Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #137

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Binay: "No concrete proof"

Philippines weighs Ebola options

Pinoys pray for Pope

Fil-Can candidates in Ontario Elections

Derek: Angelica accepts apology

Aquino in Bali hails checks, balances in a democracy

BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer

According to a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Metro Manila loses P2.4 billion in potential income daily due to traffic jams— one of the many signs of decaying infrastructure in the Philippines.

EDWIN BACASMAS

Binay camp says: ‘Mercado is deceiving the public, De Lima is biased’

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Rocked by successive waves of scandal and contro-

versy, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s camp has spoken out against the latest issue, concerning his alleged property holdings in Batangas and Tagaytay.

❱❱ PAGE 14 Aquino in Bali

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Gilmore Junio, Olympic Speed Skater ❱❱ PAGE 24

❱❱ PAGE 11 Binay camp

BALI, INDONESIA—President Aquino championed checks and balances in a working democracy, even if running a government without it is tempting as it can get things done faster, in a speech he delivered last week before the 7th Bali Democracy Forum.

Mr. Aquino contrasted democratic governments with authoritarian regimes, which, he noted, had victimized his own family.

“It can be said [that] in a totalitarian regime, things get done faster, whether they are right or wrong, precisely because there are no checks and balances in place. Very often, the consent and support of the governed are neither

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Jejomar Binay.

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‘Bare allegations; no concrete proof’

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer JUST “BARE allegations.” No concrete proof.

That’s what the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay had to say about the accusation of former Makati City Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado that Binay amassed P4 billion in kickbacks from P15 billion worth of infrastructure projects that the city government awarded to his alleged favored contractor, Hilmarc’s Construction Corp., when he was the mayor.

Mercado told the INQUIRER in an interview that Binay got 13 percent of the 28-percent kickback for every project awarded to Hillmarc’s.

Mercado said he got a share and the rest of the kickback went to the 16 members of the city council, two sectoral representatives, the Sangguniang Panglungsod secretary, the department heads, the resident auditors, the members of the bids and awards committee, the members of the technical working group and the city engineer.

He said he and 19 others shared 6 percent of the kickback.

Inconsistent statements

“Other than bare allegations, Mr. Mercado has not produced any concrete proof or evidence that will stand [ up] in court,” said Joey Salgado, spokesperson for Binay and head of the Vice President’s press office.

Salgado also observed that Mercado’s statements are inconsistent with his previous claims.

“Previously, he said it was the former city engineer, Nelson Morales, who was the main source of the alleged payoffs.

He had claimed to be just a recipient and had no knowledge of the specific amounts allegedly due to other recipients. Now he talks with obvious author-

ity on the breakdown of the supposed payoffs,” Salgado said, referring to Mercado’s testimony in a Senate blue ribbon subcommittee looking into the alleged overpricing of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Building II. The building was built by Hilmarc’s.

Same old faces

Documents obtained by the INQUIRER showed the members of the city government’s bids and awards committee had not changed since Binay was the mayor, from 2007 to 2010, when his son, Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., succeeded him.

Salgado explained that the composition of the panel was “always in compliance with the Local Government Code and its implementing rules, specifically Section 3.1 Rule 3.”

The documents showed that the committee abbreviated the bidding process by publishing the invitation to bid in just one Filipino tabloid, Balita, and only for one day, instead of the required 14 days in a newspaper of general circulation, and posted a public announcements involving projects only in the city library, instead of conspicuous places such as elevators and other areas frequented by people.

Apparently, public knowledge of projects was being limited to Hilmarc’s.

That’s not the case, Salgado said.

Seal of good housekeeping

“Makati bid notices are posted in all venues or spaces required under the Government Procurement Act. This also includes the Government Procurement website (Phil-GEPS). Makati is among the few local government [s] that comply with this provision. In fact, this is one basis for the conferment of the seal of good housekeeping from the Department of [the] Interior and Local Government,” Salgado said. ■

Tense sea row can’t spoil OFWs’ ‘harana’ in China

BY KATE PEDROSO Inquirer Research SANYA, CHINA—Despite the difficulties brought about by the tensions between the Philippines and China, Filipino singers are making their mark in this seaside city, regaling guests of hotels and resorts with their style of entertaining they call harana.

Cherry Navajas, 33, and Percival Golla, 39, have been working as entertainers in China for more than a decade.

“We entered China on a tourist visa, which was later converted to a working visa. It was easier back then,” said Navajas, who first arrived in Beijing in 2003.

“Today, it’s a bit more difficult to get a working visa,” she said.

According to Golla, the killing of Hong Kong tourists during the Quirino Grandstand hostage-taking incident in August 2010 and the disputes over territories in the South China Sea may have somewhat contributed to this difficulty.

“Sometimes, we also encounter guests who associate us with these issues because we’re Filipinos,” he said.

“People here are really updated with

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the news abroad,” Navajas said, recounting an experience she had with one of the guards at a resort. “He told me, ‘You Filipinos better stop claiming our islands!’” she recalled, laughing. “I stood my ground and said I had nothing to do with the issue,” she said.

“Some Chinese employees also defended me and asked him to stop harassing me,” she said.

Navajas, who graduated with a degree in tourism from Lyceum of the Philippines University, originally wanted to be a flight attendant. She applied to join an airline after graduation but was told it would take time before she could be hired. “Some friends asked me if I wanted to tag along with them to sing in Beijing. I have been in China ever since.”

“My uncles invited me to work here because the pay and benefits are good,” said Golla, a father of two from Baras town, Rizal province.

Performers like Navajas and Golla can earn anywhere from P50,000 to P90,000 in a month. With other hotel employees, they are housed in a dormitory 30 minutes away from the hotel. “Everything ❱❱ PAGE 11 Tense sea

Philippine News

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OCTOBER 17, 2014

FRIDAY

P-Noy to solons: Hurry with my powers

BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer BALI, INDONESIA—President Aquino wants Congress to hasten the passage of a resolution granting him emergency powers, citing the urgency of addressing the looming power shortage as soon as possible.

Speaking to reporters in an interview on the sidelines of the Bali Democracy Forum last week, Mr. Aquino warned Filipino congressmen that they would have to take the blame if there would be no power source to rely on in the summer of next year.

“Who among the lawmakers would volunteer to accept the blame? If you don’t pass this, then we will have no power reserve to use,” he said.

Mr. Aquino said the national government needed all the time it could have to start buying or leasing foreign generators as measures to offset the power shortages before the expected power supply shortfall by March next year. (See related

story on this page.)

“What we are after is the immediate passage of the resolution. If you are going to pass it, pass it sooner before it’s too late,” he said.

On Sept. 12, Mr. Aquino asked Congress to pass a joint resolution to establish generating capacity, citing the Section 71 of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001, which prohibits the government from running and putting up power plants.

Interruptible load program

The President needs emergency powers to implement programs such as the Interruptible Load Program, an instrument which allows distribution utilities to either cut off or reduce the electricity being supplied to them, particularly during peak periods of the day or during emergency conditions.

Energy officials predicted that the program alone could easily provide 2,300 megawatts

President Aquino wants Congress to pass a resolution granting emergency powers due to a looming power shortage.

RYAN LIM / MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU

in additional capacity coming from the existing generators privately owned by enterprises.

“We want all these programs in place before the beginning of March,” he said.

The President said the power shortage could be attributed to a lot of things, among them, the

power plants which are not able to reach their installed capacity or the maximum electricity they can produce.

“What was reported to me is there are at least two [power plants] that produce merely half of the installed capacity.

One has a problem with boil-

ers and the other has vibration problems,” he said.

However, the President’s request could face some delay after congressmen have urged the House energy committee to subject the proposal to public hearings.

Mr. Aquino noted that the sooner he was given the special authority by Congress, the more time he could have to address the shortfall.

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla earlier warned the country about the power shortage which would peak up to 800 MW for Luzon and the Visayas grids by the summer of 2015 due to the onset of the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Petilla cited the thinning hydropower capacity and the high demand for power during the summer as among the causes of the shortage.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the government needed at least P6 billion to contract for 300 MW, the expected power shortfall at the minimum by next year. ■

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS Every week, the Philippine Canadian Inquirer celebrates the unwavering Filipino spirit through a feature called “Filipino-Canadian in Focus.”

The feature recognizes the achievements of Filipinos living in Canada who have shown concern for the community, success in spite of trials, and the uniquely Pinoy practice of “bayanihan.”

This year, we are welcoming nominations for the next subject of “Filipino-Canadian in Focus.”

MECHANICS: - All nominees must have (a) Filipino heritage/ancestry - All nominees must be residing in Canada at the time of nomination - Nominees from all industries are welcome (e.g. medical/health, politics, community service, business, entertainment, charity institutions, etc.)

- Who can nominate? Anybody.

Fill up the nomination form online by scanning the code with your smartphone or by visiting InFocus.canadianinquirer.net.

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Philippine News

OCTOBER 17, 2014

FRIDAY

Philippines short by 900 Megawatts next year, says Petilla

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Osmeña: Malampaya Fund not for buying generators

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer SEN. SERGIO Osmeña III has ruled out the idea of tapping the Malampaya Fund for the money to buy or rent modular generator sets to avert an impending power crisis in the summer of 2015.

Osmeña, the chair of the energy committee, said Congress passed the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) precisely to stop the government from interfering in the power industry.

“We’re not supposed to be intervening. Our people have to learn how to live by free market rules. Everybody wants a freebie. And you find out later on that the government gets into financial trouble,” he told reporters last week.

Besides, the royalties from the Malampaya natural gas fields off Palawan are specifically allotted for energy development, not for energy subsidy, Osmeña said.

Get it from budget

Any funds to be used to contract additional generating capacity should be sourced from the national budget, he said.

“They can get it out of the national budget. For goodness sake, you don’t know how much money the President has at his beck and call,” said Osmeña.

President Aquino has asked Congress to pass a joint resolution authorizing him to contract additional generating capacity of 200 megawatts to 500 megawatts.

Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla, who warned of the imminent power crisis, had suggested that the government use the Malampaya Fund to provide the money for the operation.

Petilla has said that the threatened power shortfall in the summer of 2015 could reach 900 MW, which could translate to seven to eight hours of rotating brownouts from March to June, an offshoot of the mild El Niño, power plant outages, and delays in the commissioning of power projects.

An additional capacity of 300 MW would cost the government at least P6 billion, if leased, and P10 billion, if purchased, Petilla said. The cost would be passed on to electricity consumers.

In last Thursday’s Senate hearing, Petilla added the option of tapping cor-

EVEN AS he scouts for possible sources of additional power to avert brownouts in the summer of 2015, Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla admitted yesterday that the projected power requirement next year has risen to 900 megawatts (MW).

Petilla yesterday presented the Senate energy committee with a draft joint resolution authorizing President Aquino to purchase or rent modular generator sets, ask big businesses to supply their own needs, or a combination of both.

He said the government needed to contract additional generating capacity of from 200 MW to 500 MW next year.

However, Petilla then said that the required capacity has risen to 900 MW, up from 600 MW the first time he appeared before the Senate, because some plants would not be coming onstream by March 2015.

“That will even be higher if we count out the 150-MW plant of DMCI (D.M. Consunji Inc.),” he later told reporters.

Some independent power producers (IPPs) had so far promised to provide 450 MW, Petilla said. Which means the Department of Energy (DOE) needed to find the balance from other players and big businesses, he said.

Apart from purchasing or renting generator sets, the DOE was looking into tapping the interruptible power load (ILP), Petilla said.

Under the ILP program, the government can ask big businesses to turn off their connection to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and use their generator sets.

Or, he said, government could buy the full generating capacity of these businesses.

Only tip of the iceberg

❱❱ PAGE 10 Osmeña: Malampaya

Petilla said he will be meeting with the

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executives of ILP participants like Texas Instruments Philippines, Hanjin Heavy Industries and several other big business establishments in pursuit of the ILP option.

But Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, the energy committee chair, remarked that the government has only “touched the tip of the iceberg” where this option is concerned.

He said there were some 50 ILP players who could take at least 400 MW off the grid from March to June next year to reduce the requirement.

For this reason, Osmeña said he was not inclined to grant such powers to the President, as it would still be cheaper for the government to tap ILP players.

“The committee feels we have sufficient reserves here in the self-generating sets that private individuals or private corporations own. We have as much as 3,163 MW in Luzon alone owned by companies that use it as backup power.

That’s quite a lot,” he said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said last week he was inclined to grant the President such authority.

At the House, two partylist lawmakers said they are not convinced that Petilla was giving an accurate picture of the threatened energy crisis in 2015, and the call for emergency powers was premature.

“We oppose emergency powers for President Aquino precisely because not only has Secretary Petilla failed to prove the claimed lack of supply, but also because this shortsighted Band-Aid solution will increase the cost of electricity and will not assure stable energy supply,” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said in a statement.

“We need long-term solutions, not short-term magic tricks,” the lawmaker said. ■ With reports from DJ Yap

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

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Senator Bong Revilla - P87 Million deposits found AMLC: Fund movements jibe with Luy’s records

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer JUSTICE IS catching up with accused plunderer Sen. Bong Revilla, with a forensic investigation into his and his family’s bank transactions from 2006 to 2010 indicating that he received kickbacks from the pork barrel funds he channeled to bogus foundations controlled

by Janet Lim-Napoles as exposed by whistleblower Benhur Luy. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report on Revilla’s bank transactions involving his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) also showed discrepancies in his official cash declarations that could indicate “concealment of unexplained wealth”; P87.626-million deposits made in the personal accounts of Revilla, his wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, and his children, and some of his siblings that tended to confirm his receipt of the kickbacks; and more than P40 million in suspicious funds were poured into a dummy corporation, Nature Concepts Development and Realty Corp., controlled by his wife.

The AMLC said the deposits and withdrawals from the bank accounts of the five foundations corresponded with the names, amounts and dates in the entries made by Luy, Napoles’ finance officer, in his ledger of Napoles’ cash and check disbursements, one of the evidence in the P10-billion pork barrel scam case.

“Considering all the foregoing, there are indications of money laundering scheme using the aforementioned bank accounts. There is, however, a need to conduct further investigation to determine the extent of the subjects’ participation

Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., hugged Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Jinggoy Estrada after delivering a privilege speech during plenary session this past June. The Senator is under fire after forensic investigators found cash declaration for his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) that coud indicate “concealment of unexplained wealth.”

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and identify the other monetary instruments that were possibly involved in the laundering scheme,” the AMLC said in a confidential report received by the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 8.

Presented in court

The Ombudsman prosecution team, led by Director Joefferson B. Toribio, presented the report in court as its latest evidence in the plunder case against Revilla.

The report was presented in court through the testimony of AMLC Bank Officer

II Leigh Von Santos, who said a similar report involving the PDAF transactions of other accused pork plunderers—Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile—was being prepared.

Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano, an adviser to the prosecution team, said the AMLC report was “important” in proving that Revilla did receive the kickbacks through his aide Richard Cambe.

“When we took up the case, we did not know the extent or who would be included, we had only Luy’s testimony and files

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to work on,” Justiniano said.

“The lifting of the bank secrecy law definitely strengthened our case because we are now talking of documentary evidence and not only testimonial evidence.”

Justiniano refused to echo Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s description of the evidence against Revilla as “slam dunk,” as he preferred to leave the assessment of the evidence to the court.

Pattern in funds flow

The AMLC found a pattern in the flow of funds of the deposit accounts of five Napoles-

owned foundations—Agri and Economic Program for Farmers Foundation Inc. (AEPFFI), Agricultura Para sa Magbubukid Foundation Inc. (APMFI), Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI), Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PSDFI) and Social Development Program for Farmers Foundation Inc. (SDPFFI)—that received Revilla’s pork barrel funds: The funds were withdrawn by Napoles’ staff members, like whistleblowers Luy, Marina ❱❱ PAGE 10 Senator Bong

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OCTOBER 17, 2014 FRIDAY

P4 Billion ‘shared by Makati execs’ Mercado says 13% kickback from 10 Hilmarc’s projects went to city mayor Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer, Inc. Managing Editor Earl Von Tapia earl.tapia@canadianinquirer.net Community News Editor Mary Ann Mandap maryann.mandap@canadianinquirer.net Correspondents Ching Dee Angie Duarte Lei Fontamillas Frances Grace Quiddaoen Socorro Newland Bolet Arevalo Graphic Designer Shanice Garcia Photographers Angelo Siglos Solon Licas Operations and Marketing Head Laarni Liwanag (604) 551-3360 Advertising Sales Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 alice.yong@canadianinquirer.net Jennifer Yen (778) 227-2995 jennifer.yen@canadianinquirer.net sales@canadianinquirer.net 1-888-668-6059 PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Editorial Assistant Phoebe Casin Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at 400-13955 Bridgeport Rd., Richmond, BC V6V 1J6 Canada Tel. No.: 1-888-668-6059 or 778-8893518 | Email: info@canadianinquirer. net, inquirerinc@gmail.com, sales@ canadianinquirer.net Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly every Friday.

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BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer AT LEAST P4 billion from 10 infrastructure projects that the Makati City government awarded to a favored contractor between 1999 and 2014 went to city officials and resident auditors as kickbacks, according to former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado.

The 10 projects awarded to Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. cost the taxpayers of Makati at least P15 billion, said Mercado, a witness in a Senate blue ribbon subcommittee investigation of alleged irregularities in the Makati government during the term of Vice President Jejomar Binay as city mayor.

“Twenty-eight percent from every project was shared by the mayor down to the lowest official in the web involved in the conspiracy,” Mercado told the INQUIRER in an interview in his office in Makati.

Mercado said 13 percent of the 28-percent kickback went to Binay while he was mayor of Makati.

The remaining 15 percent went to others—the vice mayor, 16 members of the city council, the city council secretary, members of the the bids and awards committee (BAC), the city engineer, members of the technical working group (TWG), department heads, two sectoral representatives (a barangay chair and the Sangguninang Kabataan chair) and resident Commission on Audit (COA) auditors.

Mercado admitted accepting a share of the kickbacks when he was a city councilor and then vice mayor.

Another building contractor, who agreed to talk to the INQUIRER on condition of anonymity, confirmed Mercado’s allegations, saying the Vice President’s son, current Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr., asked for a “little more.”

“The rate has actually gone up. It’s actually higher now,” the contractor said.

Junjun Binay served as a sectoral representative and later as councilor before he took over the reins from his father in 2010.

Makati’s big-budget infrastructure projects in the past decade handled by Hilmarc’s were the following: • The 22-story Makati City Hall building, worth P6.5 billion.

• Phase 2 of the Ospital ng Makati District 1 (P2 billion).

• Phases 1 and 4 of the University of Makati Nursing School building (P804 million).

• Makati police headquarters (P183.63 million). • Phase 1 of the swimming pool in the Makati Garden Park (P31 million).

• Phases 1 to 6 of Makati Science High School (P1.34 billion).

• Phases 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Makati University Administrative and Auditorium

The Ayala Triangle, a sub-district of the Makati central business district.

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(P332 million).

• Makati City Hall Building II, or parking building (P2.3 billion).

• Renovation of treasury building for Makati police station on F. Zobel Street, Barangay Poblacion (P4.98 million).

• University of Makati school buildings (no available budget).

Documents obtained by the INQUIRER showed these projects were implemented during the administrations of the Vice President when he was the mayor (1986-1998; 2001-2010) and his wife, Elenita Binay, who succeeded him (1998-2001) and his son (2010 to present), who, Mercado said, continued the business with Hilmarc’s.

Dividing the pie

Mercado said 6 percent of the kickback from every project was divided into 20 slices, which went to the vice mayor, the 16 members of the city council, the two sectoral representatives and the city council secretary.

Half of the share of the city council secretary went to a “commissioner” to the council, he said.

Mercado said the “commissioner” kept track of all infrastructure projects of the city and received the shares and allocations for all the members of the city council.

“The commissioner is someone who lost an election and had no current government position, but is given an office in the City Hall. His job was to keep track of all the cash flow of all infrastructure projects and the share of the kickbacks of the city council,” Mercado said.

The resident COA auditor and the technical audit specialists got 3 percent, he said.

“The resident auditor gets 1 percent because she signed the clearance document, while the remaining 2 percent is shared by the COA technical audit specialists,” he said.

Auditor turns down bribe

But COA resident auditor Celia

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Cagaanan turned down the money offered to her as her share for signing the clearance for the P2.3-billion Makati City Hall Building II, Mercado said.

The city’s BAC and TWG received 1.5 percent, he said.

Mercado said the payoff for the BAC and TWG members was paid in advance to ensure that the favored contractor got the project.

He said 1 percent went to the heads of departments, where the infrastructure papers went through.

The engineering department, he said, got 3.5 percent—2 percent for the city engineer and 1.5 percent for members of the engineering department.

