey Benin who have since retired. Their 2013 North American tour will include Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the US and Toronto and Alberta in Canada.

As a treat, fans will get the opportunity to meet the band in person and have their photos taken with the crooners on April 25 (before the concert date). Tickets for this event will be sold separately. The Western Canada leg of the tour, meanwhile, is set on April 27, Saturday. More details on these two events will be announced soon.

Event updates are available at the official Facebook page: Side A Band Canadian Tour 2013 Live in Toronto.

Concert presenters are the Romeo Chadley Crisostomo Team and The Filipino Channel (TFC).

Major sponsor is Robinson Land Corporation.

Concert tickets are now available at all FV Foods locations at Lawrence Ave. W. and Warden,

Pops would rather date younger men

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer POPS, 46, admits to have dated “several” guys younger than her, including former ramp model and actor Brad Turvey. She dated Turvey in 2004, shortly after the annulment of her marriage to singer-TV host Martin Nievera.

“I recently asked my sons’ opinion on this and they said it’s OKwith them, as long as I’m happy,” the singer tells the INQUIRER. Pops and Martin have two sons— Robin, 26, and Ram, 23.

“Of course, they (her children) ask questions, especially if they want to know more about a particular guy I’m with,” she related. “Unlike other kids, they’re not too strict when it comes to how I dress. They’re used to it. It’s normal to them. Sometimes they would even ask me tips on what they should wear on their own dates.”

She added that her sons even like wearing outfits that match hers during their own dinner dates.

Great to be single Pops says what’s great about being single is that “you get to meet a lot of people and you get to choose (who to hang out with).”

She adds: “I never got to experience that when I was younger, having been raised by my mom (Dulce Lucban), who was then so strict, and then getting married so young. I might as well do it now.”

The singer clarifies that while she enjoys going out, she is not ready to fall in love again just yet.

“I know it will just happen. If I finally meet somebody who I’m sure could take care of me, then I could probably take our relationship to the next level.

Right now, I’m not officially with anybody. I just like meeting different people.”

Pops and Regine Velasquez joined entertainment writers for lunch on Friday to promote the repeat of “Foursome,” their Valentine concert with Martin and Ogie Alcasid, to be held on March 16 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Dream guy Asked for the qualities she looks for in a man, Pops replies: “He has to understand my situation—I take care of two boys —and of what I’ve been through in my marriage. The guy also has to accept that I’m already set in my ways and that

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 32

St. Claire Ave. W. and Bathurst, Bathurst and Wilson, Steeles Ave. W and Dufferin and Dundas St. East, Mississauga. General admission tickets are at $48/each, while VIP admission tickets are at $88/each.

Meanwhile, concert producers and event manager Trimedia, And Cut Productions and Benchmark Event Management are holding auditions for local artists for the opportunity to front act for Side A. Those interested may send their YouTube video links and contact information to Cheryl Cantonjos at ccantonjos@gmail.com for pre-qualification. Only shortlisted artists will be contacted.

Trimedia is a Toronto-based talent and event management group offering services in production, marketing, presentation and multimedia entertainment. And Cut Productions, on the other hand, is a film, stage and print media outfit specializing in video production and nightclub management.

Together, these producers have a combined 20 years experience in the entertainment industry. Joining them to plan, organize, manage and market the show is Benchmark Event Management.

Those who wish for more information on the event, sponsorship and front act auditions please email Cheryl Cantonjos at ccantonjos@gmail.com or phone 647-9622002. * February 28, 2013.■ I’m independent. Of course, he has to be kindhearted just like me.”

Pops also says she prefers dating Filipino men, “although people say Pinoys are big babies.”

She adds: “I have nothing against foreigners. Maybe I just haven’t met someone I found interesting enough.

It’s just that their culture is very different from ours. It’s hard enough to adjust to the quirks of a Filipino guy, more so to the culture of a foreigner.”

Pops, whose daring and sexy cover photo on the men’s magazine FHM in 2006 became highly controversial, says she is still unprepared to be a grandmother.

“Kuya (Robin) has a girlfriend, but we don’t joke about my being a lola because I don’t find it funny,” she declares. “However, we discuss marriage sometimes. I told him it’s easy to get married, but you first have to figure out whether or not you’re ready to give up being single. I said, ‘Enjoy your life first. If your special someone really loves you, she will wait until you’re ready.’”

“Foursome the Repeat” will also feature Gary Valenciano as special guest performer. ■

33 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Entertainment

‘Pretty Little Liars’ star likens love, fame to ‘thrilling roller-coaster ride’

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer AMERICAN TV actress Troian Bellisario, who is in town with actor boyfriend Patrick J. Adams, says that being in love and in the spotlight is like a “thrilling roller-coaster ride.”

The two Hollywood stars arrived in Manila on Tuesday to promote their respective shows “Pretty Little Liars” of ABC and “Suits” of USA Network that are currently airing on ETC and Jack TV, respectively.

Bellisario hinted that she and Adams would spend a couple of days “on the beach” while they’re both here in Asia.

For over a week now, the two TV stars have been promoting in key cities like Singapore, Malaysia and now, the Philippines.

“He’s (Adams) been really crazy about these press rounds,” Bellisario said during a media gathering on Wednesday afternoon at the Marriot Hotel in Pasay City. “I think he just

wants to lay on the beach. That will give me more time to swim, surf, write, read, and do all the things I like to do while he just snoozes in a corner.”

Bellisario, dressed in a black-andwhite printed minidress and a pair of black highheeled pumps, added: “We’re both on Twitter and Instagram.

We would take pictures of each other,

especially while on vacation... It was weird to know that we got engaged three times. A family member back home called me to say, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I said, ‘Because it’s not true!’ That’s why we’ve been more and more trying to keep it private.”

The 27-year-old actress, who said she’s “addicted” to dried mangoes, was happy to have been served a bowlful of it when she arrived here. “I was the happiest girl while eating it and then an hour later, I was crying because my stomach was killing me,” she recalled.

Bellisario said she would love to try more Filipino food, except that she doesn’t eat meat. She tried durian in Malaysia and discovered that “it tastes so much better than it smells. It’s creamy. It wasn’t terrible at all.”

“Pretty Little Liars” is an American teen drama mysterythriller loosely based on the series of novels by Sara Shepard. Bellisario, winner of the 2012 Female Teen Choice Summer TV Star award, plays Spencer Hastings in the series. She’s a straight-A student and a perfectionist who always tries to please her wealthy parents.

The TV star is the daughter of producers Deborah Pratt and Donald Bellisario (”Quantum Leap,” “JAG,” “NCIS”). She took up acting at the University of Southern California.

In 2012, she produced the short film “Exiles,” which she also wrote and starred in.

Here are excerpts from Wednesday’s 30-minute press conference.

How similar or different is Spencer’s personality from your own?

We have a lot of similarities. I’m a very anxious person like Spencer and a bit of a perfectionist. We both care immensely about our friends. I was very much like her back in high school.

I was very academic and then I kind of grew up and chilled out. It’s fun to play Spencer because it’s like looking back on who I was. I put so much pressure on myself while growing up. Spencer is my younger version.

How is it like playing a high school student?

It’s a bit of a challenge. It’s very odd for me right now. My best friend, whom I knew since I was Spencer’s age, just got married. I’m having all these adult experiences—my friends having children—and then I stand in front of Spencer’s locker and say, “Oh my God! I’m still in high school!” It’s so weird. It’s really a push-and-pull experience. I always have to remember how it was like to live at my parents’ and be a teenager, and yet, in my life I’m experiencing so many other things.

How much of Spencer are you, like when it comes to your clothes? Do you give input on the clothes that go on the show?

Our costume designer said in an interview that I am one of the persons in the show who is very difficult to dress up, and she meant it as a compliment. I love Spencer’s outfits. Her style is classic American—the blazers and the blouses.

