Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #71

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER www.canadianinquirer.net

VOL. 7 NO. 71

JULY 5, 2013

4

15

18

26

28

No. 1 Absentee in House

Modified foods in market safe

What makes Canada great

Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Carmelita Salonga Tapia

PCI wants to find out: How healthy are you?

Foreign Services on strike; visas on hold

BY APRIL SESCON Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Canada Day: Celebrating what it means to be Canadian SEVERAL FILIPINO-CANADIANS participated at the Canada Day 2013 Vancouver Parade and were warmly received by the crowd. Please see other

Canada Day event photos on pages 24-25.

PHOTO BY ANGELO SIGLOS

Saudi Arabia extends amnesty deadline for illegal workers to November 3 CHILDREN living in Barangay Dampalit,

Malabon City, enjoy the last of a three-day break after classes in three elementary schools in the area were called off due to an unusual rise in tide levels.

PHOTO BY JOAN BONDOC

❱❱ PAGE 6 Saudi Arabia extends

VISIT PCI ONLINE!

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—In light of the recent crackdown on undocumented and illegal foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, The Department of Foreign Af-

fairs (DFA) in Manila has said that the government intends to repatriate as many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as possible from the area, before the deadline lapses.

The Saudi Arabian government re-

Scan this QR code using your smartphone.

❱❱ PAGE 46 Foreign Services

Thousands of Filipino OFW’s still stranded

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer

NO overtime. Emails were left unanswered; phones, too, after five. Cellphones, meanwhile, were left at the office desk. The tactics soon led to pickets in Ottawa.

The strike has spread. Following negotiations that went nowhere with the government, Canadian foreign services rallied with a job action. Now, foreign service officers are picketing in Manila, Beijing, Bangkok, Jakarta, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chongqing and Astana; Delhi, Chandigarth, London, Moscow, and Mexico. Withdrawals of service have disrupted operations at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

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Philippine News

3 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

US, PH forces off Panatag ‘War games not meant to intimidate China’

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINE Navy’s flagship, the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, is back in the waters near Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal), this time not for a faceoff with Chinese warships over disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) but for five days of joint maneuvers with the United States Navy.

The Philippines’ first warship will be participating in war games with a fleet of American naval vessels led by the guidedmissile destroyer USS Fitzgerald.

Panatag Shoal is a reef in the Philippine Sea claimed by both the Philippines and China and was the site of a maritime standoff between the two countries that lasted more than two months last year.

Far from Panatag

But the war games will take place 108 kilometers away from the disputed shoal, Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, spokesperson for the Philippine Navy, said last week.

With the joint maneuvers playing out that far from the shoal, reportedly still guarded by three Chinese coastal patrol vessels, the Philippines and the United States do not expect China to view the exercises as “intimidation,” Fabic said.

The war games, called Exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) 2013, begin today and wil run up to July 2.

Fabic said holding Carat near Panatag Shoal and other areas off northern Luzon had been planned long before the standoff with China at the reef last year.

The Naval Forces Northern Luzon is the primary Philippine Navy unit responsible for the exercise.

“The Carat 2013 major objectives are to enhance the current Philippine Navy and US capabilities in naval operations … such as communication, naval gunnery, at-sea operations, maritime interdiction and humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations and increase the level of interoper-

ability between the Philippine Navy and the US Navy in the conduct of combined naval operations,” a statement from the Naval Forces Northern Luzon said.

It said the exercises would include in-port and at-sea events, individual and unit training, and engagement with the local community, among other activities.

Aside from BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15), a PN Aircraft (Islander), Special Boat Team, Diving Team of Naval Special Operations Group (NAVSOG), Construction Team from the Naval Engineers and Philippine Marine Corps company will participate in the military exercises “to test their readiness and capability,” then Navy said.

It added that the Philippine Coast Guard would have one of its flagships, the BRP Edsa, joining the war games, as well as a helicopter, its diving team, and a visit, board, search, and seizure team.

Aside from the USS Fitzgerald, the US Navy will have its salvage ships, the USNS Safeguard and USNS Salvor in the waters off Zambales.

Members of the US Marine Corps and other specialized personnel will also participate in the war games.

The USS Fitzgerald was sent to the Korean Peninsula last April amid tensions between South and North Korea. It also participated in the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, rankling the North.

In arbitration

Technically, the Philippines and China remain in a standoff at Panatag Shoal.

Philippine ships withdrew from the shoal in mid-June last year at the height of a storm to ease tensions in the area.

But despite an agreement to withdraw, the Chinese ships never left and even cordoned off the mouth of the shoal’s lagoon to prevent the entry of fishing boats from other countries.

With nothing to match China’s military might, the Philippines took the dispute to the United Nations in January for arbitration.

The Philippines and China also have rival claims in the Spratly archipelago, a scattering of islets, reefs and atolls in the middle of the West Philippine Sea believed to be sitting atop vast deposits of oil and gas.

Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the Spratlys in rivalry with China, which claims nearly all of the sea as its territory.

Japan’s defense chief

China is also locked in a territorial dispute with Japan over a group of islands in the East China Sea known to the Japanese as the Senkakus but which the Chinese call Diaoyus.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is meeting today with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, who is visiting the Philippines for two days.

Whether the meeting between Gazmin and Onodera has to do with their countries’ territorial dispute with China is unclear, as there was no word about it in the advisory issued by the Department of National Defense.

A recent news report from Japan Times (www.japantimes.co.jp/news) said that Onodera “plans to discuss with Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin the current tensions in the region and to work out a coordinated response toward China.”

But even this was unofficial, as the Japanese report quoted an unnamed government source.

From Manila, Onodera will fly to Hawaii supposedly to discuss with US officials its territorial row with China.

The advisory said that Onodera will arrive at the defense department at 10 a.m. and will be given arrival honors.

Tagle: Fiestas not time for gossip, drinking sprees, eating binges

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer FIESTAS in the Philippines are often florid, loud and overflowing with food and drinks.

But such celebrations are not a time for gossip, drinking sprees and eating binges, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle reminded the faithful.

They are Church gatherings that should not be animated by vice but rather by the Holy Spirit, Tagle said in his homily at a special Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage celebrating the 30th year of the Diocese of Antipolo.

“It is so easy to gather people during fiestas, isn’t it?” CBCPNews, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, quoted Tagle as saying.

“Everyone who loves to drink is there. Everyone who loves to eat is there. Everyone who loves to gossip is there... [But] that is not the Church,” Tagle stressed.

“We are being gathered in the name of Jesus,” he said. “It is God who calls, gathers and binds us together.”

He also encouraged the faithful to acknowledge the “grace” of being an iglesia (church) or a people specifically and especially called by God. He urged the large crowd that attended the Mass to do the same in celebrating the Diocese of Antipolo’s 30 years of existence.

God never gets tired of bringing His people home to Him, Tagle said, drawing comparisons to the story of Israel. “[God] created the people of Israel, they fell into sin, scattered, but He never fails to bring them back,” he pointed out.

However, he said, such a story of God’s compassion was not just of the Antipolo diocese but of the entire Catholic Church.

The creation of the Diocese of Antipolo was announced in 1983 by the then Pope John Paul II. It was formally established on June 25, also in 1983. ■

Limited press con

Onodera will meet with journalists after his call and lunch with Gazmin.

The advisory said Onodera would entertain “a maximum of two questions each from the Japanese media (including members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines) and Filipino defense reporters. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

PHOTO BY TONY MAGDARAOG / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 4

Pacquiao No. 1 absentee in House

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer BOXING superstar and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao is No. 1 in the House of Representatives for something other lawmakers should not emulate.

Pacquiao earned the distinction of racking up the biggest number of absences in the 15th Congress.

He, along with Negros Occidental Rep. Julio Ledesma IV, was absent for 60 out of the 168 session days, records from the House of Representatives show.

Pacquiao’s absences are equivalent to five session months as the House holds just three session days a week. Still, he received no diminution of salary and benefits.

By contrast, 21 of the 290 members of the House had perfect attendance.

Former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria MacapagalArroyo registered a total attendance record of 111 days, three more than Pacquiao’s. But for most of her term, she has been

detained at Veterans Memorial Medical Center for electoral sabotage and plunder cases.

Others who posted a marginally better attendance record than Pacquiao were Ang Galing Pinoy party- list Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, who was present for 112 days; Pampanga Rep Carmelo Lazatin, 115 days; Laguna Rep. Ma. Evita Arago, 116 days; and Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco, 117 days.

There were lawmakers who were present for far fewer days, but they either died during their term, took their oath in the middle of the 15th Congress or who were later dropped from the rolls.

Some absences were attributed to constituency work, while others were made without notice.

Among the top absentees, Mikey Arroyo posted the biggest number of absences without notice, at 53.

He was followed by Ledesma, who had 45 absences without notice. In another 15 of his absences, he was considered to be doing constituency work.

Syjuco had 42 absences with-

out notice, and 9 absences for constituency work. Pacquiao had 37 absences without notice, and 23 absences for constituency work.

Gloria Arroyo’s 30 absences were also without notice and 24 were recorded as constituency work.

In Lazatin’s case, 43 of his absences were for constituency work, while 10 were without notice. Arago had 41 absences for constituency work, and 11 absences without notice.

Perfect attendance

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte was among the lawmakers who were present for all session days of the 15th Congress.

Other lawmakers with perfect attendance records are Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao; Diwa party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay; Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Arroyo; Quezon City Rep. Jorge Banal; Pangasinan Rep. Leopoldo Bataoil; Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo; Cebu Rep. Rachel del Mar; Camarines Sur Rep. Salvio Fortuno; Parañaque Rep. Roi-

(Unlimited Local Calling)

Pacquiao: 60 absences out of 168 session days.

PHOTO BY WORLDSWILDLIFEWONDERS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

lo Golez; Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II; Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy; Senior Citizens party-list Rep. David Kho; Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman; An Waray party-list Rep. Florencio Noel; Una ang Pamilya partylist Rep. Reena Obillo; Agham party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones; Antipolo Rep. Roberto Puno; Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo; Bohol Rep. Rene Relampagos; and Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

In previous instances, the absenteeism of many lawmakers had hampered work in Con-

gress. There were times when sessions had to be adjourned because of a lack of warm bodies on the floor, leading to crucial legislation being stalled.

During the campaign for the May elections, several senatorial candidates supported the idea of imposing fines on lawmakers who would constantly fail to report for duty.

Incoming Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said that being a member of Congress was a serious responsibility and that a basic requirement of the job was to attend hearings and sessions. ■

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Philippine News

5 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

Stocks post biggest 1-day gain in 6 yrs

BY DORIS C. DUMLAO Philippine Daily Inquirer PHILIPPINE stocks made a strong comeback, posting the biggest singleday gain in six years, as the recent global shakeout and the dip to “bear” territory attracted some bargain-hunting.

The main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) recouped 329.88 points, or 5.7 percent, to close at 6,118.94, the stock barometer’s biggest oneday point increase since August 2007.

The PSEi shed 181.99 points, or 3.05 percent, to close at 5,789.06, down 21.8 percent from the peak of around 7,400 in mid-May, placing the market in bear territory. A market is in bear territory when it pulls back by 20 percent.

Most markets in the region rebounded after China vowed to stabilize its money market as a looming credit crunch triggered fears of a liquidity squeeze similar to that caused by the Wall Street crisis in the United States in 2008.

Investors also took heart from a string of favorable US economic data, such as a sharp rise in business spending, an upswing in house prices, consumer confidence at a five-year high and an increase in singlefamily home sales.

The PSEi’s rise outpaced the recovery seen across Asian markets for the day and was significantly higher than Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite, which posted a 3.9-percent rise.

Year-to-date, the PSEi has returned to positive territory with a 5.3-percent gain over the end-2012 level of 5,812.73 points.

Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said at the 2nd Philippine Financial Market Forum that the country’s “highgrowth, low-inflation” story was intact alongside a sound banking system and adequate liquidity.

Brake on exuberance

Tetangco said the market shakeout was “good” because “it puts a brake on exuberance” that could otherwise create bubbles in the asset markets.

“Against a backdrop of solid fundamentals that have not changed even amidst the volatility in the past weeks, the declines have served to put some stocks at attractive prices. I think this is what we saw today with the strong recovery of the market,” PSE chair Jose Pardo said in a statement.

Pardo said volatility was the natural effect of uncertainties that arose from what some perceived as significant policy announcements in other parts of the world.

“When the market goes past the overreaction phase, countries with strong fundamentals and buffers against uncertainties should be able to stay the course of their growth. The causes for the Philippines’ impressive growth continue to persist and should remain strong moving forward,” Pardo added.

PSE officials also expressed confidence that Philippine companies would deliver strong earnings growth this year. Corporate earnings are widely expected to expand at a double-digit pace this year, much faster than the single-digit increase seen in most markets in the region.

“We remain confident of our market’s ability to weather the storm. For the Exchange’s part, we stand by our commitment to implement the various market reforms that we have set out to accomplish, as well as to ensure that the PSE achieves its growth targets for the year,” said PSE president Hans Sicat.

Sicat said that the PSE board recently approved new listings and additional issuances and that he expected “more to come as the second half of 2013 approaches.”

Irrational

Dealers said the decline was

as irrational as the earlier runup that catapulted the index to 7,400 in May, during which investors paid about 22 times the amount they expected to make this year.

Given that local stock valuations, based on price to equity (P/E) ratio, have gone down to 15 to 17 times, there’s some scope to allocate more to equities, said Maria Theresa Javier, senior vice president and head of asset and trust management unit at Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands.

Time to invest now

At current levels, Javier said the market was trading at the same valuations as those seen last December, before the Philippines received a sovereign investment-grade ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.

Javier added that Tetangco’s speech was reassuring. “If you’re looking at a longterm horizon, the time to invest is now,” she said.

Tetangco’s key message was that underlying Philippine fundamentals were solid and that safeguards had been built to ride out the volatility, indicating that there was no need to deviate from the current policy

stance.

This suggested that there won’t be a sharp rise in local interest rates even as the US Federal Reserve Bank unwinds the regime of easy money.

“When the market is up, we experience irrational ( buying) exuberance and when falling, there’s also irrational fear,” said First Metro Investments Corp. president Roberto Juanchito Dispo.

“Yes, we’re experiencing net foreign selling but we’re seeing net local buying. Otherwise, the foreign investors can’t exit,” he said.

“Moving forward, the market will recover and those brave enough will benefit,” he said.

Searching for bottom

But despite the strong rebound, Banco de Oro Unibank chief strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the market might not have seen the worst yet. “I don’t think this is the bottom,” he said. Ravelas noted that across the region, P/E ratios had gone down to 13x, which meant that local equities were still trading at levels that were more expensive than those of its regional peers.

“To call the bulls back into play, the PSEi needs to climb

back to 6,750,” he said, adding that for the full year, the index would have to go back to at least 6,500.

Value turnover at the stock market amounted to P9.63 billion. There were 146 advancers as against 34 decliners. Thirty stocks were unchanged.

Biggest gainers

The day’s biggest index gainers were AEV (+14.88 percent), MWC (+12.27 percent) and Jollibee (+9.86 percent). DMCI, MPI, EDC and URC also surged by over 8 percent. Other big index gainers were ALI (+7.41 percent), SM Prime (+6.76 percent) and AP (+6.61 percent).

PLDT remained the country’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalization at P585 billion (+3.32 percent).

Runner-up SM Investments (+6.37 percent) ended with P573.76 billion.

Tetangco said the financial market knew that foreign funds would rotate back to developed markets at some point and that it was just the timing that left market players guessing.

The central bank chief said it was a good thing that the Federal Reserve had earlier given its guidance on the unwinding of its bond-buying activities. ■

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Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 6

Saudi Arabia extends... cently extended the amnesty period to November 3, 2013 for foreign workers to obtain legal status in the country, from the previous deadline of July 3, 2013.

However, Filipino migrants group Migrante criticized the painfully slow process involved in the, citing an unidentified source from the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah, who said that only 600 among the thousands of stranded OFWs awaiting repatriation have undergone the initial step of fingerprinting.

Migrante Vice Chairperson John Leonard Monterona, who also serves as the group’s coordinator in the Middle East and North Africa, explained that “Fingerprinting is a requirement by the Saudi directorate for passport control or locally known as Jawasat prior to the issuance of exit visa or exit permit.”

Prior to the extension of the deadline, Monterona ressed his fears that there may not be enough time to cater to all ❰❰ 3

the OFWs who have chosen to come back to the Philippines, rather than to avail of the avail of the amnesty.

“The bottom line is that thousands (of ) stranded OFWs are still waiting in vain to complete their repatriation formalities.

We fear, and by all indication, the estimated 10,000 to 12,000 stranded OFWs who applied for (the) government repatriation program won’t all be repatriated on or before (the) July 3 deadline,” he said.

In a recent briefing with the press, DFA Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said that over 600 Filipino workers from Riyadh and Jeddah have successfully been flown back home.

He mentioned that there are “limitations” to the processing capabilities of the Saudi government which are hindering the quick repatriation of foreign workers.

Despite these linitations, Hernandez assured that the number of OFW repatriates inwaiting may not be as great as 10,000.

“Since the beginning of this

Returning workers cued at the OFW lane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

PHOTO BY MHPANGANIBAN / FLICKR.COM

issue of the crackdown, about 10,000 have signified to be repatriated to the Philippines.

But last May 10, a new guideline was issued by the Saudi govern-

ment allowing the facility of also regularizing the papers of those who would like to continue working in Saudi Arabia.

So we surmise that those who

originally signified to be repatriated, some of them have decided to regularize or legalize their stay in SA,” the DFA official said.

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Philippine News

7 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

NIA officials in hot water, may be shipped out

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC Philippine Daily Inquirer PUBLICLY scolded by President Aquino on for his agency’s poor performance, National Irrigation Administration (NIA) chief Antonio Nangel may be on the way out.

A Palace source told the INQUIRER that Mr. Aquino had already asked for Nangel’s replacement as NIA chief as soon as possible. “We’re now looking for a replacement,” said the official who had knowledge of the President’s directive.

Created in 1963, the NIA is a government-owned and -controlled corporation tasked with the development and operation of irrigation systems and provide irrigation services for the government’s agricultural programs.

Unless the President extends his appointment, Nangel is scheduled to leave the NIA on Sunday.

Nangel, along with NIA board member Ismael Tabije, representing the rice and corn sector, was appointed by Mr. Aquino to the agency on Dec. 12 last year, to serve from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013.

Nangel had previously served as NIA administrator in an acting capacity, from Sept. 6, 2010, to July 2012.

A day after getting a presidential scolding for inefficiencies at the NIA, Nangel tried to defend himself by blaming his agency’s lackluster performance last year on Typhoon “Pablo,” which hit Mindanao in December last year.

But Mr. Aquino was skeptical and ordered Cabinet officials

his many excuses and unfulfilled promises.

He made it clear that he did not accept excuses or alibis.

Once he had talked to officials and they promised to work toward his administration’s goals, he said, he expected them to deliver, not to fail.

Long-delayed project

NIA Chief Antonio Nangel

concerned to “verify” Nangel’s excuse, according to presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

“We’re verifying the explanation (of the NIA) administrator, because he mentioned that (the whole of Mindanao) was affected

by Typhoon Pablo,” Lacierda said.

Nangel’s replacement

The response from the Palace seemed to suggest Nangel should not hope to be reappointed.

When the INQUIRER reminded him of Nangel’s expiring term, Lacierda said, “I don’t know.”

Lacierda said Malacañang had also launched an investigation into over a decade of failures and inefficiencies in the NIA. ‘Not acceptable’

On Nangel’s Typhoon Pablo explanation, Lacierda said it was unacceptable because the typhoon hit in December, when

the NIA was supposed to be completing its goals after working on them for 11 months.

He noted that Pablo primarily affected Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental so Nangel and his subordinates cannot claim it as the reason for their low accomplishment in the entire country in 2012.

The NIA’s case should be a reminder to other governmental agencies that they have commitments to the public, Lacierda said.

“This is not the first time (the President) has done it. The President is always frank and candid [about agencies’] accomplishments or nonaccomplishments,” Lacierda said.

“So this should not be a wakeup call. [F]rom the very start, the President has said that we have six years to deliver our commitments, and he expects [all agencies] to perform their mandate to their utmost best,” he said.

Anniversary sermon

At the 50th anniversary of the NIA, Mr. Aquino devoted his entire speech to pointing out the lackluster performance of the irrigation agency.

The NIA, he said, had only a 66-percent accomplishment rate for “new areas of irrigation” from 2001 to 2009, Mr. Aquino said.

In 2011, the NIA set 37,759 hectares of farmland for irrigation, but only 87 percent, or 32,824 ha, of that goal was actually irrigated.

In 2012, the NIA aimed to irrigate 81,170 ha, but watered only 65 percent, or 52,372 ha.

Mr. Aquino said this was “suspicious,” pointing out that not once had the NIA fixed its record of “yearly failures.”

He then asked whether it was really a vice among NIA officials to make promises and then break them.

Mr. Aquino put Nangel on notice that he would check out

Chiz says NP is “saber-rattling”

BY CATHY YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer SABER-RATTLING was how Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero described a warning aired by some of his colleagues that Sen. Franklin Drilon could not be absolutely sure of becoming the next Senate President.

Escudero said it was possible that these senators were merely saber-rattling, referring to the practice of rival groups of making

threatening noises and ostentatiously displaying their military hardware to gain advantage in a negotiating table. The senators may just be trying to pressure Drilon into giving them the committee assignments they prefer, Escudero added.

In separate interviews, Nacionalista Party senators Manny Villar and Bongbong Marcos earlier warned that Drilon’s ascent remains uncertain unless he is able to distribute the Senate chairmanships in a way that

would satisfy the majority he is courting at the moment.

Drilon has reportedly invited senators from various political parties—of which the NP comprises the biggest single bloc— to join him in a new administration-backed majority in the 24-member upper chamber.

The Senate President needs to decide the chairmanships of 35 Senate regular committees and 39 joint oversight committees in a way that would satisfy the majority of his supporters. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero

Mr. Aquino cited a long-delayed irrigation project in his home province, the Balog-Balog Dam. Conceived during the first Aquino presidency and approved by the administrations of President Joseph Estrada and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the project remains on the drawing board to this day.

“I am now (the President), we have yet to [break ground] for this project,” Mr. Aquino said.

The dam is planned to provide irrigation to 39,150 ha of farmland in the towns of Concepcion, Gerona, Pura, Ramos, Paniqui, La Paz and Victoria, and the city of Tarlac.

It will also mitigate flooding in low-lying areas and give upland communities the opportunity to pursue inland fish production in the dam’s 2,004-ha reservoir.

The President said irrigation would dramatically increase paddy yields in Tarlac and other areas in Central Luzon, as it would raise the current onceayear “harvest cycle” to five over a period of two years, or seven and a half harvest cycles over three years.

“Three years into my term, it’s [still] not happening,” Mr. Aquino said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 8

Palace: No rush to release NBI findings on sea killing

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES is under no compulsion to simultaneously release with Taiwan its report on the May killing of a Taiwanese fisherman, allegedly by Philippine coast guards, in the waters off Batanes, Malacañang said.

“Remember, these are parallel reports. As far as we know, when we are ready to release the report, as the President would order us, we will do so,” said Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

According to Lacierda, President Aquino was still reviewing the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) report on the fatal shooting of Taiwanese Hung Shih-chen in the waters off Balintang Channel last May 9.

Video as evidence

Taiwan and the Philippines conducted parallel investigations of the incident that set off a diplomatic row between the two.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has confirmed that the NBI had recommended the fil-

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines-Taiwan clash ongoing

ing of criminal and administrative charges against personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) over Hung’s killing.

