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Robredo quits Cabinet in new Duterte dilemma BY JIM GOMEZ The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine vice-president resigned her Cabinet post Monday after citing irreconcilable differences with President Rodrigo Duterte, who had banned her from attending Cabinet meetings, in a new political dilemma for the leader.
Leni Robredo, who stepped down as housing secretary but will stay on as vice-president, spoke of “major differences in principles and values” with the brash-talking president and a plot to remove her from the vice presidency. Duterte accepted her resignation “with a heavy heart” and immediately named a replacement.
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Duterte says Trump wished his drug crackdown ‘success’
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Philippine probe: police murdered drug linked mayor in jail BY JIM GOMEZ The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine government’s investigation agency said Tuesday it has filed murder complaints against two dozen police officers and personnel after a probe showed they shot to death a jailed town mayor linked to illegal drugs and that there was no gunbattle as claimed by the law enforcers. The National Bureau of Investigation said the Nov. 5 shooting to death of Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. and another inmate, Raul Yap, in their cells at a jail in the central province of Leyte was a “rubout.” It said the policemen most likely put pistols and illegal drugs in their cells to justify a police raid. The findings cast a black mark on President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly anti-drug crackdown, which has alarmed Western governments and human rights groups. There have been suspicions that some of the more than 4,000 slain drug suspects may have been killed deliberately by law enforcers and did not die in gunbattles as claimed by police. NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin said the bureau filed the criminal complaints against policemen led by Superintendent Marvin Wynn Marcos, who heads the regional office of the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, at the Department of Justice on Friday. Prosecutors will rule whether there is enough evidence to indict the policemen. All the policemen involved in the raid at the jail conspired to kill Espinosa and Yap and cover up the murders, Lavin said. “After conducting an exhaustive investigation of the incidents surrounding
the killing of Mayor Espinosa and Yap, the NBI concluded that the testimonies of several witnesses had disputed the claim of an alleged shootout,” the NBI said. Espinosa’s death has sparked skepticism even among politicians backing Duterte’s crackdown because of the apparent brazenness of the killings. He had surrendered to the national police chief in a nationally televised event after he and more than 160 other officials were named publicly by Duterte in August as part of a shame campaign. Espinosa was later released, but was arrested and jailed in October after being indicted on drug and firearm charges. His son, an alleged drug lord, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in October and has been repatriated to the Philippines, where he has acknowledged past involvement in illegal drugs. A few days before the police raided the Leyte jail, authorities made a thorough search of the detention centre but found no guns or illegal drugs so it was impossible for Espinosa and Yap to have guns and drugs in their cells, the NBI said. Forensic checks also showed the supposed guns of the two inmates were fired toward a wall, away from the gates of their cells where the policemen entered, contradicting police claims the two chose to shoot it out with the police, the NBI said. Other prisoners saw someone accompanying the police enter Espinosa’s cell with a pistol and walk out later without the gun, NBI officials said. Marcos and his men have denied any wrongdoing and insisted in a Senate hearing that Espinosa and Yap died in a shootout. Duterte has said he believes the police account and asked the national police chief not to remove Marcos from his post during the investigation. ■
tion, photos showing Mr. Duterte and Lim posing together as godfathers in a wedding should also be treated the same way. “If we are going to [resort] to guilt by THE DEPARTMENT of Justice (DOJ) is looking for businessman Peter Lim picture-taking, then we already caught for questioning after confessed narcot- President Duterte because he is shakics kingpin Kerwin Espinosa confirmed ing hands with the biggest drug lord,” that the Cebu trader was one of his drug Trillanes said. Aguirre said the DOJ was going after suppliers. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre Lim, adding the National Bureau of Investigation had veriII on Tuesday said fied that the Cebu the government businessman was inwas building a case deed a drug lord. against Lim. Earlier, President During a hearIf we are going to [resort] to guilt Duterte identified ing at the Senate on by picture-taking, Lim as one of the bigMonday, Sen. Anthen we already gest drug lords in the tonio Trillanes IV caught President country and threattcomplained that the Duterte because ened to kill him. Duterte administrahe is shaking Mr. Duterte, howtion was treating hands with the ever, backpedaled the alleged drug lord biggest drug lord. when Lim met him lightly. in Davao City and exTrillanes said that plained that he was because a photo just an ordinary busishowing Espinosa nessman and that the and Sen. Leila de Lima at Burnham Park in Baguio City drug lord Peter Lim was another person. Lim reportedly fled the country days in November 2015 was being used as evidence of their alleged connec- after the meeting with Mr. Duterte. ■
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Andanar: PH-US ties up for reboot BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer RELATIONS BETWEEN the United States and the Philippines could have a “reboot” under President-elect Donald Trump, a Malacañang official said yesterday. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar predicted a thawing of USPhilippines ties after President Rodrigo Duterte’s seven-minute phone conversation on Saturday with the newly elected US leader “went very well.” “It showed that there is a big possibility that we will have a reboot of relationship,” Andanar told the state-owned dzRB radio station. “And from what President Duterte told us, it seems he would be comfortable with President-elect Donald Trump (who) wished the President well in his campaign against illegal drugs,” he said. Andanar said Mr. Duterte, who has been called by some as the “Donald Trump” of Asia for his propensity for issuing gau-
dy, controversial statements, was satisfied with Trump’s support for his drug war and his respect for the country’s sovereignty. But Andanar refused to identify in which areas the Duterte administration could solicit Trump’s help in improving the US-Philippines relations. “I cannot go ahead of the President on how to reboot our relationship with the United States… because there are so many aspects in our relationship,” he said. It will be up to the President and Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. to decide which aspects our country can reboot with the United States, he continued. Good rapport
On Saturday, the President spoke with Trump over the phone as he congratulated the billionaire business tycoon in his recent victory as the successor of outgoing US President Barack Obama. “I could sense a good rapport, an animated President-elect Trump. And he was wishing me
success in my campaign against the drug problem,” Mr. Duterte said of his conversation with Trump. “He understood the way we are handling it and I said that there’s nothing wrong in protecting a country. It was a bit very encouraging in the sense that I supposed that what he really wanted to say was that we would be the last to interfere in the affairs of your own country,” the President said. The usually warm US-Philippines relations suddenly turned cold after Mr. Duterte openly assailed Obama and the American government for calling him out over his ruthless drug war, which has led to the killings of nearly 6,000 drug personalities since the President was sworn in on June 30. White House visit
Mr. Duterte said Trump was “sensitive” and understanding about his crackdown and was encouraged by what he interpreted as Trump’s indication he would not interfere. Mr. Duterte’s special assistant, Christopher Go, had ear-
ALBERT ALCAIN / PPD / PNA
lier said in a text message to media that Trump had invited the President to visit the White House next year. There appeared to be confusion, however. Duterte mentioned an invite to Washington and New York, and that Trump asked him to notify him of his presence “if I’m around.” A statement issued by Trump’s transition team made no mention of that. It said the two men “noted the long history of friendship” between their countries and would work closely on “matters of shared
interest and concern.” Duterte made waves when he visited China in October and announced his “separation” from the United States. In five months in office, he has upended Philippine foreign policy by berating the United States, pursuing a new alliance with Russia and also China, with which Manila has a history of bitter disputes. His diplomacy has created jitters among Asian nations concerned about Beijing’s influence and Washington’s regional staying power. ■
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Rizal coliseum redevelopment plan will preserve façade BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer
Robredo, Duterte, Cabinet at the Malacanang.
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Robredo quits... In the Philippines, presidents and vicepresidents are elected separately and often come from rival political parties, like Duterte and Robredo. In her resignation letter, Robredo told Duterte that she “exerted all effort to put aside our differences, maintain a professional working relationship and work effectively despite the constraints.” But she said Duterte’s order banning her from Cabinet meetings had made it impossible for her to do her job at the housing agency. “Remaining in your Cabinet has become untenable,” she said. A human rights lawyer and respected political newcomer, Robredo said at a news conference that she would stay on in her elected post as vice-president, adding that she would continue her anti-poverty projects. “We will not allow the vice presidency to be stolen because that is against the voice of the majority,” Robredo told reporters. Robredo suggested that the Duterte administration may be supporting former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., her closest opponent in May’s vice-presidential election. She did not mention the alleged plot to oust her from the vice presidency in her resignation letter. Marcos Jr. is the namesake and son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was overthrown by a 1986 “people power” revolt. Robredo actively joined that uprising. “We have fought this battle before and won,” Robredo said. “We will never let anyone revise our history and twist it to turn evil into good.” Robredo’s resignation comes amid a political storm over Duterte’s decision to allow the ❰❰ 1
burial of the long-dead dictator Marcos in the country’s Heroes’ Cemetery and a bloody crackdown against illegal drugs that has alarmed Western governments and human rights watchdogs. Robredo is the second official to resign from Duterte’s administration in less than a week. Maria Serena Diokno quit as head of the government’s historical commission last Tuesday to protest Duterte’s decision to allow Marcos’ Nov. 18 burial in the cemetery. Robredo has cited her strong opposition to the burial, the drug killings, Duterte’s plan to reimpose the death penalty and “sexual attacks against women” among the issues on which she differed with Duterte, who took office on June 30. The last straw, she said, was when she was notified Saturday by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. through a text message about the president’s order for Robredo “to desist from attending all Cabinet meetings” starting Monday. Evasco said Duterte decided to bar her from Cabinet meetings because of her “irreconcilable differences” with the Duterte administration. Robredo, 52, did not provide details about the alleged plot to remove her from the vice presidency, but her electoral victory has been questioned by Marcos Jr., a friend of Duterte. Marcos Jr. lost by a slim margin to Robredo, the widow of a popular politician who built a name as an honest, hands-on provincial mayor who wore slippers to work and reached out to the poor in the countryside. Robredo’s husband died in a plane crash in 2012, and she later acceded to widespread calls for her to enter politics. ■
THE GROUP of tycoon Enrique Razon said on Tuesday that Manila would benefit from “urban renewal” and unlock more revenues from the preservation and redevelopment of the 82-year-old Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC). The statement was issued by Razon’s camp following the circulation of an online signature campaign among heritage conservation advocates opposing the conversion of the sports complex—described as an “architectural and historical gem”—into a shopping mall. Originally built in 1934, the RMSC was destroyed during World War II, reconstructed in 1953 and renovated in 2011. It is owned by the City of Manila and managed by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). “Through all these years, no individual or group, be that government or private, has offered to redevelop the RMSC. Today, it stands derelict and a sad reminder of the Philippines’ former glory days in sports,” the Razon group said.
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It added that it had been offering for some time to redevelop and revitalize the sports complex. “Fully cognizant that RMSC is a sports landmark and of the close association that Filipinos have for sports, the Razon group, in its preservation plan, will maintain as well as fortify the RMSC façade,” it said. The complex, however, will house contemporary buildings with modern offices and commercial areas run by smart technologies. These will come with modern amenities, green open spaces and a sports museum. According to the statement, the business areas were expected to compensate for the “expensive” and “meticulous” process of restoring and preserving the RMSC façade. “With this urban renewal, Manila is expected to quickly catch up with other cities in the National Capital Region that have quickly grown and modernized,” it said. “Moreover, the revitalized RMSC is expected to provide a new revenue stream for Manila, as well as create thousands of jobs,” it added. According to the statement, the sports complex has not undergone any structural and
facilities improvements or upgrading for quite some time, rendering it “virtually unsuitable and unsafe not only for training athletes, but also [local and] international games.” “[Manila] has had no income from RMSC for years now, leaving [it] with no funds to modernize facilities,” it said. The Razon group observed that the PSC has been considering transferring the sports complex to a different location, possibly Clark, in order to build the Philippine Olympic Village once funding becomes available. The new sports complex is envisioned to be a larger and more modern sports complex complete with training facilities for athletes and facilities for hosting large sporting events. However, according to the statement, the city government has not generated any income from the RMSC which could have been used to preserve the complex. The joint venture between the Razon group and Manila City government was announced recently by Mayor Joseph Estrada who said that the construction of the commercial center would lead to an increase in revenues. ■
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Pasig is first city in Metro Manila to have ‘drug-cleared’ barangays BY JODEE A. AGONCILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer PASIG, WHERE a “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) tiangge was discovered just meters away from city hall in 2006, has just become the first city in Metro Manila to have not one, but three, “drug-cleared” barangays. During an awarding ceremony on Monday morning, Pasig Mayor Robert Eusebio declared Barangays San Jose, Bagong Katipunan and Sta. Rosa clear of illegal drugs. The three areas earned their status based on the standards set by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency according to the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Regulation 2, series of 2007 and amended by DDB Regulation no. 2, series of 2006. According to the DDB regulations, an area can be considered drug-clear in the absence of the following: drug supply or drug transit/transshipment activities; drug laboratories and warehouses, chemical warehouses; marijuana cultivation sites; drug dens; users and pushers; drug protectors and coddlers.
Council of Pasig (ADCOP), gave cash prizes of P500,000 each to Barangay San Jose chair Ronwaldo Angeles and Barangay Bagong Katipunan chair Jeronimo Alba. Barangay Sta. Rosa chair Reynaldo Morelos, on the other hand, received a P350,000 cash prize. The money, according to Eusebio, would go to the barangays’ drug-clearing sustainability programs. “We will keep on working. The recognition actually pressures us to sustain our drug-cleared status,” Angeles said. The clearing operations were implemented by Eusebio’s special evaluation committee led by Jay Timbreza of the city’s Department of the Interior and Local Government which was created in September. Its members were Councilors Corazon Raymundo and Victor Maria Regis Sotto, rural health physician Dr. Amelito Javier, community advocate Nilda San Agustin, Pasig police chief Senior Supt. Orlando Yebra Jr. and ADCOP head Zenaida Concepcion. The three barangays, according to Concepcion, were chosen because of their successful implementation of community-based rehab programs.
Requirements
Manageable problem
A drug-cleared barangay should also have barangay officers who are active in various illegal drug activities such as a drug awareness and preventive campaign. It should also have a voluntary and compulsory drug treatment and rehabilitation processing desk. Eusebio, recognizing the efforts of the barangay officials, the Philippine National Police and Anti-Drug Abuse
They were also among the areas with the smallest number of drug surrenderers, making it easy to manage their drug problem, Yebra said. Barangay Bagong Katipunan had 12 surrenderers; Sto. Rosario had 20 while San Jose had 30, according to the data gathered by ADCOP. Concepcion said that to be declared drug-cleared, all the users and pushers
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in a barangay must be all accounted for. This meant that they had either surrendered, been arrested or neutralized in legitimate police operations. Surrenderers, meanwhile, were required to undergo a community-based rehabilitation program or one ran by the national government. To help them get back on their feet, the Pasig City government initiated an “Oplan Tupad” program under which they would undergo training for future employment. Only recently, Sapitula entered into an agreement with a construction firm which approved the hiring of qualified surrenderers. Yebra, however, said that drug-clearing operations would continue in the three barangays. “The barangays were assessed and have been declared drug-clear for this period. In case another user or pusher will be arrested, the barangay will undergo another clearing procedure,” he explained. Continuous monitoring
“It doesn’t mean that if a barangay is declared drug-cleared, it stops there. We will continuously monitor them,” Yebra told the Inquirer. He noted that having a barangay declared drug-free was wishful thinking. “We can only declare an area drugcleared but not entirely free. There is always the possibility that drugs will enter the picture. A minor may learn to use drugs or a drug user may move to this place,” Yebra added. For his part, Sapitula said they hoped to make more barangays clear of drugs by next year. ■
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FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Duterte says Trump wished his drug crackdown ‘success’ BY JIM GOMEZ The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES — President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday Donald Trump wished his deadly crackdown on illegal drugs would succeed during a telephone call, and he assured the U.S. president-elect the Philippines would maintain its ties with America — a departure from Duterte’s hostility toward the Obama administration. Duterte called to congratulate Trump late Friday in their first talk that was described by an aide of the Philippine president as “very engaging, animated conversation” in which both leaders invited each other to visit his country. In a video released by Duterte’s close aide, Bong Go, the Philippine leader is seen smiling while talking to Trump and saying: “We will maintain ... and enhance the bilateral ties between our two countries.” The other parts of the conversation were not aired in the video but in a statement released by his aides, Duterte said “he was wishing me success in my campaign against the drug problem.”
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“He understood the way we are handling it and I said that there’s nothing wrong in protecting a country,” Duterte said. “It was a bit very encouraging in the sense that I supposed that what he really wanted to say was that we would be the last to interfere in the affairs of your own country.” “He said that ... well, we are doing it as a sovereign nation, the right way,” Duterte said in his statement. It was unclear whether he or Trump remarked that the widely criticized crackdown was being carried out properly.
Why Palace banned CHEd chair from meetings BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer HER REFUSAL to tender her courtesy resignation early on in the Duterte administration and “irreconcilable differences” with the President were the reasons Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chair Patricia Licuanan had been banned from Cabinet meetings, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella referred to a directive issued by Mr. Duterte in August telling all appointees of former President Benigno Aquino III to submit their “qualified courtesy resignations” to give him a free hand in ridding the bureaucracy of corruption. “But when I checked with the Office of the Executive Secretary, apparently there was no letter submitted from the commissioner,” Abella said in a press briefing. Being an Aquino appointee also wasn’t a ground for stopping Licuanan from attending Cabinet meetings.
‘Not political affiliation’
“Again, it’s irreconcilable differences and not because of political affiliation,” he said without elaborating. Licuanan had promised to comply with Malacañang’s directive. But unlike Vice President Leni Robredo, who resigned as head of the government’s housing agency after also being told to “desist” from attending Cabinet meetings, Licuanan did not step down. The CHEd chair has a fixed four-year term which ends in 2018. Responding to a CHED official’s earlier contention that her fixed term means she could not be removed from her post, Abella said: “There was a request for a courtesy resignation.” The administration, however, will continue to support CHEd as an institution, Abella said. “The process continues, the commission will be supported,” he said. Earlier, University of Santo Tomas professor Jose David Lapuz said Mr. Duterte had offered the CHEd chairmanship to him. This was opposed by CHEd officials who contended that Licuanan had a fixed term. ■
Duterte has lashed out at President Barack Obama, the State Department, EU and U.N. officials and human rights groups for raising concerns over the crackdown, which has left more than 4,000 suspected drug dealers and user dead, including many who are feared to have been gunned down in ganglandstyle killings. While being antagonistic to the U.S., his country’s treaty ally, Duterte has reached out to China and Russia.
