Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #146

RELEVANT SKILLS. MEANINGFUL JOBS. CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER VOL. 12 NO. 146

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310.HIRE (4473) SPROTTSHAW.COM

DECEMBER 19, 2014

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P-Noy backs Officer-inCharge

Binay ratings nosedive

Monster typhoons will be the ‘new normal’ in PH

3 Filipinos killed in AB crash

Azkals see improvement, need for change

ANIMATION SHOW

Non-working holidays seen during Pope’s visit to Philippines in January

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer

A worker passes by an animated display of underwater scenes installed on the grounds of Pasig City Hall. The show, mounted in time for the holiday season, can be seen from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily and will run until Jan. 4.

LYN RILLON

Fight vs graft must continue – Senator Poe

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer BE TRUE to yourself and see if you’re up to the job.

Sen. Grace Poe said this would have been her late father Fernando Poe Jr.’s advice if he were alive today amid calls for her to run for President in

2016.

Still undecided, the senator said whoever wished to succeed President Aquino should continue his campaign for good governance under the banner of “tuwid na daan” (righteous path).

Poe on Sunday led family and friends in marking the 10th death

❱❱ PAGE 13 Non-working holidays

Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Kuya Boy: New Citizenship Laws ❱❱ PAGE 31

❱❱ PAGE 4 Fight vs

MALACAÑANG IS open to declaring non-working holidays next month to allow more Filipinos to see Pope Francis when he visits the Philippines.

The Pope’s visit is set for Jan. 15 to 19.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said last week the Palace was looking into the

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

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FRIDAY

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

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US Marine charged with murder in October slaying of Filipino transgender

BY JIM GOMEZ The Associated Press MANILA, PHILIPPINES— Philippine government prosecutors charged a U.S. Marine with murder Monday in the killing of a Filipino, saying the suspect acknowledged attacking the victim after he found out she was a transgender woman.

Prosecutor Emilie de los Santos said there was “probable cause” that Marine Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton, who has been detained since shortly after the October incident, killed Jennifer Laude, whose former name was Jeffrey, in the motel room where the victim’s body was found in Olongapo city, northwest of Manila. She had apparently been strangled and drowned in a toilet bowl.

“It’s murder,” de los Santos told reporters after filing the charge against the 19-year-old

Pemberton before a regional seen leaving shortly before the Pemberton, a skilled boxer, court. “It was aggravated by discovery of the killing, pros- allegedly said he choked her treachery, abuse of superior ecutors said in their statement from behind with his arm “for strength and cruelty.” to the court. a couple of minutes” until she Among the evidence submitMarine Lance Corporal Jairn stopped moving then dragged ted by de los Santos and other Michael Rose, who went out her into the bathroom, accordprosecutors were statements by with Pemberton that night, ac- ing to the prosecutors.

Pemberton’s three Marine col- knowledged that the suspect The new details are likely leagues who went bar-hopping later confided back at their ship to spark renewed condemnawith him on Oct. tion by left-wing 11 in Olongapo, and transgender a former liberty groups, which town when the The suspect later confided back have labeled the U.S. Navy was at at their ship that he attacked the attack a hate the vast Subic woman he was with by choking her crime.

Naval base, now after discovering that she was The case a bustling coma transgender when she undressed, comes after the mercial Freeport according to the prosecutors.

Philippines and and recreation the United States hub. that he attacked the woman strengthened ties with the rePemberton and some of he was with by choking her af- cent signing of a defence accord his colleagues later picked up ter discovering that she was that allows greater U.S. access women at a disco bar and sepa- a transgender when she un- to Philippine military camps. rately checked in at nearby mo- dressed, according to the pros- The accord will help Washingtels, then returned to their ship ecutors. ton’s bid to reassert its presafter midnight. Witnesses saw “I think I killed a he/she,” ence in Asia, and enable Manila Pemberton check in with Laude Pemberton was quoted as hav- to deter what it calls China’s agat a motel room, where he was ing told Rose. gressive moves to reinforce its

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claims in disputed South China Sea territories.

The case reignited a debate over custody of American military personnel accused of crimes. But the looming irritant between the treaty allies over Pemberton’s custody was eased after Washington agreed to move him from a U.S. warship to the Philippine military’s main camp in metropolitan Manila, where he remained under American custody with an outer ring of Filipino guards.

The Philippine government said in a statement issued by its foreign affairs department that it looks “forward to the full co-operation of the U.S. government in ensuring that justice is secured for Laude.”

Harry Roque, the lawyer of Laude’s family, welcomed the prosecutors’ ruling and angrily demanded that Pemberton be thrown into an ordinary jail. ■

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Philippine News

DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

Fight vs... anniversary of her father, one of the biggest stars in Philippine cinema who made an unsuccessful run in the 2004 presidential elections. He died just after the balloting, won by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose victory was later questioned following the “Hello Garci” scandal.

“Perhaps what my father would tell me is to be sincere in whatever I do, to be true to myself if I can do it,” the senator told reporters after hearing Mass for her father at Manila North Cemetery.

“Second, he would really tell me that my decision would not be for myself but for the good of the majority.”

The event was primarily meant to remember Fernando Poe Jr., and his daughter took the opportunity to express her family’s gratitude for the “undying and undiminished love and support given to [him] through these years.”

“As we mark a decade since his passing, we remain in awe of the enormous respect and remembrance by our people of FPJ and his works,” she said in a statement.

“Our family conveys our deepest thanks to every Filipino home that has allowed FPJ’s memory to live through,” said the neophyte politician serving her first term as senator.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who campaigned for FPJ in 2004, also attended the Mass. But both he and Senator Poe kept mum on the possibility of becoming running mates in 2016.

“Right now, I’m not considering any particular commitment except that I think that whatever the President has ❰❰ 1

started, whoever will be the candidate, [he or she] should be able to continue that,” said Poe, essentially echoing President Aquino’s main criterion for choosing his successor.

“I think that we should fight corruption. We should continue that. We should be able to incorporate in all our programs a policy that will truly encourage inclusive growth,” she said.

“So it means that helping the poorest of our countrymen is what’s important,” she added.

All can help

To do this, Poe said she did not have to be the President.

“I’m sure there are a lot of others who may have the desire to do it or even the capability,” she said. “In my case I don’t have to be in the top position. Wherever I am— all of us, wherever we are—we can help in this straight and narrow path. It doesn’t have to be in one particular position.”

Mr. Aquino has given no hint on who he wanted to succeed him. But the presumptive administration standardbearer is Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, whom Mr. Aquino made very visible coordinating relief operations for Typhoon “Ruby” as head of the new National Government Frontline Team.

Roxas is also remembered for making a so-called sacrifice when he abandoned his presidential ambition in favor of Mr. Aquino in 2010. Then Senator Aquino’s campaign rode on the wave of overwhelming public sympathy following the death of her mother, former President Corazon Aquino.

But the latest Pulse Asia voter preference survey has not been encouraging for Roxas. He stood at sixth place with only 6 percentage points.

Binay, who has been under fire for a number of corruption allegations, also suffered a setback though he still topped the survey. His voter preference rating was down from 31 points in September to 26 points in November.

Poe was in second place with 18 percentage points, up 8 points from September.

The senator expressed gratitude for the results, saying it showed that “our people are taking notice and are appreciating my work.” But she refused to read much into the survey, saying results normally changed.

Susan Roces’ advice

Senator Grace Poe, who as of now has still not decided whether or not to make a run for the presidency in 2016, stated this past week that anyone, regardless of position, can help follow in the “straight and narrow path.”

OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE OF GRACE POE

Poe said calls for her to run for President were occasionally mentioned in family conversations. She said her mother, actress Susan Roces, would often advise her to “just be ready in any situation.”

“And in whatever situation, especially in government, your intention should be to improve the lives of the greater number, not just yourself,” she quoted Roces as telling her.

Poe said the country was “getting there” in terms of Mr. Aquino’s program for good governance.

“When it comes to fighting corruption

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and upholding transparency in government, it is a process. You don’t achieve this overnight,” she said.

“But I think that the best example is coming from the top office, from the President. If you know that the President is somebody you can trust, that’s already a big factor in discouraging corruption,” Poe said.

“So I think yes, the President is true to his promise. He is leading us toward that [righteous] path. Are we already there 100 percent? No, definitely we need to continue with that struggle.”

Lunch with street kids

From the cemetery, the senator and some of the younger members of the family went to the multipurpose hall of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila, for lunch with some 300 children.

The group, composed of mostly street children and kids of vendors in the Quiapo area, received “Panday” backpacks containing snacks. They also joined the Poes for a simple lunch of spaghetti and chicken.

“That’s how we spent the day, a simple lunch with children who are very close to my father’s heart,” Poe told the INQUIRER. She recalled the time when her father would gather children at his old studio for giftgiving and screening of FPJ movies. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

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Manila wants more public places to offer free Wi-Fi

BY NATHANIEL R. MELICAN Philippine Daily Inquirer AFTER INSTALLING Wi-Fi hotspots in bus stops throughout the city, Manila government officials want to make the capital city the San Francisco of the Philippines—at least in terms of making free Wi-Fi available in public places.

Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has said that the city government, together with private telecommunications firms, is hard at work building the infrastructure that will provide free wireless connectivity in public areas throughout Manila.

“As we speak, we are building antennas and laying down fiber optic cables in the right places,” Domagoso said in an interview last week. “Hopefully, we could launch in January next year be-

Manila government officials want to make the city the San Francisco of the Philippines by making free Wi-Fi in public places.

fore Pope Francis arrives in the Philippines for his papal visit.”

He added that the project was an extension of the WiFi hotspots installed by the city government in bus stops and waiting sheds. The bus

stops, together with the Wi-Fi hotspots, were built at no cost to the city government courtesy of a public-private partnership.

“With this project, like the bus stops, we will also spend nothing as a number of compa-

nies in the private sector agreed to do this for us. The bus stops are proof of a concept and so we will roll this out on a wide scale now,” he said.

According to him, the WiFi hotspots will be introduced

in the Ermita-Malate tourism district on a pilot basis. It will then be expanded to the other districts of the city, especially in impoverished areas.

“This is part of our vision to make people in the City of Manila more connected and productive. Imagine, aside from our population, we have 1.2 million people going to Manila for the day. This convenience will allow them to communicate and work or stay productive while on the road,” he said.

Domagoso expressed hope that, in the long run, the free wireless Internet connectivity would put Manila at par with other cities in terms of technology.

“We want to see ourselves in the league of San Francisco and New York where free Internet is provided through Wi-Fi by Google. We’re still far off from that but at least that’s the dream we are chasing,” he said. ■

Emergency powers trump environment laws — solon

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer THE CHAIR of the House energy committee confirmed that the recently approved Joint Resolution No. 21 of the House of Representatives would be used to suspend the country’s environmental laws in order to allow at least two power plants to operate during the expected power shortfall in summer.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali said the government would run the Malaya power plant of Salcon Power Corp. and the Ilijan power plant of Korea Electric Power Co. (Kepco) to boost power reserves.

“For example, Malaya (which uses bunker fuel) will be put into operation even if it violates the emission (standards) under the Clean Air Act. We have to suspend the operability of these laws for a limited period of time when we need these plants,” said Umali in an interview aired on dzBB radio.

He noted the fate of the Sucat power plant that was mothballed for exceeding emission limits under the Clean Air Act.

A similar case is that of the “That is exactly our warning sion of the contracted generaIlijan plant of Kepco which will with the emergency powers— tion capacities under this joint not be commissioned unless the exemption of diesel plants resolution, to ensure the timely the Biofuels Act is suspended. and other easily installable commissioning and utilization “That plant runs on pure plants from the necessary en- thereof.’” diesel and we have to suspend vironment permits. These are Umali denied Bayan Muna’s the operability of the Biofuels expensive plants which should claim that the emergency powAct before we can utilize it. I not be permitted without pub- ers to be given to President think Senator (Sergio) Osmeña lic consent as required in perti- Aquino for five months in 2015 knows the need for this plant nent laws,” Ridon said. would be used for coal-fired which will be useless without Joint Resolution No. 21 pro- plants that would go on stream the joint resolution,” said Um- vides that: “All national gov- only after next year’s power criali. ernment agencies and local sis.

Umali said the Ilijan plant government units are hereby One of the plants the partylist would add 500 group was refermegawatts ring to was the (MW) and the 600-MW coalMalaya plant anfired plant at the other 650 MW The laws it suspends are unlimited Subic Freeport. if these were aland are not even specified. Even The plant is to lowed to operate congressmen who voted for it don’t be operated by in the summer. know which laws will be suspended.

Redondo PeninHe said the sula Energy Inc., plants would be a consortium of used for only one Aboitiz Power to two weeks, the Corp., Manila peak period. authorized to suspend the op- Electric Co. and Taiwan Cogen erability of pertinent laws, Corp.

‘Dirty’ power plants rules and regulations includ“If the plant is not running Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon ing, but not limited to, miti- by March next year, it will not said the use of “dirty” power gating measures adopted for be allowed by the government,” plants belonging to big compa- the Wholesale Electricity Spot Umali said. nies was the main reason he was Market, the Biofuels Act, the But Bayan Muna Rep. Neri against the grant of emergency Clean Air Act, the Philippine Colmenares said the coal plants powers to President Aquino for Grid Code, the Philippine Dis- and others that burn rice husks what he called a phantom pow- tribution Code that may affect or biomass would benefit from er shortage. the operation and transmis- the suspension of the Clean Air www.canadianinquirer.net

Act to accommodate Malaya.

“What’s wrong with the emergency power bill is that the laws it suspends are unlimited and are not even specified.

Even congressmen who voted for it don’t know which laws will be suspended. This (administration) has no concern at all for the victims of calamities and climate change. We should be the first in the battle against emissions that aggravate climate change instead of leading in making it worse,” said Colmenares.

Aside from the Redondo plant, Colmenares said the emergency powers would benefit five other plants: • The 135-MW Puting Bato coal plant of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. It is owned by Ayala Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp.

• The twin 150-MW plant in Calaca, Batangas of DMCI Holdings’ South Luzon Power Generation.

• The 2-MW biomass-fired plant of San Jose City Power Corp.

• The 12.5-MW rice husk-fired plant of Bataan 2020 Inc. • The 20-MW biomass plant of Isabela Biomass Corp. ■

Philippine News

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

P-Noy backs Officer-in-Charge, starts looking for new PNP chief

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA — Obey the officer in charge, or else.

Amid concerns that the Philippine National Police (PNP) may now be a “headless body” with the suspension of PNP Director General Alan Purisima, the President said even an Officer-in-Charge (OIC) has to be followed.

If instructions given by the OIC are not carried out, anyone who defies the order will have to answer for it, Mr. Aquino said.

Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina has been appointed OIC of the PNP while Purisima serves out a six month suspension while being investigated for an allegedly anomalous firearms license delivery deal.

“He’s [Espina] the head of the PNP at this point. He’s supposed to run [the PNP]. Somebody doesn’t follow him, that person gets removed. Whatever we put in place should not be dependent on any one person,” Mr. Aquino told reporters here.

Even a temporary appointee can be an effective leader of the PNP, he said.

However, regardless of the current controversy surrounding Purisima, the President said he was already on the lookout for a new PNP chief because Espina and Purisima’s retirements are coming up next year.

Purisima will turn 56 next November.

“So regardless, with or without these issues, we are looking [ for a new PNP chief ]. We will look at the track record of all the contenders,” he said.

Critical time

The President was respond-

ments prepared by certain agencies.

He said a possible defense that Purisima might raise was that his role was only ministerial, that somebody else accredited the supplier and he had to implement the deal.

“I will put myself in his place.

Will I check all of the papers that pass through me so that the process could begin? Will I be able to handle that?” he asked.

He said he handles almost a meter-tall stack of papers every day. While he meticulously combs through the documents, he said there was no way he could guarantee that nothing had slipped his attention.

Look at overall picture President Benigno S. Aquino III has stated that Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, recently appointed as the Officer in Charge of the Philippine National Police, is to be followed as if he was the Director General.

RYAN LIM / MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU

ing to a question from reporters if he was concerned that the PNP was headed only by an OIC and not a permanent director at a critical time when preparations for the January visit of Pope Francis are reaching fever pitch.

Mr. Aquino’s close political ally, Senate President Franklin Drilon, also appealed to him to decide on Purisima’s fate soon.

Drilon said that even if there was an OIC at the PNP, an OIC has limited power to effect changes and reforms, and that it was inevitable that there would be uncertainty because of the PNP chief’s suspension.

The Ombudsman last week ordered that Purisima and other police officials be placed on six months’ preventive suspension while an investigation was going on into their alleged involvement in an anomalous contract in 2012 between the

PNP and a courier service for the delivery of gun licenses.

Purisima has denied any involvement in the contract, saying that it was executed more than a year before he was appointed chief of the PNP. Follow the process

According to Mr. Aquino, Purisima will have to go through the necessary legal processes, including the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension. But like any other citizen, he has the right to defend himself, the President said.

“So, No. 1, we will follow all of the processes and all the procedures mandated by law. No. 2, we also have to recognize that this person has rights that should also be protected,” Mr. Aquino said.

No conflict

As for reports that Purisma

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continues to occupy the official residence of the PNP chief residence known as the White House, Mr. Aquino said he did not think there was any conflict in that.

“He is not supposed to be leading. He is under suspension. General Espina [is the one] who should be leading,” he said.

He said Purisima had also told him that he was keeping to his quarters.

Defending Purisima

In Purisima’s defense, Mr. Aquino noted that leaders tend to depend on their subordinates and the experts they consult when signing certain contracts, especially if the matters concerned are technical and not easily grasped.

Citing his own experience as an example, he said part of his functions was to sign docu-

Mr. Aquino also said that in entering into the deal, Purisima was trying to solve election-related violence in 2013, including the proliferation of unlicensed firearms.

He said delivering the licenses to the residences of the gunowners would serve as another check on the identity of the gunowner, since it would verify if their given addresses were correct.

“I’m trying to look at it from the overall picture. How do you address the systemic issues that led to 60,000 firearms being registered as questionable.

If you don’t stop that, then you continue the problem. So this was among the steps they undertook,” he said.

“Was it perfect? People are not perfect. Did he knowingly commit these grievous errors?

That is what needs to be proven,” Mr. Aquino said.

But since the Ombudsman found a reason to place Purisima under prevented suspension, he has to comply with this order, Mr. Aquino said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

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Once rebuffed, Department of Justice Risk expert says to ask Malaysia to give up Amalilio Espina spread too thinly; may affect Pope visit

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer

Amalilio’s extradition by a Kota Kinabalu court in October.

“There’s a study from our legal staff [regarding] certain options we can avail of. But I’ll go over them to see which would be feasible or doable. Since our earlier request for his extradition was denied, we have to be very careful in deciding our next course of action because

ones that advised us what were the [legal] requirements and they were so helpful even in the proceedings in Kota Kinabalu.

THE DEPARTMENT of Justice They attended [the proceed(DOJ) may send a legal team ings],” she said. next month to Malaysia to find Using his company Aman a way to bring suspected investFutures, Amalilio, his associment scam mastermind Manuates and recruits allegedly ran a el Amalilio back to the PhilipPonzi scheme that duped least pines where he is facing a string 15,000 people mostly in the Viof syndicated essayas and Mintafa charges. danao of about “I would be P12 billion. sending someHe fled to Maone or a team Since our earlier request for his laysia in 2013 to again talk to extradition was denied, we have to but was arrested them (Malaybe very careful in deciding our next and last year sian governcourse of action because we don’t sentenced to a ment) to dewant our efforts wasted. jail term for postermine if it’s session a fake still possible to Philippine passbring back Amalilio. Maybe we don’t want our efforts wast- port. the team will be deployed in ed,” she said.

Amalilio remains on the InJanuary,” Justice Secretary De Lima said the team would terpol’s list of wanted persons Leila de Lima said in an inter- speak again with the Attorney and could be arrested if he view last Friday.

General’s Chambers, the DOJ’s leaves Malaysia.

De Lima said the DOJ legal counterpart in Malaysia.