The NBI has submitted its findings to the Department of Justice after its investigation, which entailed examining the vessels involved in the icident— the Taiwanese fishing boat and the Philippine patrol boat, which is owned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and manned by PCG personnel.

Evidence included a video of the incident taken by the PCG. The PCG claimed it had acted in self-defense when the Taiwanese fishing boat tried to ram their vessel.

One-China policy

The fatal shooting of Hung sparked outrage in Taiwan.

The Taipei government retaliated by freezing the hiring of Filipino workers, suspending Taiwanese travel to the Philippines and holding military drills in disputed waters.

Since the One-China policy prohibits a joint investigation, Taipei and Manila agreed to mount parallel investigations that gave their respective investigators access to witnesses and evidence.

More than a month after the incident, Lacierda said the government was hoping relations between the Philippines and Taiwan would normalize. ■

Senate ‘macho bloc’ has Nancy as muse

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE “MUSE” of the Senate’s so-called macho bloc has been advised to conquer her fear of debating with her would-be colleagues when the new Congress convenes on July 22.

Senator-elect Nancy Binay, who in jest referred to herself as the muse or the only female in the minority bloc in the 16th Congress, said she finds calm in the thought that she’d be under the tutelage of veteran lawmakers like former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

“As Senator Jinggoy [Estrada] and the other members of the minority bloc said ... in the end I have to conquer the fear,” Binay told reporters when asked about having to debate with her fellow senators.

Estrada said the four veterans in the macho bloc—him-

House newbies start crash course on lawmaking, etc.

self, Enrile, Vicente Sotto III and reelected Gregorio Honasan—will be on hand to assist the newcomers in their group, like Binay and the other new senator-elect, JV Ejercito Estrada. They will comprise the minority or opposition bloc in the new Senate.

During the campaign, Binay became the subject of harsh criticisms in the social media after she dismissed administration candidate Risa Hontiveros’ challenged to a debate.

The daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay, a political newbie compared to the twoterm party-list representative, said she’d rather meet the electorate rather than engage in a debate during the campaign.

Binay paid a courtesy call to acting Senate President Estrada, an ally in the United Nationalist Alliance.

Estrada told her: “The first time I sat [in the Senate] in

2004, the veteran senators were the ones who tested our mettle.”

Estrada gave Binay a tour of the Senate building and introduced her to the upper chamber’s officers and employees, as well as the media representatives covering the chamber.

Asked if she was relieved that she was an ally of longtime lawmakers like Enrile and Estrada, Binay answered in the affirmative. “[From] the beginning, when I filed my candidacy, they took care of me, especially Senate President Enrile,” Binay said.

“They will receive all sorts of advice and support from me.

That’s what we agreed during our caucus,” Estrada said.

Binay said she’s already in the process of drafting bills that she intends to file.

“Children will be the focus,” Binay said of the bills she and her staff would be crafting. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

FIRST-TIME lawmakers in the 16th Congress began on the first of a four-day executive course on legislation to learn the written and unwritten lessons of being a member of the House of Representatives.

The course includes lectures on various topics, such as the Priority Development Assistance Fund or “pork barrel” and the national legislative and national budget processes, as well as practical subjects such as the dynamics between the House majority and minority blocs, and working with peers in the House and with executive agencies.

Tailor-made

The tailor-made course is a collaboration of the House of Representatives and the University of the PhilippinesNational College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG). This was the first time the House offered the course to its members.

Course speakers include UPNCPAG Dean Edna Co, UP vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera III, former UP law dean and INQUIRER publisher Raul Pangalangan, and House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap. Incumbent lawmakers were also tapped to speak on various

topics, including their personal experiences in the legislature.

Intimate understanding

The course would not just focus on theories but would also deal with practical matters, according to Co. Incoming Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo said she expected to gain a more intimate understanding of how the House actually works from the seminar.

“My expectation after this course is that we will be able to understand many things that are not written down. There are many things that we can study, but I think it’s important to hear things straight from the horse’s mouth,” Robredo told reporters.

Actor and incoming Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas noted that his position as councilor of the city had afforded him a chance to legislate on a smaller scale.

Vargas said he wanted to learn about legislation on a national scale.

Co told the incoming representatives that legislators were expected to keenly study issues and policies before filing bills.

A total of 32 lawmakers— comprising the first batch of first-time representatives—attended the first day of the legislation course.

The second batch of lawmakers will take the course later. ■

The late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was the guest speaker for the UP-NCPAG recognition rites in 2012. His widow, incoming Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, will now be attending the four-day executive course on legislation at the college.

PHOTO FROM WWW.UP-NCPAG.ORG

Philippine News

9 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

DOJ tells victims’ kin deal ‘morally wrong’

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer JUSTICE Secretary Leila de Lima appealed to families of the victims of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre to reject a settlement with the alleged masterminds, saying that any monetary deal would be “legally and morally wrong.”

De Lima said the move of the Ampatuans to enter into an outof-court settlement with the victims’ relatives was an “implied admission of their guilt.”

The justice secretary was reacting to reports that relatives of 14 massacre victims had nearly dropped murder charges against the accused members of the Ampatuan clan in exchange for a P50-million settlement.

De Lima said she understood the families’ “impatience” and “restlessness” as a result of what she acknowledged as the “slow” proceedings of the trial. But she said the proceedings “continue to move and progress.”

She reiterated that the Aquino administration was targeting under its watch the conviction of those accused of the murder of 58 people, 32 of them journalists. Among the victims was the wife and two sisters of Esmael Mangudadatu, now Maguindanao governor.

De Lima asked the relatives to “refuse temptations” for monetary settlement from the accused Ampatuan members.

“If I may be very straightforward about it, it would be both legally and morally wrong for them to settle with those responsible for the most heinous crime in Philippine history,” De Lima said in a series of text messages to reporters.

Close to 200 people, among them Andal Ampatuan Sr., former governor of Maguindanao, are being tried for the massa-

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima

cre. Two of Ampatuan’s sons— Andal Jr. and Zaldy—are among the accused.

The killings were allegedly carried out to stop Mangudadatu from contesting the 2010 gubernatorial election in Maguindanao.

Imbued with public interest

“May I stress further that the Maguindanao massacre case is more than the private interests of the victims and their families, but one which is imbuedwith deep public interest. It cannot and should not be bargained away for any amount of money,” she also added.

The justice secretary reminded that the move to settle out of court was “implied admission of the guilt of the accused.”

“If there is a settlement, they should know that,” she said, this time in an ambush interview with reporters.

She said that state prosecutors would never support any settlement with the accused as it is “morally repugnant on our part.”

Not binding

The justice secretary pointed

PHOTO FROM FLICKR.COM

out that any desistance or waiver to be executed by the victims’ families “at this point will not be binding on the court.”

“Any compromise in a criminal case can only affect the civil liability but not the criminal liability of the accused,” she said, adding “(a)ny waiver of criminal liability is against public policy, hence, null and void.”

De Lima said the “exceptions are in the prosecution of the crimes of adultery, concubinage, seduction, abduction, rape and acts of lasciviousness where pardon by the offended party precludes prosecution thereof.”

It was Harry Roque, lawyer of some of the victims’ relatives, who disclosed in his blog that a number of relatives had considered settling with the Ampatuans.

Roque, chair of the Center for International Law, said the government’s failure to pay compensation to the families of the victims had made the latter consider a monetary settlement.

He said that had the settlement proceeded, it would clear the Ampatuans of their civil li-

www.canadianinquirer.net

ability.

Malacañang did not agree with Roque’s interpretation that the government had the responsibility, under international law, to indemnify victims of the Maguindanao massacre before the conclusion of the trial.

“He is making it appear that the government had committed the crime [the primary accused were elected officials when the crime happened]. But the government was not one of those (charged),” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

At a briefing, Valte, a lawyer, doubted the veracity of the P50million out-of-court settlement that had been dangled before some of the victims’ families, saying other lawyers had denied this.

“So, I don’t know if this is a disconnect between the client and the lawyer. Also, we will defer to the justice department whether it would agree to the interpretation of Mr. Roque on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” said Valte.

She said that when President Aquino met with the families of the victims, the latter offered help, with some concerns immediately referred to certain agencies.

While the willingness of some families of the victims to enter into a settlement may be shocking, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said it was hardly surprising.

NUJP chair Rowena Paraan said there were two main factors that made families vulnerable to offers of a settlement: the slow pace of the court trial and the relatives’ lack of income source.

But Paraan said she doubted that any agreement between the parties would have any impact on the criminal aspect of the case as most of the prosecution witnesses had already testified.

Nonetheless, she said, “It would always be the decision of the victims’ families. But whether some of them decide to accept a settlement or not, the search for justice for those killed will continue because many of them will never settle.” ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 10

Gov’t firm on P18-K offer; band-aid, say urban poor

BY TJ A. BURGONIO AND JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer TAKE it.

Malacañang on brushed aside objections to the government’s offer of P18,000 in subsidy to each estero-dwelling family in Metro Manila for renting space somewhere else for up to 12 months, saying President Aquino wanted them to be safe.

Urban poor leaders have objected to the rental subsidy, arguing that the P360-million total cost would be better spent on permanent resettlement.

Secretary Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang would stick to this option in an effort to clear eight major waterways in the metropolis of close to 20,000 families by year-end. He bristled at insinuations that this was a “band-aid solution.”

“You are looking at families living on top of the waterways and alongside waterways. And so, come the rainy season or the typhoon season, there’s the danger of them being washed away. At other times, however, they will also be exposed to dengue, leptospirosis and other diseases,” the presidential spokesperson said at a briefing.

These are “danger zones” and there is no question that the informal settlers had to be relocated to safer areas, Lacierda said.

“The President’s primary concern is the safety of these estero families,” he added. “We don’t want the casualties during typhoon season to happen on a yearly basis. We want that eliminated totally and that’s the reason why we’re moving them away from the esteros or what we call the danger zones.”

Lacierda said the subsidy was part of a comprehensive plan to relocate 100,000 families of informal settlers in the metropolis between now and 2016 when Mr. Aquino steps down.

“This is not a band-aid solution. A band-aid solution is just giving them assistance and that’s it. We have already programmed structures to be completed for these families,” he said.

Urban Poor Associates, a nongovernment organization, called the subsidy a “band-aid solution” to the housing problem. It proposed that the gov-

ernment relocate the informal settlers once the permanent resettlement site was ready.

Unclogging

The government is offering P18,000 to a family living on or along an estero so they could rent a home elsewhere for six to 12 months. Meantime, the government will unclog the esteros to ease flooding in the metropolis and find a permanent resettlement area for the informal settlers.

Local Government Undersecretary Francisco Fernandez said it was “cheaper” for the government to subsidize the rent of estero-dwelling families than to rescue, evacuate and rehabilitate them before and after a strong typhoon.

“It’s unacceptable. It’s the easiest way to get rid of the informal sector families,” urban poor leader Filomena Cinco said by phone.

‘Waste of money’

Cinco, president of Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Legarda, which comprises 164 families living along Estero de San Miguel near Malacañang, said this was a “waste of money.”

“Why not use this money to build a permanent relocation site instead?” Cinco said of the P360-million rental subsidy for the 19,440 families of informal settlers.

Cinco said urban groups objected to this option in a meeting with officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in May. With the subsidy, she pointed out that a family of three could rent a room in a slum community for P1,500 a month for 12 months, but a bigger family of five would have to shell out P3,000 a month for six months.

Dialogue with Roxas

Since the government was dead set at implementing it, Cinco said her group would seek a dialogue with Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, and if this failed, they would consider mobilizing rallies against it.

“We always get blamed for everything bad that happens in Metro Manila,” she said.

Quoting Undersecretary Fernandez, Lacierda said 500 families of informal settlers had moved out and 1,000 more fami-

lies in San Juan City were about to leave. A total of 18,500 families have yet to be relocated.

“In principle, [each of the] 20,000 families will get the P18,000 and the team that is in charge of doing this held consultations with the informal settler families and they are happy with the arrangements.

They are just finalizing the details,” Lacierda said.

Housing units

Fernandez earlier said the National Housing Authority had built 4,500 off-site housing units and would build 3,500 more this year.

“The target is to relocate all the 19,000 by the end of the year,” Lacierda said. “The projection is that we will be finishing everything by this yearend.”

He said the DILG was identifying the genuine informal settlers, as opposed to “professional squatters,” to ensure that they be assisted in their search for a room to rent.

An official of the social arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) www.canadianinquirer.net

said giving P18,000 to each squatter-family needing relocation was not the solution to the country’s housing problem.

Open up lands

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chair of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, said that the government opening up lands in the capital for housing was the solution.

“If you give them money, they will just look for another [temporary] place where they can stay so it’s like moving a problem to another area,” Pabillo said in an interview with reporters.

“It is important that their homes will be in a place where there are jobs. One big solution there is to provide housing for these families in the city, where there are lands that are unused,” the prelate added.

Jobs, livelihood

He said informal settlers tend to go back to Metro Manila despite being provided housing in the provinces mainly because of their jobs and livelihood.

“They are here [in the capital] precisely because of work.

They may have a house in the province but it cannot sustain them ... . Their jobs here do,” Pabillo noted.

He said the government could not simply say that it had no land to spare for the poor families that have settled along the capital’s estuaries since malls and other commercial establishments were continuously sprouting in the metropolis.

“There are malls being built in the city. Where do they get these lands? There are many government- owned properties in the city but sadly these are being prioritized for business instead of for its people,” he said.

In the same breath, he wondered why the government was blaming only informal settlers for the worsening flooding in the capital when there were also big businesses and establishments clogging up waterways.

Pabillo cited a giant mall chain and a shopping center in Chinatown in Manila to stress his point. ■

Philippine News

11 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

Want recount? It’ll cost you P200M

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. said those calling for a nationwide manual recount of the midterm election results should be ready to pay the cost of such an exercise.

Comelec is ready to conduct a manual recount nationwide but this would cost around P200 million, he said.

“That’s okay as long as they pay. As long as they make a deposit, that is okay with me,” Brillantes said.

He noted that Interior Secretary Mar Roxas paid around

P153 million when he filed an election protest contesting the results of the 2010 vice-presidential race. The Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) hearings on Roxas’ protest have yet to be concluded.

“For (the 2013 elections), it might be a bit more expensive.... around P200 million. As long as they make a payment, we will have everything opened,” Brillantes said.

“Of course, they should shoulder it. They’re the ones who want the [ballot boxes] opened,” he added.

The group, Tanggulang Demokrasya, earlier called for a full recount of the 2013 midterm elections, claiming that

there was massive cheating as shown by the alleged “60-3010” pattern in the results.

Brillantes said Comelec critics claiming that the “60-30-10” pattern showed that there was massive cheating should come out with evidence to support that claim.

“They should come out with it. We will call them if they have a [sworn] statement. If they can’t prove it, then they will also have to answer for their claims,” he said.

Information technology experts observed a strange “pattern” of votes obtained by administration, opposition and independent senatorial candidates in the May 13 elections.

They observed that senatorial candidates from the administration Team PNoy consistently obtained 60 percent, those from the United Nationalist Alliance 30 percent and the rest 10 percent of the votes cast in various precincts, thus the “6030-10” pattern. But the experts were not making claims that the results had been manipulated.

Brillantes also denied allegations that the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines were “preprogrammed” to favor administration candidates.

“If they say it was preprogrammed by others, then they should come here to us. If they say we preprogrammed it, then

they should look for others who can receive their complaint. If they want to go to the United Nations, it’s okay,” he said. ■

Senate to probe water firms on taxes

BY NORMAN BORDADORA AND GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer THE SENATE intends to summon to a congressional probe officials from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewer-

age Syst e m (MWSS) and the two private water concessionaires on reports that the state regulator had allowed the Maynilad Water Services and Manila Water Co. to pass on to their 14 million consumers an estimated P15.5 billion in cor-

porate income taxes.

Sen. Ralph Recto will seek a Senate inquiry into the claim made by the Water for People Network (WPN) that Maynilad and Manila Water had inserted their i n -

come taxes, estimated at P3.1 billion per year, into their operating expenses.

The WPN said the MWSS had allowed this practice from 2008 to 2012, which means that consumers were burdened with an additional P15.3 billion on their water bills during the period.

“This should not be the practice. By its very essence, cor-

porate income taxes are shouldered by the companies, which made the income and should not be passed on to their clients,” said Recto, who chairs the Senate committee on ways and means and is senior vice chair of the panel on public services.

This “abuse” of consumers was “immoral and unethical and does not reflect the corporate principles of the businessmen or entities behind the two private water

concessionaires,” www.canadianinquirer.net

he said.

Maynilad is majority owned

by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and DMCI Holdings while Manila Water’s biggest shareholder is the Ayala Corp.

The senator said the two concessionaires should refund their consumers just like the power distribution utility, the Manila Electric Co., which was forced to pay back P28 billion to its consumers after the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that it could not pass on its income tax obligations to its consumers.

The MWSS regulatory chief, Emmanuel Caparas, did not reply to the INQUIRER’s questions.

His staff claimed that he was tied up in meetings.

Recto said the WPN’s findings cast doubt on the legitimacy of the two water companies’ petition for a rate in-

crease.

Manila Water is reportedly seeking a P5.83-per-cubic-me-

ter increase in its basic charge while Maynilad is asking for an P8.58 hike.

“What’s now the compelling justification for approving a rate increase? If they are practically not paying income taxes and at the same time receiving some tax perks from government, what’s the happiness in granting them a rate hike?”

Recto said.

The senator questioned why the state regulator, the MWSS, “seemed to have generously capitulated to the avarice of the water companies.”

Critics of MWSS have noted the apparently cozy relationship that the state regulator has with its two concessionaires, especially during the latter part of the Arroyo administration.

During this period, the MWSS relaxed its monitoring of Maynilad and Manila Water’s obligations to expand their services and improve sewerage facilities.

The two concessionaires were allowed to collect advance fees from their customers for projects that they had yet to build and were awarded a 15year extension of their concessions without any bidding (their 25-year agreements will end in 2022).

During this same period, the MWSS adopted generous bonus and compensation schemes for its officers and employees using funds from the concession fees. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 12

All poor families covered by 2015

Lawmaker threatens action vs water firms

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

STATE subsidy to the poor via the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program will further go up so that practically all of them are covered in two years’ time, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said.

“Yes, the budget for the CCT will continue to increase until hopefully all the 4.6 million families benefit from the program by 2015. This is what President [Aquino] wants,” Abad told the INQUIRER. This means that the CCT would cover some 28 million people a year before President Aquino steps down, as the poor have an average family size of six. By then, the Philippine population will have reached 102.9 million.

For this year, the administration has set aside P44 billion from the national budget for the CCT program. The amount covers 3.9 million poor families identified by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Under the program, households receive monthly cash subsidies for five years in exchange for their commitment to send children to public schools, and to have mothers and her kids regularly visit health centers.

The maximum monthly subsidy per family is P1,200—P300 per child for up to three children and another P300 for the mother.

An immediate objective of the program is to increase the school participation rate among children of poor households. The long-term objective is to increase employment opportunities for them so they can eventually lift their families out of poverty.

Multilateral institutions, led by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, support the CCT. Citing experiences in some developing countries, such as those in Latin America, multilateral institutions said the CCT was effective in significantly reducing poverty incidence.

High poverty incidence

Despite its robust economic

growth, the Philippines continues to suffer from one of the highest poverty rates among emerging Asian economies.

Poverty incidence in the country stood at 27.9 percent in the first semester of 2012, practically unchanged from the 28.6 percent in the first half of 2009 and 28.8 percent in the first half of 2006, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).

The NSCB placed the poverty line at P7,821 a month, or P257 a day for a family of five.

Economists said economic growth had so far benefited mostly the rich and the middle class. Nonetheless, many of them agreed that programs such as the CCT would help make the benefits of a growing economy trickle down to the poor.

Extension of 5-year limit

Abad said the first batch of CCT beneficiaries (some 800,000 families) was expected to graduate from the program next year as it shall have completed the five-year limit.

However, Abad said economic officials were considering a suggestion from multilateral agencies to extend the CCT program to a certain number of years to ensure that the children of household beneficiaries finish high school. High school now takes six years to finish, up from four, under the government’s new K to 12 program.

“The proposal is to extend the [CCT] program in a way that helps ensure the children graduate from high school so they can get better employment opportunities,” the budget secretary said.

He said concerned government officials were studying the proposal.

In an article in the INQUIRER last month, NSCB Secretary General Jose Ramon G. Albert said the CCT was not expected to immediately yield significant changes in incomes that would make the poor cross over the poverty line.

He said the CCT “is investments in human capital, particularly in education and health, where the impact may be seen in five to 10 years.” ■

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker is seeking to nullify the water concession contracts of Manila Water Co. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. if they refuse to remove onerous provisions that allowed them to pass on their income taxes to consumers.

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) should also be penalized for agreeing to a “sweetheart deal” with Manila Water of Ayala Corp. and Maynilad of Metro Pacific Investments and DMCI Holdings, and failing in its mandate to protect the public interest.

“The concessionaires should publicly declare the total amount collected and the amount paid, and refund (it). If not, the contract must be nullified on the ground that it is grossly disadvantageous to the government and is against public policy... (and the water companies) should be ordered by the court to refund the amount,” said Colmenares in a phone interview.

‘Defeatist attitude’

Colmenares said he was disappointed with the “defeatist” attitude of MWSS acting chief regulator Emmanuel Caparas who admitted that while the move of Manila Water and Maynilad to pass on their income taxes to consumers was “grossly unjust,” the two concessionaires might not be liable for any refund because this was allowed under their respective agreements.

The Water for People Network (WPN) estimated that passed income tax payments which were inserted in their list of operating expenses from 2008 to 2012 could amount to P3.1 billion a year, or a total of P15.3 billion.

Colmenares said Caparas and the rest of the MWSS officials “betrayed their bias” for Manila Water and Maynilad, despite the supposed transition to the “daang matuwid” (the straight path of the Aquino administration).

“We will not tolerate an onerous deal and it should be www.canadianinquirer.net

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares: “The concessionaires should publicly declare the total amount collected and the amount paid, and refund (it). If not, the contract must be nullified on the ground that it is grossly disadvantageous to the government and is against public policy.”

PHOTO BY VICTOR VILLANUEVA

nullified if not revised immediately. The water concessionaires may say that this is a violation of the contract but what they are doing is detrimental to consumers and (they) should indeed stop this practice. The MWSS must be sanctioned for sleeping on the job and not defending consumers’ rights,” said Colmenares.

Colmenares and Sen. Ralph Recto have announced separate plans to file a resolution in their respective chambers to investigate Manila Water and Maynilad’s billing practices.

Aside from a congressional probe, Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy said the Ombudsman should also conduct an investigation into overcharging by Manila Water and Maynilad.

“There are certain indications that government men have dipped their dirty fingers into these scams. The fact that nobody among the MWSS men had questioned the scam for over four years already shows collusion,” said Dy in a statement.

What happened to dams?

Dy said that aside from passing on their income taxes to consumers, the two concessionaires should be made to account for the P6 billion they collected for water and sewerage system improvement projects that never materialized.

Dy claimed that these collections were supposed to have been used to fund the redevelopment of the Laiban and Angat dams that have been abandoned.

“Manila Water and Maynilad have yet to submit to the public a direct and clear explanation about these issues which we first brought up at the start of the 15th Congress in 2010,” said Dy. Both Colmenares and Dy also cited the decision of MWSS to give the two concessionaires a 15-year extension of their contracts without any bidding (their 25-year agreements will end in 2022) as proof of an “unholy alliance” between the watchdog and its subjects.

The MWSS is also currently under fire from the Commission on Audit for continuing to approve huge bonuses and allowances for its officers and staff.

In its 2011 report, the COA questioned the P142.3 million in allowances, bonuses and benefits given to MWSS officers and employees in 2011 on top of the P65.98 million in regular salaries that year.