Obama cancelled what could have been their first formal meeting in an Asian summit in Laos in September after Duterte unleashed an expletiveladen warning for the U.S. leader not to lecture him on human rights. In one speech, Duterte asked Obama to “go to hell.” Duterte has repeatedly threatened to scale back the presence of visiting U.S. troops and joint combat exercises with the Americans, but he and his defence officials have walked back on most of those threats. In one speech while visiting Beijing, Duterte announced he would separate from the U.S. but later clarified that he meant he would chart a foreign policy that does not lean toward America. During their talk, Trump invited Duterte to visit the White House next year and Duterte asked the incoming U.S. leader to attend an East Asian summit to be hosted by the Philippines next year, according to Go. “He said that he will try his best to be here. He wants to attend the summit and that would be great for our country,” Duterte said. ■
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UNICEF survey: 80 per cent of Filipino youths suffer violence BY TERESA CEROJANO The Associated Press
The 13 types of violence during childhood identified in the survey included physical or psychological neglect, witnessing physical or psychological vioMANILA, PHILIPPINES — A survey lence at home, overall physical or psyconducted by UNICEF and the Philip- chological violence, severe physical or pine government has found a high prev- psychological violence, severe sexual alence of violence against Filipino chil- violence, peer violence or bullying, cydren, with eight out of 10 suffering some ber violence and collective violence. form of physical or psychological abuse. Three out of five, or 66.3 per cent, of UNICEF and the Philippine Council respondents experienced some form of for the Welfare of Children said Tues- physical violence, with more than half day that their first nationwide survey of them receiving corporal punishment of children and youth aged 13-24 also at home. More than 30 per cent received found one in five respondents had been more severe punishment like slapping, sexually violated. kicking or burning. More than 60 per “This underscores cent of the cases of the widely spread physical violence practice of accephappened at home, The study has tance of corporal shown that we with slightly more punishment,” the rereally need to be victims among boys port said. more serious in (81.5 per cent) than Officials and the addressing violence girls (78.4 per cent), report said poverty, against children [...]. the survey found. a culture of silence UNICEF represenand fear of reporttative Lotta Sylwaning, and ineffective der said the Philipimplementation of pines seems to have laws protecting chilbecome “some kind dren are among the of a centre of internet abuse” of chil- drivers of violence against children. dren. With Filipino children sought af- They called for a whole-government apter by pedophiles all over the world, and proach, addressing the problem at home impoverished families tempted to earn and at the community level, and banfrom it, online child sexual abuse has be- ning corporal punishment. come a big business in the country, she “The study has shown that we really said. need to be more serious in addressing The interviews of 3,866 children and violence against children which is hapyouth were conducted last year in ran- pening all over the country, from the domly sampled villages in 17 regions of places that are supposedly safe — the the country. A survey of that size typi- homes to the schools to the streets and cally has a margin of error of less than 3 the rest of the community,” said Social percentage points. Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo. ■
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Robredo: It’s time for courage BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer VICE PRESIDENT Leni Robredo on Monday urged the nation to be vigilant and resist any attempts to bring the Philippines back under dictatorship after resigning from the Cabinet of President Duterte. Robredo resigned as housing secretary, but she will stay on as Vice President. “This is not a time for fear. It is a time for conviction. It is a time for courage,” she said in a televised address to the nation. Robredo was the second high official to quit Mr. Duterte’s administration. Last week, Maria Serena Diokno quit as chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines over Mr. Duterte’s decision to allow the burial of dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani. Robredo openly opposed the burial, but also criticized Mr. Duterte’s brutal war on illegal drugs and his crude remarks about women. In her resignation letter sent to Malacañang on Monday morning, Robredo told Mr. Duterte that she “exerted all effort to put aside our differences, maintain a professional working relationship and work effectively despite the constraints.” But she said Mr. Duterte’s order banning her from Cabinet meetings had made it impossible for her to do her job at the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). After her address to the nation, Robredo faced a news conference to say she believed she was pushed out of the
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Cabinet not because of her performance as housing secretary but because of her opposition to Marcos’ burial at the heroes’ cemetery and because there were people around Mr. Duterte who did not want her in the vice presidency. But she assured her supporters that she would not allow anyone to “steal the vice presidency.” She suggested that the Duterte administration may be supporting former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., her closest opponent in May’s vice presidential election who has challenged her victory in the Presidential Electoral Tribunal. Marcos is the son and namesake of the late dictator, whose family supported Mr. Duterte’s campaign for Malacañang. Robredo actively joined the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution that toppled the dictator from power. “We have fought this battle before and won,” she said. “We will never let anyone revise our history and twist it to turn evil into good.” Lawmakers in the House of Representatives spoke on Monday about Robredo taking on a new role as leader of the political opposition. Asked if she was ready for that role, Robredo said: “My opposition to the reimposition of the death penalty will be stronger, my opposition to to the lowering of the age of criminal liability would stay the same. I will be vocal against the extrajudicial killings and the ill treatment of women. But to me, I still believe that the success of this administration is also for our country, that is why we will still support policies we agree with,” she said. ■ With an AP report
Philippine News
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Lam knew of bribe try BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer AGUIRRE INSISTS gambling tycoon was aware his agent offered bribe Lam’s lawyer says there is no reason for bribe since his operations are legitimate Lawyer also denies claims that Lam tried to bribe Pagcor chair with 1% of casino revenue Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II insisted on Friday that gambling tycoon Jack Lam was aware that his representative, former Senior Supt. Wally Sombero, attempted to bribe him to become the protector of his casino operations in the Philippines. His statement came as Lam moved to distance himself from Sombero in a bid to save his Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino at Clark Freeport in Pampanga, currently under fire for hiring illegal aliens, running an unlicensed online gaming operation and racking up unpaid dues to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). “He (Lam) must have heard Sombero asking me to be the padrino or taga-pagalaga of Jack Lam, which was not done in whispers when he asked me,” Aguirre said. “Why did he (Lam) not react to it immediately? Why the very belated reaction?” asked Aguirre, who stood by his earlier allegation that Lam attempted to make him his ninong or protector through Sombero. The payoff he said could run to as much as P100 million a month, based on what online gaming casinos were raking in. Silent
Raymond Fortun, Lam’s lawyer, claimed that his client never spoke directly to Aguirre during the Nov. 26 meeting at Shangri-La at the Fort. Aside from Sombero, a flamboyant
poker player known in the international gambling circuit, Lam was with two other interpreters. Fortun said Sombero did all the talking, where he was huddled in a corner with Aguirre. Lam’s interpreter, Alex Yu, said both men spoke in whispers, making it difficult for the others to hear what was discussed. Fortun, who was part of the losing defense team in the impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada, said the meeting took no more than 10 minutes. Aguirre then left for the Grand Alumni Homecoming of San Beda Law where President Duterte was the guest speaker. “Whatever Mr. Wally Sombero told the justice secretary was a matter between the twoof them. Mr. Lamhadnoreason to bribe anyone as his operations are legitimate,” Fortun said. Lam or Lam Yin Lok is chair and executive director of the Hong Kong-listed Jimei International Entertainment Group Ltd. Acquaintance
Fortun claimed that Lam met Sombero for the first time on Nov. 25, or a day before the meeting with Aguirre. A day earlier, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Special Action Force trooped to Fontana and arrested 1,316 Chinese nationals illegally working in Lam’s online gaming business. “They only met one day before the meeting, they had never met before then,” Fortun said, adding that Sombero was only referred to Lam by a common acquaintance. He was tapped to accompany Lam in a meeting with Aguirre to “act as a bridge” and to explain that the Chinese tycoon’s businesses were all legal. “Whatever was added—and I am not saying Secretary Agu-
irre was lying—Jack Lam has nothing to do with it,” Fortun said. “He doesn’t know any other people in the government. He has no ninong and he doesn’t need a ninong.” Fortun initially described Sombero as a “representative” of Lam, but later clarified that what he really meant was that the poker player was a “facilitator” of the presentation of a profile of Lam’s businesses to Aguirre. Sombero himself prepared Lam’s profile presented to Aguirre, according to interpreter Yu. He said that he didn’t have to interpret anything for Lam during the meeting. Fortun claimed, however, that Lam didn’t speak English. JESS ESCAROS JR. / PNA
Hard to believe
But it’s hard to imagine how Lam and Sombero have not crossed paths in the past. Sombero is a flamboyant international poker player who goes by the moniker “The Dream” in gaming circuits. He is reportedly the go-to troubleshooter of online gaming operators. Sombero was not present in the press conference and Fortun claimed they were not aware of his background. Fortun also tackled rumors that Sombero provided the connection between Lam and his friend, jueteng lord Atong Ang, who operates jai-alai at Clark. A source said Ang and Lam were partners in a firm that operated tours or junkets to a Manila casino. “If there was a connection between Mr. Sombero and Mr. Atong Ang that would have been a long, long time ago. I will be the first to admit that I spoke to Mr. Sombero way back in the impeachment trial because he provided information on jueteng activities. I was trying to gather evidence in defense of President Estrada,” Fortun
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said. “I have no personal knowledge on whether there is a connection between Mr. Sombero and Mr. Ang, and if there is, it would have been a long time ago. I have no personal knowledge of Mr. Ang’s activities,” he added. Fortun also denied claims that Lam also attempted to bribe Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo with a 1-percent share of Fontana’s monthly gross revenues, which Aguirre exposed and Domingo confirmed. Fortun said there was nothing haoshao or illegal about the online gaming business inside Fontana’s luxurious villas because Lam obtained a license from the Cagayan Export Zone Authority, the only entity outside of Pagcor that could issue this special license. He gave reporters a copy of Fontana’s deal with a sublessee, Next Games Outsourcing Inc., to run a business process outsourcing services, including “other information technology services related to the gaming industry” inside Lam’s casino complex.
Fortun said Lam wanted the government to respect his contract, which required him to give only 1 percent of his revenue compared to the 10 percent paid by other Pagcor casinos. Fortun said Lam deserved his contract because he “resuscitated” Clark as he was the only one who invested in Fontana when nobody was interested in the former American base. Fortun insisted that Lamwas paying what was due to the government based on his contract. Fortun also distinguished the alleged bribery attempt to get Aguirre as ninong and the alleged P250,000 bribe for every Chinese national released by the BI and the DOJ. Fortun denied that Lam had attempted to bribe BI officials for the release of 1,316 Chinese nationals working illegally in Fontana’s online gaming casino. He said the Chinese nationals worked for Fontana Technologies Innovations Center as call center agents, and noted that police could not pinpoint who among the arrested Chinese were engaged in online gaming. ■
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De Lima: Go had CIDG exec reinstated BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer WHO ORDERED Philippine National Police Director General Ronald “Bato’’ dela Rosa to reinstate Supt. Marvin Marcos as head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Region 8? Sen. Leila de Lima claimed it was Christopher “Bong’’ Go, special assistant to President Duterte. Go dismissed the accusation as hearsay. Christopher “Bong” Go, President Duterte’s special assistant, interceded for the reinstatement of Supt. Marvin Marcos, who was implicated in what had been described as the “premeditated” killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa in a Leyte jail on Nov. 5, Sen. Leila de Lima disclosed on Thursday. Go, 43, called Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa and told him to reinstate Marcos, regional head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and his men involved in the raid on a subprovincial jail in which Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, were
killed, De Lima said. “That’s an open secret among PNP officials, that it’s Bong Go,” De Lima said. She said the information came from a PNP source whom she did not name. ‘Pure hearsay’
Go denied as “pure hearsay and unsubstantiated” De Lima’s claim. “I do not interfere with the affairs and functions of the PNP.” Dela Rosa had issued the relief order sometime after Espinosa’s son Kerwin, a suspected drug lord, was arrested on Oct. 17 in the United Arab Emirates. Marcos, Kerwin claimed, was one of the police officials to whom he was giving protection money. Kerwin’s confession led to the relief order that De Lima referred to in which Go purportedly had intervened that had led to the reinstatement of Marcos. Marcos and his CIDG men, armed with a court order, were supposed to search the Baybay subprovincial jail for drugs and firearms on Nov. 5, but Espinosa resisted and was gunned down. Senators conducting an inquiry called the killing of the
Albuera mayor “premeditated.” A second relief order was issued after the mayor’s killing and Kerwin’s return on Nov. 18. He later testified before the Senate, confirming his allegation against Marcos and his group. The CIDG officials are now under restricted custody at Camp Crame. Dela Rosa said on Monday that a Malacañang “kumpare”— a sponsor in a wedding, baptism or confirmation—had requested him to reinstate Marcos the first time he was relieved. He declined to name the man, but said he was not the President who he said was his godfather. Humanitarian considerations
“He asked for consideration as he said the group of Marcos called him up and sought help from him if they can remain in their posts because their families will suffer because a lot of them will be transferred to Camp Crame,” Dela Rosa recounted. “I said yes, no problem, for humanitarian considerations.” Dela Rosa spoke to reporters at a PNP gift-giving party for children of drug pushers and users at a mall in Mandaluyong City. He earlier said he was prepared to reveal in an executive
session the man who had interceded for Marcos and his men the first time around. Dela Rosa said he was ready to accept the consequences of his decision. “I didn’t see any problem letting them stay there [in Region 8], so that’s my decision. I may be hounded, I may be praised for that decision, I will accept it. That’s my own decision, my own volition to reinstate them,” he said. De Lima told reporters that PNP officials were unhappy about Dela Rosa’s action. “Some of these PNP officials did not like that the hierarchy of the PNP was bypassed when Marcos was reinstated without clearing it with them or without asking them,” she said, adding the head of the CIDG at headquarters was unaware of Dela Rosa’s action. De Lima, an outspoken critic of the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs, said Dela Rosa and Go could be liable for abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the service. De Lima also is facing accusations she protected drug lords when she was justice secretary and received money from them for her senatorial campaign.
Command responsibility
Asked for comment, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that regardless of who requested Dela Rosa to reinstate Marcos, “all assignments and designations of police officers are his responsibility being the one making the decision, unless he was ordered to do so by a higher authority.” “That is the essence of the principle of command responsibility,” said Lacson, a former PNP chief and head of the Senate committee looking into the Espinosa killing. He described as improper Dela Rosa’s action, noting that the PNP chief himself admitted that “there was prior information linking Marcos and some of his team members to the illegal drugs trade in Eastern Visayas, particularly with the Espinosas of Albuera.” He said those entering the police or military service were aware that they would be sent on assignments that would separate them from their families. “Therefore, no humanitarian considerations can be invoked when it comes to assignments. Director General Dela Rosa knows that or at least was supposed to know that,” he added. ■
Where’s Alan ‘Quietano’? BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer SO WHERE in the world is Sen. “Quietano”? “I’m here, working hard,” said administration ally Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. Critics had questioned the usually verbose politician’s silence over the burial of strongman Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani. He insisted he remains opposed to the interment. So where in the world is Sen. “Quietano”? Key administration ally Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has been put on the defensive after critics questioned his silence over the burial of strongman Ferdinand Marcos at Manila’s heroes’ cemetery, but the usually verbose politician insisted on Friday that he remains opposed to the interment. “I’m here, working hard,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano, who has drawn flak for keeping silent about the burial last month, stressed he had not changed his conviction even as he said his political loyalty to President Duterte trumped whatever role his presence could have contributed if he joined protest marches on the streets. “The critics just have to accept that I have a different role now. I’m not the administration’s fiscalizer. I am one of this administration’s most ardent supporters,” Cayetano told the Inquirer. “Sometimes I will disagree, I continue to support but, as the President said, as long as it doesn’t involve corruption. It’s a different matter if the administration is caught for corruption,” he said. He said he has done his part “as fiscalizer” when he was in the opposition. “I have my ownways of bring-
ing upto the President what I think is right or wrong, but in the end, he will be the one to decide, because he is the President,” he stressed. Cayetano said he has made it clear that he was opposed to the burial and had even proposed to change the name of the cemetery to “Libingan ng mga Bayani at Diktador” as early as August. The lawmaker made such statements in various interviews since June, even before Mr. Duterte took his oath of office. Cayetano was with the President in Peru attending the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit when the burial was carried out, touching off massive street protests, including by those from the left-leaning groups that backed President Duterte. “First of all, I haven’t been quiet. I’ve been focused on doing my work and my role in this administration,” Cayetano said. www.canadianinquirer.net
ALAN PETER CAYETANO / FACEBOOK
He said those allied with former President Benigno Aquino III were behind the criticism over his silence as they “want to drive a wedge between the President and me.” “When some people were silent about the Marcoses, I was in the different forums talking about the accountability of the Marcos family,” Cayetano said, stressing that he was the first to disagree with the burial. Both Cayetano and the dictator’s son and namesake, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, lost
the vice presidency in May. “Will the President change his mind if I keep repeating it in his ear? I was advising and helping him in the Apec, so should I ignore the bilateral meetings so I could join the rally?” Cayetano said. “I haven’t kept quiet. Everyone has [his or her] role. And it is not my role at this point in time to be in the streets and rallying. My role, at this point in time, is helping the President in the capacity that he feels I can help him,” he said. ■
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Senators cite Dayan in contempt Fast-track federalism, BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer
said Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV expressed displeasure at the move, noting that senators were assuming Dayan was lying and Espinosa was telling the truth. “But is there a possibility that both of them are lying?” he asked. Trillanes suggested that both Dayan and Espinosa be held in contempt because it looked like “they were pressured to come up with stories.”
ered P8 million to Dayan for De Lima, even meeting her for the first time in November 2015 at Burnham Park. For his part, Dayan had told a House inquiry that he dealt directly with Espinosa and not Espenido upon De Lima’s instruction. Sen. Franklin Drilon asked Dayan if he knew Espenido. Dayan said no. “So it’s impossible that you will tell Espenido to tell Kerwin that you want to talk to him?” Drilon asked. Dayan insisted he did not know Espenido.
SENATORS EXPRESSED frustration over “irreconcilable inconsistencies” in the testimonies they heard on Monday, but decided they had enough of Ronnie Dayan and agreed to cite the former bodyguard and lover of Sen. Leila de Lima in contempt and had him detained. What was billed as a squareoff between Dayan and Kerwin Espinosa, the alleged No. 1 drug Payoff dates, meetings lord in Eastern Visayas, turned Contradictions in the testi- Inconsistencies out to be a face-off between the monies of Dayan and Espinosa “Someone is lying here,” two men and the senators. centered on payoff dates and Drilon said. “I think it’s obviMiffed that Dayan had insist- meetings, specifically when Es- ous to the committee that there ed he had received drug protec- pinosa had his photograph tak- are irreconcilable inconsistention money for De Lima from en with De Lima at Burnham cies between the testimonies no one else other than Espino- Park in Baguio City. of these three people—one or sa, Sen. Manny two of them is Pacquiao moved lying. And under that the joint the cases of the committee hearSupreme Court, ing cite Dayan You cannot be always evasive. You irreconcilable cannot have a selective memory in in contempt and inconsistencies the Senate. clapped at New are signs of fabriBilibid Prison. cations and very “Do you think poor fabricayou can contions at that.” vince the people that you only Dayan insisted it happened Philippine National Police got money from Kerwin?” Pac- in November 2014; Espinosa in Director General Ronald dela quiao asked, pointing out that 2015. Rosa was asked by Sen. Ralph The committees were inves- Recto if he was bothered by the there were more drug lords in Metro Manila than in Eastern tigating not only alleged pro- contrasting testimonies. “I will be more bothered if tection money De Lima purVisayas. “You have told us many lies,” portedly received when she was what are coming out are not all the boxing champ said, stress- justice secretary and the Nov. 5 lies. That’s why there is a dising that he had said at one point killing of Espinosa’s father Ro- crepancy in the testimonies, he had no telephone number lando, the mayor of Albuera, because we did not pressure for Espinosa only to admit that Leyte province, in his jail cell by them so that their stories will come out as scripted,” Dela he had been given Espinosa’s a police team. During the six-hour hearing, Rosa said. number to call by De Lima. Espinosa reiterated that the AlAfter the hearing, Lacson said Selective memory buera police chief, Chief Insp. the only loose ends that needed The senators decided to hold Jovie Espenido, had told him to be tied up was not how Dayan Dayan temporarily in the Sen- in August 2015 that De Lima’s and Espinosa met, or the exact ate premises. They will decide bodyguard would call him to time and place. later if he should be detained at ask money for her senatorial “The substantive issue here the national penitentiary. is that they corroborated that campaign. “You cannot be always evaEspinosa testified earlier that money changed hands and who sive. You cannot have a selec- he and Dayan talked through got it and how much. That is tive memory in the Senate,” Espenido and that he deliv- clear,” he said. ■
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Duterte urges Congress BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT DUTERTE asked Congress to fast-track moves to put in place a federal system of government in the country, stressing that this was the key to bringing peace in conflictridden Mindanao. Mr. Duterte said he wants the federal system put in place during his term, given the trust placed on him by people from Mindanao. He also reiterated his promise that he would step down even before his term ends to pave the way for this new system, but it must also have a strong President. He said he had told Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez to put in place the federal system in two to three years. Overhauling the system of government would require charter change. “I told them, Bebot [Alvarez’ nickname], hurry it up. I told them if you finish it in two or three years, I will step down as President. You can have my word,” Mr. Duterte said in a speech at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao local governance summit in Davao City. The ball has to start rolling now, he added, because “the Moro people will not wait for another term of a President.” “I am not an indispensable factor in this island. But what I’m saying … maybe not really golden but the most appropriate opportunity at this time of our generation, in our lives now, will be now,” he said. He later said should he die before this is completed, it would be difficult to convince the people to back the idea. He also assured the Moro people of Mindanao that his only desire was to give them their own territory.
