Philippine Canadian Inquirer #189

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER OCTOBER 16, 2015

VOL. 10 NO. 189

www.canadianinquirer.net

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Ombudsman sacks Binay son

Suspects in Samal Island kidnapping arrested

Dictator’s son launches Palace comeback

Trudeau faces renewed attack

China’s September imports plunge 20.4%

Palace: High number of presidential aspirants attests to dynamism of PHL democracy WHO WILL BE OUR NEXT PRIME MINISTER COME OCT 19?

THREE DAYS TO GO. The 2015 federal election is just around the corner. Please visit www.canadianinquirer.net for a comprehensive table of platforms for

each political party published on Oct 14, 2015. The PCI website is also mobile-friendly, so you have access to the latest news anytime, anywhere.

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Santiago in, Duterte out Sen. Miriam confirms 2016 presidential bid; Mayor Rody “doesn’t need it”

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Despite her health condition, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Tuesday (Oct 13) confirmed she is running for president in 2016.

Conservatives ramp up economic sales pitch

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❱❱ PAGE 19 ❱❱ PAGE 4 Santiago in

MANILA — Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said on Tuesday that the high number of presidential aspirants for the 2016 national elections attests to the dynamism of the country’s democracy and reflects the desire of well-meaning Filipinos to actively participate in the electoral process.

“Come election time, we expect our bosses to exercise sound judgment ❱❱ PAGE 13 Palace: High number

Santiago in

Santiago made the confirmation to the mediamen who covered a meet-andgreet for her book Stupid is Forevermore at National Book Store Glorietta in Makati City.

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Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

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Amid corruption charges, Binay-Honasan tandem first to file COC

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

SHUTTERSTOCK

DOJ report: Airlines should treat passengers better

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Ever cancelled or rebooked a flight for unexpected circumstances only to get the runaround, plus extra charges, from your airline? The justice department feels your pain.

The Department of Justice- Office for Competition (DOJ-OFC) has called on the airline industry to take better care of its customers, citing the lack of clear procedure and guidelines in rebooking or cancelling flights and refunding tickets, often leading to passenger complaints.

In a 27-page Report on Airlines’ Cancellation and Refund Policy, the DOJOFC recommended that air carriers operating in the Philippines should adopt international best practices and set clear and specific guidelines for passengers who would need to rebook or forego their flights for various reasons.

It also called for an amendment of the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights “to enhance protection of airline passengers,” and for carriers to set customer service standards through a customer service plan, standardize complaints handling procedures, and “make complaint forms and tools publicly accessible.”

“Consumer rights would be better protected if airline policies on cancellation and refund are clearer and more transparent, particularly by providing a proper breakdown of the flight costs, which may be refunded prior to concluding the sale and collective payment for the ticket purchased,” read the re-

port dated Sept. 23 but released only on Tuesday.

The report noted that the rise in passenger traffic due to the availability of promo fares — from about five million in the mid 1990s to 30 million in 2014 — has led to the spate of passenger complaints due to un-refundable tickets, hidden charges and other problems associated with flight cancellation or rebooking.

The problem is compounded by congestion in the country’s airports.

“Although beneficial to the riding public, the proliferation of these low-cost travel options spawned its own unique set of consumer protection concerns,” the report read.

It said promo fares “are usually nonrefundable, non-changeable, available only well in advance of the trip and only for limited off-peak periods.” It said tickets could not be refunded when a passenger needs to forego travel “whether as a result of any change in personal circumstances or even due to medical emergencies.”

The DOJ-OFC further cited the “complicated and exhausting process of obtaining airline ticket refunds,” saying this “has often been a source of customer resentment.”

“Lack of transparency, accessibility and clarity of terms in air carriers’ contract conditions create a significant information gap which prevents passengers from making informed decisions. Most passengers only realize the implications of what they have agreed to when disputes arise,” said the report, citing how the air carrier’s conditions are printed in very fine print. ■

MANILA — Despite both facing corruption allegations hurled against them, Presidential aspirant Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay and his running-mate Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan were the first to file their certificates of candidacy (COC) at the central office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday morning.

After attending a mass in San Agustin Church, Honasan disclosed that he trusted the country’s judicial system and that he would answer to the plunder and graft charges.

“Up to this point, I trust with the fairness in the judicial system until proven otherwise… Ang huhusga sa proseso natin at sa darating na halalan ay ang taumbayan (The Filipino people will be the ones to judge our process in the coming elections),” he

said.

Binay, for his part, claimed that the accusations thrown at him were all part of a black propaganda for next year’s national elections. He also expressed confidence over his political party United Nationalist Alliance’s (UNA) choice of Honasan to be their vice-presidential candidate.

“UNA na, BinGo pa,” the Vice President said. “Dalawampu’t limang taon ako naglingkod sa pamahalaan at ang isang tinuunan ko ay ang iangat sa kahirapan ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino.”

(We’re not only UNA (First), we’re also a BinGo… I served in the government for 25 years and one of my focuses was to help every Filipino’s lives rise from poverty.)

It took only a couple of days for UNA to form the Binay-Honasan tandem, after months of searching and several rejections from politicians previously offered to run for vice president under the political party. ■

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Philippine News

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

No Senate necrological service for late Sen. Joker Arroyo

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

leagues and employees want to offer masses for him, they could still do so. The Philippine flag at the Senate was also flown at half-staff.

“We can always offer a special mass organized by, if ever, the

Even without a necrological service, Arroyo was still deeply remembered and missed by his friends in the Senate with MANILA — As requested by the Senators Vicente “Tito” Sotto late senator’s family, the SenIII, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, ate will dispense its necrologiPia Cayetano, among others, cal service for saddened by the deceased former passing of one Senator Joker of the colleagues Arroyo, Senate they have always President Frank[...] but the request of the family is looked up to. lin Drilon said. that there will be no necrological Arroyo died “Word has service. at the age of 88 reached me on Monday af[that] the famter undergoing a ily does not want heart surgery in any necrological service in the employees of the senator, but the the United States. His family Senate. That’s the message sent request of the family is that there has maintained their silence as to me,” Drilon told reporters. will be no necrological service,” they mourn for their patriarch’s But should Arroyo’s col- the Senate President added. passing. ■

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has served in all three branches of the Philippine government: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive.

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Santiago in...

“Yeah, as far as I am concerned,” Santiago replied when asked by the media if she will definitely run for president.

The feisty lady senator said “possibly” she would file her certificate of candidacy on Friday under her own party, the People’s Reform Party.

When asked if she has already a running mate in mind, Santiago said her vice president “has already announced” candidacy for vice president.

So far, Senators Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Antonio ‘Sonny’ Trillanes IV, and Alan Peter Cayetano were among those who have already declared intention to run as vice president but still without a presidential partner.

She said the only hindrance to her ambition to seek higher office was if “I get struck by another bout of cancer, which doesn’t happen that often.” ”But definitely, I will run because I’ve already gotten out of cancer and there’s nothing left to do,” Santiago said.

Santiago has been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in July 2013.

Four months later, Santiago has been told by her doctors that her 90 percent of her cancer ‘has regressed.’

Nevertheless, Santiago remains on medical leave since last year.

Santiago ran but lost in the 1992 presidential race won by former President Fidel V. Ramos. ❰❰ 1

Duterte out

Earlier this week, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo ‘Rody’ Duterte said statement released to the media that he has “no ambiwww.canadianinquirer.net

tion… to aspire for the presidency.”

His full statement was later posted on his official Facebook page the same day.

He wrote Monday: “I am sorry to disappoint those who spent much and worked hard and long in support of me… I therefore beg for everyone’s kind understanding and acceptance of my sincerest apologies.”

Duterte has already announced a few months back that he will not run for president in 2016, but his supporters continued to gather for the ‘million people march’ in Luneta and a businessman even pledged P1-billion to support his campaign if he decides to run. However, Duterte seems completely disinterested in the country’s highest post.

“There was no ambition for me to aspire for the presidency.

The country does not need me.

I find no need for it. I guess it is fate that wills that our long journey together should end this way.”

Despite the people’s clamor for ‘Duterte Harry’ to be the next commander-in-chief, Duterte believes his “destiny is to end years and years of public life in the service of Davao City and every Dabawenyo.”

Duterte said in the same statement that if his daughter Sara agrees to run for mayor of Davao next year, he would retire after his current term. “If she does not, the option to be Mayor again is on the table.”

Duterte ends, “When all is said in the wake of this decision, perhaps we can find comfort in the thought that this is indeed a beautiful day to end a wild dream.” ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

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Legarda calls on APEC to find solutions to region’s energy problems PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY LAPU-LAPU CITY, CEBU — Philippine senator and advocate of climate change awareness Loren Legarda has called on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) member economies to cooperate in finding solutions to the region’s energy needs and to focus on promoting a low-carbon economy as a means to create jobs and curb carbon emissions.

Delivering her keynote speech at the APEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting here on Tuesday, Senator Legarda acknowledged the APEC’s role as an important global platform in the development of the region.

She pointed out that because of the APEC, growth has soared in the region, which is home to about 2.8 billion people, with real gross domestic product (GDP) doubling from only USD 16 trillion in 1989 to USD 31 trillion in 2013.

In fact, the senator said, APEC economies account for 57 percent of the world GDP and nearly 50 percent of world trade.

“Development is indeed good; but development without conscience destroys the world,” she said in her remarks.

Relative to this premise, Legarda underscored three issues. First, she said, across Asia, 610 million people are still without access to electricity.

Second, she said, energy decisions have mainly been rooted on affordability and expediency as primary considerations.

Third, she noted that more than half

of the global population live in cities and these cities, based on a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), consume 78 percent of the world’s energy.

Legarda further said the ADB has projected that energy demand in the AsiaPacific will almost double by 2030.

Meanwhile, she said, regional experts are still seeking solutions to the looming threats of global catastrophe brought about by climate change, considering that the Asia- Pacific bears much of the brunt of climate change, accounting for more than 80 percent of the global loss of life.

According to the legislator, as first steps, the APEC needs to focus on risks “as understanding our vulnerabilities supports decision-making in the context of climate change.”

“Our aim is to identify major energy networks that may be compromised by natural hazards, which abound,” said Legarda.

She stressed the importance of building adaptability in the energy sector as climate proofing energy infrastructure has become a basic necessity.

On the other hand, energy trade and investment can be affected by barriers that create obstacles to fair competition, Senator Legarda said, adding that these come in the form of quotas, export subsidies, procedural hurdles, and local content requirements, among others.

“Bottlenecks also come in the form of inadequate infrastructure, power grids, road and port facilities; but one of the biggest hurdles comes in the form of regulatory overreach,” she said.

Sen. Loren Legarda.

For this, Legarda emphasized that investments in resilient energy infrastructure generate sustained economic and social benefits, and “deserve the highest priority for policymakers.”

“New, cutting-edge energy-efficient technologies are within our reach,” she stressed.

Legarda urged leaders of the 21 APEC economies to heed the private sector’s call for governments to take decisive action on environmental services.

“Diversification of energy sources will promote disaster resilience,” she said.

The senator also welcomed the ini-

Kidnapped Zamboanga Sibugay mayor freed

BY PRIAM F. NEPOMUCENO Philippines News Agency MANILA — The extremist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has freed Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay Mayor Gemma Adana in Indanan town, Sulu Tuesday morning after being held captive for six months.

Adana was brought to the residence of Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan by concerned religious and community leaders who found her at 6:05 a.m., Joint Task Group Sulu public affairs office chief Capt. Antonio Bulao said.

Bulao said after receiving the report, Joint Task Group Sulu commander Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado immediately

deployed security and medical units to transport Adama to the Kutang Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Trauma Hospital in Jolo for medical examination prior her transport to Zamboanga City.

“Initial info revealed that her captors were exhausted of the intense military and police pressure brought by the relentless military operations. The group believed that by releasing any of the kidnap victims, military pressure will ease a little,” Bulao said.

ASG bandits wearing military uniforms abducted Adana from her home in Barangay Taytay Manubo, Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay, last April 6.

The gunmen were later seen fleeing, with the mayor in tow, on a motorized boat headed for seawaters of Basilan. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

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tiatives of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) that seek to build a culture of innovation in APEC member economies.

She also said that clean fuel and renewable energy need to be harnessed while the development of micro grids must be pursued in addressing energy access challenges.

“Inclusive growth begins with making basic services available to all,” said Legarda. “Off grid and last mile communities need to enjoy the benefits of APEC as much as everyone else in urban areas.” ■

Philippine News

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Ombudsman sacks Binay son Makati building overprice cited

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer THE AXE has fallen on the scion of one of the country’s most influential political clans.

Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, the son of Vice President Jejomar Binay — along with 19 other city officials — has been perpetually barred from government service by the Office of the Ombudsman over the allegedly anomalous construction of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Building II. The decision of the antigraft body may signal the end of the Binay family’s decadeslong stranglehold on the city where the country’s main financial district is located.

Only a few hours before, Binay’s father, a declared candidate for President, had just launched his opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) party in Cebu province.

cision to sack Binay and the other City Hall officials. “(F)lagrant anomalies were found to have been committed by Binay et al. in the design and construction of the building consisting of six phases,” Morales said in a statement “Binay had the obligation to ensure that the contracts he was entering into were fair, reasonable and advantageous to the government,” she said.

Besides Binay, also perpetually disqualified from holding public office were Marjorie de Veyra, Pio Kenneth Dasal, Lorenza Amores, Virginia Hernandez, Line de la Peña, Mario Badillo, Leonila Querijero, Raydes Pestaño and Nelia Barlis.

Likewise included in the order were Cecilio Lim III, Arnel Cadangan, Emerito Magat, Connie Consulta, Ulysses Orienza, Giovanni Condes, Manolito Uyaco, Gerardo San Gabriel, Eleno Mendoza Jr. and Rodel Nayve.

Retirement benefits forfeited

Serious dishonesty

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered the dismissal of Binay et al. from public service after they were found to be administratively liable for grave misconduct and serious dishonesty in the construction of the 11-story structure, described as as “the most expensive parking building in the entire country.”

In a separate order, Morales meted out the same penalty on detained Masbate Gov. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete and 11 other government officials in connection with the alleged misuse of P112.3 million of Lanete’s pork barrel allotments when she was House representative from 2007 to 2009.

Instead of releasing a copy of its 103page joint resolution, Morales’ office just issued a press statement on its de-

In a brief interview with reporters, Morales said she had also ordered the forfeiture of all the retirement benefits of Binay et al.

Asked if Binay could still seek an elective post in the 2016 elections, Morales said: “It’s up to the authorities to determine if he files a certificate of candidacy and if it will be honored. That’s no longer my concern.”

“The administrative decisions of the Ombudsman are immediately executory,” she added.

According to the Ombudsman, the erring Makati officials awarded the first phase of the multibillion-peso project to Mana Architecture and Interior Design Co. without conducting a public bidding.

“The documents established badges of fraud committed by Binay et al. ... in manipulating the procurement to en-

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NO MORE BINAY. Photo of sacked Makati Mayor Erwin Binay taken January 2015 at the height of his

first stand-off with authorities from the DILG.

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

sure the award of the contract to Mana,” it said.

The Ombudsman said the respondents also approved and processed the payment of nearly P12 million to the contractor “despite the incomplete submission of deliverables such as design plans, working drawings and technical specifications.”

“It bears emphasis that despite the irregularities involved in the procurements and glaring ‘red flags’ already present in the early stages ... (Binay) still went on to approve the release of the last two payments in favor of Mana,” the Ombudsman said.

“By so acting, Binay intentionally closed his eyes to the irregularities by failing to observe utmost diligence,” it added.

‘Extraordinary speed’

In its decision, the Ombudsman said the invitation to bid for the project was not published, a clear violation of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act. “A certified true copy of the publication obtained from the National Library showed that no advertisement for the invitations to bid was made as attested to by the publisher,” it said.

The Ombudsman said there was “undue haste” in awarding the project to Mana, noting that the bids and awards committee (BAC) completed the procurement process for the project in “only 11 days.”

It said the negotiation and evaluation of the bid proposals held on Nov. 22, 2007, were held “with extraordinary speed.”

“For one hour only, the BAC completed the entire negotiation proceedings where bid proposals of seven architectural firms that allegedly participated in this multimillion-peso project were opened and evaluated,” the Ombudsman said.

In fact, a report prepared by the Com-

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mission on Audit’s Fraud Audit Office concluded that “the negotiated procurement adopted by the BAC was improper.”

Collusion with contractor

In addition, the Ombudsman said the four remaining phases of the construction were given to Hilmarc’s Construction Corp., the lone bidder for the projects, “despite the lack of the required publication of the invitations to bid.” “(The) construction project began even in the absence of approved design standards, contract plans, agency cost estimates, detailed engineering and programs of work,” the Ombudsman said.

“No preprocurement conference was undertaken and bid documents were made available only for one day in violation of (the procurement law).” “(T)here was collusion among (the) city officials and Hilmarc’s to manipulate the outcome of the five ‘public biddings’ for the purpose of ensuring that Hilmarc’s would be awarded the contracts,” it stressed.

Citing available documents, it said Binay recommended resolutions, notices of awards, contracts and payments submitted by the BAC. Lanete case

In the case of Lanete, the Ombudsman said her pork barrel allocations were “never used for the intended agricultural and livelihood projects.” “(T)he documents submitted such as disbursement vouchers, progress and accomplishment reports, fund utilization, inspection and delivery reports and certificates of acceptance were all fabricated,” it said.

Lanete is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City, after she was indicted for plunder and graft in the Sandiganbayan for allegedly siphoning off her Priority Development Assistance ❱❱ PAGE 9 Ombudsman sacks

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

7

No charges filed against MILF, BIFF men over SAF troopers’ death

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Justice Secretary Leila de Lima disclosed that no criminal charges could be filed against Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and other private armed groups’ members over the death of nine

Special Action Force (SAF) police commandos.

“There is nobody to charge at this point because no one could identify who were encountered by the 84th Seaborne commandos,” De Lima told reporters.

The Secretary, however, was able to confirm that the death of the SAF troopers ‘were the result of a series of deliberate

Suspects in Samal Island kidnapping arrested

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer SEVENTEEN DAYS after the abduction of three foreigners and one Filipina from a marina in Samal Island, Davao del Norte, authorities confirmed that two men have been arrested in relation to the kidnapping.

Special Investigation Task Group Ocean View spokesman Antonio Rivera named the arrested men as Bandajar Dangin Adona alias “Banon”, 38, and Tirso Orquiza Lugnasin, 40, both from Compostela Valley.

Prior to Rivera’s statement, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte told reporters that authorities have arrested one suspect on Tuesday, October 6.

According to an Inquirer. net report, the Mayor said that another suspect had been iden-

tified as among those behind the kidnapping of Canadian tourists John Ridsdel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50, as well as Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56, and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend Marites Flor.

Duterte disclosed that the arrested suspect was named Pandajar Adona, who was “positively identified” through the CCTV footage that authorities had gotten hold of.

As noted by CNN Philippines, Duterte made his revelation amid the continued refusal of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Oceanview to release (as of this writing) any update regarding its probe on the incident.

Duterte said that the kidnappers could be affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), while the tight-lipped SITG has hinted that the New People’s Army could be behind the abduction. ■

Canadian tourists John Ridsdel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50, Norwegian resort manager Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56, and Hall’s Filipina girlfriend Marites Flor.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EASTMINCOM PIO AND SITG ‘OCEANVIEW’

acts by armed individuals with whom the 84th Seaborne engaged in a brief firefight in the course of the assault on Marwan’s hut.’

She also acknowledged that ‘while the existence of a crime has been established in the killing of the nine 84th Seaborne commandos, the identity of those responsible therefore was not so established.

Despite diligent efforts, the investigative team failed to find a single credible witness on the identity of those involved… Hence, no criminal prosecution may be recommended by the team.’

The SAF troopers were killed in a gunfight with MILF, BIFF and other armed groups during their covert operation to capture inter-

national terrorist Zulkifi Bin Hir alias “Marwan” in Barangay Pidsandawan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, last January 25.

Likewise, the Department of Justice (DOJ) also cleared Police Officer Christopher Lalan for the deaths of MILF members and some civilians, this time due to lack of witnesses against him. ■

Chamber of Mines calls for speedy probe of Lumad killings

BY LILYBETH G. ISON Philippines News Agency MANILA — The Chamber of Mines condemned in the strongest terms the violence committed against the lumads in Mindanao.

“The killing of Emerito Samarca, Dionel Campos,and Aurelio Sinzo, and the violent displacement of thousands of lumad families from their homes are heinous crimes that have no place in civil society and whose perpetrators must be made answerable to the law,” the Chamber said in a statement released Tuesday in a press conference.

The group called on the government “to take immediate action to capture those responsible and ensure the safety and security of the affected indigenous communities to a degree that would allow them to return to their homes.”

The Chamber said they recognize the rights of indigenous peoples (IPs) to live peaceably in their ancestral lands and to decide whether or not mining projects will be allowed to operate within their domain.

“We call to task some leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and anti-mining groups that were quick to link the entire minerals development industry to these acts of violence and intimidation. They should be more careful in their pronouncements, specifically in their blanket condemnation of the mining industry. We ask them to be more circumspect and responsible in their statements and not take advantage www.canadianinquirer.net

CHAMBEROFMINES.COM.PH

of unfortunate incidents as another opportunity to denigrate the whole mining industry. Irresponsible statements blaming large mining companies for the violence only mislead the public,” it said.

The group said that legitimate mining companies have had long and productive relationships with the indigenous communities hosting their mining operations.

In 2012, the 20 mining companies operating in ancestral domains reported paying their host IP communities over Php 340 million in royalties.

IP communities also benefit from projects funded by mining companies’ Social Development Management Program (SDMP) which totaled over Php 370 million in 2012. These funds resulted in increased literacy, health care, and access to economic opportunities such as livelihood programs.

“We reiterate our commitment to uphold and promote the inalienable rights of all stakeholders from both tribal and non-tribal communities.

We are guided by our core values founded on the fundamental principle of respect for, and protection of, human dignity.

We condemn the violence perpetrated against the lumads and offer our sincerest sympathies to the victims’ loved ones,” the group said.

“We call on the government to expedite the investigation into these killings and bring those responsible to justice. We will cooperate fully with police authorities and provide whatever assistance may be necessary to conclude the investigation,” they added.

The lumads earlier claimed that the communist New Peoples Army (NPA) are the ones manipulating indigenous peoples and occupying communities.

“There are no armed government forces in the community.

The NPA rebels are the ones occupying our area to control indigenous peoples and seize ancestral lands,” said Datu Malapandaw Nestor Apas of the Langilan Manobo tribe in Davao del Norte, in a press conference held in Camp Aguinaldo. ■

Philippine News

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

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BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer WITH CANDIDATES who have more “compelling personal stories” than platforms of government, the 2016 national elections present voters with a “depressing” choice of leaders who will run the Philippines in the next six years, analysts say.

“Platforms and ideologies of the mature kind are being sidelined to personalities, again, which is usually the case in the Philippines. But it is even more visible now, when in fact the country faces so many issues and challenges,” Antonio Contreras, political analyst and law professor at De La Salle University (DLSU) said in an interview with the INQUIRER on Friday.

Beginning today until Friday, candidates for President, Vice President and senator are going to the main office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Intramuros, Manila, to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs), marking their official entry into the main races in the May 9, 2016, elections.

Comelec offices across the country will also accept the COCs of aspirants for various national and local positions.

A total of 18,069 positions are at stake, including those of the President and the Vice President.

Among those expected to file their COCs at the Comelec central office are Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas and his running mate, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo; Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance and his partner, Sen. Gringo Honasan; and the team of Senators Grace Poe and Francis Escudero, which is being supported by the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Senators Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV, who have announced independent runs for the vice presidency, are also expected to sign up for the elections.

Personal stories

According to Contreras, the top three contenders for the presidency — Poe, Roxas and Binay — each has a personal story that could capture the interest and sympathy of voters.

“Poe has an appealing narrative. She is an adopted child, a foundling who resided in the United States and later [returned] to the Philippines and renounced her [American citizenship],” Contreras said.

“Even Binay also has a good narrative. He is someone who rose from rags to riches and now viewed by some as one who has fallen from grace [because of the accusations of corruption],” he said.

Roxas’ compelling story, he said, is that of a loyal party member who once

Commission on Election (COMELEC) Law Department head Atty. John Rex Laudiangco (standing) supervises the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of the party list group, GLOBAL, during the first day of filing of COC on Monday (Oct. 12, 2015) at the COMELEC central office in Intramuros, Manila.

BEN BRIONES / PNA

stepped aside in the presidential race to give way to President Aquino, his close friend and political ally.

“He is perceived to be someone who is weak or has no backbone and who always follows,” Contreras said.