Cases against Amalilio and staff had conducted a study of “That office has been help- others are pending before the the case following the the de- ing us, even in the preparation courts in Cagayan de Oro and nial of a Philippine request for of documents. They were the Iligan cities. ■

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BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — A risk management consultant has said that the recent appointment of Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina as the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) may have adverse effects on security preparations for the upcoming Papal Visit from January 15-19, 2015.

Ace Esmeralda, risk management pro, cautioned that Espina’s appointment as OIC of the police force may work against measures being undertaken to ensure maximum security for Pope Francis’ visit to Manila, because Espina already has his hands full as head of the special task group for the Pope’s

trip.

“Just one month before (the Pope’s visit), you suspend the head of the PNP. And then the one in charge of the special task group is the one you promote as the OIC. So [at] first, he was just focused on one special visit, then now he’s the head of the entire PNP nationwide.

We’re looking for the focus,” Esmeralda said, referencing the 6-month preventive suspension of PNP Chief Alan Purisima on allegations of corruption.

“I think it’s a very difficult situation now. You want General Espina to have continuity because he already started (work) with the Task Force. May (there are) glitches sa (in the) system but it can be fixed,” the risk analyst added. ■

Philippine News

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DECEMBER 19, 2014 FRIDAY

Binay ratings nosedive P-Noy’s approval, trust numbers rise in survey 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 INQUIRER RESEARCH, NIKKO DIZON AND NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer VICE PRESIDENT Jejomar Binay’s approval and trust ratings have sunk to their lowest amid charges of corruption leveled against him by his political enemies, while President Aquino’s insistence on transparency in government has earned for him the highest scores in the people’s trust and approval, results of the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.

The 2014 “Ulat ng Bayan” (Report to the Nation) Survey released last week showed Binay’s approval rating dropped 21 percentage points, from 66 percent to 45 percent, and his trust rating fell 20 percentage points, from 64 percent to 44 percent. It also showed double-digit declines in Binay’s approval and trust ratings across geographic areas and socioeconomic groups between September and November.

The survey, conducted among 1,200 respondents, also showed that only President Aquino obtained majority approval and trust ratings among the country’s top five officials.

Mr. Aquino posted 59-percent approval, up by 4 percentage points from 55 percent in September, and his trust rating slightly improved from 54 percent to 56 percent.

In the 16 quarterly surveys conducted before November, Binay’s approval ratings went higher than 80 ten times, while his trust ratings exceeded 80 seven times, Pulse Asia noted. He posted his record-high 87 percent approval rating in March and his record-high 86 trust rating in August 2011 and in March.

Speaker, Chief Justice

Pulse Asia said there were plurality sentiments toward the approval and trust for Binay, while a plurality of those surveyed were undecided about the performance and trustworthiness of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

On the other hand, a big plurality showed ambivalence about the trustworthiness of Senate President Franklin Drilon, it said.

President Aquino’s approval ratings ranged from 55 percent (September) to 88 percent (July 2010) in the previous 17 quarterly surveys, the latter being the only figure to reach the over-80 percentage mark. His trust ratings ranged from 53 percent (June) to 80 percent (November 2012).

Palace happy

Malacañang could not be happier, with presidential spokesperson Edwin

The 2014 “Ulat ng Bayan” (Report to the Nation) Survey released last week showed Binay’s approval rating dropped 21 percentage points, from 66 percent to 45 percent, and his trust rating fell 20 percentage points, from 64 percent to 44 percent.

BLAKEGRIPLING PH / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Lacierda saying the “Filipino people understand that in the long term, the work that the administration and President Aquino [have] been doing for them is really geared toward their benefit.”

That Mr. Aquino’s trust and approval ratings continue to rise shows that the people have confidence in the President and his administration, Lacierda said in a press briefing at the Palace yesterday.

Asked if Mr. Aquino’s excellent grade could translate into public support for the candidate whom the President would choose to run for Malacañang in 2016, Lacierda said it would “certainly be considered by the Filipino people.” “[We hope] the trust that the Filipino people have reposed on the President will be translated [into] trust [in] the political endorsement of [whoever] the President chooses,” Lacierda said.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is presumed to be the ruling Liberal Party’s presidential candidate in 2016, but he is so unpopular among voters that there have been suggestions the party look outside for another candidate with the best chances of winning.

That candidate could be Sen. Grace Poe, an administration ally who surged in the latest Pulse Asia voter-preference poll to overtake Roxas and land in second place, threatening Binay’s lead.

Mr. Aquino has always said he wants a successor who will pursue his good gov-

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ernment and reform programs.

In a separate statement, Lacierda said that the “latest figures show the public’s continuing confidence in our administration, which from the beginning has endeavored to bring out reform and real change in the country.”

“From ensuring the inclusivity growth to coordinating disaster relief and response efforts, the Aquino administration has taken great strides in safeguarding the well-being of our people,” Lacierda said.

There are concrete benefits, he stressed, including more jobs and the “successive credit rating” upgrades for the country.

“Going into the next two years, the administration is committed to further building on the gains we have collectively achieved, propelling the country toward a future marked by true peace and inclusivity,” Lacierda said.

Binay undistracted

Binay said the results of any survey could not distract him from his work.

“No matter what the survey results now show, it would not distract me from what I am doing. I am the presidential adviser on [overseas Filipino workers’] concerns, I have tasks on the government’s antihuman trafficking and shelter programs,” Binay told reporters after attending the launching of a new hotel

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

in Bangkal village, Makati City, yester- Representatives remained unchanged (48 percent from 70 percent), Metro Maday afternoon.

(38 percent). nila (49 percent from 60 percent) and ViBinay spoke at the opening of AuTrust in the three institutions slightly sayas (46 percent from 53 percent). rumone Hotel, a neighborhood hotel moved, for the Senate (37 percent from By classes, the Vice President also sufowned by former overseas Filipino 38 percent), House (34 percent from 36 fered serious declines among Classes E workers in Hong Kong and the Colayco percent) and Supreme Court (41 percent (44 percent from 70 percent), D (45 perFoundation, a group that helps migrant from 44 percent). cent from 64 percent) and ABC (38 perworkers manage their finances. cent from 52 percent).

“We should set aside politics. We are Disapproval everywhere still too far from [the 2016 elections],” Binay registered marked declines in Trusted everywhere Binay said. all geographical areas, obtaining lower Across all areas, President Aquino’s His spokesperson, Joey Salgado, said approval ratings in the rest of Luzon ( 40 trust ratings slightly moved in the rest the Vice President was thankful for the percent from 68 percent), Mindanao ( of Luzon (52 percent from 48 percent), “continued trust and support of the peo- 49 percent from 75 percent), Metro Ma- Metro Manila (49 percent from 47 perple” despite allegations of corruption nila ( 50 percent from 61 percent) and cent), Visayas (62 percent from 61 perbeing heaped on cent) and Mindanao (62 him by his politipercent from 65 percent). cal enemies.

The President’s trust “Vice Presiratings also went up dent Binay reNo matter what the survey results now show, it among Classes ABC (57 spects the rewould not distract me from what I am doing . . . percent from 49 percent) sults of the Pulse We should set aside politics. We are still too far and D (57 percent from Asia survey,” Salfrom [the 2016 elections].

52 percent) except among gado said.

Class E (52 percent from “No amount of 61 percent). mudslinging will Drilon’s trust ratings distract the Vice went up across all arPresident from assisting . . . overseas Fil- Visayas ( 48 percent from 55 percent). eas, ranging from 56 percent (from 39 ipino workers, providing decent and afLikewise, the Vice President’s ap- percent) in the Visayas to 35 percent fordable housing for all, and improving proval ratings drastically dipped among (from 34 percent) in the rest of Luzon. the quality of life of Filipinos,” Salgado Classes ABC (41 percent from 54 per- By classes, Drilon’s trust ratings ranged said. cent), D (45 percent from 66 percent) from 49 percent (from 40 percent) A Senate blue ribbon subcommittee and E (46 percent from 71 percent). among Classes ABC to 43 percent (from is investigating charges of corruption President Aquino’s approval ratings 38 percent) among Class E. against Binay, including overpricing slightly moved in the rest of Luzon (54 Belmonte’s trust ratings ranged from in the construction of the P2.28billion percent from 46 percent), Visayas (68 41 percent (from 31 percent) to 23 perMakati City Hall Building II, which was percent from 65 percent), Metro Manila built when he was mayor of the city.

(49 percent from 48 percent) and MindHe is also accused of amassing ill-got- anao (67 percent from 68 percent). ten wealth, including an 8,877-squareApproval of the President also immeter real estate property in Comembo proved among Classes ABC (59 percent village, Makati, and a 350hectare agri- from 48 percent) and D (59 percent from cultural farm in Rosario town, Batangas 54 percent) but declined among Class E province.

(57 percent from 61 percent).

Binay has refused to face the subcomDrilon’s approval ratings went up mittee to answer the charges thrown at across all areas, ranging from 63 perhim by former political allies, among cent (from 44 percent) in the Visayas to them his former vice mayor, Ernesto 38 percent (from 35 percent) in the rest Mercado. of Luzon. His approval rating also improved among socioeconomic groups, Senate, House chiefs ranging from 55 percent (from 40 perIn the Pulse Asia Ulat ng Bayan, Dril- cent) among Classes ABC to 45 percent on posted 47-percent approval, up by 8 (from 38 percent) among Class D. points from his record-low 39 percent.

Belmonte also posted increased apHis trust rating slightly improved from proval ranging from 44 percent (from 34 a record low of 37 percent to 42 percent. percent) in the rest of Luzon to 29 perThe approval and trust ratings of cent (from 27 percent) in Visayas. His Belmonte both went 4 ticks up, from approval rating ranged from 51 percent record-low 30 percent to 34 percent and (from 42 percent) among Classes ABC from 27 percent to 31 percent, respec- to 25 percent (from 28 percent) among tively.

Class E. Sereno’s approval went up to 37 percent from 33 percent, and her trust rat- Chief Justice’s ratings ing slightly improved from 30 percent to Sereno’s approval ratings went up in 33 percent.

Mindanao (42 percent from 30 percent), Results of the same survey also up by one point in Visayas (33 percent) showed that only the Supreme Court and the rest of Luzon (35 percent) and scored a majority approval rating, while remained unchanged in Metro Manila all the three government institutions (36 percent). By classes, her approval failed to obtain majority trust ratings. ranged from 41 percent (from 38 perApproval ratings of the Supreme cent) among Classes ABC to 29 percent Court and the Senate slightly improved among Class E. from 48 percent to 51 percent and from Trust in Binay dipped across all areas, 40 percent to 42 percent, respectively, posting lower scores in the rest of Luzon while the approval rating of the House of (39 percent from 67 percent), Mindanao

9 cent (from 21 percent) in the Visayas across geographic areas, and ranged from 45 percent (from 37 percent) among Classes ABC to 24 percent (from 26 percent) among Class E by class.

Slight improvements in Sereno’s trust ratings were recorded across all areas (ranging from 37 percent in Mindanao to 29 percent in Visayas) and socioeconomic classes (ranging from 42 percent among Classes ABC to 23 percent among Class E).

Major issues

The survey, conducted from Nov. 14 to 20, used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults aged 18 and older. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.

Among the issues that preoccupied the country immediately before and during the conduct of the survey were: The ongoing investigation by the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee into corruption allegations against Binay, who decided not to appear before the panel on Nov. 7; the reported overpricing of the Iloilo Convention Center, which was endorsed by Drilon as recipient of his allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF); and the probe being conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation into the procurement of vaccines by Health Secretary Enrique Ona in 2012 and Health Undersecretary Eric Tayag. ■

Don Davies

Member of Parliament

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you and your family happiness, health and peace in the new year...

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Philippine News

DECEMBER 19, 2014 FRIDAY

‘Government did all it could for beheaded Pinoy’

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer

As parts of the country reeled from the aftermath of Typhoon “Ruby,” the Senate and House of Representatives have allotted P14 billion for calamities in the proposed P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget. The amount “should be enough” according to some, as long as the country doesn’t get another “Yolanda-like” storm.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Congress allots P14-Billion for calamities in budget

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer AS PARTS of the country reeled from the aftermath of Typhoon “Ruby,” the Senate and House of Representatives have allotted P14 billion for calamities in the proposed P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget.

The P14-billion calamity fund or the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council fund is on top of the total quick response funds allotted to various government agencies, Sen. Francis Escudero said yesterday.

“If we don’t get hit by a ‘Yolanda’-like storm, it should be enough,” he said at a press forum, referring to the supertyphoon that devastated Eastern Visayas and left more than 6,300 dead and missing in November 2013.

This year’s budget carried a similar P14-billion calamity fund, and so far, it seemed sufficient because Malacañang did not ask for augmentation, said the chair of the finance committee.

Ratify their report

The Senate and House, which agreed on a version of the budget at Wednesday’s bicameral conference committee, are set to ratify their bicameral report next week, giving President Aquino ample time to sign the budget measure before year-

end.

After battering Visayas and southern Luzon, Ruby left at least 20 dead and damaged more than P2 billion worth of crops and infrastructure.

The bicameral version of the 2015 budget included P72 billion realignments, including P40 billion from unprogrammed funds that could only be tapped if revenue collection exceeds the target.

The P72 billion originally included the P53.9-billion planned government takeover-buy-out of glitch-ridden Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, which ferries hundreds of thousands of commuters every day along Edsa.

“We scrapped it (P53.9 billion buyout) because not a single peso would improve the MRT 3 and the condition of commuters,” said Escudero, who also chaired the Senate panel in the bicameral conference.

Of the original amount, the bicameral panel only retained P7.4 billion for MRT 3 rehabilitation, P6.520 billion for the payment of the taxes of MRT 3’s contracted loans, and P4.4 billion for the equity value buyout of MRT Corp.

Rehabilitation fund

It apportioned P20 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas hit by Yolanda and other storms, P4.3 billion for Trade Remedies Fund; and P10.6 billion share of the

Department of Health in the incremental revenue from the excise tax, among others.

“No individual lawmaker made a last-minute request because the store was already closed,” Escudero said when asked about last-minute insertions.

The panel also defined savings in compliance with the Supreme Court rulings on the priority development assistance fund or pork barrel and the disbursement acceleration program.

It referred to savings as portions or balances of any released appropriations that have not been obligated arising from the discontinuance of an ongoing program, activity or project; non commencement of any of these due to calamities; decreased cost of project and the difference between the approved budget and awarded price of a project.

It also defined the use of savings and augmentation.

The panel said the President, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice and heads of constitutional commissions enjoying fiscal autonomy, and Ombudsman are authorized to use savings in their budgets to augment deficiencies in the current year.

But they should furnish the Senate and the House semestral and annual reports on the savings generated, their sources, and existing programs that are augmented. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

abroad to “follow the laws of the country they are in and avoid getting involved in criminal activity so this unfortunate incident would not be repeated.”

MALACAÑANG THIS week Coloma said the Philippine said it was saddened by the be- Embassy in Saudi Arabia had heading of a Filipino worker in hired the services of a law office Saudi Arabia and insisted that and other legal consultants to the government had extended “ensure that all of Lana’s legal all possible assistance to Car- rights were protected and that lito Lana who was executed in all legal processes were folRiyadh last Friday. lowed.”

Communications Secretary The DFA admitted that Herminio Coloma said Lana Lana’s execution caught the received a “fair trial” for the department by surprise. Vice killing of his Saudi employer, President Jejomar Binay, Pres65-year-old Nasser al Ghatani. ident Aquino’s adviser on FiliLana had shot al-Ghatani be- pino workers abroad, said an offore running him over with his ficial notice was sent only after own car while the Filipino was an execution. trying to escape.

“I am the pres“We are sadidential adviser dened by the on overseas Filinews that our pinos workers’ compatriot, Mr. concerns and yet Carlito Lana, even I was not was executed in notified about Saudi Arabia,” the execution,” he said, citing He was Binay had told the assistance given all the reporters earlier. provided by the support and Coloma said Philippine govwe ensured the government ernment to Lana that his hired the Al Quand his family. rights waizani law of“According to were fice to handle the the Philippine respected case.

Embassy, he was and that He said the given a fair trial,” the trial and government also he said. sentencing facilitated the The Departwere visit of Lana’s ment of Foreign according mother to Saudi Affairs (DFA) to law.

Arabia on two said Lana, 37, occasions so she was sentenced could see her to death after son. the family of the “He was given victim refused all the support to execute an afand we ensured fidavit of forgivethat his rights ness (tanazul) in exchange for were respected and that the triblood money. al and sentencing were accordLana was convicted of mur- ing to law,” Coloma said. der and sentenced to death by As a Muslim convert and in beheading in 2011, according to accordance with Muslim tradirecords of the Philippine Em- tion, the remains of Lana were bassy. buried in Saudi Arabia.

An embassy report quoted Migrante International, a Lana, a Muslim convert, as say- group advocating for the weling that his employer was a good fare of overseas Filipino workman and that they enjoyed a ers, said the Aquino adminisgood working relationship, but tration did not provide enough he was being pressured to pray legal assistance to Lana, the during Muslim prayer time. sixth Filipino to be executed Coloma appealed to Filipinos abroad since 2010. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

11

Areas to be visited by Pope Francis to be declared no-fly zones

BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE CIVIL Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) yesterday recommended that the committee organizing the papal visit in January declare a no-fly zone policy in areas to be visited by the Pope.

Aviation officials also found it necessary to close down Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City on Jan. 17, 2015, the day Pope Francis is expected to give a Holy Mass and meet survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”

“We will establish flight restrictions over the duration of his visit. We will give him priority befitting his status,” retired Gen. Rodate Joya, deputy director general for operations of the CAAP, said in a news briefing yesterday.

In CAAP’s recommendation to the Papal Visit 2015-National Organizing Committee (PV-NOC) headed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., a no-fly zone of 2 nautical miles and height of 18,000 feet “from the point of engagement” should be implemented during the papal visit.

“This is to ensure that the Pope is safe from any threat,” Joya said, noting that a security protocol similar to the one implemented during the visit of US President Barack Obama will be in place.

“The difference, however, is with the Pope’s movement, expect a great multitude to swarm around him,” the CAAP official said.

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the country from Jan. 15 to 19, 2015.

Apart from a meeting with President Aquino in Malaca-

ñang and religious leaders of the Catholic Church at University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Pope Francis will lead a Holy Mass at Rizal Park where a huge number of Catholics are expected to attend.

“From the Luneta grandstand, the no-fly zone could cover areas up to the Baclaran area,” Joya said.

In Tacloban, the airport would be closed to other flights within two to three hours after his departure.

“These are our recommendations which are still subject to the approval of the NOC,” he said.

The no-fly zone policy covers commercial, cargo and general aviation flights, fight training, radio-controlled aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles such as drones.

However, exemptions may be granted by the NOC, particu-

larly for news organizations covering the papal visit.

The CAAP is speeding up the rehabilitation of the runway of the Tacloban airport, which can only accommodate turbo-propeller aircraft.

Joya noted that in a previous meeting, CAAP officials were told by the NOC that the Pope will ride an Airbus A320 of the flag carrier Philippine Airlines from Manila to Tacloban and

back.

“We still have plenty of time to finish the work ahead of Pope Francis’ visit,” he said.

The 2,140-meter runway of the Tacloban airport, which was among the structures destroyed by Yolanda last year, has been riddled with potholes.

This has prompted aviation officials to begin the repairs and open the airport on a limited capacity. ■

New fighter jets ‘the real thing’ for Philippine Air Force pilots

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer BUSAN, SOUTH Korea—Nothing beats hands-on training.

Military pilots will no longer have to resort to theoretical exercises but will be honing their aviation skills in actual fighter jets, which their South Korean maker is expected to start delivering next year.

Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots will not have to make do with “table-top exercises” anymore, said President Aquino as he touted the advantages for the Philippines of acquiring 12 South Korean-made fighter jets during his just-concluded visit here last week.

The Philippines purchased the jets from the Korea Aerospace Industries for P18.9 billion. Delivery will start next year, with two of the jets expected by December 2015. Final delivery will be completed in 2017.