I don’t really dress up like Spencer does. I’m much more like the casual, ripped jeans and T-shirt type. I like to be comfortable and Spencer’s clothing is definitely not comfortable, but I like the style.

Your account on Twitter is @ SleepintheGardn. Is there a meaning to it?

I still am, an avid fan of Coner Oberts, the musician who started the group Bright Eyes, which founded the folkindie scene in Omaha. I was obsessed with all of their songs and there’s this one that says “sleep out at the garden.”

It’s just something that I liked once. It’s cool!

Do you and Adams ever get jealous of each other’s love interest in your respective TV series?

We joke about it a lot. I think it’s great that I’m dating an intelligent actor. We both understand that this is part of the job.

Do you have a dream role you would like to play?

There’s been a lot of talk about doing a biopic or a film that features a character based on Patti Smith, who is the godmother of punk rock. She’s a huge icon for me, someone I look up to as an artist. Although I don’t look like her right now, I’m a little bit more like her without this makeup on. You grew up in the industry.

What do you think would you be doing if you’re not in show biz right now?

I want to either be a forensic detective or a mortician. I want to work with dead people. I just thought I’d be really happy in the morgue. I guess because I don’t like being around people. Dead people are fine.

What’s your message to young girls when it comes to pursuing their dreams?

My biggest message is to just focus on being yourself; on going after what you want. Don’t let anybody get in the way... even if you have to kill people. ■

34 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Lifestyle

FA S H I O N & W E D D I N G T R E N D S 2 0 1 3

Be In, 2013: 13 Trends Fresh Off the Runways THE OSCARS and New York Fashion Week are fresh in everyone’s minds. Fashion blogs are naming the new in thing. The Year of the Snake has sunk its teeth in, indeed: the looks for 2013 are hot off the press, on stands, in glossies, on dailies; in stores; on TV; gliding down the runways from New York to Milan. Make space in your closet for these 13 new trends:

1. Pastels – A continuing trend, and it seems apt in the age of Instagram and its Polaroid filters.

2. Neons – Okay: so macaroons and marshmallows ain’t your thing. Take the bright and eye-popping approach for color, then: neon numbers are making the comeback in spring and summer collections.

3. Bermuda shorts – Just as casual, but a lot more chic and versatile than last year’s legbaring cut-offs and short shorts. Wearable at the office and at outings.

4. Tailored shorts – an alternative to the Bermuda and a chic look for the city; every major designer— Hermes, Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, to name a few—have churned them out in their collections.

5. Oversized white tops – “Casual chic,” they call it: wear it with cut-offs, jeans, skirts; pair it with a blazer, cardigan, jacket; throw it on as a dress.

It might well be the most versatile item in the fashion world.

6. Cropped tops – tuck that tummy in; cropped tops are back in. Whether it’s loose or tight-fitting, the tops that turned heads this season bared some.

7. Striped trousers – a little zany, perhaps, but the coolest yet in comebacks. “Bold and daring,” goes the phrase. And it’s not just the trousers: striped tops, suits, skirts, and jackets are back. Take a break from all the floral print for a change.

8. Brocades and short suits – trendy yet office appropriate, the cut accentuates hip and waist.

9. Lace – Lace is big this year: it’s everywhere.

Practically every new collection and line had lace on the side or as the star of the show. Adds a touch of romance and whimsy to your wardrobe.

10. Sheer garments – showing skin is in. A ton of sheer, see-through outfits made the rounds on the runway.

11. Harnesses – an unlikely hit, but a hit nonetheless.

Designers made use of harnesses to imbue a corsetlike quality to dresses.

12. Statement sunglasses - The hipster-folk made it popular. Now, it's a runway look and a staple at every department store. They come in every size, shape, and color, and if they seem a little crazy—it’s okay:

they’re meant to be.

Last, but not by far the least:

13.

Google Glass – WELCOME TO THE FUTURE, Earthling. This newfangled device plugs us in just a little bit deeper into the Matrix.

It’s a pair of specs with this tiny thumbnail of a computer that all but makes us inseparable from the Web—and from a camera, because God knows this age can’t live without photographic proof of what they had for lunch. Tell it to take a picture, record a video, search the Internet, access maps, connect to chat—and it will.

Glass has yet to be released in the market, but beta versions are available and a number have already appeared on the runway. The average consumer won’t have long to wait until Glass is released to the public: Google has expressed that they’re aiming to make this technology widely available by the end of the year. ■

Lifestyle

35 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Oscars Fashion: Four Classifications IT WAS A SEA OF BEIGE, white, and grey with a few pops of color and glitter in between—such was the state of dress at the 85th Annual Academy Awards, held this February 24 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. It was an elegant array, if lacking in risk. Still: style and skill were at hand with top designers named left and right on the red carpet. Take a look at the stars that invoked these adjectives upon sight.

Elegant (subtle, simple, classic): “Zero Dark Thirty’s” Best Actress nominee, Jessica Chastain, who turned heads in a copper gown that clung to her like jeweled skin.

Thank Armani for the Old Hollywood vibes.

Charlize Theron—who, apparently, was a great dancer, dressed in a white two-piece dress by Dior. But it might be the actress’ edgy new pixie cut that made her stand out more than anything.

Stacey Keibler, famously the object of George Clooney's affection since 2011. Keibler came in Naeem Khan, sleek and gleaming silver and grey with a high neckline and a black belt for accent and shape.

Best Actress nominee Jessica Chastain in her much-lauded Armani.

...from page 26 the criteria have often been used to revoke citizenships of war criminals.

In 2011, the Federal Court heard the case of a Bosnian man believed to have abused prisoners during the Balkan war. The court ruled it would be legal to strip him of citizenship on the grounds he had lied about his past to settle in Canada.

Late Wednesday night, the House of Commons voted to move ahead with a Tory private member's bill on citizenship that is likely to be amended to give the government the ability to revoke the citizenship of dual nationals convicted in terrorist activities abroad.

The issue arose after a LebaneseCanadian was identified in early February as a suspect in a Bulgarian bus bombing.

It's believed the individual hasn't lived in Canada since he was a child.

Making it tougher to obtain citizenship has also been part of the government's efforts to combat fraud, with several new rules and procedures instituted in the last two years.

Those, along with a 30 per cent surge in applications, budget cuts and citizenship judge vacancies have combined to create a serious backlog.

As of Sept. 30, 2012, there were 319,517 applications for grants of citizenship to be processed, department figures show.

But the department only has enough funding to process about 160,000 applications a year.

Further delays have been created by an increase in the number of residency questionnaires now sent to prospective

Glamorous (bold and eye-catching): Nicole Kidman, in one form-fitting L’Wren Scott, glittering black and gold and looking statuesque as usual.

Jennifer Aniston in a strapless, red-as-redcan-get Valentino with a skirt that flared for days.

Halle Berry, who wore Versace in metallic silver and black stripes.

citizens, which require additional information to prove applicants have met the threshold of spending at least 1,095 days in Canada before they apply.

New language requirements may also slow things down, the departmental minutes suggest.

The notes say the department has to adjust to the new rules. ``If we react too quickly we will not be able to see if the upfront measures will create efficiencies later in the continuum.

It is important to keep in mind that we are doing this upfront work to avoid bringing files to revocation.''

Departmental spokeswoman Danielle Vlemmiks said the new language requirements actually make the process more efficient, as applicants have a clear standard to meet and know they'll have their applications returned if it isn't.

She also noted that the ability of officials to now return incomplete applications, as well as the decision to place a limit on how many times a person can miss an appointment with judges should help streamline the process.

The department committee has also recommended video interviews for would-be citizens, the use of Order of Canada recipients instead of judges for ceremonies and more mega-ceremonies as solutions to the backlog. ``The government remains committed to finding ways to ensure timely processing of applications and it is actively reviewing citizenship program delivery systems to identify more efficient processes, reduce backlogs, and improve processing times,'' said Vlemmiks in an email.■

9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis and her fuzzy puppy bag.