“Candidates float or sink based on their narratives, not even on what they really stand for,” he said.

Plans of government

“But I hope when they have declared, and it is clear to us who are running, the media and society, the netizens and the citizens … can redirect the conversation so that it will no longer just be about personalities and personal stories,” Contreras said.

“It [should] also be about what they plan to do, converting their personal narratives into narratives for policies … for public interest,” he added.

Contreras said society must work together to shift the discussion to important issues that will face the next administration — the peace process, the territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations integration, K-12 basic education program, tax policies, political dynasties and even the country’s very poor Internet connection, among problems.

But he warned voters to expect “a very negative” campaign because all of the aspirants for the presidency carried “baggage” enough to last a season of mudslinging.

Contreras noted that Poe’s baggage was her citizenship and her lack of experience; Binay’s, the allegations of corruption thrown at him, and Roxas’ burden, his supposed incompetence and ineptness.

Duterte’s handicap

Even Davao City Mayor Rodrigo

www.canadianinquirer.net

Duterte, who is also expected to take a crack at the presidency, had a handicap — his alleged role in extrajudicial killings, Contreras said.

“All of them have baggage, which is really depressing. So Filipinos are always looking for a messiah. We are always looking for the least evil,” he said.

But Contreras said voters could compromise on “corruption, human rights violation and ineptness” because the Constitution and the laws would always be there to provide remedies.

If Poe’s questionable citizenship is ignored, however, “it’s assaulting the very shield that you can use to fight corruption, ineptness and human rights abuse,” he said.

Article VII, Section 2 of the Constitution requires a presidential candidate to be a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the election.

‘Very striking feature’

Gerardo Eusebio, a political science professor also at DLSU, agreed that the 2016 elections would be “depressing” because of the choices available.

Eusebio noted, however, that the 2016 balloting had a “very striking feature” — more candidates are running for Vice President than for President.

“It’s going to be very interesting as far as the vice presidency is concerned because this is the first time that there are more candidates for that post than for the presidency,” Eusebio told the INQUIRER in a separate interview.

“It shows and validates how weak our party system is,” he said, adding that the system has merely become a “conveyance to get elected.”

“Perhaps, some think that if they run for Vice President, the chances of winning could be easier strategically,” he said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

9

Palace to Marcos: Prove claims vs admin

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer MALACAÑANG YESTERDAY hit back at Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for making “sweeping remarks without the benefit of tangible proof” against the Aquino administration when he announced his vice presidential bid on Saturday in Intramuros, Manila.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said that “as he seeks the vice presidency, Senator Marcos may do well to explain how his own brand of governance will be different from the 21year authoritarian regime of his father.”

During the Marcos dictatorship, which he earlier called the “darkest chapter in the country’s history,” Coloma recalled that the Philippines “slid to nearly the bottom of the Asian economic totem pole, from previously being No. 2 to Japan.”

Contrary to the younger Marcos’ claims, the administration “believes that it has lived up to the expectations of the people and has successfully steered the country to the path of economic resurgence and social transformation that has been achieved in a vibrant democratic environment.”

In an e-mail to the INQUIRER, Coloma asserted that “while it is easy to make sweeping remarks without the benefit of tangible proof, it is best to hear the voice of our bosses — the Filipino people — on how they rate the Aquino administration’s performance.”

VP HOPEFUL. Controversial politicians (from left), former first lady and now Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, Manila

Mayor Joseph Estrada and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile (right), raise the hands of Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos.

Bongbong declared his vice presidential bid during a proclamation rally in Intramuros, Manila, on Saturday.

RAFFY LERMA / PDI

rating of Mr. Aquino, from 2010 and other criminal syndicates,” Coloma, also head of the to 2015 is +47, which the SWS among other things.

Presidential Communications calls “good.” It is the simple He said that during his 30 Operations Office, noted that average of all his scores, from years in public service, he had “since President Aquino as- the start at +60 to a high of +67, seen the suffering of the people. sumed office in 2010, the Fili- a low of +11 and the latest +41,” That is why he is running for pino people had expressed sat- Coloma said.

Vice President, he said. isfaction for the At the same g o v e r n m e n t ’s time, Marcos overall perforvowed to “remance.” store discipline” “According to Because it was 43 years ago, because among Filipinos Social Weather a generation is 25 years, the two if he is elected.

Stations, the avgenerations born since then don’t “I will lead the erage net satishave even the slightest experience revolution in faction with the and hadn’t witnessed what we had. heart, mind and administration work. I will not is +21, which allow anyone to is the highest take any part of among all the our country. I past averages of the previous Senator Marcos the other will work to return the respect administrations since 1986,” he day lambasted the administra- of other countries to us as Filisaid. tion for having “inept and cor- pinos with dignity, humble, On the other hand, the Presi- rupt officials who abuse and God-fearing and respectful to dent’s “average net satisfac- steal from government coffers, the elders and our parents,” he tion of +47 remains the highest bringing down political en- said. among all the presidents in the emies while letting their allies past three decades.” abuse their positions, and al- ‘Never again’ “The average net satisfaction lowing the proliferation of drug Earlier, Coloma urged the Filipinos satisfied

citizenry to stay vigilant, saying “never again” to dictatorship as the nation marked the 43rd anniversary of the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ proclamation of martial law.

“Because it was 43 years ago, because a generation is 25 years, the two generations born since then don’t have even the slightest experience and hadn’t witnessed what we had,” he noted. “So the young generation should understand and we are there with them, saying ‘never again’ and should not repeat the tragic experience of the Philippines under martial law.”

Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in 1986, three years after the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., by a People Power revolution, forcing the Marcoses into exile in Hawaii. Thousands claimed they were victims of human rights abuses under Marcos rule. The Marcoses were also charged with amassing billions of pesos in hidden wealth.

No apology

But Bongbong Marcos said there was nothing he should apologize for.

“Will I say sorry for the thousands of kilometers of roads that were built? Will I say sorry for the agricultural policy that brought us to self-sufficiency in rice? Will I say sorry for the power generation? Will I say sorry for the highest literacy rate in Asia? What am I to say sorry for?” he said.

He is the third Nacionalista Party senator to join the vice presidential race, along with Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV. ■

Ombudsman sacks...

Fund allotments to the bogus foundations of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Along with Lanete, also dismissed from government service were former Technology Resource Center officers Dennis Cunanan, Marivic Jover and Consuelo Lilian Espiritu; National Agri-Business Corp. official Victor Roman Cacal; and National Livelihood Development Corp. officials Gondelina ❰❰ 6

Amata, Chita Jalandoni, Emmanuel Alexis Sevidal, Ofelia Ordoñez, Sofia Cruz, Filipina Rodriguez and Gregoria Buenaventura.

End of Binay dynasty

The end of the Binay dynasty is what Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV believes is bound to happen with the Ombudsman’s perpetual disqualification order against the younger Binay.

“The Ombudsman’s order signals the end of the Binay dy-

nasty. I only hope it would lead to a new era of good governance in Makati,” he said.

It was Trillanes who initiated the long-running blue ribbon subcommittee inquiry into the alleged irregularities involving the Vice President, the long-serving Makati mayor who was succeeded to the post first by his wife and then his son.

“The fight was long, difficult and bitter but in the end, truth and justice prevailed,” www.canadianinquirer.net

he said.

The Ombudsman’s order came right before the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2016 elections.

The mayor, who is serving a sixmonth suspension, was expected to run for another term.

Vice President Binay is running for President in 2016.

For nearly three decades, a member of the Binay family has always held the mayor’s post.

The other Binays holding elective office are Sen. Nancy

Binay and Makati Rep. Abigail Binay.

Malacañang said it “respects” the decision of the Ombudsman dismissing Binay from office, being an office independent from the President.

“In undertaking its constitutionally mandated role, it is incumbent on all parties to abide by the decision and to avail of the legal remedies provided under the law,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte. ■

Philippine News

10

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Holistic tax reform needed for PHL’s high growth trajectory, says Palace exec PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Aquino government continues to favor a holistic tax reform, a Palace official said Tuesday.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in a briefing said, a holistic tax reform along with accelerated infrastructure development were needed to ensure the continued high growth trajectory of the economy.

He explained that these measures “will enable the Philippines to join the ranks of highincome countries.”

“The government believes that instead of piecemeal changes in the tax rates, a holistic tax reform program is needed to ensure the continued implementation of essential programs on social protection, poverty alleviation, employment generation, educational competitiveness, housing, universal health care, as well as for public infrastructure and national defense and security,” he said.

There are pending bills in Congress calling for lower personal tax among others.

To counter the possible negative impact of these bills on national government’s revenues, the Department of Finance

(DOF) proposed for an increase in the value added tax (VAT) from 12 percent to 14 percent.

Both proposals, however, remain unattractive to the President, who earlier in his term vowed against imposing new taxes.

The only tax increase bill he signed into law is the amendment of the Sin Tax Law, which hiked taxes on tobacco and alcohol products since these were previously based on 1996 prices.

Coloma stressed that “sound management of macro-economic fundamentals anchored upon good governance has been the key to the attainment by the Philippines of relatively high GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates for the past five years.”

The Philippine economy registered a big leap in domestic growth in recent years with average rate placed at above five percent from around three percent in the past years.

It has proven its resiliency from negative external developments, thus, the achievement of investment grade ratings in 2013.

With these developments, the Aquino government wants to secure a solid growth path for the domestic economy by putting in reforms that would boost the country’s long-term growth. ■

NOTE FROM THE MANAGEMENT In compliance with Canadian election laws, the management of the Philippine Canadian Inquirer ​has ​ decided against publishing the results of our political survey in this week's issue, as advertised in last week's paper. We apologise to those who have been looking forward to seeing the survey in print.

Please visit www.canadianinquirer.net for a comprehensive table of platforms for each political party, published on Oct 14, 2015. The PCI website is also mobile-friendly, so you have access to the latest news anytime, anywhere.

We thank ​everyone ​for your continued support.

Maraming salamat po!

- PCI Management

Customs Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Jessie Dellosa and Zsae Carrie de Guzman of the Bureau of Customs’ Intellectual Property Rights Division inspect seized items.

CUSTOMS.GOV.PH

BOC intercepts Php60-M worth of smuggled phones, tablets, and RTW PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

691 pieces of TV sets; the second two (2) shipments, each contains 602 pieces.

EG Officer — on — case MANILA — Smartphones and communicated with the Deother high tech gadgets with an partment of Natural and Enestimated value of Php60 milvironment Resources — Enlion were intercepted by the vironmental Management Enforcement Group (EG) of the Bureau (DENR-EMB) on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) at status of said importers and the Manila International Conreceived confirmation letters tainer Port (MICP) last month. stating that one (1) of the imEG Deputy Commissioner porters holds an expired ImAriel Nepomuceno said the celport Clearances while the other lular phones and gadgets were one (1) is not even a registered misdeclared by its consignee, importer and therefore has no Uranus Enterprises as casing Import Clearance Certificate. thermos and gift Under DENR boxes. regulations, But after the used TV sets are 1x40 shipment considered rewas subjected EG Deputy Commissioner Ariel cyclable mateto a 100% exNepomuceno said the cellular phones rial containing amination it and gadgets were misdeclared by hazardous subwas discovered its consignee, Uranus Enterprises as stances. that it contained casing thermos and gift boxes.

However, it 22,500 pieces of may be imported mobile phones; subject to cer1,000 pieces of tain limitations. tablet phones; 13,800 pieces apprehended close to 3,000 Thus, a local importer wishing of touchscreen phones; 6,000 pieces of used TV sets amount- to import used TV sets must pieces of smartphones; 4,000 ing to Php6 million which ar- obtain beforehand an Import pieces of remote controls for rived in the country from South Clearance from EMB-DENR to gaming purposes; 290 boxes of Korea recently. ensure that the local laws are batteries, charger and headset, The shipments, consigned to being complied with.

1 box of mobile phone casings, AB Wee Enterprise (AB Wee) The MICP District Collecand 582 bottles of red wine. and Ankwon Trading Copr. tor has already issued three The shipment arrived from (Ankwon) were seized in four (3) WSD and ordered the EG Hong Kong last September 7, (4) batches of 1x40’ container to seize the used television 2015. van that arrived at the MICP in sets and turn-over the same The EG also apprehended May and June 2015. to the custody of the Auction 1x40 shipment of Ready To The first two (2) shipments, and Cargo Disposal Division at Wear (RTW) clothes that came each containing 690 pieces and MICP. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

from Kompong Som in Cambodia.

Nepomuceno said the shipment will be subjected to a 100% examination to obtain more information of its actual content.

Custom officials have recommended the issuance of Warrant of Seizure and Detention against Manzen Air and Sea Freight for possible violation of Section 2503 in relation to Section 2530 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended.

At the same time, the EG also

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

11

Beyond rehab: Tacloban courts go high-tech

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer AS TACLOBAN City slowly rebuilds and heals, one casualty of the Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) disaster is emerging as a “build back better” dream come true.

Nearly two years since the unprecedented devastation, the Tacloban Regional Trial Court (RTC) has taken a step beyond mere rehabilitation, joining nine other major Philippine cities in a program designed to take the country’s judicial system to the digital age.

“Yolanda was a blessing in disguise. Now, our courts are high-tech,” said RTC Executive Judge Alphinor Serrano.

“We were demoralized after Yolanda because everything was destroyed. We had no hope before. But now, we can see that there’s really hope,” the judge said in a phone interview.

The Tacloban RTC is one of the pilot areas of the e-court program, an automated case management system at the core of the judiciary’s ambitious P3.9-billion information technology master plan.

Funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the program is setting its sights at delivering a fast, efficient, technologydriven, interconnected and easily accessible justice system to Filipinos, said Michael Ocampo, who is one of those overseeing the automation program.

“Imagine a future where a lawyer can log on his computer and file a case online. Or you can follow up the status of your case on your phone … . It’s like electronic banking. The goal is to build an integrated system so information anywhere in the country can be accessed from a single point,” said Ocampo, a court attorney at the office of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes

Sereno.

According to Sereno, the automation project aims to take advantage of Filipinos’ innate aptitude for technology use.

“One thing we know is that Filipinos are quite tech-savvy.

Given the chance to be on a computer system and be able to get information and give feedback, they will really adapt to the system,” she said.

tegrated system.

Infrastructure is already being built for this plan, including the construction of a main data center at the Supreme Court in Manila and a mirror data center in Angeles City.

Key gap

10 pilot cities

“If this is something that is compatible with the Filipino psyche, then let’s adopt it. By all means, let’s put people online to the extent that we can,” the Chief Justice said.

Still in its infancy, the e-court program has begun in 10 pilot cities, including court stations with the most congested dockets: the cities of Quezon, Makati, Pasig, Manila and Mandaluyong in Metro Manila; Angeles City in Pampanga province; and the cities of LapuLapu, Cebu City, Davao and Tacloban in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Together, the courts account for 30 percent of the country’s case load, Ocampo said.

Tacloban was not initially on the list of pilot areas for the ecourt program, according to Ocampo. However, Sereno decided that the severely damaged city should be included in order to support rebuilding efforts there.

“The judiciary wanted to contribute to the rebuilding and in rebuilding better,” Ocampo said.

Once enlisted in the project, the Tacloban City RTC, which lost equipment and thousands of case files in the Nov. 8, 2013, monster typhoon, began the migration of court processes from manual to digital last June.

Initially, the Tacloban RTC’s seven courtrooms were outfitted with 10 computers, heavyduty printers, scanners and

SHUTTERSTOCK

other computer equipment from the USAID’s implementing partner, the American Bar Association.

Reconstituting case files

The equipment came just as the court was struggling to reconstitute volumes upon volumes of lost case files, with an estimated 800 pending cases in each branch, or a total of 5,600.

“All our records were drenched. We retrieved some of it, but it was very devastating,” Serrano recalled.

“To this day, there are missing case files,” said the judge, estimating that each court branch lost about 30 percent of its records.

To recover the files, the court has issued a public call for litigants with pending cases to provide the court with copies of case records they still have. In some instances, the court had to schedule new hearings in order to take down witness’ testimonies again.

“We are still back-encoding, and a lot of the files are dirty, which could be hazardous to health. But our target is to be able to encode all the old case files into the system,” Serrano said.

www.canadianinquirer.net

Computerization has not only digitized court records, it has sped up other court processes.

Now, cases are raffled off to the handling court branch digitally instead of the old-school tambiolo (raffle drum). A case status may be checked through a few clicks on the court’s computer.

Under the automated hearing system, court resolutions are readily issued in open court, doing away with the use of snail mail, which could take weeks to reach the litigants.

“Our personnel like it, even the judges who are not really into using computers. Their morale is high because work is lighter. And the people appreciate it because it’s fast. The parties, the lawyers immediately get court orders,” Serrano said.

“At least the wheels of justice are now moving. The processes are becoming more efficient,” said the judge, who has been head of the Tacloban RTC for four years.

As court branches across the country undertake the digital switch, the Supreme Court is already laying the groundwork for the eventual integration of courts at all levels into one in-

Regional data centers will also be built to collate all data from trial courts in 700 locations around the country, and connect these to the main server farm.

“We’ve had so many case management systems that had pilots under different administrations, but none were sustained. We found that the key gap was the lack of preparation for a nationwide rollout,” Ocampo said.

“Can you imagine if the system is not integrated? It’s like having to install the same software for each of the 700 computers you have, and the data in each computer is just within that computer,” he said.

Ocampo said the data centers, a P95-million undertaking, “will be ready by the end of the year.”

The high court is also in the process of bidding out the contract for the provision of Internet connectivity in the country’s courts.

‘Ningas kugon’

Sereno, who has been pushing for comprehensive judicial reform since her appointment in 2012, hopes the ecourt project will change the ningas kugon ( tendency to lose interest or enthusiasm) seen in the implementation of previous case management programs.

“The important thing is we must have a lot of good stories about continuity in our country. A lot of us just start [something then fall into] what they say ningas kugon. What if we change that paradigm and succeed this time?” she said. ■

Philippine News

12

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Tawa-tawa pill maker dead serious about dengue

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer THIS IS no laughing matter.

A dead-serious, small-time herbal supplement manufacturer has started exploring ways to make the plant called “tawatawa” (Euphorbia hirta) an acceptable cure for dengue in the absence of science to back claims of its many healing properties.

Shirley Su-Alampay, who came up with the idea of encapsulating powdered tawa-tawa six years ago, told the INQUIRER that her group has been collecting and collating testimonials and blood test results of dengue patients who took the capsules to build a case study that will prove the plant’s curative powers.

“We have to gather these records from various patients so we can proceed with Phase 2 of the clinical study on the efficacy of tawa-tawa plant on dengue fever cases,” said Alampay, sales head of Opti-Life Innovations.

The start-up company has recently obtained a certificate of product registration from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which allows the group to put the encapsulated tawatawa extracts on the shelf.

The coveted FDA certification classified the product, named “Tawa2 Plus,” as an over-thecounter drug under the pharmacologic category of traditionally used herbal prod-

Second phase

Euphorbia hirta L. is locally known as ‘Tawa-Tawa’ and has been used to treat dengue.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

uct, but merely for the relief of asthma symptoms.

Tawa-tawa, alternatively known as “gatas-gatas,” has been traditionally used in Asia and Australia to treat asthma, coughs, diarrhea and dysentery and in Nigeria for eye and ear infections, asthma, bronchitis and diarrhea, according to a 2012 publication of the National Drug Information Center.

DOH stand

The Department of Health (DOH) has repeatedly indicated the absence of validated scientific study that would back claims of its effectivity in curing dengue cases.

In 2011, the DOH reported that an initial research by the Department of Science and Technology showed that the local plant appeared to have “some effects” on rehydration and the agency was trying to “isolate” the active substance

responsible for this.

But it was quick to add that the results were “very preliminary” and it could not make any official recommendation about the plant’s possible denguefighting properties.

On Friday, Health Secretary Janette Garin reiterated the DOH’s stand that “there is no validated scientific study or results” on the efficacy of tawatawa — leaves or capsules — as treatment of dengue.

“If the claims are true, there is no substantiation. And they need to register it with FDA as treatment,” she told the INQUIRER in a text message.

She said the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care has yet to make a position on such health intervention.

“There may be potential but there is no scientific evidence yet and the DOH cannot endorse such claims,” Garin said.

Alampay said the members of her group are aware of the DOH’s stand on tawa-tawa, which is why they are pushing to proceed with the second phase of the product’s clinical trial.

“We started it already with Bulacan … we were able to talk to some (private) doctors who tried it on their patients and it worked,” she said. “We also asked them to get testimonials and the platelet count records of these patients.”

The DOH has reported a surge in the number of dengue cases in the past nine months in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Cordillera Autonomous Region and Metro Manila.

The provincial governments of Cavite and Bulacan have recently declared a state of calamity due to the increasing number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease.

“Because of the rising number of dengue cases, the advise to us is to get as many records because these can be case studies that can be used in the clinical trial,” Alampay said.

The herbal product underwent a clinical trial for safety and toxicity in 2012. Documents provided to the INQUIRER showed that this was conducted by the Research and Biotechnology Division of the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City for clinical research services

group, Rainiers Contract Research Services Inc. How it began

The interest in the local plant began in 2009 following Tropical Storm “Ondoy” that inundated large swaths of Metro Manila. One of Alampay’s brothers, who lives in Marikina, one of the many areas surrounded by stagnant water, contracted dengue.

A brother in the United States referred her to a Davao-based relative of a Filipino office mate who had access to the tawatawa leaves. It eventually became the subject of a thesis of students of Ateneo de Davao University.

Alampay had the tawa-tawa leaves regularly shipped to Manila, and made fresh tea from the herbal plant for her sick brother to drink every hour.

Overnight, her brother’s condition improved and his platelet count increased.

Two nieces also contracted the dengue virus and the tawatawa concoction helped them overcome the mosquito-borne disease.

Convinced of its healing properties, Alampay said she thought of making tawa-tawa available in capsules to make it more accessible and tolerable for dengue patients.

“Tawa-tawa tea tastes bad, it’s like drinking soil. So we thought, rather than discourage people from taking tawatawa, we might as well come up with an alternative that is more convenient,” she said. ■

Palace: High number... in their selection of future leaders of the country,” Secretary Coloma said during a media briefing at the Palace.

He noted that according to the Constitution, any natural born citizen who is more than 40 years old may run for president.

“Sino naman tayo para humadlang sa pagnanais ng mga indibidwal na ialay ang sarili nila sa paglilingkod?” he said.

(Who are we to stand in the way of the desire of these individuals to offer themselves in service?)

He however said that the Commission on Election ❰❰ 1

(COMELEC) follows a process to determine which candidates will be classified as nuisance candidates.

“Ang COMELEC ay mayroong sapat na kapangyarihan para magtakda ng mga patakaran at regulasyon at sila rin ang nangangasiwa sa proseso ng pagalam kung ang mga naghain ng certificate of candidacy ay dapat na ituring na nuisance candidates ayon sa depinisyon sa batas,” Coloma explained.

(The COMELEC has enough capability to state the rules and regulations and they will also implement the process of determining if those who filed their certificate of candidacy

should be considered as a nuisance candidate according to the definition of the law.)

“Mainam na ipaubaya na lamang natin ito sa COMELEC,” he said.

(It would be better for us to leave this to the COMELEC.) As of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, 35 people have filed their respective certificates of candidacy for president, 7 for vice president, and 22 for senator.

The presidential aspirants include a 34-year-old tricycle driver, Ely Pamatong who was already declared a nuisance candidate in the 2004 election, and half-Russian Ralph Masloff. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

UNA standard-bearer Vice President Jojo Binay and his running-mate Senator Gringo Honasan filed their COC on the first day of the five-day registration for candidates in the May 2016 polls.

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Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

GMA detention violates int’l law

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — The United Nations (UN) panel ruled that former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s continuous detention violated international law, London-based lawyer Amal Alamuddin-Clooney told one of Arroyo’s counsels, Larry Gadon.

“Please be informed that Atty. Amal Clooney sent me an email informing me that the case she filed in behalf of Pres.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been won,” Gadon said in a Philippine Star report, adding that his client’s detention was ‘arbitrary under each and all of the three categories of arbitrariness recognized by the UN Working Group.’

The UN panel on arbitrary detention also asserted that ‘the Sandiganbayan court failed to take into account her individual circumstances when it repeatedly denied bail.’

“Mrs. Arroyo was denied bail on grounds that are not compatible with international law; she did not benefit from the presumption in favor of bail; she was denied bail exclusive-

SCREENSHOT FROM GMA FILE FOOTAGE

ly on the basis of the alleged strength of evidence against her; measures alternative to pre-trial detention were not considered and there were undue delays in considering her bail position in the proceedings against her as a whole,” the UN ruling read.

The panel then recommended a ‘reconsideration of Mrs. Arroyo’s application for bail in

accordance with the relevant international human rights standards.’

