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DECEMBER 18, 2015

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VOL. 12 NO. 198

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P334B needed for biodiversity conservation

Duterte to Roxas: You can’t handle stress

P-Noy: Part of me wants to stay on as President

New rules, standards will speed up funding flows

Marketing the holidays a tricky balancing act

Roxas returns Duterte jibe BY SAMMY F. MARTIN Philippines News Agency

HAVING A BALL A Star City worker adjusts the lighted balls dotting the theme park’s Christmas tree. Theme parks are a favorite hangout for Filipino families who often spend their holiday break inside shopping malls and in public parks where they can enjoy the glitter and glitz of the holidays in a communal setting. LYN RILLON / PDI

Poe vs Duterte vs Binay vs Roxas BY DJ YAP AND NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE GLOVES are off and the candidates are starting to fight in a more determined, not always pleasant way. The four major presidential aspirants

yesterday figured in a media free-for-all, hitting out at each other, though taking care not to look one another in the eye. Vice President Jejomar Binay and former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas pointedly avoided each other during a

Slavery, child labour tied to shrimp global supply chains

MANILA — Word war between two presidential aspirants tends to escalate over the issue of peace and order in Davap City, which was branded by former Interior and Local Government Sec. Mar Roxas as a myth. Roxas said on Monday that he was ready to be slapped by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as he was willing to give his scheduled return to Davao. Roxas claimed that all he had done as a former DILG secretary was to counter check the data of Davao City with the Philippine National Police on the present crime rate. “Ang mga istatistika na iyon, ‘yan ang katotohanan. Ibig sabihin ba pag siya naging pangulo, kung hindi maganda ang balitang natatanggap niya ay mananampal siya? ‘Yan ba ang kanyang uri ng pamamahala? At least magkaalaman na tayo ngayon kung ano talaga, (The statistics tell the truth. Is he then saying that if he becomes president, whenever he receives unsavory news, he would slap someone? Is that the kind of governance he promotes? At least this gives us to opportunity to know him.)” Roxas said in a chance interview. “Ang mahirap kay Mayor Digong Duterte nasanay siya sa one-man rule.

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

❱❱ PAGE 8 Roxas returns

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DECEMBER 18, 2015

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FRIDAY

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

INC ‘thinking’ members to defy group’s practice of bloc voting BY MA. CERES P. DOYO Philippine Daily Inquirer SAYING THEY are “willing to break from tradition,” members of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) who call themselves the INC Thinking Voters have decided to defy the long-held bloc voting practice inside their church and vote in the 2016 national elections for the candidate who they feel “will stand for what is right.” No longer observing “blind obedience to corrupt INC officials,” the INC Thinking Voters vowed to “speak loudly and clearly” during the elections. They also exposed the INC’s hand in the government bureaucracy while accusing previous presidents and administrations of “creating a monster.” In a strongly worded letter to all presidential candidates dated Dec. 11, the INC Thinking Voters said it represented the majority of INC members “who are rebelling inside because we could no longer close our eyes to what is happening in our church.” INC is known for voting as a bloc that politicians eagerly woo during elections. But the INC Thinking Voters will no longer be silent and passive, the letter said. In other countries, such as the United States, INC members are not compelled to vote as a bloc, according to the group. The group said it was looking for “a strong-willed President” whose platform would prioritize the eradication, among others, of three evils: bribery and corruption in government, endorsements by special interest groups of political appointees and the “padrino” culture.

by the current INC leadership that has destroyed what was once pristine.” INC was founded in Manila in 1914, or 101 years ago by Felix Manalo. It is said to have 2million members worldwide. The present executive minister, Eduardo Manalo, is Felix’s grandson. Recently, INC was mired in controversy when Eduardo’s mother (wife of the late Eraño Manalo, who had served as INC’s second executive minister after Felix), brother and sister, along with several ministers, were expelled from INC for allegedly airing grievances and issuing pleas for help because of alleged danger to their lives. Several ministers have filed cases for abduction, illegal detention and harassment. Members of the INC Sanggunian or executive council, headed by Eduardo Manalo, have also been accused of corruption and extravagant lifestyle. Some INC ministers in the United States have resigned to protest the arbitrary expulsions and alleged wrongdoing in the INC. An INC blogger using the name Antonio Ebangelista is said to have begun the exposé on the alleged irregularities in the INC but his true identity has not been discovered. The INC Thinking Voters stressed that the presidential candidate it would support was “one who will not kowtow to any religious organization by strictly enforcing the true separation of Church and State.” It criticized the wrong interpretation of this separation when INC members demanded that the State bend the law in favor of the church. ‘Shameless bully’

‘Root of all evil’

Over the years, the INC Thinking Voters said, its church “has been allowed to grow in size and influence, but as proven by recent events, it now wields more power than the State. At the root of all EVIL is the precious BLOC VOTES (emphasis supplied). The monster is not INC per se but the people who now run our church. The INC doctrines remain pure; it is how they are used and abused

Criticizing INC for becoming a “powerful and shameless bully,” the group cited recent events to prove that INC has “no respect for the law, or the government whose arm it knows it can twist to get what it wants.” It recalled the Aug. 28 to 31 rallies that paralyzed traffic, initially on several streets surrounding the Department of ❱❱ PAGE 15 INC ‘thinking’

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Region 1 agencies on blue alert status due to coming ‘Nona’ PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY DAGUPAN CITY — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has placed the regional, provincial, city, municipal and barangay risk reduction and management councils in Region 1 on blue alert status in view of the approaching Typhoon “Nona.” This was contained in a memorandum of OCD Regional Director Melchito Castro issued to its member agencies as well as the PDRRMC, CDRRMC, MDRRMC

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and BDRRMC in Region 1 early today. All these were also told by Director Castro to submit regular situational report about the conditions obtaining in their areas in connection with the coming typhoon. Castro also ordered all PDRRMCs and City/Municipal and Barangay DRRMCs to utilize all possible resources to inform the public particularly fishermen not to venture into the sea on account of the raised gale warning in the western and northern seaboard of Luzon. ■

Philippine News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

P334B needed for biodiversity conservation BY RIZA T. OLCHONDRA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES’ roadmap for conserving biodiversity needs P334 billion or P24 billion in financing annually over the next 13 years for critical ecosystem services. The Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesBiodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), other national government agencies, academe, civil society and development partners, recently developed the Philippines Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (PBSAP). Through the UNDP’s Biodiversity Financing Initiative

(BioFin), the DENRBMB determined that the financing needed to implement the PBSAP is about $7.4 billion over the next 13 years. This covers actions on forest, coastal and marine, inland wetlands, caves and cave systems, protected areas, invasive alien species, agrobiodiversity, access and benefit-sharing and urban biodiversity. “This may sound like a huge impost on the budget but it really is not. It should be seen as an investment in conservation and also as an economic investment with significant financial returns to the country. It is an investment that needs to be made by both government and the private sector. This could see a minimum return of $10 billion per year from fisheries, eco-

tourism and pharmaceuticals derived from genetic resources,” UNDP Philippines Country Director Titon Mitra said. The results of the study were presented by UNDP and BMB in a briefing attended by Guillermo Zuñiga, former Minister of Finance, Republic of Costa Rica, now UNDP BioFin Team Leader in Costa Rica, and representatives from the Philippines’ Departments of Finance and Environment and Natural Resources, and the National Economic and Development Authority. The Philippines is one of 17 mega-diverse countries, harboring more diversity of life per hectare than any other country in the world. Yet encroachment in forested areas, pollution, overfishing, poor land manage-

ment practices, are leading to biodiversity loss at an alarming rate. BioFin is a global partnership seeking to address the biodiversity finance challenge through

building a sound business case for increased investment in the management of ecosystems and biodiversity. The Philippines is one of 29 countries involved in the initiative. ■

Comelec to discuss the final list of candidates on Monday BY FERDINAND PATINIO Philippines News Agency MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to deliberate on Monday on the final list of national candidates in the May 2016 elections. With this, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said the commission en banc will also discuss the pending disqualification cases of Senator Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and if they will include them in the official ballot. “On December 14, we will again meet at 10 am… We will continue to discuss it,” he said. The poll body said that they are looking to release the official list of candidates on Dec. 15. The lady lawmaker has filed a motion for reconsideration before the Comelec en banc after both the First and Second Divisions cancelled her Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for president in next year’s polls. On the other hand, Duterte www.canadianinquirer.net

has a pending case before the First Division regarding the petition to disqualify him filed by Ruben Castor. The hearing is set on Dec. 16. Meanwhile, the poll body chief is not discounting the possibility of releasing only a provisional final list of candidates on Tuesday. “Ang pwedeng mangyari is that we will already input whatever names that are already final, tapos meron na lang pahabol… pinaga-aralan natin ang mga iyan (What can possibly happen is that we will already input whatever names that are already final, then we can just add incoming entries... we are studying the options),” Bautista said. He added that they might extend their self-imposed deadline for them to come up with the names of candidates to be printed on the ballots. “Yan ay tinitingnan din natin (We will also study that). Because, remember, the printing of the ballots will happen sometime in January,” Bautista said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Poe is a natural born Filipino, says high-profile lawyer BY KATHERINE PADILLA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Under the principle of international law, Sen. Grace Poe is considered a natural born Filipino, said Katrina Legarda, a high-profile lawyer and professor of law at the University of the Philippines. "A long-standing presumption and principle of customary international law is that a foundling takes the nationality of the place where she was found," Legarda was quoted as saying in a Rappler report. Poe is the adopted daughter of movie stars Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces. She was found by the couple in Iloilo. "The presumption is Sen. Poe

and all foundlings are natural born citizens, born to mothers who are Filipino because it defies imagination that a foreign woman, pregnant, will go to Iloilo or goes to our country to give birth," Legarda was quoted as saying in a Philippine Star report. Legarda also stressed that whoever denies Poe's status as a natural born Filipino must prove that the senator's mother is a foreigner and not a Filipino. The Commission on Election (Comelec) First Division has recently disqualified Poe due her failure to meet the 10-year residency requirement for a presidential candidate. Poe said that she will appeal the poll body's ruling before the Supreme Court. ■

QC judge quits Uber, GrabCar case BY ERIKA SAULER Philippine Daily Inquirer THE QUEZON City judge who last week suspended a government order on app-enabled transport services like Uber and GrabCar has backed out of the case. Judge Santiago Arenas angered commuters and reaped an online firestorm with that ruling. But in a Dec. 9 order released to the media on Friday, he said he decided to step aside because the petitioner had questioned his impartiality. “The judge, after an intense reflection that he should desist from sitting in the petition because his motives or fairness are being seriously impugned, resolves to voluntarily inhibit himself from the case,” Arenas said. The Office of the Clerk of Court on Friday issued a notice setting for Monday the elec-

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tronic re-raffle of the petition for injunction filed by Stop and Go transport coalition against the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). Issued in May, the DOTC order created new transport categories that cover the likes of Uber and GrabCar, allowing their accreditation as Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) with the LTFRB. Arenas, who presides over Branch 217 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, said “the petitioner (Stop and Go) strongly questioned and vehemently objected” to the temporary restraining order (TRO) he issued in their favor. He was referring to the 20day TRO released Friday last week stopping the DOTC and the LTFRB from implementing the guidelines and memorandum circulars concerning TNCs, as

requested in the petition. In a hearing on Dec. 8, Stop and Go’s lawyer David Erro insisted that the TRO should cover the current operations of Uber and GrabCar and not just future permit applications. But Arenas, in the order announcing his inhibition from the case, maintained that the court “could not include Uber and GrabCar because they are not impleaded as indispensable parties in the petition.” “The court and the counsel could not understand and agree with each other on this issue while the latter was arguing in a high pitched voice in the court room and he raised his voice several times insisting on his demand,” he added. For Arenas, Erro’s actions implied that the lawyer has lost trust and faith in his fair action and impartiality. ■ With a report from Krizia Jamille Yap

Philippine News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

20-year-old dream comes true: Manila opens skate park BY JODEE A. AGONCILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer AFTER YEARS of playing hideand-seek with authorities who want them off the city’s streets or parks, skateboard enthusiasts in Manila finally have a place they can call their own. Thanks to a partnership between the city hall and a local youth organization, a 1,700square-meter government lot in Paco has been transformed into a skate plaza, complete with a six-foot deep “bowl” and obstacles named “Snake Run,” “China Gap,” “Quarter Pipes,” “Stairset” and “FunBox.” “This is a dream come true after 20 years of continuous lobbying,” Richard Espiritu, president of One Manila Org, told the INQUIRER during the special park’s inauguration on Saturday. The group which has about 2,000 members in the city had long been pushing for the project until an agreement was reached

Located at the corner of Zulueta Street and Quirino Avenue, the skate plaza was designed by Alain Privado, an architect by day and, for the last 11 years, a skateboarder by night.

in 2013 under the administration of Mayor Joseph Estrada. The 34-year-old Espiritu has been skateboarding since the age of nine—either in public areas where the police always shooed him and his friends away, or in private spaces where security guards also drove them off. “We did not have our own place back then; we [would al-

ways] run away from the police,” he said, recalling how he was once caught and detained for three hours. Skateboarding not a crime

Now grown up and working as deputy chief of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau, Espiritu has this to say about skateboarding: “Our sport is

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not a crime.” Like any sport or hobby, skateboarding can help keep the youth off drugs and other vices, he stressed. It is also an outlet, a form of expression, since most of the skateboarders are also artists, he added. The park which also includes a basketball court and a stage was built at a cost of P13 million, the

funds drawn from the Office of the Mayor, according to assistant city engineer Rogelio Legaspi. Admission is free and the park is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Located at the corner of Zulueta Street and Quirino Avenue, the skate plaza was designed by Alain Privado, an architect by day and, for the last 11 years, a skateboarder by night. “I based my concept on skate parks in other countries like the United Stated, China and Japan,” Privado said. “I visited Singapore and they seem to have skate parks in every district. In the United States, the people welcome and patronize skateboarding. In the Philippines, not [so] much.” Like Espiritu, Privado observed that skateboarders in the country were stereotyped as idlers or, worse, street gang members. “I skateboard but I am not [a troublemaker]. The problem is not the sport but the discipline [among skateboarders],” he said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Poe hits Duterte rights record P-Noy denies P1.5-B Mayor has no ‘right to lead’ bribe for BBL BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer

SHE DID not mention the current front-runner in surveys on next year’s presidential elections, but the reference to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was clear. “A government or people who abuse human rights are violating international human rights and have no right to lead our country,” said Sen. Grace Poe, who is likewise running for President and had been topping popularity polls before Duterte announced—after so much hemming and hawing—he was joining the race. Senator Grace Poe. JOSEPH VIDAL / PRIB At the commemoration of International Human Rights next year’s polls for suppos- Court Chief Justice Artemio Day yesterday, Poe said in a edly not being a natural-born Panganiban has suggested statement that the Philippines citizen, an express requirement that the express provision in should have a leader that up- under the Constitution, and for the Constitution should be set holds and not just respects hu- not meeting the 10-year resi- aside, Poe should be allowed to man rights in the face of chal- dency rule. run in the election and people lenges. “We all have the right to a na- should decide her fate. Poe did not specifically name tionality, the right to belong to a In a Senate forum, Poe’s runDuterte but the latter has been country,” Poe said. ning mate Sen. Francis Escuaccused of setting loose a “I have always said that aban- dero also said the country’s “death squad” to execute drug doned children are entitled to next President would swear dealers and criminals since he the same rights that all people an oath to enforce and uphold became mayor of Davao City enjoy. The circumstances of the law and the Constitution, in 1988. He has not denied the their birth do not make them including the rights to life, libaccusations and in recent pub- lesser humans.” she added. erty and property which could lic statements even admitted The Supreme Court has rec- not be taken away without due he had killed criminals in his ognized the Universal Decla- process. drive to make his city one of ration of Human Rights in its Asked about the statements the most secure places in the rulings, she noted. “We all have of Duterte that he had killed world. the same rights under the law. criminals, Escudero said that If a governwhile there are ment allows the government rights of constitagencies tasked uents to be vioto deal with such lated, it cannot I have always said that abandoned things, he belead the people, children are entitled to the same lieves it would Poe said. Everyrights that all people enjoy. The be better to have body should encircumstances of their birth do not the mayor acjoy these rights, make them lesser humans. count for these whether rich or after the elecpoor, she said. tions. “Everybody He said that should be included and nobody The law should be the same for during election season, any acshould be left behind. This in- everyone. We should be able to tion would be given political cludes the right to choose a expect fair treatment from a color and seen as a move to put leader,” she said. fair court,” she said. pressure on a candidate. And as she continuous to face “At the end of the day, I trust “If he has to face any accountchallenges to her candidacy on that the Supreme Court recog- ability for that, it may be done account of her being a found- nizes the right of every Filipino after the elections. It’s not for ling, her camp stressed that she to choose his leader,” she fur- us to use that issue against him has a right to run for President ther said. now,” he told reporters. based on the Universal DeclaraSome lawyers have stressed But he disagrees with tion of Human Rights. that the clear mandate of the Duterte’s position that to The Commission on Elec- Constitution that the President achieve peace and order, crimitions is tackling four petitions must be natural born cannot be nals must be killed. He does not seeking to disqualify her from contravened by international believe that the end justify the running for the presidency in conventions. Former Supreme means, he added. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

PRESIDENT AQUINO yesterday denied that he offered P1.5 billion worth of projects to lawmakers in exchange for the passage of the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). “Ask someone who was there, I never promised anything besides the appeal that in the passage of the BBL, we do have a chance to change the narrative whereas not passing it continues the status quo. And that was the central message, nothing more to it, nothing less,” President Aquino told the Bulong Pulungan forum at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City. The President showed a hint of irritation at the allegation, made by an unidentified source in a news report, by saying that if ever there was anything that he would give to lawmakers for the holidays, it was likely a Christmas card. President Aquino on Tuesday met with both administration and opposition lawmakers following days of lack of quorum at the House of Representatives, a major stumbling block in the passage of the BBL. The meeting took place three days after he arrived from Italy, where the President discussed the peace process with top officials of the Italian government and the Vatican. Mr. Aquino earlier said it was Secretary of State to the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, “who was more emphatic” about the Philippines’ contribution to attaining world peace through its peace process with

the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The President and Parolin met after the private audience Mr. Aquino had with Pope Francis. Mr. Aquino said Parolin told him the Philippines “can serve as an example of how to reach out to our Muslim brothers and achieve peace especially [in light of ] extremism that is such a threat worldwide.” The Vatican Radio, quoting a press statement from the Holy See Press Office, said that “particular attention was given to the state of the peace process in the Mindanao—located in the south of the country—with the hope being expressed that the commitment of the parties can guarantee a stable and lasting peace in the region.” The peace process with the MILF is one of the cornerstones of the Aquino administration’s effort to bring security and development to war-torn Central Mindanao. Except for a few delays, the peace deal was on track until the Mamasapano debacle in January, where 44 police commandos and 18 MILF rebels were killed in an encounter. The proposed BBL and the entire peace negotiations were denigrated by lawmakers, government officials and the public, blaming the MILF despite the admission of Special Action Force (SAF) director Getulio Napenas that he ignored the GPHMILF cease-fire agreement in the operation to take down Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and his Filipino cohort, Basit Usman. ■

Philippine News

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DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

PNP chief creates special police unit in ARMM to ensure peaceful 2016 elections BY NOEL PUNZALAN AND EDWIN FERNANDEZ Philippines News Agency CAMP SK PENDATUN, MAGUINDANAO — Philippine National Police Director General Ricardo Marquez has ordered the creation of a Police Special Unit (SPU) that will work to ensure that next year’s elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be peaceful and orderly. Marquez, who visited PNP-ARMM regional office over the weekend, received security briefings ahead of next year’s balloting. At least 70 of the 76 identified private armed groups (PAGs) in the country are found in the ARMM. These groups pose potential threats and could disrupt the 2016 national and local polls. In ARMM, the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur are considered “areas of immediate concern” while Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are listed as “areas of concern.” Marquez said PAGs could work as mercenaries to push for the interest of politicians in the locality. “We should not allow that to happen,” Marquez told ARMM police officials and personnel. He said the presence of PAGs, proliferation of guns, intense political rivalry could make the national elections bloody. These led to the creation of the SPU.

Philippine National Police Director General Ricardo Marquez.

GOVERNMENT PHOTO

“The establishment of PSU means additional troops to be deployed, resources and logistics will be poured in ARMM as the election gets closer,” Marquez told reporters. He also directed ARMM PNP, led by Regional Director Chief Supt. Ronald Estilles, to creation mediation teams that will lead in the resolution of clan wars and “rido” family feuds which are common in the region. Marquez said the PNP is in the thick

of preparations for the coming polls and learning from the experience in the 2010 and 2013 elections, new security plans have been prepared that PNP regional officials will continue to assess and evaluate as the election campaign period draws near. He urged political leaders in the ARMM to cooperate with the local police in ensuring a peaceful atmosphere in the region throughout the campaign period. ■

ba niyang tanggapin? (He chooses the regional director. He chooses the chief of police for Davao City. The statistics he refers to are from the PNP, from the people, from the system that has been established to count the blotters filed for crime. This is the truth. Can’t he accept it?)” he pointed out. Roxas also reacted to Duterte’s claimed that he is not a Wharton degree holder or his degree is non-existent. With this, he challenged Duterte that he will be willing to be slapped should the mayor proved that he was not a Wharton degree holder. On the other hand, he is willing to be slapped if there is no truth to his claim. “Ganito, magsampalan kami. Kung hindi totoo ang Wharton degree ko, sampalin mo ako. Hindi ako iiwas o iilag. Pero kung totoo ‘yung Wharton degree ko, sasampalin kita (If my Wharton degree isn’t real, slap me. I wouldn’t try to evade it. But if it is true, I’ll slap you),” he stressed.