Kerry Washington poses in Miu Miu with “Django Unchained” co-star Jamie Foxx and winner for Best Short Film (Live Action), Shawn Christensen

Whimsical (fashion with a fun and playful twist): Kerry Washington, star of Django Unchained, clad in Miu Miu—simply because no one else had the mind to wear a young and hip color: in her case, a really pretty shade of coral pink. She pulled off trendy without seeming less dressy.

Helena Bonham Carter, who did a turn in “Les Miserables”. By default, Bonham Carter always stands out— mainly because she doesn’t give a flying flamingo about fashion dos and don’ts. The actress came in a blackand-white layered dress by Vivienne Westwood.

Helena Bonham Carter brings Vivienne Westwood to the red carpet, accompanied by partner Tim Burton.

Mark Andrews, who won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature for “Brave”: “I didn’t plan any of this,” he quipped, when he got to the mic wearing a kilt.

Let’s give it to the guy. It took guts to do that. It’s great to see someone who doesn’t take it all too seriously. ■ In Dior: 22-year-old Jennifer Lawrence holding her Oscar for Best Actress backstage.

“Silver Linings Playbook” star and 2013’s Best Actress, Jennifer Lawrence: because “icing” comes to mind at first sight. She wore a creamy gown by Dior that flared like layers of fluffy cake.

Amy Adams, nominated for Best Actress in “The Master”: she’s back in Disney princess mode with that silk, silvery blue organza by Oscar de la Renta. The ruffled, feathery skirt looked as soft as clouds.

Unique (that thing that stood out): Quvenzhané Wallis, nine years old and an Oscar nominee. Apart from that, what set her apart was her adorable fuzzy puppy bag.

“Brave” directors Mark Andrews, in a Scottish kilt, and Brenda Chapman, dressed like a maid from a Renaissance fair.

Wedding

BY KATHERINE MARFAL-TEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Wedding tips you shouldn’t miss

2. Choose a church if you will have a ‘Catholic wedding’. In line with our proposed Filipino theme, we chose Malate Church, one of the oldest churches in the Philippines. It was also the first church where we attended mass as a couple. You, too, can find a church that is in line with your desired theme or any church that has a big impact to your relationship.

3. Complete all the wedding requirements. Before you go any further, do not forget to apply for a marriage license by attending various seminars, such as the Pre-Cana and Family Planning seminar.

4. Pick a “very specific” theme.

We already mentioned that we want something “Filipino”, but the planner asked us the details that we want to be included on the theme. So, we said, we want something “Pop” with a mix of “Filipino culture” in it.

needs are as you start your lifetime journey together.

7. Make your wedding uniquely yours. There may be lots of creative suggestions on wedding magazines and websites, but isn’t it more special if you will deviate from these conventional ideas? As for our wedding, we had a pure ‘Tagalog’ invitation that was, of course in line with our theme. For our invitations, I decided to compose the words that will make up our invitation.

We also chose the image that will put into it. As for our souvenirs, we chose a wooden bowl filled with pastries made by my chef-groom. The tag in the souvenir holds the poem I wrote.

We also deviate from the traditional throwing of bouquet by replacing it with pin finding contest, wherein blindfolded bridesmaids look for the pin in the body of the groomsman who got the garter. Squeeze your creativity and you will see that the event will be more special when you put a piece of your heart in it.

WEDDING preparations are innately overwhelming.

I must know that. November last year, I got married, but several months before our BIG DAY, we were already busy preparing and planning every single detail of our wedding. Luckily, it turned out well.

So, I want to share you some essential wedding tips that I’ve learned from my own experience and from the people I’ve talked to during the entire process.

1. Before you know what you really want for your wedding, know what you don’t want first. The first time we met our wedding planner, we were asked what we want for our wedding. Then, we began enumerating a lot of things and details we want to include on our wedding. Obviously, our planner was overwhelmed, so he just asked us the things that we don’t want for our wedding.

So, from there, I, along with my beau and wedding planner were able to map out an initial idea about our wedding. As couples, we agreed to have a simple but elegant wedding.

We added that we want something “Filipino”. We don’t want “fiesta-like” wedding; instead, we prefer a solemn wedding with romantic music from the orchestra. And the list goes on.

We listed all the things that we don’t want for our wedding. And by then, we finally arrived at a specific wedding theme.

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 36

So, we arrived at the “Pinoy Pop Culture” theme.

Themes are not just about color palette. It can also revolve around the inspiration behind it. It may be a place that you and your husband-to-be, cherish the most, or a piece of fabric that you can pull off ideas from. As for our theme, “kalesa” became our inspiration in picking the “Pinoy Pop Culture” theme. Ever since, we were already very fond of the idea of a “historic” wedding, plus the fact that we love riding in a “kalesa”, especially when we’re in the Intramuros and Malate area.

5. Prepare a checklist. As soon as you’ve come up with a specific theme for your wedding, you can already write down all the things that you’ll need. When I say, all the things, even the smallest detail matters.

From what I’ve also learned from our wedding planner and from the wedding magazines I’ve read, here should be the content of your checklist: • Gowns and Suits • Photo-Video Coverage • Floral Arrangements • Invitations • Souvenirs/Giveaways • Photo booth • Hair and Make-up • Wedding rings • Aras and paraphernalia • Lights and sounds • Wedding Cake

• Bridal Car • Hotel reservation • Catering Service • Church Arrangements • Reception Venue Things to Remember • Master of Ceremony • Trial make-up • Flowers for centerpiece • Candles for tables • Prenuptial photo shoot • AVP, screen and projector • Tarpaulin and stand • Food Tasting • Guest list Printouts • Seating Arrangement per table and Floor Plan Sketch • Script for the reception program • Band and intermission number rehearsals • Stage set-up and provisional tents • Church and reception ocular • Rehearsal for 1st dance and money dance • Distribution of Invitations 6. Sign up for a bridal registry.

Don’t be so overwhelmed with all the complex and exacting details of your wedding preparations. Make sure that you sign up for a bridal registry, and let your guests know where you’ve registered. Be careful in choosing the items you will put on your bridal registry. Visualize how your home will look like and know what your basic

8. Accept flaws along the way. No matter how hard you plan and prepare for your wedding, there will be small or big flaws that will come your way.

I, myself, experienced it. Two weeks before my wedding, I found out that the original design of my wedding gown was not given justice by the couturier. It was totally different and had to admit that it didn’t look like a wedding gown to start with. I was so disappointed, but I needed to be calm so I could find a solution. So, what we did is pay additional money to save my gown. Although, we know that it’s their fault, we have to be patient and think about that no one will accept a wedding gown that’s already two weeks due.

It didn’t end there. Two days before our wedding, we found out that gowns of flower girls were still unfinished.

So what we did is to pull-out the order from the store and look for ready-made gowns. Luckily, we found gowns that could fit well with our cute flower girls.

Despite all the flaws, we are very thankful that our wedding went well.

It might not be perfect, but it was the happiest moment of our lives as we celebrated it with the people we love.

Just enjoy your wedding preparations, do your best to make the most out of your ideas. Also, it is important to be practical in spending for your wedding, remember that there is a more important event coming up. It is not just a one-day affair, but a journey of a lifetime.

Best Wishes to all 2013 couples! ■

37 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Beyond the "I

BY FELICHI PANGILINAN-BUIZON LAST MONTH, our family joined in witnessing the union of our nephew Paolo and his beautiful bride, Samantha. Thank God for waterproof mascara!! The touching outdoor ceremony warmed more hearts than one and provoked many to joyful tears.

With a sprawling green field and clear skies as a fitting backdrop, accompanied by the seemingly cued afternoon breeze, I dreamily watched our nephew cast adoring eyes at his bride. With heart-stirring music as background, we listened to their heartfelt vows. I was in complete awe of God’s presence and thankful that He gifted the couple with such a beautiful beginning.