Documents obtained by the INQUIRER showed that from 2007 to 2013, the members of the BAC remained the same, even the observers from the nongovernment organization and the private sector, identified in documents obtained by the INQUIRER as Charito Go of Bayani ng Bagong Ina and Edwin Nombrado of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers Makati City chapter.

The BAC chair from 2007 to 2013 was Marjorie de Veyra and the members were Nelson Morales, Mario Hechanova, Lorenza Amores, Pio Kenneth Dasal, Giovanni Condes, Gerardo K. San Gabriel and Ulysses Orienza. Manolito Uyaco was the head of the BAC secretariat.

De Veyra, who served as city administrator during the past decade, ran for vice mayor in 2013 but lost to Romeo Peña, who is not an ally of the Binays.

The TWG was composed of Line de la Peña, Carmelita Morales, Febronia Ambrosio, Rodel Nayve and Vissia Marie Aldon.

Invited as observers during biddings were resident COA auditors Gabriel Espina and Danny Rodriguez (now deceased).

Process violated

Espina is now assigned to the Pasay City Hall, according to the COA personnel division.

Nelson Morales, who resigned in 2012,

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

was shot dead in Albay province last year.

The documents obtained by the INQUIRER also showed that the bidding process was violated.

The documents indicated that the Binays approved and signed all the documents despite obvious violations such as lack of important details like the date of preparation, source of funds and description of projects.

Invitation to bid was published in the Filipino tabloid Balita for just one day, instead of in a newspaper of general circulation for 14 days, as required by the procurement law.

The INQUIRER obtained a copy of a certificate of publication issued by Balita vice president for classified advertising Lyne Alano-Abanilla to the city government of Makati.

Public announcements of biddings were posted only in the city public library instead of conspicuous places such as elevators and bulletin boards at the entrance of buildings.

A certificate of posting issued

by Manolito Uyaco, head of the BAC secretariat, showed that an invitation to apply for eligibility and bid was posted “in conspicuous places, such as the

second floor of the old Makati much he carried because the Mercado said he was a freCity Hall public library and the amount was written on a piece quent visitor to Morales’ ofnew city hall building.” of paper attached to the bag. fice, which occupied half of the The suppression of the invisixth floor of the main City Hall tation was intended to limit the Bagmen building, and he saw the bagman bidding to Hilmarc’s, Mercado Mercado said Nelson Morales receive money, placed either in said. was assigned by the Vice Presi- bags or in brown envelopes.

“Having no other bids to dent from 2007 to 2012 as the “I have personally witnessed be read and clarification to repository of the kickbacks from Morales receiving the cash be made, the bid opening ad- contractors, including Hilmarc’s. from contractor’s representajourned at 2:35 in the after“Morales was also the one in tives and count the money,” he noon,” the BAC said. said in the minMercado said utes of a meeting Morales personcalled on July 28, ally counted and 2011. Then BAC Twenty-eight percent from every tied the money chair De Veyra project was shared by the mayor in bundles. adjourned the down to the lowest official in the “If the amount meeting after web involved in the conspiracy. to be apportioned just 20 minutes. is big—more than A Hilmarc’s P50 million— employee, identhe money was tified in one of the documents charge of the allocation and the placed on the long table in his obtained by the INQUIRER as distribution of shares,” Mer- conference room. If it’s only a Grace Araza, represented the cado said. few millions and would fit the company in bid conferences.

He said that aside from him, round table, they did it (countShe was the representative of another official who was a de- ing and allocation) there,” Merthe company authorized to re- partment head was present cado said. ceive payments for the projects whenever Morales was countMercado said Morales refrom City Hall, the document ing money for the Binays. placed another former ally and showed.

“A trusted friend and assis- trusted friend of Binay, Nelson A City Hall source who re- tant of Morales helps prepare Irasga, who resigned after he quested anonymity said he de- the money for distribution and and the Vice President had a livered a total of P56 million to delivery, including the money falling out when Irasga ran for the house of the Vice President. for the Vice President,” Mer- mayor but lost to Binay’s wife, The source said he knew how cado said.

Elenita Binay, in 1998.

www.canadianinquirer.net

9 “Like me, Irasga was also promised by Binay to succeed him, but did not honor his word and let his wife ran as mayor against Irasga,” Mercado said.

He said Morales was designated by Binay to receive all the kickbacks because he had direct contact with the contractors in his capacity as Irasga’s deputy.

Deliveries

Deliveries to the house of the Vice President on Caong Street in Barangay San Antonio in Makati City was “usually on Friday,” Mercado said.

He said the duffle bags containing the money were received by one of the children of the Vice President.

Somebody must have been snitching money from the bags because later, the bags were provided with locks, Mercado said.

“That was when the Vice President said that the bags be entrusted to the current mayor, Junjun,” Mercado said.

He said only the Binays knew the combinations for opening the locks.

In his testimony in the Senate, Mercado said the snitch was one of Binay’s daughters. ■

10

Philippine News

OCTOBER 17, 2014 FRIDAY

Senator Bong...

Sula and Merlina Suñas, and accused plunderers Evelyn de Leon and John Raymond de Asis, even though they were not officially linked to a specific foundation.

They used JLN Corp. IDs to identify themselves in withdrawing the money, thus establishing a link between Napoles and the foundation.

The deposit accounts were used as temporary repository of funds since the money was immediately withdrawn practically on the same day it was deposited.

And all withdrawals were made in cash despite the huge amounts involved—as much as P35 million in one day.

Based on the AMLC’s forensic investigation of Revilla’s and his family’s joint bank account transactions for four years, from April 6, 2006, to April 28, 2010, the Revillas made a total of P87.626 million in various bank deposits and investments within 30 days from the dates recorded in Luy’s ledger.

Luy claimed that the “rebates” of Revilla were received by the senator’s senior staff member Cambe, coaccused in the plunder case. ❰❰ 7

81 bank accounts

The investigation covered 81 bank accounts that were allowed to be opened

by the Court of Appeals on May 28 and Aug. 15 this year.

“This fortifies the veracity of the contents [of the] ledger. According to Luy, the foregoing withdrawals were used to fund several cash disbursements of [Napoles] from 2006 to 2010, including the cash given to Revilla through Cambe totaling P224,512,500,” the AMLC said.

Justiniano explained that the AMLC did not include deposit accounts Revilla used for his “legitimate” earnings as a movie actor and television personality.

“It’s hard to think that the cash deposits he made were legitimate because the amounts involved were huge.

If the source of the funds were legitimate, these would have been deposited through checks and not cash,” Justiniano said.

high of P94 million in 2007.

The AMLC said this was “an indication of concealment of unexplained wealth.”

But Justiniano said it would be “overkill” to file a case of unexplained wealth against Revilla, as the plunder case was more than enough to put him in jail if convicted.

The AMLC investigation also uncovered a total of P27.745 million in funds deposited in 2010 in the account of Nature Concepts, a real estate firm formed

by Revilla’s wife, Representative Mercado, in March 2006 with a minimumpaidup capital of P62,500.

The company did not file financial statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2007 to 2010,

the AMLC found.

Same lawyer as Napoles

The AMLC said the firm’s incorporation papers and other corporate documents were notarized by Joel G. Gordola, the same lawyer consulted by Napoles in forming some of her bogus foundations.

Justiniano said there was no plan to charge Mercado with plunder, even if she is a public official, because she was not included in the charge sheet.

The AMLC said the investments and bank accounts were “terminated immediately before and after the PDAF scandal circulated in [the] media.”

The INQUIRER published its six-part pork barrel scam series in August 2013. ■

Unexplained wealth

The AMLC also said it found “disparities” and “inconsistencies” in the cash and investment values Revilla declared in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) submitted from 2004 to 2010 and with his cash and investments extracted from various bank and investment accounts, with the difference between what he declared and what he actually had in his bank accounts, ranging from P49 million in 2004 to a

We’re not supposed to be intervening.Our people have to learn how to live by free market rules. Everybody wants a freebie. And you find out later on that the government gets into financial trouble.

Osmeña: Malampaya ... porate participants of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP).

Under this setup, the government would ask businesses to turn off their connection to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and switch on their own generator sets. Alternatively, the government could buy the full generating capacity of these businesses, Petilla said. ❰❰ 6

Subsidize consumers

Sen. Francis Escudero, the finance committee chair, said the government should consider subsidizing consumers when it finally contracts for the additional capacity.

“After all, we still have fiscal space for that,” he said. www.canadianinquirer.net

The Malampaya Fund represents royalties that the government collects from the exploitation of the Malampaya gas fields off the west coast of Palawan.

In a November 2013 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down the provision of Presidential Decree No. 910 allowing the President to use the Malampaya Fund for nonenergy related projects.

Presidential Decree No. 910, which created the special fund, provides that the proceeds from the Malampaya gas project be used to finance energy resource development and exploitation programs of the government and “for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President.”

As of last year, the fund held P137 billion. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

11

Phivolcs recorded 2 volcanic quakes from Mayon PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Monday recorded two volcanic quakes from the restive Mayon Volcano in Albay during its 24-hour observation period from 7 a.m. last Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday.

In its latest bulletin, Phivolcs said Mayon spewed moderate to voluminous steam but no crater glow was observed Sunday evening.

The latest measurement of the volcano’s sulfur dioxide showed falling an average of 420 tons per day.

It added that Mayon remains under Alert Level 3, which means the magma is at the crater and hazardous explosive eruption is due within weeks.

Phivolcs warned anew to avoid entering the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) around the volcano and the seven-kilometer extended danger zone (EDZ) on the southeastern flank are still enforced due to the danger of rock falls, landslides and sudden explosions or dome collapse that may generate hazardous volcanic flows.

Meanwhile, Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, said there is no sign yet that the alert needs to be raised to Level 4.

Alert Level 4 means a hazardous eruption is possible within days.

He said Alert Level 4 would be hoisted once the magma movement accelerates and volcanic tremors occur more frequently.

On Sunday, Phivolcs spotted a 350-meter lava flow on the eastern side of Mayon’s Bonga

gully.

Phivolcs said the slow extrusion of lave from the crater was due to volcanic tremors and rock fall events during the past week.

Solidum clarified the lava flow was “non-explosive” because it was a quiet lava discharge from Mayon’s summit.

Mayon first exhibited high unrest last Sept. 15 after Phivolcs detected 39 rock fall events and 32 volcanic earthquakes that indicated magma disturbance and volcanic gas activity.

More than 12,000 people have been evacuated from the foot of Mayon Volcano.

The Mayon Volcano has erupted nearly 50 times over the last 600 years. The most destructive eruption was in February 1841, when lava flows buried a town and killed 1,200 people. ■

Tense sea... is provided for. We spend only if we want to cook something other than what is served in the canteen,” Navajas said.

Though they have been friends for years, Golla and Navajas are a fairly new musical team. Navajas’ original guitarist was her longtime partner Alan, who died of a brain tumor earlier this year.

“He was a good man. Today is actually his birthday, that’s why we are wearing green, his favorite color,” Navajas said. Alan’s brain tumor was diagnosed just last year. “He just stopped playing in the middle of our set,” Navajas said. “I asked him what was wrong, but he couldn’t answer me. He just blanked out.

He couldn’t move his hands.”

She took him back to the Philippines, where he underwent an operation to remove the tumor. By December 2013, he was back playing in Sanya.

“It was a busy season. It must have tired him out,” Navajas said. A few months later, Alan had a seizure. By March, he was dead.

“It was a difficult time,” said Navajas. “I thought I was going crazy with sadness.” She took three months off work. Golla ❰❰ 3

A hotel beside Sanya Bay in Hainan.

LLEE_WU / FLICKR

filled in for the couple, performing for the hotel guests.

By last June, Navajas was back at work, with Golla by her side.

“The Chinese guests really like Filipino singers because we are good at singing foreign language songs,” he explained. “We’re really good at studying accents.”

They call their style of entertaining and singing harana, after the traditional Filipino lyrical song often used in courtship

rituals.

Today, there may be an estimated 100 Filipinos working on Hainan Island, of which Sanya is one of the major cities.

“Almost all the hotels here have Filipinos on their staff,” Navajas said.

To those who want to work as entertainers in China, she has only one tip: “Just have patience. Lots and lots of patience.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Binay camp...

The vice president stated that he sold the 5,000-square-meter Tagaytay property in 2012, contrary to the claims of former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado.

“The Tagaytay property was sold in December 2012 to Constant Builders. The change in the title ownership is being processed by (the Bureau of Internal Revenue). The property is listed in his (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth),” Martin Subido, Binay’s lawyer, said in a statement issued last Friday.

Subido explained that Binay — who has been accused by former political ally Mercado of taking government kickbacks — is no longer the owner of the Tagaytay property in question, as Mercado claimed by Mercado at Wednesday’s Senate inquisition.

The former ally likewise alleged before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee that the Binay family also owns a 350-hectare property in Rosario, Batangas province.

The Binay camp’s version of the story is that the property in the township of Rosario is not owned by the Vice President, as claimed by Mercado, but that he merely rented 9-hectares of the said parcel of land for his piggery and for the flower farm of his wife, ex-Makati Mayor Elenita Binay. Furthermore, ❰❰ 1

Subido said that the 3-hectare portion allocated for the piggery was sold to Agrifortuna Inc. in 2010, and is now being leased Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corporation.

In reaction to Mercado’s claims, lawyer JV Bautista, interim secretary of Binay’s party, the United Nationalist Alliance, said: “This is proof that Mercado is deceiving the public because he made it appear that (the Tagaytay property) still belongs to the Vice President when it was already sold long ago. Just like his deception on the Rosario, Batangas, property that was never a property of the VP at all.”

Bautista proceeded to decry Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima as “biased” against Binay, because the former said that Mercado was a “credible” witness.

“By claiming that Mercado is a credible witness, she (De Lima) betrays her own bias and prejudice against VP Binay,” Bautista said.

“A true professional appraisal of the ‘testimonies’ of Mercado will show that they are speculative, self-serving and coming from (a) polluted source—a witness who has an ax to grind against VP Binay,” he added.

Three witnesses have come forward against Binay: Mercado, Renato Bondal and Nicolas Enciso, They are all currently under the DOJ’s Witness Protection Program. ■

12

Philippine News

OCTOBER 17, 2014 FRIDAY

Palace: Philippines following US lead vs Ebola

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA AND JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES has firmed up its defenses against the deadly Ebola virus, adopting the latest testing and infection control protocol from the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Tests will be done at the Research Center for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City, the “national referral center for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said last week.

“The Philippines remains Ebola-free,” Coloma said on Radyo ng Bayan, citing the 18 suspected Ebola cases tested at the RITM which all yielded negative results.

“The Department of Health is doing everything to firm up our defense against the Ebola virus and other infectious diseases.”

Coloma said the DOH had laid out and was “still strengthening a multisectoral response plan” to prevent the entry into the country of the Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which has killed more than 4,000 people in seven countries.

The plan includes “interim guidelines for disease surveillance, notification and reporting of suspected” Ebola cases; clinical management including laboratory testing of specimens; and “infection control.”

Direct contact

Based on its “interim guidance,” the US CDC said the Ebola viruses “are transmitted through direct contact with blood or body fluids/substances (urine, feces, vomit) of an infected person with symptoms or through exposure to objects (such as needles) that have been contaminated with infected blood or body fluids.”

The CDC recommends that Ebola patients be kept in a single hospital room with its own bathroom and with the doors closed. There should also be a log of all persons going in and out of the room.

These people should wear at least “gloves, gown (fluid resistant or impermeable), eye protection (goggles or face shield) and face mask.” Other requirements include “double gloving, disposable shoe covers and leg coverings.”

The CDC also advises people returning to the United States from countries with Ebola to “pay attention to your health” by doing the following: Monitor your health for 21 days if you were in an area with

an Ebola outbreak, especially if you were in contact with blood or body fluids, items that have come in contact with blood or body fluids, animals or raw meat or hospitals where Ebola patients are being treated or participated in burial rituals.

Seek medical care immediately if you develop fever (temperature of 101.5°F/ 38.6°C) and any of the following symptoms: Headache, muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, or unexplained bruising or bleeding.

Tell your doctor about your recent travel and your symptoms before you go to the office or emergency room. Advance notice will help your doctor care for you and protect other people who may be in the office.

The DOH is also studying the need for more sophisticated machines at all international ports of entry to prevent potential carriers of highly infectious diseases like Ebola and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) from entering the country. ❱❱ PAGE 19 Palace: Philippines

President Benigno S. Aquino III addresses the 65th Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for the Western Pacific at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on Monday BENHUR ARCAYAN / MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU

BY LEILANI S. JUNIO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Department of Health Undersecretary Janette L. Garin stressed Monday the need to exercise calmness and refrain from sowing fear or panic in the event of an Ebola virus case in the country.

“Like what Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director general, said, too much fear will cause

us to waste resources instead of using them on other important health needs. What is very important is preparation. It is the key to successfully deal with it,” Garin said in an interview with the Philippines News Agency.

Garin emphasized that the public must understand that the government had made earlier preparations like facilities for isolation and quarantine measures.

Philippines weighs Ebola options Galvez-Tan opposes Department of Health volunteers plan

BY NIKKO DIZON AND TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

President Benigno S. Aquino III discusses with his Cabinet secretaries at the President's Hall of Malacanang on Monday, October 13, 2014 regarding updates on the Ebola Virus.

GIL NARTEA / MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU

NO WORRIES. President Aquino has not yet decided to send health workers to West Africa to help fight the worst outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease, Malacañang said yesterday.

Former Health Secretary Jaime Galvez-Tan opposes the idea, recommending instead www.canadianinquirer.net

that the Philippines keep a core of medical workers to prevent the entry of the Ebola virus into the country.

Galvez-Tan said the government’s priority was to safeguard the country’s borders against the entry of the Ebola virus, as many Filipino travelers and migrant workers come home from African countries.

If at all, the Department of Health (DOH) should send a team of five medical volun-

teers to study how West African countries deal with the virus and apply the system in the Philippines, Galvez-Tan said last week.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the idea of the DOH to send medical workers to West Africa “needs serious consideration and discussion.”

President Aquino needs to make a delicate balance between heeding the call of the

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

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Garin cited that based on a study, about 90% of a country’s resource is lost once panic prevails.

She highlighted that what the public needs to know is to be aware on how the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is transmitted and who may be possibly had contact with a carrier through contact tracing.

She added that aside from good laboratory service available in some DOH facilities and readiness of its Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), continuous education is being done by

DOH in training health workers in the proper treatment or handling of suspected Ebola patient to prevent transmission.

“The public should also avoid miscommunication and they should also follow the proper filling up and disclosure of information if they came from the (infected) West African countries,” she said.

Meanwhile, she added that possible deployment of Filipino health workers to West African countries infected by EVD is still under close study. ■

international community for a united global action to combat the deadly disease and safeguarding the health of the Filipino healthcare workers who would be exposed to the virus, Lacierda said in a statement.

The President also needs to take into consideration the health of the general population when the medical volunteers who will be sent to West Africa return after their tour of duty, Lacierda said.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said at a summit on the Ebola outbreak last week that the Philippine government would have to decide soon whether to send medical volunteers to West Africa to help care for Ebola patients in response to a call by the international community for nations to help each other in arresting the spread of the deadly disease.

But Galvez-Tan advised against sending volunteers to the Ebola hot zone.

Let others handle it

“There are enough health professionals in the world and nearer Africa such as Europeans and Africans themselves,” Galvez-Tan said in a telephone interview. “While it’s true that Africa may need it, I feel really that when we do a head count, there are enough professionals in the world who can volunteer and offer their services to Africa.”

The government needs its own medical professionals to “safeguard its own interest first,” said Galvez-Tan, president of Health Futures Foundation Inc., a nonprofit organization involved in the design and management of health and social development programs.

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DOH: Too much fear about Ebola virus disease will cause waste of resources

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DOLE reminds OFWs on deployment ban in Ebola virus-hit counties PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has reminded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to be wary of job opportunities being offered in Ebola virus-hit countries since there is an existing deployment ban in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

“They should not take the risk anymore of entertaining such offers because we have an existing deployment ban in those countries. This means their papers will not be legally processed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA),” said DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz in an interview.

She noted that professional health workers should not entertain such job offers as they may fall as victims to illegal recruiters.

“If they entertain such offers, they will “If we have a duty to preserve, protect or even treat or prevent Ebola in the Philippines, our health professionals [should] stay in our country,” GalvezTan said.

Core of professionals

The government should maintain a core of 100 medical professionals on heightened alert against Ebola, said Galvez-Tan, who served as health secretary in the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

“We should have a critical mass of health professionals all over the country who are knowledgeable about Ebola and who would keep a double eye, a triple eye on Ebola incidents if ever there are any in the Philippines,” he said.

