Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #32

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER VOL. 9 NO. 32

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

CANADA NEWS Helping Families in Need Act: In support of hardworking Canadian families (On page 21)

Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Gian Carlo Umahon (On page 25) Two-Man Art Show: Rod Pedralba & Leo Cunanan, Jr. (On page 26)

The Sound of Music

GRIG MONTEGRANDE

(On page 27)

A MOST AWAITED ARRIVAL Filipino- Mexican-American singing sensation Jessica Sanchez, 17, arrives in her mother’s homeland on Tuesday for a concert at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Deped sets new directions on teaching martial law era

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer EVERYONE, from President Aquino down to the most miserable of the victims of military rule, feels strongly that the teaching of the martial law period in the country’s history should be institutionalized.

But how to go about it is something that divides educators, historians, social activists, human rights advocates and lawmakers.

For Education Secretary Armin Luistro, students should not be told straight out that martial law was good or bad, they must make that decision for themselves.

In fact, he said this was the new direction that the Department of Education (DepEd) is adopting in teaching about that 14-year period when the dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial rule, taking for himself all the powers of the state and arresting and jailing everyone who opposed him and even those who he only thought were opposing him. There was the dreaded Preventive Detention Authority. According to Luistro, the DepEd is veering away from the current textbook-based approach where the students “imbibe the biases” of the historian that authored the book.

In this new method, Filipinos will have to make their own conclusions about martial law based on what they have read and researched even beyond the textbooks, he said.

“If you already teach judgment or interpretation, I don’t think that’s education,” Luistro said.

Beyond textbooks At present, the students, especially those in high school, where there is wider discussion of martial law, base their knowledge on what is in the textbook, he said.

In the new method he is espousing, students will be taught the facts about when, how and why Marcos proclaimed martial law. They will learn historical realities, what are the programs he implemented during the period, and the opposition to his rule.

But they will also be taught to look at other primary sources where they can dig More on page 5

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 2

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANUEL V. Pangilinan, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. chair, has had enough.

He threatened to leave the country after he was dragged into the feud between Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in connection with the dispute between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea. “Kung ako lang ( If it’s up to me), I’d pack up and go back to Hong Kong.

Ang gulo-gulo n’yo (you’re so unruly),” Pangilinan said in a phone interview late Wednesday night after being apprised of Trillanes’ charge that he was fanning Del Rosario’s anti-China stand as disclosed in the notes of former Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Sonia Brady.

Asked if he made the statement to let off some steam, Pangilinan was adamant: “You can print that. I’m really upset.”

Pangilinan was in Tokyo where he and the Philippine contingent of basketball officials suffered a big letdown when Fiba Asia picked Lebanon as host of next year’s Asia basketball championship.

Pangilinan is furious that Trillanes painted him and Del Rosario as rabblerousers of sorts against China just to protect his company’s business interest.

Recto Bank First Pacific has a controlling stake in Forum Energy, which owns a majority of Service Contract No. 72 covering the oil and gas find in Recto Bank off Palawan province, an area both claimed by the Philippines and China.

“I am no maverick. I have always placed the country’s interest above all else and SC 72 will not be different,” Pangilinan said.

CNOOC meet He came under fire for visiting China in May to meet officials of state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp.

(CNOOC) for a potential joint venture in Recto Bank.

Based on Brady’s notes, which Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile read on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Trillanes claimed that Pangilinan wanted to create an event to divert attention from Reed Bank because the gas find there was not substantial (contrary to Forum Energy’s claim that it contained the country’s largest gas deposit, a volume way bigger than Malampaya’s).

Pangilinan said that Forum Energy’s report on Recto Bank’s potential was based on estimates subject to further confirmation and that nowhere did it declare that this potential was “bible truth.”

“Mr. Pangilinan asked the Chinese group not to release findings because they needed time to recover their investment first and sell off to another buyer,” Enrile said, reading from the notes taken by Brady during one of her meetings with Trillanes in China.

Enrile defended Del Rosario and accused Trillanes of working for China. President Aquino earlier named Trillanes his back-channel negotiator working independently of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Pangilinan is managing director and chief of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Group, owned by the Salim family of Indonesia whom the former Bancom executive convinced to invest a substantial chunk of its money in the Philippines following the 1986 Edsa Revolution.

Conglomerate After initially going into drug distribution, packaging and real estate development, First Pacific is now in telecommunications, media (including the INQUIRER), mining, power, toll road, water supply, port operation, hospitals and oil exploration.

‘Preposterous’ Pangilinan said Trillanes’ allegations were preposterous because Forum Energy had yet to find a partner for SC 72 and CNOOC was only one of several options his group was considering.

He said neither CNOOC nor any other entity had full knowledge of the extent of the gas find, which was touted to be five times bigger than the Malampaya gas find and enough to serve the country’s natural gas demand for one century.

4 basic rules “We have four basic rules that we will follow in any commercial arrangement with China— any arrangement should not infringe on Philippine sovereignty; it should not violate Philippine laws and regulations; the commercial terms should be acceptable to both countries; and any contract should not be adversarial to the stand of the President. If we do not meet any of these rules, we will not enter into any contract,” he said.

Both Pangilinan and Del Rosario earlier argued that Trillanes’ claim did not make sense because a peaceful settlement with China would facilitate a potential deal with CNOOC. Trillanes’ request The businessman said Trillanes had paid him a visit and requested him to tell Del Rosario to “quiet down.”

Pangilinan said that while he heeded Trillanes’ request, he told the senator that he could not dictate on Del Rosario’s actions or words because they were only “friends.”

Pangilinan said that he still could not explain why Trillanes would now use that meeting as proof that he was in cahoots with Del Rosario in his antiChina thrust.

US lobby group The Brady notes also showed that Trillanes had accused Pangilinan of bankrolling a US lobby group to facilitate a “two plus two meeting” between Del Rosario and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presumably to sway the Americans into siding with the Philippines in its conflict with China over the West Philippine Sea. Pangilinan confirmed the report that he was part of a lobby group, the US-Philippine Society, which he said had noble goals to enhance relations between the two countries.

He said he was only one of several Filipino businessmen who joined an event of the group.

“I do not meddle with Del Rosario’s schedule and he does not meddle with mine,” he said. ■

Photo courtesy of dswd.gov.ph

MVP fumes, threatens to go back to HK: It’s a breeze for DSWD budget You’re so unruly

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE CONTROVERSY and interest over the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program of the government appears to be the waning, at least in the House of Representatives.

Yesterday, the House approved in just 10 minutes the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) P55.97 billion budget for 2013, which includes P44.25 billion for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (PPPP) or CCT program of the Aquino administration, its centerpiece antipoverty plan.

This was a marked difference from previous House debates on the DSWD budget, which used to take hours because of the numerous questions raised by lawmakers who believed the CCT funds would be put to better use elsewhere.

Under the CCT, poor families may receive up to P1,200 a month from the government provided they keep their children in school and the pregnant among them undergo regular checkups in public health centers.

In 2010, former President turned Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo spent hours questioning on the House floor the increase in the CCT budget for 2011, saying there were not enough classrooms and health centers to accommodate any more program beneficiaries.

Since then, however, the CCT program and its beneficiaries continued to expand, despite charges that some of those receiving benefits were not really poor.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman yesterday told reporters the speedy approval of the DSWD budget was a first and she attributed this to her department’s regular reporting about its programs to the lawmakers.

The department sends out monthly and quarterly reports on the CCT and the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services program, another government antipoverty measure. ■

News-Phils

3 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

2.8M Filipinos jobless; rate unchanged since 2011 THE LEVEL of unemployment in the Philippines remained the same in July as a year ago, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Unemployed Filipinos numbered 2.8 million in July, or a rate of 7 percent, the results of the July 2012 Labor Force Survey showed.

The NSO said the latest unemployment figure is almost the same as the 7.1 percent reported in the same month last year.

It said the July jobless rate was virtually unchanged from the 6.9 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

More than half, or 51.2 percent of unemployed Filipinos, were in 15-to-24 age group, which only validates the difficulty faced by fresh graduates looking for work, said Rene Ofreneo of the School of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of the Philippines.

A third, or 33.3 percent of the unemployed, were high school graduates, 13.9 percent were college undergraduates, and 19.2 percent were college graduates.

“The pattern of the labor force did not change. A major change will happen if there will be a major structural change in the economy like an industrial

shadow216 / Shutterstock.com

BY ANA G. ROA Philippine Daily Inquirer

transformation and an agricultural modernization,” Ofreneo said.

Metro Manila (National Capital Region) posted the highest unemployment rate at 9.9 percent while Cagayan Valley registered the lowest unemployment rate at 3.2 percent.

An estimated 37.6 million Filipinos were employed in July, against the 37.1 million recorded in the same month last year. But the number of Filipinos with jobs in July was fewer than the 37.8 million in April.

Emmanuel F. Esguerra, deputy director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), said the quality of employment deteriorated in the face of the higher underemployment rate of 22.7 percent in July, against 19 percent in the same month last year.

The number of underemployed persons in July 2012 was 8.54 million, against 7.1 million in the same month last year, or an increase of 1.45 million underemployed persons.

Employed persons who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours, are considered underemployed.

Most of the underemployed were working in the services sector (42.5 percent) and the agriculture sector (41.5 percent). The underemployed in the industry sector accounted for 16 percent.

“The high underemployment rate can be partly attributed to the bulk of the new labor force entrants, those aged 15 to 24 years old, who may be employed as casuals and receiving less than their reservation wage, owing to their lack of skills or inexperience,” Esguerra said.

“Moreover, the higher underemployment rate suggests that workers are not earning enough which makes them look for more work,” he added.

The Department of Labor and Employment said it was “seriously concerned” about the steady growth of the underemployed.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the increase occurred largely among wage and salary workers in private establishments where most of the employment expansion during the quarter materialized. ■

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P-Noy: I prefer to pick up the can

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

PRESIDENT Aquino, whose term won’t end until 2016, hopes that his successor is someone who doesn’t kick the can down the road but solves problems.

Speaking on integrity before the country’s CEOs, the President said his goal was to sustain growth and bequeath a country “that is better off than when we arrived” in 2010.

He said this entailed two difficult choices—the right way of doing things and taking a shortcut.

“I am faced with a choice: I can just kick the can down the road, and let the next set of leaders deal with this problem. After all, the politically prudent thing to do would be not to rattle the cage, not to make any noise about something that is, at the moment, not yet an issue,” the President said at the 2nd Integrity Summit at the Hotel InterContinental in Makati City.

But the President said he had a mindset different from typical politicians’.

“I prefer to pick up the can rather than kick it down the road. I’m here to solve problems, and I believe a person of integrity is also a person of foresight—he will not pass on a problem to someone else when he can solve it himself,” he said.

On his appearance for the second year in a row at the Integrity Summit, Mr. Aquino said he was looking forward to the next summit.

“And perhaps, God willing, I will still be around to witness the succeeding ones after I step down from office which will happen in three years and nine months,” he said, drawing laughter from his audience. “By then I hope there will be even more people who will recite the pledge of integrity and live up to it in their everyday actions.”

Then he also expressed this hope: “That whoever stands on this podium in the future will be a person of foresight; someone who definitely will not kick the can down the road; someone who will solve problems; someone who will fortify the culture of integrity that we are building now.”

The Integrity Summit was organized by the Integrity Initiative of the private sector that seeks to promote common ethical standards among various sectors. The initiative is led by the Makati Business Club and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

Culture of integrity In his speech, Mr. Aquino said the economy was responding to the culture of integrity that his administration had reestablished.

These reforms, he said, ranged from appointing good people to key posts, reforming the budget process and fostering transparency in bidding processes to urging private entities to engage more actively in nationbuilding through corporate social responsibility and clean, honest, efficient entrepreneurship.

“These are real, tangible reforms that have borne real, tangible results.

The economy is responding: We have garnered, so far, eight positive credit ratings actions, and two of the three major credit rating agencies rank us one notch away from investment grade,” he said.

“If achieved, this could open up Philippine bonds to a whole new set of buyers and possibly lead to even lower borrowing costs,” he added, citing the Philippines’ jump to the 65th rank in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, and the 5.9-percent growth of the gross domestic product in the second quarter.

These economic gains have been translated into programs and projects, the President said.

Social services up by 13.9% For instance, of the proposed P2trillion national budget, P698.8 billion has been allocated for social services, up by 13.9 percent from this year’s P613.4 billion.

Also in June this year, the government released P151.6 billion out of the P205.8 billion set aside for infrastructure, he said.

“The bottom line of our strategy is ensuring a level playing field: One that is stable, rules-based and whose outcomes are predictable,” he said.

“But the best-laid plans can be derailed when rules change and when decisions are based on whims, sometimes to serve the interests of but a few. This is what we have tried to change since we took over office; this is the rationale behind our agenda of integrity-based governance. We believe that a level playing field—in essence, a just society, built upon institutions that are fortified by the people’s trust—is the foundation of sustainable growth,” the President said.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 4

5 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

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...from page 1

up more information about what happened during that period, and which can include the disappearances or killings, Luistro said.

They will be taught to reflect about how all those events have shaped their lives and communities, he said.

In so doing, they can come to their own judgment of how martial law went, Luistro said.

He said not everyone would come to the same conclusion about martial law.

“History has a positive and negative aspect, and depending on where you stand, it will look positive or negative,” he said.

“So if we want to ask, ‘Was Marcos a great President?’ we will let the child arrive at that conclusion.”

Textbooks inadequate Historian Maria Serena Diokno, chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), also believes that children should be taught about the experiences of everyone, so that they could make their own judgments about martial law.

In fact, in fulfilling the NHCP’s new task of collecting and imparting martial law stories, the pronouncements that Marcos made in the government-controlled television stations should also be included, she said.

“I want children to learn about what he said and make their own reactions,” she said.

But Diokno said the textbooks in current use were inadequate for teaching martial law, which she said was partly the reason why there is a lack of understanding about it.

The textbooks are lacking in facts, filled with errors, and have a biased perspective, she said.

Teaching of atrocities Lawmakers from the Akbayan party-list group, however, want the government to use a more direct approach, by requiring the teaching of martial law “atrocities” in all school levels.

Akbayan’s main argument is that the cruelty of this dark chapter in the country’s history under Marcos has eluded the collective memory of Filipinos.

Akbayan House member Walden Bello disagrees with Luistro’s value-free approach, saying that teaching martial law “must have a point of view.”

“Truth can’t be separate from ethics,” he said, adding that there are universal standards of human rights that have to be considered as well.

Bello noted that in other countries, the teaching of fascism, the Nazi period and apartheid had a value judgment, and that these were considered dark periods.

Dictatorships are also regarded negatively in the world, he added.

There must be an overall judgment in teaching martial law, especially the

questions of dictatorship, corruption and economic development, he said.

The positive aspects of that period could be included in the lesson as well, he said.

The teaching of history should be nuanced and not simplistic, he added.

Academic freedom could still come into the picture because students should be free to dispute the teachings, Bello said.

For all school levels Akbayan has filed a House resolution asking the NHCP, the DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and the National Youth Commission to form a task force to draft the guidelines for the teaching in all school levels of the atrocities committed during martial rule under Marcos.

Without any official version of events, history may repeat itself, with dire consequences, it said.

“Democracy will again be threatened should the people fail to recognize the malevolent elements on which the Marcos dictatorship was founded,” read the resolution, filed by Akbayan lawmakers Bello and Kaka Bag-ao.

Accurately stressing the facts of martial law in all school levels was needed to inculcate the values of democracy among the youth, it said.

Unparalleled violations The CHR supports the Akbayan proposal.

CHR Chair Loretta Rosales said this would help promote and protect human rights in the country.

“The Marcos dictatorship was marked by unparalleled human rights violations.

No less than an institutional teaching of its history is needed to remind the people of the need to safeguard their rights against systemic abuses and to fend off attempts to curtail their rights in the future. Historical truth is a powerful weapon in this regard,” Rosales said.

According to Bello, the younger generation has not fully grasped the scope of the martial law period. Worse, some of them are even beginning to think that Marcos’ strongman rule may be what the country needs, he said.

“I must say that’s worrisome because young people don’t really know what happened and their sense is, there was this person who has a strong personality, and they sense this is the way to go instead of being tied up in what they consider to be the intricacies and difficulties of the democratic process,” Bello said.

Marcoses are back Another cause for worry is the short memories of Filipinos, he said. He noted that the Marcoses are back and in power, a fact that puzzles even people from the international community.

In its resolution, Akbayan pointed out that during martial law, records show that there were 3,257 murders, 35,000 torture incidents and 70,000 incarcerations. “[Marcos] practically destroyed all institutions of democracy and clamped [down on] people’s rights in order to install a new societal order founded on fear, repression and tyranny,” it said.

These events are in danger of being forgotten so that the government must do its part in perpetuating the truth through the mandatory teaching of martial law atrocities, Bello said.

“You have to organize the passing down of knowledge from one generation to another, and you cannot leave that to tradition, to the private sector or the individual. Since it was such a traumatic period in our history, it’s very important that it be transmitted in an organized fashion,” he said.

People are free to dissent with the official version of events, but what is important is that the subject be taught in school, Bello said.

Appreciation of freedoms The NHCP said it supported the Akbayan resolution. “I don’t see any problem with including it in the curriculum. The idea is to have a deeper discussion so that we will have an appreciation of our freedoms,” said Ferdinand Llanes, NHCP commissioner and University of the Philippines history professor.

“We need that because 40 years after the declaration of martial law, our youth are not aware of the human rights violations committed during that dark period of our history. There were 70,000 jailed, tortured and killed. How do you account for it?”

Llanes said.

He said highlighting the martial law regime would teach the youth “to appreciate our civil liberties like freedom of speech and assembly without fear that you will be arrested and tortured.”

Llanes said martial law gave birth to social ills that the government is still trying to resolve such as the high foreign debt and the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.

Rampant revisionism Max de Mesa of the Philippine Association of Human Rights Advocates (Pahra) said the need to teach the youth about martial law was all the more necessary because in the vast, free worldwide web, videos are circulating disputing certain events during the Marcos regime and downplaying the first Edsa People Power Revolution of 1986.

De Mesa said videos on YouTube, uploadedbyusersnamedPangulongMarcos and PinoyMonkeyPride, glorified the Marcoses and contended that the 1986 Edsa revolution was just a myth.

The video from PangulongMarcos also listed Marcos’ economic accomplishments,

and also implied that Marcos had no reason to order the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. It said the Edsa revolt was filled with “hakot (bused-in) crowds,” communists and just curious civilians, and the 2 million to 3 million Filipinos that attended it were just 2 percent of the population. It further claimed that the revolt was peaceful only because Marcos himself ordered the Marines not to attack, and that the media just mythified the revolution and demonized everything to do with Marcos.

The video from PinoyMonkeyPride also said the media, owned by oligarchs, just propagated the myth of people power and Cory magic so that the rich could stay in power.

The video also criticized the supposedly poor work habits of President Aquino.

De Mesa noted that the videos were well-produced and looked professionally made, with sleek graphics.

He said Pahra showed one of the videos to a group of students, presenting it without any context or commentary. It then sought the students’ comments. The general reaction from the latter was that Marcos appeared to be a good President based on the video, and the students even asked what all the fuss was about.

“That is what we saw as dangerous.

That was rewriting history. Those students were postmartial law babies,” he said.

He said his group later told the students about the other things that happened during martial law, particularly the human rights violations.

Forgetting the horrors De Mesa said Filipinos’ historical sense might not be as sharp or substantial yet, hence the tendency to forget the horrors of martial law.

At the same time, there are people whose main concern is survival and this may be why they fail to see the dark side of martial law that had a profound effect on the lives of many others, he added.

Others remember martial rule for the limited street crime, or the seemingly quiet surroundings.

De Mesa said what Pahra wanted was for the schools to teach a human rights subject, and include in the discussions the horrors that took place during the dictatorship.

He said this would not necessarily constitute bias against one administration, but would just be imparting to students a piece of Philippine history.

“If Marcos would say no one was tortured, and we’re able to produce evidence that it happened, this has to be looked into by the youth. They must find out what happened. Otherwise, they might be unwittingly be glossing over or contributing to the culture of impunity,” he said. ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 6

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BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer HE UNITED Nationalist Alliance (UNA) is now confident of dominating next year’s senatorial elections after a recent nationwide survey it commissioned showed it could win seven out of the 12 senatorial slots up for grabs.

Former President Joseph Estrada, a senior UNA leader, was upbeat over the results of the UNA-commissioned survey, which showed Senators Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero leading the race at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

“It just goes to show that we are strong, that UNA will dominate the next senatorial election,” Estrada said in a phone interview.

The survey results made available to the INQUIRER by an UNA official showed at least five other prospective UNA senatorial bets landing in the Magic 12: Rep. Jose Victor Ejercito (4th), Rep. Juan Ponce “Jack” Enrile Jr. (5th), Sen. Gregorio Honasan (6th), ex-Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri (9th), and Vice President Jejomar Binay’s daughter Nancy Binay (12th).

Erstwhile foes Former Sen. Richard Gordon, who has secured a slot in the UNA slate, was at 13th place. Estrada, Gordon’s erstwhile political foe, said he would “campaign hard” to

ensure Gordon’s victory in May next year.