He is not being controlled by any outside influence, he said. “What you should understand from me, and believe me, what I want to happen is to give what is due to you, and that is semblance of your territory, your governance, and the happiness of the Moro people,” he said. Mr. Duterte also said Mindanao has been suffering for decades because there seems to be no cohesive action on the part of the Moro people and the central government. There have been several attempts to address the conflict in Mindanao, but these only proved to be divisive even among Moro groups, he added. “I think the only acceptable arrangement as of today, this moment of our generation and of the lives of the Moro people is federalism. Other than that, there will be conflict,” he said. The President also defended armed uprisings by Moro groups. According to him, terrorism was not started by the people of Mindanao, but by the “colonialists” who “started the killing and the plunder of the land in Mindanao.” “It’s just a reaction of a person who has been deprived of the most precious thing of Allah’s possessions and that is the land. What they refer to as Muslim rebellion or a Moro rampage is actually Moro nationalism, to put it correctly in the proper perspective,” he said. He said the anger in the minds of the Moro was grounded in his nationalism, because his land was taken away from him. “Just as you would call everybody here a Filipino nationalist who sticks to the interest of his own country,” he added. ■
Opinion
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DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
House Justice committee approves death penalty bill BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer THE BILL restoring the death penalty passed a major hurdle in the House of Representatives with its approval on Wednesday at the committee level, paving the way for the measure to be taken up on the plenary floor. With its swift approval, the measure allowing courts to impose death as punishment for heinous crime — one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promises — may be debated and possibly passed on third and final reading before Christmas. By a 12-6 vote, with one abstention, the justice committee chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali approved the substitute bill consolidating several similar measures reimposing the capital punish-
Bag-ao begged to disagree ment for more than 20 heinous But their arguments fell on offenses, including rape with deaf ears in the face of the ma- with Veloso, saying most of those who would end up facing homicide, kidnapping for ran- jority. som, and arson with death. Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, a death as punishment for their This followed a nearly three- former Court of Appeals jus- offenses are ordinary people. “It’s not Satan who would hour long debate by lawmak- tice, said it was important to face the courts, ers in favor of but ordinary or opposed to people, many of the death penthem among the alty bill, one of poor,” she said. the priority legShe also cited islative agenda It’s not Satan who would face the courts, but ordinary people, many of Philippine Stapushed by Mr. them among the poor. tistics Authority Duterte, along figures showing with measures that the period lowering the when the death age of crimipenalty was imnal liability and switching to federalism. give courts the option to impose posed did not indicate any deAlbay Rep. Edcel Lagman the penalty of death against the cline in crime numbers. In fact, and Dinagat Rep. Kaka Bag-ao worst and most hardened crim- she said, the numbers showed there was more crime during articulated spirited objections inals. “If the one in front of you is the time capital punishment against the approval of bill, arguing that there were no com- Satan himself, at least give the was in effect. But Umali, the committee pelling reasons to justify the re- government the option to kill imposition of the death penalty the person. That’s Satan al- chair, later presented figures bill. ready,” he said. submitted by the Philippine
National Police showing an opposite trend where criminality had started to rise after the death penalty was abolished. Seeking to put an end to the debate, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas noted that the framers of the 1987 Constitution, many of them devout Christians, had opted to keep the option of capital punishment. “When they framed the Constitution, if they thought the death penalty was wrong, they should have abolished it in the first place. But what they did was set it aside. They said it could be revived if Congress wanted to,” he said. He further noted that Mr. Duterte was elected by the Filipino people after he promised to reimpose the death penalty and to litter Manila Bay with the bodies of criminals.
PUBLIC LIVES
Do leaders stay in power? By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer My good friend, Dodong Nemenzo, professor emeritus of politics and former president of the University of the Philippines, recently gave me an intriguing book. The title alone, “The Dictator’s Handbook” (2011), is sufficiently beguiling, and I couldn’t wait to read it. But, halfway through the book, I realized it is not just about tyrannical regimes; it is also about democratic rule. In short, it is about the practice of politics in general—how leaders come to power, how they keep power, and how they keep control over money. How leaders stay in power is the most interesting section. The book’s authors, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, argue that leaders do not rule unilaterally or monolithically. No ruler is ever in full control of his or her people. For, not even the most incorrigible autocrat has everything figured out. All leaders find themselves adjusting to a contingent process to ensure their survival. President Duterte is no exception. No one expected him to win the presidency in May 2016. He had no political organization or a nationwide network to back him. Outside of Mindanao, voters hardly knew him.
How does such a leader gov- one in it knows that there are plenBut it took only a few months to introduce him to an electorate ern? Having won on the back of ty of replacements for them.” Nowhere is this more applicable that had grown weary of politi- an amorphous movement rather cians and of politics itself. He came than of a party, Mr. Duterte has than in the handling of the police to the national stage at the perfect cobbled together a broad coalition and the military. Mr. Duterte has time. Filipinos seemed primed for of individuals who have very little played a clever game with these the entry of another maverick. He in common in political orientation two security institutions, keeping was rough in his manners, crude and background. There are leftists, their key officials guessing whether in his language, and indifferent to neoliberals, environmental activ- they will be rewarded with promothe need to please voters in order ists, Christian democrats, capital- tions, or shamed by revealing their to get their support. He cursed and ists, labor organizers, and provin- connections with the illegal drug networks and other criminal synfought mainstream media, and in- cial politicians in his Cabinet. That coalition is bound to shrink dicates. sulted every conceivable figure of Notes the Handbook: “The poauthority that incurred his ire. His as soon as key issues begin to disuccess validates one of the book’s vide its members. Mr. Duterte will lice are crucial to a regime’s surcounterintuitive theses—“bad be- have no choice but to let go of some vival. Police officers are charged with maintaining havior is more ofcivil order—which ten than not good If the people find a way to take to the streets en masse, the often boils down to politics.” incumbent will certainly need very loyal supporters willing crushing antigovHis speeches, to undertake the decidedly dirty work of suppressing the masses ernment protests which social meif he is to survive. and bashing the dia abundantly heads of antigovcarried, were rambling stream-ofconsciousness erstwhile allies and rely on an in- ernment activists. Surely inducing monologues. Clearly, it wasn’t his creasingly smaller core group of such behavior requires either great message that captivated audiences; people he implicitly trusts. These commitment to the regime or good it was his persona. He came out are friends he grew up with, or compensation. But as elsewhere, as anti-elite, anti-Establishment, associates who served him faith- the logic of corruption takes a more anti-American, anti-intellectual, fully from the time he was mayor of complex turn.” Complex is indeed the word. It is anti-religious, and, yes, anti-pol- Davao City. To the would-be dictator, the difficult to imagine how the deadly itics. He railed against the drug menace, mass poverty, corruption, Handbook offers this rule: “[N]o war on drugs can be so unrelenting and a myopic Manila-centric gov- matter how well a tyrant builds his in its viciousness unless one facernment, but offered no concrete coalitions, it is important to keep tors in the probability that police program to solve these. He was the coalition itself off-balance…. As officers are under pressure to decontent to tell his audiences that noted, the best way to stay in power liver on assigned quotas. If they are he was the nation’s last card, and is to keep the coalition small and, involved in drugs, they will have to crucially, to make sure that every- assume that the higher-ups know they believed him.
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about this. Their names could be on anyone of those lists that the President repeatedly waves at various speaking events. The more implicated they are, the more these police officials will try to cover their tracks with the dead bodies of suspected pushers and drug dealers. Anyone who has made enemies on so many fronts and taken a controversial position on such a wide range of crucial issues, as Mr. Duterte has in the brief period he has been president, must know that he needs the loyalty of the military to keep going. “If the people find a way to take to the streets en masse, the incumbent will certainly need very loyal supporters willing to undertake the decidedly dirty work of suppressing the masses if he is to survive.” We have, so far, seen no sign that this administration intends to suppress public protests. President Duterte himself has said that martial law achieves nothing. But, things could change dramatically if mass actions turn from protests against policies to a general strike against the leader himself. We shouldn’t wait for the national situation to come to that. By actively checking authoritarian tendencies early, we may be able to dissuade elected leaders from taking the shortcut to tyranny. ■
Opinion
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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LOOKING BACK
What was Andres Bonifacio’s preferred weapon? By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer THIRTEEN ARTISTS submitted designs for the proposed Bonifacio Monument before the deadline on July 15, 1930, and, after two periods of deliberation, the board of judges—composed of Andres Luna de San Pedro, Vicente Francisco and Tomas Mapua—chose the entry of “Batang Elias,” the pseudonym of Guillermo E. Tolentino, as the first-prize winner. I am hopeful that an album of the photographs and concept papers will turn up one day from the papers of Alfonso T. Ongpin or the National Library to enrich Philippine art history. An album on the Rizal monument compiled by Ongpin is conserved at the National Historical Commission. So far, the program of the inauguration held on Nov. 30, 1933, is in the National Library and has been made available online in the Malacañang website. Unfortunately, the detailed program could be more
useful with more pictures, but left from the Bonifacio Monu- sister, Espiridiona Bonifacio. Not the texts were considered so ment that formed part of the content with this, Tolentino conimportant that a note, in Taga- litter in her home. When I read- sulted the spirits of the figures in log, advised people to keep the ily accepted she laughed and told the Philippine Revolution of 1896 program for the information it meIwould not be able to lift it. through seances. It is not well contained. So I said I would call someone to known that aside from sculpture, Aside from the P3,000 prize help. And she warned that who- Tolentino was one of the foundmoney, Tolentino was given ever would attempt to lift the slab ing members of the Union Espirthe commission to execute his would get a hernia: “Maluluslu- itista Cristiana de Filipinas. winning design. The cost of the san kung sino man yun.” The monument’s height refers monument at to the number of the time was years the PhilipAnd unlike the Balintawak monument, which has the P125,000, compines was under figure raising a bolo and the Katipunan flag, Tolentino put posed of funds Spain. The 23 the flag in the hands of a flag bearer, a bolo in Bonifacio’s right earmarked by the bronze figures hand, and a revolver in his left. government and that include BoniP26,041.76 raised facio, Emilio Jaby public subscription. True enough, the slab was so cinto and Gomburza, the martyrs Tolentino, with the help of as- heavy we could not bring it into of 1872, rest on an octagonal base sistants, modeled the figures that my parents’ home, and for many that refers to the eight provinces were then executed in bronze in years it lay in our garden until the placed under martial law at the Italy under the supervision of property was sold and my sister outbreak of the revolution; these Ricardo Monti, an Italian sculp- took it to her home and used it are the same provinces that are tor based in Manila. Andres Luna for what is now a rather histori- commemorated in the eight rays supervised the construction of cal foyer table. of our flag. The obelisk crowned the column and the base made of It is said that to capture Boni- by a representation of the imported Carrara marble. facio’s likeness, Tolentino had “Winged Victory” is divided into In the 1980s Tolentino’s wid- to supplement the only known five parts, to refer to the five teow, Paz Raymundo, was spring- photograph of the Supremo of nets of the Katipunan. The pools cleaning and asked if I would be the Katipunan by using the bone of water that adorn the monuinterested in a block of marble structure of his only surviving ment refer to a passage from
Rizal that says water can be clear and calm but when heated turns to steam power. These now-forgotten details underscore the research Tolentino made in the course of the commission. Tolentino’s depiction of Bonifacio was not without controversy. The figure is not wearing the white shirt and red pants made iconic by an earlier monument built in Balintawak to honor the heroes of the revolution. He depicted the Supremo with shoes and a beautiful embroidered barong Tagalog. And unlike the Balintawak monument, which has the figure raising a bolo and the Katipunan flag, Tolentino put the flag in the hands of a flag bearer, a bolo in Bonifacio’s right hand, and a revolver in his left. Tolentino had to explain to critics that based on his interviews with veterans of the revolution, Bonifacio’s preferred weapon was a gun, not a bolo. Today, his Bonifacio has become iconic, too, and forms part of Filipino consciousness and history. ■
AT LARGE
HIV/AIDS and young women By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer It’s the classic “good news, bad news” scenario as far as the Dec. 1 observation of World AIDS Day in the Philippines is concerned. Hard to believe, but it’s been 28 years since this observance, born of tragedy and neglect, was launched. It was launched mainly to wake up international consciousness about HIV/AIDS and the awful toll it was taking on human life all over the world. But as with many diseases, HIV/ AIDS was taking the worst, heaviest toll on people in the poorest societies. True, the disease first gained prominence in the United States and the rest of the developed world. But while people mourned the loss of prominent folks in the artistic, performing and educational fields, it soon became obvious that the disease was just as—if not more—rampant among the poor, the unhealthy, the young, and the old, women as well as men. And in the years since the dis-
ease first exploded in the human longer considered a death sen- reproductive health, “only three consciousness, the “epicenter” tence; many years of productive in 10 adolescent girls and young of its spread soon shifted from life still remain for people living women have comprehensive and the developed world to the de- with HIV, with emphasis on the accurate information about HIV. veloping world. And while today living. Meanwhile, an estimated 2.3 milthe greatest incidence rates and But the bad news… Well, in the lion adolescent girls and young number of deaths from HIV/ Philippines, as I wrote in a previ- women live with AIDS are found in Africa, experts ous column, the bad news is that the virus that causes AIDS, say these may soon shift to Asia. the number of people testing accounting for 60 percent of all Sad to say, among the Asian positive for HIV is growing. Even young people (ages 15-24) living countries proving most vulner- more alarming, many of them are with HIV.” able to the spread of HIV/AIDS young people in or about to reach In sub-Saharan Africa, the is the Philippines, region long conwhich counts sidered the most A positive HIV diagnosis is no longer considered a death among the top gravely affected sentence; many years of productive life still remain for people countries still reby the AIDS epiliving with HIV, with emphasis on the living. porting a growing demic, “girls acnumber of HIVcount for 75 positive cases. percent of new The “good news” as we finish the most productive periods of infections among adolescents. our World AIDS Day observance their lives. More than 1,000 girls or young is that, with the development While in the Philippines the women are newly infected with of advanced drugs to slow, if not majority of people living with HIV each day,” notes Jhpiego. halt completely, the damage done HIV are men—since the biggest The figure is mind-boggling. by the human immunodeficiency factor driving up the numbers is One thousand newly infected virus in the bodies of those in- men having unprotected sex with girls a day! Since we are in the fected, fewer and fewer people other men—women, including middle of the 16 Days of Activism are dying as a consequence. Life young women, are just as vulner- against Violence against Women, expectancy for those testing pos- able. it’s time we recognized inaction itive has increased considerably. Worldwide, says Jhpiego, an and indifference to HIV/AIDS A positive HIV diagnosis is no international NGO working on among young women as a viru-
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lent form of VAW. But as the Jhpiego website proclaims, efforts are underway to stem the rising tide of HIV/AIDS among the world’s young women. In Tanzania, which is part of subSaharan Africa, the Jhpiego-led “Sauti Project” is working among young women, many of them teens, to provide HIV-prevention services. The focus, said the NGO, is on “sexual and reproductive health and economic empowerment,” with cooperation from government ministries, NGOs and the medical community. One such participant, named Mary, 18, joined a savings-andloans group to grow her vegetableselling business. The Sauti Project, said Mary, “taught me about empowerment, and that I don’t have to do what an older male tells me to. I was tested [for HIV] in July and received a negative result; I want to stay that way.” Sometimes, empowerment takes many forms, and the empowered can turn out to be an 18-year-old determined to make her own way in life. ■
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DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Canada News Notley aims to sell pipeline in B.C. after federal approval sparks protests Sombre ceremonies mark 27th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL — Polytechnique Montreal opted for a simple commemoration today to mark the 27th anniversary of the massacre that saw 14 women gunned down at the school. A bouquet of 14 white roses was placed at a memorial plaque in honour of the 13 students and one staff member killed on Dec. 6, 1989. The school says campus flags are also lowered to half-mast from dawn until dusk today. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement today saying the women were killed “simply because they were women.” He says the statistics relating to violence against girls and women are unacceptable and he encouraged a conversation about how to end gender-based violence. At noon, Trudeau and members of his cabinet will lay flowers in remembrance of the victims. “On this sombre anniversary, let us reflect on what Canadians
— women, men, and youth — can do to rid the country and the planet of the scourges of misogyny and gender-based violence,” Trudeau said in a statement. Other events planned for Tuesday include a gathering of various women’s groups in east-end Montreal. In another ceremony on Mount Royal beginning at 5 p.m., 14 beacons of light will be projected, one at a time, into the night sky for much of the early evening. Gunman Marc Lepine ended up shooting more than two dozen people, including the 14 women, before taking his own life. He had ranted about feminists ruining his life. The carnage sparked a national debate on gun control that continues today. Since the shootings, December 6 has become a national day of commemoration and has served as a call for action on violence against women, with various events and vigils held across the country. ■
BY GEMMA KARSTENSSMITH The Canadian Press VANCOUVER — Some observers say Alberta’s premier will have a difficult job trying to convince British Columbians to support the Trans Mountain pipeline project between the provinces as she began a twoday visit to B.C. on Monday. Rachel Notley appears to be taking a low-profile approach to her sales pitch. Her itinerary doesn’t include any public speaking engagements and she isn’t meeting with Premier Christy Clark, who has attached conditions to her government’s support for the Kinder Morgan project. She has scheduled interviews with media outlets to discuss the pipeline expansion, which received federal approval last week to triple the amount of oil already flowing from Edmonton to a marine terminal in Burnaby. Notley released a statement to mark the start of her visit, saying Alberta and British Columbia share “deep ties and common values.” “The Kinder Morgan pipeline offers an opportunity to show that a strong economy that benefits working families and world-class environmental standards go hand in hand. I look forward to having thoughtful and constructive conversations about the mutual benefits
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the project will bring to our two provinces.” Notley’s office said she will meet Clark in Ottawa later this week during a first ministers meeting. Clark said last week that the federal government is close to meeting B.C.’s five conditions for approval of the pipeline. Green Leader Andrew Weaver challenged Notley to a public debate on the project, saying she is not engaging with British Columbians during her trip. Notley’s visit is all about making deals to gain the provincial NDP’s support for the pipeline expansion, he said. “It’s not about British Columbians, it’s about political calculations, and that’s what is so frustrating for so many people in Canada,” Weaver said. A spokeswoman for Opposition NDP Leader John Horgan said he will meet with Notley because the two are old friends, but the party remains firm in its opposition to the Trans Mountain project. Weaver said there’s no way the majority of British Columbians will ever support the pipeline expansion because it will dramatically increase tanker traffic off the coast. “The risk-reward is just not worth it for those of us who live in coastal British Columbia,” he said. Notley has a lot of work to do in convincing environmentalists that the pipeline expansion should go ahead, said David
Tindall, a sociology professor at the University of British Columbia. “To some extent, I guess both Trudeau and Notley can say, ‘Look, we actually have policies for reducing climate change and we’re actually trying to make a difference,’ “ he said, adding that for many environmentalists it will come down to whether those policies are effective. “I think most environmentalists are quite skeptical of that.” Environmental groups and First Nations have promised to continue their vocal opposition to Trans Mountain with court challenges and protests. Not all observers believe Notley’s promotional tour is futile, however. Iain Black, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, said the visit gives Notley an opportunity to explain how a healthy energy sector allows for investment in communities. “You’re not building roads and hospitals and schools on the tax revenues from a latte,” he said. Notley should use the visit as an opportunity to show people how Trans Mountain fits into Canada’s broader economic picture, Black said. “We’re part of a Canadian economy here. I think we have to remember that. It doesn’t mean that we back down on our concerns, but it means we have to understand the context of the conversation,” he said. ■
