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VOL. 11 NO. 92
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NOVEMBER 29, 2013
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Supreme Court slays PDAF
PH, HK see ‘final solution’
Tacloban comes back to life
Do they know it’s Christmas?
Bangon Pilipinas fundraising events held in Canada
What will happen to us when this kindness ends? BY JIM GOMEZ The Associated Press
DETERMINATION TO SURVIVE Optimism is written all over what used to be the front yard of typhoon victim Juanito Redrendo, who posts a Merry Christmas sign and an exhortation for the typhoon-ravaged province to hang tough. As they slowly pick up the pieces, survivors like Redrendo display their determination to survive. PHOTO BY RAFFY LERMA
Aquino seeks more rehab funds BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT AQUINO will ask Congress to amend the 2014 national budget to provide funds for the rehabilitation of provinces hit by disasters this year. In an interview with the Inquirer on Monday, Aquino said the government did not have all the money it needed for the massive rehabilitation effort to repair the damage wrought by Typhoon “Santi,” the attack by Moro rebels on Zamboanga City, the 7.2-magnitude
earthquake in Bohol and Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” “There are funding sources and it will have an impact on our budget next year. That is why I will ask Congress to amend the budget,” Aquino said. The President declined to give a “ballpark figure” to estimate the rehabilitation cost. “We have to be as realistic and accurate as possible [than just give] an estimate,” he said, adding that he wanted a thorough work of determining the cost
PHOTO FROM ABS-CBN.COM
❱❱ PAGE 11 What will happen
Rios an open target as Pacquiao expected ❱❱ PAGE 10
❱❱ PAGE 9 Aquino seeks
MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Romnick Abadines’ heart pounded as a Philippine air force C-130 carried him above typhoon-wrecked Tacloban city. He had never been on a plane before, never watched silvery-white clouds pass from a small round window. It was not the first time, or the last, that he felt helpless and out of his element. The frail, 31-year-old farmer lost his shanty to Typhoon Haiyan, which flattened much of Tacloban in Leyte province as it killed more than 5,200 people. Now he lays idle in a tent shelter in suburban Manila, where he has no known relatives and little chance of finding
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Supreme Court slays PDAF 14-0 ruling big blow to patronage politics BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer IN A LANDMARK decision that could spell the end of political patronage, the Supreme Court yesterday declared unconstitutional past and present congressional pork barrel laws as it ordered the criminal prosecution of individuals who had benefited from the schemes over the past two decades. The high court, voting 14-01, also struck down the discretionary provisions granted the President in the use of multibillion-peso oil revenues from the Malampaya Fund and the Presidential Social Fund—the government share of revenues from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). In declaring unconstitutional the provisions on the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the 2013 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and its earlier incarnation, the 1990 Countrywide Development Fund (CDF), the high tribunal held that these arrangements violated the principle of separation of powers. Reversing itself after thrice upholding the legality of the lawmakers’ pork barrel, the court said that this time it simply “allowed legislators to wield, in varying gradations, nonoversight, postenactment authority in vital areas of budget execution” and denied the President the power to veto items in the GAA. The ruling was issued four months after the INQUIRER
broke the story that P10 billion in allocations from the PDAF and the Malampaya Fund meant to ease rural poverty and the plight of storm victims over the past 10 years had gone to ghost projects and massive kickbacks. “This will surely hurt the presidency,” said Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reforms. “It means it will be very difficult for the executive and legislative branches to create discretionary funds.” Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento said political patronage would have little influence now during elections. “Little by little, I hope we come to a time where people will vote based on performance.” Unconstitutional
In its three-page ruling, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the following laws and practices: All legal provisions of past and present congressional pork barrel laws ... which authorized legislators—whether individually or collectively organized into committees—to intervene, assume or participate in any of the various postenactment identification, modification and revision of project identification, fund release and/or fund realignment, unrelated to the power of congressional oversight. All legal provisions of past and present congressional pork barrel laws, such as the previous PDAF and CDF articles and the various congressional insertions, which conferred per-
sonal, lump-sum allocations to legislators from which they are able to fund specific projects which they themselves determine. “All informal practices of similar import and effect, which the court similarly deems to be acts of grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of discretion. “The phrases (1) ‘and for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President’ under Section 8 of Presidential Decree No. 910” on the use of the Malampaya Fund other than for energy development and (2) “to finance the priority infrastructure development projects” under Section 12 of PD 1869, as amended by PD 1993, for both failing the sufficient standard test in violation of the principle of nondelegability of legislative power.” The two presidential decrees refer to a portion of revenues from Pagcor to fund projects ranging from flood control to beautification and healthcare in Metropolitan Manila authorized by the President. Prosecution ordered
The court said a temporary restraining order issued on Sept. 10 covering the remaining PDAF allocations for the rest of the year—roughly P12 billion— those from previous years had become permanent. It said these funds, along with the Pagcor resources, should be returned to the Treasury. A Pagcor statement said that for the first nine months of this year, it remitted to Malacañang P2 billion of its earnings. Ac-
The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional past and present congressional pork barrel laws as it ordered the criminal prosecution of individuals who had benefited from the schemes over the past two decades. PHOTO FROM THEOBSERVERS.NET
cording to the Department of Energy, the Malampaya Fund amounted to P132 billion as of June 30. It was P70 billion when President Aquino assumed office. The Supreme Court likewise directed the government to investigate and prosecute all government officials and private individuals who have irregularly, improperly or unlawfully disbursed funds under the pork barrel system. Associate Justice Estela Bernabe wrote the ruling. Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. inhibited himself from the decision, saying his son is a congressman. Plunder complaints
The National Bureau of Investigation has filed a complaint for plunder in the Office of the Ombudsman against businesswoman Janet LimNapoles and Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam. They all have denied any wrongdoing. Former President and now
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and three of her Cabinet secretaries were also named recently in another plunder complaint in connection with the alleged wholesale theft of P900 million from the Malampaya Fund meant for victims of Tropical Storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” in 2009. “We thought we won,” said Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza. The government respects the court ruling, he told reporters before attending oral arguments on petitions questioning in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Disbursement Acceleration Program—an impounding mechanism for government savings. Jardeleza had pleaded for the retention of the congressional pork, saying that half a million students and a similar number of indigent patients were depending on the lawmakers for their continued enrollment and healthcare. Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said he wanted to see the full decision to determine if there was still a way to make use of the pork barrel funds. ■
‘Kotong’ gripes stall Makati drive vs smoke belching BY NIÑA P. CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer WHERE THERE’S smoke, there must be fines—but it’s apparently not that simple in Makati City. Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay on Tuesday ordered the suspension of the citywide antismoke belching operation in view of mounting complaints in the social media that its enforcers had
been engaging in extortion. Binay directed the Office of the City Administrator, headed by lawyer Eleno Mendoza, to investigate the complaints posted online and urged motorists to formalize the complaints so they could be properly addressed by the office. The complaints directed at members of the Makati Pollution Control Office (MPCO) were posted on the city’s official Twitter accounts—@MakatiTraffic
and @MakatiInfo—as well as on Facebook and some blogs. “Motorists or the riding public who may have complaints against our MPCO enforcers comprising our local antismoke belching unit may lodge a formal complaint in the Office of the City Administrator,” Binay said in a statement. “The city government does not tolerate abusive law enforcers. We have suspended ASBU operations to make way for a thorough investigation on the complaints www.canadianinquirer.net
we have been receiving from a growing number of motorists venting their frustrations in the social media,” Binay said. The suspension would remain in effect until the issues had been thoroughly investigated and resolved, he stressed. At present, the city has 31 enforcers tasked to conduct antismoke belching operations, as designated by the Makati Public Safety Department. Aside from alleged extortion,
they were also being accused of harassing private motorists, being partial toward drivers of public utility jeepneys and buses, and of causing traffic jams themselves. The Makati City Vehicle Emission Control Code, enacted through Ordinance No. 2004032, imposes penalties that include a fine of P1,000 for the first offense; P2,000 for the second; P3,000 for the third; and the confiscation of the driver’s license or the vehicle’s license plate. ■
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PH, HK see ‘final solution’ BY TARRA QUISMUNDO AND PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT AQUINO sent a senior Palace official to Hong Kong in hopes of ironing out the unresolved issues in the 2010 hostage crisis in Manila involving a group of Hong Kong tourists, and to present a token cash gift to one of the victims who is in need of surgery. In a joint statement, the Philippines and Hong Kong said Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras had flown yesterday to the former British colony and met with Edward Yau, the director of the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s Office and TK Lai, the city’s Secretary for Security. The officials held “in-depth and constructive exchanges” during the meeting, the statement said, during which Almendras updated the Hong Kong government “on the progress made in finding a satisfactory response” to the city’s several demands in relation to the hostage-taking, including a
state apology and full compensation for the victims. Almendras, who flew to Hong Kong in the midst of a massive typhoon relief operation in the Eastern Visayas, also gave some cash assistance to Yik Siu Ling, one the victims who needed additional surgery for the wounds she sustained in the Aug. 23, 2010, incident. “President Aquino, having heard of the urgent need of Ms Yik Siu Ling for surgery, instructed Secretary Almendras to turn over to the [Hong Kong] government an additional token of solidarity to defray the cost of imminent surgeries,” the joint statement said. The cash gift was contributed by a group of Filipino businessmen “as a manifestation of the Filipinos’ humane consideration of the plight of the victims and their families,” the statement said. The Philippine government earlier provided “financial tokens of solidarity” to the victims and the relatives of the eight Hong Kong tourists who had died in the hostage taking.
The hostage-taker, disgruntled police officer Rolando Mendoza, was known to have shot dead eight of his 22 hostages before he was taken down by police. Hong Kong has, however, blamed the bungled rescue attempt by Filipino policemen for the deaths. ‘Very concrete’ steps
The incident has driven a wedge between the Philippines and Hong Kong, once close partners in trade and peopleto-people exchange, with the Chinese administrative region imposing sanctions on the Philippines’ for its unmet demands in relation to the hostage crisis. In early November, Hong Kong legislators canceled Filipinos’ visa-free access to Hong Kong to pressure the Philippine government into giving in to their demands. Earlier in Hong Kong, Almendras said the Philippine government will announce in the next few days the “very concrete” steps it has taken to find a “final solution” and address the demands of the victims of
PHOTO FROM WIKIPEDIA.ORG
the hostage-taking tragedy. Almendras, a close friend of President Aquino, did not rule out a presidential apology to the families of the hostage victims. “I know some of you here feel like ‘Why doesn’t the President just apologize to end this once and for all?’ If it were only that simple. If only the President could apologize and everything would be forgotten, including the China problem, I’m sure the President would do that,” Almendras told Filipino community leaders in Hong Kong. “(But) it’s not just about the repercussions (of a presidential apology. There are many other things involved. But we’re not even saying that he won’t apol-
ogize,” he said. “And let us not be angry if there’s an apology because our objective here is to find a winwin solution,” he added. Almendras said the government had taken “very concrete” steps to find a solution to the impasse but that the “final solution” would be reached only if the victims and the Hong Kong government agreed. “It won’t happen soon or in a day or two but I assure you quiet negotiations are ongoing,” he said. Almendras declined to give details, saying only that the government had taken “positive steps” to address all of the four demands of the victims’ families. ■
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Justice looks for evidence that P-Noy OK’d DAP BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer SENIOR ASSOCIATE Justice Antonio Carpio looked for evidence that President Aquino had authorized Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to create the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP)— a littleknown mechanism that impounded government savings and allegedly juggled among various departments. Moments after the Supreme Court announced that it had declared unconstitutional the con-gressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the high tribunal opened arguments questioning the legality of the so-called presidential pork barrel. During the five-hour hearing, Carpio said he had seen no official document that showed Mr. Aquino had realigned government savings for the DAP and authorized the Department of Budget and Management
During the five-hour hearing, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said he had seen no official document that showed Mr. Aquino had realigned government savings for the DAP and authorized the DBM to do it. PHOTO FROM INQUIRER.NET
(DBM) to do it. Questioning Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, one of six lawyers representing nine antiDAP petitioners, Carpio noted that there was no written document on the creation of the DAP in 2011 although he observed that there was a realignment of
savings to that facility. “No written document that there is the DAP and no written document that said the President realigned. So Secretary Abad realigned it,” Carpio said, adding that under the law, the President himself could realign savings. “It cannot be delegat-
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ed,” he said. Carpio noted that the DBM came out with a National Budget Circular No. 541 in 2012 “which regularized what was done in 2011 and 2012.” But Carpio said while there was no document for the DAP this year, Malacañang still continued the program. “So the secretary realigned but there was no presidential approval, which was even worse because they admitted they realigned in 2013 but there was no written directive from the President,” Carpio said. He also maintained that the funds where the DAP was sourced by the DBM could not qualify as savings as defined under the law. Carpio noted that under the Constitution, in order for the President to transfer funds from an office to another, he could realign savings from completed and discontinued projects. Savings defined
But Carpio said the sources of savings stated by the DBM
for the DAP could not be considered as savings as defined in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). These included unobligated allotments, dividends of government-owned and -controlled corporations, proceeds from sales of assets, and unprogrammed funds in the GAA. “These are all sources of the DAP according to the DBM. But these do not qualify as definition of savings,” Carpio said. Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernade also questioned Zarate on presidential authorization for the DAP. Zarate said that he had “not seen any circular that proves realignment of funds except a statement on a website that the DAP had been approved by the President.” Raymond Fortun, another lawyer for the petitioners, pleaded for the issuance of a temporary restraining order for the DAP’s implementation, saying that “taxpayers were entitled to relief.” Fortun asked the high court to stop the “hemorrhaging” of ❱❱ PAGE 15 Justice looks
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Give cash, solon asks ‘Yolanda’ aid donors BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer
According to a source privy to the complaint, the Ombudsman panel investigating the Malampaya Fund scam, headed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, wrote the Department of Justice seeking the inclusion of Jo Christine and James Christopher Napoles in the charge sheet. PHOTO FROM INQUIRER.NET
Ombudsman to charge 2 Napoles kids, too BY NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer TWO CHILDREN of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles will be included in the charges to be filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged plunder of the P900million Malampaya Fund, according to a source privy to the complaint. Twenty-two individuals, including Napoles, have been charged with the plunder of the Malampaya Fund. The others include former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and three members of her Cabinet— then Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, then Budget Secretary turned Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya and then Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman. “The two children will be impleaded as respondents in the misuse of the gas funds based on the affidavits submitted by the whistle-blowers to the Ombudsman,” said the source who talked to the INQUIRER on condition of anonymity due to lack of authority to speak on the matter. Family help, too
The source said that apart from the Napoles siblings, the family’s drivers and house help who took part in the alleged scam would also be charged. The source said the Ombudsman panel investigating the Malampaya Fund scam wrote the Department of Justice seeking the inclusion of Jo Christine and James Christopher Napoles in the charge sheet. The whistle-blowers led by
Benhur Luy and Merlina Sunas said the siblings were involved in the falsification and liquidation of documents used in the scam. “The sworn statements of the witnesses stated that the two older siblings participated in the scam and also forged signatures of ghost beneficiaries,” the source said. Napoles’ youngest child, Jeane, who has been charged with tax evasion by the Bureau of Internal Revenue after she was listed as the owner of an expensive condominium in Los Angeles, California, despite not having a visible means of income, will not be included in the plunder case. Mere recipient
Luy in his affidavit said Jeane was only a recipient of her mother’s largesse as she was a student in the United States. Luy said it was Jo Christine who received the funds remitted to the dubious nongovernment organizations of her mother whenever the latter was not at home at the Pacific Plaza Tower in Taguig City. Suñas said Jo Christine and James Christopher held office on the 25th floor of the Discovery Center in Pasig City and were present in the meeting where their mother and her employees plotted on how to profit from the P900-million Malampaya Fund earmarked for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). Luy noted that the P900million in Malampaya funds intended for the DAR was the second time Napoles raided the department’s funds. In 2007, Napoles’ NGOs took P200 million from DAR funds intended for land reform beneficiaries, he said. ■
IT’S BETTER to donate money rather than goods for survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” to allow agencies to adjust to their needs, which are changing as relief efforts continue, according to Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento. For those reluctant to hand over money to the government, especially in light of the pork barrel fund controversy, there is always FAiTH, or the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub website to monitor how the foreign donations are used, said Sarmiento. The Commission on Audit (COA), as well as civil society organizations, are also there to keep close watch on how donations are spent, while the people themselves could be vigilant in monitoring how these are distributed, Sarmiento added. Subject to audit
“We can’t avoid people having their own suspicions, but now, the government is promoting FAiTH, and there is COA there to monitor. All aid, once it gets to the local government units, are subject to COA audit,” Sarmiento said in an ambush interview. “Some
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people would think that way, but we should also trust our people,” he added. He also said the citizens themselves could keep a close eye on the donations and ensure that these are properly distributed. Sarmiento’s district has been largely spared from Yolanda’s fury, but he has been involved in mobilizing lawmakers from the different regions to coordinate relief efforts. According to him, it would be better to donate money for the victims of Yolanda so that those in charge of distributing the largesse, whether government agencies or private humanitarian organizations, would have more flexibility to procure exactly what the survivors need. Flexibility
“Every day their needs change, so that would allow for flexibility,” he said. For instance, he said, a fisherman in the recovery phase would need fishing nets or a new boat. Some places don’t need additional food relief, but need construction materials, he added. He does not want a repeat of too many kinds of one item being donated, especially if these would no longer help. A similar experience happened when Typhoon “Sendong”
swept through Mindanao, after people learned about the survivors’ need for blankets, he recalled. “We ended up having 300,000 blankets for 40,000 people,” he said, adding that officials had had to look for a warehouse to stock the blankets. ‘Tsunami’ aid
He also noted that when a massive earthquake struck Japan in 2011 and destroyed the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the recovery was faster because most of the aid was in the form of funding rather than in kind. He said he had offered help to the Fukushima area, and he was advised to donate funds and course it through the Red Cross. Sarmiento said the rationale behind donating funds and coursing it through government agencies or local governments is also to stimulate the domestic economy, especially in the calamity-ravaged areas. Local governments could buy the items needed from the same area or region affected by the calamity, if possible, in order to boost businesses there, he explained. For instance, if the materials for the rebuilding are procured locally, that would spur economic activity in the area, compared to when foreign organizations send aid in the form of construction materials, he said. ■
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1,461 days since massacre Victims’ families losing hope of getting justice BY TJ A. BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer LAMENTING HOW the trial has dragged on, the families of 58 people slaughtered in the country’s worst election-violence are turning to the United Nations to exact compensation from the government. After more than 100 hearings since the trial began in early 2010, the families of the victims said they were nowhere closer to the resolution of the Nov. 23, 2009, Maguindanao massacre. While 104—including eight principal accused from the Ampatuan clan—had been arraigned, at least 88 of their coaccused remain at large. And state prosecutors have yet to wrap up the presentation of evidence, private lawyers said. Given the snail’s pace of the trial, Noemi Parcon said it might take “16 to 20 years,” or well beyond the term of President Aquino, before the case is decided. “We have no choice but wait,” the 49-year-old widow of one of the 32 murdered media workers said in an interview on Thursday afternoon. “We can’t force the government to speed it up.” But like some of the victims’ relatives, Parcon has started to lose hope of getting justice on Mr. Aquino’s watch. “[At this] pace, there’s little hope we can get justice within six years,” she said. The relatives appealed to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to speed up the prosecution of the accused so the case could be decided by the time Mr. Aquino steps down in June 2016. On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the massacre, they offered prayers for the victims in a Mass celebrated by Fr. Robert Reyes at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law in Quezon City. Erlyn Umpad sobbed as she and the others approached the altar, clutching blownup pictures of their dead relatives, during the offertory. “Please guide our son as he grows up,” she sobbed, addressing her late husband, UNTV cameraman McDelbert Arriola. She later said she hoped the case would be resolved soon
because she loathed the idea of their son growing old enough to attend the trial. She said her husband and their newly born baby spent only more than a dozen days together before he met his brutal end.