“Well, nakakagulat dahil, di ba, ang isyu niya sa akin ay naninira daw ako? E wala naman akong ginawang paninira. E sa kanya nga, siya ang naninira, nagmumura pa. Di ba? Ito ba ang gusto natin? Subukan niya (Well, it’s surprising for he said that his issue with me is that I have been insulting him. But I haven’t insulted anyone. He is the one deriding others with expletives. Is this what we want? Try me),” Roxas claimed. He added that he would request Wharton to give him authentication to prove that he was a true degree holder of the said school. Asked by reporters as former DILG secretary, after Duterte allegedly claimed that he plan to make the “police and the military the backbone of his supposed dictatorship,” Roxas said that “the mentality of violence has no place in the present society.” According to Roxas, police are the protectors of every citizen and not to go against them. ■

Roxas returns... Nasanay siya na kung hindi niya nakukuha ang gusto niya, kung may magsabi sa kanya ng katotohanan, ay mananampal na lang siya o pagbubuhatan niya ng kamay (The hard thing about Mayor Duterte is that he got used to a one-man rule. He got used to having his wishes granted, and if anyone tells him the reality, he would slap them or resort to violence),” he added. Roxas explained that Duterte knew that he was not telling the truth on the real statistics of crime rates in Davao because he was also the chairman of Regional Peace and Order Council and in charge of the peace and order in the whole Davao region. “‘Yung pili ng regional director, sa kanya. ‘Yung pili ng chief of police ng Davao City, kanya. ‘Yung mga istatistika na ‘yun ay mula sa PNP, mula sa mga tao, mula sa sistema na nandiyan na nagbibilang ayon sa blotter nitong mga krimen na ito. Ito ‘yung katotohanan eh. Ayaw ❰❰ 1

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Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

More anomalies in Makati parking building BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer

APP in violation of the procurement law. “No government procurements shall be undertaken unless it is in accordance with the approved APP of the procuring entity,” the report said. The alleged overpriced P2.28-billion parking building became the basis for a plunder complaint filed against the Vice President and the firing of the younger Binay by the Office of the Ombudsman. The special auditors also stated that supplemental budgets for various in-

P3.54 billion—P1.24 billion for 2007 release of the loan.” and P2.3 billion for 2008—representDisbursements of Phases I and II of ing proceeds of loans from LandBank the building totaling P830,957,960.56 that were verified to be not actually re- net of taxes paid to Hillmarc’s were A SPECIAL audit has revealed that the leased during those years, but only in charged against the 2007 and 2009 capiMakati City Parking Building II project 2010, in violation of the Local Govern- tal outlays for other projects that should was not only allegedly overpriced and ment Code. have been from the LandBank loan, the its bidding rigged, but it was also rid“No ordinance providing for a supple- report said. dled with various purported anomalous mental budget shall be enacted except It also said the city entered into a practices, according to the Commission when supported by funds actually avail- contract of architectural and engineeron Audit (COA). able as certified by the local treasurer,” ing services for the parking building A 57-page COA report showed statethe report said. This referred to the with MANA Architecture and Interior ments of receipts and amount of money Design amounting to P11,974,000 even expenditures were actually collected as with the required appropriation and “bloated,” misrepcertified by the lo- payments were made without proof of resentation of infracal treasurer during accomplishments. structure projects During five phases of the building construction a given fiscal year, Former COA Chair Grace Pulido Tan worth P14 billion taken from either loans from Land Bank of the which was over and previously stated that apart from regufrom which fundPhilippines, unappropriated surplus, or savings above the realized lar auditors, the commission would also ing for the building of the executive budget were misrepresented. estimated income of seek the assistance of experts to conduct was allegedly taken; These included the P2.2 billion allocated for that year. a new audit of the parking building. all five phases of the the Makati parking building. “Moreover, the The alleged overpricing of the 11-story construction from bloated figures ap- building was the subject of a Senate in2007 to 2011 were pear to be made to quiry and was blamed by Binay, who is purportedly not conceal the fact that running in the 2016 presidential eleccovered by the city’s annual procure- frastructure projects during five phas- various projects, including the Makati tion, as the cause of the drop of his popment plan (APP); advance payments es of construction from 2007 to 2011 City Parking Building II funded through ularity ratings and described the allegato favored contractor Hillmarc’s Corp. amounting to P14.048 billion funded the loans on 2007 and 2008, were imple- tions as part of a demolition job against prompted the alleged rigged bidding; P2.2-billion parking building. mented and paid even without actual him. ■ and budgets were said to have been inDuring five phases of the building creased after contracts were awarded. construction taken from either loans The report by a three-member team, from Land Bank of the Philippines, una copy of which was obtained by the IN- appropriated surplus, or savings of the QUIRER, said the construction of the executive budget were misrepresented. building, started when Vice President These included the P2.2 billion allocatJejomar Binay was still mayor of Makati ed for the Makati parking building. City and continued through the adminIt also said that the statements of reEnglish Now! istration of his son, dismissed Mayor ceipts and expenditures for 2007 and No-cost English Language training for BC Residents. Junjun Binay, started even without an 2008 appeared bloated by a total of

No overseas absentee voting in Baghdad, Damascus and Tripoli, says Comelec BY KATHERINE PADILLA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will not conduct elections in conflict-stricken capitals, such as, Baghdad; Damascus; and Tripoli, the poll body said yesterday. The Comelec’s Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) has advised the poll body to refrain from conducting overseas absentee voting (OAV) in the three capitals “due to current evacuation status”, the Philippine Star reported. “As much as we want to hold elections in these areas, we cannot do so… It’s an action in futility if we are going to send ballots there,” she said in an interview,” Secretariat Mariana Juana Valeza of the

Comelec’s Office for Overseas Voting was quoting as saying in a Philippine Star report. The embassies of the Philippines in Baghdad, Damascus and Tripoli have also been closed due to ongoing conflicts, Valeza added. Despite the unavailability of Philippine embassies as voting posts in the three capitals, the Comelec has found a way for the 3,915 registered voters to cast their votes in May 2016. “They can vote in the nearby area where there is no conflict. There will be a special list there and if your name is there, then you can vote. The rationale here is enfranchisement rather than disenfranchisement,” Commissioner Arthur Lim, head of the OFOV was quoted as saying in a Manila Bulletin report. ■

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Philippine News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Duterte to Roxas: You can’t handle stress

Poe: ‘I am still a candidate for President’

BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY KATHERINE PADILLA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

PARRYING ATTACKS against himself, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte hit back at the administration’s standard-bearer Mar Roxas, saying his rival for the presidency could not handle stress. Duterte recounted how the former interior secretary reacted during the first few days after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” struck the Visayas in November 2013. “Mar gave the victims uncooked rice. Why will you give them rice when they don’t have pot and water to cook them?” Duterte said Friday night in a speech before business partners of the Taguig City government during a Thanksgiving dinner at the SM Aura. Roxas had been severely criticized for his performance during and after the onslaught of the strongest typhoon to ever hit land in history. “The people if under stress would first of all ask for water. You must distribute water first and food that are ready to eat,” Duterte said. “I said, ‘Don’t give them uncooked rice because water is scarce, Mar,’” he said.

MANILA — Despite the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division’s decision to disqualify Sen. Grace Poe from the 2016 election, the senator remains positive of her candidacy and maintains that she is a “true Filipino from birth.” “I am a true Filipino from birth. I was raised as a Filipino, lived, studied, got married in the Philippines, and wish to serve fellow Filipinos as a Filipino,” she said in a statement. Poe admitted that she was hurt and saddened by the decision of the poll body. She said that she had presented evidences of her citizenship and residence and believed that the Comelec First Division will give “fair consideration of the facts”. However, the poll body “chose to ignore the facts,” she added. “It is sad that the Comelec First Division has chosen to ignore the facts just to deny me the chance to better serve our countrymen, and to also deny our people their choices in an open election,” Poe said. Poe also said that her case is not only an issue of candidacy but will also affect the opportunities of foundlings like her. “How these cases will be resolved will ultimately pervade the lives, status and limited opportunities accorded to all

‘Do not look for the dead’

Saying Leyte was his native province, Duterte explained that he was in Tacloban City two days after Yolanda hit. He was born in Maasin, Southern Leyte. He said that Roxas even asked Tacloban’s local bureau of fire and engineering office to help in the government’s emergency response. “This was what I told him. “Mar, can I talk to you privately? You are looking for men connected to the city government. Do not look for those people. For all you know, they are already dead. All of them are victims,” Duterte said emphatically. “Do not create an energy here because there is none,” he said, recounting his talk with Roxas. The Davao City mayor criticized the administration for declaring a state of calamity instead of a state of emergency.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Sought for comment on Duterte’s statements, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said: “We’d rather not respond to Mayor Duterte’s tirades.” Duterte made the audience laugh when he was about to mouth an expletive against Roxas but stopped. He reminded the audience how Roxas was caught on video berating Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez and saying, “You have to be careful because you are a Romualdez, and the President is an Aquino.” “When I advised him to change the leadership so he could easily use the fast craft for the relief operations, I was told, ‘Malacañang has already thought about it,’” he said. “Paano ‘yun, wala namang isip ang Malacañang (How is it possible, Malacanang cannot think),” Duterte said, sending the crowd laughing. Couldn’t help himself

But in the end, Duterte could not help himself and he cussed at Roxas. “Kung magalit siya, sampalin ko siya. %^&^% (If he gets mad, I’ll slap him. [expletives],” he said. In response to Roxas’ statement that peace and order in Davao was a myth, Duterte said: “Maybe he was right. I am try-

RODY DUTERTE / FACEBOOK

ing to believe because the person talking is a political myth.” Roxas on Friday during the Galing Pook forum titled Conversations with the Presidentiables on Countryside Development held at Ateneo de Manila University cited records from the Philippine National Police, showing that Davao had the fourth highest crime volume in the country. Duterte said he found the criticism coming from Roxas and even Sen. Grace Poe, including on his alleged human rights abuses, odd. “When I was helping Mar during the elections, I wasn’t called human rights violator. I am now that we are facing each other in the upcoming elections,” Duterte said. Meanwhile, Liberal Party political affairs chief Edgar Erice said Duterte’s suggestion to give out cooked rice to thousands of typhoon victims was “stupid.” “He is the one who looks stressed out in a crisis because he resorts to slapping people. He should try slapping someone here in Caloocan and he’ll get his proper place,” said the representative from Caloocan in a text message. ■ With reports from Nikko Dizon and Gil Cabacungan www.canadianinquirer.net

other foundlings, putting them at disadvantage for reasons and circumstances that are not their doing,” the senator said. The senator believes that Comelec’s decision will also have an impact to overseas Filipinos who wish to return to the country and seek government posts. “Thus, that institutions are being used to exclude fellow Filipinos, is a cause for serious concern. Our laws should protect and defend their welfare, not shut them out,” she added. One of the controversies thrown at Poe is her citizenship status. Poe lived in the United States of America for years. She became a naturalized U.S citizen in 2001 and denounced her Filipino citizenship. In 2006, after her family has moved back to the Philippines, Poe applied for dual citizenship and became dual citizens of the U.S. and the Philippines. In 2011, Poe signed a certificate renouncing her U.S. citizenship so she could sit as chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). It was only in 2012 when the U.S State Department approved her Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States. Poe will appeal the verdict of Comelec First Division before the Supreme Court which she believes will “uphold the truth”. “In the meantime, I assure you that I am still a candidate for president,” she said. ■

Senator Grace Poe sprinkles holy water at the tomb of her adoptive father Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) at the Manila North Cemetery during the commemoration of the 11th death anniversary of the Filipino movie action king. AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

P-Noy: Part of me wants to stay on as President BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer HE’S LEAVING so much unfinished business that it sometimes crossed his mind to stay beyond his term should the Constitution allow it, President Aquino admitted yesterday, saying some government projects would bear fruit only after he stepped down from office. “There’s a small side that wants to say I want to inaugurate the SLEX-NLEX connectors,” Mr. Aquino told journalists in a forum. “I want to ride the MRT with more trains, (with) the 14th (car) coming in (soon). (I want) to make sure that the CCT (Conditional Cash Transfer) program really produces the results (expected)… It’s like, there are so many things that will be left almost done,” the President said. But aside from the legal aspect, President Aquino said the “human cost” also had to be considered. He could only imagine the look on the faces of his sisters, nephews and nieces at the thought that he’d stay on as President for another six years, Mr. Aquino said. The “true measure of success is to be able to train your successor,” the President said, expressing hope that his chosen one—Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas—would succeed him in Malacañang. One “shouldn’t stay, or shouldn’t hope to stay forever and ever,” he added. Less jaded, less cynical

“There will always be somebody who will be, I guess, fresher, more energetic, less jaded, less cynical (who) can infect so many others to get us to a higher level,” President Aquino said in yesterday’s Bulong Pulungan forum and Christmas party at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City,

the last time Mr. Aquino would be attending as the country’s President. The forum, composed of veteran journalists who covered martial law and President Cory Aquino’s presidency, had given Mr. Aquino recognition every year since 2010 for his work as President. This year, Bulong Pulungan gave the President the “Most Outstanding Exemplar Award,” for turning the country’s economy around in six years and earning for the country such distinctions as “Asia’s Rising Tiger” and “Asia’s Bright Spot,” among others. Asked about the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that indicated how the majority of voters would likely reject the candidate he endorses in the 2016 presidential elections, the President pointed out how candidates were seeking his endorsement. Effect of endorsement

“I think that is in itself testimony that there is value to that endorsement, right? If it has no value, why bring attention to it?” Mr. Aquino said. The privately commissioned SWS survey, conducted from Nov. 26 to 28, showed that President Aquino got a -6 net effect of endorsement (percentage of those who will probably vote for the candidate minus those who will probably vote against him/her). In Metro Manila, the impact of the President’s endorsement was a huge -26 percent. The survey also showed that presidential aspirant Mar Roxas made a significant jump (in voters’ preference rating) after being endorsed by Mr. Aquino in August, although the LP standard-bearer continued to lag behind front-runners, Sen. Grace Poe, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, and Vice President Jejomar Binay. Asked if he would be a fiscal-

President Benigno S. Aquino III answers questions during the forum at the Bulong Pulungan event at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. GIL NARTEA / MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU / PNA

izer, critic or would stay out of politics after his term, the President said he was not one to offer unsolicited advice like his mother. “Again, like any citizen, if called upon to help, why shouldn’t we? But as much as possible, I will pray for (my) successor to really build upon the successes that we’ve had, so we can go from strength to strength,” he added. More optimistic

After six years in office, Mr. Aquino said he was more “optimistic now of what this country and our people can do and that we can do it rather quicker than what was imagined.” To critics who called out his administration for underspending and failing to build the infrastructure needed by a developing country, the President said his administration had to fix so many things in the system as a result of the “lost decade” under his predecessor, that it was only in 2012 when it became ready to map out its development projects. “Perhaps this is a classic question of half empty over half full,” Mr. Aquino added. As expected, the President

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was asked about his marriage plans, especially now when, with only some 200 days left in office, “a future fiancée need not bear the burden of (being) a President’s wife.” “Do I have plans? I’ve always had plans. Perhaps when I have more time, now that I’m able to go to St. Jude a lot more often, it might help,” the President said, drawing laughter from his audience. A church dedicated to St. Jude, considered the patron saint of hopeless causes, is just a stone’s throw away from Malacañang. ‘Bora experience’

After his term, the President said the place he’d like to visit most is Boracay, the white sand beach in Panay that has often been included in the list of best beaches in the world. He had been to Boracay, the President said, but it was only for about 40 minutes when he inaugurated the Caticlan airport. He did not even see the beach, he said of his “Bora experience.” “One of the best pictures my mother ever had was really being at peace (while) walking at the beach in Bora,” President Aquino explained. The President confessed to

having “a lot of mixed feelings” about staying on in office, saying it was hard to ask his staff, who had often expressed their wish to go back to their normal lives “to continue sacrificing.” “If (I were) to do so, I’d like to think it will be in performance of duty,” Mr. Aquino said. “But at the same time, there really has to be that focus, (the thought) that entering something should carry with it the plan of leaving and having the next generation ready to take over,” the President said, adding that he would readily relinquish the presidency to whoever gets elected as his successor. “I guess the best leader especially in democratic countries is one who has the ability to keep listening and acting on the wants and needs of his bosses—the electorate who put him in office. I guess in essence that will be it: Don’t lose your ability to be able to really listen so that you can best serve your masters: the Filipino people,” the President said. In his speech at the forum founded shortly after the restoration of democracy in 1986, President Aquino thanked the journalist-members of the group for standing by his administration “in encouraging our people to view things in a more positive, more inspiring light.” “This much is true: All of us here witnessed the dark days of Martial Law, and went through the lost decade under my predecessor. You saw for yourselves the sacrifices our countrymen had to undertake, as well as the suffering that in one way or another left a negative imprint on our national consciousness. But you have also seen firsthand the meaningful change that has taken place within our shores these past five years—a change that has truly transformed the mindset of our people from being apathetic, to being participative and sometimes unreasonably demanding,” he said. ■

Philippine News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Poe vs... public forum yesterday at Ateneo de Manila University, but traded potshots in separate interviews. The two have engaged in a protracted word war this week, with the Liberal Party (LP) candidate calling Binay an “expert” in corruption, and the Vice President accusing Roxas of a smear job. For good measure, Roxas came out swinging at Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte at the same forum, describing Duterte’s image as a crime buster and his city’s reputation as the country’s safest as a “myth.” Duterte, now perceived to be the front-runner in the latest survey, is facing off with Sen. Grace Poe, who has slid down to second place and is fighting multiple disqualification suits besides. Though she did not mention Duterte by name, it was clear that Poe was referring to the mayor when she said on Thursday that a human rights violator had no right to lead the country. This drew a stinging retort yesterday from Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte’s vice presidential running mate who acts as his spokesperson. “Why did you ask for Duterte’s endorsement if you believe he’s not fit to lead? And why did Senator Poe ask if she could be Mayor Duterte’s Vice President earlier this year?” Cayetano said. “If Senators Poe and Escudero [Poe’s running mate] think that Mayor Duterte is not fit to lead the country then why did they ask for his endorsement in the 2013 senatorial election?” added the senator. Duterte has claimed that Poe had asked him to be his Vice President just before she made the decision to run for President. Alberto Romulo, the former foreign affairs secretary, reportedly arranged the meeting between Duterte and Poe. Poe, who earlier vehemently denied that she had asked Duterte to be her vice presidential running mate, yesterday admitted that a meeting did take place between herself and the Davao City mayor at her Corinthian Gardens home in Quezon City. Cayetano said Poe risked being accused of dishonesty and hypocrisy just to pander to Duterte’s critics in a desperate move to boost her electoral campaign. Asked by reporters to respond to Roxas’ comments, Binay said Roxas should look at his own shortcomings “instead ❰❰ 1

of diverting the people’s attention to these accusations.” “This really shows that Mar Roxas is part of the conspiracy of demolition by perception, that I am embroiled in graft and corruption,” he said. But Roxas said Binay should simply answer the allegations against him. “He had the opportunity in the Senate and in other forums. So instead of pointing fingers or blaming anyone, why won’t he just answer: Is it true that this building is overpriced? Is it true that these kits are overpriced? It’s all up to him,” he said.

and cities over his six-year administration, if he should win. Under this setup, an amount of money is to be set aside, dedicated and implemented at the local level, similar to the “bottom-up budgeting” participatory budgeting scheme initiated by the Department of Budget and Management and implemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Roxas said local executives would not need to knock on the doors of national officials to get some attention and muchneeded funds. He said the LGUs benefiting from the fund would have the chance to show their creativity and dynamism in figuring out how best to spend the money that would be allocated to them. During the open forum, Binay criticized the Aquino administration, citing such problems as underspending by government agencies and the failure to truly devolve government transactions to local offices. Roxas, on the other hand, said

man rights. Roxas said Davao City was not as free of crime as the mayor’s supporters would have people believe. “Just for the record, Davao has the [fourth] highest crime rate. So it’s just a myth, a figment of the imagination that Davao City is safe. I’m not putting him down, I am just giving the statistics,” Roxas said. This was the same statistics provided by LP spokesperson, Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice, earlier this week. Erice said Davao City ranked just behind Quezon City, Zamboanga and Manila in crime incidence in 2014, but he Sharp contrast did not provide other details. Only Binay and Roxas attended Speaking to reporters after the Ateneo event called “Converthe forum, Roxas wondered sations with the Presidentiables why Duterte’s crime-fighting on Countryside Development,” image “has not been queswhich was organized by Galing tioned, or just accepted as fact.” Pook Foundation. In fact, he said he had raised Binay was scheduled to speak the matter of Duterte’s alleged at 10 a.m. and Roxas at 11 a.m. links to the vigilante Davao Although Binay was still around Death Squad in a conversation when Roxas arrived, the LP canwith the mayor. didate opted to stay in a holding “We talked about that. I asked room instead of him about acgreeting his rival, cusations and who left as soon as statements that he finished speakhe killed people ing. They never All the things that are important, we for discipline. came faceto-face need to work on, we need to make His answer to with each other. sacrifices for, we need to focus on. me was ‘nothThe event ing,’ he killed no showcased the one. I don’t know sharp contrast where these rebetween the two ports are coming leaders, one of them focusing on the country’s economy never from. So it’s better that he just the empowerment of the poor- had it so good, adding that he tell the truth—has he killed peoest local government units, and intended to be as “reformist, ple or not?” said Roxas. the other emphasizing equitable activist, change-oriented” as “I am for the law. I do not bedistribution of government re- the incumbent government. lieve in shortcuts. I believe in sources. Social media activist Juana human rights. I believe everyone Binay spoke about the need Change, who watched the fo- is equal in the eyes of the law. to strengthen the capacities of rum, said neither Binay nor Whoever you are, whether you local government units, espe- Roxas had “wowed” her. She are President or not, you have no cially in rural areas. In particu- said the words of the two lead- right to kill anyone,” he said. lar, he proposed increasing the ers did not honestly reflect Internal Revenue Allotment their records in their decades of Peace and order platform (IRA) of poorer municipalities public service. During the forum, Roxas was and provinces so the local govsked to lay out his platform to ernment could do more. First principles improve peace and order. “I have long championed and Roxas drew the loudest ap“Like in all things in life, there’s joined the clamor of mayors and plause at the forum when he pref- no magic wand, no abracadabra, governors on [the] IRA,” he said. aced his comments on Duterte’s no ‘let’s change Constitution,’ soBinay said it was a shame that crime-buster image with a state- lution. All the things that are imbigger local government units ment on his “basic principles.” portant, we need to work on, we would get a bigger IRA share, in“I don’t believe that might is need to make sacrifices for, we cluding Quezon City and his own right,” he said. need to focus on,” he said. Makati, even though neither city “I do not believe that the gun Roxas cited his experience actually needed that much IRA. trumps all others. I do not be- and accomplishments at the On the other hand, Roxas lieve in summary justice. That’s Department of the Interior and espoused what he called the the basic principles I believe Local Government. “Walang Iwanan Fund (no one in,” Roxas said. “In Metro Manila, when (I) left behind)” or “Karapatan Fund He took Duterte to task for became DILG [secretary], the (rights fund),” which would dis- his tough talk that seemed to statistics (were) 918 incidents tribute P100 billion to all towns betray a lack of respect for hu- of crime every week,” he said. www.canadianinquirer.net

“For the skeptical among you, this is blotter-based, not just a creation of the chief of police.” “We implemented Lambat Sibat, which was a protocol of what policemen are supposed to do every day… To make a long story short, after a year of steady decline, we are now at 300 incidents [of crime every week]. That is real. That is fact,” Roxas said. “That was actually accomplished, not by some magic wand, not by some miracle, in fact it was accomplished by changing the mindset of the Philippine National Police,” he said. Before, he said the police force’s mindset was “the DILG secretary is coming, let’s capture some criminals.” “I had to change that. That was the attitude. Frankly, I applied modern management, ‘if you cannot count it, you cannot manage it.’ So I ordered an audit of the blotters,” he said. Now, “each policeman has to know what he has to do every day, which street he has to cover, which patrol he has to take,” Roxas said. Crimes are being geo-tagged so people will know “where, what time and what hour the crimes occur.” “These are very, very basic things. They are not glamorous. They do not make headlines, but roughly every week, there are 600 people we save from crime,” Roxas said. “Unfortunately, people don’t go and say ‘I came home safe, thanks to Mar Roxas.’ But those are the facts and crime has been reduced,” he said. ‘Moralizing politician’

Cayetano urged Duterte’s critics to visit Davao City and see for themselves the achievements of the mayor there. “While Sen. Poe’s insincerity is exposed, Mayor Duterte continues to represent authentic, honest and no-nonesense politics,” he said. “If moralizing politicians like Senator Poe can stop murderers, robbers, rapists and corrupt public officials, then we don’t need Mayor Duterte. But we know that is not the case,” he said. Cayetano said Poe should focus on finding solutions, especially since she is the chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs. Turning to the Liberal Party, Cayetano said the LP should focus on platforms instead of simply channeling its energy into attacking the mayor. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Counsel of ‘tanim-bala’ victim asks Ombudsman to investigate scam BY KATHERINE PADILLA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

The United States has pledged to deliver 114 M113A2 APCs to the Philippines under the Excess Defense Article Program.