Also in the Magic 12 were Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (3rd), Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV (7th). Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III (8th), and Reps. Cynthia Villar and Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara tied at 10th to 11th places.

These five possible candidates are identified with the administration.

President Aquino’s Liberal Party is still in talks with the Nacionalista Party (NP) and the Nationalist People’s Coalition for a possible coalition.

But Estrada belittled the emerging coalition, especially the inclusion of NP. “Kumakain ng alikabok ang NP (NP is eating dust),” he said, in apparent reference to the 2010 presidential election where he placed second and beat Sen. Manuel Villar, the NP standard bearer.

Similar results The UNA-commissioned survey was conducted shortly before the Pulse Asia survey, which also showed seven prospective UNA candidates landing in the Magic 12.

Estrada said the number would have been eight if Pimentel did not bolt UNA and join the administration slate.

Curiously in the survey, Ejercito adopted his father’s screen name “Estrada.” The elder Estrada said he had asked his son to

gmaresign | Flickr Creative Commons

Erap gloats: UNA foes ‘eating dust’ in surveys

do so to boost his chances of winning in the senatorial race.

“I told him to use Estrada instead of Ejercito,” he said. “More or less, that’s the reason why he’s improving in the surveys.”

Rep. Tobias Tiangco, UNA secretary general, welcomed the positive results for UNA candidates. But with the elections still eight months away, he said “we should sustain our campaign and continue performing well.”

Estrada said UNA had so far filled up 10 of the 12 slots in its senatorial slate.

According to Estrada, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia might drop out of

the senatorial race because of the graft charges filed recently against her in connection with a controversial land purchase in Naga City. “It’s a possibility,” he said.

Like Garcia, who was 25th to 26th in UNA survey, other prospective UNA bets still had work to do.

Jose “Joey” De Venecia III was at 17th to 18th place, while former Sen. Ernesto Maceda was at 21st to 22nd, Rep. Milagros Magsaysay at 24th, Grace Poe Llamanzares at 27th to 28th, and Valenzuela Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian at 30th. ■

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 8

“I helped defuse tension in Panatag”

BY CATHY C. YAMSUAN AND MICHAEL LIM UBAC Philippine Daily Inquirer Photo courtesy of Buck Pago | Flickr.com

“I DID not inject myself here. My work began in May and finished in July but you never heard a word from me about it. I have kept my peace.”

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV yesterday said Malacañang appointed him as a “special envoy” to dialogue with Chinese officials to ease tensions between Manila and Beijing and that he held more than a dozen meetings with them, half in China and the rest in Manila.

Trillanes disputed claims by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario that his efforts were not helping the country.

He said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa asked him in May whether he “would like to help” at the height of tensions between Manila and Beijing following an attempt by the Philippine Coast Guard to confiscate endangered marine life that Chinese fishermen took in Panatag Shoal in April.

“I had just made an official visit (to China) last year. I was able to… make some contacts. I said ‘yes’… I told (Ochoa) that I needed authorization from the President,” Trillanes said.

He denied a claim by presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda that he had offered to mediate.

waters. And Philippine exports are now accepted in China,” he added.

But after helping defuse tension in Panatag Shoal, Trillanes was confronted with a complaint from Del Rosario that the senator was “doing more harm than good.”

“Let me be very clear, I don’t have any disagreements with Secretary Del Rosario.

The President ... is still the sole source of foreign policy in this country,” he said.

“I was just tasked to help deescalate the tension in (Panatag) last May. Our currently improved situation is a result of the collective effort of all involved and all this time it was the President who was calling the shots.”

8 different channels “The opportunity just presented itself during my conversation with the Executive Secretary,” Trillanes maintained.

The senator said he had eight contacts in China, describing them as “people in different channels.” He did not elaborate.

He said he worked with a Chinese special envoy as well.

“The situation then was already very tense.

There were 80 to 100 ships in (Panatag Shoal) and the President used back channel as a policy tool, as an option to resolve that issue.”

“I am happy to say it was successful in deescalating situation. There are now only three ships but practically in international

Meeting Chinese 16 times The senator insisted that tension in Panatag was diffused without giving any concessions to China.

“Our exclusive economic zone is still observed. (Panatag) is still there. And there are no Chinese installations in the area.

We did not give them anything and I don’t think we did them a favor. It was really just goodwill created during those (talks) that led to this,” he noted.

In a separate interview with the INQUIRER, Trillanes said he met with Chinese emissaries 16 times after an initial discussion in Hong Kong.

The senator denied that his authorization lapsed two months ago, saying the Palace

even asked him to find ways to re-establish contact with Chinese President Hu Jintao following a failed meeting with Mr. Aquino in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 9.

“I’ve asked permission (from the President) to stop (negotiating),” said Trillanes, but was told by an unnamed Palace official: “If you’re still willing, please continue talking with them.”

Tensions eased According to the senator, China became angry at Manila following the failure of the two leaders to meet.

Malacañang had said that the meeting, which was sought by Hu, did not push through because of “scheduling problems.”

“Let’s stick to the story,” said Trillanes, insisting that his behind-the-scenes efforts resulted in the deescalation of tensions in the West Philippine Sea. “There are only three ships left from about 80 to 100 ships, but they are already in international waters. The ships have left Scarborough Shoal. That’s the situation now.

There has been a huge improvement (of the stability in the area),” he said.

Told that Malacañang had issued a gag order enjoining them from further commenting on the issue, he said: “(As a senator), he can’t order me to shut up, but Del Rosario can do so,” he said. ■

9 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 10

US grant to help fight extrajudicial New UP tuition scheme assailed

BY MARICAR CINCO million and above) P1,500; Bracket B killings, drug trade Inquirer Southern Luzon (P500,001P1 million)-P1,000; Bracket

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE UNITED States has handed to the Philippines a $584,000 (P25 million) funding to boost cooperation to quell drug trafficking and stop extrajudicial killings, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. signed agreements on narcotics control and law enforcement at the DFA main office yesterday afternoon stipulating the grant, which aims to enhance capabilities of antidrug agencies and investigators handling extrajudicial slays.

The partnership on counternarcotics interdiction and law enforcement support signifies strong US support “to promote human rights and the rule of law in the Philippines,” Del Rosario said in a statement.

“Secretary Del Rosario hailed the signing as “a testament to the broad range of cooperation between

the Philippines and the US” which could not have come at a better time, “especially as drug trafficking has also targeted and victimized many OFWs,” the DFA said.

Thomas, meanwhile, reiterated America’s commitment to help the Philippines quell transnational crimes and uphold human rights. “[The US] is committed to facing the challenges posed by transnational drug trafficking with the Philippines and continue to be the Philippines’ partner in the protection of human rights and bringing perpetrators of EJKs (extra-judicial killings) to justice,” the DFA quoted Thomas as saying.

The funding support will sustain efforts of Philippine agencies for two years, said the DFA. The US has been among the foremost supporters of Philippine anticrime efforts, most importantly programs to arrest drug trafficking, transnational crimes, terrorism, human trafficking and human rights violations. ■

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—At the University of the Philippines, “Everyone [will be considered] rich until proven poor,” according to UP Los Baños student council chair Ynik Ante.

Ante and 50 other UPLB students on Wednesday protested a new scheme that would determine if students are qualified for subsidies, a day before Thursday’s regular meeting of UP’s Board of Regents (BOR), the highest policymaking body of UP. The UP BOR yesterday approved a new Socialized Tuition and Financial Assistance Program (STFAP) scheme, which, the students say is a form of tuition increase.

UP Student Regent Cleve Arguelles said the BOR, in a vote of 6-2, approved the new scheme, which automatically places all students in bracket A of the Alphabetic Bracketing Scheme (ABS) with a corresponding tuition of P1,500 per unit.

Since 2006, UP has been implementing the ABS, in which students, depending on their families’ annual income, are categorized into brackets with corresponding fees and benefits.

The tuition rate per unit goes like this for the UP Diliman, Los Baños, Manila campuses: Bracket A (annual family income of P1

C (P135,001-P500,000) P600; Bracket D (P80,001 to P135,000) P300 and Bracket E (up to P80,001) free tuition.

For regional campuses in Baguio, Mindanao, San Fernando and Visayas: Bracket AP1,000; Bracket B-P600; Bracket C-P400; Bracket D-P200 and Bracket E-free tuition.

“The new scheme automatically moves the students up to bracket A from the present default bracket which is B. If you wish to stay in bracket B, you’d have to apply for it,” Arguelles said.

At present, UPLB, UP Manila and UP Diliman students are automatically charged P1,000 per unit when they enroll, unless they apply for a lower bracket.

By next semester, however, the per unit fee will be automatically pegged at P1,500 unless a student applies for a lower bracket.

To apply for a lower bracket, students will be required to submit their parents’ income tax returns, a vicinity map of their house and the STFAP application form.

Arguelles said the new scheme, which “in essence is a system-wide tuition increase,” would be implemented next semester in all UP campuses.

“If they could just imagine the long queue of students applying for the (lower brackets of the) STFAP,” Ante said. ■

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11 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

News-Phils

Palace allays mining industry fears

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

MALACAÑANG yesterday assured the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) that the group’s concerns about the implementing rules and regulations of the administration’s mining policy would be looked into without the need to go to court.

“What I can say is that we will study it and we will look into it and if there are reasons for us to… If there are ways that we can address it, then we will,” Strategic Communication Secretary Ricky Carandang said in the face of COMP’s threat to question a section of the IRR of Executive Order No. 79.

EO 79 defines the administration’s mining policy reforms.

Carandang hoped that the COMP’s concerns could be resolved by the government without them having to go to court to question Sec. 8 of the IRR. “I don’t think anybody wants to see this issue litigated. The best way for it to move forward and the quickest way possible is to avoid litigation.

And so that’s not the desired course

“We’re looking at the concerns that have been raised and I believe they can be addressed,” he said. “The MICC is concerned that the IRR, of course, be in compliance with the law. And if there is a serious question about that, then we will certainly consider those serious questions.”

Carandang said there was no need for the entire MICC to meet with the COMP. law raising royalties on the sector from two percent to five percent.

Carandang said the government was aware of the COMP’s concerns, and was now discussing these with the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) to determine whether these “may have some basis.”

“The reason why investments have not come into mining—and I’ve said this before—is because the rules for so long have been uncertain and the policies have been uncertain. What we did with the EO 79 was to try to create a set of general principles and rules under which we will allow mining to occur,” he said.

Mining moratorium The Secretary, however, could not The IRR extended the ban on new mining permits until Congress passed a say if the IRR would be modified. that we want to take,” he said in a Malacañang briefing.

COMP president Philip Romualdez said it was preparing a “legal action” against Section 9 of the IRR that he was “patently illegal.”

The provision imposes a bidding scheme in the renewal of mining contracts after the first 25 years of a tenement.

Mining projects are effective for 50 years.

President Aquino issued EO 79 in July in a bid to boost revenues from the mining sector while increasing environmental safeguards.

Lines are open “I think the Chamber of Mines has been appraised by members of the MICC and I think the lines of communication remain open. So I don’t see any need for the MICC as a whole to meet with the Chamber of Mines at this point. Give us time to look over the concerns that they have expressed and we will do what we can to address them,” he said.

The IRR, Carandang stressed, was intended to refine the rules under which E0 79 would be “operationalized.”

Carandang expressed confidence that once the issues were ironed out, “We believe that we will have a clear set of rules with little ambiguity that will encourage mining companies to come in.” ■

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 12

‘LP-NP union still on despite Trillanes’

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA AND NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

SEN. ANTONIO Trillanes’ attack on a member of President Aquino’s official family, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, will not necessarily jeopardize the ruling Liberal Party’s (LP) planned coalition with the Nacionalista Party (NP), a senior party official said.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II described as an “isolated incident” Trillanes’ quarrel with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Del Rosario, who is the government’s point man in diplomatic efforts to resolve an ongoing territorial dispute with China.

Gonzales said he did not think it would cause a breakup of the planned coalition between the LP and the NP.

“We should rise above what happened in the Senate. We are trying to form a united ticket as much as possible,” he said.

Gonzales is in the LP panel that is negotiating the party’s coalition with the NP and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) for the 2013 midterm elections.

Put into question The inclusion of Trillanes, a relatively new NP member, in the administration’s senatorial ticket has been put into question after he criticized Del Rosario over the latter’s handling of the Philippines’ dispute with China over portions of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Enrile had a very public spat with Trillanes, whom he accused of pushing China’s position in backdoor negotiations apparently authorized by the President.

It’s up to NP Whether Trillanes remains in the administration ticket will depend on the NP, Gonzales said.

“That’s for [the] NP to decide,” he said, noting that the NP was allotted three slots in the coalition slate.

Besides Trillanes, the two other slots are for Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Cynthia Villar, former Las Piñas representative and the wife of Sen. Manuel Villar, the NP leader.

The LP is still in the process of completing the administration lineup, especially given the presence of “common” candidates who will also be running under the rival ticket of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Three of these candidates are affiliated with the NPC—Senators Francis Escudero and Loren Legarda and Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile.

Gonzales said Escudero would “likely” be included in the administration slate. He said the LP was still waiting for word from Legarda, whom UNA officials earlier announced had “committed” to run under its banner.

In the case of Jack Enrile, Gonzales said the President was leaving the decision up to the Cagayan congressman and his father, the Senate President.

“President Aquino doesn’t want to influence, in one way or another, the decision of Jack. It will be up to Jack and his father,” he said.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, the Senate president pro tempore, has said he is willing to help patch things up between the Senate President and Trillanes, after the rancor between the two lawmakers had died down.

“Of course the wounds are still fresh and the situation is still rather hot. Perhaps, we should let a few days pass,” Estrada said.

‘Benjamin’ attacked oldest Estrada said he was “rather hurt” when Trillanes, whom he called the “Benjamin” of the Senate, attacked Enrile, the chamber’s oldest member.

“All his grievances, all his accusations against Senate President Enrile are totally untrue. He said that the bills, especially the one dividing Camarines Sur into two provinces, were being railroaded. That’s totally untrue,” said Estrada, who called himself a close friend and ally of Enrile.

“We are all called honorable gentlemen and I am still hoping they can patch up their differences,” he said.

Trillanes accused Enrile of being a lackey of former President Gloria MacapagalArroyo for allegedly pushing for the bill that would divide Camarines Sur and create the new province of Nueva Camarines.

No sanctions seen Enrile, who denied the accusation, countered by accusing Trillanes of working for China’s interests while engaging in backroom negotiations with his Chinese contacts in Beijing.

But Estrada does not expect sanctions to be imposed on Trillanes.

“First of all, there should be a member of the Senate who should file a complaint against him. But I don’t really think there will be a senator who will file a complaint against him in the ethics committee,” he said. ■

News-Phils Mar gets CA nod quickly, thanks to Miriam’s high IQ

13 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

IT’S HER high IQ, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that allowed her to remove the stumbling block to the confirmation of Manuel Roxas II as secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“Mr. President, my high intelligence quotient dictates that I should reconsider and therefore withdraw my motion,” Santiago said yesterday to the applause of her colleagues from both Houses of Congress and of those in the gallery.

Less than a minute after using her power to deny in the Commission on Appointments the confirmation of Roxas, Santiago, with a buss on Roxas’ cheek, took back her veto, allowing the commission to approve the new home affairs secretary.

Santiago, who earlier bashed Malacañang for supposedly keeping Cabinet secretaries from attending her inquiry last week into issues surrounding former Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno, told reporters afterward that she was thinking of reconsidering her objection all along.

Close to Korina “We’re quite close to each other.

Even his wife [broadcaster Korina Sanchez] is very close to me,” Santiago told reporters after the commission confirmed the appointments of both Roxas and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

“So, he ( Roxas) does not deserve that kind of treatment in which, as I said, he has become collateral damage.

He’s innocent but he gets whacked in the head because I’m conducting some other battle,” Santiago said.

After Roxas’ confirmation, Santiago joined those who seconded the approval of the appointment of Abaya as Roxas’ replacement as secretary of transportation and communication.

The commission also confirmed the promotion of 106 military officers to colonel or lieutenant general.

Lineage During the proceedings, commission members adverted to the lineage of Roxas and Abaya, who are both descendants of former Philippine Presidents—Manuel Roxas for the new interior secretary and Emilio Aguinaldo for the new transportation chief.

Malacañang thanked Santiago for withdrawing her objection to the appointment of Roxas.

Coalition for the ICC | Flickr Creative Commons

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

“We are very happy that Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has placed national interest above her concerns on the snubbing of Secretary Mar Roxas.

And, for that, we thank Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago for her magnanimous gesture,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said at a Palace briefing.

Lacierda said Roxas was wise enough to recognize Santiago’s right to block his nomination. “He (Roxas) was leaving it up to the Commission on Appointments to decide,” he said.

Santiago said she studied the commission’s rules that provided that a nominee who gets vetoed may not be the subject of a motion for reconsideration by commission members if the objection happened at the committee level.

An appeal could be made, however, in his or her behalf if made in the plenary.

“A motion for reconsideration was allowed, so I was already ready,” Santiago said, referring to the proceedings in the plenary.

“On a motion for reconsideration I’ll just ask what the damage would have been to public service. Secretary Roxas said immediately there’d be none because he can be appointed [by the President] on Saturday,” she added.

Santiago said not much would have come out of her veto of Roxas’ appointment because Congress was already about to go on recess.

“It would’ve amounted to nothing because as early as Saturday, under the rules of the Constitution, the President can then issue him an ad interim appointment and then he could take office immediately,” the senator said.

Driving home message Santiago said she only wanted to drive home the message that Malacañang should not get in the way of a Senate inquiry. “[As] a senator, I consider myself deeply insulted by the reaction of Malacañang in deciding collectively among the Cabinet that they would snub my committee hearing on a former DILG undersecretary,” Santiago said in raising her objection against Roxas’ appointment.

“I now want to stand by the principle that the executive branch of the government cannot effectively prevent the legislative branch of the government from holding any inquiry in aid of legislation, a constitutionally protected power, simply by agreeing among themselves that they will not show up,” she added.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, chair of the Commission on Appointments’ committee on interior and local government, and who sponsored Roxas’ appointment in the plenary, then rose to ask that the proceedings be suspended.

Upon the suspension of session, Sotto approached an already smiling Santiago and the two of them talked with Roxas, who was just a few feet away.

Roxas gave Santigao a buss on the cheek and a few seconds later, the session resumed.

Appeal to ‘graciousness’ “I would like to appeal to the graciousness of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. May I move or ask that the invocation of Section 20 be withdrawn,” Sotto said. [A member of the commission can invoke Section 20 and block the appointment of a nominee.]

“It’s up to the member to make a decision on that part,” said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, ex-officio chair of the commission.

Asked by reporters later if she would still invoke Section 20 against Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, two other secretaries that she invited to her hearing but who also didn’t show up, Santiago said with a laugh, “Let me think.” ■

Opinion

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 14

THERE’S THE RUB

Personal revenge

BY CONRADO DE QUIROS Philippine Daily Inquirer P-NOY said some very interesting things on the 40th anniversary of martial law last Friday.

Visiting Fort Magsaysay where his father, Ninoy, and Jose “Ka Pepe” Diokno were detained during martial law, he said (translated into English from Tagalog): “You can probably imagine how much I wanted to take revenge on those who oppressed my father and our nation.”

In time, however, his anger ebbed at the thought of the beacon of light his father and Ka Pepe became “in that dark chapter of our history when our freedom was taken, our rights were trampled on, and we were thrown into the pit of misery.” Through their efforts and those of countless Filipinos whose sacrifices contributed to the dawning of a new day, we have put a distance between us and those times. He himself, P-Noy said, was giving special importance to human rights, the better to transform the military, then an instrument of torture and terror, into a true protector of the people. In the end, our destiny lies in our hands. “Together, we can shape the course of our history by directing our efforts toward the right path.”

When I heard this, I remembered a song sung by Jackson Browne called “My Personal Revenge.” The following gives you an idea of how it goes: “My personal revenge will be the right /Of our children in the schools and in the gardens /

My personal revenge will be to give you /This song which has flourished without panic /My personal revenge will be to show you “The kindness in the eyes of my people /Who have always fought relentlessly in battle /And been generous and firm in victory.

“My personal revenge will be to tell you good morning /On a street without beggars or homeless…” And so on.

This is in fact the translation of a poem

by Tomas Borge, one of the founders of the Sandinistas, and who held various positions in government, among them minister of the interior, after the Sandinistas swept into power in Nicaragua.

I’ve always loved this poem/song because of the tremendous insight it gives, from the perspective of one who has suffered grievously, on how to wreak the completest revenge on one’s oppressor. That is not by doing to him what he did to you but by doing to him just the opposite.

Or more to the point, by building a world that is the opposite of what he made. Instead of fetters, freedom. Instead of terror, peace of mind.

Instead of lying, cheating, stealing and killing, an order dedicated to realizing the national, and human, potential. And making the world—and him—see it.

That is the complete refutation of an oppressive rule. Borge’s concept of “personal revenge” is richly ironic. In one sense it is personally gratifying, in another it is also collectively satisfying: It is not just one person’s revenge, it is all of the people’s too. In one sense

it is getting back at someone who has done a colossal wrong, in another it goes beyond it to righting colossal wrongs. It gives whole new windows to personal revenges.

Without articulating it that way, P-Noy seems to share in its spirit.