the Philippines was a party to the ICCPR’s Optional Protocol, which provides that ordinary citizens could file a complaint in the United Nations for the violation of their rights. There has been a precedent. UN libel case
UN filing
The victims’ families later filed a communication with the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) by e-mailing it to petitions@ohchr.org from a laptop in the same room where they heard Mass. In that unprecedented filing, they asked the UN body to persuade the Philippine government to compensate each of them for the deaths of the family “breadwinners” in violation of their rights. “We’ve been rebuffed by the Philippine government, so we decided to go to the United Nations,” said Parcon, widow of Koronadal City-based journalist Joel Parcon. Their lawyer, Harry Roque, invoked the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to demand reparation from the state for the violation of the victims’ right to life. He said thiswas an “exercise of a right.” Since the trial of the accused is going on, the victims could not demand that the state provide an “adequate domestic remedy,” he said in his office at the UP Law Center. But given Malacañang’s “unequivocal” objection to paying compensation because the crime happened on another President’s watch, Roque said the relatives were left with no choice but to go to the UNHRC. “We’re not asking for a figure. Under international law, the figure should be sufficient to extinguish all the consequences of the illegal act,” he said. Some of the victims mentioned P2 million. “If the government could pay Hong Kong nationals who were killed in the 2010 hostage-taking in Luneta, how much more us? They have a bigger responsibility to us,” Parcon said. “The President and our lawmakers should try to understand us,” she said. Rommel Bagares, another lawyer for the relatives, said
Roque, Bagares and the rest of the members of their nongovernment organization, Center for International Law, have been inspired by the UNHRC’s favorable resolution of the libel case filed against Davao City broadcaster Alex Adonis by former Speaker Prospero Nograles. The UNHRC said in October 2011 that the Philippine libel laws were incompatible with freedom of expression. The families are also filing online communications with the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Protection of Freedom of Expression, on Extrajudicial Killings and on Reparations to look into the case of the slain journalists, lawyer Gilbert Andres said. It may take years before the UNHRC could resolve the complaint, but given the dire straits the relatives are in, it’s better than nothing. Some of them were given livelihood funds by the Aquino administration but the money could only go so far. “Yes, he was very helpful at the start,” Editha Tiamzon said, referring to Mr. Aquino. “But what we need is financial help for the long haul because our children are still in school.” She has three children, aged 13, 18 and 19. The victims’ families have not heard from Mr. Aquino in a long time; not in his speeches, not in his July 2013 State of the Nation Address. Three years into his presidency, they feel they’ve been “forgotten.” “We’ve made several requests, but these weren’t granted. It’s been only three years, and yet we’ve been forgotten,” said Tiamzon, 52, widow of UNTV cameraman Daniel Tiamzon. The 58 victims, including 32 media workers, were riding in a convoy of cars to Shariff Aguak town, capital of Maguindanao province, when they were stopped allegedly by followers of the Ampatuan clan, includwww.canadianinquirer.net
After more than 100 hearings since the trial began in early 2010, the families of the victims said they were nowhere closer to the resolution of the Nov. 23, 2009, Maguindanao massacre. PHOTO FROM SOLARNEWS.PH, INSET: ENGLISH.PEOPLE.COM.CN
ing policemen and soldiers, in Ampatuan town. Then Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu sent his wife and female family members to file his certificate of candidacy for governor to run against amember of the Ampatuan clan in the following year’s elections. Journalists rode with them to cover the unprecedented challenge to the Ampatuans’ political monopoly. They were shot and buried in a pit excavated with a backhoe on a hilltop overlooking the highway. The Ampatuans had long held sway in local politics in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. They were allies of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, delivering votes for her when she ran for the presidency in 2004. The Ampatuans, led by Andal Sr. and Andal Jr., were arrested and eventually indicted for the crime. Alejandro Reblando Jr., 32, son of Manila Bulletin reporter Alejandro “Bong” Reblando, said he was still holding on to Mr. Aquino’s promise that justice would be served on his watch. “That’s our only hope,” Reblando said. Shame to action
Roque doubted the case would be resolved within the next three years but said he hoped this year’s commemora-
tion would “bring about enough shame to prompt them (the courts) to act.” He partly blamed the judicial system for the delay. He said theymoved for a partial promulgation of cases against the accused who had been tried under the principle of “first in, first out,” but this was junked by the local court. He said it was now up to the Supreme Court to “hasten” the resolution of the case. He said he believed Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was monitoring the trial, but “it isn’t enough to monitor.” “I’m hoping to shame them into doing something so that [in] the fifth year we can say there’s been tremendous development, compared with the fourth year,” he said. “[Maintaining the] status quo is unacceptable.” The private lawyers had been hoping that the state prosecutors would rest their case this year to make way for the presentation by the defense. And this would just involve the 101 accused. Trying the 88 accused who are still at large is another matter. “When do they intend to arrest the 88?” Roque said. In the face of challenges, the widows, children and siblings of the murdered media workers find solace in the support of Roque and other lawyers of the ❱❱ PAGE 11 1,461 days
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Aquino seeks... ❰❰ 1
of the effort. Senate passes budget
The Senate on Tuesday passed on second and third reading its version of the 2014 budget, approving P2.26 trillion in government spending, including P100 billion for the reconstruction of the provinces destroyed by the earthquake and Yolanda. Explaining the P100-billion reconstruction fund, Sen. Francis Escudero, head of the Senate committee on finance, said P20 billion was carved out of the miscellaneous personnel benefits fund in the programmed funds, while P80 billion came from the items on infrastructure, debt management and risk management in the unprogrammed funds. The Senate version of the budget is P3.2 billion less than the version transmitted by the
House of Representatives, as the Senate deleted the pork barrel allocations for Vice President Jejomar Binay and 15 senators. Staggering task
Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which flattened entire communities in central Philippines and left at least 5,200 people dead on Nov. 8, is this year’s biggest disaster, and the government faces the staggering task of sustaining the provision of relief to hundreds of thousands of survivors as well as rebuilding the heavily devastated provinces. Natural and man-made disasters struck almost every month in different parts of the country this year, killing thousands, and wiping out homes, livelihood, utilities and infrastructure. The President acknowledged the help the Philippines had
been receiving from all over the world. He said he would likely take up the offer of a number of foreign leaders who had called him to say they were willing to help in the rehabilitation of the provinces destroyed by Yolanda. “I want to give them the [accurate] figures. We also want to avoid donor fatigue,” Aquino said. Rehab plan
The President said he would address the nation again this week to speak about the government’s rehabilitation plan. He said he expected the Cabinet-level task force to present to him on Wednesday the comprehensive rehabilitation plan. But the master plan that would include the rehabilitation of other disaster-stricken areas would take a month to
complete, the President said. The master plan would, among other things, include legitimate land ownership for informal settlers who lost their homes and identifying opportunities, livelihood, and environmental considerations, he said. Aquino said millions of families were affected by the calamities that came one after the other. “We want to give them back their lives and perhaps something better than what they used to have,” Aquino said. The President will meet his Cabinet Wednesday for a discussion of the government’s response to Yolanda, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, De Lima said she had postponed her meetings with science and disaster officials to
attend the Cabinet meeting. Death toll probe
She said she would meet officials from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Thursday for a discussion of an approach to the investigation of the “extraordinary” death toll from Yolanda in certain provinces. The NDRRMC initially estimated the death toll at 2,0002,500, a figure that Aquino mentioned in an interview with CNN last week. But local officials estimated that up to 10,000 might have been killed, a figure that the United Nations and other international groups said they believed could be low. ■ With reports from Norman Bordador and Christine O. Avendaño
P-Noy to mark supplemental bill urgent BY TJ A. BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer
Residents of Tacloban City work as one in cleaning streets ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda. PHOTO BY EXEQUIEL SUPERA PCOO NIB
PRESIDENT AQUINO will certify as urgent a P14.6-billion supplemental budget bill that will realign the pork barrel of legislators to relief and rehabilitation projects in calamity-stricken areas, according to Senate President Franklin Drilon. Drilon said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad had told him the President would issue the certification to ensure the bill’s lastminute passage after the Supreme Court last week struck down pork barrel allocations (officially known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund) as unconstitutional. “We are working on a very tight timetable as the current
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General Appropriations Act is going to expire by the end of the year and there are only five weeks left in our legislative calendar. The certification by the President will ensure the immediate passage of this bill,” Drilon said. Drilon said the Bureau of the Treasury had issued a certification confirming the availability of the funds. Belmonte, Abad and Drilon met to discuss the proposed supplemental budget. Drilon said they had agreed to authorize the executive branch to spend the additional P14.6 billion for 2013 on massive relief and rehabilitation projects for the victims of various calamities that hit the country during the second semester. Aside from the damage caused by Supertyphoon
“Yolanda,” Drilon mentioned the devastating effects of Typhoons “Santi” and “Labuyo” that hit Luzon, the assault on Zamboanga City, and as well as the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu. In Drilon’s version of the supplemental budget (Senate Bill No. 1938), P3 billion will be allocated to the repair of roads and other infrastructure by the Department of Public Works and Highways; P1.5 billion for the restoration of historical sites; P2.75 billion and P1.25 billion for the Department of Education and state universities and colleges, respectively; P1 billion for the Department of Health, and P1.5 billion for the purchase of relocation sites and the construction of housing units by the National Housing Authority.
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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 10
‘Yolanda’ exposes chinks in gov’t armor against disasters BY TJ A. BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer SUPERTYPHOON “YOLANDA” has exposed yet another chink in the government’s armor against disasters. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the agency tasked with setting up a national early warning system, has no satellite phone that its staff could use after Yolanda walloped central Philippines on Nov. 8. Neither does it have a generator set or tents. This came to light at Wednesday’s plenary debate on the budget of the Department of National Defense (DND) in the Senate, reviving calls for the creation of a “stronger” agency like the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema). “The NDRRMC has no satellite phone,” noted Sen. Loren Legarda, who defended the DND budget as chair of the Senate finance subcommittee. Then chuckling, she added: “I’ll lend them mine.” Sen. Nancy Binay raised questions on the apparent lack of communication equipment by the government in coordinating massive search and rescue operations in provinces where Yolanda left a wide swath of destruction. When Binay asked if the military had any satellite phone, Legarda said the Philippine Navy
had 40 such phones, quoting DND officials, led by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. One was sent to the Tacloban City airport, one of the areas devastated by the storm, while the rest remained in “various” Navy vessels, Legarda said. Binay, who understood that the sense only the Navy has satellite phones in the entire bureaucracy, then wondered aloud: “Does this mean that NDRRMC doesn’t have a satellite phone?” Defense officials confirmed that indeed NDRRMC had none. Satellite phones became handy in Tacloban, Leyte and other areas where Yolanda toppled power lines, shutting down not only power but also cell phone service. Republic Act No. 10121 of 2010 spells out several functions for NDRMMC, such as establishing a national early warning and emergency alert system; drawing up a comprehensive framework on disaster risk reduction and management; developing appropriate risk transfer mechanisms; and mobilizing resources for risk reduction. Plan to buy sat phones
Binay asked: “Is there a plan then to purchase more satellite phones?” “There should be. Yes, there’s a chorus that says ‘yes,’” Legarda said, echoing officials seated behind her. She said that the DND was planing to buy 17 satellite phones next year. Legarda agreed that it should
Proposed EMA
This would be an auspicious time for the Senate to rethink the “strength” of the NDRRMC. If at all, it should have its own resources and “own bigger budget,” Senator Legarda said. PHOTO FROM RUFFYBIAZON.PH
be standard operating procedure for the NDRRMC to have a satellite phone. During the course of Binay’s questioning, defense officials admitted through Legarda that the NDRRMC also lacked a generator set and tents. Agencies comprising the NDRRMC like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have tents and generator sets, according to Legarda. “Yes we should have had gen sets from the DOE, tents from the DSWD. The NDRRMC does not have facilities,” she said. Fema-like body
Legarda acknowledged that it was high time to look at the mandate of the NDRRMC, if not at the possibility of creating a “stronger council” like the Fema. Fema, an agency under the
US Department of Homeland Security, coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating and responding to the effects of domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made. “When Hurricane ‘Sandy’ struck, you’d see the Fema head beside (New York City) Mayor Bloomberg every hour, every 30 minutes. And they actually closed the city, all forms of transport, even if the people were angry,” she said, referring to the hurricane that devastated the US northeast coast a year ago. This would be an auspicious time for the Senate to rethink the “strength” of the NDRRMC. If at all, it should have its own resources and “own bigger budget,” Legarda said. Binay said protocols in disaster response, especially in view of the effects of climate change, must be reviewed.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has refiled Senate Bill No. 819 in July seeking the creation of the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) that would take over the job of the NDRRMC. Its main functions are drafting policies on disaster and emergency response, advising the President on disaster and emergency response, recommending the declaration of a state of emergency and developing a national disaster risk management framework. The proposed EMA will fall under the Office of the President “for better command and control,” he said. “This would be a better setup for a crisis/disaster situation than the NDRRMC, which is a council in nature. It would also be the disbursing agency of the calamity funds so it would have its own resources as opposed to getting a small share from the defense budget,” Trillanes said in a text message last Sunday. Sen. Gregorio Honasan III, principal author of the law creating the NDRRMC, expressed reservations about creating another body, saying this would merely “create another bureaucracy.” “Don’t we have too many bureaucracies already? That’s another bureaucratic layer,” he said on the phone. “Let’s invest instead in an all-weather communication system and evacuate people ahead of storms.” ■
Rios an open target as Pacquiao expected BY ROY A. LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer MACAU—Manny Pacquiao knew Brandon Rios will be an open target through the fight tapes of his rival. True enough, Pacquiao turned the headliner of “The Clash in Cotai” into a virtual gym workout with a lopsided unanimous decision over the game but outclassed Rios Sunday. “Even before we fought, I know my punches will connect,” Pacquiao told Filipino sportswriters at the master bedroom of his suite at The Venetian Macao Monday morning. “All that we did in training
happened accordingly.” Pacquiao, donning a whiteshirt underneath a black leather jacket, is resting on the bed with his pregnant wife Jinkee. They were accommodating a steady stream of visitors, including confidant Chavit Singson, the former governor of Ilocos Sur. The Pacquiaos, Sarangani representative and vice governor, respectively, flew back to General Santos City with relatives and supporters via a chartered flight in the afternoon. Exploiting his quickness and hand speed, Pacquiao bombarded Rios with a total of 281 punches in a classy performance that put him back on top
of boxing’s elite. Pacquiao said he found no need to finish off the plodding Rios because he was way ahead on the scorecards from the opening bell. He brushed aside Rios’ claim that his punches did not hurt. “That’s not true,” Pacquiao said. “He got hurt. I know because when I hit him, the pain crept up to my shoulder. That’s because of the impact.” Pacquiao, who had Rios missing badly when he spun around or side-stepped, however, credited the American of Mexican lineage for being very tough. “With the volume of punches he received, I’m surprised he was still up on his feet.” www.canadianinquirer.net
Throughout the Nov. 23 fight in Macau, Manny Pacquiao connected with whipfast combinations on his way to a unanimous decision win against the rugged Brandon Rios. PHOTO BY CHRIS FARINA / TOP RANK
Executing his game plan perfectly, Pacquiao found the come-forward Rios a sucker for his counter body shots. Pacquiao said he was just being
cautious. “We’re back,” said Pacquiao. Mike Koncz, Pacquiao’s adviser, interjected: “We never left.” ■
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11 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
What will happen... more than menial and temporary work. More than 12,000 people displaced by the massive Nov. 8 have made it to the capital. Most are with relatives; those with no family here are in shelters. Many have no idea how or where to rebuild their lives. “What will happen to us when this kindness ends?” asked Maribel Villajos, a 37-year-old mother of three children who sat listlessly with her husband on cots surrounded by bags of newly donated clothes, potato chips and instant coffee sachets at the same shelter where Abadines and his family were taken. Villajos’ husband is a carpenter, but his tools were swept away along with their house in the tsunami-like storm surge that swept far into Tacloban and ruined much of the densely-populated coastal city. Thousands of people from areas wrecked by Haiyan clambered aboard free C-130 mercy flights to Manila without any plan, in a desperate bid to escape the hunger, uncertainties and lingering stench of death back home. Others arrived here by bus, or fled to central Cebu province, which like the capital is regarded by rural poor Filipinos as a greener pasture in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation of more than 96 million people. They keep coming. In Tacloban, hundreds of survivors lined up Monday outside the city’s damaged airport, waiting for a flight out. Survivors will be ferried out “for as long as possible,” said Eduardo del Rosario, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency. Many typhoon survivors travelled to Manila to stay with relatives, but a few dozen families have no connections to the city and now live in one of about 10 emergency shelters run by the government and private groups. The shelter the Abadines and Villajos families live in was set up in a sprawling grade school compound. It has eight portable toilets and three televisions tuned to South Korean soap operas and the Cartoon Network. Jennifer Dawat, 13, passed the time by making crayon drawings of the family’s happier days in Leyte’s Ormoc city. One showed a girl flying a kite beside a box-like yellow house
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with a blue roof and a coconut tree, and a smiling yellow sun overhead. “That’s our house,” she said. “It’s gone.” Walk-in volunteers drop by to hand over used clothes, children’s books and food. A cellphone company offers free calls. A local radio network parked a mobile van studio for anybody wanting to broadcast any message or recount typhoon ordeals to the public. Even celebrities were lending a hand. Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys chatted with typhoon survivors who arrived at Manila’s Villamor Air Base on Monday, and she handed crayons and coloring books to children. The American R&B star was in Manila for a concert. Metropolitan Manila welfare official Delia Bawan said the government is taking steps to provide emergency employment to the most desperate survivors who flew to Manila, although that may take some time. Steps have also been taken to protect the displaced from trafficking syndicates, she said. Abadines was pleasantly surprised the moment he, his girlfriend and their two children arrived Friday at the air base. Government welfare staffers and volunteers welcomed them and other survivors with a long round of applause, then gave them packs of food and brought the injured to a first-aid tent. “My worst fear was that we’ll be dumped in the streets and be at the mercy of drug addicts and criminals,” Abadines said. But while his family’s needs are now being met, he doesn’t know what will happen next. Aside from farming, Abadines has worked only as a tricycle taxi driver and vegetable vendor at the public market in Leyte’s Palo town, near Tacloban, where his family lived. His family was so poor that he completed only three years of grade school. He and his girlfriend have no relatives in Manila, and said their remaining kin and friends back in Palo are in as much distress as they are. Even some typhoon survivors with relatives in Manila are in the shelters. Some lost their cellphones and address books in the storm and have been unable to reach loved ones. Others found relatives, but they were unable to help. Didith Villanueva of Hospicio
de San Jose, a Manila orphanage that has provided shelter to dozens of typhoon survivors, said one family from Leyte found a relative who turned out to be a poor vendor who slept in the streets of Manila’s grimy downtown. “Many of these survivors left their province out of desperation without any plan. They were like shooting at the moon,” Villanueva said. The exodus is an extra challenge to President Benigno Aquino III’s government, which is feeding and sheltering tens of thousands of people in the disaster zones, collecting the dead in Tacloban city and outlying provinces, restoring power and water and laying out a blueprint to rebuild entire villages and towns. More than a million houses were destroyed or damaged by the typhoon. Although backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid, the government has been overwhelmed by the gargantuan task. Many survivors who fled to Manila also are overwhelmed. They must either return to the disaster areas and rebuild from nothing or try their luck in Manila or somewhere else, also with nothing. To Abadines, the choice is simple: “It’s where we grew up and had children. We have to return.” But his girlfriend, Lorna Ansabot, has reservations. She fears another big storm. In Manila, they could survive, she said, even if they have to scavenge for scraps in garbage dumps. She thinks of her parents, who lived near her. She and Abadines frantically urged them to flee as the typhoon’s brutal wind started to blow and a wall of water surged in. They refused, saying they needed to watch over their piggery and some chickens. Her parents were swept away, along with everything they owned. They have not been found. “She became very depressed after that,” Abadines said. “But I kept telling her, ‘It’s not our fault. It’s not our fault.”’ ■ Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano in Manila and photographer Bullit Marquez in Tacloban city contributed to this report. www.canadianinquirer.net
Gov’t declares coastlines no-build zones BY TJ A. BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer
in the Pacific, the easement is from 50 m to 200 m, according to environmental planners.
PRESIDENT AQUINO has ordered Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to keep coastlines off limits to homes after huge waves spawned by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” swamped seaside villages in central Philippines. At the same time, Congress is proposing to give Mr. Aquino at least P55 billion to rehabilitate typhoon-wrecked areas. Given the huge cost of rehabilitation, the Senate and the House of Representatives are also seeking to authorize agencies to spend P21 billion in calamity funds in 2013 until the end of next year. This is on top of the P14.6billion supplemental budget in 2013 and the P20-billion rehabilitation fund in the 2014 budget earlier proposed by the Senate to deal with the aftermath of Yolanda and past storms. As the government grappled with the aftermath of what was believed to be the most powerful storm to hit land, the President directed Paje to draw up a comprehensive program on environment protection against storm surges, flooding and landslides. “Part of the President’s directive to the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) is to establish ‘no-build zones’ on coastlines to ensure the transfer of residents to safe resettlement areas,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said over radio. In the country, the easement or setback from the shoreline high-water mark is currently at 20 meters. In other countries
Long shoreline
An archipelago with more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines has one of the world’s longest shorelines at 36,289 kilometers, data from the National Statistical Coordination Board show. When it tore through central Philippines on Nov. 8, Yolanda (international name: “Haiyan”) spawned huge waves of 5 m to 7 m, cutting down homes, buildings and crops in its path and reducing many areas into a virtual wasteland. Residents of seaside villages in Tacloban City in Leyte, Samar and other nearby provinces bore the brunt of the typhoon’s fury. Yolanda left in its wake at least 5,235 dead and 1,631 missing and destroyed P11.9 billion in infrastructure and P10.5 billion in agricultural products. The government blamed local officials’ lack of preparations, the residents’ indifference to warnings and their poor understanding of the weather bureau’s advisories on storm surges for the high death toll. The country is buffeted by an average of 20 cyclones every year. Yolanda was the 25th storm to strike the country this year. Coloma said Filipinos should learn from the painful lessons of Yolanda, as well as Tropical Storm “Sendong” and Typhoon “Pablo” that also spawned heavy flooding that left a high death toll among residents living near inland waters years ago. He said areas that had been ❱❱ PAGE 13 Gov’t declares
RESORT IN TACLOBAN CITY, BEFORE TYPHOON HAIYAN. Residents of seaside
villages in Tacloban City in Leyte, Samar and other nearby provinces bore the brunt of the typhoon’s fury. Thus, coastlines are now no-build zones.
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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 12
16 foreign armed forces helping PH JPE et al. told: Answer raps BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer
FRIENDS IN good times and bad. This was how the Australian defense attaché yesterday summed up the Multinational Coordinating Council (MNCC) of the Philippine government and the armed forces of 16 countries working together for faster and more efficient distribution of relief to the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in the Eastern Visayas. “Our shared histories with the Philippines go a long way back. Friendship is not just about the good times. Friendship is also about the bad times, too,” Lt. Col. Paul Barta told the INQUIRER. The 16 countries on the council are the Philippines, Australia, United States, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Sweden, Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. “Our friendship has been long term. Our commitment remains long term and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of the Philippines. After a formal request from the government of the Philippines, the United States arrived and ready to help along with other nations,” said Tina Malone, spokesperson for the US Embassy. “Our role was to amplify the government of the Philippines’ response by providing extra help in a time of need in the spirit of damayan,” Malone added. China, which has one of the world’s biggest and most capable militaries, has already sent aid to the typhoon survivors but is not yet on the MNCC list. ‘Starting point’
The Philippines and China have been embroiled in a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) for decades, with tensions rising in January after Manila
took their dispute to the United Nations for arbitration. Asked at a news conference about China’s absence from the council, Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino said the 16 countries were a “starting point.” “We expect that there are foreign militaries that want to take advantage of the MNCC. We will welcome all the support that we will be getting, specifically for the MNCC, all the military support,” Batino said. The council was organized “to coordinate and synchronize military-to-
military operations between member countries along with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),” Batino said. It is the first time for the AFP to work with foreign militaries on the same council to “accelerate humanitarian and disaster relief operations and to fully maximize” each country’s efforts, he said. The Israeli government has called its help mission, “Operation: Islands of Hope.” The Israeli Defense Force has a composite team of medical personnel, engineers and search and rescue personnel, according to Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Menashe Bar-On. Israel has also dispatched an advanced mobile hospital with 100 tons of humanitarian and medical supplies, which will be based in Bago, Cebu province, to attend to the medical needs of typhoon survivors. The Australian government has also sent a hospital ship, which has already served hundreds of survivors, some of whom sustained severe injuries that needed surgeries, Barta said.