The Pampanga Congresswoman was detained in 2011 as she face criminal charges for electoral fraud filed against her. She was then released on bail in 2012 but was rearrested as she faced additional charges for graft and corruption allegations. ■

Read 2nd Mamasapano report before mouthing off–De Lima

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer OUTGOING JUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima described as “very unfair” the criticism that Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators had whitewashed their probe of the Mamasapano massacre after no one was charged in the deaths of nine of the 44 police commandos who were slain in Maguindanao on Jan. 25.

The second part of the DOJ report on the Mamasapano killings did not recommend the filing of charges against anyone for the deaths of nine members of the 84th Seaborne unit of the police Special Action Force (SAF) who were killed in the operation to capture suspected terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir, alias

PHL: US plan to conduct freedom of navigation sail off China’s artificial islands ‘consistent with international law’

BY MICHAELA DEL CALLAR Philippines News Agency

Former president and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Marwan, and others.

Former SAF director Getulio Napeñas said in media interviews on Friday the nine commandos were being “deprived of justice” and that the DOJ must push for charges because “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

“I suggest that Napeñas and the other critics first read the full text of the second report before passing judgment,” De Lima said in a text message.

Same suspects

Napeñas had said that those who killed the nine and those who killed the 35 other commandos belonging to the 455th Special Action Co. were the “same suspects.”

Sen. Grace Poe, who headed the Senate committee hearings on the SAF operation, said the government should use its “full

might” in identifying the killers of the nine.

The special investigation team, composed of prosecutors from the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation, recommended charges of direct assault with murder against 90 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and private armed groups for the deaths of the 35.

The team was stalled by the lack of witnesses who could identify the men who killed the nine commandos.

“There’s a crime but there are no assailants because there are no witnesses. We can only do so much. We cannot invent our findings,” De Lima said Thursday during the team’s presentation of the second report. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

13

MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday defended a United States plan to sail near China’s reclaimed territories in the disputed South China Sea, saying such move is “consistent with international law.”

China, which built manmade islands in at least seven areas despite protests from several countries, including the US, asserts “indisputable” and “historical” sovereignty over the resource-rich waters.

“If the US decides to send naval vessels within 12 nautical miles of the reclaimed low-tide elevation features in affirmation of this objective, this would be consistent with international law and a rulesbased order for the region,” a Foreign Affairs statement said.

Overlapping claims by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan to the South China Sea have led

Chinese vessel in Ayungin Shoal.

to occasional flare-ups and has become a hotspot for military conflict.

The US has declared several times that peace and freedom of navigation in the waters, where a bulk of the world’s trade pass, is in its national interest although it is not a party to the conflict.

“It is important for the international community to safeguard freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea,” the DFA said, adding “this is of paramount concern to all countries.”

“Failure to challenge false claims of sovereignty would undermine this order and lead China to the false conclusion that its claims are accepted as a fait accompli,” it added.

With a military that is perceived to be one of the region’s weakest, the Philippines has resorted to international arbitration to denigrate China’s massive claim. The Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration has yet to hand down its decision on Manila’s case against China. ■

PNP / ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES

14

Philippine News

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

CAAP employees decry P5,000 bonus despite successes

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer INSTEAD OF receiving a pat on the back, employees of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) got a slap in the face.

Caap employees, including the agency’s Director General William Hotchkiss III, each received only P5,000 as productivity enhancement incentive (PEI), even after they had successfully addressed the local aviation industry’s “triple whammy” — international downgrades and blacklists that had hounded previous administrations.

The “triple whammy” were the loss of the country’s category 1 rating from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); the country’s inclusion on the International Civil Avia-

tion Organization’s (ICAO) list and bonuses they had received and compliance with the postof countries with significant since 2012. ing or publication of the citisafety concerns, and a ban by zen’s charter. the European Union on Philip- Failure to comply The GCG grants two forms of pine air carriers.

According to a Sept. 7 let- productivity enhancement inThe PEI received by the ter from the GCG addressed centive — 100 percent of an emCaap employees was lower to Transportation Secretary ployee’s basic pay or a P5,000 than that given fixed bonus rate. to Department The issue of of Transportathe measly PEI tion and Comwas raised in a munications The issue of the measly PEI was recent gathering maintenance raised in a recent gathering of some of some 100 air personnel, spe100 air safety inspectors and regular safety inspeccifically janitors, employees of the Caap. tors and regular who received employees of the at least P8,000 Caap. each.

A source, who What most Caap employees Joseph Abaya and Hotchkiss, requested anonymity for lack of described as the P5,000 “dis- the aviation authority failed to authority to speak on the matincentive” was given by the comply with the requirements ter, said the air safety inspecGovernance Commission on of a GCG memorandum. tors appeared demoralized over Government-owned and -conThe requirements included the “disincentive” during the trolled corporations (GCG) the fulfillment of at least 90 Sept. 10 conference. four months after it directed percent of fiscal year 2014 tarthem to return nearly P1 billion gets; compliance with the post- Unfair ruling in benefits, salary increases ing of the transparency seal, “They were asking why all em-

ployees were only given P5,000 after all the agency has worked for and achieved,” the source told the INQUIRER, referring to the FAA’s category 1 rating, the ICAO certification and the lifting of the EU ban on Philippine air carriers, all of which the Caap successfully hurdled.

He said the air safety inspectors were mostly retired commercial pilots who were responsible for overcoming the “triple whammy.”

The source said the inspectors described the GCG ruling as “unfair.”

In May, the Commission on Audit and the GCG branded as illegal and disallowed salary increases and bonuses already given to Caap employees since 2012, causing the loss of skilled people in the air traffic service and leaving some 700 persons to handle the tasks of over 1,000. ■

PH airports to get P9.1B in makeovers Bill would grant college scholarships to children under gov’t dole program

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will spend P9.1 billion next year to upgrade the country’s 31 international and domestic airports, a party-list lawmaker said on Sunday.

LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty, a deputy House minority leader, welcomed government efforts to improve the airports considering the rise in air travel as a result of lower fuel costs and air fares.

The bulk of the DOTC’s 2016 budget for aviation-related development projects will go to the Panglao International Airport with P2.136 billion, Clark International Airport with P2 billion and Naga Airport with P1 billion, Ty said.

He was citing DOTC figures given during budget deliberations at the House of Representatives.

“Some of the money will be for new construction and some for continuing projects,” said Ty, a member of the transportation committee.

Explosion in air travel

Earlier, Ty said an “explo-

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

The newly renovated NAIA Terminal 1 PHOTO COURTESY OF UNDERSECRETARY ABIGAIL VALTE AND THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

sion” in domestic and international air travel arising from falling aviation fuel prices would benefit the economy.

He said the two dominant local carriers — Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines — were offering promotional fares for domestic and international destinations.

“Last year, higher fuel prices accounted for 40 to 49 percent of the operating costs of PAL and Cebu Pacific. This year, lower fuel prices represent just 30 to 39 percent of their operating costs,” Ty said.

“If we look at how Filipinos are spending their savings from

cheaper air fares, the money appears to be going mainly to travel-related expenses,” he said.

Ty said among the other airports getting fresh development funding were: Bicol International Airport, P747.4 million; SangaSanga Airport, P577.7 million; Siargao Airport, P264.1 million; Calbayog Airport, P203.6 million; Cauayan Airport, P198.0 million; Tuguegarao Airport, P194.6 million; San Jose Airport, P185.7 million; Zamboanga International Airport, P160.1 million, and Roxas Airport, P95.4 million. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

THE GOVERNMENT’S conditional cash transfer (CCT) program should also cover scholarship grants to college and vocational students, a lawmaker has proposed.

Nueva Ecija Rep. Magnolia Rosa Antonino has called on her colleagues in Congress to support her bill expanding the coverage of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to include support for tertiary education, instead of only the primary grades.

“The government must not only give out fish but must teach its citizens how to fish,” she said in the explanatory note to House Bill No. 1494, adding that “education is still the best antidote to extreme poverty.”

Under the proposed law, the grant of scholarships for degree and nondegree programs, including technical and vocational courses, shall be extended to

students coming from households that are qualified beneficiaries of the 4Ps as certified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The bill provides that beneficiaries of the program be entitled to an allowance of at least P5,000 per semester, which may be increased upon approval by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).

The House committee on poverty alleviation has endorsed the measure for plenary consideration.

Antonino said the bill would enable poor families to have at least one member graduate from college or a technical institution.

She proposed a P300-million initial allotment to be administered by the CHEd, with subsequent funding to be taken from the agency’s budget.

“Certainly, this will help open windows of opportunity to land better paying jobs and alleviate the plight [of beneficiaries] and improve their standard of living,” she said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

15

With VP bid, dictator’s son launches Palace comeback

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer IN A MOVE that could put him one step closer to Malacañang nearly 30 years after his family fled from a palace besieged by angry protesters, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late dictator, yesterday launched his bid for the vice presidency.

Marcos, 58, presented himself as a contender for the nation’s second-highest post in historically atmospheric Intramuros, joined by his mother, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, sister Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, and his father’s defense secretary who turned against him, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.

Leading a revolution

Marcos also received the endorsement of Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, just days after Estrada sang the praises and supported the candidacy of leftist lawmaker and human rights lawyer Neri Colmenares for the Senate.

Marcos did not declare support for any presidential candidate.

In presenting himself as a potential Vice President, Marcos said he would bring about a revolution in how things are done in the country, even as he invoked the nation’s heroes as his inspiration.

He said he chose to make his announcement at Puerta Real Gardens on General Luna Street, because he was inspired by the film about the Filipino revolutionary general.

“With your help and that of the country, I would lead a revolution in thinking and action so that we could reach our

dream of a peaceful, prosperous nation and a lively citizenry,” he said.

He called for true and meaningful unity among Filipinos.

Uncaring gov’t officials

enemies while allowing their allies to abuse their position, he further said. They should not also be sowing disunity because of politics.

But this was what has been happening, he said.

“That is the challenge of the new generation for a bright and Young breed lively future,” he said.

In pitching for Marcos, Estra“Let us face together the call da said he did not think twice of the times, link our arms and about his decision to endorse shout to the whole country that the senator, as he believes he we would not allow the triumph would do well in the post. of destructive politicians and He pointed out that Marcos politics which is the reason for has had a long career in public Sen. Bongbong Marcos becomes the 7th candidate to officially file for Vice division among Filipinos,” he service as a local government President at COMELEC. The number 7 is the Senator's favorite number. Palacio added. official and as a legislator. del Gobernador, Intramuros, Manila, 13 October 2015.

In his speech, Marcos also “I know he cares for our poor FACEBOOK attacked government officials and needy citizens,” he added. who do nothing for the people Marcos, he further said, “rep- the city knows how to repay its place. and those who abuse and steal resents that breed of young debts of gratitude.

But he maintained that he from the country’s coffers. statesmen.”

Marcos supporters came in had nothing to apologize for.

He said that despite the many “He is now destined to be red, the Marcos loyalist color, “Will I say sorry for the thoutalents of Filipinos, the country among the leaders of this coun- for the launch of the senator’s sands and thousands of kiloremained poor because of the try. He has proven his worth in vice-presidential bid. Several meters that were built? Will I negligence of previous admin- more than two decades of pub- were seen flashing the “V” sign, say sorry for the agricultural istrations. lic service, and today he must the political symbol of the late policy that brought us to self“Why do we remain a poor be given the opportunity to dictator. sufficiency in rice? Will I say country?” he asked. “Why is it serve the executive branch for sorry for the power generation? that despite the problems that the whole nation, not just his Nostalgia for dictatorship Will I say sorry for the highest the people are facing, we see province,” he said.

In earlier interviews, Marcos literacy rate in Asia? What am I no solution from said he was aim- to say sorry about?” he said. the government? ing to run for a Marcos is the third NacionaWhy are they not higher post be- lista Party (NP) senator to dedoing anything?” cause there was clare his bid for the vice presi“In my view, Government officials, Marcos said, a hankering for dency, placing the party in the this is because should be working for the welfare of the programs of difficult position of having to of the lack of the people and the country, not their his father and support three candidates. concern of some own selfish interests or those of select the emergence of Since it cannot or will not of the previous groups. a younger gener- choose just one to support, the administrations, ation of Marcos NP is expected to declare a free that the govern“loyalists.” zone where its members would ment should be He also said he be free to choose any candidate helping and caring for FilipiEstrada also praised Imelda did not see anything to apolo- of their choice in the 2016 elecnos,” he said.

Marcos who he said had done gize for in his father’s authori- tions.

Government officials, Mar- a lot for San Juan and Manila. tarian rule, marked by the most The other NP members runcos said, should be working for San Juan is where Estrada cruel human rights violations. ning for Vice President are Senthe welfare of the people and started his political career as He said his family has always ators Antonio Trillanes IV and the country, not their own self- mayor and remains the baili- said that if there are any who Alan Peter Cayetano. ■ ish interests or those of select wick of the Estrada-Ejercito ex- were affected or victimized groups. tended family. during his father’s martial law They were not put in power He said Marcos was sure to regime, they are sorry that hapfor them to devote their time be No. 1 in Manila, which he pened and it was not something to bringing down their political now heads as mayor, because anybody wanted to have taken

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Opinion

16

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

AT LARGE

A proper tribute to INC founder

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer LIKE MANY Filipinos who don’t belong to the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), I knew very little about this indigenous church, and even less about its founder, Felix Manalo.

The little I knew of the INC was based on superficial observations and word of mouth. I knew of it mostly because of its temples, white concrete structures notable for their shapes and ornate decor. Talk had it that members were guaranteed lifetime employment, but that in return they were forbidden from joining labor unions or going on strike.

But mostly, I knew about the INC because of its vaunted “bloc voting,” with millions of members taking their cues from the church’s national leadership on who to vote for in both national and local elections, a practice that gave the INC unprecedented influence with and power over government officials.

Then, when its members held a protest action in front of the Department of Justice and thence on Edsa, another face of the INC emerged: a church unafraid to use bully tactics to get its way when the law threatens its leaders’ interests.

I now wonder how the INC protest would have played in the public’s per-

ception had “Felix Manalo,” the movie This phase of Manalo’s searching I still have questions about the basis purportedly based on the life of the is the movie’s weak underbelly, being of the INC’s beliefs, but in telling the church’s founder, was shown commer- much too talky. Joel Lamangan, the story of one man’s and one communicially before then. I don’t think the film film’s director, searches for ways to ty’s search for truth, the movie deepens could have had much impact, for while portray the inner struggle of his sub- our appreciation for the courage it took it may have made people more sympa- ject matter, to little avail. to ask questions and act on them. thetic to or understanding of the INC, My favorite part of the three-hour *** the pace, length and subject matter do movie is the segment on the INC’s tra- JOINING our media group invited not make for compelling viewing. vails during the Japanese Occupation to taste the pleasures and luxuries of *** and the deaths and persecution of its Bluewater Panglao Resort in Bohol BUT I am glad the movie was members. Although, as portrayed in was a production team from the GMAmade, if only to pay proper tribute to the movie, Manalo seems to have done News TV show “Day Off.” The show a Filipino who overcame traditional nothing but listen to the stories and gives a literal “day off” to ordinary and religious restrictions to follow sympathize with the tellers. folk, bringing them to exotic locations his own path, dearound the country, spite the obstacles. while celebrity hosts [...] in telling the story of one man’s and one community’s The period leadtake the place of the search for truth, the movie deepens our appreciation for the ing to the revoluselected subjects at courage it took to ask questions and act on them. tion against Spain their workplace, tryand the turn-of-the-century arrival *** ing their hand at unglamorous chores. of the Americans was fraught with DENNIS Trillo, as Felix Manalo, For a show scheduled near the frightening change and challenges to admirably plays it low-key and sub- Christmas season, the producers dethe status quo. More so for the film’s dued, eschewing emoting for convey- cided to feature twin brothers Ronel Felix Manalo, whose mother and ing his inner struggle. Bela Padilla, and Rodel Arojo, who work for a hamfamily (including a priest-uncle) are as Manalo’s second wife and lifelong making factory in Laguna, ham being staunch Catholics, and who moves partner Honorata (Ata), is a pleasant a staple of Filipinos’ holiday tables. to Manila with his uncle to study surprise.

Acting as host of this episode and and perhaps pursue the priesthood.

Art direction, especially the cos- guide to the Arojo brothers as they But following his own restless intel- tumes and makeup, were spot-on feasted on Bluewater Panglao’s meals lect and questioning mind, Manalo and, as far as I can tell, faithful to the and enjoyed everything that Bohol abandons the Catholic Church and period. Lamangan deserves credit has to offer—from water sports, to embarks on a search for the “truth” for managing his huge cast, which heritage structures, and goggle-eyed that leads him to different Protestant features quite a number of actors in tarsiers—was Maey Bautista, who by congregations and finally to founding cameo roles, as well as for putting or- herself has an interesting back story. the INC. der to a sprawling and epic story.

A production staffer at many GMA-

7 shows, Maey caught the attention of the network bosses with her natural bubbly self and self-deprecating humor. Her talent came to the fore when she was cast as a contestant on the show “Survivor,” partnering with comedian Betong (also a former production staffer) as one of the pairs seeking to prevail despite the hardships, lack of food and physical challenges. I don’t know if she emerged winner, but Maey took advantage of the stint as a stepping stone to a performing career.

Also on hand from the “Day Off” team were segment producer Shaine Aica Galang, researcher Michelle Bacsa, and crew members Alvin Escarmosa and Richard Rebellon.

PR maven Pete Dacuycuy couldn’t join us at the last minute because of an attack of gout, but our group was joined by his niece Pinky San Andres, who contributes to the Bulletin.

Pinky’s husband Noel rushed to be by her side (taking an 8-hour boat ride from Samar) when she suffered gastric pains, and was with us on our final day. Joy Fong, who writes for a lifestyle magazine, was also part of the group, as was noted photographer Donald Tapan. Our thanks to the amazing staff of Bluewater Panglao, especially Marvin Lao, coordinator for the marketing communications group. ■

PUBLIC LIVES

Simplifying voter judgment

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer SINCE I have been filing my income tax in Pampanga for some years now, I feel duty-bound and entitled to cast my vote at my old precinct in Betis, where I spent my childhood. I continue to list our ancestral home in this province as my permanent residence even if I have lived and worked in Metro Manila for much of my adult life. This habit of place has its costs.

When one doesn’t follow the local scene and doesn’t know the local candidates, voting responsibly can be quite a challenge.

While I am usually up-to-date on the candidates for governor and congressman, I tend to be clueless when it comes to the names of those vying for the many other local positions. In such a situation, it is almost natural to base one’s choices on what is familiar. This bothers me because, as a sociologist, I am conscious of the tyranny of name recall. I have tried to shield myself from its insidious effects by taking a few hours, before I cast my vote, to review the qualifications of the candidates based on the campaign materials they have distributed. In the absence of any such information, I ask my siblings

and neighbors what they think about We probably think we are being this sense, modern politics is just too each candidate. Only then do I pro- clever that way. But, this formula, dense an affair for most of us. ceed to compose my list. based on distrust, is more likely to We seek something to help reduce Still, there have been instances ensure gridlock and/or horse-trad- this complexity, and find it in familwhen, pressed for time, I ended up ing, rather than promote healthy iarity. A feeling of familiarity stavoting straight for the candidates be- debate and check and balance. I am bilizes our expectations and tames longing to the slate of the mayor or hesitant to say if the shift to a parlia- our apprehensions about the future. governor I have chosen. This is much mentary system could cure this dys- “Familiarity is the precondition for simpler, and it is how it is done in soci- function, knowing that such a system trust as well as distrust,” says the soeties where political parties take their requires stable political parties and a ciologist Niklas Luhmann (Trust and functions seriously. I also think that nonpartisan civil service. But, maybe, Power, 1979). “In familiar worlds, the any local executive who is worthy of the root of the problem goes deeper. past prevails over the present and the my vote should find it easier to govern Perhaps it comes from not know- future. The past does not contain any if the other officials who got elected ing not only who we are voting for, but ‘other possibilities’; complexity is rewith him came from the same party. also what we are voting them for. Let duced at the outset.”

Governance is so In our still undifcomplex it cannot be ferentiated world, As good as they are in their fields of origin, it is almost the work of just one the figures that disrespectful to doubt that they can be good political leaders as well. person. We should loom large on our That is the effect of trust. be electing teams everyday horizon— rather than individual politicians. me explain. I imagine that the aver- sports heroes like Manny Pacquiao But, for reasons I have not com- age Filipino voter chooses his/her and movie heroes like Fernando Poe pletely figured out, our political hab- senators in much the same way people Jr.—are icons of trust from the outits tend to favor the election of peo- who come home only during elections set. Their command over our conple who are expected to continually choose their municipal councilors— sciousness easily spills beyond the check one another, rather than work i.e., blindly or without much thought, spheres in which they originally built together under a common program. or based on simple name recall or their fame. As good as they are in Thus, we like electing presidents and first impressions. There is hardly any their fields of origin, it is almost disvice presidents who come from two effort to understand the function of respectful to doubt that they can be opposing parties. We select the na- the positions being filled, and no in- good political leaders as well. That is tion’s chief executive from one party, clination to scrutinize and compare the effect of trust. and then elect an opposition legisla- candidates’ qualifications to see who It is what Grace Poe is banking on ture to stop the former from carrying among them can best perform the as she makes her bid for the presiout his program of government. duties attached to these positions. In dency. Her greatest source of strength

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is the past, where her father’s memory resides. She says she is running to continue what her father began. It is almost sacrilegious to ask what her father began, or how she herself will govern if elected president. Trust simply does not deal with such questions.

It is the same thing with Pacquiao: Despite his professed religiosity, the champ seems to be incapable of seeing into himself. Elected representative of his province, he cannot understand why his legislative duties should take precedence over his boxing commitments. Of 70 sessions in which his presence was required in the current Congress, he had time to attend only four, and now he plans to be senator! The wonder is how the various political parties are falling all over themselves in vying for the honor to have him in their tickets.

Name recall, familiarity, emotional connection, iconic stature—these are the basic elements that shape voter judgment in our kind of elections. That is why so much time and resources are spent constructing these in the mass media, while only a few bother to ask what kind of future awaits the country in the next few years and what kind of leaders we need to ensure the nation’s continued progress. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

17

LOOKING BACK

When a Pinoy met an ex-emperor of China

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer RENATO D. TAYAG loomed larger than life when I was a boy. I remember him vaguely, even today, as a tanned giant who wore eyeglasses and whose constant companion was his tennis racket. When I reconnected with him in Manila during my college days, I saw him addressed formally as “Attorney Tayag” or “Director Tayag” or plain “Mr. Tayag,” for he was a member of the Philippine bar, a survivor of World War II, and one of the board of directors of the Philippine National Bank. In contrast, in his hometown of Angeles in Pampanga, he was always addressed and referred to as “Katoks,” a nickname he used as a byline for the short conversational essays for which he is best remembered.

In 1984 Tayag gifted me with a boxed set of his books: “The Sinners of Angeles: For Whom Don Juan prays Daily” (1960); “Odyssey in Southeast Asia” (1963); “At Home and Abroad” (1966); and “China: The view from Peking and Taipeh through the eyes of a Filipino writer” (1971).

His essays are an easy read and gave me an idea of his boyhood, his travels

and the Cold War era that he lived gardener in Mao’s China. Tayag pro- in case of sudden assailants. Tayag: in. Once upon a time Russia was en- vided this snippet in one of his books: “How do you find life now?” Pu Yi: closed by an imaginary “Iron CurTayag: “How do you feel now that “I am proud to belong to China, of tain,” Germany was divided between you are no longer emperor?” the bright future for the country and East and West by the Berlin Wall, Pu Yi: “In a sense, I am still an the people. I am contented. I receive and Taiwan was separated from “Red emperor. Chairman Mao said that a monthly salary of 106 yuan; and my China” by an imaginary “Bamboo the 650,000,000 Chinese are all wife, a nurse, receives 60. It is more Curtain.” So polarized was the world Liao Hsun— sons of Huang Ti of the than enough for us. My life as a plain in Tayag’s books that I am reminded ancient empire—and therefore all citizen is better.” of a friend recounting that when he emperors.” Tayag: “Are you happier All of Tayag’s books are out of print was a boy growing up in Hong Kong, now?” Pu Yi: “Of course. Before, I except the last one, “Recollections he and others were advised to hold served only myself and my family. I and Digressions” (1985), that has their breath as they walked by the regarded my country and people as been reprinted by the Kapampangan “Red China store” Studies Center of lest they be infectHoly Angel UniverI encountered Tayag in his old age, when he had many stories ed by “Maoism” or sity to commemoto tell, but I regret not asking him more about his law practice and his “communism.” rate his birth cenfirst partner, a classmate of his named Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Tayag was one in tennial today. The a group of intrepid “recollections” in Filipino journalists who defied a my property. But I was afraid, afraid the book include essays on: Angeles, travel ban in 1964, crossed the Bam- of my own people. I was afraid of my the city of his birth; Pampanga, the boo Curtain, and lived to tell the tale. relatives, the eunuchs, the servants. province whose history and culture Rereading him recently, I regretted I was afraid of being assassinated or molded him; Bataan and the war that not asking him to tell me more about poisoned. Wherever I went, palace forged him like steel, turning a boy that historic trip and his meeting guards preceded me to search the into a man; and “Red China.” The “diwith Henry Pu Yi (1906-1967), the area. I was careful about my food.” gressions” cover the literary exploralast emperor of China. Although I Tayag: “Did you employ food-tast- tions that were spurred by the many had seen the film on Pu Yi and read ers?” Pu Yi: “I did not because I could books he read and enjoyed.