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Canada News
DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Security shouldn’t trump privacy, watchdogs to tell Trudeau government BY JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Privacy commissioners from across the country will tell the Trudeau government today to make respect for personal information a cornerstone of its revamped national security policy. Federal privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien and all of his provincial and territorial counterparts are signing a joint submission to the government’s security review. Therrien and privacy czars from two provinces — Ontario’s Brian Beamish and Jean Chartier of Quebec — will appear in Ottawa today to discuss the submission. Therrien’s office says it will address key issues including information sharing, encryption and the collection and use of metadata by national security agencies and law enforcement. In October, Therrien told a
House of Commons committee it is crucial that there be more transparency about national security so that Canadians can better understand the issues. Therrien said while there are obviously limits to transparency when national security is at stake, more can and should be done. The government has requested public feedback on issues ranging from sharing information and preventing attacks to conducting surveillance and ensuring intelligence agencies are accountable. In last year’s election campaign, the Liberals promised to repeal “problematic elements” of omnibus security legislation, known as C-51, ushered in by the previous Conservative government. The bill gave the Canadian Security Intelligence Service explicit powers to disrupt terrorist threats, not just gather information about them. The legislation also created
a new offence of promoting the commission of terrorist offences and broadened the government’s no-fly list powers. In addition, it expanded the exchange of federally held information about activity that “undermines the security of Canada.” Therrien has already said the government hasn’t done enough to protect the privacy of “law-abiding Canadians” from the new informationsharing powers. The Trudeau government has committed to ensure all CSIS warrants respect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to preserve legitimate protest and advocacy and to define terrorist propaganda more clearly. The Liberals say they say will do a better job of balancing collective security with rights and freedoms. Just last month a Federal Court judge ruled that CSIS violated the law by keeping potentially revealing electronic data over a 10-year period about
PMO
people who were not targets of investigation. CSIS processed the data beginning in 2006 through its Operational Data Analysis Centre to produce intelligence that can reveal specific details about individuals. The improperly retained material was metadata — informa-
tion associated with a communication, such as a telephone number or email address, but not the message itself. It is believed to have included data trails related to friends or family members who knew targets of surveillance but were not themselves under investigation. ■
Free speech vs. copyright in Supreme Court battle between Google and B.C. firm BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD The Canadian Press OTTAWA — A legal fight between Internet giant Google and a British Columbia technology company unfolds today in the Supreme Court of Canada, where they will duel over competing free speech and copyright infringement issues. At issue is whether Canadian courts have the jurisdiction to make sweeping orders to block access to content on the Internet beyond Canada’s borders. Google is challenging a 2015 ruling by the British Columbia Court of Appeal that ordered it to stop indexing or referencing websites linked to a company called Datalink Technologies Gateways. The B.C. appeal court granted that injunction at the request of Equustek Solutions Inc., which won a judgment against Datalink for essentially stealing,
copying and reselling industrial network interface hardware that it created. Equustek wanted to stop Datalink from selling the hardware through various websites and turned to Google to shut down references to them. Initially, Google removed more than 300 URLs from search results on Google.ca, but more kept popping up, so Equustek sought — and won — the broader injunction that ordered Google to impose a worldwide ban. Google fought back against the “worldwide order” arguing that Canadian courts don’t have the legal authority to impose such an injunction. Its written argument to the Supreme Court calls the injunction “an improper and unprecedented extension of Canadian jurisprudence.” Equustek’s lawyers argue in their written submission that there is no issue of freedom of ex-
pression at play in the case. The only purpose of the offending websites “is to generate profit for the outlaw Datalink defendants and their collaborators by selling illegal products in violation of multiple court orders.” The company’s lawyers say their clients created “complex industrial equipment.” “The defendants are not selling counterfeit handbags or watches on street corners,” they argue. “If the court is powerless to act in the face of this kind of conduct, then we no longer live in a world ruled by law.” Equustek’s lawyers did not respond to a request for comment. Google lawyer David Price said if his client loses, it could lead to a proliferation of removal orders across the globe. “That may embolden countries whose perspectives on free expression may not align with Canada,” he said in an inwww.canadianinquirer.net
terview from London. That view is shared by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, which has been granted intervener status by the Supreme Court. It argues that “an injunction issued by a court in one country which restricts freedom of expression in another country will rarely, if ever, be consistent with international human rights law.” Human Rights Watch is joining a coalition of civil liberties groups, as well as 15 news organizations including Dow Jones, the Newspaper Association of America and The Associated Press. They argue the Canadian courts are overextending themselves and threatening free speech across the globe. Equustek has the support of a coalition of Canadian publishers, authors, composers and filmmakers, as well as an international federation of film producers. They take exception
with Google’s argument that it cannot be “deputized by a court to deindex a site.” The issues in the case are part of a growing global trend of “intermediary liability” where companies such as Google are being pressed to take down harmful or illegal content, said Fen Hampson, an Canadian foreign affairs expert and author of “Look Who’s Watching,” a new book on the evolution of the Internet. The European Court of Justice has upheld the “right to be forgotten,” which upholds the removal of defamatory or inaccurate personal information if it comes up in a search engine such as Google, he said. “In this case, Google (the intermediary) was asked by the B.C. court to deal with a copyright infringement issue, but the concept can be applied to other issues such as trademark disputes, defamation, hate speech, censorship or the protection of privacy.” ■
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FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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World News
DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Annan urges Renzi quits; Italian populists seek quick vote to win power respect for civilians in west Myanmar violence BY FRANCES D’EMILIO The Associated Press
BY ESTHER HTUSAN The Associated Press YANGON, MYANMAR — Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, seeking reconciliation among ethnic groups in fractious western Myanmar, urged the army on Tuesday to respect civilians’ rights as concerns rise about treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority. Annan spoke after meeting with top officials and making a three-day trip to Rakhine state, where the army has been conducting aggressive sweeps since October, when unidentified armed men killed nine policemen manning posts along the border with Bangladesh. Human rights groups accuse the army of abuses including rape, the killing of hundreds of civilians and the burning of villages. The army denies the allegations. But Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak led a rally Sunday against what he called “genocide” of Rohingya and urged Asian neighbours and the world to step up pressure to stop the violence. Annan heads a commission appointed in August by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to recommend measures to ease tensions between the Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in the Buddhist-majority nation. Inter-communal violence in 2012 killed hundreds and caused about 140,000 people — predominantly Rohingya — to take shelter in camps for the internally displaced. There are still 100,000 living in squalid conditions in the camps. Annan, who was in Rakhine from Friday through Sunday, said in a statement that his group was “deeply concerned by the reports of alleged human rights abuses.” He met Monday with President Htin Kyaw and Tuesday with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader. He also met Tuesday with army commander Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
“I made clear to him that it is important for the military to do what they are doing but the civilians also have their rights and they should be able to live a normal life,” Annan said at a news conference. “In my mind it’s very clear that the military has two important roles. Yes, it has the role to protect the state and the interest of the state, but also has a responsibility which is extremely important — security forces have to be careful in protecting civilian rights and rights of the civilian population.” Referring to reports that aid groups were being barred from delivering assistance to the Rohingya population, Annan said his commission “also stressed that security operations must not impede humanitarian access to the population.” Annan said they were assured that access would be allowed for humanitarian assistance. He also said he hoped that the media, barred from the area of the conflict in northern Myanmar, would soon be allowed access to help dispel rumours about the situation. Annan declined to speak publicly about the credibility of reports of army abuses. “We went to the region but we didn’t walk into a live conflict,” he said. “We did see houses which have been burned. You asked if we saw rape, that is not possible. We didn’t go there to investigate. That has to be investigated by those with expertise and knowledge. That wasn’t our role and so we cannot talk about that.” “For the issue of genocide, this is a very serious charge,” he said. “It is a charge that requires legal review and judicial determination. It is not a charge that should be thrown around loosely.” Many Rohingya, a minority of about 1 million among Myanmar’s 52 million people, have lived in Myanmar for generations, but most people in the country view them as foreign intruders from neighbouring Bangladesh. ■
ROME — Italian voters dealt Premier Matteo Renzi a stinging defeat on his reforms referendum, triggering his resignation announcement and galvanizing the populist, opposition 5-Star Movement’s determination to gain national power soon. The outcome also energized the anti-immigrant Northern League party, an ally of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a candidate in France’s presidential race. The blow to Renzi also delivered a rebuke to Italy’s industrialists, banks and other establishment institutions, which had staunchly backed the referendum. The political upset, which could spook investors, comes just as the government had made some inroads in cutting the staggering rate of youth employment and while Italy’s banks have urgent need for recapitalization. During the campaign, the risk of political instability in Italy, Europe’s fourth-largest economy, triggered market reaction, with bank stocks sinking and borrowing costs on sovereign debt rising. The Movement, led by antieuro comic Beppe Grillo, spearheaded the No camp on the constitutional reforms, a package aimed at updating Italy’s post-war Constitution that Renzi had depicted as vital to modernizing Italy and reviving its economy. Characteristically confident — detractors say arrogant — Renzi, 41, and Italy’s youngest premier, had bet his political future — or at least his current premiership — on a Yes vote win, and campaigned hard for a victory in recent weeks to confound opinion polls indicating that it would likely go down to defeat. With votes counted from nearly all the polling stations in Sunday’s referendum, the No’s were leading Yes votes by a 6-to-4 margin, Interior Ministry data indicated. The turnout of 67 per cent was especially high for a referendum, and more in line for a vote for Parwww.canadianinquirer.net
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liament. “I lost and the post that gets eliminated is mine,” Renzi said early Monday about an hour after the polls closed. “The government’s experience is over, and in the afternoon I’ll go to the Quirinal Hill to hand in my resignation” to President Sergio Mattarella. Leaders of the populist 5-Star Movement, which is led by Grillo, joined the chorus among opposition forces for early elections. The 5-Stars are the chief rivals of Renzi’s Democrats and are anxious to achieve national power for the first time. “Today the caste in power lost,” said a 5-Star leader, Luigi Di Maio. It was a sharp retort to Renzi’s characterizing the reforms as an opportunity to shrink the “caste” of elite, perkenjoying politicians by reducing the numbers and powers of Senators. “Arrogance lost, from which we’ll learn many things in forming our team for government and our platform,” Di Maio said. “Starting tomorrow we’ll be working on a government of the 5-Stars, we’ll involve the energies and the free persons who want to participate.” The 5-Stars’ constituency is largely internet based, and bills itself as anti-establishment. “The man alone at the command doesn’t exist anymore, but the citizens who govern the
institutions” do, Di Maio told a news conference minutes after Renzi conceded. Mattarella, as head of state, would have to decide whether to accept Renzi’s resignation. Renzi is widely expected to be asked to stay on at least until a budget bill can be passed later this month and to shepherd the process of reforming electoral rules, which now as they stand, would grant the biggest votegetting a generous bonus of seats in Parliament. With the momentum on their side, the 5-Stars expressed minimal interest in any ambitious reform. Renzi’s Democrats and the centre-right opposition of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi want the law changed to avoid such a big bonus to a winner, in case the 5-Stars garner the most votes. Elections are due in spring 2018, but with Renzi’s stepping down, they would likely be held sometime in 2017. Another opposition leader, Matteo Salvini, of the antiimmigrant Northern League, hailed the referendum as a “victory of the people against the strong powers of three-quarters of the world.” He urged elections straightaway. Many had read the referendum as an outlet for growing anti-establishment, populist ❱❱ PAGE 23 Renzi quits
World News
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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By accident or design, Trump signals tougher China policy BY JULIE PACE AND MATTHEW PENNINGTON The Associated Press
exactly what was happening” when he spoke with Tsai, but Vice-President-elect Mike Pence described the interaction as “nothing more than taking a courtesy call of congratulations.” Trump has pledged to be more “unpredictable” on the world stage, billing the approach as a much-needed change from President Barack Obama’s deliberative style and public forecasting about U.S. policy. But Trump’s unpredictability is likely to unnerve both allies and adversaries, leaving glaring questions about whether the foreign policy novice is carrying out planned strategies or acting on impulse. China’s authoritarian government likes predictability in its dealings with other nations, particularly the United States. The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest economies
clear deal. Taiwan split from the Chinese mainland in 1949. American policy acknowledges the Chinese view that it has soverWASHINGTON — Whether by eignty over Taiwan, yet the U.S. accident or design, Presidentconsiders Taiwan’s status as elect Donald Trump is signalunsettled. The U.S. is Taiwan’s ling a tougher American policy main source of weapons, with toward China, sparking warn$14 billion in approved arms ings from both the outgoing sales since 2009. Obama administration and BeiU.S. diplomats were shocked jing. by Trump’s telephone call with On Monday, White House the Taiwanese leader. Several spokesman Josh Earnest said officials privately expressed progress with the Chinese deep unease that Trump’s team could be “undermined” by a did not inform the adminisflare-up over the sovereignty tration in advance or give it a of Taiwan, the self-governing chance to provide input. island the U.S. broke diplomatic Max Baucus, the U.S. ambasties with in 1979. That split was sador to China, spoke about the part of an agreement with Chimatter Saturday with China’s na, which claims the island as vice foreign minister to reiterits own territory, although the ate America’s one-China policy U.S. continues to sell Taiwan on behalf of the current adminbillions in military equipment istration. and has other economic ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry Trump broke spokesman Lu protocol last Kang said Monweek by speakday that China ing with Taiwanwould have “no ese President Succeeding a mostly upward U.S.comment on China relationship, Trump also needs Tsai Ing-wen, what motivatto resist the light-headed calls for and then took to ed the Trump provocative and damaging moves Twitter to chalteam” to make on China by some hawkish political lenge China’s the tweets, and elites. trade and milihe said he betary policies. lieved both sides “It’s unclear would continue exactly what the to support a strategic effort is,” Earnest said. with bilateral trade in goods “sound and a stable bilateral re“I’ll leave that to them to ex- and services reaching nearly lationship.” plain.” $660 billion last year. But a commentary on the So far, Trump’s advisers have While there have been sharp state-run Xinhua news agency struggled to explain his action, differences between Beijing issued a veiled warning. sending mixed messages about and Washington on China’s is“Succeeding a mostly upward whether the conversation with land building in the South Chi- U.S.-China relationship, Trump Taiwan’s leader was a step to- na Sea and over alleged Chinese also needs to resist the lightward a new policy or simply a cybertheft of U.S. commercial headed calls for provocative congratulatory call. Incoming secrets, the two powers have and damaging moves on ChiWhite House chief of staff Re- co-operated effectively on cli- na by some hawkish political ince Priebus said Trump “knew mate change and the Iran nu- elites,” said the commentary by
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Luo Jun. “The outdated zerosum mindset is poisonous for Washington’s foreign relations. It would be a mistake to think that Washington could gain from undercutting Beijing’s core interests.” Stephen Yates, a former national security aide to VicePresident Dick Cheney who has been in touch with Trump advisers, said the call with Tsai was arranged by the transition team and showed the president-elect wants to rebalance the U.S. relationship with China. “He is not going to be told who he can or cannot talk to,” Yates said by email as he flew to Taiwan for a trip he said was planned before the election. “He meant what he said about being open to leaders who seek good relations with the U.S. He knows more about these sub-
jects than he might let on.” As a presidential candidate, Trump repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency and trying to “rape our country” with unfair trade policies. Walter Lohman, director of the Asian Studies Center at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Trump appears to be signalling a willingness to increase ties with Taiwan, but not necessarily a full overhaul of U.S. policy. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to poke the Chinese in the eye; it doesn’t mean we’re going to change the ‘One China policy,”‘ said Lohman, whose thinktank has been advising Trump’s transition. “But it does mean we will reform our Taiwan policy to reflect reality.” ■ AP writer Bradley Klapper contributed to this report.
WFP urgently needs USD13.7 M to feed refugees in Kenya PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MOSCOW — The UN World Food Program (WFP) needs USD 13.7 million to quickly provide Kenyan refugees with food and cash, Annalisa Conte, WFP’s Representative and Country Di-
rector for Kenya, said Tuesday. “WFP immediately requires USD 13.7 million to cover the food and cash needs for the refugees between December and April,” Conte said, as quoted in the WFP press release. According to the statement, 434,000 people are living in Kenya’s refugee camps at the mo-
ment, with 7,500 of them residing in the recently established Kalobeyei settlement, where the cessation of cash transfers will have a particularly devastating effect as people there receive most of their food assistance in cash. Conte mentioned a USD 22 million shipment of food that would reach the camps in Kewww.canadianinquirer.net
nya in May, but stressed the importance of filling the gap in funding until then. “Without an urgent response from other donors, we will completely run out of food for more than 400,000 people in Dadaab and Kakuma at the end of February,” Conte said. Kenya hosts more than
600,000 people at refugee camps in the northern part of the country, which were established in the early 1990s. Most refugees come from Somalia and South Sudan. The Dadaab complex, that includes five camps, hosts about 350,000 people and is the largest refugee facility in the world. ■
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Community News
DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Archdiocese of Vancouver Launched “Hamon Sa Pasko” with Filipino Catholic Associations ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL Miller met with various leaders of the Filipino Catholic associations last Friday, Dec. 2, 2016 at the Archdiocese of Vancouver Office to present and to launch “Hamon sa Pasko” one of a number of initiatives of the Filipino Ministry to put the charisms of various groups at the service of the local church. In attendance were leaders and representatives of the following associations: Families for Christ, Couples for Christ, Bukas Loob (BLD), El Shaddai, and Light of Jesus. The event started with a Holy Mass at the John Paul II Centre Chapel, after which dinner was served followed by the presentation about the new ministry by Deacon Greg Barcelon, the archdiocesan coordinator for the Filipino Ministry. Archbishop Miller then gave a short pep talk about the goals of the ministry, and about the impor-
ANGELO SIGLOS
tance of centering pastoral activities in support of the parish. Towards the end of the meeting, Deacon Greg Barcelon presented to the group the following initiatives: 1. The “Christmas Challenge” (Hamon sa Pasko) 2016. A personal challenge to do more prayers and or do charitable works such as: complete the
nine day Advent Novena (Simbang Gabi); offering alms to 9 indigent or needy persons; sending 9 Christmas greetings to friends and relatives who have not been in touch with; reconciling with 9 people you are in conflict with; visiting 9 elderly people in homes or institutions. The Christmas Challenge is open to everyone. To
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register, go to rcav.org/filipino-ministry/. 2. Formation of the Council of Filipino Catholic Associations to encourage all associations to optimally share their diverse charisms in the service of the local church by their greater involvement in parish life and evangelization efforts of the Archdiocese.