Colmenares and Dy said this showed that despite the change in its management, the MWSS has carried over its policy of excessive perks from the Arroyo administration to the current one—even though President Aquino himself slammed this practice in his State of the Nation Address in 2010. ■

Philippine News

13 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

PH eagle’s home seeks Unesco OK as heritage site

Erap faces disqualification case days before oath-taking

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

KNOWN as a nesting place of the endangered Philippine Eagle and home to a pygmy forest of century-old trees, Davao Oriental’s Mt. Hamiguitan mountain range may well soon take its place among the world’s natural heritage sites.

The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) is expected to deliberate on the inscription of the 1,620-meter mountain range as a World Heritage Site next year, the Philippine Embassy in France has informed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

At meetings in Cambodia this week, Unesco’s World Heritage Committee, which convenes once a year to inscribe new sites, asked the Philippines to formally file additional information to back its nomination of Mt. Hamiguitan, signaling progress in the country’s quest to include the mountain range in the prestigious list.

“After deliberations during the currently ongoing 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee, the Philippines was requested to formally submit information related to land claims and the expanded boundaries of the property,” said the DFA in a statement.

For discussion

“The Mt. Hamiguitan nomination was therefore referred for discussion possibly during next year’s World Heritage Committee meeting. It is expected that once the Philippines submits all the requested information before February 2014, consideration for inscription will be undertaken in June 2014,” the foreign office said.

Philippine Ambassador to France Christine Ortega, also the country’s Permanent Delegate to Unesco, led the Philippine delegation to the Unesco meetings in Phnom Penh. The Philippines, among 190 state signatories to the 1972 Convention on the Protection of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage, is an observer in the World Heritage Committee.

Per Unesco procedure, two advisory bodies mandated by the World Heritage Convention—the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union—are expected to evaluate the Philippines’ nomination of Mt. Hamiguitan.

Once on the list, Unesco said “the resulting prestige often helps raise awareness among citizens and governments of heritage preservation.”

“A country may also receive financial assistance and expert advice from

the World Heritage Committee to support activities for the preservation of its sites,” said Unesco on its website.

Declared by law as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 2004, Mt. Hamiguitan is a protected area that sits across the towns of Mati, San Isidro and Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental and is home to a unique 600-hectare forest of bonsai plants, among a total 1,380 species of flora.

Endangered plant species

Critically endangered plant species including the Shorea Polysperma and Shorea Astylosa trees, and the Paphiopedilum adductum, an orchid variety, are found on Mt. Hamiguitan’s slopes.

These species are on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), considered a world authority on the conservation status of plant and animal species around the globe.

The range also is home to 341 species of fauna endemic to the Philippines, including the Philippine Eagle and the Philippine Cockatoo, both also on the IUCN Red List.

In justifying the nomination, the Unesco National Commission of the Philippines cited the range’s significance to the country, which is seventh among the 17 biologically richest countries in the world.

“The site represents the fast disappearing habitats of globally important species of plants and animals... At the national level this sanctuary is a conservation interest. On a global scale, it is known to be a habitat of globally important species of plants and animals,” read the Philippines’ description of the mountain range on the Unesco World Heritage Site’s tentative list.

During the Cambodia meetings, the Unesco committee lauded the Philippines for its multisectoral effort in protecting and conserving the Mt. Hamiguitan range, particularly the coordination among the province of Davao Oriental, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and indigenous peoples groups.

WITH just five days to go before he assumes office, Manila Mayorelect Joseph “Erap” Estrada was asked by the Supreme Court to comment on the petition for intervention filed by his rival, outgoing Mayor Alfredo Lim, in the disqualification case filed against the former leader.

This was the directive given by the high court during its en banc meeting as it deliberated on the case filed by lawyer Alice Vidal, according to its spokesperson, Theodore Te. Vidal had asked the court to order the Commission on Elections to declare Estrada unfit to hold public office.

Estrada is set to assume the mayoral post at noon on June 30 along with other elected officials.

He was declared the winner in the elections held in May over Lim who filed a petition for intervention in the high tribunal.

In her petition, Vidal had said that Estrada was not qualified to run for pub-

5 heritage sites

Currently, the Philippine has five sites on the World Heritage List—Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, the rice terraces in the Cordilleras, Vigan town in Ilocos Sur, and the Baroque churches all over the country.

There are 967 cultural, natural and mixed places on the list of World Heritage Sites, notable among them, the Great Wall of China, Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and the Acropolis in Greece. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

VIDEO GRAB FROM GMANETWORK.COM

lic office because he was convicted for plunder by the Sandiganbayan in September 2007.

She added that although he was pardoned by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the following year, Estrada’s right to vote or run for public office was not restored. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 14

MMDA to allow counterflow traffic on Edsa and C5 Road

BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer TRAFFIC counterflows will soon be allowed by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) along socalled zipper lanes on Edsa and C5 Road in an effort to better manage the huge volume of vehicles during rush hour.

“Kung traffic sa northbound, magdadagdag tayo ng lane mula sa southbound. (If the traffic on the northbound is heavy, we will get an additional lane from the southbound),” MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino told reporters.

The idea of the MMDA chief was patterned after the reversible lanes in Los Angeles, California, which were set up to ease traffic according to certain

will be available to northbound motorists from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and southbound motorists from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

According to the MMDA, a greater number of motorists use the southbound lane of Edsa in the morning and the southbound lane in the afternoon.

But not all motorists could use the zipper lanes.

Tolentino said only light vehicles and those with three or more passengers would be allowed on the additional lane.

The MMDA will pilot test the project on EDSA before replicating it on C5 and other major thoroughfares.

Tolentino said the agency will still study which portions of EDSA and C5 will be viable to

have the zipper lanes.

The MMDA chief disclosed that the plan will be set in motion sometime in July. “Once implemented, this will be a big improvement in our traffic in Metro Manila,” he said.

Earlier, the MMDA also announced the opening of the first of the three centralized bus terminals located on the outskirts of the capital. The new terminal is expected to ease the traffic on Edsa and Roxas Boulevard which provincial buses use as a “parking lots,” said Tolentino.

Tolentino inspected the ongoing construction of the 1.4hectare transport facility at the Uniwide Coastal Mall compound in Parañaque City and said 972 buses, mostly from Cavite, would be using the hub and therefore no longer use up space in inner city roads. ■

a name or we would have grown more attached to it,” she said.

Keeping wildlife, especially an endangered species like the tarsier, is illegal, except among registered breeders and wildlife farms.

The Philippine tarsier ( Tarsius syrichta) is one of the smallest known primates in the world, growing no larger than an adult person’s hand.

Its size ranges from 118 to 149 millimeters (4.6 to 5.8 inches) while its average weight is between 113 and 142 grams (about 1/10 of a kilo).

In 1986, the Philippine tar-

sier was listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Conservation Monitoring Center.

A check with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species currently lists the tarsier as “near threatened.”

A number of laws have been adopted to protect and conserve the Philippine tarsier, among them the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Administrative Order No. 48, which included the creature as a protected species among other endangered animals. ■

Light vehicles

traffic conditions.

“Like a zipper, we can open and close it according to the traffic situations,” Tolentino

said.

Under the counterflow scheme, one of the opposite inner lanes of the thoroughfares

Tarsier in Manila Golf found dead

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer WHAT began as an odd, amusing tale of a tiny creature finding its way to the big city has turned out to be a sad, shortlived one.

The tarsier discovered at Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City five days ago was found dead in its cage on at the Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Rescue Center in Quezon City, officials said.

How the tarsier got to the golf club in Forbes Park remains a mystery.

Until its death, the little creature had appeared healthy and active, said Director Theresa Mundita Lim of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau.

“Its big appetite raised our hopes that it would be able to survive,” she said, expressing deep disappointment over the fate of the tarsier, an endangered species protected by wildlife law.

Found by caddie

Endemic to the Philippines, tarsiers are nocturnal creatures that live on a diet of small lizards, frogs and insects. They have thin, rough fur, whose color ranges from gray to dark brown. Tarsiers communicate

with each other using loud piercing notes.

The primate was found by a caddie on June 21 perched on the branch of a tamarind tree at the golf course located inside the posh Forbes Park.

Although shy, the tarsier had shown no sign of stress and was eating well in the small cage, where it was kept, often hidden among the leaves and branches that simulated its natural habitat. It had been fed mealworm, the recommended substitute for insects for insecteating animals in captivity.

Lim said the tarsier was to have been flown to Bohol, where officials intended to keep it in a semi-captive environment before its possible reintroduction to the wild.

“I am so disappointed because we really thought it was going to make it. We already arranged everything, including the flight to Bohol,” she said.

A wildlife caretaker under the supervision of the attending veterinarian, Esteven Toledo, was looking after the tarsier before it was found dead at about 1 p.m., Lim said.

She added that the animal had appeared fine when the caretaker checked in the morning.

Necropsy

The cause of death is still not

known. Lim said her agency would coordinate with the Bureau of Animal Industry to perform a necropsy to find out why the tarsier died.

“We don’t know if it had any preexisting condition before we took it in. Unlike domestic animals like dogs or cats, we could not really do a thorough health check because we didn’t want to stress the anima,” Lim said.

The necropsy should tell officials if the tarsier was malnourished or suffering from any other ailment.

Lim said the tarsier’s fur had appeared scruffy and its strong appetite might indicate that it had been starving before it was discovered at Manila Golf.

“Perhaps the lesson here is we should have arranged for it to be taken to Bohol immediately after it was rescued,” Lim said.

Investigation

The discovery of the tarsier in the golf course had prompted an investigation of how it found its way there. There are no registered tarsier owners in Metro Manila.

Lim speculated that a tourist might have pocketed the animal and was keeping it as a pet before it escaped.

The tarsier was not given a name although there were plans to name it, Lim said. “Maybe it’s for the best that we didn’t give it www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippine News

15 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

Modified foods in market safe, FDA claims

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer

tance, drought resistance or bio-fortified with Pro-Vitamin A,” and may have certain genes integrated in the genome.

THE FOOD and Drug Administration (FDA) assured the public that all genetically modified (GM) foods currently in the Philippine market have passed international safety standards.

The FDA advisory, signed

by FDA director general Dr. Kenneth Go, said that while it was not possible to make general statements on the safety of all GM foods, those found in the market can be safely used as food and feeds.

The FDA said these products have passed the food safety assessment of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization.

But the FDA further stated that various GM crops undergoing limited or multilocation field trial possess certain traits like “herbicide resistance, pest resistance, improved disease resis-

Case-by-case basis

“This means that the safety of these specific GM crops should be assessed on a case-bycase basis, following the Codex Alimentarius guidelines for determining their safety, including toxicity, allergenicity and nutritional quality, or assessment of any nutritional claim,” it stated.

The agency released the advisory a month after the Court of Appeals ordered to permanently stop the nationwide field trials of genetically modified eggplants in the country, citing the absence of full scientific certainty on their effects on the environment and health.

The FDA acknowledged that it was not

Protesters: LRT rate hike antipoor

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer MILITANT groups told the government to disclose the “financial situations” of the Metro and Light Rail Transit that supposedly warranted an increase in fares, which they branded as antipoor.

The demand was contained in a onepage letter delivered by the protesters to the head office of the Department of

PHOTO BY JOYFULL / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in Barangay Wack Wack, Mandaluyong City.

About 20 protesters converged outside the DOTC office at about 10 a.m., carrying antifare hike signs and tarpaulins, while bashing President Aquino and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya for their “anti-poor” stance.

Members of Anakbayan, Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), and Riles Laan sa Sambayanan Network joined the demonstration.

“What is the hike for? What we pay [in MRT/LRT fare] is enough for maintenance and expansion,” said Piston national president George San Mateo.

The one-page letter, drafted by Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes, and signed by San Mateo, Anakbayan national chair Vencer Crisostomo and Riles convenor Sammy Malunes, asked for justification for the increase, and a disclosure of where the funds would go.

San Mateo, however, dodged questions whether the militant groups would welcome the fare increase should the government issue a “satisfactory response” to their letter. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

possible to make general statements on the safety of all GMfoods.

“As the national competent authority, the FDA supports the robust sciencebased evaluation system of Codex Alimentarius Commission using data and information from field trials as well as laboratory tests,” it said.

Focus

The FDA said that in the case of processed food, the main focus of a food safety review should be on the objective characteristics of the product and on any health or nutritional claims.

“The focus of evaluation is on the food product and not on the technology used to produce the product,” it added.

FDA noted that 17.3 million farmers in 28 countries planted 170.3 million hectares of farm lands to GM crops in 2012—a figure that is six percent or 10.3 million hectares more than in the previous year.

Statistics also showed that last year, 82 percent of the total land area planted with cotton was planted to GM cotton.

The global adoption rate for GM soya, GM corn and GM canola was 75 percent, 32 percent and 26 percent, respectively, also in 2012. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 16

THERE’S THE RUB

Throwback

By Conrado De Quiros Philippine Daily Inquirer DEFENSE SECRETARY Voltaire Gazmin says he wants to make something very clear. The Philippine government will merely allow the United States and various allies to have access to Philippine bases. We will not allow them to have their own bases in our shores.

“There will be equipment coming in from the United States. (But) we are not going to construct bases. We will be merely accepting access.”

This is supposed to comfort us? This is supposed to appease the “Magnificent 12” who 22 years ago moved heaven and hell to exorcise the American military specter from these shores?

This is supposed to quell the anxieties of everyone who thought we had finally cut our apron strings to America?

Understand: We do need to confront China on the Spratlys. But confront it this way? This is a case where the cost far exceeds the gain. This is a case where obsessing with the present leads to the exclusion of the past and the future. This is a case where you are clear about what we are protecting the country from but confused about what we are protecting the country for.

There’s no problem inviting Japan to join us in a military effort to pro-

tect the South China Sea. Since World War II, Japan has not been an invasive presence in this country. There is no problem inviting Vietnam to join us in protecting the region from China’s unwanted intrusions. Vietnam too, like Japan and the Philippines, has a dispute with China over territories in the South China Sea. There’s no problem inviting the other Asean countries to join us in a military coalition against China. China’s potential expansionism impacts on the Southeast Asian region directly.

But there’s a problem inviting the United States to join, or indeed lead, a military force to confront China in the Spratlys, particularly when it involves granting it renewed access to Philippine bases. The qualifier is really redundant. Only the United States requires access to Philippine bases, the others do not. A couple of things make it deeply troubling. At the very least, how realistic is the notion that once the Chinese threat is gone, the United States will pack up and go, mission accomplished? Barack Obama’s summit with Xi Jinping earlier this month was meant to allay fears being raised by American and Chinese hawks of an eventual, if not looming, confrontation in the region as China’s economic power grows and America’s

wanes. But the prospect remains. The United States has maintained a presence in the region long before the dispute between China and the Philippines—and Vietnam, and Japan— broke out, precisely in anticipation of that conflict. Which has led China to charge the United States is engaged in a policy of containment against it. Are we using the United States or is the United States using us?

At present, the American strategy is

We do need to confront China on the Spratlys. But confront it this way? This is a case where the cost far exceeds the gain. to relocate 60 percent of its warships to the region by the end of the decade.

That is not in response to the Philippine need for protection. The Chinese threat will always be there. Even when it’s not, it can always be manufactured.

You remember Randolph Hearst’s cable to his newspaper’s photographer when the fellow complained nothing was happening in Cuba: “You supply the photographs, I’ll supply the war.”

Does this look like the Americans will leave the Philippine bases anytime soon after they’ve been given ac-

cess to them?

At the very most, what’s the cost of this tack of meeting the Chinese threat? Even if you just reckon it in terms of practical gain and loss, it is exorbitant. What do we gain from it? The strengthening of national sovereignty over a string of small islands in the waters off northern Luzon, quite possibly rich in natural resources. What do we lose from it? The weakening of national sovereignty over the rest of the country, quite certainly of infinitely more value to us. With our penchant for recognizing debts of gratitude, or utang na loob, alongside the permanence, real or imagined, of the Chinese threat, will it be so easy to deny the United States continued, if not permanent, access to our bases after this?

This arrangement throws us back to the days of Seato and special relations and the budget Huks (with China taking the place of the Huks) and the Philippines being regarded as the one colony in Asia that never ceased to be a colony. And with it all the exactions and impositions we’ve had to endure even after Independence. Can we have forgotten already the angst, the soul-searching, the blood, sweat, and tears it took to kick the US bases out? Can we have forgotten “parity rights,” the plight of the veterans, the

rehabilitation of Japan and Germany while our reparations were tied to onerous provisions?

“Sa manlulupig,” says the National Anthem, “di ka pasisiil,” which was officially translated in English and sung before your time as “Ne’er shall invaders trample these sacred shores.” But there are manlulupig and manlulupig and paniniil and paniniil. Not all paniniil consist of grabbing a few islands off the South China Sea. And not all manlulupig consist of countries blatantly undertaking hostile takeovers.

None of this is to say we shouldn’t take the Chinese threat deathly seriously. All of this is to say we shouldn’t kill ourselves to do it. Of course the Chinese don’t make it easier to resist the temptation to be pikon or piqued, given that they add insult to injury by warning that the other countries staking “illegitimate claims” on Chinese territory will find their campaigns “futile” and their “efforts at confrontation doomed.” That will sound to Star Trek fans like the conquering Borg declaring “Resistance is futile,” and the Chinese do give a very good impersonation of the Borg. But it’s one thing to get mad, it’s another to get even. Bringing the Americans back to deal with them won’t get us even.

It’ll get us hurt. ■

“Some are parents and hold down jobs.

There are school dropouts. A number have died and 136 moved out. One is an OFW worker in Iceland…” In 2011, San Carlos completed its examination of new pregnancies and births among once infants in 1983. This makes the survey “a three-generation study.”

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the new analysis covers 8,362 participants in three age periods: 0-2 years; 2 years to midchildhood; and midchildhood to adult stage. Brazil failed to track 17 percent of infants, studied by the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, into adulthood. Guatemala and Cebu showed marked growth failure in early childhood. South Africa and India showed intermediate patterns.

“The bottom line” for decisive intervention is the first 24 months of a child’s life. “Act there,” Cesar Victoria of Brazil stressed earlier. Dividends in a child’s health dwindle in the third year onward. “Our findings suggest that interventions to increase birth weight and linear growth during the first two years of life are likely to result in substantial gains in height and schooling,” the Lancet adds.

Malnourished pregnant mothers result in the “stunting of kids, lower attained schooling, reduced adult income.” Indeed, “stunting today is the

most prevalent nutritional challenge in developing nations,” the G8 Summit heard mid-June in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. “Worldwide, 165 million children are affected.” (In Philippine kindergarten and primary classes, 562,262 pupils are “severely wasted.”)

The World Bank boosted this year’s funding for child nutrition from $230 million to $600 million. The European Union pledged an extra $500 million for related projects.

Except for Sub-Saharan Africa, mortality and under-nutrition rates are falling substantially in most parts of the world. New targets are now being formulated to replace the 2015 Millennium Development Goals. This fivecountry study “provides strong justification for the proposal of a new goal, namely a reduction in stunting,” adds the Lancet. This will replace the present target, which is narrowly constricted to whittling down underweight.

Philippine politics is a chaotic sound chamber. The most strident voices erupt from would-be 2016 candidates who clone yesterday’s trapo. They drown out the whimper of vulnerable infants and emaciated mothers. And that silencing guts our common humanity. ■ *** E-mail: juan_mercado77@yahoo.com

VIEWPOINT

Recovered harvests

By Juan L. Mercado Philippine Daily Inquirer SEN. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. lofted a trial balloon Monday. He may make a 2016 presidential run, said the 47-year-old actor-governor-turnedsenator. Maaga pa naman (It’s still early). English doesn’t capture the nuances of the word garapal.

“If you can’t raise a billion pesos, why run?” rags-to-riches Sen. Manuel Villar, 64, told Reuters. Then Speaker Villar lobbed President Joseph Estrada’s impeachment to the Senate without catching a breath after his opening prayer. He owns a P48-billion real estate firm and dealt himself into the race. A less affluent Benigno Aquino III trashed him in the 2010 presidential polls. “I dislike millionaires,” writer Mark Twain joked. “But it’d be dangerous to offer me the position.”

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. frets at “the starting line.” He churns out press releases on everything—except last year’s $353.6-million fine by the US Federal Court. “Bongbong” had tried to smuggle paintings from judicially contested hearings, the 9th Circuit Court fumed.

Meanwhile, who of our kids will die?

Infant death rates here stagnated at 19 per 100,000 births. Compare that to

Taiwan’s six. The toll resembles that of Ecuador. Yes, the Ecuador that former US national security contractor Edward Snowden, accused of espionage, would sneak into and shake off US federal posses hot on his heels.

How many infants under five years old will slump into premature graves?

Here, 25 for every 1,000, according to a UN Interagency Group report. We’re bracketed with oil-flush Iran, ruled by ayatollahs. It’s seven for Malaysia.

And how many will achieve what the Psalmist writes? “Seventy is the sum of our years, eighty if we are strong.” Don’t ask Revilla. In his province of Cavite, functional illiteracy stood at 9 percent the last time the Philippine Human Development Report (PHDR) looked.

And 7 percent lacked “improved water sources.” The life expectancy today for Filipinos and Guatemalans is 73, the World Health Organization estimates.

A Singaporean can live to 82.

But lust for power blinds. Today’s “candidates” plot well past midnights on how to grab political advantage.

“Let me have men about me that are fat/Sleek-headed men and such as sleep o’ nights,” Shakespeare’s Caesar mutters to Antony. “Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look/He thinks too much...”

A study on the Philippines, Brazil,

India, South Africa and Guatemala found that “interventions during the first two years of life [of a child] are likely to result in substantial gains” in height and schooling, the research journal Lancet reported (3/28/13). “[They] give some protection from adult chronic disease. Adverse tradeoffs are few.”

How would Bongbong react? In Ilocos Norte, the poorest 10 percent make do with three centavos of every

Philippine politics is a chaotic sound chamber. The most strident voices erupt from would-be 2016 candidates who clone yesterday’s trapo. peso while the richest get 28 centavos, the PHDR says. And that doesn’t include secret dollar accounts in the Virgin Islands.

The tracking of 3,080 mothers and infants from 243 Cebu barangays partly anchors this analysis. The late Fr. Wilhelm Flieger, SVD, crafted the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey at the University of San Carlos Office of Population Studies in 1983. “Yesterday’s infants are today’s adults,” Viewpoint reported (6/25/12 ).

www.canadianinquirer.net

Opinion

17 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

AT LARGE

Gay unions and clerical abuse

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer THEY’RE CALLED “lipstick lesbians,” women who love women, or are primarily sexually attracted to other women, but who “wear lipstick” along with other forms of makeup as well as sexy attire, and appear to all the world as seeking men’s attention.

If you prefer to categorize lesbians using the “butch-femme” divide, then they will definitely fall within the “femme” side. “Butches” generally prefer men’s outfits, assume male stances, and appear to be rejecting the “feminine” side of their persons.

But maybe Isabelle Daza and Georgina Wilson are not so much “lipstick lesbians,” or even just lesbians, as, depending on which side you’re at on the public opinion fence, well-intentioned celebrities or desperate attention-seekers.

You know what I’m talking about, right? Daza and Wilson, both “it” girls of the moment, being widely-recognized models, TV hosts, actors, and first cousins at that, posed for photographer Mark Nicdao while locking lips and later posted the picture on Instagram.

The post captured much attention not just because two women kissing are still a novelty in these parts, but also because both have never “come out” as lesbians

and in fact are in very public romantic relationships—with straight men.

But there seems to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for the cousins’ provocative pose. Daza captioned the image as their “take on equality for gay rights.”