MANILA — A lawyer of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who claimed to be a victim of ‘tanim-bala’ scam at the Ninoy International Airport asked yesterday the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct a separate investigation on the ‘tanimbala’ scam following the release of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) report. Spocky Farolan, attorney of a tanim-bala scam victim, Gloria Ortinez, said yesterday that NBI’s report was influenced by President Benigno Aquino III. The NBI findings identified Aviation Security Group cops and Office for Transportation Security (OTS) personnel as the individuals behind the

scam. The agency denied any involvement of a syndicate group. Farolan believes that there are high ranking officials of NAIA who are also involved in the scam that has victimized several passengers, mostly OFWs. He hopes that the Ombudsman would include Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado in an investigation he proposed. “It is sad that the NBI appears to have balanced things out. Even if we believe in their findings that there really is such tanim-bala scheme, we are afraid that they announced that there was no syndicate because it was what the Chief Executive said. They have to stand by such pronouncement,” Farolan was quoted as saying in a Philippine

Star report. Even the Department of Justice (DOJ) who ordered the NBI to conduct an investigation on the scam believes in the possibility of a syndicate behind the scam. “Yes, we are not closing our door to that possibility. What the NBI said in this report is that based on information gathered during the limited period of investigation, there was no likelihood of a syndicate,” DOJ Undersecretary Emmanuel Caparas said in the same report. The investigation on the tanim bala scam will continue, Caparas told the Philippine Star. The NBI has filed criminal charges against 2 OTS personnel and 4 ASG cops over their involvement in the ‘tanim-bala’ scam. ■

younger Romero regarding the issuance of allegedly falsified corporate checks worth P9 million in 2007. Canlas claimed that he was the HCPTI corporate secretary and that the firm had authorized him to initiate the cases. He submitted as proof a secretary’s certificate which stated that the HCPTI board of directors held a special meeting during which the board granted him the authority to represent the company and file the theft complaint. In his decision, Fernandez said there was “sufficient evidence to conclude” that the crimes of falsification of public document and perjury had been committed by Canlas. Fernandez ruled that Canlas “made untruthful statements in narration of facts in the complaint-affidavits, secretary’s certificate, and general information sheet of HCPTI [which are the] subject of the consolidated complaints.” The prosecutor cited the general information sheet filed by Canlas in which he did

not include Harbour Centre Port Holdings Inc. (HCPHI) on the list of stockholders despite that fact that he included the said company in the sheets he filed for 2011, 2012 and 2013. HCPHI, controlled by the younger Romero, claimed to have obtained majority control in HCPTI in 2011 through divestments made by his father. Last year, however, the elder Romero’s two companies, R-II Builders Inc. and R-II Holdings Inc., allegedly seized control of HCPTI. The company general information sheet later issued by Canlas, an appointee of the elder Romero’s camp, listed R-II Buildings and R-II Holdings, as HCPTI stockholders. The prosecutor noted that HCPHI remained a stockholder of HCPTI since it had not transferred its shares to R-II Builders and R-II Holdings. Canlas’ own evidence, the stock and transfer book, shows that HCPHI is a stockholder of HCPTI, while R-II Builders and R-II Holdings are not. ■

AFP to recieve 100 ‘excess’ armored vehicles from US Criminal raps approved vs port terminal officer BY JULIE M. AURELIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will receive by the end of the year more than 100 M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs) from the United States government as excess defense articles, according to AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla. Of the 114 M113A2 APCs, 77 units arrived at the port of Subic on Wednesday night, while 37 more are scheduled to arrive on Dec. 14. “It’s a most welcome development, particularly for the Philippine Army, as it energizes and strengthens its mechanized division. If the Philippine Air Force has entered the supersonic age, the Philippine Navy has gone wet and wild, then the Army is now macho,” Padilla said yesterday. The United States has pledged to deliver 114 M113A2 APCs to the Philippines under the Excess Defense Article Program. Under the program, the United States gives its excess military equipment without cost to qualified allied coun-

tries. The AFP earlier made a formal request to the United States to upgrade its defense modernization efforts. Some of the M113A2 APCs are are scheduled to take part in the AFP Day Parade on Dec. 21. Padilla said the APCs were given free to the Philippines although the AFP shouldered the transportation costs of the shipment of the APCs to the country. Earlier this year, the AFP purchased six upgraded M113A1 APCs with remote controlled weapons systems from Elbit Systems in Israel. The six delivered in September were the first of 28 APCs, which came at a P882 million price tag. All of the APCs will be armed with a M2 heavy barrel cal. 50 machine gun. Padilla said the 114 M113A2 APCs from the United States are the latest addition to the Philippine Army’s mechanized infantry division. “Battle-steeled movement will be expedited, accuracy in operation when mobilized will be fast-tracked, and the survivability or security of our troops in the field can be guaranteed,” Padilla said. ■

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer THE ACTING Quezon City prosecutor has approved the filing of criminal charges against the corporate secretary of the Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. (HCPTI), the company that operates the 10-hectare Manila Harbour Centre whose ownership is being disputed by the rival camps of businessman Reghis Romero II and his son Michael. In a seven-page resolution dated Nov. 9 and released last week, acting Quezon City Prosecutor Ferdinand Fernandez found probable cause to file five counts of falsification of public documents and perjury against Jerome Canlas, who submitted papers wherein he claimed that he was the corporate secretary of HCPTI. The complaint against Canlas was filed by two corporate officers of HCPTI. Canlas previously filed four separate complaints for qualified theft against the two officers and the www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippine News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Cops, firemen file raps vs health care provider BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer A SAVINGS and loan association set up by policemen, firemen and their families have filed complaints against their health maintenance organization (HMO) with the Department of Health (DOH), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC-RTC). The Public Safety Savings and Loans Association Inc. (PSSLAI), through its lawyer Roland Cruz, said the complaints were filed against Medocare Health Systems Inc. (Medocare) for alleged failure to comply with its obligation to provide continued health care services to PSSLAI members. In a statement, Cruz said the complaints filed against Medocare last month were for misrepresentation, fraud and betrayal of public trust for its alleged refusal to provide continued health care services to more than 1,000 PSSLAI members in good standing who are

in possession of HMOcards issued by Medocare. The association’s court case also seeks moral and exemplary damages. The complaints at the DOH and the SEC, on the other hand, seek the suspension of the accreditation and license to operate of Medocare. In the complaints, PSSLAI claimed that it entered into a corporate health care program contract with Medocare covering delivery of dental, preventive, diagnostic and treatment services, annual physical examinations, medical emergen-

cy care, out-patient and in-patient hospital access to PSSLAI member-account holders. However, Cruz said that last July 31, Medocare ceased to provide HMO services claiming that the effectivity of the contract was only one year or from Aug. 1, 2014 until July 31, 2015. “Without formal notice to the PSSLAI and its members, Medocare stopped honoring its own cards even though they indicate validity dates beyond July 31, 2015,” Cruz said. Cruz said PSSLAI members

from the Philippine National Police who enrolled late with Medocare, filed membership applications and paid premium payments after Aug. 1, 2014 or beyond the start of the effective date of coverage under the contract were issued HMO cards with validity dates beyond July 31, 2015. PSSLAI also alleged that a total of 1,130 applications from late enrollees were accepted by Medocare between October 2014 to July 2015 with total premium payments amount of P8,530,700. Medocare alleg-

edly served no formal notice of termination to PSSLAI. Cruz said due to the numerous complaints from its members, PSSLAI was compelled to refund the unutilized portions of health care program coverage under the contract. As of Oct. 16, 2015, PSSLAI has reportedly refunded a total amount of P670,817.85 to 92 affected members. There were also more members seeking refund of their premiums. According to Cruz, PSSLAI is seeking actual damages against Medocare at the QC-RTC, stating in its first cause of action that Medocare was estopped from denying outright health care services under the contract since it accepted and made use of the premium membership payments even after the start of the effectivity date of the contract. Medocare has yet to answer the PSSLAI’s allegations. PSSLAI is an entity registered under Republic Act No. 8367 or the Revised Non-Stock Savings and Loan Association Act of 1997. ■

Ban on Metro road works starts BY MARICAR B. BRIZUELA Philippine Daily Inquirer A METRO-WIDE moratorium on all road works will take effect until Jan. 3 next year to help ease traffic flow during the holiday season. During the agency’s Sunday radio program, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Emerson Carlos said that the nearly three-week ban on road repairs and excavations would cover 146 projects, mostly drainage improvement works of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Also affected by the moratorium are reblocking projects— including those on Edsa and C-5—even restoration activities to be carried out by utility companies and road diggings that will obstruct smooth traffic flow. Flagship projects exempt

Carlos, however, said that all government flagship proj-

ects such as the Skyway Stage 3, Ninoy Aquino International Airport Elevated Expressway, North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway connector were exempted from the ban, including emergency repairs on utilities such as water leaks. The MMDA had announced earlier that projects in areas that would remain inaccessible despite halting all work would not be affected by the moratorium. This includes the Blumentritt Interceptor Catchment Area project in Sta. Cruz, Manila. However, the ban extends to road projects initiated by local government units (LGUs) although the MMDA said that an exemption may be requested. Private contractors undertaking road works for LGUs who violate the moratorium face the following penalties under MMDA Ordinance No. 2 (Series of 1991): A fine of not less than P3,000 but not more than P10,000 or imprisonment of not less than 20 days but not

over six months. MMDA Traffic Discipline Office head Cris Saruca said they were hopeful that the Metrowide moratorium would help reduce congestion in major and minor thoroughfares during the holidays. ‘Use Mabuhay Lanes’

“The expected volume of vehicles [on Edsa] is around 300,000 which is why we are encouraging motorists to use the Mabuhay Lanes,” Saruca told the INQUIRER. The Mabuhay Lanes are 17 alternate routes for motorists who want to avoid Edsa. The MMDA has been conducting clearing operations in roads covered by the routes to keep these free of obstructions. In line with this, the MMDA also launched “Netizen’s Watch” last week, its newest social media campaign aimed at speeding up the reporting of road blocks so that the agency could take immediate action. “This social media campaign aims to muster the support of www.canadianinquirer.net

the public and private sectors in reporting to the agency all traffic obstructions on all roads in Metro Manila, especially along Mabuhay Lanes,” Carlos said. Under the new campaign, the public can take photos of illegally parked vehicles, sidewalk vendors and other street obstructions and send these to the MMDA’s official Twitter account (@MMDA) using the hashtag #NetizensWatch. Viber hotline up

Carlos said that the re-

ports could also be sent to the MMDA Viber hotline (09061476975). “The report should include the name of the sender and the actual picture including the detailed location where the illegally parked vehicle or the obstruction was spotted and the time it was taken,” he added. All information will be verified by the MMDA’s social media team which will then forward these to Saruca’s office for prompt action. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

INC ‘thinking...’ Justice (DOJ) in Ma- bloc vote shows a major defect “Sure enough, soon after Mr. nila, and later, along in character … especially in one Sevilla’s resignation, Teddy Edsa and Ortigas/ running for the highest office in Sandy Raval was appointed Shaw. INC members, many of the land, we are willing to over- head of BOC’s Enforcement them bused from the provinces, look that and start from ground and Security Services, an approtested the DOJ investiga- zero right here and now.” pointment INC put its mighty tion of the alleged abduction Though admitting not hav- weight behind. Three months and harassment of one of its ing direct evidence of collu- later, another controversial expelled members, Bro. Isaias sion between INC and persons appointment in the person of Samson Jr. in Malacañang regarding the Ricardo Marquez as Philippine Instead of charging INC with church’s arm-twisting in the National Police chief hit the public disturbance or sedi- Samson case, the INC Think- news. INC lobbied very hard for tion for inciting members to ing Voters expressed fears “that his appointment. The day after rebel, Malacañang “initiat(ed) maneuvers like this are a har- Marquez’s appointment bea secret meeting with the INC binger of things to come.” came official, coordinated kidleadership, while intentionally It challenged the govern- nappings and illegal detention leaving out Bro. Samson’s law- ment: “Convince us otherwise. of INC ministers and workers yers,” the INC Thinking Voters Sitting in our midst is a pow- took place, a day that will be said. “Speculations abounded erful organization, which un- forever etched in our minds— as to nature of the agreement.” abashedly demands from those July 16, 2015.” It cited an INThe INC QUIRER report Thinking Voters saying said that posed questions to save face, both to the presidensides reached a [...] we are willing to overlook that tial aspirants, compromise— and start from ground zero right here among them: for the DOJ to and now. “If push comes investigate Samto shove, will you son’s complaint actually have the then drop it for courage to slay lack of probable cause. Two who owe them favors, appoint- the monster and cut off the months later, that was exactly ment of INC loyalists, [lack of ] Gorgon’s head? Let us be clear what happened, it said. qualifications notwithstand- about this. We are not asking ing.” you to interfere with the INC’s ‘For the right price’ “Over time, INC has success- bloc voting practice. We are The INC Thinking Voters la- fully seeded its own people in asking you to stop its evil efmented that corruption had re- key positions, notably in vari- fects. mained unchecked at every lev- ous law enforcement agencies, “Will you uphold the Constiel and branch of government. judiciary, customs, immigra- tution by strictly enforcing the “For the right price, or the tion, labor… These are civil ser- true separation of Church and right amount of pressure from vants who are either indebted State? special interest groups, espe- to INC, friends of INC or INC “Will you stand firm against cially those of the bloc-voting members whose loyalty to the special interest groups who kind, people in government are INC executive ministers over- push for slotting certain people more than willing to prostitute rides everything else,” it said. in key government positions?” themselves and betray public The group’s members said trust by furthering the interests Scandal in BOC they “are prepared to vote of the few instead of protecting In April 2015, the INC Think- contrary to the dictates of our the interest of the majority,” it ing Voters said, a scandal rocked church and are also prepared said. the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to abstain if, in our judgment, In an accusing tone but with- that resulted in “the resigna- no candidate is worthy of our out naming names, the group tion of a man with more integ- vote.” pointed at politicians. “Some rity than most,” Commissioner They wanted it known that of you have openly sided with John Sevilla. Quoting a news while they continued to believe INC to ingratiate yourselves report, the group said, it was be- in INC’s doctrine on unity, “we with the influential organiza- cause of “certain appointments intend to vote with our contion. While we think that clos- reportedly backed by power- science this coming election reing one’s eyes to truth and jus- ful forces, including Iglesia Ni gardless of whom the INC leadtice in exchange for the priced Cristo, ahead of the 2016 polls.” ership favors.” ■ ❰❰ 3

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Palace welcomes Paris Agreement aimed at curbing global warming BY JELLY MUSICO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Malacanang welcomed on Sunday the Paris Agreement which aims at curbing the rise in global temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius. “The Philippines welcomes the Paris agreement as it responds to President (Benigno) Aquino’s call at the start of COP21 for all people to act and come to an agreement that allows all voices to be heard and takes into consideration the particular situations of all the nations that have taken this historic step to end decades of deadlock and take decisive climate change action,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said. On Saturday, the 195 nations attending the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) climate meeting outside Paris agreed to adopt an agreement that covers both developed and developing countries. The agreement, Coloma, said was reached after almost two weeks of painstaking consensus building and convergence around five major points, namely: a global temperature goal of 1.5 degrees; the inclusion of human rights as its bedrock principle; the emphasis on ecosystem integrity; the commitment of support in finance, technology and capacity building for all adaptation and miti-

gation efforts; and the inclusion of a loss and damage article that would ensure the recovery, restoration and resilience of communities, livelihoods and ecosystems. “The Paris agreement also addresses the situation of climate vulnerable countries like the Philippines that bear the heaviest albeit a most disproportionate share of the burden of climate change in terms of assuring the conveyance of resources that will fully support adaptation and mitigation efforts,” he said. Coloma said the Philippines will fulfill its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC), committing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions conditionally by 70 percent by 2030 in solidarity with other nations that will provide support in terms of finance, technology and capacity building. “Finally, the government will continually engage our people in the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ to work together in building disaster resilient communities,” Coloma said. Last Nov. 30, President Aquino delivered the keynote message during the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) in Paris, France. The CVF is an organization of developing countries that are most vulnerable to climate change currently headed by the Philippines. ■

Opinion

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

AT LARGE

A farewell note By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer IS P-NOY an introvert or extrovert? Manila Bulletin’s Jullie Yap Daza wanted to know at the Christmas gettogether of the Bulong Pulungan media forum last Friday. President Aquino seemed amused by the question (for how could a politician be an introvert, indeed?). But he found the perfect answer: “Compared to my sister Kris, I’m an introvert.” Everybody else laughed at this, which just goes to show, I think, how relaxed P-Noy can be in the company of, he hesitated to give voice to the term “senior media institutions,” and amended it to: “an exuberant group of media women [who exude] neverending youthfulness.” (Good save!) If some in the Bulong core group were skeptical of the flattery, they didn’t show it. For this was indeed not just a Christmas celebration, but rather the last Christmas party of Bulong Pulungan that P-Noy would be attending as president. He had joined the group every year during his term, despite his many responsibilities and despite the many crises that marked the last five-six years. This was the reason some of us must have felt a bit of nostalgia, if

not sentiment, especially at the men- gathering. Even as he attends as a pri- think of the people who have liketion by the President of the events vate citizen, will P-Noy also be show- wise taken the same vows of service that marked his administration: the ing up as a married man? as he—his Cabinet, his staff, and esZamboanga siege; the earthquakes That was the question that the late pecially “my sisters, their husbands, in Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental; Donnie Ramirez, who was part of the and my nephews and nieces”—who and Typhoons “Reming,” “Pablo,” Bulong core group, was wont to ask deserve a respite. “Pedring” and “Yolanda” (“Sendong” the President, something P-Noy acBut at the end of the day, or of his was a “mere” tropical storm). Not to knowledged. But still he wasn’t spared term, P-Noy said he is proudest of the mention human tragedies like the from having to comment on his love number of Filipinos lifted from povbus hostage-taking at Rizal Park. life. Joanne Rae Ramirez of The Star erty, the 1.4 million who were helped Indeed, it wasn’t just P-Noy who wanted to know if the recent wedding to recover from the ruins of Yolanda, weathered these crises along with of his nephew Miguel Abellada had the worst natural disaster to ever the entire machinery of govern- sparked in the President thoughts and hit the Philippines, and proving that ment. We, too, the Filipino people, longings of marriage. “I’ve always had “people power is a reality and can be lived through these used for the good.” tribulations, and it One of the things We, too, the Filipino people, lived through these tribulations, could bring one alhe wishes Filipinos and it could bring one almost to tears recalling the loss of life, property, most to tears recallwould adopt with opportunity and death of hope that followed these tragedies. ing the loss of life, more alacrity, he property, opportusaid, is the attitude nity and death of hope that followed plans,” he conceded. The only thing of seeing the glass half-full rather these tragedies. The responses to missing, he said, was the woman of his than half-empty. He cites the expethese crises have zigged and zagged dreams. Perhaps, he mused, he would rience of local governments in the from the immediate and effective, to find more time to visit St. Jude’s, the Davao provinces in the wake of Tythe excruciatingly delayed and mis- Catholic patron saint of the desperate phoon Pablo, which wiped out the directed. But doesn’t it seem at least whose shrine is just a few doors away coconut trees which had been the a bit absurd that in the run-up to the from Malacañang, during his remain- main source of livelihood of the peoMay 2016 elections, the opposition ing 203 days in office. ple. Rebuilding the economy would can seem to concentrate only on the *** take a long time, said P-Noy, since daily aggravations of traffic and the IT’S obvious that he’s counting the coconut trees take years to mature. long queues at the MRT? BULONG’s days until he can finally say goodbye So instead, locals turned to other “commanding general,” Deedee Siy- to his high office. But even if at times crops, among them pepper, which tangco of the Bulletin, promised that he nurses thoughts of remaining in they later processed into hot sauce this would not be the last time P-Noy office to wrap up the remaining proj- called “Hot Pablo.” And from a cost would be invited to the Christmas ects yet unfinished, he must, he said, of P90,000 per hectare to plant the

pepper, farmers were able to earn a gross of P200,000 per hectare. It’s such stories that P-Noy apparently hopes will survive the heat and recrimination of a bitter campaign period, and sound a more resounding closing note to his term. *** ASIDE from honoring P-Noy as an “exemplar” of government service, the Bulong Pulungan also honored government officials and privatesector leaders for their years of service. Those honored from the private sector were: Robert Lim Joseph for the tourism sector, Mina Gabor for tourism, Teresita Sy Coson of SM for business, Edgardo Manda for his work with the bamboo foundation, William Tieng of Solar Entertainment, and Sen. Cynthia Villar for her work with cooperatives. From the government, those recognized were: Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Science Secretary Mario Montejo, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Pagcor Chair Cristino Naguiat, GSIS president Robert Vergara, ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, former MMDA chair Francis Tolentino, and former Tesda head Joel Villanueva (the last two being senatorial aspirants as well). ■

LOOKING BACK

Rizal is hardly ‘gasgas’ By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer “DON’T THINK you have written everything on Rizal already,” warned my supervisor at the University of London, “because if you look hard enough there will always be an obscure German academic who has beaten you to it!” In my case, the Rizal surprises do not come from obscure foreign scholars and academic journals, but overlooked sources in Manila. They say that if you ask a fish to describe its surroundings, the last thing it will mention is the water in which it swims. Over two decades ago, on my first visit to the Philippine National Archives, a researcher sneered at me when he spotted my request to examine a bundle of documents on Rizal. “What can you write on Rizal that can even be considered new?” he said before declaring the hero sufficiently wellworn: “Rizal? Gasgas na yan! (That is overdone!)” Had I heeded his unsolicited sarcasm, I would not be where I amtoday. That day in the National Archives, I came across a bundle of letters written by Rizal’s sisters that had not been published or cited anywhere. Those

letters came to mind this week when Japan via Hongkong and Macau,” and Her full name was Usui Seiko, and yet another batch of unpublished let- a pocket notebook of stitched Japanese her nickname was “O-sei.” The Usui ters from Rizal’s relatives turned up paper with “Japon 1888” on the cover. family came from Chiba, a prefecture in another archive. Ignored by most The latter contains notes and sketches near the present Narita Internationscholars because they are not letters that have yet to be fully deciphered. al Airport. Her father was a samurai by or to Rizal, they may provide ad- Offhand there are addresses in Kobe, who turned to business and ran a ditional context to the “Epistolario as well as train routes and schedules trading store in Yokohama. Her older Rizalino,” the first compilation of that document his trip to Nikko, the brother was killed in Ueno during the Rizal’s correspondence compiled by lake of Chuzen, Fuji, Hakone, Nagoya, Shogitai revolt against the Meiji govT.M. Kalaw in the 1930s. Just when Kyoto, Nara and the lake of Biwa—sta- ernment. I was starting to think that Rizal was ples in package tours of Japan today. Seiko’s parents provided her with a truly gasgas, the Lopez Museum pro- This notebook also contains shopping playmate by adopting an orphan from vided the boost to Nagasaki named Yolook into him again. shi. She spoke fluent Just when I thought I could retire from Rizal and embark on My current inEnglish and a bit of a new topic, I have realized there is more to Rizal to fill two lifetimes. terest in the early French, and I asrelations between sume that is how she the Philippines and Japan includes lists, book titles, and the addresses of a communicated with Rizal. Although Rizal’s trip to Japan from Feb. 28 to tailor and a photographer. described as a shy girl, she did serve as April 13, 1888, that is commemorated Rizal tried his hand at writing Jap- Rizal’s interpreter, and accompanied with a small bust in Hibiya Park, To- anese characters, and even drew and him on sightseeing trips around Jakyo (across from the Imperial Hotel), painted in the Japanese style. I think pan. Being a woman of “high culture,” which marks the spot of the hotel in one or two of the women sketched she introduced Rizal to Japanese culwhich he stayed. It is unfortunate that are of O-Sei-san, with whom he had ture, and taught him to write simple Rizal wrote very little during his stay in a brief romance. words in Japanese characters and to Japan, or maybe those writings have On a previous trip, Prof. Takefumi paint in the Japanese style. not survived, or are waiting to be dis- Terada of Sophia University took me She was married to Alfred Charlcovered somewhere. to visit Zoshigaya cemetery, where ton (born Aug. 13, 1859, in Liverpool; Nevertheless, preserved in the Lo- O-Sei-San is buried beside her hus- died Nov. 2, 1915), an English teacher pez Museum are: two original letters band, an Englishman named Alfred in the First High School, then the written from Tokyo describing Ja- Charlton. Until more material turns Yamaguchi High School, in Imagupan to his family, a small pocket diary up, all we know about her and her chi. He later taught chemistry in the marked “Travel Diary from Manila to background is: prestigious Gakushuin High School.

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Hewas decorated with the Japanese Order of Merit, fifth class, as indicated on his tombstone. The couple had a daughter named Yuriko, who married the son of a senator named Yoshiharu Takiguchi. Seiko’s grandson (no name provided) was a Japanese diplomat posted in Geneva. Seiko never told anyone about her friendship with Rizal, and all we know comes from her stepsister Usui Yoshida, who was tracked down by Filipino historians in the 1950s. Yoshi said Seiko collected Philippine stamps and cherished those which had Rizal’s picture. Her stamp collection and any mementos left by Rizal were destroyed during the bombing of Tokyo in 1944. After her home in Shinjuku was destroyed, Seiko moved to Hagi, west of Yamaguchi, where she died on May 1, 1947, at the age of 80. Hans Sirban, former cultural officer of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, gave me a photocopy of a page from the 1888 registry of foreigners that lists Rizal and gives his place of residence as “Kojimachi.” Surely, there is more material waiting to be found. Just when I thought I could retire from Rizal and embark on a new topic, I have realized there is more to Rizal to fill two lifetimes. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

ANALYSIS

Duterte’s violence cult takes no prisoners By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer

by Duterte’s arbitrary and iron-fisted approach in Davao.