3. Annual Filipino Ministry Prayer Service. An annual prayer service of all Catholic Filipino associations centred on the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament followed by the Holy Mass. 4. Mass Convalidation of Irregular marriages in 2017. This is an effort to have civilly married couples receive the holy sacrament of marriage. ■
Community News
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Of Kiligs and Selfies with Senator Enverga John Lloyd Cruz at Western meets 2016 Union Mobile App Launch Marshall McLuhan fellow Gigi Grande BY BOLET AREVALO FILIPINOS ANYWHERE in the world will always be a movie fan. Western Union certainly knows that when it flew in drama actor and matinee idol, John Lloyd Cruz (JLC), to launch its latest money transfer app last Nov. 27, 2016 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts at Front St. in Toronto, Canada. It was an afternoon of endless kiligs and photo-op with JLC as Western Union made sure the show would bring the audience to a lively and close encounter with the actor. Local host-emcee Chris Zoleta prepped the audience with his own antics and pakulos in an effort to warm up the event and carry it through a fun and unforgettable experience for the over 200 registered audience who showed up for the event. About half past 2:00 pm, the event went live on Facebook and opened with Lloydie, as he is fondly called, greeting the waiting fans online. In an hour, FB live audience swelled to over 90,000 participating users, according to Joycelin David, Western Union Canada’s director for digital business and product marketing. Ms. David at one point recalled how JLC got to join Western Union as a celebrity endorser for 2016. It was practically a simple request for selfie with JLC in a trade show in the Philippines and instinctively, Ms. David knew that she might just have the right model to endorse Western Union money transfer to Filipinos worldwide. Alongside Ms. David, the JLC event was made possible through the marketing and communications efforts of the shop of Mr. John Chua who manages the unit. Other WU officers who attended were: Chito Gonzalez, Annie Karasseferian, Olivia Verestiuk, Edward Hanson, Jenny Wang, Avneet Sandhu and Serra Avimlah. From AV Communications: Marvi Yap,
Lloydie and Western Union officers happily accepted the Mannequin Challenge in one of the stress-busting moments during the Nov. 27 launch.
OTTAWA — Yesterday, the Honourable Tobias C. Enverga Jr., Senator from Ontario, met with this year’s Marshall McLuhan fellow, Gigi Grande of ABSCBN News, in his office on Parliament Hill. Ms. Grande received the award for her special and indepth online and television coverage of the 2016 pre-poll campaign and the elections. “I am proud to host Gigi Grande in my office here in the Senate of Canada, and to discuss matters that are near and dear to me in my current role in politics,”
Senator Enverga said in a statement. “It is journalists like Ms. Grande, and the essential role they play to inform citizens and to analyze politicians’ claims, who keep those in politics to task,” the Senator continued. The visit was part of Gigi Grande’s two-week tour of Canada to speak at various academic and public events, and to meet with members of the Canadian media and public service. The Marshall McLuhan Fellowship is awarded annually by the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines. ■
Senator Enverga, McLuhan Fellow Gigi Grande and Carlo Figueroa in the Senate Chamber. And the best part of the program was no other than the endless selfie and groupie moments with the matinee idol who was just so welcoming of his kababayans' love for photo sessions.
Renzi quits...
Anna Maramba, Loiee Pangan, Arjun Purkayastha, Isabel So and Tasha Ida. At one point during the show, JLC spoke about he welcomed the idea of being able to reach to Filipinos around the world and tell them about the convenience and safety of sending and receiving money through Western Union. He also mentioned that remitting money is undeniably already part of what normally happens among families whose one or two members are living at far distances from one another. And he affirmed that he is simply happy to become part of this Filipino value. Mr. Juan Carlos Blanco, head of Western Union Canada operations, also expressed his thanks on behalf of his compa-
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ny to JLC agreeing to become part of Western Union’s relentless effort to make remittances more and more safe and convenient to migrants worldwide, Filipinos and non-Filipinos. Juan also gamely joined the staff and crew play the Mannequin Challenge as the audience was being ushered to the highpoint of the show. Unveiled was the introduction of the money transfer mobile app that makes remitting money literally at the fingertips of the migrants. Accessible through any smart phones, the WU money transfer app enables migrant to send money by downloading the app on his phone and registering as user. With the new app, according ❱❱ PAGE 33 Of Kiligs
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sentiment in Europe. When Renzi late last year promised to resign if the referendum was defeated, it was months before Britain’s David Cameron had made his ill-fated bet that a referendum would cement the U.K.’s membership in the European Union. He was forced to resign when Britons instead voted to leave the EU fold. In Italy, the referendum was required because the reforms were approved by less than two-thirds of Parliament. But Renzi raised the stakes, turning the referendum into a virtual plebiscite on himself, when he pledged to quit if Italians turned their back on reforms to streamline the Senate and give the central government
more powers at the cost of the regions. “We are ready to vote as soon as possible,” Salvini told reporters. Renzi had been hoping to survive the rising populist forces that have gained traction across Europe. Earlier on Sunday, in Austria’s presidential runoff, leftleaning candidate Alexander Van der Bellen prevailed over a right-wing populist. In Italy, Renzi’s opponents counted on tapping into the populist sentiment rising in much of Europe as well as the U.S. presidential victory last month by billionaire political outsider Donald Trump. ■ Colleen Barry contributed from Milan.
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DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Entertainment Richard Yap: Changes in MMFF cause for worry BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer RICHARD YAP said the changes implemented by the organizers of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) became a cause for worry for actors like him who are more identified with mainstream films. Richard is the lead star of the Regal Films-produced “Mano Po 7: Chinoy,” which failed to make the cut in the festival’s official lineup this year. The Magic 8, which was officially announced on Nov. 18, did not have the usual blockbuster MATTHEW HERRADURA / FLICKR fare that featured big-name actors. This year, the organizers Excerpts from our chat with happened to us until we arrived required producers to submit Richard: home. not only scripts and sequence treatments, but finished films. Are you worried that the Why did you say director “Of course, this will affect exclusion from the MMFF Ian Loreños gave you a hard … actors on the mainstream will affect the movie’s per- time on your first shooting scene. There’s fear that we will formance in the box office? day? no longer get projects because Yes. When you do a movie, That day, he made me do a of the notion that the MMFF you want it to earn for the sake highly emotional scene with now favors mostly indie mov- of its producers. You want them Enchong (Dee). He didn’t give ies,” Richard told the Inquirer to continue producing movies. us time to warm up. I guess it at the media gathering for Hopefully, it will still do well, helped, because we were able to “Mano Po 7,” which will hit the- even if it isn’t part of the MMFF. get the difficult scenes over and aters on Dec. 14. done with. He did it probably “Let’s wait and see if this Can you recall your expe- because he wanted to measure would work. If not, they’ll have rience shooting in Taiwan his actors’ capabilities early on. to make more changes next during a supertyphoon? That made him different from year,” the actor said. We were on a bus in another the other directors I’ve worked The members with. of the MMFF selection comHow similar mittee said qualare you from There’s fear that we will no longer get ity was their No. your characprojects because of the notion that 1 consideration ter? the MMFF now favors mostly indie for choosing the Wilson Wong movies. Magic 8. Asked and I are very about the quality different. His of his latest film, struggle involves Richard said: “It his closeness to isn’t fair to say that the ones not town on our way back to Tai- his family. chosen weren’t quality films. pei when we heard about the I’m a workaholic like him, but It’s just that what the MMFF typhoon. The gale warning was I give my family as much time wants has changed. We did ev- No. 12, with No. 14 being the and attention as I can. What’s erything we could to make the highest. So, we had to take a pit also sad is that Wilson does not latest ‘Mano Po’ a good film.” stop at a gas station with a con- know how to express himself Is he now more inclined to do venience store for five hours emotionally to his wife and kids. indie films? “It depends on the before the rain and wind finally The movie teaches viewstory that will be offered to me. let up. The glass panels of the ers that the love that family If it’s worth doing, whether it’s convenience store were shak- members have for one another an indie or a mainstream film, I ing so hard! We were safe, so should transcend everything wouldn’t say no.” we didn’t tell our families what else. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
Veteran actress Lolita Rodriguez dead at 81 BY CHENG ILAGAN Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Lolita Rodriguez, Lolita Marquez Clark in real life passed away at 81 last Monday, November 28, 2016 at 9:40 a.m. (California time) where she stayed for the hospice care in Genesis Care Center in Hemet, California. The actress suffered stoke last September, said by her multigenre grandchild singer Radha Cuadrado. Lolita Rodriguez was born in Majayjay, Laguna on January 29, 2016. She’s a daughter of her American father, William Charles Clark and Carmen Marquez who is a Filipina. She was married to the late actor Eddie Arenas and got divorced later. They had three children named after her favorite golf sport, Maria Dolores (Birdie), Eduardo Jr. (Bogey) and Maria Carmen (Par). After retiring on films, Lolita chose to stay in Hemet, California with her American husband. According to an Inquirer.net report, Rodriguez was fondly known being the original baby of the filmmaker of Lino Brocka during her time and being a favorite actress to work with of
Veteran actress Lolita Rodriguez.
Nora Aunor and Hilda Koronel. It was also said that Hilda and Lolita never worked on screen together even though they are both favorites of Lino Brocka. “I’ve never really acted with Lolita,” Hilda said in an Inquirer report. “But I loved her body of work. I looked up to her when I was starting in the industry. She was my model…of what I wanted to be as an actress.” She added in the same report. Hilda also said that it was her dream to do film with Lolita. Lolita Rodriguez was playing as an extra when she was discovered by the Sampaguita Pictures and made several films after that. And among those films where she won the best actress awards were Ina ka ng Anak Mo (You’re the Mother of your Child), Stardoom, and Kasalanan kaya? (Was it a sin?). She was also known for playing her role in a Lina Brocka’s landmark film, “Tinimbang ka Ngunit Kulang (Weighed but Found Wanting). It was said by Radha Cuadrado in the Philippine Star report that Lolita Rodriguez will be buried at Diamond Park, near Hemet. Radha was quoted as saying as she described her grandmother as “nurturing and thoughtful.” ■
Entertainment
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Drake leads Canadians with 8 Grammy nominations BY DAVID FRIEND The Canadian Press DRAKE AND Justin Bieber ruled the charts this year and now they’re vying for several top Grammy Awards. Both artists are in the running for album of the year, alongside country singer Sturgill Simpson and powerhouses Adele and Beyonce. Drake leads the Canadian musicians with eight nominations, among them one for best rap album for “Views” and a record of the year nod with Rihanna for “Work.” Only Beyonce has more — racking up nine nominations — while Rihanna and Kanye West also have eight. Bieber’s hit single “Love Yourself” is contending for the best song and best pop solo performance categories, while his album “Purpose” grabbed a best pop vocal album nomination, bringing his tally to four. Many other Canadians also made the Grammy list, which
was revealed Tuesday. Northern Cree co-founder Steve Wood, who also teaches First Nations students, learned of the group’s nod in the best regional roots category while getting the class ready for the day. His record label had sent him a text sharing the news. The nomination for “It’s a Cree Thing” is the seventh for the group, which originates from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation in northern Alberta. Wood says he was surprised to be included in a Grammy category again. His students were also excited for him. “They thought it was pretty darn cool,” the Cree language instructor said. “I like to share that with my students because I want them to believe in themselves. I want them to believe anything is possible because I live right here too in this community.” Director Miles Jay learned of the best music video nomination for his powerful take on “River” by Leon Bridges when the label representative who
hired him for the project texted congratulations. Jay was rushing into a meeting when he read the message. “It was nice that it kind of came full circle,” he says. The sombre “River” visual encapsulates a simmering racial tension in the United States, and features Bridges playing his guitar in a hotel room while watching news footage from last year’s Baltimore protests over the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. Jay says he wanted to capture “what it was like to go home after a moment of police brutality or a vigil.” He casted Baltimore locals to reenact tender moments he’d witnessed in the city. The video was shot with a production crew of mostly Canadians, including cinematographer Chayse Irvin, who also worked on Beyonce’s Grammynominated music film “Lemonade.” Two Canadians are up for best dance recording, including Toronto songstress Kai who contributes a celestial vo-
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cal performance on Flume’s hit “Never Be Like You.” Together they received a nomination. Vancouver electronic duo Bob Moses also took a spot in the category for their brooding single “Tearing Me Up” while the RAC remix of the song was nominated in the best remix recording category. Jimmy Vallance, who performs with Tom Howie under the Moses pseudonym, said he was pleasantly surprised they made the Grammy cut. “We’re just some underground electronic act,” said Vallance from his New York home. “I guess we do well for what we do — but I didn’t expect a Grammy nomination, let alone two.” Also nominated for a remix is Calgary-born James Teej, who joined German producer Timo Maas to retool the Paul McCartney and Wings track “Nineteen Hundred Eighty-Five.” He learned about his nomination through an email from his manager. “I’d just woken up,” Teej said. “It was a thrill to have had the
opportunity to do the remix in the first place. It was definitely a highlight of my career.” Teej, whose real name is Thomas Mathers, said playing around with the vocals of McCartney happened by chance while he was staying with Maas at his home in Europe. He overheard Maas playing an a capella version of the tune from the 1974 album “Band on the Run” and was inspired. He remade the song with a down-tempo house music beat, which he then sent to McCartney’s record label for a possible release. McCartney gave the track his seal of approval and it wasn’t long before it was playing in clubs. Teej said he hasn’t talked to the former Beatle about the creation process, though he might have a chance at the Grammys in February. “What I’m looking forward to is having the opportunity to shake McCartney’s hand,” he said. “And just thank him for giving us the chance to do this.” ■
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DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Lifestyle ‘Magic mushroom’ psychedelic may ease anxiety, depression BY MALCOLM RITTER The Associated Press NEW YORK — The psychedelic drug in “magic mushrooms” can quickly and effectively help treat anxiety and depression in cancer patients, an effect that may last for months, two small studies show. It worked for Dinah Bazer, who endured a terrifying hallucination that rid her of the fear that her ovarian cancer would return. And for Estalyn Walcoff, who says the drug experience led her to begin a comforting spiritual journey. The work released Thursday is preliminary and experts say more definitive research must be done on the effects of the substance, called psilocybin (sih-loh-SY’-bihn). But the record so far shows “very impressive results,” said Dr. Craig Blinderman, who directs the adult palliative care service at the Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He didn’t participate in the work. Psilocybin, also called shrooms, purple passion and little smoke, comes from certain kinds of mushrooms. It is illegal in the U.S., and if the federal government approves the treatment, it would be administered in clinics by specially trained staff, experts say. Nobody should try it on their own, which would be risky, said the leaders of the two studies, Dr. Stephen Ross of New York University and Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore. Psychedelic drugs have looked promising in the past for treating distress in cancer patients. But studies of medical use of psychedelics stopped in the early 1970s after a regulatory crackdown on the drugs, following their widespread recreational use. It has slowly resumed in recent years. Griffiths said it’s not clear whether psilocybin would work outside of cancer patients, although he suspects it might work in people facing other terminal conditions. Plans are also underway to study it in depression that resists standard treatment, he said. The new studies, published in the Journal of Psychotherapy, are small. The NYU project, which also included psychotherapy, covered just 29 patients. The Hopkins study had 51. Bazer, who lives in New York, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2010, when she was 63. Treatment was successful, but then she became anxious about it coming back. “I just began to be filled with a terrible dread,” she said in an interview. “You’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. ... (The anxiety) was ruining my life.” She swallowed a capsule of psilocybin in 2012 in the company of two staff members trained to guide her through the several hours that the drug would affect her brain. As she listened to music through headphones, her eyes covered with a sleep mask, the drug went to work. “Suddenly I was in a dark, terrifying place, lost in space, lost
in time,” she recalled. “I had no bearings and I was really, really terrified.” Then she saw her dread of a cancer recurrence as a black mass in her abdomen, and she furiously yelled at it to leave. “As soon as that happened, the fear was gone,” she said. “I was just floating in the music ... like being carried in a river.” Then she felt deep love for her family and friends, and sensed their love for her. “It felt like I was bathed in God’s love ... I’m still an atheist, by the way, but that really seemed to be the only way to describe it.” Researchers said such mystical experiences appeared to play a role in the drug’s therapeutic effect. Walcoff, 69, a psychotherapist in Rochester, New York, also entered the NYU study because of her anxiety over a cancer recurrence, in her case, lymphoma. (Most participants had active cancer.) Psilocybin “opened me up to pursue meditation and spiritual searching,” Walcoff said, and as a result of that “I have become reassured and convinced that that phase of my life is over and it’s not going to come back.”
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M o s t funding for the studies came from the Heffter Research Institute, a non-profit organization that supports studies of psilocybin and other hallucinogens. In both studies, psilocybin treatment had more effect on anxiety and depression than a placebo did. For example, by the day after treatment, about 80 per cent of the treated NYU patients no longer qualified as clinically anxious or depressed by standard measures. That compares to about 30 per cent for the placebo group. That’s a remarkably fast response, experts said, and it endured for the seven weeks of the comparison. The studies took different approaches for formulating a placebo. At NYU, patients were given niacin, which mimics some effects of psilocybin. At Hopkins, the placebo was a very low dose of psilocybin itself. Researchers in both studies eventually gave full psilocybin treatment to the placebo groups and followed all the patients for about six months. The beneficial
e f fects appeared to persist over that period. But the evidence for that is less strong than for the shorter term, because there was no longer any placebo comparison group. No severe side effects arose from the treatment. Dr. William Breitbart, chief of the psychiatry service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who didn’t participate in the studies, said they were improvements over prior research on the topic. But there were still enough shortcomings to make him cautious about drawing conclusions, he said. In any case, Bazer and Walcoff say the treatment affected more than their cancer anxieties. Walcoff said it has helped her work on being less judgmental and more self-accepting. Bazer said it made her a more patient driver and more active socially. “It really changed everything for me,” Bazer said. “And I still do not have anxiety about the cancer coming back.” ■
Lifestyle
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Pangarap : So, Our Journey Begins
Indians look for solutions only So, when all else fails when toxic pollution soars in your job hunting, what can you do? BY MUNEEZA NAQVI The Associated Press
BY BOLET AREVALO UNLESS WE HAVE THE MIDAS TOUCH OR DISCOVER THE QUICKEST FORMULA, WE MIGHT HAVE TO BE EMPLOYEES FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. BUT THINGS ARE STILL POSSIBLE. THE ENTREPRENEURS and successful business people will hate me for saying that. After all, the idea of going into business and being successful as a last resort or a desperation move does not sit too well for those who have put all their lives building their empires. Why should it be that people who get rich are those who are in their own business? Unless you become a CEO or a COO of a large corporation and start enjoying fat bonuses and profit shares, you can never become rich when you are just an employee. Yet, employees we will be for most, if not for the rest, of our useful lives. That is a hard fact that we all have to admit. Otherwise, if we have the Midas touch or maybe just the simple formula to be a good businessman, there would be more employers than there are employees, which of course does not sound logical at all. It is not uncommon to hear of stories of some successful business owners simply stumbling into a business or going into business. A germ of an idea
comes, and in a desperate attempt to find some work to do, the idea flourishes and opens up doors for success. For now, I see two possibilities that can turn a person to own a business—one, he is born into it, or two, that necessity becomes the mother of all inventions. To a hopeless jobseeker, when you cannot get a job, create one for yourself, or buy yourself a job. As we go through this discussion, I will not kid myself into believing that most people will have so much money to start up their own fine-dining restaurant or buy a fast food franchise. I will just relate that, probably, when jobs are so elusive, trying something on your own may be a way to go. Going into your own business does not have to be a desperation move. Some businessmen stumble upon some germ of an idea and turn into overnight successes. While we may not all have the capacity to become successful businessmen, when jobs are so elusive, trying something your own may be a way to go. ■ Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion. She is author-publisher of the book: The Most Practical Immigrating and Job Hunting Survival Guide, proven simple steps to success without the fears and the doubts. book is available in Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, the Reading Room and other online bookshops worldwide.