Mr. Aquino inspected a model of the FA50 at the Gimhae Air

Base in Busan before leaving for home last Friday.

The President was in Busan with other heads of state and government of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to attend the two-day Asean-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in celebration of 25 years of relations between Asean and South Korea.

The last time the Philippine military had a fighter jet in its inventory was in 2005, Mr. Aquino noted.

With these new aircraft, the country’s military pilots will be able to hone their skills and have the means to bring back quick results from their surveillance of the country’s waters, he said.

“Just because you’re a pilot doesn’t mean you can already be a fighter pilot,” the President said.

He said the pilots could do tabletop exercises and simulation flying, but that’s not as good as the real thing.

“It’s still a different matter if your radar gets used to plot-

President Benigno S. Aquino III inspects an FA-50 fighter jet at the Gimhae Airbase in Busan, South Korea on Friday, December 12. The Philippines acquired 12 South-Korean made fighter jets from Korea Aerospace Industries for P 18.9 Billion, with delivery expected to start next year.

RYAN LIM / MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU

ting this, and your air controllers learn how to guide this. We could lose those abilities,” Mr. Aquino said.

“So the purpose of these planes is to retain those abilities. They call this the leadin.

It’s like these are the trainers for that [core of ] fighters,” he added.

Mr. Aquino noted that at www.canadianinquirer.net

present, if the military wanted to check something from the air, all it had were “ancient planes” like the Nomad and the Islander. A round trip on one of those planes could take about nine hours, he said.

With the swifter fighter jets, the job of surveillance will be made quicker, he said.

The Philippine acquisition of

fighter jets comes at a time of increasing tensions with China over territories in the West Philippine Sea, or the South China Sea, which China claims almost in its entirety.

The Philippines has taken the issue to a United Nations arbitration tribunal, but Beijing has refused to participate or recognize the tribunal’s jurisdiction. ■

12

Philippine News

DECEMBER 19, 2014 FRIDAY

Vietnam stand boosts Philippine case on South China Sea dispute

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer VIETNAM HAS helped ensure peace in the South China Sea dispute with Beijing by following the Philippines in seeking UN arbitration despite China’s refusal to take part, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday.

Last Thursday, Vietnam submitted its position to the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in a case initiated by the Philippines over the festering dispute.

Vietnam opposed China’s claim over Hoang Sa (Yellow Sand) Island and Truong Sa, an island district of Hanoi’s Khanh Hoa province, and nearby waters in the South China Sea. The Vietnamese foreign ministry said Vietnam had legal and historical claims over these islands.

China called on Vietnam to respect its sovereignty and said it would not take part in the arbitration.

“The Vietnamese position is helpful in terms of promoting the rule of law and in finding peaceful and nonviolent solutions to the South China Sea claims based on international law,” Assistant Foreign Secretary Charles Jose, spokesperson for the DFA, said in a statement.

He said the Philippines and Vietnam had close bilateral consultations with other members of the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

pines of violating international law when it went directly to the United Nations after the two sides agreed to settle disputes bilaterally.

China said it was not changing its position not to participate in the arbitration.

The Philippines insists on arbitration as a peaceful way of settling territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and has urged the other claimants to follow its initiative by going to the UN arbitral court.

Vietnam, the Philippines’ staunchest ally in regional talks on the maritime disputes, is the first of the other claimants to follow Manila in taking legal action against China in the United Nations.

‘Not unexpected’

Vietnam’s position, he said, was “not totally unexpected, since [it] seeks to protect its own interests.”

“What we understand, however, consistent with our previous discussions, is that Vietnam’s basic position largely accords with ours with regard to the South China Sea,” Jose said.

China claims almost the entire energy-rich South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims.

Only Brunei has not occupied and garrisoned territory in the potential flash point in the region.

Law of the sea

China, Vietnam and the Philippines are signatories to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea ( Unclos), an international agreement that grants the right to explore and exploit resources within 370 kilometers of a state’s shore.

Both the Philippines and Vietnam say China is extending beyond the limit.

In May, China placed its largest mobile oil rig close to Vietnam’s coast in the Paracel Islands, drawing angry protests in Hanoi against Chinese business interests.

At the same time, China began land reclamation in the Spratly Islands and appeared to

Ending distrust

be building airstrips in the area.

China has also seized control of Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) near the Philippines’ main island of Luzon and chased civilian ships delivering supplies to Philippine-held Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) in the Spratlys.

Without military muscle to protect its territory in the West Philippine Sea— part of the South China Sea within its 370km exclusive economic zone— the Philippines brought the dispute to the United Nations last year for arbitration.

On March 30, the Philippines submitted to the arbitration tribunal a brief on the dispute and asked it to clarify the en-

titlements of the claimants to territory in the South China Sea. ‘No jurisdiction’

China refused to take part in the arbitration, but was ordered by the tribunal to comment on the Philippine case by Dec. 15.

In a position paper posted on its website last week, the Chinese foreign ministry said the UN arbitral tribunal had no jurisdiction over the case filed by the Philippines because Manila’s claims in the South China Sea involved sovereignty over disputed territory, which was beyond the scope of Unclos.

China accused the Philip-

“Vietnam’s legal opinion puts political weight on the Philippine legal case,” Rommel Banlaoi, a security analyst, said on television.

“What Vietnam did was in fact supporting, reaffirming and even rallying behind the Philippine legal action and that’s good for our national interest,” he said.

The Philippines and Vietnam appear to be ending decades of distrust.

Last year, the two sides held a first-ever navy-to-navy talks, and last month, Hanoi displayed its two most powerful missile-guided stealth frigates in Manila during a port call.

The two states will hold the first strategic defense dialogue early next year. ■

Philippine military, police declare Christmas truce with communist rebels THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippines’ military chief on Monday declared a month-long suspension of military and police offensives against communist guerrillas in observance of the Christmas holidays, but added that assaults against hard-line www.canadianinquirer.net

Muslim militants would continue.

Military and police forces will halt counterinsurgency offensives Dec. 18 to Jan. 19, Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said. He urged New People’s Army guerrillas to similarly declare a holiday respite on attacks, as they have done in past years.

Catapang said government

forces would shift to a defensive posture, but would continue to serve warrants of arrest to insurgents and secure government installations.

The Maoist rebels have been fighting in the countryside since 1969 in one of Asia’s longest-running Marxist insurgencies. Sporadic clashes have dimmed prospects of reviving stalled peace talks. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

13

Non-working holidays... possibility of declaring holi- Leonardo Espina is officer in charge days, stressing that the govern- of the PNP in the absence of Purisiment “wants to give the people ma. the opportunity to witness the programs “The PNP would not be less effective of the Holy Father even at home through because of that issue,” Coloma said. “Let mass media.” us not engage in speculation because the “Because of this, [the Palace] is study- President’s declaration on the matter is ing proposals to declear.” clare nonworking President Aquino holidays,” Coloma earlier made it clear said on state-run rathat Espina was dio. “Let’s just wait calling the shots at for the decision. [The the PNP because of only thing we] want The Purisima’s suspenis to give our people only thing we sion. enough opportunity want is to give “He’s [Espina] the to witness the visit of our people head of the PNP at the Pope.” enough this point. He’s supopportunity to posed to run [the Purisima’s woes witness the visit PNP].

Somebody Coloma assured of the Pope. doesn’t follow him, the public that that person gets repreparations for the moved. Whatever we Pope’s visit would put in place should not be affected by not be dependent on issues surrounding any one person,” Mr. the leadership of the Philippine Na- Aquino told reporters in Busan, South tional Police.

Korea.

PNP Director General Alan PurisiBut with Purisima and Espina both ma is serving a six-month suspension retiring next year, the President said he for authorizing an allegedly irregu- was now looking for the next PNP chief, lar deal for the delivery of firearm studying the “track record of all the conlicenses. Deputy Director General tenders.” ■ ❰❰ 1

Monster typhoons will be the ‘new normal’ in Philippines, solon warns

BY SAMMY F. MARTIN Philippine News Agency MANILA — House Committee on Labor Chairman on Monday warned colossal typhoons like the recent Super Typhoon Ruby and last year’s Yolanda could be the “new normal” in the country and the government should now step up efforts to create climate-resilient communities and start giving premium to environment-friendly technologies and innovations.

“In light of the destructive typhoons hitting the country every year, we wonder if this is the new normal for our country, and if there is anything more we can do to reverse the pattern. It’s very obvious, this is Mother Earth’s way of reminding us to take care of our planet,” Davao City Congressman Karlo Alexei Nograles said.

The House senior official said that extreme weather patterns such as Yolanda-like typhoons, gigantic tornadoes and unprecedented blizzards that take place in many parts of the world is a clear sign that the planet is hurting due to climate change and governments around the world should start taking serious steps to stop global warming.

He said that the Philippines, which has always been at the receiving end of violent typhoons, should now start adopting measures to create climateresilient communities and consider the use of energy-efficient and modular housing units.

According to Nograles, all nations around the world should also work together to reverse the destructive effects of climate change by reducing their carbon emissions and by stopping the continued destruction of the world’s remaining forests.

He added that economies around the world should work harder at greening their economy and fully adopting climate-smart innovations and technolo-

gies that do not damage the environment.

Nograles said he authored the proposed Philippine Green Jobs Act (House Bill 4969) purposely to create financial opportunities while helping to save the planet.

“All nations must now work harder at greening their economy, using climatesmart innovations and technologies that do not damage the environment.

More than this, we have to invest in educating people and the workforce to provide them with the necessary skills to run more environment-friendly industries. For us Filipinos, that begins here with us. And that is what the Green Jobs bill is all about,” the veteran lawmaker pointed out.

He expressed concern that unless governments around the world would work together to reverse global warming, people should now “expect to experience extreme weather conditions on a regular basis” and worse, archipelagic and small island countries like the Philippines could slowly disappear from the map due to the steady rise of the world’s oceans.

“Although we have very little contribution to carbon emission compared with highly industrialized countries, we are taking the initiative in this fight to save the planet through our green jobs bill. So many opportunities are opening up because of the increasing consciousness on the need to protect the planet through the green technology and environment-friendly innovations,” Nograles stressed.

The solon’s “green jobs” bill earned praises from the United Nation’s International Labour Organization (ILO), which is said to be the “first of its kind not only in the region, but in the world.”

In a letter, ILO Country Director Lawrence Jeff Johnson commended Nograles for his “initiative of recognizing the importance of ‘Green Jobs’ as part of the country’s strategy of addressing the challenges of climate change and pursuing a more inclusive path towards sustainability.” ■

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Philippine News

DECEMBER 19, 2014 FRIDAY

Bukidnon bus bombing suspect linked to previous bombings in North Cotabato — PNP PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

police special tracker team had been sent to locate the two suspects.

As in previous bombing incidents, the BIFF, through Abu Misry Mama, earlier denied involvement in the bus bombing.

Longakit said the motive could be extortion since the Rural Transit Mindanao Incorporated, operator of Rural Bus, admitted to authorities they have been receiving extortion demand and received threats that one of its units will be bombed for refusal to provide “protection money.”

Pinol said Macmod Manibpil is a resident of Barangay Nuangan, Kidapawan City and not the town of Mlang.

Mayor Pinol said Manibpil was arrested due to his alleged participation in the Kidapawan Bus Terminal and LBC bombings in October of 2003.

“I’ve asks my barangay chairmen but they don’t know this man. But when I ask my sources from the authorities they conKIDAPAWAN CITY — The susfirmed to me that Manibpil is pect in the Bukidnon bus bombfrom Kidapawan City,” Mayor ing was previously involved in Pinol said. bombing attacks in North CotaThe Bukdinon police said bato, arrested but escaped.

Manibpil was tagged in the Police authorities in Bukidbombing after two witnesses non has identified a man who confirmed a man with the same allegedly planted an improfeatures as Manibpil, seen with vised bomb in a Rural Trana bull cap, was seen boarding sit Bus and set it off on Dec. 9 the bus carrying a backpack but that left 10 dead and 42 others later left. wounded.

The mayor added that Macmod Manibpil, who was Manibpil was detained at the linked to previous bus bombCotabato Provincial Jail, in Baings in North Cotabato, was rangay Amas, Kidapawan but earlier reported to be from was able to escape when armed Mlang town. men stormed the jail facility in But Mayor Joselito Pinol February 2, 2007. denied Manibpil was from his At least 47 inmates bolted the town. jail, including three high-proSenior Inspector Jiselle Lou file inmates involved in series Longakit, Bukidnon police of bombing activities in North spokesperson, Cotabato and said Manibpil other parts of was linked to Mindanao. the Kabacan The three susbus bombing in pected bombers 2006, arrested I’ve asks my barangay chairmen were identified but managed but they don’t know this man. But as Datu Ali Sulto escape from when I ask my sources from the tan, Guido and North Cotabato authorities they confirmed to me that Mundos. jail. After his esManibpil is from Kidapawan City.

At least 25 cape, he joined armed men bethe Bangsamoro lieved to be Islamic Freemembers of the dom Fighters Moro Islamic (BIFF), a ragtag Liberation Front bandits that broke out with the The twin Kidapawan bomb- (MILF) stormed the jail and Moro Islamic Liberation Front ings claimed at least a dozen fired M-203 grenade launcher, (MMILF). lives and hurt several passen- destroying the concrete wall of Longakit said Manibpil and gers and bystanders. Mayor the jail facility to bolt out comDawtin Gendang, suspect in Pinol said that his source told panions. the Nov. 6 bombing of another him that Manibpil was facing Police are also trying to link Rural Bus, also in Bukidnon, multiple murder, multiple frus- the two suspects in the Kabaremain at large. Four persons trated murder and multiple at- can and Mlang bombings last were wounded in the Nov. 6 tempted murder cases filed in month that left four dead and blast.

Kidapawan City Regional Trial 45 others wounded. ■ The police spokesperson said Court.

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House to pass Bangsamoro Law next year

BY LEI FONTAMILLAS Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — The House of Representatives is eyeing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in March next year, as it makes consensus on the final provisions of the bill.

The House is nearly finished on removing provisions that contradicts the Constitution.

Among the final revisions include an “opt-in” clause for inclusion of adjacent barangay (villages) and municipalities in the territory and its coverage by the Commission on Audit and the Civil Service Code, according to Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the 75-member ad hoc committee on the BBL. The lawmaker made the statement during an interview over dzBB radio.

Rodriguez also said that a total of 30 public hearings were held by the House Committee.

Some 20 of the said public hearings were conducted in Min-

danao, while the 31st and the 32nd hearings in Cebu and Iloilo, respectively are set this week.

Meanwhile, the hearings for all the governors and mayors of local government units in Bangsamoro territory as well as in adjacent provinces and cities in the Batasang Pambansa will resume on Jan. 16.

Meanwhile, another hearing for the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters had been scheduled the next day, according to Rodriguez.

“Some of them may not be able to come because they have warrants of arrest. We are requesting that their representatives come to read their (position) papers,” he said.

“We will have about three weeks of plenary debates. We hope to finish this by March 30,” he added. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

15

Maserati driver’s license cancelled by LTO

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Maserati driver Joseph Russel Ingco has had his license revoked by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), on account of his scuffle with traffic official Jorbe Adriatico.

LTO spokesperson Jason Salvador said that the agency resolved on Friday to strip Ingco of his license on charges of reckless driving, committing a crime in the process of apprehension and driving an unregistered vehicle.

He added that each of the charges carried a fine of P10,000, aside from the revocation of the driver’s license.

The ruling is being questioned by Ingco’s camp, which says that they were never notified or summoned in order to

explain their side of the story; as such, they would appeal the LTO’s decision.

Ingco’s legal counsel, Edgar Padernal, said that his client was never given the chance to personally address the complaint filed against him by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Padernal said Ingco was never able to answer in person or in writing the complaint against him filed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Salvador pointed out, however, that the LTO based its decision not only on the MMDA complaint, but also on Ingco’s four prior records of reckless driving.

He added that it was unnecessary for the LTO to summon Ingco prior to issuing its resolution to revoke his driver’s license. ■

President Aquino to new Armed Forces officers: Follow the straight path PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — President Benigno S. Aquino III told the fresh graduates of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Officer Candidate Courses not to give in to temptations as they perform their new role as military officers.

“Ibang klaseng tapang at dangal din ang hihilingin sa inyo sa pagharap sa tuksong maaaring makaengkuwentro habang nagsisilbi sa bayan. May mga magtutulak ng sobreng hitik sa salapi, kapalit ng pirma. May mga magtatang-

kang padaliin ang buhay ninyo, kapalit ang prinsipyo (Courage and honor will be expected of you once faced with the temptations that will hinder you from serving the country. There will be those who tempt with money in exchange of your signature. There will be some who will promise a more convenient life in exchange of principle),” the President said during his speech at the officers’ graduation ceremony held at the AFP Theater, Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

“Alam kong gagawin ninyo ang tama, dahil tiwala akong nakikita ninyo ang magandang bunga sa pagtahak natin

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his speech during the joint graduation ceremony of the Officers Candidate Courses at the AFP Theater of the Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Monday, December 15.

RYAN LIM / MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU

sa tuwid na daan (I know that you will choose to do right, because I trust that you have seen the fruits of following the straight path),” he said.

President Aquino noted that as officers, more are expected of them.

“Magkakaroon ng mga pagkakataon kung kailan buhay ng inyong mga kapwasundalo ang nakataya sa inyong desisyon.

Sa panahon ng pangangailangan, sa inyo babaling para sa direksyon at inspirasyon ang inyong hanay. Higit sa lahat, sa harap ng taumbayan, kayo ang magiging mukha ng Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas (There will be a moment wherein the life of your fellow soldier rests on your shoulders. In times of need, it is your responsibility to provide direction and inspiration for your people. Most of all, for the people, you will be the face of the Armed Forces of the Philippines),” he said.

The President said that as new officers, their main tasks not only involve facing terrorists and bandits but leading rescue operations during disasters, as well.

Yet despite all their efforts, he said, they could be the subject of criticisms as well.

“Ngunit hindi naman parangal at papuri ang habol natin nang pumasok tayo sa serbisyong pampubliko, di po ba?

Basta’t makatulong ka, sapat na iyon; basta’t makaambag ka sa positibong pagbabago, sapat na iyon,” he said.

During the ceremony, the President presented the Presidential Saber Award

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to 2nd Lt. Rodel Bacquial (Army), 2nd Lt. Kenneth Aquino (Air Force), and Ensign Cathleen Joy Cruz (Navy); the Secretary of National Defense Saber Award to 2nd Lt. Noccolo Bayona (Army), 2nd Lt. Reden Jane Hucalla (Air Force), and Ensign May Joy Allauigan (Navy); and the Chief of Staff Saber Award to 2nd Lt. Cristinson Caampued (Army), 2nd Lt. Ronnie Rizal (Air Force), and Ensign Kristia Marie Villegas (Navy).

To the awardees, he said, “Sa pagsulong ng inyong mga karera, kayo ang magiging pinuno ng kasundaluhan. Nawa’y marangal ninyong tanganan ang mga espadang ipagkakaloob sa inyo sa araw na ito (As your career starts, you will become the heads of the army. May you lay hold of the swords given to you with honor).”

For his part, AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang congratulated the new officers and told them: “You have what it takes to be fine soldiers.”

Present during the ceremony were Defense Secretary Voltiare Gazmin; Lt. General Hernando Iriberri, Commanding General of the Philippine Army; Lt. General Jeffrey Delgado, Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force; and Vice Admiral Jesus Millan, Flag Officerin-Command of the Philippine Navy, and other military officers.

A total of 146 students of the course graduated and joined the military as second lieutenant and ensigns. Of the figure, 65 joined the Army, 47 joined the Navy, and 34 joined the Air Force. ■

Opinion

16

DECEMBER 19, 2014 FRIDAY

PUBLIC LIVES

Deconstructing distrust

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer APART FROM their “approval/disapproval” of the job performance of top public officials and government institutions, Pulse Asia asks its informants to estimate the amount of “trust and distrust” they have for these officials and institutions. The correlation between these two ratings is remarkably high, suggesting that perhaps, in the Filipino mind, there is no meaningful difference between approval and trust.