This, in the wake of news that the US Supreme Court recently nullified both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and Proposition 8, which made same-sex marriage illegal in California. *** THEN again, the photo may not have been a pitch for a local version of the landmark US decision as a publicity stunt and an attempt to shock the public—although girl-on-girl kissing lost much of its shock value after American entertainers made a habit of it in awards presentations.

Still, the question does loom large after the US “Supremes” voted to knock down legal barriers to same-sex unions. We all know Philippine law often relies on legal precedents set in the United States, and popular culture here references American events with amazing alacrity.

Engenderights, a legal NGO whose focus is self-explanatory, is leading the move to make the most of the US Supreme Court decision. For starters, says Engenderights executive director Clara

Rita Padilla, she hopes the “LGBT community’s win … will also be celebrated here.”

“Enacting a law that provides equality in marriage and divorce is one step toward ending discrimination and hate crimes against LGBTs. It is an important step toward a humane and just society where people respect the rights of others,” she says.

The US ruling, says Padilla, is timely for the Philippines because an antidis-

Maybe Isabelle Daza and Georgina Wilson are not so much “lipstick lesbians,” or even just lesbians, as wellintentioned celebrities or desperate attention-seekers. crimination bill seeking to protect LGBTs from discrimination—even gender-based violence and hate crimes—is still pending in Congress. At the same time, “women’s reproductive rights are being denied due to fundamentalist religious beliefs.”

And if a photo of two women kissing can get thousands of “likes,” while a story like the “coming out” of singer Charice gets generally favorable press, then perhaps we aren’t all that medi-

eval, after all.

*** AND speaking of medieval…

One of the more persistent of the many scandals bedeviling the institutional Catholic Church is that of the sexual misconduct of priests—either violating their vows of celibacy with affairs that sometimes produce offspring, or sexually abusing or exploiting members of their flock, including children.

Now a retired Catholic bishop in Australia lays out an analysis of this history of abuse but digs deeper beyond the human stories to unmask a wider, deeper “institutional” malaise.

The book’s title says it all: “For Christ’s Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church…for Good.” But as a reviewer says, author Bishop Geoffrey Robinson “dares something more fundamentally revolutionary… He dares to pull on the thread that unravels the cloak that has hidden the institutional disease. We all know the symptoms, of which sex abuse is the most apparent and most alarming. Robinson unwinds the thread slowly, and for the most part ignores all the horrific particulars and incomprehensible depravities of the abuse scandal. That part of the story by now is well-documented.”

Instead, writes Robinson in his introduction: “We can no longer limit

our blame to the individuals, but must also look for factors within the very culture of the Church that have contributed. And when so many authorities in the Church have attempted to conceal the abuse, or treated victims of abuse as though they were the enemy of the Church, we must again look for systemic factors behind such behavior, factors that are part of the very culture of the Church.” *** BEYOND his book, Bishop Robinson has launched a petition drive (on change.org) calling on Pope Francis to “convene a full council of the Church on this issue—and finally begin an open, transparent process to identify and remove the causes of this abuse.”

Almost 20 years ago, says Robinson, he helped set up “some of the Church’s first responses to this issue,” and while he “felt the disapproval of authorities when I tried speaking out,” if enough men and women of goodwill join in the call, Church authorities “will not be able to simply ignore the message any longer.”

His last appeal: “I still believe in the great beauty of the Church. It’s sustained me through the worst of this ugliness. Now I have hope that we can truly confront the horror of this abuse and ensure it never happens again.” ■

AS I SEE IT

Too many condos for the rich but none for the poor

By Neal H. Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer ISN’T IT ironic that with all the gleaming highrise condominium buildings mushrooming all over the urban areas, there is no housing for poor squatters?

Everything is for the rich.

Isn’t it possible to compel land developers, through legislation or rules, or by appealing to their social conscience, to construct mediumrise, affordable housing for poor squatters for every tall condo building that they build for the rich? Let us say that for every 100 costly condos for the rich, the developer will build 10 to 20 units (that’s only 10-20 percent) for the squatters nearby, not in some faraway, godforsaken place.

Squatters resist relocation because the sites are in some remote province where land is still cheap, where they will have no jobs, no water and electric connections, no schools for their children, etc. They will be so far from their means of livelihood in the cities that most of their daily earnings will be used up only for transport. That is why many of them go back to squatting in the cities. If we continue with this, the government will run out of land to award to the homeless but squatting will never disappear. The relocation

sites will be sold by the squatters to land speculators, and the squatters will go back to living in shanties or under bridges in the urban areas.

The host communities also resist accepting the squatters because they add to the municipalities’ expenses.

Worse, the crime rate in the host communities usually rises, and sanitation usually deteriorates.

The answer, as I see it, is in-city relocation, to medium-rise housing units that will not be sold to the recipient squatters but only rented to them to keep costs as low as possible.

That way, land speculation will also be prevented as the squatters cannot sell their rights to their units.

The house help of the condo owners can then come from these medium-rise housing units so they don’t have to be accommodated in the cramped condos.

Great care should be made, however, to award units only to the true homeless squatters, not to the professional squatters and squatting syndicates and land speculators. The latter should be ejected immediately without relocation and prosecuted if they go back to squatting.

The squatting syndicates prey not only on the landowners but also on the squatters themselves, from

whom they demand monthly membership fees. These membership fees are never accounted for and simply disappear—into the pockets of the syndicate officers.

Study any squatter colony and you will see that there are stores and shops from which they derive income but for which they pay no rent to the owner of the land they are squatting on. Neither do they pay business taxes to the local governments or income taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The answer is in-city relocation, to medium-rise housing units that will not be sold to the recipient squatters but only rented to them to keep costs as low as possible.

Visit any squatter colony at the end of the day and you will find their vehicles double-parked on the streets. You will also see TV antennas shooting out of the rooftops and hear soap operas blaring out of their stereo sets. These squatters own vehicles, TV and stereo sets, and other costly home appliances, and we call them “poor” and the bleeding hearts bleed for them?

No government heart bleeds for

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the poor lot owner whose property has been squatted upon. Local governments collect higher and higher real estate taxes from them but do not protect their properties from squatters. Ask for their help against the squatters and they will give you the runaround. Most of the time, local officials will side with the squatters because of their votes.

There are many urban poor groups and even party-list groups, but none for the poor property owners victimized by squatters. By “property owner,” I am referring not to the hacienda owners or the corporate owners of estates who can take care of themselves, but to the poor teacher, clerk and other lowly employees who paid for their lots in installments, month after month and year after year, only for these to be stolen by squatters. To make matters worse, City Hall raises the realty tax every few years on these properties that only the squatters profit from.

These property owners obey the law and pay the taxes. Their taxes are used to help squatters who have broken the law and victimized them.

Does this mean that it pays to be a lawbreaker than to be a law-abiding, tax-paying citizen? *** Mayor Calixto Cataquiz of San

Pedro, Laguna, has been suspended from office and Vice Mayor Norvic Solidum is now the acting mayor.

But that is a very brief victory for Solidum. On July 1, or just three days from now, Lourdes Cataquiz, the wife of the suspended mayor, will take over as mayor of San Pedro.

Calixto Cataquiz was going to run for his third and final term as mayor but was disqualified by the Commission on Elections because San Pedro was converted into a city last March 27. This is according to his supporters. His opponents, however, claim he was convicted in an administrative case for graft that dates back to 2003, when he was chief of the Laguna Lake Development Authority.

The conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Cataquiz was replaced by his wife Lourdes as mayoral candidate in the May elections. Solidum also ran for mayor. Lourdes defeated Solidum by more than 26,000 votes.

Less than a week before his term ends on June 30, Cataquiz was finally suspended and Solidum proclaimed as the acting mayor. On July 1, however, before Solidum has even warmed his seat, the duly elected Lourdes Cataquiz will take over as mayor. ■

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

18

Canada News

Spirit of Albertans during floods is what makes Canada great: Harper The Canadian Press OTTAWA—The annual Canada Day party on Parliament Hill is celebrating Canadians at home and abroad.

But many people's thoughts are with those in southern Alberta, still cleaning up from last month's floods.

They've set an example for the rest of the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

“When floods forced so many from their homes, communities dug deep, neighbours helped neighbours and people sheltered complete strangers,” he said.

“That's the spirit that makes Canada the best country in the world. The best, bar none.”

Harper gave his annual address at the foot of the Peace Tower, which he says has come to symbolize Canada's values.

“Canada is not just any country, but a people determined to do right—a fact that makes me proud as we approach the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of our country,” he said.

“Compassionate neighbours, courageous warriors, and confident partners, a bastion of freedom in an un-free world, a standard-bearer of goodwill, in a time when too many choose to hate, a land of hope in a sea of uncertainty.”

The Parliament Hill noon show featured a performances by Carly Rae Jepsen, live coverage of celebrations in New York and London and an appearance by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Hadfield's photographs of Canada taken from his perch aboard the international space station earlier this year earned him fans around the world.

He earned some of the loudest cheers Monday from the estimated 80,000 people gathered on Parliament Hill to hear him perform a song written for his time in space.

Both Harper and Governor General David Johnston paid tribute to Hadfield.

Johnston said Canada Day is about celebrating work like his and that of the people in Alberta who helped

PM Harper

PHOTO FROM PM.GC.CAENG

each other in the aftermath of the floods.

“Let me thank you—every Canadian who gives back to his or her community, every Canadian who takes risks, every Canadian who reaches for a dream; every Canadian who has made and continues to make Canada a truly great country,” Johnston said.

“We have so much talent, so much creativity, so much ingenuity. So I challenge you this year to do and give what you can, to make our country smarter and more caring, fairer and more just, stronger and more united.”

Outside of the nation's capital, over 30 citizenship ceremonies were being held across the country as were events honouring the Canadian military.

In Calgary, still cleaning up from last month's flood, the holiday will also mark the re-opening of that city's downtown core.

The support that Canadians have offered to flood ravaged Alberta prompted Premier Alison Redford to publicly thank them in a video.

“Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts,” Redford said in the video. “Whether it's Red Cross volunteers from Newfoundland, social workers from Guelph (Ont.), dog trainers from Kelowna (B.C.) who provided food for search and rescue dogs, the important time and money Canadians poured into the Red Cross to help us rebuild.”

“On this Canada Day we are so grateful to be part of a Canadian community,” she added.

While celebrations in Calgary are expected, officials are warning residents away from river banks as viewing locations for the nightly fire-

works show as water levels are still high.

As rain fell on the Halifax celebrations, Alberta was also on people's minds there.

Don Parker had travelled from Sexsmith, Alta., to celebrate Canada Day in the Nova Scotia capital.

“Whether it's raining or sunshine or flooding in Alberta, you know, Canada is where I want to live,” said Parker.

“It means having the freedom to travel all over Canada and meet all these great people and see all this wonderful country, in the rain of course,” he said, laughing.

Expat Canadians and those who simply profess a love for Canada were also celebrating.

Country star Carrie Underwood, who is married to former Ottawa Senators hockey player and Peterborough, Ont., native Mike Fisher, posted a message to her fans on Twitter Sunday.

“Happy Canada Day weekend, all you crazy Canadians!!!,” she wrote.

The Canadian consulates in New York and Los Angeles also pulled together videos for the celebrations there featuring celebrities like Paul Anka, Mike Myers, Paul Shaffer and Bryan Adams sending Canada Day greetings.

Among the best know celebrations abroad on Canada Day is the party at the U.S. embassy in Washington, D.C., but there are concerns festivities might not be up to their usual standards this year.

The 30 Canadian foreign service workers at the embassy, most of them in high-ranking positions, are among the 1,350 members of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers who have been in a legal strike position against the federal government since April.

The striking diplomats have refused to work any after-hours events since the work-to-rule action began, causing logistical and organizational headaches for the embassy.

They won't be at the Canada Day pancake breakfast on Monday, leaving what's known as “locally engaged” staff to handle the affair. ■

NEWS BRIEFS SADDLEDOME UNAVAILABLE FOR START OF STAMPEDE CALGARY—Calgary Stampede organizers say some signature events this year have been cancelled because flood repairs to the Saddledome cannot be completed in time. Stampede spokesman Kurt Kadatz says the Calgary Flames have informed Stampede officials that the building won’t be ready for the first five days of this year’s festival.

BATTLE LOOMS IN QUEBEC IDENTITY DEBATES MONTREAL—If a turban ban stirred such passions, what will an even broader debate over religious accommodation lead to in Quebec this fall? It’s a question being asked as the Parti Quebecois government prepares to introduce its “Charter of Quebec Values” after the summer break.

TERROR PLOT TARGETED B.C. LEGISLATURE: RCMP VANCOUVER—RCMP say they have foiled a domestic terror attack hatched by two Canadian citizens, driven by an “al-Qaida ideology” to blow up the British Columbia legislature during Canada Day celebrations. The force was informed of the alleged plot in February by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and a five-month investigation culminated with the arrests of two people in Abbotsford, B.C., on Monday, RCMP announced on Tuesday.

TORONTO CONSIDERS SAFE INJECTION SITES TORONTO—Toronto Public Health has released a report suggesting the city should create supervised safe injection sites for drug users. The report says research from Vancouver, Australia and Europe shows that safe injection sites are effective in addressing public health issues associated with drug addiction.

CALGARIANS UPSET OVER DENIED INSURANCE CLAIMS CALGARY—Some people in Calgary are banding together to name insurance companies that have rejected their claims for sewer backup damage following recent flooding. Residents of the Elbow Park neighbourhood say some insurance companies are approving claims while others are not—despite similar policy wording.

Canada News

19 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

As federal access law turns 30, advocates say it should cover Parliament

BY JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian Press OTTAWA—The federal access to information law turns 30 this Canada Day as thousands of people frolick, sing and gaze at fireworks on the lawns of Parliament Hill.

But in an ironic twist driven home by the current Senate scandals, the institutions housed within the neo-Gothic buildings towering above today's celebrants are not covered by the Access to Information Act. Many advocates of transparent government are now calling for the law to apply to the House of Commons, Senate and cabinet—with appropriate exceptions to protect matters of parliamentary privilege.

“There is simply no justification for the ongoing exclusion of key elements of the government, their offices, or the people working within them from the scope of the Act,” says the University of Ottawa's Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic.

“Such ongoing exemption is antithetical to the very concept of open and transparent governance,” the clinic argues in a brief to Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault, who has initiated a dialogue on reforming the law.

“This is a strange anomaly, the exclusion of bodies essential to democracy from an access process designed to support and enhance democracy,” the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom says in its submission.

“When parliamentarians, senior civil servants and court officers are protected from having to respond to access requests, they are freed from duties to accountability.”

The advice to Legault, an ombudsman for users of the access act, will be reflected this fall in her special report to Parliament on reforming the decades-old law.

Expanding the access regime to Canada's political chambers is an idea Legault herself heartily supports.

“If Parliament is serious about transparency and accountability, it must not only

proactively disclose more information regarding the expenses and allocations of parliamentarians, it must also subject itself to the Access to Information Act.” The access law, which took force on July 1, 1983, allows people who pay $5 to ask federal agencies for records ranging from audits and expense reports to internal emails and briefing notes.

Like most 30-year-olds, it has grown considerably bigger—the act now covers more federal agencies, including Crown corporations Canada Post, Via Rail and CBC. But many critics say the law suffers from a deep case of immaturity that belies its age.

Born in the pre-Internet era of file folders and hulking steel cabinets, the access law has failed to keep pace with public demand for greater transparency, critics charge.

Aside from Parliament, some 100 entities with federal ties— including Nav Canada, the Canada Health Infoway and large airport authorities—fall outside the law. Cabinet records are completely excluded from the act for at least 20 years.

Exemptions in the law often mean very little information is released, even after a long wait. And Legault's office must rely on moral suasion, lacking the power to order agencies to comply with the act.

Despite bold promises of reform in the 2006 election campaign, the Conservative government has shown little interest in reforming the law ushered in by Pierre Trudeau's Liberals. The reluctance to do anything more than tinker is consistent with the stand-pat approach of the Mulroney and Chretien administrations.

Once a world leader in freedom of information, Canada's law has fallen into a tie for 55th place— ahead of Angola but behind the Slovak Republic—on a list of global rankings compiled by the Halifax-based Centre for Law and Democracy.

“Canada's well-documented shortcomings on a major human rights indicator should naturally lead Canadians to question how we got here. The answer is simple: we did noth-

ing,” the centre says in its submission to Legault.

Arguments that subjecting public authorities such as Parliament and the judiciary to the provisions would harm the judicial, legislative or governing process “simply do not hold water,” says the Halifax centre.

“In countries around the world—including less established democracies than Canada such as India, Serbia and South Africa—the law applies to all three branches of government, not only without any negative consequences, but with positive consequences.”

Canada's Access to informa-

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tion Act already has exceptions specifically aimed at protecting any functions of these bodies that may need to be kept confidential, the centre says. For instance, agencies covered by the law can withhold records whose disclosure might prejudice law enforcement or reveal confidential advice from officials.

The London, Ont., chapter of the Progressive Librarians Guild told Legault the access law is a “kind of magic wand” that turns government institutions into something akin to public libraries.

“Somewhat sadly, we observe that the magic wand of the Ac-

cess to Information Act has not touched the legislative or judicial branches of government. In the United Kingdom, by contrast, the parliament and judiciary are within the scope of the U.K.'s freedom of information act,” the chapter says in its brief.

“While Canadians can use the U.K.'s freedom of information act to learn about the U.K.'s parliament, the workings of our own Parliament in Ottawa is hidden by unreasonable walls of secrecy. We believe that the magic of the Access to Information Act should touch all the branches of government.” ■

World News

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 20

Retired politician behind Japan sex slave apology says Abe wrong to challenge it

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI The Associated Press TOKYO—A retired Japanese politician whose name is on a landmark 1993 apology over Japan's use of wartime sex slaves says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's attempts to downplay Japan's actions before and during World War II have hurt the country's global image and could undermine its pacifist pledge.

Yohei Kono played a major role in the early 1990s helping Japan confront its wartime past and establish warmer ties with its Asian neighbours during years leading up to the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. He said in a rare interview with The Associated Press this week that Abe's suggestion that he wanted to revise two apologies—including a 1995 statement expressing regret for Japan's wartime aggression and commitment to peace—risks setting back by decades relations with China and South Korea.

If the apologies are changed, “Japan will be isolated from the international community. That much is clear,” the 76-year-old Kono said. “I'm afraid he (Abe) is underestimating a possible impact of his comments” on Japan's diplomacy.

Abe has alarmed China and South Korea by suggesting that he would like to revise Japan's pacifist constitution so that Japan's military can operate with more freedom. Kono, too, is concerned about this push and says Abe's government needs to fully accept that Japan is geopolitically part of Asia, and has no choice but to deepen ties with China and South Korea.

“You say it's hard to get along with them, or there is complicated history. Even so, we must overcome the difficulty and be friends. It's crucial to keep that in mind and make efforts,

and prioritize that before anything,” said Kono, who retired four years ago after 42 years at the top of Japan's political world.

As Chief Cabinet Secretary in the early 1990s, Kono was a relatively liberal-leaning politician within the generally conservative Liberal Democratic Party. He helped craft— and read to the public on Aug. 4, 1993—what has come to be called the “Kono Statement” apologizing for “immeasurable pain and incurable physical and psychological wounds” inflicted on thousands of “comfort women,” mostly Korean but also from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and the Netherlands.

The statement—the government's most thorough apology on the matter—won praise in Asia and elsewhere outside Japan, but faced some criticism at home from conservatives, including members of Kono's former party, which has become increasingly right-wing.

An earlier statement by his predecessor Koichi Kato in 1992 acknowledged a limited government role in the brothel operation and recruitment of the women, but was not considered a full apology and prompted South Korea to demand more. That led to a further investigation by Japan and a fuller apology in the Kono statement that acknowledged coercion used on many of the women—the part that most upsets opponents of the apology.

Abe has questioned parts of the apology that say many of the women were coerced into providing sex for Japanese soldiers, saying there is no official record to prove that. He has suggested that he would like it revised, but after recent criticism now says he accepts it.

He has said his Cabinet does not necessarily support all of the 1995 apology by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama,

PHOTO FROM RTSF.WORDPRESS.COM

Japan's main expression of remorse for its wartime and colonial past and pledge to peace and elimination of “self-righteous nationalism.”

Abe has also upset China and South Korea by repeatedly saying that there is no clear definition of “aggression.” He has campaigned for a “departure from post-war regime,” which virtually means a revision of the education and social values introduced by the 1945-1952 U.S. occupation era.

That comes along with other nationalistic actions by his government, including the April visit by several government ministers and nearly 170 lawmakers to Tokyo's Yasukuni war shrine, which memorializes 2.3 million war dead, including 14 leaders convicted of war crimes.

Kono also deplored comments last month by Osaka's outspoken mayor, Toru Hashimoto, who said that using women as sex slaves during the war was considered “necessary” to instil discipline and provide relief for battle-weary soldiers.

“Those nationalistic comments sound vigorous in Japan but they are not acceptable outside the country. Absolutely not,” Kono said.

“That dealt considerable damage to Japan's national interest,” he said. “You must ask yourself if you can say those things to the international society.... Would you say that to people in Beijing or Seoul?”

Historians say up to 200,000 women from across Asia were www.canadianinquirer.net

forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers. Some of the surviving women, particularly Korean victims, have demanded an apology approved by parliament and official compensation from the government. Tokyo has resisted, saying war reparations with South Korea were dealt with in treaties restoring relations after the war. In 1995, Tokyo created a fund using private donations as a way for Japan to pay former sex slaves without providing official compensation.

In Japan, public sentiment has become less compassionate in recent years toward Asian victims of the country's wartime aggression. References to “comfort women” once in school history textbooks have disappeared.

Japan's soul-searching has lost steam after the 50th anniversary of the end of war, just as liberal-leaning to centrist factions in the ruling party started to weaken because of corruption scandals and infighting, allowing Abe's right-wing group to dominate.

A United Nations torture committee recently urged Japanese top government officials to stop their whitewashing attempts and do more to educate the public about the issue, but the Abe government rejected the recommendation.

Much of the sex slavery debate still focuses on what role the government played in organizing brothels, and if—or to what extent—the women were

coerced. The Kono statement says the military was involved directly or indirectly in the establishment and management of front-line brothels and transfer of women, and that many women were “recruited against their own will through coaxing and coercion.”

Nobuo Ishihara, who was deputy Cabinet secretary and assisted Kono in the government of then-Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said interviews with 16 South Korean women in Seoul led to the conclusion that there was coercion though there were no official documents showing so. The women interviewed by Japanese diplomats in the run-up to the 1993 Kono apology were selected because they were not connected to anti-Japan lobbyist groups.

“There was no doubt there were women who were forced to become comfort women against their will,” Ishihara said in a separate recent interview with the AP. He said there has been strong criticism for their charges of coercion without official documents specifically stating government orders to so.

“We chose to face our negative legacy of the wartime past and bring a closure to it, and start forward looking relations with South Korea, and this policy has continued since. It's the promise we made, like a diplomatic treaty,” he said. “It should remain unchanged even if the governments change.” ■

World News

21 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

SE Asia diplomats hope summit offers venue for discussions on resuming North Korea nuke talks

BY HYUNG-JIN KIM The Associated Press BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN— Southeast Asian diplomats have not abandoned hope that this week's annual Asian security summit will provide a chance for North Korea and its neighbours to discuss restarting longdormant disarmament talks on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, according to a joint statement released Sunday.

The top diplomats from North Korea and the five other nations involved in the nowstalled nuclear disarmament talks are gathering in Brunei for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Regional Forum.

The international standoff over North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons is expected to take centre stage, along with other regional issues, including South China Sea territorial disputes.