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has dismissed out of hand a recent warning issued by Amnesty International (AI) calling for a government investigation of alleged summary killings by vigilante death squads linked to his administration. AI flagged the warning in the wake of the Nov. 25 results of a Social Weather Stations survey that showed him topping the list of five candidates for President in the May national election in voters’ preference. The warning sharpened the focus of the presidential election on the Davao extrajudicial executions as central and defining issue in the polls—the state of law and order in the Philippines—shunting to the sidelines public attention on the legacy of the outgoing administration of President Aquino, who is banned by the 1987 Constitution from seeking reelection. Mr. Aquino is struggling to leave an enduring legacy of economic and political reforms, framed by anticorruption pledges on good governance. Unfortunately, this framework has all but been overshadowed by the fallout from the rise of crime and the flaws in the electoral and judicial system that have generated calls for authoritarian leadership offering shortcuts on legal means to eradicate the crime wave, highly pronounced

Fallen on deaf ears In a statement that reflected concern over the survey results that showed a phenomenal surge in Duterte’s popularity ratings, despite the heavy toll his crackdown has inflicted on human lives and the criticism it has attracted from international and domestic human rights organizations, the Manila office of AI declared it has “long called for an investigation” of the mayor’s human rights observance record in his anticrime campaign. Almost in despair, AI bewailed that its call appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, and lamented “the government seems to look the other way.” It said Duterte’s popularity brought about by his stance on stricter law enforcement and war against criminals should not get in the way of promoting human rights. The mayor’s take-no-prisoners campaign against crime is claimed by his supporters to have been an effective deterrent to criminal activities, but it has also alarmed the public of the dangers of giving him sweeping arbitrary powers to kill suspects without trial if he were elected President, armed with the vast executive powers of the presidency. AI cited the scorn heaped by Duterte on its call. When asked by

reporters for comment on AI’s statement, Duterte replied, “What’s the problem with them?” He said his critics alleged the death squad killed 700, adding “that’s not enough.” Asked for a figure, he said, “1,700.” The AI statement came as the latest wave of interventions of international human rights watchdog groups blasting Duterte’s links to the killings. Davao Death Squad A government witness has earlier come forward to claim that Duterte has links to the Davao Death Squad (DDS). Only recently, most of the declared candidates for President stepped up their attacks on Duterte’s human rights record, questioning his fitness and competence to provide creative and productive leadership, instead of producing dead and promoting the cult of violence and the growth of the funeral parlor industry. The 2016 election is unique in terms of its defining theme—crime and punishment. In all presidential elections since the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, this is the first time that a candidate is running a campaign on the path littered with corpses of victims of his purges. It is hard to contemplate how Duterte can sustain his lead in the polls in a campaign whose logo is the skull and crossbones. How can any candidate be elected President on a platform driven by the cult of vio-

lence, aimed at producing cadavers in death factories? The rationale behind this macabre necropolitics scenario is best explained by Duterte’s public pronouncements when asked to spell out his programs and policies of government. Let us hear these from his own words. Unapologetic For the past 22 years, Mayor Duterte has governed Davao with unbridled executive powers, which, he claimed, accounted for transforming it from the murder capital of the Philippines to “the most peaceful city in Southeast Asia.” But, according to media reports, these claims are exaggerated. The reports have linked Duterte to the DDS, a vigilante group responsible for the execution of drug traffickers, petty criminals, gang members and other lawless elements. According to police records, more than 7,000 people went missing between 2005 and 2008, presumed killed by the squad. Although Duterte has never publicly endorsed the squad’s behavior, his public comments on cleaning up the streets appeared geared to condone its violent activities. For example, in a 2012 press conference, the mayor offered a P6million reward for whoever could bring him the head of an alleged gang

leader. He offered an extra P1 million if the head could be brought in a bag of ice, “so it won’t smell so bad.” In 2009, Duterte warned lawbreakers: “If you are a criminal or part of a syndicate that preys on the innocent people of the city, for as long as I am the mayor, you are a legitimate target of assassination.” He has always been unapologetic about his methods. “I am 100-percent terrorist, but I am terrorizing only the drug pushers, kidnappers, holdup gangs and other criminals,” he said on TV in 2003. “Kidnappers. Drug pushers from other places. I dare you to come over here so that I can finish you off.” Statements such as these, grab newspaper headlines and boost popularity ratings, but this approach highlights the principle in the rule of law: suspected criminals cannot be executed without first finding them guilty in court. His war against rice smugglers raised eyebrows internationally in February 2002, whenhe told a Senate committee that he would “gladly kill” an accused smuggler. “I want smuggling rice in my city stopped,” he said. “But if you do not stop smuggling activities. I will kill you.” He also issued a shoot-to-kill order on lawless elements in Davao City, and instructed security forces to shoot any looters after Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) struck two years ago. ■

So this is Christmas… And what have you done? Philippine Canadian Inquirer It is Christmas time and the wintry weather gives chills and longer nights. It is the season of the year awaited by everyone never mind if it brings snow or if it is cold and damp. And Christmas time is the reason why loved ones fly from faraway places to be with the siblings at this particular time. It is the reason for the

family to gather and huddle together, laugh together and spend time to exchange stories, jokes, and pleasantries, while old momma happily prepares hot chocolate. It is the reason why everyone loves to curl up in the comfort of their beds unmindful of the incessant alarm clock ringing.

But the spirit of Christmas is not just joy and merriment…not just self aggrandizement …not just new material things …but hope for peace and goodwill to men - of all races, of all religion, of all colors, of all beliefs. The true spirit of Christmas is love … love for our fellowmen, love for the marginalized and destitute, love for the less fortunate and suffering. For Christmas time is special time for giving, a special time for sharing – a few coins to outstretched hands, a few toys handed out to less privileged

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children and abandoned kids, a nicely wrapped hamper of canned goods, chocolates, and candies to struggling single parents, a sincere hug to office mates and friends, a sincere smile to kindly neighbors, and other acquaintances, a visit to grand mama and grand papa in a nursing home,

or a whispered Christmas wishes to somebody you do not particularly agree with. ■ This Christmas season do you think you get the true spirit? Why not get involved? Why not do your share? Visit: Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau Greater Vancouver Food Bank Covenant Place Union Gospel Variety Children’s Charity And other charitable institutions

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Canada News Some climate change facts about Canada and the world THE CANADIAN PRESS GOVERNMENTS HAVE adopted a global agreement that for the first time asks all countries to reduce or rein in their greenhouse gas emissions. Canada generates less than two per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, but is one of the highest emitters in the world per person, due to the country’s size, the weather, and resource-based economy, according to Environment Canada. Here are some other facts about Canada and climate change: In May, the Canadian government said it wanted to reduce carbon emissions to 30 per cent below Canada’s 2005 levels. That would mean a goal of 524 megatonnes by 2030. The latest Environment Canada data from 2013 said we were at 726 megatonnes. The then-Conservative government had not presented a plan to achieve these targets. The 30 per cent reduction would be the equivalent of removing 47.8 million cars off the road, using emissions estimates from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for a typical passenger vehicle. The new Liberal government in Ottawa hasn’t said whether it plans to change these targets, but calls them a “floor.” Some key numbers

613 - Number of megatonnes of greenhouse gas that Canada produced in 1990. That’s equal to 134 million cars on the road per year 726 - Number of megatonnes of greenhouse gas that Canada produced in 2013. That’s equal to 154 million cars on the road per year 55 - Number of megatonnes of greenhouse gas generated from the oil sands. Alberta as

a whole produces two fifths of Canada’s emissions. Sources: Environment Canada and Government of Alberta A breakdown of 2013 carbon producers in Canada, sorted by industry, according to Environment Canada

- 25 per cent; oil and gas industry - 23 per cent; transportation - 12 per cent; electricity - 12 per cent; buildings - 11 per cent; emissions intensive industries and trade exposed industries such as mining, smelting, refining, processing industrial goods. - 10 per cent agriculture - 7 per cent waste and others including coal, construction and forestry. In November, Canada pledged $2.65 billion dollars to help developing countries fight climate change. Some facts about the international picture

China is the world’s largest greenhouse gas producer, and emitted 10 billion megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2012, according to research from the World Resources Institute. That’s about a third of the world’s greenhouse gases — and 14 times more than Canada. The European Union says it has cut its emissions by 17.9 per cent since 1990. It has committed to bringing that number to 20 per cent by 2020. Malta, an island country in the Mediterranean that heavily depends on oil, is Europe’s highest producer of greenhouse gas. The European Union’s environment agency says air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in the region, contributing to heart disease, respiratory problems and cancer. The Union says pollution caused 430,000 people to die prematurely in the region in 2012. ■

Paris deal on climate change met with calls to action from Canadians BY NICOLE THOMPSON The Canadian Press EXPERTS AND environmentalists tried to inject a practical note into Saturday’s celebration over the Paris climate agreement, pointing out Canada still doesn’t have a federal emissions target. The agreement, which was passed by nearly 200 countries in Paris, asks all countries to restrict their greenhouse gas emissions for the first time. It limits temperature rise to two degrees Celsius. Federal environment minister Catherine McKenna tweeted that the pact was made “for our children.” But the document doesn’t set an emissions target, and Canada hasn’t released one either, Conservative environment critic Ed Fast was quick to point out. He said all “major emitters” should be consulted before the government releases its targets in an effort to avoid “massive taxes” on emissions. “We’re now seeing tens of thousands of jobs being lost in our energy sector. That will continue, going forward,” he said. “It’s going to take realistic, prudent policies to allow us to meet our climate change comwww.canadianinquirer.net

mitment, yet ensure that our economy continues to grow.” There has been concern that meeting the temperature reduction targets would prove too jarring a jolt to Alberta’s petrobased economy, leading to a substantial loss in investment and jobs. But Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who introduced her own greenhouse gas strategy last month, said she is confident Alberta will be able to contribute and thrive under the targets. She said she is focusing on executing Alberta’s plan and meshing it with the national framework. “I think ultimately within the overarching federal context, our plan will be good news for Alberta and will be able to make an appropriate contribution,” Notley said in Edmonton on Saturday. The Chief Operating Officer of GLOBE Series, an organization that runs corporate sustainability conferences, said the Paris agreement actually opens doors for economic growth in Canada. “We’ve been highly exposed to job loss because of Alberta, and the fact that our economy in Canada relies quite heavily on oil and gas revenues,” Nancy Wright said in referring the re-

cent drop in oil prices. “By developing our clean technology sector in Canada, it helps buffer things like that.” However, Fast noted the fact remains that Canadians can’t know what’s coming until the federal government comes out with its plan. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously said that his government will meet with the provinces and territories to develop emissions plans once the climate talks in Paris concluded. Erin Flanagan, federal policy director of the environment think tank Pembina Institute, agreed that Trudeau should have a federal plan to fight climate change. “On their own, provincial commitments will not ensure Canada does its fair share to reduce emissions,” she said in a news release. And the New Democrats said the government should “enshrine” its emissions targets in a climate accountability law, to keep the government accountable. NDP leader Tom Mulcair tweeted his support of the pact shortly after its release. “Excited that the world has reached a climate change pact. Canada must now move from words to action,” he wrote. ■

Canada News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Infrastructure minister says new rules, standards will speed up funding flows BY JORDAN PRESS The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canada’s new infrastructure minister says projects that are shovel-ready and meet the Liberal government’s national objectives will get some of the billions in new federal cash being made available. Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi says those big objectives are threefold: grow the economy, create jobs and make the country more sustainable. Sohi says shovel ready projects mean a municipality has done all the relevant studies, public consultation and planning — to qualify for financial help from the federal government. He accused the Harper Conservatives of announcing money for projects that weren’t ready to begin so they could reap some political capital. “We want to create a process where I don’t go out and make announcements without even consulting with my departmental staff or getting their input or not even having an application in for that project,” Sohi said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “We will develop some processes that bring in more accountability and also more transparency.” That will include better explanations to cities about why a project proposal was rejected, and set new service standards like speeding up application processing times. “If we make a commitment

Overall, for the world to hit its new target, global carbon dioxide emissions will have to peak by 2030, maybe earlier, and then fall to near-zero, experts said.

to a project, and if a project has Sohi said the government new money the Liberals are been sitting on our staff’s table plans to refocus the govern- promising would top up a suite for six months, that’s unaccept- ment’s marquee infrastructure of existing funding programs at able,” Sohi said. program, the New Building Infrastructure Canada, or add The Liberals have prom- Canada Fund, to focus on more a new program on top of what ised to increase is already there infrastructure to pay for upspending by an grades to water average of $6 biland wastewater lion a year over The Liberals have promised to systems, social the next 10 years, increase infrastructure spending by housing, seniors’ raising the fedan average of $6 billion a year over facilities, and ineral investment the next 10 years, raising the federal frastructure in to $125 billion investment to $125 billion during aboriginal comduring that time. that time. munities. The extra “You can’t fit money is supposed to be spread cross-country projects like all of those in one policy,” Sohi equally to public transit proj- highways, ports, and border said. ects, green infrastructure, such crossings to help speed up the “You have to design your proas wastewater facilities, and so- flow of commercial goods and gram in a way that it acknowlcial infrastructure like afford- trade. edges the uniqueness and then able housing. Sohi didn’t say whether the we have to adapt different ap-

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proaches to meet those unique needs.” The Liberals made running deficits of up to $10 billion a year to pay for the infrastructure program a key election promise. They hope the money will jolt the economy and raise federal revenues, helping to pay for their spending promises and balance the budget in four years. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turned to Sohi, a former Edmonton city councillor, to oversee the program. Sohi defeated former Conservative cabinet minister Tim Uppal in the Alberta riding of Edmonton-Mill Woods by 92 votes in the Oct. 19 election. Sohi takes a broad definition of infrastructure: It is anything, he said, “that allows you to be part of your community.” That includes public transit to get to a job or school; a shelter for a woman escaping domestic violence; affordable housing for someone living on the street. “You can’t talk about infrastructure without talking about the community aspect of it. It is a means of building strong, sustainable, livable communities that we all want to be part of,” he said. The reason for that definition lies in his personal background: After Sohi immigrated to Canada from India in 1981 at age 17, he took the bus in Edmonton to the library and then later classes to learn English. He later worked for the city’s disabled transportation system and drove a bus for a time. “Infrastructure is a way to opportunities,” he said. ■

Canada News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

RCAF needs to speed up delivery of Cyclones to avoid chopper shortage BY MURRAY BREWSTER The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canada’s air force must speed up crew training and the delivery of CH-148 Cyclone helicopters in the next two years to avoid a shortage as five decade old CH-124 Sea Kings are finally retired, says a senior defence official. A senior defence official has told The Canadian Press they are looking at ways to do both, starting next year. Concern that the Sea Kings may be phased out faster than the Cyclones have the equipment to be fully capable of replacing them has been around since the former Conservative government announced last June that the old helicopters would be slowly retired by 2018. The Sea Kings fly off the decks of warships and there is fear that some Canadian naval vessels might have to go to sea without helicopters. The possibility that the Sea Kings would be pulled out of service faster than they can be replaced is something defence planners are scrambling to mitigate, said the senior official

with knowledge of the program. “We’re looking at ways to accelerate the training process to make sure we have enough aircrew available to man the aircraft. And we believe we will,” said the official who was not authorized to speak to the media. “We’re also looking at having an accelerated delivery of some aircraft in the 2016-17 time frame to give us more aircraft on the ramp in (Canadian Forces Base) Shearwater.” Only four of the 1960s vintage airframes have been retired thus far and the official could not commit to a specific timetable on when the rest would go. The official did say, however, that the decommissioning program was not on hold. The 28 Cyclones have faced repeated development delays since being ordered in 2004 and are not expected to be fully operational on both the East and West Coasts until 2021. There are six aircraft at Shearwater, with another two on the way before the end of the year. Documents, obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information laws, show that in addition to ensuring an over-

lap between the fleets the road to retiring the Sea Kings will be bumpy. Many of the setbacks relate to the development of the sophisticated software for the Cyclones that runs everything from flight controls to weapons systems and the documents show defence officials believe not all of the bugs will be worked out by the time the aircraft is declared fully operational. The software is being introduced in two blocks. The first phase allows the helicopter to fly in a limited capacity including search and rescue, and the second tranche will bring the aircraft up to the full warfighting, submarine-hunting version. “While Block 2 represents a fully functional, operationally relevant Maritime Helicopter, there is insufficient time within a realistic schedule to inject all remaining Maritime Helicopter Requirement specification elements,” said a Nov. 28, 2013 planning document. “Accordingly, it is anticipated that certain capabilities will need to be added during the in-service support (regular maintenance

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phase), which nominally begins post-Block 2 delivery.” The significance was downplayed by the official who insisted that by the end of the second phase the air force will have the helicopter it ordered in 2004. One of the significant changes the Harper government allowed was to deem the Cyclone a developmental program, much like the oft-maligned F-35 stealth fighter. That means, as opposed to expecting a fully completed helicopter, the government was willing to accept the risk and delays associated with the trial and error of development. The official said National De-

fence believes it has been able to mitigate the risk and the program is on track. But defence analyst Dave Perry, of the Global Affairs Institute, says the problem of training highlights that project delays are not just an accounting nuisance and they have real consequences. “On this project, that schedule has been continually slipping further into the future since 2008, which must be presenting a complete nightmare for the RCAF that needs to figure out when it can actually stop training people to operate the Sea Kings and start learning how to use the Cyclone,” he said. ■

High winds force gondola Second planeload of closure, hundreds stranded Syrian refugees to arrive overnight on Grouse Mountain in Canada Saturday THE CANADIAN PRESS

THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER — Hundreds of people spent the night stranded on Vancouver’s Grouse Mountain as high winds forced the resort to shut down its main gondola. More than 300 visitors and about 100 staff were stuck in the mountain-top lodge as overnight winds peaked at more than 100 kilometres an hour. Trams stopped operating between 11:30 p.m. on Sunday and around 5:30 a.m. the following day. Grouse Mountain spokeswoman Julie Grant says the situation was unusual.

MONTREAL — A second federal government planeload of Syrian refugees arrived in Montreal Saturday night. Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard was on hand along with a number of federal cabinet ministers to greet the refugees. Couillard told some of the volunteers on hand to help the refugees during their first hours in Canada that he was very proud of them. He says he is taking a particular interest in the refugee arrival because he and his wife will be sponsoring a Syrian family

A gondola in Grouse Mountain.

Grant says guests were kept comfortable through the night with blankets, snacks and hot chocolate, while Christmas movies played continuously in

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the theatre. Blustery weather over the past 48 hours also managed to blanket the ski hill with 50 centimetres of fresh snow. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

due to arrive early next year. The arrival comes less than 48 hours after a government aircraft brought 163 refugees to Toronto. More than 400 refugees have arrived by commercial flights since the federal Liberals took power last month, but the refugees arriving in the past two days are the first to be brought by government aircraft. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne greeted the refugees as they arrived in Toronto in the early hours of Friday morning. The federal government plans to bring 25,000 Syrians to Canada by the end of February. ■

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

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World News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Slavery, child labour tied to shrimp global supply chains, including Wal-Mart, Red Lobster BY MARGIE MASON, ROBIN MCDOWELL, MARTHA MENDOZA AND ESTHER HTUSAN The Associated Press SAMUT SAKHON, THAILAND — Every morning at 2 a.m., they heard a kick on the door and a threat: Get up or get beaten. For the next 16 hours, No. 31 and his wife stood in the factory that owned them with their aching hands in ice water. They ripped the guts, heads, tails and shells off shrimp bound for overseas markets, including grocery stores and all-you-can-eat buffets across the United States. After being sold to the Gig Peeling Factory, they were at the mercy of their Thai bosses, trapped with nearly 100 other Burmese migrants. Children worked alongside them, including a girl so tiny she had to stand on a stool to reach the peeling table. Some had been there for months, even years, getting little or no pay. Always, someone was watching. No names were ever used, only numbers given by their boss — Tin Nyo Win was No. 31. Pervasive human trafficking has helped turn Thailand into one of the world’s biggest shrimp providers. Despite repeated promises by businesses and government to clean up the country’s $7 billion seafood export industry, an Associated Press investigation has found shrimp peeled by modern-day slaves is reaching the U.S., Europe and Asia. The problem is fueled by corruption and complicity among police and authorities. Arrests and prosecutions are rare. Raids can end up sending migrants without proper paperwork to jail, while owners go unpunished. *** More than 2,000 trapped fishermen have been freed this year as a result of an ongoing Associated Press investigative series into slavery in the Thai seafood industry. The reports also have led to a dozen arrests, millions of dollars’ worth of seizures and proposals for new federal laws. *** Hundreds of shrimp peeling

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sheds are hidden in plain sight on residential streets or behind walls with no signs in Samut Sakhon, a port town an hour outside Bangkok. The AP found one factory that was enslaving dozens of workers, and runaway migrants led rights groups to the Gig shed and a third facility. All three sheds held 50 to 100 people each, many locked inside. As Tin Nyo Win soon found out for himself, there’s no easy escape. One woman had been working at Gig for eight years. Another man ended up peeling shrimp there after breaking free from an equally brutal factory. “I was shocked after working there a while, and I realized there was no way out,” said Tin Nyo Win, 22, who has a baby face and teeth stained red from chewing betel nut. “I told my wife, ‘We’re in real trouble. If something ends up going wrong, we’re going to die.”’ Last month, AP journalists followed and filmed trucks loaded with freshly peeled shrimp from the Gig shed to major Thai exporting companies and then, using U.S. customs records and Thai industry reports, tracked it globally. They also traced similar connections from another factory raided six months earlier, and interviewed more than two dozen workers from both sites. U.S. customs records show the shrimp made its way into the supply chains of major U.S. food stores and retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, Whole

Foods, Dollar General and Petco, along with restaurants such as Red Lobster and Olive Garden. It also entered the supply chains of some of America’s best-known seafood brands and pet foods, including Chicken of the Sea and Fancy Feast, which are sold in grocery stores from Safeway and Schnucks to Piggly Wiggly and Albertsons. AP reporters went to supermarkets in all 50 states and found shrimp products from supply chains tainted with forced labour. European and Asian import and export records are confidential, but the Thai companies receiving shrimp tracked by the AP all say they ship to Europe and Asia as well. The businesses that responded condemned the practices that lead to these conditions. Many said they were launching investigations when told their supply chains were linked to people held against their will in sheds like the Gig factory, which sat behind a gate off a busy street, between railroad tracks and a river. Inside the large warehouse, toilets overflowed with feces, and the putrid smell of raw sewage wafted from an open gutter just outside the work area. Young children ran barefoot through suffocating dorm rooms. Entire families laboured side-by-side at rows of stainless steel counters piled high with tubs of shrimp. Tin Nyo Win and his wife, Mi San, were cursed for not peeling fast enough and called “cows” www.canadianinquirer.net

and “buffalos.” They were allowed to go outside for food only if one of them stayed behind as insurance against running away. But escaping was all they could think about. *** Shrimp is the most-loved seafood in the U.S., with Americans downing 1.3 billion pounds every year, or about 4 pounds per person. Once a luxury reserved for special occasions, it became cheap enough for stir-fries and scampis when Asian farmers started growing it in ponds three decades ago. Thailand quickly dominated the market and now sends nearly half of its supply to the U.S. The Southeast Asian country is one of the worst human trafficking hubs on earth. It has been blacklisted for the past two years by the U.S. State Department, which cited complicity by Thai officials. The European Union issued a warning earlier this year that tripled seafood import tariffs, and is expected to decide next month whether to impose an outright ban. Consumers enjoy the convenience of dumping shrimp straight from freezer to skillet, the result of labour-intensive peeling and cleaning. Unable to keep up with demand, exporters get their supply from peeling sheds that are sometimes nothing more than crude garages adjacent to the boss’s house. Supply chains are so complicated that, on any given day, buyers may not know exactly where the shrimp comes from.

