Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #80

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VOL. 9 NO. 80

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

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Those making threats are the ones scared

DFA keeps cool in face of China’s snub of P-noy

Are Canada’s wireless prices cheaper than in the US?

Global Filipino: Carissa Villacorta

Into home improvement?

Some tips from PCI

Philippine officials say China set impossible conditions for president’s visit

Fort Sto. Domingo trial for Napoles trial sought CASING THE JOINT. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and PNP chief Alan Purisma leave Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna province after inspecting the

future detention quarters of the next “superstar” detainee, Janet Lim-Napoles.

PHOTO BY NINO JESUS ORBETA, INSET: MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer TO CUT costs and ensure full security, Senate President Franklin Drilon proposed that the arraignment and trial of Janet Lim-Napoles be held at the Philippine National Police antiterrorist training school in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Drilon said the Supreme Court could be asked to allow the branch of the Makati City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to hold its hearings on serious illegal detention charges against Napoles inside her detention facility in Fort Sto. Domingo.

He said this had been arranged before in the cases of convicts facing other charges at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

The multiple murder trial of 197 people—105 under detention—in the 2009 massacre of 58 people in Maguindanao is being held at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

“You can bring the court to the detention center,” Drilon told the Senate finance committee hearing the proposed 2014 budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“If we are concerned about security

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Philippine President Benigno Aquino III cancelled a trip to a Chinese trade fair after Beijing demanded that he first withdraw a legal complaint over disputed territories in the South China Sea, Filipino officials said Monday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and two other diplomats relayed conditions for Aquino to attend the annual China-ASEAN Expo, which opens Tuesday in the southern city of Nanning, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a news conference.

Hernandez declined to detail the conditions, but said these were “absolutely inimical to our national interest.” The ❱❱ PAGE 10 Philippine officials

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❱❱ PAGE 46 Fort Sto. Domingo

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Philippine News

3 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

5 agencies in scam face ax DENR suspends Philforest chief

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer MALACAÑANG IS moving to abolish Philippine Forest Corp., the agro-forestry arm of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and one of the many spigots that fake NGOs used to access pork barrel funds, according to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje.

The environment secretary said Philforest president Erwin Krishna N. Santos had been suspended indefinitely while the DENR was investigating the questionable deals the company had entered into with the bogus NGOs and members of Congress.

“Some of the Philforest’s functions might go to the Bureau of Forest Management. The immediate goal is to stop the source of pork leaks,” Paje said.

Paje said President Aquino had asked the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel to study the abolition not only of Philforest but also of National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor) and Zamboanga del Norte College Rubber Estates Corp. (ZREC) of the Department of Agriculture; Technology Resources Center (TRC) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST); and, National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC) of Land Bank of the Philippines.

Paje said the President was “extremely disappointed” with how the pork barrel scam continued into his administration, specifically the release of P428.5 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the official name of pork barrel or funds that finance pet projects of lawmakers, through the five state companies.

The P428.5-million PDAF, which came from two senators (Gregorio Honasan II and Manuel Lapid) and 24 members of the House of Representatives, was released from October 2010 to December 2011 to nine NGOs with dubious records.

The fake NGOs were Focus on Development Goals Foundation Inc. (FDGFI), Interactive Training Opportunity on Needs Alleviation Movements Inc., Kapuso’t Kapamilya Foundation Inc. (KKFI), Livedures Foundation Inc., Maharlikang Lipi Foundation Inc., Philippine Environment and Ecological Development Corp., Pangkabuhayan Foundation Inc. (PFI), Kabuhayan at Kalusugan Alay sa Masa Inc. and Workphil Foundation Inc. (WFI) Outside Napoles network

These nine NGOs do not belong to the network of fake ones allegedly put up by detained Janet LimNapoles, accused of masterminding a P10-billion pork scam in 10 years.

After two weeks on the run, Napoles, accused of serious illegal detention of Benhur Luy, her former employee turned whistle-blower, is now detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. She surrendered to Mr. Aquino on Aug. 28.

Paje said the Philforest board had not been informed of the fund releases to the bogus NGOs. “I would have not allowed it since we have stopped processing all pork barrel releases through the DENR since I took over. But the pork was released directly to the Philforest which should never have been allowed because it should have gone through the budget process,” he said.

OIC secures records

Paje said he had appointed Environment Undersecretary Analiza Teh as officer in charge “to secure documents, records and materials relevant to the investigation.”

In an October 2012 letter to the Philforest board, the Commission on Audit (COA) did not endorse the company’s financial statement for 2011 because of incomplete or missing documents.

The COA noted that the negative comments against Philforest had been recurring since the 2006 audit because management continued to ignore its recommendations, such the absence of an accounting system.

Like a shell firm

For an entity that handled close to half a billion pesos in 2011, Philforest operates like a shell corporation with no organizational structure.

Although its president and vice president are elected by the board, Philforest has a workforce of 19 temps whose contracts are renewed yearly. It has five consultants and two laborers taking care of its nursery in Limay, Bataan.

Philforest is a subsidiary of National Resources Development Corp., itself a DENR subsidiary, whose flagship program is to propagate Jatropha for biodiesel production.

Honasan’s P195M

Based on documents obtained by the INQUIRER, Honasan accounted for P195 million of the P428.5 million in PDAF received by Philforest in 2011— P40 million in August 2011 and P100 million in December 2011 funneled to FDGFI; P50 million to the WFI in February 2011; and P5 million to PFI in December 2010.

KKFI and PFI were among the 82 questionable NGOs that a COA special audit of pork barrel from 2007 and 2009

Napoles on ‘Suicide Watch’

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer BUSINESSWOMAN -TURNED -alleged-mastermind of the pork barrel scam Janet Lim Napoles may have a fridge and a 40-square-meter reception room in her detention facility in Fort Sto. Domingo, Sta. Rosa, Laguna but sharp objects and any form of ropes are not allowed in her accommodations.

According to Philippine National Police (PNP) Deputy Director General Felipe Rojas, sharp objects and ropes (and other rope-like objects) are not allowed inside Napoles’ quarters because it might be used by the businesswoman to commit suicide or to escape.

Rojas insisted that aside from assuring Napoles’ safety from outside forces, they are also responsible of making sure that she cannot bring any harm to herself.

“We assure the public that there are no ropes or curtains inside. There are no sharp objects there. Even toothbrush handles have been broken,” assured Chief Superintendent Carmelo Valmoria of the PNP Special Action Force (PNP-SAF).

Under Bureau of Jail Management and Penology regulations, any sharp objects like toothbrush handles, kitchen

Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles cleaning herself with some alcohol after being transferred to Fort Sto. Domingo on Sunday morning.

PHOTO FROM PNP PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE’S FACEBOOK PAGE.

utensils, household tools, and silverware are not permitted inside a detention facility.

The detention facility may not have curtains, but blue tarps were places around the perimeter of the detention facility to grant Napoles some privacy.

The entire police camp of Fort Sto. Domingo is also equipped with closed-circuit television cameras for maximum security coverage.

“We can ensure her security,” Valmoria said. ■ With report from Cecille Suerte Felipe

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Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 4

P-noy fears FOI law would gag gov’t officials

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer IMAGINE A secretary suddenly stopping midway through his presentation in a Cabinet meeting because she or he felt that it was too sensitive for the public to know.

President Aquino raised this scenario before INQUIRER editors and staff on night, saying that this was his main concern about the freedom of information (FOI) bill that would grant the public access to government records, including minutes of meetings.

The 15th Congress adjourned in June without approving the FOI bill, which was not certified as “urgent” by Mr. Aquino.

The President told the INQUIRER editors he wanted to have “discussions wherein nobody is intimidated to say what they have to say.”

If the minutes of Cabinet meetings are to be made available to the public, Mr. Aquino said it may not be uncommon to hear one official telling an-

other: ‘I’d like to say this, but this is being recorded.’”

The President, who spoke to the editors after addressing a gathering of coordinators of the Asia News Network (ANN) at the INQUIRER office, said he was aware that in the proposed FOI measure, transcripts of Cabinet meetings would be available to the public, except those pertaining to national security and diplomacy.

“National security and diplomatic concerns you can exclude; others you can include,” he said.

But Malacañang apparently wants to fine-tune the bill some more.

Another proposal would exempt the minutes or records of advice given or of opinions expressed during government policy formulation—which are invoked by the President as part of “presidential communication privilege” or when the disclosure would ostensibly undermine the free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views by public officials.

In the FOI bill, an executive

President Benigno Aquino III. PHOTO BY GIL NARTEA/ MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU

order must be issued specifying the reasonable period after which this information could be made accessible to the public.

The issue of executive communication privilege became controversial after it was invoked by then Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri to refuse to reveal his deliberations with then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on a bribe-tainted national broadband contract with China’s ZTE

telecommunications company.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Executive branch has submitted its own version of an FOI bill. The House of Representatives and Senate are expected to debate the proposals.

“Let them debate it because it’s a concern for all people,” he said.

But he added: “FOI proponents need to work on their constituency. A lot of us are for it but they need to work and convince

the lawmakers that FOI is good for all of us,” Lacierda said.

On the other hand, proponents of the bill point out that the framers of the Constitution had decided that freedom of information was good for all Filipinos. They included it in a new Bill of Rights, and the public gave its nod when it approved the 1987 Constitution in a referendum.

Yet lawmakers over the past 25 years have failed to pass an implementing law that would make the constitutional right to information a reality.

Public outrage, fanned by news reports and state auditors’ reports of the large-scale misuse of the pork barrel, led to the mammoth anticorruption rally at Rizal Park. Protesters called for the passage of the FOI bill to institutionalize transparency in the government as envisioned by the Constitution.

The measure seeks to criminalize acts such as falsely denying or concealing the existence of information for disclosure, and destroying information being requested under the FOI act. ■

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Philippine News

5 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

P-Noy: Media make sense of what’s going on, that it is heading for the truth

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer EVEN AS they take their countries’ leaders to task, Asian journalists should also examine their own conduct and motives and learn to become “more responsible,” President Aquino said in a speech before a group of coordinating editors of the Asia News Network (ANN), which was holding its first assembly in the Philippines.

Challenge for media

President Aquino exhorts editors of the Asia News Network (ANN), an alliance of 22 leading newspapers in 19 countries, to uphold integrity and do some soul-searching in their pursuit of truth in reporting in his speech at a dinner hoste Mr. Aquino began by talking about the media frenzy that attended the surrender the night before of Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

In the drama that unfolded on national TV, he said one could see the interplay between the government and the media before the watchful eyes of the people.

Key players for truth

He said he hoped the people could see through the complications and noise of that interplay and realize that both key players were trying to arrive at the truth.

“What is taking place is, of course, colored by our own history and culture,” Mr. Aquino said, explaining the frenzied media coverage of Napoles’ movements since her surrender.

Given their experience of oppression and censorship during martial law, the Philippine media were “especially concerned” with checking power and issues of corruption, Mr. Aquino said.

“This is how Janet LimNapoles became such a central figure in our recent consciousness. Revelations by whistleblowers have shown not only the corruption of the past, they also demonstrate the constant need to keep two steps ahead of those constantly plotting how to evade the law,” he said.

President Aquino exhorts editors of the Asia News Network (ANN), an alliance of 22 leading newspapers in 19 countries, to uphold integrity and do some soul searching in their pursuit of truth in reporting

Media’s critical role

“Perhaps, in your own countries, you have also observed the different roles that you play: a watchdog against abuse of power, a partner in strengthening economic and international relations, or a combination of every possible function,” he said.

In its blow-by-blow coverage of Napoles’ surrender, one could glean media’s critical role, which is to inform, and this role is constant in every country, the President said.

“No matter what country you are from, in times of calamity or success, it is still the media that, no matter how briefly, brings all sectors together in order to make sense of what is going on and where it is headed,” he said.

“More than anyone else, you know how important it is to uphold integrity and truth in your reports, especially , with our 24-hour news cycle,” he added.

The President said the media play a very critical role in informing the public, a role that has assumed more immediacy in the age of Twitter and Instagram.

“Given the advent of new media and technology, and with it a greater and more direct engagement with the public, media can now reach anyone anywhere—making your responsibilities even greater,” he said at a dinner hosted by the INQUIRER for the ANN editors on night.

This makes the media an “essential contributor” to national development and a “firm partner” of the people, and why it’s important to “uphold integrity and truth” in reporting, Mr. Aquino said.

“As one of the most influential sectors in your respective countries, I hope that every single day, you ask yourselves: How do I contribute to improving these flawed, human institutions, in order to contribute to the betterment of society?” the President said.

P-Noy’s request

And since the ANN coordinating editors were in Manila to share experiences on ethical boundaries, and fair and honest reporting, the President put a suggestion on the table.

“Your profession’s inherent advocacy for truth and justice can be turned inward and used to examine how media can be more responsible and more efficient. This can only redound to the benefit of your organizations, and to the benefit of the people we serve,” he said.

“I hope you do not mind that I make this request; this is the same thing I tell all my colleagues in government, and others I have the chance to speak with,” he added.

After all, nobody can be complacent “especially when we all desire what is good for our country, the region, and the world,” Mr. Aquino said. www.canadianinquirer.net

“Being President, I will be the first to admit that this is not easy, but I believe it requires of me the same things your profession requires of you: a true desire to serve, a firm commitment to integrity, and a determination to do the right thing,” he said.

Beyond entertainment and advertising, the “obsession with the truth and the untiring quest for facts” would help everyone “navigate this increasingly complex world and find success—not only for ourselves, but also for the public we serve,” he said.

public opinion and to understand and comprehend all sides. No one is perfect, neither myself nor our system of government, and we must always be receptive to criticism delivered out of a desire to help,” he said.

Mr. Aquino said he was aware that the vital role of the media is to provide context and explain what the news means.

At its best, the media highlight trends and occurrences that leaders like himself may not be aware of, “given the matters that occupy our crowded days,” he said.

Media from 19 nations

Great faith in media

The ANN is an alliance of 22 newspapers in 19 countries in Asia. It is the world’s largest alliance of leading English-language newspapers in the region.

Its mission is to present Asia from the Asian perspective. It is the publisher of AsiaNews, a fortnightly online magazine.

The audience also included INQUIRER board chair Marixi R. Prieto and president Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez, publisher Raul C. Pangalangan, editor in chief Letty JimenezMagsanoc, editors and staff.

‘Speaking truth to power’ The President said he was very much aware of the pride that media take in “speaking truth to power.”

“As a matter of fact, I begin my day by perusing the broadsheets, both in order to gauge

But then again, the media could also “elevate the level of discourse” amid the cacophony of opinions and viewpoints, he said.

“Suffice it to say: I have always had great faith in the power of a professional, responsible and truthful media,” he said.

According to Mr. Aquino, the Filipino public has set the “burden of proof” for government officials and journalists very high. Research and rigorous fact-checking, the laying out of context, and the virtues of patience and justice are the norm, he said.

“By the very nature of our professions, whether in media or in public service, we are expected to prove our worthiness of public trust on a daily basis,” he said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 6

Taguig appeals CA ruling on Fort Boni ‘Our claim has been established by documentary, official documents’

BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE CITY government of Taguig has asked the Court of Appeals to reconsider its earlier ruling handing back Fort Bonifacio to Makati City, saying its claim of ownership is superior to that of Makati.

In a motion for reconsideration filed at the appellate court on , the legal department of the Taguig City government reiterated its position that its claim was backed “by history.”

“Taguig’s claim has been established by numerous documentary and official documents while Makati’s has been one characterized by numerous legal maneuvers and over-reliance on technicalities,” it said in its motion. “[Our claim] precedes Makati as a political and corporate entity by decades. It has the weight of official authority behind it—in statutes, in proclamations, in public documents—

while Makati can rely [only] on private writings and proclamations that expand the original terms of that which it sought to amend,” it added.

Taguig, Makati and even the municipality of Pateros have been at odds as all of them are claiming jurisdiction over the revenue-rich area of Fort Bonifacio.

The two-decade boundary dispute was resolved recently

by Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison of the Court of Appeals in Makati’s favor after she noted that Taguig was not able to prove “greater weight of evidence to merit a favorable decision.”

The ruling effectively placed seven barangays under Makati’s jurisdiction.

But Taguig officials are not prepared to give up just yet.

Apart from the motion for reconsideration, they asked Sison to inhibit herself from the case because of her husband’s ties with Vice President Jejomar Binay, father of the city’s current mayor.

“We will not stop. Taguig will exhaust all legal remedies available to assert our ownership of Fort Bonifacio. I amconfident that we will be vindicated in the end,” Mayor Lani Cayetano said in a statement e-mailed .

She added that the city would not stand for “a cloud of doubt” on the court’s impartiality in resolving the case.

Cayetano noted that they had presented maps, surveys and official documents to bolster the city’s claim of jurisdiction over Fort Bonifacio which was affirmed and reaffirmed by a Pasig regional trial court that conducted hearings on the case for almost 20 years before it was elevated to the Court of Appeals.

She said she found it odd that within one and a half years, the appellate court overturned the lower court’s decision and ruled in favor of Makati.

Taguig officials earlier argued in their motion that the decision would “necessarily impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents and tens

www.canadianinquirer.net

Posters and banners hung on lampposts can be seen displayed at BGC containing messages that boast that Taguig has “lower taxes, no number coding, better public service and no corrupt practices.”

PHOTO BY PATRIMONIO DESIGNS LTD / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

of thousands of business establishments,” at the Bonifacio Global City (BGC)—the city’s only financial district.

A substantial portion of Taguig’s annual budget of around P5 billion comes from BGC and goes to supporting the 28 barangays under its jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Joey Salgado, head of Makati’s Information and Community Relations Department, challenged Taguig to present valid pieces of evidence to back up its case.

“We hope that Taguig can substantiate such a claim with evidence that will convince the court that the documents it had

submitted are not fake or dubious,” he said.

The boundary dispute has become a “war of tarpaulins” between the two city government units.

Posters and banners hung on lampposts can be seen displayed at BGC containing messages that boast that Taguig has “lower taxes, no number coding, better public service and no corrupt practices.”

“We appeal to Taguig officials not to harass and intimidate the BGC business community. The proper venue is in the courts, not on lamppost banners and stickers in stores,” Salgado said. ■

Philippine News

7 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

RM awardees shine

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Janet Lim-Napoles

PHOTO FROM AMLAN.GOV.PH.

CA justice inhibits self from cases vs Napoles

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer COURT OF Appeals Associate Justice Danton Bueser has inhibited himself from hearing cases in his division involving Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

When he was a congressman in 2007, Bueser was reported to have given his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, to questionable nongovernment organizations.

Bueser, then the representative of the 3rd district of Laguna, was named in the Commission on Audit (COA) report on the questionable use of pork barrel funds from 2007 to 2009 for having allocated nearly P20 million to two NGOs which were among 82 found to be questionable.

The COA report said Bueser allocated P9.6 million to the Philippine Environment and Economic Development Association and P9.8 million to Aaron Foundation Philippines.

Both NGOs were among the 82 NGOs that were recipients of pork found by COA to be dubious and questionable. However, they were not among the 10 NGOs linked to Napoles.

In a statement, Bueser acknowledged being a member of the appellate court division

hearing the cases against Napoles but pointed out that “records would show that the rulings are not favorable to her.”

“To cast any doubt and speculations in the mind of the public which could affect the dignity of the court and my credibility as a magistrate, I am recusing myself from handling these cases,” he said.

Bueser is part of the appellate court’s 2nd Division and had concurred in a decision ordering the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to scrutinize the 430 bank accounts of Napoles, her family members and her corporations as well as that of whistle-blowers Benhur Luy and Merlina Suna.

The appellate division gave the AMLC five months to look into the bank accounts.

As to his alleged dealings with the two questionable NGOs, Bueser denied having endorsed the NGOs or transacted business with them.

That’s why he said he would ask the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the authenticity of the documents and signatures on the alleged transactions involving his PDAF. “I am very willing to cooperate with the authorities because I strongly believe my signatures were forged,” said Bueser, who represented the 3rd district of Laguna in the 11th, 12th and 13th Congress from 1998-2007. ■

AT A TIME problems and challenges leave many disheartened, they are shining examples that give the world hope.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s premier prize named after a Philippine president known for his tranformative leadership, handed out this year’s citations to five awardees for selfless and inspirational service in their home countries.

“Your lives are now shining far brightly even more than the stars of Hollywood. Greatness lies really not in one’s official position, but in how you lead, how you lay down your lives for others,” the Philippines’ Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said in congratulating this year’s winners.

The awardees were three individuals and two organizations cited for sparking change in pursuit of their advocacies, from universal health and combating violence to fighting corruption and human trafficking.

The individual awardees were Filipino doctor Ernesto Domingo, who was cited for his “health for all” advocacy, Myanmar’s Lahpai Seng Raw for her grassroots-based leadership against conflict, and Afghan Habiba Sarabi, Afghanistan’s only female governor who built up her local government despite challenging circumstances.

Conviction rate

Indonesia’s Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK or the Corruption Eradication Commission) won the award for its decisive action against deeply entrenched corruption in the Indonesian government. Its staggering 100-percent conviction rate of corrupt government officials garnered loud applause from the Philippine audience, who clearly could only wish this could happen in their country.

“I was afraid of saying something about your organization.

You must understand I am the chief justice. But I think you can hear it from the applause of my people, especially when they mentioned your 100percent conviction rate,” Sereno said, addressing the KPK leaders. Her comment drew laughter and applause from the audience.

Women’s group Shakti Samuha (Power Group) of Nepal, the world’s first nongovernmental organization initiated by trafficking survivors, was cited for its growing repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration program for victims.

In her response to the recognition, Sarabi underscored the importance of selflessness in the mission to effect change.

“Upon returning to Afghanistan, one message to take back is the importance of selflessness in public service. We should never be selfish and dedicate

our work to our people, even when we are faced with adversaries,” Sarabi said.

Calling her countrymen’s attention to the examples set by this year’s awardees, Sereno had one message: Never give up.

“Their stories should not only just continue to amaze us. Let’s ask ourselves: Why have we not deepened our hearts that yearn for revolutionary transformation? Why have we allowed the system to go rotten and inefficient? Why we have stopped caring? Why have we stopped doing what is best on a daily basis?” Sereno said to a suddenly hushed audience.

Too comfortable

“Perhaps we have been too comfortable or perhaps we’re too afraid because of the complexity of the problems that are besetting us as a nation. It does not matter if we say we have no hope, if we have had so many starts and an equally good number of stops. The only thing that matters is if we in our hearts, we find the caring that is necessary for our fellowmen, that will allow us to forge our nation together,” she said.

The audience responded by giving her thunderous applause.

Considered Asia’s Nobel Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has recognized 301 individuals around the region for devoting their lives to serving their fellowmen. ■

The 2013 Ramon Magsaysay awardees received their awards during a ceremony at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

(From left) Sunita Danuwar, president of Shakti Sahmuha, an anti trafficking group in Nepal; Habiba Sarabi of Afghanistan; Lahpai Seng Raw of Myanmar; Commissioners Adnan Pandu Paja and Abrham Samad, president and vice president of Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi in Indonesia; and Dr. Ernesto Domingo of the Philippines.

PHOTO FROM GMANETWORK.COM

www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 8

Ombudsman: Those making threats are the ones scared

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer DESPITE A death threat, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said she was not scared. In fact, she added, those making the threats appear to be scared so they’re trying to “counterscare” her into backing down in her office’s investigation of the pork barrel scam.

“Excuse me, I’m not scared.

Maybe they are scared which is why they’re trying to scare me,” the feisty Ombudsman said of the threat she received over the phone.

Morales said her secretary received the call at about 1 p.m. while she was attending a forum at the Asian Development Bank.

The threat, she was told, was in connection with her office’s inquiry into the alleged diversion into ghost projects and kickbacks of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also called pork barrel, intended to ease rural poverty.

‘Do what is right’

“The caller said I should take care, that I should do what is right,” Morales recounted. “Well, excuse me, I’d like to believe what I’ve been doing is in accordance with what is right, in accordance with the facts vis-a-vis the law applicable to the facts,” she told reporters at the House of Representatives on the sidelines of a budget hearing by the committee on appropriations.

She said the phone number used to make the threat was now being checked by Malacañang intelligence after her security detail alerted the Office of the President about it.

It was the first time she received a threat related to the pork barrel scam, the Ombudsman said, “but as far as threatening calls are concerned, there have been others,” she added.

Special audit

“I have told you once and for all that when it’s your time, it’s your time. I’m not scared. They are the ones who are scared. That’s why they’re trying to counter-scare me,” Morales said.

The Ombudsman earlier announced that the eight-member Interagency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council (IAAGCC)

Taking sea row to UN tribunal a wise move–Carpio

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales: Excuse me, I’m not scared. Maybe they are scared which is why they’re trying to scare me.

PHOTO FROM BISTADO.COM

would look into the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds that was uncovered in a special audit of the period from 2007 to 2009.

The review conducted by the Commission on Audit (COA) was released and showed that 82 nongovernment organizations received P6.165 billion from the PDAF allocations of 12 senators and 180 representatives.

The interagency probe is separate from the fact-finding inquiry being conducted by the Ombudsman, the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

Napoles, who went into hiding shortly after the NBI issued a warrant for her arrest on charges of illegal detention, surrendered to President Aquino early .

‘Confirm, affirm’

Morales said the interagency group will meet next week to “confirm, affirm and validate” whatever had been agreed on by the group.

As to whether Napoles would be called for questioning, she said “it would depend (on whether) we would put her as one of the respondents, because the only charge so far is illegal detention.”

She added: “Until we get a report and recommendation [from the NBI], everything is on hold. In the meantime we are conducting our own internal independent investigation.”

The Ombudsman said her office

has subpoenaed the whistle-blowers to “secure their affidavits.”

She clarified that the Ombudsman’s internal fact-finding probe “does not involve” individual senators and congressmen.

“We’re only conducting a fact-finding investigation. Until we are firm in our findings that congressmen or senators are involved, they will not be subjected to the investigation,” she said.

THE COUNTRY made a wise choice in taking its maritime dispute with China on the West Philippine Sea to an international arbitral tribunal “where warships, fighter planes and missiles do not count” and which may take two to three years to resolve, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said.

But Carpio said the country must also build a “credible selfdefense force” which it had neglected to do and caused it to lose to China Mischief Reef in 1995, Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and “most likely Ayungin Shoal in the near future.”