In the last six months, North Korea has launched a long-range rocket and conducted an atomic

test in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the regime from nuclear and missile activity. Pyongyang calls the weapons buildup the core of its defence against U.S. aggression, and has vowed to push ahead in constructing the arsenal as long as it feels threatened by the U.S. Top diplomats from the 10 ASEAN countries urged the six nations involved in past disarmament negotiations—North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., Japan, Russia and China—to restart the talks. The disarmament-for-aid talks hosted by Beijing were last held in 2008.

“We emphasized the importance of dialogue aimed at promoting mutual understanding and confidence among all parties concerned with ensuring peace, security and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” they said in a joint statement. “In this regard, we recommended that the (regional forum), where all six members to the six-party talks are also participants, could contribute to forging a conducive

atmosphere for the resumption of the six-party talks.”

Still, it's not clear whether North Korea will hold informal talks with the U.S. or South Korea on the sidelines of the forum. The governments in Seoul and Washington have said they have no immediate plans to meet privately with Pyongyang.

In recent weeks, North Korea has proposed restarting the talks, which once provided Pyongyang with crucial fuel and other aid in exchange for disarmament.

But the U.S. and South Korea say North Korea first must demonstrate its sincerity on nuclear disarmament with concrete action.

“Recently, North Korea suddenly started a charm offensive. (South Korea) has always been open to a dialogue, but it will not have a dialogue for the sake of dialogue itself,” South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said during a meeting with his counterparts from ASEAN countries, China and Japan, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

He said South Korea “hopes to see North Korea take the necessary actions toward denuclearization so that an appropriate environment conducive to the resumption of dialogues, such as the six-party talks, can be resumed,” Yonhap said, citing a copy of Yun's remarks.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it couldn't immediately confirm the report.

The Southeast Asian diplomats' statement also said ASEAN countries support peaceful efforts toward building a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the early resumption of six-party talks.

North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun arrived in Brunei on Sunday morning.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo were reviewing a possible trilateral meeting in Brunei among U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, according to South Korean officials.

The ASEAN Regional Forum has previously provided a chance to use informal, sideline talks to break stalemates over the nuclear issue. In 2011, top nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met on the sidelines of the forum in Bali, Indonesia, and agreed to work toward a resumption of the six-nation

talks. The Koreas' foreign ministers held sideline talks in 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and top diplomats from Pyongyang and Washington also met privately in 2004 and 2008.

Meanwhile, long-raging territorial rifts in the South China Sea remained a thorny issue in Brunei, with the Philippines calling China's recent deployment of naval and paramilitary ships in two disputed shoals part of Beijing's “increasing militarization” of disputed areas that could threaten regional stability.

Southeast Asian nations wanted to turn the 2002 accord into a stronger, legally binding “code of conduct” to prevent the territorial rifts from turning violent, but China has not stated when it would sit down with ASEAN nations to negotiate such a pact.

In an apparent reference to the Philippines, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters in Brunei later Sunday that he believes “any activity taken by individual claimant countries to go against the trend will not enjoy the support of the majority of countries and will not succeed either.” ■ Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report.

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Immigration

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 22

PHOTO FROM FLICKR.COM

Feds waive fees to replace documents destroyed by flooding in Alberta

BY STEPHANIE LEVITZ The Canadian Press OTTAWA—People whose citizenship or other residency documents were destroyed by flooding in Alberta are getting a break from the federal government.

Fees to replace certain documents will be waived until Sept.

19 and status will be automati-

BC HAPPY HOMES IMMIGRATION SERVICES

cally extended or restored for temporary and permanent residents living in a flood-affected area.

“As Canadians we come together to ensure that we do what we can to help people get through times like these and to help them get back to their employment and caring for their families,” Immigration Min❱❱ PAGE 46 Feds waive

Since 1992

Since 1992

Canada Immigration is constantly changing When you need professional help Please give us a call.

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GOOD HANDS Family Class, Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trade, PNP,CEC, Student Visa, Visitor’s Visa, Super Visa, Care-giver Processing, Work permit, Temporary worker, Appeals for Refused Family Class Applicants, Regular trips to the Phil. etc.

NATIE & CRISTIE LANE SOTANA are Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants & members of ICCRC.

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Immigration

23 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

So, Where is Your Family and Your Friends in Your Plan?

BY BOLET AREVALO

PREPARING YOUR FAMILY FOR MIGRATION IS NO MEAN TASK. IT TAKES TRUST, GOOD RELATIONSHIP, PERSEVERANCE. THE HAPPIER EVERYONE IS, THE EASIER YOU CAN BEAR EVERY BURDEN. The principle is simple: prepping the self up is easy, and personal pre-planning happens naturally. But with family, it is different. The bigger the family is, the more complicated any planning or preparation will be.

It starts as soon as you break the news that you have decided to move abroad.

Not to visit, not for pleasure, not even for a temporary work contract, but for good. It is like changing the course or direction of the ship that you are all sailing on. This sounds totalitarian. Going through a full family consultation is even more difficult and complicated, but do it the way it works for your family.

To uproot one's self, much less a whole family, is major, really major. Depending on the size of the family, and the ages of the children to be uprooted, the harder things can get. But how do you break the news? How do you really plan a family for a major decision like this?

Cut to the chase. If the children are minor, whether small minors or big minors, it is always good to give it to them straight. You are all leaving and this is best situation for everyone as far as you have thought things out. Only a twist of fate, like an unlikely winning in the lotto jackpot, could possibly change that.

Most likely, the big minors will want to say something. Hear them out. But since they are minor, you are still the decisionmaker. Unless any objection is violent, the family has to be together in this because that is the reason it is called a family.

After the decision has been announced, start introducing the adoptive country to the family. I remember putting up bond-sized posters around the house telling bits and pieces of Canada—its origin, provinces, government, weather, languages, economy, etc.

I came home with news clippings that told of good news about the country we were moving to. Tell the family good stories, success stories, happy endings. Of course, there are also not-so-good stories, and you will need to tell those, too. But as part of the planning, you need to stay positive.

Remind them how technology allows people to connect so easily nowadays.

There are cell phones, VOIP, the Internet, the chat room, social media networks. Most

of these are at virtually no extra cost at all, except for the high speed connection which you will need to get and the PC or the laptop which you most possibly already have.

Much of the food that they enjoy eating back home can be cooked or found in stores abroad, too. I myself was amazed at how my favourite spices and ingredients are in real Canadian groceries. Multi-cultural stores are conveniently located all over. And you might be surprised to discover that the wellloved local delicacy might even taste better than what is available in your new country.

Schools are well-funded by the government. Even private schools are not necessarily expensive if you take an effort to donate your time as a school volunteer. In this time and age, people have spread themselves far and wide, and the kids are likely to have someone from your own country as classmates, teachers, school staff or administrators. A good education is waiting for them.

Best of all, a family is a family. As long as the family sticks together, the easier it is to hurdle any challenges. The mother or the father or whoever is head of the family owes it to their children to make good decisions.

Their children should have faith in that just as they have faith in the Supreme Being.

Make family a part of your conscious planning, especially if they are going with you.

Keeping them realistically informed is key. A family united in a decision makes everybody’s burden lighter.

Should Friends Know Your Plan?

THERE IS NO HARD AND FAST RULE ON THE EXTENT YOU WANT TO INVOLVE YOUR FRIENDS IN YOUR PLAN. BUT WITH TRUE FRIENDS AS YOUR WEALTH, THEY WILL SURELY BE ABLE MAKE YOUR NEW LIFE EASIER. For those who were not born with the proverbial spoon in their mouths, wealth can be translated in other dimensions.

Having many friends is one of these.

You probably have heard this saying— tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are. True? This saying is not that you should judge and categorize, but it is often told to us by our elders as a warning. If friends are to be your only wealth, they need to be the kind that will support you, bring the best in you as a person, and lead you to achieve.

True friends are hard to find because they are as invisible as the wind. You do not see them, but they are always there.

And the truer the friendships, the heavier it becomes to have to decide to leave or be far away for them. But the truer the friends, the happier they’d be for your big decisions. The more unselfish they are, the more they’ll let go.

There are friends you’d leave behind,

but what about the long-lost friends you’ll be coming home to, the ones who will welcome you in the new country you are embracing? Are you sure you’ll be welcomed unreservedly?

Even with technology, there are reasons that you could drift apart from friends.

Sometimes it just happens, sometimes it just has to happen because that is how your own circumstances can best be handled. But a true friend will always welcome you back, shortcomings notwithstanding.

But if you want to be able to do it right, never burn burning bridges. You will never know when you’re going to need to cross that bridge again. Continue the line of communication with your friends. It is difficult to re-establish and repair any damage to friendship. And even if repair is possible, the scar that will remain will always remind you of your past indiscretions or plain thoughtlessness.

True friends will always be true friends regardless. They will be there to support you. But this you must remember—friends will only support you in a certain way and to a certain extent.

What they can do for you, what you want them to do, or what they want to do for you should be clear to you.

Do not expect too much. Do not think they will have all the solutions you need as you adjust to a new life or search for a job.

Your friends may be willing to help, but much of the work will still be in your hands.

You need all the help you can get. Your

friends can be a source of information, of contacts, referrals, or plain advice. Keep asking for information here and there.

Do not hesitate. Do not be ashamed. I always tell my children that if you do not steal from anyone or short-change anybody, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.

It is best that your true friends know about your plans. You may need them.

The truer your friends, the easier for you to start moving forward, knowing they will be there anytime. Starting a new life and looking for a new job still relies much on the work of your own hands, but true friends will be a great source of strength. ■ Nobody ever said that our journey, will be easy. But as I write and as you read, we share our strengths and we can hold to the promise that “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them,” Matthew 18:20.

Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion. She is author-publisher of the book: The Most Practical Immigrating and Job Hunting Survival Guide, proven simple steps to success without the fears and the doubts. The book is available in Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, the Reading Room and other online bookshops worldwide, and in National Book Store and Power Books in the Philippines. Please check out https:// www.amazon.com/author/boletarevalo).

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Seen & Scenes

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Alberta

PCTC AGM Philippines Canada Trade Council (PCTC) Annual General Meeting and 30th Anniversary celebration. This year’s awardees include Atty. Vicente Asuncion, Alan Yong and the Philippine Consulate General-Vancouver.

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Filipino-Canadian in Focus

FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS

Carmelita Salonga Tapia

BY MELISSA REMULLABRIONES Philippine Canadian Inquirer OPPORTUNITY reveals itself to those who are ready, and fearless.

Carmelita Tapia was both.

It was the early 90's and she had just left the Philippines for Canada, echoing the desire (and lamentation) of many parents: a better future for their children, better than what they would have at home.

Serious doubts started to set in during the first 2 years as she found herself mowing the lawn while washing the clothes, cooking her family's dinner while cleaning the house, and in her sole care very young, feisty children. What was she thinking? What could be better than having a driver, and maids at your beck and call, and the comfort of everything familiar?

Not so fast

“We arrived in Canada in December 1988. We landed in Calgary which is -27 degrees from a +33 in Manila,” she said. It will not do, so Carmelita decided they should move to Vancouver. “The first day of January 1989, we are in Vancouver,” she chuckles.

She was ready and she knew what to do.

An accountant by profession, her ability to assess situations was uncanny and precise, and she put it to work in her new home. “When we landed here, I knew that we had to do something about our resumes. We had to lower down our accomplishments. Otherwise, they will see that we are more than them and they will not even accept us for the job,” she said. True enough, not too long after their resumes were sent out, her husband landed a job at an engineering company, while Carmelita became an executive assistant to

the president of a fabrication company in Richmond.

It was there that she saw the opportunity that proved Canada was a good decision.

“We were importing [pollution control] filter bags from the East—from Toronto and Montreal. I saw that it had possibilities and we decided to put up Odessa Manufacturing.” But it was finance that proved to be the biggest challenge. She relates, “When we started this, we were able to scrape some cash.” However, it was not enough. “ It was my mother-in-law who helped me. So those who have mother-inlaws, love them,” she said, in jest (or not). “Now I'm very proud to say that we are the only one doing this filter bag business in Western Canada. Everybody is doing it in the East. So in the East, if it's just for 200-300 bags and they need my help, I can make it for them.”

Since then, Odessa Manufacturing has been the bread and butter of the Tapias.

ever, reserves a soft spot for new Filipino immigrants who are entrepreneurs.

Her message to them is one of optimism, fierceness, tenacity: “I want to tell all those ambitious entrepreneurs from the Philippines, the new immigrants, if they are dreaming, they can dream big but [they have to] work for it. It will happen. They just they have to be patient and they just have to be diligent. They should not be scared of the whites, of the Caucasians. When we put up Odessa Manufacturing, I'm not tall but I'm talking with these plant managers who are 6 feet tall. I'm not scared of them. They understand business and they are not as corrupt.” She then proceeds to tell the story of a time when she wanted to reward the person who gave her a very big project. This person said she can keep the gift, because he is not used to it. “From then on, I realized, they are into business and they are not into any hanky panky.”

That experience further cemented her relationship with Canada, which she has since then called home.

Fast

Odessa Manufacturing has been in business for 23 years and is getting close to the million dollar mark. However, it was not without any challenges. In 2012, a fire gutted the building where Odessa Manufacturing had its office and factory. “We had to temporarily move out of our location.

We really lost a lot in that fire. We moved to a very small facility, we can't even do full production. Finally we were able to come back this year on April 1,” she said.

As president of the Southeast Asia Canada Business Council and former president of the Philippines Canada Trade Council, and with a business that proves that Filipino businessmen can make it in Canada, Carmelita is the natural go-to person for those wanting to do business in Canada. She, how-

And then some

Carmelita and opportunities recognize each other as old friends do, and it was that Carmelita ventured into several other businesses including soap manufacturing, a Philippine counterpart of Odessa Manufacturing in Candelaria,Quezon called Kananaskis Manufacturing, and an import export company which brings Virgin coconut oil to Canada. Herself a purveyor of opportunity, she recently set her sights on welding as a way to help her countrymen.

“I know that we have so many good skilled workers in the Philippines. I know how they are suffering there because for skilled work in the Philippines they are paying very, very low, whereas here in Canada, they pay very high for skilled work. So I found a good friend who's a top level (Level 3) www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 26

welding inspector. He said [he can help me] help our kababayans. So we formed a company. Fortunately, the Canadian Welding Bureau approached us to do the certification for those welders and to do the accreditation of the test centers. We are not only in the Philippines right now. We are being sent to Korea, to the United States, and to China to do the certification and accreditation processes,” she says.

She clarifies and emphasizes, however, that she cannot bring people to Canada. “I am not an immigration consultant. But we can train those Filipinos so they can meet the Canadian standards so the immigration consultants and the Canadian employers can bring them here.”

Historama

As if those businesses were not enough, she took on an ambitious project in the middle of last year and no less than the Queen Elizabeth Theatre was witness to her successful Historama, a history of the Philippines in song and dances. It was a word that she coined herself.

“I am passionate about my Historama. We've been planning that since 2004, but I was so fortunate that we have a Consul General who believed in me. And when I told him that I can make Historama, he said go for it. He gave us the courage to work on it and finally everybody helped, including Atty. Bernie Julve who researched on the facts. And we were able to put up a good show on June 2, 2012,” she said.

Two additional runs followed on October 20, 2012 and January 23, 2013, and another in Victoria in June 2013. Negotiations are underway to have Historama shown in Nanaimo and Seattle. The Filipinos in Yukon, at Whitehorse are also clamoring for a show, but they might have to wait a long while as the production is big and the cost is hefty.

And more

Carmelita is both adventurous and fearsome. When she was approached by Vancouver Police Department to take a short course at Citizens Po-

lice Academy, she immediately took the challenge. She is now a member of Vancouver Police Department Diversity Advisory Committee which led to her being appointed by the Provincial Government to be a member of New Westminster Police Board, the highest authority which provides oversight to the New Westminster Police Department.

The future

With the steady partnership between opportunity and Carmelita, more is sure to come from this Palanca awardee and diminutive-romantic-with-a-big-soul as she stays on her course and remain to be both the fire and the inspiration to the Filipino community in Vancouver. ■ Parties who are interested in the certification and accreditation of welding schools and establishments can email Carmelita directly via litz-cvm@gmail.com The Philippine Canadian Inquirer turns its focus on Filipino-Canadian entrepreneurs, top honchos, connectors, community leaders and movers and shakers who are willing to mentor fellow Filipinos in a series of entrepreneurship workshops to culminate in “The Philippine Canadian Inquirer” Appreciation and Awards Night and Gala. If you have someone in mind who fits the bill, please e-mail editor@canadianinquirer.net

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Health

Starving to death

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer I SIT here, waiting for my longoverdue lunch, ordered online for delivery, stomach growling: I am “starving to death,” or so it would seem.

These days, I use the phrase as most do— simply as a figure of speech. Barring reference to certain poverty-stricken parts of the world, most of us use it as an exaggerated, more dramatic way to describe extreme hunger.

But there was a time when I was literally starving to death.

And I did not even know it.

It was a time that I have never recounted in writing. Until now.

This is the story of my battle with anorexia and bulimia. And it isn’t an easy one to tell.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will make me starve myself

I can pinpoint the exact moment that I decided to “stop eating.” I was 10 years old, a slightly chubby fourth-grader in pigtails and ribbons. I loved my pigtails. Up until the afternoon that a peer-who-shall-remainnameless decided to crack a notso-funny joke: “pig-tails for the little piggy! Hahahaha!”

Whoever coined the “sticksand-stones” saying must have never gotten teased. Words hurt; and they stick to your soul like chewed-up gum to a shoe sole.

It was years before I ever wore my hair in pigtails again. It was also then that I decided that I was taking too long to grow out of the “baby fat” (which my dear Abuelita would constantly say it was, as a form of re-assurance).

I was never a fat kid; was quite skinny, in fact. But between 3rd and 4th grades, I discovered food. And food and I got along very well, indeed. So I knew it most likely wasn’t “baby” fat.

It was the enemy.

To my juvenile mind, the quickest way to get rid of the enemy was to deprive it of the source of its strength. This was

of calisthen-

my Art of War. So I cut down on calories; slowly severing my friendship with food, until I was eventually left with a pack of Skyflakes a day: one cracker was a meal, washed down with halfa glass of pineapple juice. Sometimes, I would indulge in fruit.

There were days that food would win and I would be racked with guilt; regretting for hours on end the meal that was eaten, no matter how delicious the fare or how hungry I was.

Purging for a pop-star

Summer rolled around, and with it, a big announcement: Leif Garret, live in concert at the Folk Arts Theater!, the poster declared. Be still, my 1970s fan-girl heart. As your laughter subsides, let me explain that this was my pop-star god; the main character of all the pre-teen hormonal fantasies spun in my head. He was coming to town and my dad could get me backstage.

Panic time. I HAD TO LOSE WEIGHT QUICKER. I blamed it on those times that I did give in to food; and the quickest, most logical solution to this problem? What goes in, must come out.

I began purging. For a popstar.

Ten pounds and an autographed poster later, I was happy. At least until I ventured another look into the mirror.

The naked truth

The cycle continued for years on end. I would gaze intently into the looking glass, skeptically analyzing my birthday suit.

The verdict, always the same: “ILL-FITTING! THIS BIRTHDAY SUIT IS FAR TOO BIG! Smaller size, please!” screamed the voice in my mind. In fact, I was already a size 0.

Starve-binge-purge, exercise, weigh-in, look in mirror, repeat.

Surprisingly, no one caught on as to why I got up at the crack of dawn, to do one hour or more

snacks and lunches meant for school, they would be relegated to the deepest, darkest recesses underneath my bed; their existence, hidden until proper disposal come evening—or a few days later, in the case of the occasionally forgotten, and already reeking, food item.

Subterfuge was the name of the game.

My hair thinned; my eyes were sunken; my nails, brittle as could be. My teeth became eroded from all the gastric acid, and would often chip even just biting into an apple. My knuckles were forever wounded from scraping against my teeth. I developed hyper-acidity, from the constant churning in my stomach. My hormones were completely out of whack, and affected everything from moods to normal female cycles. I lived in a state of dizziness; more anemic than a person fallen prey to a nest of vampires. My heart— which was, as it turned out, under stress—was skipping beats, and not because of a girly-crush or whatnot.

So many warning signs that my body was in distress. But I paid no heed.

Until I got sick. Really sick.

Sicker than I apparently already was.

Million-dollar question

ics. Or why I spent so much time in the bathroom, music blaring; only to emerge bleary-eyed, face flushed, with an accompanying stench veiled by cologne and air freshener. Or that I always had the most interesting excuses to get up during a meal, or—better yet—skip the meal entirely.

I learned countless creative ways to dispose of food: spitting mouthfuls into napkins, as I “wiped my mouth” every ten seconds; when no one was looking, scraping it into a plastic bag hidden on my lap; or quickly coughing it down my shirt (gross, I know). As for packed

In 7th grade, my weight had dropped to an all-time low of 67 pounds. I was elated. My body, not so much. I ended up in the hospital, three weeks; sick as a dog with pneumonia and typhoid. My body couldn’t fight. At this point, I was barely eating. The mere smell of food was enough to induce the gag reflex, and I would spew out bile on command. Like Linda Blair in “The Exorcist.”

It was then that in hushed tones, the doctor first posed the million-dollar question to my befuddled parents: “Have you ever considered that your daughter may have an eating disorder?”

A “what” now??? Back in those days, an eating disorder was quite unheard of.

It was then that I felt the first twinge of fear, as alien-sound-

ing names rolled off his trained tongue: Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. I vaguely remembered them in reference to Karen Carpenter. Vaguely. But evidently, I had them both.

He said I needed to gain weight, and quick, in order to get better. He ordered the nurse to put me on a glucose IV drip. My meals were monitored very, very closely. I had to eat, the nurse said, or the doctor would have to put me on a nasal feeding tube.

I knew I was gaining weight, much to my dismay. And there was nothing I could do about it, in my weakened state.

The nature of the beast

After the hospital ordeal: A regimen of weight-gain supplements and appetite stimulants; a military-style plate with apportioned sections; and more of the close monitoring.

My initial fear, however, was quickly overcome by the obsession to once more shed pounds.

My mother would supervise my meds, personally handing me each pill, which I would then very carefully slip underneath my tongue, to fish out as soon as she turned her back. I would save each pill in a tiny dresser drawer, count them at week’s end, assuring myself that I had not accidentally swallowed any.

And just to be doubly sure, I started taking diet pills to counteract the weight-gain pills I had not even swallowed.

That was the nature of the beast: its irrational claws, sinking themselves into the insecure, the troubled, the addictive, the obsessive victims.

Both disorders are psychological in nature, messing with the mind as aggressively as with the body. Rooted in issues of self-esteem, anxiety and control, interpersonal conflicts, and depression, they are harsh taskmasters; difficult to escape.

Recent studies have uncovered that there is a genetic predisposition to these diseases; in many cases, marked by a familial history (diagnosed or otherwise). Knowing this, I now watch over my daughter like a ❱❱ PAGE 30 Starving to

29 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

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Health

Meatless can be unbelievably good The Vegetarian Kitchen: who says vegetarian food is unexciting?

BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer WITH many getting serious about their health, vegetables have become the veritable fountain of wellness. It helped (greatly) that its preparation has become inspired—ingenious even—hence, the sprouting of many interesting vegetarian restaurants.

One such haunt is The Vegetarian Kitchen. Set in a nondescript location in Mother Ignacia, it was a welcome sight for sore and hungry eyes. No less than Christian Soliongco, its General Manager, ushered me into its cozy interiors. Paintings, portraits, and elegantlyarranged colorful couches amused me while I sipped on a frosted glass of lemon cooler.

Hare Krishna beginnings

In 1990, Tita M. Soliongco married a Hare Krishna priest.