A single carrier of the Ebola virus

www.canadianinquirer.net

just run the risk of being victimized by illegal recruiters,” Baldoz said.

She issued the statement amid reports of the high demand for health care workers in Ebola-hit countries owing to the growing number of patients of the deadly virus.

The POEA Governing Board imposed a deployment ban for newly-hired OFWs bound for Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone in July after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised Crisis Alert Level 2 in the three countries due to the spread of the Ebola virus.

Last month, POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said a total deployment ban has been imposed on the three West African countries as a protective measure for OFWs against acquiring the dreaded disease.

The total deployment ban includes the processing and deployment of returning OFWs with existing employment contracts there. ■ entering the country would require thorough surveillance, from the point of entry to their final destination, and medical workers at every point should stay alert, he said.

“That in itself is part of the global action for prevention of further transmission of the disease,” he said.

Study team

Should the DOH decide to send a team to West Africa, Galvez-Tan said, it should send five medical workers to study how people there and in Europe handle Ebola cases.

“I have no problem with sending a team to be aware and be capacitated to help in learning how to deal with Ebola ❱❱ PAGE 15 Philippines weighs

14

Philippine News

OCTOBER 17, 2014 FRIDAY

Aquino in Bali... sought nor attained.

Naturally, such a regime, one divorced from the desires of its people, will have weak foundations,” he told an audience of foreign ministers and vice ministers from 51 participant countries and 68 international observers.

Aquino joined three other heads of state—outgoing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, TimorLeste’s Xanana Gusmao and Brunei Darussalam’s Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah—in the two-day forum held at Bali International Convention Center (BICC) here from Oct. 10 to 11.

The President cochaired the forum with Yudhoyono, who is stepping down as Indonesia’s president in 10 days. The annual event functions as a platform for national leaders to exchange views on democracy and its development in their respective countries. It is aimed at fostering dialogue-based cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region through experience and best practices in democracy. ❰❰ 1

Leaders’ frustrations

The theme of this year’s edition of the forum is “Evolving regional democratic architecture: challenges of political development, public participation and socioeconomic progress in the 21st century.”

“As leaders, all of us here have had our share of frustrations borne of the many factors that sometimes hinder the realization of our vision. This breeds the temptation to consider an authoritarian method, as this might promise immediate gains,” Mr. Aquino said. “[But] the lack of consensus and consent from the people, such a mode [that] offers quick, short-term gains, may be detrimental to society in the longrun,” he said, noting that the lack of consensus could lead to a system’s eventual collapse.

An authoritarian regime

would soon collapse, as the opinions and wishes of the people are only second to the objective of staying in power, Mr. Aquino said.

“And as we have seen in history, all authoritarian regimes, regardless of the cause of their coming to power, will at one point make political survival the end-all and beall of government,” he said.

The President delivered his views on democracy here at a time when he himself is coping with democracy and authoritarian issues back home.

Mr. Aquino has been criticized for flirting with the idea of reelection, which is banned by the Constitution and would necessitate charter amendments.

He has also received flak for openly advocating the clipping of the powers of the Supreme Court, whose “overreach,” he said, was hampering the programs of his government.

Parents extolled

In his democracy speech, Mr. Aquino cited his parents, former President Cory Aquino, credited with bringing democracy back to the Philippines after the first Edsa People Power Revolution that brought down the Marcos dictatorship, and his martyred senator-father, Ninoy Aquino, whose assassination impelled the anti-Marcos, prodemocracy movement.

Empowering citizens leads to inclusiveness, stability and development, he stressed.

“Democratic institutions, after all, seek to free and enable its citizens, and the first freedom should always be from hunger, as my father once taught,” he said.

Defining movement

He said the Edsa People Power Revolution that toppled a dictator in the Philippines in 1986 became a defining democratic movement of its time.

People power centers on

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his remarks during the Opening Session of the 7th Bali Democracy Forum VII at the Nusantara Hall II of the Bali International Convention Center on October 10, 2014 RYAN LIM / MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU

peaceful determination and not force when responding to intimidation, and a consensusseeking vision, he said.

In extolling democracy, Aquino brought up the example of his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, calling her 10year presidency a “lost decade” for the country. “(U)nder my predecessor, democratic institutions were compromised and weakened by a culture of transactionalism and impunity, where the very select few rode roughshod over the will and aspirations of the vast majority,” he said.

Mr. Aquino said people power showed itself again when he was elected president in 2010.

Relationship with Jakarta

In his speech, the President extolled the strong and brotherly relationship of the Philippines and Indonesia, particularly how the two governments have amicably settled a maritime boundaries dispute.

Aquino praised Yudhoyono for moving to settle the maritime dispute with the Philippines, placing it against the backdrop of the territorial row the Philippines is facing with

www.canadianinquirer.net

China over areas of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

“With his assuring leadership, our two nations were able to resolve in an amicable manner the issue concerning our maritime boundaries in the Mindanao Sea and the Celebes Sea, thus moving our nations forward with an even deeper trust in each other,” Mr. Aquino said.

“President Yudhoyono’s commitment to the rule of law has likewise been crucial as we advance the peaceful and just resolution of disputes in the South China Sea,” he said.

Amid the worsening row with China, the Philippines has been soliciting support from other countries for its campaign to promote a rules-based approach in the settlement of maritime disputes in the region. Indonesia is one of its supporters.

Closest Asean ally

In May, during Yudhoyono’s official visit to the Philippines, the two signed an agreement ending a 20-year-old maritime boundary dispute.

Indonesia has been the Phil-

ippines’ closest ally among the countries in Southeast Asia.

The President attributed this to their “common history and heritage as maritime peoples of Southeast Asia.”

He said one of the recent key contributions of Indonesia was its support of the Philippines’ efforts to bring about a just and lasting peace in Mindanao.

Indonesia chaired key committees in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and was the mediator in the peace talks between the Philippine government and the main Moro insurgency, the Moro National Liberation Front, which led to the signing of a peace agreement in 1996 and the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Indonesia was also part of the international monitoring team in later negotiations between the Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“To those who represent the different Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) states here today, all of us know full well that the collective growth of our citizenries may only be fulfilled in a regional context where our shared ideals and individual beliefs are respected by our partners,” Mr. Aquino said.

A representative from China was in the audience, along with hundreds of delegates from the Asia-Pacific region.

The heads of state and governments of the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Brunei were the only ones invited to what is essentially a ministerial-level forum. An exception was the 2012 meeting, when the forum was conducted like a summit and was attended by many heads of states and governments to celebrate the forum’s fifth anniversary. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

15

BY MARIELLE MEDINA Inquirer Research LESS THAN 90 days leading up to the papal visit, the faithful are praying for Pope Francis’ good health and safety, especially during his visit to the country.

Three out of every five prayers for Pope Francis submitted by readers to the INQUIRER are prayers for the 77-yearold Pontiff’s continuous good health.

The “Prayer for the Pope” feature is part of the INQUIRER’s 100-day countdown to the papal visit to the country and as a response to Pope Francis’ tweet on his official Twitter account @Pontifex, “Please pray for me,” during the anniversary of his election as the 266th Bishop of Rome.

The question: What is your prayer for the Pope?

“Long, healthy life for our Pope Francis to serve the world and our God more,” Kathlyn Atienza said.

“I pray for the good health, strength and constant guidance of the Holy Spirit for Pope Francis, as he is becoming an effective agent of transformation in the Catholic Church,” said Fr. Paul Arnel Lucero, SMM, from New Manila, Quezon City.

“I pray that the Pope will always be healthy and be blessed by the Lord. May the Pope remain open-minded in dealing with the challenges faced every day by mankind,” said Belen Choi Chiu from Tondo, Manila.

Aside from good health, many of the prayers sent are for the Pope’s safety, especially during his visit to the country.

“I pray for the Pope’s good health and for his safe visit to the Philippines. May his visit comfort spiritually the survivors of Supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ who lost their loved ones in the tragedy,” said Ian

Pinoys’ prayer for Pope: Good health, guidance Solamo of Jaro town, Leyte province.

“I pray that the Pope and His influence reach many people and that everyone will see how many things will change if everyone would decide to do good to one another. May Pope Francis and His goodness reach everyone and may it spread continually,” said Rina Misajon from Barangay Mayamot, Antipolo City.

Most of the personal intentions sent by the readers are also focused on the good health and safety of their families.

Solamo’s personal intentions are to be blessed with a child, to pass the civil service exam and for family and friends to

have good health.

“I pray that my family be blessed with good health and happiness, and that no harm shall come to them. Lastly, may

the families who have lost loved ones find comfort and strength as they continue their journey in life even without the ones they love,” Misajon said. ■

HEPATITIS B IS PREVENTABLE, TREATABLE, MANAGEABLE

Philippines weighs... if and when it reaches the Philippines,” he said. “We’re talking of real experiences in dealing with Ebola.”

But the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said it was ready to deploy staff and volunteers to West Africa to help care for Ebola patients.

“We have to contain the Ebola virus in those areas so as to protect our borders,” PRC Chair Richard Gordon said in a statement yesterday.

“In this day and age of air travel, we have to make sure that we have the necessary mechanisms in place to detect the Ebola virus at our airports, and have prepared isolation facilities when necessary,” Gordon said. ❰❰ 12

Rising death toll

The World Health Organization said on Friday that 4,033 people have died from Ebola as of Oct. 8 out of a total of

8,399 registered cases in seven countries.

The United Nations and leaders of Ebola-stricken nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone pleaded on Friday for greater help for the front-line of the disease in Africa.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted the number of cases could reach 1.4 million

by January unless strong measures are taken to contain the disease.

Leaders of hard-hit Guinea met Friday with IMF Director Christine Lagarde, who promised the organization was “ready to do more if needed” to fight the disease.

UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson appealed for more funds to fight the disease. He said only a quarter of “the one billion dollars sought” to combat the disease had been pledged. He appealed for doctors, nurses and other health-care personnel to come forward. ■

People born in Asia are 3–12 time more likely to get infected with chronic Hepatitis B and a healthy lifestyle may only be masking the illness.

Ang isang malusog na pamumuhay ay maaari lamang minamaskarahan ang iyong talamak na Hepatitis B. Join us for a free educational Tagalog/English workshop on Hepatitis B: Thursday, October 24, 2–3 pm at the MOSAIC Community Room (1720 Grant St, Vancouver) Call 778 237 4043 to register!

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Workshop hosted by MOSAIC and the Hepatitis B Public Education Program Funded by/Financé par

Opinion

16

OCTOBER 17, 2014 FRIDAY

ANALYSIS

Aquino-roxas combat in 2016?

By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer CANBERRA—Apparently shaken by the Pulse Asia survey results showing that 62 percent of Filipinos oppose a run for reelection by President Aquino, Malacañang had been forced to plead for a second opinion in the polls.

Speaking as if the administration was facing a life-threatening scourge of the likes of the bubonic plague that swept medieval Europe, a Palace spokesperson indicated to the INQUIRER that one survey is not enough for the vacillating President to make a final decision.

“Perhaps we can have a broader picture when we learn of the third-quarter survey findings from SWS (Social Weather Stations) and Pulse Asia,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma (one of three Palace spokespersons, giving the people mixed messages of the master’s voice). The President “would like to continue getting feedback from various stakeholders, especially on what can be done to ensure the continuity and permanence of reforms,” Coloma said.

This statement puts SWS on the spot. What if its findings turn out different from those of the Pulse Asia

survey? What would this make of not only a strong rejection of a pos- party mates seeking a new leader. In Mahar Mangahas’ SWS survey? Find- sible term extension for him but also plain language, Mr. Aquino may be ings similar to those of Pulse Asia some gains for Roxas as a viable LP dumped in the event of a leadership may also be devastating to Malaca- candidate against Binay in 2016. spill or shakeup in a possible chalñang. Up to this time the President Uncertainties cloud an easy re- lenge to revitalize the LP as a party has been twiddling his thumbs and election bid by the President, given of change, a party that is breaking consulting his “bosses” over whether the background of his declining out of the stale, vindictive and selfhe should seek reelection, after fuel- popularity in previous surveys. His righteous mold of the current “daang ing speculation over what he intends satisfaction and trust ratings suf- matuwid” prescriptions. to do when his term ends. fered double-digit drops in June and If the LP is to search seriously It appears that time is running out July—his lowest since he was elected within its ranks, it will find that there on the President to candidly declare in 2010. The decline came as he en- are more than enough talents in the that he is standing for reelection by tered the twilight years of his presi- party who can offer fresh economichook or by crook. Whether Malaca- dency, putting an end to his fouryear policy initiatives as well as politicalñang likes it or not, the early surveys popularity run in the polls. It indicat- reform programs, and who can claim conducted in the honesty, integrity twilight period of and experience in . . . the early surveys conducted in the twilight period of his term sent signals public service withhis term sent signals that a second run for [Aquino] would not that a second run for out being chained to be a walk in the park. him would not be the crippling legacy a walk in the park. The terrain is full ed that his cloak of invincibility had of the Aquino dynasty. of risks for a run for reelection, re- worn thin, making him a lame-duck The latest survey results reveal gardless of whoever will be his oppo- President and opening him to leader- that the next presidential election nent—Vice President Jejomar Binay ship challenges from his own party need not be limited to a face-off beof the opposition United Nationalist mates with presidential ambitions, tween Mr. Aquino or Binay. We don’t Alliance (UNA) or Interior Secretary including Roxas. have to wait for Mr. Aquino to end his Mar Roxas, who is also a member of With the September survey results vacillation over whether he will seek the Liberal Party. The ruling party is hovering over Mr. Aquino’s head, a second term. It’s already clear: He is rife with intrigue to ease out Roxas there is even less reason for him to lusting to keep power despite his coy as the LP’s official presidential candi- be confident that his party would protestation that he is still consulting date in 2016. Mr. Aquino appears to be choose him as its standard-bearer his constituents, and he is not above running scared and vulnerable in the in 2016. Now the knives are out for dumping Roxas as an alternative to wake of the survey results showing an assassination inside the LP from Binay.

The struggle for power in 2016 is already in place in the LP—between Mr. Aquino and Roxas as the viable option to Binay, who is mercilessly being pilloried in a smear campaign that is playing out in the inquiry of the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee into the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall parking building constructed when Binay was mayor.

The battle royale between Mr. Aquino and Roxas in the LP will be an epic conflict that bears watching because of its implications for the future of the multiple-party system of Philippine democracy. Senate President Franklin Drilon and other LP leaders have said that the recent survey is relevant to the issue of constitutional change. Mr. Aquino cannot run for reelection unless the constitutional provision on term limits is amended. The LP is holding a caucus this month to address the issue of Mr. Aquino’s pursuit of a term extension.

It has to consider the survey results showing strong opposition to a term extension for the President.

This caucus will amount to a preelection convention that will decide who are to square off in 2016. It could be brutal combat between Mr. Aquino and Roxas. ■

PUBLIC LIVES

Makati’s contradictions

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer FROM WHATEVER angle one views it, Makati City is a bundle of contradictions. It is home to the ultrarich as well as to the extremely poor. Gleaming skyscrapers tower above the dilapidated hovels of slum dwellers.

Modern firms operate within a territory controlled by a political family that has wielded power continuously for 28 years.

Makati is the Philippines’ financial capital and is host to some of the world’s major conglomerates. Banks, telecoms, investment houses, hotel chains, and high-end shopping malls compete with one another in a highstakes pluralism emblematic of modern capitalism. Makati’s executive class articulates an ethic of efficiency, transparency, and accountability suitable to both corporate and political governance.

Yet, the city’s political system has more in common with provincial fiefdoms run by local warlords than with rule-bound metropolitan governments administered by technocrats. Except that Makati has more money than any other city or town in the country. Its gigantic share of the national taxes, called the Internal

Revenue Allotment or IRA, is more interpersonal relations with the po- mined by whoever commands the than enough to provide for all the litical bosses by, for example, sup- popular vote. Modernist politicians basic needs of its mass constituency. porting them with generous cam- may try to offer an alternative to The taxes it collects on its own from paign contributions during elections. the likes of the Binay family. But so the different enterprises operating in On a daily basis, this also means set- long as Makati’s poor outnumber its its jurisdiction allow Makati to oper- ting aside funds for contingent ex- more educated voters, they have little ate a public hospital and a university, penses incurred in the course of se- chance of getting elected. Indeed, Biand to overspend on facilities like the curing various kinds of permits and nay’s version of the welfare society in Makati City Hall Building II without clearances from the city government. Makati is held up as a model of goverfear of ever running out of funds. All Things can get a little complex when nance for the rest of the country. this has little to do with sound gover- these additional expenses have to be This is not to say that traditional nance practice. Makati’s government explained to foreign partners or to the governance such as the Binays repremains feudal, dyresent will never nastic, premodern, change. The imand—from what one petus for change In the long term, there is really nothing the business might glean from is bound to come community can do to change the rules of the game in Makati. the ongoing Senate from within the sysinvestigations—hopelessly corrupt. home offices of multinationals. One can tem itself. In the distribution of the How does an economic system that only assume that, in general, pragma- spoils, some political allies may feel is supposed to thrive on transpar- tism rather than strict adherence to mor- left out. Others, like former staunch ency, the enforceability of contracts, al precepts becomes the guiding norm Binay loyalist Ernesto Mercado, who, normative stability, and profession- for doing business in such settings. Some as vice mayor, had looked forward alism function in a political setting companies may try to insulate them- to succeeding him, thought he was where—to get things done—one must selves from these burdensome aggrava- unfairly shunted aside to make way be prepared to enter into opaque tions by seeking protection from higher for Binay’s son. Mercado could not transactions, deal with quirky lead- centers of political power. But that, too, counter the political clout of the Biers, and operate under shifting rules? can be very costly. Others may simply opt nays, but he knows enough about the There is no easy answer to this to move out of the city. way the Vice President and his family question. But the explanation that In the long term, there is really run Makati’s affairs to be able to dequickly comes to mind is that the nothing the business community can rail his presidential ambition. This is economic system learns to adjust by do to change the rules of the game evident from Mercado’s damning tesfactoring in the costs of doing busi- in Makati. As a political enclave run timony against the Binays in the Senness under such conditions. This along patron-client lines, its system ate hearings on corruption in Makati. basically entails cultivating smooth of governance is ultimately deterThe hearings have shown that if so

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much money has been siphoned off from the public coffers through various modes of corruption, it is likely to come out in the form of financial assets or pieces of tangible property like that opulent English-style estate in Batangas. If these have been declared in the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth required of public officials, then their provenance will have to be explained. If they have been concealed through layers of dummies, holding companies, and trust accounts, former close associates, like Mercado, are bound to know them.

We don’t know what kind of defense the Binays can offer to counter the allegations of corruption that have been hurled against them. But it has to be more convincing than merely asserting that all these are politically motivated and should be filed before a proper court. To say that these accusations are politically motivated does not invalidate them. It only means they should be answered in both the sphere of politics and of law. Voters nationwide may opt to ignore these allegations, in which case there is no stopping Jejomar Binay from becoming president in 2016. And, if our modernity is as illusory as Makati’s, then he would most likely get off the hook legally as well. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

17

AS I SEE IT

Purisima now looks like a piker

By Neal H. Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer SUDDENLY, with the disclosure of the Binay family’s alleged 350-hectare hacienda in Batangas, Philippine National Police Director General Alan Purisima looked like a piker with his four-hectare estate in Nueva Ecija. Everything in the hacienda seems to ooze with luxury, contrasting sharply with Vice President Jejomar Binay’s efforts to portray himself as poor and therefore the champion of the poor. Even the pigs live in airconditioned luxury.

The alleged Binay hacienda even has an English-style garden modeled after the Kew Garden in London that was built through the years by queens and princesses. The Vice President’s wife supposedly presides over this vast estate fit for queens and princesses (and a future first lady?).

Even former first lady Imelda Marcos, famous for her love of luxury, will look like a piker in this hacienda.

Many people are wondering how this 350-hectare hacienda has escaped the notice of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). Ernesto Mer-

cado, a former vice mayor of Makati, that happen.

So why was there a suggestion that he shouldn’t have come out with this We have seen how Pacquiao per- had picked the Pacman to be his runexposé so soon. With the announce- formed as a congressman of his dis- ning mate? Obviously, to court the ment that the Senate blue ribbon sub- trict. He is now on his second term votes of the people of General Santos, committee is winding up its inquiry as representative of Saranggani, but Pacquiao’s home turf, where Binay into the overpriced Makati City Hall what does he have to show? Nothing, campaigned recently, in violation of parking building, Binay seemed to be zilch! Pacquiao may be a very good the Commission on Elections’ rule willing to show up at the hearing just boxer, but as a lawmaker, he is what is against premature campaigning. to show that he is not hiding from the called in boxing lingo as a “bum.”