A significant reminder was given to Paolo by the officiating minister, “Just as you worked hard to win Sam’s heart; you must strive harder to keep it.” It brought to mind Paolo’s own FB status weeks before the wedding, “People care too much about the wedding. I care more about the marriage.” There is so much wisdom in his words. Many will agree that the success of a marriage lies not in how it starts but how it thrives through time.

As sturdy trees need nourishing, so do great marriages. In preparation for Valentine’s, here are some practical ways we can nourish our relationships and “strive harder to keep hearts together”: Cover in prayer. “Commit you way to the Lord and He will establish them.”

Ever prayed for your relationship?

There is more to gain by inviting the Author of Relationships to be part of your union and to bless it. A cord of three is not easily broken.

Moment of truth. Do not settle for status quo. After praying for a teachable heart, ask your partner what is one thing you need to stop, one thing you need to start and one thing you can continue to help you grow closer.

Listen without making any comments

Weddings Do" Tips for buying wedding rings

or excuses. What you hear may be the very thing your relationship needs today.

Love preferred. Ask your spouse when they feel most loved and see to it that you do more of that. Let him or her share at least five ways that makes him or her feel cherished so it will be crystal clear to you what actually fills your spouse’s love tank. You might have developed the habit of giving your partner flowers when what would really delight her is a love letter recognizing why you appreciate her? Or you may be writing him a mushy card when a massage will have a longer lasting impact on him.

We have a tendency to demonstrate love the way we want to receive it. Sadly, our efforts are wasted. It is good to remember that we are uniquely wired. Knowing our spouse’s preferences and deferring to it is one way to strengthen your bond. I met a man who shared with regret how he identified what made his wife truly happy, only on their 15th year!

Set up a surprise. After discovering what your spouse prefers, stage a surprise. Grant your spouse’s delight in a creative way. If your wife is the type that likes to receive gifts from you then you can have her favorite dessert delivered to her. If your husband is the type that is energized by affirmation, you can request an early morning radio announcer of his favorite station to air encouraging words “to the sweetest husband in town”.

Reflect and forgive. Your spouse may have hurt you in the past. Take some time to list his/her minor or major offenses and just as Christ has forgiven you, by faith, forgive your spouse for each one. Shred the paper and throw it in the trash. Highlighted this in the book Love Dare, “Great marriages (and friendships) are not created by people who never hurt each other, only by people who choose to keep “no record of wrongs.”” (1 Corinthians 13:5) Watch your wedding. Run that video. Listen to the vows you made on that momentous day and renew them with your spouse.

Keep at it. Why demonstrate your love to your special someone only for a day? Make more memories each day.

Establish a date night. Valentine’s is sweeter and more meaningful when you celebrate it with a load of loving memories. Can’t grow a sturdy tree if you water it once a year. ■

BY ANDREA WOROCH

Two very different retailers shared headlines recently when Tiffany & Co. filed a lawsuit against Costco for allegedly using Tiffany's high-end brand to market a line of engagement rings. Though comment from Costco is still pending, this news is a good reminder to consumers about the competitive nature of the diamond industry.

Since wedding season is nearly upon us, many couples have engagements on the mind. If you plan to pop the question this year, heed the following advice before making your investment.

1. Learn About the C's Do your homework before you begin the buying process and study up the four Cs: cut, carat, color and clarity. Consult The Diamond Buying Guide for details and don't forget to chat with your significant other about personal preferences before making the purchase plunge.

2. Set a Budget Though an engagement signifies one of the most important decisions two people make in their lives, the diamond ring represents a mere element of the big picture (i.e. your marriage after the wedding). That means you should not put yourself out financially to woo your loved one or to impress family and friends. Keep a realistic figure in mind and stick to your budget when shopping.

3. Open a Savings Account Once you have a budget in mind, start stashing cash away for the big purchase and don't let a seller talk you into a more expensive stone by quoting monthly costs. The interest rates will make the total payment seemingly stretch into infinity. Paying with dollar bills will also give you leverage when it comes to making a sweeter deal.

4. Buy Off-Season After Valentine's Day and before the holidays represent the perfect times to buy a diamond. The jewelry industry struggles after these peak buying seasons, creating a great opportunity to find discounts and negotiate. For

example, Sears is currently offering up to 80-percent off fine jewelry; you can save even more by purchasing a discount gift card from GiftCardGranny.com, where you'll receive up to 10-percent off the face value.

5. Don't Let Size Fool You Though carat weight and stone size play a part in a diamond's price and beauty, the biggest determinant is the cut. Spend plenty of time examining stones with a variety of cut grades to understand what qualifies as a well-cut and affordable diamond.

6. Shop Wholesale Purchase a diamond wholesale and then allow your fiancée to select the desired setting. Not only will you save on the overall cost, but you'll avoid a potentially sad scene since style preference plays a major role in the dream engagement ring.

7. Keep It in the Family Your relatives may be storing a diamond ring from generations past, so be sure to ask around before shopping for something new. If you're not thrilled about the antique setting or your fiancée would prefer something more modern, you can always pay to have it remade. The total cost will amount to much less and the diamond carries much more significance.

8. Don't Forget the Internet You may think shopping online is best suited for electronic gadgets, but engagement rings are increasingly finding a market on the Internet. Sites like BlueNile are popular, credible sellers of customizable engagement rings, offering detailed information on the diamond and ring setting. With a 30-day return policy and free overnight shipping, sites like BlueNile are an excellent option for couples without immediate access to jewelry or department stores. ■ Andrea Woroch is a nationallyrecognized consumer and moneysaving expert who helps consumers live on less without radically changing their lifestyles. She has been featured among top news outlets such as Good Morning America, NBC's Today, MSNBC, New York Times, Kiplinger Personal Finance, CNNMoney and many more.

Lifestyle Get ready for stress-free travel with your kids Dreading long car rides, bus trips and flights? We asked parents to spill their secrets on easy travel with their little ones

BY PAM PASTOR Philippine Daily Inquirer A FAMILY with two toddlers boarded a Manila-bound bus from Baguio recently. The toddlers spent the entire sixhour trip screaming, screeching, hollering, crying and fighting.

They were so loud that no one could hear the movie that was playing on the bus’ video screen. Even blaring iPods could not drown them out.

It didn’t help that the mother’s attempt at pacifying her children was to repeatedly sing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” out loud. She just added to the noise, making the rest of the passengers even more miserable.

One of the toddlers, Justin, spent the last hour of the trip whining, over and over again, “I don’t want cold water.”

Apparently, the milk his father handed him was too cold.

It was such a contrast to the mom we witnessed during a JetBlue flight from New York to Los Angeles. She was traveling alone with her three children—two toddlers and an infant— and her husband was picking them up at the airport.

The children did not make a peep during the almost six-hour flight. The mother had packed snacks for them— fruits, biscuits and fruit roll-ups— making sure they stayed happy and quiet during the flight.

In this case, the kids outnumbered the adult, but because of preparation, the mother had a stress-free journey with her little ones.

When it comes to traveling with your children, a little planning goes a long way.

We asked some parents to spill their secrets on enjoying a stress-free journey with their kids: “I always bring their favorite snacks, books or art materials to keep them busy when they get bored or restless.

I make them listen to music or watch movies on portable players.”— Maan Chua, mom of 4year-old Kunta and 6-year-old Kubing What to expect “For kids 5 years old and up, talk to them before the trip on what to expect.

Like, it will be a five-hour drive which they might find long, or that they will ride an airplane and their ears will feel funny as you go up and down.

“Another tip, be prepared— bring candy and gum; bring an extra shirt in

case your child hurls or spills food on themselves; bring gadgets and small games and toys. For younger kids 3 years and below, make sure they’re well-rested before the trip. If they travel cranky or tired, there is a higher chance they’ll blow up at the slightest inconvenience.

“Last tip: Manage your own emotions and reactions. When things start to go crazy and the kids act up (and this will happen for most trips

beyond three hours), pause. Take a deep breath. Count one to 10 quietly.