But, there is. Approval and disapproval are functional judgments. In the Pulse Asia survey, they refer to a person’s performance in a given role or position, not to the entire person or institution. Trust and distrust, on the other hand, are moral judgments that refer not to a specific role, but to a person’s whole character.

The specification of functional roles—such as one finds in the question on job performance—is a feature of modern society. One may perform poorly in a given assignment at a particular time, but that does not mean he can’t be trusted in another job all the time.

In contrast, moral judgments—as exemplified by the question on trust/ distrust—are more common in pre-

modern society. The judgment they al scores for job performance. na ito ay Malaking-malaki, Malaki, involve is emotional, rather than President Aquino’s approval rating Maaaring malaki at maaaring maliit, technical-rational. in the November 2014 survey stood Maliit, o Maliit na maliit/Wala?”

This is not to say that judgments of at 59 percent nationwide. His trust This is not a question that a modern trustworthiness are irrational or less rating was three percentage points individual will find easy to respond to. rational than those given for work lower. On the other hand, his disap- But, it definitely makes more sense performance. Indeed, both modes proval rating was at 11 percent, but to ask Filipinos how much they trust are rational in that they help people his distrust rating was at 13 percent. their public officials than to ask them make decisions in a given environ- This pattern is found in all the ratings what they think of their job performent. For example, people may find of the top public officials. mance. The reason, as I see it, is that it preferable to buy from a “suki” (a A judgment on the job-perfor- in our culture, we have yet to learn trusted seller) rather than go through mance question seems to me to pre- to disaggregate roles. For this reason, the tedious process of bidding out or sume a level of cognitive awareness I would assign greater value to trust canvassing for the best terms avail- on the part of the informant, whereas ratings than to job-performance ratable. In a simple ings. world, people do This brings me I think that, for the first time, Vice President Binay’s make decisions on to Vice President distrust rating has cast him in the negative role of a threat to the basis of trust.

Jejomar Binay’s But, the more comtrust scores. Pulse be resisted. plex the environAsia’s November ment becomes—i.e., the more choices the trust/distrust question is only a 2014 Ulat ng Bayan national survey there are—the more it is difficult to matter of “gut feel.” All that the ques- shows Binay to be the second most merely rely on a “suki” relationship. tion asks of the informants is that trusted among the nation’s top five It is interesting that, by being able they sum up their feelings about a officials, after the President. This is to give out different scores for job per- person or institution: How much do a far cry from his past ratings showformance and trust, Pulse Asia’s infor- you trust this person? ing him consistently to be at the top. mants showed that they were capable Here’s how the question is actu- But, the reversal in the Filipino pubof distinguishing the two items from ally phrased: “Nais sana naming ta- lic’s estimation of the Vice President one another. But, it is remarkable that nungin kayo tungkol sa pagtitiwala is perhaps more sharply captured by while the approval ratings they gave ninyo sa ilang mga tao sa ating lipu- his “distrust” ratings for November for job performance were uniformly nan. Sa pamamagitan po ng board 2014. At a record 26 percent, Binay’s higher than the trust ratings they na ito (Show rating board), maaari distrust rating eclipses everyone handed out, the reverse is true for dis- bang pakisabi ninyo kung gaano ka- else’s. The same pattern is mirrored approval and distrust ratings. Distrust laki o kaliit ang inyong pagtitiwala by his disapproval rating, which, at ratings tended to outweigh disapprov- kay [Personality]? Masasabi ba ninyo 23 percent, far exceeds those of the

other top officials.

VP Binay and his allies, of course, would rather highlight his trust and approval ratings. At 44 and 45 percent, respectively, they are still high, notwithstanding their recent steep decline. Understandably, Binay graciously thanks the Filipino people for their continuing trust. Indeed, the same survey shows that he remains the choice for president of 26 percent of all respondents if elections were to be held today. Still, I am sure he deeply worries if he can sustain these numbers till the 2016 presidential election.

To me, the only numbers worth watching are those recorded for distrust. In all past surveys before September 2014, distrust for Binay nationwide never went beyond 4 percent. In September, it rose to 11 percent; from there, it climbed up to 26 percent last month—the highest for any incumbent top public official.

Distrust is not merely lack of trust.

It is rather the polar opposite of trust, and fulfills the same function of resolving complexity. Like trust, it needs but little information to confirm itself. As an active emotion, distrust defines its object as an enemy to be fought. I think that, for the first time, Vice President Binay’s distrust rating has cast him in the negative role of a threat to be resisted. ■

AS I SEE IT

Erap to support Poe against Binay

By Neal H. Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA MAYOR Joseph Estrada was at the Tap Room of the Manila Hotel last Dec. 11 to listen to Margaux Salcedo sing. I was seated beside him and we talked politics.

I said the survey ratings of his friend Vice President Jojo Binay are plunging while those of Sen. Grace Poe, another friend, are shooting up.

If the trend continues, the presidential race in 2016 may be a tossup between Binay and Poe, both of whom are his friends. “When that happens, whom will Erap and his Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino support?” I asked Erap pointblank.

Without hesitation, he answered: “I will have a difficult time, but I will choose Grace.” “Why?” I asked.

“Grace is the daughter of my best friend FPJ (Fernando Poe Jr.) who is more than a brother to me,” Erap answered. “We have gone through a lot together. Together, we fought the Big Four criminal syndicate that was victimizing movie actors and actresses.

When I ran for president, he helped me. He stopped making movies so he

would have time to campaign for me.

When Binay had a falling out with my luggage.’ Me, I want to retire “When it was his turn to run for his political party, Partido Demokra- while I can still make love.” Erap is president, I was not able to cam- tiko Pilipino-Laban, a member of the known as a ladies’ man and has had paign for him because I was already UNA coalition, he left it and said he several partners with whom he has imprisoned, although it was I who was going to form another party that children. convinced him to run. Now that his would be a member of UNA. Until “Does that mean you are losing daughter Grace may run for presi- now, it is not known what that party your ability to make love?” I joked. dent, I have to help her. It’s the only is or who its members are besides the “Hindi naman, but I am getting old.” way I can repay FPJ. My conscience Binay family.

After being pardoned by then Presiwill bother me if I don’t support her.

“What about you?” I asked Erap. dent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Erap Baka pag multuhan nya pa ako (He “You are right behind the leaders in ran for mayor of Manila and won. may even haunt me).” “What about the rankings. If there is a public clam- The mayor of Manila has always been Binay?” “Eh, bahala na siya.” It was or for you, will you consider running a contender for the presidency of Erap who helped Binay win as vice for president?” the Philippines. At present, Erap is president in the facing a disqualifi2010 elections. Bication case filed by Now that his daughter Grace may run for president, I nay was his running former Manila mayhave to help her. It’s the only way I can repay FPJ. mate in the PMP or Alfredo Lim in ticket. Erap finthe Supreme Court. ished second to P-Noy but Binay beat “I am 76 years old. I may be too The issue is whether or not the parMar Roxas. Without Erap’s support, old,” Erap answered. “My idol is don allowed him to run for political Binay could not have won.

President Ronald Reagan. He was a office.

After the elections, Binay an- grade B movie actor but he became The language of the pardon is connounced he would go after the presi- president of the United States, the fusing, hence the controversy. The dency (and he has been campaigning most powerful nation in the world. “whereas” clause says Erap has said since then, in violation of the Com- If a grade B movie actor like him can he is withdrawing from all political mission on Elections rule against be president, why not a grade A actor activities, but the dispositive porpremature campaigning). Erap, Bi- like me, I asked myself. So I ran for tion gave back all his civil rights, innay and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile then president and won.” cluding the right to vote and be voted formed the United Nationalist AlliErap continued: “Reagan said, ‘I upon, which means that he can run ance (UNA). want to retire while I can still carry for public office. Legal experts say

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the dispositive portion is superior to all the “whereas” clauses. If correct, then Erap can be a candidate for any public office.

The Supreme Court is reported to be ready to issue its decision.

Erap can also have a career as a singer. He has the voice for it. He usually sings at the Tap Room gigs of Margaux Salcedo. Last Dec. 11, he sang “It’s Always You” which was repaid with a standing ovation.

Last week, the Tap Room was overflowing, literally. There were so many fans who wanted to listen to Margaux.

Extra tables and chairs had to be brought in, but fans still lined the bar and stood at the doorway to listen.

Celebrity singers usually drop in and Margaux invites them to sing.

Last Thursday, jazz singer Sandra Lim Viray and Megan Herrera sang several songs, besides Erap, to the delight of the crowd. Sandra is the wife of drummer Jun Viray (who is celebrating his birthday on Dec. 18). Megan is the widow of bassist Roger Herrera.

With Margaux singing regularly there, the Tap Room is attracting accomplished singers, music lovers and celebrities. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

17

VIEWPOINT

Ghosts from Christmases past

By Juan L. Mercado Philippine Daily Inquirer THE GRIME-STREAKED beggar standing at the church exit refused to budge. The first of the traditional nine Misa de Gallo Masses before Christmas had just ended.

A delay would mean I’d miss that overbooked flight to Bangkok. I was a “martial law refugee” and Thailand was our United Nations station for 17 years. Four of five kids were flying in, from US schools, for Christmas.

Irritated, we tried to shove past the man. He didn’t budge. Shifting his battered tin cup, the beggar persisted: “Don’t you remember me?”

Seeing the blank look in my eyes, he murmured: “We were classmates in Cebu Normal elementary school.

I’m Candido….”

Memory scraped away the wrinkles, the dirt, and the in-between years. Indeed, we had played the games of childhood. Together, we built model airplanes and sailed toy boats. Vacations, we’d swim in nearby town swimming pools. And today?

Tiene cara de hambre. “You have the face of hunger,” the orphan boy tells the Man nailed to a cross in the monastery basement in the film classic “Marcelino, Pan y Vino.” The boy of-

fers Him bread and wine scrounged by one consent, to open their shut-up in this “hallowed and gracious time.” from the monastery’s kitchen. hearts freely,” Charles Dickens wrote Their tears underscored the diCandido and I managed snatches in 1843. Like the recycled Ebene- aspora’s untabulated costs. Hidden of conversation, but airline schedules zer Scrooge, they see “people below behind those dollar padala are: pain, are unyielding. Later, as the immigra- them, not as another race of crea- separation, alienation, trauma even. tion officer waved us on, we fretted: tures bound on other journeys, but as Tiene cara de hambre.

Couldn’t we have dropped into his fellow passengers to the grave.”

Christmas, Filipino SVD fathers tin cup more than what was hurriedly I’ve never seen my beggar-friend told their expat flock, is Emmanuel— fished out of a shirt pocket? since. But he is part of Christmas- “God with us”—in the dark, loneliWe’re all invited to journey to Beth- es past. As the years slip by, their ness and pain. lehem. No one is excluded, not even wraith-faces reappear. A bittersweet JAKARTA: Illness in the family is those Ampatuan massacre murderers chiaroscuro tone overlays the mon- shattering, especially so for expatrior vice presidents who dodge Senate tage. ates. We trudged to the Crib in Geinvestigations withreja Theresia (St. out blushing. That Therese’s Church), In today’s tensions between Muslims and non-Musboggles the mind. behind the giant mall lims, isn’t it essential to find common ground between these But Christmas has Sarina. Half a world clashing Abrahamic traditions? always shattered the away, alone in a Los limits we clamp on it.

ROME: “That season comes Angeles hospital, my younger brothFor some, like Imelda Marcos, the wherein our Savior’s birth is cele- er—a diaspora statistic—lay dying. invitation comes, as the newspaper brated/ The bird of dawning singeth Jesse called in January. “Life is Guardian notes, while she “clicks a all night long.” At the Divine Word fa- fragile,” he mused. “We don’t know button for servants, in a Manila pent- thers’ Verbiti headquarters, overseas when we’ll see each other again. Let’s house, with masterpieces by Picasso, Filipino workers sang carols. (These meet in Cebu.” So he flew in from LA, priceless Buddha statues and gold, included, of course, “Ang Pasko Ay our sister came from Toronto, the gold, gold.”

Sumapit,” the Tagalog adaptation of wife and I arrived from Bangkok. We Others, like my classmate Candi- the 1933 Visayan daygon, “Kasadya had a laughter-filled week with our do, wearily limp to the “City of David” Ning Takna-a”). English carols have then 86-year-old mother. with empty tin cups. Billionaires here blotted out Spanish carols like “NaOur mother went in July. “Please. dine in “gated enclaves” while many cio, Nacio Pastores.”

No heroic measures,” our sister-in-law skip meals in the next slum. “There Star lanterns and a Nativity scene told the cardiac team that rushed in. was no room in the inn.” festooned the hall. But corrosive And by Christmas, Jesse was gone, too.

Yet, “Christmas is the only time I loneliness contorted the faces of The Child of Bethlehem enables us know of when men and women seem, OFWs separated from kith and kin, to glimpse beyond the grave. “Death

is not the extinguishing of life,” the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote. “It is putting out the lamp because dawn has come.”

BANGKOK: From our third-floor flat, we’d watch this Thai lady slip into the deserted courtyard of Holy Redeemer Church. Draped in the Advent dawn’s darkness, she’d pray before the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help until the Misa de Gallo, introduced by Filipino workers, started.

Her silhouette brought Isaiah’s lines to mind: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light.

Kings shall [stream] to the brightness of thy rising.”

MUNTINLUPA: Clad in stained orange togs, the prisoner wouldn’t budge.

A delay would mean I’d miss a dinner appointment. Seeing the blank look in my eyes, he murmured: “Don’t you remember me? We were playmates in Cebu. My name is Policarpio….”

There is, we’re told, a geography of the heart. Like the Magi, we travel its byways, not merely from place to place, but also from grace to grace. It is a search for what endures amid the transient. Without fail, we find it in those with cara de hambre.

“And they found the Child with Mary his mother,” the story goes.

Venite adoremus. ■

AT LARGE

When kids are mal- or under-nourished

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer I STILL remember the “nutribun”—a high-calorie bread that was distributed to school children during the martial law years supposedly under the auspices of the then first lady, Imelda Marcos.

It was actually during the onslaught of a major typhoon and floods that had devastated Central Luzon and Metro Manila that I first got a taste of the bread. A student activist group of which I was part was organizing relief drives, and a government agency had given us nutribuns to put into the relief packs. Some friends helped themselves to samples, and I joined in. I remember first of all how dense the bread was, and then how heavily it sat in my belly for the rest of the day.

Developed supposedly to fight malnutrition among Filipino children, the nutribun became a symbol of the then just-growing public awareness drive on childhood malnutrition and undernutrition in our midst.

So isn’t it a shame—not to say a scandal—that even today, almost 40 years after the first nutribuns made the scene, childhood malnutrition, undernutrition, stunting and hunger continue to be major challenges to the growth and development of Filipino children?

Well, here’s another stab at eradi*** ty) of the food and nutrients that are cating the scourge of malnutrition ONE would think, given the grim sta- contained in a meal, and the balance among our kids, this time conducted tistics and the dismaying news, that of nutrients needed to ensure good with a lot more media hype and savvy an event such as the launch of U4HK health and wellbeing. In this the mewith the help of new communica- would be “grim and determined.” dia will be a big help in creating proptions technology and the goodwill of Instead, it was marked by music er awareness and inspiring action. a host of partners, who have banded and dance, as well as a dinner marked *** together in a campaign called “Unit- by simple and healthy dishes.

SANDRA Castro Puno, communicaed for Healthier Kids,” or U4HK. For as Nestlé Philippines chair tions director of Nestlé Philippines, The campaign is spearheaded by and CEO John Miller observed: “The described U4HK as “a partnership Nestlé Philippines in collaboration good news is, there is something we rooted in science, powered by creativwith the Food and Nutrition Re- can do about it.” Acknowledging the ity and united to help parents raise search Institute (FNRI) of the De- distance that has yet to be traveled, a healthier generation of children.” partment of Science and Technology, Miller reminded everyone that “the Scientific data, research studies and Facebook, the ABS-CBN Broadcast- journey always starts with the first behavioral science will be the basis for ing Corp. and other information shared partners. with parents, Puno Just because a child is full or sated after a meal doesn’t At the Rockwell added, to influence mean that the child has been well fed.

Tent last week, the behavior change and partners and other encourage the shift supporters of the initiative gathered step.” And in getting U4HK off the to healthy eating and lifestyle habits. to launch U4HK, which “aims to work ground, Nestlé and its partners have The FNRI is currently engaged in with parents in providing children embarked on a journey to save chil- research for ingredients and recipes aged 4-12 years old with adequate nu- dren’s lives and improve their future. that are not only cost-effective but trition.” The campaign was sparked Charo Santos-Concio, ABS-CBN also give more “bang for the buck,” by findings (in the 2013 National president and CEO, noted that the net- delivering vitamins and other nutriNutrition Survey) that about 30 per- work “has the privilege to be welcomed ents to improve the health of children, cent—or a third—of Filipino children in every Filipino home every day. We while being accessible, affordable are undernourished. This condition will take this opportunity to help pro- and easy to prepare. But before such can and does lead to serious health mote a healthier Filipino lifestyle.” recipes and dishes can be propagated, complications in childhood and later Indeed, as information material parents, especially mothers, will first in life, including stunting and intel- stressed, just because a child is full need to be convinced to shift their prilectual deficiencies, and, much later, or sated after a meal doesn’t mean orities and prepare meals that not just high blood pressure, heart disease that the child has been well fed. What taste good but are healthy as well. and even, ironically, obesity. matters is the quality (not the quantiTo win them over, U4HK, with the

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help of ABS-CBN, aired TV commercials highlighting the issue of undernutrition and urging parents to submit photos of their children as a sign of their commitment to the cause. Over 50,000 photos of children were received, which were then posted on the U4HK Facebook page. The U4HK TV commercials posted in YouTube have since gained 800,000 views, and counting. *** SPECIAL guests at the U4HK launch were the Aquino sisters, including Kris who led the opening prayer, with child performers from Trumpets theater company. This augurs well for the future of the campaign, heralding muchneeded government support for this campaign for the future of our children.

The real stars of the night, though, were children: children on stage, and children on screen, whose images had been sent to the U4HK Facebook page by their parents and, with the help of technology, digitally converted and converged into two “faces.” Dubbed the “Faces of the Future,” these images are now depicted on two sets of commemorative coins minted for U4HK by the Bangko Sentral.

An official “anthem,” especially commissioned and composed by Robert Labayen (words), Yeng Constantino and Mike Villegas (music) was also featured as the night drew to a close. ■

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 12, 2014

Canada News

Turn to police, not social media in B.C. teen’s killing: homicide investigators

NEWS BRIEFS

FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS

THE CANADIAN PRESS SURREY, B.C. — Homicide investigators in Surrey, B.C., want people with information about the weekend killing of a teenager to turn to police, not social media.

Fifteen-year-old Dario Bartoli died in hospital in the Metro Vancouver city on Saturday following an early morning altercation with a group of people.

Staff Sgt. Jennifer Pound of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said early indications support the theory that the killing was an alcohol-fuelled altercation between two groups that turned tragic.

She added it was too soon to call the incident a “swarming.”

Pound said Bartoli and a 14-yearold friend were in Bakerview Park with a group that was drinking alcohol throughout the day until the altercation occurred.

The scene was dynamic, events unfolded quickly and police must still determine if and what weapons were involved, as well as the group’s size, said Pound.

Police were called around 2:45 a.m.

Saturday after a report that two teenage boys ran to a home after being attacked by four or five people.

Bartoli was rushed to Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock, where he died of his injuries around 10:20 a.m.

Originally police said the 14-yearold suffered minor injuries but Pound said in a phone interview Monday that the boy was unharmed.

SILVER CROSS URGED FOR MOM OF ‘PENNY’ SOLDIER Police are reaching out to witnesses in the tragic weekend killing of a teenager in Surrey this past weekend.

Pound said while they have spoken to some witnesses, they are trying to contact “many more.”

“We know that the certain demographic we are reaching, the youth, they communicate very much on social media. So we’re looking to reach those individuals who are currently communicating through social media and through other means and asking them to come forward and speak with IHIT investigators,” she said.