Speaking before the Philippine Bar Association, Carpio said the move taken by Manila to go to the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal had eliminated the military advantage of China and ensured that the outcome of the dispute is “in accordance to the rule of law.”

“It was a wise decision, but one borne out of necessity because it was actually the only viable option to the Philippines,”

he said, reading from a paper he prepared, titled, “The Rule of Law in the West Philippine Sea Dispute.”

He cited the failure of the country to improve its naval assets, being an archipelago with extensive coastlines and a vast exclusive economic zone.

“To remain a sovereign and independent nation, to maintain our territorial integrity, to avoid further humiliation, and to maintain our self-respect as a nation, we must build and maintain a credible self-defense force,” Carpio said, noting there was “simply no alternative to this.”

“No nation can remain sovereign, independent and free for long without maintaining a credible selfdefense force, even if international law and world opinion are on its side,” he said.

Carpio said the international arbitral tribunal was the viable solution to the dispute, especially since the country could not invoke the PhilippineUnited States Mutual Defense Treaty.

He said the United States had made it clear that “the islands, reefs and rocks in the South China Sea are outside the scope of the treaty.” ■

Not selective

The Ombudsman said the probe would not be selective nor would it target only the opponents of the Aquino administration.

“The fact of being an ally or not being an ally—and I don’t know who are the allies and who are not—will not be factored in the investigation of the case.

Sorry, it turns out allies are involved and indicted. Sorry, but that’s my mandate,” she said.

Morales said the probe would follow the usual procedures, from the fact-finding probe to the case buildup. “If we think there ought to be a preliminary investigation, we will issue subpoenas to the respondents and ask them to file counter-affidavits.”

The Ombudsman said her office would move for a quick resolution.

“Of course, who doesn’t like speedy investigations? ... We want these cases sped up,” she said.

“The outcry of the public for justice is speedy justice. I cannot be part of this procedure (if it) tries to slacken the disposition of cases,” she added. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

France drops PH from tax blacklist

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES has been removed from the French government’s blacklist of noncooperative countries for their tax policies.

This according to the Department of Finance (DOF) which announced on that the Philippine government’s move to improve its information sharing on taxrelated matters with the French government paved the way for the removal of the country from the list.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue now has a solid information-sharing agreement with its counterpart in France, according to the DOF.

In fighting tax evasion and money laundering, the French government has encouraged other countries to share taxrelated information, especially on French firms doing business in their territories.

Investors from countries on the blacklist are saddled with stricter tax rules in France.

According to Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, the Philippines’ removal from the blacklist was a welcome development as it signaled the country’s commitment to fiscal integrity.

“This move is a recognition of the Aquino administration’s commitment and tangible progress in combating tax avoidance and promoting fiscal honesty,” Purisima said in a statement. ■

Philippine News

9 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Janet has new bank accounts, says ex-aide

BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer SENSING THE law was closing in on her, Janet Lim-Napoles withdrew an undisclosed amount of money before the Court of Appeals could order her bank accounts frozen amid a government investigation of allegations that she pocketed P10 billion in lawmakers’ pork barrel allocations, the INQUIRER has learned.

Napoles reportedly closed the bank accounts, but also opened new ones.

The latest revelations were made by a president of one of several dozen non-government organizations (NGOs) that Napoles had formed over the last 10 years allegedly to defraud the government of billions of pesos in lawmakers’ allocations from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

The identity of the NGO president was withheld for now, but the 55-year-old woman, a longtime aide of Napoles, was allowed to speak to the INQUIRER in the presence of Lourdes Benipayo, one of the lawyers of 11 whistle-blowers, all either relatives or former employees in the businesswoman’s JLN Group of Companies, after she signed an affidavit detailing what she knew about the alleged scam.

The 11th accuser also submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation an affidavit detailing 40 residential properties that Napoles allegedly owned, including five units in Primea, one of the swankiest condominiums on Ayala Avenue in Makati City. A unit in Primea is worth at least P75 million, the INQUIRER was told.

Earlier sworn statements executed by the whistle-blowers said Napoles owned 28 real estate properties and apartments in such posh villages as Ayala

Alabang, Forbes Park and Dasmariñas, but the Bureau of Internal Revenue said it had so far failed to locate residences under the name of Napoles, her family or her NGOs. The newest whistle-blower said Napoles closed her bank accounts and those of her NGOs in June, two months after her main accuser, Benhur K. Luy, began talking to NBI investigators about the extent of his employer’s alleged transactions involving five senators, 23 congressmen and government officials.

“She closed the accounts, but she also opened new ones. She was afraid that Benhur knew about her bank accounts,” said the 11th whistle-blower.

She could not give an estimate of the transferred accounts, but she said she had evidence showing that P320,154.48 was remitted to Napoles from 11 NGO accounts in Metrobank’s Magdalena and Abad Santos branches.

AMLC inquiry

The Court of Appeals has ordered the freezing of all of the bank accounts of Napoles and her NGOs. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) had announced it would look into at least 400 bank accounts linked to Napoles. The process is likely to take at least six months.

She said the other NGO accounts were closed earlier. She said she decided to come out because she feared she and the other whistle-blowers would be made “scapegoats” of Napoles.

“We feel this is the only way we can atone for our sins to the people,” she said.

Napoles surrendered to President Aquino on night, hours after he announced a P10-million bounty for her arrest. She said she feared for her life. She disappeared on Aug. 14 after a branch of the Regional Trial

Court of Makati City issued a warrant for her arrest and that of her brother, Reynald Lim, for the alleged serious illegal detention of Luy. The 49-year-old trader is now detained at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna province.

Luy said he had been held captive by Napoles and her brother for three months after she suspected him of competing with her racket. Napoles said Luy pocketed P300,000 she had told him to deposit in her account and that he had taken an unauthorized loan of P5 million. After his rescue in March by NBI agents, Luy gave to investigators testimony on Napoles’ alleged racket. Ten other former employees of Napoles have corroborated Luy’s statements.

Arrest unexpected

Three of the whistle-blowers claimed they were with Napoles at the time she received a phone call that an arrest warrant had been issued against her and her brother.

“She never expected the dismissal of the illegal detention case would be reversed.

She was even happy and confident on that day,” said the NGO president. She said the employees were not told about the arrest warrant

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but learned about it because Napoles’ eldest daughter, JoChristine, was crying. “There were nonstop phone calls coming in,” she said.

The three whistle-blowers said they were at the South Gardens Unit in Pacific Plaza in Makati City having a meeting with Napoles when the news came about her arrest. They left Napoles and her daughter at 7 p.m., before their employer vanished. They said they also talked to Napoles hours before she surrendered to the President.

They said that hours before Napoles surrendered, they were given P20,000 each by Cheryl Jimenea, a former appointments secretary of former President Joseph Estrada, now mayor of Manila.

Jimenea was

with a lawyer during a meeting in which Napoles allegedly instructed them to implicate Luy in the scam and say all the money was remitted to him if they were questioned by the NBI. The 11th whistle-blower said she started working for Napoles in 1997 as a “utility girl” for Jo-Chris Trading, which had its office in Pasay City.

In 1998, the trading company moved to the Philippine Navy Officers’ Wives Association building in Taguig City. During that time, Napoles also owned a parlor, barber shop and a meat shop in the same building. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 10

NBI chief resigns, cites ‘delicadeza’

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer NATIONAL BUREAU of Investigation Director Nonnatus Rojas, hurt by President Aquino’s statements to the INQUIRER last week that tended to cast doubt on the NBI’s integrity, resigned.

Rojas’ “irrevocable resignation” came amid the NBI’s preparation to bring plunder charges against detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged brains behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima announced Rojas’ resignation, which she said would become effective when accepted by the President.

But De Lima said she sent President Aquino a letter asking him “wholeheartedly, firmly and unequivocally” not to accept Rojas’ resignation.

“I don’t want to lose a good man,” she said, referring to Rojas, in a text message she sent to

reporters after she announced the NBI chief’s resignation at the Department of Justice.

“He believes [resigning] is the most honorable thing to do because of the cloud of doubt that may have been cast on the NBI as an institution and on him as the leader of the institution,” De Lima said minutes after seeing Rojas.

In a talk with INQUIRER editors and reporters, President Aquino said that after Napoles had surrendered to him in Malacañang, he turned her over to the police and not to the NBI because there were “less trustworthy” officials in the bureau.

Mr. Aquino did not name the officials but said charges would be brought against two for tipping off Napoles about the issuance of a warrant for her and her brother Reynald Lim’s arrest by the Makati City Regional Trial Court on Aug. 14, enabling them to dodge the arresting officers.

The two NBI officials allegedly have links to two senators

who have been linked to the pork barrel scam, and one of the officials is said to be the mole of one of the senators in the NBI. The President said details of NBI operations for the capture of Napoles had also been leaked.

He said even Napoles’ surrender to him in Malacañang minutes after he had told De Lima about it was leaked.

Mr. Aquino did not allude to Rojas, but apparently the NBI chief is taking responsibility for the actions of the two officials, both of whom are well entrenched career officers with a hard-core following in the bureau.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the justice department was giving priority to the filing of charges against the two NBI officials.

But De Lima said that she believed the INQUIRER misquoted the President in reporting that charges would be brought against the two NBI officials.

“I’m not aware of charges to be filed against two NBI executives,” De Lima said, adding that

the justice department had yet to validate the information that the leak of the arrest order for Napoles had come from the NBI. The INQUIRER stands by its report. De Lima said the story had been “played out” in the media, somehow affecting the integrity and credibility of the NBI. But De Lima stressed that she agreed with the President that there are some “misfits and scoundrels” in the NBI whose activities “undermine the overall integrity and credibility” of the bureau.

She said she summoned Rojas after seeing his letter of resignation, which was addressed to President Aquino through her.

When Rojas arrived, she said she told him that she did not think the President was referring to him when he made statements to the INQUIRER about “less trustworthy” officials in the agency.

She told reporters that Rojas did not state in his letter the reason for his resignation, but she stressed that it had to do “with the banner story” of the INQUIRER.

“I don’t think there was ever the intention of the President that he was referring to the entire organization,” she said.

De Lima also said she told Rojas that he still had her trust and confidence and that she believed the President felt the same way, too.

But Rojas insisted on resigning, according to De Lima.

She said she hoped President Aquino would heed her recommendation not to approve Rojas’ resignation.

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Palace shared De Lima’s trust in Rojas.

“In the report of the INQUIRER, the institution is not the problem. There are some, in their words, who are less trustworthy,” Lacierda said. “Director Nonie Rojas has achieved a lot, which is why in our view, Secretary Leila de Lima’s recommendation to reject his resignation is justified.”

rial disputes to U.N. arbitration in January—which Beijing calls an “unfriendly act”—may not be welcomed by the Chinese public and media, the officials said.

Asked to comment Monday, Chinese Embassy spokesman Zhang Hua did not react to their statements, but urged the Philippines to work with China “to overcome difficulties and disturbances and make real efforts to get the China-Philippine relationship” back on track.

He said China welcomes Southeast Asian delegations, including from the Philippines, to the trade expo.

The Philippines is this year’s “country of honour” at the trade fair, which takes place in China every year to highlight trade

exchanges between Beijing and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The prime ministers of China allies Cambodia and Laos, along with those of Thailand and Vietnam have confirmed their attendance to the trade expo, which was first held in 2004 to promote the China-ASEAN free-trade area. Myanmar, another China ally, will send its vice-president, Philippine officials said.

The Philippines and China have been embroiled in increasingly antagonistic territorial disputes. Last year, China seized a shoal near the northwestern coast of the Philippines, and this year it demanded that the Philippine navy withdraw from Second Thomas

Shoal farther south.

The Philippines incensed China in January by challenging Beijing’s massive territorial claims in the strategic South China Sea before a U.N. arbitration tribunal, which has convened to look into Manila’s complaint despite China’s stance to ignore the move.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and its island groups on historical grounds. The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have rejected that, sparking fears the disputes might spark Asia’s next major armed conflict. ■

❱❱ PAGE 27 NBI chief

Philippine officials...

Chinese side asked that the conditions not be publicly disclosed, he said. They were discussed by Wang and Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario in Beijing on Wednesday.

Because of the conditions, Aquino decided to call off his publicly announced trip to the trade fair, Hernandez said, adding the Philippines will instead send a delegation headed by its trade secretary.

“The president stood firm in the defence of the country’s national interest,” Hernandez said.

Two Philippine officials told The Associated Press that China wanted Manila to withdraw a U.N. arbitration case over ❰❰ 1

disputed islands in the South China Sea. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Chinese officials have also cited a new standoff between China and the Philippines over the Second Thomas Shoal, which is called Ayungin Shoal

by Filipinos and Ren’ai Reef by the Chinese, the Philippine officials said.

China has asked Manila to remove a navy ship that ran aground on the shoal years ago, but the Philippine officials said the area was well within their territorial waters.

China was concerned that allowing Aquino to visit after the Philippines brought its territo-

www.canadianinquirer.net

Associated Press writer Hrvoje Hranjski contributed to this report.

Philippine News

11 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Guard tagged ‘Red’ leader released

BY JAYMEE T. GAMIL Philippine Daily Inquirer AFTER THE delay outraged his lawyers and supporters, the security guard arrested in Quezon City last year on allegations that he was a communist rebel leader was finally released late last night on orders of the Court of Appeals.

The human rights group Karapatan said Rolito “Rolly” Panesa walked out of detention at 9:54 p.m. and was back with his relatives and counsel Jun Oliva of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, three days after the CA ordered “his immediate release from confinement.”

Earlier in the day, Karapatan, which had been helping Panesa in his legal battle since he was arrested by the military in October, was set to celebrate his release and present him in a press conference scheduled at 4 p.m.

In a statement, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay accused the Philippine Army of delaying the release and of ordering the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s legal division to keep Panesa in BJMP custody.

Panesa was arrested by the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division

Torture marks? The human rights watchdog Karapatan obtained these photos of Rolito Panesa, which the group said were taken three days after his arrest by the military on Oct. 5, 2012.

and the Philippine National Police on Oct. 5, 2012, while he was walking home with his family on Aurora Boulevard.

The military alleged that Panesa led a double life as “Benjamin Mendoza,” a leader of the New People’s Army of the Communist Party of the Philippines in the Southern Tagalog region, who was wanted for various criminal cases in a Lucena City court, including rebellion and murder. The government earlier offered a P5.6-million reward for Mendoza’s capture.

Panesa’s family and supporters accused the military of torturing Panesa to make him admit he was Mendoza.

The Court of Appeals’ 5th Division on granted a writ of habeas corpus that paved the way for the release of Panesa, who had been held since Oct. 8 at the Security Intensive Care Area of the Metro Manila District Jail at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.

“This court is convinced that this is a case of mistaken identity. The arrested and detained person, Rolly Mira Panesa, is not the same person as ‘Danilo Benjamin Mendoza,’ who is the subject of the order of arrest and commitment order,” according to the CA decision signed by Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang.

Prior to Panesa’s release, the

NUPL said: “If there is any classic example of justice delayed and justice denied, this [case] no doubt fits the bill.”

The NUPL noted that the case underwent “long-drawn and tedious proceedings” despite the body of evidence clearing Panesa of the charge, including official IDs and government records establishing his identity.

The military based the accusations on the testimony of two alleged “comrades” of Mendoza, who identified Panesa as the wanted rebel leader.

The CA noted that Panesa’s name was not included in the government’s order of arrest for rebellion and that Mendoza “had no known alias of Rolly Panesa.”

The court also said it was “puzzled” by the charge because, during Panesa’s court appearances, “it was easily recognizable that the detained person … does not look like a 61year-old man.” Mendoza was listed in the charge sheet as 61 years old. Panesa maintained he was only 48.

It also noted that the two supposed informants were not with the police at the time of Panesa’s arrest, and that the documentary evidence submitted by the military never described what

Mendoza looked like.

The petition for a writ of habeas corpus was filed by Panesa’s common-law wife Marites Chioco and his sister Jiose Panesa.

Named as respondents in the petition were Insp. Bernardino Edgar Camus, SICA jail warden; Maj. Gen. Alan Luga, commanding general of the AFP Southern Luzon Command; Maj. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario, commanding general, 2nd infantry division, Philippine Army; Chief Supt. James Andres Melad, regional director Philippine National Police regional Office IV; and Senior Supt. Manuel Abu, chief of the regional Intelligence Office of the PNP Regional Office IV. ■

Survivors lead fight against human trafficking in Nepal

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer

300 other Nepali girls were rescued in a massive police raid of Indian brothels in 1996. Back in their homeland, nothing changed, as both the government and their families disowned them, seeing them as “soiled women.”

TWO WOMEN were taken from their homes when they were in their teens, drugged and smuggled into India to work in Mumbai brothels.

Members of the Nepali organization Shakti Samuha, or Power Group, relish their Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of their efforts to help fellow survivors of human trafficking start a new life.

Laxmi Puri, 27, and Surita Danuwar, 30, laugh and smile freely, savoring their moment of great triumph as their group, the Shakti Samuha (Power Group) was named among this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awardees for turning personal tragedy into a collective story of survivors fighting and watching out for each other. www.canadianinquirer.net

The group organizes survivors of human trafficking who are usually shunned after their ordeal for being “soiled” women, and provides them statefunded shelters, counseling, education and livelihood training.

“Other people work for other people’s rights. But we work for our rights. That’s the difference,” said Danuwar, who is the organization’s president and one of its founders.

“The feelings and difficulties of survivors can only be understood by survivors themselves. No other person can feel how we feel,” said Puri, treasurer of this top Nepalese antitrafficking group.

Rescued from brothels

Both Puri and Danuwar were among the 300 other Nepali girls rescued in a massive police raid of Indian brothels in 1996. But though the rescue freed them from their abusers,

they found themselves “kept in harsh semi-detention” for months as their repatriation suffered delays, according to the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation (RMAF).

Nothing changed once they were back in their homeland, as both the government and their families disowned them, seeing them as “soiled women.” It was then that the women realized they had no one to turn to but themselves.

Fit for ‘easy jobs’ only

The survivors, aged 15 to 18 at the time, decided to form themselves into Shakti Samuha, a “power group” reaching within themselves to overcome the systemic stigma on trafficked women and start their lives anew.

Initially, their government did not appreciate the intrepid ❱❱ PAGE 15 Survivors lead

Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 12

Roxas Blvd face-lift to start with tacky lampposts

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer LAMPPOSTS ARE top of mind in yet another scheme to transform Roxas Boulevard into a commercial and tourist attraction.

The Roxas Boulevard Redevelopment Project, spearheaded by the Department of Tourism and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), aims at transforming the 7.6-kilometer thoroughfare by the Manila Bay into a park complex of shops, restaurants and cafes.

“We envision the current Roxas Boulevard service roads to be commercial or shopping roads. We plan to convert them into strips of night cafes,” said Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson.

Singson expressed confidence the creation of a shopping street on the Roxas Boulevard park would broaden the revenue impact of the place.

Let’s start with lampposts

Streetlamps being the default mode of government officials when they want to give any part of a city or town a facelift, the Roxas Boulevard redevelopment will have for its major feature “uniform, standarddesigned and China-made” streetlamps, according to Reynaldo Tagudando, the director for the National Capital Region of the DPWH.

Tagudando said the DPWH had already spent P43 million on the initial phase of the lamppost project. This went to the installation of the lampposts on both sides and the median of Roxas Boulevard from the Coastal Mall area near the boulevard’s southern terminus to Russel Street in Parañaque.

To follow soon is the installation of the same type of lampposts along the stretch of the boulevard from Russel Street to Vito Cruz in Pasay City, for which the DPWH has set aside P33 million, Tagudando said.

The installation of the uniformly designed lampposts in the Manila portion of the boulevard—from Vito Cruz to the Intramuros or Walled City— ”has yet to be finalized,” he said.

He said the DPWHhad yet to sign a memorandum of agreement with the city government of Manila so no budget allocation had been made yet.

“We will make consultations shortly with Mayor Joseph Estrada and the Manila City Engineer’s Office about the project,” Tagudando said.

“We’re confident we’ll forge the MOA with Manila City Hall the earliest possible time,” he said.

Erap has own plans

A possible complication is that Estrada has his own plans for the existing Roxas Boulevard streetlamps, which he had pronounced as “ugly.”

Estrada, who has announced plans to give the nation’s capital a facelift, said he would start by replacing the Roxas Boulevard streetlamps.

The controversial streetlights, all made in China, were installed by former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza supposedly to deter crime and promote urban development. His successor, Mayor Alfredo Lim, a political ally of President Aquino, continued the project.

“The street was transformed into a carnival ... with multicolored lights. It’s embarrassing ... That will be changed ... It’s ugly,” Estrada said during a recent visit to the INQUIRER. Tagudando did not comment on Estrada’s plans to retire the Roxas Boulevard lampposts.

More than beautification

According to Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., the Roxas Boulevard Redevelopment Project is “not just a beautification project.”

It is also a “business plan aimed at restoring and enhancing Manila as a viable capital for tourism and business,” he said.

It is aimed at transforming portions of the thoroughfare into a commercial strip to spur economic activity and will involve the cleanup of debris from previous redevelopment projects, landscape improvements and planting of endemic plants, Jimenez said.

Aside from the installation of

PHOTO FROM SIMPLY DOTA VIA SKYSCRAPERCITY.COM

new lampposts, the park redevelopment will also involve the pavement of pedestrian walkways and installation of bike lanes, among other projects, Tagudando said.

The program’s “full budget” is still being finalized, Jimenez told reporters .

Singson and Jimenez appealed to the private sector to support the ambitious project to “maximize the business impact along the boulevard.”

The two agencies plan to hold a series of consultations and meetings with concerned local government units to deal with common problems like security, billboards and illegal and ambulant vendors.

Covered by public bidding

Tagudando clarified that the

lamppost project is “covered by public biddings.”

“The DPWH handles the procurement of these lampposts while the LGUs’ (local governments’) counterpart will be shouldering the electric bills,” he said.

A DPWH report on the project said “all street luminaire assemblies shall include the poles and foundations that could withstand up to [450-kilometers-per-hour] winds without permanent deformation.”

“In the event that some existing streetlight posts have to be retired and removed, the contractor shall provide the necessary reconnections to make the circuit operational,” it said.

“Electrical works shall be done under the direct supervision of duly registered electrical engineers,” it said. ■

Lawmakers seek end to dynasties

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares

PHOTO FROM PINOYWEEKLY.ORG

MILITANT LAWMAKERS are seeking the passage of a bill banning political dynasties in a continuing bid to challenge the concentration of political power in the hands of a few families.

The antipolitical dynasty bill was filed by lawmakers from militant party-list groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis, ACT Teachers and Kabataan, and Caloocan City Rep. Edgardo Erice.

“Look around you and you will see that public office, in more cases than not, has become the exclusive domain of www.canadianinquirer.net

influential families and clans,” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said in a statement.

Colmenares cited a United Nations Development Program study that said 72 of 77 provinces in the country had political families. There were at least two dominant political clans in most of the provinces.

Because of sociopolitical inequalities, these ruling families tended to monopolize elective public office, he said.

“In many instances, voters, for convenience and out of a cultural mind-set, look up to these economically and politically dominant families as dispensers of favors, material and otherwise, and tend to elect rel-

atives of these politically dominant families,” he said.

Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan said there must be a bill to limit the participation of political families in the elective process.

“We are pushing for this bill to give real teeth to the constitutional mandate and strengthen the call for a new politics to lay the basis for greater empowerment for the greater number of Filipinos,” Ilagan said.

Under the antidynasty bill, incumbent officials’ spouses and relatives within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity would not be allowed to hold or run for elective office in the same province or in the same election. ■

Philippine News

13 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

DFA keeps cool in face of China’s snub of P-noy

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC AND TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer WHEN MALACAÑANG got word on that it was not a “conducive time” to set foot in Chinese soil, President Aquino, who was supposed to attend a trade fair and business conference in the southern Chinese city of Nanning, changed his mind and backed off.

“The President has decided not to proceed to Caexpo (China-Asean Expo), taking into consideration China’s request for him to visit the country at a more conducive time,” said Raul Hernandez, spokesperson of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

But Hernandez clarified that China did not rescind the invitation to the Philippines.

China’s request was relayed to Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert del Rosario late , he said.

Amid China’s apparent snub of President Aquino, Del Rosario is choosing to stay calm.

Del Rosario opted to hold back in reacting to China’s decision to virtually uninvite Mr. Aquino from attending the regional trade expo as he still hoped to save the relationship between Manila and Beijing.

He admitted, however, that exercising such restraint is tough, considering the gravity of what happened.

“For the sake of preserving our relations with China, I think it is best to limit our remarks to what had previously been stated,” Del Rosario told the INQUIRER via text message .

“As may be evident, we are all having the greatest of difficulties in exercising restraint for what they had done to our President,” said the official.

The President decided on to call off his daylong visit to China on Sept. 3, Hernandez told reporters in an interview in Malacañang.

“On the part of the Philippines, we will continue to abide by our principled position that bilateral relations can advance despite differences,” said Hernandez.

The Philippines is the host or “country of honor” in this year’s Caexpo, which is held annually in China to promote the building of the China-Asean free trade area.

Hernandez would not second-guess China’s reason for saying that this would not be a conducive time for Mr. Aquino to come to China.

“I think you have to ask China about that,” he said.

Last year, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas led the Philippine delegation to the expo and held a sideline meeting with then Chinese Vice President and now

5 agencies... said received at least P6.165 billion in the PDAF of 12 senators and 180 House members.

Another senator, Lapid, gave P5 million of his pork to FDGFI in June 2011. ❰❰ 3

24 representatives

DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez.

PHOTO FROM RUFFYBIAZON.PH

President Xi Jinping. The two leaders were known to have taken “divergent” positions during the meeting.

Hernandez reiterated the government’s position that China should join the country in seeking a diplomatic solution to maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

“We have urged China to consider the rules-based approach to the West Philippine Sea issue. This rules-based approach is a combination of a twopronged approach, which is advocating the code of conduct on the South China Sea and pursuing the arbitral case with Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) in order to resolve the maritime dispute,” he said.

“And according to the Chinese ministry, this would be a hard sell for constituents of China at this time,” he added.