Doing the opposite of what the oppressor did does not of course mean letting him and his co-conspirators get away scot-free in the name of spurious reconciliation. It means punishing them in the name of true reconciliation, which is reconciling with the oppressed, who are the people. P-Noy came a little too late to do something about the Marcoses but he didn’t come too late to do something about the oppressor that came immediately before him.

His resolve in making her and her cabal pay for their sins is impressive, and you wonder how he would have done had he been the one to come after Marcos. Well, he can still do something about them. Better late than never.

But more than this, what he has done, or at least begun to do, in terms of building a world that is the opposite of what his immediate predecessor did is far more impressive. It’s the direct refutation of it, and an indirect one of a more distant tyranny, which is martial law. We caught a glimpse of it in his Sona, which is one of the reasons he has soared in the public esteem. That Sona conjured a vision if not exactly of hordes of children occupying the schools and gardens as a matter of right, of streets devoid of beggars and homeless, of song bursting in the hearts of a victorious people, at least an echo of it.

We caught a glimpse of it in global perceptions about a recovering economy, which is a slap in the face of a regime that kept crowing about its economic deeds without them ever being felt by the people. As well indeed as that of a more distant regime that kept claiming the same thing while marching the country backwards to become the doormat of Asia. Which advances the view that truly there are no mahirap where there are no corrupt, that truly there are no limits to what you can do with a decent government.

Indeed, we’re catching a glimpse of it in a new mood, buoyed by an emerging culture of honesty, a burgeoning sense of capability, a spreading belief that a government can actually strike up a bargain with the people. Which is an indictment of a regime that extolled the vice of rottenness, that punished the good and rewarded the wicked, that made government something to want to avoid rather than go to.

And a more distant regime which did the same thing but worse. Far far worse.

Of course the reason we’re only seeing glimpses of the changes is that they’ve just begun. There’s a long way to go, in a road full of uncertainties. But P-Noy hews closely to it, the road hitherto not taken, and he may yet have the satisfaction of finally getting back at his family’s oppressors, at his country’s tormentors.

He may yet find the satisfaction of wreaking on them his complete revenge, his ultimate revenge: His personal revenge. ■

PUBLIC LIVES

Forty years ago

BY RANDY DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer MARTIAL LAW aimed to wipe out the communist insurgency, but ironically it turned into the single most important recruitment tool of the communist movement. How did this happen?

The first arrests that were carried out just after midnight of Sept. 23, 1972, targeted highprofile figures from the legal opposition, the press, the academe, and the student movement.

As expected, their arrest and detention instantly produced a chilling effect on the rest of the country. Those who had been active in the broad struggle against the Marcos government but managed to elude the first wave of arrests instinctively made themselves scarce. Many fled their homes and sought refuge in the houses of relatives and friends. But they could not stay put in one place without alarming and endangering their hosts. And they needed to know who else among their associates and colleagues had been arrested. They therefore had every reason to maintain contact with their fellow activists.

Although everyone was talking about martial law months before its actual declaration, we had no idea how severe or brutal it was going to be. In the University of the Philippines campus, we had casually talked about what to do in the event of a massive crackdown on activists. But we never got around to discussing contingency measures in any detailed way.

In contrast, the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) appeared to have prepared well for the emergency.

The party kept a string of “safe” houses and contact addresses to be used in the struggle against the regime. In the first weeks of martial law, these shelters were opened not just to members of the party but also to fellow activists in the broader united front who had nowhere to go for safety. Whether they were fully conscious of the choice they were making or not, those who sought refuge in these safe houses in effect entered the portal of the underground.

The shared experience of danger and camaraderie that the underground offered validated the youthful yearning for participation in the great unfinished revolution. Life on the run, and the many little assignments that one took for the movement, served as the initiation rites for full membership in a clandestine movement that offered protection and involvement in exchange for a life under rigorous discipline. The ultimate sacrifice took the form of dropping out of school and leaving one’s own family.

That wrenching experience, which often meant going against parental advice and authority, would symbolize for many the beginning of a new identity as a full-time revolutionary. The romanticism of that thought gave an altogether different meaning to the unconditional submission to the party line that was demanded of every member of a collective.

Martial law thus became a crossroads for many activists of that period. My wife Karina and I were

more fortunate in not having to be confronted by such a choice. While we participated in many rallies, meetings, and forums in which the CPP was a dominant voice, we kept our autonomy. We knew the leaders and worked with them, but we knew we were not part of the decision-making circuits that determined the direction of the movement.

When I went back to England in 1971 to resume my graduate studies, leaving Karina and our 6-monthold son behind, I could sense that the situation in the country would deteriorate. Karina became more actively involved in organizing teachers both in UP and the other universities. Unknown to her, she was at that time pregnant with our second baby, whom she lost after joining a particularly strenuous march.

We called our unborn child “Demo” to mark him out as a casualty of that fateful struggle.

I came home in July 1972 to start field work for my doctoral thesis. At once, I found myself in the whirl of activism in which my wife had invested a great part of her time and energy. We were staying in my parents-in-law’s home while they rented a house where Karina’s father, Renato Constantino, could finish the first volume of his history book in quiet seclusion. Two months later, martial law was proclaimed. The arresting party that came at dawn of Sept. 23 took RC, my brother-in-law, when they could not find his father. A few days later, the team came back for the elder Renato and placed him under house arrest. Another arresting team looked for Karina at her office in UP, but failed to find her.

Having been away for three years, I was not on the military’s radar screen.

The threat of arrest forced us to move residence a number of times within a year. It was during this period that our daughter Kara was conceived, making her the only one of our four children to be consciously planned. I had assumed that the military might treat Karina more leniently if they knew she was with child. Later, I would find out that in Latin America, dictatorial regimes did not treat pregnant women activists any differently. They detained them and took their babies away at birth, and put them up for adoption.

One never really knows how far a dictatorship will go to impose its will on the population. It is this whole uncertainty—and the absence of any possible recourse to justice—that dominates one’s daily life under martial law. The possibility of being picked up from the streets at any time and then made to disappear so consumed us that for many years we carried in our wallets small strips of paper bearing the names and phone numbers of relatives who could be contacted by witnesses if we were arrested.

That sense of insecurity never left us, and perhaps it is the most difficult thing to explain to the younger generation. Under its spell, people sometimes acted in ways not easy to comprehend.

We recognize the complexity of these choices by withholding quick judgment. ■ *** public.lives@gmail.com

15 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Opinion

AT LARGE

‘Everyone is at risk’

BY RINA JIMENEZ-DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer “EVERY WOMAN is at risk,” doctors say about cervical cancer. But as it turns out, every man is at risk, too, because other cancers are likewise caused by or linked to the human papillomavirus or HPV. HPV is a family of about a hundred types of viruses, of which seven are found to be “oncogenic” or cancer-causing, with two types—16 and 18— linked to 70-80 percent of cervical cancer cases.

But HPV has also been linked to cancers in other sites—the vulva, the anus, the head and neck, the throat, the vagina and the penis.

Most people will get infected with HPV at one time or another because it is spread most commonly by “skin-to-skin” contact, or contact with infected towels, bed sheets, or even makeup brushes. HPV infection can sometimes cause skin warts (which have to be removed by “cauterization” or burning them away) or genital warts, which may be “icky” but do not cause cancer.

But genital warts are also considered “markers” for possible infection by other HPV types, since they are indicators of sexual activity and of HPV infection.

During the “HPV Summit” held last Wednesday, I joked with Dr. Cecile Llave of the National Cancer Institute that these days, before jumping into bed with a man, a woman should ask him to strip off his pants so she can check for the presence of genital warts. And if a widower lost his wife due to cervical

cancer, it would be a good idea for his future wife to have him undergo an HPV-DNA test to see if he is a carrier of the deadlier HPV types. *** IF I have put a damper on your sex drive with all this talk of HPV, don’t worry. Most adults will get infected with HPV in their lifetime, but the majority of infections will disappear in a short while.

In the early part of the last century, a test was also developed for the presence of “precancerous” lesions in or around the cervix. Known as the “Pap Smear,” the test is considered the “gold standard” for cervical cancer screening. But since the “pap” needs lab work done to get the results, in “low resource” settings, like most areas of the Philippines, it can be impractical and costly. This is why the most common test employed today here is the VIA, or “visual inspection through acetic acid wash,” which needs only ordinary table vinegar applied to the cervical area, observed by a trained nurse or midwife for signs of lesions.

The VIA has also been paired with what is called the “single visit approach,” in which visible or suspicious lesions are “cauterized” (“making your cervix a frozen delight” is how Dr. Llave puts it), eliminating the need for a followup visit for treatment.

As long as they are detected early, there is a pretty good chance that precancerous lesions can be treated and eliminated, because it takes about 10 years before lesions develop into cancer. Which

makes it all the more puzzling and tragic why so many Filipino women die from cervical cancer, the number roughly equivalent to the toll of maternal deaths. And the reason is that too many women have their first screenings done too late. *** THE most hopeful news about HPV is that there are now two types of vaccines available in the market that protect young women and men from getting infected with the HPV. The bivalent vaccine protects from infection from HPV types 16 and 18, which cause most cases of cervical cancer, and the quadrivalent vaccine protects against types 16 and 18, as well as the two most common types causing genital warts.

Previously recommended only for girls and women, the quadrivalent vaccine is now recommended for use on boys and men as well, in the Philippines as well as in the United States and in Australia. Dr. Efren Domingo of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, who spoke on the vaccines during the “Bulong-Pulungan sa Sofitel,” said early vaccination is recommended “before exposure”—that is, before an individual engages in sexual activity. Which is why guidelines put the “optimal” age for vaccination at between 9 and 12 years old, with “catch-up” immunization for boys and girls between 13 and 26 years old.

But the real bad news for the Philippines is that only about one percent of the target population of preadolescents, teens and young adults have been

vaccinated since the introduction of the vaccines a few years ago. *** THE most common reason given for this low uptake on the vaccines is cost. The HPV vaccine is given in a series of three injections over six months, with the cost having gone down from P6,500 per dose at the beginning, to P3,500 per dose today, or nearly half the cost.

Representatives of MSD, which developed and markets Gardasil, the quadrivalent vaccine, say that at its current price, “the Philippines enjoys the lowest price for the HPV vaccine in the world.”

Despite the proven efficacy and safety of the vaccine, many factors still keep more people from accessing the vaccine. At present, the vaccine is available only in the clinical setting, among private pediatricians or ob-gyns. And not all doctors are all that convinced about the need for a vaccine among nonsexually active youth.

The Philippine government, except for a few local government units which have made the HPV vaccines a priority, has yet to include these in its expanded program of immunization. In Australia, by contrast, the HPV is given for free, through the public school system, while in the United States, the HPV vaccine is given in the clinical setting, covered by health insurance.

At the “HPV Summit,” a representative of PhilHealth revealed that while state health insurance covers screening for cervical cancer, it has yet to consider insurance coverage for vaccines, despite the proven savings in potential health costs. ■

AS I SEE IT

NTC test: Which is better, Globe or Smart?

BY NEAL H. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer WHEN YOU call or text somebody via your cell phone, do you get connected at once? Or is your call or text unable to get through at once?

Do you get disconnected sometimes/oftentimes?

What telecoms network are you using, Globe or Smart? Which of them does not connect or get disconnected more often?

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) conducted a network benchmark test comparing the Grade of Service (GoS) and overall signal quality of both Globe and Smart against NTC Cellular Mobile Telephone System (CMTS) standards in 16 cities in Metro Manila, through network drive tests using prepaid SIMs of both telcos with a sample size of over 3,000 test calls.

The study was brought about by the increasing complaints to NTC from customers about dropped calls and undelivered text messages. This is what I call the real theater of war between Globe and Smart where no one has control because this is an independent study conducted by the duly authorized government agency that has control over mobile network systems.

The competition between the two telcos is getting tighter in the realm of mobile telecommunication services in terms of value for postpaid and prepaid plans, promotions, advertising and publicity, hence the NTC test. Smart had launched a multimillionpeso advertising campaign in the tri-media,

claiming to be the strongest network in the country today with its upgraded network technology while undermining the services of its toughest competition in Globe which is currently undergoing a $700-million network modernization program. Smart is more aggressive in the battlefield of advertising. It seems to be resorting to the unconventional form of advertising, at least in this part of the world, where mudslinging is not a norm. However, the real battle is not won through advertising, otherwise known as the battlefield of perception in the minds of subscribers. The real battle is in the performance of network systems which allows us to receive call and text messages in a clear and timely manner. Who is winning, Globe or Smart?

The NTC test results below give us the answer.

Smart has already announced on its website that its upgraded network will be ready by mid -2012. On the other hand, Globe is still operating on its legacy network and is undergoing its network modernization project which is scheduled to be completed early next year. With this scenario, Smart has a clear edge over Globe with the former having a superior upgraded network worth billions of pesos.

Here are the results of the NTC study. I have divided the categories into 4 rounds, as in a boxing match. The round-by-round results: Round 1—GoS or Call Setup Failure Rate (CSFR). With the GoS or CSFR standard set

by NTC at 4 percent, Globe recorded a nearly identical 4.45 percent while Smart registered a distant 9.95 percent. In this most important benchmark of call success rates, Globe has a clear advantage of 95.55 percent even with its legacy network in operation, which means subscribers will find it easier to call a Globe number. Smart fared poorly, registering only half of Globe’s rating even with the advantage of Smart having its upgraded network already in place. I will give round 1 to Globe.

Round 2—Dropped call rate, an occurrence that most of us subscribers experience. For this round, NTC has set the standard at 2 percent and test results showed that Globe and Smart performed within the standard, registering 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively. However, results on dropped call rate belie the claims made by Smart in its multimillion negative advertising campaigns pointing to Globe as having more dropped calls, whereas the results showed that with Smart’s upgraded network, it still has the problem of dropped calls only with a marginal difference of 0.1 percent compared to that of Globe. For this round, I make it a tie.

Round 3 to 4—Average Signal Quality (ASQ) refers to the clarity of calls (not garbled or choppy) and the Average Received Signal Level (ARSL) refers to the signal strength (strong signal means full bars on your mobile phone). For signal quality, Smart registered 0.63 while Globe registered 0.72

(the closest to zero is better). I give this round to Smart. On the signal level, both telcos were below the -85 dBm standard. The two networks are also tied in these rounds.

Round 5—The final metric which is the Call Set Up Time, where NTC has set the acceptable standard of below 14 seconds. Globe’s legacy network made it to the acceptable standard by registering 11.9 seconds. Smart, with its upgraded network, was not too far ahead of Globe, registering 11.74 seconds with only .16 seconds difference, statistically not significant.

This is a measure of how fast domestic calls get connected from one number to the other. Again, this round is a tie for both Globe and Smart.

Globe was supposed to be an underdog in this study because the network is still operating on what is considered an inferior legacy network as compared to Smart’s billion-peso upgraded “strong” network. With an inferior network system, Globe has fared well in the standards set

by NTC and performed at par with the upgraded network of Smart. If we are to score each round, Globe and Smart are tied at 4-4.

In a press conference held by Globe to shed light on the NTC study, it said that “while there is no perfect network, our objective in bringing to life a brand new modernized network is to provide our subscribers with superior customer experience. Our network modernization is real, not imagined.” ■

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 16

Unfazed, Mar to wait and see Gov’t close to signing peace deal with MILF

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC AND NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

MALACAÑANG remains hopeful one of President Aquino’s closest advisers and political allies will make it through the bicameral Commission on Appointments, despite the threat by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to block the confirmation of Manuel “Mar” Roxas II as the new interior secretary.

Mr. Aquino has named Roxas, the erstwhile secretary of transportation and communications, to head the Department of Interior and Local Government, after Secretary Jesse Robredo was killed unexpectedly in a plane crash on Aug. 18.

Santiago, a commission member, however, has threatened to block Roxas’s confirmation as well as those of other Cabinet members who snubbed her committee hearing into the activities of since resigned Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno.

“We spoke to Secretary Roxas about it, and what the secretary did say was that it was the prerogative of Senator Santiago to push through with [her] intention,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte in a Palace briefing.

Valte, however, said she hoped Santiago would change her mind.

“On the side of the executive [branch], we know that the senator recognizes the national interest” that the Department of Interior and Local Government (seeks to protect), she said.

“That particular department is a very sensitive department,” she added. “And we hope the position will be filled at the soonest possible time.”

On whether the President would resort to making an ad interim appointment should Roxas not be confirmed—as suggested by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile—Valte said: “That depends on the intention and (what) will actually happen—if bypass or rejection. We’ll have to wait and see.”

It only takes a veto by any CA member to block the confirmation of a presidential appointee.

Roxas, along with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, did not show up at the Senate inquiry called by Santiago.

Puno and Philippine National Police director Gen. Nicanor Bartolome came. Santiago, however, could not get anything out of Puno and her committee hearing appeared to be for naught.

Santiago then vowed to block the confirmation of Roxas, De Lima and Paje for being absent from the hearing.

Her committee on constitutional amendments and the revision of codes and laws was investigating Puno for his alleged links to irregular gun deals, “jueteng” and supposed attempts to secure the papers of the late Robredo.

Although Ochoa’s appointment as executive secretary had long been confirmed by the CA, the appointments of De Lima and Paje had been languishing in the bicameral body since 2010.

To save the day, Enrile, chair of the Commission on Appointments, had suggested that President Aquino give Roxas an ad interim appointment after Congress goes on recess later this week so that Roxas could perform his new duties even without the CA’s nod.

“An ad interim appointment by the President will have all the earmarks of a permanent appointment until revoked by the Commission on Appointments,” Enrile said.

Under the Constitution, Roxas was barred from taking over the DILG after the death of Robredo since Congress was in session when President Aquino appointed him the new interior secretary. The appointment therefore requires commission approval.

Ahead of his confirmation hearing, however, Roxas appeared calm.

He said it was Santiago’s “right” to block his appointment as interior secretary.

“It’s her right,” he told reporters, referring to Rule 20 of the CA’s rules.

“That right is with every member of the CA. I was ordered to do this job (at the DILG). I will follow whatever the decision of the CA will be.”

Roxas said he had earlier written a letter to Santiago explaining why he did not attend the Puno inquiry.

He would not have been able to “contribute” anything to the inquiry because he had yet to assume the top DILG post, he said. And while he knew Puno, he said he never got to work with him. ■

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE GOVERNMENT is “very close” to concluding the 14-year peace talks with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), officials negotiating with the rebels said.

They are confident that a new “political entity” would be established in Mindanao before President Aquino steps down in 2016, chief negotiator Marvic Leonen told journalists.

The new political entity will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the regional government that has jurisdiction over the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-tawi.

The new entity will definitely be called “either the ARMM or BJE (Bangsamoro Juridical Entity),” Leonen said.

A “framework agreement” with the MILF would be signed within the year, said Teresita Deles, the presidential peace adviser on the peace process.

“I tell you that something (positive) will happen this year. From the signing of the framework agreement, something will happen immediately,” Deles said.

“We are obviously optimistic. It’s highly probable. I think both sides are looking at the possibility of having... an agreement within the year,” Leonen said.

He said the framework agreement would contain the “entire roadmap for the peace process” which would

be evaluated and approved by the members of both the government and MILF negotiating panels.

The initial agreement may be followed by annexes, “and after that, (we could have) the entire thing. The parties can look at the final annexes and at the entire thing and if they decide, then we can have a comprehensive peace agreement,” he said.

But rebel negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told the Associated Press yesterday that the MILF does not see a final accord until three years later and the Muslims would not end their insurgency until a final agreement is signed.

He said the initial accord would contain general agreements on key issues, including the extent of power, revenues and territory to be granted to a Muslim-administered region.

He said a transition commission would be established after the signing to work out the details of the initial pact, which hopefully would lead to a final accord as early as three years later.

Iqbal said the MILF would not lay down its firearms until a final accord is concluded, adding both sides still need to negotiate whether the rebels should be integrated into the military or police or turned into a force that would secure a Muslimadministered region.

The insurgents could run in democratic elections to get a chance at leading the autonomous region, he said.

Leonen said the creation of the new political structure in Mindanao would not affect the elections in ARMM in 2013 and 2016. ■

News-Phils Top Palace techie defends cybercrime law

17 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO AND MARICAR CINCO Inquirer Southern Luzon

THE AQUINO administration’s top technology policymaker yesterday defended the government’s move to regulate the Internet amid the public outcry from several sectors over the last-minute insertion of a provision on libel to the newly enacted cybercrime law.

“The Net has come a long way to impacting the lives of people. The government needs to have a role in this,” said Louis Casambre, head of the Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO), an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology.

Casambre said the ICTO was in the middle of a reorganization to clearly define its regulatory powers over the Internet in the country.

Casambre said the government was also in discussion with other stakeholders, including Internet service providers and civil society groups to formulate a position on the government’s role in the industry.

‘Economy is priority’ He said the goal was not to restrict free speech but to promote economic development.

“The economy must be the priority.

Users are not the only ones affected by the Internet. The state has the responsibility to protect the people,” he said.

“The government should regulate the Internet, but on a very limited basis. The Internet’s democratic nature should be preserved,” he added.

On Sept. 12, President Aquino signed in to law Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The law’s original goal was to criminalize acts like child pornography, identity theft and the interference of private electronic communications in the country.