Muscle
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said the foreign contingents had a total of 61 airplanes and 14 naval vessels, aside from hundreds of rescue and medical personnel responding “swiftly and regularly to areas of critical and immediate needs for resource and relief.” The United States has 13 naval vessels positioned southeast of Samar Island and east of Leyte Island to augment relief operations in Tacloban City, Guiuan, Palo, Borongan and Kalikawan, Bautista said. The HMAS Daring of the United Kingdom is anchored northeast of Panay Island servicing the relief operations in Capiz province. Seven C130s from the United States, Australia and Japan and several foreign helicopters have been flying relief missions with others standing by “for immediate deployment if necessary,” Bautista added. US Lt. Gen. John Wissler, head of the US military contingent, said that after Yolanda struck Eastern Visayas, “the situation on the ground was chaotic but would be chaotic in any part of the world because of the tremendous devastation.” He said coordination with the Philippine government allowed the foreign countries wanting to help to hit the ground running when they arrived in the typhoon-hit areas. “It was not a happy scene by any stretch, but the force that came on the ground was ready to be employed quickly,” Wissler said. Red tape
Asked how the MNCC handles the notoriously slow bureaucratic system in the Philippines, Batino said: “We have to process the military support. We have our rules to follow. We have to issue clearances and government agency permits.” “These are the things that we want to coordinate to accelerate the [delivery] of government support,” Batino said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
246-page memo sent to Morales BY CYNTHIA D. BALANA, NORMAN BORDADORA, CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND NANCY C. CARVAJAL Philippine Daily Inquirer THE OFFICE of the Ombudsman announced yesterday it had begun a preliminary investigation of Janet Lim-Napoles, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. in connection with an alleged P10-billion racket to divert assistance intended for impoverished farmers to ghost projects and kickbacks. A press statement said the four, along with other respondents named in a letter-complaint of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice on Sept. 16, were directed to file “counteraffidavits and other controverting evidence” within 10 days from receipt of separate orders to them dated Nov. 19. An Ombudsman panel, after evaluating the case, found “enough basis to proceed with the preliminary investigation,” said the statement issued following an INQUIRER report that a memorandum prepared by Assistant Ombudsman Joselito P. Fangon had tagged Enrile as the mastermind of the scam—not Napoles as alleged by her former employees. “There exists sufficient evidence to warrant the filing of criminal and administrative charges against all individuals involved in the release, utilization and disbursement” of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), said the memo submitted by Fangon to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales. In an interview after she attended the budget hearing in the Senate yesterday, Morales was asked if she had received an eight-page memo from her investigators on which the INQUIRER based its story. “I’m surprised about that eight-page memo... I don’t recall an eight page memo. The memo I received is more than 200 pages.” The eight pages referred to in the INQUIRER report comprised the copies of introductory and dispositive portions in
the 246page Fangon memorandum. The copies of these eight pages were made available to the INQUIRER. On Page 242 of the memo, it said: “Clearly, no matter how layered the scheme may have been perpetrated or unrelated the players may appear, all facts point to Senator Enrile as the unseen hand directing the compass and the tempo of the whole orchestra.” Estrada said he thought the Office of the Ombudsman was moving “rather hastily” in its investigation. “I remember Ombudsman Morales say when the NBI-DOJ filed the case on Sept. 16 that it will take a year or so. But they did it in just two months,” Estrada told reporters. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima downplayed findings by the Ombudsman’s investigative panel purportedly showing that Enrile was the mastermind of the alleged scam. De Lima said she did not see any conflict between the Fangon memo and the NBI-DOJ letter-complaint. “Any perceived conflict is more apparent than real, hence, immaterial,” De Lima said in text messages to reporters. “As far as the NBI is concerned, all those charged are conspirators. Each participated in a grand conspiracy to steal public funds, in varying roles and degrees of culpability. The act of one is the act of all.” De Lima was asked about the proposal of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago for Napoles to become a state witness in light of the report by the Ombudsman’s investigators implicating Enrile as the “unseen hand” behind the alleged diversion of PDAF allocations. The justice secretary replied that the government would consider Napoles as a state witness if she first admits her participation in the conspiracy. “She has not done so. We all saw her stance during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing,” said De Lima, referring to the Nov. 7 event, where the detained businesswoman repeatedly invoked her right against self-incrimination. ■
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13 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Gov’t declares... marked “danger zones” based on the geo-hazard mapping of the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau should be cleared. “We should keep these lessons in mind so that we can build back better,” he said over government-run dzRB. ❰❰ 11
Replant mangroves
At the same time, the President directed Paje to replant mangroves in coastal areas as a natural buffer against storm surges. “The mangroves are being prepared so that planting could start, because it takes five to seven years to grow this,” Coloma said. He said victims displaced by the storm were allowed to stay with their relatives in Metro Manila. But those who have none could stay in the bunk homes set up by the government in their own provinces. Cash for work
As the typhoon victims picked up the pieces of their lives, government agencies had begun offering cash-for-work program for 3,000 residents from 22 barangays in Tacloban and 70 barangays in neighboring Ormoc City, Coloma said. The government is offering cash to the victims for clearing and cleaning up highways, public markets and plazas,
clearing esteros and waterways of debris, and constructing schools and government buildings. This would be expanded to other provinces and regions in the coming weeks, Coloma said. “We’re also thankful for the assistance offered by the International Labor Organization to allot up to $300 million for the cash-for-work program for some 290,000 residents of Tacloban, Roxas City, Busuanga town in Palawan, Cebu, and the provinces of Negros Occidental and Bohol,” he said. In the meantime, health and social welfare workers are ready to attend to 800,000 women who have given birth, or have yet to give birth, Coloma said. “There are sufficient obstetrics kits for mothers delivering babies and there are sufficient number of midwives,” he said. While mayors focused on rehabilitation, Department of Health officials have been authorized by Memorandum Circular No. 61 to man health and sanitation facilities in the calamity-stricken areas, he added. Health personnel are ready to administer vaccines against measles, polio and tetanus. “With regard to the risk of malnutrition faced by 1.5 million youngsters or children in the calamity zone raised
1,461 days... Center for International Law, as well as of the press. “The fact that our lawyers aren’t giving up on us gives us so much hope,” Tiamzon said. “And of course the media are giving us so much hope. You’re the one airing our grievances to the government.” ❰❰ 8
Ampatuan observance
In Ampatuan, Justice Now Movement (JNM), the organization of the slain media workers’ families, marked the fourth anniversary of the massacre on Thursday with its members bewailing the slow pace of the case. But Grace Morales, secretary general of JNM, said the families of the murdered media workers remained united and determined to press the case until justice was served. Morales said the families were so unhappy because four years since the trial began, not one of the perpetrators had been convicted and the trial was dragging on with no clear end in sight. “It’s as if the government did not care,” Morales said. The families of the victims believe justice will come faster if the government sincerely presses the prosecution of the perpetrators, she said. Jessie Casalda, president of the Davao
chapter of National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, observed that the public was “almost losing interest in the case,” a lamentable situation that has been worsened by a ban on TV coverage of the trial. Casalda said he suspected that the slowness of the trial was deliberate. “They want to remove the issue from the public eye so that the peoplewill eventually lose interest in it,” he said. Carlos Conde of New York-based Human Rights Watch said that even in jail, members of the Ampatuan clan continue to exert pressure on witnesses to force them to withdraw. “They came again last month, showing our pictures to my relatives, letting them know that they’re watching us,” Conde said, quoting what witness Bong Andal had told him in an interview. Andal was the backhoe operator who helped bury the victims. In his affidavit, Andal said he witnessed the shooting of several victims by members of the Ampatuan militia. “But the problem of the Maguindanao massacre is more than a failure of the judicial process. It is about whether those threatening Bong Andal rather than the authorities control the proceedings,” Conde said. ■
by Ms Valerie Amos of the United Nations, the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) through its National Nutrition Council has the sufficient infrastructure for this,” Coloma said. Joint resolution
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. will file a joint resolution to extend the validity of funds for calamity response in the 2013 budget by another year. “This is the first time we’re doing this given the situation,” Drilon said on the phone. The resolution would extend the authorization to spend this year’s appropriations for calamity and other disaster and reliefrelated programs of some line agencies until Dec. 31, 2014, Drilon said. The funds, estimated at P20.8 billion, were needed to “fully support the urgent relief and long-term rehabilitation” of calamity-stricken areas across the country, he said. Free up funds
If adopted by both chambers, the joint resolution would free up the funds for agencies dealing with disaster-relief and rebuilding projects. Otherwise, if they would remain “un-
obligated” by yearend, the funds would revert to the National Treasury and could no longer be used by the start of the next fiscal year, Drilon said. “It will be adopted by both chambers,” he said of the resolution. Both the Senate and the House are also pushing for the creation of a P20-billion rehabilitation fund for typhoonstricken areas in the P2.268-trillion 2014 budget. Drilon said the fund would address the damage brought about by recent calamities, including Yolanda, Typhoon “Santi” that hit Central Luzon, the siege in Zamboanga City and the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu provinces. After the Supreme Court ruled that the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was unconstitutional, Drilon filed a bill authorizing the President to use the unspent P14.5 billion in PDAF in 2013 for repair and reconstruction. The supplemental budget to be funded with the unspent pork barrel should be approved ahead of the 2014 budget, otherwise it could not be used, he said. The calamity funds in 2013, the supplemental budget and the rehabilitation fund add up to P55 billion, and these will be at the disposal of the executive department, Drilon said. ■
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Philippine News
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 14
Tacloban comes back to life BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer RETURNING TO typhoondevastated Tacloban since she first saw the city stripped of almost everything, the United Nations humanitarian chief found communities eager to get back on their feet and resume normal living. While noting remaining gaps in aid delivery, UN Undersecretary General Valerie Amos was amazed at the spirit of the Filipinos, who are facing a mammoth reconstruction job that could take many years. “I continue to be struck by the resilience and spirit of the Filipino people. Everywhere I visited, I saw families determined to rebuild their lives under the most difficult conditions,” Amos told reporters in Makati City. “So people are, of course, to an extent traumatized by what happened. They have lost loved ones, but at the same time they’re trying to look to the future,” said Amos, who first visited Tacloban City on Nov. 13. The Vatican, too, has observed the struggle of the Visayans to rise from the tragedy that has befallen them. “We want to express our admiration for the spirit of the Filipino people. We have been seeing the terrible devastation but we have also been witnessing the extraordinary care, consideration and generosity of your own people,” said Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications told reporters. Tighe is in Manila to attend the two-day Catholic Social Media Summit at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. “We pray for you at this time, we offer whatever support and assistance we can but above all we want to assure you of our prayers that your spirit, that your ability as a people would be fully manifested at this time,” he said. Second visit
Amos spoke to reporters after returning from Tacloban and other devastated parts of Samar, including the town of Guiuan, where Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: “Haiyan”) made the first of five
landfalls on Nov. 8. Around the disaster areas, Amos said she saw images of daily life amid scenes of devastation: women either cooking in makeshift kitchens or doing the laundry and men clearing debris and scavenging for materials to rebuild their destroyed homes. Amos shared a conversation with a carpenter looking to replace his lost tools to rebuild his house and restart his business. “What they are seeking to do is to rebuild their lives and get back to a position where their children are educated, where they’re able to work, where they have somewhere to live, where they’re healthy to being looked after and they can essentially support the rebuilding of their communities,” Amos said. Different face
“That’s the spirit that I got from the people I spoke with today,” she added, referring to a “very different” face of the disaster zone on her second visit. Amos said she had seen an improvement in the flow of assistance to typhoon survivors, but called for greater attention to inland villages that had yet to receive assistance. “While much of the international focus has been on Tacloban, people need help in many other areas. There are areas further inland in the mountains on the many of the smaller islands that we have yet to reach,” she said. Assessing the flow of aid, Amos said the relief operations had been “scaled up significantly.” The improvement in pace came as a relief from delays last week caused by logistical hurdles and the sheer magnitude of the disaster, which drove Amos to say that the global effort had “let people down.” “Every day aid efforts gather pace with the systems getting through to more people. Significant food and medical assistance has been provided and water services, as well as limited telecommunications services, restored,” Amos said. The United Nations has estimated that some 1.1 million have received food aid since the disaster struck, but less than half of the estimated 2.5million affected residents are in need of food aid.
Amos said water services have been restored in Capiz, northern Cebu and Roxas City. Medical teams—43 international groups and 44 local— provide medical services to the survivors, she said. Julie Hall, country representative of the World Health Organization (WHO), said most patients treated in the first week had trauma injuries, including fractures and cuts from typhoon debris. Into the second week of operations on the ground, medical teams have seen an increasing number of patients with preexisting diabetes and heart problems who have been lacking medication and care.
While noting remaining gaps in aid delivery, UN Undersecretary General Valerie Amos was amazed at the spirit of the Filipinos, who are facing a mammoth reconstruction job that could take many years. PHOTO FROM FILIPINOEXPRESS.COM
Children vulnerable
UN officials also expressed a special concern for displaced children, citing their vulnerability to exploitation and trafficking given the loss of their parents’ livelihood. The United Nations estimates that there are nearly 5 million children in disaster areas in need of emergency shelter, protection and psychosocial support. “Children face the risk of separation from their parents, with their parents on the move looking for food for survival. They may leave children behind, and this is where children are at risk. They are at risk of trafficking. This area is already at high risk of trafficking,” said Sarah Norton Stahl, child protection chief at the United Nations Children’s Fund Philippines. Stahl said previous disasters had led to a 10-percent rise in child trafficking, as displaced families grappled with the lack of resources to survive. She also cited the need to establish safe spaces for children, noting that 90 percent of daycare centers in ravaged towns and cities were destroyed. Last week, the United Nations appealed for $301 million for a six-month action plan for typhoon-hit areas in the Eastern Visayas, covering food, shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation, reconstruction and livelihood, among other forms of assistance. Amos said $87 million had been filled by donations from around the world. Agreeing with Amos’ observation, Tecson John Lim, city www.canadianinquirer.net
administrator of Tacloban, said the city, which used to have 220,000 people, was struggling to rise 12 days after the monster storm. “Slowly, we’re getting back on our feet, and we are encouraging business establishments to reopen,” Lim said. Banks reopen
The local branches of government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines are open again, with privately owned Metro Bank and Allied Bank announcing they will be back soon, he said. Some gasoline stations, grocery stores and stalls at the public market have also reopened, he said. But not ready to reopen are shopping malls Gaisano Central City and Gaisano Capital, both located downtown which were looted in the first few days of the government’s absence after the storm. Lim said he had talked to the owner of the two shopping malls, the Gaisano Capital Group, and was told by its officials that they were not ready to resume business. It is believed that most businessmen in the city fear a repeat of the looting at the height of the chaos that followed Yolanda. With local police themselves victims of the typhoon, the national government sent special military forces and crack police teams into Tacloban to restore law and order. With more than 2,000 police
officers and 1,300 soldiers patrolling the streets of Tacloban and guarding the city’s business district, Lim assured businessmen that they and their businesses would be safe should they decide to resume operations. Lim said city officials were grateful to the national government and to the international aid agencies for coming to Tacloban’s aid. “We are glad that the national government, particularly President Aquino and his entire Cabinet, especially Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, has been with us even before Yolanda hit Tacloban and since day one. They are being fair to us,” Lim said. Baseless, useless
Roxas said he did not know where the reports of his differences with Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez came from. “This is baseless and useless,” Roxas said. Romualdez, a nephew of former first lady Imelda Marcos, who now holds the seat of the first district of Ilocos Norte in the House of Representatives, parried questions about his quarrel with Roxas, saying he was concentrating on bringing life in the city back to normal. Speaking at a meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Tacloban, Roxas said the situation in the city had “stabilized.” The death toll from Yolanda stood at 4,000. In Tacloban alone, 1,549 people died and 469 were reported missing. ■
Philippine News
15 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Justice looks... public funds through the DAP, noting that the DBM had listed 50 new projects amounting to P30.4 billion which was 279 percent more than the pork barrel allocations to senators. He asked the high court “not to wait for the DAP to bare its fangs ... or strike down another member of this court,” referring to claims that the Palace used the facility to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona. Both Justice Marvic Leonen and Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno questioned Pacifico Agabin, on how he thought the high court should deal with the DAP case, whether there was an exercise of grave abuse of discretion by the President. When Agabin referred to the privilege speech of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada that hinted that the DAP was used to bribe some senators to convict Corona in 2012, Leonen asked whether the court should rely on what one senator said. ❰❰ 6
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the government also would see whether the budget allocation for the PDAF of legislators for 2014—to the tune of P25 billion—could be realigned for post-Yolanda reconstruction activities. He made the statement after the Supreme Court ruled that PDAF, a pork barrel, was unconstitutional. PHOTO FROM INQUIRER.NET
Gov’t eyes P45-B fund for ‘Yolanda’ rebuilding BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer
fund the reconstruction activities. Debt moratorium pushed
THE GOVERNMENT has identified P45 billion from next year’s national budget that can be quickly realigned to fund reconstruction in areas devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the amount could be realigned from the “unprogrammed funds” for next year. Unprogrammed funds are budget allocations for unidentified projects and intended to meet unexpected expenditure requirements, such as emergencies. Abad said that under the originally proposed 2014 national budget, P140 billion was earmarked as unprogrammed funds. Of the amount, P45 billion was particularly intended for reconstruction initiatives that may be required in the event of disasters. Given the huge number of Filipinos affected by the supertyphoon, Abad said there was no doubt that the P45 billion could be realigned for post-Yolanda reconstruction initiatives. The proposed national budget for 2014 amounts to P2.268 trillion, up from this year’s P2.06 trillion.
In Davao City, militant lawmakers asked Malacañang to negotiate a payment moratorium with the country’s debtors, saying it would free up funds that could be used for a massive program to rehabilitate areas devastated by Yolanda. Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said in a joint media statement that the Aquino administration should “ask for debt moratorium at the minimum or a debt write off at the maximum.” “So that the country would be given ample funds and time to rehabilitate,” they said. They said that this year alone, total foreign borrowings hit P2 trillion for which a budget of P333.9 billion was set aside for debt servicing. “We should review the national budget and see if we can free more funds intended for debt servicing so that these can be rechanneled to the rehabilitation of devastated areas,” they said. “Cases in point are the debt management fund which is P85.18 billion and the international commitments fund which is P4.8 billion,” Colmenares said.
Realigning pork barrel
Foreign debt fund
Abad said the government also would see whether the budget allocation for the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of legislators for 2014—to the tune of P25 billion—could be realigned for postYolanda reconstruction activities. He made the statement after the Supreme Court ruled that PDAF, a pork barrel, was unconstitutional. Once the reconstruction plan is released, Abad said the government would determine how much more it would need to raise on top of the P45 billion in order to realize the plan. Abad said the government could use cheap loans from foreign lenders to help
Factual context
Leonen also asked Agabin and Zarate whether the court should first wait for the Commission on Audit to examine how spending was done under the DAP. He also asked whether the court would become a trier of facts by having had to
He said that from his calculation, the national government would be able to raise P125 billion by suspending its foreign debt payment, which “would go a long way in the long term rehabilitation of areas affected by calamities.” Colmenares said the savings would be so huge that it would not only benefit Yolanda victims but also those still suffering in the aftermath of last month’s 7.2magnitude earthquake in Bohol and last December’s Typhoon “Pablo” in Mindanao. ■ With a report from Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao www.canadianinquirer.net
examine the projects funded by the DAP one by one. “So many facts have to be established here,” Sereno said, adding that many incidents and issues raised by the petitioners were based on newspaper accounts. Agabin said that grave abuse of discretion involved factual context. “I believe the new definition of the power of judicial review now makes this court a trier of facts,” he said. “This court has been designated the checker and balancer of the power between the three branches of government,” Agabin said, adding that the Constitution provided so in response to the “traumatic experience” suffered by the people during the martial law years. Leonen also pointed out that the Circular No. 541 was dated 2012 and so no longer pertained to the current budget. He also asked if there was anything wrong with the President’s desire to improve the economy, reallocate unobligated funds to other projects rather than just be bound by what the GAA states. Zarate, however, stuck to the petitioners’ stand, saying, “unobligated funds cannot be taken out; if they’re not spend, they should revert back to the general fund, and they may only be spent if there is legislative authorization.” ■
Opinion
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 16
THERE’S THE RUB
Redemption By Conrado De Quiros Philippine Daily Inquirer ALL OF Manny Pacquiao’s fights have imposed a tremendous burden on him. Each time he fought in the past, I’d worry about him losing. Of course there’s always that possibility in any fight and with any fighter, but such has become our level of expectation, no, of faith, that he would naturally win, I’d dread what would happen if he lost. Other people say, “Death is not an acceptable excuse,” we say, “Defeat is not an acceptable option.” At least with our hearts if not with our mouths. It’s too monstrous to contemplate, which went beyond contemplation to reality last year when the “Pambansang Kamao” not only got beaten but got beaten to a pulp. Everywhere in the world, at home and abroad, Filipinos walked about like the Taclobanons after Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” The devastation was complete. The spectacle of Pacquiao lying senseless on the canvas for an eternity—one worried at that point the eternity might be literal—so shocked Filipinos they trooped out of the movie houses in silence, unable to comprehend what had just happened. But none I think brought more weight on Pacquiao’s aging shoulders than this last fight. He put it there
himself, quite apart from his torn and bleeding nation, vowing never again to fail his countrymen. He had cried twice this past year, he said, his heart wrung by two horrors. The first was not when he was decked out by Marquez—he had had come to accept it as a fact of boxing life, or death—but when he saw the pain and grief and desolation in the eyes of his countrymen when he came home. The second was when he saw the pain and grief and desolation in the eyes of the Taclobanons after Yolanda. He was going to win this fight. Defeat was not an acceptable option. Win it he did. In a way that rolled back his defeats of the past year, in a way that rolled back the debris in Tacloban, in a way that rolled back the hands of time itself. This wasn’t the Pacquiao who lost cataclysmically to Juan Manuel Marquez. This wasn’t the Pacquiao who won against Timothy Bradley though was cheated barefacedly of it: In a way that was a defeat too because he looked slow and listless and aging in it. This was the Pacquiao who went through Ricky Hatton, Oscar de La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito and left them torn and bleeding, or with faces their mothers would be hard put to recognize.
The speed was back. I hadn’t seen him this fast in a long time, his lateral movement in full display, turning right and left on a dime, befuddling and frustrating his opponent. Indeed, amply demonstrated by Brandon Rios taking roundhouse swings at him after cornering him, or thinking he had cornered him, only to slice air. Not just once or twice, but again and again, drawing roars and laughter from the crowd. It was like that NBA advertisement of Chris Paul where he goes poof, nibbles French fries with Magic
He was going to win this fight. Defeat was not an acceptable option. Win it he did. Johnson and Steve Nash in a bar, and materializes back in the game. Pacquiao’s sudden disappearance from Rios’ view had that same now-yousee-me-now-you-don’t quality. There were changes of course. Some of the power had disappeared too. A couple of years ago, that flurry of punches would have sent his opponents wobbling. A whole series of them would have sent them to sleep. Pacquiao himself would say it was a testament only to his opponent’s toughness,
and he marveled at it: “I hit him with lefts and rights and he was still standing.” In the last couple of rounds, Freddie Roach would say, he had the chance to take Rios out but wouldn’t take it. Again Pacquiao had an explanation for it: He had learned his lesson from his fight with Marquez. Roach however had quite another: Alas, boxing-wise, Pacquiao has discovered compassion. Indeed, Pacquiao looked every inch like a changed man: more subdued, more introspective, stronger. Stronger, that is, in spirit, though he may very well have grown stronger in body too. The cockiness was gone. He had been chastised by his crushing defeat in the hands of Marquez but, unlike Hatton whom he too had crushed and who had fallen by the wayside afterward, he had not been bowed. He had clawed his way back by dint of his belief in himself, by dint of his belief in his duty to his countrymen, by dint of his belief in his God. It seems almost unimportant at this point where he goes from here. What is important is that he has plucked himself out of the clutches of defeat and risen to become champion again, with or without the belt. What is important is that he has plucked his countrymen, particularly the storm-
ravaged and hope-deprived, from the clutches of despair, with or without the knockout. I said yesterday I thought Pacquiao needed nothing less than a knockout to revive his career, but this wasn’t just the next best thing, this was an even better thing. It wasn’t just that this was a rout, as complete and utter as anything boxing has seen. It was that this rediscovery of form, this display of inner strength, this show of compassion wasn’t just career-reviving, it was life-affirming. Certainly, it was so for those who watched the fight in the schoolhouses, gymnasiums and relief shelters of Tacloban. The same people who just a couple of weeks ago huddled in the cold and dark, in wind and rain, to watch the dying of a city and grieve over the deaths of loved ones. More than the tons relief given by the aidgivers, this was relief of an order that slaked more than hunger and thirst. More than the comfort and sympathy offered by the bishops and the government officials and the humanitarian groups, this was balm to wound, a candle in the night. Manny Pacquiao needed a crack at redemption and his countrymen a crack of salvation. Last Sunday, he supplied both. Despair was not an acceptable option. ■
AS I SEE IT
Consult urban planners in ‘5 Rs’ in typhoon areas By Neal H. Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer OUR NATIONAL and local officials can turn the destruction wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” into a blessing in disguise, now that we have entered the phase that I will call the “5 Rs”—relief, rehabilitation, relocation, reconstruction and recovery. The typhoon has made much of Samar and Leyte, particularly Tacloban City in Leyte and Guiuan in Eastern Samar, a wasteland, with nothing left but debris. It is as if they were erased from the map. Now is the chance to make wellplanned and designed cities out of this wasteland. Urban planners and designers never had this chance before— a clean slate to plan and build on. Existing cities cannot be redesigned because of structures already standing. But with Tacloban and Guiuan (and perhaps also Ormoc City, which is also in Leyte) practically wiped out, planners can design cities as if they are to be built on vacant lands. Now is the chance to design and rebuild these places like the planned cities of Canberra in Australia, Brasilia in Brazil, and Islamabad in Pakistan. Most cities expand willy-nilly without much planning. Even when they are
planned (like Quezon City and Baguio), the plans are not usually followed for some reasons. And even when the plan are indeed followed, the planners of yesteryears simply did not see the problems now being encountered by modern cities. An example: In the planning of cities, the streets are laid out in gridstyle—streets crossing one another. That was all right in the old days when there were much fewer motor vehicles. Planners never thought that the number of vehicles would balloon so much as to make the grid-style arrangement of streets a source of traffic jams. Traffic is held up at street intersections, waiting for the traffic light to change to green. This is true even in relatively new cities like the Bonifacio Global City. It is not complete yet, but already traffic builds up at street intersections. Modern designers now make maximum use of flyovers and underpasses to avoid street intersections. And modern designers now pay attention to the environment. Even wealthy cities have now become concrete jungles. Not-so-wealthy ones breed slums. Singapore is trying to erase the slums by razing them and building new communities in their place. That cannot be done in most cities. But now it can be done in Tacloban, Ormoc and Guiuan.
President Aquino has created task forces for the reconstruction of damaged communities. Urban planners and designers should be made part of these task forces. The new communities should have a minimum of street intersections (to avoid the traffic gridlocks that we are now experiencing in Metro Manila) and make maximum use of flyovers and underpasses. Then there should be one big central park and many
Urban planners and designers never had this chance before—a clean slate to plan and build on. smaller ones in every city. The building code should be amended to make houses and buildings stronger, strong enough to withstand typhoons like Yolanda and intensity 7 earthquakes. Shorelines should have mangrove forests to protect the communities from tsunamis and storm surges. Remember, Samar and Leyte are in the typhoon belt and more, stronger typhoons should be expected because of climate change. Every city needs parks not only to provide residents with more open spaces but also for greenery to absorb more car-
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bon dioxide and produce more oxygen. Yolanda provided the Philippines with an excellent chance to rebuild well-designed, environment-friendly cities. Don’t waste that chance. *** Squatting syndicates have reared their ugly heads in Boracay. A corporation cannot begin building its five-star hotel on the island because a group of squatters has occupied its property and refuses to leave. The Department of Tourism has been promoting Boracay as a premier tourism destination. Recently, the province of Aklan has announced its plan to turn Boracay into a “cruise ship hub.” The DOT will present its plans during the Asian Convention of Cruise Ships in Singapore scheduled late this year. A number of local and international corporations have also announced plans to invest in tourism-related businesses in Boracay. According to media reports, property tycoon Andrew Tan of Megaworld, in partnership with McDonald’s, plan to invest around P15 billion in a project called Boracay New Coast. San Miguel Corp. is also renovating the Caticlan airport to upgrade its services. These new developments will further enhance Boracay’s attractions. The government estimates that some 30,000 new jobs will be created.