“Twilight in the Forbidden City,” it not trust even food-tasters. Before As a historian, I make a living would have been more interesting to I ate anything, I found out myself breathing life back into events and know what he was like in person. what effect the food had on the sil- personalities long gone by sifting The two met face to face when the ver. I feared everyone. I even had a and sleuthing through written docuformer emperor lived a quiet life as a secret escape into a big room just ments. If I were to use the same

method with Tayag and his writings, I will uncover two sides of the man: the journalist who signed himself Renato D. Tayag and published books about Angeles as well as reportage on Asia, and the town philosopher Katoks Tayag who looks back on a life welllived and shares his insights with his readers.

I encountered Tayag in his old age, when he had many stories to tell, but I regret not asking him more about his law practice and his first partner, a classmate of his named Ferdinand E. Marcos. I sat in the background and jotted down notes as Tayag and his best friend, E. Aguilar Cruz, dined and reminisced about the past, showing me lives lived in history. What was endearing about Tayag was that he did not take himself too seriously.

He even found humor in a typographical error that could have cost a bank clerk’s job or promotion: He threw me a wink and an impish smile as he handed me one of the calling cards that the PNB had printed for its officers. It read: “R. D. Bayag. Director.”

I have since lost that card but Katoks’ memory lives on in his books, and I can only hope that his family can find more unpublished essays to fill another volume. ■

ANALYSIS

‘Coup capital of democratic world’

By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer ON SEPT. 14, a week before Filipinos commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Australia ousted Prime Minister Tony Abbott through parliamentary process. He was not able to serve out his first term.

Abbott, who won power in a general election in September 2013, was ousted not by the opposition Australian Labor Party but by a fellow Liberal Party member of Parliament, Malcolm Turnbull, in a party caucus room vote.

Turnbull, who is identified with the party’s moderate wing of the Liberal Party, defeated Abbott of the right wing in a vote for party leader.

He was sworn in as prime minister of Australia by Governor General Peter Cosgrove just hours after masterminding a coup against Abbott and pledging a new economic vision.

Turnbull became Australia’s 29th prime minister and the fourth in five years, as Australian political parties maintain a brutal tradition of swiftly removing failing leaders.

The ouster of Abbott prompted the staid British news organization, BBC, to send to its global online network

a report headlined, “Australia: Coup centers of political power. A list of minister in Gillard’s government, he capital of the democratic world.” these memorable Australian “coups,” started plotting his revenge almost The report said that, “with five prime reviewed by BBC, included those in immediately, causing a destabilizing ministers in as many years, Canberra 1983, 1991, 2010 and 2013. presence in the Gillard government. has solidified its reputation as the coup During a trip to Washington in Febcapital of the democratic world.”

Ousted in a spill ruary 2012, Rudd dramatically resigned According to the BBC report, a In 1983, Bob Hawke (Labor, a for- and announced he was challenging Gilquarter century of reform under Bob mer trade union leader) ousted Bill lard for the leadership. On that occaHawke (Labor), Paul Keating (La- Hayden as party leader in a “spill” sion, Gillard won comfortably. bor) and Joan Howard (Liberal) “has (Australian term for leadership chalRudd exacted his revenge in June been followed by an era of revenge, lenge). On the day Hawke became 2013, when, in a desperate attempt to marked by revolving chair tenure of party leader, Malcolm Fraser, the avoid being buried under an electoral deposed party leaders.”

Conservative prime minister, called a landslide, the party room restored Turnbull was once knifed by the snap election, hoping to capitalize on him to the prime ministership, but leader he deposed, Abbott. “Kevin Labor’s feuding. Hawke went on to his feud with Gillard left the Labor Rudd (Labor) was ousted by Julia win the election in a landslide.

Party deeply fractured.

Gillard (Labor), but then exacted reParty-driven I only wish that posterity would do them justice and that their venge by overthrowcoups memory would cause a tear to fall from the bottom of people’s hearts. ing her.” It is now The role of disover a decade since ciplined parties in an Australian prime minister manIn June 1991, Paul Keating failed leadership changes in the prime minaged to serve out his or her first term. to oust Hawke as party leader in a istership is underlined in the above Let us not make the rash conclu- leadership spill and retreated to the review of party-driven coups in the sion that this rapid turnover of prime back benches. But Keating wielded Australian party system. The coups ministers and frequency of coups that the knife in December 1991, this time shed light on how the system operAustralian parliamentary democracy with brutal success. ates to topple failing governments has become unstable and its political In 2007, Rudd (Labor) won the without sending tanks and troops to system has become as turbulent as election, but he did not survive a first seize power. those coup-ridden Third World soci- full term. In 2010, following policy The election of Turnbull as the new eties of Africa and Southeast Asia. conflicts with his deputy leader, Ju- prime minister of Australia illustrates A review of the most memorable lia Gillard, over an emission trading the ouster of Abbott through the proAustralian parliamentary coups system and a proposed mining tax, he cedure of the vote in the parliamentashows these did not involve military was ousted by Gillard. ry caucus room, without compromisintervention or military takeover of Though Rudd became foreign ing the electoral system’s legitimacy.

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The party vote for Turnbull as party leader, replacing Abbott, marks the entry of a moderate centrist into the Canberra power structure.

Turnbull is a multimillionaire, who hails from the richest of Australia’s richest constituency, the eastern suburbs of Sydney. He is known to be a republican, environmentalist and social moderate. He was elected party leader in the wake of the growing unpopularity of Abbott.

Abbott won power in a general election in September 2013, but his first budget proved highly unpopular.

He survived a leadership challenge in February after poor polling and serious gaffes ignited a backbench revolt.

But he has failed to turn around the polls, bolster the economy or stop damaging internal leaks, losing support of the majority of his party.

After his 54-44 victory on Sept. 14, Turnbull, a lawyer and banker, ruled out an early national election to cement his leadership. Elections need not be held before January 2017.

The party caucus room saved the ruling Liberal Party coalition from Labor’s electoral challenge by dumping Abbott’s right-wing extremism.

In revamping his Cabinet, Turnbull is thought likely to sweep out traditional conservatives, and bring in younger blood and more women. ■

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Canada News

Trudeau faces renewed attack in noisy start to final week of federal campaign

BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — There weren’t any whistles, but there were more than a few bells, as the marathon federal election campaign entered its final week Monday.

Stephen Harper launched a game-show style attack — complete with clanging cash register — aimed directly at front runner Justin Trudeau during a campaign event in Waterloo, Ont., in an attempt to portray the Liberal leader as a threat to the pocketbooks of Canadian families.

Harper was assisted by a local woman — a married mother, with two jobs — who slapped Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau.

FACEBOOK down $20 bills as he rhymed off the various tax credits for “He is desperate to try and Mulcair told his supporters in families that he said the Liber- frighten Canadians away from Maple Ridge, B.C. that his party als would roll back. voting for a vision that is going was the only credible choice The focus on Trudeau, almost to put more money in the pock- for beating the Conservatives to the exclusion of Tom Mul- ets of nine out of 10 families and on Oct. 19. But he was repeatcair, came as the Liberal leader cut taxes for the middle class,” edly forced to deflect questions appeared to be gaining momen- Trudeau said. about his party’s slide in recent tum in some polls, while they He said the Conservatives polls. had the New Democrat leader don’t have a record to run on, so “In 2011, I saw the same polltracking third. they’re resorting to “scare tac- sters say we’d be fourth in Que“For some bec, so I don’t families, that pay attention to could be a Liberthat,” Mulcair al tax hike of up said. to $2,000 a year,” I’m going to let my opponents “I know the Harper said. continue to focus on me. I’m staying NDP is offer“These are real focused on Canadians. ing hope — hope benefits.

Only to break an old the Conservahabit that’s been tive party in this in place for 140 election is committed to keep- tics and fear mongering,” which years. When you’re fed up ing these dollars where they includes “micro-targeting” with the Conservatives, you’re belong — in the pockets of hard specific communities to pit forced to go back to the Liberworking Canadians.” them against one another. als.”

But Trudeau fired back at the “We will call out fearful and Now, he said, the Canadians Conservative leader, saying he divisive tactics, wherever they don’t have to choose between wouldn’t be clawing back any are used but we will stay fo- one of the “old parties.” of the boutique tax credits for cused on bringing Canadians “For the first time in the hisfamilies that Harper was warn- together because that’s the job tory of Canada, there is a threeing about. of any leader,” Trudeau told a way race.”

He said it was one more ex- boisterous rally in the Ottawa Mulcair repeated his asserample of Harper engaging in suburbs. tion that the New Democrats the politics of fear and telling “I’m going to let my opponents need only 35 more seats to form “untruths” to voters about his continue to focus on me. I’m government while the Liberals platform. staying focused on Canadians.” need more than 100. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Mohamed Fahmy, released from Egyptian prison last month, now back in Canada

BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD The Canadian Press TORONTO — A Canadian journalist who was released from prison in Egypt last month has returned home, marking the end of his nearly two-year ordeal in a case that raised questions about Egypt’s commitment to free speech.

Mohamed Fahmy, a former Al-Jazeera journalist detained on terror-related charges, arrived in Toronto on Sunday.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for,” Fahmy said Monday.

“I felt humbled and safe seeing the kind and heartfelt vibes from the police officers and security at the airport who were extremely hospitable and recognized my face despite my attempts to keep my arrival quiet.

It was mind-boggling that the cab driver, passengers on the flight and strangers recognized me in the airport and knew the details of my story. I felt lots of warmth and love.”

He expressed similar feelings in a series of tweets in which he thanked those who supported him.

“Happy Thanksgiving Canada! Walking the streets of Toronto with my wife is a truly liberating feeling! We feel safe, free, & at home! #Love” Fahmy was arrested in 2013 with two Al-Jazeera English colleagues. He was sentenced to three years in prison in a retrial this year for airing what a court described as “false news” and coverage biased in favour of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The case was widely condemned. He and his Egyptian co-defendant, Baher Mohammed, received a presidential pardon last month. The other colleague, Australian Peter Greste, was released a year before Fahmy after Australia’s prime minister intervened.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is facing re-election next Monday, has been criticized by Fahmy and others for not doing enough to get the journalist back to Canada. Fahmy said he made sure to come back to Canada amid the campaign because he feels it his responsibility to start a debate ❱❱ PAGE 21 Mohamed Fahmy

“Happy Thanksgiving for us all! Lots of love to all my fellow Canadians and journalists who made it happen!” Freed journalist Mohamed Fahmy spent Thanksgiving in Canada with his wife.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FAHMY'S TWITTER ACCOUNT / @MFFAHMY11

Canada News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

19

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, and NDP leader Tom Mulcair.

FACEBOOK PHOTOS

Conservatives ramp up economic sales pitch with days to go in election campaign

BY KRISTY KIRKUP The Canadian Press OTTAWA — There could be “real consequences” for the Canadian economy if the Liberals form government, Stephen Harper’s finance minister warned Saturday.

Joe Oliver’s message, delivered at a small business in Toronto, comes as the latest public opinion polls suggest the Tories are in a fierce battle as the Liberals appear to be gaining momentum ahead of the Oct. 19 election.

Oliver, who has flown under the radar during the election campaign, held an event to target Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s fiscal plan.

The Grits have pledged to run deficits of up to $10-billion a year for three years to put money into infrastructure projects.

“There is a real scenario in which the Liberals can form the next government and Justin Trudeau can become the next prime minister,” Oliver said.

“That would have real consequences for the economy.”

Oliver said the economy remains the number one priority for the Conservatives, especially with the instability in the global markets.

He also took aim at Kathleen Wynne’s Ontario Liberal government.

“We’ve seen the consequences of a Liberal-Wynne government here in Ontario — mas-

sive tax-hikes, out of control spending, sky-high hydro bills, business closures, we don’t want that to happen across the country. That, I think, is what is in play in this election.”

Harper was not campaigning Saturday.

Trudeau was in Iqaluit, where he announced a Liberal government will funnel $40 million over four years in to the government’s Nutrition North program designed to bring health food to isolated communities.

The Liberal leader said he will ensure the program, often criticized for operational problems, will be more effective and transparent.

“For ten years, Stephen Harper has been staging his annual photo op in the North,

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trying to bolster his public image, while ignoring the glaring problems with the Nutrition North program, and failing to help Canadians living in these communities in any real, lasting way,” Trudeau said.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was in British Columbia Saturday where he campaigned in Victoria and was heartened by word from Elections Canada that the opening day of advance polls saw a 26 per cent increase in voter turnout compared to the opening day of the 2011 campaign.

“For me that’s a harbinger of change, people want real change in Ottawa, the advance polls reflect that,” Mulcair told supporters at an NDP rally.

Mulcair’s campaign team

also attacked both the Conservatives and the Liberals on climate change.

The New Democrats put out a news release accusing Trudeau of failing to say what emission reduction targets a Liberal government would bring in.

Trudeau told the CBC on Saturday that a Liberal government would set targets in consultation with the provinces.

“What we need is not ambitious political targets, what we need is an ambitious plan to reduce our emissions in the country,” Trudeau told the CBC radio show ‘The House.’

The New Democrats also accused Harper of doing nothing to address climate change. ■

20

Canada News

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Witchcraft pretenders, pot heads, liars eligible to serve on Ontario juries

BY COLIN PERKEL The Canadian Press

surfboard, or throwing a stink bomb into a crowd.

Heather Visser, a spokeswoman for Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney GenTORONTO — If you ever find yourself eral, said people with certain kinds of facing a jury in Ontario, your innocence criminal records have been shut out of or guilt could be decided by jurors with jury duty since at least 1850. convictions for pretending to practise “Having people serve on a jury who witchcraft or making a false statement themselves have certain types of crimiunder oath. nal convictions could undermine confiAlternatively, they could have imper- dence in the justice system,” Visser said sonated a police officer or committed in an email. an indecent act and still found their way She would not say why having a preonto the panel deciding your fate. tend witchcraft practitioner, vagrant, These offences are among those offi- convicted liar, or someone who makes cially listed for which Ontario residents indecent phone calls serve as a juror can have a criminal record and still be might not have that effect. eligible for jury duty.

Like Ontario, each As it is elsewhere province is responin Canada, a Crimisible for maintainnal Code conviction ing its jury rolls, and is generally a barrier Eligibility to be qualification varies to serving as a juror a juror does from one to the other. in Ontario — with the not mean you For example, Alexception of 27 listed will serve on berta residents are offences, according one. Apart from excluded if they have to an eligibility quesprovincial rules, been convicted of a tionnaire sent to all the Criminal Code criminal offence that prospective jurors in grants prosecutors carries a maximum the province. and lawyers an sentence of more In addition, being unfettered right than one year, while found guilty of posto challenge being legally consessing less than 30 jurors who have fined to an institugrams of marijuana been “sentenced tion is one of the inis the only drug ofto death” — or eligibility criteria in fence that won’t necto a term of Saskatchewan. essarily keep you off imprisonment Residents of Brita jury for “personal exceeding 12 ish Columbia, on the reasons.” months. They other hand, need The common also have some only be charged with thread to these options to screen a crime that carries crimes — they also out others they a maximum fine of include engaging in deem undesirable. more than $2,000 or a prize fight, being at least 12 months caught in a brothel, imprisonment to be or being nude in a excluded, while Newpublic place — is that foundland exempts they are considered relatively minor anyone charged with an indictable of“summary” offences that carry maxi- fence or who has been jailed for same — mum penalties of $5,000 in fines and/or if there was no option to pay a fine. six months in jail.

Eligibility to be a juror does not Convictions for more serious indict- mean you will serve on one. Apart from able offences automatically disqualify provincial rules, the Criminal Code you from jury duty in Ontario unless you grants prosecutors and lawyers an unhave been pardoned. fettered right to challenge jurors who Still, some of the listed offences that have been “sentenced to death” — or to have no effect on eligibility are straight a term of imprisonment exceeding 12 up head-scratchers. months. They also have some options There’s the arcane offence of trad- to screen out others they deem undeing in lumbering equipment without sirable. consent of owner, disturbing a religious Tangentially, a juror convicted in Onworship, or carrying a weapon to a pub- tario of disclosing a jury’s secret deliblic meeting. Your juror may also have erations should in theory be allowed to been convicted of failing to keep watch serve on a subsequent panel. It’s a sumwhile towing a person on water skis or mary offence. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Canada News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

21

Mohamed Fahmy... on the issue.

Fahmy said Harper’s “hyper conservative approach directly damaged and delayed my chances for freedom.” He said former Foreign Minister John Baird damaged his case when he said during a press conference in Egypt that Canada would not prosecute Fahmy should he be turned over to Canada, something Fahmy called a diplomatic faux pas. He said he would have more to say about it at a press conference in Toronto on Tuesday.

A senior government official said Harper spoke with Egypt’s president and sent several letters on Fahmy’s behalf. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

Fahmy has said he was not aware that Harper had called Egypt’s president. He said he was grateful but asked, “Why aren’t they transparent about him making a call and taking a stand?” ❰❰ 18

DON’T (GET) RAPE(D).

ARINDAMBANERJEE / SHUTTERSTOCK

Rape kit inaccessibility a hurdle to justice for victims in Canada: advocates

BY LAURA KANE The Canadian Press

that includes Squamish, patients who want a rape kit must travel an hour or more, sometimes in the back of a police car, to Vancouver General Hospital, said Chapelle.

“Somebody who’s been through trauma, the last thing they want is to feel like a criminal and be taken in the back of a police car and then wait to have a rape kit administered in the city,” she said.

Chapelle said she and the Howe Sound Women’s Centre have asked Vancouver Coastal Health to fund a forensic nurse position in Squamish, but the health authority lacks the resources from the British Columbia government.

Across Canada, rape kit access varies widely and information can be hard to find.

Women are often shocked that VANCOUVER — When Susan not every hospital offers the Chapelle awoke in a stranger’s exams, said Lisa Steacy of the home, her head pounding and Canadian Association of Sexual her clothes on backwards, she Assault Centres. didn’t even consider reporting “It does create another hurher rape. dle. Having to ask for someChapelle was a young womthing twice is harder than bean when she was drugged ing able to ask for it once,” she and assaulted after going to said. a man’s house to buy a pet.

Quebec and Ontario run their She felt an immediate rush of own forensic exam system, shame that stuck with her for rather than using RCMP kits two decades. and labs. Quebec said it has 77 “I felt horribly guilty for gocentres that can administer the ing to his house in the first kits, making it a national leader, place, and I felt horribly guilty while Ontario has at least 35 lofor drinking a glass of wine,” she cations. recalled. “All I In Saskatchcould think was: ewan and Mani‘It’s my fault.”‘ toba, only urban Now, the Squahospitals have mish, B.C., counWhen a woman has been sexually kits — outside cillor is devoting assaulted by someone she knows, cities, health herself to removparticularly when it’s someone she care staff must ing hurdles in knows quite well, and consent is the call Mounties the justice sysonly issue, rape kits are of far less to bring in the tem for sexual use. equipment. Alassault victims. berta RCMP also And one of her transports kits to top priorities is hospitals upon to bring rape kits — forensic ex“Vancouver Coastal Health request. ams that collect evidence after has been very open and recepAccess varies, too, in Atlantic an attack — to her small district tive,” she said. “The Ministry of provinces, where Newfoundnorth of Vancouver.

Health is not interested in re- land has 36 sites that can delivMany hospitals in Cana- solving the problem.” er kits and P.E.I. has one. Nova da still lack trained forensic The ministry responded that Scotia has been criticized for a nurses to administer the kits, the authority is “actively en- lack of resources, but the provsometimes forcing traumatized gaged” in finding a solution. ince said it has three regional women to travel long distances There are 13 health centres in teams of specially-trained or wait for hours. It’s yet anoth- southern B.C. that can adminis- nurses with plans for two more er roadblock in a system that ter kits, while doctors in all 24 on the way. already feels hostile to victims, northern hospitals can provide Rape kits differ depending on advocates say. the exams, it said in a stateIn the Sea-to-Sky corridor ment. ❱❱ PAGE 25 Rape kit www.canadianinquirer.net

He also said he plans on meeting with opposition Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and opposition New Democrat leader Tom Mulcair this week.

Fahmy left Cairo last week after learning his name had been removed from a no-fly list. He stopped first in London, where he was to meet with his highprofile lawyer Amal Clooney.

He is scheduled to attend a press conference hosted by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression at Ryerson University on Tuesday.

He has said he plans to take up a position as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s school of journalism in Vancouver. He is also writing a book about his experiences.

Fahmy moved to Canada with his family in 1991, living in Montreal and Vancouver for years before eventually moving abroad for work, which included covering stories for the New York Times and CNN before his job at Al Jazeera. ■

Ontario Conservative says campaign office vandalized THE CANADIAN PRESS SUDBURY, ONT. — An Ontario Conservative candidate says his campaign office was vandalized.

Fred Slade is running in the federal riding of Sudbury.

He says anti Conservative messages were painted on the windows and the doors of the campaign office.

Slade says he isn’t sure exactly when this weekend the vandalism occurred.

Slade says police are investigating and have told him they are looking to contact a person of interest in connection with the incident.

He calls the vandalism disturbing but says it hasn’t knocked his campaign off course.

The Sudbury riding was won by former New Democrat Glenn Thibeault in the 2011 election but he has since jumped to Ontario provincial politics to serve in Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government. ■

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Canada News

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Pope’s sex abuse commission taking advice on the road as bishops’ conferences seek counsel

BY NICOLE WINFIELD The Associated Press VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ sex abuse commission has begun an important new phase of its work: Bringing the expertise of its members to the developing world where bishops’ conferences have lagged behind their English-speaking counterparts in crafting guidelines to prevent abuse and care for survivors.

In August, three members of the commission held a threeday workshop with 76 of the 92 Filipino bishops on creating safe environments for children in the Philippines, where 60 per cent of Asia’s Catholics live. Next month, the head of the commission, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, and two other commission members will host a similar workshop for the Central American bishops’ conference in Costa Rica.

In both cases, the bishops themselves came to the com-

His Holiness Pope Francis.

mission and asked for help, commission members said Monday at the end of their three-day plenary assembly.

That’s an important development given that bishops have long been criticized for failing to sanction abusive priests in a bid to protect the church and prevent scandal.

“It is a fairly big deal,” said Gabriel Dy-Liacco, a commis-

SOFTDELUSION66 / SHUTTERSTOCK

sion member, psychotherapist and pastoral counsellor from the Philippines who arranged the workshop. “It’s important to note that they’re the ones who asked for it, which I think is great. It means the motivation is coming from them, not from us. And that’s precisely what this type of work needs.”

In 2011, after thousands of people in Europe, Latin Amer-

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ica and beyond came forward with reports that priests had raped and molested them as children, the Vatican asked bishops’ conferences around the world to draft guidelines to fight abuse, help survivors and co-operate with civil authorities. While many conferences drafted the guidelines and sent them to Rome for review, others lagged behind — particu-

larly in West Africa and other parts of the developing world where the scandal hasn’t made headlines.

Part of the mandate of the pope’s abuse advisory body is to help those countries come along by offering the expertise of its members as well as pointing them to models of good-functioning guidelines from other bishops’ conferences.

Dy-Liacco said for the Philippines, the church is in the process of overcoming the societal taboo about talking about the sexual abuse of children — a taboo that has resulted in the problem being under-reported in the media “even though it is a fact of life.”

“Things like that don’t change overnight,” he said. “But I think it’s very good that Pope Francis has created this commission and brought a lot of awareness to the problem so that those who are in leadership positions can begin to institute that change.” ■

World News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

23

UC Berkeley defends handling of sexual harassment claims against prominent astronomer

BY LISA LEFF The Associated Press

BuzzFeed News on Friday, UC Berkeley said Marcy had agreed to clear parameters around his behaviour with the knowledge he would be subject to automatic suspension or dismissal for any violations.