His way of life, one of which is being vegetarian, became hers.

But after some time, she got bored with the usual boiled and steamed vegetables, so she experimented with different kinds of veggie meats and came up with exciting vegetable menus for her family.

Her healthy meatless meals became such a hit that soon, relatives and friends are urging

Starving to... hawk; ever on the alert for signs and symptoms that I myself managed to hide so well.

Anorexia (which is characterized mainly by food-deprivation, an aversion to food, and an obsession with weight), and Bulimia (characterized by the cycle of binging and purging) are both life-threatening, can be fatal, and require long-term treatment. Both disorders can strike at any age, though anorexia is most common in teens, while bulimia is often seen in young adults. And although females ❰❰ 28

her to spread her message of good food and good health.

Giving in to popular demand, Tita opened the Vegetarian Kitchen that same year.

But it was an idea ahead of its time, and in only 2 years, The Vegetarian Kitchen closed its doors. This proved temporary as health and wellness slowly took root in the Filipino consciousness.

In 2012, the family thought the market was ready, so the Vegetarian Kitchen again took its spot in the vegeterian food arena, with son Christian “Kiko” Soliongco at its helm.

With its many sumptious offerings, it looks like it is here to stay.

The edge

“We have a different take on vegetarian cuisines. As you can see, we don’t have salads, and we usually change our menu once a week because we want our customers to be always curious of what to expect next.

We also have servings that are good for sharing. Our presentation of our vegetarian food is also unique. We don’t just present it plainly. If its kaldereta sa gata without the meat, then, it should really look like and taste like one. We value the texture of the food,” Kiko explained.

They also get their ingredients from the local market and local grocery and stand by their philosophy of freshness. “It’s a are most affected, it is seen in males, as well.

My own battle lasted years and years; well-into my highschool and college days, although not as severely.

At a certain point, I had grown tired of struggling: with the disorders; with my parents and those in my circle; but mainly, with myself.

The guilt and shame. The isolation and despair. The overwhelming sense of hopelessness and helplessness. Slave to many masters: the mirror, the scale, your poor self-image. All masked by the seeming form of control these disorders make you think you have.

“I got this.” No, you don’t.

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 30

big thing in any food business,” Kiko explains. “Firstly, we don’t use garlic and onions, because it contributes to quicker spoilage.”

The Soliongcos are also not big believers in organic produce, which is more expensive than non-organics. “We want to teach other people that it's not hard to be a vegetarian,” he says. The other message is that it is also inexpensive.

Family

Matriarch Tita became a vegetarian in 1988, while her children Kiko and Camille embraced the vegetarian life in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Learning from their mother, the siblings are serious about their roles in The Vegetarian Kitchen. Tita supervises the cooking, while daughter Camille is the veritable helper, taking charge when their mother is not around. With very discriminating vegetarian palates, this family-run enterprise makes sure that only the most nutritious and delicious dishes come out of their kitchen. As GM, Kiko takes care of the diners. The personal touch of this family makes their ever-growing clientele come back again and again and again.

It does help that the restaurant is, for all intents and purposes, their home.

“We just live upstairs. Bumababa lang kami when the restaurant opens (We just go down when the restaurant opens).

It's really an Ideal business, especially when you’re starting a family. Like my sister, she just started her family. Being in this kind of business allows her to be with her child every day,” Kiko said, explaining in the vernacular that she just goes up and “I’m in charge.” No, you’re not.

The very thing you do as a form of mastery over your own life creates a vortex that sucks you in.

The long and cringing road

I decided to help myself gain real control of the situation. Although I cringed at the thought of gaining weight, I knew this was no way to live.

I joined a support group for anxiety and stress-related disorders and learned breathing techniques, healthy diets (I became vegetarian, 21 years in all), positive reinforcements, and productive ways of dealing with stress.

I forced myself to drink the prescribed supplements, and www.canadianinquirer.net

down. A perfect arrangement.

Perfect for all, in fact. In truth, they are just ushering people into their home, sharing their philosophy of good health, and having a big party all the time.

What? No meat?

It did not seem so.

The Vegetarian Crispy Danggit with Eggless Egg Scrambled had light and non-greasy veggie danggit. The tofu tomato scramble flavored with turmeric and salt boggled my mind as it perfectly simulated fried eggs.

The Meatless Chicken Teriyaki Skewers could not have been meatless. I could swear there was meat in there—but there was none. It was all health—easy on the tongue and easy to digest.

The Meatless Almondigas with misua and patola was a refreshing, delightful, light soup.

But I can say that the Orange turned to counting calories instead of avoiding them.

It was a long process, loaded with challenges, and more than an occasional slip-up. But I have since gotten better and have even had the chance to pay it forward, counseling other girls battling these disorders.

To this day, I remain on guard and ready to fight; knowing that the monster could once more rear up its ugly double head.

Much as it is taught in rehab, the cautionary phrase remains: once an addict, always an addict.

And this is a sobering reality.

I still exercise like a freak.

You will occasionally catch me knocking my hip-bone with my wrist; a comfort mechanism of

Cheesecake is my favorite. It was not dense, and had that melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The base was a butter crust (instead of the usual graham cracker crust) so it was also low in calories (great for those of us watching our weight!).

Other offerings included the Apple Pie Cheesecake, Eggless Dark Chocolate Cake and Vegan Carrot Cake. Paired with Soy Coffee, every bite was a slice of heaven, albeit, a very healthy one. ■ The Vegetarian Kitchen Address: 62-B Mother Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City (near Crossroads 77 and in front of St. Mary's College).

Contact: (02)355-5622 and (0915)830-0511.

Price range: Entrees cost P220 to 240 (about CAD$6), while desserts are at P140 (about CAD$4). www.facebook.com/TheVegetarianKitchen. “feeling my bones jutting out.” I continue to watch what I eat, although food is certainly no longer the enemy. I pester people closest to me with questions of “Am I fat???” And you will find a bottle or two of green tea or green coffee pills in my medicine cabinet; “energy boosters,” I tell myself, and I use them accordingly.

But I am stronger now. I have learned to shift my focus to more positive things, and this has freed me from the shackles of self-loathing. I no longer hate myself; on most days anyway.

I remind myself that life is worth living, and living well.

And this has made a world of difference. ■

Health

31 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

Get your “ohmmm” on (Or not)

BY APRIL SESCON Philippine Canadian Inquirer SO I HANG by my hands on a bar raised high over the bench.

Toes pointed to the grass below and grip firm but everything else open to gravity. I do such things these days. This I do to try to stretch my shoulders out of their sockets. If you get what I mean.

I am not trying to dislocate my shoulders. I'm just trying to get them to be a bit more “loose.” I do the postures too, or what I can, given the height of the bench and that everything is wet from the rain. I realize there is a guy staring at me as I bend over, way way down, try to pull my torso flat against my legs, the instructor’s voice in my head, “like a Japanese ham sandwich” (ie. padahasthasana). He lingers around, he seems troubled. He walks past me and walks back and around the tree and hovers by the edge of the grass. I spy him upside down from behind my knees. He comes up to me. His shirt is blue bright in the dark. Clean cut, neat collars, neat khaki pants.

He blurts out: “Excuse me. But what are you doing?”

I tell this guy I am stretching.

I unbend from the pose. “It's exercise,” I say. He is still confused.

Like maybe this is the weird-

est thing he's seen in his whole life. “That looks SO weird,” he says. For a moment I think that maybe he doesn't have a very interesting life— THIS is weird to him?—or, maybe, I think, maybe my half moon asanas look like part of a pagan ritual. Like I’m maybe trying to invoke the ancient gods to open a portal right there, on the grass. (It occurs to me belatedly that it was the solstice that night, too.)

He asks me, “are you a dancer?” I correct him and say it's yoga. He seems even more perturbed by this. (But then he leaves me alone.)

I am not the yoga type. Not the type to engage in meditation, anyway. Or all that spiritual stuff. I’d need Ambien to get my “ohmmm” on, I suspect. And prior to this year I did no exercise at all. Was not interested in exercise. Like, no.

But now, yoga. Yoga every day.

Yoga every which way. In this

time and age yoga is not all that entrenched in meditation, I learn.

My mat is perpetually unrolled next to the mattress I sleep on.

I do the downward dog every morning, coupled with whatever I feel like twisting myself into. A “sun salutation,” sometimes. I used to do the entire Bikram series—26 postures—every day; with time constraints in my schedule I do whatever I can. In a few weeks I managed to pull off the standing head to knee posture. (Note: try this out for a dose of pain.)

I found my way to yoga because of the state of my spine. Plainly: it sucked. I had poor posture. I hunched. It ached. I suspect I may have scoliosis, though I’ve never gone to the chiropractor to check. Yoga, purportedly, improves posture and alleviates back pain—one I suffer from at end of the day; after standing around at, say, the art galleries I visit; after a stroll in the park; after sitting for hours at my desk.

So did my back pain go away because of yoga— No. Now I am in even more pain because of yoga.

My spine is perpetually only two inches of movement away from pain. I push myself. The backbends hurt. Half moon. As some instructors would say: reach for the sky. Drop your head back. Look at the wall.

Open your chest like a flower.

Bend back. Gooo back. Waaay back. More back.

More back pain.

But it was the good kind of hurt. Strange and masochistic as it may seem. This pain (in my case, it should be noted) meant something good: I was realigning my body—my bones, my muscles. My back and hip felt more “open” after two weeks, even when I was doing this all on my own.

The aphorisms in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali call yoga the “stilling of the changing states of the mind”—a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline geared toward peace of being. Yoga today is mainly exercise. Westernization plucked the “physical” aspect of it—called hatha—and turned it into a successful regimen for people who want to get fit. It promises still to give peace of mind, sure. But the most popular forms of yoga to date are hatha—Bikram, Asthanga, “power” yoga, “flow” or vinyasa—more emphasis on the body.

Bikram appealed to me from the beginning. Twenty-six postures done twice in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat makes you more flexible. The heat makes it less

painful. (It is the heat, also, that scares away the uninitiated— don’t let it.)

It was the cheap first-timers’ package—roughly $20 for one week—that put me in the studio, the hot room. Lying on my mat. Staring at the sterile dome of this Bikram place downtown. Savasana. The corpse pose. But we haven’t started yet, and this. Heart racing to the heat. It clings to you, like a lover.

Afterwards: bliss.

Seven days later: still that and more.

I shed weight even though I didn’t need to. I toned up. A friend tells me I look younger (which means—I’m in my 20s— that I look 19, he says). I rarely run out of breath (and I used to smoke). Back doesn’t hurt now.

I still hunch, but not as much. (I will never be that sit-like-a-rod kinda kid, that straight-backed straight-A girl in class who sits out in front, hand in the air every five seconds like a squirrel on cappuccino.)

And I’ll never be that Namaste-type yogi who’s always chill and “one with everything.”

Others yet will say that they sleep better, think clearer, feel at peace after a class of yoga, whether it be Bikram or something else. Not all of the above applied to me (the think clearer part, mostly)—and yet I didn’t mind. It’s different for everyone.

For hatha and other intensive yoga, here’s what you’ll need: 1) your mat; 2) determination; 3) high tolerance for pain. ■

Docs probe deaths of 3 pols after stem cell treatment

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer THE LATE Rep. Erico Aumentado of Bohol province underwent stem cell therapy in Germany last September and felt like “Superman” before he died of pneumonia last Christmas at the age of 72, his son told the INQUIRER. Aris Aumentado, the incoming representative from Bohol, said his father felt better on his return from Germany that he got rid of his cane and wheelchair.

“He was like Superman,” he told reporters, a day after the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) issued a warning against the so-called “xenogenic,” or animal-based, stem cell therapy.

House Speaker Feliciano

Belmonte Jr. also said that Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo also underwent stem cell therapy before he died on April 24 at the age of 77, also of pneumonia.

Aris said his father was advised to rest after the German trip, but because he felt so good, he went around campaigning in his district. He said that before the procedure, his father had already suffered from thrombosis in his leg because his sugar could not be controlled.

The elder Aumentado also suffered bouts of pneumonia even before. It was pneumonia that caused his father’s death, Aris said, adding he did not think it was complications from the new therapy. “His lungs were weak even before,” he said.

Belmonte surmised that his two late colleagues were not the best candidates for the con-

troversial procedure. The treatment may have given them a false sense of hope, he said.

PMA investigation

The PMA said it was looking into the recent deaths of three politicians who supposedly traveled to Germany last year to receive the xenogenic treatment.

Dr. Leo Olarte, the PMA’s president and spokesperson of the Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM), did not identify the three on request of their families pending the result of the joint investigation of the organizations.

“We are now trying to determine what caused their death, whether their deaths were hastened because of the fact that they received xenogenic stem cells,” Olarte said.

He explained that xenogenic www.canadianinquirer.net

stem cell sources, or those derived from animals, could trigger complications, specifically “graft versus host reaction.”

“There is a possibility that a reaction can occur after six months of treatment. The body can reject the foreign cells,” Olarte pointed out.

But he was quick to add that they have to complete the investigation first before jumping to conclusions because it was also possible that the congressmen died mainly because they were sick, which made them seek stem cell therapy abroad in the first place.

DOH-authorized procedure

The PMA official also reiterated that receiving animal-based stem cells was dangerous, saying that if Filipinos were to seek therapy, they must opt for autologous

adult stem cell treatment, which is derived from the patient’s own blood, bone marrow or fat.

This kind of treatment, which is available in the Philippines, is the only approved stem cell therapy by the Department of Health (DOH) because it had already been internationally proven as the safest procedure available, noted Olarte.

On Sunday, the PMA and the PSSCM reported that there were German doctors asking Filipino patients to check in at five-star hotels in Metro Manila, where they perform xenogenic stem cell therapy for around P1 million per shot.

The groups said they had sought the help of the authorities to put a stop to the practice, which was tainting the country’s legitimate practice of regenerative medicine. ■

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

32

Entertainment

Kim Chiu finds her mother in death bed Philippine Canadian Inquirer CEBU CITY, Philippines—Actress Kim Chiu would have wanted to spend more time with her biological mother before the latter died due to an illness.

The quest of the 23-year-old actress, which was to find her mother, began several years ago and she did not expect that it would end this way.

Right after Chiu received a call that her mother Louella was brought to a hospital after being comatose, she immediately flew to Cebu to visit her. Yet, last June 23, Sunday, Louella succumbed to brain aneurysm.

William Chiu Jr., Kim’s father ,told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that for six days, Kim would travel back and forth between Manila and Cebu to be at her mother’s bedside.

William said in Cebuano, “She would arrive at dawn and return to Manila in the morning to work and back again here in Cebu.”

He added that Kim was always talking to her mother, asking her to get well so they could

Filmmaker Brillante Mendoza, pronounced Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture. The multi-awarded director’s films include “Masahista” (2005), “Foster Child” (2007), “Kinatay” (2009), nominated for the Palme d’Or in the Cannes Film Festival; “Lola” (2009), and “Thy Womb” (2012).

PHOTO FROM IMBD

Xian Lim and Kim Chiu

live together. William denied rumors that Kim never took care of Louella.

When Kim’s parents separated, she was left in the custody of her paternal grandparents.

Louella asked her caretaker not to tell her family know

PHOTO BY ELEINA DE LA VEGA

about her real condition, but the caretaker, after several years of silence, finally asked help from Kim and her family to pay the former’s medical expenses.

That was the only time Kim learned where her mother is. ■

Aiza Seguerra asks a Netizen not to discriminate against gays and lesbians Philippine Canadian Inquirer SINGER Aiza Seguerra will always fight for what she believes in.

She proved it via Twitter on Thursday when she retweeted a Rappler post: “Love is genderless. No matter what preferences we have, it doesn't make us less of a person. #equality #LoveIsLove.”

Afterwards, a Netizen tweeted back, “This is not true!!!!!

Teach what is right!!”

Quickly, Aiza responded to the tweet, asked the Netizen what she thought was right, and replied, “Kung yun ang tama para sa iyo, hindi kita pipilitin ibahin ang iniisip mo. But learn to respect other people's rights also."

(If that’s what's right for you, I won’t force you to change your mind. But please learn to respect other people's rights as well.)

She added, “I hope that people will recognize that love is love. No gender, race, sexual preference, religion should get in the way.”

To end her conversation with the Netizen, she said, "Love thy neighbors. Love. Love. Love.

How can we love truly if we discriminate?” before ending the exchange with “Let's just agree to disagree. Thank you.”

Aiza also expressed her support to the resumption of gay marriages in California, saying, “For all gay couples na ikakasal sa US, game ako na wedding singer!!! Yahoooooo!!!” (To all gay couples who will get married in the U.S., I'm game to be your wedding singer!) ■

Surprise knighthood

BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR Philippine Daily Inquirer BRILLANTE MENDOZA personifies the rebirth of Philippine cinema, says French envoy.

This latest honor caught Brillante Ma. Mendoza by surprise.

The filmmaker said French Ambassador Gilles Garachon didn’t mention it the last time they were together, so the letter from the embassy hit him like a bolt from the blue.

Signed by Garachon, the official correspondence said Aurelie Filippetti, French Minister of Culture, had just announced Mendoza’s selection as a recipient of the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters).

Invaluable

The message explained that Mendoza had been awarded the “prestigious” honor for his “truly invaluable contribution in the field of arts.”

Mendoza attended a Chevalier awarding ceremony in

Paris, France, two years ago and was told by a government official that he also deserved the citation.

“I didn’t think it was possible since I’m not a French citizen,” he recalled. “I didn’t know foreigners qualified.”

According to the Order’s Facebook page, foreign luminaries have been knighted in the past—including Hollywood actors George Clooney and Jude Law, Indian actress Aishwarya Rai, American composer Philip Glass and Colombian singer Shakira.

Three grades

According to the same site, the Order has three grades: Commandeur (Commander), Officier (Officer) and Chevalier (Knight). Every year, there are usually 200 recipients of the Chevalier honor; 60, Officier, and 20, Commandeur.

Among the past Commandeurs are Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn, American actor-director Clint Eastwood, ❱❱ PAGE 34 Surprise knighthood

Entertainment

33 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

Prime time gay-themed drama alarms bishops

BY CONSTANTINO C. TEJERO Philippine Daily Inquirer GMA 7 HAS DARED to tackle homosexuality on prime time TV via its drama series “MyHusband’s Lover,” and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is not amused.

The CBCP, through its Episcopal Commission on the Youth (ECY), on called for “more sensitivity” in the handling of an already sensitive subject matter.

In a report posted on rappler.com, the commission’s executive secretary, Fr. Conegondo Garganta pleaded with TV producers and writers to carefully study themes explored in their shows, and consider the impact of those themes on young viewers.

“My Husband’s Lover” is about the romance between two men, one of whom is married, with children.

Garganta said producers of programs such as this one should “keep in mind that our culture values morality.”

In a statement sent to the INQUIRER, the network acknowledged CBCP’s “scrutiny,” but pointed out that the program deals with “reallife situations.”

The statement, signed by corporate

communications consultant Butch Raquel, insisted that the series was being presented “with utmost prudence and good taste.”

In any case, GMA 7 vowed to comply with the standards of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) that gave the program an SPG (Strong Parental Guidance) rating.

Raquel took the opportunity to cite the show’s “high ratings” in its first two weeks, and thanked viewers for their support.

For now, the network seems to have found an ally in the MTRCB. In a text message to the INQUIRER, MTRCB Chair Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, said the SPG rating meant that the network was “subject to compliance with the law,” but that it was allowed selfregulation.

Villareal, however, said the public— parents especially—could “invoke the board’s jurisdiction,” should they catch “inappropriate” scenes that might defy the SPG rating.

Malacañang echoed this in a reaction to Garganta’s call. The Palace urged parents to immediately report to the MTRCB scenes in the series that they would find objectionable.

Raquel rallied another sector, viewers of the show who conduct “intelligent discussions… in all forms of media,”

Claudine Barretto to reunite with ABS-CBN Philippine Canadian Inquirer CLAUDINE Barretto is set to have a reunion with the “Kapamilya” network.

Going back to 2010, the award-winning actress, amidst alleged “acting up” issues, left ABS-CBN and signed a twoyear TV contract with GMA network.

But now, the youngest among the Barretto siblings is gearing up for a new beginning with the network where she first

started her career.

A report from the ABS-CBN morning show, “Umagang kay Ganda,” revealed that Claudine will be doing a comeback movie for Star Cinema, apart from the romantic-drama movie under VIVA Entertainment.

Though Claudine has proven her boxoffice prowess in the past, many can’t still help but ask if she can still pull off that kind of feat.

It would be recalled that she was involved in a highly-sensationalized airport brawl with seasoned broadcaster Mon Tulfo last year, and her name continues to be dragged into her family’s ongoing feud.

Among her critically-acclaimed movies are “Anak”, “Got 2 Believe”, “Kailangan Kita”, “Nasaan Ka Man” and “Dubai.”

“Sukob”—a 2006 horror flick with co-star Kris Aquino, was her last movie with Star Cinema, and was also deemed as one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

But not all her movies returned favorable results, just like "In Your Eyes", her last movie project with Viva Films in 2010 co-starring Anne Curtis and Richard Gutierrez. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

promising them that the network would continue to produce “relevant” programs. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 34

Screen legend celebrates 91st birthday by launching bio

BY ALEX Y. VERGARA Philippine Daily Inquirer IT’S ONLY fitting that Mona Lisa, feisty and fiery at 91, should finally come out with her own memoir.

After all, she’s a true pioneer.

She portrayed fiercely independent, even fearlessly subversive, screen characters at a time when most Filipino women were still bound in constricting baro’t saya.

Based on the screen luminary’s diaries that she started in the 1950s, the book is written by her granddaughter, singer-actress Celine Fabie, and is entitled, “Mona Lisa: A Portrait (From the Memoirs of a Grandmother).”

The book was launched on Saturday, Mona’s birthday, at the Little Theater lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

Mona’s three landmark films, Carlos Vander Tolosa’s “Giliw Ko” (1939), Eduardo de Castro’s “Sagur” (1949) and Lino Brocka’s “Insiang” (1976), were screened that day at the CCP’s Manuel Conde Theater.

Family and friends gathered to fete the legendary actress, including three of her children—eldest son Edward and daughters Vangie and Kathleen. (Three other sons are based abroad.)

Iconic role

Edward, a former airline executive, recalled that his mom almost missed out on her iconic role as the hard-hearted slum mom in “Insiang.”

“Lino, who was my friend,

asked if I could arrange a meeting with my mom,” Edward recalled. “My mom got lost on her way to Lino’s office.”

Mona recounted, laughing, “I wound up instead in the office of another director, Joey Gosiengfiao.” “Joey was only too happy to cast my mom in ‘La Paloma: Ang Kalapating Ligaw’ in 1974,” Edward related.

Edward described Mona as “the best mom… she took care of us.”

Defying conventions

She was a rebel off-screen as well. Defying conventions of the day, she had two sons at the height of her career—Edward, with Eduardo de Castro; and Allan, with Fernando Poe Sr. “Since movie stars were supposed to be single then, my grandmother raised me for a while,” Edward recounted. “But later my mom took me to the set of her films ‘Sagur,’ ‘Buhay Alamang, ‘Ulila ng Bataan’…”

Mona’s nude swimming scene in Tolosa’s “Sunset over Corregidor” caused quite a stir, to put it mildly. “The producer was so happy (with the film’s box-office success) that he sent over a 1946 Chevy to her,” Edward said.

In the 1950s, Mona turned her back on the movies to raise her four children with fireman Abelardo Guinto. She returned to acting in 1974.

She never told her children of her hardships—trials that could rival the twists and turns of today’s teleseryes. “It would have been useless,” she explained.

“All of us have problems.”

In the 1990s, when she had to baby-sit granddaughter Celine,

Surprise knighthood...