However, these plans are now being threatened by squatting syndicates. Their modus operandi is basically the same as the squatting syndicates in Metro Manila. First, they occupy a property. Second they build their shanties illegally and without permission. Third, they demand money from the legal owner. One example: Demeter Holdings, a Boracay investor which is building a five-star hotel on the island, bought a property in Barangay Manoc-manoc, Malay, Aklan. It needs the lot as a supply transit area, equipment warehouse and temporary shelter for its workers. However, squatters unlawfully entered the property and posted armed men there. They fenced off the property to prevent the real owners from entering the property. The five-star hotel project is now on hold. Demeter has filed a case against a certain Edmundo Tolentino, a resident of Kalibo, Aklan. Tolentino is claiming he is the owner of the property but cannot show any proof or valid title in his name. He is also flouting his connection with a justice department prosecutor in the province. The government should help legitimate investors in Boracay. Otherwise, it will drive away others who would like to invest, too. ■
Opinion
17 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
VIEWPOINT
A Pinoy ‘belen’ By Juan L. Mercado Philippine Daily Inquirer WE TACKED up again those Christmas star lanterns Sunday. We had stashed the parols before Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: “Hainan”) barreled through. The five-candle Advent wreath is back in our sala. So is the Christmas tree. The wife dusted off the Nativity figurines: Mary, Joseph, shepherds, Magi, sheep, cattle plus manger. Our family places the Infant in the crib after the noche buena gathering. This year, roofless Leyte and Samar churches will be hard put to set up cribs. In Calbayog City, the Mother Teresa hospice, which sheltered patients evacuated from Tacloban, has a belen. So have homes in Maasin down in Southern Leyte province up to Baybay in north Leyte. Mangers are up in earthquake-battered Bohol. Where did all this begin? In the Advent of 1223, Francis of Assissi came to the Italian hamlet of Grecio. Its tiny chapel would overflow when people came for the Christmas midnight Mass, he realized. So Francis set up an altar in the town square—and added a creche. Let St. Bonaventure continue the story: “It happened in the third year before
(Francis’) death… he prepared a manger, and brought hay, an ox, an ass…. The people gathered; the forest resounded with their voices. And that night was made glorious by many and brilliant lights and sonorous psalms of praise. “(Francis) stood before the manger… bathed in tears and radiant with joy, he chanted the gospel. Then he preached to the people around the nativity of the poor King. Unable to utter His name for the tenderness of His love, he called Him the ‘Babe of Bethlehem.’ “A (former) soldier, Master John of Grecio had become (Francis’) friend. He affirmed that Francis beheld an Infant marvelously beautiful, sleeping in the manger, whom (he) embraced with both his arms, as if he would awake Him from sleep.” Luke’s short account of Jesus’ birth mentions the manger thrice. Mary laid her infant in the manger. Angels told the shepherds a manger would be the sign to identify the newborn savior. And when they stumbled into a decrepit stable, they recognized the Messiah “wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manager.” After Francis’ death in 1226, the custom of having the crib at Christmas spread widely. By dawn of the baroque era, crib-making had evolved and developed into an important folk art, es-
pecially in Portugal, in the Tyrol, etc. The Nativity belen came to us via Ferdinand Magellan’s galleons. “The Filipino Belen” is, in fact, the title of a homily that the late historian Horacio de la Costa, S.J. delivered during a Nativity midnight Mass in the United States. Excerpts: “In many offices today, a Filipino ‘belen’ graces the entrance. Nipa shingles make up the stable’s roof. Coconut palm trees flank the entrance
We look deep in this Infant’s eyes, as our fathers did before us, and ‘be filled with the peace that the world cannot give.’ to the manager, and a suspended star parol blinks beside the angel figurines. In some Nativity cribs, Joseph and Our Lady are in tropical clothes heedless of the Palestinian winter. “Often, it’s just a sandlot or an ordinary table which, at Christmas time, we try to represent to ourselves the birth of our Savior. In the center, we place a Christ Child. And around it we arrange Our Lady and Saint Joseph, the way Catholics everywhere, and in every age, have pictured them. “But the rest of the scene bears
very little resemblance to the real Bethlehem. The shepherds are there. But they are dressed as farmers and fishermen, because we had no sheep. And we have no winters. “In one corner, the Three Kings are on their way. But they do not ride camels. Rather, one of them leads our town’s patient beast of burden: the carabao. And they look up to the marvelous star—made of paper pasted on a bamboo frame and hung from the ceiling. “You will smile, perhaps, at our simplicity. And it’s true, of course, that history is all wrong. Christ was not born in a palm leaf shack, and the Wise Men never brought their gifts on a carabao. “(Yet) in our ignorance… a very great truth. Although Christ was born 2,000 years ago in Palestine, He was not born only for that nation and that time. He was born for all time and for all peoples…. He was born for you and for me. He willed to become a man in order to save all men. And He chose to be born homeless because he wanted everyone to be at home. “This little Son of Mary is also ‘God of God’—as we say in the Credo of the Mass, ‘Light of Light; true god of true god; begotten, not made; of one substance with the father; by whom all things were made….’ There are for him no distances.
And He lives in an eternal now. “And it is right, profoundly right, that we should surround his cradle with all that is familiar and dear to us—our houses, our tools, our toys, everything that is part of ourselves and our daily lives. Because it was to bless and sanctify these, and ourselves with them, that Christ was born…. “There is room for all the world… in a Baby’s arms.” We look deep in this Infant’s eyes, as our fathers did before us, and “be filled with the peace that the world cannot give.” This coming Christmas will be the first after Yolanda. Families will stare at empty, shattered homes. As we write, the official tally sheet has counted 5,235 dead. And 1,613 are missing. These numbers will still inch up. We’ll have no family around too. All five children are abroad, and two will return after Christmas. Our seven grandchildren study in Sweden or California. But early Advent, we’ll meet our one-and-a-half-year-old grandson. Lukas and his parents fly in from Michigan for a short visit. We’ll offer Lukas the Infant, for him to kiss and place in the crib. The wife and I are advanced in years. Will this be our last time to sing for Lukas the carol our parents sang? Vamos, vamos a belen. ■
mates pillaged her store in her presence days after the storm. Expressing a forgiving attitude toward the looters, she blamed instead the slow government response for what happened. “People panicked,” she said. “They thought no relief was coming. There was no single word from the government.” Still, she could not hide her disappointment over her town mates’ behavior. “I was there watching and I couldn’t do anything to stop the mob. Everybody knew everybody here. There were government employees, policemen, and even my friends.” One of the looters, a policeman, forgot he was wearing the uniform of a law enforcer as he joined the unruly horde. Ms Tan’s pained comment finds echoes in various accounts of rampant looting in more urbanized Tacloban. A TV reporter from one of the major networks recounts his interview with one of the few policemen who heroically reported for duty on that fateful day. This police officer saw the raiding of Gaisano and tried to stop it. Instead he found himself frozen in his tracks by the sight of his high school teacher walking away from the scene with a haul of looted goods. Speechless, he looked at his old teacher in the eye, searching for an answer. What he got was an unexpected question: “Can I
get you anything?” The mapping of natural hazards is a fairly well-developed science. We now have adequate instruments to enable us to accurately plot the course and strength of a typhoon. We can more or less predict what forms of destruction a storm may bring to communities living in danger zones. But one wonders if we have sufficiently understood the strange peril we face when the collective mind snaps. I doubt if looting behavior is among the things that are listed when the state tells its citizens to brace for natural disasters. As societies try to make sense of the haunting collapse of reason that sometimes happens in the wake of terrible disasters, it is usual to hear the old resentments and prejudices revolving around race, religion, and ethnicity resurrected as explanations. Knowing this, we need to remind ourselves that we are dealing here with a phenomenon far more complex than a storm surge. Canetti sums it up this way: “The destructiveness of the crowd is often mentioned as its most conspicuous quality, and there is no denying the fact that it can be observed everywhere, in the most diverse countries and civilizations. It is discussed and disapproved of, but never really explained.” ■
PUBLIC LIVES
The looting crowd By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer IN THE early hours following the exit of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” from Leyte, residents staggered out of their flattened homes like zombies. But somewhere in downtown Tacloban, a small group of survivors spontaneously gathered in front of the Gaisano shopping mall. Wielding improvised crowbars, they began to pry open the metal shutters protecting the mall’s glass doors. The din from the incessant pounding, the agitated voices, and the sound of breaking glass quickly swelled the now heaving crowd. As the doors were flung open, the tumultuous mob rushed headlong into the water-soaked mall like another deadly surge. Elias Canetti, that astute observer of crowds in human history, calls this the “discharge”—”the moment when all who belong to the crowd get rid of their differences and feel equal.” His description of this “mysterious and universal phenomenon” permits us to imagine how in the blink of an eye individuals can suddenly shed their inhibitions, lose whatever good sense they have, and subsume their faculty of judgment to the collective sway of a mob. “A few people may have been stand-
ing together—five, ten or twelve, not more; nothing has been announced, nothing is expected. Suddenly everywhere is black with people and more come streaming from all sides as though streets had only one direction. Most of them do not know what has happened and, if questioned, have no answer; but they hurry to be there where most other people are. There is a determination in their movement which is quite different from the expression of ordinary curiosity. It seems as though the movement of some of them transmits itself to the others. But that is not all; they have a goal which is there before they can find words for it.” (Crowds and Power) Natural phenomena like earthquakes, storms, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and floods strike us with a ferocity that we experience as coming from outside. We forget that Nature also dwells inside us, and that not everything that we are is completely tamed by culture. There remains a menacing irrational side to our being that at times surfaces unbidden, overpowering our consciousness like a dark twin to Durkheim’s “collective conscience.” It comes out particularly during times of war, calamity, and widespread crisis—when panic and despair drive people to scavenge, steal, or sack.
Sociologists note the pervasive erasure of the markers of social order and the collapse of the inner containment walls of guilt and shame, and call it “anomie”—the state of normlessness. What crowd theory however fails to fully explain is why behavior like mass looting occurs in some places but not in others. We are told that such a phenomenon tends to be common in urban settings, where public order is a fragile facade maintained by formal institutions, but not in small commu-
There remains a menacing irrational side to our being that at times surfaces unbidden, overpowering our consciousness like a dark twin to Durkheim’s ‘collective conscience.’ nities where social control draws its power from the immediacy of faceto-face interaction. There was widespread looting in Tacloban, but one is hard-pressed to understand why the same behavior should break out in a remote town like Guiuan. An Inquirer report (11/18/2013) tells of the shock that Susan Tan, who owns a grocery there, felt when her own town
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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
18
Canada News NEWS BRIEFS
FROM THE CANADIAN PRESS
BY JOAN BRYDEN The Canadian Press OTTAWA—Justin Trudeau emerged the big winner from Monday’s four federal byelections. At first glance, the results simply preserved the status quo: the Conservatives held on to two longtime Tory bastions in Manitoba, while the Liberals retained two traditional Grit strongholds in Toronto and Montreal. Beneath the surface, however, the byelections have roiled Canada’s political waters, suggesting the Senate expenses scandal has badly hurt the Tory government and that Trudeau’s Liberals are the ones who stand to benefit. The Liberals increased their share of the vote in all four ridings—dramatically so in two Manitoba ridings where they were all but invisible in the 2011 election, coming within a whisker of an upset victory in Brandon-Souris. In Toronto Centre and Montreal’s Bourassa riding, the Liberals emerged victorious in a battle with the NDP over which opposition party is the real government-in-waiting. Despite an aggressive challenge by the NDP, the Liberal vote share increased slightly in both ridings. Trudeau said the byelection results show Canadians are fed up with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s scandal-plagued Conservative government and are looking to the Liberals, not the NDP, to replace it.
ARRIVAL OF US RETAILERS CHANGES GAME: EXPERTS
“Canadians grow weary of the deceit, the mistrust and the cover-ups of the Conservatives,” he told ecstatic Liberals at the campaign headquarters of Bourassa victor Emmanuel Dubourg. They’re also discovering that Tom Mulcair is no Jack Layton, whose sunny optimism led the NDP to a stunning electoral breakthrough in 2011, Trudeau asserted. “Make no mistake, the NDP is no longer the hopeful, optimistic party of Jack Layton. It is the negative, divisive party of Thomas Mulcair.” Stealing a line from the late Layton’s famous death-bed letter to Canadians, Trudeau added: “It is the Liberal party tonight that proved hope is stronger than fear.” By contrast to the Liberals’ momentum, Conservative support nosedived in all four ridings—likely the result of the Senate scandal that has engulfed Harper’s government for al-
most a year. Even in Provencher, which Conservative Ted Falk won with a comfortable 58 per cent of the vote, the Tory share was down about 12 percentage points from 2011. The Liberal share, at 30 per cent, was up 23 points. In Brandon-Souris, a riding that has voted Conservative in all but one election over the last 60 years, Tory Larry Maguire barely eked out a victory over Liberal Rolf Dinsdale. He captured about 44 per cent of the vote—a 20-point drop from 2011. Dinsdale, who was only two points behind Maguire to increase the Liberal vote share by a stunning 38 points, said the fact the Liberals came so close to victory was a warning to the Conservative government. “This didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but it turned out better than anyone thought it would, not least of ❱❱ PAGE 39 Seat count
Canadians carrying more debt, but still able to pay it off: Equifax BY LINDA NGUYEN The Canadian Press TORONTO—Canadians are carrying more debt now than a year ago, but it seems like many have a bet-
ter handle on paying it back, says a newly-released study. Statistics from credit monitoring firm Equifax Canada show that consumer debt, excluding mortgages, rose 3.7 per cent in the third quarter to $507.1 billion from $489 billion a year earlier.
Despite the increase in debt load, however, the overall delinquency rate—bills more than 90 days past due—dropped to a record low of 1.13 per cent in the three months ended ❱❱ PAGE 22 Canadians carrying
TORONTO—Now that American retailers have landed in Canada, prepare for the fireworks as stores launch massive promotions and deep discounts in an attempt to draw shoppers. The arrival of Target and Marshalls—and the expansion of Walmart—hasn’t exactly revolutionized shopping, but it has laid the foundation for what industry watchers say will be a bigger fight for marketshare next year. ASHLEY SMITH DEATH A HOMICIDE, INQUEST TOLD TORONTO—The death of a “precious daughter” who strangled herself in her segregation cell as prison guards videotaped but did not intervene should be deemed a homicide, a coroner’s jury was told Monday. In closing submissions at the inquest into the death of Ashley Smith, the lawyer who speaks for her family said the evidence was overwhelming: frontline staff were under orders to say out of her cell as long as she was still breathing. BEST ABORTION OPTION NOT AVAILABLE IN CANADA TORONTO—A commentary in Canada’s leading medical journal says Canadian women lack access to the best known option for abortion. The authors say Health Canada is currently studying an application to bring that option, a drug commonly known as RU-486, to the Canadian market. CANADA APPROVES GENETICALLY MODIFIED SALMON SOURIS—A company that produces genetically modified salmon in Prince Edward Island says it has received federal approval to make eggs on a commercial scale. AquaBounty Technologies says Environment Canada has concluded that the eggs are not harmful to the environment or human health when produced in contained facilities.
PHOTO BY RICHARD WHITCOMBE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Seat count unchanged in the end, but Trudeau emerges big byelection winner
World News
19 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
A day by day look at Canada’s Manitoba introduces relief efforts in the typhoon motion urging Ottawa to ravaged Philippines work on abolishing Senate The Canadian Press OTTAWA—The Canadian Forces Disaster Assistance Response Team is at work in the Philippines helping with recovery in the wake of typhoon Haiyan. Here’s a brief timeline detailing Canada’s relief efforts so far: Nov. 7: Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful ever recorded, makes landfall in the Philippines, killing thousands and leaving millions homeless. Nov. 11: Canadian government announces $5 million in aid for Philippines, pledges to match individual donations. Nov. 11: Canadian government announces it will dispatch the DART, a quick-response team of medics, technicians and engineers that can provide medical services, infrastructure
reconstruction and clean water for up to 40 days to bridge the gap between a disaster and restoration of normal services. Nov. 13: First elements of the team land in the Philippines. Nov. 15: Canadians are establishing a base in the city of Roxas, on the island of Panay southeast of Manila. Medical teams beginning to fan out to neighbouring communities. Nov. 16: As more troops arrive, Canadians officially begin working in the Panay island provinces of Capiz and Iloilo. Nov. 17: First two of three Griffon helicopters are dispatched to the Philippines to provide transport to outlying communities and isolated islands. Nov. 18: Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces another $15 million in aid.
The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Stephen Harper signs the book of condolences for those affected by Typhoon Haiyan. PHOTO FROM PM.GC.CA
Nov. 19: International Development Minister Christian Paradis clarifies that the $15 million announced by Harper is a contribution to match individual donations Nov. 19: First water purification unit arrives in theatre. The reverse osmosis unit can purify 50,0000 litres of water a day. Nov. 19: About 300 Canadian military personnel are on the ground on Panay, with more en route. ■
WINNIPEG—Manitoba’s Attorney General has introduced a motion urging the federal government to begin consultations with provinces with the aim abolishing the Senate. Andrew Swan says Manitoba’s position includes the results of public hearings which took place in 2009 that heard overwhelming support from Manitobans for outright abolishment or reform. The motion states the Senate too often serves partisan objectives rather than public interest and that any confidence Manitobans had in the upper house has been shaken due to the events of the past year. In August, Manitoba made a submission, known as a factum,
which addressed the constitutional questions posed by the federal government to the Supreme Court of Canada. The province’s position was that Parliament does not have the constitutional authority to enact significant unilateral changes to the structure of the Senate or to the selection of its members. A vote was expected in the legislature later today. “In this province, we abolished the upper house in 1876,” Swan said. “We’re calling on the Government of Canada to start negotiations with the provinces. It is time to get started on abolishing the Canadian Senate.” ■
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A year later, no motive found in US school shooting; gunman was obsessed with Columbine BY MICHAEL MELIA The Associated Press
Agents were led to the 22 mass graves by local police officers who confessed to working with a drug cartel. PHOTO FROM MEXICOINSTITUTE.WORDPRESS.COM
Number of bodies in clandestine mass graves in western Mexico rises to 42 after 5 more found BY MARK STEVENSON The Associated Press MEXICO CITY—The number of bodies found in almost two dozen clandestine graves in western Mexico has risen to 42, after five more corpses were discovered over the weekend. Many of the bodies were bound or gagged. Some showed signs of torture, according to a federal prosecutor who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the news media. The graves are in La Barca near the border between Jalisco and Michoacan states, in a remote area by Lake Chapala, which is popular among tourists and American retirees. The region has become the site of a turf war between the Knights Templar and the New Generation cartels. Agents were led to the 22 mass graves by local police officers who confessed to working with a drug cartel.
The investigation started off as part of a search for two missing federal detectives. Investigators detained 22 local police officers from the nearby town of Vista Hermosa, Michoacan for questioning, and some of the officers confessed they had handed over the officers and other people to New Generation gunmen. The missing detectives have not been located nor have their bodies appeared in the graves. Some of the bodies appear to have been buried a year or more. Meanwhile, in the north-central state of Zacatecas, officials reported Monday that they had found the bodies of two women hung from a pedestrian bridge in the city of Fresnillo. The two were found at dawn and the cause of death is still being investigated. Photos published by local media showed that a hand-written banner like the ones often used by drug cartels to leave threatening messages was hung nearby the bodies. ■
HARTFORD, CONN.—Why a young gunman went on a murderous shooting rampage at a U.S. school a year ago is still a mystery and may never be known with certainty, prosecutors said Monday in a report that ended their investigation. Adam Lanza, 20, was obsessed with mass murders and the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in particular, but investigators did not find evidence he ever told others of his intentions to carry out such an attack, according to the summary report by the lead investigator, State’s Attorney Stephen Sedensky III. Lanza killed 20 young children and six educators with a semi-automatic rifle inside the Connecticut school on Dec. 14. He shot and killed his mother inside their home before driving to the school, and killed himself with a handgun as police arrived. The shooting moved gun safety to the top of the agenda for President Barack Obama— though his gun control efforts have failed in Congress—and led states across the country to re-evaluate laws on issues including school safety. “The obvious question that
remains is: ‘Why did the shooter murder twenty-seven people, including twenty children?’ Unfortunately, that question may never be answered conclusively,” the report said. Sedensky also said there was no clear indication why Lanza chose the school as the target other than the fact that it was close to his home. In a footnote, Sedensky said a computer drive recovered from Lanza’s home might include potentially important evidence but is unreadable, and it is highly unlikely any data will ever be extracted from it. The report said Lanza had “significant mental health issues”—in 2005, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s disorder—but “what contribution this made to the shootings, if any, is unknown.” Asperger’s is an autism-like disorder that is not associated with violence. Lanza “was undoubtedly afflicted with mental health problems; yet despite a fascination with mass shootings and firearms, he displayed no aggressive or threatening tendencies,” Sedensky wrote. “Some recalled that the shooter had been bullied; but others - including many teachers - saw nothing of the sort.” Donna Soto, the mother of slain teacher Victoria Soto, said
in a statement that nothing could make sense of the shooting. “Yes, we have read the report, no, we cannot make sense of why it happened. We don’t know if anyone ever will,” Soto wrote. The report also says nearly six minutes passed between the arrival of the first police officer and the time officers entered the school. A timeline released with the report says the first officer arrived behind the school at 9:39 a.m. The last gunshot officers heard, which is believed to be the suicide shot by Lanza, was heard at three seconds past 9:40. Officers entered the school at 47 seconds past 9:44. Sedensky wrote that law enforcement officers were operating under the belief there may have been more than one shooter. Sedensky has gone to court to fight release of the emergency phone tapes from the school. The withholding of the recordings, which are routinely released in other cases, has been the subject of a legal battle between The Associated Press and Sedensky. If the recordings are released, the AP would review the content and determine what, if any, of it would meet the news cooperative’s standards for publication. ■
Lanza killed 20 young children and six educators with a semi-automatic rifle inside the Connecticut school on Dec. 14.
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World News
21 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Europe’s climate chief says future of UN process hinges on strong deal in 2015 BY KARL RITTER The Associated Press WARSAW, POLAND—After another U.N. climate conference gave only modest results, European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard says the process needs to provide a “substantial answer” to global warming in two years to remain relevant. Even if it succeeds, it’s worth reconsidering whether the international confabs need to be held every year, and whether the scope of each session should be narrower, Hedegaard told The Associated Press on Sunday. “Maybe it would be time now to think if there should be themes for the conferences so that not each conference is about everything,” she said in a telephone interview. In two decades, the U.N. talks have failed to provide a cure to the world’s fever. Heat-trapping carbon emissions that scientists say are warming the planet are growing each year as most countries still depend on coal and oil to fuel their economies. Besides those emissions, the
U.N. talks deal with a range of complex issues, including monitoring and verification of climate actions, accounting rules, and helping developing countries cope with sea level rise, desertification and other climate impacts as they transition to clean energy. The two-week session that ended Saturday in Warsaw nearly collapsed in overtime before agreements were watered down to a point where no country was promising anything concrete. On the final day, sleep-deprived delegates spent hours wrangling over the wording of paragraphs and bickering over procedure, like when Venezuela questioned why the U.S. got to speak before Fiji in the plenary. As the gavel dropped, negotiators emerged with a vague road map on how to prepare for a global climate pact they’re supposed to adopt in two years—work Hedegaard said will be crucial in answering whether the world still needs the U.N. process. “I think that it has to deliver a substantial answer to climate
change in 2015,” Hedegaard said. “If it fails to do so, then I think this critical question will be asked by many more.” Many climate initiatives are happening far from the U.N. negotiations as local and national governments pursue low-carbon energy sources and energy efficiency. Even international efforts are increasingly taking place outside the U.N. climate framework. China and the U.S.—the world’s two biggest carbon polluters—this year agreed to work jointly on energy efficiency, carbon capture technology and other mitigation projects. “This was a missed opportunity to set the world on a path to a global climate deal in 2015, with progress painfully slow,” said Mohamed Adow, a climate change adviser at Christian Aid. “We need a clear plan to fairly divide the global effort of responding to climate change and a timeline of when that will happen.” To avoid the brinksmanship of the U.N. negotiations, many countries, both developed and developing, want to stop the fast rise of potent greenhouse
gases called HFCs using another treaty that essentially eliminated the use of ozone-depleting chemicals. Some observers couldn’t help noting that the Warsaw talks were held in a soccer stadium where delegates were literally moving around in circles. “It is hard to resist that as a metaphor” for the U.N. process, said Nathaniel Keohane, vicepresident of the Environmental Defence Fund and a former special assistant on climate and energy to President Barack Obama. The Warsaw talks advanced a program to reduce deforestation in developing countries but made only marginal progress on building the framework for a deal in Paris in 2015. Key issues like its legal form and how it will differentiate between the commitments of developed and developing remain unresolved. “If we go to Paris and say we didn’t completely get this done I think ... the world will draw the conclusion you really cannot trust the U.N. to deliver on this process,” said Jake Schmidt, a climate expert at the Natural Resource Defence Council.