In a follow-up statement issued Monday, the school described the agreement Marcy reached with Vice Provost for Faculty Janet Broughton as “the most certain and effective option for prevent-

ping him of the procedural protections that all other faculty members enjoy,” the statement said.

The revelation that one of the world’s BERKELEY, CALIF. — The University leading experts on planets outside of California at Berkeley defended its Earth’s solar system had not been sanchandling of sexual harassment comtioned more severely has angered some plaints against a prominent astronomer of Marcy’s colleagues and former stuon Monday amid accusations on campus dents, including one of the four women and beyond that the professor was inadstudents who filed complaints about equately disciplined for inappropriate him with the campus Office for the Prebehaviour with stuvention of Harassdents. ment and DiscrimiThe university has nation last year. not shared details of “His job as a prothe six-month inves[...] Sexual harassment by senior scientists “is fessor is to mentor tigation of Professor not just isolated to one incident or one person and provide guidance Geoffrey Marcy that in our field, but to a larger societal issue of the to young people; in concluded in June misuse of power” that puts young women at a that role he’s caused when he was found to professional disadvantage. devastating harm,” have violated campus Sarah Ballard, who sex harassment poliearned an undercies. It resulted from graduate degree in complaints brought by former students ing any inappropriate future conduct” astronomy from Berkeley, told The New and dealt with incidents dating as far because it bypassed a lengthy disciplin- York Times. back as 2001, campus officials said. ary process that would have required a Ballard, now a post-doctoral fellow at Marcy issued a public apology last hearing before a faculty committee. the Massachusetts Institute of Technolweek while at the same time disputing “The university has imposed real con- ogy, said her former professor talked to some of the allegations against him. sequences on Professor Geoff Marcy by her about his sexual experiences as a After the probe and the nature of establishing a zero tolerance policy re- young man and tried to give her a neck the complaints first were reported by garding future behaviour and by strip- massage one time as she was getting out

New Zealand man charged with blackmail after police say he threatened to poison infant formula

BY NICK PERRY The Associated Press WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND — Police on Tuesday filed blackmail charges against a man they say threatened to poison supplies of infant formula in a case authorities worried could have led to wider fallout for the country’s lucrative dairy industry.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush told media they had arrested a 60-year-old Auckland businessman and charged him with two counts of blackmail following a large investigation that involved 35 staff and cost several million dollars.

“It reflects how seriously we view crimes of this nature,” Bush said.

The arrest came after dairy exporter Fonterra and advocacy group Federated Farmers said they received letters

in November that threatened to lace infant formula with sodium fluoroacetate, a poison commonly called 1080, unless conservation authorities stopped using it to kill rodents and other pests by March.

The threats prompted health authorities and manufacturers to carry out tens of thousands of tests on products to make sure nobody had tampered with them. Nothing was found amiss and Bush said Tuesday the man posed no further risk to the public.

Police declined to name the man ahead of a scheduled court appearance.

Should he be found guilty, he would face a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison on each charge.

Fonterra, the world’s largest exporter of dairy products, thanked police and

www.pnb.com.ph/

❱❱ PAGE 31 New Zealand

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of his car.

She told The Times she was afraid to confront Marcy or file a complaint because she needed letters of recommendation for graduate school.

Marcy posted a public apology on his website (http://bit.ly/1jtpjrT ) in a letter he sought to have published in the newsletter of the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy. The committee declined his request.

Christina Richey, an astrophysicist at NASA who chairs the Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy, said in a blog post published Monday that sexual harassment by senior scientists “is not just isolated to one incident or one person in our field, but to a larger societal issue of the misuse of power” that puts young women at a professional disadvantage.

“The larger issue here is that everyone in our field should be treated as a scientist, with equal respect and dignity,” Richey said. “Women are not lining up at their poster for speed dating; they aren’t signing up to work in your lab because they want to be sexualized or objectified. They are there to become a successful scientist.” ■

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World News

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Ethnic protests, fuel shortage latest blows to Nepal’s earthquake ravaged tourism industry

BY BINAJ GURUBACHARYA The Associated Press KATHMANDU, NEPAL — Just when Nepal was recovering from the devastating earthquake that killed thousands, flattened hundreds of thousands of houses and chased away foreign tourists, protests by ethnic groups and severe fuel shortages are again keeping visitors away from the nation known for highest peaks in the world.

The comeback that the damaged tourism industry had hoped would begin in October, normally the high season for visitors, has failed to materialize, in part because of protests and other troubles that began in August.

“We have already had at least 40 per cent cancellations from tourists who had planned to visit Nepal in autumn season, and that number is expected to be much, much more,” said Hari Man Lama of Kathmandu-based Incentive Tours, who added that it would take at least a year for the industry to recover.

This time of year at the tourist hub of Thamel in Kathmandu, people usually walk shoulder to shoulder along the narrow alley lined with stores for trekking gear, souvenirs, cafes and restaurants. Yet today, there is only a thin presence of visitors.

Those who have made it to Nepal are having difficulty getting around because of the fuel shortages.

Canadian tourist Darren Flach, from Calgary, had plans to trek the Mount Annapurna circuit, a picturesque trail surrounding the world’s 10thhighest mountain. But now he is thinking of shortening his vacation.

“I did not imagine it was going to be so tough. I am planning to return, the sooner the better,” Flach said, adding that he was just going to cycle around Kathmandu because taxis were asking too much money.

“I have come before to Nepal during this season, and I can tell you there is lot less people this year,” he said.

The poor Himalayan country

Durbar Square which was severly damaged after the major earthquake on 25 April 2015.

is expected to receive far fewer opted constitution. They have a time when Nepalis travel to than the 790,000 tourists it blocked a border crossing with their home villages to be with saw last year. Tourist money is India that is normally the entry family. At the main bus station one of the main sources of for- point for most of Nepal’s fuel in Kathmandu, hundreds of eign currency for Nepal, and and other supplies. people lined up hoping to get which is necessary to import India, which has close ties to tickets on the few buses that everything from oil and cars to the Madhesis, denies Nepal’s were leaving. clothes. accusation that it has imposed Taxi fares, meanwhile, have The April earthquake that a blockade. increased manifold. Norwegian killed 8,900 people — includThe fuel shortage has left couple Tom Omdal and Elise ing 19 Mount Everest climbers long lines at service stations Skogheim paid $30 for what — and destroyed would normally buildings across be a $6 trip from much of Nepal the Kathmandu was the worst airport to their but not the only Tourist money is one of the main hotel. disaster to hit sources of foreign currency for Nepal, “The situation the country and and which is necessary to import is more serious its tourist induseverything from oil and cars to than what I had try. clothes. expected. It is Sixteen Nepalinsane. I did not ese guides were think it was so killed in avabad,” said Sklanche in April 2014, and that and created a black market for ogheim, 26, from Oslo.

October, a freak storm swept gasoline. Much of the country’s It’s not just transport that through a popular trekking bus service has been cancelled, has been affected. Many resroute and killed 42 people, in- and those buses still operating taurants in Thamel have closed cluding foreign hikers. are so packed some passengers because they ran out of cooking While the country has much must travel on the rooftops. gas. rebuilding ahead, its latest To ease the crisis, the gov“We did not even get eggs problems are political. ernment this week announced with our breakfast,” Omdal Since August, Madhesi eth- a one-time sale of 15 litres (4 said, sipping his coffee and eatnic groups in southern Nepal gallons) per vehicle. But Tues- ing a ham and cheese sandwich have been blocking highways to day marked the beginning of at the popular New Orleans protest the country’s newly ad- the two-week Dasain festival, Restaurant in Thamel. www.canadianinquirer.net

THINK4PHOTOP / SHUTTERSTOCK

The restaurant, one of Kathmandu’s best-known, was serving only a small number of items, none of which required much cooking. And while the place would ordinarily be packed with customers, on this morning the crowd was as sparse as the menu.

Prajun Giri, who runs a trekking gear shop selling thick jackets, boots, lights and rucksacks, said his business is no better.

“Because of the political troubles, blockade and shortages, the number of tourists have really gone down this year.

And those who have come here are not going trekking, so not many people are buying from our shop,” he said.

Nepal’s newly installed government says it is determined to resolve the problem. It’s been negotiating with the Madhesi and other ethnic minorities whose demands include more autonomy and a redrawing of state boundaries.

“The first priority of the new government is to resolve the protests and then fully restore the fuel supply,” said Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa. ■

World News

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

25

Princeton economist Angus Deaton wins Nobel for work on poverty and inequality

BY PAUL WISEMAN AND MALIN RISING The Associated Press ANGUS DEATON has dug into obscure data to explore a range of problems: The scope of poverty in India. How poor countries treat young girls. The link between income inequality and economic growth.

The Princeton University economist’s research has raised doubts about sweeping solutions to poverty and about the effectiveness of aid programs.

And on Monday, it earned him the Nobel prize in economics.

For work that the award committee said has had “immense importance for human welfare, not least in poor countries,” Deaton, 69, will receive a prize of 8 million Swedish kronor (about $975,000) from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Deaton’s research has “shown other researchers and international organizations like the World Bank how to go about understanding poverty at the very basic level,” said Torsten Persson, secretary of the award committee.

He becomes the sixth scholar affiliated with Princeton to win the Nobel in economics since it was first given in 1969.

“That lightning would strike me seemed like a very small probability event,” Deaton said at a news conference at Princeton. “There are many people who are worthy of this award.”

Deaton grew up in a family of modest means. “Not having money can give you a perspective on the world that you don’t

get other ways,” he said. “Most people in my family thought I should be out (working) in the fields, not reading books. Fortunately, my father didn’t think that way.”

For Deaton, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and holds dual U.S. and British citizenship, everything starts with an analysis of data.

“Thinking about numbers hard is one of the things I think is really important,” Deaton told The Associated Press.

Deaton created tools that let governments in poor countries study how families adjust spending in response to, say, an increase in the sales tax on food.

“He’s an economist’s economist,” said Dani Rodrik, a Harvard colleague. Deaton has done “very careful, detailed work” on data about poverty at the household level in poor countries “so that one could understand the effects of changes in policies on how people behave,” Rodrik said.

Deaton discovered that India had far more poor people in rural areas than previously thought, a finding that led the government to expand subsidies.

“Households that were not defined as poor before can now be reached,” said Ingvild Almas, associate professor at the Norwegian School of Economics.

“That is a direct result of Deaton’s research.”

He also hit upon what the Nobel committee called an ingenious way to discover whether families in poor countries spent less to care for daughters than

Prof. Angus Deaton is Princeton University’s newest Nobel laureate.

SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE

for sons. Among other things, he studied how much households spent on “adult” items, such as beer and cigarettes, to see whether families consumed things differently depending on the sex of newborn children.

His surprising conclusion: They didn’t.

Another Deaton study challenged the once-popular notion that malnutrition caused poverty by making people too weak to find work. He found the relationship worked the other way: Being poor caused people to be malnourished.

Deaton is physically imposing. “He has football player dimensions,” said David Warsh, who writes the Economic Principals blog. And he isn’t reluctant to voice strong opinions.

“He’s been very much forthright in his criticism of facile solutions ... the development economics’ equivalent of a getrich-quick scheme,” said Daron Acemoglu, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. ”His work is based

on being meticulous at every stage.”

In his 2013 book, “The Great Escape,” Deaton expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of international aid programs in addressing poverty.

He noted, for example, that China and India have lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty despite receiving relatively little aid money. Yet at the same time, poverty has remained entrenched in many African countries that have received substantial sums.

Deaton’s book drew criticism from Bill Gates, who runs a foundation dedicated to fighting global poverty. The billionaire founder of Microsoft found Deaton’s critique of aid programs too broad.

“If this is the only thing you read about aid, you will come away very confused about what aid does for people,” Gates wrote on his blog last year.

Deaton has criticized the widening income gap between rich and poor in the U.S. But he

made headlines. Vice President Joe Biden recently announced $80 million in funding to examine nearly 70,000 kits.

A backlog of that magnitude doesn’t appear to exist in Canada. Most provinces rely on the RCMP’s three labs in Vancouver, Edmonton and Ottawa.

Mounties wouldn’t say how long testing takes, but said kits are prioritized by case urgency.

Ontario’s lab has an average turnaround of 29 days, while

Quebec tests most kits within 90 days.

Of course, rape kits are not needed in every criminal trial and some experts say their importance is overstated. Most cases hinge on the question of consent, said lawyer Pamela Cross.

“When a woman has been sexually assaulted by someone she knows, particularly when it’s someone she knows quite well, and consent is the only is-

has not become a darling of anti-inequality activists the way another Nobel-winning economist, Columbia University’s Joseph Stiglitz, has. That may be because his views on inequality are complicated.

In “The Great Escape,” he wrote that “inequality can sometimes be helpful” in promoting prosperity by giving people incentives to work harder and more efficiently.

But last year Deaton wrote that he worried that high-paying jobs in finance and other fields were diverting talented young people from “more worthwhile pursuits.”

He also warned that the very rich might be using their disproportionate influence to “write the rules in their favour.”

Monday’s announcement concluded the selection of this year’s Nobel winners. The economics award isn’t among the original prizes created by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in 1895; it was established generations later as a memorial to him.

Deaton, who spends part of his summers fly fishing in Montana, told the AP that he has no big plans to celebrate.

“I’m just hoping it’s not a dream which I’m going to wake up from,” he said. ■ Wiseman reported from Washington, Rising from Stockholm.

AP writers Nathalie Rotschild in Stockholm; Nirmala George in New Delhi; Bruce Shipkowski in Princeton, New Jersey; and Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

Rape kit... the type of assault and can include taking fluid samples, swabs and photographs. After advocates balked at the standard RCMP kit, the force is revising it to remove instructions requiring pulled scalp or pubic hair.

Lynn Gifford, co-ordinator of forensic nursing services at B.C.’s Fraser Health, said patients are always given the option of not undergoing the exam. She said forensic nurses ❰❰ 21

offer emotional support, but also must maintain objectivity because they’re often asked to testify.

She said nurses have to be able to deny accusations of defence lawyers who say, “You spent three hours with this person. You must believe their story. You must have formed a bond.”

In the U.S., an immense backlog of untested rape kits sitting on storage shelves for years has

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sue, rape kits are of far less use,” she said.

Irene Tsnepnopoulos-Elhaimer of Women Against Violence Against Women said forensic evidence doesn’t guarantee a win in court. But rape kits must be available so women can decide for themselves how to move forward, she said.

“Women respond to sexual violence differently, and have the right to choose their own path to healing and justice.” ■

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

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27

Iran lawmakers vote to implement nuclear deal with world powers, signalling it will be honoured

BY NASSER KARIMI The Associated Press TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran’s parliament voted Tuesday to support implementing a landmark nuclear deal struck with world powers despite hard-line attempts to derail the bill, suggesting the historic accord will be carried out.

The bill will be reviewed by Iran’s 12-member Guardian Council, a group of senior clerics who could return it to lawmakers for further discussion. However, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on key policies, has said it is up to the 290-seat parliament to approve or reject the deal.

Signalling the nuclear deal’s likely success, a spokesman for moderate President Hassan Rouhani’s administration welcomed the parliament’s vote and called it a “historic decision.”

“Members of parliament made a well-considered decision today showing they have

a good understanding of the country’s situation,” Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said. “We hope to see acceleration in progress and development of the country from now on.”

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who helped facilitate the nuclear talks, also praised the vote as “good news” in a message on Twitter.

In the parliamentary session carried live by state radio, 161 lawmakers voted for implementing the nuclear deal, while 59 voted against it and 13 abstained. Another 17 did not vote at all, while 40 lawmakers did not attend the session.

A preliminary parliamentary vote Sunday saw 139 lawmakers out of the 253 present support the outline of the bill. But despite getting more support Tuesday, hard-liners still tried to disrupt the parliament’s session, shouting that Khamenei himself did not support the bill while trying to raise numerous proposals on its details.

“This decision has no link to the leader!” shouted Mahdi Kouchakzadeh, a hard-line lawmaker who rushed toward the front of parliament to yell at speaker Ali Larijani. “It is a decision by Larijani and we oppose it!”

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Ali Aghar Zarei, another hard-line lawmaker, broke down weeping after the vote. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who led Iran’s nuclear negotiation team, left the session when it grew tense, the state-run IRNA news agency said.

The bill grants responsibility for implementing the deal to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the top security body of the country, which Rouhani heads. It allows Iran to withdraw from the agreement if world powers do not lift sanctions, impose new sanctions or restore previous ones.

“The government is obligated to stop its voluntary co-operation if the other side fails to re-

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main committed,” the bill says.

The bill also requires the Iranian government to work toward the nuclear disarmament of Israel, which has the region’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear arsenal. The bill also says the government should take “necessary measures” to prevent the U.S. and the West from penetrating the country through the deal, a worry mentioned by Khamenei himself in recent weeks.

Hard-liners had hoped to stall the deal in order to weaken Rouhani’s moderate administration ahead of February’s parliamentary elections. But many in Iran applauded the final nuclear deal, struck July 14 in Vienna, as it would lift crippling economic sanctions in exchange for limits on the nuclear program.

The U.N. Security Council previously approved the deal on July 20 and the U.S. Congress blocked efforts by Republicans to derail the accord in September. That left Iran to approve the deal, which came af-

ter nearly two years of negotiations between it and the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday when the Guardian Council would issue its own decision. However, it usually approves bills in a short span after a decision by parliament. While Khamenei himself has neither supported nor rejected the deal in public, he frequently praised Iran’s negotiators during the talks.

Saeed Leilaz, a Tehran-based political analyst, told The Associated Press that he believed the Guardian Council would approve the bill. He dismissed the hard-liner anger as a “domestic manoeuvr” ahead of the February election.

“The entire system has been supporting the deal,” Leilaz said. “The case is over. The deal should be implemented.” ■ Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

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Community News

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Minstrels of Hope pay it forward in Ottawa concerts BOUND BY a common narrative of poverty and empowering talent, 10 young ladies from the Philippines found their way to Canada to sing their hearts out in support of urban poor communities they come from.

Known as the Minstrels of Hope, the ensemble performed on Oct.6, at the Philippine Embassy followed by an evening concert at the Saint John Baptiste Parish in Ottawa under the auspices of Philippine Centre Canada led by Sonia del Rosario with the support of Fr. Maxime Allard of the Dominican University College.

At the Philippine Embassy, they were hosted by Amb. Petronila P. Garcia in a musical soiree attended by representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), the International Women’s Club of Ottawa and Agape Women’s Group of the Trinity Presbyterian Church.

In her opening remarks, Ambassador Garcia applauded Canada for ranking high in the World Giving Index, a survey of the world’s most charitable countries. She recalled how the groundswell of Canadian support engendered by the destruction wrought by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines strengthened Philippines-Canada friendship.

She introduced Alain Pronovost, founder of the Minstrels of Hope

Ambassador Garcia praises the Minstrels of Hope as a model of the poor helping the poor.

The choir entertains the Filipino-Canadian audience with cover versions of popular hits.

Foundation, as an above-average Canadian volunteer who has spent 35 years of his life working with Manila’s urban poor and the Minstrels of Hope as beneficiaries on their way to breaking free from the vicious cycle of poverty.

And impress their Canadian audience, the Minstrels did with their angelic voices and evident discipline. Their version of Hallelujah by Canadian composer Leonard Cohen and Le Doux Chagrin by Canadian singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault moved many in the Embassy hall to tears.

At the Saint John Baptiste Church, Ambassador Gar-

The Minstrels of Hope belong to urban poor families and have been helped by local and foreign benefactors. They conduct outreach programs in their community to share knowledge, skills and talents even as they perform in the Philippines and abroad to raise funds for their foundation.

The ensemble has toured Canada thrice before and performed in Thailand, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and France.

On their current Canadian journey, the Minstrels of Hope have 20 or so more engagements in the province of Quebec, notably at the Canadian

cia drew upon St. Dominic’s themes of charity and humility to bind the largely Filipino Canadian audience to the guest performers. “There is perhaps no clearer expression of love and compassion than drawing from our wealth of time, talent and resources to help the underprivileged,” she said. “Paying it forward, the Minstrels of Hope volunteer their time and talent to multiply resources for Manila’s impoverished. The generosity of the poor sends a stirring message more powerful perhaps than the gift of song the choir presents to us today,” Ambassador Garcia added.

football game pitting the Toronto Argonauts versus Montreal Alouettes as well as the ice hockey game between the Montreal Canadiens and the St. Louis Blues Skaters where the choir will sing the teams’ national anthems.

“There is more to the girls than their beautiful voices.

They also work hard to serve and give back to urban poor communities. My dream is that they will be discovered by an impresario someday so that they can be completely lifted out of poverty by establishing a career in the performing arts,” Pronovost mused. ■

Deadline extended Senators visit We Wai Kai nation for reactivation of overseas voting records THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs, Overseas Voting Secretariat (DFA-OVS) announced on Oct. 12, that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has extended the period of filing for Application for Reactivation from Oct. 31 to Dec. 9, 2015.

In addition, Comelec-Ofov has also simplified the process of the Application for Reactivation by allowing applications to be filed by either: Sending a copy of the duly accomplished OVF No. 1G, including its attachment, if applicable, via e-mail to overseasvoting.reactivation@comelec.

gov.ph or through facsimile to (0632) 521-29-52; or sending through mail or personally handing a copy of the duly accomplished OVG No. 1G and any attachments necessary to the nearest embassy, consulate, mission, Meco, or at the Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) in Comelec, Manila.

The form for Application for Reactivation is available at any embassy, consulate, mission, Meco or may be downloaded from the Comelec (www. comelec.gov.ph) and DFA-OVS (www.dfa-oavs.gov.ph) websites. ■

THE CHIEF and council of the We Wai Kai Nation recently welcomed seven senators serving on the Standing Senate Committee of Aboriginal Peoples onto their traditional lands.

The senators are participating in a nationwide study examining on-reserve housing and infrastructure and were welcomed at Quinsam Reserve #12.

Chief Ralph Dick of the We Wai Kai Nation welcomed senators Dennis Patterson (NU), Lillian Dyck (SK), Sandra Lovelace Nicholas (NB), Nancy Greene-Raine (BC), Nick Sibbeston (NWT), Tobias Enverga (ON), and Wilfred Moore (NS) to a tour of the nations’ residential areas.

Chief Dick told the senators that his nation has always taken www.canadianinquirer.net

pride in their homes and residential areas.

“Our elders taught us to b independent and strong; owning your own home was a major key in achieving both,” Dick told them.

The nation provides the land in residential-sized lots to their members to construct their own homes. All homes are individually-owned and financed by members of the nation. The We Wai Kai Nation has five designated reserve lands, four on Quadra Island and one with the city limits of Campbell River. The nation has residential lots for their members at Cape Mudge IR #10 and Quinsam IR #12.

“Ensuring quality housing on-reserve is an important topic for First Nations people

living on-reserve and it should be a concur for all Canadians,” Senator Dyck, deputy chair of the committee, said.

“During this study process, we have heard from people from across this country at public hearings in Ottawa. We also visited communities in different regions of Canada. The stores we heard were, at times, heartbreaking and, at times, they were uplifting. We hope our report about on-reserve housing, which we intend to complete before the end of the calendar year, will shed light on what is working and what is not working. Meeting with British Columbia First Nations this week is an important part of understanding the regional differences of on-reserve challenges and successes,” he added. ■

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FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Entertainment

Maja Salvador, Kim Chiu slowly becoming friends again

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Nora Aunor and Eddie Garcia.

GMA KAPUSO PHOTO RELEASE

Nora Aunor and Eddie Garcia join GMA’s upcoming primetime series Little Mommy IN WHAT can be described as an almost miraculous comingtogether of two multi-awarded Best Actors with more than 80 awards to their names combined, Ms. Nora Aunor and Mr. Eddie Garcia will work together in GMA’s newest primetime offering “Little Mommy.”

The one and only Superstar Ms. Nora Aunor, with over 175 movies to her name, and FAMAS (Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences) Hall of Famer Mr. Eddie Garcia, with over 300 films under his belt, are two formidable forces to reckon with in the Philippine film and TV industry and two established personalities that helped shape local show business.

Little Mommy is a story about the poignant life journey of Lola Annie, Lolo Miguel,

Tinay and Letlet.

Tinay, to be portrayed by Kris Bernal, is a 25-year old who has a mind of a 9 year old because of her intellectual disability.

Her daughter, Letlet (Chlaui Malayao) is a 6 year old playing the role of Little Mommy to her own mother as she is trying to compensate for her mother’s deficiencies.

Ms. Nora Aunor portrays Lola Annie Batongbuhay, the cool retro lola of Tinay, who still plays in gigs with her band.

For her, Tinay’s condition is not a disability, but a gift because Tinay will forever remain innocent.