British singer David Bowie; Officiers include Irish director Neil Jordan, Filipino historian Ambeth Ocampo and Hong Kong filmmaker Johnny To. Martin Macalintal, audiovisual attaché of the French embassy in Manila, told the Inquirer that the awarding ceremony will be held “soon” in the country.

Mendoza will receive a medal and a certificate from the French Ministry of Culture at the ceremony. ❰❰ 28

1st Pinoy filmmaker

According to Macalintal, Mendoza is the “first Filipino filmmaker to receive the title of knight.”

Mendoza said he had given up on the prospect, since there was a change of government in France. “I didn’t think I was still in the running,” he said.

“But I am overjoyed and humbled to be in this roster of artists. It’s not just my work that’s being recognized, but also my contribution to culture. This makes me proud to be Filipino.”

she took the girl to the set of the soap opera “Anna Luna.”

Bedtime stories

Lola Mona read bedtime sto-

ries to Celine—everything from the Bible to Juan Tamad and “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

Thus, it didn’t come as a surprise that Celine followed in

her footsteps. “I’m afraid she took after me. I pity her,” Mona jested. “My two daughters wanted to act, too. But I refused to give them my blessing. It’s a hard life. Most actors end up poor because (to this day) we have no laws about royalties and health care for artists.”

Another grandchild, Marlon Guinto Jr., wants to be a director.

“I’ve given him the movie rights to my life story,” Mona said.

Pivotal chapters from the book were read during the launch by Celine’s costars from the stage musical “Katy”: Yedda Lambujon, Aicelle Santos, Christine Joy Mangahis, Gimbey de la Cruz and Isay Alvarez.

Celine’s friends from the Ryan Cayabyab Singers serenaded the celebrator and her guests, who enjoyed merienda fare served by Mabuhay Restop, Bayani Brew and Coco Vino.

A video clip of an old interview with the late great Brocka proved insightful. The National Artist explained that he cast Mona as Hilda Koronel’s callous mother in “Insiang” because of her “handsome face… which conveyed sensuality and strength. No one else has that kind of face in Philippine movies. She doesn’t need dialogue (to express emotions).”

Indeed, it was a night of golden movie memories.

Asked why she was no longer interested in acting, Mona remarked, quite adamantly: “I don’t want to have to cry at 3 in the morning!”

The book is available at the CCP and Mabuhay Restop, or via monalisapublication@ gmail.com. ■

PDI honoree

Mendoza won Best Director in France’s premier cinema event, the Cannes International Film Festival, for “Kinatay” in 2009.

Said Garachon: “Mendoza personifies the rebirth of Philippine cinema. His knighthood … is a recognition of his talent and body of work that has found a dedicated audience in France where his films are released commercially, giving the French moviegoers a glimpse of contemporary Philippine society.”

Mendoza was an honoree in the Inquirer Indie Bravo! Tribute twice – in 2010 and 2012 ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Other recipients of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres include Ray Bradbury (left) and Majida El Roumi (right).

35 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

36

Lifestyle

Unforgettable Encounter

BY FELICHI PANGILINANBUIZON Special to Philippine Canadian Inquirer WHAT do you get when you reunite two soul sisters, both hands-on moms, who were apart for seven years? A time of sweet rejoicing and recharging.

Early this summer, I had that rare opportunity to bond with a dear friend for a few days away from home. Many thanks to our willing husbands who, at short notice, let us go. Our friendship goes back two decades.

We met in a sorority in college.

Batches apart, it was not likely that we would strike a deeper friendship but destiny led us to cross each other’s paths. What a privilege to be assigned to share with her how Jesus was transforming my life for the better and what a delight to discover a tender and open heart in hers.

After one divine appointment, we were sisters for eternity We rendezvoused in Cebu.

One very memorable event was our trip to Oslob. Two hours away from Cebu City. Oslob is famous not only for the whale sharks or what we call locally, butanding, but also for the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with these sea creatures.

On a comfortable vehicle provided by a generous couple from Cebu, we left our hotel at 4am so that we could be in Oslob by 6am: whale sharks' feeding time. Starting early helped us avoid the intense heat during mid-day. After a quick breakfast, we were required to attend a 15-minute orientation to guide us as we interact with the biggest fish of the sea. This was the locals’ way of protecting their marine friends, who in turn, my friend noted, had blessed the town with additional livelihood. Creation blessing creation, traces of how it was meant to be.

We were cautioned to stay 4

meters away from the sea creature. We were to refrain from making too much noise and creating too much waves. We were not to wear any sunscreen lotion as it will be dissolved by the water and may cause the fish harm. We were delighted to find out that aside from swimming with the butandings, our guides could take underwater photos of our experience for an additional fee.

We were off. Two moms without their charges and chores to attend to, were now two carefree girls raring to swim with the giants in the sea. No fear!

As if marriage and mothering trained us for the moment!

We rode these flimsy canoes that were so much smaller than the fish we met. Just a few meters from shore, spotted whales with shark-like tails came in numbers. It was early morning feeding time. The fishermen had bags of baby shrimps and tossed a handful at a time to the seemingly toothless but hungry giants. I found myself mouthing, “Oh Lord, how many are Thy works. In wisdom, Thou has made them all.”

Now to join them in the water. Initially we wore life jackets, but we soon took them off as they hindered us from diving down under. They loomed before us, behind us and obviously were not aware of the 4 meters rule. All of them wider than the canoes we rode and most of them, longer. One whack of their large tale could crush us!

The largest one was around 15 years of age, and we were told they can live to over a century.

After the last major typhoon, the butandings stayed away for a time, but soon returned to calmer waters. We learned about “Big Mama”, a whale shark as big as a commercial bus! She was over a hundred years old and a main attraction

for the tourists. However, she has not been around for some time and is sorely missed.

My friend defied the noise down rule, squealing as the giants swam close. It was their reaction to her squeals that made me nervous. Swimming, swimming, stressful swimming. But as time passed, to my relief no untoward reactions came. They were intimidating but oblivious to us. Our guides assured us that these scary mammals were not aggressive. Gentle giants.

In a way, they reminded me of Jesus and how He keeps His strength under control.

As we shared a portion of the sea, frolicking with the butandings, my friend and I were both in awe—in awe at God’s orches-

tration and unique creation.

We soaked in God’s goodness for allowing this unexpected reunion to take place when we both needed a change of scene and a time of refreshing. Is not the earth and all its fullness His? So blessed that He shares it with us.

As we drove away from Oslob with grateful hearts, we sealed it with a prayer of thanks for our unforgettable encounter with the whale sharks and with each other. Old friends bringing home new memories! Then, the clouds began to darken and the rain began to fall. It was definitely a good idea to start early.

And though we knew God has no favorites, that day, we surely felt like we were His’. ■

Lifestyle

37 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

A living treasure is still up and about with her advocacies As Helena Z. Benitez turns 99 today, her clan vows to continue her legacy and to preserve the heritage house Mira-nila

BY CONSTANTINO C. TEJERO Philippine Daily Inquirer OF COURSE NOT!— was Helena Z. Benitez’s retort when a TV journalist recently asked her whether she ever regretted not having married and started a family. “Kasi marami namang nanligaw sa akin,” she added. “Kung isa lang siguro…”

And it’s not as if not having children were a liability. Benitez counts 12 nephews and nieces, 42 grandchildren, and 29 greatgrandchildren as immediate family.

Lyca Benitez Brown, daughter of Benitez’s brother Tomas, says that when they were small, her aunt used to tag them along whenever she went abroad.

“She loved to travel. She encouraged us to travel. She took me to Russia, Switzerland, on a European tour. She introduced me to my first artichoke.”

Benitez, who turns 99 today, June 27, still goes “partying,” says Brown. She came out of hospital to attend a special performance of the Bayanihan dance troupe in her honor as its founder at the Philippine Women’s University (PWU), then returned to the hospital after the event.

She stays in the hospital for rest as advised by her doctor and not for any ailment, says Brown. It’s the usual infirmities of old age; otherwise she’s fit as a fiddle.

Still a lucid speaker, she’s “much better in a one-on-one conversation, and very poised,” says Brown.

To test the sharpness of her mind, ask her to comment on today’s politics and she’d explain: “You cannot compare politicians now with those of the past. Politicians should be suited to their time.

They have different sets of problems to confront.”

Woman pioneer

Benitez, an educator and civic leader first and foremost before venturing into politics, is the daughter of Conrado Benitez and Francisca Tirona. The Benitezes are from Pagsanjan, Laguna; and the Tironas from Imus, Cavite.

Conrado was the founding dean of the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration, and one of the Seven Wise Men who drafted the 1935 Constitution.

In 1919, Francisca, her sisters and some friends founded PWU, the first university for women in Asia founded by Asians.

Helena earned her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education degrees, both magna cum laude, from the university. Like her mother, she served as PWU president.

During the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, in need of a Philippine representative, she, choreographer Lucrecia Urtula,

Declared a Heritage House by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines on April 7, 2011, Mira Nila is a cultural landmark that provides intimate glimpses of Philippine history from the Commonwealth era to the present.

PHOTO FROM MIRANILA.ORG

music expert Lucrecia Kasilag and artistic director José Lardizabal founded the Bayanihan, which was eventually designated as the Philippine National Folk Dance Company.

In 1966, Benitez became the first Filipino chair of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

In 1968, she was elected senator of the 7th Congress of the Philippines, in which she served until 1973. In the wake of the collapse of the six-story Ruby Tower in Manila, she filed the National Building Code, which became law.

Benitez also authored the Municipal Forests and Watersheds Act, and laws protecting the Philippine eagle and tamaraw sanctuaries—decades before “environmentalism” became a battle cry.

In 1975, she was named the first woman and first Asian president of the UN Environment Program governing council.

Benitez became an assemblywoman of the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 19781984; and a member of the Philippine Parliament in 1984-86.

She still serves as board chair of PWU; chair emeritus of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement and the Bayanihan; and life member of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.

a donation to the Helena Z. Benitez Scholarship Program, c/o PWU Alumni Association, 1734 Taft Ave., Manila; or the PWUPWC Alumni Foundation of Davao, Inc.) Highlight of the event is the signing of the Benitez Family Covenant by representative family members, to be witnessed by Benitez herself, signifying their commitment to continue her lega-

No special diet

Brown says her aunt is a very hard worker and still active. At her age, everything about her health is normal, she has no special diet, and eats anything but in moderation.

“She was trained as a home economist. There’s always fruits on the table, lanzones, peanuts.”

When her doctor remarked she might still live to a hundred, she quipped: “Can we double that number?”

The celebration today starts at 4 p.m. at the Manila Polo Club in Makati. The Thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

(In lieu of gifts, guests may consider www.canadianinquirer.net

cy through the Helena Z. Benitez Heritage Foundation and the Benitez-Tirona Mira-Nila Foundation.

The former supports her lifelong advocacies in education, governance, environment and sustainable development, women empowerment, international diplomacy, public service, culture and the arts.

The latter is dedicated to preserving and maintaining Mira-Nila, the stately white mansion her parents built in 1929 on a hill in Cubao bordering San Juan, where she still resides.

One of the few remaining well-maintained pre-Commonwealth structures in the metropolis, it houses family memorabilia, books, artworks and antiques.

It was declared a Heritage House by the National Historical Commission in 2011.

Part of that family covenant reads: “We promise to uphold her wishes; to work together to preserve, protect and enhance the good name and reputation of the Benitez family; and to continue the family’s commitment to the Philippines and its people.”

Brown says her Tita Helen has been looking forward to this, so you can be sure the birthday girl will be there. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 38

Is the Philippines the next top destination wedding venue?

It’s entirely possible, says Yanni Tzoumas, editorial director and publisher of respected publication Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, who was in town recently to see what Filipino wedding stylists have to offer

BY ALEX Y. VERGARA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES is poised to become a venue for destination weddings. No less than American Yanni Tzoumas, editorial director and publisher of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, made this assessment after recent visits to Manila and Cebu.

Upon the invitation of leading wedding and events planner Rita Neri, whose company is celebrating its 20th year in the business, Tzoumas and his photographer did a series of pictorials featuring the works of three of the country’s leading events stylists, such as Robert Blancaflor, Jing Tañada and Zenas Pineda.

The images, including a number of food and venue shots, will come out exclusively in the magazine’s January 2014 issue. Tzoumas is married to Ormonde, founder and editor in chief of her self-named magazine, which is considered by industry practitioners like Neri as the “bible” on anything and everything about chic, high-end weddings.

Shangri-La Mactan and Shangri-La Makati hosted Tzoumas and his photographer during their 10-day stay in the Philippines. Neri planned and coordinated their photo shoots, including trips to other leading wedding venues within Metro Manila and Tagaytay.

“It’s my first time to be here,” said Tzoumas. “Based on what I’ve seen so far, there’s clearly infrastructure in terms of getting to and from the Philippines. I’ve seen some of the venues, and I think whoever comes here to the Philippines will benefit from the heightened level of service and hospitality.”

Tzoumas likened the service he experienced to a “welloiled” machine. Staffers in the two five-star hotels he stayed in, for instance, were attentive, but their brand of service was far from intrusive.

“They’re not over your head all the time,” he said. “There’s a sense of them observing you from afar, and when they see you, say, fiddling with something or in need of anything, they’re there.”

Based on the limited number of venues he visited, he was impressed by the country’s natural beauty and rich heritage.

His impressions were further bolstered after he watched a travel video produced by the Department of Tourism.

Although he attended a grand, 850-guest wedding in Cebu upon the invitation of a Filipino friend (the couple’s uncle), Tzoumas had yet to grace a real “destination wedding” to YANNI Tzoumas, editorial director and publisher of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style fully articulate his Philippine experience.

“That was different,” he said, referring to the Cebu wedding he went to. “It was more of a local wedding since the couple and their parents are from here.

Their uncle, who’s my neighbor, lives in the States.”

Alternative

In Tzoumas’ book, destination weddings have gained popularity, at least in the US, in the last eight to 10 years. It’s an alternative, really, to staging one’s wedding where either the bride or groom and their immediate families reside. A destination wedding is definitely for more adventurous couples for whom money isn’t an issue.

Ideally, it should be a location that appeals to both parties. It may not be out of the country, as some couples in the US— based in Chicago, for example— stage their weddings in Florida, California or Hawaii.

Mexico, the Caribbean, and certain towns and cities in Europe have also proven to be popular among Americans thinking of tying the knot abroad.

“The idea behind a destination wedding is to pick an ideal location because the event could last up to four to five days,” he said. “To make their trips worthwhile, guests arrive days earlier, so there should be other activities to entertain them such as golf, tennis, sailing.”

Typically, guests are welcomed in their rooms with gift baskets, which include a list of suggested activities. Unlike a regular wedding, a destination wedding is usually smaller and more intimate in scale.

Apart from the exotic venue, what makes it special is the attendance of guests dear to the couple. After all, it’s no joke, especially in the US, to travel to a far-off, exotic destination just to attend a wedding. These guests must really love the couple for them to go out of their way and share in their celebration.

“In most cases, everything will be paid for by the couple,” said Tzoumas. “Usually, guests would just pay for their transportation.”

Neri first invited Tzoumas and Ormonde several years ago when the couple were doing a book tour to promote their coffee-table book on weddings.

The trip didn’t pan out, but the couple kept Neri in mind.

When the opportunity did come earlier this year, Tzoumas e-mailed Neri to tell her that www.canadianinquirer.net

he was attending a wedding in Cebu. He also requested her to coordinate photo opportunities, as he was interested in featuring new and inventive ways to create tabletops or table settings as interpreted by Filipino talents.

“Asking Rita to collaborate with us wasn’t a leap in the dark,” said Tzoumas. “Although we haven’t met each other personally prior to this trip, I’ve seen her works online, and they’re high-caliber projects.”

Neri invited Blancaflor and company to participate. Knowing how influential Grace Ormonde Wedding Style is, the three events stylists didn’t think twice about accepting the invitation.

“We gave them free rein to do whatever they want,” said Neri.

“I only requested that they submit either sketches or pictures before the actual photo shoot to give me an idea of what they intend to do. It was done mainly to avoid duplication.”

Pleasantly surprised

The events stylists were originally set to do a table setting each, but they all ended up doing two. Tzoumas was pleasantly surprised at the level of sophistication and creativity each artist brought, well, to the table. (Images and details of the tabletops have been embargoed until the magazine’s January 2014 issue hits newsstands.)

Tzoumas didn’t know what to expect, but having featured hundreds of tabletops before, he wanted to see arrangements that exude “elegance with a touch of the avant-garde.”

“I was hoping we would see

a good fit for the magazine, something our readers would appreciate,” he said. “It’s not about conforming with the norms, but staying within good taste. I think we reach interesting levels when we surpass the norms. It’s about thinking outside the box.”

And he got what he wanted, as every tabletop he encountered had a different feel and character. Blancaflor, for instance, did away with the table linen in lieu of a wire mesh filled with dangling white flowers.

“Doing away with linen has been done before,” said Tzoumas, “but the overall effect of Robert’s tabletop was totally new, totally fresh. For his second arrangement, he went grandiose with red flowers.”

Pineda incorporated t’nalak, a fabric woven by tribes in southern Philippines, for an exotic touch. Tañada outfitted a table that formed the figure “8.”

“It was such an inviting arrangement because you can see each other,” Tzoumas said, referring to Tañada’s handiwork.

“And with all those dangling crystals she decorated the ceiling with, you’re instantly transported to a whimsical garden.”

After the bride finds the ideal wedding gown, said Tzoumas, the couple now focuses on the food and venue and all the minute details that go with it. They want everything to be special, since it’s their first time to host guests from both sides and tell them “what they’re all about.”

Going for a destination wedding in the Philippines could very well be the ideal statement they’re looking for. ■

PHOTO FROM PHILIPPINEWEDDINGTRENDS.BLOGSPOT

Dining

39 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

J Gamboa’s Thai recipes: Green chicken curry, steamed ‘apahap,’ chili garlic prawns For authentic Thai taste, don’t scrimp on the spices

BY IRENE C. PEREZ Philippine Daily Inquirer INSTEAD OF sinigang na hipon, try cooking Tom Yam Goong.

The spicy prawn soup gives one’s meal a distinct Thai taste.

Thai dishes can easily be incorporated in a Filipino spread, said chef J Gamboa. Tom Yam Goong, for instance, can be paired with grilled chicken, pork or fish. Green curry can also be used with any proteinrich ingredient.

“Filipinos love chicken curry.

Try using green curry instead of the usual yellow curry,” he said.

Gamboa established Azuthai restaurant in Makati, which serves home-style Thai food.

He recently did a cooking demo at The Maya Kitchen with chef Malichat from Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. She has worked in hotels in Germany, China, Pakistan, Ukraine and in Thailand for over 20 years.

For the “Chef J Gamboa Cooks Thai at The Maya Kitchen” demo, the duo prepared Azuthai favorites, starting with the popular soup followed by Chili Garlic Prawns. Gamboa said that fresh prawns should always be used because they lend a hint of sweetness to the

dish.

We loved the Green Chicken Curry, a bit spicy and made rich with coconut milk, which was perfect when eaten with freshly cooked rice. The Steamed Whole Apahap was flavored with lime, fish sauce, garlic, coriander and chili. Other meaty fish like cream dory, lapulapu and even tilapia can be used as substitute, said Gamboa.

For dessert, traditional Mango Sticky Rice, similar to the local suman, was served. Sweet, plump mango is best used for this, but if they are out of season, sweetened saba bananas will do.

What is Gamboa’s secret to authentic Thai food? Authentic Thai spices.

“There is no substitute,” he said. “If the recipe calls for Thai bagoong, chili or fish sauce, you have to use them.”

Azuthai is at 900 A. Arnaiz Ave. cor. Paseo de Roxas, San Lorenzo Village, Makati City.

Call tel. 8176252. It is open daily from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for lunch, and 5:30-10 p.m. for dinner.

The Maya Kitchen Culinary Arts Center is at 8/F, Liberty Bldg., 835 A. Arnaiz Ave., Legazpi Village, Makati City. Call tel. 8925011 loc. 108. ■

AZUTHAI STEAMED WHOLE BONELESS APAHAP (PLA NAENG MANAW)

AZUTHAI GREEN CHICKEN CURRY (GENG KEWWAN GAI) 200 g chicken breast, cut to ¾-in cubes 10 g brown sugar (or palm sugar) 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce 1 c coconut milk 1 c water 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste ½ c coconut milk 1 pc eggplant, cut to ¾-in cubes ½ c coconut Milk 1 pc chili, sliced ½ c Thai basil 1 piece kaffir lime leaf, cut to 1/8in strips Combine chicken with sugar and fish sauce and marinate for 20 minutes. Place in saucepan with coconut milk and water.

Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

Prepare the sauce by heating oil and sautéing the green curry paste for 20 seconds. Add coconut milk and mix well.

Drain the cooked chicken from the cooking liquid and add to the green curry sauce. Add eggplant and coconut milk, and simmer until eggplant is tender. Then add the chili, basil and kaffir lime leaf. Bring to a boil then serve.

1 pc (800 g) apahap, whole, scaled, gutted To be placed inside the fish: 1 pc kaffir leaves 3 slices ginger 3 slices lemongrass 1 stalk celery 3 pcs spring onion Salt and pepper, to taste 2 tbsp lemon juice For the sauce: 4 tbsp lemon juice 4 tbsp fish sauce 1.5 tbsp palm sugar 1.5 tbsp sugar 4 pcs chili, minced 1 tsp garlic, chopped 1 tbsp coriander, chopped Remove the spine of the apahap from the back. Put all the ingredients

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AZUTHAI MANGO WITH STICKY RICE 400 g glutinous rice 400 ml coconut milk 100 g palm sugar 100 g white sugar Pinch of salt Pinch of sesame seeds Soak glutinous rice in water overnight.

Place the steamer with cheesecloth and steam for about 20 minutes or until rice is translucent and cooked. Remove from steamer and set aside.

In a saucepan, carefully heat coconut milk and mix in palm sugar, white sugar and salt. Be careful not to boil the sauce as this may curdle.

Pour sweetened coconut milk over rice to absorb.

Serve with fresh sliced mangoes and top rice with toasted sesame seeds.

AzuThai Tom YamGoong Soup (Hot and Sour Prawn

Soup) 2.5 c shrimp stock 1 c button mushrooms, quartered 4 pcs oyster mushrooms 1 pc kaffir lime leaf (torn) 2 pcs lemongrass, 4 in long, bruised 3 slices galangal, 1/3-in thick 3 tbsp Thai fish sauce 3 tbsp dayap juice ( calamansi or lemon) 1.5 tbsp Thai Nam Prik Pao chili paste 1.5 pcs tomato, quartered 3 pcs prawns, split ¼ c coriander leaves Bring shrimp stock to a boil. Add mushrooms, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass and galangal. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add fish sauce, dayap juice, Thai chili paste, tomato and prawns. When prawns are cooked in about one minute place in bowl and serve. Top with fresh coriander leaves.

inside the fish. Then, steam the fish for 10 minutes. When fish is done, combine all ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and pour over the fish.

For garnish, place three slices of green lemon and coriander leaf on top of the fish.

AzuThai Chili Garlic Prawns (Goong Pad Prik Kratiem) Seasoning: 2 tbsp white sugar 3 tbsp Thai light soy sauce 1 tsp salt ½ c water 1 tbsp vegetable oil 200 g prawns (5 pcs), head-

less, split, with tail and shell 1 tbsp garlic, minced 1 tbsp chili, minced 1 tbsp spring onions, chopped Combine the seasoning in a bowl and mix well.

Set aside.

In a wok, heat oil and stir fry prawns until just done. Remove prawns and set aside. In the same wok, sauté garlic and chili, add seasoning mix. Bring to a boil. Return prawns and add chili. Toss well and top with spring onions.