Earlier, there was some noise that senators. They should have sprung And Binay wants him to become a Binay wanted businessman Manny the hacienda exposé then. vice president?

Pangilinan as his running mate. MVP Congress should is not a political strengthen the animal, but again So many crooks are hiding their ill-gotten wealth beAnti-Dummy Law. the reason for the hind dummies. If what Mercado said is true, the Binays are So many crooks are choice is evident: hiding their ill-gotHe has the necesonly the latest to be caught using dummies. ten wealth behind sary cash to fund a dummies. If what Mercado said is But it is clear why Binay wants campaign. The businessman, howevtrue, the Binays are only the latest to Pacquiao as his running mate. The er, wisely rejected the idea. Besides, be caught using dummies. boxing champ has billions of pesos to in the latest Pulse Asia survey, among *** fund their election campaign. Binay a field of 16 vice-presidential potenThat Binay is a bad judge of charac- seems not to want to spend his own tials, MVP ranked last. ter—as proven by his choice of subordi- billions. If somebody else will pay As a businessman, MVP has mannates in Makati when he was mayor— for his campaign, why not? In this, he aged to maintain a clean reputation. is proven once more by his supposed wants to make Pacquiao—in another Why would he spoil that reputation choice of Rep. Manny Pacquiao as his boxing term—a “patsy.” by entering the dirty world of politics? running mate in 2016, or even just a As a lawyer, Binay knows that Pac- Why would he spoil it by being the senatorial candidate in his ticket. quiao does not meet one qualifica- running mate of Binay, who is now up Pacquiao the vice president or a tion for a vice president, being only to his neck in corruption allegations? senator in a Binay administration? 37 years old or three years short of Much earlier, a rumor went the Oh, no. Dear God, please don’t let the age requirement of (at least) 40. rounds that MVP had offered to bank-

roll Binay’s campaign for the presidency if he would choose the former as his running mate in 2016. Was it also the Binay camp that floated that rumor?

Besides, Binay’s ratings are now in a free fall, dropping by another 15 points.

That’s a big drop, bigger than the earlier 10-percent drop. Both Binay’s approval and trust ratings have dipped drastically. His approval rating dropped from 81 percent to 66 percent, and his trust rating from 79 percent to 64 percent.

These numbers are the handwriting on the wall for Binay.

The Vice President, however, is still on top of the ratings game, but that is because he has no clear rival yet for the 2016 presidential election.

The Senate investigation of the corruption charges against him surely must have influenced the plunge in his ratings, but the revelations have yet to fully sink into the consciousness of the public. Besides, the allegations last Wednesday on his supposed hacienda in Batangas had not yet been revealed when the latest Pulse Asia survey was conducted. It would take a little more time before these sink into the minds of the people, especially those in the provinces. ■

AT LARGE

Lending an ear, granting a voice

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer Excerpts from comments delivered during the launch yesterday of the book “Towards Adult Faith: Essays on Believing” by Asuncion David Maramba.

THIS BOOK launch, and indeed this book, couldn’t have been better timed. It coincides with an extraordinary gathering taking place at the Vatican, with the world’s bishops meeting to talk about marriage, divorce, contraception, abortion, sexual minorities and other social issues on which it was commonly believed that the Church had taken a fixed, unchanging, unyielding stance.

But as commentators and observers at the Synod of Bishops on the Family are discovering, the so-called “fixed, unchanging and unyielding” stance of the Church on these realities of life may be in for some revisions, or at least some softening and flexibility on the part of the institutional Church. As Pope Francis urged the more than 200 senior Catholic bishops in Rome, they should not “impose” what he called “intolerable moral burdens” on the faithful.

If that softening and flexibility do result from the synod, much of it could be attributed to the sharing

gathered from lay people, specifically “about how to strike a balance be- them away.”

12 Catholic married couples invited tween upholding church teaching The interventions by lay couples to speak before the gathering who, and showing mercy and compassion.” led a Vatican analyst to observe that in the words of John Allen Jr. of the ANOTHER couple, the Filipinos “married people need to be heard. website Crux, “have stolen the show” Cynthia and George Campos, who are Gay people and their struggles need at the synod. connected with the group “Couples to be heard. Single mothers need to To be sure, the lay couples are for Christ,” gave a testimony on the be heard. It won’t do for a bunch of there simply as “auditors,” taking personal tests they had undergone, celibate men, so-called, to be parsipart in the discussions but without as well as their struggles with Church monious with God’s mercy.” the right to vote. But what they had to hierarchy.

AND that, in a nutshell, is what the ausay were enough to provoke, disturb They spoke of trying to launch an thor of “Towards Adult Faith,” my friend and elicit reactions—if not yet vocally outreach program for couples in “ir- and colleague Asuncion David Maramfrom the bishops, at least from the regular situations,” such as couples ba, says in her book and in the columns media and other lay observers. who weren’t married in the Church, she has written in the last 29 years.

An Australian couple, Ron and Ma- or living together without marriage, It is her contention, although this vis Pirola who have has become a conbeen married for centration of hers . . . the Church, the institutional Church, should listen 55 years with four only in the past two more to the faithful, lending not just a respectful ear but also children, extolled decades or so, that a stronger voice to lay men and women. the gift of intimacy, the Church, the indescribing it as the stitutional Church, outward expression “of our longing or whose marriages had broken down should listen more to the faithful, to be intimate with each other,” and and then found themselves in other lending not just a respectful ear but saying that marriage “is a sexual sac- relationships even without annul- also a stronger voice to lay men and rament with its fullest expression in ment. But, said the Camposes, the women. And that, as shown by the sexual intercourse.” idea was shot down because Church example of the two couples who adThe Pirolas also championed if officials told them their group was dressed the Synod of Bishops, by not the equal rights, then at least meant “only for couples married in their testimony and lived experience, the right to mercy and compassion, the Church.” They pleaded for “more the laity have a lot to teach our teachof gay men and lesbians. They cited enlightened pastoral charity” from ers on matters both spiritual and the example of friends whose gay son priests and bishops, more “inclusive practical. wanted to bring his partner home for participation” in Church life, and, in For in electing for the celibate life, Christmas. The couple’s response, Allen’s analysis, “a case for a more our church leaders—nuns, priests, they said, was simply: “He’s our son.” open-door policy on Catholicism, bishops—have cut themselves off Bishops and priests, the Pirolas sug- trying to gather in people who run from a vital, life-affirming aspect of gested, could learn from their friends afoul of the rules rather than turning human existence. I will not go into

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the reasons for and against celibacy.

But I will go into the need for our spiritual guides to reach out to lay people struggling with the gifts of attraction, arousal, intimacy and fulfillment and to engage in respectful dialogue with them.

Maramba’s writing, in the last two years or so, were provoked in large part by the contentious debate over the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law, questioning the quick and harsh condemnation of its supporters by critics and clerics.

But the tone of her columns and commentaries was far from harsh and hurtful. Instead, to my mind, it was often gentle, if provocative. I got the sense that her words were coming from a believer who was pained by what she had been hearing or reading, who was earnestly pleading for a more understanding, open and generous sharing of thoughts and feelings.

I don’t think Maramba writes of the Church out of a sense of outrage or pique. Instead, I believe that it is the willingness to speak out and point out weaknesses or wrongs that distinguishes the true believer who loves the faith from one meekly accepting everything without letting it penetrate one’s heart, soul and conscience.

May more follow her brave and compassionate example! ■

18

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Canada News Canadians suffering at the end of their lives need top court’s help, lawyer says

NEWS BRIEFS

FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS

BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Suffering people are reaching out to the Supreme Court of Canada for help ending their lives and politicians need to listen as well, says a lawyer set to argue the case this week.

While the prime minister says he doesn’t want to re-open the debate, by agreeing to revisit the issue itself the Supreme Court could once again catapult the question of physicianassisted suicide back onto the national agenda.

At issue before the top court is whether laws prohibiting people from helping someone else commit suicide violate the Constitution.

It’s the second time the court has considered the issue. In the 1993 Sue Rodriguez case, a 5-4 decision found that while existing laws did violate the charter, those violations were justified because they accorded with principles of fundamental justice.

Should the court decide this time that the laws are unconstitutional, it could give Parliament time to rewrite them or face having the existing laws simply expire with nothing to take their place.

It’s the situation the government now finds itself in over Canada’s prostitution laws, which were struck down by the top court last year as being in violation of the charter.

The new legislation on prostitution, Bill C-36, is currently before the Senate though numerous advocates have suggested it still won’t pass the constitutionality test.

The B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which is leading the assisted dying case, acknowledge Tuesday the same thing could happen in this instance.

“It would be a travesty if the court asked politicians to come up with legislation and if they didn’t take that mandate very seriously,” said Grace Pastine, the association’s litigation director.

“The fact of the matter is that Canadians are suffering against their wishes at the end of life and they are asking the court for change.”

Two B.C. families brought the mat-

CANADA PAYS TOO MUCH FOR GENERIC DRUGS: STUDY

ter back before the Supreme Court.

They filed a new challenge to the law in 2011 after their respective mothers both sought help to end their lives following diagnoses of degenerative conditions.

Both women are now dead. Gloria Taylor eventually died of an infection and Kay Carter travelled to Switzerland, where assisted suicide is allowed.

Her daughter Lee acknowledged Tuesday she could have just walked away from the legal battle but didn’t want to.

“She asked me to do it and she was a great person,” Lee said Tuesday. “I admired her, loved her, and there was no question in my mind that I wanted to do this for her.”

The case is different this time around in part because the fundamental principles of justice referred to in 1993 have changed, the plaintiffs argue.

Several other countries now allow physician-assisted suicide and polls suggest that as the population ages, more Canadians are in favour of having the right to get help to die.

In the 20 years since the court’s decision in Rodriguez, nine private members bills were brought before the House of Commons seeking to legalize some form of the practice.

None passed.

That’s why, the prime minister suggested Tuesday, the matter is moot.

“These difficult questions around right-to-die and assisted suicide — as you know they were discussed a couple of years back in the Parliament of

Canada, the government of Canada at this time has no intention of reopening that debate,” he told reporters at an event in Sept-Iles, Que. “I understand it is before the courts, it has been before the courts before but obviously we will be watching with great interest whatever the Supreme Court may decide in its deliberations.”

The legal arguments in the case differ from 1993 in terms of the scope of charter violations being alleged.

Among them is that existing laws which don’t criminalize suicide but only assisted suicide treat those who might need help ending their lives unfairly as they don’t have the same ability to make that decision for themselves.

“We take this case and this hearing very seriously because we know that we are the voice for fearful and suffering Canadians,” Pastine said.

“Now is the time for Canada to decriminalize physician-assisted dying and give seriously ill patients the dignity and compassion that they deserve.”

Lawyers for the federal government argue that without a total ban on assisted suicide, vulnerable people could fall prey to suggestions they end their own lives.

In addition to the plaintiffs and government, more than a dozen groups have sought intervener status in the case, including advocates for the disabled, religious organizations and medical associations. ■

OTTAWA — A new study has found that Canadians are still paying far more than other industrialized countries for generic drugs, despite recent efforts by the provinces and territories to bulk buy six particularly costly medications.

The study by the University of Ottawa and the Bruyere Research Institute says the price of the six drugs — which include medications used to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels — remains much higher in Canada than it is elsewhere.

NDP OFFERS $15-A-DAY CHILD CARE PLAN OTTAWA — The NDP is proposing a national child-care program that would cost no more than $15 a day for each child. Party Leader Tom Mulcair says an NDP government would work with the provinces to support or create a million child-care spaces over a period of eight years.

He says the program would be enshrined in law and have predictable, long-term financing.

HONG KONG PROTESTS HOVER OVER PM’S CHINA TRIP OTTAWA — A former Canadian ambassador to China says when Stephen Harper is in Beijing next month, he must press his Chinese hosts on the concerns raised by Hong Kong student activists, even if their protests fizzle by the time he gets there .The Hong Kong unrest places the prime minister and some of his fellow Western leaders in a potentially awkward position as they head to the November APEC summit in Beijing.

NEW CALL MADE FOR PLAIN TOBACCO PACKAGING TORONTO — Canada’s status as a world leader in anti-smoking efforts can only be maintained if it joins other countries around the world in forcing tobacco products to be sold in plain packages, says the Canadian Cancer Society. The country’s leading cancer research organization released a report this week urging the federal governments to strip logos, colours and other branding elements from tobacco product packaging while leaving prominent health warnings intact.

Canada News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Mayor Rob Ford during healthier times.

JOSEPH MORRIS / FLICKR

Weary looking Rob Ford casts advance ballot, says he’s not feeling well THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — A weary-looking Rob Ford cast his ballot in advance polling for the municipal election this past Tuesday, saying he is confident his brother will be Toronto’s new mayor.

Ford, 45, pulled out of the mayoral race last month after he was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer, opting instead to run for council.

He has taken time between his chemotherapy treatments to campaign for his brother — Coun. Doug Ford — who is one of the three main contenders for the city’s top job.

Ford said outside the polling station in Etobicoke that he feels tired and “not very good.”

When asked whether the chemotherapy was working, he replied, “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know.”

Ford said he is returning to hospital Oct. 29. His office said the mayor would be meeting with his doctors to review his condition and determine the next step of treatment.

Doug Ford says he wants to become mayor so that he can continue the work he and his brother began four years ago.

Rob Ford again urged his supporters Tuesday to vote for his brother, saying Doug Ford will be “the best mayor the city’s ever had.” ■

Palace: Philippines... ❰❰ 12

Not totally reliable

Health Secretary Enrique Ona admitted the thermal scanners installed at the international airports were not 100percent reliable in screening the hundreds of thousands of travelers arriving in the country and could miss potential carriers of contagious diseases.

“There are major areas of gaps, where indeed there is a possibility that a passenger with exposure to Ebola can enter without being detected,” Ona said in a press briefing during the National Ebola Virus Disease Summit on Friday.

“There are a lot of people arriving at the airports so there is really a chance to miss passengers with symptoms,” he added.

Thermal scanners are devices that can detect high body temperatures as an indication of infectious disease. Fever is one of the symptoms of MERS-Cov and Ebola.

So far, the Philippines remains free of the two viruses. The country had a close call with MERS-CoV after a Filipino male nurse returned to the country in April from the United Arab Emirates,

where he was initially diagnosed with the disease.

Confirmatory tests conducted by the RITM, however, yielded negative results. Health authorities surmised that he might have overcome the virus. None of the nurse’s copassengers developed symptoms of the disease.

The Ebola virus has claimed more than 4,000 lives as cases of the disease continued to multiply in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. Cases of the virus have also been reported in Spain and the United States.

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Health authorities during the summit emphasized the Philippines must be prepared to handle Ebola cases and should assume that it would reach its shores in a matter of time.

“I’d like these tested, the capacity and sophistication of our thermal scanners,” Ona told reporters, assuring the public that the government was doing everything to avoid the entry of the deadly virus. ■

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Canada News

OCTOBER 17, 2014

Filipino-Canadian Candidates Run for 2014 Ontario Municipal Election

FRIDAY

Filipino-Canadian Candidates

Ontario Municipal Elections 2014

BY EARL VON TAPIA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Alvarez is originally from Ward 8, but another Filipino-Canadian candidate, Garry Tanuan (who is also an incumbent), is already running in Ward 8 for A NUMBER of Filipino-Canadians are that position. Election rules permit canhoping to make their political mark and didates to run in any ward within the become elected in the upcoming 2014 city, though they can only vote in the Ontario Municipal Elections. ward where they live. At a press forum 15 candidates are running for a variety held in mid-September by the Philipof positions in several different areas. pine Press Club of Ontario, where many Eight of the candidates are in Toronto, of the candidates came together to prestwo of which are running as councilors, ent their platforms and answer queswhile the rest are running as Catholic tions, Alvarez told the local media that District School Board (CDSB) Trustees he didn’t want to compete with Tanuan, in several different Wards. The other though he did welcome Corpuz’s nomiseven candidates are from Mississauga, nation.

York, Whitmore Stoufville, DufferinAlmost all of the candidates have years Peel, and Markham, where the positions of volunteer and community leaderthey are running for range from CDSB ship experience to their names, and are Trustee all the way to Mayor. running on platforms and policies that Tony San Juan, a teacher in the Toron- reflect the strong Catholic roots of Filito District School Board and a Filipino pinos, featuring conservative views on community leader, issues such as sametook the number of sex marriage, birth candidates as a posicontrol and abortive sign for the Filition, and religion in pino-Canadian comOur FilCan candidates, schools. munity. in whatever political In the end, wheth“Their candidacies . stripes they are, er or not these candi. . positively reflect the have a vital role to dates are successful composite sentiments play in keeping up in their campaigns to and aspirations of the the fight for political get elected, the mere Filipino-Canadian awareness and fact that they are community being productive community putting themselves one of the largest and engagement. forward in the politigrowing immigrant cal process can only groups in Canada, to mean good things for get involved and be the Filipino-Canadian active political player in their adopted an communities in Ontario, and indeed country’s parliamentary democracy,” he across Canada, now and in the future. stated in an email to the PCI. “Our FilCan candidates, in whatever According to the 2011 National House- political stripes they are, have a vital role hold Survey, there are over 662,000 peo- to play in keeping up the fight for politiple of Filipino descent living in Canada. cal awareness and productive commuOf these people, 275,000 live in Ontario, nity engagement. By doing so, they can more than double the next province’s to- be role models for a generation of young tal number of Filipinos (BC at 126,040) Filipinos . . . who will appreciate and see and approaching the rest of the Filipi- generational leadership and governance no-descended population in the rest of participation as a major political and sothe country (approx. 387,000). Of the cial concern,” said Tony.

275,000 Filipinos and Filipino-Cana“The big question now for the comdians living in Ontario, 89% of them munity though is whether many eligible (246,000) resided within the Census Filipino citizen-residents will get out Metropolitan Area of Toronto. and vote for our kababayan candidates For the current crop of Filipino-Ca- to achieve respect and recognition as nadian candidates for the Ontario elec- well as to prove and show to the world tions, there seems to be only one con- that we are certainly part and parcel of flict amongst themselves. Two different the Canadian mosaic,” he added.

Filipino-Canadian Candidates – Ace AlInformation on the Filipino-Canadivarez and Paulina Corpuz – are running an candidates running in the 2014 Onagainst each other for CDSB Trustee of tario Municipal Election can be found Ward 12, in addition to the other candi- on the graphic to the right. Please visit dates vying for that position. The move their websites to learn more about them could split the Filipino-Canadian vote in and to contact them for more informathat race. tion about their platforms. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

RANDY BUCAO Toronto Ward 10 Councillor bucao.ca

MARIA REMERATA-GARCIA Toronto Ward 32 Councillor facebook.com/ MariaRe64

JOEY ABRENILLA Toronto Ward 5 CDSB Trustee joeyabrenilla.ca

ACE ALVAREZ Toronto Ward 12 CDSB Trustee acealvarez. wordpress.com

PAULINA CORPUZ Toronto Ward 12 CDSB Trustee paulinacorpuz. com

MANUEL MENDOZA CHING Toronto Ward 9 CDSB Trustee manuelching048 @gmail.com

GARRY TANUAN Toronto Ward 8 CDSB Trustee tanuanfortrustee. yolasite.com

EMMANUEL YANGA Toronto Ward 7 CDSB Trustee emmyan.ca

LOUROZ MERCADER Mississauga Ward 7 Councillor louroz.com

BARBARA HAZEL TABUNO Mississauga Ward 7 Councillor barbaratabuno. com

ERLINDA INSIGNE York Ward 4/5 CDSB Trustee aninsigne. remaxwest.com

MARLENE MOGADO York Ward 2 CDSB Trustee marlenemogado. blogspot.ca

WILLIE REODICA Whitmore/ Stouffville Councillor williereodica.com

LUZ DEL ROSARIO Duffering-Peel Ward 6/11 Councillor luzdelrosario.ca

ALEX CHIU Markham Councillor alexchiu.ca

Canada News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Vancouver police to wear body cameras for disbanding of homeless camp

BY JAMES KELLER The Canadian Press VANCOUVER — Vancouver’s police force is becoming the latest across the country to outfit officers with wearable video cameras, deploying the devices for the first time ahead of a potential confrontation over a homeless encampment.

Police Chief Jim Chu said as many as eight officers will have small video cameras strapped to their chests as they enforce a court order to disband makeshift shelters in Oppenheimer Park, located in the city’s impoverished Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.

The force described its decision to use body-mounted cameras as a limited trial, and Chu stressed there has been no decision about whether to put such devices into widespread use among patrol officers.