NEW DELHI — The truth of New Delhi’s toxic air finally hit home for Rakhi Singh when her 3-year-old son began to cough constantly early this year. She bought air purifiers for her home. When a thick, grey haze turned the view outside her home into a scene from a bad science fiction film last month, she bought pollution masks. “Having a kid made the reality of the city’s pollution hit me harder,” she said. The news that the Indian capital is one of the dirtiest cities in the world is three years old. But the awareness that it’s toxic enough to leave its citizens chronically ill and requires long-term lifestyle changes is relatively nascent. The first week of November, when a thick blanket of toxic haze covered the city, did much to hasten that awareness. And with the awareness came a brisk uptick in the sale of air purifiers and pollution masks. As the noise and smoke from millions of firecrackers from the Hindu festival of Diwali died down, the city woke up Nov. 1 to soaring levels of PM2.5 — pollution particles so tiny they can get deeply embedded in the lungs. Levels in the Indian capital averaged well over 900 micrograms per cubic meter, more than 36 times the level the WHO considers acceptable and 15 times the Indian norm. Manufacturers and importers of air purifiers and pollution masks say late 2016 is the first time they’ve had a serious number of Indian families inquiring about and buying their products. “It’s only in 2016 that we’ve started to get through to the middle class,” said Barun Aggarwal, who heads Breathe Easy, a company that assesses homes and offices in New Delhi for pollution and provides solutions such as air purifiers and indoor plants. When Aggarwal started his business in 2013, he had no customers for months. Later that year the World Health Organization report describing Delhi www.canadianinquirer.net
Unidentified rag pickers search for recyclable material in the garbage in Maharashtra, India. DIPAK SHELARE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
as the world’s dirtiest city was released. “In the last four months (of 2013) we finally managed maybe 50 customers,” he said, adding that those first customers were almost entirely foreigners living in the Indian capital who came from cities with much cleaner air. This year he expects to hit close to 5,000 customers, with more local residents looking for solutions, Aggarwal said. Other businesses show similar numbers. SmartAir, a company that started selling low-cost air purifiers in China in 2013, set up shop in India in early 2015 and sold 1,000 pieces of its basic do-it-yourself model that year. This year it sold about 500 pieces in the first week of November alone. Hundreds of people queued up outside the Vogmask store in a posh shopping area to spend as much as 2,000 rupees ($29) on high-end pollution masks manufactured by the California-based company. When the Indian capital topped the pollution charts in 2013, the city’s first response was almost defiant. There was a belief that pollution only sickened the city’s expatriate population. “There was a strong defiance. ‘I’m born and brought up in Delhi. This doesn’t affect me,”‘ was how people saw the pollution problem, said Jay Kannai-
yan, head of SmartAir in India. “This year, that’s gone out the door. Middle-class, even lowermiddle-class Indians are looking at air purifiers,” he added. But while awareness is growing, New Delhi’s response to air pollution isn’t very consistent. Air pollution is a year-round problem in the Indian capital, but it’s only when the cold winter makes toxic air visible that people respond. On days when the air so awful that one can see and taste it, the parks are empty and those who cannot afford pollution masks tie handkerchiefs or scarves across their faces. The week after Diwali, when the city saw its most shocking pollution spike in years, the SmartAir office and shop in south Delhi was open all night, with long lines outside the store. But on other days, when the sun shines and the haze lifts, most people forget about pollution. The masks vanish and the face coverings come off, even though pollution is often still way above government and WHO norms. “When the media stops talking about it and people see sunshine they start thinking it’s OK. It’s really not. It’s terrible,” says Singh. “Right now it’s a completely a panic-driven market,” says Kannaiyan. “People are only buying when it’s so horrendous that they can’t see their own hand in front of them.” ■
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Lifestyle
DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Solving the legacy of indigenous sexual abuse: think globally, act nationally BY KRISTY KIRKUP AND SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press
help indigenous communities identify and lead their own processes to confront sexual abuse. Just ask Charlene Belleau, chief of B.C.’s Esketemc First Nation — a community committed to sobriety for the past 40 years after acknowledging alcohol abuse as a symptom of other, more deep-seated trauma. “I think when we explain and understand what it is we’ve been through as individuals, families and as communities, then we find a way out of that,” Belleau said. “In my mind, I think that we need to have our leaders acknowledge what our experience is with abuse and violence within the community.” A childhood victim of sexual abuse who sought help in her 20s, Belleau now leads healing circles on her reserve established through a protocol designed with the RCMP and B.C.’s criminal justice branch. “To me, the healing circle is an opportunity where the victim ... has choices in that process, the offender acknowledges that they have perpetrated those crimes and you have supports for both victim and offender, recognizing that both need help after a circle.” Circles, long a fixture in aboriginal cultures, have become
core indigenous values such as respect, honesty and truth. “When you take the power out of the secret, it is amazing — when I was living with that FRED KEJICK Thomas resecret, there was so much fear,” members the exact day — April said Freda Ens, whose own ter14, 2005 — when he confronted rified childhood of molestation the uncle who had sexually moin a Haida community in B.C. lested him out on a trap line began when she was traded for when he was four years old. a bottle of beer as a baby. After years of being haunted “When I started to speak by flashbacks and rage, Kejick out and say, ‘No, this is my Thomas asked police to accomstory. This is what happany him on a visit to see his pened to me,’ it took the uncle, where he read a letter in power away from that seOjibwa to speak his truth. cret and it actually gave “There were eagles flying me back my power.” around across the bay and I Communities knew it was going to be a good should be able to day for me,” he said. take control of the The 68-year-old from the healing process Lac Seul First Nation in northwith the experience western Ontario took it upon of elders and aborigihimself to confront his demons, nal traditions, agreed blazing his own trail towards Sen. Murray Sinclair, healing wounds that have torthe former chairman of mented other indigenous Cathe Truth and Reconcilianadians for generations. tion Commission who spent Not everyone has that kind of six years hearing stories of the strength. long-standing impacts of CanaRather, it’s up to community da’s residential schools. leaders to forge real, lasting soBut Sinclair offers a warnlutions and push them aggresing: some elders are themselves sively at the national level, say likely former abusers. the many aboriginal victims of Part of the solution might childhood sexual abuse who lie in restorative justice, an took part in a months-long inapproach based on the tradivestigation by The Canadian tional practices of indigenous Press. cultures, he said. Prison offers Kejick Thomonly temporary as sums up the relief; offenders problem bluntly: get released and “We have a lot of come home, and When I started to speak out and say, perpetrators.” victims are trau‘No, this is my story. This is what Assembly of matized all over happened to me,’ it took the power First Nations again. away from that secret and it actually National Chief There’s precegave me back my power. Perry Bellegarde dence in a 1999 has urged his Supreme Court organization’s decision, known chiefs to sumas R, vs. Gladue, mon the courage to acknowl- a fundamental component which concluded that courts edge the painful legacy of abuse of restorative justice efforts ought to more carefully conon reserves. The AFN holds its throughout North America sider an aboriginal offender’s annual meeting this week in since being introduced into the background and make sentencGatineau, Que. criminal justice system in the ing decisions accordingly. But while chiefs can provide 1980s. Sinclair has first-hand experipolitical heft, indigenous exGathering together victim ence with alternative sentencperts say the heavy lifting can and offender, family members ing and restorative justice in only happen at the local level, and community leaders, they Hollow Water, a Manitoba comtaking full advantage of the rich are meant to provide a safe and munity where sexual abuse was heritage and traditions of Can- mediated opportunity for a widespread in the community. ada’s Aboriginal Peoples. victim to confront an offender, As a judge, he worked closeHealing circles, traditional for an offender to confess their ly with the healing circle and ceremonies, a return to the land crimes, and for public input presided over a program that and supports for community into reconciliation and sen- identified sexual abusers and members and leaders would all tencing — all while reinforcing providedthemwithculturallyapwww.canadianinquirer.net
propriate services. Those services include providing support and education while rekindling offenders’ kinship with the land and their Anishinaabe values, said Marcel Hardisty, one of the founders in the mid1980s of Hollow Water’s Community Holistic Circle Healing process. Still, even though Hollow Water took on the problem directly and helped a number of families in the beginning, the sexual abuse problem has persisted. “It’s still ongoing,” Hardisty said. “People now are self-destructing and self-medicating, and when they’re in that state they’re doing all kinds of things that are not healthy. “There’s broken homes, broken relationships. There’s abuse of alcohol, there’s violence. Things have escalated.” Child sexual abuse remains an open secret in many communities because a “safe space” often doesn’t exist to allow a dialogue to take place, said Belleau. Forcing victims to take up their issues with leaders publicly would be emotionally devastating, she added. “That won’t get us any-
where,” Belleau said. “That will put us at a standstill for another 20 years ... there needs to be a willingness for us to engage everybody, including the leaders.” Many believe that healing must occur “from within” communities, said Jason Smallboy, deputy grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, an umbrella political organization that represents 49 communities in northern Ontario. That means a return to traditional teachings that are at the heart of indigenous culture, said Smallboy, as well as utilizing their most critical resource — the land. “It’s hard to explain the connection we have with the land,” he said. “It’s in us. It’s a sense of home.” Hardisty echoes that sentiment: “When we were at our best here, it was when we were able to take people back out onto the land and learn about things that sustained our people for thousands of years.” Kejick Thomas, who said he draws most of his strength from the land, also takes comfort in the courage he has found within himself. “Do I ever resent what happened? No. Because I am totally free.” ■
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FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
Sports Teng aims to finish varsity stint in Game 2 BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer JUST LIKE most of his collegiate career, Jeron Teng stood at the forefront of another epic La Salle victory over fierce rival Ateneo Saturday night in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 79 finals at Mall of Asia Arena. And as his stint with the Green Archers winds down, Teng notes the irony of wanting to end his UAAP career earlier than expected. What matters to him now is going out as a champion. “I just want Wednesday to be my last game,” said Teng, who shot 10 points, including the go-ahead basket in the 6765 nipping of the Blue Eagles. “It’s funny but I don’t want to play two more games.” Picked to go all the way owing to their talented lineup led by MVP Ben Mbala, the Archers can wrap up the series and a ninth title with another victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum. Getting tantalizingly close to the crown wouldn’t have been possible if not for Teng’s endgame heroics in the series opener when he also blocked Aaron Black’s potential goahead jumper. Moments earlier, he went all the way for a layup off Kib
BY NEIL DAVIDSON The Canadian Press
Picked to go all the way owing to their talented lineup led by MVP Ben Mbala, the Archers can wrap up the series and a ninth title with another victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum. SHANICE GARCIA / PCI
Montalbo’s steal to give La Salle a 66-65 edge. Teng was quick to deflect the credit to Mbala. “Ben sealed and he took his man out so I saw an opening,” said Teng. “Credit to Ben also for getting me a good shot.” La Salle coach Aldin Ayo marveled at his two stars’ exploits down the stretch against an Ateneo
squad that refused to quit even after going 13 points down in the third period. Rookie Aljun Melecio also sparkled in the victory with four treys, the last giving La Salle a 63-59 lead with 4:31 left. “JT (Teng) is a veteran and Ben is just so talented,” Ayo said. “I was sure they would do everything to win.” ■
PHL wins bronze in World Bowls Championship in New Zealand PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Philippines won a bronze medal in the ongoing World Bowls Championship in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Philippine team composed of Asuncion “Sonia” Bruce, Hazel Jagonoy, Rosita
Toronto FC learns that success on the field can come at a cost off it
Bradborn and Vilma Ronalyn Greenlees defeated Wales, 19-14, in the first round of the women’s fours final played at the Burnside Bowls Center. But the Filipinos lost to their English rivals, 15-18, in the second round to share the bronze medal with New Zealand, which lost to Australia, 9-27. England and New Zealand drew first round byes. Austra-
lia took the gold medal after posting a 23-8 victory over England, which settled for the silver. Wales and Scotland are fifth. The Philippines is fielding Ainie Knight in the singles event. She and Bruce are competing in the pairs event. Seeing action in the triples event are Jagonoy, Greenlees and Bradborn. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
TORONTO — Success can come at a cost, as Toronto FC has learned. Celebrations over making the MLS Cup final have been mixed with blowback from some season ticket-holders unhappy that while they can buy tickets for Toronto’s Dec. 10 championship game at BMO Field against Seattle, they won’t be the seats they usually call home. “Hey @torontofc 10 years of being a season tickets holder and this is how you repay me!!,” tweeted one supporter. “Got my tickets for #MLSCup2016! Not impressed that I had to move,” added another. On the heels of Toronto’s wild win over the Montreal Impact on Wednesday to advance to the MLS Cup final, season ticket-holders got an email from the club that contained good and bad news. “Toronto FC will be hosting MLS Cup and we couldn’t be more excited! We will play the Seattle Sounders on Dec. 10th at BMO Field. Please note that this is a league event and therefore will operate differently than our other playoff matches this season. What this means, is that we cannot guarantee your season seat location but you will get an opportunity to purchase the same amount of seats you have in your account before we go on sale to the public.” Toronto FC has some 18,700 season ticket-holders. Major League Soccer, which had no comment on the ticket issue, has taken over some of these tickets to use for sponsors and other clubs. Seattle will also get an allotment high in the east stand, where travelling supporters are usually housed. Extra media demands may also cut into available seating. A spokesman for Maple Leaf
Sports & Entertainment, which owns the soccer club, said league-run events such as an all-star or championship games are a challenge. “We work to ensure our season seat-holders are given preferred access including an early three-day window to purchase additional seats for the event, at the best price, before they go on sale to the general public,” he said. Club officials are working with fans to try to solve problems. The window for season ticket-holders opened at noon Thursday. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Monday at 1 p.m., ranging in price for $20 to $394, according to Ticketmaster. Tickets were already on sale on Kijiji on Saturday, including two BMO Club pitchside seats for $4,400. Stubhub had some 1,350 tickets available as of Saturday afternoon, starting at US$202. A BMO Field-record crowd of 36,000 took in Wednesday’s playoff win over Montreal, thanks to the temporary seats in the south end left from the Grey Cup. Toronto Argonauts season-ticket holders did get the chance to buy their own tickets for the CFL championship game between Ottawa and Calgary. Toronto’s past history of failure on the soccer field has helped build the anticipation for the championship game, perhaps deepening fan frustration at not being able to get their usual tickets. Also there was no real headsup on what awaited seasonticket holders and their seats. The issue of season tickets and championship games can be thorny in many sports. The San Jose Mercury News reported that the San Francisco 49ers only received 3,000 tickets from the NFL for the 2016 Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium, angering fans. ■
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DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Business Peza eyes amendments to ecozone laws BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINE Economic Zone Authority (Peza) will seek legislative support for the amendment of laws to enable economic zones to offer an even more attractive, lucrative proposition to prospective locators, including allowing foreign investors to lease lands for up to 99 years. The existing law, Republic
Act No. 7652 or the Investor’s Lease Act, allows foreign investors investing in the Philippines to lease private lands for up to 75 years. Peza director general Charito B. Plaza said the extension of leasing period for foreign investors formed part of the proposals that they intended to put forward to Congress to make it more viable for companies to set up shop in ecozones. “We’re studying the leasing period at Peza because we want to extend
it to 99 years, similar to what is being implemented in other countries. There really isn’t a problem about the period but Peza is just trying its best to become highly competitive in the market. We want to compete with the likes of Dubai that allow 99 years,” Plaza explained. “Right now, all the incentives of Peza are provided in the law, like income tax holiday. Wewon’t be changing that because that will cause worry among investors. But the
amendments we want to introduce are just to make us competitive,” she stressed. Another proposal was the adjustment of wages of workers in the ecozones to make them more competitive against neighboring countries. Specifically, Peza is looking at creating a special wage package that will be beneficial for both workers and locators. “We will create a technical working group between Peza and the Department of Labor
and Employment because we want to have a special wage package in the ecozones. This will be different because while the salaries will be rationalized, workers will be provided with more benefits such as low cost housing, scholarships for their children, trainings, and livelihood support. We have a lot of programs like these and it’s just a matter of Peza linking with the agencies that are implementing such programs,” Plaza said. ■
South Korea’s Park would leave economy mired in challenges BY YOUKYUNG LEE The Associated Press SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF — The heir to the Samsung empire and other tycoons took a public drubbing by lawmakers Tuesday over deep-rooted ties between politics and business that helped drive South Korea’s economic ascent but are central to its political crisis. The questioning on national TV of Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong, 48-year-old only son of the company’s ailing chairman, and eight other business leaders was in response to prosecution claims that President Park Geun-hye allowed a corrupt confidante to pull government strings and extort big sums from companies. Lee apologized repeatedly, without saying what he was apologizing for, and sought to distance himself from Park’s friend and shadowy adviser Choi Soon-sil. “There are many things that I myself feel embarrassed about and I regret that as we have disappointed the public with many disgraceful things,” Lee said. The bright expectations for Park when she took office nearly four years ago promising a “happy era” of entrepreneurship and greater equality have dimmed to deep disappointment as the country’s biggest
political scandal has unfolded. had hoped she would replicate landscape. With Park facing the threat of the success of her father, Park Public morale has deterioimpeachment over the scandal, Chung-hee, who is revered for rated as Park’s administration her successor stands to inherit guiding South Korea’s rapid in- lurched from crisis to crisis. In an economy, Asia’s fourth larg- dustrialization while he ruled 2014, 304 people, mostly teenest, that is struggling with no as a military dictator from 1961- agers on a school trip, died in easy solutions on the horizon. 1979. a ferry accident. That disaster Household debts have surged “I thought Park Geun-hye took a toll on consumption, leito a record high while the youth would be smart like her father. sure and tourism. A year later, unemployment rate peaked I feel terrible about how stupid an outbreak of Middle Eastern at a record-high 12.5 per cent she turned out to be,” said Chae Respiratory syndrome sapped in February and stood at 8.5 Woo-yeon, 85, who was holding consumer spending and busiper cent in October. The gap a candle while selling blankets to ness activities. between wages for full-time, fellow protesters at a rally that Park’s troubles have sharpcareer jobs and ened doubts over contract work close ties behas widened, tween politicians while quarterly and big, familyWhat good is it for people in their growth has been controlled busi20s to have hopes for the future? below 1 per cent nesses, known as for a full year. chaebol. South Korea’s Local media two-biggest bigsay prosecutors gest brands, are looking into Samsung and Hyundai Motor, drew hundreds of thousands of whether 53 businesses that are seeing their profit sag. people, the sixth straight week- donated funds to non-profit Younger South Koreans have end of demonstrations calling foundations controlled by Choi taken to calling their country for Park’s ouster. received favours in return. Pros“Hell Joseon,” referring to an “I never thought things would ecutors also have raided Samancient feudal kingdom. collapse like this,” she said. sung and the nation’s pension “What good is it for people Of course, Park Geun-hye fund, reportedly scrutinizing its in their 20s to have hopes for inherited a more mature econ- decision to back a 2015 merger the future?” Baek In-pum, 19, omy, lacking the dynamism of of two Samsung companies. a student at a top university, her father’s era, at a more chal“She gave the chaebol what said during a recent rally near lenging time for global growth. they wanted,” Kim Jae-kyun, a the presidential office. “People South Korea is now the fast- 51-year-old factory employee are struggling but that doesn’t est aging society among devel- disgruntled over labour and bring a better future. The fu- oped countries, with an ultra- wage reforms that he says have ture will also be full of pain.” low birth rate. Many of the big helped big industry at the exBaek said he doubts he could businesses that drove an export pense of ordinary workers. ever afford to buy his own boom subsidized by cheap gov“My wages haven’t gone up home. ernment loans are struggling and I’m worried my children Older supporters of Park to adapt to the changing global won’t be able to find jobs when www.canadianinquirer.net
they graduate,” Kim said during a recent demonstration. Once the current political crisis passes, what will remain is the hard work of charting a future course for the economy. The country’s largest shipping line recently went bankrupt, while its biggest shipbuilder is undergoing a restructuring. The recent slowdown in China, the country’s biggest export market, has been a further drag on growth. Park has managed to boost growth in the short-term by increased government spending and stimulating construction and property development. But the 2.5 per cent growth rate last year came at the cost of an unsustainable rise in household debt. And efforts to counter inequality by promoting inclusive growth and restructuring the labour market and the public sector provoked huge backlashes. Other policy initiatives like the “creativity economy” policy of promoting entrepreneurship likewise have made little headway, said Kim Sang-jo, executive director of a nongovernmental business watchdog, Solidarity for Economic Reform. Meanwhile, “The competitiveness of key industries appears to have collapsed,” Kim said. “South Korea’s economy is in a crisis like a frog in slow boiling water.” ■
Business
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
Increasing trade linkages and foreign direct investment to contribute to Asia Pacific’s growth: ADB PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY SINGAPORE — The Asia Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday in its latest report that strengthening trade linkages and attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) will contribute to Asia and the Pacific’s growth and help improve resilience to emerging protectionism. ADB’s Asian Economic Integration Report 2016 noted that with the continued anemic global economic recovery, trade growth in Asia and the Pacific decelerated in 2015, falling further behind growth in gross domestic product. Trade growth in Asia slowed to 2.3 percent in 2015, below the global average of 2.7 percent, which ADB said was mainly due to the structural transformation underway in China. Rising protectionism and non-tariff barriers are also two major obstacles to trade. The report highlights that greater trade openness and FDI
can strengthen the region’s resilience to slow global growth, but countries need to improve their institutional quality, business environment, and policy effectiveness to encourage FDI. ADB said FDI can contribute to economic growth through job creation, capital mobilization, and infrastructure development, while promoting productivity through technological and knowledge spillovers. It also fosters inclusiveness through better working conditions and rising wages. On the other hand, the report added that financial integration continues to increase gradually
in the region but lags far behind trade integration. It was reported that migration from Asia also increased between 2010 and 2015. The increase was directed more to outside Asia than within the region. Asia and Pacific is the largest source of international migrants, with its total 83.3 million migrants accounting for more than a third of the 243.7 million migrants worldwide as of 2015. ADB’s Asian Economic Integration Report reviews the progress of Asian governments’ efforts to integrate their economies and improve cooperation on a variety of levels. ■
Gov’t assistance for SMEs sought BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINE Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Duterte administration to provide assistance to small and medium sized enterprises to enable them to comply with the country’s commitment to substantially slash carbon emissions in the next decade. In a statement, PCCI president George T. Barcelon said that for the private sector to be able to do its part effectively, particularly SMEs, access to low cost technology was needed. Barcelon said he didn’t expect businesses pay for overpriced technology to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, he called on the government to consider different options to assist small firms financially. The PCCI chief also urged ad-
vanced nations to share climate change mitigation knowhow with developing economies like the Philippines. Technology
“I hope developed countries can help us, not just by giving money, but also by opening up and sharing their technology,” he said. “I think a lot of this climate change knowledge and equipment can easily be built in the Philippines. I wouldn’t want us to be paying overpriced technology in order to achieve (this)… Hopefully, developed countries would open their hearts and say we can share with you the technology at no cost,” Barcelon said. The Philippines’ plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions formed part of its commitment under the landmark international climate accord signed in New York earlier this year.