However, a last minute insertion

by Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III of a provision to expand the scope of libel law to cover Internet posts has caused a stir among local journalist groups.

Maria Ressa, veteran journalist and the chief executive officer of the social

news network Rappler.com, questioned the law, which she said was passed without any clear implementing rules.

“On the surface, it looks like it’s just extending the existing physical laws into the virtual world. But it depends on the implementation and again, the implementation depends on the interpretation of the law,” said the Rappler executive editor and nightly news anchor, noting that the law was passed without going through a real public hearing.

“What’s fascinating was how fast it was passed. I think part of the reason it was passed was because it wasn’t debated. That what’s worrisome about (this) bill,” Ressa said on the sidelines of MoveLB, the seventh leg of Rappler’s chat series on social media and citizen journalism, held at the University of the Philippines Los Banos on Wednesday.

She said it was just unfortunate that the Cybercrime Prevention Act, viewed mostly by media practitioners as an infringement on the freedom of speech, was passed way ahead other pressing bills such

as the freedom of information and the reproductive health. ‘ Very democratizing’ Ressa said intellectual conversations online are “very democratizing. It really is people power.”

“The Cybercrime Prevention Act actually broadens the scope of a libel law so antiquated and draconian that the United Nations Human Rights Council itself declared it excessive and called on the Philippine government to review the law with the end of decriminalizing libel,” the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines said in a statement.

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, for its part, said the law ran counter to the demand “from journalists and human rights groups from the decriminalization of libel.”

A United States-based Internet rights watchdog Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a statement on Wednesday, called the new law “troubling,” saying it could have the effect of making people more cautious about what they post on the web. ■

News-Phils

PNP chief signs P1.2-B gun deal “After all the requirements were completed and the procedures complied with, the contract has been signed,” the PNP chief said.

The purchase of the firearms was funded from the budget that the PNP received for its Capability Enhancement Program, whose goal is to provide handguns to all 148,000 police officers.

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE DREAM of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arm each and every policeman in the country has finally become a reality.

Shrugging off allegations of irregularities in the deal, PNP chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome yesterday approved the award of the P1.2-billion contract for the purchase of about 60,000 service pistols to the winning bidder.

Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo Jr., the PNP spokesperson, said Bartolome signed the agreement between the PNP and the joint venture of Trust Trade and its partner Glock Asia Pacific after the PNP legal team completed its evaluation and review of the procurement documents.

“This is the first time that our policemen will (be able to meet our requirement for) short firearms 100 percent,” Bartolome said in a press conference.

Good time for cops “This is a good time for our policemen to have their own firearms because they have been in need of these,” he said.

The PNP currently has 85,689 service pistols issued to 143,104 police personnel.

Director Arnulfo Perez, the PNP logistics chief, said that after the PNP completes its current procurement program, it will have a total of 172,289 short firearms in its inventory.

“There will be enough handguns to arm all 148,000 PNP personnel on active duty and new police recruits joining the force in the next couple of years, with enough reserves to compensate for breakage and losses,” Perez said.

Bartolome said the purchase of the handguns, which he described as a “landmark procurement program,” was “the biggest in recent years and most advantageous for government.”

Transparency “This particular procurement program … shall henceforth set the standard for transparency and accountability in future procurement programs (in the PNP),” he said in a statement.

Under the contract, Trust Trade and Glock Asia Pacific will deliver a total of 59,904 units of Glock 17 Generation 49 mmpistols within 570 days after the signing of the agreement.

Cerbo said Bartolome affixed his signature to the documents in front of the members of the PNP command group, led by Deputy Director General Emelito Sarmiento, and the members of the bids and awards committee (BAC).

Bartolome said he ordered the PNP’s lawyers to closely study and review “all the aspects of the procurement process” to ensure that the contract complied with the existing procurement laws and procedures.

Nine-step test Sarmiento said Bartolome approved the notice of award to Trust Trade after the winning bidder’s Glock 9 mm pistols passed the stringent nine-step test set by the PNP and the National Police Commission.

The PNP considered the Trust Trade joint venture’s offer after the original winning bidder, R. Espineli and its partner, the Israel Weapons Industry, were disqualified for failing to comply with the post-documentary requirements.

Espineli submitted the lowest bid to supply the PNP with Jericho handguns for P974 million, which would have saved the government some P216 million.

Trust Trade and Glock Asia Pacific offered the second lowest bid of P997 million.

First batch After Bartolome’s approval of the contract, the BAC will issue a notice to proceed in the next three days to allow Trust Trade to start production of the pistols, Cerbo said.

Trust Trade is supposed to deliver the first batch of 12,000 pistols in February 2013, he said.

“Thereafter, two succeeding deliveries are due every 120 calendar days and two more deliveries in the last 180 days of the delivery period,” he said.

“As provided in the supply contract, each (handgun) comes in a complete set with two spare clips, cleaning kit, user’s manual, carrying case and a basic load of 28 rounds of 9 mm ammunition,” he said.

Sarmiento, who chairs the BAC, said the PNP may buy 12,000 more pistols from the P200-million savings it generated from the gun deal.

Perez said that with the approval of the Trust Trade contract, the PNP is acquiring “a standard police handgun similar to modern handguns used by 60 percent of police forces in America, Europe and Asia,” and the police are assured of “uniformity and interchangeability of parts” with the handguns issued to them. ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 18

Illegal recruiters of seamen rapped

BY TINA G. SANTOS Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINE Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has filed recruitment violation cases against 19 manning agencies found conducting illegal recruitment activities at Luneta Seafarer’s Center in Ermita, Manila.

The POEA said that all recruitment activities at Luneta were illegal without a special recruitment authority from the government agency.

POEA rules prohibit recruitment or manning agencies from recruiting seamen in places under than those specified in their licenses, unless authorized by the agency, POEA chief Hans Leo Cacdac said.

Cacdac said he ordered POEA’s Operations and Surveillance Division to assist the Anti-Transnational Crime Division of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in a special operation against illegal recruitment activities in the area.

A surveillance team composed of POEA-PNP personnel posed as applicants and inquired about available seafarer positions from representatives of several manning agencies who were at the Seafarer’s Center.

The team said the agency representatives handed them company brochures, business cards and flyers listing job openings.

The report identified the manning agencies as Korpil Ship Management and Manning Corp., Seaboard Maritime, Wallem Maritime Services Inc., Avantgarde Shipping Corp., Univan Management Services Phils Inc., Century Maritime Agencies Inc., Solpia Marine and Ship Management Inc., Great Swiss Maritime Services Inc., Intercrew Philippines Agency Inc., Epsilon Maritime Services Inc., C-Man Maritime Inc., TransGlobal Maritime Agency Inc., Cardiff Crewing Filipinas Inc., International Ship Crew Management Phils Inc., Michaelmar Phils Inc., Hanjin Shipping, Evic Human Resource Management Inc., Morning Mist Maritime Services and Seafarers Shipping Inc. Upon verification in the POEA database, Seaboard Maritime, Hanjin Shipping and Morning Mist Maritime Services were found to have no authority to recruit or deploy Filipino workers overseas.

The other agencies—although their licenses were valid—were found in violation of regulations on the recruitment of seafarers, Cacdac said.

Instead of going to Luneta to look for seafaring jobs, Cacdac advised seamen to file their applications directly with licensed manning agencies at their registered office address which may be found in the POEA website poea.gov.ph. ■

19 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

News-Phils

Sotto: What’s wrong with having libel law in cyberspace?

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer “I CAN’T see the logic,” said Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III when asked to react to media protests regarding the dangers and possible unconstitutionality of extending libel laws to new social media in the new Cybercrime Prevention Act.

“If mainstream media are prevented by law from cursing and engaging in character assassination, why should those in the social media and in the Internet be exempted from such accountability,” said Sotto, who had proposed the extension of the Act’s coverage to include libel.

“What’s so special about (mainstream journalists) that they have those

prohibitions, and that they (social media bloggers) don’t?” Sotto had insisted in a recent interview.

Always been a crime Sotto had complained of being the victim of “cyber bullying” after he was pilloried in social media for allegedly “plagiarizing” online blogs in support

of his objections to the reproductive health (RH) bill.

“All the crimes punishable under the Revised Penal Code are included. Now just because they (bloggers) are now accountable under the law on libel, they are again angry with me? Libel has always been a crime,” Sotto told reporters before the start of a Senate session last week.

“The regular media can’t curse and can’t engage in character assassination because they have accountability. Those in the social media don’t have that…

Now that they are already covered, pumapalag sila (they are protesting)? I can’t see the logic.”

The Cybercrime Prevention Act ostensibly aims to go after cyberfraud and cyberpornography. However, media commentaries point out that when it comes to libel, the complexities of interactive online media would make the application of the law highly controversial.

Police, NBI problem Asked to comment on the charge that another provision, the taking down of websites, was a form of prior restraint in violation of the Constitution, Sotto said “That’s already the problem in formulating the implementing rules and regulations. We didn’t place that kind of provision… That’s already the problem of the (police) and the National Bureau of Investigation.

That’s their problem.”

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, who voted against the bill when it was passed in the Senate, agreed that the application of libel laws to the online community was “problematic.” It could lead to violations of the constitutional prohibition on prior restraint to free speech.

“This is because in the case of online communities, people are encouraged to actually participate (make comments, retweet, repost on Facebook),” Guingona said in a statement. With the cybercrime law, editors and owners of these sites will be forced to lock down their websites and prevent people from commenting, Guingona said.

Act of prior restraint “I believe that editors can regulate the works of their writers but if you gag the general public, surely the constitutional right to freedom of expression is threatened,” Guingona said.

“This act is a prior restraint on freedom of expression and freedom of speech.

This law sets us back. We cannot legislate morality. The Spanish inquisition has long been disbanded. I do not know why we are reviving it today,” he added. ■

21 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Helping Families in Need Act: In support of hardworking Canadian families THE HARPER Government introduced on September 21, 2012 the Helping Families in Need Act which will support parents by making them eligible for sickness benefits, should they fall ill while collecting parental benefits.

The Helping Families in Need Act was tabled in the House of Commons on September 20, 2012, by the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. This Bill contains legislative amendments to the Employment Insurance (EI) Act and to the Canada Labour Code to support three measures that will help Canadian families balance work and family responsibilities.

Enhanced access to EI sickness benefits The Employment Insurance Act will be amended to allow claimants who fall ill while receiving EI parental benefits to access EI sickness benefits.

Currently, to be eligible for sickness benefits under the EI program, claimants must “otherwise be available for work,” or for self-employed persons, “otherwise be working” and have ceased working because of their illness. People on parental leave from their employer are not considered to be available for work, so they do not qualify for sickness benefits.

Under this Bill, the Government is waiving this requirement for parents receiving EI parental benefits so that they can qualify for sickness benefits if they fall ill, subject to remaining qualifying criteria.

This change enhances access to EI sickness benefits and ensures that the EI program continues to be fair and flexible to better respond to the needs of Canadian families.

Sickness benefits (15 weeks maximum) may be paid to a person who is unable to work because of sickness, injury or quarantine.

EI special benefit for parents of critically ill children This new EI benefit will provide income support for up to 35 weeks to eligible parents caring for a child (under 18 years of age) with a critical illness or injury. The benefit was announced August 7, 2012, and will be available in June 2013, subject to the adoption of this Bill by Parliament.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper with Filipino-Canadian Senator Tobias Enverga

As with other EI special benefits, claimants will need to have worked a minimum of 600 insurable hours in the last year. Self-employed workers who have opted into the EI program will need to have earned income in the previous calendar year ($6,342 in 2013) to be eligible for the benefit.

All applicants will also need to submit a medical certificate signed by a Canadian-certified pediatrician or medical specialist.

This benefit may be shared between parents within a 52-week period. Benefits will end after one of these conditions is reached: the maximum of 35 weeks of benefits have been paid; the 52-week benefit period ends; the child’s condition improves to the point where parental care or support for the condition is no longer required; or in the unfortunate event that the child passes away.

Amendments to the Canada Labour Code Part III of the Canada Labour Code will be amended to introduce new provisions allowing unpaid leave for parents whose child dies or disappears as the result of a suspected Criminal Code offence or who need to care for a critically ill child.

Employees whose employer is subject to Part III who take advantage of the new enhanced provisions will be able to do so without losing their employment as a result. The amendments to the Canada Labour Code will take effect in January 2013, pending the adoption of this Bill by Parliament

Federal Income Support for Parents of Murdered or Missing Children Once the amendments proposed in this Bill take effect, a new grant will also be made available, beginning on January 1, 2013. This new grant will provide

$350 per week for up to 35 weeks to parents of murdered or missing children (less than 18 years of age) whose death or disappearance is the result of a suspected Criminal Code offence.

To receive this taxable grant, announced April 20, 2012, affected parents will need to have earned a minimal level of income in the previous calendar year ($6,500) and take leave from their employment.

If the missing child is found while the grant is being received, the grant will continue for two weeks to allow the parents to spend time with their child. This will be contingent on meeting other entitlement criteria (that is, the recipients have not resumed working, they have not exhausted their benefits, and it has not been more than one year since the disappearance). ■

NEWS BRIEFS Surprise: fed job cuts mostly outside Ottawa OTTAWA - Cuts to the federal public service appear to be occurring mostly outside Ottawa - which is the opposite of what the government suggested it would do when it first announced the job reductions. The vast majority of those federal job cuts, two-thirds of them, appear to be taking place elsewhere across Canada.

Manitoba adds 120 drugs to pharmacare WINNIPEG - Manitoba is adding 120 drugs to pharmacare. Health Minister Theresa Oswald has announced that the drugs include medications for stroke prevention, psoriasis and hepatitis C and diabetes testing supplies.

B.C. premier’s chief of staff quits VANCOUVER - British Columbia Premier Christy Clark’s chief of staff has resigned over what is being described as an ``incident of concern,’’ but it’s not clear what happened to prompt his exit. Clark’s office has issued a vague statement indicating Ken Boessenkool resigned with a letter of apology on Sunday. Boessenkool is a former adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper who was appointed to the B.C. job in January.

Canadians may be too blase about debt: poll TORONTO - A new poll suggests that most Canadians are quite comfortable with using debt as a financial strategy - at a time when debt loads have risen to alarming new highs.The survey, done for bankruptcy trustees Hoyes, Michalos & Associates, finds nine out of ten respondents would consider borrowing money to cover an unexpected cost.

Canada News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 22

Canada’s dwindling birthrate and aging population to hurt economy: expert

BY BILL GRAVELAND THE CANADIAN PRESS BANFF, Alta. - Canada’s aging population, combined with a lacklustre birthrate, is going to dramatically impact our country’s economic performance in the future, according to an expert in the field.

Canada is going to prove troublesome within the next 12 years, David Foot, a professor of economics at the University of Toronto and co-author of the book ``Boom, Bust & Echo: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Shift’’ told the Global Business Forum in Banff, Alta., Thursday.

For a country to successfully replace its aging workforce, it needs a birthrate of 2.2 children per family, Foot said. He added that Canada is only managing a rate of 1.7 per family and that means Canada’s labour woes are going to get even worse. ``Canada is significantly older than the U.S. and Mexico, with a much bigger percentage in the older-age brackets and ever fewer numbers of young people being born in Canada,’’ said Foot. ``That’s well below replacement and if you don’t have an extensive child-care program to support women raising their children, you’ll watch your fertility rate continue to decline.’’

Foot said that although Canada is better educated than Mexico, its NAFTA partner is doing much better with its fertility rate and has a ready supply of new workers for the future.

He said Canada’s move toward trying to fast track more immigrant workers to combat the labour shortage is doomed to fail. ``If you add immigrants into the mix and look ahead to 2026 ... that already has a quarter-million immigrants. I can raise immigration in Canada to 300,000 or 350,000 but it will not change that picture,’’ said Foot. ``Ten million boomers every year are getting a year older. We bring in

a quarter-million immigrants. How many years do you have to bring in a quarter-million immigrants?

40 years.’’

Foot said that aside from taking steps to encourage a higher fertility rate, he doesn’t see the situation changing. ``That is the future for your business leaders and an aging population inevitably leads to slower economic growth.’’

Canada is in better shape than many other countries around the world, said Foot. Italy, Spain and Greece have the oldest populations in Europe, while former powerhouses such as Germany, Japan and Russia have been watching their populations decline significantly. ``These are three countries that are never coming back as global powers. Germany, Russia and Japan are powers of the past ... not the powers of the future.’’

Foot said the future superpowers include China, India and Brazil while Turkey is emerging as the future power within Europe. ``Within five years a Muslim country will be the biggest market in Europe.’’

The Global Business Forum wraps up on Friday. ■

Settlement and Integration Program ___________________________________________________________________________

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Come and Join us in a FREE Workshop Presented by: Ray Leblanc, Citizenship & Immigration Officer (Western Region)

 Date: Thursday, October 4th, 2012;  Time: 5:30-7:30PM  Venue: Welcome House, 530 Drake Street (Corner of Seymour St.), Vancouver, BC Please register as seats are limited. You can email resochita.arma@issbc.org or call 604-684-7498 ext. 1666.

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Funded by The Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Innovation

23 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

World News

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

to democracy. Romney on Monday also suggested Obama was leaving American foreign policy at the mercy of events instead of working to shape global politics NEW YORK - President Barack Obama in America’s interest. and Republican challenger Mitt Romney I can’t imagine saying something like are sparring over how best to address U.S. the assassination of ambassadors is a bump challenges abroad in nearly back-to-back in the road, when you look at the entire addresses Tuesday at the Clinton Global context, the assassination, the Muslim Initiative’s annual meeting.

Brotherhood president being elected in Following deadly anti-American Egypt, 20,000 people killed in Syria, Iran protests in Muslim countries over the close to becoming a nuclear nation, that past two weeks, Romney was to outline these are far from being bumps in the plans Tuesday to rework the U.S. foreign road,`` Romney told ABC television. aid system, tying development money to White House press secretary Jay Carney requirements that countries allow U.S. called the accusations ``desperate and investment and remove trade barriers. offensive,’’ an attempt by the Republican Obama also was to address top foreign presidential candidate and his allies to gain leaders, CEOs and non-governmental political advantage in the latter stages of organizations at the gathering spearheaded a close race that seems to be trending the by former President Bill Clinton. president’s way.

The back and forth on foreign policy occurred as Romney said he was shifting to a more energetic schedule of public campaign events, bidding to reverse recent erosion in polls of the battleground states likely to decide the election.

The U.S. president is not chosen by popular vote but by state-by-state elections, making states that don’t reliably vote Democrat or Republican important in such a tight race.

While national polls make the race exceedingly close, Obama has gained ground on Romney in many recent surveys when potential voters are asked to compare the two rivals in their ability to fix the economy. Sluggish growth and national unemployment of 8.1 per cent make the economy by far the dominant issue in the race.

The same polls show Obama with a healthy lead over Romney when voters are asked which candidate is better equipped to handle foreign policy, and the president has not shied away from trumpeting his decision to order the secret mission by U.S. forces that killed terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden in his Pakistani A BERT MONTERONA ART EXHIBIT hideout more than a year ago. in collaboration with the PANCIT Art Collective At the same time, Romney’s advisers say voters are more SEPTEMBER 18-OCTOBER 31, 2012 Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Lobby and Ike Café Gallery inclined to question Obama’s The University of British Columbia, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver, BC handling of foreign policy OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION - SEPTEMBER 21ST after the attack on the U.S. Friday, 6:30-9:00 p.m. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, Rm. 256, Chilcotin Boardroom, UBC Irving K. Barber Learning Centre earlier this month.

THE CROSS-CULTURAL DIALOGUE - OCTOBER 27TH Saturday, 2:00-5:00 p.m.

At the United Nations, Obama Room 261, Peace River Room, UBC Irving K. Barber Learning Centre planned a sweeping defence of his CLOSING NIGHT CEREMONY AND ART SALE policy of engagement overseas.

October 27, Saturday, 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Room 261, Peace River Room, UBC Irving K. Barber Learning Centre The president planned to ``send a clear message that the United CROSS-CULTURAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ART, JUSTICE, AND SUSTAINABILITY States will never retreat from We gratefully acknoWledge the support of the city of VancouVer and the uniVersity of British coluMBia • Visit WWW.MigranteBc.coM for More info the world, will bring justice to The event puts the two presidential contenders in front of the same audience on the same day Obama was delivering a major address to the United Nations General Assembly. Both men were drawing contrasts in a presidential contest in which the state of the U.S. economy has been paramount, but which shifted focus this month to foreign policy after attacks in Libya killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to the North African country.

In interviews and at campaign events Monday, Romney assailed Obama’s leadership abroad, leading a chorus of Republicans in criticizing the president for what they said was minimizing the death of the Ambassador Chris Stevens. Obama, in an interview with CBS’ ``60 Minutes,’’ said recent violence in the Mideast was due to ``bumps in the road’’ on the way

Glynnis Jones / Shutterstock.com

Romney, Obama focus on US posture abroad in twin speeches to the Clinton Global Initiative

those who harm Americans and will stand strongly for our democratic values abroad,’’ National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in an email.

Romney’s focus on foreign aid was likely to draw attention to the situation in Egypt, a U.S. ally and the recipient of billions of dollars in American assistance each year.