The Philippines had applied for its dispute with China to be arbitrated under the Unclos, a 1982 treaty to which the two countries are both signatories.

The legal action, now proceeding at The Hague, also seeks to halt Chinese incursions into established Philippine maritime boundaries.

But China has rejected the Philippines’ call for United Nations arbitration, insisting on bilateral negotiations with its smaller neighbor.

China claims all of the West Philippine Sea, up to the coasts of its neighbors. The Philippines has said that China’s claim infringes on its own maritime territory.

Tensions between Manila and Beijing continue as the Philippines pursued its arbitration bid against China to clarify maritime boundaries in the contested waters, a move the country took when previous attempts to peacefully settle the dispute with the Chinese had failed. ■

Half of the PDAF that went to Philforest in 2011 came from representatives— Antonio T. Kho of Masbate (P30 million), Salvador P. Cabaluna II and Michael Angelo Rivera of the 1CARE party-list group (P22.5 million each), Reynaldo V. Umali of Oriental Mindoro (P15 million), Jose Benjamin Benaldo of Cagayan de Oro (P15 million), Nicanor Briones of the Agap party-list group (P13 million).

Emil Ong of Northern Samar (P13 million), Peter Unabia of Misamis Oriental (P12 million), Hadjiman Hataman-Salliman of Basilan (P11 million), Joel Roy Duavit of Rizal (P10 million), Eduardo Gullas of Cebu (P9 million), Ramon H. Durano VI of Cebu (P9 million).

Nancy Catamco of North Cotabato (P9 million), Marc Douglas Cagas IV of Davao del Sur (P7 million), Jesus Emmanuel Paras of Bukidnon (P5 million), Potenciano Payuyo of the Apec party-list group (P5 million), Isabelle Climaco of Zamboanga City (P4 million), Nelson Dayanghirang of Davao Oriental (P4 million).

Robert Raymund M. Estrella of the

Abono party-list group (P3 million), Rodolfo Valencia of Oriental Mindoro (P3 million), Yevgeny Vicente B. Emano of Misamis Oriental (P3 million), Teoderico Haresco of the Kasangga party-list group (P1.5 million), Jose Aquino II of Agusan del Norte (P1 million) and Franklin Bautista of Davao del Sur (P1 million).

In the COA special audit of pork barrel releases from 2007 to 2009, TRC received P2.432 billion; NLDC, P1.259 billion; Nabcor, P1.227 billion; and ZREC, P282 million.

The COA questioned why these corporate entities allowed the NGOs to undertake the projects that they should have undertaken themselves.

Management fees

The COA also wondered why the state firms chose the NGO beneficiaries based solely on the recommendation of lawmakers and why they rewarded themselves with 3 percent to 3.5 percent in management fees for practically doing nothing.

The INQUIRER reported on Aug. 16 that seven fake NGOs allegedly controlled by Napoles had cornered close to P1 billion in pork barrel of five senators and eight representatives that was coursed mainly through NLDC. Roughly half of the funds were released between 2010 and 2012. ■

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Philippine News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 14

‘Internet loudmouth’ at center of pork protest

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer SHE’S JUST an “Internet loudmouth” who could not help venting online her anger over the pork barrel scandal gripping the nation, with allegations about the funneling of people’s money to private pockets.

But with the same burning desire for change as thousands of Filipinos, advertising executive Peachy Rallonza-Bretaña became a central figure in the first massive protest under the Aquino administration.

Bretaña insisted she was not a leader of the Aug. 26 march to Luneta—just the person who suggested the time and the place for the march.

But Bretaña, a mother of three boys, a self-avowed “cat lady” and, to her brothers, their “loudmouth sister,” has become an example of the ordinary, politically unaffiliated citizen who does not want to take the pork barrel issue sitting down.

She did not plan the march but it all came together because people from different backgrounds “stepped up,” she said.

“That’s the whole beauty of that Million People March,” she told the INQUIRER. “It’s not beyond us to be leaders in our little group. It’s not beyond us to speak in one voice.

It’s not beyond us to respect each other’s differences. It’s not beyond us to act so amazingly great. We’re capable of it,” she said.

How it began

The march to Luneta arose from people who were not the usual members of the parliament of the streets.

The idea for the rally came from music executive producer and Neocolours vocalist Ito Rapadas, who, angered that taxes were being used to line the pockets of unscrupulous

people, shared the thought on Facebook.

Rapadas was not alone. Soon, his friends were reposting his status, including fellow musician Monet Silvestre.

Bretaña saw the post and suggested the rally be held at Rizal Park on National Heroes’ Day. The idea took off.

Various backgrounds

The Filipinos behind Power ng Pinoy, a TV program in the United States, created a Facebook event page where thousands signified their intent to join.

People from various backgrounds—cause-oriented groups and the private sector— met to serve as coordinators.

Bretaña said she herself was not an activist. The only rally she attended when she was a student at the University of the Philippines was the 1983 funeral march for assassinated opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., the President’s father.

She actually prefers to work alone and pursue the causes she believes in.

That is partly why she chose to “disengage” from the group behind the Facebook event page and those that acted as coordinators of the gathering, she said.

Big picture

There’s no animosity between them but she said dealing with people from diverse backgrounds, with different levels of involvement, was something she, as a neophyte, was not emotionally prepared to handle.

Hence, her decision to step back.

Bretaña prefers to zero in on an objective and take a more simplified and focused approach.

“The others are so deep in their work and that’s good,” she said. “They’re more exposed, more knowledgeable, so some of them want something different... I’m focusing on the big

picture.”

She chose to focus on the call to scrap the pork barrel and hold people accountable, regardless of political affiliation.

‘A long fight’

Even as she returns to her advertising job, Bretaña plans to gain a deeper understanding of the pork issue. She wants people, especially those who ask her what to do next, to do the same.

“The pork barrel issue is going to be a long fight,” she said.

There have been calls for another mass gathering, this one on Edsa on Sept. 11. Bretaña is not connected with the group organizing that and believes it is too soon for such a gathering, she said on Twitter.

Bretaña said the anger that led people to converge at Manila’s Rizal Park continued to simmer.

Not a few were aghast about how alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles was seemingly accorded special treatment when she surrendered to the President.

Other causes

“It was like a production number,” Bretaña mused.

“I wish he hadn’t been personally involved. Because the people’s perception is that there was special treatment given. That’s why it became highly suspicious,” she added.

The pork barrel was not the first cause Bretaña had taken up. She had been pursuing causes dealing with children and animals.

She was one of those who filed a case against TV host Willie Revillame for goading a crying, 6year-old boy to dance suggestively onstage in exchange for cash.

That complaint was dismissed by the prosecutor but she said the issue raised awareness on how to properly treat children.

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Peachy Rallonza-Bretaña

Love for animals

As in the Million People March, Bretaña’s involvement in that case arose from her venting her ire on Facebook.

When she saw the video of the crying boy, her anger was so intense she kept on posting messages, hoping to reach someone who could do something about it.

She and other like-minded individuals came together to file the complaint. They are her friends up to now and were even fellow volunteers at the Luneta event.

Her animal welfare advocacy is also something she lives for.

She calls herself a “cat lady”— 20 felines share the family home, sometimes taking over her side of the bed.

Most of her cats are “rescues”—fellow animal lovers are welcome to adopt them.

Her family also has three dogs, one of them picked up off the streets.

Clean up the system

As shown by Bretaña’s example, one does not need to be a member of any political or cause-oriented group to change something for the better.

Bretaña believes things will improve and hopes the President will take action and succeed.

But currently, many people are unhappy with the way things are, she said.

“It’s just that there is so much distrust, doubt in them. The perception is they are trying to cover each other’s asses, each other’s backs,” she said.

No one is calling for a revolution, she said. People just want to clean up the system so as not to waste the gains the country has achieved.

“I think we’ve matured enough to know that working outside the system is not going to help us,” she said.

“What everyone wants is to clean up the government, not destroy it,” she added. ■

Philippine News

15 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Survivors lead... move. Recalled Danuwar: “In the beginning, when we tried to register our organization, government people would look at us from head to toe and tell us ‘oh, you are so young, and you don’t have any education and you are also looking beautiful.

So you can go and work in restaurants or massage parlors or find easy jobs.’”

They were denied accreditation at first, but the women were determined to get their government’s attention. For four years, they lobbied, held survivors’ conferences, spoke in public fora and made the media rounds to talk about their plight.

“We attended our national level forum and said that our government didn’t give us permission to work in society,” Danuwar said. “The survivors also organized survivors’ conferences.” The pressure eventually compelled the government to accredit the group. In 2000, Shakti Samuha became a full-fledged, state-registered ant-itrafficking organization, reluctantly recognized by the government.

The women’s group now stands as the first nongovernment organization formed and run by trafficking survivors, who are working to make a dent in the multibillion dollar human trafficking industry that persists in many parts of the world, including the Philippines.

❰❰ 11

“(Things have) changed,” said Danuwar. “The government now initiates support for the group and the survivors.

When we need help, we ask (government) to rescue victims. Now, it’s a positive relationship.”

Sexual slavery

In Nepal, where the average monthly wage is $71 (P3,000), human trafficking remains a problem, with men, women and children alike trafficked domestically and overseas as forced labor and sexual slaves.

According to the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report of the United States Department of State, the Nepalese government “does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” though efforts are underway. The report also cited the complicity of certain government officials with traffickers.

“It is very difficult to fight organized trafficking in Nepal. When Shakti Samuha was formed, it became easier to fight back because we have a team,” said Puri, who gave a surprised smile when told that her name in Filipino meant “dignity.”

In the last decade, Shakti Samuha has become Nepal’s leading organization, pursuing a three-pronged program of “repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration” among trafficking victims.

State-funded shelters

The group is active in 11 Nepalese districts and has 168 members. It has some 500 trafficking victims under its care in state-funded shelters for survivors.

Reclaiming dignity

In Nepal, where the average monthly wage is $71, human trafficking remains a problem.

It has also provided counseling and job placement to at least 678 trafficking victims and livelihood training and education to 670 more. The group has reached some 15,000 Nepalese in programs aimed at spreading awareness of the human trafficking problem among the grassroots sector.

Shakti Samuha also managed to pressure the Nepalese government to strengthen its anti-trafficking law. Last year, the group scored its first court victory with the conviction of a group of Nepalese traffickers, who are now serving a 117year jail term.

Implement plastics ban now, environmentalists urge Manila gov’t

BY ERIKA SAULER Philippine Daily Inquirer WITH THE one-year moratorium on Manila’s plastic ban about to end, an environmental group urged the city government to enforce the ordinance, citing its recent finding that yellow plastic bags contain excessive levels of toxic chemicals.

Ordinance No. 8282 which prohibits the use of plastic bags for dry goods and regulate their use for wet goods was passed on Sept. 3 last year by the previous administration.

A one-year ban on its implementation was imposed to allow businessmen to make the necessary adjustments.

“By taking firm action to curb the indiscriminate use and disposal of plastic bags, Mayor [Joseph] Erap Estrada and the government and people of Manila will surely contribute to diminishing such a toxic threat to humans and the ecosystems,” said Sonia Mendoza of EcoWaste Coalition’s Zero Waste Committee.

The group bought and analyzed some 4,300 plastic bags from wholesalers and retailers in Divisoria, Paco, Quiapo and Sam-

paloc on Aug. 29 to 31 to determine compliance with toxics in packaging control.

Using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, EcoWaste found out that 2,300 of the 4,300 pieces of yellow “sando” bag samples (bags shaped like an undershirt) representing 13 brands, exceeded the allowable level of 100 parts per million (ppm) by weight for toxic metals, particularly lead.

The group said that lead, a potent neurological, reproductive and developmental toxin, was detected in levels ranging from 106 to 5,680 ppm, with average lead content at 1,313 ppm.

The sampling was limited to yellow plastic sando bags as similar studies abroad had shown lead in colored bags due to the use of lead chromate, it said.

“Our findings confirm that plastic bags represent a real menace to human and ecological health,” Mendoza said.

“The threat comes not only from the huge amount of discarded plastic bags blocking waterways, aggravating floods and choking dumps, but also from their toxic chemical ingredients that get dispersed into the environment, contaminating the food chain and ultimately, our bodies,” she said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

The RMAF selected Shakti Samuha as one of this year’s winners “for transforming their lives in service to other human trafficking survivors, for their passionate dedication toward rooting out a pernicious social evil in Nepal, and the radiant example they have shown the world in reclaiming the human dignity that is the birthright of all abused women and children everywhere.”

With the award, the group received a $50,000 grant to take their advocacy further. The group plans to use the money to undertake capacity-building and education programs for survivors and to mount a national-level forum for trafficking victims.

For trafficking victims, the group has one message: reach out.

“If they are survivors, they are not alone. They could open up to other survivors (and) organizations. People can support them and (help them) deal with trauma and everything [they are going through],” Danuwar said. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 16

THERE’S THE RUB

Let the hunt begin

By Conrado De Quiros Philippine Daily Inquirer AT FIRST blush, Janet Lim-Napoles is the guiltiest of them all. The principle, as Leila de Lima explains, is important if Napoles is to be allowed to become state witness. Assuming she agrees to become one.

The law says that if a crime involves a conspiracy, only the “least guilty” may be accepted as state witness. It stands to reason: You can’t allow the mastermind, or the guiltiest of them all, to testify against his minions in exchange for a commuted sentence, or for walking away free. That is rewarding monstrosity, that is abetting impunity.

In theory, Napoles is the guiltiest in the P10-billion pork scam. She it was who got the lion’s share of the loot. She it was who conceived of the scam and put it in operation for all of 10 years. She it was who manufactured the nongovernment organizations that siphoned off the pork barrel funds from the senators and congressmen. While at this, she it was who gave NGOs a horrendously bad name, from a lofty entity given to doing things better than government, especially in attending to the needs of the poor and marginalized, to something fake.

She it was who lured the senators and

congressmen into parting with what they thought was their own money but was really the people’s. She it was who put up the fronts, she it was who worked out the details, she it was who supervised the collecting until her subalterns, like Benhur Luy, learned the ropes and dreamed of taking over or putting up rival organizations that offered better rates of returns, or kickbacks. She it was who ran the organization. She it was who masterminded the operation.

Does that mean she cannot turn state witness and tell tales?

Not at all. Quite simply, she is not the guiltiest of them all.

I can understand how an illegal recruiter might be so in a scam involving overseas Filipino workers. An illegal recruiter who lures an OFW, or someone dreaming of working abroad, into parting with his hard-earned cash, the kind that gets stashed in soiled handkerchiefs, is truly guilty of a monstrous crime. His victim’s hardearned cash probably took the form of selling a carabao, or pawning belongings, something he did in pursuit of an elusive dream. A dream that would continue to elude him for the work abroad being nonexistent.

This is nothing of the sort. The people Napoles lured into her scam were not helpless and desperate, they were

rich and powerful. They knew perfectly well what they were getting into and got exactly what they paid for. In fact they weren’t lured at all. This is a case of mutual exploitation, the senators and congressmen who put their pork barrel funds in Napoles’ hands using Napoles as much as Napoles used them. If not indeed more so: The pork barrel funds were burning a hole in their pockets. It was loot waiting to

The people Napoles lured into her scam were not helpless and desperate, they were rich and powerful. They knew perfectly well what they were getting into. be laundered, it was stash waiting to be converted into usable cash.

If Napoles had not existed, the crispy- pataloving senators and congressmen would have invented her.

They and not Napoles are the guiltiest here. Their crime goes beyond the amounts of kickbacks they got from the pork scam. Their crime is of the stuff that gets presidents themselves impeached. As the congressmen who prosecuted Erap themselves cried out then, that is betrayal of public trust.

Napoles is nothing, she is an ordi-

nary citizen, even if she is an extraordinary scoundrel. It still astonishes how someone who started out as a nobody had the cleverness and skill to build an empire out of spit. May bocadora, as we say, if not admiringly at least grudgingly. The senators and congressmen are everything, they occupy positions of power and authority. We elected them into their offices.

We owe them respect, we owe them obedience, we gave them the power to make the laws by which we live. Napoles we expect to do what she did, the senators and congressmen we do not.

Just as well, we entrusted them with our money, in the same way that a poor family in the provinces entrusts a relative of theirs in Metro Manila with their lifetime savings to send their son to school. And they pocketed the money, quite apart from using a good deal of it to gamble and gambol, in the same way that the relative in Manila pocketed the money and spent a good deal of it betting at the races— and keeping the kid away from school.

You cannot have a betrayal of trust more vicious, you cannot have a betrayal of public trust more profound.

The explosion of rage that ended up at the Luneta last —though that is by no means the end, as the marchers vow— was not primarily because of Napoles,

it was primarily because of the senators and congressmen. Except that that tended to be more implicit than explicit, more instinctive than articulated.

Though Napoles has become the face of pork, the social media giving that face a literally swinish appearance, she is not the heart and soul of pork or the wanton profligacy pork has come to represent. The legislators are.

Zen has a saying that when someone points at the moon, you do not look at the finger, you look at the moon. Napoles is just the finger pointing at the moon. It’s time we stopped looking at the finger and looked at the moon.

By all means let Napoles testify, by all means let her name names. Let her spill her guts out, even if that image conjures the thing roasting in the pit.

Now begins the hunt for truth, says the president. Ah, but that is the hardest part of all, beside which Napoles’ capture, or surrender, will look like a walk in the park. A nation is watching, a nation that showed its spit and fire last, a nation that is no longer content to make text jokes about corruption and agree to move on. We’ll see soon enough if we’re headed to bag wild boars, the more ferocious cousins of pigs, or mere rabbits.

Let the hunt begin. ■

AT LARGE

Watching ‘The Butler’ and ‘The March’

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer INSPIRING and joyful was the coverage of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, an event that drew about a hundred thousand Americans in 1963, at the height of the struggle for civil rights. It was also on this day that Martin Luther King Jr., the preacher who taught Americans—and adherents from around the world—that even the most stubborn of obstacles could be overcome with peaceful, purposeful protest, delivered his immortal “I Have a Dream” speech. There is no doubt that the event ushered in a fundamental change in American society, even if it would take more struggle, more violence, more deaths (Trayvon Martin’s comes to mind) before Americans could look around and say, yes, it’s a new world.

It was a day to feast eyes—and ears— on American celebrities, from the likes of Oprah to Will Smith to former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

And yes, it was a day to celebrate the reality that the United States now has an AfricanAmerican president in Barack Obama who chose, in his address, to recognize the “heroism” of countless, faceless and nameless Americans: “And I believe that spirit is there, that true force inside each of us. I see

it when a white mother recognizes her own daughter in the face of a poor black child. I see it when the black youth thinks of his own grandfather in the dignified steps of an elderly white man. It’s there when the native born recognizing that striving spirit of a new immigrant, when the interracial couple connects the pain of a gay couple who were discriminated against and understands it as their own.

That’s where courage comes from, when we turn not from each other or on each other but towards one another, and we find that we do not walk alone. That’s where courage comes from.” *** DAYS before catching the NBC News coverage of the March on Washington anniversary (with African-American Lester Holt as news anchor), I happened to catch a screening of “The Butler,” the film (no doubt made and released to mark the March) that tells the tale of a black butler in the White House.

I caught the film in the middle of the day, in the middle of the work week, because a friend urged me to watch the movie as soon as I could because “the theater was practically empty when we watched it.”

And indeed, there were only about eight or so of us in the SMCinema, proving a local booking agent’s observation many years ago that “movies

with black people don’t sell well here.”

Well, too bad for us. “The Butler” may speak to minorities in America, and retells the story of black Americans as reflected in the life of a White House butler, but it offered lots of inspiration and elation. True, change doesn’t just “happen,” it must be fought for, worked for and

And I believe that spirit is there, that true force inside each of us... It’s there when the native born recognizes that striving spirit of a new immigrant. - President Obama championed constantly. We Filipinos have a lot in commonwith the struggling characters in “The Butler,” and our continuing project to create a better, more honest society and government is just one of them. *** FOR HER latest birthday celebration, Sonya Garcia of “Sonya’s Garden” channeled the ladies of “Downtown Abbey” in a lacy white dress surrounded by women guests clad in similar filmy outfits and men in white.

It was a celebration marked by lots of food, including her famous salad amped up by the addition of ingredients like dates, walnuts, pineapple

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slices and lychees. She also gifted attendees with souvenir teacups filled with scented candles, demonstrating how, after the paraffin has melted, the warm oil could be massaged onto one’s hands, infusing them with the subtle scent of jasmine or lavender.

Timed to coincide with the celebration was the opening of “Sonya’s Lifestyle Haven,” tiny cottages (that will eventually total 10) in a nearby complex of greenhouses and vegetable plots.

While her justifiably famous “B&B” has gained a devoted following for those seeking escape from the hurly-burly of city life, the “Lifestyle Haven” offers sanctuary and quiet to a special clientele: “single women, (happily) separated/divorced women and widows.”

While the B&B caters to families and seminar groups, the haven is for women or groups of women who want to kick back in relative peace and privacy, indulging the senses and perfecting Sonya’s vaunted “art of doing nothing.”

Here’s Sonya’s come-on for party guests who might fancy a night or two at her Lifestyle Haven. *** “HAVE you ever dreamed of spending your days in utter leisure, with all your needs cared for and your days and nights swathed in beauty and delight? Breathing the fresh oxygen-

filled sweet air?

“Have you imagined waking up in a charming cottage looking out to a lush garden where you can enjoy the company of kindred spirits? Have you considered spending your days with a coterie of other ladies—a school chum, your sister or best pal—in laughter and in conversation, in the garden where you can harvest sweet purple basil and succulent tomatoes … or under the stars where you can watch old movies while getting a whiff of the heady scents of dama de noche, angels’ trumpets, ylang-ylang and other night-flowering plants?

“Keep your limbs nimble and your mind sharp by welcoming the day with sun salutations and meditation, and spending afternoons dabbling in painting, sewing, crocheting and cross-stitching…

“Or, on days when you prefer the quiet, retreat in your own room for a four hands full body massage or facial with organic egg mask and foot massage, or spend time in the company of a book on a soft bed of hand-embroidered linens, with a sprig of fresh lavender tucked in.

“Sonya Garcia invites you to a final life occasion that will transform your twilight years into your finest years yet…live the purposeful life you have always dreamed of.” ■

Opinion

17 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

WITH DUE RESPECT

Power of social media

By Artemio V. Panganiban Philippine Daily Inquirer THE SOCIAL media have come of age in our country. The awesome people-gathering power of Facebook and Twitter has been proven beyond doubt by the Million People March (MPM) last Aug. 26.

Different from Edsa PP. Significantly, the span, breadth and depth of MPM have been expanded by traditional media, especially the INQUIRER and the major radio-television networks, enabling it to reach the masses who do not have the computers, tablets and smart phones to access social media directly.

At this point, it no longer matters how many exactly attended the rally. Whether it was one million, or 400,000 or only 50,000 does not matter anymore. What matters is that its message has penetrated and outraged all sectors of society via mass media.

Edsa People Power 1 and 2 were ignited by a common major convenor, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin. Both events led to the instant ouster of our top leaders, President Ferdinand E. Marcos in PP1 and Joseph E. Estrada in PP2.

True, the Catholic Church (celebrating World Youth Day), Brother Mike Velarde and the Iglesia ni Cristo

have convened larger congregations at Luneta but these were well-planned religious liturgies and spiritual awakenings. True also, electoral “miting de avance” and political campaigns have been propelled by bigger crowds.

In contrast, MPM was spontaneously called by an enraged populace to galvanize action against a bedeviling issue of governance, the pork barrel scam. It was not meant to oust a sitting President or to renew religious fervor or to propel candidacies. It had no big-name convenor, no institutional organizer, no platform speakers, no grandstanding orators, no pre-planned program, no busses to ferry in the “hakot,” no financiers to feed them, no celebrity singers to entertain them and no rabble rousers to taunt them.

Yet came the mammoth crowd.

That knew what they were there for and vented their rage by simply being there. That sensed their common cause and common fervor. That recognized and promptly shooed away the pretenders and fellow travelers who surfaced with different agenda.

Gradual phaseout. Unlike PP1 and PP2, which ousted two sitting chief executives of the country after four days of continuous rallies at Edsa, MPM gathered only for a day and did not pro-

duce any immediate palpable result.

Nonetheless, I believe President Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other leaders heard our people’s cry. In fact, even before the rally began, President Aquino already announced the demise of the hated Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF. True, the President did not abolish pork barrel completely; in fact, it will remain in the 2014 budget, with

At this point, it no longer matters how many exactly attended the rally. What matters is that its message has penetrated and outraged all sectors of society via mass media. the safeguards installed by Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad.

While pork barrel will not disappear overnight, in time I think it will. Given P-Noy’s reformist streak, I think pork barrel would eventually be abolished within the next three years. The people have spoken and P-Noy is not deaf.

Yes, the abolition will be gradual and will not happen overnight, unlike the ouster of Marcos and Estrada.

MPM is destined to transform not just our leaders but the very culture

and mores of our political and social life. And that cannot be rushed, lest it disembowels and destroys the very foundations of society that it seeks to strengthen and uphold.

New species of free expression.

Social media are the newest species of the freedom of expression and are entitled to the same constitutional protection, thus “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the Government for redress of grievances.”

Free expression originated during the Middle Ages when people began speaking against their kings and emperors. Free speech was naturally followed by the right to peaceful assembly to redress grievances. When the printing press was invented, freedom of expression was expanded to include freedom of the press.

And when the Industrial Age dawned, labor’s right to strike and to picket also became modes of protected speech. Thereafter, radio, television and cinema came up and were likewise given constitutional mantle.

During the last two decades, opinion polls and election surveys have become parts of free expression.

Indeed, as mankind pushes the

frontiers of science in mass communications, so must the scope of free expression expand. Twitter, Facebook and other social media are the most recent technological expansion of the freedom of expression. Originally used for bonding with friends and relatives, they have become new tools of social transformation and reformation.

Now that our people have found these novel tools to effect change, they will, I am sure, continue to use them and to insist that the milestone begun on Aug. 26, 2013 be celebrated in the years to come. Government may as well adjust to the new vigilance of our citizenry. The earlier our officials recognize this reality the better for everyone.