Under the Manila Declaration of 2015, the Philippines has committed to reduce its emissions by as much as 70 percent by 2030. The planned reduction was seen to come from the energy, transport, waste, forestry and industry sectors. In May this year, Barcelon warned that this emissions reduction commitment might put undue pressure on local industries and strain the growth of the economy. In an earlier letter to Climate Change Commissioner Emmanuel de Guzman, Barcelon said that while the chamber supported the government’s initiatives to cut carbon emissions and promote business resiliency and environmental sustainability, the group was concerned of the possible impact of the “high target” on local industries, consumers and the economy. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
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Jobs in metro pick up on business boom BY RONNEL W. DOMINGO Philippine Daily Inquirer JOB GROWTH in large Metro Manila enterprises remained positive in the second quarter of 2016 amid expansion of business activities, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Results from the PSA’s latest labor turnover survey showed that the improvements were observed as gains in the agriculture and services sectors offset a decline posted in the industry sector. PSA data showed that for the three months ending June, the labor turnover rate—or the difference between jobs gained and jobs lost—reached 2.3 percent. Employment growth continued to be positive, rising from flat levels in previous quarters and twice as fast as a year ago. Turnover was pegged at 0.96 percent in the first quarter of 2016 and 1.15 percent in the second quarter of 2015. Hiring, separation rate
This meant that for every 1,000 enterprise workers in the National Capital Region (NCR), 124 new hires joined but 101 quit or were fired. In total, a net of 23 people were added during the three months to June. The hiring rate was recorded at 12.4 percent while the separation rate was 10.1 percent. Overall, employment in the agriculture sector grew by 4.6 percent and services sector by 2.9 percent, while the industry sector deteriorated by 2.1 percent. Employment gains in the agriculture sector were more than “quadruple of the labor turnover rate (1.02 percent) registered in the same period last year,” the PSA said. Labor turnover rates were also high in education (6.1 percent); finance and insurance (5.1 percent); and information and communication (4.5 pecent). On the other hand, employment losses were observed in construction (-8.4 percent); electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning (1.2 percent); and real estate activities (-0.4 per-
cent). Other industries that showed gains were “other” services (4.4 percent); mining and quarrying (3.4 percent); and wholesale and retail (3.1 percent). Also showing strong gains were transportation and storage (2.9 percent); accommodation and food service (2.5 percent); administrative and support service (2.4 percent); and human health and social work (2.2 percent). Due to expansion Showing lesser improvement in turnover rates were manufacturing; water supply and waste water management; professional, scientific and technical activities; and arts, entertainment and recreation. The PSA observed that large enterprises in 12 out of 18 industry groups took in new employees more because of business expansion than because of the need to replace those who were let go. “This was most apparent in administrative and support service activities where the hiring growth rate due to expansion was 15 percent compared to 2 percent due to replacement,” the PSA said. It also added 10 industries posted more replacements than expansion. “Among these, significant percentage point differences were registered in education; wholesale and retail trade; and accommodation and food service.” Job losses
The PSA said employee-initiated separations accounted for most of the employment losses while the rest were due to terminations or employerinitiated. “Construction industry registered the highest separation rate at 17.1 percent,” the PSA said. “This consisted mainly of employer-initiated separations at 9.6 percent.” High rates in job losses were also seen in administrative and support service activities (14.7 percent) and accommodation and food service (14 percent). The data is part of the PSA’s survey of 1,232 large corporations in NCR, which were drawn from the agency’s 2015 List of Enterprises. ■
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Technology 4 changes shoppers will see as they buy on their phones BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press
“They want it fast,” said Peter Cobb, co-founder and executive vice-president of eBags, which says mobile accounted for 43 per cent of visits and 20 per cent of sales for the five-day period. The handbags and luggage site now highlights the top five sales hits to save people from sorting through 90,000 products. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has worked to improve its app including the browse feature, said 70 per cent of Walmart. com traffic and 60 per cent of orders Thursday and Friday were driven by mobile devices.
during the entire week via email and social media. Toys R Us is doing more flash sales, and eBags introduced a page called “Steals and Deals” highlighting items that are heavily discounted for a limited time. Market Track, which monitored nearly 1,500 products online from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, says stores changed prices more often than last year, and more were lowered than raised. Some 41 per cent of prices shifted at least once, compared with 27 per cent last year, said Traci Gregorski, senior vicepresident of marketing. About 16 per cent changed more than once, compared with only 7 per cent in 2015.
NEW YORK — Shoppers buying on their phones this holiday season will see new ways stores are making it easier and faster as they try to lock in sales before people swipe to the next site. “It’s not just a shopper’s tool,” said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst and director at Adobe Digital Insights, the research arm of Adobe Systems. “It’s now so embedded in our existence we don’t even think about the fact that we pulled out our Focused on deals phone and bought things.” Even in an improving econMobile shopping accounted omy, shoppers are fixated on for $4.61 billion in sales from deals — and mobile phones Thanksgiving through Mon- make it easier to grab them. day, according to Adobe Digital Customers look to have spent Seeking speedier service Insights. Some 54 per cent of nearly 3.5 per cent less on avPeople buying on the go want visits to retailers’ sites and 36 erage for the four-day week- a swifter response when they per cent of sales for the five- end starting Thursday than a need help. day period came “When you from phones and have shoppers tablets. who are engaged, Here are four you have to try to ways smartWhen you have shoppers who are capture as much engaged, you have to try to capture phones are revenue as you as much revenue as you can. changing the way can,” said Kevpeople shop — on Hills, senior and how retailvice-president ers are respondof operations at year ago, according to a survey StellaService, which tracks cusing: conducted over the weekend tomer service for retailers and More impulse buying by the National Retail Federa- online companies. Mobile shopping entices peo- tion trade group. Much of the Two years ago, 97 per cent of ple to buy right when they’re drop had to do with the heavy retailers offered email as a way thinking about it, Gaffney said, discounting shoppers demand. to interact with customers, but “It’s this sense of urgency.” She The NRF’s survey showed more that fell to 81 per cent heading noted that retailers that had than 36 per cent of shoppers into this holiday season, Stelmore mobile traffic enjoyed a said everything they bought laService said. Some 90 per 30 per cent increase in online this past weekend was on sale, cent use live chat, up from 80 revenue. compared with 32.5 per cent a per cent two years ago. And in 61 per cent of chat interacRetailers need to make it year ago. easier to find items so shoppers Retailers are shifting to a tions over the holiday weekend, don’t quickly move on. stream of discounts and alerts someone responded within 20
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seconds, up from 45 per cent a year ago. Cobb says eBags has started using Facebook messenger to interact with shoppers. Visiting stores for different reasons
Even people who’d bought lots of items on their phones were spending time in stores on Saturday and Sunday, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at research firm NPD Group Inc. “In the past, consumers did their research online and then purchased in-store, but brick and mortar stores are now critical to consumers’ research needs,” he wrote in a blog post. He said “consumers came and bought, impulsively and socially.” Technology beyond shopping apps means people use stores differently. “They do research online, compare prices, look for deals and even try on an outfit and Snapchat it to a friend, all while in the store,” said Tom McGee, CEO of the mall group International Council of Shopping Centers. They’re also using the phone to buy right in the store. Many retailers believe letting online shoppers pick up their orders at stores is helping
bring mobile shoppers back. Wal-Mart says nearly half of its pick-up orders came from mobile purchases over the fiveday weekend, and that shoppers buy more items when they come to collect their goods. ■
Technology
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
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Sci-fi scholars draw inspiration from Utopia study PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY BEIJING — The island called Utopia created 500 years ago and the futuristic outer space, which seem far away from each other, came together at a conference on Saturday in Beijing. The International Conference of Utopian and Science Fiction Studies, which runs on Saturday and Sunday, is held to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the publication of “Utopia.” In 1516, English philosopher and writer Thomas More published his famous book “Utopia,” depicting an almost perfect fictional island society, and the term has been widely used and discussed since then. Among various anniversary activities around the world this year, the conference in Beijing commemorates the well-
known novel in a special way by discussing it together with sci-fi works, with the participation of experts and scholars from China, the United States and Japan. While Utopia is always regarded as a political and philosophic concept, and science fiction normally focuses on technologies, Kim Stanley Robinson, an American sci-fi author famous for his “Mars trilogy,” said at the conference that the two are connected naturally. According to Robinson, Utopia was initially set on an isolated island, and such a background could not be used anymore after the world was completely explored, so the background had to be switched to the future. “Utopia becomes a kind of sci-fi — or you could say it always was,” said Robinson. Guo Changbao, dean of the School of Chinese Language
Of Kiligs... to the official website, the remitter can: • Send money on the go, anytime, to more than 200 countries and territories. • Check current exchange rates and fees. • Track a money transfer directly from your mobile device. • Get directions, hours, and services available at one of Western Union’s 500,000+ agent nearest locations nearest – with over 3300 in Canada alone! • View past or pending transactions and update your contacts, personal information, and payment methods. • Get access to around-theclock customer service help. • Receive updates and notifications about current promotions, offers and events. Thus, the latest app empowers senders abroad to a smooth, safe and convenient way to remit much-needed funds to their families and loved ones all over. Likewise, they can be assured that the company relies on the latest foreign exchange rates to maximize the earning power of money sent from abroad power. The app is downloadable for free from Apple AppStore or Google Play. ❰❰ 23
Stealing a little bit of thunder from the app launch was also the big reveal on the magic “password” JLClovesWU to a chance to win $500 by texting 88998 or emailing Western Union to join. More than 2000 joined this contest. Additionally, five (5) winners would be chosen to win $500 each. But the fun continued with six (6) lucky audience members winning $50 cash in two (2) other on-the-spot games at the venue. With Lloydie considered a celebrated Philippine drama king, three (3) ladies in the audience were also called in to try “auditioning” to be his new leading lady in an impromptu role play of a scene from the blockbuster John LloydBea Alonzo movie, One More Chance. It was fun to watch the ladies melting instead in front of Lloydie who made funny gestures and adlibs to make them feel comfortable with his presence. As movie fans, the audience went home happy and contented as they got their dream chance for selfies and groupies with the famous actor. It was some real treat from Western Union for their Toronto-based patrons, mostly. ■
and Literature of Beijing Normal University (BNU), said the vast space inspired by Utopia would bring meaningful perspectives for China’s science fiction and its studies. “We believe it is necessary to let the two fields of Utopia and sci-fi studies communicate and learn from each other,” said Guo. While decades ago science fiction was regarded as children’s and juveniles’ books by many in China, more academic studies on it began to appear in recent years, as Chinese science fiction has experienced a flourishing development. “It is a trend that sci-fi is getting more serious in China,” said Wu Yan, director of the Science Fiction Creativity Research Center of BNU and also a sci-fi expert. During the conference, the last session on Sunday will be discussing “The Three-body
Problem” written by Chinese author Liu Cixin. The first part of the trilogy won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the trilogy has become a hit in both China and overseas. Established in 1953, the Hugo Awards acknowledge the best works of science fiction or fantasy and are seen as the top prizes in the genre along with the Nebula Awards. After Liu became the first Asian to win the Hugo Award, this year, Hao Jingfang, another Chinese writer, won the award by her sci-fi “Folding Beijing,” further raising the public’s attention on science fiction in China. Robinson said the rapid development of Chinese science fiction is due to the realistic scientific, economic and cultural development that has taken place in China and “because Chinese people feel like their nation is part of world history and is making the future.”
“We are embracing the spring of Chinese sci-fi,” Wu said, adding that Chinese sci-fi had both its audiences and authors growing evidently over the last five years, making it no more an indie genre enjoyed only by a few people. Acting together with China Science Writers’ Association as leading sponsors of the conference, the School of Chinese Language and Literature of BNU has been playing a leading role in China’s sci-fi development. It has set up doctoral degrees for sci-fi studies and been providing courses on sci-fi writing, and is planning for more writing courses for interested students. “Now as a principle and study field, sci-fi is not well developed yet in China, but the space for development is huge,” said Guo. “We hope to have more outstanding Chinese sci-fi writers appearing in the future.” ■
Android malware Gooligan grabs 1.3-M Google accounts to install unwanted apps PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY LOS ANGELES — An Android malware targeting Google accounts has infected 1.3 million phones since August, forcing the devices to open and download a large number of unwanted apps, a U.S.-based internet security firm reported recently. According to researchers from Check Point, a firm headquartered in California, the malicious software dubbed Gooligan first gets into a phone when a user visits a website and downloads a third-party app, and then sneakily controls the user’s Google account. Check Point researchers have uncovered 1.3 million real Google accounts by locating the hacker’s server and reported the situation to Google already. The Gooligan’s aim is to expand an advertising fraud campaign, the security firm pointed out, explaining that the malware works to force Android www.canadianinquirer.net
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devices to download apps and give positive reviews to those apps. Meanwhile, the hackers can earn money from each download and click to the ads inserted in the apps. The security firm reported that as many as 30,000 apps were being downloaded each day by infected phones, reaching a total of two million so far. Check Point and Google have coordinated to tackle this issue by releasing a free tool to check
for infection, publishing a list of apps containing the Gooligan virus, and removing apps related to this issue from affected devices. Andrian Ludwig, Google’s lead engineer for Android security, said Gooligan is a variant of Ghost Push that Google found a year ago. “The motivation behind Ghost Push is to promote apps, not steal information, and that held true for this variant,” said Ludwig. ■
DECEMBER 9, 2016
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35
Travel Anilao dive spots captivate tourists, divers BY AZER N. PARROCHA Philippines News Agency
WOWZAMBOANGACITY / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Zamboanga’s pink sand beach seen as next top travel destination PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — What do you get when you mix powdery white sand with fragments of red coral crushed by waves over many years? You get one of the only two pink sand beaches in the country — Las Islas de Santa Cruz — which the Department of Tourism (DOT) is looking at developing into a new tourist destination, particularly for backpackers. Las Islas de Santa Cruz, is also known as The Great and Little Santa Cruz Islands Protected Landscape and Seascape or simply Zamboanga’s Pink Sand Beach. The island is a 3,425-hectare marine reserve which is believed to be bigger than the country’s 24/7 party island, Boracay. It used to be operated by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) until it was turned over to the Zamboanga City government in 2011. Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo herself visited the island on Friday to see the pink sand beach for herself and assure tourists that tourism in the Zamboanga Peninsula is safe regardless of the old stigma attached to its name. “I personally came here because I want people to know that because ‘the Secretary of Tourism was here’, the more they should come here. I would like to show the world that Zamboanga is safe,” Teo said in a press conference. Teo, with other members of the DOT and media, assembled in the Basilan Strait at around 8 a.m. and took a 15-minute motorboat ride to the island escorted by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine National Police (PNP). The motorboat she was on was also, coincidentally, pink.