Mr. Eddie Garcia is Don Miguel Valle, Tinay’s long-lost maternal grandfather. For him, one is never too old to learn new things. Through his grand-

children, Tinay and Letlet, he will learn how to be a kid again.

Little Mommy also stars Bembol Roco, Keempee De Leon, Gladys Reyes, Mark Herras, Hiro Peralta, Renz Fernandez, Juancho Trivino and Sunshine Dizon.

Under the direction of Ricky Davao, this light and heartwarming story of Little Mommy unfolds this November on GMA and will air internationally on its flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. ■ To see your favorite Kapuso shows on GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International, check the airing schedules in your territory through the websitewww.gmanetwork.com/international/ programguide.

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MANILA — Admitting having a year-long rift with Kapamilya co-star and erstwhile best friend Kim Chiu, actress-performer Maja Salvador shared that they were slowly mending their broken friendship now.

“Ayaw ko nang idetalye po ‘yun. Ayaw ko nang balikan…

Kasi sa ngayon, sobrang happy ako na okey kami ni Kim. Na minsan, papunta, pabalik na yung friendship,” Maja said in an interview in Tonight with Boy Abunda.

(I don’t want to give any detail about it. I don’t want to recount… Because right now, I’m very happy that Kim and I are okay. That sometimes, we’re getting there, bringing back our friendship.)

“Kasi iba kami minsan magusap sa ASAP… Kasi masaya ako kung anuman ‘yung estado kung anong meron kami ni Kim, papuntang friendship nga po,” she added.

“Sometimes we talk in a different way in ASAP… Because I’m happy with whatever status Kim and I have. We’re becoming friends again.)

It was in 2013 when the two turned sour towards each other as Maja entered into a romantic relationship with actor Gerald

Anderson — who happened to be Kim’s first and former boyfriend.

Early this year, the two started casually communicating with each other. They have even been seen performing in the same stage lately.

Maja, however, maintained that she did not regret loving Gerald. But if the actress only knew how it will all end, she confessed that she might have made different decisions on love.

“Siyempre, hindi mo naman maibabalik ang kahapon… Sa mga nangyayari, wala rin naman akong niri-regret kasi ginusto ko naman kasi,” she earlier said.

(Of course, you can’t bring back yesterday… On what happened, I don’t regret anything because I wanted it.)

“Pero kung ang iisipin natin ay yung hindi ako masasaktan, hindi masasaktan yung kaibigan ko [Kim], hindi siya [Gerald] masasaktan, kung may choices nun, siguro gaganun ako, lilihis ako,” she added.

(But if what we’ll think of is refraining me from getting hurt, refraining my friend from getting hurt, refraining him from getting hurt, if there were choices then, maybe I would’ve done it, I would’ve stirred away.) ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

31

Vladivostok winner debuts in QC fest

BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer

AlDub’s first photo together.

chance to get to know Maine, I feel that it will be fun to be with her. There will be no dull moments.)

Alden was also overwhelmed with Maine’s concern towards him.

“Kasi po napupuna nila sa Broadway na minsan po, nasal ako, minsan may ubo… So, parang paalala lang na hinay-hinay sa trabaho,” he said.

(It’s because they notice in Broadway that sometimes, I’m nasal, sometimes, I have cough…

So, it’s like they’re just reminding me to slow down with work.)

“Pero thank you, thank you sa concern,” he added, addressing the actress.

(But thank you, thank you for the concern.)

Maine, for her part, earlier admitted that she would only require Alden to ask permission from her parents should he court her in real life. ■

Filipino actresses—like Nora Aunor, Anita Linda, Jaclyn Jose, Cherry Pie Picache, Vilma Santos and Gina Pareño.

WHEN THE Filipino film “Ani“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said. no sa Likod ng Buwan” won the “It encourages me to work hardfirst of its four awards at the er. In everything I do, I make sure 13th Pacific Meridian Film Festo put my heart into it.” tival in Vladivostok, Russia, the The Hollywood Reporter’s usually loquacious filmmaker Clarence Tsui was impressed by Jun Robles Lana was stumped the film’s lead players, too. He speechless on the podium. wrote in his review of “Anino”: “I just said thank you,” Lana Lana’s “most visually singular recounted. “Luckily, we won outing… [is] boosted further by three other awards so I was bravura turns from his cast.” able to express what I wanted Totally immersed Tsui described the film as a to say.”

During filming, she felt total- “tense and taut drama oozing “Anino” won the Netpac ly immersed in her character’s sex... and social chaos”: “De(Network for the Promotion reality, “that I have no memo- spite some of the more meloof Asian Cinema) and Fipresci ries of the shoot. I was not my- dramatic twists and turns, [it] (international critics) prizes, self on the set. It was as if I was effectively conveys the characbest director (for Lana) and possessed by my character.” ters’ sweaty, dirty reality.” best actress (for LJ Reyes).

Reyes, who had to attend a Next stops for “Anino” are The film’s strong showing in the friend’s wedding, was not able Montreal’s Nouveau Cinema (onRussian fest was a much-needed to grace the Vladivostok fest going until Oct. 18) and Hamburg “validation” for (which ended yesLana, who admitterday) fests. ted that his latIt will also est work is a tad make its lodifferent from It encourages me to work harder. In cal debut at the his previous everything I do, I make sure to put Quezon City Inaward winners my heart into it. ternational Film “Bwakaw” and Festival, with “Barber’s Tales.” three screenings: “I had to make Oct. 23 (TriNodifficult decisions during the last month. “I wouldn’t know ma), Oct. 24 (Robinsons Gallemaking of ‘Anino,’” he looked what to say if I had been there ria) and Oct. 25 (Gateway). back. “I felt so vulnerable.” to personally accept the trophy.

Lana felt strongly about havFor starters, the two-hour When I heard the good news, ing screenings in the Philipfilm only has three main char- I prayed to give thanks for the pines. “My hope is that it can acters and some scenes were blessing,” she related. start a dialogue about armed shot in one long take. “I couldn’t Lana told the INQUIRER conflict and how it negatively afrely on my usual editing tricks. that the jurors were bowled fects civilians,” Lana remarked.

I also tinkered with the aspect over by Reyes’ performance.

The film, he explained, “is set ratio and color grading.”

Singaporean filmmaker and in the 1990s during the height That his daring has paid off in jury member Anthony Chen, of military operations in Marag Russia is a fitting reward for all who directed the Cannes-win- Valley, but... the atrocities that the hard work. “It inspires me ning film “Ilo Ilo,” told Lana the residents of Marag Valley to make more films that are out that Reyes’ victory was a “unan- suffered are no different from of the box.” imous decision.” what the ‘lumad’ communities (On the mainstream scene, Until now, Reyes can’t get her are experiencing right now.” his Regal rom-com “The Pre- head around the idea that she is Lana pointed out: “As usual, nup” opens next week.) now part of an illustrious circle we haven’t learned anything Lead actress Reyes similarly of internationally acclaimed from our history.” ■

good news in a case that had worried the government “immensely” despite the likelihood it was a hoax.

In the year ended June, the South Pacific nation sold 12 billion New Zealand dollars ($7.6 billion) worth of dairy products to overseas markets, making

them the nation’s single largest export.

Consumers in China and other countries pay a premium for New Zealand milk powder because it’s considered of high quality. Exporters and officials worry that any hint of contamination could affect sales. ■

@ALDENRICHARDS02 / INSTAGRAM

Reel to Real: Alden not discounting possible real-life relationship with ‘Yaya Dub’

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Kapuso actor-host Alden Richards admitted that he was not discounting the possibility of a real-life relationship with co-star Maine Mendoza, more commonly known as “Yaya Dub.” “Ako naman, since before, I’m not really closing my doors to [a] possibility like that… And malay po natin, in the future,” Alden said in a Philippine Entertainment Portal report.

(On my end, since before, I’m not really closing my doors to a possibility like that… And who knows what, in the future.)

“Feeling ko, kapag nabigyan ako ng chance na makilala si Maine, feeling ko masarap siyang kasama, e. Walang dull moments,” he added.

(I feel that, if I’m given the

New Zealand... health authorities for an “exhaustive” investigation.

“Fonterra is pleased to hear that an arrest has been made,” said Chief Executive Theo Spierings in a statement.

Prime Minister John Key told reporters the arrest was ❰❰ 23

www.canadianinquirer.net

pushed herself to the limit in this film, and she is not just referring to the steamy love scenes she shares with costars Anthony Falcon (as her husband and fellow refugee) and Luis Alandy (as a soldier and the third wheel in this triangle).

One sex scene lasted five minutes, Reyes volunteered.

On the first day of the shoot, Lana handed her a letter, Reyes recalled. “It changed everything for me. I broke down and cried.”

32

Entertainment

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Playboy magazine to end publishing fully nude female photos; poses will still be provocative THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Playboy will no longer publish photos of nude women as part of a redesign, the decades-old magazine announced Tuesday.

The magazine will still feature women in provocative poses, but they will no longer be fully nude, Playboy said in a statement.

The change, to take place in March, represents a major shift for the magazine, which broke new ground when Hugh Hefner created it and featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953. It marks the latest step away from depictions of full nudity, which were banned from

the magazine’s website in August 2014.

The magazine claims it website audience soared with that move, averaging a 400 per cent increase in monthly unique visitors.

“The political and sexual climate of 1953 ... bears almost no resemblance to today,” said Playboy Enterprises CEO Scott Flanders. “We are more free to express ourselves politically, sexually and culturally today, and that’s in large part thanks to Hef’s heroic mission to expand those freedoms.”

Officials acknowledge that Playboy has been witnessing widespread changes. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And

Playboy.

so it’s just passe at this juncture,” Flanders told The New York Times.

FACEBOOK

Playboy editor Cory Jones recently contacted Hefner about dropping nude photos from the

print edition and he agreed, the Times reported.

Playboy’s print circulation, once measured in millions, is now about 800,000, according to Alliance for Audited Media, the newspaper reported.

The shift from nudity will be accompanied by other changes in the magazine, including a slightly larger size and a heavier, higher quality of paper meant to give the magazine a more collectible feel.

Previous efforts to revamp Playboy have never quite stuck.

But this time, as the magazine seeks to compete with younger outlets, Flanders said it sought to answer a key question: “If you take nudity out, what’s left?” ■

Esquire names sultry Emilia Clarke of ‘Game of Thrones’ the Sexiest Woman Alive

BY LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press NEW YORK — It’s most definitely Emilia Clarke’s year.

The 28-year-old Londoner, who plays menacing, whitehaired Daenerys Targaryen, aka Khaleesi, aka Mother of Dragons on “Game of Thrones,” is Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive.

The magazine made the announcement early Tuesday, but GQ got there first, anointing Clarke Woman of the Year in September.

In addition to her highprofile role on the massively popular HBO series, Clarke was Sarah Connor in the summer movie hit “Terminator: Genisys.”

She can do fierce, but also friendly. She can be queen, but also kid sister, killer or girl next door, writes Benjamin Markovits in the Esquire story accompanying Clarke’s nude cover, belly down with bedsheet strategically placed.

Lisa Hintelmann, editorial projects director for the magazine, called Clarke the all-

around favourite.

“Emilia Clarke is unforgettable in ‘Game of Thrones’ and was hands down the number one choice of Esquire’s staff, friends and family,” she said in an email.

On the pages of Esquire, with more sultry photos inside, she is also “Lilly,” the alias she takes after donning a disguise to frolic at London’s Crystal Palace Park with Markovits for a round of “Game of Phones,” a group treasure hunt thought up by a social networking company and intended to help people make new friends in a new city.

She isn’t recognized.

Clarke is the second child of by-the-bootstraps parents.

Mom started as a secretary and rose to marketing executive and dad made it out of working-class Wolverhampton near Birmingham to become roadie, then sound specialist for bigbudget musicals.

She followed her brother into boarding school because “I fancied his friends,” she told Esquire, then she went on to study drama in college, pulling a couple of episodes on the long-

running British daytime soap “Doctors” after graduation. She worked multiple jobs while living with friends before “Game of Thrones” changed her life when it began airing in 2011.

Clarke recalled some difficulties on the show early on.

She was just 23. There was full frontal nudity, lots of sex, even a rape scene. She tells Markovits how she suffered along with her character.

“Once, I had to take a little time out,” she said. “I said I needed a cup of tea, had a bit of a cry, and was ready for the next scene.”

That’s what the English call “mucking in,” or striking a balance between helping out and getting your hands dirty while maintaining a smile on your face, Markovits writes. Clarke, he said, is good at it.

She recalled in the story her father’s early warnings about lowering expectations as an actress when she first started out, and her days working at a call centre.

Sexy but still real, Markovits declares, “is the gorgeous balance of Emilia Clarke.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

KHALEESI REIGNS. ‘Game of Thrones’ star Emilia Clarke named ‘Sexiest Woman

Alive for 2015’ by Esquire Magazine

@EMILIA_CLARKE / INSTAGRAM

33

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

Lifestyle

Gun violence researchers becoming an endangered species?

Would-be gun violence researchers see many challenges and little hope in career path

BY MIKE STOBBE The Associated Press AMID THE bloodbaths of 21stcentury America, you might think that there would be a lot of research into the causes of gun violence, and which policies work best against it.

You would be wrong.

Gun interests, wary of any possible limits on weaponry, have successfully lobbied for limitations on government research and funding, and private sources have not filled the breach. So funding for basic gun violence research and data collection remains minuscule — the annual sum total for all gun violence research projects appears to be well under $5 million. A grant for a single study in areas like autism, cancer or HIV can be more than twice that much.

There are public health students who want to better understand rising gun-related suicide rates, recent explosions in firearm murders in many U.S. cities, and mass murders like the one this month at an Oregon community college, where a lone gunman killed nine people.

But many young researchers are staying away from the field.

Some believe there’s little hope Congress will do anything substantive to reduce gun violence, regardless of what scientists find. And the work is stressful — many who study gun violence report receiving angry emails and death threats from believers in unrestricted gun ownership.

Currently, guns rank among the top five killers of people ages 1 to 64, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Deaths from gunfire have been holding steady at about 32,000 a year, with nearly half of them occurring in the South.

But while the rates for gun murders and unintentional

shooting deaths have been falling, firearm suicides — which account for 60 per cent of gun deaths — have been rising. And nonfatal shooting injuries have reached their highest level since 1995.

U.S. health researchers began to take a hard look at gun violence about 30 years ago, when firearm homicide rates were climbing to what were described as epidemic proportions.

“The line is: ‘If it’s not a public health issue, why are so many people dying?”‘ said Philip Cook, a Duke University economist who in the 1970s be- tre was becoming, ultimately prevention programs, it’s often gan studying the impact of guns adopted a conservative inter- not clear how well they’ll work. on society. pretation. The agency ceased to To answer such questions, reThe CDC, the federal gov- be the main engine driving gun searchers ideally would like to ernment’s lead agency for the violence research. know the exact number, type, detection and prevention of With the CDC largely out and distribution of guns, as well health threats, took an early of the picture, gun violence as who owns them and where leading role in fostering more researchers turned to oth- people got them. They’d like to research into violence. But be- er sources. But there wasn’t know how and where they’re ginning in the 1980s, the Na- much. The field withered, with stored, and to track use of gun tional Rifle Association tried to limited funding and not much safety courses. discredit CDC-funded studies, new blood. In the last decade, That’s all key data for deteraccusing the agency and the funding for gun violence grew mining actual risk and what acresearchers the tions best reduce agency funded risk. of incompetence Researchers and falsifying have wondered data.

Some young researchers are put off if there will be NRA officials by the frustration of working in a field a turning point in Washington where their findings would likely be that might cause did not respond politicized, and have little impact. more people to to repeated AP advocate for rerequests for search. comment for Then came the this story.

December 2012 In 1996, lawmakers sympa- so tight that Dr. Garen Winte- carnage in Newtown, Conthetic to the NRA took the $2.6 mute, a long-time gun violence necticut, where a an armed million CDC had budgeted for researcher at the University of 20-year-old man entered an firearm injury research and California at Davis, spent more elementary school and used earmarked it for traumatic than $1 million of his own mon- a semiautomatic rifle to slay brain injury. Congressional ey to keep different gun vio- 20 first graders and six adult Republicans also included lan- lence research projects going. school staff members before guage directing that no CDC inMuch of the research that has killing himself. It was the secjury research funding could go been done has had to be rela- ond-deadliest shooting at a to research that might be used, tively simple — based on small school in U.S. history. in whole or in part, to advocate surveys or on what limited data The White House directed or promote gun control. has been collected on guns and the CDC to research the causes Exactly what that language on gun-related injuries and and prevention of gun violence. meant wasn’t clear. But CDC deaths.

The actions included a call for officials, aware of how vulnerAs state and federal officials Congress to provide $10 million able their injury research cen- debate gun laws or violence to the CDC for gun violence www.canadianinquirer.net

research. The prestigious Institute of Medicine convened a special committee of experts to develop a research agenda.

But Congress did not budget money to the CDC for gun violence research. It didn’t strip away the legislative language that had chilled CDC activity on guns, either. The research agenda was not formally adopted by anybody.

Some young researchers are put off by the frustration of working in a field where their findings would likely be politicized, and have little impact.

Worried about ensuring a flow of funding, even those most intrigued by gun violence must spend a lot of time working on other topics.

Meanwhile, the longtime leaders in gun violence research aren’t getting any younger; many are in their 60s and 70s.

Some, worried that the field may soon shrink through attrition, are working hard to recruit successors.

Dr. Michael Levas, a young researcher in Milwaukee, is drawn to the area of gun violence, and fascinated by its potential, but he won’t commit to it.

“If the climate was right and the funding was there, it would make sense to focus on gun violence prevention,” he said. “But right now, it would be a dead end.” ■

34

Lifestyle

Santiago wants Whang-od, Amilbangsa named ‘national living treasures’ PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Responding to calls from netizens, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Friday urged her colleagues to nominate as National Living Treasures Igorot tattoo artist Wangod Oggay and traditional dance advocate Ligaya Fernando Amilbangsa.

Santiago, co-author of the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009, has filed proposed Senate Resolution No. 1602, expressing the sense of the Senate to nominate Wang-Od and Amilbangsa for the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan.

“The admirable contributions of these two women cannot go unnoticed. In an era where distractions abound thanks to information technology, they successfully raise awareness on traditional art forms that are otherwise dying,” the senator said.

Santiago’s resolution responds to the recently launched social media campaign to recognize as national artist WangOd, 97, who is said to be one of the last mambabatuk or ancient tattoo artists in the Cordilleras.

The petition highlighted how Wang-Od continues to create interest for the batuk, ancient marks once worn by women of the Cordilleras as symbols of beauty and by male headhunters as brands of strong warriors, especially among the youth and foreign tourists.

“Wang-Od’s work has not only preserved an important cultural heritage among Filipinos, but has also created for her community a source of livelihood by attracting tourists,” Santiago said in her resolution.

Her inclusion of Amilbangsa in the proposed nomination, meanwhile, comes after the Senate in August adopted a resolution commending Amilbangsa for winning the Ramon

Magsaysay Award for her work to preserve the traditional dance Pangalay.

The Magsaysay Award, which is also called the Asian Nobel Prize and which Santiago won as Immigration commissioner in 1988, cited Amilbangsa for her “single-minded crusade in preserving the endangered artistic heritage of the southern Philippines.”

Pangalay is believed to have spread to the Mindanao-SuluPalawan area from India even before Islam and Christianity arrived. Amilbangsa, 71, has travelled all over the country and across Asia both to study and teach the dance. She also published a book on Pangalay in 1983.

“Both Wang-Od and Amilbangsa fulfill the minimum requirements to be honored as National Living Treasures,” the senator said, referring to Republic Act No. 7355 or the Manlilikha ng Bayan Act, which includes as criteria technical and creative skill, artistic quality, character and integrity, among others.

The Gawad sa Manlilikha sa Bayan honors Filipino citizens or groups from indigenous or traditional cultural communities engaged in traditional art.

It was created in 1992, and is administered by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

If given the award, WangOd and Amilbangsa will be entitled to an initial grant of Php100,000 and a lifetime stipend of Php14,000 a month.

They may also avail of up to Php750,000 in medical and hospitalization benefits, and funeral assistance similar to that given national artists.

Only 13 recipients have been given the Gawad sa Manlilikha sa Bayan. These include T’boli princess Lang Dulay, known for producing intricately patterned T’nalak cloth from abaca; Iloilo epic chanter Frederico Caballero; and artist and poet Ginaw Bilog from Oriental Mindoro. ■

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Donna Karan’s fashion wisdom, in 7 easy pieces

BY JOCELYN NOVECK The Associated Press NEW YORK — Donna Karan introduced her famous Seven Easy Pieces in 1985, as she was introducing the world to her namesake label. Based on a black bodysuit with simple added pieces like a wrap skirt, classic trousers, or a suede jacket, it was a lot more than a convenient wardrobe: It was a conceptual shift in fashion.

Karan was trying to tell women working women that clothes could work for them, and not the other way around. And that they didn’t need to wear buttoned-up suits to look professional.

It’s a time of great transition for Karan, 67. In the summer, she announced she was stepping down from her signature Donna Karan collection to focus fully on her Urban Zen company and foundation, which along with designing clothes promotes health care, education and preservation of local culture in countries like Haiti.

What’s more, she has a memoir coming out next week — “My Journey,” a volume chock full of very personal, entertaining anecdotes (like that time Barbra Streisand came in and insisted on taking a sweater that had been determined to be too flammable. They became great friends.) Karan didn’t know, when writing, that she’d have to add a new final chapter about her farewell to her famous label.

But, she says “that’s how my life happens” — beginnings and endings, always at the same time.

Fashion is about dressing — and addressing

“When Donna Karan started, I felt there was a really enormous need for women to be addressed as women. Because they were either wearing men’s clothes — suits and ties and shirts, kind of buttoned up — or they were the ladies who lunched, and kind of wearing cocktail dresses. So who was really expressing the working woman? She was just not being addressed.”

Clothes need to work all day and all night — and black is best

“I wanted clothes that could go from the minute I got up in the morning to the minute I www.canadianinquirer.net

Fashion mogul Donna Karan.

went to bed at night. I wanted clothes to go through that whole cycle, because I found that I didn’t have time to go home and change. It was like, if I put them all in a suitcase and went off to Europe, what would I pack? So jewelry was an important aspect. And I love black. I never get out of it. Black took me from day into night.”

Shoulders never gain — so show them!

“I remember Women’s Wear Daily REALLY did not like my cold shoulder look (exposed shoulders, covered arms.) Just not at all. And then Liza Minnelli decided to come into my closet one day and pick up this discarded dress. Everybody loved the way she looked in it. Next thing, I see Hillary (Rodham Clinton, then first lady) wearing it at the White House. For me, the cold shoulder was so obvious. It is the only place where women never gain weight. You gain weight EVERY OTHER place on your body except on your shoulders.”

It’s great to have fans in high places

“One of my dearest friends, Barbra Streisand, wears the clothes magnificently. I’ve dressed her for practically every concert she’s ever done. And I’ve always said that we worked together on it. It was a ‘We,’ not a ‘Me.’ We designed it together. And certainly when I designed her wedding dress, that was the ultimate for me. Her style is fluidity, simplicity, elegance. It was never too much. It was so that she — the woman, the voice — came through.

And that’s how I feel about clothing. I always want the person to come through, not the clothes.”

FASHIONSTOCK.COM / SHUTTERSTOCK

Don’t hide yourself

“You know, a woman has a certain point of view about the way she can dress. And what I did was, I threw that a little bit to the side. Like pencil skirts. I love women in pencil skirts. No matter if they’re a little bigger on the bottom, they’re better in a pencil skirt because it narrows them out. Women don’t really understand that: They think the bigger the clothes the more they hide.

Well sometimes, the narrower the clothes, the leaner they look.”

We all need a deadline

“Putting on four (Fashion Week) shows a year? It is a LOT of work. It’s exhausting. But at the same time, it’s a high. So when you’re in the zone, it’s an adrenaline rush. And then you crash.

That’s a guarantee. But I always felt, Oh my gosh, if just had one more week, two more weeks, three more weeks. But a deadline is a deadline. And that’s what brought me into the next season.

I was always late for the next collection. Most designers need deadlines. You’re still designing as those clothes go onto the runway.

Creativity is great, but fashion needs to produce you can actually wear

“I think it’s much more difficult to work in fashion today than when I started. Fashion is going at warp speed — What’s new? What’s new? _and with the red carpet, and with the communications, everybody sees it so quickly, so fast. There’s so much to handle, and (the clothes) really do take on each person’s individuality, which is the good news of it. But I think we’re also pushing the limit of what a woman can actually wear.” ■

35

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

Travel

Scintillating Siquijor Discovering the mystery in the Island of Fire

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer NO, THE rain did not stop us from traversing the sea from Dumaguete City to Siquijor. If anything, it made the trip even more exciting. Thankfully, though, by the time we had to board the ferry— which have surely seen better days—the rains ceased and the sea grew calm.