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Asked about the point of the U.N. talks, U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern said “it’s important to have an international agreement to provide confidence to other countries that if they are ready to step forward and take action, that their partners, their competitors, others are doing the same thing.” Jennifer Morgan, of the World Resources Institute, praised national actions from expanding solar power in Germany to new wind farms in Brazil but said they’re not enough. U.N. studies show global emissions need to peak in 2020 and then start falling to stabilize warming at 2 degrees C (3.6 F), a level countries hope will avoid the worst consequences of climate change. “The U.N. is the one place where all countries come together and everyone has a voice,” Morgan said. “World leaders simply need to set their sights higher and empower their teams to engage in a more constructive way. Without much greater ambition and action, we will soon be headed to a far more turbulent and dangerous world.” ■
Immigration
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 22
Canada is deeply concerned for the people of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan OTTAWA—Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and Minister for La Francophonie, and Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular) issued the following statement: “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this powerful storm and Canada stands ready to support relief efforts and provide humanitarian assistance as required,” said Minister Paradis. “We are in close contact with government authorities as well as humanitarian actors on the ground and Canadian field staff in the Philippines providing regular updates directly to my office.” Thousands have already been evacuated, and with the help of Canadian and UN assistance, the local government has taken precautions in order to help deal with the effects of the typhoon, including the stockpiling of food, water, temporary shelter and medicines to mount
Minister Christian Paradis
an effective response. “Canadian officials in Ottawa and at our embassy in Manila are in close contact with Filipino authorities and will continue to monitor the impact of the typhoon,” said Minister Yelich. “Canada stands ready to provide emergency consular assistance as required.” Canadian citizens in the Philippines requiring emergency consular assistance should contact the Canadian embassy in Manila at (02) 857-9000 or Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Re-
PHOTO FROM CP24.COM
sponse Centre by dialing 1-8001-110-0226 (toll-free within the Philippines if calling from a landline) or 001-613-9968885 (collect calls are accepted where available). Friends and relatives in Canada concerned for Canadian citizens they believe to be in the affected area should contact Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada’s 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa by calling tollfree 1-800-387-3124 or 613-9968885 (collect calls are accepted) or sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca. ■
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Canadians carrying... Sept. 20. That was down from 1.22 per cent in the same period last year. “People are gaining confidence and they see they can maintain more or less their lifestyle yet are more aware of the financial choices they’re making,” said Regina Malina, director of modelling and analytics at Equifax. Meanwhile, overall consumer debt, including mortgages, continues to grow. In the third quarter, Canadians owed $1.36 trillion, up from $1.3 trillion a year earlier. Malina said the data shows that Canadians have more control over their debt—from car loans to credit card purchases— even though debt levels have continued to increase over the past few quarters. “It’s not like we can relax and not pay attention to the pattern because delinquency is low, but the conclusion is that consumers have learned to behave more responsibly,” she said. “At one point, the debt can get to the point where the de❰❰ 18
linquency rate can reverse course.” Previous Equifax studies have shown that consumers tend to take out more loans, and do not pay them back as quickly, during a volatile economy or periods of high unemployment. Regionally, those from Quebec had the lowest delinquency rates, while those in the eastern provinces had the highest. The study also noted that like the previous quarter, seniors continued to accumulate debt at the highest rate, yet still carried the least amount of debt of any age group. It said debt levels for those aged 65 years and older were 6.4 per cent higher than in the same period a year ago. The Bank of Canada has repeatedly warned that as interest rates rise, Canadians may become vulnerable to an economic shock if they are carrying too much debt. Equifax uses data from 24 million files on consumer credit history, including national credit cards, loans and mortgages in compiling the report each quarter. ■
Immigration
23 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS
So, What Other Logistics are Important at the Outset? BY BOLET AREVALO
YOU HAVE COME TO A PROGRESSIVE AND DEVELOPED COUNTRY WHERE MORE THAN 80% OF HOUSEHOLDS ARE CONNECTED TO INTERNET. THE WORLD HAS NARROWED WITH INTERNET TECHNOLOGY. USE THE INTERNET TO YOUR BEST ADVANTAGE, BUT DO NOT THINK THAT IT IS THE BEST WAY TO FIND A JOB. Technology has certainly conquered this part of the world. In Canada, statistics show that more than 80% of the population have access to the internet. More than 50% of those people use high-speed internet, and almost 50% are said to connect to internet at least three times a day. I would say that an internet connection should form part of the basic logistics that you should have upon coming. Needless to say, this includes a laptop or a desktop PC, which you might have brought from home. Even if you haven’t, getting yourself a laptop or computer is a necessary investment that you owe yourself. Whether you are alone or with your family, the best deals are the bundle deals of phone, internet and cable connections. Such bundled products are things you want to have anyway, and better sooner than later, because you need to speed up your search to get that job soon. The choice between internet service providers is not an area that I will delve into. There are a lot of providers, all with promises of having the best connections. Price will always be a factor I know, but make sure that the low price is not directly proportional to a low quality of connection. In any case, to stay competitive, most companies will not slap any penalty if you decide to terminate your contract and will allow you to opt out seamlessly by just one phone call. However, do not be distracted by your fascination with internet surfing or social media networking. Always remember that you intend to increase your chances of finding a job through the internet. That should be top-of-mind. I remember being advised to consider the job search itself as your first job. Set up a corner in your home as your office and keep the things you will need there, or just within arm’s reach. The phone should be there, the computer, the notepads, the pencil, the printer, the USBs, practically everything you will need to be comfortable and efficient. I have warned that any job seeker should not consider internet recruit-
ment as the way to go for all employers, or the best employers. But as you are just starting out, with no connections or network to speak of, a whole gamut of information and potential jobs are there for you for the taking. It is not necessarily true that there are actually no real jobs to be found on the internet. I should know. Two happy friends got their biggest breaks only by applying through the internet. You will definitely need to get a highspeed internet connection. The internet makes it easy for you to try to find as many job opportunities as you can. The use of Internet may be convenient, but use it only as a take-off point to find the real jobs that are available and that you want. Do You Need a Car?
A VERY EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MAY MEAN THAT YOU DO NOT EVEN NEED A CAR. BUT GETTING A DRIVER’S LICENSE AND OWNING A CAR CAN ALSO GIVE YOU AN EDGE. The question is pretty straightforward, but let me say that for many who can afford a car, the decision to buy one must still be well-thought-out. Buying one was one of the more costly mistakes that I made after immigrating. Mistake No.1: I went looking for a nice car to buy even before I could get my driver’s license. Obviously, I underestimated the difficulty of passing those road tests and went on to take almost a full year to pass one. That left the car I had purchased to spend one year in the garage accumulating dust or ice, depending on the season. Mistake No. 2: I got the car even before I found a job, only to realize how burdensome the cost of insurance and maintenance would be. Since I did not want to take that out from my own money, I ended up not insuring the car, although it took me six months to decide that, still hoping that I will pass my road test soon. And so the car continued to rest in the garage for another six months. Can you afford a car? Of course, I knew I could afford to buy a car, but I opted to borrow instead because interest rates were very low at that time. So, Mistake No. 3: Borrowing and paying for interest for something that I could not use or decided not to use. So why did I make the mistake of buying a car so soon? Probably, I had it in my heart to continue giving my kids the comfort that they had back home. If there was any personal consolation, I felt it was the only luxury I can afford to assuage my bruised ego of having to come over and have nothing, only to ❱❱ PAGE 40 So, What Other
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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 24
FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS:
Cindy Lapeña
CHARLOTTETOWN, PE, CANADA—Filipina-Canadian Cindy Lapeña recently released her first novel, The Lost Amulets, online through Amazon and CreateSpace in both paperback and digital versions. The novel is an exciting and masterful fantasy written for young adults but sure to appeal to all ages, in the same way J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series did. Already, she is being compared to best-selling authors Lloyd Alexander and Cornelia Funke. The Lost Amulets is the sto-
ry of four teenagers who are drawn into the magical world of Dapit-adlaw, where mythological and supernatural beings live. They join a party of Littlefolk and Otherfolk, consisting of dwarves, elves, gnomes, and a kapre to seek lost amulets that are instrumental in the controlling natural elements so that they can restore some balance to nature. Their adventure takes them all over the islands of Dapit-adlaw, where they encounter other supernatural beings and mythical creatures, in-
...your tone and content reminded me of the Lloyd Alexander books. I’ve always been big on folklore and mythology from around the world, so this was fun to read...I liked this very much. You have all the pieces in place for an epic bestseller for your target audience. It’s already better than Cornelia Funke, and she sells like hot cakes.” PAUL BOWERSOX, PENNSYLVANIA
cluding aswang, sigbin, buwaya, siyokoy, kataw, and more. What makes The Lost Amulets an important and significant addition to the corpus of Philippine Literature is how it integrates classical and ancient Philippine myths into an urban fantasy adventure. It introduces a vital aspect of Philippine culture to the world and presents it in a thoroughly enjoyable manner. It is a refreshingly new concept that is more than welcome as it provides a unique replacement for the tiresome vampires, zombies, and werewolves that are the current mainstay of urban fantasies. The Lost Amulets is the first book in Cindy’s upcoming trilogy, The Amulets of Panagaea. Besides being a first-time novelist, Cindy Lapeña is also a past-winner of the prestigious Carlos Palanca National Awards for Literature. She received the 3rd place award for a full-length play in English in 2007, her first entry to the annual Awards. She is the author of the reference series 101 Fun
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Games, Activities, and Projects for English Classes (also avail-
❱❱ PAGE 39 Cindy Lapeña
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
25
Do they know it’s Christmas? Anatomy of a Volunteer BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer “PIRATES?!? WHERE? I don’t like pirates, they scare me!” exclaimed the tall, slender man garbed head-to-toe ala Captain Jack Sparrow, as he swaggered alongside a passer-by who had made the mistake of captioning the obvious: “Look, pirates!” The passer-by laughs nervously as Captain Jack swaggers on, arm around the wary victim’s shoulder. Some other pirates— the statuesque flag-wielding female Captain of the ship, and her sword-brandishing, brawny shipmate—look on, amused, but hardly surprised. Captain Jack is, after all, rather infamous for his antics; whether portrayed on-screen by a Hollywood heartthrob, or cosplayed off-screen by Manila’s favorite swashbuckler. Stormtroopers from the Empire mill around the walkway; hardly menacing, and every bit a stunning sight, clad in full armour. Without even trying, they command awe-inspired stares from people nearby and further down the strip mall. Fans of the syndicated series show up cloaked in Jedi robes, light sabers in hand. Batman joins the melee, all suited up and breathtaking in inimitable Dark Knight flair. Kids stop, tug at his cape, wave in wide-eyed, gaping-mouthed wonder. Mommies fawn all over him. Some daddies do, too. I busy myself with my large roll of tickets stubs and donation can (an empty Pringles canister, wrapped in gold foil), which has seen its share of madness and merry mayhem, in the name of charity. Others hold up small whiteboards with hurriedly-scribbled messages, encouraging people to get involved. The scene is surreal, to say the least. It would seem like,
but is not, something out of a Comic Convention or the opening gimmick of a new blockbuster movie. Nor is it a mall promotion to drum up interest in the specialty store which so kindly played host to us that day; no one was paid to participate, costumed or otherwise. This surreal snippet is all in the name of putting the FUN in FUNdraising, for an awesome cause: Photo op with pirates, Stormtroopers and Batman, for a minimum donation. The day’s beneficiaries: Those devastated by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). The cast and crew: Volunteers from special interest groups, Philippine Outpost of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers (part of the internationally recognized Stromtroopers 501st Legion) and The Black Pearl Philippines; and friends of these groups, all freely lending a hand. Volunteerism is not only gratifying; it can also prove very enjoyable. I think back to the times I have volunteered my time with these groups in particular: For instance, Rockeoke (a version of Karaoke, singing with a live band) night to raise money for the children’s ward (specifically, the in-hospital school) at the Philippine General Hospital. Things got rowdy, a tad raunchy, and a whole lot offkey and off-colour. But the end somehow justified the means: Money was raised to help in the purchase of much-needed medicine, Christmas care packages, and Christmas party necessities for sick and recovering children. I look forward to giving of my time and talent once more, as this year’s pre-Christmas party with the kids and volunteers of The Jolly Roger Rogers (a joint project of the Black Pearl Philippines and the Philippine Outpost of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers) rolls around. This, for me, is the herald of Christ-
Captain Jack brings holiday cheer to the Philippine General Hospital’s Children’s Ward at the pre-Christmas party in 2010. PHOTO BY MARK ESCAY
The Jolly Roger Roger’s group of volunteers pose with the children after the 2012 pre-Christmas program at the Philippine General Hospital. PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN KUNAWICZ
mas. Grinch that I generally am on the red and green holiday, I find that I cannot help but be contaminated by the spirit of the season whenever we spend time with the kids. The old adage holds true: As you give, so shall you receive—and this is one of the many wondrous joys of volunteering. Volunteering enlarges your heart. It’s true—you are a bigger-hearted, better, more humane human because of it. Whether a fun activity, or when things take a more serious and not-so-fun turn. I think back to the times that were not quite as enjoyable; the times that were more blood, sweat, and tears than fun. The times you sometimes ask your-
self “Now why did I sign up for this???” Like the time I joined a relief operations team to the lahar-covered areas of Pampanga, shortly after the eruption of Pinatubo volcano in the 1990’s. The need was truly overwhelming. I remember the mission trip to an impoverished part of Samar, specifically to their public hospital; also in the 1990’s. The sights, smells, and sounds almost proved too much. Almost. More recently, in 2012, on one of the Jolly Roger’s preChristmas visits, a child passed away; too sick to fight another day. And it happened right in our midst. We had just finished handing out stuffed toys to the kids when the Reaper came. We took turns, ducking out of
the room as necessary, to give way to the tears that couldn’t be stopped. What keeps you volunteering beyond the fun? What makes you stay, despite the inconvenience and slightly more frequent than occasional heartache? For me, it’s the knowledge that I have somehow made a difference in someone else’s life. And as I give of myself, I am always—ALWAYS—enriched in return. Successful volunteerism is perhaps founded on the realization that—and forgive the cheese—”no man is an island.” People are not designed to live disconnected from each other; the world is a collective of individual people scattered across its lands, and our success as a whole is determined by the actions of each. Whether you subscribe to six degrees of separation, the ancient Chinese and Japanese Red Thread of Destiny, the butterfly effect in chaos theory, biblical teachings, Eastern mysticism, Buddhism, or whatnot, the belief in humanity’s inter-connectedness is virtually universal. Knowing we are connected; a fabric intertwined, and knowing that our actions do make a difference—these are the foundations of volunteerism. The key that turns the machinery is compassion. And—I have proven this many times over—as you take that step to give of yourself, to make a difference, your compassion level increases exponentially. I cannot explain it, so don’t ask me to. It’s one of those mysterious inner workings of the cosmos, I suppose. Sort of like microwave technology and fax machines; but decidedly more magical. So go ahead, get off your tushy and volunteer. I dare you. Allow yourself to become an agent of change. Who knows, this may very well be among the best things to happen to you. I leave you with the words of the Lorax, as written by the amazing Dr. Seuss: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ■
Do they know it’s Christmas?
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 26
Some practical Do’s and It’s the Thought that Counts Don’ts of volunteering BY CHING DEE Philippine Canadian Inquirer
BY ANGIE DUARTE Philippine Canadian Inquirer
about you.” 5. DO make yourself useful. DON’T expect others to wait on you. 6. DO demonstrate reliability. Show up, and show up on time. DON’T flake out on the responsibilities and tasks for which you signed up. This could really make a mess of things, and create problems for the organizing group. 7. DO realize that you are a volunteer, not a slave. Give 100% of yourself, but DON’T allow other to take advantage of you, either. 8. DO know your limits. You are of no use to anyone sick or injured. 9. DO pass knowledge on to other people. Re-create yourself in a new volunteer, if you are the more seasoned one. This way, the work continues. 10. DO respect the chain of command. DON’T be a renegade volunteer, or assume that because you aren’t getting paid you can do as you please. ■
1. DO know what you are getting yourself into. DON’T be impulsive and over commit, or get involved ins something you know nothing about. 2. DO try to find something that is you are cut-out for; something that lines up with your interests, character, and passions. That way, you are more likely to stay committed. For instance. DON’T volunteer your time at an animal shelter if you are afraid of or allergic to animals. 3. DO prepare. Know the tasks at hand, skills required, and special training, if any. Read up on the organization, and the guidelines. DON’T be a burden to others by knowing nothing, or coming unprepared, and then expecting them to help you out. 4. DO have the right attitude. DON’T be a grumbling volunteer, and DON’T make it “all
LET’S BE honest, to say that these are hard times is an understatement. The holiday season is almost synonymous to gift giving, monito monita, and Christmas parties. But roughly two weeks ago, the world’s strongest typhoon in the last couple of decades ravaged through the central islands of Visayas. Super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ (international name ‘Haiyan’) left tens of millions of people homeless and mourning the death of their loved ones. Over 5,000 people lost their lives and the death toll is still rising. Damages in over 40 municipalities has reached almost P600 billion and again, authorities are still surveying the extent of damages so the amount may still rise. All over social media, you will find people who are abstaining from posting their selfies, sacrificially letting their meals undocumented on Instagram, foregoing the immortalization of their ‘OOTD’ (outfit of the
day) on lookbook or Tumblr. Such “concerns” are shamefully trivial compared to what our fellow Filipinos have gone through—and are still going through—in Visayas. As social media helps spread awareness of the almost lost art of delicadeza and discretion, finding an appropriate gift this
holiday season just got a little bit more challenging. Is it too extravagant? Am I being insensitive? Is it too brazen? Well, worry no more. Here are some tips to help you fulfill your gift-giving duties this Christmas without being a total jerk about it. ❱❱ PAGE 31 It’s the thought
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27 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
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PART 2
THE VISION OF PANDEMONIUM This ministry was given to me by the Father when I was still in high school. I saw a vision, a vision that is now happening in my life. I was 14 years old at that time. I woke up, soaked in sweat, because of fear of what I had seen. In my vision, I saw a light from heaven growing brighter and brighter until I saw a hand. I don’t know whose hand it was, but it was very, very bright. And then I saw the earth, everyone was running in despair. I did not know where they were headed, they were really in panic. Everything was in chaos. The house that I lived in when I was in high school was in Parang, Cotabato. In front of our house were the depots of fuel companies like Shell, Esso, Caltex, Mobil; they are very huge reservoirs of gasoline. In my vision, I saw all of these explode and then the oil and gasoline spilled forth. So this was the reason why people were running everywhere—to escape the fire. Their only escape was the beach, but when they got to the beach, the gasoline had already flowed there because even the water was flaming. When the people emerged, I could see that their heads were burnt. And then they would dive into the water again,
and then re-emerge. And on dry land, the people were still being chased by the fire. It was very dreadful. I saw children who were being carried, and I saw people carrying chickens in their arms, they kept on running everywhere without knowing where to go. In my terror I thought that it was real, and when I woke up I was sweating profusely. I did not understand what I had seen. The next night, I saw the same vision; only it was worse than the first. I saw the sky spinning like clouds, or like a rolled mat, but it was on fire. And then when I looked, I no longer saw Parang, Cotabato; what I saw was no longer just the locality, but suddenly, in an instant, I saw the whole world and the people were running. I knew it was a global chaos because there were different faces, there were different races—there were Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos; there were white, black—all were in chaos. They ran everywhere, and were being chased by the wind, the fire, and if not fire, by water. And then I saw the verse which I memorized. I was not yet a Bible School student then, I was only in high school. The verse that I memorized in my vision was: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
Watch
Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy on Gospel of the Kingdom aired all over Canada on JoyTV
from 5AM-8AM (Vancouver time) 8AM-11AM (Toronto time) 8PM-11PM (Philippine time) Vancouver, Victoria and Fraser Valley Region (Channel 10 in Vancouver & Channel 7 in Victoria) Toronto, Southern Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador (Channel 11 in Winnipeg & via Rogers Digital Cable TV on their local channel 173) JoyTV is also available via Digital TV, visit: Novus (www.novusnow.ca) Shaw (www.shaw.ca) Telus (www.telus.com)
blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come.” I memorized it. When I woke up, again, I was sweating heavily. But I set it aside this dream in my mind as I continued my studies, but I never forgot that vision. And then, of course, my classmates and I, we made plans for our ambitions and where we were going after high school. To make the story short, I did not see myself going to secular college, but if you have a calling from God, sometimes you do not know what is happening until
it is fulfilled in your life. I found myself going not to a non-secular college, but to Bible College. The training was not easy—studying the Bible—until I encountered the verse which I had memorized. It was Acts 2:20-21: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord Wshall be saved. (To be continued next week)
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For inquiries, CALL: Bro Mario Baluyo: 514 -652- 2099 Sis Liza Degamo: 514-585-9428
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Inkster Hall # 1833 Unit 14 Inskter Mall, Winnipeg Manitoba For inquiries, CALL: Sis Abigail Nituda: 778-926-2991
Listen to CKJS Am Radio, 8PM-9PM every Sunday
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Every Sunday at 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Midweek Bible Study: at 6:00 PM
KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST, TNAEN Hall 13063 Old Yale Road Surrey, British Columbia VT3 3C3, CANADA For Inquiries, CALL: TOLL FREE NO. 604-585-2991 Bro. Dindo Makiling: 778-926-1435 Sis. Sonia Jordan: 604-771-0449 Sis. Glenda Padilla: 604-765-1768 Sis. Arlene Rillon: 778-893-2227
FREE ADMISSION! If you have been blessed by this message, or if you have any questions, comments and prayer requests, you may reach The Kingdom of Jesus Christ through:
Email: info@kingdomofjesuschrist.org www.facebook.com/ApolloQuiboloy www.twitter.com/PastorACQ www.youtube.com/sonshinemedia www.smni.com www.kingdomofjesuschrist.org Canada Toll Free: 1-888-582-3514 Winnipeg: 204-951-1842 Vancouver: 604-727-8025 Toronto: 647-867-1970
Seen & Scenes
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 28
LOVE WITHOU
Nov. 24, 2013 – The “ event was be held at th Centre in Richmond. T for the victims of typho organized by Fairchild TV Inc., Juan Radio and the Victims of typhoon Russian Canadian grou
“With this heartbreakin ed typhoon, it is our w nos,” Fairchild Media G
Aberdeen Centre visito song and dance numb Media Group’s TV new Emily Ng, DJ’s Mandy oFM96.1 DJ Socorro “ Boy Masakayan and Ju the show.
Cash and cheques coll the typhoon victims th Charities, a registered Association of Medical sent some volunteer d pines.