What better way to demonstrate this recognition and adjustment than to be more transparent and accountable in the performance of public duty. And the best guarantee of transparency and accountability is the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill. Let’s abolish pork, let’s investigate and penalize the pork abusers and plunderers—and let’s make sure this mess will never happen again through a new FOI law guaranteeing greater public scrutiny of official responsibility. ■

AS I SEE IT

Janet can be ambushed on trips to Makati court

By Neal H. Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer JANET Lim-Napoles is the only detention prisoner I know who chose her detention cell. She chose, not a cell, but a bungalow with lots of space around it. Not only that; it was previously the home of several high-profile detainees: former President Erap Estrada, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Sen. Gringo Honasan and Nur Misuari, chair of the Moro National Liberation Front. She is in good company.

No other suspected criminal has ever been received at Malacañang to surrender to no less than the president of the nation before. No other prisoner has been accompanied by the President and his Presidential Security Group to the headquarters of the Philippine National Police before. Not even President Estrada.

Erap was shown to media being photographed and fingerprinted and going through the booking procedures that ordinary criminals go through.

Not Ma’am Janet. She is special. She cannot go through the same humiliating procedure. That is why the media were barred from photographing or even seeing her. This never happened before. Yet the government claims she is not being given special

treatment.

Napoles’ transfer to Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, was to make sure she would be safe, according to the government. Fort Sto. Domingo is crawling with elite policemen, being the training camp of the Special Action Force of the PNP. She would really be secure there from the hitmen of very important persons who naturally want her dead because of what she knows about them in relation to the P10-billion pork barrel scam that she masterminded.

Fort Sto. Domingo is 46 kilometers from Makati, where she would be tried. She would have to be taken from Sta. Rosa to Makati and back every time there is a hearing. That is a 92km round trip. During the trips to and fro, wouldn’t she be more vulnerable to attack than if she were confined in a place nearer to Makati, such as Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, which is only next door to Makati?

It would be so easy to plant bombs somewhere along her route or ambush her convoy at a lonely provincial road.

But I suppose her comfort and her image to the public are more important than her safety. Anyway, if we still have capital punishment, she

would be a candidate for the electric chair. But she should not be confined with ordinary criminals because she is not an ordinary criminal. She is very special. She is the mastermind of a scam that stole an unprecedented P10 billion (wow!) of the people’s money (nobody has been able steal that much before her), part of which she distributed to friends in high places, senators and congressmen no less. With such important and “honorable” partners in crime, she deserves to be confined in quarters more worthy of her fame, or notori-

Erap was shown to media being photographed and fingerprinted and going through the booking procedures that ordinary criminals go through. Not Ma’am Janet. She is special. ety: no less than the detention quarters of a former president of the Philippines and other VIPs. And shouldn’t the Department of Justice already take her sworn statement, which senators or congressmen assigned their pork barrel to her bogus NGOs and how much in kickbacks she gave them? In case some-

www.canadianinquirer.net

thing happens to her, her statement can be used as evidence against her partners-in-crime.

And wouldn’t it be smart of her to already give that sworn statement, naming names and how much? With that in prosecutors’ hands, it would be useless for her coconspirators to silence her. There would already be a record of what she knows. Hence she would stay alive much longer if she talks now. *** After delays in the bidding for the P60-billion LRT-1 Cavite Extension project, the Special Bids and Awards Committee of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) may declare a failure of bidding after all. The railway project is the biggest infrastructure project under the administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) program.

Of the four prequalified bidders, three backed out of the actual bidding. Only one, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) submitted a bid but failed to meet the requirements.

The failed bidding is a clear manifestation of the incompetence of those calling the shots at the DOTC. They did not understand the technical and economic aspects of the proj-

ect. Since each of the bidders must have spent at least P100 million preparing for the bids, it must have taken a lot for them to just write off such a large sum of money.

Transportation Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla and the DOTC’s supposed expert infrastructure advisers and consultants were wrong to presume that the private proponents will make bundles of money in profits at no risk to them, hence the unacceptable terms of the bidding.

Another undersecretary, Rene Limcaoco, said, “the government doesn’t want to make them too rich.”

It is obvious that the bidders were apprehensive about taking undue risks for this P60-billion project.

Among them are land acquisition, real estate taxes, right of way, tariff and relocation of squatters. These plus other unknown variables may cause delays in the projected time of completion and loss of substantial amounts of money to whoever will win the project.

In boxing lingo, what happened the other week was a straight jab followed by a left hook that stunned DOTC officials. They thought they could throw their weight around due to the “viability” of the project. ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

18

Canada News

Are Canada’s wireless prices cheaper than in the US? A look at the numbers

NEWS BRIEFS

BY MICHAEL OLIVEIRA The Canadian Press TORONTO—If you’ve opened a newspaper or turned on a radio in the past month or two, you’ve probably caught the barrage of ads bought by Canada’s big wireless companies ominously warning about the perils of a potential move by U.S giant Verizon up north.

The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association industry group also bought ads suggesting that consumers wouldn’t benefit from an American competitor opening shop here. The ads quoted two independent reports that claim our prices are lower than what consumers pay in the U.S. “Wireless rates in Canada are typically lower than in the U.S., in some cases up to 40 per cent lower and smartphone monthly plans are actually less expensive in Canada than in the U.S.,” read the ads.

Bell, Rogers and Telus got good news on Sunday, when Verizon said it currently has no interest in moving to Canada.

But are the claims of low Canadian prices true? The Canadian Press compared the prices currently being promoted by the larger mobile providers on both sides of the border to see how the numbers stacked up. The comparison omits pre-paid packages and does not account for activation costs and other fees, which are sometimes waived by promotions. But keep in mind many carriers do charge $35 as a setup fee, which amortizes to just under $1.50 a month on a two-year contract. All prices are before taxes.

Phone only

It may be difficult for web-obsessed users to imagine, but some consumers still see their mobile device as a telephone first. For them, the cheapest rate offered by both Rogers and Bell is $30 for 200 minutes of talk time. In the U.S., it doesn’t get cheaper than $40 for a basic voice plan.

Cheapest data package

It’ll cost you at least $45 to $50 to

THE WAY WE WERE. Canada giants Bell, Rogers and Telus’ warnings about the perils of a

potential move by U.S. giant Verizon to Canadian territory has borne fruit: Verizon is no longer interested in moving to Canada.

get a package that includes an allotment of megabytes to use for mobile web browsing, with Bell currently offering the best deal: 150 minutes of talk time and 400 megabytes of Internet activity for $45. U.S. pricing is no cheaper, although T-Mobile offers a plan for just $5 more that includes unlimited calling and 500 megabytes of data.

Unlimited calling, two gigabytes of data

Here, Americans get a better deal.

Bells and Rogers have promotions at this tier for $75 a month. A similar plan with T-Mobile in the U.S. is $60 and it comes with 2.5 gigabytes of data.

All-you-can-download data plan

The U.S. companies win this one by default, since Bell, Rogers and Telus don’t offer unlimited data plans. TMobile charges $70 for unlimited calls and data while Sprint bills $80 for that plan. Meanwhile, a Bell promo is currently offering unlimited calling and six gigabytes of data for $105.

Shareable plans

Most mobile carriers are encouraging consumers to round up their family members on a single bill to get group savings. With Rogers, for example, two users can get unlimited calling and share an allotment of six gigabytes at a cost of $80 each. If three users are on the same plan sharing those six gigabytes, the price drops to

about $72 each. In the U.S. with Sprint and T-Mobile, unlimited data and calling for two users on a shared account is $75 each. It’s just $50 apiece for three users on T-Mobile.

THREAT OF VERIZON DID AFFECT PRICES: ANALYST Consumers may eventually face price creep but Canada’s big three wireless carriers won’t be able to easily retreat from the deals they’ve been offering, says an analyst. “If nothing else, even the spectre of Verizon coming here was enough to change pricing in the Canadian market,” telecom analyst Iain Grant said Tuesday.

What’s Verizon’s best deal?

More competition is always a good thing but there’s not much about Verizon’s current pricing down south to really get Canadian consumers excited—even if the company was interested in moving here. Verizon is heavily pushing the shared-plan concept, to the detriment of individual customers. The cheapest voice and data plan is $80 for unlimited calling and 500 megabytes to surf with. Rogers and Bell are currently charging $60 for the same package. The shared plans offer better value, especially with three or more users on the same account, but are still pretty close to Canadian pricing.

So who’s got the better prices?

There is no definitive answer as to whether there’s better mobile pricing in Canada or the U.S.; consumers in both countries win some and lose some. We get the best deals on cheaper, low-end plans. Consumers who are willing to give the smaller mobile providers a shot in some cases they’re owned by the big three mobile companies anyway can sometimes find better pricing with those upstarts. But Americans do seem to enjoy more economical access to the mobile web and can burn through gigabytes at a lower cost. ■

NOVA SCOTIA TORIES OFFER SCHOOL SUPPLY CREDIT HALIFAX—Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives are promising a tax credit of up to $200 for school supplies if the party forms the next government. Leader Jamie Baillie says parents and teachers would be eligible under the plan, which he expects would cost about $3.9 million annually.

FEDS LOOK AT CAPPING NUMBER OF REFUGEES WITH HEALTH PROBLEMS MONTREAL—The federal government has examined ways to limit the number of refugees entering Canada who have been victims of trauma and torture, to save costs for the health system, documents show.

ASSAULTS DURING SURGERIES DIDN’T HAPPEN: LAWYER TORONTO—It is “simply impossible” that an anesthesiologist accused of molesting 21 women during surgeries would have been able to do so undetected by anyone else in the operating rooms, his lawyer told a judge Tuesday during his closing arguments. Dr. George Doodnaught has pleaded not guilty to 21 counts of sexual assault.

Canada News

19 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Ontario’s premier criticizes Quebec’s secular charter, says diversity is strength THUNDER BAY, ONT.—Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has become the latest Canadian political leader to criticize Quebec’s proposal to ban public servants from wearing religious symbols.

The Parti Quebecois government has proposed a Charter of Quebec Values which reportedly would restrict the right of public employees to wear religious items like turbans, yarmulkes, hijabs and visible crosses.

That’s not something Ontario will be doing, Wynne said Tuesday.

“It’s very important to me that Ontario is a diverse province, that our laws and our policies reflect that diversity,” she told reporters in Thunder Bay, Ont. “I believe that it is fundamentally one

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of our strengths, and as we talk about our place, Ontario’s place, in the global economy, our diversity is part of that.”

Asked directly about the Quebec proposal, Wynne said her government will continue to promote diversity in its policies and practices.

“Respecting that diversity, being inclusive and finding the shared Canadian values that we all believe in, that’s what our strength is as a province, so that’s how I will proceed,” she said.

“Other provinces, you know, will make their decisions, but I see our strength as our diversity.”

Ontario’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Michael Coteau, put out a statement late last month making it clear the province would not try to ban the use of religious symbols in any place by anyone.

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tario to restrict or prohibit people’s freedom of expression and religion in public places,” said Coteau.

“Ontario’s diversity and freedom of expression and religion is a model to the world, where we celebrate and respect each other’s differences.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau have all been openly critical of Quebec’s proposed Values Charter.

“Our job is social inclusion,” Harper said last week in Toronto. “Our job is making all groups who come to this country, whatever their background, whatever their race, whatever their eth-

nicity, whatever their religion, feel at home in this country and be Canadians.”

Harper promised to protect minority rights, but said he’s wary of getting sucked into a fight on the PQ’s chosen battlefield.

“We know that the separatist government in Quebec would love to pick fights with Ottawa,” he said.

The PQ is expected to put out a discussion paper next week on its Quebec Values Charter, and legislation will be introduced in the National Assembly following input from other political parties and the public.

Quebec’s opposition Liberals are resisting the idea, which they deride as a PQ attempt to distract from economic issues. ■

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World News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 20

Indian channel, melding traditionalism and reality TV, seeks viewers with nonstop wedding news

BY SHIVAN SARNA The Associated Press NOIDA, INDIA—Weddings and reality television: Indians are obsessed with both. Now, Shagun TV, a new television channel headquartered in a sprawling suburb of India’s capital, is hoping it has found a can’t-miss idea—merging the two into a 24hour matrimonial TV station.

Shagun TV can itself seem obsessed. Artwork on the windows of its lobby depict an Indian wedding procession, with turbaned men beating drums and an elephant-drawn carriage carrying the groom. In the main TV studio, a large cardboard astrology chart lies against a wall, used by one host to answer wedding and relationship questions. And a plasma television loops video of a bridal ceremony.

Then there are the programs.

There is a bridal makeover show, a show featuring dreamy honeymoon destinations and one on the often-fraught relationship between mothers and daughters-in-law. There’s “Gold n’ Beautiful,” showcasing bridal jewelry. Coming soon are marriage-themed soap operas.

“There is no reining in the penchant for (wedding) celebrations in India,” said Dheeraj Sinha, author of “Consumer India: Inside the Indian Mind and Wallet.”

“They are only becoming louder and more professional,” Sinha said.

Media analysts say the channel is the first in India offering round-the-clock wedding entertainment. It looks to cash in on a big fat Indian wedding market valued at an estimated $38 billion a year and expected to grow 25 to 30 per cent annually, according to Alex Kuruvilla, the managing director of Conde Nast India, which publishes a string of luxury magazines.

The Indian wedding season, which starts in October and lasts until spring, can at times seem like a bridal invasion.

Traffic grinds to a halt in major cities on wedding dates thought to be astrologically auspicious.

On particularly lucky days, newspapers reported up to 60,000 couples tying the knot in New Delhi alone.

For centuries, Indian marriages were alliances between families of similar backgrounds, and the weddings were displays of status and wealth. In many ways, the quest for status is only intensifying as India’s economy grows.

Nidhi Gaur, 25, a recent guest on a Shagun talk show, said the TV channel has helped her prepare for her fairytale wedding.

“I can decide: ‘This is the place I want to buy my dresses, my jewelry,”’ she said.

Nidhi’s family began sav-

ing for her wedding when she turned 18. Five hundred people are expected at her catered November nuptials at what she calls a “lavish five-star hall.”

If much of the channel is dedicated to astrology and matchmaking shows, it is also breaking privacy taboos by bringing on couples to openly share private details of their relationships.

But don’t expect risque American-style confessions. This is a family-friendly channel, where feel-good content is the rule.

In one talk show, “So It’s Final,” engaged couples share details about how they met, the qualities they like and dislike in one another, and expectations of married life.

The show is designed as a “pre-marriage therapy session,” said Anuranjan Jha, Shagun

NY jury rejects argument that use of N word among blacks can be culturally acceptable

BY LARRY NEUMEISTER The Associated Press NEW YORK—A federal jury has rejected the argument that use of the N-word among blacks can be a culturally acceptable term of love and endearment, deciding its use in the workplace is hostile and discriminatory no matter what.

Jurors last week awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages to a black employment agency worker who was the target of an N-word-laced rant by her black boss, and they return to a

Manhattan federal court Tuesday to decide on punitive damages.

The case against Rob Carmona and the employment agency he founded, STRIVE East Harlem, gave legal airing to what some see as a complex double standard surrounding the word: It’s a degrading slur when uttered by whites but can be used at times with impunity among blacks.

But 38-year-old Brandi Johnson told jurors that being black didn’t make it any less hurtful to be the target of what her attorney called Carmona’s “fourminute nigger tirade” about inappropriate workplace attire

and unprofessional behaviour.

Johnson, who taped the March 2012 remarks after her complaints about his verbal abuse were disregarded, said she fled to the restroom and cried for 45 minutes.

In closing arguments, Johnson’s attorney Marjorie M. Sharpe said Carmona’s use of the word was intended to offend “and any evidence that defendants put forth to the contrary is simply ridiculous.”

“When you use the word nigger to an African-American, no matter how many alternative definitions that you may try to substitute with the word nigwww.canadianinquirer.net

TV’s managing director. But, he acknowledges, there’s no talk about sex or serious marital discord. Its aim is not to create drama, but “to help in guiding how to lead a good life,” he said.

If things are fairly tame now, the show’s hosts intend to raise pricklier wedding issues, like dowry demands and inter-caste marriages.

Shagun TV says its aim is to give a platform to middleclass Indians who want to be in the spotlight. In fact, couples shell out between $11,000 and $19,000 to flaunt their multiday wedding festivities on the channel—with the price depending on how many nights of the celebration they want aired.

“You want to put your life on display more and more,” said Santosh Desai, a sociologist and

writer. “Earlier, your hierarchy was based on the community that you came from. As that becomes less and less important and as you become more cosmopolitan, how do you communicate who you are and where you have reached?”

But some media analysts say Shagun’s model may not work, amid the proliferation of channels and fragmentation of audiences.

“Nobody wants to watch nobodies on television,” said Anil Wanvari, editor-in-chief of Indiantelevision.com. “With 700 channels available, there is a problem of plenty. It’s not an easy game.”

But Shagun executives say they’ve got a built-in target audience of tens of millions of Indians: singles and newlyweds aged 22 to 32, as well as family members closely involved in the extravagant marriage process.

Many of those families are wondering: How do you hold onto ancient traditions in a modern India, where the family structure now faces working women and greater individual aspirations?

Nidhi’s mother, Durgesh Gaur, says the answer may be found on television.

“It’s possible that Shagun TV, through emphasizing marriage and family, brings back our Indian values and traditions,” she said. ■

ger, that is no different than calling a Hispanic by the worst possible word you can call a Hispanic, calling a homosexual male the worst possible word that you can call a homosexual male,” Sharpe told jurors.

But defence lawyers said the 61-year-old Carmona, a black man of Puerto Rican descent, had a much different experience with the word. Raised by a single mother in a New York City public housing project, he became addicted to heroin in his teens and broke it with the help of drug counsellors who employed tough love and tough language.

Carmona went on to earn a master’s degree from Columbia University before co-founding STRIVE in the 1980s. Now, most of STRIVE’s employees are black women, defence attorney Diane Krebs told jurors in her opening statement.

“And Mr. Carmona is himself black, as you yourselves can see,” Krebs said.

The controversy is a blemish on STRIVE, which has been heralded for helping people with troubled backgrounds get into the workforce. Its employment model, which was described in a CBS’ “60 Minutes” piece as “part boot camp, part group therapy,” claims to have helped nearly 50,000 people find work since 1984.

Sharpe told jurors that STRIVE’s tough-love program cannot excuse Carmona’s behaviour.

“Well, if calling a person a nigger and subjecting them to a hostile work environment is part of STRIVE’s tough love, then STRIVE needs to be reminded that this type of behaviour is illegal and cannot be tolerated,” she said. ■

World News

21 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

NSA directly spied on Brazil, Mexico leaders, mapped communications with aides

BY BRADLEY BROOKS The Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL— The National Security Agency’s spy program targeted the communications of the Brazilian and Mexican presidents, and in the case of Mexico’s leader accessed the content of emails before he was elected, the U.S. journalist who obtained secret documents from NSA leaker Edward Snowden said Sunday.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who lives in Rio de Janeiro, told Globo’s news program “Fantastico” that a document dated June 2012 shows that Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s emails were being read. The document’s date is a month before Pena Nieto was elected.

The document on which Greenwald based the report includes communications from Pena Nieto indicating who he would like to name to some government posts among other information. It’s not clear if the spying continues.

As for Brazil’s leader, the June 2012 document “doesn’t include any of Dilma’s specific intercepted messages, the way it does for Nieto,” Greenwald told The Associated Press in an email.

“But it is clear in several ways that her communications were intercepted, including the use of DNI Presenter, which is a program used by NSA to open and read emails and online chats.”

The U.S. targeting mapped out the aides with whom Rousseff communicated and went a level further by tracking patterns of how those aides communicated with one another and also third parties, according to the document.

Calls to Rousseff’s office and a spokeswoman were not answered. Messages sent to a spokesman for Nena Pieto weren’t immediately returned.

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said had no comment.

Brazilian Justice Minister Eduardo Cardozo told the newspaper O Globo that “if the facts of the report are confirmed, they would be considered very serious and would

A look at Syria developments around the world amid threat of strike targeting Assad regime The Associated Press

constitute a clear violation of Brazil’s sovereignty.”

“This is completely outside the standard of confidence expected of a strategic partnership, as the U.S. and Brazil have,” he added.

In July, Greenwald co-wrote articles in O Globo that said documents leaked by Snowden indicate Brazil was the largest target in Latin America for the NSA program, which collected data on billions of emails and calls flowing through Brazil.

The Brazilian government denounced the NSA activities outlined in the earlier reports.

Greenwald reported then that the NSA collected the data through an undefined association between U.S. and Brazilian telecommunications companies. He said he could not verify which Brazilian companies were involved or if they were aware their links were being used to collect the data.

Greenwald began writing stories based on material leaked by Snowden in May, mostly for the Guardian newspaper in Britain.

Before news of the NSA program broke, the White House announced that Rousseff would be honoured with a state dinner in October during a trip to the U.S., the only such full state dinner scheduled this year for a foreign leader. The move highlighted the U.S. desire to build on improved relations since Rousseff took the presidency on Jan. 1, 2011.

Rousseff’s office said last week that there were no plans to scrap the state dinner because of the NSA program.

The latest revelations were sure to increase tensions, com-

ing on the heels of last month’s detention of Greenwald’s domestic partner, Brazilian citizen David Miranda, who was held for nearly nine hours at London’s Heathrow airport.

British authorities stopped him as he was transiting through the airport, citing their ability to do so under anti-terrorism legislation. The U.S. government was notified beforehand that Miranda was to be stopped as he returned home to Brazil after visiting Germany, where he met with Laura Poitras, a U.S. filmmaker who works with Greenwald on the NSA stories. Miranda had some of the pair’s NSA documents leaked by Snowden on memory disks.

Last week, senior British national security adviser Oliver Robbins offered a sweeping view of the government concerns about those documents before Britain’s High Court, saying the 58,000 classified British documents were “highly likely” to describe techniques used in counter-terrorism operations and could reveal the identities of British intelligence officers abroad.

Guardian Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger dismissed the statement as containing “unsubstantiated and inaccurate claims,” and questioned the danger, arguing that the government had done little to address the issue before Miranda’s detention.

After Miranda’s detention, Greenwald promised he was going “to write much more aggressively than before” about government snooping. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

THE UNITED States is considering launching a punitive strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, blamed by the U.S. and the Syrian opposition for an Aug. 21 alleged chemical weapons attack in a rebel-held suburb of the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The U.S. said the attack killed 1,429 people, including at least 426 children. Those numbers are significantly higher than the death toll of 355 provided by the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

President Barack Obama said he has decided that the United States should take military action against Syria but is seeking congressional authorization for the use of force in a vote expected after Congress returns to work Sept. 9.

Here’s a look at key Syria developments around the world Monday amid heightened tensions over potential military action: Syria

Assad said military strikes against his country would risk triggering a regional war. He said the Middle East is a “powder keg” and no one can say what will transpire if the West takes military action against Syria. He warned “the whole world will lose control of the situation. Chaos and extremism will spread.

The risk of a regional war exists.”

United States

Obama will host Sen. John McCain at the White House, hoping his opponent in the 2008 presidential election will help sell the idea of a U.S. military intervention in Syria to a nation scarred by more than a decade of war.

Sen. Lindsey Graham will also attend. The Obama administration is trying to rally support for the strike among Americans and their congressman and senators.

Russia

The Russian news agency Interfax said President Vladimir Putin hopes to send a delegation of lawmakers to the U.S. to discuss the situation in Syria with members of Congress. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said evidence the U.S. showed Moscow to

blame the Syrian regime for the alleged chemical weapons attack was “absolutely unconvincing.”

Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief adviser brushed aside fears that a U.S. strike against Syria could provoke Damascus to attack Turkey. Yalcin Akdogan told the Turkish daily newspaper Aksam that an attack on Turkey “would be madness and suicide” because Turkey is a member of NATO. The alliance is committed to defending member states.

France

A French intelligence report estimated that the Syrian regime launched the alleged Aug. 21 attack involving a “massive use of chemical agents” and could carry out similar strikes in the future.

The government, on its Web site, published a 9-page intelligence synopsis about Syria’s chemical weapons program that found that at least 281 deaths could be attributed to the attack in rebelheld areas outside Damascus.

China

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said his country urged the U.S. not to take unilateral action against Syria.

He said Washington briefed Beijing about the matter and that China is concerned about chemical weapons use but that the country opposes the U.S. acting alone. Hong didn’t address the possibility of the U.S. acting together with France’s government, which supports a strike.

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her challenger in Germany’s upcoming election said late Sunday they wouldn’t participate in military action against Syria. Merkel said there must be “a collective answer by the U.N.” to the use of chemical weapons in Syria as she faced centre-left rival Peer Steinbrueck in a televised debate. Steinbrueck said he wouldn’t participate in military action as chancellor and would “greatly regret it” if the U.S. strikes alone without an international mandate. ■

Immigration

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 22

Minister Alexander commends RCMP for laying citizenship and immigration fraud charges OTTAWA—Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander commended the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Nova Scotia for a thorough investigation into alleged residence fraud.

“I want to applaud the outstanding work done by RCMP investigators in this matter,” said Alexander. “To those who would lie or misrepresent themselves to the Government, consider this a warning that we will continue to apply the full strength of Canadian law and crack down on citizenship fraud.”

Charged with a number of criminal code offences including misrepresentation and false representation, Basem Farid Awaad of Bedford will appear in Halifax Provincial court on December 5th, 2013.

The Government of Canada offers a tip line through the CIC Call Centre where tips on suspected citizenship fraud cases may be reported.

Cases involving false representation, fraud or knowingly concealing mate-

PHOTO BY CANADAPANDA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

rial circumstances in the citizenship process—for example, pretending to be present in Canada to meet the residence requirements for obtaining citizenship—should be referred to the citizenship fraud tip line at CIC’s Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday).

Tips may also be reported by e-mail at Citizenship-fraud-tips@cic.gc.ca. ■

WAR-TORN Syria and its refugees.

FPOLAT69 / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Canada should accept more Syrian refugees: Trudeau

BY MICHAEL MACDONALD The Canadian Press HALIFAX—Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says Canada should be doing more to admit refugees from the bloody conflict in Syria.

Trudeau said Friday he was pleased to hear the Conservative government is not contemplating military intervention following an alleged chemical weapons attack by the Syrian regime that the United States says killed at least 1,400 people.

The death toll since the conflict began has topped 100,000 and the United Nations says more than six million Syrians have had to flee their homes.

“I’ve very worried about the Syrian people,” he said before meeting people at a park in downtown Halifax.