There is no sense yelling at your kids or going nuts when everything else is going crazy. As parent, troop leader, trip planner, it is your role to ensure order and comfort prevails.

“For our own trips, we rely mostly on two things: gadgets and games! We surrender my iPad and iPhone to the kids, and these keep them busy until the batteries die. Then we alternate with I Spy or the Alphabet Game (first child to spot an item with the letter ‘A’ gets a point and so on).

“Other games are Categories (say the agreed categories are ‘Star Wars’ characters; each person names one and the person who cannot give one loses or is out) and Yes, Maybe, No (where the kids try to guess what the object, person, place is by asking questions answerable by yes, no, maybe).— Mon Guinto, dad of 10-year-old Sabine, 7-year-old Matteo and 5-year-old Basti Not too many toys “Bring their comfort toy if they have one (my kids have bears they called Kuma and Bacon, which they must always have with them), iPad (make sure it’s fully charged), and snacks which aren’t messy to eat. Do not bring too many toys. Bring an extra bag and clothes not just for the kids, but for

you, too, because they might spill their drinks.

“Don’t forget to bring alcohol, wet tissue, cotton buds, medicines, a small towel, moisturizer and extra diapers. I bring eye drops for allergies, too. Make sure they are wearing comfortable footwear. My boys like slipping off their shoes during long flights. During long trips, we sing, watch movies and sleep.”— Michelle Nishizawa, mom to 4-year-old Teruki and 3-year-old Taiga Best friend “I hate to admit it, but the iPad is our best friend. We load it with games and videos to prepare for bored moments.

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 38

“My best entertainment tools when traveling are the iPad, their feeding bottles and small things to munch on.

Our eldest boy Matty is entertained by the sight of wheels turning or naming the things he sees along the way, so we help him look for the things illustrated on his iPad flashcards so he can relate the picture with the real thing.

“Andi, our youngest girl, uses her iPad to watch Disney movies or play the educational apps I downloaded for her.”— Alvin Maranan, dad of 3-yearold Matty and 1-year-old Andi

We also bring his favorite books (the soft and smaller ones so they’re not as heavy). We make sure to also stock up on his favorite snacks, which in our case are animal cookies and milk, as kids tend to get cranky when they’re hungry.

“If it’s a road trip, we make sure we have CDs of his favorite songs (as well as lullabies to lull him to sleep).

Lastly, the best entertainment is other people! Grandparents, aunties, etc. who will eagerly play and distract your kid are the cheapest and most effective entertainment.”— Zerl Chan OrtizLuis, mom of 2-year-old Zachary “I usually prepare a big bag of her favorite books and magazines (She likes Time, National Geographic, K-Zone, Almanac for Kids), her Littlest Pet Shop Toys and I play her favorite CDs.”— Tammy Flores, mom of 9-year-old Amber

Checklist “Make a checklist of what your kid will need during the trip. Days before going, try to introduce your toddler to the things that he might see along the way.

Use picture books and/or magazines of the place, to become familiar with the things the kid might see, so traveling can be fun and educational. Point out trees, clouds, a rainbow, flowers, animals and different kinds of vehicles along the way. Grab the opportunity for learning while having fun.

“Make sure you have a small pillow your kid could use, especially on plane rides where the seats are not that comfortable for sleeping. Bring an umbrella-type stroller. This is very useful for parks, walks and while at the airport because you’ll never know when kids will get tired or sleepy. I also use a toddler backpack with reins so he can freely use his hands to explore while I keep him near me and do lots of things with my two hands as well when we’re off the bus/car/plane.

“Never forget his favorite toys (small ones which you can put in a small toddler bag). For us, a puzzle is very effective for keeping Basti entertained.

It could keep him busy for hours! A notebook/sketch pad, crayons and story books will keep your child seated for some time. Bring a bag of cookies and a water bottle with straw so the water won’t spill when he wants to drink while on the go. If these don’t work, give him the iPad! Also never forget a first-aid kit with antihistamines.”— Karen IsonAbanes, mom of 2-year-old Basti

Light and right “Pack light and pack right! Don’t forget the kids’ essentials like food, water, formula, diapers, change of clothes, their favorite toy, or better yet an iPad or video player. If the kids are old enough to distinguish the things they will see along the way, try to give them a story or trivia about it. Choose the appropriate comfortable clothing for your children and bring enough spare clothes for the trip.

Videos “When my kids and I are out on a road trip, I make sure I’ve got videos on board, and a resealable plastic container of snacks that we picked together at the grocery. Also, games that require our imagination work quite well! Road trip tip number one though is to always have a queasy bag, just to make sure things don’t get messy!”— Noel Rene Nieva, dad of 12-year-old Briana and 5-year-old Diego. ■

Business

39 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Power shortage looms anew in Mindanao BIR misses January target by 6%

BY RONNEL W. DOMINGO Philippine Daily Inquirer A REPEAT of the power crisis in Mindanao in the summer months this year and in 2014 is very likely, according to the government think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

It said the crippling power crisis in the hottest months of 2012 might recur because no additional baseload power-generating capacity has been installed on the island.

Baseload power generation supplies the minimum or normal electricity requirements of consumers, including households, businesses and other organizations.

Other power plants run to address the peaking of electricity use at certain times of the day.

PIDS senior research fellow Adoracion Navarro observed that electricity demand in Mindanao has continuously spiked through the years with rapid urbanization and increased industrialization.

Consolidated forecasts on demand for the period 2010-2019 showed an annual average demand growth of 4.28 percent in Mindanao, higher than the nationwide 3.63 percent.

Navarro noted that, based on data from the Department of Energy, power plants in Mindanao

accounted for dependable generating capacity totaling 1,616 megawatts (MW).

However, about two-thirds of such capacity or 1,038 MW represented hydropower plants such as the Agus and Pulangui facilities.

These plants, the study said, might ironically not be dependable in the summer months because of worsening deforestation of watersheds and siltation of river systems in Mindanao.

Also based on DOE data, only 37 percent of power plant capacity in Mindanao addressed the baseload.

In comparison, baseload capacity in Luzon and the Visayas were pegged at 63 percent and 72 percent, respectively. Mindanao’s peak demand could reach 1,428 MW this year and 1, 823 MW by 2019.

Considering that there should be a reserve margin of at least 21 percent of peak demand, according to the DOE, the total generation capacity in Mindanao should be 1,728 MW in 2013 and 2,206 MW in 2019.

With the state of dependable capacity in Mindanao, “the power system could run a reserve shortfall of 112 MW for this year—a clear sign that last year’s power crisis may happen again,” Navarro said. ■

BUSINESS NEWS BRIEFS Martha Stewart denies wrongdoing in Penney deal NEW YORK - Home diva Martha Stewart testified in court on Tuesday that she did nothing wrong when she signed an agreement to open up shops within most of J.C. Penney's stores across the U.S. Stewart testified in New York State Supreme Court as part of a legal battle over whether the company that she founded breached its contract to sell cookware, bedding and other items exclusively at Macy's when she inked the deal with Penney in 2011.

Dow hits record, erasing Great Recession losses NEW YORK - The stock market is back. Five and a half years after the start of a frightening drop that erased $11 trillion from stock portfolios and made investors despair of ever getting their money back, the Dow Jones industrial average has regained all the losses suffered during the Great Recession and reached a new high.

Debit card fraud skimming is lowest on record TORONTO - Interac Association says Interac debit card fraud losses, as a result of skimming, are at their lowest level on record since 2003 - falling to $38.5 million in 2012 from a high of $142 million in 2009.This represents fewer than one per cent of domestic Interac debit card volume and the lowest volume of fraud losses since data was first recorded in 2003.

P94.7B in collections up 11.3% from a year ago

BY RONNEL W. DOMINGO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue raised P94.74 billion in January, increasing by 11.3 percent from the year-ago collections of P85.15 billion but falling short of the month’s target of P100.93 billion by 6.1 percent.