About an hour later, we hopped off to Siquijor: Isla del Fuego.

serve areas that still practice witchcraft; and take a tour around a village with a thriving woodcrafts industry.

Staying in Siquijor is also just a few clicks away. With the advent of the World Wide Web, looking for a place to stay in the Island of Fire is as easy as visiting online booking sites. Despite its predominantly rural environment, Siquijor is home to high-end luxury resorts with modern amenities available. However, if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly accommodation, hostels and budget resorts are also scattered around the island.

Cambugahay Falls.

Heading to Siquijor

From Dumaguete City Port, there are several ferry lines heading to Siquijor.

One mainly has to secure two things: the ferry’s travel schedule and a ticket. Due to its limited schedule, it is a must not to miss your ferry trip.

A more complicated route involving transfers can me done if you’re heading to Siquijor from Cebu or even Bohol. It’s possible, but it’ll be a challenge.

From Siquijor Port, we took a tricycle to the town on San Juan. What’s good about the transportation around the island is that most long-distance trips already have fixed rates as approved and published by the local tourism office.

This avoids incidents of drivers haggling or over-charging tourists.

During the rainy months, the southwestern side of the island tends to be littered with seaweed and might not be ideal for swimming. So guests making the most of off-peak discounted rates are often encouraged to stay at beaches in the northern side of the island.

Getting around the island is quite easy, especially with its wide and well-paved Siquijor Circumferential Road, which offers a picturesque view of the seas surrounding the Island of Fire.

Siquijor Basics

When in Siquijor, you have the choice between two tour routes: the coastal tour or the mountain tour.

The coastal tour allows you drive the entire strip of road wrapped around the island, taking you from one barangay (village) to the other. As the name suggests, it is best for those who are looking for the best of the best that Siquijor has to offer: pristine beaches and unspoilt seas.

The mountain tour takes you deeper into the island. The tour takes you to visit the home of a famous bolo-bolo healer who uses a stone, allegedly with healing powers, to treat sick people; ob-

Sights to see, things to do

Despite not knowing how to swim, this writer is fond of bodies of water.

In Siquijor, do not miss out on Lugnason Falls in Brgy. Napo in San Juan. The waterfall is only a few meters away from the road and a short trek will lead you to its well-kept beauty! The waterfalls itself is not that high, but its pool is quite deep.

The 400-year old Enchanted Balete Tree in Lazi is said to be home to mystical and paranormal creatures. It is also home to a pool of crystal clear water and a school of tiny hungry fish! Tourists can donate whatever amount they want (to be used for the upkeep of the Balete Tree and its pool) and dip their feet in the pool where the fish can nibble away your dead skin.

It’s like a fish spa, only a little bit ticklish.

After resting your feet, drive further uptown and find Iglesia Parroquial de San Isidro Labradorand, or simply Lazi Church. The neoclassical church completed in 1884 has suffered many incidents of theft, said Nanay Susing, the local priest's 76-year-old cook. She opened the church for us so we can take a look inside. She was energetic and full of stories; she shared lots of words of wisdom with us. Being a teacher's daughter, she spoke English quite well.

Across the church is what used to be the Lazi Convent, which is now the town's elementary school. It is the largest convent in Southeast Asia and was completed in 1891. It's also where Nanay Susing cooks. There's also a small museum on the second level of the convent, showcasing centuries-old manifestos, church documents, and even census records written in Spanish. You can also find church artifacts and household items from eons ago, like a water filter made of stone and an iron that looks like a small frying pan. A minimal fee was collected upon entry to the museum.

After feeding off Lazi’s historical side,

Salagdoong Beach Resort.

grab some lunch and head off to Cambugahay Falls. From the main road, you have to go down 136 steps to find the trilogy of small yet magnificent waterfalls cascading onto each other. The entire place was quiet, save for the relaxing sound of rushing waters. The water is an unbelievable shade of blue despite the rains earlier that day. One just couldn't help but gush at the sight of such natural wonder. Travel tip: Find that perfect crevice where you can sit between two rocks and just relax as the current serves as nature’s massage chair. It's a water spa in the middle of the forest!

www.canadianinquirer.net

CHING DEE / PCI

One should never stop exploring Siquijor, so head down to Salagdoong Beach.

Before reaching the resort, you’ll pass through a tunnel of trees at the Salagdoong Forest reserve. Most of the trees in the forest are fire trees, so one could only imagine how picturesque this route will be by the time the trees are in full bloom!

One of the main attractions at Salagdoong is the massive rock in the middle of the beach where you could jump off and plunge into the turquoise waters beneath. So, for intrepid souls, that could ❱❱ PAGE 37 Scintillating Siquijor

36

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Business

Trump condo owners boot Donald Trump after overspending, alleged mismanagement

BY JEFF HORWITZ The Associated Press PANAMA CITY — The directors of a massive Trumpbranded luxury condominium development in Panama fired Donald Trump’s company over the summer over allegations of mismanagement, overspending and undisclosed bonuses executives paid themselves, according to an Associated Press examination.

The coup at Central America’s largest building, Panama City Trump Ocean Club, offers a glimpse into the workings of the Republican presidential frontrunner’s business empire — and the style of management that might be expected from a Trump White House. Transparency and close attention to expenses are not strengths.

Squeezing the most from contractual language is. Whether wheeling and dealing with Wall Street bankers, debating Republican presidential rivals or running a condo association, Trump has forwarded his interests by leveraging his outsized reputation, canniness and aggression.

In an interview, Trump’s son Eric dismissed the allegations of mismanagement as an orchestrated attempt to sully the Trumps’ reputation. He called the project “an amazing icon and, frankly, a great testament to America.”

Built in the shape of an arcing, wind-filled sail, the development is recognized as among the finest building in Panama.

Visitors can sip drinks next to a 65th-floor, edgeless pool that seems to float above the ocean.

“I am proud to develop this extraordinary high rise,” Trump said in one 2007 promotional brochure, promising to build a “landmark in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

It turns out Trump wasn’t a developer on the project.

He merely licensed his brand, though even that imprimatur

came at a high price. A 2007 bond prospectus for the project estimated his cumulative licensing payout would total $75.4 million, roughly twothirds the amount raised.

Burdened by cost overruns and the global recession, the actual developer stopped making debt payments within a few months of the ribbon cutting in 2011. Trump earned an estimated $20 million of concessions in a subsequent bankruptcy deal, and he is probably the only participant in the original deal to come out ahead.

Along with his branding and hotel management deals, Trump held a third contract to manage the overall building. A patchwork of contractual Business tycoon and U.S. presidential hopeful Donald J. Trump. language gave Trump’s company the right to vote at owners that maintaining five bank for $1 million deficits in 2013 meetings on behalf of hundreds accounts would be too expen- and 2014. “We had an unbelievof hotel and condo units. Buy- sive. able team, and we managed to ers learned they were abdicatTrump’s top employees in an internationally renowned ing their voting rights only if Panama also awarded them- set of standards.” they read the fine print of their selves hundreds of thousands At a December meeting, ressales agreements, said Al Mon- of dollars in bonuses without tive unit owners disagreed. stavicius, a retired Nevada doc- seeking the authorization of “Civility was lost,” said Duntor who bought a penthouse unit owners, according to mem- can McGowan, a real estate condo. bers of the board. Eric Trump agent and property manager on “I shouldn’t have signed said such payments were ap- the building’s board. that,” MonstaviAfter the cius said. “But meeting, Mcthere was nothGowan and other ing I could do bedissidents lobcause my money Trump earned an estimated bied fellow ownwas committed.” $20 million of concessions in a ers to revoke Some ownsubsequent bankruptcy deal, and he proxy voting ers feared that is probably the only participant in the rights granted Trump’s manoriginal deal to come out ahead. to Trump. With agement might the help of votes be disproporcontrolled by tionately spendrepresentatives ing the buildof both the caing’s budget in ways that propriately disclosed — though sino and the developer, the benefited the hotel instead of board members say they still dissidents defeated a Trumpthe building’s other compo- don’t know the amounts of the backed special assessment at a nents. But despite repeated bonuses. building-wide meeting in May. requests, Trump’s managTransparency concerns took Two senior Trump adminisers never provided a detailed on a heightened urgency giv- trators resigned their jobs and breakdown of the costs gen- en the Trumps’ failure to stay board positions following the erated by each of part of the within its owner-approved rebuke, leaving the dissidents building, and never estab- budget. in charge. After negotiating lished the separate bank ac“We made the budget, other with Trump Organization execcounts stipulated in their than extraordinary things we utives in New York for several management contract. A se- can’t control,” said Eric Trump. months, on July 28, the board nior Trump executive in New He cited rising local costs and a fired Trump.

York told one owner in 2012 broken water main as culprits Trump attorney Alan Garten www.canadianinquirer.net

A KATZ / SHUTTERSTOCK

responded days later, calling the termination “a complete sham” and refusing to accept it.

He accused the board of ingratitude and criminal trespassing.

Garten declared that Trump’s company was quitting — and demanded a $5 million termination fee. When the directors took possession of the administration offices, Trump’s people disconnected the phone and Internet service and repossessed the copying machine.

Following a period of heated correspondence, a tense cooperation has set in. Trump’s name is still on the building, and the Trump Organization operates and oversees the hotel, but not the rest of the complex.

“The hotel is something near and dear to our heart,” Eric Trump said, noting that the hotel management contract runs for 40 years.

Even unit owners who have expressed misgivings about Trump’s tactics are OK with the arrangement.

“He’s a predatory businessman,” said Monstavicius.

But the Trump name still holds an allure.

“It attracted me,” he said, “and attracted a lot of other people.” ■

Business

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

37

PH seen to maintain low China’s September imports inflation rate until 2016 plunge 20.4 per cent in new sign of economic weakness

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

MANILA — With the ‘benign’ impact of the El Niño phenomenon and the stable global commodity prices, an economist from the financial services firm JP Morgan predicted a low Philippine inflation rate which would remain until next year.

According to JP Morgan chief Southeast Asian economist Sin Ben Ong, global commodity prices, including food prices, have been expected to remain weak in the succeeding months despite the dry season.

A modest inflation rate would remain towards the end of 2015, with a 0.4 to 0.6 percent year-on year. And from 1.8 percent, the inflation rate for 2016 could be down to 1.3 percent year-onyear.

“One of the concerns in the

Philippines this year had been the impact of El Niño on domestic food prices, especially of rice and so far, it has been surprisingly benign,” Ong said in a research note.

The country’s inflation rate has been easing from 2.5 percent in February to 2.4 percent in March, 2.2 percent in April, 1.6 percent in May, 1.2 percent in June, 0.8 percent in July, 0.6 percent in August and the lowest 0.4 percent in September.

The El Niño dry spell has been predicted to disrupt the growth and inflation prospects in the Philippines and other neighboring countries due to the higher temperature and droughts’ implications to agriculture and other sectors.

But with ‘disinflation,’ the slowing rate of price inflation, experienced instead, the inflation rate has been expected to continuously be reduced marginally in the coming months. ■

Small business owners turn to alternative lenders to secure financing for growth

BY DIRK MEISSNER The Canadian Press TORONTO — Roughly a year ago, Kyle Dutka and Tom Collver found themselves looking for a loan in order to bring on a new designer and expand their creative agency, PB+J. But the small business owners say they haven’t had much luck with the banks.

“It’s been really challenging to get any sort of funding from traditional sources,” says Dutka. “We even had struggles getting credit cards, so we would just go and get another personal credit card and use that for the business.”

Dutka and Collver are among

a growing number of entrepreneurs turning to online lenders, or marketplace lenders, in order to secure the cash they need to grow their ventures.

Alternative lenders — which typically tap thousands of data sources, including social media sites, to analyze a borrower’s ability to pay back a loan — say they are filling a gap left by the banks, for whom loaning small amounts of cash to upstarts is not profitable enough to justify the risks involved.

“Banks have really moved away from that need that small business has to get loans under $1 million,” says Gary Fearnall, the newly minted Canadian ❱❱ PAGE 39 Small business

BY JOE MCDONALD The Associated Press

boosted spending on public works construction. Economic growth held steady in the quarter ending in July at 7 per cent.

But that was the lowest rate since the 2008 global crisis and analysts said a Chinese stock market boom that pushed up activity in financial industries concealed weakness in other sectors.

“Import growth appears to have come in weaker than expected,” Julian EvansPritchard of Capital Economics said in a report.

cent decline.

China’s global trade surplus nearly doubled from a year earlier to a record-high $60.3 bilBEIJING — China’s imports lion. fell by an unexpectedly wide The country’s trade surplus margin in September in a new with the European Union was sign of weakness in the world’s $14 billion and that with the second-largest economy.

United States $26.5 billion.

Imports plunged 20.4 per Communist leaders want to cent from a year earlier to reduce reliance on exports, but $145.2 billion, customs data their plans call for trade to hold showed Tuesday, worse than steady to protect millions of August’s 5.5 per cent decline manufacturing jobs. and analysts’ expectations For the first nine months of of about 15 per cent. Exports the year, exports were down 1.9 shrank 3.7 per per cent and imcent, though ports by 15.3 per that was an imcent. That makes provement from it unlikely Beithe previous Much of China’s slowdown over the jing can meet its month’s 13.8 per past five years was self-imposed as trade growth tarcent decline. the ruling Communist Party tries get of about 6 per Weakness in to steer the economy to more selfcent for the year. trade has fueled sustaining growth based on domestic The year-todoubts Beijing consumption instead of exports and date decline in can hit its ecoinvestment. trade suggests nomic growth “this sector is in target this year recession,” Citiof about 7 per group economist cent.

“This suggests that domestic Minggao Shen said in a report.

Much of China’s slowdown demand may have softened,” “However, there is a better over the past five years was though the decline partly re- chance that we’re probably self-imposed as the ruling flects lower prices for imports, near the trough level of growth Communist Party tries to steer he said. “Import volumes are and may expect better readthe economy to more self-sus- holding up much better.” ings” in the current quarter. taining growth based on doIHS Global Insight econoSome analysts had suggested mestic consumption instead mist Yating Xu noted that iron September trade would imof exports and investment. But ore imports, a key input for prove over August because that the past year’s unexpectedly manufacturing and construc- month’s activity was disrupted deep decline has raised fears tion, rose 1.7 per cent, com- by an explosion in Tianjin, one of politically dangerous job pared with a 1 per cent contrac- of China’s busiest ports, and losses. tion the previous month. Crude government-ordered factory Beijing has cut interest rate oil imports rose 1.4 per cent, shutdowns for a military pafive times since November and compared with August’s 5.6 per rade in Beijing. ■

Scintillating Siquijor... be something for the books. Nonetheless, if you simply want to enjoy the sea—water so clean you could see lots of fish without having to go beyond waistdeep—Salagdoong is just as perfect. It’s quiet and serene, best for an afternoon relaxation.

From Salagdoong going to the town of Enrique Villanueva, take a few minutes to appreciate the oldest house in Siquijor.

Even typhoon Pablo was not able to get rid of this century❰❰ 35

www.canadianinquirer.net

old dwelling. In fact, the biggest threat to the house's existence is theft. This writer hopes the local government will do something to protect this house for further damage.

I am pretty sure the town of Enrique Villanueva has tons to offer tourists, but please do not miss out on Aling Lucille's bocayo bread! She bakes it in a makeshift oven under a rickety shanti put together loosely with scrap wood and tarp. Do not let the unassuming thatch

fool you. As it turns out, she was making little pockets of deliciousness. Bocayo is Siquijor's answer to Manila's pan de coco. Soft, chewy pastry filled with shredded young coconut meat and caramel-like palm sugar. After it's taken out of the oven, it is then brushed with evaporated milk to lock in the moisture. Best enjoyed warm and overlooking the vast coast of Siquijor, this pit stop is the perfect spot to end your day of touring the Island of Fire. ■

38

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Sports Pacquiao says shoulder 80-90 per cent healed, expects to start training in November or December THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Manny Pacquiao said Monday that his surgically repaired shoulder is 80-90 per cent healed and he expects to resume training in November or December, with a return to the ring in March.

Pacquiao acknowledged that Amir Khan was a possible opponent, but added no determination had been made.

Pacquiao had surgery on his right shoulder four days after he lost by unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in boxing’s richest fight ever in May. Mayweather says he’s retiring, though Pacquiao recognizes that in boxing, those vows don’t always hold up.

“If you ask me, of course, I want a rematch,” Pacquiao said.

“I heard that he retired already.

If he really retired, then there’s no rematch. But if not...”

Pacquiao injured his shoulder three weeks before the fight. He later said he aggravated it in the fourth round, when he landed some of his best punches of the night against Mayweather.

“He kept moving around and didn’t want to fight toe to toe with me, exchanging punches,” Pacquiao said Monday.

Asked if he could change that in a rematch, Pacquiao said, “I think so, especially (after) I fixed my shoulder.”

Pacquiao, a congressman in the Philippines, was in Manhattan to be honoured with the Asia Society’s Asia Game Changer of the Year Award. He is running for the Philippines’ 24-seat Senate, a national position that has been used as a springboard for vice-president or president. ■

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

FACEBOOK PHOTOS

UGIS RIBA / SHUTTERSTOCK

FIFA funds football stadium construction in Tacloban PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY TACLOBAN CITY, PHILIPPINES – Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), through Leyte Football Association (LFA), funded the construction of a two-star football stadium, which will begin by the last quarter of the year.

The project is in line with the recovery and rehabilitation of football infrastructures and facilities after super typhoon “Yolanda” battered the city in 2013.

The construction of the football stadium, which is expected to be fully operational by 2016, is one of the major plans of the International Football Federation as a grant to the Philippine Football Federation (PFF).

LFA board member Theodore Leonard Palami said ini-

www.canadianinquirer.net

tially, the purpose of the football stadium is to provide play therapy for the victims especially children.

“This is designed to provide an outlet for young people to cope up with disaster trauma,” Palami said.

The football facility, which will rise next year, is a 105 x 68 meters world-class turf football pitch, which is capable of hosting local, national and even international football cups.

It is also equipped with complete football training facilities for football-related activities of players in Eastern Visayas.

Christian Alejo Severino, 20, football enthusiast and a member of the football varsity team of the Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU), is grateful that a football stadium will rise in the city.

“Finally, we will have a foot-

ball field in Tacloban, and there is a chance that national and international football cups will be held here. There will be enough time for football players for their training, especially the stadium will provide a good pitch,” Severino said.

LFA is also considering creating football leagues and training football players and enthusiatsm that will eventually produce football players to represent the region and the country in national and global competitions.

The project has a budget requirement of US$ 1 million donated by FIFA for the stormravaged region.

PFF President Mariano Araneta and Secretary Edwin Gastanes made the announcement about the project in November last year during the Asian Football Awards Night hosted by the country. ■

Sports

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

39

FIBA Asia Championship match between Philippines-China disappoints Kobe Bryant

BY MAVELLE DURIAN Philippine Canadian Inquirer KOBE BRYANT got very disappointed with the officiating of the FIBA Asia finals match between Gilas Pilipinas and China on Oct. 3.

Lack of professionalism displayed by the FIBA referees and the stadium security has made the Black Mamba upset about the game.

In a report by Manilalink. com, Bryant said he watched 2015 FIBA Asia Championship tournament between China and Philippines. “It would’ve been fun to see Jordan Clarkson there,” Bryant said in an interview. Clarkson was supposedly part of Gilas Pilipinas team, but due to time restraints, the Lakers didn’t allow him to play for

FIBA Asia.

The 5-time NBA World Champion answered with grin when asked with what he thought on the controversial officiating and off-court events before and during the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship, and shook his head with the footage showed to him of basketball fans taunting Gilias Pilipinas.

“I was told that the Philippine team was having issues with transportation or something similar. The fishy thing is when they only attempted to fix the net when their crew was warming up. I’m not pointing fingers, but you know there’s got to be something going on,” he said.

Referring to Jayson Castro’s moment he was called for a travel though he never moved his pivot foot before dribbling

the ball, Kobe said, “I didn’t think too much about the early calls, but when they called the Filipino point guard for travelling while he was dribbling the ball, I knew something was wrong.”

Kobe Bryant hopes that Philippine national men’s basketball team enters the qualifiers and still gets in the Olympics at Rio de Janeiro. He was also impressed with the youthful squad of China and the good staff and coaching despite of the off-court antics.

Basketball fans also expressed their disappointment online, and said that the officiating of games was incompetent and home-cooked.

The 2016 Basketball Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil will be on August 6 to 21, 2016. ■

MEC evolving mission with move to Alpine skiing and snowboarding

BY ROSS MAROWITS The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Sporting goods retailer MEC is getting into resort-style Alpine skiing as it continues to move away from its original mission of only targeting self-propelled wilderness activities.

The company has long supported backcountry and crosscountry skiing but is shifting gear even though downhill skiing and snowboarding relies on mechanical lifts to take people to the top of hills.

“We’re not going to go to the dark side at all,” CEO David Labistour said from its headquarters in Vancouver in a recent interview.

Since 2012, the company has evolved its approach to helping people lead active outdoor lifestyles and has instead adopting a non-motorized policy.

“Skiing is a healthy, familyoriented activity that we believe fits in line with what we stand for.”

The co-operative, founded in 1971, will begin selling equip-

ment along with ski clothing beginning Tuesday at four of its 18 Canadian stores, and online. Skiing enthusiasts will be able to purchase downhill and boarding gear at the Montreal Marche central store, at Toronto’s King Street store and in Ottawa and Calgary.

The program will be rolled out to other locations as early as next year if results prove successful.

Mountain Equipment Co-op has traditionally been stronger in Western Canada, catering to pursuits like backcountry skiing in the Rockies. Nearly half its sales come from B.C. and Alberta.

Ontario, meantime, contributes 27 per cent and Quebec 15 per cent. Its 4.5 million members are expected to spend $350 million in its stores this year.

Adding downhill sports is aimed at serving a popular winter activity in central and eastern Canada.

Canada is the world’s seventh-largest ski nation with an estimated 2.5 million Canadians who ski or snowboard each year at some 279 hills across the country, according to the Canadian Ski Council.

MEC will sell equipment brand names that include Salomon, Rossignol, Vokl, Marker and Dalbello. Clothing will be available from Helly Hansen, Outdoor Research and Burton, in addition to its own MEC brand.

The move comes a few years after MEC added standup paddleboards and equipment for yoga, cycling and running.

As part of its new skiing focus, MEC is partnering with winter athletes Mark Sollors and Roz Groenewoud to raise awareness of climate change by donating up to $10,000 to the Protect Our Winters non-profit.

MEC’s entry into Alpine sports may have an impact on other high-end retailers, but not those that cater to dealconscious families that represent the largest segment of buyers, said Lee Brosseau, assistant manager of Andre Jac Sport in Laval, Que. “If people are going there for high-end stuff, those are great skiers. Those are people who have got years of experience and they are looking for a highend ski to match their experience,” he said in an interview. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

5-time NBA World Champion Kobe Bryant.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM KOBE BRYANT’S OFFICIAL FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Small business... ❰❰ 37

country manager for U.S.-based online lender OnDeck Capi-

tal.

“Their cost of providing services is high enough that for them, to really touch anything below $1 million — that’s just not a model that makes sense for them.”

OnDeck says it has seen so much demand since venturing north of the border in 2014 that the alternative lender has expanded its offerings and brought Fearnall onboard to lead its Canadian business.

Fearnall was previously the director of marketing solutions at LinkedIn, and played a role helping the professional networking site expand into Canada.

Steven Uster of FundThrough, an alternative lender that provides loans secured against a company’s unpaid invoices, says he often works with small business owners who report being turned down by the banks.

“Likely, if the loan is less than $250,000, you’re going to get rejected, because banks just no longer like to lend less than $250,000,” Uster said. “It’s just not profitable for them.”

Online lender Mogo cur-

rently only provides personal loans, but founder David Feller says the company is working on a product for business owners.

Most financial institutions require at least two years of business financial statements before they will offer a corporate loan — a “high bar” for entrepreneurs looking to expand rapidly, says Feller.

“Because of the challenges they have going through the traditional models like the banks, a lot of small business loans are based off of personal credit,” said Feller, noting that many of Mogo’s borrowers are using the cash to fund their business ventures.

“A lot of small business owners and entrepreneurs are just applying for a personal loan, as it’s easier to get that than a small business loan through a bank.”