“We also do want to see our government providing humanitarian support, diplomatic pressure to resolve this situation and I know we can do more around refugees in terms of bringing some of the many thousand of displaced people to Canada for a better life.”

Yaman Marwah, president for the Syrian Association of Ottawa, said his group was told earlier this year that the Canadian government was prepared to admit 1,500 Syrian refugees to Canada.

“We have connections all over Canada and we didn’t see anything so far,” he said in an interview from Ottawa.

“We haven’t seen anything aside from closing the Syrian embassy and getting the ambassador out since the beginning of the revolution.”

www.canadianinquirer.net

Earlier this week, Trudeau said Parliament should be recalled to discuss what role Canada should play as the international community prepared to respond on Syria. He said the use of chemical weapons is “unacceptable” and requires a “significant response.”

Andrea Khanjin, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said the United Nations is not asking for additional resettlement of refugees.

She added in an email that Canada is one of the world’s largest providers of humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees.

“Trudeau is going against the UN’s advice on refugee resettlement. It is irresponsible and proves that he has no plan on immigration,” she said.

In June, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Canada would give Jordan an additional $98.4 million to help the Arab country cope with more than half a million Syrian refugees.

The following month, former citizenship and immigration minister Jason Kenney said Canada had made an initial commitment to resettle up to 1,300 Syrian refugees this year and next.

Kenney said Canada was responding to the UN’s appeal to help a limited number of extremely urgent cases. As a result, he said Canada will resettle 200 vulnerable Syrian refugees in 2013 and 2014.

As well, he said Canada planned to accept up to 1,100 Syrian refugees in 2014 through the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.

Ottawa has committed an additional $115 million in assistance to help Syrian refugees both in Syria and in neighbouring countries. ■

Immigration

23 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

The Heart of a Filipino Longing to Return Home

BY BOLET AREVALO

TO LIVE and or work abroad is a personal decision. After all, life is all about choices, they say.

Growing up, we watched family, friends, relatives, neighbors and even strangers leaving to migrate or simply to work abroad. We hear about the reasons that pertain to uplifting the social and economic state of loved ones. We hear about all the unselfish motivations and the sacrifices that had to be done to make the choice.

I have never dreamed to go abroad. I was just one of those who grew up watching people come and go. Imagine that at way past the age of 40, I did not even know that there is such a thing as independent skilled professional immigration application in a country like Canada. I always thought that some relative has to petition you or something. I did not dream because I didn’t think there was any chance at all. Until a fateful day in 2002 when a new officemate aspiring to be an immigrant encouraged and taught me about it. And as soon as my decision to migrate had been made, I became but part of the statistics that continue to save my country from total economic quagmire.

But it does not matter that the remittances of a Filipino abroad has helped propped up

the economy of his country.

People he left behind still anxiously await to know whether he will make it or not successfully. Sadly, it makes you ask yourself : What is more debilitating for my country—the crab mentality of many or the corruption of the few?

Crab mentality or corruption, still it doesn’t matter.

Having lived abroad, worked, succeeded, failed, frustrated, hailed, enslaved, downgraded, disrespected, esteemed, recognized, loved, envied, insulted, snubbed, feared, threatened.

Having had plenty or nothing, begging, asking, amassing, saving, remitting, borrowing, lending. None of these matter.

You still long for home. As someone has said—you can take the Filipino out of his country but you cannot take the country out of the Filipino.

For the second time, you have to make a choice.

How do you make the choice this time?

You thought leaving was easy because you were passionate about a dream—a dream of a better life abroad. The lure of greener pasture or brighter future for you, for your children and the family, and maybe the whole clan. But it was not that easy for someone like myself who had a good and comfortable life to leave behind. It was not easy for someone who has to face the uncertainty of having to start all over again.

But is going back an even easier decision to make?

There are two possible, immediate reasons why you may decide to go back—one, it is also a hard-knock life overseas.

There is the feeling of why go through an agony when it is not worth the suffering. Second, you have grown old and have saved enough to think you can get by until you die.

You have achieved what you have dreamed and what is the point of prolonging the loneliness of being away from home and family. We just hit the right word— family.

Family is the root, the be-all, perhaps.

With the best of technology today, everything that happens in the Philippines easily reaches the ears and consciousness of every Pinoy around the world. I must admit, sometimes we get tired of hearing the same old stories happening, only with different set of characters. It can be sickening and so frustrating to realize that the very reasons why we had left and why we had worried about the future for our children are still the same stories we hear over and over again—crime, corruption, poverty, traffic, unemployment. The same stories being heard by those who left 20, 30, 40, 50 or may even 60 years ago.

We have had it on record that the remittances sent by Filipinos abroad had been for a long time the saving grace of the Philippine economy. Many www.canadianinquirer.net

times outranking foreign investments as the source of much-needed economic intravenous medication. This has sparked debates on why there is no hard work being exerted in producing local jobs because the jobs and money remitted

by Filipinos abroad are deemed enough to feed the nation.

Thus, Filipinos are instead encouraged to leave and work abroad. This has, of course, had repercussions on the quality of family life; plus, the horror and sob stories that we have accumulated through those OFW years.

Why the same stories? Was the Korean student, Jaeyoun Kim, correct when he wrote in his essay, “Filipinos always complain about the corruption in the Philippines . Do you really think the corruption is the problem of the Philippines ? I do not think so. I strongly believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines…” ?

And so he prescribed, “.…

I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as they love God so that the Philippines will be well off.

I am sure that love is the keyword, which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person. Love

must start in everybody, in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love…”

So what shall make one decide to go back and maybe resume life or retire in the Philippines?

Only LOVE… Love for who you are, love for your family, love for the thought of how you could still be happier in a familiar ground, and all that you love about it.

If Filipinos abroad will use corruption, traffic, unemployment, crime, poverty and all— as reasons not to visit or not to go back home, they will unfortunately not be able to go back home ever.

Not even 10 million signatures can stop any of those.

Why, it seems they have been there forever. There is no shortcut or band-aid solutions. We can take one little step at a time. Maybe one piece of pork in a barrel at a time.

As for you, if you feel that a profession of love for country is too profound or maybe even mushy, then mince that into little bits of likes and patriotism. Maybe a slice of Philippine mango, a long drive to the Manaog Shrine, a quiet walk in the white sand beaches of Boracay, a cozy trip to feel the cool breeze of Tagaytay, then lots and lots of banana cue, fishballs, halo-halo, palabok, balut, sapin-sapin, suman, quesong puti, gatas-kalabaw. Or into generous little acts—to a street kid, to a sweaty traffic enforcer, to a balut vendor, to a loyal messenger, to a takatak peddler, to a suking delivery boy, to ❱❱ PAGE 27 The Heart

Friends of the Philippines

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 24

FILIPINOS AT INDONESIA NATIONAL DAY Indonesia Consul General Bambang Hiendrasto, Consul Pham Phuong Anh and Vietnam Consul General Tran Quang Dung with the Filipino community leaders during the celebration of Indonesia National Day at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver.

THANK YOU, CONGEN AMPESO A Thanksgiving Dinner was held for Consul General Jose “Joey” Ampeso at the Floata restaurant. In the photo above, ConGen receives the plaque of appreciation from the Southeast Asia Canada Business Council headed

by Carmelita Tapia. PCI and Juan TV executives, including CEO Alan Yong, joined the celebration.

ANCOP WALK

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

The Holy Cross High School gave a the $12,000 cheque Holy Cross mission team will also build houses for the po pines in March 2014. Donations for the Walk can still be September 25 at www.ancopwalk.ca

25 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Friends of the Philippines

UPAABC GOES TO NANAIMO Members of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association in British Columbia (UPAABC) held a summer party at the Dwelling Place in Nanaimo, B.C. Hosts were Aurel and Ching Muego. Clamming was courtesy of Roland Nilsson. Photos by Jet Vicencio

FEELING HOT HOT HOT PCCF AT THE CARIBBEAN CARNIVAL One of the experiences of a lifetime for Miss Philippines Canada, Caitlin Pantaleon, Mrs. Philippines Canada, Chona Stinson and 1st runner up Miss Philippines Canada, Jurice Encarnacion was the opportunity to participate as PCCF Ambassadors. The delegation was led

by PCCF Officers, Noemi and Primo Milanes, Fe and Jojo Taduran and Chris Jones. The Scotiabank Carribean Carnival is the largest festival of its kind in North America. Organizers estimated 1 million people packed the grounds for the Saturday’s grand parade.

e to Ancop. The oor in the Philipe accepted until

Mayor Rob Ford was on hand to celebrate the festivities and to greet the delegation. This is the third time that PCCF or Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation has joined this big and festive event.

ATENEO PICNIC AT THE RIVERFRONT PARK, VANCOUVER

The Ateneo Alumni Association of British Columbia (AAABC) recently had their annual picnic at the Riverfront Park, Vancouver.

Photo courtesy of Eugene Piezas

www.canadianinquirer.net

AAABC Presidents - L-R: Chito Cruz, Ian Choa, George Buktaw, Tony Pena, Cecile Carpio, Bing Monahan, Anja Echavez (Current President), GG Francisco, Gus Narciso, and Mike Calingo (Immediate Past President).

Global Filipino

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 26

GLOBAL FILIPINO: CARISSA VILLACORTA

When Surreal becomes Real

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer 2007 WAS a big year for Carissa Villacorta. She was just your regular neighborhood publisher, traveling to and fro New York and California in the line of duty, until she lived her personal philosophy: believe, begin, become.

In October 2006, she launched her first book “Surreality” and was soon acclaimed because of her literary genius of telling contemporary life events through her essays and giving it her own unique twists and insights. A year later, she made it to Filipina Women’s Network’s ‘100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the United States’ and was also given the honor of being an international presenter at the Mensa Society of Greater New York.

Indeed, Carissa is one very successful global Filipina. Here is her story.

Influencing an Influencer

You would think that in order to produce such an earth-moving, classic-literature-writing person such as Carissa requires more than a handful of people.

But when it comes to her influences, Carissa could only think of one runaway influencer in her life.

“My grandmother who loved life and was also a columnist.

She was a brilliant writer. She loved to laugh and always did.

To her, everything was maganda (beautiful) and masarap (delicious), even the smallest flowers (for maganda) and airplane food (for masarap). She appreciated everything and never imposed anything or on anyone.

She was so generous, always thinking on what and how she could give. She was a true role model on how to live your life, humbly and gratefully,” Carissa fondly recalled.

“I think my Lola, [who] loves the rags to riches stories, philanthropy and helping the poor would be very happy to know that this is my work,” she beamed with nostalgia.

Carissa also never stopped gathering inspiration from her friends and loved ones who supported her all the way.

“Loida Nicolas Lewis was my

first client as a publicist and event planner. She believed in me and probably saw my potential as a writer, until eventually, doors opened for other/more clients and projects,” she said.

“My clients who believe in me and my work. My family who give their support. People who’ve read my book and still talk about it with me and with others on how it’s changed their perspective, and sometimes, their lives,” she added.

Something Good

“If you are doing something good, it’s good for people to know in case they may be inspired to also follow their dreams, help out and make a difference, whatever the case may be for each client,” Carissa shared.

In everything she gets involved in, she makes sure she contribute something for its publicity.

“I do PR (public relations), but it is Cause-PR. I like PhilDev (Philippine Development Foundation) because it finds and helps the less-privileged brilliant and deserving Filipino students and funds their studies in science and engineering so [they can] reach their potential and eventually, contribute to the society and Philippine economy,” she continued.

“I see publicity as a way of helping people: editors and producers get stories and access to subjects to feature, clients

get the publicity they need to grow their business or promote their cause, and readers/ viewers learn something new which hopefully engages them and encourages them to participate and contribute,” she explained.

When asked about her vision for her causes, her face lit up with a mixture of pride and fulfillment.

“I always want to give attendees and supporters a positive and memorable time when they attend our events. I also always try to make sure the event is publicized in a positive way so that more people can hear about the event and support the cause. Some may even become beneficiaries of the cause because they heard about it in the media,” Carissa said.

Defining Success

For someone who has achieved a lot of things (and surely more in the future), Carissa has a very simple definition of success that she professes to live up to.

“Success is when you’re happy every day with your personal and professional life,” Carissa shared.

“Mary Poppins said, in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. Sometimes people forget that, or they’re in the wrong job,” she explains.

Carissa also believes that there are “a million reasons to be happy in life.” All you need are “prayers and positivity.”

And while most people will www.canadianinquirer.net

PHOTOS FROM THE FACEBOOK FAN PAGE OF CARISSA VILLACORTE.

equate achievement to Carissa’s book, she actually begs to differ.

“People would probably say it’s writing a book. I would say, it’s reaching people and being able to “talk” to them through the book. I love conversations and thankfully, through my book, I am able to meet them, and I am happy to hear about their stories too,” Carissa said.

“It was also fun to have organized top class events in the Hamptons and at the Lincoln Center in New York. These were benefits, so there were

always beneficiaries while giving attendees and supporters a good and memorable experience,” she added.

As for her future plans, Carissa wants to work on her sequel for Surreality.

“It’s going to be called love life: the verb, not the noun,” Carissa beamed. ■ Phone interview conducted by Alpha Miguel-Sanford, editor, Aspire.Motivate.Succeed.

Article written and transcribed

by Ching Dee, correspondent, Philippine Canadian Inquirer.

27 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

The Heart... a weekly labandera or a sleepin family driver.

For love can only beget love.

And love can only but increase one’s faith. Yes, FAITH. Why would you want to resume your life back home? Why would you even consider spending the remaining years of your life in the Philippines?

Because, aside from love, you also have faith. Because it is the same faith that had carried you through to your life away from your home country. Because it is that faith that will bring you back to believe that your home country will be alright. Because you have faith that that country, notwithstanding the crabs and the pigs, will welcome you back with open arms and provide you with same, equal opportunities to put your life back together again. To be happy, to be cradled, to be hugged and embraced like a long lost pilgrim child.

And upon your return, if you give enough love and spread random acts of kindness at every little opportunity, you increase the faith of the people who had welcomed you back to trust you again and to believe in the goodness of every Filipino once again, regardless of whether they have left or they have ❰❰ 23

KINDNESS IS KEY & HEARTMIND WISDOM present stayed.

And upon your return, bring the values that you have learned and relearned from where you had come from or stayed for years. Bring the sipag that our foreign employers loved us for, bring the new skills and innovations you have picked up along the way, bring the discipline that you had shown we Filipinos are capable of, bring the gratefulness of spirit, bring the respect that you gave other peoples and cultures, bring the funny little stories that you laughed about and made your day brighter, bring the hope and the optimism that had carried you through your lowliest moments away from home.

Finally, upon your return, leave the bitterness because you thought you are being rejected, leave the anger that you felt because of the discrimination that you see, leave the fears that was caused by uncertainty, leave the tiresome competition only to prove yourself, leave the weariness of trying hard, leave the helplessness of having to struggle all the time, leave the anxiety of everyday survival, leave the loneliness or aloneness you suffered from. You are home now.

Just leave and for sure, our country will be there to welcome you back. ■

NBI chief... ❰❰ 10

Lacierda pointed out that the NBI has done a number of big investigations on Rojas’

watch.

“You’ve got the Atimonan [rubout in January], you’ve got the Balintang Channel [shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in July], and some other [cases].

And also there are a number of sensitive cases that are being handled by Director Nonie Rojas coming from Secretary Leila de Lima,” he said.

Lacierda said the President had taken no action about Rojas’ resignation.

De Lima said she was proud of the many achievements of the NBI. The bureau “delivered” in many highprofile investigations, she said.

“The reason why I’m making that recommendation is because we’re in a middle of a major and sensitive investigation and I trust Director Rojas and I think even the President [trusts him],” she added.

She was referring to the NBI investigation of the pork barrel scam, which had been expanded to include a probe of the alleged channeling of P900 million from the Malampaya Fund to Napoles’ bank account through bogus nongovernment organizations (NGOs).

The NBI is building a plunder case against Napoles and the lawmakers who disbursed allocations from their Priority Development Assistance Fund through Napoles’ fake NGOs. De Lima also said she was “half-sur-

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prised” about the resignation of Rojas, whom she described as “quiet, low key, soft spoken and sensitive.”

She said it was the “prerogative” of President Aquino to choose to turn over Napoles to the police instead of the NBI, but she stressed that NBI agents had denied Napoles’ claim that they tried to extort money from her in the serious illegal detention case filed against her by the principal whistle-blower in the pork barrel scam, Benhur Luy. She also pointed out that Napoles did not trust the NBI because it was pursuing the cases against her.

“I want to be candid and honest with my thinking. We don’t care if Ms Napoles trusts or has a lack of trust in us. It’s not important to us. What’s important to us is the trust of the whistle-blowers, the trust of the President, and the trust of the people. Not Ms Napoles. Who is she for us to get her trust?” De Lima said.

Asked whether other NBI officials should also resign, De Lima said the next thing to do was to ask deputy directors at the NBI to resign.

“It’s an issue of institutional integrity.

It would be good if the deputy directors would think of tendering their resignations, it should not be Director Nonie ...

It goes to show he’s very principled, it goes to show he has delicadeza (sense of propriety),” she said. ■ With a report from Gil C. Cabacungan www.canadianinquirer.net

supports

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

28

Home Improvement I like to move it, move it

BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer THE THRILL of a new home and new surroundings: few things can compare with it.

Much like that “new car smell”, moving into a new home can provide that same exhilarating feel; that fuzzy, warm-in-yourtummy, chest-bursting sensation of pride and accomplishment that says “I’ve arrived.”

Whatever the motivation—

growing family, in search of lower rent; better home and environment—a move to a new home is a major milestone in anyone’s life.

However, the eager anticipation of new digs is tempered by one factor as daunting as the promise of a new home is inspiring: THE MOVE! Getting to the “Promised Land” is often a challenge-filled journey. Much as the Israelites of ancient days faced plagues, flying serpents, giants, and other

Put some class in glass

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer

THIS USUALLY happens in big churches. Almost everyone tends to stand in awe, sometimes slack jawed, upon

numerous difficulties, moving to a new home can be fraught with all sorts of difficulties.

Sorting, packing, organizing; putting years of your life away into boxes, before the actual move. And let’s not forget, the UNpacking, sorting and organizing all over again. Definitely

enough to stir up a grumbling and complaining to rival the murmuring of the Israelites on the journey.

Indeed, the entire process is mind-boggling, nerve-wracking, and tedious enough to test the virtue of the saintliest of saints. Small wonder God told

the Israelites to take only the sandals on their feet, and no more than they could carry; a very tall order, indeed.

Here are some sanity-saving, soul-soothing tips to make the move easier:

seeing a great stained glass window. It’s pretty hard to help yourself – you just have to stand there. It is almost impossible not to admire, especially when the design is really intricate. There is something really moving about stained glass. Add some sunlight it’s a home run.

Why not bring some stained glass drama and class into your home? Here are a couple of tips and tricks to make you – and other people – look at your flat in a whole different light, like seeing through a looking glass.

A painted looking glass, that is.

In this article, when we talk about “glass,” it could mean tumblers or water glasses, wine glasses, glasswares such as plates and casseroles, or even mirrors. There is a special paint made for glass, but you can always work with regular paint for ceramics. It is given that using glass paint will definitely

look much better and help you achieve that stained glass effect, but just in case you don’t have it, you can use regular paint, which most people have lying around somewhere in their garage or workshop.

Wash the glasses first. While some people use white spirits to completely clean the glass, water and soap would be perfectly fine. You can even use the dishwasher. After washing, wipe the glasses using a dry cloth and then set it aside to air dry. While waiting, you can prepare the paints that you will be using. Never shake the paint canister because this will produce bubbles that might be transferred onto the glass during painting. Bubbles are really hard to get rid of and you do not want it to ruin your design, unless of course, you agree that little quirks such as bubbles are part of the charm of hand painted objects. Simply stir the paint

gently until it comes together.

Next, put on your rubber gloves and take your glassware. You can outline your preferred design on the outer side of the glass using regular crayons that can be easily washed off when the paint dries completely. After outlining your chosen design, just dip your paint brush lightly on some paint and start filling out your pattern. It is best to work with a cloth or towel underneath so that you can rest the glass on it without it rolling around during painting breaks or when you are waiting for the paint to dry. If you intend the glassware for display purposes, give it at least a coat of polyurethane gloss as a sealant.

Once your painted glass has completely dried, which usually takes around 4 hours, just give it a good wash with some soap and water and it’s good to go. ■

❱❱ PAGE 31 I like to

Home Improvement

29 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Decoupage déjà vu!

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer DECOUPAGE IS the art of fusing pieces of paper on an object using glue or any form of sealant. It has been practiced for decades and even kindergartners know how to make these wonderful pieces of art.

Making decoupage can beautify any home without hurting your budget.

If there’s a photo, a letter, a piece of music, perhaps concert or movie tickets, or just beautiful pictures of landscapes or flowers, that you would like to keep almost forever, you can use decoupage to preserve these things on anything – your bedside or coffee table, your walls, your headboard, etc. Basically, if you can slap some glue on it, you can probably slap some decoupage over it.

Here are some tips for a successful decoupage experience.

First, choose the paper design you would like to stick to the object of your choice. Most people put decoupage on food trays, side tables, coffee tables, doors, or any relatively flat sur-

face. You can also work on irregular objects, but of course it’ll be more challenging.

Once you’ve chosen your design, you can now take care of collecting materials and tools for your project. You will need cutting instruments, like a pair of scissors (some people choose scissors with a pointed end, so that it can cut around tricky corners) or a cutter. You will also need glue, of course. Clear glue is the best to use.

Many people nowadays suggest using modge podge—a glue, sealant, and varnish in one jar. You will also need some popsicle sticks or a brayer, which looks like a small rolling pin or lint roller. The sticks or the brayer will be useful to flatten out the paper design onto the surface. Also, get a paint brush or an old rag to spread the glue, and another rag to clean up any glue drippings (you can also use wet naps or wet wipes for this). You will also need some old newspa-

pers to place underneath your work area so you would not make a mess while doing the decoupage. Lastly, you will need a sealant (also sometimes called a ‘sealer’) as a final coating for your project so that it will be protected from moisture or scratches, if you’re not using modge podge.

First, get a damp cloth and wipe the surface where you will put your design. Let the surface dry completely. Once dried, use your paintbrush to spread some glue or modge podge on the surface and then lay your paper design on top of it. Use the Popsicle stick or a brayer to flatten the paper on the surface and get rid of excess glue/ modge podge and let it dry completely. It is best to leave it overnight in a well ventilated area or at least 3 hours under the sun.

When the surface has dried completely, you can go ahead and apply a coat or two of the sealant or polyurethane gloss. You can apply it using a paint brush or spray it on the surface. Once the sealant dries, your decoupage artwork is now ready for use or display!

Now go and collect those old photos and immortalize them using decoupage. ■

Colors as Accent

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer MOST PEOPLE prefer to decorate their flats with paint rather than wallpaper because they find the act of installing wallpaper too tedious, especially if you do not exactly have much money spare, buying wallpaper and hiring someone to put it up for you all over your house will set you back quite a sum of money.

This is why using paint is the

most affordable and easiest way to redecorate your home and add a little more character to it.

With paint, you don’t even have to cover an entire wall with it. Strategically placed patterns will definitely improve the room’s atmosphere without having to work or spend a lot.

Here are a couple of ideas to accentuate and put a little oomph in your room.

Enjoy the simple joys of sten❱❱ PAGE 44 Color as

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Home Improvement

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 30

3R’s for your furniture: Repurpose, reuse and refinish

BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

table that would look great at the corner. You can almost see yourself opening your letters there.

up (or not) and voila, you have instant bookshelves.

Refinish

ARE YOU enticed to buy a new piece of furniture every time you see new prints and patterns on magazines and websites?

Better rethink this decision, because there are better uses for your hard-earned money.

What you can do: repurpose, reuse and refinish.

Repurpose

Pieces of furniture should move. If you were a furniture, you wouldn’t want to get stuck in one place forever, right? It smacks of boring.

Weather changes, the light moves, some days it is brighter than others. If spring is in the air, you would want your chairs to be near your window so you can get a closer look at budding flowers.

Or it could be that time has flown and that corner cabinet that previously held books, and then diapers, can be repurposed to hold kitchen wares now that your babies have grown.

Chairs and stools can also be tables and hold books and that little flowerpot or your teakettle.

Some things that absolutely have to be inside can also be moved outside in summer. What’s outside can also go in, like that patio

A bit of creativity and resourcefulness will allow you to reuse your pieces of furniture.

Take your outdated couch.

You can sass it up by using a colorful slipcover and newly-sewn cases for your throw pillows. If you feel up to it, you can even sew in a bit of bows, a pattern, or non-precious gems for that bling appeal.

Your dining room chairs can also have some work up. All you need is new fabric (think colorful, or stripes, or do you want your kitchen to have that blue and white porcelain china look?). You also need a staple gun or a glue gun or small nails.

Missing cabinet doors? Not a problem. An elegant fabric or wallpaper (think Japanese paper) can serve as a cover to hide (yet not completely) what’s inside. You can also use a tension rod and curtains.

If you have a tall table that you are already bored with, you can also cut the legs to turn it to a coffee table or a card table or a table for the kids.

Running out of bookshelves?

See those drawers? Take them out of the chest, add a bit of color or stain them, prop them

Expensive good quality wood furniture lasts forever but along the way, they would lose their lustre and their appeal. But a little refinishing, from time to time, would solve all that. Don’t be afraid to sandpaper and get the stain closest to it. If you make a mistake, sand away again.

A coat of paint can change pieces of furniture and rooms.

With the paint selection and instructions on the internet these days, it’s one of those easy DIY. Gone are the days when you would need to call the professional painter.

A room that’s too dark? The best way is to paint one of the larger walls with a lighter color.

Yes, just one wall will do.

If you prefer a rustic feel for some of your pieces of furniture, mahogany paint color is the way to go. Stripping may also do the trick.

If you have pieces of furniture that don’t have the same finish or wood color, solve the problem by painting them with the same color, or change the colors further (just stick to the color’s opposite in the color wheel). You will be glad that you did.

The artist in me cries out for design.—Robert Frost ■

with this. Do not forget to include in the list the task of informing family and friends of your new address. Unless, of

course, you are on the lam for whatever reason (I kid).