Based on BIR data released yesterday, P89.03 billion of January collection accounted for cash. Compared to the cash goal for the month, the intake fell short by 8.2 percent.

The rest of the revenues in January represented P5.71 billion in non-cash inflows such as payments that were made using tax credits.

The higher “sin tax” rates approved by the Congress and signed by President Aquino late last year took effect on Jan. 1 this year.

Last week, government revenue officials said they were boosting efforts to pursue big-league tax cheats as the BIR strives to strengthen itself as a law enforcer.

“Our challenge is not to look for the large taxpayers (but) to look for the large, missing taxpayers,” Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said in a statement. The BIR’s Large Taxpayer Service (LTS) office contributes about two-thirds of BIR collections yearly.

According to the BIR, there were 2,019 large taxpayers who paid a total of P650 billion in 2012 or 64 percent of the agency’s P1.02-trillion cash earnings.

Large taxpayers are corporations that have at least P300 million in capital; multinational enterprises with authorized capitalization of P300 million; publiclylisted corporations; universal and commercial banks; taxpayers with an authorized capitalization of at least P100 million and belonging to either the banking, insurance, telecommunication, utilities, petroleum, tobacco and alcohol sectors; and corporate taxpayers engaged in metallic mineral production. All branches of these entities are also considered large taxpayers as well

as subsidiaries and affiliates of conglomerates or group of companies already listed as large taxpayers.

For 2013, the LTS is tasked to raise P768.3 billion, which will be 63 percent of the BIR’s cash target of P1.22 trillion. The amount means an 18-percent increase in the LTS’s 2012 collections.

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda reiterated the Aquino administration’s commitment to intensified tax collection efforts by running after tax evaders.

Lacierda said during the regular press briefing in the presidential palace yesterday that the BIR has stepped up the filing of cases against tax evaders as part of the government’s commitment to tread the straight and righteous path.

The government has stepped up the filing of cases against tax evaders with 28 new cases filed since November 2012. According to the Department of Finance (DOF), 11 new cases were filed under the Run after Tax Evaders (RATE) program while 17 new cases were filed under the Run after the Smugglers (RATS) initiative.

The DOF and its attached agencies are working with the Department of Justice and the judiciary for the swift resolution of the cases. ■

Sports Odds favor Donaire vs Rigondeaux

FRIDAY MARCH 1, 2013 40

Winnipeg becomes fifth Canadian city to play host to UFC but card not set

By Scott Edmonds THE CANADIAN PRESS

BY MARC ANTHONY REYES Philippine Daily Inquirer AS EXPECTED, Nonito Donaire Jr. came out an overwhelming oddson favorite as betting lines opened for his world super bantamweight fight against Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux on April 13 at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Sports betting site oddschecker. com listed the 30-year-old consensus Fighter of the Year for 2012 as a 10-1 favorite in the fight where he stakes his WBO belt and go for Rigondeaux’s WBA version of it. That means a $100 bet on Donaire (31-1-0 with 20 knockouts) wins just $10.

It also listed Rigondeaux (11-00 with eight KOs) a 2-1 underdog, which means a $100 bet on the 32-year-old two-time Olympic gold medalists wins $200.

Lines and odds are expected to change as fight night draws nearer. The rivalry has started simmering online, marked by lengthy accusations between the

two camps mainly on the issue of performance-enhancing drugs.

Rigondeaux, who boasts more than 400 fights in the amateur ranks but is largely untested in the pro level, was seen getting blood extractions from pictures posted by his handler Caribe Promotions’ Twitter account.

Caribe CEO Boris Arencibia, whose outfit co-promotes the fight with Top Rank, also issued a statement denying that they have any links with Angel Heredia, whose alleged involvement with PEDs put a question on Juan Manuel Marquez’s muscle mass and strength.

In an article that came out in boxingscene.com, Arencibia said Rigondeaux will instead keep himself busy training in Boca Raton and Delray Beach in Florida until April 7.

Donaire, meanwhile, plunged into training with Robert Garcia, who earlier said his ward will be “too big, too strong and should have no problem” dealing with Rigondeaux. ■

WINNIPEG - One of the few confirmed fights for Winnipeg's Ultimate Fighting Championship debut is shaping up to be a treat for longtime mixed martial arts fans.

The already planned rematch between Mauricio (Shogun) Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will take place at UFC 161 at Winnipeg's MTS Centre on June 15.

The fight seems tailored for nostalgic UFC fans as a rematch of a 2005 Pride Fighting Championship card that ended in a unanimous decision for Rua. Japanbased Pride has since been swallowed by the UFC empire. ``They had an epic three-round battle in Japan,'' Tom Wright, director of operations for UFC Canada, said at a press conference Tuesday. He added that there would be five events on the main card, including a championship.

Rua, a former light-heavyweight champion, has won just three of his last seven fights, losing a unanimous decision to Alexander Gustafsson in December.

Nogueira, known as ``Lil' Nog,'' has done better with recent wins over Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans and he has been seeking the rematch with Rua since last summer.

Heavyweights Soa Palelei and Stipe Miocic will also meet on the Winnipeg card.

Winnipeg will join a short list of Canadian cities that have hosted a UFC event, and will become one of only three that the mixed martial arts juggernaut will visit this year.

Wright said a fourth Canadian date discussed earlier was tied to the ``Ultimate Fighter'' reality show and is likely moving to 2014, but he continued to promise a Canadian version of ``Ultimate Fighter.''

There has already been a Brazilian version. Brazil is the third most popular

market worldwide for the UFC but Canada is No. 2, behind only the United States.

Wright, a former commissioner of the Canadian Football League, said Tuesday that Winnipeg had been discussed for some time as a possible venue and was ``the next logical step'' in developing the UFC in Canada.

Wright said the organization knows the importance of having Canadian fighters on the card, such as Winnipeg's Roland Delorme, who was featured on ``Ultimate Fighter.'' ``We've got eight Canadians on the card in Montreal,'' he said.

The other UFC cards already planned this year for Canada are in Montreal this month and Toronto in September.

Injuries marred the first and only UFC appearance in Calgary so far last year. Nine big names were dropped because of injuries and disgruntled fans booed what ended up as the main event.

Wright says UFC would like to return to Vancouver and Calgary but Ottawa, Halifax, Regina and Quebec City could see events as well. ``I can't say exactly when it will happen but we have made a commitment to the city of Calgary that we'll return and we've made a commitment to the city of Vancouver that we'll return and we'll live up to those commitments,'' he said.

The Winnipeg event will also be shown live on pay-per-view.

Wright says the largest ever event was UFC 129 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto in 2011, which drew more than 55,000 in person and generated more than $35 million in economic benefit. It brought in more than $11 million in gate revenue alone.

An event like that planned for Winnipeg can generate $10 million in economic benefit, he said, adding that it has many similarities to hosting a Grey Cup. ■

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44 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

Rediscovering Baguio

BY LINGLING MARANAN-CLAVER WHEN the world was younger (and so was I), Baguio or just the thought of this city in the northern highlands of the Philippines, made my eyes well with saltwater, to paraphrase a line in a Julian Lennon song. The sight of puffy clouds and tangerine sky above golden pine trees and seemingly distant mountains stirred an intense emotion of ecstatic joy. Foggy, rainy days were lovely too, that were spent with friends huddled in one of the several folk houses to swap stories, nurse bottles of beer, and listen to a Gordon Lightfoot or a Neil Young cover. Baguio then was a small city of a few thousand people. Its residents knew each other by name and face, if not by heart.

Like other old-time residents of Baguio, my young family and I left the city for some bigger cities. I was gone for several years and upon returning to this city of my childhood, I found that Baguio is a changed place. Almost 400,000 people call this city home now. What seemed to be unreachable mountains then now gleam with rooftops and glass panes. Our Muslim brothers and sisters from strife-torn Mindanao, retired expatriates, and migrants from other provinces converge in this mountain city in search of a home, a job, a cool place to study in, or all of these. Baguio has truly taken on the daily rhythm of a commercial and educational hub. Along its downtown streets, one is always astonished to see a sea of faces.