The Thai Frozen Foods Association lists about 50 registered shrimp sheds in the country. However, hundreds more operate in Samut Sakhon, the country’s main shrimp processing region. Here the humid air hangs thick with the smell of dead fish. Refrigerated trucks with seafood logos barrel down streets straddled by huge processing plants. Just as ubiquitous are the small pickups loaded with migrant workers from neighbouring Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar being taken to gut, fillet, de-vein and peel the seafood that fuels this town’s economy. Abuse is common in Samut Sakhon. An International Labor Organization report estimated 10,000 migrant children aged 13 to 15 work in the city. Another U.N. agency study found nearly 60 per cent of Burmese labourers toiling in its seafood processing industry were victims of forced labour. Tin Nyo Win and his wife were taken to the Gig Peeling Factory in July when they made the long drive from Myanmar across the border, crammed so tightly into a truck with other workers that they could barely breathe. Like many migrants, they were lured from home by a broker with promises of goodpaying jobs, and came without visas or work permits. After being sold to the Gig shed, the couple learned they would have to work off what was considered their combined worth — $830. It was an insurmountable debt. Because they were illegal workers, the owners constantly threatened to call police to keep them in line. Even documented migrants were vulnerable because the boss held onto identification papers so they could not leave. Under the U.S. government’s definition, forced labour and debt bondage are considered slavery. In the Gig shed, employees’ salaries were pegged to how fast their fingers could move. Tin Nyo Win and his wife peeled about 175 pounds of shrimp for just $4 a day, less than half of what they were promised. A female Thai manager, who slapped and cursed workers,

World News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

often cut their wages without explanation. After they bought gloves and rubber boots, and paid monthly “cleaning fees” inside the trash-strewn shed, almost nothing was left. Employees said they had to work even when they were ill. Seventeen children peeled alongside adults, sometimes crying, at stations where paint chipped off the walls and slick floors were eaten away by briny water. Lunch breaks were only 15 minutes, and migrants were yelled at for talking too much. Several workers said a woman died recently because she didn’t get proper medical care for her asthma. Children never went to school and began peeling shrimp just an hour later than adults. “We had to get up at 3 in the morning and then start working continuously,” said Eae Hpaw, 16, whose arms were a patchwork of scars from infections and allergies caused by the shrimp. “We stopped working around 7 in the evening. We would take a shower and sleep. Then we would start again.” After being roughed up one night by a supervisor, five months into their captivity, Tin Nyo Win and his wife decided they couldn’t take the threats anymore. “They would say, ‘There’s a gun in the boss’s car and we’re going to come and shoot you, and no one will know,”’ he said. The next morning, the couple saw an opportunity when the door wasn’t being watched. They ran. Less than 24 hours later, Tin Nyo Win’s wife was captured at a market by the shed manager. He watched helplessly as she was dragged away by her hair, terrified for her — and the baby they recently learned she was carrying. *** Tracking shipments from just the Gig Peeling Factory highlights how fast and far slave-peeled shrimp can travel. The AP followed trucks from the shed over five days to major Thai exporters. One load pulled into N&N Foods, owned by one of the world’s largest seafood companies, Tokyobased Maruha Nichiro Foods. A second drove to Okeanos Food, a subsidiary of another leading global seafood supplier, Thai Union. Still more went to Kongphop Frozen Foods and The Siam Union Frozen Foods, which have customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia and

Australia. All the exporters it was getting all its shrimp and Thailand is not the only and parent companies that re- sent a note outlining corrective source of slave-tainted seafood sponded said they abhor hu- measures to U.S. businesses de- in the U.S., where nearly 90 per man rights abuses. manding answers last week. cent of shrimp is imported. Shrimp can mix with dif“I am deeply disappointed The State Department’s anferent batches of seafood as that despite our best efforts nual anti-trafficking reports it is packaged, branded and we have discovered this poten- have tied such seafood to 55 shipped. At that point, there’s tial instance of illegal labour countries on six continents, no way to tell where any indi- practice in our supply chain,” including major suppliers to vidual piece was peeled. Once it Thai Union CEO Thiraphong the U.S. Earlier this year, the reaches American restaurants, Chansiri wrote. His state- AP uncovered a slave island hospitals, universities and mili- ment acknowledged “that illic- in Benjina, Indonesia, where tary chow halls, all the shrimp itly sourced product may have hundreds of migrant fishermen from those four Thai proces- fraudulently entered its supply were trafficked from Thailand sors is considered associated chain” and confirmed a supplier and sometimes locked in a cage. with slavery, according to Unit- “was doing business with an un- Last month, food giant Nestle ed Nations and U.S. standards. registered pre-processor in vio- disclosed that its own Thai supU.S. customs records linked lation of our code of conduct.” pliers were abusing and enslavthe exported shrimp to more After AP brought its findings ing workers and has vowed to than 40 U.S. brands, includ- to dozens of global retailers, force change. ing popular names such as Thai Union announced it will Human trafficking in ThaiSea Best, Waterfront Bistro bring all shrimp-processing inland also stretches far beyond and Aqua Star. The AP found house by the end of the year and the seafood industry. Earlier shrimp products with the provide jobs to workers whose this year, high-ranking officials same labels in more than 150 factories close as a result. It’s a were implicated in a smugstores across America — from significant step from the indus- gling syndicate involving tens Honolulu to New York City to try leader whose international of thousands of Rohingya Musa tiny West Virginia town of brands include John West in lims fleeing persecution in 179 people. The grocery store Britain, Petit Navire in France Myanmar. A crackdown came chains have tens after dozens of thousands of victims died of U.S. outlets in Thai jungle where millions camps because of Americans When you find there is a child they were unable shop. working 16 hours a day and getting to pay ransoms. In addition, the paid ($2.75) ... the government has to The junta miliThai distributors put a stop to this. tary government state on their has singled out websites that the country’s they export to fisheries sector Europe and Asia, although spe- and Mareblu in Italy; shrimp for reforms. It says it has passed cific records are confidential. from abusive factories in Thai- new laws to crack down on ilAP reporters in Germany, Italy, land has not been associated legal activities aboard fishing England and Ireland researched with them. boats and inside seafood-proshrimp in supermarkets and Susan Coppedge, the U.S. cessing factories and is working found several brands sourced State Department’s new anti- to register undocumented mifrom Thailand. Those stores trafficking ambassador, said grant workers. said the names of their Thai dis- problems persist because bro“There have been some tributors are proprietary. Royal kers, boat captains and seafood flaws in the laws, and we have Greenland — an importer whose firms aren’t held accountable been closing those gaps,” said shrimp was seen under store and victims have no recourse. M.L. Puntarik Smiti, the Thai brands as a product from Thai“We have told Thailand to Labor Ministry’s permanent land but has not been linked to improve their anti-trafficking secretary. “The government the sheds — said it now has shift- efforts, to increase their pros- has made human trafficking a ed its sourcing to Ecuador. ecutions, to provide services to national agenda. The policy is By all accounts, the work at victims,” she said. She added clear, and every department is the Gig shed was off the books that American consumers “can working in the same direction. — and thus even businesses speak through their wallets and ... In the past, most punishcarefully tracking the prov- tell companies: ‘We don’t want ments focused on the labourenance of the shrimp called the to buy things made with slavery.”’ ers, but now more focus is put AP’s findings a surprise. The State Department has on punishing the employers.” “I want to eliminate this,” not slapped Thailand with Police point to a new law that said Dirk Leuenberger, CEO of sanctions applied to other goes after officers involved Aqua Star. “I think it’s disgust- countries with similarly weak in human trafficking, and say ing that it’s even remotely part human trafficking records be- rooting out corruption and of my business.” cause it is a strategically criti- complicity is a priority. Some, including Red Lob- cal Southeast Asian ally. And Critics argue, however, the ster, Whole Foods and H-E-B federal authorities say they changes have been largely cosSupermarkets, said they were can’t enforce U.S. laws that ban metic. Former slaves repeatconfident — based on assur- importing goods produced by edly described how police took ances from their Thai supplier forced labour, citing an excep- them into custody and then — that their particular shrimp tion for items consumers can’t sold them to agents who trafwas not associated with abusive get from another source. Thai ficked them again into the seafactories. That Thai supplier shrimp slips right through that food industry. admits it hadn’t known where loophole. “There are laws and regulawww.canadianinquirer.net

tions, but they are being selectively enforced to benefit one side,” said Patima Tungpuchayakul, manager of the Thai-based non-profit Labor Rights Promotion Network Foundation. “When you find there is a child working 16 hours a day and getting paid ($2.75) ... the government has to put a stop to this.” The peeling sheds that supply to major Thai seafood companies are supposed to be certified and inspected, but the stamp of approval does not always prevent abuses. A factory just a few miles away from Tin Nyo Win’s shed provided shrimp to companies including Thai Union; a halfdozen former workers said a Thai Union employee visited the shed every day. A runaway worker alerted a local migrant labour group about slave-like conditions there after being brutally beaten across his ear and throat with iron chains. Police raided the factory in May. Former employees told the AP they had been locked inside and forced to work long hours with no days off and little sleep. The conditions they described inside were horrific: A woman eight months pregnant miscarried on the shed floor and was forced to keep peeling for four days while hemorrhaging. An unconscious toddler was refused medical care after falling about 12 feet onto a concrete floor. Another pregnant woman escaped only to be tracked down, yanked into a car by her hair and handcuffed to a fellow worker at the factory. “Sometimes when we were working, the tears would run down our cheeks because it was so tiring we couldn’t bear it,” said the worker who ran away. His name is being withheld due to concerns about his safety. “We were crying, but we kept peeling shrimp,” he said. “We couldn’t rest. ... I think people are guilty if they eat the shrimp that we peeled like slaves.” Shrimp from that factory entered the supply chains of Thai Union, which, in the six months prior to the bust, shipped 15 million pounds of frozen shrimp to dozens of U.S. companies, customs records show. Those included Red Lobster and Darden Restaurants, which owns outlets such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and several other popular American chains. The runaway worker was a free man after the May raid. ❱❱ PAGE 25 Asia’s coastal

World News

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Asia’s coastal megacities face challenge of adapting to climate change, rising sea levels BY KATY DAIGLE The Associated Press NEW DELHI — The future will be a watery one for some of the world’s biggest cities. Predicted sea level increases this century mean many face increased flooding, stronger storm surges and unpredictable weather. How well coastal cities can cope will dramatically affect quality of life and their economic destiny. Many of the biggest are in Asia, powering economies while housing hundreds of millions of poor in sprawling slums. Scientists generally agree seas will rise an average of 1 metre (3 feet) this century, though some predict an eventual increase as high as 6 metres on average. How quickly these changes occur will partly depend on whether negotiators at this week’s U.N. climate talks in

Paris can broker a strong treaty to limit the release of climatewarming greenhouse gases. But with a certain amount of sea rise considered inevitable as warmer temperatures melt glaciers and expand oceans, cities will have to adapt quickly to spare investors losses and citizens from disaster. Those unprepared risk being highlighted as poor places to invest. “It’s difficult for businesses and societies to grasp what’s happening,” said Richard Hewston, a climate change analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, which advises companies on business risks. But some governments now realize “they need to pay attention to these climate risk factors to attract investment.” Global losses from flooding in coastal cities are already averaging about $6 billion a year, according to a 2013 study published in the journal Nature. Those losses could rise to $52

billion annually by 2050, it said. Asia is particularly vulnerable because many of its countries are still struggling to lift hundreds of millions up from poverty, while its cities attract droves of migrants seeking better economic opportunities. Within a decade the world is expected to have 37 megacities with populations over 10 million, and 21 of them will be in Asia. The Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, holds sprawling slums to which millions fled when rising seas swallowed their coastal homes. India’s finance capital Mumbai has an annual gross domestic product of about $151 billion, along with some 2.8 million people crammed into lowlying slums that flood regularly. “There are many children, too, who live in these homes,” said Birender Bacchar Singh, who lives in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum. “Sometimes when huge waves reach the houses and

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crash, the shacks collapse and all our belongings get washed away. Yet we have no option but to live here.” But the economic contribution of these cities is crucial. Highly vulnerable Dhaka alone makes up more than half of Bangladesh’s GDP of $150 billion. Frequently flooded Manila accounts for two-third of the Philippines’ economy, while Shanghai’s $594 billion GDP or Hong Kong’s $416 billion are bigger than the economies of many nations. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a vision of 100 smart cities popping up across

the country, integrating hightech systems for transportation, communication and sewage treatment. His urban development minister said last week in Paris that the plan would “ensure sustainable development and economic growth.” But little has been said about upgrading existing cities, where some 400 million Indians still cope with shoddy infrastructure, makeshift housing, trashclogged drainage systems and inadequate sewage treatment. “In terms of sea level rise, we really are at a very critical ❱❱ PAGE 28 Asia’s coastal

World News

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Slavery, child... But five months later, running low on cash with a pregnant wife, he felt desperate enough to look for a job in another shrimp factory. He hoped conditions would be better this time. They weren’t. His wages were withheld, and he ended up in the Gig factory peeling shrimp next to Tin Nyo Win — No. 31. *** Modern-day slavery is often just part of doing business in Thailand’s seafood export capital. Some shed owners believe they are providing jobs to poor migrant workers in need. Police are paid to look the other way and say officers frequently do not understand that practices such as forced labour and debt bondage are against the law. “We just need to educate everyone on this issue,” said Jaruwat Vaisaya, deputy commissioner of Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police. “I don’t think they know what they’re doing is called human trafficking, but they must know it’s wrong.” News surfaces about an abusive shed only when workers become so hopeless they’re willing to risk everything to es❰❰ 23

cape. Once on the street, without documentation, they are in some ways even more vulnerable. They face possible arrest and deportation or being resold. After fleeing the Gig shed, Tin Nyo Win was alone. He didn’t even know where the shed manager had taken his wife. He sought help from a local labour rights group, which prompted police to take action. At dawn on Nov. 9, nearly two weeks after running away, he returned to the shed wearing dark glasses, a hat and a mask to keep the owners from recognizing him. He burst through the gate with dozens of officers and military troops, and frantically searched for his wife in the dim quarters on both floors of the maze-like complex. Frightened Burmese workers huddled on the dirty concrete floor, the men and women separated. Some could be heard whispering: “That’s 31. He came back.” One young mother breast-fed a 5-month-old baby, while 17 children were taken to a corner. Tin Nyo Win’s wife was nowhere. With law enforcement lead-

ing the way, it didn’t take long to find her, though: Mi San was at a nearby fish factory. After being caught by the shed manager, she was taken to police. But instead of treating her as a trafficking victim, she said they put her back to work. Even as police and her husband escorted her out of the second factory, the Thai owner followed them into the street, complaining that Mi San still owed $22 for the pork and chicken she ate. For Thai police, it looked like a victory in front of the cameras. But the story does not end there. No one at the Gig shed was arrested for human trafficking, a law that’s seldom enforced. Instead, migrants with papers, including seven children, were sent back there to work. Another 10 undocumented children were taken from their parents and put into a shelter, forced to choose between staying there for years or being deported back to Myanmar alone. Nineteen other illegal workers were detained. Tin Nyo Win and his wife soon found out that not even whistleblowers are protected. Just four

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days after being reunited, the couple was fingerprinted and locked inside a Thai jail cell without even a mattress. They were held on nearly $4,000 bail and charged with entering the country illegally and working without permits. Back at the shed where their nightmare began, a worker reached by phone pleaded for help as trucks loaded with slave-peeled shrimp continued to roll out. *** The Gig Peeling Factory is now closed, with workers moved to another shed linked to the same owners, said Chaiyuth Thomya, the superintendent of Samut Sakhon’s main police station. A Gig owner reached by phone by the AP declined to comment. Jaruwat, the Bangkok police official, was alerted to how the case was being handled and has ordered local authorities to reinvestigate it for human trafficking, and arrests have since been made. Tin Nyo Win and his pregnant wife were released from jail 10 days after they were locked up and are now being housed in a government shelter

for victims of human trafficking. Chaiyuth called a meeting to explain human trafficking laws to nearly 60 shed owners, some of whom were confused about raids that swept up illegal migrants. Later, Chaiyuth quoted one shed owner as saying, “I’m not selling drugs, why did they take possession of my things?” Meanwhile, the AP informed labour rights investigators who work closely with police about another shed where workers said they were being held against their will. It is being examined. ■ Mendoza reported from Washington. Associated Press video journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, contributed to this report. EDITOR’S NOTE: More than 2,000 trapped fishermen have been freed this year as a result of an ongoing Associated Press investigative series into slavery in the Thai seafood industry. The reports also have led to a dozen arrests, millions of dollars’ worth of seizures and proposals for new federal laws.

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

After the climate pact comes the tough part: The start of the world's strict carbon diet BY SETH BORENSTEIN The Associated Press

In practice, that means the world has to emit close to zero greenhouse gases by 2070 to reach the easier goal, or by 2050 to reach the harder one, said John Schellnhuber, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. Oh and by the way, the harder goal — limit warming by another half a degree Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit) — is probably already impossible, said Joeri Rogelj at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. Most likely the best the world can hope for is overshooting that temperature by a few tenths of a degree and then somehow slowly — over decades if not centuries — come back to the target temperature. That may involve something called negative emissions. That’s when the world — technology and nature combined — take out more carbon dioxide from the air than humanity puts in. Nearly 90 per cent of scenarios of how to establish a safer temperature in the world involves going backward on emissions, but it is also so far not very realistic, said Kevin

PARIS — The world is about to go on a carbon diet. It won’t be easy — or cheap. Nearly 200 nations across the world on Saturday approved a first-of-its-kind universal agreement to wean Earth off fossil fuels and slow global warming, patting themselves on the back for showing such resolve. On Sunday morning, like for many first day dieters, the reality sets in. The numbers — like calorie limits and hours needed in the gym — are daunting. How daunting? Try more than 7.04 billion tons (if you really want to have your eyes bug out, that’s 15.5 trillion pounds). That’s how much carbon dioxide needs to stay in the ground Overall, for the world to hit its new target, global carbon dioxide emissions will instead of being spewed into have to peak by 2030, maybe earlier, and then fall to near-zero, experts said. the atmosphere for those reductions to happen, even if ests require enormous land ar- cut later. you take the easier of two goals eas and direct capture of carbon “The EU and U.S. are all on mentioned in Saturday’s deal. from air is expensive, but with Slim-Fast,” said Paul Bledsoe, a To get to the harder goal, it’s a serious sustained research former Clinton administration even larger numbers. effort costs can probably be climate official. “China’s still In the pact, the countries brought below $100 per metric hitting fast food, but will have pledged to limit global warming ton, said engineering and policy to stop soon.” to about another degree Celprofessor Granger Morgan of China, the world’s top carbon sius (1.8 degrees Carnegie Mellon polluter, will eventually have Fa h r e n h e i t ) University. to make the biggest cuts. Overfrom now — and Leading up to all, for the world to hit its new if they can, only the Paris Agree- target, global carbon dioxide half that. In the pact, the countries pledged ment, nearly emissions will have to peak by Another, more to limit global warming to about every nation 2030, maybe earlier, and then vague, goal is another degree Celsius (1.8 degrees formed an in- fall to near-zero, experts said. that by someFahrenheit) from now — and if they dividual action Those levels have been genertime in the seccan, only half that. plan to cut or at ally rising since the industrial ond half of the least slow the revolution. A new study sugcentury, mangrowth of car- gests emissions may have fallen made greenbon pollution slightly this year, but that may house gas emissions — which Anderson, deputy director of over the next decade or so. be a blip. includes methane and other the Tyndall Centre for Climate Richer nations that have alWithout any efforts to limheat-trapping gases as well Change Research in Britain. ready developed, like the Unit- it global warming, the world as carbon dioxide — won’t exNegative emissions involve ed States, Europe and Japan, would have warmed by 3.5 deceed the amount that nature more forests, maybe seeding the pledged to cut now. Develop- grees Celsius (6.3 degrees Fahrabsorbs. Earth’s carbon cycle, oceans, and possibly technol- ing nations that say they need enheit) from now by 2100, acwhich is complex and ever- ogy that sucks carbon out of the fossil fuels to pull themselves cording to Climate Interactive. changing, would have to get air and stores it underground out poverty pledged to slow the But China’s submitted plan back to balance. somehow. More biomass or for- rate of growth for now, and to alone would cut that projected

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warming by 1.3 degrees, according to Climate Interactive. The U.S. plan trims about six tenths of a degree of the projected warming without a global deal. And while China is now the No. 1 carbon dioxide polluter with more than a quarter of the world’s emissions, carbon dioxide stays in the air for at least a century, so historical emissions are important. Since 1870, the U.S. is responsible for 18 per cent of the world’s carbon pollution, compared to 13 per cent for China. That all sounds good, but the goals the nations have set aren’t enough. Taken together, they would still allow temperatures to rise 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century from now, so to reach the goals agreed on this weekend countries will need to do more, Climate Interactive found. Another climate modeling group, Climate Action Tracker, is slightly more optimistic, but still finds the nations’ plans would miss the goal of limiting temperature rise to one more degree. It says the current proposals would allow a rise of 1.7 degrees Celsius (1.25 degrees Fahrenheit). Countries agreed Saturday to take another look at their goals every five years. “Clearly countries must be exercising their low-carbon muscles more,” said Rachel Cleetus, climate policy manager for the Union of Concern Scientists. French President Francois Hollande took the first step as he praised the Paris Agreement. He said France would ratchet up its goals and efforts earlier than required and challenged other nations to do the same. “The world starts tomorrow,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Kimoon told climate negotiators. He said that Saturday. ■

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Travel Can you say ‘hjukrunarfraedingur?’

Learning Icelandic a challenge for travellers BY JIM HEINTZ The Associated Press ISAFJORDUR, ICELAND — Iceland’s challenges include boiling hot springs, frigid waters and vast wildernesses where sudden fogs leave you terribly alone. For me, the most daunting challenge was the tungumalanamskeidid — a course in trying to learn the language. On the three-week course, I found Icelandic deserves its nickname “Latin of the North” with a complicated skein of sIx noun classifications, each with up to 16 different suffixes; five families of verbs; an archaic and insular vocabulary and a penchant for serpentine words.

Also like Latin, it’s only marginally useful, spoken by just 0.005 per cent of the planet. My aim wasn’t pragmatic. On previous trips, I’d become infatuated with Iceland for its primeval landscapes and enveloping hush. But the scenery wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more. The language course in Isafjordur, a town of 2,700, appealed to my romantic side. Geographically and emotionally distant from spiffy, stylish Reykjavik, Isafjordur crouches on a dogleg spit jutting into a fjord dwarfed by 2,000-foot mountains, with corrugatediron house facades sprouting long tresses of rust. Though minuscule, it is the largest settlement in the Westfjords, a region

more thinly populated than Mongolia that sees relatively few visitors even as Iceland’s tourist traffic soared some 300 per cent over the past decade. It is a fine place to experience what Iceland was like before Bjork and Sigur Ros made the country a paragon of coolness, and also a good place to be studious. There are no distractions aside from the only liquor store within 100 miles and the pristine nature that starts at the town’s edge. The latter gave me my first serious taste of Icelandic’s difficulty. Asked what we’d do on the weekend, I wanted to tell the class I planned to hike to a waterfall-filled valley. In Icelandic, “the waterfalls” is fossarnir, but if you’re going to them it’s

It is a fine place to experience what Iceland was like before Bjork and Sigur Ros made the country a paragon of coolness, and also a good place to be studious.

fossana, except if you’re going from a long distance, in which case it’s fossanum. If the spray gets you wet, they’re fossanna. The trip began to seem like too much trouble linguistically. But I went, and they were pretty (fallegir, fallega, fallegum, whatever). Keeping track of all this required pages of complicated

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charts. “If you’re learning Icelandic, you don’t need Sudoku,” said Peter Weiss, a German who’s learned it well enough to become director of Haskolasetur Vestfjarda (University Center of the Westfjords), where the course was held — a handful of rooms in a building that ❱❱ PAGE 32 Learning Icelandic

Travel

DECEMBER 18, 2015

Dogsledding becoming a popular winter adventure for tourists in New Brunswick BY KEVIN BISSETT The Canadian Press ALLARDVILLE, N.B. — For Gilles Vaillant of Vincennes, France, the chance to go dog sledding in northern New Brunswick was “a dream come true.” “After the dogs were hitched, we left for this magnificent adventure bathed in silence, wind and barking with great sensations,” he said, describing the adventure he took with his wife, Christine, during a visit to Canada in 2014. Christine — who is usually uncomfortable around dogs — described the sled dogs as endearing and beautiful, and her experience as “a magical ride.” “It was very impressive for me to see as soon as they were hitched, that I had to press hard on the brake as they had one desire to take off,” she said. “They were barking very hard to go.” The first known use of putting dogs to work to pull sleds dates back some 4,000 years, but more recently dog sledding has become an enjoyable winter activity that is drawing tourists to Canada for the experience. For Diane LeClerc, dog sledding is a chance to bond with her dogs and to educate the public on the sport and her Acadian culture in northern New Brunswick. “It’s the nature, the silence, the peace, the liberty that you get from that,” she said. “You can’t imagine until you try it.” LeClerc was born in northern New Brunswick but spent much of her life in Quebec — working at the Granby Zoo for 24 years. “I always wanted to come back to New Brunswick to do dog sledding,” she said. “I came back, bought a house and 33 acres with my dogs.” In 2014, LeClerc opened Sled Dog Adventures in Allardville, N.B., and in her first season drew tourists from such places as Germany, Madagascar, Turkey, Japan, China and France. She said people come for the experience. “It’s the dogs, it’s the out-

The first known use of putting dogs to work to pull sleds dates back some 4,000 years, but more recently dog sledding has become an enjoyable winter activity that is drawing tourists to Canada for the experience.

doors, and it’s more than that. You get a relationship with the dogs and you can’t imagine how the dogs are strong, how they listen and how loving they are.” Add to that the scenery as the dogs take riders along snowcovered trails through forest and fields. “It’s for all ages. You don’t have to be athletic to do dog sledding.” So far, LeClerc has nine adult dogs and 15 pups. She has seven sleds of various heights to match the people who use them. She uses three or four dogs per sled, depending on the weight of the riders. Participants also have a chance to sample the Acadian culture of the area through the food. LeClerc said she serves such fare as chicken fricot, a traditional stew, and cake made with wild blueberries. Gilles Vaillant said he and his wife enjoyed the Acadian meal and the interesting conversation. “The next morning after a good breakfast, like all good things come to an end, we left the place with the desire to return as soon as possible,” he said. LeClerc is also doing an educational program with schools and with the Girl Guides of Canada.