That aid has come under new scrutiny in the wake of protests that saw Egyptians scaling the walls of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. Romney has said he would put stricter conditions on U.S. aid to Egypt’s newly installed government, now headed by an Islamist president. The Obama administration reinstated military aid to Egypt earlier this year despite concerns about abuse as the country transitions to democratic rule.

Romney’s campaign said Monday that the current system of foreign aid ``reflects an outdated way of thinking about the world.’’

Both Romney and Obama will appear on a stage at the gathering led by Clinton, who just a few weeks earlier was offering a forceful defence of Obama’s economic record and plans for the future at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. ``I think the president’s plan is better than the Romney plan, because the Romney plan fails the first test of fiscal responsibility: The numbers don’t add up,’’ Clinton said in that speech, one of several jabs at the Republican nominee.

During the last presidential election, both Obama and 2008 Republican nominee John McCain spoke at Clinton’s annual meeting. That year, the former president had warm words for both men. He praised McCain’s stance on global warming and complimented Obama’s approach to a meeting the two had held earlier in the month at Clinton’s Harlem office.

After his speech to the Clinton meeting, Romney planned to discuss education policy at a forum sponsored by NBC News.

He also planned to join running mate Paul Ryan at a campaign rally in Ohio. ■

Immigration

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 24

THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA- The Conservative government has wrapped up its consultations on next year’s immigration targets by breaking new ground - a precedent-setting sitdown with First Nations.

And by meeting with a traditionally disadvantaged group - one that has vocally questioned Canada’s generous immigration policy - the government may be signalling what’s to come in 2013.

Rick Dykstra, the parliamentary secretary to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, met Thursday with representatives of the Assembly of First Nations and the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.

It was the final consultation as the ministry prepares the immigration target numbers, and their composition, that are expected to be released in November.

Dykstra called the meeting ``very productive.’’

``The aboriginal community has a very unique opinion on immigration issues, and not hesitating to talk about the economy at the same time,’’ he told The Canadian Press in an interview. ``So it was very fruitful.’’

Citizenship and Immigration can find no record of aboriginal communities being consulted on immigration policy, a point that has not been lost on First Nations leaders - some of whom pointedly refer to all non-aboriginal Canadians as immigrants. ``It’s a whole new stepping stone for us,’’ said Dykstra.

As for the tenor of the meeting, he said: ``I think the general consensus on the actual numbers was to maintain or perhaps move down in terms of what our average has been over the last couple of years.’’

Every year the federal government consults with various stakeholder groups before setting the following year’s immigration targets in early November.

akobradlgruber / Shutterstock.com

First Nations consulted on 2013 immigration targets as Tories break new ground

BY BRUCE CHEADLE

The numbers have remained fairly stable under Conservative and Liberal governments. Total intake in 2011 was almost 250,000 migrants, compared with 262,000 in 2005, the last year under the Liberals.

But the makeup of those immigrants is in constant flux. In 2007, Canada accepted just over 66,000 family-class immigrants and 131,000 in the economic class. Last year, the family class comprised only 56,446 while economic immigrants had jumped to 156,121.

The Conservative government is also allowing more temporary foreign workers into the country. By last December, there were more than 300,000 such workers, a jump of 50 per cent since 2007.

That has prompted some grumbling in First Nations communities.

This summer, Betty Ann Lavallee, the national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples - which represents urban natives - said Canada needs to train and employ aboriginal youth, not bring in foreign help. ``It’s very important because we are a young generation, we are fast-growing and we are the next labour force for Canada,’’ said Lavallee. ``We do not need to be bringing in immigrants. We are ready and prepared to work. We are a mobile people. We just need a little bit of help.’’

It is not a new complaint.

In 2010 two chiefs in northern Ontario made news when they held an education rally in Sault Ste. Marie that was overtly anti-immigration. ``What I say is close the borders,’’ Batchewana First Nation Chief Dean Sayers was quoted telling the rally. ``Don’t be bringing 200,000 more foreigners into these lands if you can’t even look after the responsibilities you have to us already.’’

And in 2005 the Assembly of First Nations examined - and discarded - a resolution to ``freeze all immigration coming into Canada until the federal government addresses, commits, and delivers resources to First Nations to improve the housing conditions, education, health and employment in First Nations communities.’’

Dystra said Thursday’s meeting was not about moratoriums or shutting the door on immigration. ``I did not get that message at all,’’ he said. ``There definitely was a leaning toward lowering the numbers, for at least a little while, to assist them in their endeavour to help with youth unemployment.’’

He said the aboriginal groups are seeking more continuing consultations, including with provincial ministries, as immigration and labour policy becomes entwined. ■

25 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

Diaspora

Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Gian Carlo Umahon

BY STELLA REYES Gian Carlo’s 5 Must-haves for Women:

Vancouver recently hosted the first Fashion’s Night Out Vancouver (FNOV) event in Canada. Fashion’s Night Out is a global event for retailers and fashion designers that started in New York in 2009. Eighteen countries and 250 cities simultaneously celebrate FNO between the dates of September 6 – 10. For the entire week, fashionistas from around the globe celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, and boost the industry’s economy thru exclusive shows, shopping sprees, instore offers and online specials.

In the middle of all the fashion hoopla is Vancouver’s most sought after stylist, Gian Carlo Umahon. He has his own consultancy firm called Lady (http://ladyfashionstylist.wordpress. com/) and is currently employed by one of Vancouver’s premier label Jacqueline Conoir/JAC and high-end retailer Stylista Clothing.

1. The little black dress is always in.

2. One power suit that is tailored and very modern. Whenever you go to any meeting or a job interview, it is very important to have a power suit.

3. Trench coat or coats, it is very important as well. Here in Vancouver, it is very rainy and that is something that you must definitely have.

4. Fabulous shoes. Shoes is always a must, it is the new accessory.

Instead of having a lot of bling, the shoe must be a bang.

5. Lastly, have confidence in your own style. No matter how many clothes and accessories you put on your body, you must always be confident in whatever you wear.

Being a stylista is all about knowing your own style and enhancing it. Embrace what you have and whatever you wear just own it!”

Can you tell us more about Stylista Clothing?

Stylista is a store that my friend owns.

Her name is Esther Tang who interned at Christian Dior Couture while pursuing her MBA in Hong Kong. We started this in March and we are about seven month old. Esther approached me to be one of her creative consultants. So I design the store layout, do the merchandising, the window display. I also do the seasonal concepts. Esther picks the pieces and I go through the selected pieces for the client. Stylista Clothing’s vision is to have a lot of fashion pieces that cater to all different types of women. From younger to more mature ladies. We have designer labels from LA and Europe.

What makes us different is the very personalized service for our clients.

How did you get interested in fashion?

It is something that has been always natural to me. I love to sketch even when I was young. The first thing I drew was a dress so it was a given thing. Being around my mom, she is an entrepreneur and she tried out a lot of businesses. She exposed me in to a lot of things and one of the things was clothing. I would go around and shop with her and that’s one of the things that I got very interested in.

Favourite designer or House of Fashion?

On top of my head, I have always been

And we didn’t forget some fashion tips for the Men: “Any man must have a classic two-button up suit in either black or charcoal grey. Invest in a crisp, beautiful white shirt. A crisp white shirt and a classic suit will never go out of style. When you go to an event, you are thinking you do not have anything to wear. A man in a clean white shirt, very tailored paired with the suit those are the two key elements in a man’s wardrobe.”

a fan of Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. I am a huge fan of Yves Saint Laurent, he brought in the masculinity and femininity in terms of suiting back in the day.

And right now, someone new on the fashion radar is Alexander Wang.

How is a stylist different from a fashion designer?

A stylist is somebody that works closely with a designer. It could be a variation of jobs from producing fashion shows, being in a TV show or thinking about the trends.

What makes a good stylist?

A stylist is about being creative. Having an open mind and basically putting an outfit together that no one had ever thought of. It is about being a trendsetter and having your own voice and just being updated in terms of fashion.

How do you spend your downtime?

I love to draw evening gowns.

I grew up in the retail industry and eveningwear has always been something I started gravitating to. I love to design but I do not create. I do a lot of fashion illustrations as an escape to styling. ■

For more of Gian Carlo’s fashion tips, you can reach him at Lady Fashion Stylist (604)780-0679. Or the Stylista Clothing store at 5701 Granville St., Vancouver (between Granville and 41st Aves.).

26 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Two-Man Art Show: Rod Pedralba & Leo Cunanan, Jr.

BY MELISSA REMULLA-BRIONES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

VANCOUVER – The beautiful sunny day on September 8 showcased the art of two much-admired Dimasalang artists, Rod Pedralba and Leo “Jun” Cunanan, Jr. Their exhibit, the Two-Man Art Show: Rod Pedralba & Leo Cunanan, Jr. was held at the LUMEN Espace Galerie at the 2nd floor of International Village Mall in Vancouver.

The gallery held the eclectic mix of Pedralba and Cunanan’s paintings, cubism in one sphere, and still life and portraits in another, all commanding attention, appreciation, careful scrutiny and respect.

Sym Mendoza, Dimasalang’s father, founder and leader who personally mentored the two artists beamed with pride as he welcomed everyone during the exhibit’s opening.

Pedralba: Cubism and Realism “I take the essence of Picasso and apply it to my paintings, but it is still realistic,” says Rod Pedralba.

He thus creates dynamic images, his vision of geometrical shapes vibrant and colorful. Rod draws

Rod Pedralba (in black) with his brother

inspiration from his travels but for this particular exhibit, he brought to life the daily grind in the Visayas region, which he captured during a vacation in 2009. “That’s why the environment is different from Manila, more colorful,” he said.

According to Sym, Rod is one of his very first students.

“He moved from realism to what we call cubism. Ang style niya synthetic cubism, tawag ko diyan stylized (his

Leo Cunanan (in white) with friends

style is synthetic cubism, I call it stylized),” he says. Rod commanded Sym’s respect and admiration because, as Sym says, “Although he is not a full time artist, he is able to communicate with his art continuously. Very rare sa ating mga Pilipino na nagtatrabaho then at the same time working on our art (it is very rare for us Filipinos who are working and then at the same time working on our art). I really admire him for that.”

More on page 27

Lifestyle

27 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

...from page 26

Cunanan: Still life and portraits “I just love drawing and painting and what inspires me is my love for art,” says Leo Cunanan, Jr., a natural-born artist, an avid musician, graphic artist and publisher of Dahong Pilipino, a Filipino-Canadian business directory. His art that was on exhibit was a collection that he worked on for 11 years. “I am starting to come back to it and loving it even more. I gave myself a deadline. This is my first [exhibit] so I pushed myself to work and I loved it even more.”

Leo’s father, Leo Cunanan, Sr., a community leader and an esteemed figure in the Filipino-Canadian society, is very much impressed with his son’s work. “Some of his paintings [here], I haven’t seen yet before. He should devote more time for this because this is his future. To think that we was a late starter. I’m proud.”

Sym also has Leo’s back. He says, “Jun is an artist who is very, very talented, multi-talented, talented in music, can compose music, now I am training him in painting. I don’t want him to miss anything in painting – in theory or in principle. Ako binantayan

BY RUDY M. VIERNES

FAST FOOD FOR THOUGHT

THE SOUND OF MUSIC IT IS said that music is the language of the soul. It is a form of expression in which sounds are deliberately organized in some manner for an artistic and higher purpose. In its sacred form, Thomas Carlyle, a 19th century Scottish writer, describes music as the “speech of angels.”

Whether they are the wistful chants of monks in the monasteries, the wailing in the synagogues, or the incantations of tribesmen in the boondocks, the aim of sacred music is universal: to praise and extol a Supreme Being.

Sacred music is a higher form of praying. “He who sings well prays twice” says St. Augustine. The Psalms are collections of songs of piety and lamentations accompanied by music from lute and lyre used in the temples where Christians find the fulfillment of their aspirations.

Music is also a tool of cultural expression. It can relieve mental stress and enrich one’s soul. For former Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak, music was his escape. To soothe his mind after a hard day he would sit down before a piano and dish out sonatas. King Bhumibol of Thailand is an ambidextrous monarch whose musical genius includes alluring compositions of marches, jazzes and

ko siya ng husto para makaproduce tayo ng another genius here in Canada (I really focus on him so we can produce another genius here in Canada).”

Sym also speaks highly of Jun’s portraits. “I want the best portrait artist that we can produce here in Canada.

Right now, Edgar Lantin, who is a really good portrait artist, dedicated himself to Manila. I want someone to dedicate himself here. We still need a Filipino-Canadian artist who is famous here in Canada. Wala tayong ganon eh (we still don’t have that).” He thinks Jun may be it.

Jun is very grateful to Sym, whom he credits for his beautiful work. He says, “All hard work has already been done by him. He loves teaching [and] sharing his wisdom to people.”

Advice to other artists The Dimasalang group offers arts-related educational and professional development opportunities to its members and the general public. Committed to its vision of fostering a positive contribution to the

love songs. “If the king plays music there is nothing wrong in the land,” says the Chinese Meng-tsu.

Through music, the soul learns harmony and rhythm. It is therapy. It is useful in nursing homes or health care institutions to alleviate patients from their pain, relieve them of stress and tension, and keep them mentally attuned to God. A recent study out of Stanford University found that elderly patients who were diagnosed with depression gained self-esteem and saw an improvement in their mood when they were visited by music therapists. In fact, many convalescent centers and hospitals across the country use music therapy for healing.

Health care buffs in fitness centers also need to be revved up with the cadence of hip-hops as they huff and puff to deplete the bulges and lose the fat.

Sister Act and the Sound of Music are two movies with musical themes.

In the latter, Julie Andrews, the singing nanny carousing and twirling with her wards in the Salzburg Alps gave a scintillating performance that have made the movie the top grosser of all time. Even the Mother Superior in that movie must have cast the spell of mountaineering as she sang “Climb Every Mountain.”

But nothing could be more alleviating to the wearied psyche than the enduring classics of the masters, like Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, or the organist Dupre.

Carnivals and festivals are insipid, even funereal, sans music. Mardi Gras, be it in Rio or New Orleans, will not be festive without bands romping in the streets and gaudy revelers dancing in utter glee.

A song is like a commodity. When

arts, Dimasalang aims at pursuing a high standard of artistic excellence.

To aspiring Filipino-Canadian artists, Rod says, “New artists have to have more patience, study the basic drawings because it is very important.” Referring to his partner-artist in the two-man show, he says, “Jun has lots of patience. [He dedicated hours and a lot of] hard work in understanding the structure [of art].” Rod says all that hard work is evident in Jun’s paintings.

According to Jun, new artists should just grab the brush and practice. “The more you practice, the more you start seeing things you haven’t seen before. You go to the next step – it’s like taking steps and you go to a different level.

But I definitely suggest doing the basics, and when you get the shortcuts from a maestro like Master Sym, it gets easier.”

Indeed, the artists of Dimasalang blossom under the tutelage of Sym. It is Sym’s promise, “Ang aking kakayahan ay mabubuhay sa kanila ng walang hanggan (my knowledge and skill – that I have passed on to them – will live in them and through them forever).” ■

one buys something cheap, he brags he got it for a song. But a song isn’t really that cheap because to attend a Rolling Stone or J-Lo show one would have to pay a premium for a front seat.

And what would love be without the romance of a song? Of course lullabies bring babies to sleep.

It was amazing to witness how music could move and unify people during critical times. There was nothing like the horror of September 11 that had galvanized Americans to come together into a staunch brotherhood through the unifying lyrics of such glorious songs as God Bless America, America the Beautiful and the unfading glory of My Country Tis of Thee which had instilled fervor and patriotism in the American psyche.

Before Vatican II when Latin rites were Tridentine, the lyrics of the songs and texts of the Eucharistic mass weren’t understood by the ordinary churchgoer. Even then and now, the traditional hymnals still elicit beauty and conjure up feelings of the divine and deep reverence for God. Crops of inspirational songs are truly divine when they blend with the right instrumentations. Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art sang during or after communion can wring emotions and get one to feel celestial. The famous Mormon

Tabernacle Choir is acclaimed for its repertoire of glorious songs rendered in solemn fashion.

Secular melodies as well could get one in the mood and swaying again with the eternally beautiful swings of the legendary Big Bands, like Glenn Miller whose danceable tunes were the demands of the early years of WWII. Miller’s music isn’t really the young ones’ cup of tea who would rather go for the boisterous rocks and hip-hops, but by the young once who still feel stirred to stomp a foot or sway a hip at the Miller “sounds”, like In the Mood, Moonlight Serenade and many inimitable GM arrangements.

The choir is an indispensable part of the Eucharistic celebration. Worship services can be drab and uninspiring without music. The choir provides the spirit and character of these holy rituals.

Thoughts float with the music to higher levels of communion with God. Choir membership is a privilege to the committed. Although a good voice is a given factor, it is not the only attribute for choir membership.

Voice can be developed in time. What matters is a lot of heart and large doses of sacrifice for the demands of practice. And for the higher price that choir members pay comes a little “recognition.” From a vantage point at the side altar they enjoy brief focus of spotlight, and from there they set up the way that brings worshippers closer to the throne of God in one body and one spirit, and a niche for them in heaven’s “hall of fame” is their ultimate reward.

Indeed music isn’t only balm for the spirit. It is also a tonic to “soothe the savage beast” and a medium to exalt the Lord. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 28

Phoemela Baranda, Grace Lee, Jennylyn Mercado– what they’ve done for beauty

BY ALEX Y. VERGARA Philippine Daily Inquirer “As a model, I never needed extra curves,” she said. “But it was different on TV. I was super flat before, but after the procedure, my new figure is now more flattering.”

Together with fellow celebrities Jennylyn Mercado and Grace Lee, Baranda recently faced members of the media at Shangri-La Makati to share their respective beauty issues, and how Belo and her team of doctors addressed them.

While not a few surgical clinics, especially in the US, put breast implants just beneath the woman’s nipples or areolas, BMG literally goes deeper by placing them under the muscles.

Flattering Although it’s more difficult to do, such a procedure is worth it, as it leaves a more lasting and flattering appearance, said Belo. In contrast, implants tucked under the areola, apart from looking obviously fake, has a greater tendency to sag over the years.

“You just make a slice under the nipple and put the implant in, and that’s it. Nothing holds the implant but the skin. Since skin is quite weak, we’ve had to redo countless women who’ve had breast augmentation procedures done by other doctors,” she said.

These women underwent the procedure at 18, and by the time they reached 25, their breasts were already sagging down to their stomachs.

“As we age, skin tends to sag overtime. Since muscles are stronger, it would hold the implants better and longer. You could be 80 years old, and your implants would still be standing,” Belo explained.

And since muscles move with the body, the implants also look and feel more natural as opposed to those placed just under the nipples.

Belo also assured those thinking of having breast implants of their ability to breastfeed. Since the implants are tucked deep within the muscles, the chances of them impeding the production of milk are unlikely.

Implants won’t also come into contact with the baby.

Sensation, especially within the nipple area, won’t be affected since the procedure doesn’t involve cutting or slicing any of the nerves under the areolas, Belo added.

Different problem Lee, who once dated President Aquino, had a different problem. She’s always been chubby and “top heavy” even as a child. Exercise and yoga enabled her to lose unwanted pounds during college, but her bulky arms refused to budge.

Her realization came when she started doing TV. “A lot of people, especially the mothers, who would see me in person, would comment that I didn’t look fat at all in person,” the multilingual Lee, a Korean, said in a mix of Filipino and English.

Whenever she would see Belo, she would always tell Lee to undergo liposuction. Since Lee was afraid, she insisted on doing it the hard way by going to the gym.

Although her upper arms became more toned and muscular, they didn’t get any smaller. Her problem became more pronounced since TV, apart from being such a “cruel” medium, tends to focus on the subject’s upper part, including the arms.

“Dr. Vicki once told me that my arms are like my frame on TV,” said Lee. “And since my arms are disproportionately big compared to the rest of my body, people watching at home think I’m bigger than I really am.”

Lee finally caved in to Belo’s wishes by undergoing Smart Lipo around her arms. The procedure, she said, literally changed her life. After “suffering” in vain at the gym, she wished she had done it earlier.

“I’m more confident now to wear sleeveless and halter tops. Before I was confined to clothes with short sleeves to cover my upper arms. I’m really happy with the results,” she shared.

More thorough The way BMG does it, said Belo, is different and more thorough than established procedures. Since she does

the procedure herself on patients, Belo likes to believe that arms are her expertise. She said that she could do one arm in 30 to 40 minutes, half the usual time most doctors spend on the procedure.

Being more thorough means suctioning off fat from various areas of the arms until Belo gets the desired results. Others, she said, confine the suctioning on certain areas of the arms, particularly the triceps.

But physically suctioning off the fat, or “liempo,” as Belo described it, is not enough. That’s why some doctors do so little because they don’t want to end up with uneven results—“bukol-bukol.”

With Smart Lipo, Belo combines oldfashioned liposuction with lasers for more even results.

“Since ‘ liempo’ is very hard, it’s smarter to use a laser first to melt the fat away,” she said. “If you insist on just suctioning off the fat, it’s going to come out in chunks. At BMG, we make liempo into Jell-O first before we even begin to suction.”

There have also been cases, especially if the amount of fat removed is quite extensive, wherein the skin refused to contract. To address loose skin, Belo recommends that the client undergo Bodytite, a radio-frequency machine to firm up loose skin.