Upon arriving the island, Teo and company went shopping for accessories made of pearls and precious stones which were imported from Malaysia. Prices of freshwater pearl earrings start as low as Php50 and up. The team was later taken to a lagoon tour via bangka driven by teenagers and kids who are beneficiaries of The Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation which started as a national movement to help children who used to swim to school in the mangrove village of Layag-Layag, Zamboanga City. There, Teo got to interact with jellyfish and taste fresh sea grapes. After the tour, Teo vowed to spearhead efforts to develop the island seeking funding from an agency that used to handle operate it — TIEZA. “I would like to promote Santa Cruz as a new destination because of the pink sand. I have spoken to people in charge to coordinate with us for funding. We will help them through TIEZA,” Teo said. Tourism Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre, who also joined Teo in the trip, said that he had a “fantastic experience” visiting the island giving credit to its accessibility. “It’s so accessible. This is what global tourists want nowadays. The Secretary was very happy to see the island and has instructed TIEZA to provide funding to help facilities. We feel that the time for Mindanao has come,” Alegre said. “These are undiscovered territories as far as foreign tourists are concerned. We are confident that this will be properly promoted,” he added. Alegre also assured that the DOT has coordinated with concerned law enforcement agencies to double up efforts in safety and security. ■
MANILA — For both local and foreign tourists, scuba-diving is not merely an underwater activity enjoyed occasionally but another way to get in touch with their marine friends. German marine biologist Victoria Liles said that she finds herself in an entirely different realm each time she hits 40 ft. to 60 ft. deep underwater off the coast of Anilao in Mabini town, Batangas. “When you see fish species you’ve never seen before, I can’t exactly describe the excitement and energy that come with it. It’s a great feeling,” Victoria, who owns and manages the Granada Beach Resort in Boljoon, Cebu, said. She and husband Chris, of Portland, were among the participants of the 4th Anilao Underwater Photography Shootout sponsored by the Department of Tourism (DOT) last November 23-27. Chris meanwhile described his diving experience in Anilao as “surreal”, noting that he has had about 6,000 dives worldwide but continues to find sea creatures he has never seen before. He noted the proximity of Mabini town to Isla Verde Passage, known as the Ground Zero for the diversity of marine subject, as well as the differences between diving in Anilao and Cebu. “I was quite surprised to see the differences with Cebu, which is a very pretty island but it’s not as jungle-themed as it is out here. Though we have some great diving sites in southern Cebu, we don’t have the critters that you find in Anilao,” he added.
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DOT Undersecretary for Public Affairs Kat de Castro, who is a certified diver herself, has been tasked to further promote the Philippines’ scuba-diving destinations, and at the same time, advocate environmental conservation. De Castro noted the Liles couple competed with 131 divers from 17 countries and local diving aficionados from all over the archipelago in the five-day underwater photo contest. “We want to offer our visitors a Philippine experience beyond the usual fare of sun-and-beach. There’s an entirely distinct world to be discovered in deep-sea diving, which is very enlightening and challenging,” de Castro said. At least 36 entries won awards in various categories, including DOT Photographer of the Year awards for Yoshio Osawa (compact class) and Dennis Corpuz (open class) for their originality and composition in showcasing the bursting underwater life. Filipino actor Richard Gutierrez, who has been diving for about 10 years, topped 100 competitors in the marine behavior (open class) category and also placed third in the fish portrait category. He said that it was not only great to see the beauty of marine life in Anilao but also meeting divers from all over the world. The area was declared as a marine reserve by the Philippine Tourism Authority (now Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority) in 1999. In 2006, an international team of marine conservationists declared the Philippines the Center of Marine Biodiversity in the world, and the Verde Island Passage as the Center of the Center of Marine Shorefish Biodiversity. ■
36
Travel
DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Looking for some Christmas sparkle and fun? Find it here BY BETH J. HARPAZ The Associated Press NEW YORK — Christmas lights, towering trees and elaborate gingerbread creations are everywhere this time of year. Here are a few favourite places around the country to enjoy holiday sparkle and fun. New York City
New Yorkers may argue about where to get the best pizza or bagels. But there’s no debate over the city’s most famous Christmas tree: Rockefeller Center, where a 94-foot Norway spruce is lit up by 50,000 lights. Other attractions include the American Museum of Natural History’s origami holiday tree, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Christmas tree and Neapolitan baroque creche, and Lower Manhattan’s Luminaries lighting display inside the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place. Macy’s, Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Barney’s are famous for their holiday windows, but be prepared for crowds and slow-going, especially on Fifth Avenue near the Trump Tower between 56th and 57th streets. Outside Manhattan, A Slice of Brooklyn Bus Tours marks its 10th anniversary of tours in Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights neighbourhood, where overthe-top lighting displays are a point of homeowner pride. The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx hosts a holiday train show with miniature replicas of city landmarks, all made from natural materials like twigs and
pinecones, including a tiny Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster. In Queens, the New York Hall of Science hopes to score a fourth consecutive Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread village. The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan
Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford museum complex near Detroit is a cherished winter tradition, featuring classic Christmas scenes come to life: candlelit windows, roasting chestnuts, carolers, sleigh bells, horse-drawn wagons and Model Ts, Santa and live reindeer, plus period food and nightly fireworks. The Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina
The Biltmore House continues a tradition that started in 1895 when George Vanderbilt opened the 250-room mansion at Christmastime to family and friends. Attractions include more than 70 decorated trees, hundreds of poinsettias and garlands, a 34-foot-tall fir tree in the banquet hall and a 55-foot Norway spruce on the front lawn. Also in Asheville, the Omni Grove Park Inn has more than 150 gingerbread designs on display from the National Gingerbread House Competition. Southern California
Real snow is not in Southern California’s forecast but “magical snowfalls” take place nightly at The Grove in Los Angeles, where you can also see Santa’s Cottage and a 100-foot white fir
tree. Elsewhere in the region, the retired Queen Mary ocean liner, docked in Long Beach, hosts skating, ice tubing and an “Alice in Wonderland” experience. Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge offers an artsy, interactive lighting display called “Enchanted: Forest of Light.” And SkyPark at Santa’s Village, a Christmas-themed amusement park, is returning to Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains after being closed for 18 years. Disney
In Anaheim, California, Disney’s California Adventure park looks at celebrations around the world with Festival of Holidays, and debuts Princess Elena, the first Disney princess inspired by Latin American cultures. The park’s World of Color nighttime water show is a new Season of Light production with holiday songs like “Feliz Navidad” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” And three classic Disneyland attractions got a holiday makeover: it’s a small world holiday, Haunted Mansion Holiday and Jingle Cruise (aka Jungle Cruise). Main Street
fireworks are accompanied by snowfall. At Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, it’s the first Christmas in years without the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. New holiday attractions include Hollywood Studios’ Jingle Bells Jingle BAM! — a projection laser light show with animation and songs. Epcot offers holiday food kiosks plus “Holidays around the World” storytellers and the Candlelight Processionals. Magic Kingdom has a new stage show, “Mickey’s Most Merriest Celebration,” as part of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Pro tip: You can visit Orlando’s Disney Springs without paying park admission. Enjoy a toy festival at the “Once Upon a Toy” shop, where Santa will greet visitors, and a nightly holiday dance party and tree lighting at the fountain outside. There’s a tree trail through 15 custom-decorated trees and a new Starbright Holidays show where drones light the night sky with colorful images. Universal
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is recreated nightly at
Universal Orlando in Florida through Jan. 1, with balloons, floats and marching bands. At Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Seuss Landing has been transformed into Grinchmas, a celebration of the Dr. Seuss classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles also hosts Grinchmas with a Who-ville show and photo ops with the Grinch or Max the dog. And don’t forget...
In Philadelphia, Macy’s hosts a Christmas light show and Wanamaker organ concert, along with holiday window displays and a 6,000-square-foot Dickens Village that tells the story of “A Christmas Carol.” One of the nation’s largest lighting displays is in Wheeling, West Virginia, at Oglebay’s Winter Festival of Lights, with displays spread over a 6-mile drive. Chicago offers Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza, lights and decorated store windows along Michigan Avenue’s Magnificent Mile, and an ice rink and 69-foot Norway spruce tree at Millennium Park. This year is the 20th anniversary of Kauai’s Festival of Lights, a unique display on the Hawaiian island that celebrates recycling. It started as one woman’s Christmas eco-crafting project and now requires thousands of volunteer hours. Trees are covered with ornaments made from recycled cans and plastic containers. There’s also an electric train, live music, thousands of lights and Santa. ■
Hawaii summits could get more than 2 feet of snow BY JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER The Associated Press HONOLULU — The summits of Hawaii’s Big Island could get more than two feet of snow, with a winter storm warning in effect through Saturday. Yes, it snows in Hawaii, Matthew Foster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Ser-
vice in Honolulu, said he had to explain to some surprised outof-state callers Friday. “Typically when we get these snow events, it does get a lot of attention,” he said, adding that he explains to curious callers that the snow is falling in a small, remote area where there are mainly telescopes and scientists. “We do have very high mountains here.” Once they realize the heights of the mountains, snow in the island
state makes a little more sense, said Ryan Lyman, forecast meteorologist with the Mauna Kea Weather Center. Mauna Kea is nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. The weather service forecasts new accumulations of about a foot of snow Friday night through Saturday. An additional foot is possible Sunday. Temperatures are in the mid-20s to lower-30s. That’s a significant amount of snowfall, but not uncommon for www.canadianinquirer.net
the summits, meteorologists say. Lyman said there has been 30 to 36 inches in recent winters. It’s enough snow to shut down operations on Mauna Kea, Lyman said. The mountain’s access road is expected to remain closed until next week, he said. The weather service doesn’t keep track of what the record amounts of snowfall are on the summits. Heavy snow is often accompanied by wind, which
create drifts that make it difficult to accurately measure snowfall, Lyman said. Abundant snow on Mauna Loa’s 13,677-foot summit could be seen at sunset Thursday from parts of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, said park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane. There was heavy rain in other parts of the state Friday, with a flash flood warning in effect for Oahu, Kauai and the Big Island. ■
FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
37
Food COOKING ON DEADLINE:
Hanukkah Brisket BY KATIE WORKMAN The Associated Press WHETHER OR not you celebrate the Jewish holidays, a good brisket recipe is a nice thing to have in your winter repertoire. Brisket is a tough and fairly inexpensive cut of meat that gets amazingly tender after some quality time in the oven, and it requires little attention or care while it cooks. That’s a nice characteristic in a piece of beef. You can use a larger size piece of brisket and just bump up the quantities of the other ingredients proportionately. Brisket is a very flexible meat as long as you cook it low and slow, so the exact measurements of onions and liquid are not so important — just keep the flavours balanced. Brisket shrinks when it cooks, so keep that in mind as you are assessing the size you need. You can make brisket a couple of days ahead and keep it in the fridge. Skim off any fat that has accumulated on the top, and slice the brisket before returning it to the pot with the sauce and heating it gently in the oven or on the stove. Adding almost two heads of garlic cloves to the sauce may seem crazy, but they will mellow and also turn meltingly soft in their papery skins as the brisket cooks. Tell your guests to squeeze out the roasted garlic from the skins and add it to their sauce, or spread it on toast or crusty bread (which you should provide!). Make sure to serve this with egg noodles or potatoes to soak up all the sauce. If you want a more subtle mushroom flavour, mix in some sliced button or cremini mushrooms with the wild mushrooms. This is also helpful budget-wise, as wild mushrooms can be pricey (but as any mushroom lover will tell you, worth every penny). Beef brisket with wild mushrooms
Serves 6 Start to finish: 4 hours
• 2 heads garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled • 1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms • 2/3 cup boiling water • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 1 2 1/2- to 3-pound piece beef brisket • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste • 1 red onion, halved and sliced • 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 pound sliced wild mushrooms, any sort • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar • Chopped parsley or arugula to garnish Preheat the oven to 300 F. Peel and mince two of the garlic cloves and set aside. Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl and add the boiling water. Let the mushrooms soak for 20 minutes. Remove them, squeeze out any extra water back into the bowl, and then strain the soaking liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl. Chop the soaked mushrooms, and set the mushrooms and the strained soaking liquid aside. Meanwhile, heat a large, deep ovenproof pan or stockpot with a lid over medium high heat. Add the oil. Season the brisket on both sides with salt and pepper. Sear the brisket on both sides for about 4 minutes per side, until browned. Transfer the brisket to a large plate. Return the pan with the oil to medium heat. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 5 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Add the wine and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom, until the wine is reduced by half. Add the beef broth, the chopped soaked mushrooms, the strained mushroom soaking liquid, and the thyme to the pot. Tuck the brisket back into the pot; the meat will be about halfway submerged. Tuck the remaining garlic cloves in their skins around the meat into the liquid. Cover the pot and transfer it to the preheated oven. Cook for about 3 1/2 hours until the brisket is fork tender. Remove it from the pot to a cutting board with a moat to catch the juices, and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Let the braising liquid rest in the pot. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Add the wild mushrooms and reserved, minced garlic, season with salt and pepper, and saute until the mushrooms have turned nicely brown, and any liquid that was released has been evaporated, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle in the balsamic vinegar and stir to release any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Skim and discard any fat that has ac-
cumulated on the braising liquid. Stir the sauteed mushrooms into the pot. When the meat has finished resting, cut it into slices as thin or thick as you like, across the grain. Transfer the slices neatly back to the pot, and nestle them into the sauce and mushrooms. Serve hot. Alternately, you may place the meat on a deep serving platter with sides,
and ladle the sauce with the whole garlic cloves and mushrooms over the top. Sprinkle over the parsley or arugula. Nutrition information per serving: 446 calories; 249 calories from fat; 28 g fat (10 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 91 mg cholesterol; 264 mg sodium; 10 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 33 g protein.
Maligayang Pasko! Bringing you the best this holiday season
For recipe ideas: www.SPAMcanada.com/Filipino
© 2016 Hormel Foods Corporation
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38
Food
DECEMBER 9, 2016
FRIDAY
Falafel challah burger is a twist on a go-to to-go favourite BY THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA FALAFEL IS a mixture of mashed chickpeas, onions and herbs and spices, formed into a small cake and deep fried. It’s traditionally served in a pita or flatbread, with vegetables and tahini sauce or hummus, but you will also find it served over salad greens or part of a mezze platter of small bites. Falafel is rooted in a long tradition, and its devotees are protective of that tradition. At The Culinary Institute of America, students are encouraged to research the history of the falafel to ensure that their modern interpretations maintained the integrity of this ancient food. It is a dilemma they will face time and time again in their careers: respecting a traditional recipe while using their style and creativity to make it fresh and appealing to a new customer. The Advanced Cooking students rose to the challenge. In addition to the Falafel Challah Burger we’ve included here, they presented dishes like pumpkin falafel, falafel-style corn dogs, and cream-cheesefilled falafel in carrot soup. The burger stood out. It gave us everything we love about falafel — a crispy patty, fresh vegetables, and creamy tahini — with the modern appeal of America’s go-to to-go favourite. The addition of a tangy red onion relish helps cut through the richness of the fried patty and challah bread, and we bet you’ll find yourself making a big batch to use again and again. Falafel challah burger
Start to finish: 9 hours, 45 minutes (8 hours inactive) Servings: 4
• Onion jam (recipe follows) • Cashew tahini (recipe follows) • Sweet potato chips (recipe follows) • Falafel burgers (recipe follows) • Challah bread (see instructions below) • Beef tomato, sliced • Fresh avocado, sliced • Iceberg lettuce, washed and dried
Onion Jam
Makes 4 servings
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 2 red onions, thinly sliced • 1 cup dry red wine • 1/4 cup honey • Kosher salt, to taste • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Heat the oil in a large saute pan over low heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and honey and simmer, stirring frequently, until the moisture has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Cashew Tahini Spread
Makes 4 servings
• 1/2 cup cashews • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice • 1/4 cup water • 2 tablespoons soy sauce • 2 tablespoons tahini • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional) • Kosher salt, to taste • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Place the cashews in largelidded container. Cover with water and soak overnight. Alternately, bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the cashews, and soak until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain the cashews and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add the lime juice, water, soy sauce, tahini, and nutritional yeast, if using. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sweet Potato Chips
Makes 4 servings
• Vegetable oil, as needed for frying • 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 3/4 inch thick • Kosher salt, to taste • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, bring the oil to 300 degrees F. Fry the potatoes until they are golden
brown around the edges and crisp, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a paper-towel-lined plate. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. For the falafel burgers
Makes four 4-ounce burgers
• 1/2 pound (about 1 cup) dried chickpeas (do not substitute canned beans, as they will not work properly) • 1/2 small onion, roughly chopped • 3 to 5 cloves garlic or roasted garlic • 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1 cup finely chopped fresh green herbs (parsley, cilantro) • Vegetable oil, as needed for frying Pour the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Cover and soak overnight. Drain and rinse the beans and transfer to a food processor. Add the onion, garlic, flour, salt, baking powder, cumin, cowww.canadianinquirer.net
riander, black pepper, cayenne, and fresh green herbs. Pulse until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process until the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. The mixture should hold together, but not be as smooth as hummus. Transfer the chickpea mixture to a large bowl and stir with a fork to ensure the ingredients are distributed. Fill a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan with oil until it is about 1 1/2 inches up the side of the pan. Slowly heat the oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into 4-inch round slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop. If the falafel won’t hold together, return it to the food processor and continue processing until it has formed more of a paste. If necessary, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the shape holds. They may seem delicate at first, but will hold their shape once they are in the oil. Fry the falafel patties until they are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the falafel to a paper-towel-lined tray. Slice the challah into eight 1/2-inch slices. Use a circle cutter or jar to cut a 5-inch
round from the centre of each slice. Spread about 1 tablespoon of cashew tahini spread on half of the challah rounds and top with a falafel patty. Top the falafel with the onion jam, a slice of tomato, avocado, and lettuce. Spread another 1 tablespoon of cashew tahini spread on the remaining challah rounds and top the sandwiches. Serve with sweet potato chips. Nutrition information per serving of onion jam: 160 calories; 38 calories from fat; 4 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 63 mg sodium; 24 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 10 g sugar; 1 g protein. per serving of cashew tahini spread: 155 calories; 93 calories from fat; 10 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 356 mg sodium; 9 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 9 g protein. per serving of sweet potato chips: 128 calories; 31 calories from fat; 3 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 122 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 2 g protein. per serving of falafel burger: 246 calories; 60 calories from fat; 7 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 520 mg sodium; 37 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 11 g protein.
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FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016
www.canadianinquirer.net
40
DECEMBER 9, 2016
www.canadianinquirer.net
FRIDAY