Sled Dog Adventures offers a variety of packages ranging from a two-kilometre ride that takes 20 minutes to a five-day trek that covers 80 kilometres and can include snowmobiling, ice fishing, hockey and more. Another company, Northwoods Survival, also offers half- and full-day mushing adventures and dog driver instruction from its location in Knowlesville in western New Brunswick. Jason Hoyt, a spokesman for New Brunswick’s Department of Tourism, said the development of dog sledding operations in the province is helping to broaden the experiences that can be offered to potential visitors during the winter months. “With the most snow in the Maritimes, we are perfectly positioned to draw Maritimers and Quebecers here for snowmobiling, skiing and dog sledding,” he said. ■ If You Go...

The cost of dog sledding packages varies greatly depending on the duration, and if accommodation or other features are included. Check websites for prices. Registration in advance is recommended. www.snowdogadventures.com www.northwoodssurvival.com www.tourismnewbrunswick.ca www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY

Asia’s coastal... juncture. But we continue to build housing and infrastructure along the coast. Society does not seem to be cognizant of the risks,” said Rishi Aggarwal, an environmental activist and fellow with the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai. Chennai is still drying out from monsoon floodwaters that subsumed the southern Indian city last week, largely due to chaotic urban planning that compromised its storm drains. The city’s international airport, which sits on a dry river bed, was forced to close for days. Ten years earlier, the same thing happened in Mumbai, where both the old and new airports are also built over flood plains. “If something like the 2005 floods in Mumbai could not wake up the city, it’s hard to imagine what it will take,” Aggarwal said. If the Paris climate talks cannot steer the world from its current path toward a 4 degree Celsius rise in temperatures, sea rise will subsume coastlines that are now home to 470 million to 760 million people, according to a November study by the nonprofit research and news organization Climate Central. Asia has seven of the 10 megacities with the highest number of people at risk of being displaced, the report says: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Kolkata and Mumbai, Dhaka, Indonesia’s Jakarta and Vietnam’s Hanoi. Businesses worried about risks to production and profits are pushing hard in Paris for strong action. Banks have pledged green energy funds. Companies are promising to go carbon neutral. “The interests of governments, the private sector and cities are aligning as never before,” U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres said Sunday in Paris. “We are witnessing the turning point in the way the global economy prices pollution and invests in real wealth.” The stakes are high. In Southeast Asia alone, the Asian Development Bank expects climate change to cause losses that will reduce the region’s potential GDP by 11 per cent in this century. But there’s a flip side to the gloomy projections. Countries and businesses that are preparing for climate change could reap considerable financial ❰❰ 24

benefits. “When there’s an improvement, it enhances the competitive of those cities,” said Tatiana Gallego-Lizon, director of the bank’s division on urban development and water. She cited sewage improvements in Kolkata and drainage systems in Hanoi as helping those cities appeal to investors. “If you plan it and market it properly, it could provide a very special boost for the economy.” Shanghai, where the annual rainfall is about 20 per cent higher than the global average, is already faced with occasional severe flooding. But while it has one of the highest populations at risk of climate-induced displacement, it also scores well on some lists ranking its capability to cope. The city has constructed more than 520 kilometres (320 miles) of protective sea walls virtually encircling half the city to protect from typhoons and also to guard against rises in sea level over the coming century. The system of concrete walls and ramparts around the city is bolstered by a mechanical gate that rises and falls to regulate the amount of water that Suzhou Creek feeds into the Huangpu River which runs through the city. “The controls we have in place already should be able to deal with the next 20, 50, even 100 years of rising sea levels,” said Zhang Zhenyu, spokesman for Shanghai’s flood control headquarters. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has estimated that climate change, and specifically increased flooding and stronger storm surges, will lead to an average decline of 1.2 notches in sovereign credit ratings, based on direct damage data projections from global insurance giant Swiss Re. Developed nations have relatively low risk, due to “their higher level of preparedness,” S&P’s Marko Mrsnik and Swiss Re’s David Niklaus Bresch wrote in a Dec. 3 blog for the International Chambers of Commerce. But “in terms of income, emerging and low income sovereigns seem the most vulnerable.” ■ Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong, Paul Traynor in Shanghai and Manish Mehta in Mumbai contributed.

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

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Ms. Vancouver 2015 raises funds for charity AFTER WINNING the Ms. Vancouver 2015 title, Filipino-Canadian Christine Adela White continues in her mission to raise funds for charity. She is no stranger to altruistic missions. “We’re currently doing a fundraising project to have my students perform in the Philippines with children supported by the Bikes for the Philippines Charity. I hope I can gain your support for this,” she said. Christine is the owner of CW Music, a music education centre that facilitates music therapy for children and adults with special needs. She reportedly raised over $20,000 for the “Giving Back Program,” a charitable fundraiser under the Ms. Vancouver organization. The talent portion of the Ms. Vancouver pageant featured, "The Rubber Duckies", probably the youngest rock band in town composed of students aged nine to 14. They are coached by Ricky Barbas and Christine. “We arranged the

The Rubber Duckies, youngest rock band in town.

piece, "Hall of Fame" for a full band including a reggae beat, a dramatic key change at the end, and all vocal harmonies. Proceeds of the fundraiser go to the British Columbia Ride to Conquer Cancer Foundation and Bikes for the Philippines. A veteran community advocate and fundraiser, Christine said, “I do not necessarily need a title to fundraise, but I recognize the opportunity of Miss Vancouver holding a microphone and turning it over to other fund-raising activists to

give them a voice.” Christine previously raised funds for cyber-bullying and “The Ride to Conquer Cancer” where she raised funds for the BC Cancer Foundation. She likewise brought awareness to humanitarian groups such as the SOS Children’s Villages in hopes that Canadians will reach out to abandoned children. For five years, she biked the 270km ride along the Pacific coast to Seattle, Wa. in memory of her sister Laura Jane White and Roberta Kenney. According to her she rides for a cure — “not the same drugs

Ms. Vancouver 2015 Christine Adela White.

and procedures that have failed us time and time again.” Her team releases red balloons at the finish line to honour loved ones taken before their time. Their committed not to quit until there is a cure for all can-

cers. She said you may watch the entire Ms. Vancouver 2015 show on Vancouver Television, Shaw Network on Dec. 15, from 1 to 3 p.m. and on Dec. 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. ■

Pasko ng Bayan 2015 caps Filipino community fellowship in Ottawa IN KEEPING with the community’s traditions, FilipinoCanadians in Ottawa staged the annual Pasko ng Bayan on 5 December 2015 at the Sandy Hill Community Centre. A parol-making contest, a Christmas food contest and bazaar as well as a singing competition dubbed Pamaskong Palabas ng Pamilya at Barkada highlighted the community celebration of Christmas. This year’s Pasko ng Bayan saw a record number of Christmas lantern entries, both for the competition and exhibition, following workshops conducted by Mr. and Mrs. Ed Escares in October for adults and children. Painstakingly handcrafted parols decked the hall in full Christmas ambience but one tiny entry handmade by Emma Riza Sapon stood out in the judges’ eyes owing to an intricate handmade crèche embedded at the heart of the lantern. Other entries presented by Lily and John Lay, Roger Guevarra, Laarni Casiple and the Hiligaynon Association earned prizes from Western Union and special mention from judges Nora Cote, Sonia

FilCans in Ottawa set the mood for Christmas with carols, games and other festivities.

del Rosario and Consul General Eric Tamayo. Young participants in the parol workshop were also cited for their works, namely, Jacob Wilson, Samuel Wilson, Annabel Wilson, Gianna Casiple, Brianna Casiple, Elean Moreno, Luc Moreno, Tyson Lay, Shine Tejada and Gianpaolo Bragais. Christmas food entries were judged by Chef Armando Baisas, Chef TJ David and Dr. Ruby Formoso. Thelma Rogers’ bangus sisig and leche flan garnered the best scores while Betty Obas’ pork sisig and Bicol Express placed second. Each Christmas carol presentation by Filipino-Canadian families and friends drew hearty

applause from the audience. Vanessa Merjudio-David and friends Jhune Leonardo and Mic Lomocso bagged the first prize for their a capella rendition of Carol of the Bells. The Timog girls, Quitain Family and Kanata Songbirds placed fourth, third and second, respectively in the Pamaskong Palabas ng Pamilya at Barkada as judged by Vanessa Gomez, Bernice Reyes and Oliver Librada. Pilipinong Migrante sa Canada participated in Pasko ng Bayan as guest performers along with 2014 Ottawa Idol Bernice Reyes, Nora Cote, Miguel Luis Moreno, Gianpaolo Bragais and Marie Mendillo. “Our annual Pasko ng Bayan www.canadianinquirer.net

is where the Filipino community and the Embassy converge as organizer and participant at the same time. Our program encapsulates the sights, sounds and flavors of Christmas traditions we hold dear - the iconic parols that animated our Filipino Christmas spirit and unshakeable faith and hope in the Almighty’s provisions; the traditional Filipino food reminiscent of our favorite carinderia, street food vendors in our home town or the very warmth of our mother’s kitchen; and Filipino families and friends gamely joining forces to make all of us merry and bright. The happiness we derive from the company of fellow Filipinos underpinned our

Pasko ng Bayan activities. On the underside of the parol, the food and the entertainment tonight, I heard the chatter of families and friends as they crafted the beautiful Christmas lanterns on display. At the bazaar, I saw our people’s predisposition to feed the hungry. During the Christmas carols contest, I felt the Pinoy’s irrepressible love for singing and compulsion to make others happy. Filipino-Canadians have every reason to be proud of their heritage and their role as culture bearers transmitting admirable Filipino traditions and values not only to the younger generations but also to mainstream communities,” Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia observed. The annual Pasko ng Bayan is an initiative of the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa undertaken in partnership with the Filipino community. Western Union and the St. Laurent Medical Centre Pharmacy were this year’s contest sponsors, along with the Philippine Embassy, while community volunteer Marie Medillo emceed the program. ■

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Entertainment

Gab Valenciano receives flak over questions on Mayor Duterte’s morality BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Carla with Gabby's family.

Because of You brings together Carla Abellana, Rafael Rosell and Gabby Concepcion GMA NETWORK brings to primetime television Because of You, a light-hearted romantic series, now airing on GMA Pinoy TV. This inspirational drama is about love, family and parenting, its joys & challenges. Because of You is headlined by Carla Abellana as Andrea, Rafael Rosell as Oliver and Gabby Concepcion as Jaime. Carla is excited about her latest project and the privilege of working with Gabby & Rafael, who she both finds professional and easy to work with. “I’m very thankful to GMA for this new project. I’m really happy to work again with Gabby. Excited ako kasi nakawork ko siya briefly lang before at doon ko nalaman na makulit pala siyang tao and very funny. Looking forward ako na mas mag-enjoy sa trabaho with him around and mas maraming matutunan from him. (I’m excited because I worked with him briefly before and that’s how I discovered that he’s a fun and funny person. I am looking forward to enjoy work

more, with him around; I’ll learn a lot from him). I’m also thrilled to be reunited with Bettina (Carlos) and Tita Celia (Rodriguez).” Gabby likewise reveals that he is very comfortable working with Carla and viewers will definitely enjoy watching their show because it is very light and full of good vibes. “I worked with Carla before and I am so relaxed with her. Sabi nga nila (like what others have said), it’s a walk in the park. Kasi nakasama ko na siya, magaan siya katrabaho. And itong show na ito, light lang. (I have worked with her and she’s easy to work with. And this show is light.) It’s a different approach and story. This is a feel-good teleserye.” Rafael, on the other hand, is very thankful to GMA for continuously giving him good projects and meaty roles including his latest character in Because of You. “I feel honoured to be entrusted with this fulfilling project about true love. I couldn’t be more grateful. I’m so honoured and even more in-

spired. I love it.” Joining Carla, Rafael and Gabby in Because of You are Ms. Kuh Ledesma as Charina; Iya Villania as Rebecca; Valerie Concepcion as Veronica; Joyce Ching as Cheska; Bettina Carlos as Patricia; Enzo Pineda as Sonny; Vaness del Moral as Alex; Michael Flores as Dennis; Rey “PJ” Abellana as Conrado; Carlo Gonzales as Henry; Eunice Lagusad as Iska; Oli Espino as Mando; Mosang as Malou; Julius Erasga as Michael; Sofia Pablo as Candy; Jacob Briz as Iñigo; Betong Sumaya as Albert; and Ms. Celia Rodriguez as Feliza; with the special participation of Mickey Ferriols as Mildred. Helming the series is the director of the longest-running Afternoon Prime series of GMA Network, The Half Sisters, Mark Reyes V. This show only proves that the heart never ceases to love and never surrenders in finding its partner in the right moment. Witness as love and comedy blend in Because of You on GMA Pinoy TV. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

MANILA — Several celebrities and netizens slammed Gab Valenciano for questioning the morality of Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte, who has filed candidacy for president in the coming national elections — spurring debate whether a leader like him was the right person for the country’s highest office. In an open letter posted on Facebook, Valenciano criticized Duterte. The public was then quick to react to the said post, telling him to first look at his shortcomings before shunning others. In response to Valenciano’s open letter, a netizen who remained anonymous replied with a lengthy post detailing that the musician-performer’s father, Gary Valenciano, was also a womanizer. “Your own father had a girlfriend and at 19 years of age, he got another girl pregnant whilst still in another relationship. That other girl is your mom. His girlfriend was Felichi Pangilinan, your mom’s younger sister. So stop talking about womanizing, values, morality, and loyalty when your own parents did not exactly do the right thing either,” the post read. The netizen then asked Valenciano why he doesn’t ‘condemn’ the mistakes of his parents when he was a child born out of discretion and wedlock. The anonymous sender, however, claimed that he was not a supporter of Duterte. “This is not about politics. Don’t tackle an issue that once hounded your own family. Yours is not perfect either. By the way, I like Gary V because he is a good singer and not because he was a womanizer. A lot of people support and admire Gary because

of his talent. They did not judge his faults,” the post further read, advising the singer-performer to watch a show of the 700 Club Asia for him to know the whole story and testimonies. Aside from several netizens, celebrities also retaliated to Valenciano’s open letter, including singer Mocha Uson of the allgirl group Mocha Girls whose members have expressed support towards the PDP-Laban presidential candidate. “Moralist or President? Many anti-Duterte focus on the issue of morality. But the real question is — do we need a good role model or a capable President? Simple lang naman po ito ([My point] is simple), our country is so sick and we need a good doctor to help us. And here come the moralists questioning… righteousness and morality?” her post read. Mocha then pointed out that just like how a doctor’s experience and capability to treat illness and disease were more important than his righteousness, so was that of a leader’s. She also argued that if morality was the basis of choosing the next ruler of the country, then the people should vote the priests and religious people instead. “Now how do you catch drug pushers? How do you pursue corrupt policemen and politicians? How do you put an end to the laglag-bala (bullet-planting) syndicate? Call the priests? Morality should not be the deciding factor in choosing our next president,” her post continued. Valenciano, for his part, was saddened with how the public reacted on his opinion and feared even more on how Filipinos stood culturally, socially, spiritually and mentally. He did, however, commend netizens who gave valid arguments and were for the advancement of the country. ■

Entertainment

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Filipino director receives Golden Globe nomination for ‘Inside Out’ BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

with ‘Joy’ to receive this nomination,” Docter said. “Pete Docter asked me to be his co-director more than five years ago. Back then, I thought I won the lottery already. And today, we’re nominated for a Golden Globe!,” Del Carmen said. “Making this movie is one for the ages. As human beings, we find it hard to talk about our emotions because it’s scary! Pete’s concept makes those conversations easier from now on, because we have these

ideas like Inside Out. Mabuhay!” Earlier this year, the 55-yearold director was recognized by his alma mater, the University of Santo Tomas (UST), for being an outstanding alumnus.

RONNIE “PIXNOY” del Carmen, the Filipino co-director of Pixar’s box-office hit, “Inside Out,’ received good news Dream come true for their animated movie at the Being a former advertising 73rd Golden Globe nominaart director back in his mothertions announcement. land, Del Carmen disclosed that Co-directed by Pete Docter, helping create Inside Out was a Del Carmen’s Inside Out was dream come true as he has alnominated alongside “Anomaliways adored movies but never sa,” “The Good Dinosaur,” “The thought that he would one day Peanuts Movie,” make one. and “Shaun the “It’s kind of a Sheep Movie” for surreal experithe best animatence because I ed film category We set out to make a film that just watched movof the highly-anwould help us better understand our ies here (Philipticipated Golden children, but never imagined it would pines) growing Globe Awards in have the impact that it has. up,” he said in an 2016. earlier interview A few hours afwith The Associter the announceated Press, back ment, both directors couldn’t friendly characters to help us when he was promoting the film help but share their ‘Joy.’ Here through them,” he added. in Asia. are their statements published in “I am calling my mother! “It’s an amazing experience an Inquirer.net report: I grew up halfway across the because I’m not just coming “It has been incredibly hum- globe in the Philippines watch- home, there’s a movie I helped bling to see the reception to In- ing movies and movie awards make that’s opening here… It’s a side Out by audiences around shows. Now, I’m part of a movie dream come true,” he added. the world. We set out to make that is nominated for a Golden In his early years in the Unita film that would help us better Globe! Crazy! I am so lucky to be ed States, the Filipino director understand our children, but working at Pixar and ever grate- worked as a story board artist for never imagined it would have ful to John Lasseter (Pixar’s Pixar and as the story supervisor the impact that it has. We could chief creative officer) for mak- for DreamWorks. Now, he has set not be more thrilled or filled ing sure that our studio supports his foot to directing as well. ■

KC and Piolo attended the 2015 ABS-CBN Christmas Special. @VIVAARTISTSAGENCY / INSTAGRAM

All’s well with KC Concepcion, Piolo Pascual BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Former couple KC Concepcion and Piolo Pascual seemed to have already patched things up four years after their breakup as they greeted each other with a kiss on the cheek when they shared the stage during ABS-CBN’s Christmas Special this year. It was co-star John Lloyd Cruz who prodded Piolo to host alongside his ex-girlfriend KC during the event held last Tuesday at the Araneta Coliseum in

Cubao, Quezon City. Prior the short and sweet moment, Piolo performed a production number for the program, together with John Lloyd and Jericho Rosales. Afterwards, the heartthrob was brought near the actress-host. It can be recalled that the former celebrity couple went through a rough breakup in 2011. Earlier this year, they were rumored to have become friends again as they were seen getting comfortable near each other during the Kapamilya network’s fan show in London, UK. ■

Learning Icelandic... includes a frozen-fish warehouse. Some students delighted in the game aspect, particularly American software designer Jim Brink and his mathematician wife Norah Esty. Their systematic minds pursued the grammar with zest, writing declension charts on a whiteboard for fun. But even they got overwhelmed. A day before exams, a drawn-looking Brink sighed, “Last night, we figured out there’s 144 word endings we need to know ... I think.” For all the complexity, Icelandic has spasms of radical simplicity, which can be equally perplexing, as in the sentence “Bondinn a a a a.” That can ❰❰ 27

translate as, “The farmer by the river has a sheep,” but figuring it out requires counterfactual thinking: In a country where sheep outnumber humans nearly 3-to-1, it’s hard to imagine a loser farmer who only has one. The grammar’s tough, but the vocabulary could be a joy for its offbeat poetry. Icelanders resist incursions of foreign words, preferring to adapt the lexicon of 9th century settlers for modern developments. Telephone is “simi” from the word for thread, a computer is “tolva” from number-sorceress, and my personal favourite: Soda to an Icelander is a “gosdrykka” — an eruption-beverage. The course returned all of

us nominal adults to a juvenile state, feeling both vulnerable for how little we could actually say and smug about what we could. When I was able to both remember and smoothly pronounce the serpentine word for nurse, hjukrunarfraedingur, I was so proud that I wanted to fake an injury so I could go to a hospital and show off. The town shopkeepers mostly treated us like good children, patient and amused by our eager clumsiness. Though I did get a few doglike looks of incomprehension at my accent, which is tarred by an Ohio upbringing and feathered by 20 years of living in Russia and Sweden. I wasn’t able to lose that acwww.canadianinquirer.net

cent enough to meet one of my goals: to convincingly pronounce Icelandic’s “-ll,” the phoneme whose mangling by foreign newscasters during the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption gave a laugh to presumably all 320,000 native speakers. There’s a ghostly “t” in there, an appealing sound like a soft pigeon coo, that remains elusive. It’s a reason to go back. If You Go...

LEARNING ICELANDIC: Haskolasetur Vestfjarda’s three-week course is in August; one-week crash courses in January and May; http://www. uw.is/icelandic_courses/ . GETTING THERE: Isafjor-

dur can be reached on Air Iceland from Reykjavik domestic airport (an hour by road from the international airport at Keflavik) though the landing is harrowing: Planes fly up a narrow fjord, then pull a tight 180 to avert a mountain while descending steeply. Public buses run several times a week; http:// www.isafjordur.is. The school offers a chartered bus for summer students with a stop at the spectacular Dynjandi waterfall. STAYING THERE: Isafjordur has three smallish hotels, some guesthouses and tourist apartments, one campground in the town centre and another gorgeous one fringed by waterfalls 5 kilometres (3 miles) away. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

‘The Force Awakens’ premiere crowd excitedly greets familiar ‘Star Wars’ faces BY DERRIK J. LANG The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — The reaction was strong to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at the film’s world premiere in Hollywood. Inside the TCL Chinese Theatre, the audience began cheering Monday from the moments the movie’s first words appeared on screen and reacted excitedly to seeing the return of Han Solo and Chewbacca after a 32-year hiatus. The audience also greeted newcomers, such as Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma and Daisy Ridley’s Rey, with vocal enthusiasm and loudly gasped at the film’s various twists and turns. After the showing, audiences spilled out into an after-party held inside a giant tent erected on Hollywood Boulevard, where they snapped photos with Stormtroopers, lined up to build their own droid toys and noshed on salmon and short ribs. For many of the celebrity guests in attendance, they wholeheartedly approved of director J.J. Abrams’ vision for the first new live-action “Star Wars” film in a decade. “I loved it,” actor-director Zach Braff told The Associated Press immediately after the premiere. “I thought J.J. did an amazing job. My favourite part was just seeing the camaraderie between the veteran and the new cast members.” “The Force Awakens” mixes old-school characters, such as Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa, with a new cast that includes John Boyega, Adam Driver and the spherical droid BB-8. Patton Oswalt said “The Force Awakens” represented a return to what made him fall in love with “Star Wars” in the first place. “It was a lot of fun,” the actorcomedian said after watching the film inside the TCL Chinese Theatre. “I had the same feeling as when I would watch these films as a kid.” Disney screened “The Force Awakens” simultaneously at

Canadian rapper Drake.