But the chief noted the force already routinely uses handheld video cameras at large public events and protests, and he said wearable cameras will now be

used in such circumstances.

“We think the body-worn video will prevent people from acting in a difficult or violent manner,” Chu said Tuesday.

“We believe people will behave better when they know they’re being recorded.”

A B.C. Supreme Court judge issued a ruling last week ordering the campers at Oppenheimer Park to leave. Tents sprouted up in late July, eventually prompting an eviction notice from the city’s park board, as well as citations from the fire department.

Chu said police didn’t have specific information to suggest there would be violence or other problems at the homeless camp.

The force is using devices manufactured by GoPro, which makes small video cameras that have become popular among extreme sports enthusiasts. The cameras are small, waterproof, nearly indestructible and can be mounted just about anywhere.

Several police forces across the coun❱❱ PAGE 30 Protesters demand

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World News

OCTOBER 17, 2014

South Korea’s central bank cut interest rate to record low, trims growth outlook

BY YOUKYUNG LEE The Associated Press SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — South Korea’s central bank lowered its key interest rate to a record low Wednesday as it tries to bolster a fragile economic recovery. The bank also downgraded its growth forecasts for Asia’s fourthlargest economy.

The Bank of Korea trimmed the key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2 per cent for October. It was the second rate cut this year after the central bank lowered lending costs in August following a deadly ferry disaster, the shock of which dented retail sales and other spending.

It also revised down its growth forecast for South Korea. It said the economy will likely expand 3.5 per cent this

year, not 3.8 per cent it forecast three months earlier, citing slower-than-expected improvements in capital expenditure and consumer spending. Next year, South Korea’s economy will grow 3.9 per cent, instead of 4 per cent.

The 2015 growth forecast

takes into account the government’s big budget plan for 2015, which is expected to add 0.2 of a percentage point to the growth, the bank’s governor Lee Ju-yeol said.

Lee said growth momentum

is “not sufficient” without the government’s expansionary budget.

Analysts expected the rate cut as South Korea’s finance minister had said the recovery in Asia’s fourth-largest economy was fragile. The weak yen and a slow recovery of capital spending were also expected to dent the recovery of the export-driven economy.

The central bank chief said low inflation gave policymakers room to respond to the poor recovery. Policymakers also saw weak sentiment among economic players as a risk to the economy.

“The two interest rate cuts in August and this month are expected to significantly help the recovery of growth momentum,” Lee said.

In February 2009, the bank lowered its policy interest rate to 2 per cent in the wake of the global financial crisis. ■

FRIDAY

Protesters demand Philippine custody of US Marine suspected in killing of Filipino

BY JIM GOMEZ The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Dozens of activists burned a mock U.S. flag as they protested at the U.S. Embassy in Manila on Tuesday, demanding that Washington hand over to the Philippines a U.S. Marine suspected in the killing of a transgender Filipino that the demonstrators labeled a hate crime.

Jeffrey Laude, 26, was found dead, apparently strangled and drowned, beside a toilet bowl in a motel room in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila, shortly after he checked in late Saturday, allegedly with a Marine.

Police said they have identified the Marine suspect with the help of a key witness. Authorities will file a murder com-

plaint against him with prosecutors on Wednesday, national police spokesman Wilben Mayor said.

U.S. Marine spokesman Col. Brad Bartelt said a Marine was being held on board the USS Peleliu in the Subic Bay free port, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Manila, in connection with a joint U.S. Navy and Philippine police investigation into Laude’s death.

About 3,000 U.S. Marines and Navy sailors concluded two weeks of military exercises with Filipino counterparts last Friday and were to leave the Philippines this week.

U.S. Pacific commander Adm. Samuel Locklear, who was in Manila for annual security talks with Philippine defence ❱❱ PAGE 30 Protesters demand

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

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OCTOBER 17, 2014

FRIDAY

FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS:

Gilmore Junio Olympic Speed Skater

BY EARL VON TAPIA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANY PEOPLE work and train hard for hours a day, every day, for years on end, just to get the chance to compete at the highest levels of their sport and represent their country at the Olympic games. Not everyone makes it.

Indeed, this could have been the story of Gilmore Junio, a Filipino-Canadian born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, who near the start of his speed-skating career injured his back and contemplated hanging up his skates all-together. But through

perseverance and the unwavering support of his parents and family, Gilmore found a way to overcome his setbacks, switch gears, and eventually earn the right to represent Canada as a Long Track speed skater at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Like all good Canadian boys though, Gilmore’s first encounter with an ice rink was to play hockey.

“When I heard a bunch of my friends started playing hockey and my brother started playing hockey, that’s kind of how I got into winter sports,” said Gilmore.

Gilmore mentioned how

there was an outdoor rink near his house and that he “basically grew up” on that sheet of ice.

“I would spend 8 hours on some days, weekends and weekdays, just skating there and playing hockey with my friends.

That’s one of the big memories of my childhood, is just playing hockey in that outdoor rink,” he said.

The transition from hockey to speed skating was initiated by his father, Gino.

“I started speed skating when I was 13. My dad was watching TV and he saw an ad for a camp at the [speed skating] oval for speed skating. It was right around the age when we

started hitting in hockey . . . the kids started getting a lot bigger, and I wasn’t getting any bigger, I was still pretty small. I don’t know if he was fearing for my safety or not, but he suggested I try it out,” he said.

Gino had put Gilmore into power skating classes as a child, and that helped Gilmore transition into the sport of speed skating. At one of these speed skating camps, a coach saw the potential he had and suggested Gilmore join the speed skating club.

Gilmore excelled at the skating, but it was the supportive community of speed skaters that helped him stick around.

“The speed skating community has been amazing. I’ve made a lot of friends and met a lot of amazing people . . . everyone was just supportive and wanted everyone to do well. It was something that I hadn’t really been used to, and so it was an environment I wanted to be in,” he said.

But tragedy struck early in his career. Gilmore was a short track speed skater, and during a competition in 2009, he was injured during a race and fractured two of his vertebrae in his back. The injury nearly ended his short career.

“Getting home from that competition where I got in-

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

jured, sitting in my bed with two fracGilmore’s parents Gino and Julie tured vertebrae in my back, having came to Canada from the Philippines thoughts of quitting . . . was that my last separately, but met in Winnipeg in the competition? Was that my last race? 70s. They moved to Calgary in the 80s That was definitely a low point where and started a family. Gilmore has two I didn’t really know what was going to siblings, an older brother and older sishappen,” he said. ter who have been with him “since day But Gilmore quickly decided not to ad- one”. mit defeat. He recuperated and switched Gino was a tool and die manager who gears to the long track discipline. Two worked hard to establish a life here in months later, he was in Moscow repre- Canada, an impression that was not lost senting Canada for the first time at an on Gilmore who says that example was international race. “huge” for him growing up. Gino is now The rest of the story can be described retired. as nothing less than a dream come true.

The rest of his family has also been reIn 2012, he won his first World Cup med- ally supportive of his career. They were al, a silver, in Nagano, Japan. In 2013, there at the side of the track when Gilmhe won his first gold medal at a World ore qualified for the Olympics, and the Cup event in Salt Lake City, USA. Early entire extended Junio clan even joined in 2014, he qualified for his first Winter him in Sochi.

Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

“Sharing that experience with my He made headmom and dad lines in Sochi, who game me though it wasn’t so much and for the most sacrificed a lot ideal reasons. so I could push After finishing through my 10th place in the I can’t reiterate how dream of going 500m event, he great a feeling it is to to the Olympics, gave up his spot share something like that and my brother to teammate with people that knew and sister being Denny Morrison me before I even started there, they’ve who went on to speed skating. been with me win the silver since day one medal in the and they’ve seen 1000m event. how much the Gilmore’s sacsport means to rifice was much me and being an appreciated by Olympian means Denny and his team, and praised by ev- to me, and being able to share that with eryone else for the selfless act. them is definitely a highlight . . . I can’t Despite that, he says that the Sochi reiterate how great a feeling it is to share experience was so far the highlight of his something like that with people that career. knew me before I even started speed “It was almost surreal, it doesn’t feel skating,” he said. like real life . . . it’s just really cool to be For now, Gilmore is still competing around the athletes, you get to see some at competitions. Since the Olympics he of the athletes you watch on TV playing has won a Silver and Bronze medal at hockey, you see them walking around World Cup competitions, in addition to the cafeteria, just like you they’re ath- a 6th place finish. He is also attending letes trying to do their countries proud school, studying coaching and kinesiol. . . when I look back at the Olympics, I ogy to become a physiotherapist for the can’t believe I actually did that,” he said. eventual day that he has to hang up his At every step of the way, from his first competitive skates. days with the speed skating club, all the He hopes to compete in the 2018 Winway to Sochi and beyond, Gilmore al- ter Olympics, when he’ll be 27 years old ways mentioned the love and support he and in his prime. And this time, he’ll go received from his family and how inte- not to just give up his spot and watch gral it was to his success. from the sidelines, but to win the gold. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

26

Seen & Scenes: Vancouver

OCTOBER 17, 2014

FRIDAY

OCTOBER FEST DINNER & DANCE The Filipino community and other guests had a blast during the October Fest Dinner and Dance hosted by the Negrenses Association of B.C. at the St. Patrick’s Hall in Vancouver. Proceeds of the dinner-dance will go to medical missions in Negros Occidental. (Photos by Ron Fierro)

CHARITY CELEBRITY BASKETBALL Pam Media Productions presented on Oct. 10, a friendly basketball game between 5Linx Celebrity Allstar Jason Abalos, Joross Gamboa, Luis Alandy, Derrick Hubalde, Marco Alcaraz, Rodjun Cruz and Onyok Velasco with the Vancouver Narwhals at the UBC War Memorial Gymnasium (photos by Junah Bahena and Freddie Bagunu).

MIGRANTE OPEN HOUSE Migrante B.C. now has a place where they can meet Filipino Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), caregivers and immigrants who need their assistance. According to them, Bahay Migrante is a welcoming space where immigrants, migrants and advocates gather to share their stories of struggle and hope.

For photo submissions, please email info@canadianinquirer.net. www.canadianinquirer.net

Seen & Scenes: Toronto

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

27

MS. PARALUMAN CANDIDATES The Filipino Centre Toronto (FCT) recently launched their search for the 2014 Miss Paraluman. The lovely candidates vying for the title are: Naisy Moroto, Rizzelyn Catequista, Angeline Failano, Cristina Servito, and Merlie Fernando.

FILIPINO ADVISORY COMMITTEE The Filipino-Canadian community in Toronto has reason to rejoice over the critical decision made by the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TDSCB), the largest Catholic school system in North America, to establish and employ a Filipino Advisory Committee. This was realized after numerous meetings, initiated by TCDSB Ward 8 Trustee Garry Tanuan and charter officers of Filipino Canadian Parents Association in Catholic Education with the school board.

TORONTO CONSULATE WOOS SNOWBIRDS The Philippine Consulate in Toronto led by Consul General Junever Mahilum-West recently launched Winter Escapade 2, a unique group tour targeting the so-called “snowbirds� of Canada. The trip will be held on Jan. 30 to Feb.6, 2015, and includes visits to the islands of Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Bohol and Cebu. Riding on the success of the first Winter Escapade in January 2014, next year's Winter Escapade eight-day, seven-night package is expected to attract hundreds of Filipino-Canadian and mainstream visitors. www.canadianinquirer.net

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Community News

OCTOBER 17, 2014

FRIDAY

Local caregivers reveal gov’t plans to change Live-In Caregiver Program IN THE past months, the federal government has signaled that it will overhaul the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) in response to alleged concerns that the program is “out of control” and has “mutated” into a family reunification program.

Local caregiver groups say the changes might include the elimination of the program altogether and given that the government has only engaged in “closed door consultations” – they are worried any changes will only worsen the situation of live-in caregivers. And that in effect, the government will be re-shaping the future of the program without consulting the communities that will be most impacted by the proposed changes.

Since the program’s inception, foreign workers, mostly women of colour from developing countries have come to Canada to help raise Canadian families and provide invaluable, expert care for our children, our elderly and our loved ones with disabilities.

But the program is harrowing for live-in caregivers and the long years of separation from their families is especially difficult.

“The program causes stress

and anxiety for live-in caregivers and their families due to the uncertainty of becoming permanent residents after two years of working and living in their employers’ homes,” says Julie Diesta of the Committee for Domestic Workers and Caregivers Rights.

In reality, many live-in caregivers are separated from their families for five to eight years because permanent residence applications take so long to process.

Abella Morales, a live-in caregiver and Nilda Pacris, a former live-in caregiver agree. “I’ve missed many of my children’s milestones already. Three weeks ago, my youngest daughter had surgery and my heart just broke when I saw her on the webcam crying. I wanted to hug her but I couldn’t,” said Morales, who has been separated five years from her family and is also a Migrante-BC member.

Pacris, a member of West Coast Domestic Workers’ Association, added that “family separation is so painful. Kids grow up, they are strangers to you by the time they can come to Canada.”

Along with the long years of separation, live-in caregivers

also face exploitation, abuse and violations of employment standards like long working hours, unpaid work and unpaid overtime are often not reported by caregivers because they fear losing their jobs, the roof over their heads and the chance of becoming permanent residents in Canada.

The real concerns voiced by live-in caregivers, their families and their employers underlie the urgent need for reform of the LCP. However, any reform has to be guided by these concerns and the changes have to be led by the individuals who have lived through the program and those who continue to do so today.

The government should meaningfully consult with livein caregiver communities. If they do so, they will hear what the community has demanded for decades: to be granted permanent residence status upon arrival and the abolition of the live-in requirement of the program. These changes will eliminate many of the barriers and challenges live-in caregivers encounter and will result in a fairer family care policy, one that does not transfer the cost of care to those undertaking the care. ■

Caregivers meet Liberal Party pol

LEADERS OF different caregiver organizations and community advocates recently met with the Liberal Party Immigration critic John McCallum and discussed the Liberal Party's platform on overseas Filipino workers at Filipino Centre Toronto. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

PH products go mainstream at Ottawa Expo WITH THE support of the Department of Tourism’s New York Office, the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, Canada showed off Philippine tourist destinations as well as an assortment of Philippine crafts and food products at the First Ottawa International Expo (OIE) – International Food and Drink Soirée on Oct.14, at the Ottawa Convention Centre.

Organized by Events by Starfish, the Expo spotlighted food, beverage and crafts from Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.

Smartly put together, the Philippine booth displayed iconic images of Bohol, Palawan, Davao, Boracay, Cebu and Batangas and non-stop movie clips of other fun attractions of the Philippines in full view of over 2,000 Canadian visitors who flocked to the expo.

The expo also presented an opportunity for the embassy to market Winter Escapade 2, a customized visitor package targeting Filipinos and mainstream tourists from Canada and the United States. Riding on the success of the maiden tour in January 2014, the next Winter Escapade will bring participants to Dumaguete, Siquijor or Apo Island, Bohol, Cebu and Makati over eight days and seven nights from Jan.30 to Feb. 6, 2015.

Dressing up the Philippine booth were finely-made shell craft, jewelry, baskets, woodcraft, tapestries and other tra-

ditionalwoven fabrics from the Cagayan Valley, Iloilo and Cotabato and other provinces in Mindanao.

Throughout the soirée, more than a thousand visitors lined up at the Philippine booth to sample Philippine tropical fruit juices, bar snacks, dried mangoes and candies as well as turonitos which the Embassy sourced from local stores with a view to stimulating demand for Philippine processed foods beyond an ethnic market.

Lively entertainment at the expo featured the Tinikling presented by the Philippine Dance Troupe of Ottawa. Philippineborn deejay David Deez played music from all over the world, including some hits from his native country.

Philippine Ambassador to Canada, Petronila P. Garcia, initiated the embassy’s participation in the event. “The response to our tourism and trade offerings at the First Ottawa International Expo has been overwhelmingly positive.

Our Canadian visitors simply kept coming back for more of our food and fruit juices. Many were sufficiently informed and visibly enticed by our displays and samples to the extent of considering the Philippines as their next holiday destination. After this evening’s expo, I am confident that the fruits of our Philippine tourism and trade promotion in Canada will continue to multiply by word of mouth,” Ambassador Garcia said. ■

Immigration

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

29

Alleged human smugglers from Cuba, Sri Lanka taking case to Supreme Court THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — A cook who says he was forced into work on a human smuggling ship that showed up on the B.C. coast five years ago will be among several passengers and crew to have their cases heard by Canada’s top court.

The Supreme Court said last week it plans to look at a number of cases calling into question the depth and breadth of Canada’s human smuggling laws.

Four of the five cases the court will consider together involve people connected to the arrival of ships full of Sri Lankan migrants off the coast of B.C. The first ship arrived in 2009 with 76 Sri Lankan Tamils aboard; the second, the MV Sun Sea, came in 2010 with 492 migrants.

Their arrival prompted a national debate about Canada’s existing refugee and human smuggling legislation, and spurred the government into promising a crackdown.

Passengers on the ships paid between $30,000 and $40,000 for a berth on the voyage and made refugee claims upon their arrival.

But those who worked on the ships were arrested and charged as human smugglers. Those charges, along with the subsequent immigration proceedings, are what will be examined by the high court.

In three cases, the people claim they were forced to work on the ships after they were abandoned by the original crew,

and as a result should not have been caught up under existing laws.

In a fourth case, four crew members argued that Canada’s human smuggling laws are simply too broad, and could result in humanitarian workers or even family members being charged for helping those in need.

The B.C. Supreme Court agreed, but that decision was overturned on appeal.

“Parliament intended to create a broad offence with no exceptions, directed to concerns

of border control and the particular issue of deterring and penalizing those who assist others in entering Canada illegally,” B.C. Court of Appeal Justice Kathryn Neilson said in a written ruling.

The fifth case on human smuggling to be considered by the Supreme Court involves a Cuban man arrested for running a smuggling boat to the U.S. When he was deported, he made a refugee claim in Canada but was turned away because of his conviction. ■

Space squeezed border agency pondered putting immigrants in federal prisons

BY JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canada’s border agency pursued the idea of putting immigrant detainees in federal prison despite concerns about locking up newcomers with violent offenders.

Canada Border Services Agency president Luc Portelance raised the possibility with the federal Correctional Service because the border agency feared running out of space to hold people, newly disclosed documents show.

The proposal provides an inside glimpse of a federal organization straining to find accommodation for the immigrants it puts behind bars as the government was bolstering its powers to detain more newcomers.

In a letter to Correctional Service commissioner Don Head, Portelance noted the border agency was assessing options for “increasing its capacity” and wanted to explore the prison service’s “expertise and facilities to hold immigration detainees.”

The border agency holds people who are considered a flight risk or a danger to the public, and those whose identities cannot be confirmed.

It has also become easier to detain newcomers. Federal

changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allow officials to hold people 16 or older who enter Canada as part of an “irregular arrival” — a group whose origins are unclear or a case where criminal human smuggling is suspected.

An internal border agency background memo notes the organization has three immigration holding centres across Canada, but relies on provincial jails in other locations to house higher-risk detainees.

“In some cases, the provinces have indicated their intention to cease holding detainees

in the long term or limit how many individuals can be held within their facilities,” the memo says.

It adds that the federal government’s “current legislative agenda concerning immigration matters and the potential for an increase in the daily detained population” make discussions with the prison service necessary.

The documents, prepared in early 2012, were recently released under the Access to Information Act. Neither the border agency nor the prison service would make anyone available for an www.canadianinquirer.net

interview. However, in emailed answers to questions, the agencies confirmed that discussions about use of federal prisons took place.

The border agency did an internal review of options for the detention program that was presented to the organization’s executive for approval early this year, said agency spokeswoman Line Guibert-Wolff.

“As a result of this process, in February 2014, the CBSA decided that federal correctional facilities would not be used to hold immigration detainees.”

Guibert-Wolff refused to say why the decision was taken.

The Canadian Red Cross Society, which monitors conditions for immigrants held by the border agency, warned as early as its 2008-09 report about the problems involved with keeping newcomers locked up alongside violent offenders.

The practice can be “extremely stressful” for some newcomers, the society’s report for 2012-13 says, especially for refugee claimants who have experienced armed conflict, torture or other traumatic experiences.

The border agency is examining increased use of alternatives to detention, including electronic ankle bracelets and special telephone reporting systems to keep track of immigrants it considers a risk.

Still, the government is moving towards reliance on detaining immigrants as an everyday measure as opposed to “something that would be used as a last resort,” said Stephanie Silverman, a research associate on detention and asylum with a network that brings together scholars and policy-makers.

“You’re beginning this move that almost normalizes detention into the fabric of immigration control,” Silverman said.