PHILIPPINE CUISINE RAISED DONATIONS FOR THE TYPHOON VICTIMS On November 18th, the Fil-Can employees at Cloverdale Paint hosted a potluck lunch of mostly Filipino dishes to raise funds for the typhoon victims in the Philippines. Several popular Philippine dishes like adobo, menudo, embutido, caldereta, fresh lumpia, buko pandan, leche flan were featured and served ala fiesta style. More than just a fund raising activity, the Filipino staff enjoyed sharing the style of cooking and the food associated with the Philippine cuisine as it evolved over many centuries from Malay, Spanish, Chinese and American influences. In true Cloverdale Paint spirit and through the concerted efforts and generosity of our employees the donations are still pouring in. The company will match the funds raised to up to $2,000 and as the donations will be coursed through Red Cross, the Provincial Government will also match the total Cloverdale Paint donations.
For photo submissions, please email info@canadianinquirer.net. www.canadianinquirer.net
Seen & Scenes
29 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
TORONTO FUNDRAISING
UT BORDERS
Love Without Borders “ Free Concert he Central Atrium of the Aberdeen The event, which aimed to raise funds oon Haiyan in the Philippine, was Media group, Aberdeen Centre, Juan d Times Tel together with Friends of n Haiyan ( Filipino, Chinese, Latinos and up).
ng news affected by this unprecedentway of supporting and helping the FilipiGroup President Joe Chan said.
ors enjoyed a 3- hour multi-cultural bers from Filipino local artists. Fairchild ws anchor Clement Tang, program host Chan and Danny Lau plus Juan Radi“Babes” Newland and segment host uanTV host Andrei Endique emceed
THANK YOU CA
Canada Prime Minister Stephen Harper visit the relief operation at Our Lady Assumption Church with Senator Jun Enverga and Fr. Ben Ebcas.
LBC Fundraising Drive. Headed by LBC Canada Manager Raffy Policarpio (Free Boxes and Shipment).
lected at the event were donated to hrough Canadian Red Cross and Rose non-profit group offering aids to the l Doctors in Asia (AMDA) which has doctors on ground already in the PhilipVolunteers and Donors filled the Community Hall of Our Lady of Assumption Church in Toronto during relief drive
PM HARPER TRAVELS TO TORONTO TO ANNOUNCE FURTHER CANADIAN SUPPORT FOR THE PHILIPPINES Tobias Enverga, Jr. briefs Prime Minister Stephen Harper before the latter meets with the Filipino Canadian community at the Our Lady of Assumption Parish in Toronto and where the Prime Minister announced significant additional support of $15 million for emergency relief activities in the Philippines. The amount basically quadruples the initial $5 M announced by the government, in addition to other ways Canada is helping as well. Photo by PMO/Jill Thompson
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NADA !
Volunteers repacking goods and clothing for the Yolanda relief drive at Our Lady of Assumption Church in Toronto.
World Vision Fundraising drive in Mississauga Gateway Community Center in cooperation by Pastor Julius Tiangson and AFCA group headed by Al Tupe.
Canada MP Adler, MP Carmichael, MP Roxanne James visit the Relief Operation OLA accompanied by Rosemer Enverga. Fr. Ben Ebcas coordinated the Drive. Photos by Joe Damasco-PCI Toronto
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 30
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Do they know it’s Christmas?
31 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
It’s the thought... ❰❰ 26
Pay it forward
Donate some money or goods in someone’s name. Let them feel the joy of reaching out, especially in these trying times. An easy way to donate cash on someone’s behalf is to purchase “donation” coupons from group buying stores online. These coupons can be bought and given as gifts. You can give the acknowledgement receipt to the person you named the donation/s after. Green Piece
Choose environmentally friendly gifts, indigenous products, and/or locally manufactured goods. This is a great way
to go because there is a myriad of choices, so you can still find a gift that matches your loved one’s personality. From all-organic cosmetics to locally woven fabric and 100% recycled paper, you will never run out of gifts to choose from. Your choice to go all-natural and local shows that you care about the environment and your support for Philippine products. Just don’t forget to choose an item that matches the recipient’s preferences. Avoid going over the top (and don’t flaunt it)
Thinking of buying the new iPad Air for your special someone? Considering getting your
brother a new smartphone? Getting your son a new car? A stunning pair of diamond earrings for mom? These are all good and harmless, but in these times perhaps flaunting such borderline-excessive possessions (hashtag: FirstWorldGifts) can wait until… never. And please, if your parents get you that 16GB iPad 4, don’t go on Facebook or Twitter complaining, “I was expecting at least 64GB” or “Super disappointed. I thought it’s iPad Air. :(“ Millions of Filipinos in Visayas don’t have homes, jobs, and even have clean drinking water. They also lost their families. Are you still going to com-
plain for getting less capacity on your gadget?
Panama, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican and Vietnam. The three international organizations are the United Nations Children’s Fund, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Arab Gulf Fund for UN Development. Add Lions International, Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis and Jaycees. I know 1.3 million strong Lions gave $500,000 initially. “I continue to be struck by the resiliency of the Filipino people, “ said an undersecretary of the United Nations. I agree. We had countless typhoons or storms. An average of 20 a year. So we are hospitable even to typhoons. How about volcanic eruptions, Taal, Mayon, Pinatubo? The Philippines is also along the line of fire for earthquakes. Hopefully, they should
not come more often. Knock on wood. That is why I read lately that the Philippines is number three in the worst places to live in, behind Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific. Because of the recent calamities like the earthquake in Bohol and super typhoon Yolanda path’s of Tacloban, Catbalogan, Ormoc, Cebu, Iloilo, Roxas City, Mindoro and Palawan plus the several ones of old, the mettle of the Filipino is tested and his resiliency measured. Add to that the experience of the Filipino during WWII. The three years of Japanese occupation was called Three Godless years (Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos). By the way, the ships that came to Tacloban, including the Japanese Self-Defense destroyers, were reminiscent of the Battle of Philippine Sea, before the landing of MacArthur forces in 1944. Let us then thank ourselves to be in the Filipino diaspora.
Give the gift of time and volunteer together
Got a weekend or a day to spare? Volunteer together for “Oplan Hatid,” where volunteer drivers will be chauffeurs for a day. As thousands of our kababayans from Visayas fly to Metro Manila via C130, they need transportation from Villamor Airbase to get to their relatives. You can also gather your family and friends and volunteer as repackers and staff in assembling relief goods to be sent to Visayas. Giant TV networks have foundations that send aid and they’re always in need of
kindhearted volunteers who would give their time and sweat in order to make the lives of people in Visayas a little better. See, gifts are great. As Jack Donaghy once said, “gift giving is the purest expression of friendship.” So, more often than not, at least once a year we give ourselves the permission to be a little bit more extravagant when it comes to buying gifts for friends and loved ones. But gifts can be more meaningful without having to break the bank and without having to be “that guy.” This season of giving, let’s give back by honoring the lives of those who passed away and by helping out the survivors in any way we can. ■
NO FEAR NOR FAVOR
Angry Nature BY BEN ONGOCO Remember Yoling, the typhoon that precipitated the declaration of Martial Law in 1972? Well, she became a full blown lady, Yolanda, that packed winds of 215 kilometers per hour or a category 5 typhoon just right before Christmas season. It is believed to be the strongest wind that hit the Earth. We cannot really violate the law of nature. Despite efforts to reduce the risk by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), the windy monster wrought havoc to more than four million residents in Central Philippines from Samar-Leyte area of Eastern Visayas through northern Cebu and Panay provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan and Antique exiting via Mindoro and Palawan. At this writing, some 5,000 died and an estimated 14 billion pesos in properties were destroyed. In fairness to PNoy, Mar Roxas and other Cabinet officials who are also battered by Yolanda-size criticism, the magnitude of the disaster/force of nature is too overwhelming to prevent the toll. I am not applying to be an apologist in Malacanang. Just rationalizing. Of course in a democracy, there is always politics. Since the dawn of civiliza-
tion, disasters came and went. Geologists and anthropologists analyzed the strata of earth formation and they could tell history that happened some years before recorded time. They used carbon dating for the fossils recovered. That is beyond my comprehension. So calamities and disasters were born with men. We do not know how many volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes and typhoons or hurricanes devastated the Earth during ancient time. We know from fact or folklore that Atlantis sank in the Atlantic Ocean, and other islands emerged from the sea. A few days ago in Midwest USA, tornadoes at 200MPH flattened some homes and brought casualties. The US, UK, Japan and other developed countries like China or Russia are neither free of natural disasters. But because of their stronger economies, they can easily stand back on their feet again. But poor countries like Haiti or the Philippines may not recover that easy. I am happy that 43 nations are extending help to the country, such as, Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Hungry, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
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Twelve million emigrants, thus, make lesser users of the clogged roads, polluters of the environment, air and water consumers and competitors for business and social opportunities. With typhoon Yolanda (that name now retired), the Philippine experience became the wake-up call for weather scientists to do something, anything—and for world leaders to define their position. According to the Durban Platform agreed upon in 2011, governments are supposed to submit carbon emissions reduction plans by 2015, which will then be implemented beginning in 2020. It is expected that global warming will tow the iceberg and increase the temperature by 2 degrees Celsius. Low laying areas will be inundated. Scientists believe that gas emissions form hot air and invite hurricanes or typhoons by the warm ❱❱ PAGE 35 Angry Nature
Do they know it’s Christmas?
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 32
Vancouver-based mining company pledges $1 Million to Typhoon Haiyan Relief BY SUZETTE HERNANDEZ IN LIGHT of Typhoon Haiyan, news of Filipino communities around the world coming together to help victims has been increasing. Churches such as the South Vancouver Community Church (SVCC), comprised predominantly of Filipinos, have been active in collecting funds and canned goods since the typhoon hit the Philippines. In partnership with Free Methodist Churches located in Ormoc, Iloilo, and Tacloban in the Philippines, SVCC is using one hundred percent of all donations to directly supply goods and funds to those who have lost their homes and are living without any access to basic necessities. What has not been heard of as often, is news of corporations coming forward to make a difference and contribute towards the restoration of disaster-stricken communities in the Philippines. Perhaps such corporations prefer their anonymity. This would be the case for Vancouver based B2Gold Corp. whose primary business is in gold production. B2Gold operates 3 mines; one in Masbate, Philippines and the other two in Nicaragua, Limon and La Libertad. The company’s recent press release indicated that B2Gold has allocated a total of $1 million to the cause, half of which will be used in support of immediate rescue
and relief efforts and the remainder going towards future reconstruction needs. This is in addition to the $13,000,000 budgeted for their global corporate social responsibility programs budgeted for 2013 as well as the millions of dollars allocated to social programs since the company’s inception in 2007, and throughout the history of its predecessor company Bema Gold Corp. With a strong history of social responsibility, CEO Clive Johnson and his management team see helping the local communities not as a requirement, but an opportunity. Since acquiring the Masbate Mine in January of this year, B2Gold has maintained strong relationships with local governments and religious groups, providing an opportunity to work together to help the local communities by not only providing aid, but also jobs, education and other opportunities that may not have been available otherwise. Support from B2Gold Corp., the Canadian Red Cross and the Government of Canada will allow relief efforts to truly impact the areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan and in a time where every dollar counts, the future of the areas affected looks brighter with every donation made. The following photographs were taken last week in Ormoc and Tacloban Courtesy of Pastor Allan and Naomi Prochina from Free Methodist church Cebu:
Coconut trees at Palompon, Leyte and nearby town of Isabel, Villaba, and Tabango can no longer be harvested for copra purposes, rendering millions of farmers at the Leyte region homeless and jobless. PHOTOS BY RAOUL ESPERAS
Children of Tabango, Leyte crosses the damaged electric post and cable still not cleared more than a week after Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the area. The entire area still has no electricity.
The office of the Vice Mayor of Palompon, Leyte damaged after the roof of the town hall was swept away by Super Typhoon Yolanda.
Residents of Tabango, Leyte patiently charge their cellphones and electronic gadgets as power supply was totally cut off from the entire Leyte province after Yolanda struck.
A motorist and some passers-by carefully manoeuvre the road at Palompon, Leyte as most of the electric posts and cables still pose danger.
A boy residing at Tabango, Leyte innocently plays above an uprooted tree which has destroyed the house below it.
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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
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Entertainment
FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT, CANADA!
What Typhoon Haiyan has meant to Pinoy-Canadians in B.C. BY SOCORROBABES NEWLAND
AS DEADLY Typhoon Haiyan wreaks havoc in the Philippines where thousands are feared dead and damages to properties could run to the tune of billions of dollars, Filipinos in Vancouver mounted the biggest number of fundraising shows for the victims. For once, Filipinos in British Columbia have never been so united for one sole purpose. Yes. Not until the deafening call to raise funds to alleviate sufferings of Typhoon Yolanda (“Haiyan”) victims has reverberated all over the globe. After all, the category-five storm is already the strongest this year; and according to weather experts, it could be the biggest to have ever made landfall. Millions of people have been evacuated as winds measuring up to 195mph tore down power lines and left entire municipalities and cities in total darkness. For those who lived to tell their story, it felt like the last day of the world’s existence befell upon them. Filipino-Canadian community groups took turns in organizing various benefit concerts top-billed by Lower Mainland’s stellar lineup of local perform-
ers. Amongst them are OPM legend Ms Joey Albert and her Manila Band; artists of Powerhouse Station Entertainment that include two ABS-CBN TFCkat Canada Grand Champions—Russel Figueroa (2012) and Ana Jenessa Escabarte (2013); pop R&B recording artists & 2013 Variety’s Got Talent Champion Jerrica Santos; Tina Turner Tribute Artist Ms. Luisa Marshall; Janice Lozano; Jojo Quimpo; former lone female lead vocalist of Philippine Multi-ALIW Awardee group REtroSPECT and many more. As if those weren’t enough, various ethnicities (Indo-Canadians, Chinese, etc.) generously supported these fundraisers that featured Filipino performers. And most if not all were packed to the brim. After all, MUSIC is the universal language of mankind. And in this case, it is the great “uniter”. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else have found in common.
Goldie
Jerrica Santos
Russel Figueroa and Ana Jenessa Escabarte
Ms. Joey Albert
Jojo Quimpo, Rich Abarquez, the representative from Shaugnessy Elementary School and Janice Lozano
Tatay Tom Avendano, Maryanne Mandap and Deputy Consul General Anton Mandap
Miss B has daily programs on Juan Radio FM96.1 (Mon-Fri 10am-11am | Sat 11am-3pm) & AM1470 (Sun 9pm-10pm). Download Fairchild Radio App and follow PST / Email: babescastronewland@gmail.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JUAN RADIO’S FREDDIE BAGUNU AND ANGELO SIGLOS
Hosts, performers and guests
Luisa Marshall
Entertainment
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 34
Ariella turns 25, set Pinoys star in ‘Miss Saigon’ revival to start a fundraiser BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer
BY ARMIN P. ADINA Philippine Daily Inquirer THIRD RUNNER-UP Miss Universe 2013 Ariella Arida marks her 25th birth anniversary today by launching a fundraiser for the victims of “Yolanda.” Arida, a chemistry graduate from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños, told the INQUIRER that the initial donation would come from her own pocket, part of her $1,000 prize money. With 2013 Miss Supranational Mutya Johanna Datul, Arida handed over an P11million check from Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) to the ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya Foundation during the treelighting ceremonies at the Araneta Center in Quezon City. “I’d like to go to [Tacloban] when the situation improves,” Arida told INQUIRER at her welcome press conference at the Gloria Maris in Gateway Mall. In the middle of the competition in Moscow recently, Arida said, she was monitoring the Philippine situation. “I learned via Facebook that people in an evacuation center were washed away,” she said. “I exclaimed ‘Oh my gosh!’ so loudly that [my roommate]
Risa (Santos, Miss Canada) wondered what was happening.” She said the situation “gave more sense” to her quest. She was surprised when pageant host Thomas Roberts announced that the pageant was being dedicated to typhoon victims in the Philippines and Vietnam. Arida said, “We were rehearsing daily, but no such announcements were made until pageant night.” Paula Shugart, Miss Universe Organization president, was always asking how her family was doing in the Philippines, Arida related. “I could really feel everyone’s concern,” she said. “That intensified my determination. I said earlier that I was competing for the country. The situation made the fight much more meaningful.” She is grateful for her achievement. “I thank God for this; it truly is a blessing. I hope it made my countrymen happy,” Arida said. “I pray that it gave them hope.” Her fourth-place finish sustained the Philippines’ presence in the pageant’s Top 5 for the fourth straight year. Venus Raj was fifth in 2010, Shamcey Supsup placed fourth in 2011 and Janine Tugonon finished second last year. ■
Ariella Arida PHOTO BY GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
THE FIRST message of congratulations that Rachelle Ann Go received was from Lea Salonga. Go, producer Cameron Mackintosh announced in an interview with British media, had won the role of Gigi in the West End revival of “Miss Saigon,” the same production that catapulted Salonga to international stardom in 1989 when she played the lead character, Kim. Salonga’s Twitter message came way ahead of everyone else’s, Go told the INQUIRER in a phone interview: “It was the first thing I saw when I woke up. I feel pressured but I am also excited about this.” Go will join another homegrown talent, Jon Jon Briones, who has been cast as The Engineer, and Filipino-American Eva Noblezada, 17, from North Carolina, who bagged the lead role. Along with Salonga, Briones was part of the original West End cast of “Miss Saigon.” He played The Engineer in Germany as well as in the production’s tours around the United States, United Kingdom and Asia. He was also in the musical’s Philippine staging in 2000. Worldwide search
As they did 24 years ago, Filipinos landed major roles after a worldwide search for cast members in the Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil musical, which will be revived in West End in May 2014. “It’s heartwarming ... Twenty four years ago, Miss Lea and other Filipinos made it. Now, they are tapping Filipinos again,” said Go. Agreed Salonga: “Three Filipinos in principal roles. What can I say? We’re amazing.” She hoped this bit of good news would lift the spirits of Filipinos still reeling from the devastation of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.” “Any piece of good news is a source of inspiration.” A few more Filipinos in the cast are expected to be announced in the coming days. Go said: “We hope to give Filipinos one reason to smile in these trying times. We hope to make them proud.” Go, now 27, has been joining amateur singing contests since she was 11 years old and topped www.canadianinquirer.net
Rachelle Ann Go.
the reality talent show “Search for a Star” in 2004. Reluctant
Although a veteran of singing competitions, she was initially reluctant to join the “Miss Saigon” auditions in Manila in November 2012 despite encouragement from friends, including theater director Bobby Garcia. Garcia had directed Go in two local productions of Disney plays: “Little Mermaid” and “Tarzan.” Said Go: “I don’t have much theater experience compared to others. I played sweet girls in my previous plays. In ‘Miss Saigon,’ the roles would be more daring.” And then Salonga sent her a private message on Twitter: “Why don’t you audition? You won’t lose anything if you try.” Explaining her message, Salonga said: “I saw her in ‘Little Mermaid’ and she glowed onstage. I knew she’d do well in the ‘Miss Saigon’ audition.” Salonga’s words finally convinced Go to try her luck. Almost a year after, she thought she didn’t make it “since others had already received word about further tryouts” and she hadn’t. Final casting call
Then came the e-mail about the final casting call in London early this month. During the final audition, Go was asked the make-or-break question. “They explained that I was not the right age for Kim ... but would I be interested in Gigi? I said yes right away,” she recalled. “I don’t care if the role is big or small. I don’t even care about the talent fee. I just want to be part of the production because I know it will lead to more opportunities and help me grow as an artist.” Salonga told Go the train-
ing she’d get in “Miss Saigon” would be “priceless.” Singer-actress Isay Alvarez, who originally played Gigi in the 1989 production, also sent Go a congratulatory message. “Miss Isay said I would enjoy my stay in London,” said Go, who will stay in London for a year. “I will be living alone, far from my family,” she said. “I will have to take the train on my own. I will have to learn how to cook and do the laundry. I’ll learn to be independent.” Dance lessons
First thing on Go’s to-do list? Hit the gym. “I need to be fit to wear a bikini. I plan to do cardio,” she said. She also plans to take dance lessons, as advised by the show’s choreographer. “I’ll enroll in jazz classes,” Go said, adding that rehearsals will begin in March. According to reports, Noblezada is the niece of Annette Calud, who was part of the original Broadway cast of “Miss Saigon,” along with Salonga, in 1991. Calud was also in the cast of “Sesame Street.” On her Google account, Noblezada is described as a student of Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as a “musical theater” aficionado and a “‘Smash’ fanatic.” “Smash” was a US TV series on the making of a Broadway musical. Last July, the Filipino-American student was among five runners-up in the 5th National High School Musical Theater Awards and received a $2,500 scholarship. On her Facebook page, Noblezada’s aunt Calud described her as “my stellar niece ... beautiful, talented, intelligent, funny, with a good dose of humility.” ■
Entertainment
35 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Twice ‘X’-rated film tops Cinema One fest BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer IN HIS ACCEPTANCE speech at the Cinema One Originals Film Festival awards, filmmaker Jet Leyco sarcastically dedicated the (Currents section) best film triumph of his entry, “Bukas Na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na,” to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. That’s because the film almost got slapped with an “X” rating (it eventually got an “R18”). “We got an ‘X’ in the first and second reviews,” Leyco told the INQUIRER. “We explained our intention and [the board] allowed us to practice self regulation. We had no time to reedit, so we just adjusted the projection of that particular scene.” “Bukas” also won best screenplay for Leyco and novelist Norman Wilwayco. “The entire team’s efforts paid off,” said the director. “Our kind of cinema was recognized, particularly how we view history and politics.” Jury prize
Arnel Mardoquio’s “Riddles of My Homecoming” won jury prize and four other trophies: best director, music (Gauss Obenza), production design (Perry Dizon) and cinematography (Arnel Barbarona, Bordie Carillo and Coi Nacario) in the Currents section. (Currents section entries each received a P1-million grant; in the other section, Cinema One Plus, the movies received P2 million each.) Davao-based Mardoquio lauded Cinema One for sup-
porting regional cinema. “Filmmakers from the provinces have a say in this fest.” Still in the Currents section, the best sound award went to Mikko Quizon for Whammy Alcazaren’s “Islands”; best editing to Dempster Samarista for Ian Loreños’ youth thriller, “Saturday Night Chills.” “Night Chills” also won acting prizes for ABS-CBN heartthrobs: Rayver Cruz, Matteo Guidicelli and Joseph Marco shared best actor honors; David Chua, best supporting actor. Chua saw the unexpected win as a reward for his perseverance. “I was jobless for years,” he said. “The award tells me I can make it in this business.” Dream come true
Guidicelli admitted: “It’s a dream come true. I often won in car races but I never thought I’d ever get an acting award.” Cruz similarly expressed elation. “It’s my first acting award. I’ll display it in my room to remind me to always work hard.” Cinema One is ABS-CBN’s cable channel dedicated to Filipino movies. The female stars of Ralston Jover’s “Bendor” topped the tilt: Newcomer Anna Luna won best supporting actress; veteran Vivian Velez, best actress. Luna’s trophy will be displayed in her bedroom, too, “so it will be the last thing I see before I sleep and the first thing I see when I wake up.” Velez’s trophy will go on top of her piano. “This is surreal,” she said. “After so many years… and this is my first indie, a good comeback movie for me. The role is so different, raw and un-
Angry Nature... water. Sorry to say that some quarters do not believe it (led by the GOP and Tea Party leaders). Back to Visayas: Can the decision of the Philippine Supreme Court declaring PDAF unconstitutional affect the recovery of the Congressional districts affected? I do not understand, Pork Barrel (PDAF) was there since the birth of the Republic in 1946 or even during the Commonwealth. Implementation of the projects will be concentrated in the hands of the ❰❰ 31
central government and may leave the countryside unnoticed. Safeguards should have been instituted instead. In Houston, Filipinos are all agog about helping their countrymen. PCCI was ahead in leading the movement. FACOST 501(c)3 IRS privilege lapsed but was reapplied. It needs a fiscal agent for that. But as long as it will go to the intended beneficiaries, it is okay. But it is always nice to have transparency and pinpointing responsibility. As a
“BUKAS Na Lang Sapagkat Gabi Na” team, led by Jet Leyco (third from right) receives the best picture (Currents) award. PHOTO FROM INQUIRER.NET
glamorous.” Veterans hogged the acting prizes in the Plus section as well. Director Peque Gallaga won best supporting actor for Keith Sicat’s “Woman of the Ruins.” “I’m not quite sure how to respond,” Gallaga told the INQUIRER. “It’s always good to be appreciated and validated. I’ll probably get more acting offers… many of which I won’t be able to give justice to. I will never be an Eddie Garcia.” Gallaga plans to donate his award, like his past trophies, to the library of De La Salle University on Taft Avenue.