2. Do NOT procrastinate!

Keep to your tasks at hand with the discipline of a good soldier—days roll around quicker than we’d like them to, sometimes, and “M”-Day will be at your doorstep sooner than you know it.

3. Snap it up. Take pictures of each room of your old home, to serve as a guide for when you fix up your new home. Key word: guide. A new home is an awesome chance at a fresh start and a flood of new decorating ideas. By the way, don’t forget to take photos of things that may need re-assembling or hooking-up—furniture, accessories, electronics—especially if the manuals are nowhere to be found.

4. Count pennies on packing materials. Determine how

Reuse

I like to...

1. Plot it all out.

Make a master list and timeline of all the tasks at hand, and try to stick ❰❰ 28

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A fresh coat of paint does wonders.

Repainted drawers reused as frames.

many boxes you will need, for instance, and make the rounds of grocery, department, or appliance stores. Most of these places have boxes to spare.

5. Call a professional. If you can put aside the budget for it, hire professional movers.

Canvass for quotes online, and get some referrals, whenever possible. This may be more costly than the DIY approach, but might be a worthwhile investment. Especially if you are working on a limited time frame within which to complete your move.

6. Get by with a little help from your friends. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from your friends, especially in the absence of professional movers. Find out what days and times work for those friends who are willing, able, and can be counted on to help you in the moving process.

7. Sort, sort, sort and get rid of the unnecessary. Don’t take everything with you; especially items that have been in storage forever. This is probably a clear indicator that you don’t really need these. It’s rather amazing how that tiny storage cabinet underneath the stairs can often resemble a bottomless pit of unused and forgotten stuff.

8. Don’t skip the labeling!

Taking a few minutes to properly label your boxes can greatly reduce the stress of moving and unpacking.

9. Take time to take 5. Rest and de-stress whenever you can.

Clean and prep your new place before you move into it.

It makes perfect sense. It is way easier to clean, polish, paint, re-touch, renovate an empty house than to move around a maze of unpacked boxes. ■

Home Improvement

31 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Shining Shimmering Splendid: Painting with Glitter

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer USING GLITTER is always a great way to add a little more pizzazz to almost anything mundane. An affinity to glitter and all things shiny and shimmery is not exclusively associated with little girls, but even to some grown-ups who enjoy a

Wallpaper Wisdom

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer CONTRARY WITH its name, wallpaper is not just for walls anymore. There are myriads of ways to utilize wallpaper other than the tedious task of putting it up on your walls. Its intricate design, vibrant colours, and even texture are just some of the things that are quite difficult to duplicate using paint. These characteristics make the humble wallpaper an excellent choice if you wish to add more whimsy to a room or a piece of furniture. Here are a couple of ideas for some wallpaper projects you can enjoy with your family.

Refurbish your furniture. You can use wallpaper to re-design your old cabinets, dressers, or table tops. This is possible by using some basic techniques similar to the process used in making a decoupage. First, get the measurements of the part of the furniture you wish to redesign and plot it on the wallpaper and cut it out. Second, clean the surface using a damp cloth, wipe off the table top and let it dry. Third, spread some glue on the surface using a paint brush to achieve a relatively even coat. Next, carefully place the piece of wallpaper that you already cut out and use a brayer (which looks like a tiny rolling pin or paint roller) or a dry cloth to smooth out

little whimsy on the side. Adding a little bit of glitter to your ordinary items can easily turn your home from drab to fab with just a few strokes.

There is no need for a special kind of paint since glitter will basically stick to almost anything. Even just a little glue would do the trick. However, to achieve a cleaner look and even finish, you may want to consider applying a base coat

the wallpaper. Do this in a radial fashion, starting in the middle and dragging the brayer or cloth towards you. Let the glue dry completely before applying at least two coats of a sealant, like a polyurethane gloss for a shiny finish. You can also do this technique on the front panel of dresser drawers, or on the frames of pictures and mirrors.

Instant artwork. As mentioned earlier, most wallpaper designs are very intricate, aside from its amazing detail and vibrant colours. You can use scraps of old wallpaper for this project, too.

This will also make great use of chipped plates, weakened food trays, or old photo frames. Choose a piece of wallpaper with an interesting pattern. Choosing a pattern could go both ways, whether it completely contrasts your wall colour, or it should blend in really well with the room’s colour palette. Simply trace the shape of the object you’ve chosen and cut it out. You can also use craft scissors to cut out the shapes from the wallpaper to add extra charm on the piece. Before mounting the wallpaper on the plate or tray or frames, wipe them first with a damp cloth. For the frame, simply slide in the piece of wallpaper where the photo usually goes and it is ready to be displayed on your wall. For other objects, brush some glue on the surface and lay the cut-out wallpaper on top. Use a dry cloth to smooth out the wallpaper onto the plate or tray. Let the glue dry completely before applying a coat of sealant.

For light objects, two strips of double sided tape would be enough to hang it on the wall. For heavier objects, you might want to use a string to hang it like a painting. A cluster of small artworks like this can add extra charm to any room. ■

of the same colour as the glitter you are going to use. Glitters are available on almost all crafts supplies stores and are very affordable.

The kind of paint you want to use will depend on the project that you are going to tackle.

If you are working on wood, ceramics, porcelain, steel, or cement, you should choose the right kind of paint, primer, and sealant to use.

Once you have decided on your design, colours, type of paint, and what piece you are going to work on, you may begin “glitterizing” your items. For most paint jobs, it is best to begin by sanding off the piece or surface and cleaning it off with a damp cloth. Depending on the material that you will paint, a coat of primer may be needed. If you did apply a coating of primer, let it dry completely before proceeding with the next step.

Once the primer has dried, you can apply a coat of the base paint and let it dry completely. You can use a pencil to draw

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or trace your design on the surface or a stencil pattern, which makes the design job a lot easier and faster. Simply paint over your chosen pattern using a fine paint brush or an airbrush. Once you’ve painted your desired pattern, sprinkle some glitter over the design while the paint is still wet. For easier clean up, it is best to cover your work area with old newspapers. Lightly press on the glitter to the paint to make sure that it sticks.

Let it sit for at least 30 minutes to air dry and then shake off the excess glitter. Let the piece dry off for another hour or so and then use a light brush to brush off any loose glitter. Once the piece is completely dry, you can opt to seal your artwork with a sealant. ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

32

Entertainment

FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT, CANADA!

2013 TFCkat Canada Grand Finals— “Whoops, BC Did It Again!!”

BY SOCORROBABES NEWLAND

ABS-CBN’S GLOBAL vocal talent search via TFCkat is slowly but surely gaining ground. Last weekend’s Canada-wide grand finals in Toronto, which was held in conjunction with Filipino Day celebration, is bested by yet another British Columbia’s Powerhouse Station Entertainment artist, Ana Jenessa Escabarte.

It can be recalled that last year’s 1st TFCkat Canada grand championship was won by BC contestant, singing-chef Russel Maritana Figueroa, who managed to emerge as semi-finalist on Philippine television talent

franchise, “Pilipinas Got Talent”-- viewed and voted by millions of Filipino-TFC subscribers around the globe. “Such exposure has tremendously boosted my popularity amongst fellow kababayans in the Philippines and those residing overseas, particularly here in Canada,” Figueroa was quoted as saying.

Twenty-four years old “Jhen”, as she’s fondly called by family and friends, is originally from Bohol. She and her family migrated to Canada in 2011. The eldest of 4 siblings, Jhen has started joining talent competitions as early as when she first learned her ABC’s. And while singing is Jhen’s one true passion, she is also not naïve into not prioritizing to finish her college education. Jhen earned her nursing degree back

home and is currently completing requirements to challenge the BC Nursing Board Registry Exams.

This year’s TFCkat Canada Grand Finals was held at the Kingswood Theater in Canada’s Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario; attended by approximately 5,000 Filipino-Canadians. The event was jointly presented by Culture Philippines of Ontario and TFC. It featured as special guest, ABS-CBN’s matinee idol, John Lloyd Cruz; and 1980’s OPM Icon, Ms. Joey Albert. Ms. Albert headed the panel of judges comprising of notable Filipino-Canadian luminaries in music and entertainment. Upon interview, Ms. Albert noted that Jhen’s unique vocal style rendition of Freddie Aguilar’s “Anak” became the deciding factor amongst

TFCKat winner Ana Jenessa Escabarte (upper left) with (clockwise) April Rose, Llave, Joey Albert, John Lloyd Cruz and Russel Figueroa PHOTOS COURTESTY OF TFC.

the judges to pick her out as the winner over the equally dynamite performer-- 15-year old April Rose Llave of Winnipeg.

Overall, it was one overwhelming victory not only for BC’s

Ana Jenessa Escabarte and TFCkat Canada, but for the whole Filipino-Canadian Community where solidarity, respect and unity became the tall order of the day. ■

Wedding next year for comedienne Tiya Pusit and her 27-year-old boyfriend

BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer AT 65, seasoned comedienne Tiya Pusit is set to tie the knot again. With whom? With no less than Nathan Villa, her 27-year-old boyfriend.

“I am confirming it. We’re getting there. Next year we’re planning to settle down,” Tiya Pusit said during the press conference of GMA’s new primetime series, “Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas.”

She added that a church wedding will happen January next year.

It will be recalled that the actress didn’t confirm her MayDecember love affair right away. She explained that she denied her relationship at first because Villa, who is a call cen-

ter agent in Makati, didn’t like the idea of being in the limelight.

Nonetheless, the veteran actress confirmed that they had already made a compromise, with her fiancé giving conditions: “Andun ka, andito lang ako. Kung meron kang mga work, ‘wag mo lang ako isasama dahil hindi ako para doon.”

(You’re there, I am here. If you have work, don’t bring me there because I am not built for that).

Prepared on what lies ahead

Being in a non-conventional relationship, Tiya Pusit is ready to face the judgment that people might have for her, adding that she became a good mother to her children so it’s about time to think of her own happiness.

It has already been 19 years since the passing of her first

Tiya Pusit

husband and it seems that Tiya Pusit is ready to walk down the aisle again, but admits that fears will always be there. “Iniisip ko, darating ang araw maghahanap siya ng iba. Gusto niya ng totoong pamilya. Gusto niya magkaanak.

Open ako doon.” (I am thinking that someday he would decide to find another partner. He wants to have a family of his own. He wants to have kids. I am open to that).

But what’s appeasing her is

the assurance that her husband-to-be gave her, “Ang sabi niya sa’kin, ‘Alam mo hindi kita dadalhin sa bahay namin kung ganyan ang iniisip ko. Basta importante nagkakaintindihan tayo.” ( He told me that, ‘You know I won’t be bringing you to my house if that’s what I am thinking. What’s important is we understand each other).

It looks like all is well as the family of Nathan approves of their relationship. Tiya Pusit admits, however, that she feels awkward whenever she meets his parents because she’s older than them.

On her children

It was not denied by the comedienne that her children cannot help but feel awkward too, considering that they are even older than her fiancé.

What she could just do is to

assure them that she is happy with her decision.

Her love story

Prior to her May-December romance, she wanted to marry a foreigner who is stable and will bring her abroad. However, when her fiancé whom she first met in Facebook came into her life and asked her the question, “Will you marry me?”, everything changed.

She said, “Syempre napaisip din ako. Pero nung niyaya na niya talaga ko, lumunok talaga ko.

Huminga ako ng malalim. ‘Eto na ba?’ ‘Yun ang feeling ko. Ito na nga yata.” ( Of course, it got me thinking. When he asked me to marry him, I swallowed and breathed deeply. Is this it? That’s how I felt. This may be really it.)

In November this year, the notso-ordinary couple will be celebrating their second anniversary. ■

Entertainment

33 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Lawyer: Claudine, Raymart will never reconcile

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer ACTRESS CLAUDINE Barretto and husband Raymart Santiago, still together last year when they filed a complaint against PDI columnist Ramon Tulfo at the Pasay RTC. “Nothing is final,” Raymart told INQUIRER, “but I appreciate this gesture of trust from the network. Needless to say, it will help me get through this situation (marital woes).”

GMA 7 vice president for entertainment Redgie AcuñaMagno said the network hoped to get the contract signed before the end of September. “This will be good for him,” Magno said, “since it assures him of a [steady] income while he is with the network. I’m sure this news will please him, take his mind off negative write-ups.”

The network exec was referring to the actor’s word war with—on top of a lawsuit filed by—estranged wife Claudine Barretto.

Raymart has so far remained tight-lipped, saying, “More talk, more mistakes.”

Claudine charged Raymart with violating Republic Act No. 9262, or the Anti-Violence against Women and Children Act of 2004, in the Marikina City Regional Trial Court. The actress claimed she was “physi-

cal, sexually, psychologically abused by my own husband,” and submitted photos showing wounds and bruises allegedly inflicted by Raymart.

In July, Claudine filed a petition for temporary protection order against Raymart that she later asked to be made permanent. Raymart retaliated by filing a petition for habeas corpus, and then seeking sole custody of their two children—Sabina, 9, and Santino, 6.

“It is better to have a horrible ending than to live a life of unending horror,” was how Claudine’s legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, explained the actress’ decision to go public with her complaints and seek help from the court.

Point of no return

The lawyer said he doubted that Claudine would ever reconcile with her husband of seven years. “She knew this when she filed the first case. It was the point of no return,” Topacio told INQUIRER by phone.

Before filing that first suit, Claudine had been “awfully depressed,” Topacio said. “She would burst into tears whenever she was asked about [Raymart] and how the situation had affected their kids.

She’s doing a lot better now. She is still sad, but recent events have made her stronger [and] emboldened her.”

PHOTO FROM RAPPLER.COM

“She’s digging a deeper hole for herself,” was how Raymart saw Claudine’s decision to file another case. Through his legal counsel, Ruth Castelo, Raymart claimed to have “strong and solid evidence in his defense.”

In a statement obtained

by INQUIRER, Castelo said, “We’re ready to dispute all of Claudine’s allegations, one by one. We’ll do that, though, at the opportune time and at the proper venue.”

She added that whatever photos or videos Claudine had in her possession should be presented as evidence in court.

“Raymart believes only the courts, and not the public, can determine his innocence.”

Magno, who has worked with both Claudine and Raymart in various TV projects, came to the latter’s defense. “I’ve always known him to be a family man, a dedicated husband and father,” he said. “More than anything, he is worried about how this controversy will affect their children.”

Raymart was busy with the family-oriented series “Home Sweet Home” when his marital problem made the headlines, Magno told INQUIRER. “I asked if he wanted to take a break. He said he didn’t because work kept his mind off the issue.”

“Home Sweet Home” ended its run on July 19.

Magno recounted days when

Raymart brought the kids to work. “So he could bond with them, he said. He’s a super loving father. He treats their adopted child, Sabina, as his own. More than a co-worker, Raymart has become my close friend. He told me recently how exhausting it was that the situation had become bigger and more controversial.”

The actor seems well-loved by his other Kapuso bosses, including GMA 7 chair and CEO Felipe L. Gozon. “We never had a problem with Raymart,” Gozon told INQUIRER .

“Raymart is extremely loyal to us,” added Magno. “We didn’t ask him to, but he turned down offers to appear in other networks’ programs. We’ve been working with him for over 15 years. He … [would sit] down with the production teams to help improve his shows.”

Actor Arthur Solinap, who worked with Raymart in “Home Sweet Home,” said he found the actor quiet and aloof at first. “When I got to know him better, mabait naman pala (I realized he was OK). People told me he was a joker, but he wasn’t like that on the set. And despite everything he was going through, he never caused any delay in production.”

Claudine was last seen on GMA 7’s 2011 fantasy series “Iglot.” Magno said her contract was not renewed. ■

Big sis Anne gives Jasmine acting tips

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer “I ENCOURAGE her to take risks. She’s my baby. I want her to shine,” said Anne Curtis of her sister Jasmine CurtisSmith, who recently bagged a best supporting actress award for her debut film, “Transit.”

Anne, who is older by nine years, said she couldn’t be any happier for her sister. “I couldn’t explain my reaction when I learned that she had won. To show support, the whole family attended her movie’s gala screening. Our other sister came home from Bahrain to watch with the family. Jasmine needed the support, especially since she was so nervous.”

“Transit,” directed by Hannah Espia, won 10 awards, including best film in the New Breed category of the 2013 Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. The film is about the plight of overseas Filipino workers in Israel.

“It’s nice to know that the effort she exerted for the film didn’t go to waste,” Anne pointed out. “I cried after seeing one of her dramatic scenes.”

Memorize

Anne, who also has three acting awards under her belt, made sure to give Jasmine this acting tip: “I told her that, when it comes to script- reading and throwing lines, she really has to memorize, especially when she’s working with brilliant ac-

tors like Irma Adlawan or Ping (Medina).”

All of Jasmine’s lines in “Transit” are in Hebrew. This added more pressure on the young actress, Anne said.

“If I had been in her shoes, I would’ve felt nervous, too.”

During a media gathering on night to launch Anne as the newest endorser of the clothing brand Plains & Prints, the actress announced that she had collected P147,000 from the bazaar that she and “Showtime” cohost Vice Ganda organized that same day at the ABS- CBN Compound in Quezon City. The fundraising was for the benefit of Tropical Storm “Maring” victims.

“I’m grateful to the people who came to the bazaar. The clothes were priced from P100 www.canadianinquirer.net

ANNE (left) advises younger sister Jasmine to know her lines by heart.

PHOTO FROM WWW.ANNECURTIS.PH

to P1,200. They were all nice things. They were all sold before 6 p.m.,” Anne told the INQUIRER. “I always say that material things can be easily replaced, but knowing that you’ve helped someone stays with you forever.”

The money raised will go to

World Vision International, a humanitarian organization dedicated to helping poor children. “I’ve been helping the group for a while now. I like that it’s for kids. A lot of the families that I sponsor under World Vision have been affected by the calamity.” ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 34

Piolo and Gerald act against type

BY RITO P. ASILO Philippine Daily Inquirer PIOLO PASCUAL and Gerald Anderson take a big risk by acting against type in director Erik Matti and screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto’s gritty cops-androbbers thriller, “On The Job”—which polarized critics when it premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival. Pertinently, the “robbers” we’re referring to don’t just include petty thieves, but also bounty hunters and high-profile “goons” who carry badges and hold fancy titles that render them practically untouchable! Ring a bell?

Matti’s frightfully timely morality tale doesn’t have the gloss of Johnny To’s Hong Kong actioners—which isn’t a liability in itself, because “OTJ” deftly captures a sense of place, temperament and urgency that is distinctly Filipino.

So, expect the characters you read in ‘s headlines to inhabit the taut thriller’s intense dramatis personae: NBI investigator, Atty. Francis Coronel Jr. (Pascual), teams up with local cop, Sgt. Joaquin Acosta (Joey Marquez), to investigate the violent execution of a drug dealer by an aging assassin, Mario Maghari aka Tatang (Joel Torre), and his

young ward, Daniel (Anderson)—jailbirds who are clandestinely let out of prison to silence people who can potentially derail corrupt General Pacheco’s (Leo Martinez) senatorial chances.

Deadly trail

There being no such thing as a perfect crime, Francis soon puts the confounding pieces together and discovers a deadly trail of political corruption and murder that leads him to Pacheco and Manrique (Michael de Mesa)—who just happens to be the father of his wife, Nicky (Shaina Magdayao)!

As Francis weighs in on his “family vs duty” dilemma, Tatang also hits a fork in the road when, just before he gets his parole, he discovers that his wife (Angel Aquino) hasn’t been as faithful as he was led to believe! What to do?

If you have no bias against the Third World sleaze that frames the production’s tenebrous criminal underbelly, Matti’s persuasively proficient depiction of crime, greed and police corruption will shake you out of your apathy— to the edge of your seat!

The nerve-wracking film follows many narrative strands that compellingly turn its dramatic convolutions into a cohesive and plausible tale. As a result, some

of its side stories are left with an open ending—like the one involving JM de Guzman, who’s cast as Joey Marquez’s drug-dealing son.

Then, “On The Job” amps up the action when Francis and Daniel’s paths converge and collide, and its scenes descend further into depravity before its frenetic pacing leads the story into a satisfying cliff-hanger.

Piolo Pascual.

Idiosyncratic mix

The movie’s melange of diverse thematic elements and its idiosyncratic mix of drama and comedy lend the movie its determinedly realistic appeal and give its actors a lot to play with: Anderson may be too good-looking for Daniel’s greasy sensibility, but he “sells” his portrayal with the cocky confidence of a seasoned pro. Just as successful in their characterizations are Marquez (who can mine humor from absurdly disturbing scenes) and Piolo Pascual, who revels in his character’s moral ambiguity.

However, it is in Joel Torre’s crackerjack portrayal that the film finds its soul—he is ruthless one minute and vulnerable the next, and he juggles those emotions with audacious believability.

Watch how the 52-year-old actor knocks

Joel Torre and Gerald Anderson.

his final scene with Anderson out of the thespic ballpark—as they forge their friendship with a shocking gesture of sacrifice! ■

Newbie plays thermal teen ‘Pyra’

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

my own savings,” said Thea, who finished high school at the St. Benilde International School in Calamba, Laguna.

“PROTÉGÉ” FEMALE champ Thea Tolentino admitted she didn’t plan on joining show biz before winning the second season of the GMA 7 talent search. “All I wanted was to take up a personality development class to overcome my shyness. I can now imagine myself growing old in this business,” said the chinky-eyed teener.

Thea, 17, said “Protégé: The Battle For the Big Break” became her training ground. “Unlike the other contestants, I didn’t prepare for it. I had no experience in talent contests. I wasn’t confident. I almost backed out,” she told INQUIRER. During the finals in October 2012, Thea bagged a cash prize of P1 million, a twobedroom condo unit and a talent management contract with the Kapuso network.

Jeric Gonzales, 21, was the male champ.

“Through the show, I learned to be independent and to socialize,” she said. “All I knew then was to sing—I didn’t think I’d also find acting interesting. After attending workshops, I realized how much I enjoyed doing it.”

With the cash prize, Thea said she was able to buy her own car and helped pay for her youngest sibling’s school expenses. “I was used to relying only on my parents to buy things I needed. Now, I have

A loner

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She added: “In school, I was a loner. I had a hard time expressing myself. I’m more confident now, not just in the way I speak but also in how I dress up. I didn’t wear short shorts and mini dresses before because I preferred jeans and T-shirts. Now that I’m a TV personality, I have to make sure I’m always well-put together. I’m starting to learn how to put on makeup.”

Since Thea signed up as a Kapuso talent, she has appeared in a number of programs. First was the youth-oriented show “Teen Gen.” She was in the cast of the action-suspense series “Love and Lies,” and made a guest appearance in the primetime drama “Anna KareNina.”

Since Aug. 26, Thea has been appearing in the afternoon fantasy-drama program “Pyra: Ang Babaeng Apoy,” where she plays the pyrokinetic Pyra, a girl with the psychic ability to set people or objects on fire.

“Our target audience are the mothers who stay at home in the afternoon,” Thea explained.

“Pyra: Ang Babaeng Apoy,” with Roderick Lindayag at the helm, also features Jeric Gonzales, Elle Ramirez, Gladys Reyes, Mark Anthony Fernandez and Janno Gibbs. ■

Entertainment

35 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Derek Ramsay and Cristine Reyes admit relationship

BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

POE topbills the TV drama series, “Titser” and “Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas.”

Lovi Poe is on a roll

BY RITO P. ASILO Philippine Daily Inquirer LOVI POE has always wanted to join show biz—but, unlike her legendary dad, movie king Fernando Poe Jr., what she initially wanted was to become a singer.

Did her father encourage her to join the entertainment scene?

Lovi sighs, “He didn’t. He kept stalling, maybe because I was very young then. He told me, ‘There’s a right time for everything.’ I was barely in my teens when I recorded my first album, ‘The Best of My Heart,’ and its followup, ‘Bloom.’”

These days, The 24-year-old actress misses singing, but her acting projects prevent her from indulging in her “first love.” Her Cinemalaya entry, “Sana Dati,” won big at the indie fest’s awards rites last month.

Poe is even busier on the small screen, where she shuttles between two telenovelas: She tapes her scenes for GMA News TV’s acclaimed -evening drama, “Titser” then shoots for her upcoming GMA 7 starrer, “Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas.”

How different is “Titser” from her other acting gigs?

Lovi shares, “Michelle is a highschool valedictorian from a barrio school who dreams of becoming a teacher, but whose only option after graduation is to work as a maid, is the most difficult character I’ve ever had to portray, because I’m used to roles that I can ‘play around’ with! This time, I play her straight.

“The series is unlike any dra-

ma I’ve appeared in—you learn from the inspiring and cautionary stories of its characters. I find it very technical—I can’t just memorize my lines and wing it! To be credible in the role, I have to understand what I teach— and Michelle teaches math, which happens to be my ‘favorite’ subject ( laughs)!”

What adjustments does Lovi make when she shuttles between indies and mainstream films?

She replies, “I don’t discriminate. I was first noticed in indies (she won Best Actress for Dan Villegas’ 2010 Cinemalaya entry, “Mayohan,” and Best Supporting Actress for the gripping incestthemed drama, “Sagrada Familia”), where there are no limitations in terms of interpretation.

You’re free to explore— ang dami mong pwedeng gawin! In mainstream filmmaking, you’re expected to live up (or down) to viewers’ expectations!”

Affectionate glances

The rumor mill has been busy speculating about her relationships with Jake Cuenca and Rocco Nacino (her costar in “Akin Pa Rin Ang Bukas,” who threw affectionate glances her way during this interview).

What’s the real score between her and the two actors?

The actress quickly answers, “Rocco and I are good buddies.

As for Jake, I admit that he was special to me, but whatever we had wasn’t something you could call a ‘formal’ relationship. In any case, I’m not ready for another relationship. I’m sure it’ll come when I have more time for it!” ■

IT IS official: Derek Ramsay and Cristine Reyes are already a couple. Since when? August 28, 2013.

This was bravely confirmed by the 36-year-old actor in an interview with Yahoo! OMG, “Yes, we’ve been on for one day.”

It will be recalled that Ramsay, after his failed relationship with actress Angelica Panganiban said that he will no longer date anyone from showbiz, but he admits that he just ate his words.

Derek and Cristine became good friends when they were doing the film “No Other Woman” in 2011.