“We should be talking about detention itself as the alternative to the norm, which should be release — which is how it was for many years.” ■

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OCTOBER 17, 2014

Vancouver police...

Protesters demand...

try have experimented with body-mounted cameras, though for the most part they have proceeded slowly. Municipal forces in Calgary and Toronto have recently announced plans to expand the use of cameras.

The potential growth of body-mounted cameras — adding yet another form of police surveillance — has raised privacy concerns, though even some civil liberties and police watchdog groups have cautiously endorsed the technology as a way to keep officers accountable.

Conversely, police departments have argued in favour of cameras to protect officers against unfounded allegations of abuse, insisting grainy cellphone videos that find their way onto YouTube rarely tell the whole story.

“It’ll show the officer using force,” Chu said, referring to video clips shot by members of the public, “but it won’t show what led up to it.”

Rick Parent, a former police officer from Delta, B.C., who is now a professor in Simon Fraser University’s police studies program, said cameras can help

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Vancouver Police (shown here in riot gear) will test out wearable cameras this week.

2010 LEGAL OBSERVERS / FLICKR

the public and the police.

“There’s an argument that it will keep both sides more civil, so the police are going to try harder to use tactical communication skills and will be even less likely to use force, and also the public may be a little more responsive, more co-operative,” Parent said in an interview.

“The other positive thing is that if the police officer is abusing his or her authority or using excessive force, we’re going to see that clearly.”

Parent pointed to research out of the United States that has shown a drop in police complaints in jurisdictions where cameras

are used, though he said more research is needed in Canada.

Josh Paterson, executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said forces must adopt comprehensive policies to ensure the technology isn’t abused.

“We know that it can be quite useful under certain circumstances, but there needs to be clear protocols in place that balance the interests of police on the one hand with privacy rights,” said Paterson.

Paterson said the Vancouver Police Department should have created such protocols before using body-mounted cameras, even on a limited basis. ■

officials, initially ordered the Peleliu and other Navy ships to stay in the Philippines pending an investigation into the killing.

All the ships except the Peleliu were later cleared to leave the country as the investigation progressed, according to Philippine officials.

“We will continue to co-operate fully with the Philippine law enforcement authorities in every aspect of the investigation,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington.

The thorny issue emerged amid a blossoming of security ties between the United States and the Philippines, which have both been vocal critics of China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea. The longtime military allies signed a new accord in April that allows greater U.S. military access to Philippine military camps across the country.

Military chief of staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said the incident destroyed the positive image of the just-concluded military exercise, in which the suspect in the killing took part,

but added that “this will not affect our relationship with the United States.”

“We’re alarmed and hurt because the victim was a fellow Filipino,” Catapang told a news conference. “We have to give justice for his untimely death.”

Police said Laude’s attacker may have been angered when he discovered in the motel room that Laude was a transgender individual or because of an argument sparked by other reasons.

On Tuesday, about 40 young activists waved red flags and yelled “U.S. troops out now” in a protest that ended with the burning of a mock American flag at the heavily secured U.S. Embassy. Riot police stopped them from getting close to the seaside compound.

Two protest leaders tearfully demanded that the U.S. military hand over the Marine to the Philippine government, saying he should be detained in a local jail.

“This is just so abominable.

It’s one of the worst hate crimes I’ve seen,” said Corky Hope Maranan, a leader of a group of transgender and lesbian Filipinos. ■

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FRIDAY

Immigration

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

31

PANGARAP : SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

So, Which Job Search Help Organization is Right for you? genuineness of its staff. From there, I went on to discover that kindness and good people still abound and are just waiting for us to discover and claim for ourselves.

These different organizations may compete for your name for their statistics. As in any government-funded organization, they need clients and good programs to continue to get support from government or to raise their own funds.

Nevertheless, I believe that beyond the mission and vision that ensure them of funding, many of these organizations have evolved into a loving community of people working together to welcome the newcomers and bring fulfillment of dreams.

You as a client may start off as a mere number, but to me, how

And it is getting the client into the workforce that presBY BOLET ents the biggest challenge. CuAREVALO riously enough, only a few of these organizations include job placement as a direct service.

NO JOB search organization But yes, they do have bulletin will be good enough for a jobboards or job alerts for you. And seeker who does not persevere.

I would say that being able to All of these organizations want help you get a job also depends to help, but in the end, only you on the quality of their staff. can best help yourself.

Based on my personal experiPacking your bags and upence, if the organization’s emrooting your family are maployees have genuine concern jor decisions. There should be for each client, these employees enough reasons to say to yourgo out of their own way to give self “I can make this work.” tips and referrals for their cliThat is where all sorts of govents even if that may not be part ernment-funded programs of their job description. That to come in to extend the best asme is simply awesome. sistance to new immigrants to In my first year in Canada, I start a life and succeed in it in signed on with at least four of the long term. these organizations. I was told Pretty soon, as you start asduring my time that you may similating the immigrant’s life, enlist with more than one orgayou will realnization for difize that the host ferent programs government but you cannot really tries to be enlisted in make migration There is no organization good enough any two at the a sound business to help you if you do not have the same time for a proposition. strength of character to persevere to job search case This is not to get yourself into the workforce. management remake money out lationship. You of those coming are “owned” by in, but to prove an organizathat the country tion for at least applies serious effort to make you convert yourself from plain 90 days before you can transanybody’s immigration deci- statistics into a success story fer to another one. Hopping to sion worth its while. is pretty much a result of your another organization is someThe many years that Canada own hard work and willingness thing you do sometimes when has been following this massive to be helped in the process. you want to fast-track your job immigration program have givAs you get acquainted with search. But it did not matter to en room for the birth of quite a these organizations, it may not me that much because, luckily number of non-profit, govern- always be a rose-colored rela- for me, I was not in such a hurry ment-funded institutions or or- tionship through and through, to get a job for at least one year. ganizations offering assistance and there could be some disBut how do you really choose to one’s job search. appointments in the process. the fairest of them all?

Please allow me to mention Be that as it may, to me what You don’t. the one that first welcomed matters most is the sincerity of There is no organization good me, the Multicultural Help- each group to help immigrants enough to help you if you do not ing House Society, whose big- prepare for a new life and get have the strength of character gest asset, I think, lies in the them back into the workforce. to persevere to get yourself into

www.canadianinquirer.net

the workforce.

May I refer again to my friend who, after having only landed for two weeks, got her first job and then an even better one after another six weeks. And I asked her, how did she do it?

As soon as she affiliated herself with one of these organizations, she wasted no time and effort following up and asking them for tips and leads. She seriously persevered.

Migration is such a serious mission in a country like Canada that job search help organizations abound. These organizations may compete for your name to use for their statistics,

but it is really up to you how to convert your own statistics into a success story. Only those who seriously persevere in their job search make it ahead of their own timetable, with assistance from these organizations. ■ 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. Please check out https:// www.amazon.com/author/boletarevalo.

32

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Entertainment Pinay teener bags a spot on X Factor Australia’s Top 3

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Chiz Escudero and Heart Evangelista.

INSTAGRAM PHOTO

Heart says: ‘My parents cannot bear to see me get married’

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA – With her February 15, 2015 wedding date now less than four months away, actresspainter Heart Evangelista has a lot to look forward to; despite the likelihood that her parents will be absent on the day she ties the knot with Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Heart revealed on the talk show “Basta Every Day, Happy” that although her parents, Rey and Cecile Ongpauco, have given her and Escudero their blessing to wed, they still have no intentions of attending the ceremony to be held at Balesin Island Club.

“Although ibinigay nila ‘yung blessing na magpakasal, hindi raw talaga nila kayang makitang magpakasal ako, Pero, the good news, pinayagan nila lahat ng mga kapatid ko [na pumunta]. (Although they have given their blessing to be married, they really cannot bear

to see me get married. But the good news is that they have allowed all my siblings to attend),” she said.

“Magkikita na lang kami pagdating ko sa Manila, pero sa kasal… Okay na siguro, kung nahihirapan sila. Ako lang naman siguro makakaintindi no’n, so okay lang sa akin. Video nalang ipapakita ko (I will just see them when I return to Manila, but at the wedding ceremony…

I suppose it’s ok, if it is difficult for them. I will be the only one to be preoccupied about their absence anyway, so that’s ok with me. I will just show them the video),” she added.

Last year, Evangelista’s parents publicly expressed their disapproval of 29-year-old Heart’s relationship with Escudero, who is 15 years her senior.

At a press conference in March 2013, the Ongpauco couple called on Escudero to leave their daughter and accused him of being a disrespectful alcoholic.

Heart stood her ground, and

chose to live apart from her family in order to continue her relationship with Escudero.

She was not on speaking terms with her father until July 2013, and with her mother until only recently; patching things up with her in May 2014.

Heart admitted, however, that despite being on speaking terms again with both her parents, they have yet to fully accept Escudero as her fiancé and soon-to-be-husband.

Still, Heart remains hopeful about things to come. “[I'm looking forward to] the everyday life lang. Finally, relaxed na kayo. Wala kayong pag-aawayan, dahil lahat nalang pinag-aawayan niyo dati (The time that you have nothing left to fight about, because you’ve already fought about everything inb the past.). Siguro ngayon, mag-se-settle na kami (Maybe now, this will all finally settle.). The consistency of a life together is what I look forward to,” she said. ■

MARLISA PUNZALAN, the Filipina teener who has been wowing judges on the X Factor Australia, has made it into the show’s Top 3 finalists.

Fifteen-year-old Punzalan went head-to-head with fellowcontestant and crowd favorite Reigan Derry on Monday night’s Live Decider episode; battling it out to round out the Top 3.

Brothers 3 and Dean Ray secured spots for themselves after receiving the highest votes.

Derry gave it her all with her version of “Hallelujah,” but it was the Filipina’s rendition of “Help” by the Beatles

that sealed the deal, snagging Punzalan a spot in the Top 3.

On Sunday’s episode, Punzalan nailed the Alicia Keys song “Girl on Fire,” which led one of the show’s judges, Dannii Minogue to enthuse: “You are on fire. Not only have you stepped into your voice and confidence, but you are mastering those rounds. Amazing.”

Redfoo, another judge, lauded Punzalan for her “great vocal” whilst advising her to beef up on the “body language.”

Punzalan is the only Filipino performer to make it to the finals, with all-Filipina girl group, Trill, having been eliminated early on in the show.

The Top 3 will duke it out in next week’s season finals. ■

Marlisa Punzalan (in white) and Reigan Derry (in red) on Monday night’s Live Decider show FACEBOOK PHOTO

Entertainment

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Lucy Torres-Gomez and husband Richard Gomez.

33

FACEBOOK PHOTO

Words of wisdom; from Lucy Torres-Gomez to Marian Rivera

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer WITH THE wedding of celebrated showbiz couple Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera merely three months away, renowned personality Lucy Torres-Gomez has offered Marian some gems of wisdom from her own 16-year marriage to actor Richard Gomez.

Lucy, who is a guest judge on the “Celebrity Showdance” segment of Marian, shared tidbits about wedding preparations and married life.

“It’s really a fun time for any girl’s life, so namnamin mo talaga (Really savour this time). You are in that stage now. Namnamin mo, kasi by the time na ikakasal kayo, panibago ang chapter ng buhay niyo, so you adjust to being a housewife na araw-araw kayo magkasama, pero ang saya lang. (Savour it, because by the time you are to be married, that opens a new chapter of your life together, so you adjust to hbeing a housewife, being together (with your husband) everyday, but it is really a lot of fun),” Lucy told Marian.

When asked by Marian if there was ever a point at which Lucy almost gave up on married life, and what kept the relationship together, Lucy said it is her friendship with Richard that keeps them bonded.

“Meron din, kasi siyempre 16 years [kami]. Everyday kayo magkasama. I always say na every couple, hindi lang lov-

ers (Yes, we have encountered those times, because we’ve been together 16 years. Everyday that you are together, I always say that every couple should be more than just lovers). You also have to be the best of friends kasi lagi kong sinasabi kay Richard, one day, ‘pag 85 na kami, tapos kulu-kulubot na, ‘pag nawala ‘yung looks, it’s important na something holds you together (you also have to be the best of friends as I always tell Richard, one day, when we are 85, and all wrinkled, when the looks are gone, it’s important that something holds you together). That’s the friendship that you have,” stated Lucy.

Lucy further advised Marian to “Just be yourself,” urging her to make Dingdong her “best friend” and not to keep secretes from each other.

“Make him your best friend and huwag kayo magtago ng sikreto (and do not keep secrets).

I am able to tell Richard everything, siya rin (he too). Ang pundasyon niyo talaga (Your true foundation) is the time you spend together and the memories you make kasi ‘pag nasanay kayo na lagi kayong busy sa ginagawa niyo individually, hindi niyo na hahanapin (because if you become accustomed to always being busy with your individual activities, you will no longer look for your time together).

Find time talaga kasi masasanay kayo na hindi kayo laging magkasama (Find time together, otherwise you will gro used to always being apart),” Lucy said. ■

Model-TV host Valerie Weigmann is new Miss World Philippines

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Valerie Clacio Weigmann, Filipino- German-Danish commercial model and host of noontime TV show “Eat Bulaga,” was crowned Miss World Philippines 2014 at the pageant held on Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Manila.

The 24-year-old beauty, who originally hails from the province of Albay, was alos bestowed several other special awards, namely: Best in Swimsuit, Best www.canadianinquirer.net

Valerie Weigmann.

FACEBOOK PHOTO

in Fashion Runway and Best in Long Gown. Miss Solaire, Miss Filia, Miss Jesi Mendez, Miss Reducin, Miss Olay, Miss Bench, Miss Camarines Sur, Miss Hana and Miss Blue Water Day Spa. Runners-up of the Philippine franchise of the international Miss World beauty stint were: Lorraine Kendrickson, First Princess; Nelda Ibe, Second Princess; Nicole Donesa, Third Princess; and Rachel Peters, Fourth Princess.

Weigmann received her crown from reigning Miss World and fellow-Filipina, Megan Young. ■

34

Entertainment

OCTOBER 17, 2014 FRIDAY

Hayden, on celibacy and suicide attempts

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA – From sex-video scandal to celibate, it seems that model / doctor-turned actor Hayden Kho has made a 180-degree turn. Kho reached the peak of infamy after a sex video of his was leaked in 2009, with dire consequences to his medical career.

Kho appeared as a guest on Saturday’s episode of the TV talk show “The Bottomline,” during which host Boy Abunda asked him whether he still enjoys sex following the video scandal and all its negative effects. Kho replied that he has been celibate for months now, choosing to abstain from sexual activities outside of marriage.

“The design, I think, is sex is for those who are bonded into marriage, and I’m not yet married so I can’t,” he explained.

He also shared his belief that sex is pleasurable when not “distorted” or ”unnatural.”

“If that happens, when I do that again, I’m sure it’s going to be pleasurable because sex is made to be pleasurable. It’s

only when you distort your idea of sex, add things that are not supposed to be there, mga unnatural, it doesn’t become pleasurable anymore,” Kho said.

Kho went on to reveal darker details about the months directly before and after the video scandal. He admitted to feeling that life had lost all meaning, and that he tried to commit suicide twice.

He shared that the first attempt to take his life was in 2008 – before the video scandal exploded online an on the media – shortly after he found out that someone had gotten hold of the hard drives on which the videos were saved.

“At that time, I was very proud of myself. Maybe, full of pride of myself. I was mayabang (boastful) because I was only 26, and I was a doctor, I was a model, and I was making lots of money. And I was, sumisikat na ako, tapos (I was becoming famous, and then), and I have lots of girls, parang (it’s like), ‘Wow, this is the life.’ And then all of a sudden, everything was gonna be taken away from me,” Kho said.

“When I found out that they

Hayden Kho.

got all the hard drives and the videos and all that, I was afraid of what was going to happen, and I didn’t wanna see that, because that would mean I will lose who I am,” he noted.

His first suicide attempt left him in a three-day coma. When he recovered, he was confined under psychiatric care at the hospital.

He explained that he became

Derek says Angelica accepted his apology

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA – Actor Derek Ramsay, embroiled in yet another lawsuit filed against him by estranged wife Mary Christine Jolly, said that his former girlfriend, Angelica Panganiban, has accepted his apology for having been dragged into the latest legal battle between him and his ex-spouse.

On Wednesday, Jolly filed concubinage complaints against Ramsay and Panagniban at the office of the Parañaque City prosecutor.

Speaking to reporters from ABS-CBNnews.com on Thursday night, Ramsay said that he has already spoken with Panganiban and her mother to offer his apologies for the situation; and although he cannot do anything to reverse Jolly’s deci-

Derek Ramsay.

sion, he felt the need to reach out to Panganiban.

“I… I spoke to her and the mom. Ayaw ko nang pag-usapan ‘yung sa amin ni Angel (I do not want to speak of matters concerning me and Angel.) I just want to reach out to her and her family. That’s the right thing to do… Her name is being dragged and it’s just right for me to apologize. I can’t stop somebody

from filing any case, they can go ahead and do that. Hindi ko siya mapipigilan (I cannot stop her (Jolly)),” he said.

Reporters then asked if his apology was accepted, to which Derek replied: “Yeah, yeah.”

Panganiban, who is now dating actor John Lloyd Cruz, was Ramsay’s girlfriend for several year following his estrangement from his wife.

Ramsay expressed his happiness that Panganiban is in a good place in her relationship with Cruz, and said: “I don’t want to get involved in their relationship. I am happy that they are both happy together.

For me, nadawit ang pangalan ni Angel (Angel’s name was involved) and I have, you know, six years of my life with Angel.

So I’ll do anything that I can to protect her. Hindi ko siya papabayaan (I will not neglect her).” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

JAYBERDEZ / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

paranoid, at the thought that the videos were in someone else’s hands.

“Matatakutin na ako noon, kasi anytime, pwede nang lumabas ‘yun eh, ‘yung mga videos eh. And noong May 2009, on my birthday, doon inilabas ‘yung mga videos, (I was so full of fear at the time, because at anytime, they could come out, the videos.

And on May 2009, on my birth-

day, that’s when they leaked the videos),” Kho said.

Kho shared how he tried to convince the man who illicitly obtained the videos not to release them, primarily for the safety of the women involved.

“I remembered before that happened I was making pakiusap (persuading) to that guy, whose name I wouldn’t mention anymore, ‘Why do you have to do this? Hindi naman ikaw ang kaaway ko, wala naman akong kasalanan sa ’yo. Tsaka paano ‘yung ibang babae? (You are not my enemy, I have no fault against you. And what of the women?). Why?’ Sabi niya (He said), ‘Hindi (No), this is justice. Ginawa niyo ‘yan, pagbabayaran niyo yan (You did those acts, you will pay for those acts.),” Kho recounted.

“Noong time na ‘yun, wala akong masabing tama, Tito Boy. The whole nation wanted my head, and I couldn’t say anything right at all. I was really the most hated man in the Philippines at that time,” he recalled.

The medical board moved to strip Kho of his license to practice, which was restored only in recent months. ■

Vice Ganda in hospital; Vhong and Anne ask for prayers

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Vice Ganda, comedian and popular TV show host, is getting some downtime as he has been confined in hospital on account of a fever and stomach issues.

“Thursday pa lang GGV (Gandang Gabi Vice taping) not feeling well na siya. Friday hindi siya nakapag-Showtime pero pinilit niyang makapag-shooting ng Praybeyt Benjamin. Saturday nagsho-shooting and he was telling me na ‘Hindi okay. Mayroon akong hindi magandang pakiramdam,’ (Thursday, GGV (taping), he was already not feeling well. Friday, he was not in Showtime but he tried to finishing shooting for Praybeyt Benjamin.

Saturday, he was shooting and he was telling me ‘I am not okay. I do not feel well.’),” Kris said.

Meanwhile, Vhong Navarro and Anne Curtis, co-hosts of Vice on It’s Showtime, encouraged the audience to pray for the comedian.

On the Tuesday episode of the noontime variety show, Navarro said: “Ipagdasal natin si Vice kasi baka lang – baka lang – sa kidney niya may cyst na nakita eh. Basta ipagdasal lang natin si Vice, (Let us pray for Vice, because there might – just might – have been a cyst spotted in the kidney. Let us just pray for him.)”