“Kabisera.” Said Torre: “This award is special because my nephew directed this film and also won best director.” Torre, who hails from Bacolod, dedicated his victory “to the people of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte and Samar, who are recovering from recent calamities.” His nephew said the best director triumph showed that even “indies could be genre films, too.”
to Marielle Hizon for “Blue Bustamante”; Mes de Guzman’s “Sitio” won best screenplay and jury prize in the Plus section. “I gave this film a different treatment—it’s like a mystery thriller,” De Guzman said. “I wasn’t sure it would get noticed.” Audience award went to “Woman of the Ruins”; best short to “Magic Touch” by Roxanne Robes, Leizl Senarita and Hershelyn Dimapilis, students from the University of the EastCaloocan, who were mentored by Ruel S. Bayani. Lifetime achievement
Best supporting actress went to Bing Pimentel for Borgy Torre’s “Kabisera.” She could retire now, she said. “But my son (acclaimed actor Sid Lucero) thinks this is only the beginning for me.” Pimentel jested that the trophy was proof her children (Lucero and Max Eigenmann) had inherited a little acting talent from her, too… “not just from their dad (Mark Gil).” Industry stalwart Joel Torre was proclaimed best actor for
Kapamilya star Angelica Panganiban, best actress winner, said she jumped onboard for Adolfo Alix Jr.’s “Alamat ni China Doll” because she got antsy after being unemployed for some time. “I was clueless about acting in an indie film.” “China Doll” won a lion’s share: best sound (Mark Locsin, Dante Cuanico, Mike Idioma and Alex Tomboc), music (Lav Diaz), editing (Charliebebs Gohetia) and cinematography (Albert Banzon). Said Alix: “The best film win is for my second family, my crew… a pat on the back for their hard work.” Best production design went
The Philippine Cinema Original awards for lifetime achievement were given to filmmaker Elwood Perez and producer Lily Monteverde. “This comes at a time when I need it most, now that I’m at a crossroads,” Perez said. He said sharing the honor with his longtime producer was a fitting celebration of their partnership, which churned out such iconic films as “Problem Child,” “Ibulong Mo sa Diyos” and “Bilangin ang Bituin sa Langit,” among others, in the 1970s and 1980s. “She gave me free rein during that era of fabulous filmmaking,” said Perez. Monteverde returned the compliment, saying she learned a lot from collaborating with directors like Perez. “I gave them freedom because I believed in their talent.” Among the previous Philippine Cinema Original honorees are Lav Diaz, Brillante Ma. Mendoza, Danny Zialcita, Nora Aunor, Mario O’Hara, Celso Ad. Castillo and Gallaga. ■
Lion, I am helping in contacting a partner on that side of the world and hopefully twin lion Cubao Lions Club will be successful in implementing a recovery program like making hollow block machines for the affected areas. We are kowtowing with them from the Houston Millennium Lions Club which is sponsoring a Charity Golf Tournament chaired by Suzzette Kirchner at Glennloche Golf Course in north Houston. Calling all golfers. I even donated my golf set for auction. Also, the international fraternity Order of the Knights of Rizal has gathered member-
ships with plans to help. By the way, the clubs (Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Jaycees) in the affected areas are nowhere as they were also victims. The apparent friction between local officials like Mayor Alfredo Romualdez of Tacloban and DILG Sec. Mar Roxas was denied and admitted that stresses in relief operations were culprit. Romualdez apologizes to President Aquino before he returned to Manila. Still, politics could be blamed. Romualdez was opposed by Liberal Party’s (LP) Bem Noel. He is a nephew of former First Lady Imelda Romuldez Mar-
cos. Aquino heads LP while Roxas was formerly the party president. At the same time, the national government recently launched the Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAITH), an online portal containing information on calamity assistance in cash and in kind. Nobody is perfect. So British economist John Maynard Keynes said “It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” All the best. Happy Thanksgiving! And Merry Philippine Lantern and Caroling Festival! And may the Filipinos feel that it is Christmas. Soon. ■
She’s got it, too
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Lion’s share
Entertainment
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 36
Katie Couric to make the leap into Internet video programming with new anchor job at Yahoo BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO—Katie Couric is joining Yahoo to anchor an expansion of the Internet company’s video news coverage in a move that she hopes will help persuade other broadcast TV veterans to make the transition into online programming. Monday’s announcement confirms recent published reports that Couric is hoping to attract more viewers on the Internet after spending the past 22 years working as a talk-show host and news anchor at NBC, CBS and ABC. “I am particularly excited about hopefully attracting other people to this platform and venture,” Couric said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We are in a major, transformative time in terms of media in this country.” Couric’s hiring is the latest coup for Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer as she brings in well-
known journalists in an effort to create compelling content that will attract more people to the company’s online services. In the past month, Yahoo has also lured away technology columnist David Pogue and political reporter Matt Bai from The New York Times. Financial terms of Couric’s contract with Yahoo weren’t disclosed. She also declined to say how many more reporters will be added to her team at Yahoo. Couric, 56, will continue to host her daytime talk show, “Katie,” on ABC even after she becomes Yahoo’s “global anchor” beginning early next year. She described her now role at Yahoo as a “work in progress.” “I will be involved in developing a lot of concepts, but not necessarily doing everything,” Couric said. “I will be doing interviews, but not on a daily basis. Probably monthly at this point.” The Yahoo job appealed to Couric because it will give her
Katie Couric
an outlet to delve into breaking developments around the world that she regularly covered as the anchor of CBS’ evening news from 2006 through 2011. Mayer, since leaving Google Inc. to become Yahoo’s CEO 16 months ago, has been trying to make Yahoo’s services more alluring so people will visit them on a regular basis and dwell for longer periods. In doing so, she is hoping Yahoo will be able to sell more digital ads and boost the Sunnyvale, Calif., company’s revenue, which has been lagging the overall growth of
PHOTO BY S_BUKLEY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Internet marketing for years. “News is a definitive daily habit for our users, and Katie will work with our talented editorial team to pioneer a new chapter of digital journalism,” Mayer said. Yahoo already operates the most popular online news section in the U.S. with 81.5 million visitors in October, according to the most recent data from the research firm comScore Inc. The audience’s size is roughly the same as when Mayer became Yahoo’s CEO. CNN ranks second in online news in the U.S., with 70 million visitors.
Couric first became a household name as a co-host of the “Today” show on NBC from 1991 until she left to join CBS in 2006. It remains unclear whether Couric’s current talk show on ABC will be renewed after its run ends in May. Her show is drawing an average 2.17 million viewers so far this season, slightly below an average of 2.26 million viewers attracted during its inaugural season in 2012, according to the ratings firm Nielsen. The Walt Disney Co., which produces the show, and the owned and operated stations that air the program haven’t decided whether to bring back the show for a third season, said Bill Carroll, an expert on the syndication market for Katz Media. Couric also said she is trying to figure out whether she still wants to do the talk show. ■ AP Television Writer David Bauder in New York contributed to this story.
Bringing music to lift spirits, Stars donate hit Alicia Keys visits with typhoon songs for album to refugees at Manila air base help Philippines typhoon relief effort The Associated Press
MANILA, PHILIPPINES— Grammy-winning singer Alicia Keys visited a Philippine air force base Monday to bring cheer to hundreds of evacuees from eastern provinces wracked by Typhoon Haiyan. The American singer distributed crayons and coloring books to children at the Villamor Air Base grandstand, where evacuees from eastern Leyte and Samar provinces arrive via C-130 planes. Social Welfare Department officer Jane Abello says Keys stayed for about half an hour to chat with evacuees. The R&B star was in Manila for a concert Monday at the seaside MOA Arena. The Philippine Star earlier quoted her as saying that “mu-
The Associated Press
Alicia Keys
sic has a way of lifting your spirit and that’s what I hope to do for the Filipino people.” Keys tweeted three days after the Nov. 8 typhoon: “To the
PHOTO BY DFREE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
people of the Philippines my heart is with you.” She also encouraged fans around the world to donate to the typhoon victims. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
NEW YORK—Dozens of top stars have donated songs to an album aimed at raising funds for typhoon disaster relief in the Philippines. Songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Beyonce, U2 and Bruno Mars are among the 39 donated to “Songs for the Philippines,” available for purchase Monday at iTunes and for streaming on iTunes Radio. The artists, record companies and music publishers have agreed to donate the proceeds to the Philippines Red Cross. Thousands were killed, injured and displaced by Typhoon Haiyan earlier this month and
Bruno Mars PHOTO BY S_BUKLEY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
officials have struggled to keep up with humanitarian aid demands. The compilation album has a little of everything, from the disturbing images of a live version of Eminem’s “Stan” to the calming effect of The Beatles’ “Let It Be.” ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
37
Lifestyle
River, River Reflections
River, River written and performed by Merlinda Bobis UBC Telus Studio Theatre, October 25, 2013 BY ERIE MAESTRO Canada Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights THE PLAY River, River, written and performed by Merlinda Bobis, to a packed audience at the Telus Studio, is painful to watch and listen to. The play opens on a dark stage with the sound of running footsteps and gasps for breath, then the staccato of gunfire, and the splashing of water when something (or some body) disturbs the water. The story is set in Bikol, circa1987, when the Philippine government unleashed its Total War policy, a counter-insurgency operation designed to crush a national rebellion but which led to widespread killings, dislocations and suffering. Developed with US expertise, the Total War policy is also known as “limited intensity conflict” (LIC) and “winning hearts and minds”, and in the mid-80s under the governments of Aquino and Ramos, the military called it Operation Plan Lambat Bitag (OPLAN Net-Trap). Succeeding Philippine governments all made the same promise to crush the revolutionary movement within their presidential terms, through the continuation of counter-insurgency operations but called by different names, in utter disregard of lives lost, villages dislocated and communities left wailing for their dead and disappeared. All of these administrations have failed and the rebellion continued to grow. Merlinda Bobis, Bikolana and Australyana, converses, chants, sings and dances gracefully on the raised platform and tells her story. The stage is minimalist in design—an altar with a crucifix, mortar and pestle, pitcher of water, lemongrass, a little vase of flowers, and a tea candle. Merlinda becomes Estrella Capili, the woman with the 12-me-
With the play’s community partners reps:(l-r) Jane Ordinario (Migrante BC), Beth Dollaga (Canada Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights), Merlinda Bobis and Carlie David (PANCIT) Merlinda Bobis
tre hair in the village of Iraya, she who drags the corpses from the water to the riverbank, using her hair as a net. The river is the dumping ground of the victims of summary executions, also known as extrajudicial killings. The river changes its moods and its flavours, for each time a body is thrown into its bosom, the water changes flavours from its river sweetness, into brine, then to lemon grass. Merlinda sings of lament, of love and of loss. In her deep, full-throated voice, she sings the particular rhythm of the pasyon, the traditional chant of the Passion of Christ sang during the Lenten season in many barrios. At one part in the play, she sits on the floor and pounds the lemon grass in her stone mortar and with each stab of the pestle, intones the names of the dead as if in prayer. Later at the Q & A, she reveals that one of the people she names is that of a woman from her own province, a victim of the counter-insurgency operation. This was echoed by her classmates from Bikol who were among the audience, her kababayan who have not seen her in decades. Estrella, the Fish-Hair woman, not only manages to drag the corpses from the river, but also draws the audience to her, from wherever their memories reside and from wherever their
hearts are hurt. After the play, a man in the audience from Chile, declares that this was a story of Chile under the repressive regime. River, River is a story of repression and of survival and resistance, and of love. Yes, the story could have been Mindoro, Samar, Mindanao, Chile under Pinochet, Argentina, Guatemala, Syria, the list goes on. The military’s counter-insurgency in the late 80’s called Lambat Bitag strikes a resonant chord with Merlinda’s FishHair Woman. The military sees the countryside as one big sea swimming with guerillas; and to eliminate the guerillas the military casts their nets to snare their big fish, in cruel disregard of civilians caught in the crossfire. Dead civilians, including children, are dismissed as collateral damage, sympathizers, and supporters. With eyes on Merlinda/Estrella, one forgets there is only one person on the stage because there are many voices that speak and urge to be heard, many characters that weave in and out, and layers of stories that are told. It is a play that reminds us to remember, to keep alive the memory by telling the story, by naming the victims and the perpetrators. Merlinda says it much better with these words: “To keep a place alive in your
Prof. Nora Angeles, Head of the UBC Research Network on Rethinking Responses and Responsibilities in River Regions, introduces the playwright and the performer Merlina Bobis
heart, it must dwell in your mouth.” Merlinda Bobis was in Vancouver as a visiting UBC scholar, a visit made possible by the Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice @ the UBC Research Network “Rethinking Responses and Responsibilities in River Regions.” The community partners were the Canada-Philippine Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR), Migrante BC and the Philippine Artists Network for Community Integrative Transformation (PANCIT). She also gave a Visiting Scholar lecture at the St. John’s College on “River, River: Embodying what is lost/what is found,” where she discussed, among other things, “finding a creativecritical empathy to address the social, climate, and geopolitical
changes of our times, in the storying of loss through literature and performance. “ Merlinda Bobis is a multiawarded writer, a dancer, and a teacher. Born in Albay, she completed her B.A. (Summa cum laude) at Aquinas University in Legazpi City, her Master of Arts in Literature (Meritissimus) from the University of Sto.Thomas and her Doctorate of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong, where she teaches creative writing. She has received many and various awards for her poetry and her stories. Her plays have been produced and performed on stage and radio in Australia, the Philippines, Spain, USA, Canada, France, China, Thailand and the Slovak Republic. Her website is http://www.merlindabobis.com.au/ ■
Lifestyle
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 38
Yoga not always benign exercise: pushing pose limits can lead to injury, MDS say BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press TORONTO—It seems somewhat ironic, but the exercise regime often recommended by doctors and therapists as a rehabilitation tool to overcome a range of sports injuries can itself be a cause of harm. Yoga, considered a relatively gentle means of building flexibility, muscle strength and endurance through physical poses and controlled breathing, can lead to a number of repetitive strain injuries and even osteoarthritis, doctors say. “Most of the injuries I see are from repetitive strain,” says Dr. Raza Awan, a Toronto sports medicine physician who’s been practising yoga for about a decade. The most common yoga-related injuries he sees in patients are rotator cuff tendonitis and tears; spinal disc injuries in the low back and neck; cartilage tears in the knee; hamstring strain and tears; and wrist injuries. There are a number of reasons why yoga—in which practitioners generally perform a series of poses, called asanas—
can cause injury, he says. One reason is “definitely pushing too hard” to attain a specific pose, which can involve stretching the upper body into a forward or backward bend, twisting the torso, or performing an inversion, such as a handstand or headstand, balanced on the hands or forearms. “So, for instance, people who are too flexible or people who are too tight, they’re at more risk, I find,” says Awan. “If you’re too tight and you try to force yourself into a pose and your muscles aren’t flexible, then you might strain another area to compensate.” “Or let’s say that you’re very flexible and you get to the end range of a pose and you don’t have the muscular support to maintain the pose ... you’re holding the pose without muscular endurance, you’re basically holding it on your ligaments or your tendons and you strain those structures that way.” Ego also can lead to injury, he says, explaining that in yoga classes, some people will push their body beyond its limits trying to match or outdo the person on the next mat. Even competing with oneself—for instance, trying to get
the heels flat to the floor during the “downward dog” pose, despite having tight calf muscles from sitting at the computer for hours—can lead to strains or tears, he says. “You strain yourself because you push yourself.” Sometimes, overdoing it in yoga may exacerbate an underlying problem called femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI, in which the bones of the hip are abnormally shaped and don’t move together smoothly. The hip bones grind against each other during movement, causing the joint to be damaged over time and osteoarthritis to set in. Dr. Chris Woollam, a Toronto sports medicine physician, says he started seeing “an inordinate number of hip problems” about two years ago, including among women aged 30 to 50 who were practising yoga. When range of motion in their hips was tested, not only were the limits of movement diminished, but “they would jump off the table because of the pain,” Woollam says. MRI scans showed the women had joint damage resulting from femoroacetabular impingement, which can in
some cases require hipreplacement surgery. “So maybe these extreme ranges of motion were causing the joint to get jammed and some to wear,” Woollam says. “If you start wearing a joint down, then it becomes arthritic. So you’re seeing these little patches of arthritis in an otherwise normal hip that seem to be related to these extremes of motion or impingement or both.” That appears to have been the case for Cory Lund, a Toronto artist who started doing yoga about 20 years ago—after he injured his back in a snowboarding accident and found the stretching exercise helped alleviate the pain better than anything else he tried. Over the years, he practised different kinds of yoga, most recently one called ashtanga, a more vigorous type that involves moving through a series of progressively challenging poses. But about 18 months ago, Lund began experiencing periodic bouts of nagging hip pain, which was diagnosed in his right hip as FAI.
Congratulations to Manila Express Sept. 30, 2013 Raffle Winners! I was surprised and very happy at the same time when I got the phone call yesterday from Emma stating that I won a laptop. I said to myself, finally after 23 years of being a customer of Manila Express, I won something. I just wanted to say thank you to Manila Express not just for the laptop but for doing a good job helping Filipinos remit money to their loved ones in the Philippines.Thank you also to the staff for being nice and accommodating. - Maryann Beaulieu, Acer Laptop winner
“It is an injury and I know that now, but it’s not like there was some catastrophic moment,” says Lund, who is currently taking a hiatus from yoga. “My body can only do what it does and the whole point of yoga is to respect its limits. I’m not a terribly flexible person ... When I moved into the positions that are the end range of motion, it has caused damage,” he says. “Yoga isn’t entirely to blame. You just have to listen to your body. When it’s saying there’s a pain, then you have to recognize that.” Awan believes most yoga-related injuries are preventable. “There’s a lot of benefits to doing yoga for certain types of problems, but obviously any physical activity has its risks, too,” he says. “It’s a great movement-based activity to do, but you have to try to keep safe, just like in other sports activities. Don’t push your body beyond.” ■ Samsung Galaxy Tablet Elberto Hatamosa
Smart T.V. - Levy Lanuza Ipad Mini - Rosario Cartaciano
Digital Camera Delia Ann Estrella
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Lifestyle
39 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Kaye Tiñga, Pepito Albert, friends raise P1.5M from sale of designer bags, shoes One-day instant drive for Red Cross BY CHECHE V. MORAL Philippine Daily Inquirer KAYE TIÑGA is still in disbelief at how much her group made from their one-day relief sale for the victims of Typhoon “Yolanda.” “We made P1.5 million for the Red Cross,” she reports happily. The philanthropist and her friends—fashion designers Pepito Albert, Inno Sotto and Ian Giron; makeup artist Patrick Rosas; and fashion show director Ariel Lozada—simply tapped their circle for donations of designer pieces, and spread the word via Instagram. The donations came pouring. Renowned accessories designer Bea Valdes sent brand-new purses and necklaces. Then came brand-new and pre-loved purses and shoes from the likes of Shera Tiu, Ginger Ignacio, Kathy Huang, Nicole Gaw, Cindy Yang, Beng Dee, Alice Eduardo, Salome Uy, Kai Lim, Mandy de la Rama, Veana Fores, Bea Lhuillier, Ingrid Go, Tessa Valdes, among many others. Pretty soon, there were piles and piles of Chanel, Christian Louboutin, YSL, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Emilio Pucci, Gucci, Manolo Blahnik, Missoni, such that W/17, Tiñga’s home store on Pasong Tamo Extension in Makati, became a virtual souk of designer cast-offs. “We couldn’t believe the response,” she says. “The buyers came from all over. There were some from as far as Laguna...” The sale was set to start at 11 a.m. By 9 a.m., they were getting reservations for the big-ticket items, like the Chanel purses. “People were already outside at 10 a.m. When afternoon came, we hardly had any items left to sell.” Tiñga says they made a little over P200,000 in cash; the rest were paid with checks made out to the Philippine Red Cross. “We didn’t expect that there would be a market for such. We’re encouraged because we know the relief efforts will need a lot more. We didn’t mark up
KAYE Tiñga (center, in sleeveless top) and her co-organizers and their friends at W/17: (from left) Andres Vasquez Prada, Pepito Albert, Ian Giron, Joji Dingcong, Cris Albert, Inno Sotto, Ariel Lozada, Carmina Sanchez, Patrick Rosas and Eric Pe Benito PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAYE TIÑGA
FASHIONISTAS donate designer footwear (Yves Saint Laurent, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik) to be sold for Red Cross.
Seat count... all, Mr. Harper,” Dinsdale told a subdued room. “(It’s) a shot across the bow, we’ll get you next time.” Maguire said the Senate scandal “certainly played a role in this campaign.” The Tory vote almost disappeared entirely in Bourassa, where the party captured less than five per cent of the vote, and in Toronto Centre, where it scored less than 10 per cent. The Prime Minister’s Office offered a brief reaction to the results early Tuesday. ‘‘We congratulate Larry Maguire and Ted Falk on their winning campaigns and look forward to welcoming them into our caucus,” said Jason MacDonald, the prime minister’s spokesman. ‘‘We congratulate the other candidates elected last night, and recognize the hard work done by all campaigns in these by-elections.” For Mulcair, the results were disappointing. Despite widespread praise for his prosecutorial grilling of Harper over the Senate scandal, his party increased its share of the vote only in Toronto Centre and not by enough to steal the riding from the Liberals. Author and journalist Linda McQuaig took about 36 per cent of the vote for the NDP, up six points from 2011 but still 13 points behind Trudeau’s hand❰❰ 18
Cindy Lapeña... able on Amazon and CreateSpace), which draws on her extensive experience as an English teacher and training consultant in the Philippines. She currently resides in Prince Edward Island, Canada, where she is an arts and teaching consultant, a practicing artist and writer, and owner of Art ‘n’ Words Studio & Gallery. ❰❰ 24
About Cindy Lapeña
THE ORGANIZERS also rounded up luxury purses—Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Valentino, Marc Jacobs—from friends. Tiñga says they’ve already received pledges for items to be sold in their next relief sale on Dec. 1.
the items. Bea Valdes, for one, left it to us to put prices on her pieces.” Tiñga and her team are plan-
ning another relief sale on Dec. 1. This is guilt-free shopping since all proceeds will go to the typhoon victims. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
picked star, Chrystia Freeland. “We always knew that this was a Liberal stronghold and that it would be an uphill battle and it was,” said McQuaig. Still, she argued it’s significant that the NDP did better in Toronto Centre this time than it did in 2011 when Layton’s socalled “orange crush” vaulted the NDP into official Opposition status for the first time in history. Freeland had a different take. “My message for Stephen Harper is: watch out, we’re on the rise, our party’s united,” she said. “Canadians want an alternative to the Conservatives and they have found that alternative in the Liberal party.” The NDP share of the vote declined slightly in Bourassa, despite an aggressive campaign by a star candidate, lawyer and onetime pop singer Stephane Moraille. She wound up with about 32 per cent of the vote, compared to Dubourg’s 48 per cent. In the two Manitoba ridings, the NDP vote share plunged to less than 10 per cent. The party went from a respectable second in 2011 in both ridings to a distant third. The byelections are the first concrete measure of the Senate expenses scandal’s impact on Stephen Harper’s government, the depth of Trudeau’s popular appeal and the durability of the NDP’s 2011 electoral breakthrough. ■
C.P. Lapeña began writing when she was a very young child and wrote for school publications throughout her youth. Her literary works centered mainly around poetry and some short fiction, besides numerous essays and academic papers. She is an avid reader of fiction and has always dreamed of pub-
lishing novels. In 2012, she took the plunge and signed up for NaNoWriMo, completing her 50,000 words within the month, and completing the novel the next month. Since she migrated to Canada in 2007, she has written several reviews for onrpei.ca and maintains a blog (mimrlith.wordpress.com) where she shares poetry, essays, art and other random works and ideas. Before that, she had written several educational and academic texts, as well as a full-length play that won 3rd prize in the Philippines’s prestigious Carlos Palanca National Awards for Literature in 2007. She has also been a teacher of writing and communication and holds a Master of Arts in English Literature. ■
Business
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 40
YAMANG PANGKINABUKASAN
Do you review your financial status regularly? HAVING A job and earning a paycheck are important steps toward personal financial success and freedom from government assistance. However consistent income is not always followed by the best decisions on how to spend that income wisely. Most people, if not all, have certain attitudes in handling their money: “I’ll get someone else to handle my finances”, “I’ll simply live paycheck to paycheck”, or “I’ll think about handling my finances later when I start earning more.” If that’s you, you must sit down and check your status. You need to relive how you have been spending your money. You may discover that you have poor spending habits, unnecessary expenses, putting off taxes, or missing out on some deductions. You need to understand your cash flow, investments, insurance coverage, estate plan and taxes. Once you identify your status, it is easier to recapture that money and find better way to build your wealth. With an open mind and effort, find
advancement in knowledge of money; the consequences of lack of knowledge are what will prevent you from a financial success. Just because people are unaware of how money works, they often go into debt. And this knowledge on how money works is not obtainable from school. Most undergraduates and even university graduates lack basic skills in personal financial management. We never learned what to do with our paycheck; only just how to make one. When we are given a paycheck, we are also given the freedom to spend it but it is up to each individual to decide how they will apply their financial wisdom in using their paychecks. We have no insight on the basic principles of earning, spending, savings and investing. What’s worse, people most of the time do not want to change their old thoughts of financial routine to new ideas. Knowledge will enable you to have variety of options and opportunities to deal with your financial matters. People go and depend
wholly on banks simply because they do not know where they can get the proper financial advice with the fear of making the wrong decisions themselves. People still have certain myths about banks even though we are defeated by banks everyday. Don’t wait or hesitate before making your first step toward your financial security, or it will be too late. Start to review your financial situation regularly. Discard your old ways and start devising new, structured plans. A financial planner can give you a window to view your financial status and help you organize your finances. Realize and track your finances and you will be nearer in achieving financial success with your current budget. ■
own car. But every time I say that to my kids, they remind me to dream that one day we will need one again because one day we will have the luxury of going out for pleasure or to travel out of town for a much needed R&R. How true is it that all work and no play makes John a dull boy. But my final verdict is that if you really do want to learn your way around your new place or discover a lot about it, do not immediately get a car even if you can afford it. My one year of commuting has made me grow a lot, exercise-wise and knowledge-wise. Remind yourself that you are in a new country, and the old comforts back home may have to wait a while. Assess your need for efficient mobility while job hunting and whether it is necessary to get your own car. Some jobs may actually require a driver’s license and owning a car. Getting that driver’s license is a rational decision. Getting that
car must be a careful, well-timed decision. ■
For more information about this topic and other valuable financial information listen to our weekly radio program— ”YAMANG PANGKINABUKASAN” every Saturday from 1:30pm to 2pm on JUAN Radio 96.1 FM, hosted by Surrinder Varpaul and Kuya Boy.