At least one of Canada’s biggest banks, however, says it sees an opportunity in the marketplace lending space. At its investor day last week, CIBC (CM) said it has partnered with a fintech company to explore launching an algorithm-based online lending service that will offer loans at an average value of $50,000. ■

40

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Technology

Clinton homemade email server was connected in ways that raised risks of hacking

BY JACK GILLUM AND STEPHEN BRAUN The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The private email server running in Hillary Rodham Clinton’s home basement when she was secretary of state was connected to the Internet in ways that made it more vulnerable to hackers, according to data and documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Clinton’s server, which handled her personal and State Department correspondence, appeared to allow users to connect openly over the Internet to control it remotely, according to detailed records compiled in 2012. Experts said the Microsoft remote desktop service wasn’t intended for such use without additional protective measures, and was the subject of U.S. government and industry warnings at the time over attacks from even low-skilled intruders.

Records show that Clinton additionally operated two more devices on her home network in Chappaqua, New York, that also were directly accessible from the Internet. One contained similar remote-control software that also has suffered from security vulnerabilities, known as Virtual Network Computing, and the other appeared to be configured to run websites.

The new details provide the first clues about how Clinton’s computer, running Microsoft’s server software, was set up and protected when she used it exclusively over four years as secretary of state for all work messages. Clinton’s privately paid technology adviser, Bryan Pagliano, has declined to answer questions about his work from congressional investigators, citing the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Some emails on Clinton’s server were later deemed top secret, and scores of others in-

Hillary Rodham Clinton.

cluded confidential or sensitive information. Clinton has said that her server featured “numerous safeguards,” but she has yet to explain how well her system was secured and whether, or how frequently, security updates were applied.

Clinton has apologized for running her homebrew server, and President Barack Obama said during a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday it was “a mistake.” Obama said national security wasn’t endangered, although the FBI still has yet to complete its review of Clinton’s server for evidence of hacking.

Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon said late Monday that “this report, like others before it, lacks any evidence of an actual breach, let alone one specifically targeting Hillary Clinton. The Justice Department is conducting a review of the security of the server, and we are co-operating in full.”

The AP exclusively reviewed numerous records from an Internet “census” by an anonymous hacker-researcher, who three years ago used unsecured

JSTONE / SHUTTERSTOCK

devices to scan hundreds of millions of Internet Protocol addresses for accessible doors, called “ports.” Using a computer in Serbia, the hacker scanned Clinton’s basement server in Chappaqua at least twice, in August and December 2012. It was unclear whether the hacker was aware the server belonged to Clinton, although it identified itself as providing email services for clintonemail.com.

The results are widely available online.

Remote-access software allows users to control another computer from afar. The programs are usually operated through an encrypted connection — called a virtual private network, or VPN. But Clinton’s system appeared to accept commands directly from the Internet without such protections.

“That’s total amateur hour,” said Marc Maiffret, who has founded two cyber security companies. He said permitting remote-access connections directly over the Internet would be the result of someone choosing convenience over security www.canadianinquirer.net

or failing to understand the risks. “Real enterprise-class security, with teams dedicated to these things, would not do this,” he said.

The government and security firms have published warnings about allowing this kind of remote access to Clinton’s server.

The same software was targeted by an infectious Internet worm, known as Morta, which exploited weak passwords to break into servers. The software also was known to be vulnerable to brute-force attacks that tried password combinations until hackers broke in, and in some cases it could be tricked into revealing sensitive details about a server to help hackers formulate attacks.

“An attacker with a low skill level would be able to exploit this vulnerability,” said the Homeland Security Department’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team in 2012, the same year Clinton’s server was scanned.

Also in 2012, the State Department had outlawed use of remote-access software for its

technology officials to maintain unclassified servers without a waiver. It had banned all instances of remotely connecting to classified servers or servers located overseas.

The findings suggest Clinton’s server “violates the most basic network-perimeter security tenets: Don’t expose insecure services to the Internet,” said Justin Harvey, the chief security officer for Fidelis Cybersecurity.

Clinton’s email server at one point also was operating software necessary to publish websites, although it was not believed to have been used for this purpose. Traditional security practices dictate shutting off all a server’s unnecessary functions to prevent hackers from exploiting design flaws in them.

In Clinton’s case, Internet addresses the AP traced to her home in Chappaqua revealed open ports on three devices, including her email system. Each numbered port is commonly, but not always uniquely, associated with specific features or functions. The AP in March was first to discover Clinton’s use of a private email server and trace it to her home.

Mikko Hypponen, the chief research officer at F-Secure, a top global computer security firm, said it was unclear how Clinton’s server was configured, but an out-of-the-box installation of remote desktop would have been vulnerable.

Those risks — such as giving hackers a chance to run malicious software on her machine — were “clearly serious” and could have allowed snoops to deploy so-called “back doors.”

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, the federal government’s guiding agency on computer technology, warned in 2008 that exposed server ports were security risks. It said remote-control programs should only be used in conjunction with encryption tunnels, such as secure VPN connections. ■

Technology

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

41

Dell betting that EMC acquisition works out better than many other major technology deals

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press DELL’S PROPOSED $67 billion acquisition of data storage company EMC is the most expensive ever done involving two technology companies. Many of the tech industry’s other notable deals haven’t panned out as well as the buyers planned.

Here’s a look back at some of those past acquisitions: Avago Technologies Ltd. agrees to buy Broadcom Corp. for $37 billion in May of this year.

This deal isn’t expected to be completed until next year, so it’s still too early to assess. By joining forces, the rival chipmakers are hoping to make a bigger dent in the rapidly growing wireless device market.

The social media company expanded its messaging service capabilities with this purchase, which seems to be progressing well for Facebook so far.

WhatsApp now has more than

ing in Symantec’s decision this summer to sell Veritas for $8 billion to the Carlyle Group and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC. Hewlett-Packard Co. buys Electronic Data Systems for about $13 billion in 2008

Hewlett-Packard Co. buys Compaq for about $19 billion in 2002

This deal was championed by then-CEO Carly Fiorina as a way for HP to become a more formidable rival to computer maker IBM, but faced staunch resistance from some prominent shareholders, including some of the heirs to the HP’s founders. The acquisition helped establish HP’s largest maker of personal computers for many years, but the deal has lost its lustre as sales of desktop and laptop machines have declined with the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets.

Symantec Corp. buys Veritas for about $13.5 billion in 2005

The security software company expanded its storage software capabilities with the buyout. This deal turned out to be another mismatch, culminat-

The computer maker aimed to bolster its technology consulting services with the purchase, but HP has had trouble retaining customers. EDS will be part of a new spin-off called HP Enterprises, which will start out by laying off 25,000 to 30,000 people, or 10 per cent to 12 per cent of its workforce.

Google Inc. buys Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.4 billion in 2012

The Internet company primarily bought Motorola for its portfolio of 17,000 mobile patents, but Google also inherited

an unprofitable division that made smartphones. After losing more than $2 billion in less than two years, Google sold Motorola’s smartphone business to the Lenovo Group for $2.9 billion and held on to the patents.

Google had previously sold a Motorola division that makes television set-top boxes to the Arris Group for $2.35 billion.

Oracle Corp. buys PeopleSoft for $11.1 billion in 2005

The purchase of the maker of human resources software turned Oracle in to a more formidable rival to SAP in the market for business management applications. In recent years, Oracle has been contending with a new threat from Workday, a specialist in online personnel services that was started by PeopleSoft founder David Duffield.

Hewlett-Packard buys

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Autonomy for about $10 billion in 2011

The computer maker aimed to bolster its software and services offerings with the buyout, but this deal blew up quickly amid allegations that Autonomy had misled HP about its sales. HP absorbed an $8.8 billion charge to reflect that Autonomy wasn’t worth the price that HP paid for it.

Microsoft Corp. buys Skype for about $8.5 billion in 2011

The software company bolstered its online video calling technology with this buyout.

Oracle Corp. buys Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion in 2010

The buyout gave Oracle ownership of the Java programming language and catapulted the software company into the hardware business. Analysts have been generally unimpressed with the payoff that Oracle has gotten from Sun Microsystems so far. ■ AP Business Writer Damian Troise contributed to this story from New York

Long term forecast from www.theweathernetwork.com CALGARY

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NESSLUOP / SHUTTERSTOCK

Facebook buys WhatsApp for about $21.8 billion in 2014

900 million users, doubling its audience at the time Facebook Inc. announced the deal. It remains unclear, though, whether WhatsApp will turn into a major moneymaker for Facebook.

Events

42

OCTOBER 16, 2015

New WelcomePack Canada Distribution Centre

By WelcomePack Canada Inc. WHEN/WHERE: 1 to 5 p.m., Mon, Tues, Thu & Fri at the Filipino Centre Bldg., 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, On MORE INFO: Call (416) 928-9355

Homework/Tutorial Class

By FCT WHEN/WHERE: 11a.m. to 12 nn, every Saturday, Filipino Centre Toronto, 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, ON MORE INFO: For registrations, call 416928-9355. The office, at 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from NUNAVUT 1 to 6 p.m.

Tagalog Class

YUKONBy FCT

WHEN/WHERE: 10 to 11 a.m.,NORTHWEST every Saturday, Filipino TERRITORIES Centre Toronto, Toronto

CANADA EVENTS

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Pinoy Connect

By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: Sundays until Dec. 20. Settlement services:12 to 2 p.m.; Bayanihan Support Circle: 2 to 4 p.m.; Employment Law Clinic: By appointment only at Mosaic Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call 604-254-9626 Public Speaking Without Panic: Learn Effective Strategies to Communicate with Confidence

By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesdays, Oct. 6 to Nov. 10 at 1522 Commercial Dr., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Learn strategies and techniques for building self-confidence to communicate your ideas and opinions in a group setting. Call 604-254-9626 Temporary Foreign Workers Uncontested Divorce Clinic

By Law Courts Center WHEN/WHERE: Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Justice Education Society at the Provincial Court of BC Room 260 800 Hornby St., Vancouver B.C. MORE INFO: To book an appointment, call/text 778-322-2839 or email: tfw.divorce@gmail.com Seniors Book Club By the Richmond Public Library WHEN/WHERE: Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to 12 nn, at the Brighouse Main Branch, the Living Rm., 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond, B.C.

MORE INFO: Seniors ages 55 and older are invited to read books and exchange ideas with likeminded. To register visit any branch of Richmond Public Library, call 604-231-6413 or register online at www.yourlibrary.ca/events

Retro Mania: Goldie 2015 Halloween Retro Costume Party

By Goldie Bugayong Castro-Dituri WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., Oct. 30, at Seven Dining Lounge, 53 W. Broadway, Vancouver, B.C.

The Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants of BC Speaker’s Series

By AFCA-BC WHEN/WHERE: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 20, at Executive Suites Hotel and Conference Centre, 4201 Lougheed Highway, Burnaby, B.C.

The Voice of Timmy Pavino

By Even 8 Events Management Production WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 p.m., Nov. 6, Hyatt Hall, 843 Seymour St., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: With special guests Russel Figueroa and Jerrica Santos

Bilingual Job Fair

By Connexion Carrière WHEN/WHERE: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Oct. 21, at Bow Valley College, North campus, Room N231.

Philippine Fest

By Symphony Hill Management and Even 8 Events Management Production WHEN/WHERE: 1 to 5 p.m., Nov. 7, at Aberdeen Centre, Alderbridge Way, Richmond, B.C. MORE INFO: Featuring the Fashion Designs of Jaki Penalosa, renowned Filipino fabric couturier. Free Event.

Luzvimin Miss Calendar Girl Coronation Gala

By Luzvimin Bisaya WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m, Oct. 17, St. Patrick’s Gym, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Ticket - $20 Vancouver Auditions

By World Championships of Performing Arts 2016 Team Canada WHEN/WHERE: 12 nn to 4 p.m., Freshgroove Studios, 2620 Viscount Way, Richmond, B.C. MORE INFO: Contact Janice Lozano, regional director, at wcopa.westerncanada@gmail.com or (778)-772-5847. www.canadianinquirer.net

Dance N’ Love

By Bukas Loob sa Diyos WHEN/WHERE: 5:30 p.m., Nov. 7, at Fraserview Church Gym, 11295 Mellis Dr., Richmond, B.C. Disco Fever

By New Westminster Philippine Festival Society WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. to 12 a.m., Nov. 7, at Our Lady of Mercy Gym, 7481 10th Ave., Burnaby, B.C.

OCTOBER 16, 2015

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

Food

Celeriac, Jicama, Sunchokes: Exploring the World of Unusual

BY LOIS ABRAHAM The Canadian Press TORONTO — When it comes to vegetables, Carla Kelly wants you to think outside the box.

The author of “True to Your Roots: Vegan Recipes to Comfort and Nourish You” (Arsenal Pulp Press) has created 150 recipes featuring many of those “ugly” roots, tubers and rhizomes that you see in the produce aisle but are perplexed about how to prepare.

Kelly noticed a few years ago that vegetables like kale and squash were getting lots of buzz while plenty of others — carrots, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips — seemed to be overlooked.

And then still others — like kohlrabi, celeriac, jicama, Jerusalem artichoke and lotus root — were really ignored.

“I thought, ‘These poor old mashed potatoes on my plate are not getting any love and there must be more to root vegetables than just an afterthought.”‘ As part of her research, Kelly haunted ethnic and mainstream grocery stores in her Vancouver neighbourhood to see what was being stocked and ways to prepare — can the item be eaten raw or does it require cooking, for example — before launching into recipe development.

Her biggest challenge was trying to create recipes for breakfast items and desserts, as most people traditionally think of root vegetables in side dishes, salads and perhaps main dishes.

Kelly, who has written three other vegan cookbooks and has a blog, came up with muffins incorporating sweet potatoes and quinoa, carrot cake pancakes, taro hash brown cakes, and a strata layering potatoes, daikon and sweet potatoes. For dessert, there’s celeriac brownies, red velvet swirl coffee cake using beet juice, and cheesecake with parsnip and carrot mince.

“I think a lot of people will be

Celeriac.

pleasantly surprised ... about how ‘normal’ they taste, about how they may look funny or may have weird names, or you might not have come across them before, but they are delicious and they fill that need for comfort food if that’s what you’re looking for from your root vegetables. And you can be creative with them.”

One thing Kelly learned is that some root vegetables discolour quickly when sliced.

She suggests putting them in acidulated water — a squeeze of lemon or lime juice in 250 ml (1 cup) of water will stop the discoloration.

Here are some underappreciated vegetables that Kelly hopes you’ll learn to love: Jicama

This crisp Mexican root vegetable, which looks a bit like a potato, tastes mild and sweet.

It can be eaten raw with dips or added to salads. It retains its

Sunchoke.

crispness when cooked or it’s refreshing as a juice.

Kelly uses it in fruit salad with melon and also in a tart with Asian pears.

“Both the Asian pear and jicama retain quite a bit of crispness when they’re cooked and there’s a lovely contrast in the tart.”

Celeriac

This relative of celery has a mild taste.

It can be challenging to prepare because the thick skin is hard to peel. The knobby bits at the bottom where the roots grow need to be trimmed because dirt gets trapped there.

But the effort is worth it.

“It blends really well, it gets really smooth, even silky,” says Kelly.

Roasting brings out a sweet flavour, delicious in hummus.

salem artichokes, but they’re from a native American plant related to the sunflower, says Kelly.

Sunchokes are mild with a hint of sweetness.

“They’re a little bit neutral, like a potato,” says Kelly.

“Those are a vegetable that’s wonderful raw because they’re really crisp and crunchy and they make really nice juice as well, but also when you cook them they get really soft and creamy.”

Because the skin is very thin, scrubbing to get rid of the dirt alleviates a need for peeling.

Besides, they’re difficult to peel because they’re knobby.

“They look like little bits of ginger — the offshoots look like hands almost,” says Kelly.

The skin can be eaten, so you can leave it on when cooking.

Kohlrabi

Sunchokes

Some people call them Jeruwww.canadianinquirer.net

Also known as German turnip, kohlrabi is another mild

vegetable with a very slight almost nutty flavour. The taste and texture are similar to broccoli and the vegetable can be eaten raw or cooked.

It has a thick skin that needs to be removed. The leaves can be chopped and sauted like spinach or other leafy greens.

It’s wonderful in coleslaw, salad or as a crudite. When cooked, the texture is similar to a firm potato.

Lotus root

Lotus root is sold whole — it is about the size of a large baking potato or slightly larger — or peeled and wrapped in cling film. If it has been sliced and the slices are not as thin as desired, Kelly runs them through her mandoline.

Lotus root cannot be eaten raw, she cautions. It doesn’t take long to cook and it retains its crunch and crispness.

It lends itself well to Asian preparations. ■

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

Seen & Scenes: Vancouver

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA LECTURE Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio updated the Vancouver community on the Philippine government’s efforts to stake its claim over the West Philippine Sea and the recent activities of China that threaten peace and stability in the region. The lecture, organized by the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver in cooperation with the University of British Columbia, was part of a series of talks the magistrate had been conducting on the West Philippine Sea dispute (Photos by Vic Vargas).

EDMONTON OUTREACH The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, Labor Office (POLOVancouver) and the Social Security System conducted an Outreach Program in Edmonton, from Oct. 5 to 8, at Howard Johnson Inn, with the help of Honorary Consul General in Edmonton Esmeralda Agbulos.

www.canadianinquirer.net

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Seen and Scenes: Toronto

OCTOBER 16, 2015

FRIDAY

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY The Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF) celebrated its 5th anniversary and gala night on Oct. 2, at Spirale Banquest Hall. Senator and Mrs. Enverga invited special guests including Consul General Rosalita Prospero, federal officials and volunteers to the memorable event (Photos by Ariel Ramos).

MAX'S RESTAURANT Max’s Restaurant Scarborough had its grand opening last month, at Markham Road and Lawrence Avenue. Owner Pidoy Pacis invited Consul General Rosalita Prospero, Bill Rogers, grandson of Max’s founder, and Clyde Pacis to the ribbon-cutting event (Photos by Ariel Ramos).

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

Food

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16, 2015

47

Burdock Miso Soup THE CANADIAN PRESS

Bacon Peanut Brittle

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press HALLOWEEN IS the time for old-fashioned treats. Apple bobbing, caramel apples, popcorn balls and peanut brittle!

I first made peanut brittle as a child with my grandmother.

It was simple, crunchy and delicious. She loved to make homemade candy and her peanut brittle was my favourite, though her fudge and pecan divinity were close behind.

Back when the nose-to-tail dining trend began, I was asked to create a dinner featuring pork. For a treat, I embellished my grandmother’s brittle recipe to make a bacon-peanut brittle that was handed out as the parting gift at the end of the meal. And it was the hit of the evening! Of all the wonderful dishes that I created for that dinner, this is the only one that has become a staple in my kitchen.

Peanut brittle is easy enough for kids to make, though working with molten sugar requires adult supervision. Once you start cooking, the recipe moves rapidly along, so make sure you have everything set out next to the stove before you start. You also will need a large, heavyduty saucepan, as the brittle foams up and expands at the end of the process.

You can use a candy thermometer to know when you’ve cooked the sugar to the socalled hard ball (255 F to 260 F) stage, or you can just use a cup of ice water. This is what my grandmother did and what my mother and I still do. Just fill

a 2-cup measuring glass with water and ice. Keep it close to the stove. When you think the sugar is ready, drizzle a few drops into the ice water. If the small drops of the sugar syrup instantly turn into candy balls, the sugar base of the peanut brittle is done.

Once the sugar reaches the hard ball stage, the fun begins.

You quickly add the peanuts, bacon and a bit of butter, then stir quickly. Next up, cook this delicious mixture to a light caramel. It should be lightly golden brown — the colour of peanut brittle — and reach 300 F to 305 F. Next, add the baking soda, stir vigorously and immediately pour onto a buttered baking sheet. Don’t be afraid of the frothing mass in the saucepan!

The baking soda makes the brittle bubble up to create the tiny bubbles in the peanut brittle, making it crunchy instead of just plain hard.

BACON-PEANUT BRITTLE (PIG CANDY)

This brittle is crazy good and everyone loves receiving it.

The trick is to buy thick, meaty apple wood-smoked bacon, then dice it and cook the bacon slowly until the fat is fully rendered and the meat is a reddish mahogany. Press the bacon pieces between paper towels to make sure all the excess fat is absorbed. If you don’t do this, the candy will have a cloudy appearance.

Start to finish: 1 hour (30 minutes active) Makes about 1 pound

• 2 tablespoons butter, divided • 2 cups sugar • 1 cup light corn syrup • 1 tablespoon ancho chili powder • Pinch cayenne pepper • 1 cup salted, roasted peanuts • 2 cups cooked, crumbled apple wood-smoked bacon • 1 teaspoon baking soda Use about 1/2 tablespoon of the butter to coat a rimmed baking sheet.

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high, combine the sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly and slightly thick, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the ancho chili powder and cayenne, then cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. The sugar mixture should now be at the hard ball stage, or 255 F to 260 F. Stir in the remaining butter, as well as the peanuts and bacon. Continue cooking until the mixture is golden brown and reaches 300 F to 305 F. Stir well, then add the baking soda and stir again. Immediately pour onto the prepared baking sheet and use a silicone spatula to spread evenly. Set aside to cool, about 30.

Once the brittle is cool, break into pieces by hitting the bottom of the sheet pan on the counter. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer for up to 1 month. ■ Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pitmaster at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo. com and author of three books, including “Taming the Flame.” www.canadianinquirer.net

IN HER new cookbook “True to Your Roots: Vegan Recipes to Comfort and Nourish You,” Carla Kelly uses some tricks to reinvent vegetables in creative ways.

“I find the recipe generating is a really organic process and it comes from perhaps something you’ve seen somewhere or something that’s taken your fancy. You look at TV, you’re watching cooking shows and stuff and you think, ‘Oh, I wonder if I could do that with such and such.’”

One example is celeriac bacon, which she says looks and tastes like bacon — but very definitely is not pork based.

She also bakes thin slices of lotus root to create chips to garnish soup made with burdock root. The interesting-looking chips can also be lightly salted and eaten as a snack.

“Desserts were one of the challenges because you have to think quite creatively about how to use the root vegetables and I didn’t just want to make a carrot cake because I know everyone when you think of root vegetables automatically says, ‘Oh, there will be a carrot cake recipe.’

“But the cheesecake is almost like a carrot cake cheesecake.

It has a Christmas cake theme, but there’s carrot and parsnip and all those carroty cake flavours coming through.”

BURDOCK MISO NOODLE SOUP WITH LOTUS ROOT CHIPS

This savoury broth complements the tender noodles and crunchy burdock. It’s perfect for lunch or a light supper on a cool day.

Kelly has made this soup with udon, soba and rice noodles, and each gives a slightly different flavour and texture to the finished soup. Use the noodles you prefer or can most easily find.

Burdock has a long tap root.

Some stores cut it into manageable lengths. When you peel it the flesh discolours quickly.

Sunchokes or parsnips could be substituted for burdock.

Sliced and roasted, lotus root chips provide a great textural contrast and are very attractive, but the soup is great without them.

Lotus Root Chips: • Lotus root (2.5-cm/1-inch length), peeled Soup: • 15 ml (1 tbsp) lime juice • Burdock (23-cm/9-inch length) • 5 ml (1 tsp) sesame oil • 1 garlic clove, minced • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced (reserve 30 ml/2 tbsp green ends for garnish) • 5 ml (1 tsp) grated fresh ginger • 5 ml (1 tsp) minced cilantro stems • 250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock • 2 bundles (250 g/8 oz) udon, soba or rice noodles • 30 ml (2 tbsp) light miso paste • 30 ml (2 tbsp) cilantro leaves Chips: Preheat oven to 150 C (300 F). Place cooling rack on a large baking sheet to allow air to circulate under chips as they bake.

Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, thinly slice lotus root into chips less than 1.5 mm (1/16 inch) thick. Place on prepared rack.

Bake for 15 minutes, carefully turn chips and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until firm and crispy golden brown.

Soup: In a small bowl, place lime juice. Peel burdock and slice into thin matchsticks about 4 cm (1 1/2 inches) long, placing each one in a bowl with lime juice as it’s cut. Toss to coat.

In a large saucepan on medium-high, heat sesame oil.

Drain burdock, add to pan and saute for 2 minutes until lightly browned. Add garlic, spring onions, ginger and cilantro stems and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Add stock and 1.25 l (5 cups) water and bring to a boil. Add noodles, reduce heat to medium and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until noodles are tender.

Remove from heat.

In a small bowl, combine 125 ml (1/2 cup) soup liquid with miso paste. Stir briskly to dissolve, then return to pan and stir to combine.

Divide soup among serving bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with 15 ml (1 tbsp) sliced dark green spring onions and 15 ml (1 tbsp) cilantro leaves.

Garnish each bowl with Lotus Root Chips.

Makes 2 servings. ■

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OCTOBER 16, 2015

E H T N I N O O S G N I RIS S E N I P P I L I H P A R E W E N A F O N W A D E H T

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