“Kaya nga undergoing siya ng tests kaninang umaga. So let’s keep him in our prayers. (That is why he went through tests this morning.) Get well soon, sis.” Anne said. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

35

Neil Patrick Harris brings atypical life to bookshelves with ‘Choose Your Own Autobiography’

BY ANTHONY MCCARTNEY The Associated Press

make pathways from one to the other and have one story dead end that sends you back to a different spot you haven’t read beNEW YORK — From starring in fore or you have to start over. It two popular TV series, hosting became its own bit of a puzzle. award shows and appearing on AP: Is it possible to read the Broadway, Neil Patrick Harris book straight through? has many experiences to fill a Harris: We tried to make it book. a bit linear so you can pretty Yet, when the opportunity much follow a main path but arose, he didn’t feel he was at a you can take side road trips as place in his life where he could it goes along. Almost like a good write a memoir. variety show. You can see some “Part of that process is to be serious conversations about edable to have larger morals to ucational things, my childhood pass on, and at 41, that’s not how or how (a) specific event was acI’m processing information complished ... and then if you’re yet,” the actor said by phone. bored ... you can learn how to (Harris and husband-actor- make pasta Bolognese sauce chef, David Burtka, are settling and then you can hop right back into their New York home with in and read about the ‘Doogie their 4-year-old twins.)

Howser’ years and then when He chose the format of you feel like your head is spin“Choose Your Own Adventure” ning you can go make yourself a based on children’s game books great cocktail. for “Choose Your Own AutoAP: You’ve been so busy biography.” Harris shares his jumping from television’s “How experiences, insight and anec- I Met Your Mother” to Broaddotes in a nonlinear, second- way to promoting your book person perspecand the movie tive.

“Gone Girl.” Is Harris talked there time off in about the book, your future? slowing down Part of that Harris: The and staying chalprocess is to rest of the year lenged. be able to have is actively dediAssociated larger morals to cated to doing Press: The forpass on, and at less. ... We just mat for your 41, that’s not how moved to New book seems like I’m processing York full-time a great idea but information yet. and we’re still difficult to exein renovation. ... cute. Is that corI’m a big nester. rect?

I enjoy organizHarris: It was ing things. This much more difficult to execute has been a lovely respite from than I had originally thought, entertainment chaos. but I love playing with strucAP: How do you find the next ture and challenging myself thing to keep you challenged? with different types of experiHarris: I’m not really sure. It ences. I love directing theatre speaks a little bit to the way my that doesn’t necessarily take life is working these days. The place on a stage. I love mov- structure of my book is similar ies that start where you think to the structure of my profesthey’re a movie about one thing sional life at the moment ... (and) end up being about some- dabbling in all sorts of different thing else. ... We made a lot of disciplines. ... I don’t feel like I small stories and tried to then have to choose one right now. ■

Kesha performing live during the Get Sleazy Tour, her first headlining tour, in 2011.

ESKIMO_JO / FLICKR

Kesha, producer Dr. Luke file rival lawsuits over claims of abuse he calls extortion

BY ANTHONY MCCARTNEY The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Kesha and her mentor and producer filed dueling lawsuits Tuesday over the pop singer’s claims she was subjected to nearly a decade of sexual and emotional abuse.

Kesha’s lawsuit filed in Los Angeles accuses hit-making producer Dr. Luke of raping her and subjecting her to other sexual and emotional abuse for nearly a decade. The abuse led the “Tik Tok” singer to develop a severe eating disorder that required her to enter rehab earlier this year, according to the lawsuit.

Dr. Luke, whose real name is Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald, filed a lawsuit against Kesha in New York calling the claims defamatory and saying his protege is making them in an attempt to extort him into giving her a better recording deal.

Kesha’s suit does not specify when the alleged rape occurred, but her attorney wrote that the singer didn’t report the abuse to anyone out of fear of retaliation by Dr. Luke.

“She lived in a prison of his abuse and was terrified of speaking, messaging, tweeting or doing anything at all that www.canadianinquirer.net

he might disapprove of in the event that he would later use it to torture her and her family, as he had done so many times before,” the lawsuit states.

Her lawsuit seeks to invalidate recording agreements she signed with Dr. Luke and his recording company when she turned 18. Kesha, whose real name is Kesha Rose Sebert, is a Nashville native who was lured to Los Angeles by Dr. Luke with promises of a music career, her suit states.

“As set forth in the complaint that we have filed on behalf of Dr. Luke, Kesha and her mother are engaged in a campaign of publishing outrageous and untrue statements about Dr. Luke to third parties, including scurrilous and false statements of purported physical and mental abuse of Kesha,” Dr. Luke’s attorney Christine Lepera wrote in a statement.

Kesha’s attorney, Mark Geragos, said Tuesday that the producer’s lawsuit was legal gamesmanship and not unexpected.

“This is exactly the way he plays,” Geragos said. “He abuses people.”

Geragos said Kesha is finally healthy enough to confront her mentor.

“She’s finally at a point where

she can deal with it and wants to deal with it, wants him out of her life and wants him held accountable,” Geragos said.

Dr. Luke has been one of the music industry’s most consistent pop hit-makers in the past decade. He’s produced or coproduced several hits for Katy Perry, including “Roar” and “Teenage Dream” and worked with Rihanna, Britney Spears, Pitbull, Flo Rida and Miley Cyrus on her hit, “Wrecking Ball.”

Kesha’s suit accuses him of lobbing insults at her about her appearance, her vocals, and repeatedly threatened her and her family. Kesha’s mother is her songwriting partner, according to the lawsuit.

Her lawsuit states that doctors who treated Kesha earlier this year have warned her that continued contact with Dr. Luke would be life-threatening, the lawsuit states.

Lepera wrote that she had not yet seen Kesha’s lawsuit, but was “confident that Dr. Luke will prevail in all matters, and that our client will be awarded substantial damages for this malicious conduct.” ■ Associated Press Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu in New York contributed to this report.

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Lifestyle SEEING THE LIGHT

New implant dramatically improves ability to see

BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press TORONTO — It’s not exactly the bionic eye that gave the Six Million Dollar Man of 1970s TV fame extraordinary vision, but a new implant is helping some people with virtually no sight due to degenerative retinal diseases to make out light and dark, and it may one day dramatically improve their ability to see.

Doctors at Toronto Western Hospital have implanted the Argus Retinal Prosthesis System in the first two patients as part of a 10-person clinical study, the first such operations performed in Canada.

The device implanted in the eye uses a tiny patch containing 60 electrodes that transfer image impulses to the retinal nerves, which then travel through the main optic nerve to the brain for processing.

The images are sent to the eye through a tiny video camera on the bridge of a special pair of glasses, which are wired to a small computer modulator worn outside the body.

“It stimulates the eye directly,” ophthalmologist-inchief Dr. Robert Devenyi said of the device, explaining that it bypasses the layer of the eye where the rods and cones would normally produce sight impulses. In patients with retinitis pigmentosa and other degenerative retinal diseases, the rods and cells are missing.

Orly Shamir, who was born

with Leber Congenital Amaurosis, received the first implant June 5, and she has already seen improvement in her ability to discern light from dark — something she has not been able to do for the last 10 years.

Shamir, 46, said she had limited vision as a child, but was able to read large print and get around unaided. In her mid20s her vision started to decline gradually and by her mid-30s, she suddenly couldn’t make out sights most of us take for granted — the denomination on paper money, the details of her face in a mirror. Eight years ago, she got a guide dog.

“For the last 10 years now, I’ve had only a bit of light perception. There’s no definition, there’s nothing that I can use in order to get by,” Shamir said Tuesday at a media briefing announcing the first two surgeries.

But just three months after the operation, Shamir said she is now able to make out blocks of white on a black computer screen that is part of her visual rehabilitation program at Toronto Western.

“I’m still in the beginning stages. Before the surgery I couldn’t find images or movement on the computer screen.

There was nothing that I could detect,” she said. “Now I’m able to see movement. I can’t tell the direction, but I can see movement.”

The rehab is meant to retrain her brain to decipher the images she receives through the implant. Part of that process is having a rehab professional

come to her Toronto home to help adapt the system for dayto-day activities, such as walking outside and being able to see where grass turns to sidewalk, for instance.

“Or in my kitchen, I’ll be able to see on the counter where there’s a plate or whatever that I’m looking for.”

Shamir said the more she practises, the more she’s able to recognize around her, even if it is only identifying certain shapes and textures.

“It’s like starting all over again and one day I might see something I never saw before,” said the married mother of

three boys who works as a bank credit analyst. “And it’s like, ‘Oh wow. I could see this or I could at least know it’s there.”‘ One of her most exciting moments came when a rehab specialist showed her a board covered in black and white stripes, and she was able to see them as contrasting shades.

“My next step is to go to the Toronto zoo and find some zebras,” she said, laughing.

Devenyi said Shamir’s ability to see even that “is remarkable,” and he called the eye implant a medical advance he hadn’t expected to see in his lifetime.

But giving a patient the

so-called bionic eye isn’t cheap: the implant alone runs US$144,000, and then there are the costs of the fairly complicated surgery and the visual rehabilitation, he said.

The Argus implant, developed by California-based company Second Sight, is not yet approved for widespread use in Canada, although it has been given the green light by the U.S. FDA. Devenyi expects that Health Canada will soon approve the device, however, and the Toronto Western team plans to approach the Ontario government about funding the implant surgery. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

37

‘Are there worms in your beef ?’ McDonald’s fields unappetizing questions about its food

BY CANDICE CHOI The Associated Press NEW YORK — McDonald’s wants to explain why its burgers may not rot and that there are no worms in its beef.

The world’s biggest hamburger chain is confronting unappetizing questions as part of a U.S. campaign to beat back perceptions that it serves Frankenfood. The company has run similar campaigns in Canada and Australia and said Monday it’s bringing the effort to its flagship market.

The push comes as McDonald’s fights to boost its performance in the U.S., where sales slid 1.5 per cent at established locations in the most recent quarter, following a 0.2 per cent dip for last year. In addition to increased competition, McDonald’s is trying to keep up with changing tastes, with places such as Chipotle marketing their food as more wholesome alternatives.

To improve the image of its food, McDonald’s recently rolled out chicken wraps with sliced cucumbers and the option to substitute egg whites in breakfast sandwiches. It also plans to eventually let people swap out the french fries in value meals with options like salad or vegetables.

For its latest campaign, among the first issues McDonald’s addresses are widely circulated online images and videos that show its burgers staying in tact after several weeks or even years. On its webpage, McDonald’s says that’s likely because the food has dehydrated, and that food needs moisture to form mould.

The company’s responses to other questions such as “Does McDonald’s beef contain worms?” are more direct: “No. Gross! End of story.”

A video posted on the company’s home page also showed Grant Imahara, a former host of the TV show “Mythbusters,” touring a Cargill beef plant

MIKE MOZART / FLICKR

where McDonald’s patties are made.

“Are there lips and eyeballs in there, Jimmy?” Imahara asks a plant supervisor, who explains that the patties only have beef trimmings. Another guide says the patties do not contain lean finely textured beef, an ingredient widely referred to as “pink slime” that became the subject of controversy a few years ago.

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McDonald’s stopped using the ingredient about three years ago.

Ben Stringfellow, vice-president of communications for McDonald’s USA, said in a phone interview that the campaign is a new way of engaging with customers more directly.

He noted people are demanding for more information about products across the board, not

just from McDonald’s.

“In many ways, it’s the way the world is going,” he said.

National TV ads will begin airing Monday letting people know about the push. McDonald’s says people can submit questions via social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

The company plans to respond to the most common questions with videos or other posts, as well as responding one-on-one to questions, Stringfellow said.

Laura Ries, a marketing consultant based in Atlanta, noted McDonald’s risks bringing up unappetizing thoughts some people may never have heard about.

“I didn’t know people thought there were worms in its beef, or that they didn’t use real chicken,” Ries said.

Still, she agreed that companies have to be more responsive to questions from customers, especially at a time when people can amplify their concerns and criticisms to bigger audiences on social media. ■

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Business Economy adds 74,100 jobs in September, drops unemployment rate to 6.8 per cent

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The latest Canadian labour report suggests the job market bounced back in a big way last month, generating 74,100 net new positions and knocking the unemployment rate down to its lowest level in nearly six years.

The September gain, which follows a loss of 11,000 jobs in August, includes the creation of 69,300 full-time positions, according to the monthly Statistics Canada employment survey released Friday.

The promising job data came out the same day the Bank of Canada published its own survey results that found Canadian businesses expected to hire more workers and boost equipment investments during the coming year.

The hiring push already appears headed in the right direction, one bank economist said late last week.

“Overall, hiring in the third quarter was actually pretty strong, it was one of the strongest quarters we’ve seen in a couple of years,” said Leslie Preston of TD Economics.

“So, we’re encouraged by that. Momentum, after a year of flat hiring, is starting to build in Canada’s job market.”

Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate for September fell by 0.2 percentage points to 6.8 per cent — its lowest since December 2008. The agency

said the last time the economy added such a large number of jobs was May 2013 when it created 89,500 positions, the majority of which were full time.

Private-sector jobs saw the biggest rebound, according to the data. After showing a loss of 112,000 private-sector jobs in August, the Canadian economy added 123,600 last month.

Economists had expected the economy to create 20,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate to hold steady at seven per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

But several experts warned Friday that September’s numbers alone should be read with caution.

The volatility of Canada’s job market could mean encouraging figures today could vanish tomorrow, Preston said.

Looking at the previous six surveys, StatCan showed the economy shedding 11,000 net jobs in August, creating 42,000 in July, losing 9,400 in June, adding 25,800 in May, dropping 28,900 in April and producing 42,900 in March.

“The worry, of course, is that given the seesaw pattern in employment over the past year, that these gains could be erased next month given the recent trends in the survey,” she said.

BMO chief economist Douglas Porter agreed the “highly impressive” findings for September could have a brief shelf life.

“Given the rising turmoil in the rest of the world, not to

mention growing questions over the reliability of the jobs data, these results may not have much lasting impact,” Porter wrote Friday in a note.

A strategist with Desjardins Capital Markets said the StatCan job figures have seemed “very erratic” since the agency was forced to issue a correction on its labour survey in August.

A week after reporting Canada had gained only 200 jobs, StatCan revised its total to say that, in fact, 42,000 positions had been created.

“Unfortunately, that’s the broad impression that I get of it and I try to look at it more from a long-term perspective,” said Jimmy Jean, who prefers to follow the six-month job-creation average.

Looking at the past six months, Jean said Canada’s market appears to be picking up.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander defended StatCan on Friday, saying he had confidence in the agency.

“We do know that there’s variation month to month, but this number is a very strong number,” Alexander said in Ottawa.

“It speaks to the vibrancy of the Canadian economy.”

The StatCan report says the bulk of the jobs were created in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, while the other provinces saw only small changes. Ontario added the most jobs with 24,700 new positions, dropping its unemployment rate down by three-tenths of a percentage point to 7.1 per cent.

New Brunswick was the only province that saw its unemployment rate increase last month - rising 0.9 percentage points to 9.6 per cent.

The report found that more people were employed in food services and accommodation, health care and social assistance, construction, natural resources, finance, insurance, real estate and leasing.

On the other hand, the agency said the economy lost jobs last month in educational services.

The survey found young Canadians, aged 15 to 24, held 43,000 more jobs in September, but the youth unemployment rate still increased by 0.1 percentage points to 13.5 per cent as more young people looked for work.

A Bank of Canada survey released Friday also offered some optimism for the labour market.

It found Canadian firms, particularly exporters, had a brighter outlook thanks to a “modestly firmer demand.”

“Some indicate that strengthening U.S. demand has already had an impact on their sales,” said the Bank of Canada’s autumn Business Outlook Survey.

The report also suggested businesses across the country, and in all sectors, expected to hire more workers over the coming year. The survey found 54 per cent of companies expected their level of employment to be higher over the next year compared to the last 12 months.

The study also found that businesses intended to increase their investments on machinery and equipment over the next year. ■

Business

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

39

Businesses accuse Yelp of extortion by raising or dropping ratings if they don’t advertise

BY PAUL ELIAS The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — First the chefs of a small Italian restaurant got mad at online review site Yelp. Instead of trying to get better reviews, they decided to take a different approach: get terrible ones.

The campaign helped Botte Bistro get a rating of one out of five stars, as more than 1,000 reviewers left hundreds of tongue-in-cheek reviews panning the Richmond, California, eatery, said chef Michele Massimo, adding that it boosted business.

It was the latest protest among businesses who for years have complained that Yelp was extorting them by raising or dropping ratings depending on whether they advertised with the Internet’s most popular review site.

Yelp has persistently denied those claims on its website, in court and at every opportunity when the question is put publicly to the company.

“It wouldn’t pass the straight face test,” Yelp spokesman Vince Sullitto said of the extortion claims.

Sullitto said Yelp attracts millions of viewers and sells ad-

vertising to 80,000 businesses because of the site’s credibility with consumers. Sullitto said many of the company’s critics are businesses that have received bad reviews.

Last month, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a lawsuit filed by several businesses claiming Yelp extorted them by removing positive reviews after advertising sales pitches were turned down.

The court is one rung below the U.S. Supreme Court and the ruling could have been a definitive one for Yelp.

Instead, it served to fuel the company’s critics because the court said that, even if Yelp did manipulate reviews to penalize businesses, the practice would not constitute extortion.

The court said it found no evidence of manipulation and that it was ruling narrowly only on the question of extortion.

Nonetheless, the company’s critics said the ruling supported their claims.

Even before the 9th Circuit ruling, Yelp was battling two lawsuits filed by company investors who make similar extortion claims.

The suits, filed in San Francisco federal court over the summer, allege that the company’s stock traded at artificial-

ly inflated prices because the “company tried to sell services designed to suppress negative reviews or make them go away” and then lied about it.

The company has yet to formally respond to the lawsuits in court, but says it will fight these legal actions as well.

Last year, a lawyer serving as a small-claims judge in San Diego likened Yelp to a “modernday version of the Mafia going to stores and saying, ‘You want to not be bothered? You want to not have incidents in your store?

Pay us protection money.”‘ The judge, Peter Doft, made the comments when he ordered Yelp to pay San Diego lawyer Julian McMillan $2,700 over a contract dispute involving advertising on Yelp.

The award was later over-

turned by a higher court, which ruled that McMillan’s dispute with Yelp should be decided by an arbitrator instead of a court.

McMillan didn’t pursue his claim.

But Yelp did file a lawsuit against McMillan, alleging he and his employees submitted fake Yelp reviews of his law practice. McMillan denies the charges and alleges that Yelp sued him because of his smallclaims court victory.

The allegations are so widespread and have persisted for so long that the company asks on its website: “Does Yelp extort small businesses?” The company answers no.

Yelp has had a complicated relationship with merchants, restaurateurs and other small businesses on which the com-

designed and well-crafted idea.

Save yourself from failures that come with rushing things.

Making decisions will be easier if your try to listen not to what your friends are saying but to what your heart is telling you. Always keep in mind that it is your life to live, so live it that the way you want it.

pany depends on for advertising revenue. To attract advertising, Yelp needs to maintain a popular and credible site.

To do this, Yelp says, its uses an algorithm to weed out fake reviews submitted by business owners, relatives and friends that is often misunderstood.

The automated removal programs accidentally erase many positive reviews written by legitimate customers.

Yelp concedes that removing legitimate reviews is not ideal, but argues that’s the price it pays for its credibility. Furthermore, Yelp keeps details of its algorithm under wraps so its review system can’t be easily exploited and gamed.

That secrecy also breeds suspicion.

“We don’t know who is leaving the reviews, and we don’t think it’s fair,” said Massimo, the chef.

“You are so vulnerable.”

Massimo said he and his partner decided to launch their novel protest for a one-star rating after receiving several aggressive sales calls from Yelp that they perceived to be veiled threats. The ploy worked and business continues to be brisk, he said.

“It was the best marketing idea I’ve ever had,” Massimo said. “Thanks, Yelp.” ■

HOROSCOPE Aries (March 21-April 19) An empty mind is what your mind needs right now. You have been thinking a lot of things lately which causes you to lose focus on the important things that you have to do. Give your mind a break. Freeing it up a little will help you make your days more productive in the coming days.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) Now is the best time to look back and reflect on your past actions. The best way to move forward is by assessing the things you’ve done in the past and summing up all your learnings from it. Try grabbing a note pad so you won’t forget!

Gemini (May 21-June 21) Your priorities have been going around in circles lately. This

creates a waste of time and energy and the spread of negative vibes. Start slowing down and recalibrating your plans towards your real goals. Don’t let unnecessary wants stop you from doing what you really need.

Cancer (June 22-July 23) The best way to achieve your goals successfully this week is by starting your day with a glass of positivity. Stop worrying about the bad things that may never come. Instead of brooding over negative possibilities, start thinking about your success and the ways of pulling it closer to your reach.

Leo (July 24-August 23) Do not rush. In whatever task you’ll be assigned this week, keep mind that the best output is a product of a carefully

Virgo (August 24-September 22) A storm is coming this week, so brace yourself. Start storing loads of patience and calm your mood in the next days to avoid further conflicts. Remember that kindness is the best shield to protect you from any emotional distraction.