At first, Reyes was reluctant in admitting that she and Ramsay are already an item, but was nonetheless caught with her words, “Hindi ko pa alam kung paano sasagutin iyan sa ngayon.

Dahil gusto ko kung magsasalita ako, yung sure na.” (I don’t

Derek Ramsay and Cristine Reyes

know how I will answer that for now because I want to speak when I’m already sure).

She adds, “Same pa rin. Single pa rin ako. I don’t know. Nagi-entertain. Nagsisinungaling lang ako, please. I-delete niyo iyon. (It is still the same. I’m still single. I don’t know. I entertain. I am just lying , please delete it).

After Cristine’s particular interview, the couple decided to

PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK

admit their relationship.

And when asked what she liked most about Derek, the 24-year-old actress said that they have some things in common, such as being happy and outgoing people.

Reyes also came from a failed relationship with dancer Rayver Cruz.

The two will star in a Viva Films’ movie “Trophy Wife.” ■

Sex video of Wally Bayola and dancer circulated online

BY KATHERINE MARFALTEVES Philippine Canadian Inquirer COMEDIAN-HOST WALLY Bayola is probably not laughing nor smiling now.

Netizens’ senses are feasting again on another sex video involving Bayola and Eat Bulaga (EB) dancer, Yosh.

Reports said that the video was allegedly uploaded on the video-sharing site YouTube on September 2, Monday, and was later spread on the social networking site Facebook the following day.

Bayola is a known family man, making the situation even complicated. Recently, his 17-yearold daughter was diagnosed to have an orbitral tumor.

The uploaded sex video of the comedian and the EB Babe dancwww.canadianinquirer.net

er received negative and rather funny reactions from netizens.

“Just saw Wally Bayola & EB Babe Yosh’s scandal. Wally doesn’t know how to pump it up and the end part was disgusting. Hahaha,”—Jhyian Roulf Rosales Ang sagwa nun scandal ni wally bayola. Seryoso (Wally Bayola’s scandal is gauche. Serious) —Therese Concepcion Umagang umaga una mong makikita sa FB ang scandal ni Wally Bayola. Pornsite na ba talaga ang FB ngayon?! (Early in the morning, you will see Wally Bayola’s scandal on FB. Is FB a porn site already?)—Nikko Velasquez Several weeks ago, the sex video of band vocalist Chito Miranda and actress-girlfriend Neri Naig also circulated online.

According to observers, Bay-

PHOTO FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGE OF WALLY BAYOLA

ola and Yosh video can be compared to the video of Hayden Kho and Maricar Reyes. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 36

Sultry Kathleen Turner defers to Jennifer Lopez, Harry daughter when it comes to Miley Cyrus Connick Jr. to join Keith Urban as judges on rebooted ‘American Idol’

BY NELSON WYATT The Canadian Press

MONTREAL—Kathleen Turner, once declared one of Hollywood’s most alluring stars, is pretty categorical when she’s asked what’s sexy. When it comes to Miley Cyrus, however, she defers to her daughter.

Turner knows how to steam up a screen. Heck, she even smouldered as a cartoon bunny, using her trademark husky voice to bring life to Jessica Rabbit in 1988’s “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” She was declared one of the 100 sexiest stars in film history

by Empire magazine in 1995.

“Sexy is feeling good about yourself,” she said at a news conference Thursday.

She lamented that for years she’s been misquoted on the subject and wanted to set the record straight.

“I said when I walk into a room and feel really good about myself, any man who doesn’t look at me is probably gay,” Turner explained to laughter.

She added she was only quoted then as saying any man who doesn’t look at her is probably gay.

“They left out that when I walk in a room and feel really good about myself—that’s sexy.

Sexy is feeling good about yourself. That’s the point. So get it right now, guys, OK?” And Miley Cyrus? She turns the floor over to her daughter Rachel Weiss, a singer in her own right.

Cyrus, once known as the squeaky clean teen singer Hannah Montana, blew up the social media world with a raunchy, tongue-flapping, butt-waving performance at the MTV Music Video Awards on Sunday night.

The Internet was awash with photos of stars with their jaws dropped as they watched the

BY LYNN ELBER The Associated Press

Kathleen Turner and daughter Rachel Weiss PHOTO FRO ZIMBIO.COM

performance with Robin Thicke and it didn’t take long for an avalanche of praising and panning.

Weiss was diplomatic.

“With regard to Mylie Cyrus’ performance, I think she’s doing the best she can,” said Weiss until Turner jumped in with, “No, but say what you said upstairs.”

Weiss, with her mother nodding, explained that what she had been saying in an earlier conversation that while it was a very controversial performance, most of the attention had been focused on its “blatant sexuality.”

She said the issue was more about “the cultural appropriation of the culture she is trying to use as a publicity tool.”

“Which is?” interjected Turner.

“It’s the cultural appropriation of what’s called Ratchet Culture and ...” said Weiss, producing a broad smile from her mom, who nodded at her daughter and said to reporters, “Told ya she knew.”

“It’s appalling that a very rich white girl is hijacking, yes?” added Turner.

“Yes, but I don’t think it’s actually any of her decision making,” interjected Weiss, giggling.

Turner, who debuted in a TV daytime soap in 1977, grabbed attention with her first film in 1981

as the ruthless Matty Walker in the erotic thriller “Body Heat.”

She recalled she had no film experience and was actually denied an audition at first because of that. But she later wowed director Lawrence Kasdan when another casting director had her read a scene for him.

“There was great quiet and then Larry said, ‘I never thought I would hear that out loud as I hear it in my head.”’

She has been in a number of hit movies including “Romancing the Stone” with Michael Douglas in 1984 and “Peggy Sue Got Married” in 1986, which got her an Oscar nomination.

Turner, who is also known for her political activism with various social causes such as women’s rights, laughed when she was asked if she thought she was too young for a tribute.

“It crossed my mind,” the 59-year-old added, pointing out she is still working. “‘Body Heat’ was 31 years ago now so I think enough time has passed that it’s possible to look back instead of being in the middle of it. So, yes, I can accept gratefully such an honour though I expect to earn it again.” ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

LOS ANGELES—”American Idol” is betting that a judges’ remix with Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban will fare better with viewers than bickering divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj did last season.

The rumoured addition of Lopez and Connick as judges for season 13 was announced Tuesday by Fox. They’ll join Urban to make up the talent show’s first panel consisting solely of singers—a la NBC’s successful 2011 upstart “The Voice.”

Pop star and actress Lopez will be back on “American Idol” after a two-season run as judge in 2011 and 2012 that was a boon for the show and her career. Connick, a respected jazz singer and musician, proved adept as a mentor in several “Idol” appearances.

Urban’s return to the contest was announced last month by Fox Chairman Kevin Reilly, who said the singer didn’t get a chance to show his personality in his first turn as a judge.

Urban appeared overwhelmed last season by the Carey-Minaj crossfire that drew complaints from some viewers.

“I think this season of ‘Idol’ is gonna be a blast,” Urban said in a statement Tuesday. “New team, new energy and a whole new field of artists to be discovered and given a chance!”

Fox also announced that original judge Randy Jackson, who exited along with Carey and Minaj at the end of last season, will be back in a new role as in-house mentor to the contestants. Ryan Seacrest, also part of “Idol” from the start, will again host.

“Surprise, surprise! I am so happy to be back as part of this amazing show that started it all,” said Jackson. “The original talent show is back with a vengeance and ready to discover the best talent in America.”

Record executive Jimmy Iovine had served as mentor in recent seasons. Fox said that Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records, under Iovine’s direction as chairman, will continue to release “Idol” winner and contestant music.

Although judges have been a part of the show’s entertainment formula since the early antics of Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, “Idol” also won viewers by discovering future stars including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson. But recent winners haven’t caught similar fire as recording artists.

Seacrest, also set to host NBC’s new “The Million Second Quiz,” said that early “Idol” auditions have cemented his belief “that a new superstar is within our sights.”

Tryouts are ahead in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Detroit; Omaha, Neb.; Salt Lake City and San Francisco. “American Idol” returns in January. ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

37

Lifestyle

Precautions during, after floods

BY CHARLES E. BUBAN Philippine Daily Inquirer BACK-TO-BACK TROPICAL storms and incessant heavy rains brought by the southwest monsoon or “habagat” have left about 40 towns and cities in Ilocos Region, Central and Southern Luzon, and Metro Manila still grappling with floods, not to mention the threat of communicable as well as potentially deadly diseases as result of stagnant water and an overall deterioration in the environment.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), those in the affected areas as well as evacuation centers should watch out for cases of leptospirosis (a disease caused by rat urine), dengue (caused by any of four dengue viruses spread by mosquitoes) as well as diarrhea.

This is why the DOH has directed both public and private hospitals to immediately report every confirmed cases of these diseases so the occurrence of an outbreak could be prevented.

Based on the report from the DOH-National Epidemiology

Center, there are at least 45,000 dengue cases, while at least 500 leptospirosis cases have been reported so far. These figures have not yet included those cases that are expected to be reported after ‘s flooding and devastation.

Infected rat urine

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that infects people through direct contact with the urine of infected rats or in an environment contaminated with infected rat urine. The bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions on the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and eyes.

This is why wading or swimming in floods is not a good idea as the water may already be contaminated.

Leptospirosis can be difficult to diagnose in its mild early stages, as it shares symptoms with other more common infections. However, be on the lookout or immediately bring the person to the hospital if the following symptoms are observed: high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, chills, redness of the eyes, abdominal pain, jaun-

dice, hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhea and rash.

One should remember that a diagnosis of leptospirosis can be confirmed by running a series of blood and urine tests to detect the presence of the leptospira bacteria in his/her blood or urine.

Receding floodwater

Another big worry for authorities is the possibility of large-scale mosquito breeding once the floodwater recedes and leave behind pools of stagnant water.

The Aedes mosquito—the main carrier of dengue virus— prefers to breed in clean, stagnant water, easily found in in the house and its surroundings.

Many individuals may experience no signs or symptoms during a mild case or early stages of dengue fever.

While most people recover within a week or so, there will be cases wherein symptoms would worsen and become lifethreatening. Blood vessels often become damaged and leaky, and the number of clotforming cells in one’s bloodstream falls

According to the DOH, those in the affected areas as well as evacuation centers should watch out for cases of leptospirosis, dengue, as well as diarrhea.

PHOTO BY ART PHANEUF - LOSTARTS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

causing bleeding from the nose and mouth, severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, bleeding under the skin, and even problems with lungs, liver and heart.

Although infectious and other potentially deadly diseases are a frightening prospect, widespread outbreaks after floods may be effectively prevented if everyone is vigilant.

Apart from immediately reporting cases of infection, the family and the rest of the community must take some preventive measures like consuming only bottled or boiled water; keeping individual hygiene; safely storing and consuming food; and more importantly, avoiding self- medication when symptoms of diarrhea disease or other diseases occur. ■

Still ‘crazy’ after all these years How Joy Virata keeps her love for theater alive

BY POCHOLO CONCEPCION Philippine Daily Inquirer

JOY VIRATA as Edith Piaf in Repertory Philippines’ production of the original script by British playwright Pam Gems.

JOY VIRATA looks cool, calm and collected as she arrives in her condo unit. She doesn’t look her age, 77; it’s something she attributes to daily, onehour exercise, and to doing what she loves most, working in the theater.

Although she has retired from office duties at Repertory Philippines, the theater company she helped run for more than 30 years, Joy says she has kept her ties to it, although in a less

stressful capacity.

She’s the artistic director of Rep’s Theater for Young Audiences, which mounts plays for children but with a cast of adult professional actors. “We do only one play per season, but it runs from August to December,” she tells INQUIRER Lifestyle.

“It’s for children to develop a love for theater and we’ve been doing it for the past 21 years.”

Such devotion to a singleminded purpose stems from the vision that sustained Rep since it opened its first play to a handful of people in 1967.

Founded by theater artists led by Zeneida “Bibot” Amador, Rep plodded on with yearround lineups of straight plays and musicals—surviving presidents and economic crises and, in the process, raising generations of actors and stage production specialists known for their professionalism and talent.

“Bibot’s dream was to create a theater industry and she has done it,” says Joy, whose other preoccupation now is the restaging of a play she costars in, ❱❱ PAGE 39 Still ‘crazy’

Lifestyle

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 38

No such thing as ‘stem cell in a bottle’ And only autologous adult stem cell treatment is allowed in the Philippines

BY CHECHE V. MORAL Philippine Daily Inquirer THE DEPARTMENT of Health and some medical organizations are calling for a clampdown on hospitals, clinics and centers offering stem cell treatments. But instead of being discouraged, one of stem cell therapy’s vocal advocates and practitioners in the country said she welcomes the move.

At the launch of StemCare Institute Center for Pain and Regenerative Medicine, a new division of The Skin and Laser Clinic, Dr. Aivee Aguilar-Teo said she believes the procedure needs to be regulated.

“The word ‘stem cell’ has been used loosely, which is sad.

So [the crackdown] is good in a way because we really need to regulate,” said Dr. AguilarTeo, who, with her Singaporean physician husband, Z, owns and runs StemCare.

“There’s this impression that all stem cell treatments are the same, which isn’t the case. The techniques and sources of stem cells are different [from clinic to clinic].”

The Teos’ clinic at Bonifacio Global City has been offering autologous fat stem cell repair (FSCR) for the last two years, and since last year has been offering treatments other than anti-aging.

“Medicine is evolving and we don’t want to be stagnant. We want to learn more,” said Dr. Aguilar-Teo, who has had FSCR patients seeking help for sports injuries, autism, Parkinson’s disease, among others.

“With StemCare, we’ve created a team of an orthopedic surgeon, an anesthesiologist and pain specialist, a general and hair restoration surgeon. What we’re doing is more preventive medicine to complement traditional treatments.”

Natural progression

Since they began offering FSCR for cases other than cosmetic, the ratio of patients seeking relief from pain visà-vis anti-aging cases is now 50:50, she said.

“We’ve had inquiries from as far as Dubai, Myanmar…

There’s really a need. At first we were doing it only for beauty

DR.MARK Berman of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center, Dr. LeoOlarte of the Philippine Medical Association, Dr. Aivee Aguilar-Teo and Dr. Z Teo of StemCare Institute Center for Pain and Regenerative Medicine

and rejuvenation. But along the way we’ve gotten new cases, like autism, Parkinson’s, joint pains like arthritis and shoulder pains, skin conditions like scleroderma and psoriasis, hair loss, sports injuries. We’ve been having inquiries for cerebral palsy… So we see this as a natural progression from our antiaging treatments.”

Dr. Aguilar-Teo’s husband, and her father, the politician Nene Aguilar, have undergone FSCR for knee pain, with her father foregoing knee replacement altogether after getting relief from the treatment.

The Teos’ celebrity patients came in full force to the launch: tycoon Tonyboy Cojuangco with partner Gretchen Barretto, actress Marjorie Barretto, fashion designer Inno Sotto, Philippine Volcanoes’ Harry Morris, makeup artist Patrick Rosas, socialite and columnist Mons Romulo, among others.

There were also video testimonials from Morris and Romulo, hairstylist Jing Monis, and broadcast journalist Karen Davila, who emceed the launch, and whose son David was given FSCR for autism.

The call for stricter regulations on stem cell therapy stems from the fact that the treatment is only in the experimental stage.

“It’s hard to claim,” Dr. Aguilar-Teo conceded. “There’s

no 100-percent guarantee. We want to provide alternative and complementary treatments for traditional methods. For instance, conditions that have no definitive cure. Say, you need knee replacement; you may want to opt for this. We see no harm in trying.”

Less risk

In FSCR, a patient’s stem cells are harvested through a mini liposuction, either from the lower belly or the inner thigh. The procedure is surgical.

A machine onsite then distills the stem cells from the fat, which are then injected back into the patient.

Stem cells are believed to replicate and differentiate body organs, and turn into different body parts to replace damaged and diseased cells and tissues.

“It’s from your own body so there’s less risk involved,” Dr. Aguilar-Teo said during the forum. “There’s no fear of rejection or allergic reaction. We can’t promise cure, but we can promise it won’t harm you. In over 100 cases we’ve done, so far we haven’t seen any side effects.”

“The worse that can happen is that it may not work,” added Dr. Mark Berman of the California Stem Cell Treatment Center.

“Maybe there are not enough healthy stem cells. When that happens, we typically bring the www.canadianinquirer.net

patient back free of charge.”

The Teos have partnered with Dr. Berman’s US clinic so “we could learn from each other, and train from one another, and transfer our technologies,” said Dr. Z Teo, the chief executive of StemCare.

Dr. Berman is co-founder of Cell Surgical Network, an international group of physicians whose mission is “devoted to advancing access and quality care in the area of adult stem cell regenerative medicine to help people suffering from a variety of inflammatory and degenerative conditions,” says its website.

“We’ve established our Investigational Research Board to be used to tell the [US] Food and Drug Administration of what we’re doing,” Dr. Teo said. “As we know more, the more questions we have. We’re going international to learn from each other, to get the best possible technologies. We share our database of cases.”

“Dr. Berman has established a set of protocols that we want to learn from,” said Dr. AguilarTeo. “We’re open to new treatments as long as they do no harm.”

Animal/plant stem cells not allowed

Dr. Leo Olarte, president of the Philippine Medical Association, said only autologous adult stem cell treatment is allowed in the country. “Only stem cells from the patient or another human being are allowed. Stem cells from animals or plants are not.”

He added that only clinics and doctors accredited by the Department of Health are authorized to administer stem cell treatment.

“There is no such thing as ‘stem cell in a bottle,’” Dr. Olarte said.

In the US, Dr. Berman, a cosmetic surgeon, said stem cell therapy isn’t under the jurisdiction of the US FDA, since it’s a surgical procedure.

“The FDA is responsible for approving drugs and devices,” he said. “If you take cells from somebody and manufacture it in a laboratory and make claims about that, you’re making a drug. But if you’re doing what Dr. Z and Dr. Aivee are doing,

which is a surgical procedure, isolating stem cells in a surgical environment, and not making claims about cells guaranteed to do this and that… You’re making a product, yes, but it’s during a surgical procedure. We do that in surgery all the time, tissues are moved around in the body… All the machines used for the procedure are already FDA-approved.”

Answering questions about clinics offering stem cells harvested from young Europeans, Dr. Teo said: “The safest should be from the same person. If it’s from someone else, we require stringent measures, if the process was sterile, etc. There’s fear and danger of safety [if it’s from another country]. Stem cells last only two to three days. The sources can also be dubious.

“In Singapore, stem cell treatment is now very mainstream for orthopedic conditions. The Singapore government is doing a study. Countries are progressing at different speeds.”

Exorbitant fees

Certain medical organizations, like the Philippine College of Physicians, have questioned the practice of charging exorbitant fees for what they consider to be experimental medicine. It’s the PCP’s stand that fees for procedures such as stem cell therapy should be waived as their efficacy have yet to be proven in clinical studies.

However, Dr. Olarte echoed what Health Secretary Enrique Ona said in interviews: that local clinics can’t conduct these procedures free of charge, citing the cost of such procedures.

“Down the road, it will be more accessible, as technology improves and medicines become more efficient,” Dr. Teo noted. His wife said their clinic’s rate for FSCR has gone down some 30 percent from last year.

“Cataract treatment used to be very expensive,” Dr. Berman noted. “Now it’s covered by health insurance [in the US].

Once there’s more data, the insurance will cover it. Say, instead of sending you for a knee replacement, which is expensive because it requires hospitalization, they’ll send you for stem cell treatment. That’s how it is in medicine.” ■

Lifestyle

39 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

Still ‘crazy’...

“Mind’s Eye.” She says she fell in love with the play when former Rep staffer and actor Jaime del Mundo showed her the script three years ago.

The story of an old woman who is going blind and could hardly walk, and a young girl (played by Jenny Jamora) who is paralyzed from the waist down after an accident, “Mind’s Eye” grabbed Joy’s interest for its vivid depiction of the power of imagination.

“The play emphasizes the need for reading, for knowledge of art and literature, how your mind needs that, and the importance of imagination,” says Joy. ❰❰ 37

Hard to sell

She plays a former English teacher who finds herself at odds with a rebellious young girl; somehow they agree to take an imaginary trip to Italy using a guide book.

The play, Joy admits, is “hard to sell.

People don’t want to see straight plays these days. They want big musicals with a lot of sets and costumes and music and whatnot. I had only three performances of ‘Mind’s Eye’ (at RCBC Plaza) last year, although I had four more shows (for Trumpets) at the CCP theater fest.”

This year, “Mind’s Eye” will run on Sept.

6 to 8 also at the RCBC Plaza, Makati City.

Joy says she decided to mount the play on her own because she didn’t want to bother Rep with the risks involved.

“It’s expensive to produce a play,” she points out, adding that her daughter, Gigi, and husband, Cesar, are bankrolling “Mind’s Eye” for her.

“But the play is so beautiful,” she gushes. “I must say that anyone who saw it (last year) couldn’t stop raving about it.”

One of the show dates was bought by two corporate groups for their fundraising projects.

Just big musicals

Although the local theater scene seems more alive than ever, Joy says there’s still not enough audience for it to be financially robust: “There’s a lot of theater, but the audience is still not there. Or they just want to see big musicals. All the small theater companies are having a hard time.”

The challenge, according to Joy, has always been marketing.

“Theater has changed so much. Actually, that’s why I gave it (my office duties) up, because it now requires a different kind of knowledge and skill from what I had. I used to write letters galore, and people would read my nice letters.

“But now nobody reads letters anymore.

The mailing system was no longer viable or effective. It’s now about how to use the Internet. I didn’t have the capability, the technical know-how to get into that.”

Relieved of her job at Rep as vice president for audience development—which involves getting sponsors and helping ensure that the company stayed afloat— Joy still finds fulfillment in special projects like “Mind’s Eye.” “It’s a one-off thing,” she says. “I’m not starting my own company, for heaven sakes! I’m still with Rep.” As to why her love for theater has never waned, Joy exclaims: “Because I’m crazy!”

Theater, she explains, allows her to be somebody else: “You can be anybody you want, all kinds of characters. One of my favorite lines in ‘Mind’s Eye’ goes, ‘Your mind can be as vast as Russia and as full of characters as New York City.’”

Joy says she’s an “absolutely” fortunate person to have a family that understands what she’s crazy about.

“My husband watches plays even if I’m not in the cast. He loves the arts.

Businessmen who love the arts have a plus in them.”

Cesar and kids

Cesar Virata was Joy’s professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman when she was taking up a business course.

“I had five subjects under him, she re-

Danilo Franco: Fashion illustration ‘gives life’ to design Veteran designer and fashion illustrator shares an expertise the industry takes for granted

BY ALEX Y. VERGARA Philippine Daily Inquirer IF YOU take it from fashion designer and leading illustrator Danilo Franco, anyone can draw. If there’s one form of expression that can be learned, it’s drawing.

The results may not be as beautiful and polished as the twin series of Filipino-theme Christmas images Franco and fellow designer Barge Ramos collaborated on in 2009, but the ability to draw is innate in every person.

Otherwise, Franco, who, for more than 30 years now, has been the go-to illustrator of not a few designers and women’s fashion magazines, wouldn’t be wasting his time teaching illustration subjects to Fashion Design students at the School of Fashion and the Arts (SoFA) in Makati.

Franco became known for a specialization that wasn’t highlighted in the fashion industry—fashion illustration.

Yet it was in fashion illustration that Franco has built his following, even

among his contemporaries and other fashion designers. They give him recognition in this area that’s taken for granted.

And it is also this expertise that this veteran designer-illustrator now chooses to share with the next generation.

Apart from basic and advanced illustration, he also teaches fashion subjects at SoFA. Years ago he conducted short illustration workshops at the Philippine Women’s University.

Apart from illustrating the designs of colleagues such as Ramos and Ben Farrales, Franco used to “re-illustrate” drawings submitted by various designers to such magazines as Woman and the defunct Manila Women’s Wear.

“I used to re-illustrate the works of almost everyone— Mang Ben (Farrales), Mang Pitoy (Moreno), Auggie Cordero, Cesar Gaupo, Rusty Lopez, Mike dela Rosa, Edgar San Diego, Jun-Jun Cambe, Dobie Aranda,” he says.

Based on their feedback, Franco’s col❱❱ PAGE 44 Danilo Franco

www.canadianinquirer.net

calls. “I have a master’s degree in business, would you believe? It helped me in my marketing work in Rep.” Daughter Gigi (who runs call centers) and son, Michael, a doctor, also joined Rep when they were young.

Another son, Steven, heads a school for pilots in Clark.

Cesar, she says, has also retired as a finance executive, although he still sits on the boards of directors of banks. “He plays tennis at 6:30 every morning, and is active in the Cavite Historical Society and the Imus Institute where he is an alumnus.”

Joy says part of her mission these days is to “try to get good theater into the country and not succumb to just musicals. I mean, we need to develop a thinking population, a thinking citizenry.”

What’s wrong with musicals? “You don’t think in a musical,” she says. “There’s nothing really much to say in a musical.

Most of it now are just beautiful sets and costumes. But I use it myself in my children’s theater because I need to draw in the audience.”

When not busy with plays, Joy says she tries to do some writing.

“I wrote that play ‘Miong’ (about Emilio Aguinaldo) and my husband wants me to prepare it for publishing so other people can do it. I tried writing a novel and it got nowhere. My mother was always telling me to be a writer.” ■

Business

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 40

Prime minister’s briefing note plays down low interest rate dangers

BY DEAN BEEBY The Canadian Press OTTAWA, ONT.—The prime minister’s advisers have dismissed a warning by a respected think tank that ultra-low interest rates need to start rising now to avoid damage to the Canadian economy.

In a paper for the C.D. Howe Institute, economist Paul Masson argued in May that the Bank of Canada should nudge rates higher to forestall real-estate bubbles, excessive household debt, pension-fund woes and other dangers.

But a May 31 briefing note requested by Stephen Harper’s office on the controversial paper notes that Masson’s arguments are “at odds” with the views of most economists.

And it says the central bank cannot act as if Canada is an island while the United States, Europe, Japan and England continue to hold rates down to help prime their anaemic economies.

The note, signed by the clerk of the Privy Council, advises Harper that the costs of raising Canada’s interest rates would outweigh the benefits.