And so, like a lover rekindling the passion for an old romance, I searched for the old charms of Baguio and discovered new ones instead, in this ever evolving city.

Truly, Baguio has become a foodie’s paradise. Its streets are crammed with eating places, from the high brow to the easiest on the pockets. Roadside carinderia and tuno tuno or barbecue stalls are as patronized as restaurants like artsy Café by the Ruins. This 20-year-old institution in Baguio built around the ruined abode of the last governor-general, serves pinikpikan, a savory Cordillera soup of chicken seared in an open flame and etag, which is salted pork.

The restaurant and bakery also functions as an exhibit place for artworks by local artists. Hill Station is a classy restaurant located in the old Vallejo Hotel, which a heritage is building in the city. The restaurant was just recently named one of Asia’s best and has its innovative menu to prove it. Beside the restaurant is Mt. Cloud Bookshop where one could while away the hours, leafing through a delectable selection of Filipiniana books, or catch one of the bookshop-sponsored poetry slams participated in

by Baguio’s brilliant wordsmiths. A floor below is the Cinematheque, which screens independent local films by maverick filmmakers as well as foreign titles.

Walk down Session Road which is the city’s famous promenade and you will find a selection of vegetarian, Filipino, fast-food, Asian, and continental cuisine. Azotea Greens serves light and healthy fare, such as mushroom sisig. For the truly adventurous and not so queasy, there is Comiles Restaurant near the Dangwa bus station that serves adobo or deep fried dog meat.

The Ketchup Community is a one- stop food place where one can have a Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian or

Friends relax at Happy Tummy, a Thai restaurant at the Ketchup Community

Food

A colourful display of goods at the old Baguio market

Jay Catalan of Tulayan-Vancouver strolls the strawberry and vegetable fields of La Trinidad

ght Park urful horses at the Wri

Pony boys and their colo

Pesticide-free farm produce at the Baguio market

An assortment of native wines, jams and honey at the old Baguio market

A farmer checks on his strawberries at the farm in La Trinidad

Pinoy meal, after an hour of horseback riding at Wright Park, just across the street.

For people fond of organic and local products, there is La Top store at the Baguio market which carries certified organic products from the nearby farms and cooperatives of Benguet. There are bottles of wild or cultured honey, fruit wines made from strawberry, bugnay, and blueberry, and tapuy which is fermented rice wine that can be had for as low as P100.00 a bottle.

Similar products can be had at the church-run organic store a few steps from the Baguio Cathedral. Sr. Bernadette will gladly assist you with the variety of packed indigenous rice, upland tea, and premium Cordillera coffee that they sell. Along Brent Road is the Cordillera Fair Trade Store where one could find organic local bath soaps, shampoo, massage oils and accessories made of recycled materials.

In a city struggling to conserve its green spaces or what is left of it, the Orchidarium just behind Burnham Park is a quiet green space to delight the weary traveler. Here, one can take a leisurely walk among the potted herbs and tropical plants or gaze at and admire the robust orchids, bleeding hearts, and anthuriums.

For a breathtaking panoramic view of the city, one can hike, bike, or drive up to Mt. Kabuyao, that mountain with

Weaving a Bontoc tribe design at the Easter Weaving room

the 2 radars that are visible from many points of the city.

By car, it is a mere 20- minute scenic drive up a winding cemented road. Reaching the top, one is rewarded with a view of Benguet’s mountain ranges and of the China Sea on the opposite side. According to Ric Maniquis, one of Baguio’s finest photographers, the best time to go up to Mt. Kabuyao is at the break of dawn when the city lights twinkle through the early morning fog. Here, sunrise is almost always glorious. A side trip when one drives up here is a visit to the Kerobbee Farm, a honeybee and vegetable organic farm that conducts a tour for ten people or more. If one has time to spare, one could join their intensive twoday seminar on sustainable farming.

A few minutes’ drive from Baguio is La Trinidad where vegetables, cut flowers and strawberries are farmed. The More on page 45

Travel

45 FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013

...from page 44 strawberry fields have become a popular destination especially in the colder months when the fruits abound. One can grab a basket and pick strawberries to be weighed and paid for. On the farm’s entrance, you will be enticed to try the taho or soft soya sweetened with stewed strawberries then topped with sago pearls. Or you can cool down with scoops of churned strawberry ice cream.

Baguio has always been popular for its artisanal handicrafts—carved wood and woven textiles that are made in the city or brought in from nearby provinces. The Baguio market remains the favourite ground for souvenir and bargain hunters. Durable cotton rugs, tapestries, knitted sweaters and toques, hardwood furniture both old and new, cool cotton Iloko blankets, sets of gangsa or brass gongs, handcrafted local silver jewellery, hand embroidered jusi and pina Filipiniana dresses—one could find all these and more in the wonderful place that is the old Baguio market.

If one wishes to see how Cordillera indigenous woven materials are made, the Easter Weaving Room is an excellent place to visit. Established in 1908, EWR ‘s basement is where one finds about 20 looms worked by Cordillera women who weave the colourful tapis ( wraparound skirt), wakes (belts), and blankets of the different Cordillera tribes. A similar shop is Narda’s. Started in 1970 by Narda Capuyan, Narda’s has won several national awards for its revival of the Cordillera ikat

tradition. Threads are tied and dyed in vibrant colours before being woven and fashioned into contemporary apparel and accessories. Narda’s tapestries made of eco-fiber, shells, and leather are like no other, in design and craftsmanship.

If people in the First World are wondering where the previous seasons’ great fashion finds are, they should scour the streets of Baguio. Ukay is what’s called used or unsold clothes that reach the country’s shores and are sold at dirt cheap prices.

Baguio has become one big flea market where residents and tourists find thrill in rummaging through the piles of clothes, shoes, and bags and finding something to make that one big fashion statement.

As I write this piece, Baguio is abuzz with the Panagbenga festivities.

Panagbenga which is a Kankana-ey word that means a season of blossoming, is the annual Flower Festival of the city that is held every February to the early parts of March. Within the month-long celebration, one can witness street dancing, a marching band competition, landscape exhibit and competition, a trade fair, a parade of floats decked in flowers that calls to mind the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. If one is in the mood for some horseplay, Gymkhana is a 2-day event during the Panagbenga, when hundreds of men and women, some attired in their cowboy best come out to compete in equestrian games. Also around this time of the year is the holding of the Baguio Music Festival that is running on its third year now. The public is treated to several

...from page 46

FLCs aims to educate our overseas Filipinos, as well as their beneficiaries on how to utilize remittances in order to increase savings and how to direct the funds to investments such as business ventures. To date, at least 52 campaigns have been held benefitting more than six thousand overseas Filipinos and their families.

The FLC program has also been staged in other countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Another initiative is the PhilPaSS REMIT System.

Launched in 2010, this innovative remittance system has been successful in minimizing the remittance costs of Filipinos abroad, providing a safer and faster credit to the accounts of beneficiaries, as well as providing an efficient feedback mechanism in informing the remitter of the status of the remittance.

Given the success of this initiative, the Philippines has urged ASEAN to develop an ASEAN-wide system for migrant workers which could also be complemented with financial planning education for migrant workers to maximize their savings and investment options.

The protection of the human rights of our overseas Filipinos is also of utmost importance especially visà-vis combating trafficking in persons. As a starting point, the Philippines convened the 1st ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) National Consultation Meeting on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) from a Human Rights Perspective in September 2012. This consultation has gathered government experts, civil society organizations and representatives from foreign missions to brainstorm

days of open air free concerts featuring music of various genres such as classical, folk, rock, country, pop and jazz. As much as being a celebration of local musical talents, the festival shows to what purpose Baguio could dedicate its remaining open spaces.