“We’ve had Bodytite for years,” she said. “We’re the only clinic in the Philippines and one of 20 in the world which has it.”

Uneven complexion Finally, for the naturally slim Mercado, her main concern was her dark, uneven complexion. This became more pronounced, she said, when shooting outdoors.

“I was really born dark,” she said.

“Because of my work, I get exposed to the sun a lot, especially when we do outdoor shoots. One part of my skin used

to end up dark, while the covered area was light. It was so difficult to achieve an even skin tone.”

After a series of Glutathione-IV injections, supplemented with oral doses of Belo Essentials’ glutathione capsules with collagen and vitamin C, Mercado was able to achieve a lighter, more even and glowing skin tone. She also visits BMG regularly to get a thorough body scrub.

“Of course, she has to maintain it,” said Belo. “Otherwise, her dark skin tone would come back. The procedure is safe. And contrary to rumors, glutathione doesn’t cause liver cancer.

In fact, it helps the liver, which always takes a beating from the things we eat and drink, get rid of free radicals.”

Obsession When she was starting her practice, Belo couldn’t understand the typical Filipina’s obsession with becoming “whiter.” She would always tell clients to be proud of their brown complexion, but they would still insist that Belo include a skin-whitening program in her menu of services.

“They told me that I have no idea what they’re feeling because I’m not dark,” she said. “I had no choice but to respond. It’s still is one of the leading concerns we get from clients.”

When daughter Cristalle Henares and her team were developing overthe-counter glutathione capsule, Belo insisted that they give her more than a skin-whitening capsule. She wanted something that could also minimize wrinkles and other obvious signs of skin aging.

“I told them, don’t just give me glutathione capsules,” Belo said.

“Give me collagen with it. It’s not enough to look white, you also need to have a softer, smoother and more even skin tone.”■

29 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Lifestyle

Chef Bernard.com–not a website, but Randy Ortiz’s new Filipino comfort food café

BY TINA ARCEO DUMLAO Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE ONLY time Randy Ortiz ever worked in the food industry was nearly 30 years ago, back when he just got his hotel and restaurant management degree from De La Salle University.

The celebrity fashion designer invited some of his closest friends in the rag trade like Tweetie de LeonGonzalez and Rissa Mananquil-Trillo, as well as celebrities like Cristine Reyes and Rayver Cruz, to the housewarming of his Makati café— “my carinderia,” as he fondly calls it.

Three weeks earlier, Ortiz and longtime friend Bernard Bañares opened the doors of Chef Bernard. com on a quiet side street in Legaspi Village, the culmination of a business partnership hatched only a few months prior.

Bañares, a professional model in the 1980s, had been living in California for the past 20 years. He is a trained chef and had for sometime been toying with the idea of coming home to set up a restaurant here.

On the urging of Ortiz, he finally packed his bags and flew to Manila in April.

“His only condition was, the restaurant shouldn’t be expensive,” Ortiz says. “And I agreed. I see so many restaurants folding up. I didn’t want to set up a place where the food is too expensive that people only come to eat once in a while. That’s also why we chose this place and not a space in the mall where the rents are so high.

We’re serving comfort food, food that you want to come back for, over and over. We set it up like a cafeteria. It’s not intimidating. You can come here and relax.”

The business partners settled on a menu that’s predominantly Filipino comfort food, prepared using classic French techniques, owing to Bañares’ training.

Lean menu The menu is purposely lean, with familiar fare like pancit molo, fresh lumpia, pork binagoongan, embotido, as well as all-day breakfast meals of longganisa, beef tapa and tocino, all made inhouse by the chef.

A fan of Thai cuisine, Bañares also included a green curry dish, and the classic French fare, beef bourguignon, in the offerings. There are also a couple of pasta dishes, as well as sandwiches.

Bañares is a born cook, as Ortiz would describe his friend. He learned his kitchen skills from an aunt back in Jaro, Iloilo, where he grew up. As a young boy, he learned how to debone a chicken without breaking the skin. When he was still modeling, he would bake tarts and pastries, as well as a chicken galantina dish, that were such hits his fellow models would order from him during the holidays.

When he moved to the United States, where he was a furniture entrepreneur, Bañares still occasionally made desserts and cured meats to sell. When the downturn forced him to shut down his furniture business, Bañares decided to answer his true calling and enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu’s California campus.

“I knew how to cook,” he says. “I’ve been cooking since I was a boy. But I had to find out what else I could learn.” He wanted to study classic French techniques.

“I got yelled at a lot,” he says, grinning. “I was set in my ways. I had a way of doing things, and [these chefinstructors] were telling me that wasn’t the way to do it.”

While he had to unlearn some old habits, he had impressed not a few professors for his kitchen knowhow. A strict Italian instructor, for one, was wowed with Banares’ chicken deboning skills.

Pureed sauces After graduating, he sought work at a casual finedining restaurant in Glendale, whose food he was a fan of.

“I just really liked the food in Bashan,” Bañares says. “I stayed for three months. Of course, I didn’t really get to cook the food, but I wanted to learn how they make it. And what I learned, I’m now applying to my cooking.” Bashan’s website says it uses classic French technique “infusing California, Mediterranean and Asian practices.”

Chef Bernard.com’s pork binagoongan is rendered in its own fat before it’s baked to exquisite tenderness for up to three hours. The bagoong is pureed and glazed on the meat before serving.

Following his training, Bañares’ sauces are all pureed. “I didn’t want to tweak the recipes so much that they become strange or unfamiliar to the Filipino palate,” he says. Most of his dishes are served with rice.

Well-loved chicken Bañares’ well-loved baked stuffed chicken from long ago, enlivened by the distinct flavor of pimiento in the stuffing, is also on the menu.

“When I moved to the States, I was so happy to find a great variety of sausages that I could stuff in the chicken,” he says. “I couldn’t use those sausages here because they’re quite expensive, so I had to adjust the recipe.”

Those who have tried it have been coming back for more. He serves it with a side of mashed camote spiced with ginger, and achara (pickled vegetable) made of grated squash instead of the typical papaya.

(The Baked Stuffed Chicken, as well as other party dishes not on the menu, is available to order.)

Chef Bernard.com is also especially proud of his Thai green curry chicken, which the shy chef says is gaining fans. The quintessential adobo is represented in a sandwich called Chicken Waldorf, and is served on ciabatta with fresh apples and lettuce with aioli and pickled onions. The chef’s homemade longganisa is also served as a sandwich with a side of purple yam chips.

Bañares is particularly proud of his desserts, which include a maja blanca as well as a squash creme brulee. His dense and moist banana bread has a sugarfree version for diabetics like Ortiz. It’s made with sour cream and walnuts, and served with coco sugar.

“What I love the most is baking,” says the chef. “I hope in the future I could make more desserts and my own bread.”

All items on the menu are priced between P120-P320.

Ortiz may not have been in the food trade for three decades, but it’s well known among friends that he’s a foodie and competent cook, and the consummate dinner host.

Chic interiors Anyone who has been in Ortiz’s chic Makati home would be reminded of it when they enter Chef Bernard. com. The café walls are washed in white and adorned with the paintings of Doltz Pilar, just like the fashion designer’s home.

Two long benches upholstered in dark gray fabric line one wall, complementing the sleek white tables, and the red and white chairs. The chandeliers, two imposing icicle-like fixtures, were sourced from Divisoria.

“See, I told you we didn’t want to spend,” says the designer with a knowing smile.

Chef Bernard.com is a family affair, with Ortiz’s siblings helping out in the operations. The kitchen is Bañares’ sole domain and the fashion designer is careful not to encroach in it. Ortiz isn’t leaving fashion anytime soon; the café is purely a business venture, he stresses.

Since it opened, the café has been the hangout of Ortiz’s friends. On this interview on a rainy Saturday, the painter Doltz Pilar is present for a late lunch, and so is fashion designer Rhett Eala.

“I’ve been holding my meetings here,” says Ortiz. “I tell my friends, ‘Come to my carinderia!’ At least they can’t say I’m robbing them blind since everything is affordable and delicious. I’ve been eating here almost every day, and I haven’t tired of the food.”

Chef Bernard.com is at Unit 1A Greenbelt Radissons, 106 Aguirre St. Legaspi Village, Makati City (at the back of AIM). Call 7519415 local 222, 0922-8335595, 09228707228; or City Delivery at 87878. It’s open 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Mondays-Saturdays. ■

30 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Jessica, ‘AI’ Top 10 here for only Asian concert date Playacting works for young TV star

BY ALEX Y. VERGARA moments ... when we were all pushing to do something Philippine Daily Inquirer

“THERE are lots of casinos, and pretty girls,” quipped Heejun Han, one of the Top 10 finalists of “American Idol” Season 11, when asked of his first impressions upon landing on Philippine soil.

Heejun, 23, joined the rest of the youthful, bubbly “Idols” at a press conference at the Manila Hotel for their concert at Smart Araneta Coliseum. The show is the last and only Asian date of the group’s 45-city tour of the United States.

In 2010, the “American Idol” live tour—which featured grand winner Scott McCreery and 10 others, including 11thplacer FilipinoAmerican Thia Megia—debuted in Manila for two nights, also at the Big Dome.

Friday’s concert is made more significant by the presence of another Filipino-American, Jessica Sanchez, the 2012 “Idol” runner-up who almost snagged the title from her main rival, Phillip Phillips.

Born and raised in the United States to a Filipino mother and a Mexican-American father, Jessica—easily the most popular among the Idols due to her local lineage and jawdropping vocal power—said she would be staying behind for about a week after the concert.

“I’ll be shooting some product endorsements,” she said, but expressed regret that she might not be able to visit her mom’s hometown in Bataan province.

She held back when the INQUIRER asked whether she would be doing a commercial for leading food chain Jollibee, explaining that she couldn’t reveal anything yet, except for clothing brand Bench which announced it recently on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook.

Jessica likewise did not confirm whether she was indeed being considered to play the lead role of Kim in the film version of the award-winning stage musical “Miss Saigon,” although she said: “I would love to try (auditioning).”

Just turned 17 Regarding reports that she was set to appear in the popular musical-comedy-drama TV series “Glee,” Jessica replied: “Nothing’s confirmed ... But it’s in the works.”

The petite powerhouse singer, who just turned 17 last month, showed none of the trappings of fame that came with her worldwide exposure on “Idol.”

Dressed in a simple, cut-off denim shirt and black shorts, the only noticeable pop-star item in her wardrobe was her pair of silver spikes-studded high-heeled shoes.

She pointed out that she ate more Filipino food than Mexican fare at home in San Diego, California. Asked what her favorite Pinoy dish is, she struggled with her Tagalog: “Sinigang na ... the one with pork.”

She admitted that she couldn’t learn the Filipino language because it was not spoken at home, “although my grandpa does, but he speaks so fast.”

Life-changing status If there was any instance during the “Idol” competition that made her realize that joining it had changed her life, Jessica paused for a moment before saying: “The gruelling

that we really wanted.”

Asked what would they be doing if they didn’t get into the show, each of the “Idols” gave different answers— except for Jessica, who said, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. It’s been in my head since I was 10.”

The rest of the “Idols” affirmed the life-changing status they felt during and after the show. “(After) being eliminated, we appeared on talk shows and people started noticing,” said sixth placer Elise Testone. A veteran of the South Carolina music scene, Elise, 29, is a vocal coach aside from being a talented musician who can play the piano, guitar, drums, cello and tambourine.

“Meeting the fans while on tour was definitely memorable,” admitted 10th placer Erika Van Pelt, a native of South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Apparently the most adventurous fashion-wise, Erika, 26, said she dyed her hair red because she was “feeling fiery” en route to the Philippines.

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

‘Balut’ “Idol” title holder Phillip Phillips—who revealed that his debut solo album is due for release in December— confessed that “everything still isn’t real for me. I still get nervous when performing.”

But the 21-year-old singersongwriter from Leesburg, Georgia, who stood out in the competition for his ability to arrange his material, added that “the tour has made me feel at home in the cities that we visit. It’s been a long year but a lot of fun.”

Eighth placer DeAndre Brackensick, 17, said he “can’t wait to eat balut.” Born in San Jose, California, to a European-American father and an African-American mother, DeAndre did not join the group interviews because he was not feeling well, organizers said. He is currently the apple of Jessica’s eyes.

Seventh placer Colton Dixon, 20, appreciated the fact that he has collaborated on some songs with Jason Wade of the Los Angeles rock band Lifehouse. He said he’s looking forward to the eventual release of the songs.

Of the 10 Idols, it was third placer and Louisiana native Joshua Ledet who greeted the Philippine mediawith “Mabuhay!” He added that he learned another Filipino word, but couldn’t remember it at the moment.

CHILD star Mona Louise Rey, a juvenile diabetic, doesn’t allow the condition to get in the way of her dream.

The lead star of the newest GMA 7 drama series, “Aso ni San Roque,” Mona was diagnosed at age 7 last year. “Do you want to know my blood sugar level when the doctors discovered I was sick? Promise not to get shocked—it was 658 (milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL)!” she said in Filipino. The normal blood sugar level in humans is between 70 and 180 mg/dL. Mona said she had adapted a lifestyle meant to keep the illness at bay. “Now my blood sugar level is always between 100 and 200. I’d know when it’s high because the machine (blood glucose meter) would flash “HI.” That means the reading is between 490 and 500.”

The Filipino-Bahraini kid said she had accepted her situation. “I’m not bothered by it anymore. I’ve even learned to inject myself with insulin.”

“Aso ni San Roque” depicts the adventures of a blind girl, Fatima (Mona), and a golden retriever named Anghel (Princess, of “Bwakaw” fame), who acts as her guide. Fatima is the daughter of a mortal man with a mythical creature ( manananggal).

New ‘Idol’ judges It remains to be seen whether this batch of Idols would pull in a capacity crowd at the Big Dome concert.

Although “Idol” has been highly rated since it debuted on television in 2002, audiences are now only about half the more than 30 million who watched regularly in the show’s 2005 and 2006 heyday.

The last season finale in May drew a record low of 21.5 million viewers and “Idol” lost its prestige as the mostwatched program on US TV to “Sunday Night Football.”

Controversial rapper Nicki Minaj and country singer Keith Urban joined a new set of judges that includes Mariah Carey (with Randy Jackson retained) as the show seeks to boost its star power and recapture sliding audiences in a crowded TV talent competition field.

The show’s 12th season will air in January 2013. ■

TV commercials The young actress laughingly recalled how she used to cry while playacting with her elder sister. Her mother thought she was crying for real and her sister was about to take a beating when Mona said, “Mama, it’s just acting.”

Her mom’s retort: “I hope someday I can make money out of that.” Mona joined show biz via the top-rating show “Ang Munting Heredera” in 2011. She was also in the cast of “Luna Blanca: Unang Yugto.”

Mona said it’s not that difficult to work with a dog, whom she described as “kind and obedient. We love to play. I also have a dog in our house, Lassie (a Pomeranian).”

She started doing TV commercials at age 6.

Asked how she spent her earnings, Mona said: “I put it in the bank. I don’t know if it’s already in the millions, I have no time to check. I plan to use the money for my education, and also for my own needs.” ■

Entertainment

31 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Maxene a staunch supporter of RH bill

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

don’t want to get involved in a relationship so soon. I’m still not ready. I learned a lot from each relationship.”

ACTRESS Maxene Magalona said her being a staunch supporter of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill “doesn’t mean I’m already proabortion.”

“The bill is more than just abortion,” Maxene pointed out.

“I support the bill because I want people to be careful and to mind their actions when it comes to sex.”

“Times are changing and we all should adapt,” she explained.

“Nowadays, two people first test their sexual chemistry to determine if their relationship would actually work.”

The daughter of the late music icon Francis Magalona added: “Premarital sex is obviously an important part of a relationship. I don’t have anything against people who wait until they get married, but this is just how I think.”

Painful breakup Prior to going out with Neil, Maxene had a six-year relationship with a nonshowbiz guy. She also got involved with reality show winner JC Tiuseco for five months, and then with actor Dominic Roco for six months.

She said: “It’s always painful every time I go through a breakup. It’s not easy because when I love, I really give my all. If one relationship ends, I’d cry but accept that there’s nothing more I can do. I already lost the most important guy in mylife when my dad died so if this one guy doesn’t want to be with me anymore, I’d just let him go.”

Maxene said this was how she and Stella, her character in the GMA7 afternoon series “Faithfully,” differed.

“We both choose to see only the good in people, but it takes Stella a while to realize that she’s already being taken advantage of. If I were Stella, I wouldn’t pursue Kevin (Stella’s ex-husband, played by Marc Abaya) anymore,” she pointed out. “I probably would not be able to bear having to share my guy with another woman. I’d simply let him go.

When I’m in a relationship, I always do my part to make sure my guy is satisfied, so he will not cheat on me. If he still does, then the problem isn’t me anymore.”

“Faithfully,” under the direction of Mike Tuviera, also features Mike Tan, Isabel Oli, Michelle Madrigal and Vaness del Moral. ■

Sex is precious She also expressed her view on onenight stands or engaging in one-time sexual encounter. “I don’t practice it, but I don’t judge the people who do it. I consider sex very precious and should just be between two people who genuinely care for each other,” she stressed.

She added: “If you want to do it then go ahead—just don’t blame anyone if something bad happens to you or if you get pregnant. You have to be responsible for your actions. You have to be very careful and well-protected.”

Maxene claimed to have learned an important lesson from her own mother (Pia), who first got pregnant when she was 18. Her mother is also a supporter of the RH bill.

“Mymom said to us, ‘If you get pregnant or get someone pregnant, say goodbye to your lives.’ That’s what she went through,” she recalled.

Maxene claimed she had recovered from her breakup with businessman Neil Arce, her boyfriend for over a year.

“It has been six months since we split up. We weren’t okay for a month, but things have been ironed out now,” she said.

The actress still has no interest in dating again just yet.

She said: “I meet and hang out with a lot of people, but I

‘Bwakaw’ gears up for Oscars

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer ITS “very Filipino theme with a universal effect” helped pave the way for Jun Lana’s acclaimed drama, “Bwakaw,” to be chosen as the country’s entry in the best foreign language film category of next year’s 85th Oscar awards.

This was according to director-scriptwriter Jose Carreon, who is a member of the sevenman screening committee formed by the Film Academy of the Philippines (FAP)—the group tasked to select the local entry to the Oscars.

“Bwakaw” is the story of a gay octogenarian named Rene (Eddie Garcia) and his pet dog.

“It’s a huge honor … I know it’s going to be a lot of work but nothing we can’t handle,” Lana told the INQUIRER. He added: “We have a worldwide sales agent, Fortissimo Films, to back us up, and APT Films, my coproducer, is already experienced in this area, having campaigned for Soxie Topacio’s ‘Ded Na Si Lolo’ a few years ago.”

Next month, “Bwakaw” will be showcased at the New York 2012 International Film Fest and will compete at the Hawaii Fest.

Lana, who will attend the New York fest with Garcia, said: “It’s perfect timing to kick off our Oscar campaign. From New York, I’m heading straight to two more film fests and I think they’re fantastic opportunities to raise more awareness about our film.”

According to Carreon, “Bwakaw” was chosen from a short list of eight films because “it presents serious topics, such as old age and death, in a light manner.”

He added that the committee members were also “impressed” with the performances of Garcia, Rez Cortez, Armida SiguionReyna and the dog Princess.

Every country is allowed to submit an entry through a local organization or group accredited by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The foreign language film award committee of the Oscars chooses five nominees through secret balloting.

“It’s the first time that a film I was in will be sent to the Oscars for consideration,” Garcia said. “If it makes it to the finals, well and good.”

“Bwakaw” won the best actor award for Garcia, audience choice and Netpac awards in this year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

The film was screened at the recently concluded Toronto International Film Festival in Canada under the contemporary world cinema category. ■

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Entertainment Bieber’s mother says the pop star found her harrowing new book a painful read

Photo Works / Shutterstock.com

TORONTO - Pattie Mallette’s new memoir ``Nowhere But Up’’ is an unflinching document of a difficult life, chronicling how the 37-year-old endured sexual abuse, a teenage pregnancy and a deep depression that triggered suicidal impulses.

It’s not an easy read for anyone, but Mallette says it was particularly difficult for her son, Canadian pop star Justin Bieber. ``It was tough for him to read, parts of it,’’ Mallette said during an interview this week from a well-appointed hotel room in downtown Toronto. ``Because you know, it’s his mom going through this pain. It’s hard for him to look at that pain. But he also wants to see people’s lives change, and he sees the bigger picture. ``He supports me in what I’m doing.’’

And while it was hard for Bieber to read the new memoir (the 18-year-old also penned its foreword), it was just as difficult for Mallette to re-open wounds from decades ago.

Like her pop prodigy of a son, Mallette grew up in a bluecollar family in Stratford, Ont. Even before Mallette was born, her family faced tragedy - her sister, Sally, was hit by a car and killed upon impact when she was five years old.

While similarly senseless personal catastrophes seemed to crop up with unusual frequency - Mallette’s biological father left her family when she was two, then died suddenly just as he was trying to reconnect - she writes that, on the surface, she appeared to have a standard suburban upbringing.