A heavily censored copy of the document was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. “The (C.D. Howe) report has

captured some attention in the media, as the call for raising interest rates immediately stands at odds with the views of most economists and market players,” says the five-page analysis.

“The costs of raising interest rates well ahead of other major economies would likely outweigh the benefits.”

Harper, who has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Calgary, is frequently briefed on think-tank publications focusing on the economy.

Masson is a widely respected economist, employed at various times by the Bank of Canada, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and elsewhere. He was special adviser to Canada’s central bank in 2007-2008.

Now a research fellow at Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, Masson argued in his May 15 paper that Canada’s economy suffered less of a downturn than did other industrial nations after the 2008-09 meltdown, and low rates are now harming rather than helping.

“Short-term rates are ... too low in Canada, a situation that is starting to build in pervasive problems for the economy,” he wrote.

“Below-equilibrium interest rates for an extended period distort investment decisions,

leading to excessive risk taking and inefficient and ultimately unprofitable investments.

“They also encourage the formation of asset bubbles whose collapse could lead to a recurrence of the recent financial crisis.”

Key sections of the Harper briefing note are censored under provisions of the Access to Information Act that protect advice given to ministers.

The note also highlights a May 29 announcement by the Bank of Canada that low rates will remain in place with the continued slack in the economy and low inflation, suggesting Masson’s view is an outlier.

Masson says the briefing note does not rebut his main arguments, merely asserts that Canada will suffer consequences if the Bank of Canada goes alone in raising rates.

And he says that since his article appeared, “financial markets seem to be agreeing with me, pushing up interest rates on traded securities, and the banks have also raised their mortgage rates.”

“Central banks may be led to raise rates earlier than was thought likely, especially if the good economic news coming out of the U.S. persists,” Masson said in an email.

The Bank of Canada is set to announce its next policy interest rate on Wednesday. ■

The note, signed by the clerk of the Privy Council, advises Prime Minister Harper that the costs of raising Canada’s interest rates would outweigh the benefits.

PHOTO FROM PM.GC.CA

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Gov’t still hopeful on big infra projects Potential legal issues hound NLEX-SLEX connector

BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer A SIGNIFICANT improvement in the job market can be expected in the fourth quarter this year as businesses look to hire more employees amid an expected surge in economic activity in the runup to the Christmas holidays.

The results of a recent employment and expansion plans survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that the overall employment outlook index of local businesses jumped to a record high of 31.7 percent from the previous 24.1 percent.

The employment outlook index is an indication of hiring plans of companies for the following quarter. A higher score means more companies surveyed said they would increase the number of their employee than those that said they would keep their headcount steady.

The BSP said the index was “another indicator providing support to expectations of sustained growth… for the next quarter.”

The survey showed construction companies were the most optimistic in their employment outlook for the fourth quarter, the BSP said. Likewise, services, wholesale, and retail trade firms were bullish on their hir-

ing plans.

In line with the bullish results on hiring plans, the BSP said companies surveyed also showed optimism regarding the expansion of their respective businesses. The percentage of companies that said they would expand operations in the fourth quarter reached 32.1 percent, net of companies that said their operations would remain the same.

“Across sub-sectors, mining and quarrying recorded the most robust expansion plans, followed by agriculture, fishery and forestry; electricity, gas, and water; and manufacturing,” the BSP said.

The favorable hiring outlook for the fourth quarter comes amid criticism against the government for failure to make a dent in the country’s unemployment figures despite the economy’s healthy growth over the past two years.

The Philippine economy grew by 7.5 percent in the second quarter of the year—the fourth consecutive threemonth period that growth has topped 7 percent.

However, despite the healthy growth in the first quarter, unemployment in the same period reached 7.5 percent, up from 6.9 percent the previous quarter, raising concerns over the inclusiveness of the country’s economic boom. ■

Sports/Horoscope

41 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

La Salle beats Ateneo, 66-64

BY JASMINE W. PAYO Philippine Daily Inquirer IT TOOK a fierce rival—and a star struggling all game long— to halt the team with the hottest streak.

Jeron Teng buried the gamewinner with 1.9 seconds left as La Salle slipped past Ateneo with a pulsating 66-64 decision in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the jampacked Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Held to his lowest output of the season, Teng still delivered in the game’s biggest play in a huge answer to Ateneo star Kiefer Ravena’s game-tying basket, 64-64, with 14.5 seconds left.

“All throughout the game I couldn’t get my rhythm,” said Teng, who finished with eight points. “But I’m thankful to coach that he trusted me on the last play.”

The huge victory halted the

Eagles’ five-game winning streak, the longest since Far Eastern University’s 7-0 sweep of the first round.

But more importantly, the Archers grabbed solo third with a 7-4 record and stayed in the running for the top two slots, which come with a twice-tobeat semifinal advantage.

The victory also marked the first time since 2001 that the Archers completed an elimination sweep of the Eagles. In 2005, the Archers also forged a sweep but their games were forfeited that season due to eligibility issues.

“The first six teams are in a close race so every game is important,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler as the Archers stretched their winning run to four in front of a boisterous crowd of over 16,000.

The Blue Eagles, the defending champions who only found their groove midway in the sea-

son, fell into a share of fourth place with University of Santo Tomas at 6-5.

Before the game-winner, Teng had only nailed one of four attempts from the field.

“We just had to get the ball to Jeron and I told him to make a good decision,” said Sauler.

“If he gets doubled, he knows where the other guys will be. He made a good read there.”

Almond Vosotros also starred by knocking in a game-high 19 points, including a seven-point cluster that helped give the Archers the lead, 57-53, after trailing at 48-53 midway in the fourth.

Jason Perkins posted a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds, while LA Revilla added 11 points for the Archers, who played minus suspended guard Thomas Torres. The scores: Second Game LA SALLE 66— Vosotros 19, Perkins 13, Revilla 11, Teng 8, Torres 6, Van

PHOTO FROM GMANETWORK.COM

Opstal 4, Montalbo 3, Salem 2, Tampus 0, Reyes 0, Dela Paz 0, Bolick 0.

ATENEO 64— Tiongson 14, Elorde 13, Ravena 12, Buenafe

9, Newsome 8, Pessumal 4, Golla 2, Erram 2, Tolentino 0, Enriquez 0, Capacio 0.

Quarters: 13-16, 31-33, 46-49, 66-64 ■

HOROSCOPE ARIES

CANCER

LIBRA

CAPRICORN

(MARCH 21 - APRIL 19)

(JUNE 22 - JULY 22)

(SEPT 23 - OCT 22)

(DEC 22 - JAN 19)

As career and money matters continue to advance, your self-confidence is high and your mind is very positive. You should continue to attract good fortune. Expect more pleasant surprises and sudden breaks this month, Aries. You’ll attract new friendships based on shared spiritual values, and old friendships should solidify even more. Life is treating you well.

TAURUS

Everyone is likely to be making demands on you right now, which can have you in a dither. A career success could be offset by an upset with a partner over a miscommunication. This should be worked out, but it might take the wind out of your sails if you let it, Cancer. It would be a good idea to derail any upset before it runs you down. Invite your partner out to celebrate!

Some paperwork might need attention today, Libra. You may also be on the phone a lot. Communication should be clear, open, and honest, so you’ll accomplish exactly what you need to.

An intimate and loving conversation could take place between you and a close friend or lover who might follow up with a visit to your home.

LEO (JULY 23 - AUGUST 22)

(APRIL 20 - MAY 20) Your ESP continues to expand, Taurus, and you sense what friends are feeling without their saying anything. Don’t be surprised if one is hiding some repressed anger! The chance to travel may come up unexpectedly, and you could be in a quandary about going. Consider it carefully. If it’s feasible, go for it. This isn’t the time to hold back.

This should be a fortunate day, Leo, including love, career, money, and health. Plans for a trip might finally materialize, and a long-awaited solution for a niggling health concern could manifest. You should feel very enthusiastic and optimistic about your future. You might even be daring enough to take a few more chances than usual. Go for the gold, and don’t be surprised if you actually get it!

You might put a lot of effort into the appearance of your house. Some people you’d like to impress could visit your home tonight, Capricorn. You should be especially intuitive now, so don’t be surprised if you anticipate what they’ll say before they say it. Make it work for you! Success through entertaining and the astute use of intuition are highly indicated.

SCORPIO

AQUARIUS

(OCT 23 - NOV 21)

(JAN 20 - FEB 18)

Physically, Scorpio, you feel strong and energetic. This is a good day to look into expanding your horizons.

All signs point to personal and career success.

Some surprising communications from friends or neighbors could bring fascinating information your way. You’ll know just what to do with it. Follow your instincts!

A group you’re affiliated with could meet somewhere in your neighborhood, Aquarius. Though you’re usually more sensitive and intuitive than others, today you could be feeling especially so. Expect a lot of phone calls and visitors. Don’t be surprised if you can read their minds! Artistic and creative interests could also be important to you now.

GEMINI

VIRGO

SAGITTARIUS

PISCES

(MAY 21 - JUNE 21)

(AUG 23 - SEPT 22)

(NOV 22 - DEC 21)

(FEB 19 - MAR 20)

Everyone is likely to be making demands on you right now, which can have you in a dither. A career success could be offset by an upset with a partner over a miscommunication. This should be worked out, but it might take the wind out of your sails if you let it, Cancer. It would be a good idea to derail any upset before it runs you down. Invite your partner out to celebrate!

If you’ve been expecting a settlement of some kind, today it might finally come or show signs of coming soon, Virgo. This is a great day to invest in a home, land, or property. It’s especially necessary to read the fine print before signing anything. Your mind might be a little foggy.

Anything you have to do could require a little more concentration than usual.

Ingenuity and practicality lead to success now. Something may be accomplished that has meant a lot to you, Sagittarius, and you should feel particularly satisfied with yourself and maybe even a little excited. A lot of comings and goings could take place in the home today, with visitors and family members popping in and out.

Stay centered.

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This is a period when your business and financial interests continue to fly high. You may feel disoriented at times, as everything seems to be happening at once, Pisces. Yet all you can do is go with the flow. You’re on a roll! Matters involving friendship and love also are changing rapidly, mostly for the better, though you might leave some longtime companions behind.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

42

Travel

Celebrating Cebu

BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Basilica courtyard

Magellan’s Cross

Bantayan Island

The author at the Taoist Temple

PHOTOS BY YOBIC ARCETA

AHHH, CEBU. Cebu is probably the most popular tourist destination in the Philippines, second to Boracay. It is filled with warm people, heartwarming culture, enthralling landscapes, breathtaking beaches, awe-mazing underwater life, and great tummy-fillers.

I did quite a bunch of research for this trip, making sure that I’ve got most of the things covered. I want to be prepared, but I also know that more than half of the things I listed down probably won’t happen. Because there’s just so much to do.

Our first stop was Bantayan Island on the northern tip of Cebu.

Going to Bantayan was really fun ‘cause you get to experience all modes of transportation in one day: by air, by water, and by land. From Mactan International Airport, we took a cab to North Cebu Bus Terminal to get on a bus headed for Hagnaya Port. A bus ride from the terminal to the port will set you back PHP150.00 (CAD$4) per person and lasts around 3 hours.

Yep, 3 butt-numbing hours.

How I also wish the bus’ aisle seats have armrests.

Travel time from Hagnaya Port to Sta. Fe Port in Bantayan Island is around an hour and a half, PHP 170.00 per person (CAD$4.50). There’s also a PHP 10.00 (CAD$.25) port/terminal fee per head. That Sunday, the sea was really calm. Barely felt any waves crashing against the ferry, unlike the ferry ride on our way back to Hagnaya. *cue theme to ‘Jaws’* Around an hour and a half later, we reached Sta. Fe and disembarked. Lots of padyak/ trisikad (pedicab) drivers were following passengers and offering us rides, asking us where we’re going to stay. It was quite unnerving because they were very persistent, but we just turned them down since the resort we chose offers free port-

to-resort transfers.

The sun was warm and shining when we arrived at the beach at around 2:00 PM. While waiting to be checked in, one of the staff at Beach Placid asked us if we would like to take a tour of Bantayan Island.

If you want to go around in a car, it’ll set you back around PHP 1500.00 (CAD$37.50), plus your meals during the daytrip. If you want to go around the island in a motorcycle, it’s just PHP 600.00 (CAD$15) for the entire day. You can also rent a boat to take you to a nearby uninhabited island called Virgin Island for PHP 900.00 (CAD$22.50) for the entire day. He said we can buy seafood early in the morning, head out to Virgin Island at around 7:00 AM, swim, have grilled seafood for lunch, and go back to the resort by dusk. We declined his insanely enticing offers politely since we went to the beach to be bums! And also because it’s not included in our budget (haha!).

The next day, we woke up really early to catch the sunrise, but it was raining really hard!

Going out to the resort’s restaurant to have our complimentary breakfast was a quest for dry land. It rained until lunchtime and it made the beach look a bit gloomy. It was my first time to experience a storm at the beach.

We even lost electricity for a couple of hours that day. But once the rain let up a little bit, the electricity was restored right away.

Staying in Bantayan Island gives tourists the best of both worlds: comforts and conveniences of city life (AC in your room, free WIFI at the restaurant, nice and clean bathroom) and the laidback atmosphere of the countryside.

Once the rains stopped, we took a short walk around the beach and then rode a trisikad to the town center to have lunch at Blue Ice Bar & Restaurant. It was highly recommended by our friend who went to Bantayan just two weeks before we did.

Our friend raved about the Sizzling Pork (around PHP 195.00

or CAD$5, I think), so we ordered it. We also had their Swiss Fried Potatoes (around PHP 120.00 or CAD$3). The Sizzling Pork was good, even though the potatoes in the dish were a bit undercooked. We loved the sauce! It was a delicious experience. The deep flavors of the brown, hearty sauce definitely complimented the slightly sweet taste of the tender pork. The Swiss Fried Potato was also quite sweet and absolutely cheesy. I’m not entirely sure what’s in it, but it worked very well.

When we arrived at the resort after lunch, we changed clothes to take a swim, but there were a bunch of jellyfish taking a swim, too! We’re too much of a chicken to dare to swim with the jellyfishes, so we just took another walk along the beach and took photos.

On our last morning in Bantayan Island, we woke up at around 5:00 AM to catch the sunrise. Let’s just say that the beauty of a Bantayan Island sunrise is totally worth the lack of sleep and the agony of waking up early while on vacation.

After taking a quick swim before checking out of the resort (we couldn’t resist the crystal blue waters and gloriously warm sun!), we headed back to mainland Cebu.

Back in the city, one should definitely try dining at Casa Verde and 10 Dove Street. Both restaurants offer great food at amazingly affordable prices.

We only had about 3-4 hours that afternoon to go around Cebu City, so we made sure we made the most of it. Our first stop was the Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills, one of the prestigious villages in Cebu. Taking photos inside the temples (yeah, plural; there are around 4-5 temples in the compound) is not allowed, so we just observed from the outside.

After visiting the Taoist Temple, we headed off to Magellan’s Cross. I thought it was going to ❱❱ PAGE 44 Celebrating Cebu

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

43

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 44

Celebrating Cebu... be huge! Like, in some museum or something. But Magellan’s Cross is housed inside a small gazebo in the middle of a traditional plaza, just a few steps from the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, which is a really nice place to visit, especially for its courtyard.

After the Basilica, we crossed the street towards Plaza Independencia and Fort San Pedro.

There’s an entrance fee of PHP 30.00 (CAD$.75) per person to go inside Fort San Pedro.

There’s a really nice garden at the center and even on the ❰❰ 42

Danilo Franco... viewing deck of the fort. It’s a nice place to spend the afternoon and just rest your tired legs and feet from all that walking around the city.

Visiting Cebu is so much more than the places I mentioned—there’s whaleshark feeding in Oslob and diving in Malapascua and guitar haven in Cebu City. A four-day visit just isn’t enough to explore the grandiose of the Queen City of the South. But just like all good things, our little vacation had to end sometime—because one vacation has to end in order for a new vacation to begin. ■

leagues seemed happy with the results. Not a few were genuinely appreciative, he says. Some of these designers, who are now based abroad, get in touch with him now and then to thank him.

It wasn’t that their drawings weren’t good, says the master illustrator. He cites Gaupo, for instance, as one such designer who really knows how to draw.

The magazines just wanted “uniformity” of sketches featured on their pages.

“Throughout my years of teaching, I have proven that drawing can be taught in 99 percent of the cases,” says the Fine Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas. ❰❰ 39

Early stint

Bantayan Island Sunrise

Color as... cilling. Just a simple row of stencilled patterns along the wall or along the trimming or in corners will definitely improve the look of the room. The stencil design you choose will bring more character to the room, whether it be using a golden tinged paint over fleur de lys stencil patterns or blue clouds for your kids’ room. You can even use strategically placed patterns to draw eyes away from parts of the room that you do not wish other people to dwell on.

Maximize the power of symmetry. Symmetrical patterns can open up a tiny room or draw an empty space together.

Just like in trying to find the right kind of clothes, vertical stripes will make the room look higher or taller, while horizontal stripes can make the room appear wider. Checkerboard patterns are both playful and strategic, depending on the size of the squares or blocks. Smaller squares can make the room appear smaller, while larger ❰❰ 29

squares can make the room (or the floor space) appear wider or larger. Using symmetrical patterns can be quite tricky, especially when it comes to finding the correct color combination.

This is where a color wheel or chart will come in handy. As a rule, the opposite colours on a color wheel are a good match.

To be on the subtle side, try using colours of the same hue.

If you are feeling a bit more playful or deviant, you can even choose to make an artwork as the focal point of the room. There are a lot of great artwork ideas that you can do to brighten up various rooms in your house. Why not make put your entire family’s hand prints? Or maybe your new baby’s footprints? You can even block out parts of the wall using some construction paper and painter’s tape, then go crazy and splash paint on your walls by flicking your paint brush and using different colours. Be bold and daring—either way, you can always paint over it. ■

As early as his student days, Franco worked as layout artist in the Philippine Daily Express.

He later applied as in-house illustrator for Farrales.

The early stint introduced him to the world of fashion. Before long, he was showing his own collections with other contemporaries such as Ramos, Danny dela Cuesta and Chito Vijandre.

“The talent for drawing is innate,” says Franco. “You only have to revisit it. Remember, all of us started drawing when we were kids. Andwe all produced honest, graphic drawings because we didn’t have inhibitions. The details themselves oftentimes became symbols.”

If one is diligent enough, the long hours he or she puts into honing the skill could produce beautiful illustrations.

“In every design process, there are steps or procedures.

Even in drawing, there are formulas,” he says.

As designer himself, Franco knows the importance of good illustration. It’s a tool, he says, that designers need to communicate their ideas to clients, and in the case of hired talents, owners and investors.

“And even if you don’t end up as a designer, knowing how to illustrate would serve you well as merchandiser or stylist,” he says. “Again, it’s a skill you would need to convince and influence other people.”

Of course, it’s pretty common in fashion to come across clothes that look better as drawings on paper. That’s why he always tells his students to strike a balance between “illustration www.canadianinquirer.net

THESE four Damian Domingo-inspired designs by Barge Ramos, as illustrated by colleague Danilo Franco, became the basis in 2009 for life-size dioramas dressed in authentic Filipiniana costumesmade mostly of indigenous fabrics that were to become part of the Vatican’s annual Christmas display, depicting how a featured country celebrated Christmas through the eyes of the family.

But before Ramos could beginworking on his set pieces, the ambassador had already contacted a Davao-based artist to do the job.

and the technical side of it.”

Computer-savvy designers could always resort to clip art and CAD (computer-aided designs) in lieu of illustrations, but the results, as one of Franco’s students confesses, are far from “soft.”

“The results, she says, lack soul,” says Franco. “That’s why despite being proficient in computers, she still enrolled in my class.”

In 2009, Ramos asked Franco to illustrate his ideas that Ramos hoped to turn into a series of lifesize dioramas, complete with costumes, for the Vatican’s annual outdoor Christmas display.

Since he had ready access to abaca, cotton and piña fibers, Ramos, through the Fiber Industry Development Authority (Fida), was poised to produce Filipiniana costumes, including native props such as a woven bayong laden with exquisite handwoven local fabrics, to be worn by mannequins.

He even made a deal with a local company doing Christmas belen for export to do the body molds. The outdoor dioramas would have been the first of their kind from the Philippines, to be put up in the Vatican, seen by people from all over the world.

Life-size dioramas

“Every year, one country is chosen by the Vatican to create its own life-size dioramas that show its culture, and how its people pay homage to the Holy Family,” says Ramos.

Apart from Fida, Ramos was coordinating with the then Philippine ambassador to the

Vatican and the Center for International Trade Exposition and Missions (Citem).

Initially, Ramos heeded the wishes of then Philippine ambassador to Italy to produce more colorful and “prosperous” images of the Filipino family. It was a total departure from the popular image of a struggling OFW. “So, I designed four dioramas based on this peg,” says Ramos.

“I asked Danny (Franco) to illustrate the designs.”

But even before Ramos could present them, the ambassador to the Vatican nixed the initial idea in favor of lowlier, peasant-inspired images of the Filipino family. The two ambassadors obviously had different visions of how to project the country to the world.

“I had to design a more subdued collection of images also dressed in Filipiniana, and inspired this time by Damian Domingo’s muted paintings.

Again, I asked Danny to illustrate them for me,” says Ramos.

But the ideas didn’t go beyond paper. As Ramos was about to submit the second set of images to our ambassador to the Vatican, he learned that the ambassador had already tapped an artist from Davao to design and do the series of installations.

It wasn’t meant to happen, says Ramos. But through the years, he has always been happy with the way Franco and Loretto Popioco, another designerillustrator, have been reinterpreting his ideas.

“Danny definitely has a distinctive touch,” he says. “His illustrations give life to a designer’s ideas.” ■

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

45

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Philippines

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 46

Fort Sto.Domingo... and expense, that is a better arrangement than transporting Napoles back and forth to Makati,” he added.

Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, however, said the administration could only assess the best security arrangement for Napoles after her arraignment.

“It’s not for us to say; we will just follow what the court orders us to do,” Roxas told reporters after the hearing.

Napoles, the alleged brains of the P10 billion pork barrel scam, is detained at the Special Action Force (SAF) training school of the PNP in Fort Sto. Domingo, where former President Joseph Estrada and Moro rebel leader Nur Misuari had previously been detained.

She is facing charges in connection with the alleged illegal detention of her aide and cousin Benhur Luy for three months until he was rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation.

Plunder charges are also being prepared against her in connection with the pork barrel racket.

The Makati City RTC ordered her transfer from Makati City Jail to the police camp after jail officials admitted they could not guarantee her safety there. She surrendered to President Aquino.

❰❰ 1

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones editor@canadianinquirer.net Associate Editor Laarni de Paula Correspondents Lizette Lofranco-Aba Gigi Astudillo Angie Duarte Maria Ramona Ledesma Katherine Marfal Frances Grace Quiddaoen Agnes Tecson Ching Dee Socorro Newland Graphic Designer Victoria Yong Jennifer Yen Photographers Solon Licas Angelo Siglos Danvic Briones Operations and Marketing Head Laarni de Paula (604) 551-3360 laarni.liwanag@canadianinquirer.net

VIP treatment

Roxas said detaining Napoles inside the police camp would be covered by the operational funds of the PNP, but could not give yet an estimate of the daily costs.

“We’d rather be criticized for doing our job and making sure that she appears alive before the whole process of the law,” he said, responding to criticisms of the government’s perceived VIP treatment of Napoles.

He said the PNP had managed to secure Napoles even if it could not use two of its helicopters on court orders.

“We were able to do it without them.

We can live with that,” he said.

Detaining her in the police camp reduced the “security risk,” since she is surrounded by SAF personnel, trainees and their families, Roxas said.

Given Napoles’ knowledge of the racket, and the “big names” involved, Roxas said there are people who want to “silence her permanently.”

“We’re just security guards here,” he said.

‘Better alive than dead’

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda shrugged off criticism of Malacañang’s treatment of Napoles, pointing out that her detention was decided by the court. “The government would like to see her alive than dead,” he said. “People are free to criticize the manner of protecting her, but on our side, we are accountable to the people.”

RTC Judge Elmo Alameda dismissed

SUNDER TIGHT SECURITY. Special Action Forces (SAF) secures the area of Fort Sto. Domingo in

Sta Rosa Manila on August 31, 2013. Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Napoles will be transferred from Makati City Jail to Fort Sto. Domingo.

Advertising Sales Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 alice.yong@canadianinquirer.net Antonio Tampus (604) 460-9414 PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP

PHOTO BY LINUS GUARDIAN ESCANDOR II / WWW2.MB.COM.PH

the motion for voluntary inhibition by lawyers of Napoles, saying there was no valid reason for him to stay away from the case at this point. He promised to maintain the “cold neutrality of an impartial judge” in hearing the case.

Lawyers of Napoles’ brother, Reynald Lim, her coaccused in the illegal detention case, also announced yesterday they had filed a motion in the Court of Appeals to stop Alameda from hearing the case, saying he had failed to make an independent evaluation of the existence of probable cause against the siblings.

Perpetuation of testimony

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago proposed that the government take the testimony of Napoles ahead of her trial.

The procedure, called “perpetuation of testimony,” is composed of “deposition” and “discovery” that will ensure the preservation of evidence when the trial begins “even if something happens to the witness,” she said.

The deposition would consist of Napoles’ written testimony that is given in writing outside of the court. The discovery is given if a party to a criminal case requests compulsory disclosure of information that relates to the litigation,

she said.

“Any adverse event could prevent Napoles from fully identifying the senators and congressmen with whom she had PDAF transactions. For example, any of the suspects could hire operatives to silence her, or she might inflict physical damage on herself. She might contract a life-threatening ailment,” she said in a statement.

For any of these reasons, the Rules of Court allow her to give her testimony before trial through this procedure, said Santiago, a former trial court judge.

“If Napoles decides to perpetuate her testimony in order to reduce the level of threats to her security, she has to file a verified petition in court,” she said.

The petition could contain the identities of adverse parties, such as the lawmakers who gave pork barrel funds to Napoles-related NGOs, she said.

“It can reasonably be expected that Napoles will name the senators and representatives as expected adverse parties.

The rules require her to serve notice at least 20 days before the date of hearing,” she said. ■ With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Christine O. Avendaño and Niña P. Calleja

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