She added that police need time to gather fact-based evidence, not rumour and speculation.

“With incidents such as this where a youth has had his life taken away from him, there’s a lot of expectation that information should be coming

regularly. The problem with that is that there’s not a lot of details we can release in the initial stages,” she said.

“So while days pass and while that might seem like a lot of time for some, they have to understand that we really are in the very early stages of our investigation. We’re identifying individuals that we need to speak with and we’re trying to do that by reaching the public in these very broad forums.”

An autopsy will take place later this week to help investigators determine the cause of death.

Bartoli was a student at Earl Marriott Secondary School, which brought in grief counsellors on Monday to help students cope with the loss. ■

Saskatchewan nursing home workers suspended after alleged assault THE CANADIAN PRESS REGINA — Employees at a Regina nursing home have been suspended and managers are apologizing after allegations of assault and neglect.

Santa Maria Senior Citizens Home issued a statement Friday evening

saying an incident had been brought forward in the last 24 hours.

The statement, on behalf of executive director John Kelly, says the residence is “deeply troubled” and apologizes to the resident involved and that resident’s extended family members.

A media spokesperson for the home says the incident is not related

to the death of 74-year-old Margaret Warholm, a case recently brought forward in the Saskatchewan legislature.

Video of the alleged incident and other details have since been provided to the Regina police for a criminal investigation. ❱❱ PAGE 20 Saskatchewan nursing

TORONTO — The mother of a Canadian soldier who was sent a one-penny government cheque after her son killed himself following a tour of duty in Afghanistan deserves a Memorial Cross, supporters say in a new petition.

They say it is unfair for military authorities to refuse to award Denise Stark the medal — often called the Silver Cross — for what they see as the service-related loss of Cpl. Justin Stark.

PRENTICE SAYS PCS WILL HAVE FINAL SAY ON ANY MERGER EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jim Prentice says any merger with the Opposition Wildrose caucus would ultimately be decided by his Progressive Conservative caucus. Beyond that, the premier says he won’t comment on reports that members of the Wildrose are seeking to join his government.

ROB FORD’S TUMOUR BROTHER SAYS

HAS

SHRUNK,

TORONTO — The brother of Rob Ford says the cancerous tumour the former Toronto mayor has been getting treatment for has shrunk in half. Doug Ford says the tumour — which doctors had initially said was 12 centimetres in size — is now down to six centimetres.

TRANQUILLIZING POLAR BEARS DOESN’T HURT: STUDY A new study suggests polar bears aren’t harmed when they are tranquillized and handled by researchers. The matter is controversial in the North, where many Inuit believe that research injures the bears, leaves chemical residue in their bodies and shows disrespect to a culturally important animal.

Canada News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

Alberta lotto winner says he’ll buy a house, a car, and travel the world THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON — An Edmonton man is Alberta’s newest millionaire, having won $9.9 million on the Dec. 3 Lotto 649 draw.

Derek Hulley says he was on his way to do some Christmas shopping when he decided to check a $19 quickpick ticket at a south-side convenience store.

He says at first he thought he’d won $900,000 but he went to the counter to double-check and the clerk told him it was the big win.

He says he tried to go out and have a bite to eat but he was “too nervous and shaking too much.”

Hulley says he’ll use the money to buy a house, a new car and travel around the world.

He says he’s always wanted to go to the South Pacific.

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Senate passes bill that infuriates Vietnam, sparking trade, investment warnings

BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD The Canadian Press

An Edmonton man, who mistakenly thought he won only $900,000 dollars, ended up winning over $9.9 million instead. The winner, Derek Hulley, plans on travelling the world.

Hulley’s win was one-third of the $29.9 million jackpot.

There were also two winnings tickets in Ontario. ■

OTTAWA — The Senate has passed an obscure private member’s bill from a Conservative senator that’s at the centre of a growing diplomatic spat between Canada and Vietnam.

The Vietnamese government is taking offence at the bill, which has sparked warnings that it could harm Canadian trade and investment opportunities with the Asian country.

The bill recognizes April 30 as a national day to commemorate the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the 1975 fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese communist forces—a development that ended the Vietnam War.

The Harper government has made it a priority to deepen economic ties with Asia, and Vietnam is certainly a player in the region.

Vietnam is member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and is one of the countries with a seat at TransPacific Partnership trade talks.

The bill, sponsored by Conservative Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo, was passed Monday night by a 45-4 margin. From there, it goes to the House of Commons, where it is not clear when—or even if—it will be dealt with.

If the bill is passed by the Commons, it will “have an adverse impact on the growing bilateral relations between ❱❱ PAGE 20 Senate passes

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

Senate passes...

Vietnam and Canada, as well Vietnam is a “strong and valued partner, as efforts devoted to broaden including in the TPP negotiations. and deepen our ties, including Vietnam’s ambassador to Canada and trade and investment relations,” said the Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Viet Dung Vu, a diplomat with the Viet- Pham Binh Minh have written separate namese embassy in Ottawa. letters to the government expressing In an emailed response to questions, concern. he added: “It will The Canada-Vietsend the wrong mesnam Trade Council sage to the public of warned in a letter to Vietnam and the inthe Senate’s human ternational commuIt will send the rights committee nity about Canada’s wrong message that the bill would goodwill toward our to the public negatively affect the country.” of Vietnam government’s ecoVietnam’s ambasand the nomic aspirations sador To Anh Dung international because it would expressed “concern” community so divisions among to Foreign Affairs about Canada’s Vietnamese CanadiMinister John Baird goodwill ans. about the bill as retoward our “The proposed bill cently as Monday country. not only would damnight at a Parliament age diplomatic relaHill reception, Vu tions with Vietnam, said. but also would have “The government a strong, negative imof Vietnam (the embassy included) has pact of further dividing an already termade many representations to different rorized and divided community,” wrote levels of the government of Canada and Dai Trang Nguyen, the council’s direcleaders of Parliament expressing our se- tor. rious concerns about the language and “This is in turn would have an adverse intent of this bill,” he said. effect on trade and investment between Baird’s spokesman Adam Hodge said Canada and Vietnam, given the impor❰❰ 19

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A Conservative Senator’s bill to recognize April 30 as a national day to commemorate the exodus of Vietnamese refugees and their acceptance in Canada after the 1975 fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese communist forces has raised the ire of Vietnamese diplomats, and could potentially harm relations between Canada and Vietnam.

tant role of Vietnamese Canadians in supporting trade links.”

He said the bill reflects the view of less than five per cent of Vietnamese Canadians and promotes a view “of the past, of hatred, of negativity, resulting in neglect of the well-being of future generations.”

The Liberal leader in the upper chamber, Sen. James Cowan, accused the government of blocking the Vietnamese ambassador from testifying before the Senate about his concerns.

“The government permitted only witnesses who spoke in favour of the bill to testify before the committee,” Cowan said in the Senate on Monday night after abstaining from the vote.

“Individuals, including the ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,

requested the opportunity to appear, and the government denied them that opportunity.”

Conservative senators did not rise to challenge Cowan’s assessment.

In an interview Tuesday, Cowan questioned how the government could approve such a contentious bill when it is trying to make economic inroads in Asia, including Vietnam.

“We’re trying to improve relations with Vietnam. We’ve signed a memorandum of understanding to increase trade and cultural connections,” Cowan said.

“Why you would want to stir up divisions? I don’t understand.”

Hodge reiterated a past comment that bill is “not a government bill” and that MPs and senators are free to introduce private member’s legislation. ■

Saskatchewan nursing... ❰❰ 18

The media release says the Santa Maria home has a zero tolerance policy for resident

harm.

“We are in the process of notifying the family members of our other residents, inviting them to contact us with their questions and concerns,” says the release.

Health Minister Dustin Duncan says he is appalled by the allegations.

“If these allegations are true, any employee involved will face the most severe discipline possible and could face criminal charges, pending the outcome of the police investigation,” he said.

“I have directed the Ministry of Health to examine what options are available for either the Ministry or the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region to step in and take a more active role in the day-to-day www.canadianinquirer.net

operations of Santa Maria until we are confident that concerns with this facility have been resolved.”

The Santa Maria home has been at the centre of debate on provincial care standards for the last few weeks after the death of Warholm was brought forward.

Warholm was a resident at Santa Maria when she was admitted to hospital in October 2013 for severe abdominal pain.

She died days later of a gastro-vascular disorder.

Medical records show that Warholm reported losing 30 pounds in a year and had compression fractures in her vertebrae. Her family attributes those to a fall Warholm took while aides were moving her at the centre. She also had a large bedsore on her back.

Saskatchewan’s ombudsman is currently investigating her death. ■

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

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Canada News

DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

In wake of attacks, Harper offers condolences to families in Australia, Pakistan

BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The burned-out buildings dotted the landscape of Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled Swat Valley as veteran Canadian aid worker David Morley drove the bumpy roads with a local aid worker more than three years ago.

“This used to be a boys’ school, that used to be a girls’ school, that used to be a clinic,” Morley recalled his Pakistani colleague telling him.

“What’s he going to be thinking today?”

Morley, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Canada, did not mince words Tuesday as news emerged of the suicide attack that killed at least 141 people — the vast majority of them children — at a school in Peshawar, the Pakistani city abutting the Khyber Pass leading to Afghanistan.

“This is a crime against humanity and it’s against civilized norms because we want to nurture and care for our children,” Morley said in an interview.

“We want them to learn and educate, and this is heinous act

The flag of the Pakistani Taliban. The group has claimed responsibility for the 2014 bombing of a school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar that killed 141 people, the vast majority of them children.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

against all of those norms.”

The attack sparked similar condemnation in Canada and abroad. Many viewed it as a new

low in the behaviour of Taliban terrorists, who took responsibility for the attack.

Students ranging from Grade

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1 through Grade 10 accounted for most of the dead. They were killed along with their seven attackers, all of whom were wearing explosive suicide vests.

Another 121 students and three staff members were injured.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

It’s hard enough to understand the motives that underlie a terrorist attack, he said, but even more so when the targets are innocent children.

“It’s hard for any of us, as rational and compassionate people, to understand terrorism — to understand why people would want, in the name of some political cause, to simply terrorize, hurt kill innocent people, whole sections of society,” Harper told a news conference in Quebec City.

“But I think it is beyond our comprehension why somebody would target children. As a father, your heart just breaks when you see that kind of thing.”

Harper also acknowledged the attack Monday in Australia, where three people — including the lone gunman, a self-styled

cleric with jihadist sympathies — died after a 16-hour hostagetaking at a cafe in Sydney.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said he was sickened by the news of the Peshawar attack, and urged Pakistanis to draw strength from one of their own, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.

The teenager survived being shot in the head by gunmen two years ago while boarding a bust to school in Pakistan’s Swat region, and has become a symbol of defiance to terrorists who try to prevent children from going to school.

“In the moments that follow such harrowing tragedy, we hope that the resolve and the dignity of innocent Pakistani people will see more children like Malala Yousafzai emerge to carry the torch forward for more education, free from violence or intimidation,” Baird said in a statement.

“There is no more cowardly act than attacking innocent children, and nothing more sinister than brutally murdering them while at school.”

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said Tuesday’s attack makes Yousafzai’s work “more vital than ever.”

For long-time Canadian aid workers who have witnessed decades of suffering first-hand, Tuesday’s attack marked a new low.

“What we all have to do is refrain from immediately responding in anger and violence because that just feeds into it, that makes it a spiral,” said Morley, of UNICEF, whose career started 35 years ago working with street children in Central America.

“But right now is time for mourning, for those poor children and their families.”

Dave Toycen, the head of World Vision Canada, said violence against children leaves a lasting impact on survivors, causing mental health problems that prevent them from learning and leading productive lives.

“Children should be safe in places where they live and learn. Schools should not be battlegrounds.” ❱❱ PAGE 25 In wake

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS:

Chito Gonzalez

Senior Manager, Marketing and Community Development, Western Union

BY EARL VON TAPIA Philippine Canadian Inquirer IMAGINE HAVING a great job, a loving wife, and a growing family. Life seems set.

That is, until you decide that your family can do better in another country.

That’s the story of Chito Gonzalez. Back in 1989, at the age of 40, he left a cushy job in Manila to provide a better future for his family.

Chito was working as a Vice President of a bank, a career he built up after starting out trading in bonds and stocks for the financial sector.

“At the time, it was just a change. The Marcos government was gone, and the new government came in, and there’s so much of this coup d’état going on left right and center, and the business climate is not as good, as it’s just the same almost today in the sense that there’s so much corruption,” he said.

At his wife’s urging, and with his children (aged 10, 8, and 7 at the time) in mind, despite his age and his current success, he decided to move to Canada.

“So I look at my children, they were sleeping, and I said ‘Look, there’s no future for them no matter how successful I would be. Let’s go to Canada,’“ he said.

Chito, his wife Linda, and his three kids arrived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in November of 1989.

He admitted that the move to Canada was a bit of a gamble, and despite his experience back in the Philippines, the only job Chito could procure here in Canada was as a truck driver for the Hostess Frito Lay company.

He worked there for three years in what he described as a very

EARL VON TAPIA / PCI

physical and tough job.

It was also an experience getting used to the Canadian winter.

“Never in my mind did I ever think that I will be waking up

at three o’clock in the morning, getting into my truck, having a coffee. As hot as it is, by the time you get to the warehouse it’s already ice,” he said.

But Chito got his break when,

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ironically, he was let go from his job.

“There was a downsizing in the company. Since I was the least senior, I was one of those who would be laid off,” he said.

At the same time he was laid off, the company created a new position as an account retail manager. The law at the time stated that internal applicants were guaranteed to at least get interviews for any positions they applied for. So Chito applied, and was guaranteed an interview, along with all of his fellow drivers that also applied for the job.

“I think there was about eight of us who applied for it, eight of us given a chance for the interview. I was the last one. So everyone was ahead of me, in less than five minutes they were finished. And then me, I came in, and I lasted almost an hour and 15 minutes,” he said. Chito’s knowledge of management and financial matters really wowed his interviewers.

“It’s funny because no one really expected amongst all us drivers to have qualified for an entry level management marketing position. They already had people in mind,” he said.

Chito flourished in his new role, selling cases of chips and trying to secure as much product space on the shelves from the big-name supermarkets.

Just before his fifth year in that role, Chito decided it was time to look for another job.

That was how he ended up in Western Union. At the time, Western Union in Canada only had a staff of seven people, and was looking to expand the Latin American market in the US. Because Chito knew how to speak Spanish, he was given the task.

The job saw him travelling all around North America, where he found great success in establishing and developing the Latin American market. By 2003, he was moved into his current role as Senior Manager of Marketing and Community Devel-

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

opment, where he serves all of Canada, pines and bringing his family to Canada serving the new migrants and caregivers for a shot at a better future paid off. His and focusing on the community. Aside children are all grown up now, and they from his marketing tasks, he also spear- themselves have good jobs in either heads events and other community ini- banking or insurance. He knows that tiatives for immigrants. many other immigrants have that same Chito described a common situation dream, of coming to Canada from their of many of the immigrants that he en- home countries and giving their families counters. a shot at a better life. For them, Chito “Your daughter is back in your home has some advice. country. You leave your daughter be“First thing I’d like to tell them, is I hind to come work here. You work and want them to go to the labor office and kill yourself so that you’re able to pro- their Consulate and find out who the vide for your family . . . think about this support groups are for new migrants, so person who works almost 16 hours a day, they may be guided,” he said. tightens her belt so she would be able to “This is a very impressive thing we save money,” he said. have with our Philippine Consulates, “They don’t know anybody. They because we have professional career don’t know what support they have. people running it here in Canada, from They get threatened by their employers. the Ambassador all the way to the ConAt any given time the employers can cut sul General. They will be able to provide their employment, guidance,” he said. so they get abused all “There is also citithe time. Because if zenship and immithey’re cut off they’re gration Canada. You back to the PhilipSo I look at my can get advice, you pines, they’re back to children, they can get help, you can zero. They’ve spent were sleeping, and get counseling. We so much money. And I said ‘Look, there’s have a lot of support there’s a lot of agenno future for them groups. In the librarcies around to take no matter how ies there are settleadvantage of them . . successful I would ment groups. It’s just . there’s a lot of supbe. Let’s go to a matter of asking port here from the Canada.’ for it. People that are government, but the coming here don’t worker doesn’t know know that. They ask that, and they end some people and up with some peothey become gullible ple who just want to take advantage of for those who are interested to really exthem,” he said. ploit them,” he said.

“Just to put a smile on her face is a win, The second thing, said Chito, is the as far as I’m concerned,” he said. church.

“This is a job that I believe there is a “Most of my activities are done in the social responsibility with it. And I am church. For example, in Toronto the Asvery grateful and honored to be a part sumption Parish have dedicated a porof it in trying to reach out to those who tion of the church to new caregivers, are not fortunate, and at least ease their so they have a place to go on Sunday . . pain and help them to survive the diffi- . then they are guided, then there is a culties of life, especially the next three support group looking after them, and or four years where they’re hoping to get the support group is something where their permanent residences and bring they will not be exploited. They will be their families here,” he added. informed and educated,” he said.

The gamble that Chito took of leav“That’s my advice. From there, everying his comfortable life in the Philip- thing becomes easy.” ■

In wake...

As he was about to open a session of the United Nations Security Council, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the “rank cowardice” of the attack, and said schools should be safe places for learning.

“Getting an education is every child’s right,” said Ban. “Going to school should not have to be an act of bravery.”

Yousafzai, who came to embody that bravery, expressed heartbreak and defiance on Tuesday in a statement she issued on social media.

“I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts and stand united with the government and armed forces of Pakistan ❰❰ 22

whose efforts so far to address this horrific event are commendable,” she said.

“I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and sisters — but we will never be defeated.”

Yousafzai has been given honorary Canadian citizenship, which Harper was to have bestowed on her in October during a ceremony in Toronto.

It was cancelled, however, because that was the day another lone gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at the National War Memorial before storming Parliament Hill, where he was shot to death by security guards. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Seen & Scenes: Vancouver

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

FRIENDS Filcan Network for Truth & Justice held a Christmas party, induction of directors and officers, Gawad Ulirang Ina at Ama Awards and dinner-dance on Dec. 13, at the St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Centre, Vancouver, B.C.

SEASON’S GREETINGS AT T & T T & T Ora Store invited Santa from the North Pole to extend season’s greetings to all customers and to receive a free Christmas photo with him.

HISTORAMA Historama cast, crew, sponsors and guests spread holiday cheer during their Christmas Family Celebration on Dec. 12 in Burnaby. Historama, a cultural show depicting significant snippets of Philippine history is performed by volunteers from Vancouver, B.C. (Photos by Christian Cunanan/Laarni Liwanag)

NEGRENSE TOP: Officers of the Negrenses Association of BC were inducted on Dec. 13, in Vancouver, B.C. RIGHT: Negrenses and their guests celebrating the Christmas spirit (Photos by Laarni Liwanag).

LIBERAL PARTY FUNDRAISER

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

Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau engaged members of the Filipino community, among others, during a fundraiser at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver on Dec. 15. (Photos by Angelo Siglos).

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Seen & Scenes: Toronto

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

CANADA CARES

TAPSILOG Romeo Ayson Zetazate (1st from R), member of the board of directors of the Philippine Press Club Ontario (PPCO), is shown with his Filipino friends at the Agincourt Mall coffee shop corner Sheppard Ave. East and Kenndy Road, Scarborough, On. Others in photo are Farrish Ratag, Ben Guia, and Ramon de Jesus. They are inviting other Filipinos in the area to join them in a project which can help fellowmen in the Philippines (St. Jamestown News Service).

When Typhoon Hagupit (Ruby) hit the Philippines on Dec. 6, Canada was already preparing government response and working closely with humanitarian partners. Photo shows Finance Minister Joe Oliver and Senator Enverga announcing Canada’s initial support of $120,000 to aid the victims of Typhoon Hagupit. Witnessing the announcement were Pastor Julius and Bunny Tiangson of Mississauga, and Joaquin,Jr (Jojo) and Fe Taduran of Toronto (Photo by Romy Zetazate, St. Jamestown News Service).