However, ``under all the apparent normalcy’’ - as Mallette writes - she endured many years of sexual abuse from an array of perpetrators: male and female, young and old. According to Mallette, those responsible included a friend’s seemingly charming grandfather and an aggressive male babysitter.

At one point long ago, she held these secrets so close that their heavy burden was in part to blame when a teenaged Mallette became so distraught that she stepped in front of an oncoming box truck. The driver skillfully swerved, but the suicide attempt landed Mallette in the psych ward of the Stratford General Hospital.

So clearly, committing these childhood traumas to the public record wasn’t an easy decision for Mallette. ``I had to just keep remembering the only reason I wrote this book was to help other people,’’ she said. ``So I knew that it was going to be painful putting it down on paper. Some things are even still painful to talk about. ``But you know, I’m so much more healed today than I was and I really want to help other people get to that place as well.’’

And really, Mallette’s honesty seemed boundless.

She opens up about a litany of details that many celebrity memoirs might have glossed over: her adolescent tendency to numb herself with drugs and alcohol; the brief period she spent supporting herself by dealing weed and selling stolen cigarettes; and her occasionally difficult relationship with her well-meaning mother. Mallette, a faithful Christian, also concedes that she’s been celibate since she was 21 years old, a revelation that has inspired plenty of tabloid gawking.

Later, she writes about the revelatory experience she’s had recently sharing her story with teen moms. And she says now her

Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com

BY NICK PATCH THE CANADIAN PRESS

Justin Bieber

Pattie Mallette

book wouldn’t have had value to those struggling youngsters if it wasn’t thoroughly candid. ``I wanted to connect with people and relate to people, so I knew I had to be as real and raw and honest as I could,’’ she said. ``It’s tough being vulnerable in front of the whole world. But again, I’m hoping to reach even one person. If just one person’s life gets changed after reading this story, it’s worth it.’’

That complete transparency also meant probing the difficult relationship she had with Bieber’s father. Writing about the early years of their mercurial relationship, Mallette portrays him as magnetic but immature, and the two young lovers had a rocky relationship exacerbated by mutual substance use.

He was in county jail the day his son was born over a fight. But Mallette stresses, both in print and in person, that neither party was blameless and Bieber’s father (who also has children now from another relationship) has deeply matured over the years, and is very much a different man now than he was. ``We (had a) toxic, on-again, off-again relationship when we were younger,’’ said Mallette, who penned the book with A.J. Gregory. ``We’ve both grown. We’ve both changed.... He’s been there since Justin was a baby. Some people think he just showed up when Justin became famous, but he’s been a good dad.’’

Of course, the book brightens considerably once Mallette gives birth to her only son on March 1, 1994, when she was only 18 years old.

Although she lived for a time at a home in Stratford for teen moms (and portions of the book’s proceeds will be dedicated to a charity benefiting single-parent homes and addiction centres) and endured some dramatic episodes with his father, Mallette found purpose with her son’s arrival.

And Bieber was a handful as a child, seemingly possessing a boundless energy that irked teachers and kept his single mother perpetually occupied. She writes in the book that although Bieber was never formally diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the ``signs were obvious.’’ ``He still has a ton of energy,’’ she says, laughing. ``I had a teacher say that ... he was like having 10 kids. When he was good, the whole class was good. When he was bad, the whole class was bad. ``So he kept me on my toes.’’

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 32

It’s clear how closely bonded Mallette and Bieber became after spending years living together in tiny Stratford apartments. Bieber has never been shy about expressing his love and appreciation for his dear mom, and her influence runs deep - for instance, it was the Boyz II Men records she played during her pregnancy and Bieber’s early childhood that informed his love of R&B. And the effervescent Mallette seems to share her son’s gregarious streak. Just before the interview, she chides an American member of her team for being unfamiliar with the CN Tower, then muses on whether there’s time to scale up to the peak - before pointing out herself that she and her son share a ``mischievous’’ streak.

But the fact that their relationship is so close explains why it was so difficult for Mallette to allow him into show business in the first place. As a pre-teen YouTube sensation, Bieber (who got his start by placing second in a Stratford singing competition) was attracting attention from a number of reputable entertainment types, but Mallette was initially reluctant. ``I’m very protective - and he would say over-protective and maybe strict,’’ said the diminutive Mallette. ``But I didn’t want to see him go through the same sort of pain that I went through. And I just wanted to protect him at all costs. ``You hear all the horror stories of the industry, and I just really wanted to make sure that anything I could do to prevent him from being hurt, I would do.’’

In the early-going, that meant meticulously monitoring the comments sections below Bieber’s videos and judiciously paring the more mean-spirited posts.

But of course, as Bieber’s star rose and he became a multiplatform superstar with an army of social media faithful and worldwide record sales well past the 15 million mark, it became impossible for Mallette to shield her son from the scornful backlash. ``He’s a human being, and when he sees those hurtful, hateful comments, I’m sure he feels some sort of way about them. I know I do as his mom,’’ she said. ``It hurts me to see that stuff. Because some people just don’t see us as human beings. ``But he’s just, he’s great. He just brushes it off. And he’s got a lot more people that love him, so as mom, I just have to realize it comes with the territory.’’

For all her fretting, Mallette is proud of the way Bieber has turned out after his atypical adolescence - ``My biggest achievement is just seeing that he’s turning out to be ... a good man,’’ she says.

Still, she stumbles over that ``man’’ part. She bristled lightheartedly when it was mentioned that the ``Baby’’ hitmaker, who turned 18 earlier this year, was now all grown up. ``Grown up?’’ she interjects with a smile. ``It’s so bizarre to think of him as a grown-up. Because he’s my baby, and will probably always be my baby.’’

Still, Mallette acknowledges that she no longer needs to be focused on her son to the exclusion of all else.

After devoting all of her adult life to her only child, Mallette says she’s finally ready to carve out some time for herself. ``Now that he’s 18 and doesn’t need mom as much anymore, it’s good for me to have time to focus on this book and my message and being able to help other people and do my own thing,’’ she said. ``I have over a million Twitter followers because of Justin, and they all call me mom. So I feel somewhat of a responsibility to have something good to say. I feel like there’s a lot of people with a platform and they don’t have anything to say or they don’t have anything good to say. ``And I really want to bring some hope and encouragement.’’ ■

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

Claire Danes

Married actor Damian Lewis joked to reporters that he might be doing some extra celebrating with ``Homeland’’ co-star Claire Danes, who is also married and came to the Emmys with a baby bump. ``We’re going away to a romantic island together,’’ the redheaded British actor joked. ``When that baby is ginger you guys are going to have a field day.’’ The comment may have gotten some members of the press too excited, one of whom asked Danes a few moments later how she viewed the win in light of giving birth. ``Thank god I am not giving birth,’’ said Danes, who’s in an earlier stage of pregnancy. The pair reunited later in another backstage area, looking very platonic and like two friends enjoying each other’s success. ■ - Anthony McCartney, twitter.com/mccartneyAP

‘Game Change’ for Tom Hanks

Harmony Gerber / Shutterstock.com

Rena Schild / Shutterstock.com

‘Homeland Star’ jokes about playing house

Tom Hanks shakes his hands, perhaps to get a good grip, as he prepares to select his take-home Emmy from the backstage trophy table. ``What do I do?’’ asks Hanks, who collected a trophy as one of the producers of ``Game Change,’’ honoured as best miniseries or made-for-TV movie at Sunday’s Emmys. ``Now what?’’ he asks after signing for the trophy.

He’s directed to a bank of ready photographers. ``Come on Rita, get in here!’’ A fellow ``Game Change’’ producer shouts to Hanks’ wife, Rita Wilson, as flashbulbs pop. ■ - Sandy Cohen via twitter.com/apsandy

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Photos by Angelo Siglos

Canada: Seen and Scenes

Photos by Solon Licas

An afternoon tea, a

er 17.

nada held on Septemb

bal Pinoy Diaspora Ca

for members of the Glo last hurrah of summer,

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 34

The Licas Family from Toronto, Onta

Photos by Angelo Siglos

rio at the Grand Canyon National

Park in Arizona, USA.

Vancouver Fashion Week opened

by Fil-Canadian beauty queen Suzette Hernandez who modelled the designs of Lebanese designer, Gianni Maanaki.

35 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28 2012

Canada: Seen and Scenes

Photos by Angelo Siglos

the Bluffer ’s Park in on September 15, 2012 at st of Our Lady of Peñafrancia to participate in the big Fea e the cam ted ion bra Reg l cele has Bico The Bicolanos in Canada nting the six provinces of the rese rep s Rafael Nebres. otee nt dev side of Pre ber A d num tion headed by BCC Scarborough, Ontario. A goo l Canada Community Associa Bico the by ed aniz org was festivity. The event

Birthday bash for Labour Attache Bernie Julve held on September 19 was attended by his friends and the leaders of the Filipino-Canadian community in Vancouver.

At the International Celebration of Peace at the Idlewild Peace Park in Cranbrook, BC participated in by the Filipino-Canadian Association of the East Kootenay.

At the rehearsals for “VANCOUVER LABS PILIPINAS ”ROC K FOR A CAUSE” produced

by TsikenstaRR Productions and Asia Students Christian Trust of Phillipines to raise funds for fellow kababayan who have been affected by recent typhoon habaga t.

36 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

5 Incredible Niagara Falls’ Attractions

MARIA HUBBARD Courtesy of Ontario Tourism A MAGNIFICENT view to behold, the Niagara Falls will have visitors humbled by their beauty. These three superb waterfalls (named the ‘Horseshoe Falls’, the ‘American Falls’ and the ‘Bridal Veil Falls’) proudly connect Ontario, Canada and New York, America. With so many attractions that provide perfect ways to see the falls, visitors will have plenty of ways to witness, what is arguably, one of the world’s most striking sights.

The Maid of the Mist Departing every 30 minutes from both U.S and Canada docks, The Maid of the Mist, is an incredible boat tour that will get visitors so close to the falls that they will literally be silenced by the power of the water. Unable to hear each other above the mighty pouring of the falls, tourists will find themselves utterly captivated by the majestic views. The boat begins by taking passengers past the ‘America’ and ‘Bridal Veil’ Falls, and then proceeds to take them into the spectacular mist of the ‘Horseshoe Falls.’ It is certainly a positive that ponchos are available for purchase, because the one thing that cannot be guaranteed is that passengers will stay nice and dry...

Goat Island An Island between the Canadian and America Falls, this attraction boasts some of the finest views available. From the Terrapin point, an awe-inspiring sight of ‘Horseshoe Falls’ is provided and near here, the ‘American’ and ‘Bridal Veil’ Falls can also be seen in their outstanding glory.

Off the west side of the location, visitors can get to the individual, small ‘Three Sisters Islands’. These sweet, little Islands which are connected by bridges are the

perfect places to go for an afternoon walk, surrounded by nature’s marvellous beauty.

Rainbow Bridge Made of strong, unbreakable steel, this bridge is the ultimate view point. Opened in 1941, the bridge is 61.5 meters high and 289.5 meters in length. The arch shape of the bridge enables the best possible views of the falls and allows visitors to stand at a distance and gaze in admiration. For tourists wanting to see the falls from both America and Canada, the Rainbow Bridge is a great way to cross. Charging only a small fee at the toll gate and allowing different transportation modes such as by foot, car or bike, the Rainbow Bridge provides a great attraction in itself and is a must when visiting the falls.

The New York State Observation Tower Tourists can climb up hundreds of stairs or simply take an elevator, to get to the top of this stunning New York State observation tower. Overlooking the incredible falls, the tower is the ideal place for tourists to soak in the magnificence of their surroundings.

A place where everything can be viewed at once, this attraction will definitely call for the use of a camera.

Conclusion These great attractions provide lots of ways to witness these world-famous falls. Whether visitors want to get behind the falls on a guided tour or paddle the waters and stand right before them, there are plenty of ways to suit everybody. One thing is for sure though, however visitors choose to admire these amazing falls they mustn’t forget to keep their cameras in their pockets! The Niagara Falls area contains many other great places to travel, to rent a rental car visit this site. ■

Best ways to enjoy the beauty of Red Lake, Ontario

MARIA HUBBARD Courtesy of Ontario Tourism A TOWN in Northern Ontario, Red Lake is part of a municipality that boosts one of Canada’s most outstanding natural lakes.

Surrounded by serene, calm blue waters, visitors will find themselves drifting into a world of complete relaxation. With attractions both on and off the lake, tourists will be able to sit back, relax and enjoy all that this peaceful destination has to offer.

On the Lake Red Lake is truly an angler’s paradise. With thousands of fish to catch, ranging from lake trout to Northern Pike, fishing fanatics can keep their lines cast out from sunrise to sunset.

The opportunity for visitors to travel by floatplane to some of the lake’s most remote fishing areas, with ‘Green’s Fly-In Camps’, is also available, enabling anglers to pursue their passion all day long without any interruptions.

With tour companies that provide visitors with the best spots for ice fishing in the winter, fishing enthusiasts will be in heaven all year long at Red Lake, Ontario.

For those who enjoy an activity packed day, Red Lake, is a great place for visitors to get their adrenaline pumping. Although the town radiates a peaceful atmosphere, there is plenty of fun and excitement ready to be discovered. Visitors can rent kayaks and canoes or take a trip on a floatplane to explore the lake. With plenty of ways to burn off energy and get revitalized, Red Lake is the perfect place for those who are looking for adventure.

Around the Lake Situated around the lake, the Red Lake Museum, will allow visitors to submerge into Ontario’s past. The museum features gold mining displays and tells the story of ‘Red Lake Mine.’ In 1995, the mine was found to contain some of the richest

gold available in the world. As a result it has become one of the richest and most celebrated mines ever to exist, and consequently a great part of Red Lake’s heritage and history. Packed full of other exciting exhibitions, this museum is definitely an attraction worth visiting.

Located on the sun-kissed shores of McNeely Bay (a Red Lake bay), The Red Lake Country and Golf club will provide visitors with a spectacular day out. With an 18 hole golf course, golfers can sharpen up their skills at this scenic location. When visitors want to take a break, they can enjoy the clubhouse facilities or sit out on the large deck, with a beer in hand and look out at the picturesque Red Lake which journeys below. A restful day out, The Red Lake Country and Golf club is an ideal way to spend the day.

Near the Lake Close to Red Lake, Ontario, is the beautiful Woodland Caribou Provincial Park. This attraction is a provincial park consisting of 1,150,000 acres of wilderness. Visitors can rent a canoe or travel by float plane to access this stunning location. Surrounded by nature’s beauty, tourists will be silenced by the park’s tranquil surroundings. With the calm, blue waters stretching for 2000 km, visitors can spend their entire day exploring this sublime and inspiring area.

From spending endless days fishing in the deep blue lake to exploring the scenic sights that lay around it, Red Lake, Ontario is full of beauty and splendour longing to be admired. Visitors can relax with a game of golf and look out at the lake from a distance or touch the water with their fingertips on a trip in a canoe. With lots of to do on, around and near the lake, visitors will never want to leave this calm and soothing location. ■

37 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Travel

Roadtrip Philippines: Highways, back roads and beyond

BY LINGLING MARANAN CLAVER IT WAS my first time to ride the RORO (roll on-roll off) ferry in the Philippines and I was apprehensive. I had ridden the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, B.C., the ferry in Seattle Washington, one from England to Ireland, and another from England to France, but riding the Philippine ferry was akin to getting on board a thrilling, dangerous amusement park ride. My nervous excitement must have been caused by wonderment whether the rusty thing would stay afloat until the next port. Past incidents of interisland ferries that sunk because they were too old, overcrowded, brought down by bad weather, or due to a combination of all factors came to mind.

But I could not afford to be scared. We HAD to get to the next island.

Pier hands and the ferry crew guided the drivers expertly into the deck where vehicles were parked nearly a hair’s breadth from each other. After several attempts, we were able to get our contorted bodies out of the car.

While we were still docked and waiting for the other passengers to get on the ferry, young boys dove from the upper most deck. A sun-baked young boy bobbing in the water called out to me and earnestly shouted, “Doktora! Doktora!”, motioning for me to throw him some change. Feeling a bit flattered, I went back to my husband to ask if I really did look like a doctor.

The kid wanted you to throw him a bigger amount, he replied laughing.

Inside the ferry, harried passengers plopped themselves on the leatherettecovered seats that had seen better days.

There were life vests alright, but I thought that only the fear of drowning could induce passengers to put on the grimy flotation devices. It was a relief to find a washroom but the smell of urine from its dilapidated doors interfered with the sea breeze.

Indeed, it will be a great day when owners/ operators of these sea-going transport vehicles put the comfort and safety of their captive passengers over huge profit.

Nevertheless, the ferry ride was pleasant.

There was a videoke bar and a small canteen selling sitsirya or munchies. A slew of hawkers fed hungry passengers with balut, peanuts, and cheap meals of boiled eggs and rice. On the outside deck, women relaxed and gazed out to the open seas as they had their nails done by enterprising manikuristas.

Tacloban We arrived in Allen, Samar, but chose to drive across the 2.16-kilometer San Juanico Bridge to Leyte for the night’s lodging. What a relief to find a comfortable pension house in Tacloban after a day’s trip. But we had barely settled on the clean bed sheets when the bells of the church across the street began to ring at 4:30 in the morning and the parish priest commenced his admonitions to his flock through a loudspeaker. Well, rise and shine we did.

Thirty minutes northwest of Tacloban is Babatngon where the Paru-parong Bukid Conservation Center is located. According to the young guide who met us, the place was developed by a local neurosurgeon.

The Conservation Center offers a guided tour of its butterfly farm and organic garden. Anyone wanting to explore the nearby mangroves could rent a kayak and for P250.00 a night, one can even sleep in a treehouse built above the mangroves.

We were shown around by our guide who explained how vermicomposting with night crawler worms is done. Under a shed were heaps of dried leaves, twigs and other garden trimmings ready to be recycled into fertilizer for use in the garden. Afterwards, he led us to the enclosure where butterflies were in varying stages of their short but fascinating lives. Thirst soon overcame us and we went to the café. Two genial weekend bikers who were also lawyers soon joined us and over refreshing glasses of buko pandan shakes, shared some anecdotes and insights about Tacloban, their beloved city. It was good to know that locals such as the two gents were finding relaxation and enjoyment in a green space like the Conservation Center.

Not far from the Conservation Center is Rafael’s Farm, a resort with lush tropical gardens and an Italianate fountain right smack in the middle of the rice fields. We were taken by the fern- and orchid -fringed

gazebos, the giant stag ferns, blooming bromeliads and the all-glass function house where guests could view the surrounding green fields and mountains of Leyte. For P25.00 as entrance fee, one could while away the hours just rambling along the the garden’s pathways, or have a quiet time up in the bamboo treehouse. Alfred, our travelmate and designated driver, was elated to find fallen areca nuts on the ground—just what he needed for his lime and betel leaves, to chew as “nga-nga”.

Samar We backtracked and drove once more along the span traversing San Juanico Strait towards Samar. What we really planned on visiting in Samar was the historic town of Balangiga. Eastward, past mirror-like rivers and limestone mountains, past the matweaving town of Basey, and past Caluwayan from where one could marvel at the outlines of the Marabut islands, is the fishing town of Balangiga. Here, a competition for the biggest and smallest blue marlin catch is held yearly from April 1 to 3.

The town’s plaza is dominated by a life-sized tableau memorializing the local revolutionaries who rose up in arms against the American colonizers in 1901.

Just across the plaza is the church where American soldiers took the bells that tolled to signal the hour of uprising. The bells are still in Wyoming and considered as war

memorabilia of U.S. war veterans.

According to Mang Johnny, the caretaker of the Balangiga shrine, the people of Balangiga look to the day when they could get back the bells that are rightfully theirs.

Every year, the townspeople dramatize the victorious uprising that was led by Capt. Valeriano Abanador, who was then the town’s chief of police. They also commemorate the dead from Gen. Jacob Smith’s “kill and burn” policy that turned their town and the surrounding areas into a “howling wilderness”. Mang Johnny also revealed that there was a plan by the National Historical Institute to build a memorial library but this has not materialized. We were surprised too, to learn that Capt. “Lolo Bale” Abanador’s house is still standing. We passed by the house of this great man. There was not even a marker. We were all of one mind that it is one historical landmark that needs to be restored and preserved.

It was rainy and dark when we were back in Tacloban. To prepare for our early breakfast before our trip to Surigao the next day, we dropped by Zamora Street. Sure enough, there was the store selling Leytestyle rice cakes—moron suman made from glutinous rice, cocoa, peanut bits and cheese, taro suman, and one that is both sweet and salty. A sidewalk vendor called out for me to try her sweet Davao mangoes—the perfect partner to our breakfast fare. ■

Business

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 38

Gov’t to issue global PAL taps 7-Eleven for ticket payments peso notes worth $1B

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

PREPARATIONS for the issuance of as much as $1 billion worth of global peso notes are well underway, according to the Department of Finance, which is now talks with three banks that may serve as lead arrangers for the international bond sale.

“We are looking at working with three banks for the issuance of the global peso notes,” Rosalia de Leon, head of the international finance group of the Department of Finance, said in a phone interview.

De Leon cannot disclose the identities of the banks at the moment because the process that will allow the government to tap the services of the banks has yet to be completed.