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ENTERTAINMENT NEWS from The Canadian Press

The celebration melded classic “Star Wars” mythology with the new generation that will carry the weight of two more sequels, spin-offs, video games, comic books, toys and other merchandise.

three Hollywood venues, with the cast and crew watching the film together inside the adjacent Dolby Theatre. “It can’t be said enough — not nearly enough — that none of us would be here tonight without the miraculous creation of one man,” Abrams told the crowd before the film. “George Lucas, from the bottom of my heart, and behalf of everyone involved with ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ thank you, sir.” “The Force Awakens” will be released publicly Friday, with some box-office analysts expecting it to smash sales records. “The Force Awakens” has already broken presale ticket records, and many fans are eager to see the reunion of original trilogy characters last seen in 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.” The premiere’s red carpet kicked off Monday with Stormtroopers marching and droids rolling past cameras before the film’s stars arrived. John Williams’ soaring score played in the massive opaque tent spanning four blocks in Hollywood. While most stars opted for chic red carpet attire, Joseph Gordon-Levitt showed up dressed as Yoda and actor-comedian Rainn Wilson dressed as a Jedi. The celebration melded classic “Star Wars” mythology with the new generation that will

carry the weight of two more sequels, spin-offs, video games, comic books, toys and other merchandise. At one point on the red carpet, Fisher turned the microphone on her co-star, Oscar Isaac, and conducted an interview broadcast on StarWars. com that included her dropping an expletive. Ford reflected on the impact of the film and the role that catapulted him to superstardom. “Well, in the ‘70s nobody knew what to anticipate,” said Ford. “Nobody had ever seen anything like it. Now we have to live up to what the first films delivered.” Abrams and “Star Wars” creator Lucas posed together for photos, and both men took time to chat with fans — some dressed as X-Wing pilots and others as new “Force Awakens” characters — before heading inside. For those without tickets to the premiere, the most they could see was the outside of the tent. “We’re really disappointed because we are big ‘Star Wars’ fans, and we were hoping to at least see a little of the celebrities,” said Natalie Arnet, a tourist from Paris, who attempted to catch of glimpse of attendees from behind a barricade with her family. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

There’s no question Canada dominated the international music industry in 2015, with artists including Justin Bieber, the Weeknd and Drake delighting critics and commanding the charts, as well as streaming services.And the momentum seems set to continue next year, as those names continue to release singles and tour and other emerging Canadians could follow their leads. Lawrence Kasdan isn’t afraid to play favourites. For him, Han Solo is it.He didn’t create the scruffy-looking smuggler. He hadn’t even heard the lore that George Lucas partially based Han on Francis Ford Coppola. But it was Kasdan who helped fully realize “Star Wars”’ favourite scoundrel when he stepped in to write “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.” Most grown men love musical acts like the Black Keys and Kendrick Lamar. Now, you can add Justin Bieber’s name to that list.With his recent batch of hit singles and a semigrown-up sound — including the electro-pop “Where Are U Now” with DJ-producers Skrillex and Diplo — adult men have begun attending the musical church of Bieber, and while some have issues acknowledging it, others proudly say they’re Beliebers. Idris Elba has many reasons for why he keeps coming back to “Luther.” “It’s unfinished business, it’s fertile ground,” he explains. “The character continues to challenge me.” Simon & Schuster will publish a crowdsourced book on Taylor Swift that fans will help create.The publisher announced Sunday that it will hold a contest where fans can name the book, which will be an oversized and illustrated volume “with the feel of a scrapbook.” The book will collect magazine profiles and other various writings on Swift over her 10-year career. The sounds of the holiday season are pretty much the same from year to year: “Feliz Navidad,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and “White Christmas” on constant rotation in supermarkets, department stores and coffee shops.New Christmas-themed pop songs do appear every year, and Thunder Bay, Ont.-native Paul Shaffer says it’s no surprise why artists keep trying to record a new modern classic. Only in Canada would an animated “The Nutcracker” special be given a hockey twist.”The Curse of Clara: a Holiday Tale” is based on Vickie Fagan’s autobiographical short story recalling her days dancing in “The Nutcracker” for the National Ballet of Canada. The year is 1972 and a young ballerina reaches into the hockey world for inspiration — specifically, a legendary Canada-U.S.S.R showdown.

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Lifestyle

As Vancouver grapples with housing crisis, how Europe has tackled vacant homes THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER — Imagine living in a former church, school building or fire station for $50 a week. Consider a 25 per cent tax on people who leave their homes vacant. Or the city taking over the hard work of finding a tenant for owners wary of renting. These are just a few of the inventive solutions that Europe has tried to fill empty dwellings. And while there is disagreement in Vancouver about the extent of the problem, “dark houses” continue to be a hot topic in a city with one of the least affordable housing markets on Earth. An oft-cited study by adjunct University of British Columbia planning professor Andrew Yan found up to one in four units vacant — for at least part of the year — in some Vancouver neighbourhoods. But think tank Urban Futures found just 5.4 per cent of units unoccupied overall, in line with other big cities. The City of Vancouver has hired a consultant to analyze census and electricity consumption data. Here’s a look at how Europe has tackled vacant homes. France’s Taxe sur les logements vacants

France introduced its vacancy tax in 1998 in cities with over 200,000 residents. The tax applied to units that haven’t been inhabited for more than 30 consecutive days over the past two years — as long as they’re not too run down to be lived in or already on the market. The tax was 10 per cent of the property’s rental value for the first year of vacancy, rising to 12.5 per cent the next year and 15 per cent the following year. About 180,000 households paid the tax in 1999, dropping to 96,837 in 2007. This can be interpreted two ways: a drop in vacancy, or owners learning

These are just a few of the inventive solutions that Europe has tried to fill empty dwellings. And while there is disagreement in Vancouver about the extent of the problem, “dark houses” continue to be a hot topic in a city with one of the least affordable housing markets on Earth.

how to avoid paying, according to Felix Blossier, who analyzed the tax in a 2012 dissertation. The former economics and public policy student at Sciences Po Paris found it had a 0.13 per cent effect on the vacancy rate. “It seems that the tax scheme implemented was ineffective or had little effects,” he wrote. He blamed that on a possible failure of enforcement. Some owners had reportedly obtained fake documents to suggest their units were uninhabitable. It was difficult and costly for authorities to prove a home was empty. Plus, a 10 per cent tax just wasn’t a strong enough incentive, he wrote. Perhaps because of these issues, France raised the tax in 2013 to 12.5 per cent during the first year and 25 per cent on subsequent years. The impact of the higher tax remains to be seen. Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs said he would consider a vacancy tax, but pointed out that typically such measures are implemented on a wider basis — not just in one city.

“If it takes this issue off the public agenda, then I’d be in favour of it on that basis alone,” he joked. “I do think it’s a distraction. I’m offended, as everybody else is, by the thought that someone has so much money they can buy a house and just sit and speculate on the land value.” But he said some homes are not as empty as they appear, while others are vacant for good reason, such as a recent death in the family. A bureaucracy would be needed to levy and enforce the tax, Meggs added. Paris’s Louez solidaire

Directly translated to “rent solidarity,” this initiative enables the city to assume the risks of renting on behalf of private owners. The owner entrusts an empty unit to a partner agency contracted by the Paris government for three to six years. The partner selects a tenant, and guarantees the owner that the rent will be paid and any damage will be covered. In exchange, the tenant pays about 70 to 80 per cent of the www.canadianinquirer.net

market rent. The owner collects the cash without the risk, and Paris increases its affordable rental housing stock. Owners are also eligible for various tax breaks and can access funding to renovate their properties before renting. The initiative currently accommodates 2,900 tenants — many of them single-parent families — in 902 units in the French capital, Le Monde reported this year. Ian Brossat, deputy mayor in charge of housing, told the newspaper the city’s goal was to double the number of units by 2020. But Urban Futures director Ryan Berlin was skeptical the model would work in Vancouver, where he said issues around foreign ownership and vacancy have nothing to do with owners wanting to rent out their units but not being able to. “If this model mandates that owners of investment properties rent their units out, that’s one thing. However, it doesn’t sound like that’s the case,” he said. “Plus, it would require a significant political intervention here in Vancouver to make

it happen in the first place.” The Netherlands’ property guardianship This model dates back to 1980, when Amsterdam was besieged by squatters and vandalism. A real estate agent needed to protect a vacant building, so he drew up a legal squatting contract, enabling his nephew — a student — to live in the city centre at a fraction of the market rent. Property guardianship was born, and has since exploded across Europe and become enshrined in the tenancy laws of several countries. Camelot Vacant Property Management manages units in Germany, France, England, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. Over 60 per cent are government-owned, resulting in a quirky mix that includes former convents and embassies. Owners pay the company between 50 and 500 euros a week — or about $75 to $750 — depending on the size and security needs of the property. A guardian pays rent as low as 25 pounds a week in Northern Ireland or 50 pounds a week in London. The model has been embraced by government and professional investors with large portfolios, but not as much by private investors, meaning it might not address Vancouver’s issues, said Camelot spokesman Bob de Vilder. And it’s not for everyone — guardians can be evicted with four weeks’ notice and occasionally have real estate agents walking through their bedrooms. “It’s quite popular with students and with recently divorced men,” said de Vilder with a chuckle. “We’ve got quite a few pensionados, 60-plus years old, who will spend six months in the south of France, then go to Berlin for a while. They love the adventurous living style that comes with it.” ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Marketing the holidays a tricky balancing act for businesses in Canada BY DIANA MEHTA The Canadian Press

a spotlight on the issue. The company typically has its red holiday cups adorned with snowflakes, Christmas ornaments or reindeer, but opted for a minimalist design this year — red with nothing but its green logo. Executives said they wanted to embrace “simplicity and quietness.” But some religious conservatives in the U.S. saw the new cup as a blow against tradition. The entire episode underscored how carefully businesses need to consider their holiday marketing. “It’s very important to frame your brand around the right

any segment of the country’s multicultural society removed the word Christmas from much of their marketing altogether, TORONTO — When something said LeBlanc. as simple as a red Starbucks cup “The reaction was ‘let’s be stirred a controversy stateside sensitive to all the different elover how businesses mark the ements, let’s call it ‘holiday,”’ approach of Christmas, Canahe explained. “The feedback dian retailers took notice. from customers, most of whom Canucks may not be as exweren’t celebrating Christpressive over such matters as mas, was ‘look, it’s fine to call it their southern neighbours, but Christmas.’” retailers across the country are Businesses in Canada now well aware that how they marappear to have permission from ket the holidays in an increasmost Canadians — Christian or ingly multicultural society is a otherwise — to use the word sensitive issue. Christmas and related symbols “Retail is really a reflection as Dec. 25 approaches without of the culture and society we’re it being taken as an affront to in,” said Michael those who don’t LeBlanc, senior celebrate the ocvice-president casion, said LeBof marketing lanc. with the Retail So in terms of what’s going to “Sites now say Council of Canhappen, it would be easier to look ‘the holidays are ada. “Every year at how Canadians think about being here’ and truly, there’s some sort Canadian and the sense of Canadian I think that’s a of catalyst to identity more, instead of their reflection of the that discussion religious identity. season,” said — turns out this LeBlanc. “But year, it’s a coffee then as you get in cup.” closer, you hone The way in which retailers message for the right time and in on Christmas.” approach the weeks leading the right place,” said LeBlanc. The progression in marketup to the end of the year has “The most amount of thought in ing messages, particularly the evolved over time as businesses a retailer in general goes into the broad use of the term “holidays” respond to customer reactions. holiday and Christmas season.” in the weeks before Christmas, This year’s Starbucks controThere was a time in Canada, reflects businesses taking the versy, which hogged headlines about a decade ago, when retail- least offensive approach, said in the U.S. in November, shone ers who didn’t want to offend one observer.

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“It encompasses everything from Jewish holidays that happen in that time period, to Christian holidays that happen in that time period, to people that just see it as not related to these cultural traditions but more a week’s break during the winter,” said Darren Dahl, a professor of marketing at the University of British Columbia. Dahl noted, however, that the cautious approach can still offend some — as the Starbucks controversy demonstrated. “People who really do celebrate Christmas can get upset that their tradition is getting pushed around a bit,” he said. “But I do think there is a silent majority out there that’s just fine celebrating all holidays.” Much of what retailers currently use in their messaging

comes from their customers, noted another observer. “We don’t like to offend others all that much,” said Michael Mulvey, a marketing professor a the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management. “So in terms of what’s going to happen, it would be easier to look at how Canadians think about being Canadian and the sense of Canadian identity more, instead of their religious identity.” And for those who get riled by what they might see as a dilution of tradition, Mulvey offers a suggestion. “The mall is not the only place that Christmas has meaning,” he said. “Maybe that will encourage some people to go back to church or maybe they can spend time with families.” ■

The cost of power: Presidents, prime ministers may age quicker and die sooner, new study says BY MARIA CHENG The Associated Press LONDON — Leading a country comes with extraordinary privileges but also, apparently, a price: new research suggests that heads of state age faster than normal and that the stress of the job may shave almost three years off their life expectancy. Doctors analyzed how long presidents and prime ministers in 17 countries — including Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the U.S. — survived

after leaving office, compared to the losing candidates. They also observed the number of years that heads of state lived versus what was expected for someone of the same age and gender. After considering the fates of 279 heads of state and 261 runner-ups, they concluded former leaders lived for almost three fewer years than expected. The study was published online Monday in the medical journal, The BMJ. “To lose a few years is significant,” said Dr. Anupam Jena of Harvard Medical School, the

study’s senior author. “(Leaders) probably felt national priorities were much more pressing than eating right and exercising,” he said, saying former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s admitted weakness for fast food may have resulted in “stress eating.” “Maybe if there had been world peace, his lifestyle would have been different,” Jena said. After leaving office, Clinton had bypass surgery; he subsequently said he lost weight and became vegan to try to reverse his heart disease. Other researchers have found www.canadianinquirer.net

that U.S. presidents actually live longer than their constituents. “The stress (of leading a country) could accelerate the greying of hair and wrinkling of skin, but that doesn’t mean they’ll die earlier,” said S. Jay Olshansky, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His research on former commanders in chief found they had a longer-than-expected life expectancy, partly because they are part of the top 1 per cent of the population that are highly educated, wealthy and have better access to health care

than most. Still, even U.S. President Barack Obama recently joked with Canada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — who is about a decade younger than Obama — about how a country’s top office can speed up aging. Obama advised Trudeau he should start dying his hair to avoid going grey. Jena said Trudeau — who is a keen outdoorsman — might fare better than expected. “Someone like him, who is fit, may be in a better starting position than others,” he said. “The years could be kinder to him.” ■

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Business

E-payment system lack stunts Argentine president’s e-commerce growth decision to lift agricultural Gov’t eyes South Korea’s platform model for PH

export taxes puts country on new course

BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE LACK of a uniform electronic payment system in the Philippines is believed to be stunting the development of the local e-commerce market as the country continues to be primarily a cash-based society. In a paper for Asia Briefing Ltd., a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-headquartered Dezan Shira and Associates, author Elizabeth Leclaire stressed the significance of developing both a national e-payment system and an e-commerce market as these would allow local consumers and businesses to increasingly engage in the global market and would offer numerous investment opportunities for foreign investors. While it has started to gain ground, e-commerce in the Philippines is expected to grow to a $2-billion market by the end of the year. This is considerably marginal compared to the the forecast of market research firm eMarketer that global online sales would reach $1.67 trillion this year. According to Leclaire, the Philippines continued to face huge challenges in rolling out a national e-payment platform with 98 percent of all transactions within the country still being done in cash. Leclaire explained that the Philippines’ lower socioeconomic classes often lacked access to online financial and transaction systems, rendering them unable to interact directly with the global market. “Currently, only 26 percent of Filipinos can access formal financial channels, either online or offline, and 610 of the nation’s 1,635 municipalities do not have banks. Additionally, roughly 50 percent of all mobile phone users prefer to hold their savings solely in personal cash reserves instead of in banking

BY PETER PRENGAMAN The Associated Press

FOSFORIX / FLICKR

institutions,” she said. Citing data from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Leclaire said that the Philippines would witness a 0.5-percent growth in consumer spending for each 10-percent increase in electronic payments. She further quoted USAID as saying that the “primary difficulty facing the nation will be to either integrate the multiple private e-payment platforms into a national system, or devise a national platform to replace all existing models.” “In addition to logistical difficulties, the Philippines’ consumer base is wary of a dependence on an independent online agency method of banking. Of the 40 percent of Filipinos with savings, 68 percent of them keep their money at home rather than in a bank. Moreover, lending is typically established on a personal basis and is often accompanied by high interest rates,” Leclaire said. The Philippine government has pledged earlier this year to reduce its dependence on cash transactions and transform the economy from a cash-heavy to

a “cash-lite” society within the next 20 years. The country had partnered with the USAID to create a nationwide e-payment system by 2018. According to Leclaire, the United States and the Philippines are in talks on the specific design aspects of the e-payment platform, but have discussed plans to potentially mirror South Korea’s e-payment platform model, which would allow Filipino users to withdraw from banks and stocks/bonds transactions in addition to typical transaction activities. Estimates by USAID showed that having a national e-payment system in place could lower transaction costs in the Philippines by as much as 90 percent. In addition to establishing a national e-payment platform, the USAID also partnered with the city government of Batangas last year to install an online tax-paying system through mobile phone. Since its launch, the system has accumulated more than 4,000 members and the USAID has announced its intention expand the scope of similar projects in the coming years. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — Fulfilling a campaign promise to overhaul Argentina’s agricultural sector, President Mauricio Macri on Monday announced the elimination of export taxes on key products, a move that will also have a deep impact on how Latin America’s third largest economy is funded. Macri made the announcement while meeting with farmers in Pergamino, about 135 miles (220 kilometres) northeast of Buenos Aires. Starting Tuesday, export taxes will be eliminated on corn, wheat, meat and fish. Export taxes on soy beans will be lowered from 35 to 30 per cent. “Without the agricultural sector, the country can’t move forward,” Macri said in comments that were broadcast live. The South American nation is one of the world’s breadbaskets. However, the sector struggled amid frequent fights with former President Cristina Fernandez over the last eight years. She kept export taxes high to stimulate local consumption and keep the prices of bread, corn, meat and dairy products low at home. The taxes were also a key part of financing her government, which spent heavily on social welfare programs for the poor. Farmers argued that the taxes put a cloud over the industry and led to distortions in crop rotations and production. For example, because of low profits with corn, many farmers used more of their fields for soy beans, which brought in more money. The high taxes also led to massive hoarding, something that Fernandez’s administration struggled to crack down on. Some economists estimate that

the current amount of hoarded crops represent about $13 billion in exports. Macri said farmers no longer would “have an excuse” to wait in hopes of better prices. He also promised to crack down on those who continued to hoard. “We must stop being the world’s barn to become the world’s supermarket,” said Macri, who ran on free-market principles and defeated Fernandez’s chosen successor in elections in November. But for much more money to come in, economists say the agricultural changes must be coupled with deeper, acrossthe-board reforms, such as eliminating restrictions on buying U.S. dollars that has created a booming black market. Currently, Argentina’s official rate is around nine pesos to the dollar. On the black market, a dollar has fetched as much as 16 the last year. Problems in currency exchange markets have made operating difficult for farmers, who must deal heavily in dollars to both export crops and import heavy machinery. During the campaign, Macri promised to lift the restrictions. Late Monday, he told a group of business leaders that his government would move toward lifting restrictions this week, but did not provide details. Macri also announced the lifting of restrictions on many non-agricultural products, arguing that such measures ultimately hurt Argentine competitiveness. “The word today is hope, not happiness,” said Fernando Boracchia, vice-president of a large rural association who also raises sheep on 550 acres outside of Buenos Aires. “These changes won’t mean anything if they don’t come with a fix for the exchange rate problem.” ■

Business

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

As Nova Scotia’s aging bridges crumble, engineers prioritize which to replace BY MICHAEL TUTTON The Canadian Press BEAR RIVER, N.S. — Jon Welch stands beneath the crumbling concrete arch on a bridge spanning a river behind his coffeeroasting business and wonders aloud how much longer the structure can last. “When you get underneath and have a look, it makes you think twice about running a car over it,” he says as the water rushes into the community of Bear River in southwestern Nova Scotia. He gestures to a curving bulge in the stacked stones that form the supporting end and adds, “It looks like it’s been migrating out towards the water ... It looks worrisome to me.” The bridge is one of about 240 bridges or culverts among 3,861 reports received by The Canadian Press that had a rating of poor or worse from inspectors’ reports as of this summer. The province says bridges listed as “poor” are safe for traffic, but have advanced section loss, pieces of concrete falling off and structure worn away by water and sediment. Those considered “serious,” a lower ranking than poor, have erosion

and crumbling that affect pri- money isn’t available. the replacement list for 2020. mary structural components. “Our current budget for this There are many competing The latest results received year is $220 million for every- projects and the cost is high from a freedom of information thing (roads and bridges). Theo- even for small bridges on back request are an improvement retically every year you don’t roads, says Fitzner. since The Canadian Press re- spend that $400 million your For example, the Plaster viewed a database of provincial (infrastructure) deficit increas- Creek steel truss bridge in bridge inspection reports for es. That’s the challenge,” he said. Cumberland County has new 2012, when 3,021 inspection The engineers say they have rails and concrete blocks to reports said 391 of bridges — or been trying various new re- support deteriorating walls, but 13 per cent — were in poor or pair methods, such as spray- the inspector said last year “all worse shape. ing structural foam between existing piles are damaged for a Still, the province’s top bridge the stacked stones on the Bank metre above the streambed and engineers aren’t splintering is ocdeclaring victory curring.” as the roughly The structure 4,100 bridges linkis just 3.4 metres ing Nova Scotia’s Our current budget for this year is long, but Crocker small communi$220 million for everything (roads and estimates the reties continue to bridges). Theoretically every year you placement cost deteriorate in the don’t spend that $400 million your is over $1 million coastal freeze(infrastructure) deficit increases. That’s due to new envithaw cycle. the challenge. ronmental reguSenior bridge lations, more engineer Will stringent buildCrocker said ing codes and during an interview about half Bridge in hope of holding back stricter design requirements. of the bridges in the province the shifts and bulges in the supMeanwhile, timber bridges are past their expected 50-year porting structure. around the province continue lifespan, forcing continuing re“We would continually moni- to rot, and photographs show pairs to keep them safe. tor it (the Bank Bridge) until it the splintered and crushed supChief highway engineer gets to the point where we no porting structures in graphic Bruce Fitzner estimates the longer felt comfortable it was sol- detail. province’s roads and bridges id or sound, then we would take The MacDonald Mill Brook need an average of about $400 action such as fixing it or reduce bridge, located on a dirt road million a year over the next de- the weight limits on it or some near the small community of cade to arrest the “infrastruc- other measure,” said Fitzner, Caledonia, has decaying girders ture deficit,” — but that much adding the Bear River span is on and the abutments are rotting

and bulging out. “Our recommendation would likely be just to close that bridge,” said Fitzner, but he adds that suggestion is usually greeted by local opposition. The Prospect Road Overpass on the outskirts of Halifax remains listed in serious condition. Photographs show that bearings where the bridge spans connect with supporting pillars are deteriorating as the concrete beneath falls away. “We have such a backlog of bridges we need to do,” says Fitzner. “The ones ahead of it need it quicker than that. Ideally we’d like to do it all sooner.” He says he’s just sent a proposal to treasury board to begin the replacement process for the overpass in two years. Yet with each approval, the competition among the many small bridges for replacement and repair continues. In Bear River, Welch reaches up and snaps off a small piece of a white crystaline deposit caused by water leaching through the concrete. “We were told a number of years ago this was a priority bridge, but I don’t know what a priority is if it’s in this state and people are still allowed to use it.” ■

Taiwan firms urged to set up shop in PH BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES is hoping to attract more Taiwanese firms to make the Philippines their manufacturing hub in the region, given the country’s preferential access to some of the world’s biggest markets namely the United States and Europe. Philippine trade officials invited Taiwanese manufacturing companies anew during a recently held Joint Economic Commission (JEC) with Taiwan. Representatives from the Taiwanese government flew in the country to hold a dialogue with their counterparts here, accompanied by a business delegation, Trade Assistant Secre-

tary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in an interview. “We talked about cooperation projects with Taiwan, normally about small and medium enterprise (SME) development and about creative industries. Similar to our pitch to other countries like Japan, we’d like Taiwan to make us a base for Southeast Asia because of our existing preferential access to the European Union and the United States. That’s what we’re working out with them,” Rodolfo explained. The trade official was referring to the country’s inclusion in the generalized system of preferences of the EU and the US. The EU GSP+ allows the zero-duty entry in the 28-member bloc of locally made products across 6,200 lines over

a 10-year period, while the US GSP eliminates duties on about 5,000 types of products if American firms import these from 122 designated beneficiary countries and territories, which included the Philippines. As it is, the Philippines already has good economic bilateral ties with Taiwan, which is already the third or fourth largest investor in the country, according to Rodolfo. However, the JEC is expected to further boost trade and investment ties between the Philippines and Taiwan as it served as an avenue where Taiwanese firms and the government can raise issues and concerns regarding the conduciveness of the business climate here. Such business environment www.canadianinquirer.net

issues relate mostly to trade facilitation and easing the way business is done in the country. Some have raised problems about regulations and the slow release of permits, among others.