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION The Scarborough Ontario Seniors Association (SOSA) recently celebrated its Christmas Dinner-Dance event at the Centennial Recreational Centre in Scarborough, On. SOSA, is a group of 55-year-olds and above who live in Scarborough in the city of Toronto, On. Its mission is to lengthen life with quality living.

Members exercise through line-dancing, ballroom dancing, Tai Chi, walking and other physical activities. They also have sessions in healthy eating, computers and internet literacy and exercise our minds through mental exercises like puzzles, Sudoku, crosswords, mahjong, Scrabble, Monopoly and Brain Age Academy, bowling and tennis using the Nintendo Wii (Photos by Fe Paca-Taduran, St. Jamestown News Service).

MARRIAGE COURSE CONDUCTORS The Prince of Peace Parish Marriage Course Conductors recently had a working meeting to plan the series of classes for the year 2015. The ministry, which has been in existence at the parish for 15 years, prepares and guides the couples who plan to get married. Subjects discussed include: Readiness and Maturity; Communication; Sexuality; Natural Family Planning; Parenting; Stewardship; Spirituality; and Romance After.

The course conductors are all married for over 40 years. They guide the new couples drawing from their life experiences and knowledge they have learned first-hand (Photo by Fe Paca-Taduran, St. Jamestown News Service).

BAYANIHAN CLUB OF SIMCOE COUNTRY The Bayanihan Club of Simcoe Country, composed mostly of Filipinos in the Barrie and surrounding areas in Ontario, held their Christmas get-together on Dec. 6, with Senator Tobias C. Enverga, Jr. and Rosemer A. Enverga, as special guests. Enverga inducted the new set of officers of the club who will be serving until 2016 (Photos by Fe Paca-Taduran, St. Jamestown News Service). www.canadianinquirer.net

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

Christmas

Beyond Wrappers and Bows

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer CHRISTMAS. Definitely among the most celebrated, most revered of holidays. A season marked by brightly-lit streets, bespangled trees, broken diets, nostalgic carols, and all of that warm, fuzzy-in-yourtummy goodness normally associated with the “most wonderful time of the year.”

It is also, however, a season of frazzled and fried nerves. Many people end up strung as highly as the twinkling lights high atop their nine-foot polyvinyl chloride Christmas tree. It is the time of year that gift lists are as seemingly endless as the lines at mall check-out counters, and the astounding crush of people is rivaled only by the volume of cars inching their way in bumper-to-bumper traffic on city roads. Stress and joy abound in equal measure; and scales are tipped either way, depending on such factors as time and money.

Yes, sanity burgeons under the weight of Christmas shopping, especially for those of us with crazy schedules, limited time, and an even more limited budget. This, dear readers, is the evil trifecta that besets many a hapless (and often helpless) Christmas shopper.

It is no wonder that many have opted out of the Christmas shopping frenzy; choosing instead to share a movie, meal, or some sort of memorable moment with friends and family.

But…those of us still in the gift-giving way need not despair. There are tips we can take to make the task a little

less hair-raising.

First, a few facts about the Christmas ribbon-and-wrapper ripping ritual.

Fit for a King

The tradition of gift-giving goes back to a time long, long ago, in a manger far, far away.

Jesus was born, and he was God’s gift to humanity. Three Wise Men traveled from distant

lands to pay homage to Christ the child.

The Three Kings — Wise Men, Magi; they go by several names — brought baby Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three valuable and symbolic gifts, to signify Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection; but that message is more suited to Easter. Many cultures, especially in Europe, still

celebrate the traditional date of the Magi's arrival — usually the first Sunday after Christmas — with the exchanging of gifts.

From Saturn to Santa

Aside from the Magi and their presentation of presents, gift-giving is also traced back to the days of ancient Rome — in dire contrast with Christian roots — and the trading of gifts

during the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Celebrated from the 17th to the 23rdof December, the festivities were in honour of Saturn, the Roman deity of agriculture. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, followed by a public banquet, and private gift-giving.

St. Nicholas, Saint Nick, Saint Niklaus, or — more popularly —

Christmas

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

Santa is likewise heavily associated with Christmas and gifts.

This began in the 13th century, when French nuns would distribute presents to the poor on St. Nicholas' Eve, which falls on the 5th of December.

It was not until late 18th century, however, that the gift-giving tradition took center-stage, when retail establishments got smart and decided to go fullforce with the gift-pitch. Stores began placing Christmas ads in papers as early as the 1820’s and Santa somehow became the focal point.

29 8. If you do find yourself caught in the last-minute craze, set a time limit. Determine how much time you really need to stay in the store, and try to stick with it. The less you have to deal with the mad rush, the better.

9. Green is not just a Christmas colour. Lastly, when wrapping your presents, remember to be as green as you can. Use recycled wrappers (the funnies of your daily paper are not only colorful, they are eco-friendly), or simply tie a bio-degradable bow around the item. Think of the tons of paper, tinsel, and bows that go to waste each Christmas: Definitely not a “Ho-ho” matter.

10. Give love on Christmas Day. Remember, the gift is secondary; the love, primary.

• Practical gifts (good for no- cuff links; tickets to a stage Also, keep track of your list, as nonsense, no -frills type peo- play or musical, vintage jew- you progress with your shopple): Cookie assortment, bottle elry or trinkets. ping and tick items off along of wine, coffee; Self-help / in• On-trend Gifts: Designer the way. spirational books, point-and- kitchen gadgets, Flavored wine; 4. Let your fingers do the shoot camera, classic pen; a latest gadgets, instant devel- shopping. Or at least, the prenice scarf, gift cards from their oping camera and film; edgy liminary research. Use your favorite shop; shirt of favor- fashion pieces; sports gadgets; online resources to check out ite sports team; stationery set, latest craft or DIY craze, box of what your options are. This not scrapbook tools. only gives you a better idea of • Creative gifts what’s out there, (perfect for freeit will also help spirits, children, you budget your edgier-type peotime and money ple): PersonalKeep an eye out for presents as early more efficiently. ized food items, as possible. This enables you to get 5. Take adpersonalized gifts that are less generic and vantage of entertainment more suited to the recipient. sales. If you accessories; start early, then Puzzles, board the crowds at games, toys that stimulate cre2. Put a lid on it. Your list sales will be nowhere near as ativity; Funky jewelry, state- does NOT have to include crazy as the week or two before ment tee-shirts, one-of-a-kind your cousin’s cousin, thrice re- Christmas. fashion accessory; personalized moved. Keep your list within 6. D.I.Y. Do It Yourself. sports jersey; Wooden toys, your circle of family and close Hand-crafted gifts are packed handmade presents. friends. Do not get sucked in by full of meaning, and are a touch • Romantic Gifts (great the retail vacuum of a commer- more special than store-bought for your special someone): cialized Christmas. Please. presents.

“Voucher” to redeem dinner 3. Start early! Easier said 7. DON’T go for broke. Stick for two, artisanal chocolate; than done, but definitely a time to your budget. One of the bigmusic player loaded with fa- and money saver. Keep an eye gest pressures of Christmas vorite playlist, headphone out for presents as early as pos- is on the purse. Do not spend splitter, poetry books, plush sible. This enables you to get what you don’t have, and end up toy; tickets to favorite team’s gifts that are less generic and with a post-holiday mountain game; beaded purse, engraved more suited to the recipient. of credit card debt.

Goodbye, Grinch

History lesson aside, time for some handy tips to spare the stress and save your sanity, and help you kiss the Grinch goodbye.

1. Make a list. And yes, check it twice. Organize your list to include names, age, and preference or personality type. For instance, a person who is more of a techie would probably go gaga over a geeky gift or gadget.

Some nifty gift ideas for the foodie, geeky, sporty, fashionforward, and craft-y people in your life:

Bottom line

The bottom line is quite simple, really. So simple, it almost seems absurd, to some. Refuse to let the trappings of Christmas rob you of your peace and joy. After all, the true essence of the Yuletide Season lies beyond wrappers and bows. Way, way beyond it. ■

SERBISYONG

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www.manila-express.ca www.canadianinquirer.net

Calgary 1 (877) 502-7376 5th Street (403) 264-1100 Westwind Cres (403) 387-0022 36 St (inside T&T) (403) 452-3600

Toronto 647-352-7376 North York 416-635-7376 Scarborough 416-299-8282

New Regina Office 1201 Osler St. 306-352-9922

30

Community News

DECEMBER 19, 2014

FRIDAY

Tragedy strikes anew: 3 Filipinos killed in Alberta crash

BY MARY ANN R. MANDAP Philippine Canadian Inquirer FOR THE second time in a short span of three weeks, tragedy struck the Filipino community in Alberta anew over the weekend, as another deadly car crash east of Rocky Mountain House claimed the lives of three Filipino temporary workers and injured another.

The accident comes on the heels of a similar car crash on November 22, in Leduc, also in Alberta, which left four Filipino workers dead.

The three fatalities in this latest tragedy were identified as Napoleon Orbigo, 28, an employee at Panago pizza parlor; Blesilda Capule, 28, who worked at Dairy Queen in Rocky Mountain House; and Ruben Deogracias, 34, also was employed at Dairy Queen. The fatalities were brought to the Rocky Mountain House Funeral Homes.

According to community sources, Orbigo and Capule were only married last Sept. 20, 2014. The latter arrived in Can-

ada only last December 2012.

The fourth victim, the driver, Jeomar Abullar, survived, and is now treated for "non-life-threatening" injuries at the University of Alberta hospital. He also works at Dairy Queen.

Investigators believe human error was a factor in the crash.

The victims, according to news sources, came from an English as a Second Language (ESL) class in Red Deer and were driving back to Rocky Mountain House when the Ford Mustang they were riding lost control. The car hit a ditch, then was rammed from behind by a five-ton truck carrying two men as it was trying to regain control.

Esmeralda Agbulos, Philippine honorary consul general based in Edmonton, is leading the Alberta Filipino community in mobilizing support for the victims and their families.

Agbulos assisted in organizing funeral arrangements for four Filipino temporary workers Eva Caperina, Rosalina Tipdas, Archie Bermillo and Romil Mose who died near Leduc three weeks ago. ■

PH envoy promotes embassy advocacies in community programs THE PHILIPPINE Embassy in Ottawa renewed its call for Filipino communities in Ottawa and Montreal to perform their civic duties in the spirit of giving this Christmas season.

At the annual ‘Pasko ng Bayan’ in Ottawa on Dec. 6, Amb. Petronila P. Garcia took a moment to pray with the audience for provinces in the path of Typhoon Ruby/Hagupit. She recalled the role of Filipino communities and the Canadian government in rebuilding lives shattered by Typhoon Haiyan. She also thanked the federal government for offering to extend humanitarian assistance anew in areas affected by the latest typhoon to hit the country.

On the same day, Christian Paradis, minister of International Development, and Joe Oliver, minister of Finance, issued statements affirming Canada’s readiness to support relief efforts in the Philippines and to deploy its Interdepartmental Strategic Support Team (ISST) to assess the needs in provinces www.canadianinquirer.net

lying in the path of Typhoon Hagupit.

Ambassador Garcia also called upon the Filipino community to take time to register as overseas voters for the 2016 national elections, participate in Winter Escapade 2, and support the Embassy’s cultural activities in 2015.

On Dec.7, the ambassador echoed these messages at the 25th anniversary gala reception of the Filipino Catholic Mission of Montreal at Place Victoria and the Hiligaynon Christmas Party at the Assumption Church in Ottawa.

“We will look back to 2014 as another good year for bilateral relations and close collaboration with the Filipino community. I have been exercising my functions for barely four months but I have received so much support from both the community and federal government. I see great prospects ahead for Philippines-Canada relations and look forward to stronger partnerships with the Filipino communities across Canada,” Ambassador Garcia said. ■

Immigration

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

31

TANONG MO KAY KUYA BOY

New Citizenship Laws KUYA BOY, I heard there is a new Citizenship Law. What are the major changes and when do they take effect?

Theresa from Richmond, BC

coming or have happened?

AD: The changes include longer residency period requirements, increased costs, expanded language and knowledge requirements, as well as the potential of revoking citizenship for dual-citizens.

we have to work toward being more inclusive not less.

With residency for example, for over 30 years, the required period had been 3 years out of 4 years; there was no compelling reason to change it now.

Making people wait longer undermines Canada’s stated commitment to integrate newcomers. Immigrants will have to wait longer before being able to participate fully in Canadian society.

THERESA, I posed your question to Atty. Aris Daghighian.

Atty. Daghighian is an immigration, refugee, and citizen- So starting with residency, how ship lawyer with Edelmann & long will people have to wait in Company in downtown Van- order to apply for citizenship? couver. You may contact Atty.

AD: Current Law: RESIDaghighian at 604 646 4684. DENCE FOR 3 OUT OF 4 We were fortunate enough to YEARS (1,095 DAYS). get the opinions of Mr. JonaNew Law: PHYSICAL PRES- As you know, there are many than Wilkinson, the federal ENCE FOR 4 YEARS OUT OF 6 members of the Filipino commuLiberal party candidate for YEARS (1,460 DAYS). nity who are live-in caregivers or North Vancouver. Mr. WilkinPreviously there was also come to Canada under that proson is a Rhodes scholar who has some flexibility in granting citi- gram. Can the time they live here spent more than 20 successful zenship if someone was a small as live-in caregivers still be used years in the private sector, hav- number of days short but had a toward their residency requireing held leadership positions very good, compassionate ex- ments? with a number of companies planation, such as if they were AD: Current Law: Time spent dedicated to the development in the Philippines because of a lawfully in Canada before beof green technologies. In ad- sick relative. Now they’ve elim- coming a permanent resident, dition to the key issues of the inated the potential to consider e.g. as a live-in caregiver, or a economy and the environment, those reasons, there’s no more student, or a refugee claimant, he has paid close attention to discretion. could be credited toward resithe problems dency requireand issues with ments at a calcurespect to curlation of 0.5 days rent immigracredit for every 1 tion policy and If someone applies now, their day of presence the new citizenapplication will not be affected by up to a maxiship laws, which most of the new changes . . . so I mum of 1 year. affect many Vanencourage anyone who is currently New Law: Recouver commuqualified to apply to get their moves this credit nities. application submitted soon. entirely.

JW: And that’s Are the new citireally another zenship laws now in effect? unfortunate aspect we don’t Atty Daghighian (AD): Bill Mr. Wilkinson, what do you and agree with. Live-in caregivers C-24 amending the Citizen- the Liberal party think of these spend a great deal of time in ship Act is now law as of June changes and this provision?

Canada, working hard, living 19, 2014. However, many proviJonathan Wilkinson (JW): with Canadian families, looksions within the law, including As with most new laws there ing after our children and our the most substantive portions, are good and bad elements, elders. This is valuable time are not yet in effect. It is esti- but overall we feel there are as- which should be commended mated but not confirmed that pects which are fundamentally and credited. There is no coall provisions will come into unfair. The general direction gent reason the government effect around June or July of of the law seems to be toward has decided to eliminate the 2015. making it more difficult for im- time credit they used to receive. migrants to obtain citizenship, What are some of the most im- and that’s not something the How about in terms of the costs, portant changes that will be Liberal party endorses. I think and the language and knowledge

www.canadianinquirer.net

test requirements, how have those changed?

AD: They’ve increased these barriers as well. The application fees for citizenship have increased to triple the amount they were previously. As of February 6, 2014, a total of $400 per applicant. For families of relative newcomers, that’s not an insignificant amount.

In addition, language and knowledge test requirements are to be extended to those aged 14-64 years, instead of currently those aged 18-54 years. The required language test will cost another $200.

Mr. Wilkinson, what is the Liberal party’s position on this?

In our public statements on this bill, our immigration critic in the House of Commons, John McCallum, has said that the age 14 is too young, while 64 is too old. Many who are 60+ years old speak imperfect English, but that doesn’t make them any less committed as Canadian citizens. Raising the age for the language test from 54 to 64 is an insult to hundreds of thousands of loyal Canadians.

Another controversial part of this new law that has been talked about is the ability to revoke citizenship from dual-citizens, can you tell us a bit more about that?

AD: Current Law: The only way to revoke someone’s citizenship after they are granted citizenship is on the grounds of fraud or misrepresentation.

That is, if the person lied or committed fraud in order to get citizenship to begin with.

New Law: The new law allows the government to revoke citizenship based on convictions inside and outside of Canada for treason, spying or terrorism offences. However, importantly, it will only apply to those who are dual-citizens or who may obtain dual-citizenship. And it will apply regardless of how they obtained their citizenship (i.e. even if it was by birth). So if you’re an immigrant and your children are born in Canada, they still fall under this law and could lose their citizenship and be sent back to your home country, simply because they might have the ability to be a citizen of that country through you. The same doesn’t apply to Stephen Harper’s children, because they aren’t the children of immigrants, so they can never lose their citizenship no matter what they do.

JW: While the safety and security of our country is of the utmost importance, the problem I see with the way this law is structured is that ❱❱ PAGE 39 Tanong mo

32

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12, 2014

Entertainment

TV starlet earns public ire for ‘enjoy rape’ post

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A local TV starlet who goes by the screen name Nathalie Hart — Princess Tinkerbell Cristina Marjorie Pedere Snell, in real life — has infuriated netizens across the country with what many deem a highly insensitive and utterly tasteless rape comment she posted on Instagram.

Hart — who generally plays bit parts, and was once a finalist on the reality show “Starstruck” — posted a quote on her Instagram account last Sunday. The quote, which Hart attributed to her father, said: “If rape is inevitable, lay back and enjoy it.”

Her unedited caption read: “According to my dads lesson: If rape is inevitable, lay back and enjoy it! #ihavethebestadvicer #mydadisthebesthaha.”

The half-Filipina, half-British actress who hails from Santa Rosa, Laguna, has earned the ire of many, for posting what she apparently considers wisdom from her “best advicer.”

Due to the flack she drew online, Hart has since deleted the Instagram post; but not before screen shots were taken and circulated on the Internet.

DJ Mo Twister, who posted the screen grab on his Instagram account, said: “Okay doll, looks like I have to unfollow you now.@imnathaliehart.”

“She’s now famous… Aside for being a high class puta (whore) but for being dumb. Her father should be investigated looks like a messy family right

Past beauty queens believed Valerie gave her best

BY LEI FONTAMILLAS Philippine Canadian Inquirer

SCREENSHOT FROM INSTAGRAM

there?,” one Twitter user said.

“Wipe that plastic injected lips moron your trashy *snelly* words are stinking out. You’re as fake as your name bitc*** changing it won’t make you or your fake tits real. No wonder your career stays low as you are,” said another.

Hart has tried to defend herself by apologizing for what she said was a “bad joke.”

“I do not promote nor support that behavior! I’m against domestic violence and rape!

It was a bad joke and I’m extremely sorry,” Hart Tweeted in response to Twitter user UNITED VOICES AGAINST RAPE (@UVAR_global.)

In 2011, Hart, who used to go by the name Princess Snell, was rumored to be involved in an illicit romance with boxing giant, Manny Pacquiao.

Ironically, Hart’s “bad joke” comes as women’s movements across the nation campaign to end Violence Against Women (VAW). ■

MANILA — Despite failing to win the Miss World 2014 crown in London last Sunday, many believe that Valerie Weigmann gave her best.

Miss Africa Rolene Strauss won the title, while Miss Hungary Edina Kulscar and Miss United States Elizabeth Safrit placed second and third, respectively.

Weigmann landed in the top 25 but failed to reach the top 10.

However, former beauty queens are proud of her saying that the 24-year-old representative of the Philippines “did her best” during the contest.

“Congratulations to the New Miss World from South Africa.

And to Valerie Weigmann, our Miss Philippines, you did great,” said Miss International 2005 Lara Quigaman on her Instagram account.

Meanwhile, Miss World 1993 second runnerup Ruffa Gutierrez said to We i g m a n n , “You gave it your best…

Good job! Thank you for representing our country in the best way you could.”

Netizens believe that Weigmann will have a hard time succeeding the achievements of Miss World 2013 Megan Young, while others stressed that the country has consistently made it to the top 25 since 2011.