Although Baguio does not have a major festival devoted to the arts, the city has several venues that hold permanent and scheduled art exhibits all year round.

Two of the major venues are the Bencab Museum and Tam-awan Village. The Bencab Museum along Asin Road houses the works of national artist for visual arts, Benedicto Cabrera. The Museum also has an extensive collection of indigenous Cordillera arts and crafts that

on the best practices in implementing a rights-based approach in addressing the issue of trafficking in persons.

The Philippines is bringing this initiative to the regional level through the Regional Workshop on Trafficking in Persons: From a Human Rights Perspective which is slated in July 2013.

As the Lead Shepherd of the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) Working Group on Trafficking in Persons, the Philippines, together with Indonesia, has also been working on the finalization of the ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP). The ACTIP aims to provide a framework for regional cooperation to counter, prevent and suppress trafficking in persons, particularly paying attention to women and children.

To further intensify efforts towards promoting and protecting the rights of migrant workers in the Philippines and in the region, the Philippines adopted a new Qualification Framework which contains sets of training regulations for Filipinos that prescribe competency standards for various qualifications. The Qualification Framework is targeted to align with international qualifications framework to support the national and international mobility of Filipino workers through increased recognition of the value and comparability of Philippine qualifications with those of other countries.

The Philippines also ratified in August 2012 the International Labour Convention No. 189 on decent work for household service workers (HSWs). The Philippines is the first Asian country to commit itself to the respect and implementation of the new ILO

are representative of the region’s material culture, and a Gallery devoted to works of erotica. Tam-awan Village is an artists’ haven where one can lodge in one of the huts and join workshops on solar drawing ,bamboo carving, print making, wood carving, and painting that are conducted

by Tam-awan’s group of accomplished artists. Now, if only somebody could work on reviving the defunct Baguio Summer Arts Festival.

But with or without a festival, Baguio truly has enough attractions to entice anyone to stay for a day or two or even for good. ■ The writer operates Frangeli House, a bed and breakfast, events place in Baguio.

labor standard that was adopted at the International Labour Conference in Geneva on 16 June 2011. This historic document is one big step in our fight against discrimination and abuses of HSWs. I would also like to stress the importance of reintegration programs for our overseas Filipino workers. One of these is the Php 2 Billion OFW Reintegration Program Fund. From June 2011 to August 2012, 410 loan applications of 432 OFW beneficiaries were approved, amounting to P 261.71 million.

The “Balik Pinay! Balik Hanapbuhay!” Program is also another initiative wherein beneficiaries receive a package of entrepreneurial assistance in the form of training provided either by Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) or the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and a Php 10,000 capital to start a home-based business.

As exemplified by these programs, the Philippines has been a consistent pioneer in ensuring that overseas Filipinos are well taken care of and are a valuable part of the Philippine economy and society. The expertise and experience they bring back to the country can only be countered by equally excellent services and mechanisms that will ensure their welfare and protection.

I am confident that we will continue to work tirelessly through mutual cooperation and innovative actions to secure that the diaspora of Filipinos will continue to benefit the country and that we will maintain the stature of the Philippines as a staunch advocate of the rights of migrant workers in the world community.

Maraming Salamat! ■

Canada

FRIDAY MARCH 8, 2013 46

“Two Years Thereafter: The Best of the Philippine Diaspora” Closing Remarks of Secretary Albert F. Del Rosario at the Second Global Summit of Filipinos in Diaspora

27 FEBRUARY 2013, DUSIT THANI MANILA I wish to congratulate the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and its coorganizers, the Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC), the US Pinoys for Good Governance (USP4GG) and Youth Leaders in the Diaspora (YouLeaD) for successfully convening the Second Global Summit of Filipinos in Diaspora.

This initiative has been a milestone in championing the contributions and achievements of more than nine million overseas Filipinos.

The Philippine Government is actively engaging overseas Filipinos to participate and be involved in issues of national concern. As early as thirty (30) years ago, the Philippine government has recognized the potential of overseas Filipinos as partners of government towards national development, and has created the CFO with the mandate to provide services to overseas Filipinos. The CFO is the lead agency in creating and managing comprehensive, integrated programs in order to maximize the potential contributions of overseas Filipinos to the country’s development. In particular, the CFO has commenced the Diaspora to Development Initiative which has specific programs for overseas Filipinos.

Among these programs are the Business Advisory Circle, which assists overseas Filipinos set up business partnerships in the country, the Alay Dunong Program, which systematizes the skills and technology exchange between overseas Filipinos and the mother country, the Diaspora Investment, a program where new financial instruments are developed for overseas Filipinos to invest in, and Return and Reintegration, a program to assist returning overseas Filipinos to successfully reintegrate into local life. Other programs are the Diaspora Philantrophy, Balik-Turo Exchange Program, Global Legal Assistance Program, Medical Missions, and Arts and Culture Exchange (www.cfo.gov. ph). Our foreign service posts are partners of CFO in communicating with and mobilizing overseas Filipinos to participate in these programs.

In addition, Posts are taking a proactive approach to encourage overseas Filipinos to actively participate in the country’s overseas voting and dual citizenship program. Posts have been vigorously engaged in the recently concluded Overseas Absentee Voting Registrations (the total number of new OAV registrants for the 2013 elections reached 398,554, adding this figure to the stock total of 589,830 results in the

grand total of 988,384 2013 registrants), making almost a million of Filipinos abroad eligible to participate in the forthcoming National Elections. Posts are also promoting and processing applications for dual citizenship to enable natural-born Filipinos to retain or reacquire their Filipino citizenship and enable them to enjoy rights and privileges of Filipino citizens.

In line with the Third Pillar of Philippine Foreign Policy, the Philippine Government continues to prioritize the welfare and protect the rights of Filipinos abroad. In fact, the promotion of the interests and protection of the rights of overseas Filipinos has been an integral part of how the Department of Foreign Affairs conducts international relations, both at the bilateral and multilateral levels.

In cooperation with other government agencies and international organizations, the Department of Foreign Affairs has repatriated a total of 14,203 OFWs from areas affected by civil strife or natural disasters from 2011 up to the present. In particular a total of 3,457 Filipinos were repatriated from war-torn Syria, since the uprising began in 2011. Despite the ongoing crisis in Syria, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus continues its operations in order to evacuate the Filipinos who remain in the country and

ensure their safety and well-being.

Since 2006, 746 Filipinos who fell victims to piracy have been released and repatriated, through the joint efforts of our Embassies abroad, manning agencies, principals and other concerned government and non-government agencies.

In the past year, 122 Filipinos who were victims of human trafficking and illegal recruitment were assisted by the Department of Foreign Affairs through our Embassies and Consulates abroad.

Sworn statements obtained through the Foreign Service Posts have been forwarded to the appropriate government agencies in the Philippines for investigation, case buildup and filing of charges against the traffickers/recruiters.

In an effort to provide better legal assistance to overseas Filipinos, the Department is also revising the Guidelines for the Utilization of the Legal Assistance Fund.

In 2011, 129 OFWs were provided legal assistance from the Legal Assistance Fund, while 541 OFWs were assisted in 2012. With the revised guidelines, we hope to maximize the use of the Fund and improve the assistance extended to overseas Filipinos in enforcing and protecting their rights and obtaining redress for their injuries.

The Department continues to monitor death penalty cases of Filipinos abroad and to provide appropriate legal and consular assistance. In 2011, 28 OFWs with death penalty cases were assisted.

In 2012, there was a total of 130 OFWs with death penalty cases, and of these, 40 were subsequently commuted to life or fixed term imprisonment.

Needless to say, these are only some of the few things that we do. As the Philippines continues to prioritize the rights and welfare of our kababayans abroad, I would like to highlight several initiatives which the Philippines has pushed for in the national and regional level to empower our overseas Filipinos.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in partnership with our posts, has conducted financial learning campaigns or FLCs since 2006. The More on page 45

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