Libra (September 23-October 22) The stars are telling you to keep a straight eye on your goals this week. You will be faced by opportunities to splurge and invest in activities that will put resources to unproductive results, so be careful.

Scorpio (October 23November 21)

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Keep in mind that great things will only come rushing to your doorsteps if you believe that you can always put your best shoes on it.

Aquarius (January 20February 18)

Sagittarius (November 22December 21)

There is no point in recalling how painful that certain memory from your past is. Stop reliving the sadness and free yourself from the unpleasant vibe it brings. Focus on the positive and the stars will reward you, for sure.

Capricorn (December 22January 19)

Do not doubt your strengths.

It is about time that you realize how much you have been losing for not believing in yourself.

Do not stop your creative thoughts from showing the best that you’ve got. You will be attracting the good things this week if you allow yourself to let your energy show, without hesitations.

Pisces (February 19-March 20) Your stressful days will soon be over, only if you start accepting that you cannot have everything. It will all begin with acceptance, Pisces. Try looking at the things you already have and you’ll find yourself no longer asking for more.

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Travel Winter camping on the Bruce Peninsula offers off the beaten path getaway

BY BRUCE CHEADLE The Canadian Press WIARTON, ONT. — Forget your smartphone, unplug your electrical devices, sleep by a wood stove on a bed of fir branches — perhaps with your pet — and only a canvas wall between you and the winter snow.

Whether you consider this vacation scenario heaven or hell will determine if Atelier Arboreal at the foot of the Bruce Peninsula is for you.

But the off-season wonders of this sometimes forgotten geographic gem deserve a second look, whatever your taste in accommodations.

The Bruce Peninsula, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, points like a jutting finger that separates Lake Huron from Georgian Bay in southern Ontario, about three hours northwest of Toronto.

Home to such exotica as rare orchids and ferns, 800-year-old cedar trees, endangered Massasauga rattlesnakes, black bears, martins, fishers, marl lakes, alvar plains and beaches littered with 400-million-year-old fossils, this spine of land anchored by the Niagara Escarpment is a treasure trove for those wanting off the beaten path and on to the Bruce Trail.

“There’s 60 million people that live less than a day’s drive from Wiarton (Ontario) — in Illinois and New York, Ohio and southern Ontario,” says Steve Bognar, the owner of Ontario Winter Camping and Atelier Arboreal at the foot of the unique, 90-kilometre-long peninsula.

That leaves plenty of travel opportunities for the intrepid few.

Last winter, his third in the winter camping business, Bognar says his expectations were “totally overwhelmed” by the 43 couples who booked in for the experience, which includes

gourmet communal dining, saunas, star-gazing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

He already has half a dozen bookings confirmed for the coming winter — including a group of seven couples with their seven dogs.

“It’s their personal vacation and I’m their forest butler,” says Bognar, 51.

His handcrafted canvas teepees and yurts have wood chip floors and all have wood stoves, while guests sleep on beds made of cedar, balsam fir and spruce boughs piled 45 centimetres deep.

“It’s really soft and we provide all sorts of quilts to put on top of the branches,” says Bognar.

“It’s like a getaway because there’s no electricity (in the yurts and teepees), the Wi-Fi is horrible. It’s this romantic couples getaway.”

While Bognar does guide day trips up the peninsula, there are also more conventional lodgings to be found for independent explorers.

Lion’s Head, a small town midway up the peninsula between Wiarton in the south and Tobermory at the northern

tip, is a destination in its own right as well as a perfect staging point.

Barbara Grison has been the proprietor of Lion’s Head Beach Motel and Cottages for 25 years.

“Snowshoers, cross-country skiers, hikers come. And if it’s bad weather they’ll snowshoe or ski and if it’s good weather they’ll hike.”

Grison spoke during a midweek fall afternoon while a stiff northeasterly pounded the beach of Isthmus Bay with heavy waves outside her window. She acknowledges the wild, all-weather wonders of the peninsula are not for everyone.

“I do have people (staying) who are loving what’s happening today,” she said.

Visitors are within comfortable striking distance of sandy Sauble Beach and its spectacular sunsets on the Lake Huron shore to the south, and rugged Bruce Peninsula National Park and its gorgeous Georgian Bay sunrises at the northeast quarter of the peninsula.

“Most of my people, especially in the summer, come for a week or 10 days and often five

and six days in the off-season,” said Grison.

Surrounded on two sides by the Great Lakes and with the only “major” city — Owen Sound, population 22,000 — some 50 kilometres to the south, star gazing is outstanding. In 2004, the municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula declared itself a dark sky jurisdiction and much of the northern peninsula is now a Dark Sky Preserve dedicated to keeping light pollution to a minimum.

As Grison puts it, the peninsula is a place where visitors “can be entertained well, naturally.”

Kathy Rehorek of the Tobermory Chamber of Commerce notes that the car and passenger ferry from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island stops running the weekend after Thanksgiving, while shorter tours to nearby Flower Pot Island wrap up Thanksgiving weekend.

There’s an annual Bruce Trail Hiking festival in early October. The trail offers remarkable vistas of Georgian Bay — not the shallow, island-dotted eastern shore made famous by the Group of Seven but rather the

majestic bluffs, sweeping cobble beaches, deep aquamarine waters and huge skies left by an ancient inland sea coast.

“For a lot of the avid hikers, this is the best hiking weather because it’s not too hot and less buggy,” said Rehorek.

During last winter, with its frigid temperatures and deep freeze, some folks trekked across the ice to Flower Pot Island, a dazzling summertime attraction.

Bruce Peninsula National Park is closed to campers in mid-October, but the trails remain accessible to the nimble year-round and hardier hikers can visit the spectacular Grotto, a sea cave in the escarpment that is a huge summer draw. For the past two years, the Grotto has been among the top 50 attractions in Ontario among more than 2,000 rated by Trip Advisor.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, visitors heading up the Bruce can stop by the village of Kemble for its annual pumpkin-chucking contest.

Tobermory Princess Hotel is the only major hotel in the peninsula’s northernmost village that’s open all winter, making it a popular destination for snowmobilers. ■ If You Go...

Winter road closures on windswept Bruce Peninsula are not uncommon and travellers should have enough leeway in their schedule to be stormstayed for a day or two.

Atelier Arboreal is open from September to May, with a twoday/one-night teepee/yurt stay including dinner, breakfast, lunch and guide-maitre d’au grand air service for $300 per couple. Three-day/two-night stays cost $525 per couple. http://www.ontariowintercamping.com/.

Fall and winter accommodations can be found in Wiarton, Lion’s Head and Tobermory.

Travel

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

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From seaside Kolkata to Himalayan pass: Indian man makes journey using only a rickshaw

BY MANIK BANERJEE The Associated Press KOLKATA, INDIA — It took 68 days for Satyen Das to laboriously pedal his rickety, self-remodeled bicycle rickshaw from the seaside Indian city of Kolkata to the roof of the world — a 5,369-meter (17,600-foot) Himalayan pass. His goal: to promote the vehicle as an environmentally sound travel option.

As he pedaled toward the top of Khardung La on the world’s highest motorable pass, he remembered the words of his wife and 9-year-old daughter: “You must complete this mission.”

The journey was arduous.

To prepare, he trained by loading his rickshaw — a carriagestyled seat hooked to a bicycle — with heavy items and cycling long distances. He modified the rickshaw, adding a third brake pedal. And when the time came to set off on his journey on June 11, he packed lightly, carrying only a few items of clothing,

medicine, food and a stove, a sleeping bag and plastic sheets for an emergency shelter if the weather turned rough.

“I crossed five high mountain passes on the way” during the journey in the region of Ladakh, Das, 40, said in an interview.

At one point, he faced a group of bears, but was relieved when they showed little interest in him or his rickshaw.

Near his destination, he took shelter with Indian paramilitary forces after sighting an elusive snow leopard around midnight in the high reaches of Lakadh. And on his way home, a German woman cycling solo in the mountains offered him food after he’d run out of his own, and shelter in her tent on a particularly cold night.

In total, he covered nearly 7,000 kilometres (4,440 miles) to be the first to accomplish the feat, which he hopes to have endorsed by Guinness World Records.

The idea “was to popularize the cycle-rickshaw as eco-

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friendly transport that does not need any fuel,” he said.

It’s a mode of transport he and his family have relied on their entire lives, with Das earning about 200 rupees ($3.20) a day transporting passengers in Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state. Under its

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former name Calcutta, it was a home base for Imperial Britain when it ruled the South Asian subcontinent.

Das started as a so-called “rickshaw wallah” under his father, who also pedaled a rickshaw for a living.

He enjoyed the job, he said,

because “there was no one to boss me around!”

But he always dreamed of setting an example for others, and wondered how to do it being poor and with little education.

“So I thought, why not do something which is within my reach. I decided to spread the message of peace using my cycle-rickshaw,” Das said.

He made his first attempt for Ladakh in 2008, carting his wife and daughter up to an altitude of 3,979 metres (13,050 feet) on the Rohtang pass of Himachal Pradesh state before running out of cash.

For his latest expedition, he received 150,000 rupees (about $2,460) from a local club sponsor.

“We had known about Das’ interest in touring around the country” since his first 2008 attempt at the Himalayas, said Partha De of Kolkata’s Agrani Club. “Hearing that someone is going on such an incredible journey, it grabs interest. It’s a wonderful achievement.” ■

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Sports Pacquiao allowed by Roach to play in PBA opener

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

BOXING LEGEND Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao has been allowed by his coach, Freddie Roach, to play in Kia Sorento’s first Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) game.

Pacquiao, who is the playing coach of the Kia Sorento team was initially banned by Roach from playing the opener game on account of the boxer‘s ongoing intensive training schedule for his November the opening day.bout against American boxer Chris Algeri.

“Yeah, he asked my permis-

sion to play in the opening day for the fans, so I told him I’ll allow him to see action for only one minute,” Roach jokingly told a reporter who interviewed him last Friday at the Pacman Gym in General Santos City.

“Much as I don’t want him to play, especially in this period of preparations for a coming fight, I just can’t stop him completely.

He loves basketball so much in the same way that he loves boxing, so I’m giving that to him,” Roach added.

He clarified, however, that he has only granted Pacquiao permission to play on opening day, explaining that their fight training has now shifted to a more in-

tense level, and he does not want this schedule to be interrupted.

The boxing coach also urged Pacquiao to be careful and avoid being injured, even as he called on the opposing team to go easy on Pacquiao.

“I know how tough and sometimes rough basketball games here are and all I beg his wouldbe rivals is to please to take care of Manny. You can block his shots, steal the ball away, but please don’t hurt him, if you, indeed, treasure him as your boxing icon,” Roach implored.

The Kia team will make its PBA debut this Sunday, October 19, playing against Blackwater at the Philippine Arena. ■

Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney says no room for divided loyalties among players

BY NEIL DAVIDSON The Canadian Press TORONTO — Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney says he’s been told he will be back for the 2015 season and will be looking for players with the right commitment to join him.

Vanney believes that Toronto (11-14-7) has a good core to build around, despite a disappointing 2014 season that seems destined to end prior to the playoffs for the eighth year in a row.

“What I think is important is that we have players that are here that want to be here, don’t want to be anywhere else but here and not for just one year but for a minimum of a few years,” Vanney said after training Tuesday.

“Because in this league to win, you have to have a core group of players who’s very committed, who buy into the philosophy, who are willing to stand and live up to expectation on every single day.”

Star midfielder Michael

Bradley provided his view on next season’s necessary mix on Saturday night after a 3-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls that all but ended TFC’s slim playoff hopes.

“It’s important that the right balance is found between keeping a good part of the group together and making sure that the guys who have the right mentality, who have the right commitment, who really bring something every day in a footballing sense — that those guys are here and given every chance to continue to grow together and improve,” said the intense U.S. international.

Vanney did not name names.

“I’m not going to go through the locker-room for each guy and say who I think is or isn’t (committed),” said Vanney.

“But I think we need to get guys who (want to be) here. I think we have a very good core group of guys that believe in this project and want this club to be successful and are ready to work every single day we ask them to work.

“We need to add some piec-

es, for sure. The way the team played prior (to Vanney) is not the same way that I would approach playing the game, so what I would say is that we have to evolve and adapt in a few pieces in terms of personnel and things that we need to be better and what I think is better for the league and for the style of play that we want to get to. But the most important thing is having a group that’s committed for the long run here.”

English striker Jermain Defoe has been the player with the biggest question-mark over his head this season, with Toronto turning down a clubrecord transfer bid at the end of the summer transfer window, amidst speculation he wants out of the club.

Defoe denied that upon his return to Canada from rehabbing a groin injury in England, but said he couldn’t predict the future. His fellow players have been said the 31-year-old English forward has been a good teammate.

With the playoffs all but

gone, Toronto FC is back in its familiar end-of-season position — trying to end the campaign with a little dignity.

With two games remaining, Toronto stands in sixth place in the East, six points behind the Columbus Crew (12-10-10), who hold down the last playoff position.

Toronto needs to win at home to Montreal and away to New England and hope Columbus loses in New York and at home to Philadelphia.

“Mathematically we’re not entirely out of it,” said Vanney, who is 2-5-1 since succeeding the fired Ryan Nelsen at the end of August. “Plus we’re professionals. Plus we are playing at home in front of our fans and they deserve a performance, I think, and a committed team.”

Sportsclubstats.com, which tracks playoff races, has Toronto’s chances of making the MLS post-season at 1.0 per cent.

Toronto will have to muster its last-ditch challenge Saturday against the Impact without Bradley and centre back

Nick Hagglund, both of whom are suspended. Hagglund also limped out of practice early Tuesday after slipping.

Captain Steven Caldwell, the club’s defensive lynch pin, acknowledged more was needed.

“I think overall we’ve let ourselves down,” he said. “As a group of players and as a football club, we should have been in a better position than we’re in so we all have to look individually, honestly at ourselves in the mirror and ask what we could have done better.

“Personally and as a team, we feel that we left a lot of games out there.”

Rubbing salt in the wound is the fact that Toronto dominated the team it has been chasing for the last playoff place. Columbus lost all three matches against Toronto this season: 2-0, 3-2 and 3-2.

Toronto has 40 points, a franchise record that speaks volumes about the sad-sack history of the franchise. It has also set a club record for singleseason wins with 11, surpassing the 10. ■

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Seen and Scenes

OCTOBER 17, 2014

FRIDAY

JED MADELA IN VICTORIA After a successful performance in Vancouver the week before, Filipino balladeer Jed Madela’s powerful voice was again heard in Sidney, B.C. on Oct. 11, during his 10th Anniversary Tour 2014 concert.

TRAVXCHANGE The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) participated in the 2014 Canadian Traveller's TravXchange a national series of meetings and marketplaces for Top Canadian Travel Agents and global suppliers. Photos show Gabriel Agcaoili, DOT officerin-charge, in the recent TravXchange Calgary and Vancouver events.

For photo submissions, please email info@canadianinquirer.net. www.canadianinquirer.net

Events

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 2014

Consular Outreach Mission

By Philippine Embassy WHEN/WHERE: 10 to 5 p.m, Oct. 21; 9 to 12 nn, Oct. 22, at St. Pius X Church, Smithville Crescent, St. John’s Newfoundland &

Labrador MORE INFO: Cecilia Abuque 709-728-8871 caabuque5740@gmail.com Consular Outreach Mission

By Philippine Embassy WHEN/WHERE: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 23 to 25, Cambridge Suites Hotel, Brunswick Rm., 1583 Brunswick St., Halifax MORE INFO: Call Elizabeth Domondon – 902-445-3998 or email at elizabeth.eustaquio1@gmail.com

YUKON

EVENTS

NUNAVUT

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

MANITOBA

SASKATCHEWAN

Filipino Seniors Club of B.C. Masquerade Ball

By FSCBC WHEN/WHERE: 12:30 p.m., Oct. 19, Capri Hall, Vancouver, B.C. Free Tagalog Lessons

By Philippine Language School WHEN/WHERE: ongoing every Saturday, 2 p.m., at Sprott Shaw College(walking distance from Rupert Station).

MORE INFO: Learn conversational Tagalog for free.

Course will lead to regular Tagalog curriculum from K-12 in 2015. Call 694-551-3360 or 778-239-0500.

Peer Support Training in Coquitlam

By Immigrant Women’s Peer Support Program and Citizenship and Immigration Canada WHEN/WHERE: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., till Dec. 13, at Immigrant Services Society of BC - Coquitlam Settlement Services, 200C-504 Cottonwood Ave., Coquitlam B.C. 4th World Poetry Canada Intl. Peace Festival

By World Poetry Reading Series Society WHEN/WHERE: up to Oct. 26, grand opening 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Oct. 19, at Simon Fraser University, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Room 7000, Vancouver, B.C. Fright Nites at PNE

By Playland at the PNE WHEN/WHERE: Oct. 10 to Nov. 1 at East Hastings and Windermere Sts. Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: For ticketing-related questions, please call TicketOps at 1-888-236-2947 or email help@ticketops.ca.

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Annual General Meeting

By University of the Philippines Alumni and Associates in Manitoba, Inc. WHEN/WHERE: 1:30 to 5 p.m., Oct. 18, Sir William Stephenson Library 765 Keewatin St., P2x 3B9 MORE INFO: Call (204)-986-7070

BRITISH COLUMBIA ALBERTA

CANADA

ONTARIO

QUEBEC

Knights of Rizal Canada 15th Commander’s Ball

By Knights of Rizal NEWFOUNDLAND WHEN/WHERE: Oct. 18, Kalayaan Cultural and Community Centre, Mississauga, Ont. MORE INFO: Call Tom Ng, KCR, Mississauga Chapter Commander of the Knights of Rizal, Tel. (647) 283-7878, emails: tominsurer@yahoo.ca and tomsunlife@yahoo. ca and Joe Damasco, Tel. (647)717 - 3461, email: jdamasco@rogers.com

5th Annual International Representational Show 2014 Opening and Award Ceremony

By Federation of Canadian Artists WHEN/WHERE: 6 to 8 p.m.,Oct. 16, Federation Gallery, 1241 Cartwright St., Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Featuring Leo Cunanan’s work, “Melissa”.

Pinoy Kid Ako, Speak Filipino Workshop

By Little Mountain Neighbourhood House (LMNH) WHEN/WHERE: 1 to 3 p.m., Oct. 18, at 3981 Main St. Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: An opportunity for Filipino-Canadian children to explore their Filipino cultural heritage through Tagalog language and the folk arts. Parents and family will explore fun activities in the kitchen, practical arts and information sessions while the children are learning. Call or email to register: alma_ saplala@lmnhs.bc.ca Telephone: 604 879-7104 Let’s Talk About B (Hepatitis B Public Education Program)

By S.U.C.C.E.S.S. and Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 2 p.m., Oct. 23 at Mosaic Vancouver, 1720 Grant St., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Free education workshop in TagalogEnglish. Call to register: (778) 237-4043; cell – (604) 408-7247 ext. 2102 or register online at: http:// HepB.successbc.ca Halloween Party

By Victoria Filipino Canadian Seniors Association WHEN/WHERE: 5:30 p.m., Oct. 25, at Cedar Hill Recreation Centre Victoria, B.C. www.canadianinquirer.net

San’ To’

By Philippine Consulate General in Toronto WHEN/WHERE: ongoing till Oct. 28 at PCG-Toronto 7th Flr., 160 Eglinton Ave., East Toronto, On. MORE INFO: featuring the works of Romeo Masalunga and Antonio Afable, Jr. Restaurants for Change

By Community Food Centres WHEN/WHERE: Oct. 22, participating restaurants include: Buca, Edulis, Jacob’s Steakhouse, Richmond Station, Ruby Watchco, The Drake 150, The Saint Tavern, THR+Co, Bar Buca, Buca Yorkville all in Toronto.

MORE INFO: 25 restaurants in nine cities will join together in donating the proceeds from one dinner service to Community Food Centres Canada. Funds raised will support local Community Food Centres and other partners to offer programs that bring people together to grow, cook, share and advocate for good food for all. For the full list of participating restaurants, visit www.restaurantsforchange.ca Star Magic’s One Magical Night

By Berce Enterprises WHEN/WHERE: 8 p.m., Oct. 24 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre – Exhibition Place 190 Princes’ Blvd., Toronto, On. MORE INFO: Call Neneng @ 647-4015818; Rene @ 647-995-1746; Clarisse @ 416-939-8594

To have your events featured on PCI, please email events@canadianinquirer.net

Star Magic’s One Magical Night

By Palabok House in cooperation with Berce Enterprises WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., Oct. 25 at River Cree Resort & Casino 300 E. Lapalac Blvd., 179 Enoch, AB. MOR INFO: Call 780-995-6907

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