Last November, Bianca Guidotti was not able to win the crown for the country during the 2014 Miss International Pageant. Meanwhile The country still has another shot of winning in the Miss Universe 2014 next year. Mary Jean Lastimosa will be the country’s representative to the pageant slated on January 25, 2015. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

33

Chito Miranda marries Neri Naig for the second time

BY LEI FONTAMILLAS Philippine Canadian Inquirer

newly-wed couple Aiza Seguerra and Liza Dino, and Gary Valenciano, among others.

Their guests posted their MANILA — Parokya ni Edgar well-wishes for the two through frontman Chito Miranda weds social media. Dino in her Insactress Neri Naig tagram account for the second posted a photo time on Sunday of Miranda and at Angelsfield Naig with a capSanctuary in You guys look so tion, “CongratuTagaytay City. happy…We really lations to the The garden feel your love for newlywed couwedding was one another. ple… You guys held a day aflook so happy… ter the two exWe really feel changed their your love for one vows in a restaurant in Taguig another.”

City.

Miranda proposed to Naig Some guests who attended last May after being in a rethe second celebration include lationship for more than two Angel Locsin, Bela Padilla, years. ■ Luis Manzano and Jennylyn Mercado.

SHOWBIZ-PORTAL.COM

James Reid: I’m not Jennylyn speaks about dating Kim’s sister breakup with Luis

BY LEI FONTAMILLAS Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA – James Reid said that he is not dating Kim Chiu’s younger sister Wendolyn.

“We’ve met a couple of times, we know each other,” said Reid during an interview.

“I’m just being friendly,” he added referring to the screen capture of their conversation posted in Wendolyn’s Facebook account.

He shared that he met her through Andi Eigenmann, who happens to be their common friend.

Recently, Reid parted ways with singer Erika Villongco. The two were in a relation-

ship for three years.

Reid said that he is focusing on his career right now more than his love life. ■

and being single parent

BY LEI FONTAMILLAS Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Meanwhile, Mercado shared that she is now focusing all her attention on her six-year-old son with former boyfriend PatMANILA — Jennylyn Mercado rick Garcia, Alex Jazz. recently opened up about her “I’d like to believe that I’m breakup with Luis Manzano able to raise him well. I want and how she manages being a him to grow up as someone single mom to son Alex Jazz. who’s used to living a simple “Maybe because we’re not life,” said Mercado. really meant for each other,” She also shared that Alex said Mercado referring to her Jazz has started undergoing breakup with therapy because Manzano during of speech delay. an interview.

She said that She added, there have been “I’m happy that You really have to be strong. I believe improvements he is now in a that the right time and moment will to her son. relationship. come for me to be in a relationship When asked if That’s life — you once again. she gets financial really have to be support from strong. I believe Garcia, Mercado that the right said no. time and moment will come for wished him good luck about But while the two remained me to be in a relationship once his plans of settling down with estranged for some time, Meragain.”

Locsin. cado claimed that they have beMercado and Manzano partLocsin then responded by come amicable. As a matter of ed ways in October 2013 after saying, “Thank you. Happy fact, she spent a day with Garbeing together for two years. for you. I guess I have nothing cia’s fiancé together with their Both did not share the reason more to say, but thank you.” respective children. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

behind their split.

The same month that they broke up, Mercado’s ex-girlfriend Angel Locsin separated from Filipino-British football player Phil Younghusband.

Manzano and Locsin admitted their relationship in February this year.

Since then, Mercado has been avoiding answering any questions about Manzano but

34

Entertainment

DECEMBER 19, 2014 FRIDAY

Sony barraged by more leaks, lawsuits, theatres pulling Rogen film after hackers’ 9-11 threats

BY BERNARD CONDON The Canadian Press NEW YORK — Threats of violence against movie theatres.

Cancelled showings of “The Interview.” Leaks of thousands more private emails. Lawsuits by former employees that could cost tens of millions in damages.

The fallout from the hack that began four weeks ago exploded Tuesday after the shadowy group calling themselves Guardians of Peace escalated their attack beyond corporate espionage and threatened moviegoers with violence reminiscent of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Department of Homeland Security said there was “no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theatres,” but noted it was still analyzing messages from the group, dubbed GOP. The warning did prompt law enforcement in New York and Los Angeles to address measures to ramp up security.

Those security fears spurred Sony to allow theatre chains to cancel showings of the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy “The Interview,” that has been a focus of the hackers’ mission to bring down Sony. Carmike Cinemas, which operates 247 theatres across the country, was the first to cancel its planned screenings of the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It remains to be seen if other chains will follow suit.

GOP also released a trove of data files including 32,000 emails to and from Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton in what it called the beginning of a “Christmas gift.”

And two former Sony film production workers filed lawsuits alleging the Culver City, Califor-

nia company waited too long to notify nearly 50,000 employees that data such as Social Security numbers, salaries and medical records had been stolen.

The filing follows another lawsuit this week from two other former Sony employees accusing the studio of being negligent by not bolstering its defences against hackers before the attack. It claims emails and other leaked information show that Sony’s informationtechnology department and its top lawyer believed its security Amidst threats of violence against movie theaters by a group calling themselves Guardians of Peace, screenings of the system was vulnerable to at- Seth Rogan movie “The Interview” have been cancelled. The Department of Homeland Security has said that there was tack, but that company did not “no credible intelligence” to indicate that there was any plot against any movie theater.

SCREENSHOT FROM TRAILER act on those warnings.

Sony, a unit of Japan’s Sony Corp., potentially faces tens of to hit theatres nationwide on up security at the Manhattan ation. Neither Sony nor repmillions of dollars in damages Christmas Day. It premiered in premiere, said John Miller, the resentatives from individual from class-action lawsuits, said Los Angeles last week.

NYPD’s top counterterrorism theatre chains, including CarJonathan Handel, an entertainBut on Tuesday Rogen and official. mike, responded to requests for ment law professor at the Uni- Franco pulled out of all me“Having read through the comment. versity of Southern California dia appearances, cancelling threat material myself, it’s acSince the hack surfaced late Gould School of Law. a Buzzfeed Q&A and Rogen’s tually not crystal clear whether last month, everything from “It is a serious matter for planned guest spot Thursday it’s a cyber response that they financial figures to salacious Sony both in terms of dollar ex- on “Late Night With Seth Mey- are threatening or whether it’s emails between top Sony execposure and public perception of ers.” A representative for Ro- a physical attack,” Miller said. utives has been dumped online. the brand,” he said. gen said he had no comment. A “That’s why we’re continuing to The nearly 32,000 emails to In “The Interview,” Rogen spokeswoman for Franco didn’t evaluate the language of it, and and from Sony Pictures Enterand Franco star also the source tainment CEO Lynton leaked as television of it. I think our Tuesday include information journalists inprimary posture about casting decisions and tovolved in a CIA is going to be is tal costs for upcoming films, replot to assassiHaving read through the threat going to have a lease schedules for Sony films nate North Komaterial myself, it’s actually not police presence through 2018 and corporate rean leader Kim crystal clear whether it’s a cyber and a response financial records, such as royJong Un. Specuresponse that they are threatening capability that alties from iTunes, Spotify and lation about a or whether it’s a physical attack. will reassure Pandora music services. They North Korean people who may include information about new link to the Sony have heard about electronics devices such as hacking has centred on that respond to queries Tuesday. this and have concerns.”

DVD players and cellphones. country’s angry denunciation The FBI said it is aware of the Following a commission They also include budget figof the film. Over the summer, GOP’s threats and “continues to meeting earlier Tuesday, Los ures for the Motion Picture AsNorth Korea warned that the work collaboratively with our Angeles Police Chief Charlie sociation of America, of which film’s release would be an “act partners to investigate this mat- Beck said his department takes Sony is a member, and at least of war that we will never tol- ter.” FBI director James Comey the hackers’ threats “very seri- one email about a senior Sony erate.” It said the U.S. will face last week said that investigators ously” and will be taking extra executive who left the company. “merciless” retaliation. are still trying to determine who precautions during the holi- The emails also include banal The film’s New York pre- is responsible for the hack. days at theatres. messages about public appearmiere is scheduled for ThursThe New York Police DepartThe National Association of ances, tennis matches, home day at Manhattan’s Landmark ment, after co-ordinating with Theatre Owners had no com- repairs, dinner invitations and Sunshine, and it is expected the FBI and Sony, plans to beef ment on the developing situ- business introductions. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

Entertainment

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

35

Robin Williams, World Cup, iPhone 6 are top Google Canada searches of 2014 THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — The death of a beloved actor, quadrennial sporting events, a new smartphone, and a deadly outbreak topped Google Canada’s annual list of the most popular trending search queries.

After excluding routine searches that are entered by users every day of every year — most commonly for Facebook, Google itself, and YouTube — Robin Williams was found to be the top trending search term of 2014 in Canada.

Soccer’s World Cup was second, followed by the iPhone 6, the Winter Olympics, Ebola, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence, the late Joan Rivers, Jian Ghomeshi and the disease ALS, which went viral as the ice bucket challenge

spread around the world.

After Ghomeshi, the top trending searches for Canadian people were former To-

ronto mayor Rob Ford, the late former finance minister Jim Flaherty, tennis star Eugenie Bouchard, and Olympic bronze

www.canadianinquirer.net

medallist snowboarder Mark McMorris.

The shootings on Parliament Hill came in seventh on the list

of top Canadian searches for events, behind the World Cup, the Olympics, the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane in March, the Ebola outbreak, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The Scottish referendum was eighth, the Justin Bourque manhunt in Moncton was ninth, and the Toronto municipal election was tenth.

Google users typically start queries with “how to” and the most common of those searches in Canada were vote, blog, puree, fundraise, Snapchat, kayak, tune, wean, moonwalk and henna.

For “What is” searches, Canadians most frequently typed in ALS, Ebola, ISIS, Bitcoin, Uber, Gamergate, Alibaba, Tinder, liposarcoma and skiathlon. ■ On the web: http://www.google. com/2014

36

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12, 2014

Lifestyle

Sweet and delicious, fudge a perfect treat to make during holidays

BY SUSAN GREER The Canadian Press LONDON, ONT. — The story goes that fudge was “invented” in the U.S. in the 1880s when someone trying to make another type of candy misjudged the temperature and took it off the stove too soon. They liked the soft, smooth confection that resulted and fudge — and the saying “oh, fudge!” meaning “oops” — were born.

Apocryphal or not, fudge has found a place in the hearts and on the tables of North Americans, especially at this time of year.

“It’s been a tradition for many years,” says Jane Sharrock of Oklahoma City, author of “300 Best Homemade Candy Recipes.” “We have usually eaten it around holidays, at times when we had good feelings about what was going on.”

Marie Swidersky agrees.

“We always say fudge is good for you, but we think it’s good for you in that it can make you happy.” She and husband Len sell more than 30 flavours of homemade fudge at outlets of their The Olde Stanton Store in Blue Mountain Village, near Collingwood, Ont., and in the hamlet for which the store was named, about 50 kilometres to the south.

The endless variations of fudge may be another key to its appeal. Sharrock’s book, published by Robert Rose Inc., features 64 fudge recipes, including microwave versions that can be made in five minutes and more complicated creations that take much longer and require serious muscle-power to stir or beat to the correct consistency.

Some have a corn syrup base, while others use marshmallows or marshmallow creme, condensed milk, buttermilk or sour cream. There’s even one made with mashed potatoes and another with cream cheese that requires no cooking.

One constant in many of Sharrock’s fudge recipes is chocolate, although it may be dark, light, white or a combination.

“Traditional fudge is usually made with chocolate. That’s what people here think of when you say fudge.”

But other recipes feature such diverse flavourings as pineapple, apricot, pumpkin, cherry, banana and eggnog.

Vanilla fudge is more common in Canada than in the U.S., and maple-flavoured fudge is a Canadian tradition.

“We do maple fudge and tourists love this, especially from overseas. A lot of them will take it back home” because it’s so typically Canadian, says Kim Cross, manager of The Old Stanton Store at Blue Mountain, where all the fudge is made for both stores.

Although their basic fudge recipes are proprietary, she says they use both chocolate and vanilla fudge bases to make flavours as diverse as jalapeno,

carrot cake and cookie dough, as well as more traditional selections. In the summer they make a lemon meringue fudge, and in the fall an apple pie flavour. This year’s seasonal treats include cranberry and candy cane fudge.

Their fudge tables are “a myriad of colours and flavours,” says Swidersky, and on fudgemaking days customers can see and smell the process.

They opened the first Olde Stanton Store in 1980 as a gallery for her husband’s artwork but then expanded into gifts and home decor. In 2000, after much thought, they got into the fudge business. Now three of their four adult children are involved in their enterprises.

“We just decided we needed something everybody would enjoy,” she says. “We have taken the mom-at-home fudge, using real cream and butter, but we make gallons of it,” and all visitors to the stores get a free taste.

The product has been so

successful that this year they started an online store for fudge (the-olde-stanton-store. myshopify.com), with delivery promised in about a week.

Candy-making at home should not be intimidating or seen as work, says Sharrock.

“It should be fun for the cook.

It should be fun for the people who eat it.”

But there are a few important rules.

Especially for novice and average cooks, it’s important to follow the recipe to the letter, she says. Most failures occur because cooks try to improvise with ingredients or cooking methods without understanding the complicated “science” of candy-making.

For example, someone who substitutes milk when cream is called for or who doesn’t understand that you start timing when the candy is at a “rolling” or full boil, not just when the first bubbles appear, is doomed to disappointment.

The second requirement is

the right equipment — a heavy pot, a good candy thermometer and wooden spoons.

Her favourite pot is an old beat-up cast-iron or cast aluminum pressure cooker base.

A stainless-steel pot will “very likely” cause the milk and sugar to scorch.

The final requirement is time. Candy-making is handson and demands constant vigilance. You shouldn’t start it unless you have the uninterrupted time to see it through.

“You can’t set it off to the side and expect to come back to it later.”

Sharrock and Swidersky agree fudge shouldn’t be just a holiday tradition.

“While everybody thinks of it as being a special treat for Christmas, people seem to like it even more when you make it outside the holidays,” Sharrock says.

“In this purist society, where everybody tries to eat healthy, people need a little indulgence,” says Swidersky. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

37

How old do you feel? The answer might help predict your death, British study on aging suggests

BY LINDSEY TANNER The Associated Press CHICAGO — How old do you feel? Think carefully — the answer might help predict how much longer you’ll live. That’s according to British research posing that question to about 6,500 adults. Those who felt younger than their real age lived the longest over the following eight years.

Here are five key findings from the study, by researchers Isla Rippon and Andrew Steptoe at University College London. Results were published online Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine: Real vs. perceived age

The average real age of those questioned was about 66 years.

Most adults felt at least three years younger than their real age. Those who felt younger had the least chances of dying over about eight years after the age question was asked. Adults

was to see if answers from people already dying might have explained the link between feeling old and death. The link persisted even without those first-year deaths.

Why the link?

The average real age of those questioned was about 66 years. Most adults felt at least three years younger than their real age. Those who felt younger had the least chances of dying over about eight years after the age question was asked.

who felt older than their actual age had the greatest chances of dying in that period.

The nitty gritty

The researchers analyzed data from a study in England on aging that included information on deaths during a followup period that ended in February 2013; deaths totalled 1,030.

About 14 per cent of the youngfeeling adults died during the follow-up, versus 19 per cent of those who felt their actual age and 25 per cent of those who felt older.

Feeling older was a predictor of death even when the researchers accounted for things that could affect death rates, including illnesses, wealth,

www.canadianinquirer.net

education, smoking, alcohol intake and physical activity. Older-feeling adults were about 40 per cent more likely to die than younger-feeling adults.

What the ruled out

The researchers did a separate test, excluding deaths within a year of when the age question was asked. The idea

It’s possible that health conditions and lifestyle choices that the researchers didn’t study explain why feeling old may help predict death. Or it may be that those who feel younger than their real age have “greater resilience, sense of mastery, and will to live,” the researchers said. They said more study is needed to be certain.

Silver lining?

Perceived age may change over the years, and there might be ways to reduce chances of death in people who feel older than their actual age. The researchers said that might include health messages that promote healthy behaviours and attitudes about aging. ■

38

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12, 2014

Business

Oil has fallen by nearly half, to recession levels, as US economy improves: why, what to know

BY JONATHAN FAHEY The Associated Press NEW YORK — The price of oil has fallen by nearly half in just six months, a surprising and steep plunge that has consumers cheering, producers howling and economists wringing their hands over whether this is a good or bad thing.

The price of a barrel of oil is just under $56, down from a summer high of $107, and lower than at any time since the U.S. was still in recession in the spring of 2009.

So what’s going on? A global imbalance of supply and demand that is rippling across the world economy, for better and worse.

Supplies go boom

Years of high oil prices, interrupted briefly by the recession, inspired drillers around the world to scour the earth’s crust for more oil.

They found it.

Since 2008 oil companies in the U.S., for example, have increased production by 70 per cent, or 3.5 million barrels of oil per day. To put that in perspective, that increase alone is more than the production of any OPEC member other than Saudi Arabia.

As U.S. production was ramping up, turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa reduced supplies from Libya, Iran and elsewhere. A balance was struck: Increasing supplies from outside of OPEC and from Iraq’s recovering oil industry helped meet rising demand around the world as other

A weak global economy could hurt the U.S. economy by reducing exports, employment and spending, which together could outweigh the economic benefits of cheaper fuel.

The producers’ pain

OPEC supplies waivered.

But now those OPEC supplies look more certain despite continuing turmoil, and those nonOPEC supplies have swamped the market. OPEC estimated last week that the world would need 28.9 million barrels of its oil per day next year, the lowest in more than a decade. At the same time, OPEC countries plan to produce 30 million barrels of oil per day next year.

That supply surplus is sending global prices lower.

Demand goes bust

Global demand is still expected to grow next year, but by far less than many thought earlier this year. The economies of China, Japan and Western Europe — the top oil consumers after the United States — all appear to be weakening. Oil demand falls when economic growth stalls.

The U.S. is still the world’s largest consumer, but more fuel-efficient cars and changing demographics mean demand for oil and gasoline is not increasing. The Energy Department predicts a slight decrease in gasoline demand next year even though the price is expected to be sharply lower and the economy is expected to grow.

The happy consumers

For drivers, shippers, airlines and other consumers of fuel, there’s nothing not to like about the drop in oil prices.

The national average gasoline price has fallen for 81 straight days to $2.55 a gallon, its lowest level since October of 2009, according to AAA. It’s $1.15 a gallon cheaper than its high for the year, saving U.S. households $100 a month as they shop for holiday presents. “Any time gas prices go down that is a good

EXCHANGE RATES

thing,” said Randy Daniels, 30, who was shopping recently at the Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta. “An extra 20 or 30 bucks in my pocket goes far.”

Diesel and jet fuel prices have also plunged, helping boost the profits and share prices of airlines and shippers. Heating oil is the cheapest it has been in four years, reducing home heating prices just in time for winter for many in the chilly Northeast.

The worried economists

Falling fuel prices act like a tax cut and help boost consumer spending, which in turn accounts for 70 per cent of the U.S. economy. But economists are growing concerned that there are other, more troublesome forces at play.

The depth of oil’s plunge could be a signal that the global economy is struggling even more than economists think.

For oil companies, oil-producing states, and oil-exporting countries, the oil price collapse is painful.

Oil companies generally keep producing oil from wells they’ve already drilled, but lower prices sharply reduce revenue and force them to cut back spending on new exploration projects. BP announced last week it would try to trim $1 billion in spending next year in a move that analysts say could result in thousands of job cuts.

States that rely on taxes from energy production such as Alaska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas will see lower revenues and some have already had to trim budgets.