The Department of Finance has already secured the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ approval for the issuance of the bonds in the international capital market, as well as the sale of another $500 million worth of bonds in the domestic market.

The bulk of the proceeds from the bond sale will go to the settlement of the government’s maturing obligations.

The Bureau of the Treasury, an attached agency of the DOF, hopes to conduct the bond sale soon after the DOF approves the three banks that will serve as lead arrangers.

But Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the bond sale would have to be properly timed, when the market is not jittery.

The government hopes to give the bonds a longterm maturity as part of its liability management strategy. By issuing bonds with a longer tenor, the government is able to extend the average maturity of its outstanding debts.

The bonds are also planned to be denominated in pesos, because the government wants to avoid increasing its exposure to foreign exchange risk, Purisima said yesterday. ■

PAYING for a plane ticket to go to any of Philippine Airlines’ (PAL) 29 domestic routes just got a lot more “convenient.”

The San Miguel Corp.-led flag carrier announced that its customers would now be able to pay for their domestic flight tickets at the 766 7-Eleven convenience stores nationwide.

The new service, the airline said in a statement, was a result of a partnership with Philippine Seven Corp. for the use of the latter’s ECPay’s Payment Center facility.

The airline said passengers who book online but do not have other ways to pay for their tickets electronically no longer need to go and line up at PAL offices to pay for their tickets. “Instead, they may simply go to the nearest 7-Eleven outlet in their neighborhood,” PAL said.

ECPay outlets will only accept payments for flight bookings done online and will not accept payments for bookings done through the PAL reservation hotline.

The new scheme is also designed for those with no credit cards but still wanted to do their bookings online, in the convenience of their homes, offices, Internet cafes or mobile phones. The service is also designed for passengers that need to book flights quickly.

The latest passenger service innovation involves a few steps. First, a passenger books a flight through the PAL website. The flight must be at least 48

mUAr_cHEe | Flickr Creative Commons

BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer

hours from the time of booking. Once booking is confirmed, passenger will select the “Reserve and Hold” option on the summary page. To complete the process, the passenger details are inputted and the confirmation email must be printed.

Within 24 hours, the passenger should go to the nearest 7-Eleven retail outlet, present the booking confirmation to the 7-Eleven cashier and pay the corresponding amount. The itinerary receipt (ETicket) and official receipt will be sent to the passenger’s e-mail address.

On top of the new 7-Eleven service, PAL said it would also put up payment kiosks at Petron gas stations in Metro Manila, a result of synergies between PAL and other companies in the San Miguel group.

In the coming months, PAL said it would further expand its ticket sales and payment centers to more than 3,000 outlets nationwide in coordination with trade partners like ECPay. ■

Outlook for electronics exports dims

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE OUTLOOK for the coming months for the country’s electronics exports has turned sour, with the industry’s book-to-bill ratio falling to its lowest in more than two decades, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.

The BSP, however, expressed optimism that total export revenues might still grow because the country was gradually diversifying its export products to lessen its dependency on electronics.

“Insofar as the outlook for electronics exports is concerned, we [BSP] are seeing very difficult conditions specially for semiconductors,” BSP Assistant Governor Ma. Cyd Tuaño-Amador said in a briefing.

The book-to-bill ratio for electronics exporters stood at 0.87 percent in July, slipping from the previously reported 1.2 percent in March and hitting the lowest level since the mid-1980s.

“The ratio is even lower than what we have seen in the ’80s. This means we may face substantial headwind as far as electronics exports are concerned,” Amador said.

Book-to-bill ratio—a major indicator of future export earnings—is the ratio between the value of orders for export goods and the value of previous deliveries.

A ratio above one percent indicates that the value of orders is higher than that of previous deliveries, suggesting an increase in export revenues in the succeeding months. A ratio below one percent means

the value of future deliveries is likely to be lower than previous deliveries.

However, Amador said the outlook for the entire export sector remained positive because exporters were increasing their sales of non-electronic goods.

“Despite the drop in the book-to-bill ratio for electronics, we are seen to maintain a respectable growth in total export revenues. The story being told to us is one of diversification of export products,” Amador said.

In July, electronics exports fell 25.6 percent yearon-year to just $1.7 billion, documents from the National Statistics Office showed. Despite this, total exports grew 7.8 percent $4.8 billion.

Electronics exports accounted for just about 35 percent of the country’s total export revenues in July, much smaller than the 50- to 60-percent share in the past few years.

The drop in the book-to-bill ratio for the electronics sector from more than one percent earlier this year showed that the global economic demand for electronics remained volatile.

Demand for electronics, which are non-basic goods, is largely affected by swings in consumer sentiment.

Economists said that global demand for non-essentials remained volatile because consumer sentiment was being affected by various developments. On one hand, they said consumer sentiment was being dragged by the prolonged crisis in the euro zone and the lackluster growth of the American economy. On the other, sentiment was being lifted by stimulus measures being implemented by governments in the advanced economies. ■

39 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Sports

BY TIM DAHLBERG Philippine Daily Inquirer THERE’S ALWAYS something to sell in boxing, some angle to make you pay.

The latest from Manny Pacquiao is he’s willing to do everything but pick up Floyd Mayweather Jr. and drive him to the arena to make the megafight boxing has been waiting way too long for.

Pacquiao says Mr. Money can have more money, and get top billing. He can watch him take his steroid tests, and even choose the food at the prefight press conference if he wants. ``He can even wear my trunks if it gets him in the ring with me,’’ Pacquiao said. ``I want to fight Floyd Mayweather next.’’

Unfortunately for boxing fans, Pacquiao is not fighting Mayweather next. He’s meeting Juan Manuel Marquez for the fourth time, a fight so unattractive that he needs to talk about Mayweather to get anyone to pay attention to it.

That’s not entirely Pacman’s fault.

Actually, most of it is Mayweather’s fault for refusing to step up for the fight that would likely define his career.

His nonsensical rants about steroids and patriotism whenever Pacquiao’s name is brought up are just that. His strange reluctance to prove his boast that he is the best fighter in the world brings into doubt just how legitimate that boast is.

Still, he remains the biggest draw in boxing, something he proves every fight with his big pay-per-view numbers. The mere mention of his name sells tickets, though it’s anyone’s guess when he will fight again after serving more than two months in jail this summer.

It’s been nearly four years since Pacquiao gave Oscar De La Hoya such a beating that he sent him into retirement, a fight that started the buzz about a Pacquiao-Mayweather match.

It seemed sure to happen, and it seemed sure to be the richest fight ever, with both boxers pocketing at least $40 million.

My guess now is Mayweather and Pacquiao will never meet in the ring, even now when Pacquiao is offering to take 45 per cent of the purse to 55 per cent for Mayweather. I’ve felt that way for some time, and the feeling was reinforced when Mayweather went apoplectic when I dared to ask him before his fight against Miguel Cotto in May why he wasn’t fighting Pacquiao instead.

Here comes UP

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer

BRACE yourselves for University of the Philippines.

After another season of heartaches in the UAAP’s centerpiece men’s basketball tournament, UP is expected to unleash yet another spectacular show when it returns to the hardcourt in a marquee event that it has dominated the past few years.

The UP Pep Squad aims for a third straight championship in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition today, and it is favored to rule the event featuring top dance crews.

Pulling off a surprise Madonnainspired routine last year, the Maroons have again kept their number under wraps in a field where the Far Eastern U Cheering Squad is also a solid favorite and where the University of Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe tries to recapture its old glory.

The league’s annual side show— which packs a huge crowd that rivals the league’s biggest games—kicks off Mall of Asia Arena.

Hoping to pull off upsets are the Adamson Pep Squad, Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion, National University Pep Squad, University of the East Pep Squad and the La Salle Animo Squad,

s_bukley / Shutterstock.com

Pacquiao gets the offer to Mayweather right, even if the timing is suspect

That doesn’t mean Pacquiao can’t use his erstwhile rival to sell some tickets of his own.

And that’s all he’s really doing by calling out Mayweather now when he’s got another fighter in front of him.

I’ve been ringside for all three of Pacquiao’s fights with Marquez, and they’ve all been good, close fights that could have gone either way. Their styles guarantee a competitive fight, and if you liked the first 36 rounds you’ll probably dig the credit card out to pay for another 12.

But do I want to see them fight for a fourth time on Dec. 8? Not particularly.

But that is the fight promoter Bob Arum gave us when he told Timothy Bradley he wasn’t a big enough attraction for a second fight with Pacquiao, even though he won the first in a highly controversial decision.

Arum believes that Hispanic fight fans will

help Pacquiao-Marquez IV do more than the 850,000 pay-per-views for Bradley in June.

There’s a sense, though, that Pacquiao is fading, even though he appeared to dominate Bradley before backing off in the final rounds of their fight. He has been fighting professionally now for 17 years, and the difficulty he had getting motivated for his last two fights is a sure sign that he’s inching closer to the end of his lucrative career.

Beating Marquez for a third time in four fights won’t prove anything other than Pacquiao can still earn a big payday. Losing to him will mean two defeats in a row for Pacman, and almost certainly scuttle any chance of a Mayweather fight.

Mayweather has been uncharacteristically quiet since his release from jail in Las Vegas, where he was serving a sentence on a domestic abuse charge. He hasn’t revealed what his plans are, though it’s clear he won’t be fighting the rest of the year.

Assuming Pacquiao beats Marquez and that’s a big assumption - the earliest the two could meet would be in the spring, most likely the first week of May. That’s also the last legitimate date for a PacquiaoMayweather fight to mean anything, and if it passes, a chance to make boxing history will pass along with it.

Pacquiao’s offer to take less money does put the onus of making the fight squarely on Mayweather. He’s running out of excuses not to fight Pacquiao, and both his legacy and reputation will suffer if he doesn’t.

Any serious talk about a possible fight, though, will have to wait until Pacquiao fights Marquez.

Until then any offer Pacquiao makes is nothing more than a sales job for Dec. 8. ■

Gilas-PH five bests Taiwan

BY MUSONG R. CASTILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer

which emerged a surprise runner-up last year.

Another UP victory will put the Dilimanbased squad into a tie with UST for the most number of overall titles at eight.

UST, however, has not won the crown since 2006 and has only earned a podium finish once in the last three years.

FEU, which last reigned in 2009, has also impressively figured in the top three in the last nine seasons.

UP (1-13) again finished at the cellars of this season’s basketball action, which resumes tomorrow with FEU and NU battling anew in a game ordered replayed by the UAAP Board.

The Tams (9-4) and the Bulldogs (8-5) remain in contention for the last two Final Four slots along with the idle Green Archers (9-5). ■

TOKYO—Rusty at the start and sputtering in the end, Smart Gilas-Pilipinas still found a way to cut down a tall Chinese-Taipei side, 75-68, and march into the Final Four of the fourth Fiba-Asia Cup here.

Using a 14-point lead as a buffer in the stretch, the Filipinos escaped with the victory that sealed a titanic semifinal match with defending champion Iran at 4:30 p.m.

Friday at Ota Gymnasium here.

“We played a terrible game but still found ways to win,” national coach Chot Reyes said after the match before a lean crowd that included Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president and tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan.

“We can’t beat Iran playing the way we did today,” Reyes added. “We need to play 10 times better.”

Iran waltzed past Uzbekistan, 79-37, in an earlier game.

Qatar churned out the first upset in the KO stage with a 79-72 win over Group A No. 1 Lebanon. The Qataris will clash with the winner of the still-unfinished JapanChina match.

GAME FRIDAY ( Ota Gymnasium) 4:30 p.m.—Smart Gilas-Pilipinas vs Iran The only time the Philippine offense hummed on all cylinders was at the start of the fourth period, and that was enough to boost the Filipinos to a 7157 lead which cushioned the Taiwanese rally.

Gary David nailed a triple at the 3:51 mark for that 14-point bubble, but the Philippines wouldn’t score again until the final 24.9 seconds, when LA Tenorio was sent to the line on a duty foul by Chen Shieh-cheh.

Taipei, which also fell victim to the Philippines in the Jones Cup last month, 72-76, came within 66-71 before Tenorio’s charities.

The victory assured the Philippines of matching its best-ever finish of fourth here.

Marcus Douthit shot 11 of his 19 points early in the game, allowing the Filipinos to keep control. The 6-foot-10 naturalized center also finished with 18 rebounds and four blocks. The scores: SMART GILASPILIPINAS 75— Douthit 19, David 14, De Ocampo 10, Fonacier 9, Tenorio 9, Chan 5, Dillinger 5, Norwood 4, Thoss 0.

CHINESE-TAIPEI 68— Creighton 21, Lin 12, Chen 11, Tien 7, Wu 6, Mao 4, Lee 3, Chang 3, Tseng 1, Lu 0. ■

Food

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 40

Pasta Milano with Mushroom Cream Sauce for your healthy craving

BY KATHERINE VERANCES MARFAL

If you want to sneak mushroom and its earthly flavor into the diet of your children, why don’t you try Pasta Milano w/ Mushroom Cream Sauce?

The whole wheat pasta is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. It is also a good source of dietary fiber. One good thing about this recipe is you can always replace regular cream with a healthier cream.

This recipe was prepared by Chef Richard Del Rosario, a sous chef with an extensive background in Italian/Mediterranean cuisine. He is currently working as a lead line chef at Thomson’s Fine Dining Restaurant at the Hyatt Regency, Calgary.

Satisfy your cravings with this creamy pasta ala Milano.

Pasta Milano w/ Mushroom Cream Sauce Serves: 1pax •

100-150g Whole Wheat Pasta / Regular Spaghetti or any pasta readily available; cooked according to package instructions

• • • • • • • • •

1pc/150g Chicken Breast, Butterfly cut Cheeses 2 pcs Sliced Provolone or any melting cheese ¼ cup Shaved /grated parmesan 1 tsp Chopped shallots/red onions 1 tsp Chopped garlic 100-120g Chopped mushrooms (button, shitake, or any in season) 150ml Heavy Cream/All purpose Cream Procedure

1. In a hot pan, add olive oil and sear your chicken both sides, 2-3 min. each. Set aside 2. In another pan, sauté shallots and garlic, stir in mushrooms, lastly add cream. Let it simmer for 4-5 min.

3. We are ready to assemble on plate. Place chicken first on plate, next add the provolone on top, with a salamander or blow torch, melt the cheese. At home, you can use your oven just until the cheese melts and it has a nice brown color.

4. Add pasta on the side, Pour in remaining mushroom cream sauce, garnish with basil leaves (optional) ■

What health benefits can you get from Beluga Lentil Salad?

Beluga Lentil Salad • 200 grams Black Beluga Lentils • 2 litres of water • 1 tsp salt Boil the water, add salt. Add the beluga lentils and cook for about 10 minutes or until tender but not soft. (al dente) Strain from water and cool in refrigerator.

• ½ red bell pepper small dice • ½ yellow pepper small dice • 3 piece green onion sliced • ¼ red onion small dice • 1/6 bunch cilantro chopped • 20 ml balsamic vinegar • 80 ml extra virgin olive oil • Salt and Pepper to taste ( start with a pinch of each) Mix all ingredients and let chill for a few minutes.

As an option to really make the flavor profound. Add in a half ripe banana crushed.

BY KATHERINE VERANCES MARFAL

You would not want to miss this healthy recipe It is recommended for pregnant women because prepared by Executive Chef David Flegel of it is considered as folate-rich food. It is also a Thomson’s Fine Dining Restaurant at the Hyatt cheaper source of protein, and a very good source Regency, Calgary. of dietary fiber.

Health trivia: It is healthy to include lentils on your regular diet. It can reduce inflammation in the body while also providing you with a steady stream of energy. Lentils are recommended to people who have Diabetes or Rheumatoid Arthritis.

You can trust that Lentils will supply you with adequate amount of Folate, Vitamin B, Iron and minerals such as Phosphorous and Manganese. ■

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Canada

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2012 42

Janette Camba: TFW In Crisis

BY MELISSA REMULLA-BRIONES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

THE NEWS was dire and she was just beginning her life in Canada.

In 2009, Janette Camba, 37 years old, was diagnosed with renal failure, just 1 year after her arrival in Canada on a visa under the Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) Program.

But she was declared fit to go when she underwent the exhaustive medical exam that was part of the process to enter Canada. It was an emotional time, her leaving – she waited for 6-8 months for her visa to come, and tore her heart out thinking of the family that she would leave behind – a husband and children, 14 and 5 years young.

But she knew – thought – the rewards were greater than the sacrifice she had to make.

But in just her first year in Canada – she had to contend with another reality: renal failure. What came next were dialysis treatments that would leave her dizzy and weak after every treatment.

Renal Failure “Namaga yung paa ko. Sabi ko sa doctor, may gout ako. Without doing any tests, binigyan ako ng pills for gout.

Eh masama pala yun sa kin. (My feet were swollen so I saw the doctor. I told them I had history of gout. Without even doing any tests, they gave me pills.

It was the pills that were bad for me).

Before I knew it, I was diagnosed with renal failure,” she said.

Renal failure occurs when one suffers from gradual and usually permanent loss of kidney function over time.

No Stone Unturned Janette’s employer, Tim Hortons, kept her on and was by her side every painful step. They filed a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) for her (to essentially extend her contract) but it was denied since there was no proof about the efforts made to recruit and/ or train willing and available Canadian citizens/permanent residents.

At the urging of her employer, she tried her luck in Alberta and was hired.

But before she could leave, the employer knew about her dialysis treatments and cancelled her work permit.

She did not lose hope. With her employer and many friends (most of them customers to whom she served freshly brewed coffee every morning), she sought the help of immigration attorneys and the Hon. Mable Elmore.

But because she already had a Departure Order, their hands were tied and they could no longer help her.

In the midst of the denial of her employer’s LMO application and cancellation of her supposedly new work permit – she lost her lawful status in Canada.

“Na-out of status ako (I was declared as ‘out of status’). Nung March 2012, I had to stop work. Kinausap ako ng Immigration Officer (the Immigration Officer talked to me). Removal na after September 30 (I have to leave Canada

by September 30 or I will be removed).”

According to the Canada Border Services Agency (CSBA) website, if a CSBA officer or a member of the Immigration Refugee Board’s Immigration Division determines that a person has breached the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, he or she may issue one of the following removal orders: • Departure order: A departure order requires that the person leave Canada within 30 days after the order becomes enforceable.

• Exclusion order: A person who has been removed as a result of an exclusion order cannot return to Canada for one year unless the written permission of the CBSA is obtained. However, people who are issued exclusion orders for misrepresentation cannot return for two years without written authorization from the CBSA. • Deportation order: A person who has been removed as a result of a deportation order is permanently barred from returning to Canada. Such people may never return unless they receive written permission from the CBSA. Janette was given a Departure Order.

Your Help is Needed What Janette has is Stage 5 chronic kidney disease, wherein there is total or near-total loss of kidney function.

According to eMedicineHealth, there is dangerous accumulation of water, waste, and toxic substances, and most individuals in this stage of kidney disease need dialysis or transplantation to stay alive.

Janette was told that she would need a kidney transplant. The Philippine Canadian Inquirer confirmed with the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in the Philippines – where she will have it done – that the cost is Php1,000,000 or about CAD$25,000.00.

People have been very supportive and doing what they can to help Janette raise this amount. To them, Janette she says, “Overwhelmed ako sa mga taong tumutulong.

Maraming maraming salamat (I am overwhelmed with all the help I am receiving. To all who helped and are helping – thank you so much).”

In fact, it was one of her customers who contacted Philippine Canadian Inquirer so she can tell her story.

In leaving Canada, Janette remains optimistic – looking to her children and her family for strength. “Ngayon ko lang ulit makakasama yung mga anak ko sa birthday nila. Umuwi ako nung 2010 pero 4 years ko na silang hindi nakakasama sa birthday nila (I can be with my kids this time during their birthdays. I went home in 2010 but it has been 4 years since I was with them on any of their birthdays),” she said.

On September 30, she leaves for the Philippines.

To those who want to help and support Janette, you can bring your donations to the following Tim Hortons branches: Marine drive (604) 9838729, West Queens (604) 988-9968 and Mtn. Highway (604) 986-9114.

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones Associate Editors Maria Ramona Ledesma Frances Grace H. Quiddaoen Correspondents Lizette Lofranco Aba Jeffrey J.D. Andrion Gigi Astudillo Laarni de Paula Dr. Rizaldy Ferrer Rodel J. Ramos Stella Reyes Sarah Taguiam Agnes Tecson Graphic Designer Victoria Yong Illustration Danvic C. Briones Photographers AJ Juan Solon Licas Ryan Ferrer Angelo Siglos Art Viray Sales and Operations Laarni de Paula Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Managing Editor Maita de Jesus Graphic Artists Reggie Goloy Maud Villanueva Editorial Assistants Phoebe Casin Anne Lora Santos Sarah Moran Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva Jr. Associate Publisher Millicent Agoncillo Project Coordinator Lychelle Ang In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition PHILIPPINE CANADIAN INQUIRER is located at Suite 400 North Tower 5811 Cooney Road, Richmond B.C. Canada Tel No. 778-383-6090 / 778-383-3203 / (604) 279-8787 ext. 1722.

• Email us at : info@canadianinquirer.net or inquirerinc@gmail.com

Member:

The Philippine Canadian Inquirer welcomes your views and opinions. Please e-mail the editor at editor@canadianinquirer.net.Thank you.

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