Business

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013 40

Imports grew 7.4% to BSP to keep interest rates low $5.14B in April, says NSO Economy said to weather financial storm

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE COUNTRY’S imports grew in April from a year ago, reversing the decline seen in the three previous months and fueling hopes local industries would ramp up output over the short term.

Merchandise imports amounted to $5.14 billion in April, up by 7.4 percent from $4.79 billion in the same month last year, the National Statistics Office reported.

This brought the total imports for the first four months of the year to $19.5 billion, still down by about 4 percent from $20.3 billion in the same period last year.

The imports data for April resulted in a trade deficit for the month of $1.02 billion. Exports for April were earlier reported at $4.12 billion.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said an encouraging detail in the imports report for April was that capital goods imports grew by nearly 20 percent.

This indicated that some firms, led by those in the transport and power sectors, are poised to boost production in anticipation of growing orders from local and foreign buyers.

“Imports of capital goods increased significantly. This

sends a good signal on what economic prospects would be like,” Balisacan told reporters on the sidelines of a World Bank-organized forum on climate change.

Data from the NSO showed that capital goods, which accounted for 28.5 percent of the total import bill for April, rose year-on-year by 19.7 percent to $1.47 billion.

“Robust investments in the power and transportation sectors drove overseas purchases to a solid recovery in April,” Balisacan said.

However, imports of raw materials and intermediate goods fell by about 9 percent to $1.74 billion.

Mineral fuels and lubricants rose by 21.4 percent to $1.28 billion.

Consumer goods rose by 11.4 percent to $613.17 million, reflecting expectations among firms that demand from domestic households will continue to grow in the coming months amid a generally favorable outlook for the Philippine economy.

Balisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the increase in importation of consumer goods substantiated an earlier report by the central bank on improving consumer confidence in the country. ■

BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE CENTRAL bank will resist pressures to increase interest rates to keep foreign money from leaving the country, saying the Philippine economy had the legs to weather the current storm rocking Asia’s financial markets.

Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said monetary authorities would rather keep policy rates at their current levels rather than react to the current volatility in financial markets, which are considered a temporary setback.

“The Philippine fundamentals are solid and we have built up safeguards to ride out the volatilities,” Tetangco said. “There is no need for us to deviate from our current policy stance.”

He admitted that further “refinements” to some policy tools might be done, but only if needed. At its last policy stance meeting, the Monetary Board that Tetangco chairs kept overnight borrowing, lending and special deposit account (SDA) rates at record lows.

But prior to that, the BSP restricted the access of retail investors to the SDA window, which was originally a tool meant to stem rising prices by mopping up excess liquidity from the system. With interest

rates at record lows, however, local banks parked money in SDA accounts, which had higher yields than government securities.

Earlier this week, the BSP said it would not implement capital controls to keep foreigners from divesting from the Philippines as investors start leaving emerging markets due to the expected recovery of the US economy.

This capital flight has caused the stock market to slide 20 percent from its recent record highs, putting it in so-called “bear territory.” The peso also sharply depreciated last week

to its lowest level in more than a year.

Tetangco said the BSP would allow the market to determine the peso’s value, stepping in through the central bank’s openmarket operations only to smooth out spikes in the currency’s movement.

He said this was in line with the BSP’s policy of working toward a business environment that helps businesses and consumers plan for the medium and long term.

“In the near term, however, we look to you (market players) to help mitigate market volatility,” Tetangco said. ■

and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, according to the National Statistical Coordinating Board (NSCB).

NSCB data showed accommodation and food service activities accounted P19.5 billion or 56.5 percent of the amount posted in the period.

The manufacturing sector came in second with P7.6 billion, followed by real estate with P2.7 billion.

British Virgin Islands, Japan and the Netherlands were the top three investment sources in the first quarter. Firms registered in British Virgin Islands accounted for P19.6 billion or 56.6 percent of the total

foreign investment registration in the quarter. Japan and the Netherlands followed with P5.2 billion and P2.2 billion, respectively.

In the meantime, approved investments of Filipino companies also surged by 114.8 percent to P54.8 billion in the first quarter, from P25.5 billion a year ago.

The amount brought the total approved investments of both Filipino and foreign nationals to P89.4 billion, or double the P44 billion worth of investments approved a year ago.

Projects from foreign and Filipino investors approved in the first quarter of 2013 are seen to generate 33,746 jobs. Of the total, 81.8 percent or 27,620 jobs would come from projects with foreign interest. ■

Foreign investments up 87% Total value of registered projects hits P34.6 billion

BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer TOTAL foreign investments approved by seven investment promotion agencies surged by 86.7 percent to P34.6 billion in the first quarter of the year from P18.5 billion a year ago.

These agencies are the Board of Investments, Clark Development Corp., Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, BOI-Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao www.canadianinquirer.net

Sports/Horoscope

41 FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

Bulldogs rip Eagles Parks stars as NU stamps class; Falcons soar

BY JASMINE W. PAYO Philippine Daily Inquirer NATIONAL University pounced on an Ateneo side that sorely missed the explosive plays of Kiefer Ravena as the Bulldogs drubbed the Blue Eagles, 6454, in a UAAP men’s basketball tournament shocker yesterday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Ray Parks pumped in 22 points for the Bulldogs, who pulled away by as many as 24 points, 5935, before the jittery Eagles, champions in the last five seasons, managed to whittle the lead with a rally with five minutes left.

“We knew coming into the game that he (Ravena) was a doubtful starter, but the way we prepared, we prepared as if he was there,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.

Ateneo coach Bo Perasol announced the other day that Ravena wouldn’t suit up against the Bulldogs due to a sprained ankle. But hours before the match, Perasol said the star guard declared he was feeling better and the coach decided to use him “if fielding him would benefit the team.”

Clearly far from healthy, Ravena didn’t see action for the entire second half after playing for eight minutes in the first two quarters. He finished with two points on a 1-of-6 shooting clip.

Adamson also picked up its first victory following a 7967 rout of University of the Philippines in the first game.

The Bulldogs and the Falcons joined opening-day winners Far Eastern University and University of Santo Tomas in the early lead.

Emmanuel Mbe posted a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who won for the first time in six years over the Eagles, who finished with a woeful 20-of-72 clip from the field.

Dennice Villamor knocked in nine of his 13 points from threepoint range to help lift the Bulldogs, who last won over the Eagles, 96-88, in overtime on Sept. 15, 2007.

Jericho Cruz helped fuel the Falcons’ strong start to finish with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Ingrid Sewa debuted with a double-double of 15 markers and 10 boards.

“I’m just happy we were able to control the game from start to finish,” said coach Leo Austria, whose Falcons built an early 30-19 lead that stretched to as many as 18 points, 53-35, in the second half.

The Maroons, the cellardwellers in the last four seasons, came within six points, 49-55, before Cruz buried four of the Falcons’ next five points to put the lead back up again,

Ray Parks from the National University Bulldogs.

60-49. The scores: First Game ADAMSON 79— Cruz 19, Sewa 15, Cabrera 11, Brondial 9, Petilos 8, Julkipli 8, Rios 4, Iñigo 3, Agustin 2, Trollano 0, Ochea 0, Monteclaro 0, Bernabe 0, Abrigo 0. UP 67— Marata 20, Soyud 10, Asilum 10, Lao 6, Wong 4, Reyes 4, Pascual 4, Ball 4, Gallarza 3, Harris 2, Paras 0, Ligad 0, Gingerich 0. Quarters: 18-13, 36-28, 60-49, 79-67

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Second Game NU 64— Parks 22, Mbe 14, Villamor 13, Javillonar 5, Alolino 4, Rosario 2, Khobuntin 2, Alejandro 2, Roño 0, De Guzman 0. ATENEO 54— Tiongson 13, Elorde 10, Buenafe 10, Newsome 9, Erram 4, Ravena 2, Pessumal 2, Golla 2, Capacio 2, Tolentino 0, Babilonia 0.

Quarters: 15-10, 33-21, 50-32, 64-54 ■

HOROSCOPE ARIES

CANCER

LIBRA

CAPRICORN

(MARCH 21 - APRIL 19)

(JUNE 22 - JULY 22)

(SEPT 23 - OCT 22)

(DEC 22 - JAN 19)

You may be tormented by an important decision today, Aries. The good news is that once you make up your mind, you will feel much better about yourself. Until then, however, you may vacillate from one side to the other. Asking others for advice may put you in even more of a quandary. The only one who can decide your path is you.

You may look confused today, Cancer. It may be hard for you to stick with one subject. Your attention may jump from one thing to another.

That’s OK. There’s a distinct advantage to seeing all sides of the story. You will have greater perception and awareness of things today. Take this opportunity to put yourself in other people’s shoes so you know how to deal with them in the future.

TAURUS

LEO

(APRIL 20 - MAY 20)

(JULY 23 - AUGUST 22)

You may be a little hesitant today, Taurus, and not really sure why. Just when you thought you had it all figured out, another aspect comes up with a completely different perspective. It may be hard to choose one path and stick with it. Keep in mind that your unique path may incorporate many different side paths. This is one of your many gifts.

You may find it difficult to keep things neat and organized today, Leo. It seems like you’re tying to organize a room full of feathers buffeted by gusts of wind. Buy a paperweight.

Meanwhile, you might want to give up organizing the feathers and deal with it another time.

You may feel too lazy to fight the wind.

Your emotions are more peaceful and easier to control today, Libra. It’s almost as if you’re merging with the energy around you. The one thing to be careful of is indecision. When it comes to taking action on something and you aren’t sure which way to go, you’d do better to hold off. Make your big move some other day.

SCORPIO

AQUARIUS

(OCT 23 - NOV 21)

(JAN 20 - FEB 18)

Go with the flow today, Scorpio. Find the freedom you seek by simply following the path of least resistance. There’s no reason for you to be unhappy. Life doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. Just be completely yourself. People will act the way they need to in relation to you. Don’t worry about their feelings. They aren’t your responsibility.

GEMINI

VIRGO

SAGITTARIUS

(MAY 21 - JUNE 21)

(AUG 23 - SEPT 22)

(NOV 22 - DEC 21)

Watch your back today, Gemini. There’s a distinct presence nearby that requires your attention. Luckily, your emotions are a lot more stable than usual, and you’re more strongly connected with your feelings. In fact, you may be in the clouds. You shouldn’t have any problem navigating through this part of the atmosphere. Others may look to you for advice.

Your expansive, outwardly directed plans are moving at full force, but once in a while selfdoubt slows things down, Virgo. Today is one of those days in which insecurity may hamper your progress. The secret to success is to consider all the options and trust your instincts. Use your keen powers of observation to collect data and arrange facts in an orderly fashion.

Your heightened sensitivity could get you in trouble today, Sagittarius. The more you try to pin down a specific answer to something, the more resistance you may encounter. Don’t expect a straight answer from anyone or you will be disappointed. People may be flighty or forgetful. Try not to take anything too seriously today.

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Your expansive nature is reaching out to others, Capricorn, but you may run into opposition. Keep in mind that not everyone wants your advice. Give it only if someone asks for it. It may be in your nature to want to jump into people’s lives and fix things. Resist that temptation. What people may need instead is someone to listen.

Your general mood is at a peak today, although this mood is slightly off due to indecision on your part, Aquarius. Don’t let this get you down. If you find it hard to make a choice about something, the solution is simple. Put off making the choice until you feel more comfortable about it. If you must make a decision today, go with your instincts

PISCES (FEB 19 - MAR 20) You may be a bit confused today, Pisces. Nothing seems to fit right. It’s as if you’re faced with many different roads, unsure of which one to take. All the choices seem reasonable and you may fear you will miss out on something great whichever one you choose. The truth is that you can find a way that incorporates what you’ve learned from previous paths. Trust yourself.

FRIDAY JULY 5, 2013

42

Travel

What comes first, the eggs or the chickens at BC’s Okanagan Crush Pad?

BY KATHY ECCLES Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission AS if Summerland, BC’s Okanagan Crush Pad (OCP) didn’t need another first. Visitors to this working winery and custom crush facility are already jolted out of preconceptions of conformity at their first sight of the electric blue and red graffiti-style mural at the concrete and glass entrance to O Tasting Lounge.

Communications director Leeann Froese says the mural may be “the world’s first intentional application of this art form at a winery.” Inside, six, eight-foot-tall concrete “egg” tanks act as flavor enhancers (beyond sterile steel and without the “oakiness” of wood vessels) for OCP’s house brands – Haywire and Bartier Scholefield – as well as a host of premium small-lot BC wines. Using concrete egg fermenters was a first for a Canadian winery, but that’s not all that sets OCP apart.

OCP now stands for “Okanagan Chicken Pad” as well. As part of a move toward biodynamic viticulture – the holistic integration of soil, crops, animals, insects and the community in organic wine-making – 30 or so chickens now go to

work daily to manure sections of OCP’s vineyards. They roost nightly in nesting boxes made of wine barrels. Old World farming practices are customary here.

Irrigation is limited, and a soilenriching mulch of peas and beans grown beneath the grapes replaces chemical fertilizers.

The goal is to produce vigorous vines and flavourful fruit on the way to becoming one of BC’s first 100% biodynamic wineries.

In O Tasting Lounge, take your pick from a selection of

local terroir-focused wines rotating by on an enomatic wine dispenser. Sit and sip on the Crush Pad Patio, listening to the drone of bees in the vineyard and the chattering buzz of workers downstairs in the wine cellar. Hike up to the dogfriendly Lookout Trail behind the winery and picnic on the ponderosa pine-covered hill sweeping above sun-glazed Okanagan Lake.

O Tasting Lounge is open June to September. ■

The ‘castle in the Rockies’ – the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel – is celebrating with special events and packages Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission IF you’ve ever been to Banff, you’ve seen the lavish, pictureperfect castle nestled amid the Rocky Mountains. Me? I’ve slipped from horseback into the elegant charms of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel a few times.

The only problem was slipping back out.

Railway pioneer Sir William Cornelius Van Horne was eager to export Banff’s panoramic beauty but decided to import the tourists instead. He opened the opulent landmark hotel in 1888.

Today, you can disappear inside the famous 786-room castle. Legends and leaders have done it, including Marilyn Monroe, Michael Douglas, Indira Gandhi and almost every Canadian Prime Minister. Director Norman Jewison worked

there, as did Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo fame.

Wrap yourself up in celebrity and raise a 125th specialty cocktail surrounded by mountains and mahogany. Sink inside a waterfall spa tub or enjoy a special 125th anniversary five-course tasting menu for two. Other highlights include special stay packages, architectural heritage tours and a guided nature walk. Events and offers are running throughout the year.

You can also play a round of heritage golf at the circa 1920s course, complete with hickoryshafted clubs. The plaid, baggy knickerbockers are optional.

Follow us on Twitter @ctccct / Suggested Tweet:Fairmont Banff Springs celebrates 125th anniversary with special events and activities @FairmontBanff #celebrate125 @Banff_Squirrel @ExploreAlberta @BanffNP goo.gl/VWqzN ■

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Vancouver’s Pinoy JUAN RADIO 96.1FM: Taking Radio Music Experience to the Next Level SOMETHING a-buzz is happening in Greater Vancouver’s Filipino-Canadian Community. While most Filipino-extracted radio programs in Canada are heard over Amplitude Modulation (AM), Pinoy JUAN RADIO 96.1 has set the bar higher by being the First and Only Filipino Music Experience on Frequency Modulation (FM) that plays Original Pilipino Music or OPM six days a week; or a total of 36 hours per month!

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Stay tuned for the following daily programming of Juan Radio 96.1: Mondays 10:00am – 11:00am | Popular 1990’s and Current Mix Tuesdays 10:00am – 11:00am | Popular Love Hits Wednesdays 10:00am – 11:00am | Strictly Retro Thursdays 10:00am – 11:00am | Power of Two (Duets) Fridays 10:00am – 11:00am | Tunog Kalye (Pop Alternative Mix) Saturdays 11:00am – 3:00pm | OPM Grand Mix | News | Talk

Legoland Florida expands with new ride, splash zone, play area based on 'Legends of Chima'

BY TAMARA LUSH The Associated Press WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—The world's largest Lego theme park is expanding again, this time with a water ride, a splash zone and an interactive play area—all welcome activities for vacationing families in the Florida heat.

The World of Chima opened Wednesday at Legoland Florida. It's a lushly landscaped area that immerses visitors in Chima, a swampy world populated by talking animal tribes that battle over Chi, or the world's life force. Main characters include Laval, a lion, and Cragger, a crocodile who has stolen the Chi. There are three main attractions in the new area: a water ride called The Quest for Chi, a splash zone called Cragger's Swamp, and an area where kids can play with Speedorz, which are rip-cord Lego vehicles used by the characters in Chima.

“We're immersing families

in a story line developed over years,” said Ethan Sack, senior director of marketing at the Lego Group.

Water is a huge theme in the new zone; the park wasn't kidding when it put up signs that read “You may get soaked” and “Soak Zone.”

Riders on The Quest for Chi board boats and use water cannons to soak other boats—and spray water and folks standing on the sidelines. The boats float gently past Mount Cavora, a floating waterfall looming over the new zone at 55 feet (17 metres) high. Then riders head into the jaws of Cragger the crocodile to experience more Chima worlds.

The ride was designed so practically the entire family can partake in the fun; only babies who can't walk are barred from the ride.

There is also a gift shop where fans can buy Chima-themed Lego block sets and gladiatorlike costumes worn by the characters. Meet and greets with the characters will also be plentiful.

The storyline, and the new park area, is a marketer's dream. Chima was initially a Lego product line, and then a Cartoon Network show and the park addition followed. A 4-D movie based on the characters opened earlier this year at the Florida and California Lego parks.

“We want to make sure the show stays true to the toys and the toys stay true to the show,” said Scott Thomas, vice-president of consumer marketing for the Cartoon Network.

Legoland Florida is based on the building-block toys and has rides and attractions geared toward ages 2 to 12. The Winter Haven location is one of five Lego-based theme parks in the world, and the company's largest. Since opening in October 2011, the Florida location has added hotels, a “Star Wars”-themed area and a water park. ■ Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush

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Foreign Services... international students, temporary foreign workers, hopeful immigrants and more are left scrambling to get their visas for that trip to Canada. Visitors from Mexico and China, the largest markets, will have to wait up to six weeks to secure their visa, reports the Tourism Industry Association of Canada. Delhi, Chandigarh, and Manila have been affected as well, leaving many applications up in the air.

Visa output is down by 75 per cent, says Tim Edwards, president of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO), the union at the heart of the strike.

It’s a blow to the tourism industry. Up to 9,780,000 foreign visitors (60 percent of the overall) drop in on Canada during the summer, from July to September.

Only 20 percent of the figure is required to have visas, but this group is the fastest growing market as well. Tourism bags up to $17 billion in revenue for the economy.

Meanwhile, new foreign students might not make it to Canada at the start of semester. Temporary foreign workers may become unable to settle in in time for their first day at work. And applicants stuck in limbo not only have to wait for their visa, but also for their passport and other documents that the application process had required them to submit. ❰❰ 1

Why the strike?

The wage gap lies at the heart of it.

Federal professionals like lawyers, policy analysts and economists reportedly make much more than foreign service officials who perform similar or identical work. Some of the gaps are recent, according to PAFSO. But others yet are up to several years old, predating even the Harper government.

In an open letter to the Prime Min-

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones editor@canadianinquirer.net PHOTO FROM PAFSO

ister on The Huffington Post Canada, PAFSO President Tim Edwards writes: “We do not want to be on strike.

Challenging our own government goes against our very nature as diplomats and disrupts our ability to get things done for Canadians. We recognize that everyone must do their share in these tough economic times, and we have accepted your main contract demands. This is not about diplomats getting a raise. This is about us catching up to what other government professionals are already paid.

This is about equal pay for equal work.

And this is about fairness, a fundamental Canadian value which we protect and promote every day overseas—a value we simply want applied to us by our own employer.”

“After eight years of seeing the can kicked down the road by our employer, the Foreign Service has declared resoundingly that the time has come to insist on a fair deal. Canada’s face and frontline abroad deserves nothing less,” reads a statement

by PAFSO on its website.

In another press release, Edwards explains: “The escalated scope and intensity of service withdrawals this month are a direct consequence of the federal government’s refusal to engage meaningfully with its employees on the issue of pay equity. While we’re eager to get back to work, these disruptions will continue until the Treasury Board offers a fair deal to our members.”

“What we want, above all else, is a fair

deal which allows our members to get back to the job of serving Canadians. But until Treasury Board indicates that they are ready to make a genuine and reasonable effort to resolve this situation, we will continue to target the Government’s top international priorities and all Cabinet-level travel abroad.”

Conservative MP Andrew Saxton, parliamentary secretary to the Treasury Board Secretary Tony Clement, defends the government’s refusal.

“These are very well paid positions,” explains Saxton, referring to foreign service. “They come with great benefits, benefits that most Canadians could never even dream of. Private schools for their kids. Paid vacations to locations of their choice. They get cars shipped to them. They get their dry cleaning paid for.”

The New Democratic Party (NDP) has, meanwhile, accused Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird of “botching relations” with the diplomats and alienating Canada on the international stage.

“The Conservative government’s refusal to bargain with Canada’s own diplomats is a shameful injustice, not just for diplomats and their families but all Canadians and for Canada’s reputation abroad,” says NDP MP Paul Dewar.

Dewar calls it an “embarrassment” to the country. ■ Sources: PAFSO, Huffington Post Canada, The Star, RCI, The Canadian Press.

ister Jason Kenney said in a statement.

“This is another measure the federal government is taking so that those affected by the flooding have one less thing to worry about.”

The special measures are aimed at those who need to apply for urgent immigration documents, extend work or study permits or replace documents damaged by floodwaters.

People will need to prove they've been affected by the floods by having a residential address in an affected community or by registering with the Red Cross.

In order to qualify under the policy, temporary residents must have had legal status on June 20 or been within the 90-day grace period allowed for extensions on that date.

Editorial Assistant April Sescon Correspondents Lizette Lofranco-Aba Gigi Astudillo Angie Duarte Maria Ramona Ledesma Katherine Marfal Frances Grace Quiddaoen Agnes Tecson Graphic Designer Victoria Yong Illustration Danvic Briones Photographers Solon Licas Ryan Ferrer Angelo Siglos Operations and Marketing Head Laarni de Paula (604) 551-3360 laarni.liwanag@canadianinquirer.net Advertising Sales Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 alice.yong@canadianinquirer.net Antonio Tampus (604) 460-9414 PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Editorial Assistant Phoebe Casin Graphic Designer Shanice Garcia Association Publisher Lurisa Villanueva

Feds waive... ❰❰ 22

Associate Editor Laarni de Paula

The fee exemption will apply to work permits, permanent residency cards and other immigration documents, including citizenship certificates.

Those affected should phone 1-888242-2100 and press seven to speak to a government representative.

They can also e-mail PrairiesSituation(at)cic.gc.ca with the words “urgent: flood” in the subject line.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the fee waiver would also apply to the cost of replacing a passport, which increased this week with the launch of the federal government's new 10-year “ePassport.”

The passport is a high-tech version of its predecessor that includes an embedded electronic chip containing the holder's personal information and other

security features to combat fraud.

The new passport will cost $160, while the five-year version—formerly $87— now costs $120. For children, the cost has increased to $57 from $37, if ordered domestically.

Passport Canada said the increases were necessary in order to maintain operations, let alone offer enhanced-security documents.

Canada had been the only G8 country that didn't issue high-tech passports to the general public, although it has been issuing chip-enhanced diplomatic and special passports since 2009.

The launch of the new passport and fee scheme comes as the Immigration department takes over responsibility for passport services from the Foreign Affairs department. ■

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