“What we try to do is facilitate. Mostly this is about lack of awareness about existing regulations and, on our part, what we do is to mainly provide them with information on what is happening,” Rodolfo said. ■

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Sports

UFC champion Holly Holm would rather stay busy, but she’ll wait for Ronda Rousey rematch BY GREG BEACHAM The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — Holly Holm would rather get back in the cage while Ronda Rousey is recovering from their first fight. The new UFC champion reluctantly realizes she might have to wait for their rematch. Holm acknowledged Saturday that she might be facing a lengthy layoff before her first defence of the bantamweight belt she took from Rousey in spectacular fashion last month. Rousey will need at least six months of recovery from Holm’s head strikes before she is ready to fight again. UFC President Dana White said this week that the rematch will be Holm’s next fight, likely at UFC 200 in Las Vegas on July 9. “Eight months is a long time between fights, and I don’t want to wait that long,” Holm said

before watching UFC 194 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. “But if that’s what it is, I’ll do it and I’ll be ready.” The 34-year-old Holm (10-0) would prefer to take another fight in the spring, and top bantamweight contender Miesha Tate has campaigned aggressively for a title shot. Holm would welcome a showdown with Tate, but she realizes the UFC probably won’t endanger what’s expected to be a lucrative rematch with Rousey (12-1), the sport’s biggest star. Although Holm’s boxing career conditioned her to prefer several fights each year, she isn’t prepared to challenge the UFC’s authority to pick the champ’s schedule. “I don’t really like to lay out a path of what I think is best for me,” Holm said. “I just like to take it as it comes. That’s why I’m sitting here today. They gave me the fight with Ronda. A

lot of people thought it was too early, and I just took the opportunity.” Holm utterly dominated Rousey, finishing the former champ with a second-round head kick that loosened her teeth. Holm showed no fear of Rousey’s vaunted judo skills, even when they ended up pressed against the cage — and she ended the fight with a showcase of her superior striking. “I think she might try a little harder (to take the fight to the ground),” Holm said of the rematch. “I do expect a completely different fight. Nothing ever happens the same, and she’ll be coming twice as aggressive. She’s going to come back with a vengeance. I know that, and I just have to be ready.” Holm has spent the past four weeks on a lengthy goodwill tour celebrating her title. After several stops across the country for talk show appearances

Holly Holm.

and interviews, roughly 20,000 people turned out this month to welcome her home to her native Albuquerque. Holm spent this week watching fights during the UFC’s three-day extravaganza leading up to Conor McGregor’s showdown with Jose Aldo. Her celebrity took a quantum leap with her victory over Rousey, and she has been besieged by

SPORTSWORLDNEWS.COM

fans whenever she steps out in the UFC’s hometown. “We wouldn’t have a job without fans, so I try to embrace this,” Holm said. “Sometimes I have to have some patience, but I love the fans. We wouldn’t be here without them. ... I’ve had a lot of life-changing moments in my life. Little moments can be lifechanging, too. I feel like my life has changed in a good way.” ■

Canada’s Kingsbury moves into top spot on World Cup moguls win list THE CANADIAN PRESS RUKA, FINLAND — Mikael Kingsbury wanted to get the career victories record over with quickly. He did just that at the open-

ing competition of the 2015-16 season as the 23-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., won the freestyle skiing dual moguls Saturday to become the alltime leader in World Cup wins with 29. “It just felt amazing,” Kings-

bury said on a conference call. “I woke up this morning and I felt confident. “I qualified first. I knew today was a good day to make it happen.” Kingsbury, the reigning World Cup moguls and overall

www.canadianinquirer.net

freestyle champion from DeuxMontagnes, Que., outpointed Benjamin Cavet of France 2015 in the final for his fourth victory on the Ruka hill in northeastern Finland. He previously shared the career wins record with Ed-

gar Grospiron of France, who amassed 28 wins from 1988’95. Kingsbury came short in his first attempt at the record in the final competition last season, when he fell at a ❱❱ PAGE 41 Canada’s Kingsbury

Sports

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

Brayden Point’s return from injury adds depth to Canada’s junior team BY JOHN CHIDLEY-HILL The Canadian Press

Nonito Donaire with his WBO and WBC bantamweight belts. ARVEE ECO / FLICKR

Donaire eyes career reboot vs Mexican BY MARC ANTHONY REYES Philippine Daily Inquirer NONITO DONAIRE Jr., tries to reboot his storied career when he fights Mexican Cesar Juarez for the vacant World Boxing Organization super bantamweight title Friday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Both Donaire and Juarez tipped the scale at 122 pounds and looked all set to dispute the crown that was stripped from unbeaten Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux due to inactivity. The title was yanked out of Rigondeaux’s hands even after he defeated Filipino Drian Francisco last month. Juarez, 24, is a rising star in the weight division with a 17-30 record and 13 stoppages. He has won five of his last six fights. Yet the 33-year-old Donaire, a champion in four weight divisions, appeared to be looking past the Mexican slugger as he announced his intention to eventually forge a rematch with Rigondeaux or Nicholas Walters, another tormentor. Donaire (35-3-0with 23 KOs) was at the top of the boxing world, having won the consensus Fighter of the Year for 2012,

when Rigondeaux stunned him with a unanimous decision in April of 2013 in New York City. He climbed his way back to the spotlight and wrested the world featherweight crown over Simpiwe Vetyeka of South Africa in 2014. But the bigger Walters dealt him a shocking sixth-round knockout beating last year. Amid a growing perception that he has come to the end of his career, Donaire knocked out William Prado and Anthony Settoul this year in trying to convince everybody that he still has enough in his tank. “I had a great camp. But I know what must be done. I must win,” said Donaire, who said his KO to Walters was a blessing in disguise. “When I was down on the canvas in the Walters fight, I thought to myself, ‘This is a blessing,’” Donaire told yahoo. com. “It was a blessing because I had lost my way, not giving boxing the respect it deserves. I was searching for something. I was unsatisfied.” Donaire and Juarez are fighting on the card top-billed by lightweight Felix Verdejo, who will square off with Josenilson Dos Santos. ■

TORONTO — It’s rare that Brayden Point gets overshadowed. Head coach Dave Lowry announced that Point was cleared to resume contact drills with Canada’s junior team on Sunday, but less than an hour later the Vancouver Canucks gave forward Jake Virtanen permission to join the national roster ahead of the world championships. Virtanen’s addition grabbed the headlines, but Point being cleared to play after wearing a non-contact yellow jersey throughout selection camp to avoid doing damage to an injured shoulder is also big news for Canada. “It’s exciting,” Point told reporters on Sunday. “It’s exciting to see what the lines are going to be so I’m looking forward to it.” Both Point and Virtanen were on Canada’s gold medalwinning team last year, with Virtanen making the NHL in November while Point returned to the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors. Point has continued to develop as a dynamic, play-making centre and is fifth in the WHL’s points race with 18

goals and 25 assists. He led the league in points after 19 games, but dropped after injuring his shoulder in Moose Jaw’s 4-1 loss to the Prince Albert Raiders on Nov. 17. He hasn’t played since then but practised at Canada’s selection camp in Toronto before heading to Imatra, Finland, on Monday night for more training and pre-competition exhibition games. “Pointer’s been fantastic for us,” said defenceman Joe Hicketts, who also returns from Canada’s championship team and regularly has to play against Point with the Victoria Royals. “He’s probably one of the best players in our league, if not the best. “He’s got vision, he’s got skill, he’s got speed and I think he brings all the elements you look for on the big international ice.” Point — who says he’s happy to play at either his natural position at centre on the wing — had two goals and two assists for Canada at last year’s world junior championship. His return, along with Virtanen’s assignment to the team, adds depth to Canada’s forward corps, taking pressure off the presumptive top line of the returning Lawson Crouse and world junior rookies Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner.

“I think it’s going to be a fast, skilled team,” said Point. “That’s what (Lowry) has been wanting and I think it’s going to be fast.” Point looked to be 100 per cent while practising with Canada last week but did not play in its two exhibition games on Saturday and Sunday against an all-star team of university players from across Canada. Brandon Wheat Kings forward Jayce Hawryluk also wore a yellow jersey, practising alongside Point on Friday before playing against the Canadian Interuniversity Sport team. “He’s a great player,” said Hawryluk. “He’s easy to play with. Find some open ice and he’ll find you. I think everyone knows that.” Lowry insisted throughout the camp that Point would be ready when Canada needed him. Point has worked diligently first with the Warriors training staff and then with Canada’s. “It takes some time, but it feels good,” said Point. “Just some weights, some band work. It’s pretty standard stuff. Nothing too out of the ordinary.” Canada plays the United States on Dec. 26 in its first game of the world junior hockey championship in Helsinki, Finland. ■

Caida nails first PCBL finals berth BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer CAIDA TILES put the clamps on EuroMed’s gunners to hammer out a 75-69 victory Saturday night and seal the first finals berth even as Jumbo Plastic lived to fight another day in the PCBL Founders Cup at JCSGO Gym in Quezon City. The Tile Masters held Mar Villahermosa and Paul Zamar to a combined two points while unleashing a balanced offensive to sweep the best of three semifinal series. “I felt relieved knowing that there’s pressure of being No. 1 heading into the semifinals,” www.canadianinquirer.net

said Caida coach Mike Buendia. “At least we survived the semis, but we will prepare hard for the finals.” The Linoleum Giants staved off elimination after a 72-65 triumph over the Sta. Lucia Realtors in Game 2 of their own semifinal series. James Martinez caught fire with three treys on his way to a game-high 21 points while Alvin Padilla and Jaymo Euigilos combined for 23 points for the Giants who held Realtors star Mac Montilla to just six points. The Giants actually seized control by holding the Realtors to just six points in the second period. Flaunting their depth, the

Tile Masters got six points or more from seven players led by former Letran standout Ford Ruaya and Arellano playmaker Jiovani Jalalon. Ruaya pumped in 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Jalalon chipped in 12 points and four assists in a fitting follow up to his solid performance in Game 1. Caida put emphasis on shutting down Villahermosa and Zamar. Villahermosa missed all of his six attempts while Zamar was held scoreless in 17 minutes of action. The Tile Masters erected their biggest lead at 40-25 after holding Euro-Med to just three points in the second period. ■

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

Technology

The 3 leading digital assistants face off in our talking computer tests BY BRANDON BAILEY The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Cortana’s learning the neighbourhood. Google’s digital assistant can’t tell a joke. And Siri apparently has a thing for the metric system. Those are just a few of the things I learned after staging a face-off between the three leading digital assistants. Apple’s Siri and “OK Google” — they’re not big on personification at Google — are now standard on smartphones; Microsoft recently added its Cortana service to Windows 10, so it works on PCs, too. Now that just about anyone can talk to their phone or computer, we wanted to see what happens when you try. Though none of the assistants are perfect, they do have distinct personalities, even if they’re just deliberate artifacts of their creators. I asked the same 10 questions

of each service, using an iPhone with Siri, a Nexus phone with Android’s “OK Google” and a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet with Cortana. Information please

First up: Some basic factual questions. All three did pretty well when asked, “What’s it like outside?” Cortana earned extra points for answering with a spoken weather report. Google and Siri each showed a screen image that listed current conditions and a forecast. All three supplied President Obama’s age. When asked “What’s his wife’s name?” they all remembered that the question referred to the president, and correctly identified the First Lady: Michelle Obama. Similarly, they all knew the length of the Golden Gate Bridge. But for some reason, Siri answered in meters, while Cortana and Google stuck to feet.

At your service

Next came more complicated tasks, like finding the nearest pharmacy. Google and Siri listed three within a half-mile of The Associated Press bureau in downtown San Francisco. But neither mentioned the drug store on the ground floor of the building where the bureau is located. Cortana did. Posing questions is hungry work. I asked for help making a lunch reservation at Credo, a fancy restaurant around the corner. Siri and Cortana were stumped, but Google automatically fired up the Open Table app on the Nexus phone, with the form already filled out to make a reservation. Too bad the place is so trendy; it was booked for weeks. Ever feel like ducking work to catch an afternoon movie? (Shhh! Don’t tell my editor.) All three assistants had local movie listings at their digital fingertips. But Siri led off with a new release at a theatre just half a mile from the AP bureau. With www.canadianinquirer.net

HADRIAN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

a couple of taps, Siri had opened Fandango, an app that lets you buy tickets online. Google also connected with Fandango. Cortana had more trouble; Microsoft lags behind Apple and Google in the number of apps that work with its software, and I couldn’t get the right Fandango app to load on a Surface tablet. Just for laughs

Finally, a personality test. I challenged each to tell a joke. Siri had the best answer: “If I told you a joke in my language, I’d have to explain it.” Then I tried the famous line from “2001: A Space Odyssey” in which astronaut Dave Bowman tells the ship’s computer: “Open the pod bay doors.” Cortana knows the right answer: “I’m sorry Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” But Siri had a better one: “Doesn’t anybody knock anymore?” To be clear, these aren’t the witty rejoinders of some artifi-

cial intelligence. The creators of Siri and Cortana thought it would be fun to pre-load each service with humorous answers to predictable questions. Google doesn’t bother with such frills. Sticking to its search-engine roots, “OK Google” answered the “2001” question by silently presenting a series of Internet links, starting with one for a YouTube clip from the movie. Likewise, when asked about the meaning of life, Siri and Cortana were both ready with a quip. Google just recited a dry definition that only a biologist could love: “Life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter. ...” Final score

All three services are good on factual questions. Siri’s programmers have the best sense of humour. Google stays focused on the task at hand. And Cortana is quickly catching up to both of them. ■

Technology

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

John Tory says it would be impractical for Toronto to try to shut down Uber THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO MAYOR John Tory says it would be impractical for the city to try to shut down Uber, which is preparing to launch another ride-sharing service called uberHOP on Tuesday. UberHop will be a rush-hour, carpool option that links some of Toronto’s busiest neighbourhoods to the downtown business district for a flat $5 fee. Tory says there’s no point trying to judge if Uber’s expansion is good or bad for Toronto, and calls it another convenient and affordable option for consumers and a marketplace response to a reality. He says Uber has over 300,000 users and 15,000 drivers in Toronto, and it would not be practical to try to force the company to cease operations until new regulations are enacted. Tory says lawyers are gathering more evidence about Uber, but so far are not recommending the city make a second attempt for an injunction to shut it down. Hundreds of cab drivers tied

DENISDREVER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

up traffic throughout Toronto’s downtown core for about 12 hours last Wednesday to protest Uber’s ride-hailing service and demand the city enforce its bylaws. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne says technology is helping create many new services, and governments must determine how best to update regulations to ensure fairness and safety. “This is technology that exists, it’s a reality, and our responsibility is to make sure that we keep up in terms of keeping

clients safe and having the regulations in place,” Wynne said after meeting Tory. “This is part of a sharing economy that is posing challenges to the status quo...and we need to make sure people have efficient, effective and safe services.” Canada’s taxi industry launched a new app Monday called “The Ride” that offers passengers a more tech-savvy way to connect with local taxi cabs, but unlike Uber, it will add a $1 or $2 charge from your wireless provider. ■

Canada’s Kingsbury... meet in France with Grospiron in attendance. It made for an anxious offseason as he waited for his next shot. “I thought about it all summer,” he said. “It was a source of motivation in training. “I’m happy to get it out of the way in the first race. Now I will have less pressure on my shoulders. There was pressure all summer, but I had a plan and I executed it very well.” Grospiron wasn’t at the Ruka competition, but Kingsbury hopes to talk to him in the next few days. The Frenchman has been supportive of the Canadian’s quest for the record. Kingsbury is a phenomenon in moguls skiing. He was FIS freestyle rookie of the year in 2010 and has dominated the moguls circuit the last four years. With at least three or four more peak years left in him, he has passed legends like Canadians Jean-Luc Brassard — his boyhood idol — and Alex Bilodeau as well as Grospiron. How many wins he’ll end up with is anyone’s guess. “Beating a legend like Edgar and being first in my sport is something I never thought I could do,” he said. “Now I want ❰❰ 38

WEATHER UPDATE VANCOUVER

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to push the record as far as a I can so that some day it will be unbeatable.” One prize lacking on his resume is Olympic gold. In 2014 in Sochi, the since-retired Bilodeau edged him out to claim a second straight moguls gold. The silver medal was nice, but Kingsbury wants another shot at gold at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. “Winning Olympic gold is the main goal of my career,” he said. For now, he’s looking forward to returning home for meets Jan. 23 in Val St-Come, Que., and Jan. 30 in Calgary. Japanese teen Ikuma Horishima was third in Ruka, coming from behind to beat 2014 champ Philippe Marquis of Quebec City, for pace and clean jumps. In a surprising women’s final matchup, Mikaela Matthews of the United States took the top honour from Regina Rakhimova of Russia. The favourite, Montreal native Chloe Dufour-Lapointe, had to be content with third. She took bronze after winning the small final against Hedvig Wessel of Norway. ■ With files from The Associated Press.

Long term forecast from www.theweathernetwork.com CALGARY

EDMONTON

WINNIPEG

TORONTO

2°C

-6°C

-17°C

-20°C

-9°C

2°C

-5°C

-14°C

-18°C

-1°C

2°C

-8°C

-15°C

-12°C

2°C

1°C

-10°C

-18°C

-13°C

6°C

2°C

-11°C

-17°C

-20°C

8°C

0°C

-12°C

-17°C

-18°C

3°C

0°C

-13°C

-18°C

-20°C

5°C

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Events

DECEMBER 18, 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

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 1 to 6 p.m.

Tagalog Class By FCT WHEN/WHERE: 10 to 11 a.m., every Saturday, Filipino Centre Toronto

All You Can Eat Gourmet Buffet Dinner WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 PM - 1:00 AM Dec 31 at 7:30 PM to Jan 1, 2016 at 1:00 AM MORE INFO: Call 778 688 9643. $49.99 taxes and gratuities included.

Homework/Tutorial Class By FCT

YUKON

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 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 778322-2839 or email: tfw.divorce@gmail.com English Now: No Cost Language Training for Jobs in Administration or Retail By ISS of BC MORE INFO: Contact 604-684-2325 or englishnow@issbc.org Skills Now: Project-based Training for Immigrants in Retail and Administration

By ISS of BC WHEN/WHERE: Call or email at 604-684-2581 (ext 2193 Nanki) skillsnow@issbc.org MORE INFO: Receive a certificate or skills training in retail or administration; job search workshops; and strong employment opportunities. Art Show of JA Tan WHEN/WHERE: Exhibit runs from Dec. 2 to Jan. 4, at the Hycroft Gallery, 1489 McRae Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Invisibles & Disposables 2015: Migrant Workers in Stories, Dance, Cooking & Images By Migrante BC WHEN/WHERE: 6 to 8 p.m., Dec. 18, at Lakeview United Church 2776 Semlin Dr., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Donation. Everyone is welcome. English Conversation Circle for Newcomer Moms with Children Aged 0–6 By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: Fridays, 10a.m. to 12 noon, until Dec. 18 at Brentwood Learning Centre, 101–1899 Wilingdon Ave, Burnaby, B.C. MORE INFO: Call 604-438-8214 ext 120. Free childminding provided. www.canadianinquirer.net

Information Session on Government-funded Training Programs By Options WHEN/WHERE: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Dec.19, at City Centre Library 10350 University Drive Surrey, B.C. MORE INFO: Training will be in the area of administration, fire protection technician, and construction. For more details, call Cynthia Tamondong at 604-572-4020 ext. 1132 or email me at cynthia.tamondong@options.bc.ca New Year’s Eve Party By Victoria Filipino Canadian Caregivers Association WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Dec. 31, at the Grand Pacific Hotel, 463 Belleville St., Victoria, B.C. MORE INFO: Buy tickets at $65 from any VFCCA Board member. New Year Dinner & Dance By the United Filipino Canadian Associations in B.C. WHEN/WHERE: Jan. 2, at St. Patrick’s Gym 2881 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Theme: International Night. Music by DJ Rommel. Ticket @ $20.

DECEMBER 18, 2015

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DECEMBER 18, 2015

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Food

5 up and coming ingredients worth watching for as we head into 2016 BY J.M. HIRSCH The Associated Press TINY FISH, tart plums and coconut syrup. Ready for a taste of 2016? Since we’re all a little tired of hearing about bacon, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower steaks, let’s look forward to some of the flavours and foods that will be popping up in the coming year. It’s not so much that these foods are radically new (bacon certainly wasn’t). Rather, that they are edging toward a critical mass, making them more common on restaurant menus and easier for home cooks to find. Ready to eat? Little fish

Two things going on here. First, the trend in seafood is to eat lower on the food chain. It’s good for the oceans; it’s good for the fishing industry. Second,

Japanese onigiri (rice ball) with seaweed and umeboshi plum. SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

we’ve all become slaves to umami (the flavour best described as “savory”), and

little fish — and the products made from them — tend to be umami bombs. So expect to see lots of anchovies and sardines, and expect to see them in starring roles. Because we’re moving way beyond Caesar dressing and anchovy butter. New York City chef Seamus Mullen puts them front and centre at his Tertulia restaurant, where the “tosta matrimonio” tops crisp bread with black and white anchovies and slow-roasted tomatoes. Meanwhile, recipes for grilled or marinated sardines have practically become fixtures in the monthly food magazines. More importantly, the quality of what’s available at the grocer has improved. Skip the canned tuna aisle and head for the seafood counter, where you’ll find refrigerated white and black anchovies (some of them deliciously marinated), as well as fresh and smoked sardines. Or look for tiny bottles of colatura, a liquid anchovy extract that is Italy’s answer to Asian fish sauce. Drizzle that over fresh pasta and dust with grated Parmesan. Not sure what to do with your anchovies? Your best bet: nothing. As long as you’re buying the good ones (Fruits de Mer is a fine choice), just pop them on seeded crackers or toasted baguette, then enjoy. If you buy the cheaper ones, just heat them in a skillet with some olive oil and garlic. They’ll melt away into a sauce. Them toss in broccoli florets, cooked pasta and grated pecorino. Done. Seaweed

Sure, there was a lot of hype this year

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about the new seaweed that supposedly tastes like bacon, but I’m not holding my breath for that. Because in the meantime we have nori, the seaweed that often is pressed and dried in sheets, then used to wrap maki-style sushi. But it can do much more, and folks are starting to wake up to that. First, try it as an almost calorie-free potato chip substitute. No, seriously. Typically marketed as “seaweed snacks” and sold in single serve packets, these graham cracker-sized sheets of nori are crispy, salty and addictive. They also come in different seasonings, such as teriyaki and wasabi. You’ll usually find them alongside the other Asian ingredients. Nori also is being turned into condiments. Combined with sesame seeds and salt, it’s called furikake. Or there is the Sea Shakes line of seaweed seasoning blends, which combine kelp, dulse and nori with garlic, lemon peel and rosemary (among many others) with delicious results. Try any of them over roasted vegetables, cooked chicken, or rice and other grains. Also use them to dress up soft goat cheese or hummus. Umeboshi plums

These are the fruit of the ume (pronounced OO-may) tree (a relative of the rose). They resemble small apricots, but they can’t be eaten raw. That’s why most of them are salted, fermented and dyed red using shisho leaves. The resulting “plums” have an intensely sour-salty flavour that can be weirdly addictive. They usually are sold whole, as a paste or as a vinegar. In traditional Japanese cooking, umeboshi (OO-may-BOSH-ey) are eaten straight up as you would pickles, or are served inside balls of rice that are wrapped in nori (see what I did there?). The vinegar is used to season vegetables. But I’ve been seeing umeboshi showing up in unusual places lately. The vinegar is great in marinades and dressings; it also makes great pickles. Try it sprinkled over a bean and quinoa salad with avocado and shrimp. The plums (remove the pits) or paste are great pureed into sauces and rich gravies. The flavour gets along particularly well with bitter greens and broccoli. Or for all manner of fun, start popping them into cocktails. Vodka, lime juice, ginger, simple syrup and an umeboshi plum shaken with ice is quite nice. ■

Seen & Scenes: Vancouver

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

HISTORAMA CHRISTMAS PARTY

Ed Tapia belts out a Pangasinan lullaby.

Violet Chan, president of the Vancouver Multicultural Society imparts her Christmas greetings to the Historama cast and family. Also in picture are emcee Manny Noel Abuel and scriptwriter Carmelita Tapia.

Male members have fun playing the classic game, Musical Chairs.

GREATWAY FINANCIAL'S CHRISTMAS PARTY Advisors and Guests during Greatway Financial’s Christmas Party held at Royal Palace Banquet on December 12, 2015. The CEO and Lead Mentor Marlon Antonio and wife Elsa Antonio were serenaded by Advisors led by Wel Medina.

TAIWAN EXHIBIT Painter Esmie McLaren with Dr. Paul Crowe, director of the David Lam Centre for International Communication and Dr. Fuyubi Nakamura, curator of the ”(In)visible: The Spiritual World of Taiwan Through Contemporary Art”. This exhibit explores the relationships between religious beliefs and modern values through the eyes of seven Taiwan contemporary artists from aboriginal descent.

LBC'S BOX A SMILE PROJECT Pictures taken during the gifting day event of LBCs Box a Smile project.

FilCan Artist Esmie Gayo McLaren with Yuma Taru, visiting Taiwan weaver artist. www.canadianinquirer.net

Seen and Scenes: Toronto

DECEMBER 18, 2015

FRIDAY

FASHION BALL Scenes from the CanadaPhilippine Fashion Ball held at Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto on Dec 5th, 2015. A tribute to designer Renee Salud. (Photos by Solon Licas).

PH PRESS CLUB The Philippine Press Club of Ontario (PPCO) recently held its 2015 Christmas Party at the Prestige Disco Club. Newly-elected member of Parliament Michael Levitt spoke about the federal government agenda. Sen. Tobias Enverga delivered his Christmas greeting (Photos by Dindo Orbeso).

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

FRIDAY DECEMBER 18, 2015

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DECEMBER 18, 2015

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