Major oil exporters such as Iran, Iraq, Russia and Venezuela rely heavily on revenues from state-owned oil companies to run their governments and are struggling under major budget shortfalls. For example, Bank of America estimates that every $1 drop in the global price of oil costs Venezuela $770 million in annual revenue. Current prices are now $47 below last year’s average, putting the country on pace for a $36 billion reduction in revenue. ■ AP Business Writer Mae Anderson contributed to this story from Atlanta

As of December 17, 2014, from finance.yahoo.com PRICE

CHANGE

% CHANGE

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+0.0011

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Business

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

Small minority of Canada’s condos for rent are foreign owned, CMHC survey finds THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says only a small minority of the condos for rent in most major urban areas have foreign owners, although some neighbourhoods in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are higher.

The CMHC says its first survey of foreign ownership of condos for rent found a wide range within the 11 major markets that were tracked, from a high of 2.4 per cent in Toronto and 2.3 per cent in Vancouver to a low of only one-tenth of a percentage point in several cities.

The survey suggests, however, that certain areas of Montreal had Canada’s highest concentration of rental condos under foreign ownership — at 6.9 per cent.

Parts of Vancouver had about 5.8 per cent of rental condos under foreign ownership while in Toronto’s centre core the rate was about 4.3 per cent.

CMHC cautioned that some of the survey’s findings for very specific areas were based on small sample sizes that reduced the reliability of the information.

Foreign ownership of real estate in Canada and the Vancouver market in particular has been widely speculated about, however there has been little data.

Many have suggested wealthy foreign buyers have driven up home prices in Vancouver and critics have raised concerns about what that could mean for the market if those buyers decided to cash out and sell.

The foreign investor rate in the Montreal metropolitan area came in third after Toronto and Vancouver, with 1.5 per cent, followed by Victoria at 1.1 per cent. The other cities tracked were below one per cent: Ottawa (0.7 per cent), Quebec (0.6 per cent), Saskatoon (0.3 per cent), Calgary (0.2 per cent), while Edmonton, Regina and Winnipeg were at 0.1 per cent.

CMHC says its semi-annual

report on rental vacancy rates attempts to fill in some information gaps about Canada’s housing markets.

The overall report found the rental apartment vacancy rate in Canada’s 35 larger centres increased to 2.8 per cent in October from 2.7 per cent in the same month last year, as the supply of new housing built for rent grew less than demand.

The average rent for twobedroom apartments in existing structures across Canada’s 35 larger centres increased 2.5 per cent between October 2013 and October 2014. The average rent for a two bedroom apartment in new and existing structures was $941 in October 2014.

The condo portion of the rental market had higher vacancy rates, ranging from a high of 3.4 per cent in Montreal to a low of 0.7 per cent in Vancouver. Average monthly rents for two-bedroom condominium apartments were highest in Toronto ($1,818) and lowest in Quebec City ($1,070). ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

39

Tanong mo... it essentially creates two tiers of citizenship – those who can lose citizenship and those who can’t. This offends the very concept of citizenship. ❰❰ 31

What about the actual cases of Canadian dual-citizens who have been convicted of terrorism or attempted terrorism or other actions against Canada, don’t they deserve to lose their citizenship?

JW: I believe those people should be subject to the full force of the criminal justice system.

They should be convicted, incarcerated and punished under any and all available laws as with any citizen guilty of such heinous actions. I do not however believe that, simply because someone is a dual citizen, they should be subject to exile or the medieval concept of banishment. Such laws make Canadian citizenship more fragile and significantly more divisive. It divides citizens into two classes: those who can have their citizenship revoked and those who cannot regardless of their actions. I have full faith that the Canadian justice system and security apparatus

will continue to work effectively in countering the threats we face at home and abroad.

Atty. Daghighian, you said most of these changes won’t be in effect likely until June or July, does that mean that someone who applies for citizenship right now won’t be affected?

Yes, generally speaking, if someone applies now, their application will not be affected by most of the new changes except some of which I’ve mentioned already such as the increased costs. So I encourage anyone who is currently qualified to apply to get their application submitted soon. ■ We invite you to tune in to our weekly legal advice program “Tanong Mo Kay Kuya Boy” every Saturday from 1230 pm to 1pm on JUAN RADIO 96.1 FM. Every week, we will feature various professional lawyers who will discuss and give advice about different legal topics.

If you have any legal questions, send an email to kuyaboycanada@gmail.com

40

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12, 2014

Travel

Fierce competition from budget airlines has lured passengers away from night trains that were once a mainstay of cross-border travel in Europe.

End of a railway romance: Sleeper trains linking Berlin, Paris fall victim to budget flights

BY FRANK JORDANS Frank Jordans BERLIN — Commuters jostle on and off their gleaming highspeed trains at Berlin’s main railway station on a cold December morning, but one platform stays stubbornly empty.

Finally, a grimy engine draws in, pulling carriages that look like they saw their best days in the 1980s.

It’s the sleeper train from Paris, 20 minutes late. But none of the dozen passengers who tumble out with heavy bags and rucksacks seems to mind. It’s the last stop on a long journey, much as it will soon be for the train itself.

German railway company Deutsche Bahn is ending the sleeper service between Paris and Berlin this week, citing unsustainable losses. The service — a dinosaur in the era of

high-speed European trains — has been running since before World War II, and used to go all the way to Moscow.

Fierce competition from budget airlines has lured passengers away from night trains that were once a mainstay of cross-border travel in Europe, explains Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman Susanne Schulz.

“Demand has dropped by 30 per cent over the past decade because of the sinking cost of airline tickets,” Schulz told The Associated Press.

A mid-week journey from Berlin to Paris by night train (4 bunks to a room) costs from 70 euros ($87) and takes 12 hours.

A two-hour flight with one piece of checked luggage costs from 55 euros.

Along with the link to the French capital, Deutsche Bahn is ending sleeper services between Amsterdam, Prague, Basel and Copenhagen, and

cutting the connection to Amsterdam from its overnight service to Warsaw.

Railway enthusiasts fear other routes could soon follow, spelling doom for Europe’s night trains as a whole. Campaigners have launched petitions calling on governments and the European Union to save what they argue is an ecological and family-friendly way to travel.

The carbon footprint for the Paris-Berlin rail journey is less than half that of a flight, according to Deutsche Bahn’s website. While children pay close to full fare on airlines from the age of 2, they can ride the sleeper for free until they turn 15, and only need to reserve a seat or bed.

Others evoke the romance of rail journeys, and the fact that passengers are lifted out of the bustle of daily life for the time it takes to reach their destination.

“Going from Paris to Berlin in two hours is simply too fast,” says Marie-Helene, a regular on the Paris to Berlin service who declined to give her surname. “I love reading and there’s plenty of time for that on the night train.”

Pointing to the two big bags in front of her, she notes that budget airlines would have charged her a hefty add-on fee.

“I don’t like to travel light,” she laughed.

“It’s also perfectly viable as a business connection,” insisted Jon Worth, a consultant who started taking night trains as a means of discovering Europe and now uses them to travel between meetings. “You don’t need to book a night in a hotel and you wake up in the morning at your destination.”

Worth believes rail firms are wilfully neglecting their sleeper services, to the detriment of travellers. “There is a

demand and it would increase if night trains were managed and marketed properly by the rail companies,” he said. “It’s not all about competition from airlines as they would have us believe.”

Deutsche Bahn says it lost 12 million euros ($15 million) last year on the night trains it’s now cutting. Investing in modern rolling stock would cost millions, the company says.

That might be necessary if it wanted to tempt travellers back into its bunks, though.

As they arrive in Berlin, a group of young Mexican travellers struggle to leave the train because one of the doors is jammed shut. A grumpy train guard eventually opens the door and the four get off, blinking in the harsh station light.

How was their journey?

“I thought it would have WiFi,” says Alejandra Vega, one of the group. “But it was OK.” ■

Travel

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

41

Pampanga’s Giant Lantern Festival brings warm and joy of Christmas season

BY FROILAN E. MAGTOTO Philippine News Agency CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA — Colorful giant lanterns once again brightened up the dark and cold skies as the traditional "Ligligan Parul" (Giant Lantern Festival) was held this past Saturday at the Robinsons Starmills here.

The annual festival, which paved the way for Pampanga to be dubbed as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines," was participated in by nine barangays in the city where the lantern makers have taken the traditional art of parol-making into a higher level that has become known and famous worldwide.

The spectators watched with awe and amazement as they saw the craftmanship and ingenuity of the lantern makers from the participating barangays of San Juan, San Nicolas, Telabastagan, Del Pilar, Sto. Nino, San Jose, Calulut, Dolores, and Sta. Lucia.

The spirit of the Yuletide season filled up the air as the audience witnessed the grand display of spectacular lights, interplay of colors and kaleido-

The annual Giant Lantern Festival, featuring dazzling giant lanterns lighting up the night sky, paved the way for Pampanga to be dubbed as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines.”

CARYL JOAN ESTROSAS / FLICKR

scopic patterns of the giant lanterns to the beat of Christmas songs and other lively music.

Indeed, this festival is one of the grandest events in the province as thousands of foreign and local visitors flocked here to witness the annual competition.

"Every year, we are here to witness this spectacular festival. It is really amazing to see and watch those giant lanterns which bring to us the warmth and joys of Christmas," 54-yearold Daniel Bartolome from Balanga City, Bataan, said.

Ma. Theresa Espinosa, an

overseas Filipino worker from the United Arab Emirates, said "this is my first time to watch this Giant Lantern Festival and it is really different. I do miss Filipino Christmas traditions such as this."

"My friends and I travelled all the way from Baguio City and

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it is really exciting to see those huge brightly-colored lanterns.

Those are all nice and beautiful," Nora Gorospe said.

But only one stood the best among the nine entries. Barangay Dolores emerged as this year’s champion and brought home the grand cash prize of PhP150,000, followed

by Barangay Calulut, which landed 1st runner-up and won PhP100,000, and Barangay Telabastagan as second runnerup with PhP75,000.

"The nine participants from the city’s barangays once again displayed the latest innovations on the ‘Parul Sampernandu.’

This highly unique lantern festival continues to gain worldwide attention," City Mayor Edwin Santiago said.

After the competition, there will be giant lantern exhibitions from Dec. 15 to 21 at the Robinsons Starmills.

The giant lanterns will also be exhibited in Barangay Telabastagan here on Dec. 22; Greenfields Subdivision in Barangay Sindalan (Dec. 23) and Poblacion (Dec. 24).

The lanterns will also be brought to the Nepo Complex on Dec. 27 and Marquee Mall on Dec. 28 and 29. ■

Long term forecast taken from: www.weathernetwork.com

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42

FRIDAY DECEMBER 12, 2014

Sports

Manny ready with plan vs Mayweather

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer MANNY PACQUIAO feels he has Floyd Mayweather Jr. trapped in a corner this time.

The unbeaten American needs to back up his words and fight him next year, he says.

“He (Mayweather) has reached a dead end. He has nowhere to run but to fight me,” Pacquiao, reacting to Mayweather’s offer to fight him in May, told AFP yesterday.

To prevent a repeat of Mayweather’s boring victory over Argentine Marcos Maidana, Pacquiao said he intends to bring the fight to the American.

Pacquiao said he will use his 12-round demolition of erstwhile unbeaten Chris Algieri in Macau last month as a blue-

print of his strategy against Mayweather (See related story on A1).

Mayweather, though, is giving signals that the negotiations for the prospective billion-dollar bout won’t be easy.

He has said he will demand a much bigger share of the fight’s purse.

“Mayweather can get the amount he wants,” Pacquiao said. “As early as January this year, I challenged him to a charity fight. Until now, he has not agreed to it. So, money is not the issue in our fight.”And if the blockbuster bout pushes through, Pacquiao already has a fight plan in mind. The eightdivision world champion said he knows what to do against Mayweather if they finally meet in the ring.

“I will chase him wherever

he goes just in case he decides to run,” Pacquiao said. “We will devise a good fight plan against him.”

Familiar with Mayweather’s style, Pacquiao doubts whether his pound-for-pound rival will trade punches with him.

“I will try my best to [make] this a thrilling and entertaining fight. But I doubt if he’s going to engage me in a slugfest,” said Pacquiao, who accepted Mayweather’s offer—made on Showtime Sports in the US Friday night—to fight him on May 2 in the United States.

Pacquiao took a swipe at Mayweather’s failure to excite the crowd when he’s in the ring.

“You all know his fighting style,” Pacquiao said from his mansion in General Santos City.

“Most, if not all, of his previous fights induced us to sleep.” ■

Manny Pacquiao hopes to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year. Pacquiao said he plans on using the strategy he used recently to defeat Chris Algieri, by bringing the fight constantly to his opponent.

Azkals see improvement, need for change

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer THE THIRD straight semifinal exit of the Philippine Azkals in the AFF Suzuki Cup should not take away the inroads made by the squad this year.

Although they bowed to Thailand, 0-3, on aggregate in the semifinals last Wednesday in Bangkok, skipper Rob Gier and striker Phil Younghusband believe the Azkals are an improved side than in previous years.

The Azkals reached the finals of the AFC Challenge Cup this year in the Maldives, losing to Palestine in the title match. The Suzuki Cup proved to be a shot at redemption and while they impressed with wins over Laos and Indonesia in the group stages, the Azkals were once again a letdown when it came to big games.

“I think (the improvement) has been big but there’s obviously something still standing in the way of the team and we can’t get over that final hurdle,”

said the 33-year-old Gier, who hinted that the 2014 edition could be his last Suzuki Cup. There’s plenty of promise in the Azkals side as youngsters like Daisuke Sato and Amani Aguinaldo continued to develop, playing their second major tournament this year.

Except for games against Thailand and Vietnam, where he struggled, the 22-year-old Manny Ott stamped his authority at midfield, giving the Azkals a reliable option at the position

for years to come.

Younghusband said the improvement of the side was apparent in the tournament, where the Azkals scored a total of nine goals. They were however shut out for the third straight semifinal, extending their drought to six matches since 2010.

“I think we discovered we can pass the ball and we can create chances to score passing the ball,” said Younghusband. “But there’s still a barrier that we

have to get over. We’ve fallen short again and it’s something that we have to change.”

Younghusband said the standing in the competition is reflective of the infrastructure and the popularity of football in the countries in Southeast Asia.

“We’re obviously disappointed,” said Younghusband, lamenting the fact that the Azkals still struggle to fill up the 13,000-seater Rizal Memorial Stadium, while the Thais can easily lure a crowd of 50,000 for

the semifinals.

Thailand proved too sharp for the Azkals in the second leg of their semifinal tie Wednesday night at Rajamangala Stadium. The Thais will meet Malaysia in the finals, after the Tigers staged a stunning fightback in Hanoi to oust Vietnam, 5-4, on aggregate.

Gier said the loss to the Thais still stings.

“It never gets easier,” said Gier. “You put a lot of sacrifices—being away from my family the past six weeks. That’s what makes it even more difficult when you continually come up short.”

Gier added: “It was really hard work out there and I can’t blame anyone after this (defeat).”

“It’s a tough loss that we have to get out of the system,” said Denmarkbased midfielder Jerry Lucena, who vowed to reinforce the side again in World Cup Qualifying next year.

“The squad has to be better if we expect to do well in the future,” said Azkals manager Dan Palami. ■

43

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

www.canadianinquirer.net

Seen and Scenes

44

DECEMBER 19, 2014

TYPHOON HAGUPIT AID Minister of International Development Christian Paradis and Sen. Tobias Enverga hosted a roundtable meeting with members of Montreal’s Filipino-Canadian community on Dec. 16, to announce a $5-million humanitarian aid for victims of Typhoon Hagupit, the most powerful storm to hit the Philippines this year.

SPIRIT OF GIVING Ambassador Garcia renewed her call for Filipino communities in Ottawa and Montreal to perform their civic duties in the spirit of giving this Christmas season.

VICTORIA SENIORS Victoria Filipino Canadian Seniors Association officers and members having fun at their Christmas dinner held at Embassy Inn in Victoria, B.C.

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

FRIDAY

Events

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

45

Simbang Gabi Calgary Catholic Churches WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., Dec. 19, at Ascension, 1100 Berkshire Blvd. NW ; 6:30 p.m., Dec. 20, St. Tomas More, 15 Templebow Road NE; 6:30 p.m., Dec. 20, Sacred Heart Parish, 1307 14th St. SW

CANADA EVENTS

YUKON

NUNAVUT

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

NEWFOUNDLAND

MANITOBA

SASKATCHEWAN

http://bit.ly/ PCI-Events

Assumption Parish Variety Benefit Show WHEN/WHERE: 2 to 5 p.m., Dec. 28, at Assumption Church, 320 Olmstead St., Ottawa, On. MORE INFO: Fundraising for victims of Typhoon Hagupit

BRITISH COLUMBIA ALBERTA

View all events by scanning this QR code or visiting

ONTARIO

QUEBEC NEW BRUNSWICK

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.

The Nutcracker

By Goh Ballet WHEN/WHERE: Dec. 18 to 22 at the Centre in Vancouver 13th Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party By 604 Now WHEN/WHERE: 8 p.m., Dec. 19 at Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Party with your ugliest, loudest, jingle-bell-est sweater on! Proceeds will support The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.

Shipyards Christmas Market

By Northshore Green Markets WHEN/WHERE: Fridays, 5-9 pm; Sta. 12- 8 pm; Sun 12- 6 pm, Dec. 19 to 23, 15 Wallace Mews, North Vancouver, B.C.

Victoria Filipino Canadian Caregivers Christmas Party

By VFCCA WHEN/WHERE: Dec. 20, Grand Pacific Hotel, 463 Belleville St., Victoria B.C. Christmas Party Dinner and Dance

By LuzViMin Bisaya Association of BC WHEN/WHERE: 5:30 p.m., Dec. 27 at St. Patrick Parish Gym, 2881 Main St., Vancouver, B.C. My Tween & Me Multicultural Mom’s Support Group

By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursdays, Dunbar Hts. Church 3320 Crown St., Vancouver MORE INFO: call Daisy 604-254-9626 ext. 273 English Corner

By Richmond Public Library WHEN/WHERE: 10 to 12 nn Fridays, Jan. 9 to Feb. 27, and on Sundays, Jan. 11 to Mar. 1 at the Brighouse (Main) Branch, 2nd floor Community Place Rm., 7700 Minoru Gate.

MORE INFO: To register, visit any branch of Richmond public Library, register online at www.yourlibrary.ca/events or call 604-231-6413

Paskong Aklanon 2014

By Aklanon Sto. Nino Association of British Columbia WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m., Dec. 20, Capri Hall, 3925 Fraser St., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: $5 – adult; free for kids (12 and under) and seniors.

Live Band at Roxstone Café

By The Filipino Community of New Brunswick WHEN/WHERE: 6 to 9 p.m., Dec. 19 at Roxstone Cafer MORE INFO: Featuring Dave Laurie, Muro Ami, Godo Rosal, Michelle Gariepy and Roland Aquino.

Annual ComUNITY Christmas Party

By Filipino Canadian Community of New Brunswick (Northampton/Woodstock Chapter) WHEN/WHERE: 2 to 5 p.m., Dec. 20, Northampton Recreation Center, New Brunswick Route 105 New Year’s Party 2015

By Filipino-Canadian Community of New Brunswick WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., Dec. 31, at Frank’s Finer Diner in Fredericton, New Brunswick

To have your events featured on PCI, please email events@canadianinquirer.net www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

CANADA

Be part of an amazing instore team!

We are currently recruiting for Sales Associate and Customer Service Representative to join us in Promenade, Toronto.

We’re looking for confident, sales and customer service oriented team players with: · Passion for telecom products and services · High standards of customer service · Excellent English communication skills · Previous retail experience You will be responsible for: In return, we will provide you with: · Selling long distance, · Professional sales training homephone, Filipino TV · Ideal pay package with channels commission and incentive · Providing an opportunities* exceptional customer · Career growth with service experience internal promotional · Sharing product opportunities knowledge information · Flexible hours Interested candidates please submit your resume with cover letter to hr@timestelecom.ca.

Please send your resume to gurp@metroguardsecurity.ca / 604.537.7766

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FRIDAY DECEMBER 19, 2014

“After I graduated from the Health Care Assistant Program, my employers were really impressed with my education and the skills I had developed at Sprott Shaw. Since my first experience was so successful, it was easy to choose Sprett Shaw for my next career move.”

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DECEMBER 19, 2014

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