So, What Other... realize that none of these is necessary, at least for the time being. As one sensible friend said, one step at a time. One thing you will learn trying to start a new life in an organized country like Canada is that there are no shortcuts to anything. If there are, they are more of exceptions and may be sheer strokes of luck. Thus, every major decision must be one careful step at a time. But what does all this have to do with your job hunt? It’s to let you know that you do not need a car if you are applying for nontransportation related or nonmobility related jobs. But not getting the driver’s license? That seems so basic, and you will realize that some jobs require it. No matter how hard it takes to get one, just keep on trying. I had to take the test five times. If the transportation system is efficient, you can actually consider never needing your ❰❰ 23
Nobody ever said that our journey, will be easy. But as I write and as you read, we share our strengths and we can hold to the promise that “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them,” Matthew 18:20. Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion. She is author-publisher of the book: The Most Practical Immigrating and Job Hunting Survival Guide, proven simple steps to success without the fears and the doubts. The book is available in Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, the Reading Room and other online bookshops worldwide, and in National Book Store and Power Books in the Philippines. Please check out https://www.amazon. com/author/boletarevalo. www.canadianinquirer.net
After the storm, PH growth seen to drop sharply BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE COUNTRY’S growth is expected to slow down toward the end of the year as economic activity in parts of the Visayas ground to a halt following the onslaught of Supertyphoon Yolanda. Fortunately, the country was able to build up a strong foundation in the first three quarters of the year, which would enable the government to meet its growth target for the year, according to the country’s top financial institutions. “Gross domestic product (GDP) probably expanded by 7.3 percent in the third quarter, but could slow down to below 6 percent in the fourth quarter with the immediate effect of the typhoon on income and output,” First Metro Investments Corp. (FMIC) said in a report released. “To be sure, reconstruction efforts could offset the loss on output and income due to the negative effects of the supertyphoon. But the affected areas reportedly represent some 12 percent of the country’s population, and the latter would probably tilt the balance.” First Metro Investments, a unit of the country’s secondlargest bank Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., said consumer prices would also affect the Philippines’ growth prospects. The rate of rise in consumer prices averaged at 2.8 percent from January to October. “This will certainly rise in the fourth quarter, exacerbated by the supertyphoon’s effects in the Visayas,” First Metro said in its Market Call report. Emilio Neri Jr., Bank of the Philippine Islands’ lead economist, on Tuesday said inflation would rise despite the government’s efforts to control prices of key commodities in affected areas. “Since government aid will be slow in addressing these supply bottlenecks, prices of goods are expected to rise in affected
regions,” Neri said as he noted the severe damage to private property and infrastructure in several areas. Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released the results of its simulations that showed consumer prices rising by an average of 3.2 percent for the entire year. According to the BSP’s unofficial forecast, inflationmay level off between 4 to 5 percent in November and December. Next year, inflation may accelerate to 4.5 percent, which Neri said would be “dangerously close” to the top end of the BSP’s target for the full year. If the central bank’s unofficial forecasts proved accurate, inflation for the year would still be closer to the low end of the official 3 to 5 percent target range. Given the higher inflation forecasts, Neri said the BSP might decide to tighten its monetary policy settings earlier than expected. Joel Noel Mendoza, senior vice president of BDO Private Bank’s wealth advisory and trust group, was more pessimistic, saying GDP growth could settle to 3 to 4 percent in the current quarter. In a briefing, the BDO executive echoed the sentiments of First Metro when he cited the effects of the typhoon on productivity and income levels in the affected areas. BDO Private Bank is the private banking and wealth management subsidiary of the country’s largest lender, BDO Unibank. The company’s growth outlook mirrors the National Economic Development Authority’s (Neda) own assessment, which showed that fourth quarter growth could slow down to 4.1 percent. In a statement, Neda said the negative impact of the supertyphoon could linger through 2014 because of the reduced production capacity in affected areas. GDP growth for 2013 could be reduced by 0.3 to 0.8 of a percentage point. ■
Sports/Horoscope
41 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
Pacquiao comeback devastating BY ROY A. LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer MACAU—Like a supertyphoon, Manny Pacquiao ravaged Brandon Rios. For 12 rounds, Pacquiao relentlessly battered theMexicanAmerican fighter, heralding his comeback with a lopsided unanimous decision in the headliner of “The Clash in Cotai” at The Venetian Macao. And when his fury subsided, Pacquiao announced the victory wasn’t about his personal mission as a fighter—his victory was dedicated to his countrymen still reeling from the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”. “It (the victory) isn’t about my comeback. It symbolizes my people’s comeback,” said a teary-eyed Pacquiao, who will visit Tacloban City—one of the areas hardest hit by Yolanda—
soon after his return home. Pacquiao, the country’s richest congressman and $18million richer after the welterweight title bout, is certain to inflate the bulging donation coffers for the typhoon victims, but the amount seems hardly important. What he did against Rios was enough to put smiles back on the faces of the millions of Filipinos who suffered in Yolanda’s wake. Showing vintage form, Pacquiao hit Rios at will, wobbling his opponent in the sixth round with a three-punch combination, en route to a 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 decision by judges Michael Pernick, Lisa Giampa and Manfred Kuchler, respectively. The INQUIRER scored it 120108. The outcome was never in doubt.
with Rios midway in the 12th round, seemingly to signify he would let his opponent, who got overwhelmed by the Filipino’s speed, to finish standing. The paying crowd of 13,101 fans, majority of whom were Filipinos, applauded both fighters even before the scores were announced. They had been treated to a show by Pacquiao with Rios a willing partner. Now, the world knows that Pacquiao has put the memory of his devastating one-punch knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez last December behind him. His other message is that at 34—turning 35 on Dec. 17—and after 18 years of ring campaign, he’s still the same elite fighter who held crowns in eight weight divisions. ‘We will rise again’
Pacquiao’s speed
In victory, Pacquiao showed compassion, touching gloves
“This is still my time. My time isn’t over,” said Pacquiao, who improved his ring record
What Pacquiao did against Rios was enough to put smiles back on the faces of the millions of Filipinos who suffered in Yolanda’s wake. PHOTO BY CHRIS FARINA / TOP RANK
to 555-2 with 38 knockouts. “My journey will continue and we will rise again.” Despite dominating Rios, Pacquiao gave credit to the iron-chinned former lightweight champion for hurting him in the fifth round and giving him one of his toughest fights ever. The Compubox statistics reflected how the fight for the World Boxing Organization’s international welterweight belt went—Pacquiao landed 281 of 790 punches for a connection rate of 36 percent while Rios sneaked in 138 of 502 for 27 percent.
Relentless fists
The Filipinos’ newfound unity and their patriotism were also evident as they joined “American Idol” sensation Jessica Sanchez in singing the latter part of the national anthem “Lupang Hinirang.” Filipino visitors, many of whom work in this gambling haven or in nearby Hong Kong, crowded the hotel lobbies, hoping to catch a glimpse of Pacquiao, their national treasure. They left wearing smiles on their faces. For them and for the millions back home who suffered in the wake of Yolanda’s fury, the fight seemed like a happy break. ■
HOROSCOPE ARIES
CANCER
LIBRA
CAPRICORN
(MARCH 21 - APRIL 19)
(JUNE 22 - JULY 22)
(SEPT 23 - OCT 22)
(DEC 22 - JAN 19)
You’re a sensual person. You have a strong emotional force. Today that energy will increase and express itself vigorously. The people you encounter will be astonished by your power. You could easily seduce the entire world. Try to keep this energy under control. You could be thrown off balance and into a situation you might regret.
TAURUS
Today you’ll change your approach to relationships. In the past, they were based on feelings, but now you’ll decide that they should be more rational. You might feel that this sudden change of attitude could detract from your happiness, but it could also lead to stronger, more stable relationships.
There might be one aspect of your nature that you ignore. You always need to be the one in charge in a relationship. It would be wise to change this. The planetary configuration can help you do that now. People will be much more receptive to your natural charms if you can change your controlling attitude!
LEO
SCORPIO
(JULY 23 - AUGUST 22)
(APRIL 20 - MAY 20) You love to meet new people and talk to them, but you rarely get personally involved. You keep a certain distance between you and the person you’re talking to. Today you’ll wonder if you’re missing out on interesting experiences by controlling your emotions so tightly, or if your defenses are high for a good reason.
GEMINI
AQUARIUS (JAN 20 - FEB 18)
(OCT 23 - NOV 21) You’ve decided to let yourself go. You’re tired of being a perfectly controlled person. You don’t want to restrain your urges anymore! Something in the air is different. You can express your needs freely. Talk to your partner about your desires. Your relationship can only benefit from your current frame of mind.
Don’t let your emotions get the better of you today. If you can harness them, you’ll have the vital force of ten people. You can be invincible. You can do whatever you feel like doing and no one can stop you. If you share this energy with others, they might end up feeling like you do - the best in your whole life.
VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEPT 22)
(MAY 21 - JUNE 21) You’ll probably feel a little lost today. You’ll have to come to a decision in the near future, and your life will be greatly affected by it. Should you listen to your desires? Should they be in charge of your life? Or should you try to rein in your feelings and take the more practical route? It’s something to think about.
Unlike other occasions, today you’ll display your true feelings. Even when you hide them they’re still there, deep inside you. You may think that showing your feelings is a sign of weakness, but today you’ll show the world that your heart isn’t made of stone, and you’ll let yourself go.
The present planetary aspects could change your approach to life. Almost compulsively, you’ll need to deepen your relationships with the people you’ve recently met. You’ll probably be attracted to one of them, but be careful, as this person might not feel the same way about you. Look on the bright side. Why would you want to waste your energy on someone who doesn’t care about you?
SAGITTARIUS
PISCES
(NOV 22 - DEC 21)
(FEB 19 - MAR 20)
Finally, today, you’ll know what it feels like to be in charge of things. You’ll even feel that you were born to do it. In any case, you’ll beautifully coordinate the day. You’re the maestro conducting a full orchestra. You’ll tell those around you what to do all day long. Isn’t it fun to feel such personal power?
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Your behavior is about to improve your love life. You’re no longer hung up about your body. You’re no longer distracted by it during passionate moments. You’ll focus on and enjoy the here and now, and you won’t be lost in your thoughts like usual. You’re a new person about to experience the pleasures of life.
You’ll have a lot of stamina in the weeks to come. Your energy will increase, thanks to the prevailing planetary transits. You thrive on your romantic desires and your creativity. You should try to stay in control of situations. Don’t let your or anyone else’s emotions take over your life.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
42
Travel
Holiday trimmed store windows create corridor of idyllic NYC Christmases BY SAMANTHA CRITCHELL The Associated Press NEW YORK—Forget window shopping, some of Manhattan’s biggest and most storied retailers say their elaborate seasonal window displays are a gift to passers-by. Reimagining every major holiday covered in a slick coating of ice, recreating cozy Christmas-morning scenes and paying homage to a local legend can be a yearlong labour of love. “Every store has their own style,” says David Hoey, senior director of visual presentation at Bergdorf Goodman. “We try to pick a theme that will lend itself for us to go to town. We all do.” At his corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue, arguably one of the most famous shopping intersections in the world, Hoey isn’t just celebrating Christmas, he’s paying homage to 12 holidays, including Valentine’s Day, Independence Day and Halloween. One of his favourite windows is the April Fool’s Day display that depicts a lovely outdoor springtime scene—assembled upside down. Kitty-corner from Bergdorf is Tiffany & Co. and its scenes that aim to capture the New York holiday of your best dreams and memories. “We are telling a story of the lives that go on here and the interactions that happen on Christmas Day and on that morning in New York City,” says Richard Moore, vice-president of creative visual merchandising. He does add a little product to the scenes—it is a store, after all—but the holiday windows aren’t as much about pushing sales. “It’s about holiday spirit and celebrated tradition. The windows are for all ages, all dif-
Lord & Taylor
PHOTO FROM YAHOO.COM
Barney’s NY
Bergdorf Goodman
ferent cultures. We just want you to stop and look and engage in our windows.” Hoey eagerly visits the windows of the other big stores. It’s a treat and a tradition, he says. “Window dressers and the people who do window displays is a very small community. We look at everyone’s windows. We are just as excited to see the other windows as everyone else is.” Moore soaks up the season, too. “There’s no better time to think about (the) next holiday than this holiday.” Here’s what window watchers can see now through the end of December, all located in midtown: • Barneys NY: Barneys’ holi-
PHOTO BY DRIELY S./ NY.RACKED.COM
day collaboration with Jay Z, whose full name is Shawn Corey Carter, certainly has created the most headlines, but not for the windows or the BNY SCC collection items they feature. The focus has been on the partnership in the midst of customers’ accusations of racial profiling while they were buying expensive items. The windows, though, are trained on high tech with interactive installations that feature light shows and a virtual sleigh ride with Santa and Mrs. Claus, fresh off Madison Avenue makeovers. The one people are most likely to be into is the one they really can be in. There are en-
trances and exits on the side of a darkened theatre display for a three-minute, 3-D experience of the city skyline. • Bergdorf Goodman: The “Holidays on Ice” theme exists in a “sort-of time warp,” Hoey says. There are details from the 17th through 21st centuries— and all coated with a little glimmer and shimmer. • Bloomingdale’s: A quick trip around the block seems a trip around the world, with oversized packages celebrating shopping around the world, including France, Italy and China— and New York, of course. • Henri Bendel: A celebration of the work of the late illustrator Al Hirschfeld, the windows peek into an imaginary dinner party—at a tony town house, of course—filled with the celebrities who so often were his subjects. The guest list includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Liza Minnelli, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. • Lord & Taylor: There’s also a party going on here. It’s part of the celebration of the traditional trappings of the season:
TPHOTO FROM THEWINDOW.BARNEYS.COM
shopping for gifts, taking tea and kissing goodnight. • Macy’s: A little boy journeys through an enchanted forest, meeting all sorts of extraordinary characters along the way, and comes away with belief in faith and some magical dreams. • Saks Fifth Avenue: Snow falls from the sky in a 3-D light show. Or, could someone— or something— be shaking the snow from the rooftop? Follow the story of Yeti, an underappreciated snowmaker in Siberia. (Saks’ display won’t be unveiled until Monday.) • Tiffany & Co.: A miniature sleigh filled with boxes in Tiffany Blue visits an enchanting neighbourhood on a snowy night. Those are the landmarks, but some other retailers have wrapped up their flagship stores as presents, too, including Tommy Bahama, wishing shoppers “Happy Huladays” in a sea of potted palm trees; Banana Republic, boasting a “candy shop”; and Kate Spade adding Swarovski crystals to the cityscape. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
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Dining
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 44
Immersive theatre show ‘Sleep Right at Home: tips and products to take No More’ adds a restaurant the pressure off Thanksgiving hosts and, of course, intrigue BY KIM COOK The Associated Press
BY MARK KENNEDY The Associated Press NEW YORK—A new restaurant opening this week in New York has more than just good food on the menu. The British theatre company Punchdrunk unveils a chic eatery as part of its immersive, genre-bending show “Sleep No More,” promising patrons yummy roasts, savory pies and something else. “If you’re curious, if you’re observant, maybe you’ll notice that things aren’t always as they seem,” says Felix Barrett, the company founder. “We’re trying to create a space that’s full of surprises.” The 140-seat restaurant, called The Heath, will be run by chef R.L. King, a veteran of Il Buco and Hundred Acres. The food is high-end British and the space is dimly lit elegant. Barrett, a self-confessed foodie, always planned on adding a restaurant to “Sleep No More” when Punchdrunk acquired three empty adjoining warehouses in the Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood and renamed it the McKittrick Hotel. He filled five stories of the warehouses with hundreds of rooms, a cemetery and an indoor forest to create a theatreand-dance piece with elements of both Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Alfred Hitchcock. But he and his team ran out of time and left the sixth floor empty. The show, produced by the company Emursive, quickly became a huge word-of-mouth hit as excited audience members told friends about being handed Venetian-style masks to wear and encouraged to rummage about the space or follow some 25 performers who act out mostly wordless scenes inspired by Shakespeare’s play while dressed in 1930s outfits. “What we’ve tried to do with ‘Sleep No More’ is break the conventions of theatre to make it dangerous so the audience is active,” says Barrett. “They don’t know what to do. The rules aren’t set. They’re slightly
out of control. And therefore, it’s a more sensory experience. The impact is heightened.” The venue has seen its Manderley Bar become a destination for musicians and it has also opened a bar on the roof called Gallow Green. But the empty sixth floor was ripe for a real restaurant. Now it has one, complete with a special section that resembles a train dining car from 1939. “This feels like, for me, the completion of what we set out to do three years ago,” Barrett says. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do: break the conventions of going out to dinner.” How exactly those conventions get twisted is a secret, although there will be live music and some of the show will seep into the restaurant. But Barrett and chef King insist they aren’t creating any theme restaurant or dinner theatre. “This isn’t some kind of haunted house eating experience. It’s the opposite of that,” Barrett says. “We’re actually just looking at how can you tell a story as you eat.” Sampling the food is another indication this is no mere chain eatery. King, a farm-to-table chef who hails from Charleston, S.C., has created a menu of real substance with playful nods to English and Scottish fare. There’s a dish with grilled pork belly, sausage, marinated peppers, bean salad and three eggs that’s a twist on a full English breakfast. And there are spins on traditional English potato-topped pies, including one with halibut, scallops, shrimp, cod, salmon and braised leeks in a veloute sauce. The unusual job sent the classically trained King off to scour hundreds of cookbooks, research Scottish food, and check out 1930s food, train car menus and New York cuisine of the 1940s. “The spectrum was huge. To bring it all together to what we have now was hard but also one of the most intriguing things I’ve done,” says King. “To have the food match the theatrical experience was crucial and we’ve nailed it.” ■
PREPARING A Thanksgiving feast ranks high on the entertaining stress-o-meter. Expectations, traditions and a home full of guests can make even the most seasoned host lose sleep. But don’t let the anticipatory list-making, house-fluffing and food preparing become more tiring than it needs to be. Some expert advice and helpful products can make Thanksgiving entertaining more stylish, fun and fret-free. Kevin Sharkey, executive creative director at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, begins with a why-didn’t-I-think-ofthat idea: “If you have performance anxiety about the day, what if you (threw the party) the night before or after? Sometimes I think the only reason to have Thanksgiving is to have sandwiches the next day. So have a great lunch or cocktail party instead,” he suggests. Guests are just looking for a convivial atmosphere, so don’t bother with fancy appetizers. As Sharkey points out, guests won’t remember the homemade potato chips you slaved over; they’ll remember the stressed-out you. Serve simple things on interesting plates or in silver bowls, and it all looks special. For example, West Elm has Shanna Murray’s gold-penned bisque stoneware salad plates. (www. westelm.com) Instead of a complicated bar, come up with one fun drink to serve as a showpiece, then add a few bottles of wine and sparkling water. If you’re doing a casual Thanksgiving meal or a lunch, consider setting out an interesting variety of craft beers, as well as vegetable juices and iced tea for the non-drinkers. Better Homes and Gardens has suggestions for make-ahead nibblers such as mini gruyere puffs that can be made a month ahead and frozen, or mini meatballs in a tangy apricot sauce that can be re-warmed in a slow cooker during cocktail hour. (www.bhg.com) At Realsimple.com, you’ll find lots of make-ahead appewww.canadianinquirer.net
tizers, salads, sides, breads and desserts for Thanksgiving. If you do plan to host on Thanksgiving day, keep the menu simple. “No one wants 14 different things. And don’t be ashamed to get certain things from a store, or to ask people to bring something,” Sharkey says. Oma Ford, executive editor at Better Homes & Gardens magazine, says she’s not usually a potluck fan “but it’s actually a wonderful way to approach the Thanksgiving feast. We often spend the holiday with friends who usually make the turkey and desserts and then ask all their guests to bring a side dish they couldn’t live without... The sides are really the fun, interesting part of the meal, and with this approach none of the guests feels like they missed out on a favourite or traditional element of the feast.” Does a friend make awesome mashed potatoes? Is a relative the pie person? Do you have a nearby market that makes yummy stuffing? Ask, order and lessen your workload. For delectable treats you can pre-order, check out WilliamsSonoma’s desserts from various specialists, including Platine Bakery and Taurit Or. (www. williams-sonoma.com) Serving everything buffet style takes another fussy component off the table, so to speak. Make sure there are comfortable places for everyone to perch with their plates, but put all the food and drinks
in central locations. A multiple-pot slow cooker can hold stews, soups and savory vegetables. Serve-yourself beverage dispensers allow guests to refill at will. (www. kohls.com) Pier 1 has ceramic, wipe-offmarker menu boards and dish labels that can be used again and again. (www.pier1.com) Have lots of napkins placed around the party; guests appreciate not having to hunt for one. If you’re using candlelight, consider flameless pillars that can be turned on and forgotten without worrying. Pottery Barn’s Rustic Luxe stonewashed linens have a casual yet quality vibe. Faux antler candelabras, wood and stone drink coasters, and limestone, hand-punched gourd luminaries all add tone and texture to decor, without the fussiness. (www.potterybarn.com) Ford suggests drawing up a game plan for entertaining, and tackling as much as possible ahead of time. “Set the table the day before, or the week before if you don’t use your dining room all the time. Collect serving dishes for all the food you’re making, and mark each with a slip of paper so you know where to put the green beans without having to think about it.” Pottery Barn’s Design Studio blog offers a play-by-play for a successful Thanksgiving dinner; there are menus, decor options and a loose timetable on the website, www.potterybarn. com. ■
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013
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Seen & Scenes
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 29, 2013 46
RBC’s Support For Emergency Relief Efforts For The Philippines RBC IS refunding the $13.50 money transfer online remittance fee for its RBC International Remittance service from November 1, 2013 to February 28, 2014 inclusive, for money being sent from Canada to personal recipients in the Philippines. By refunding these fees, RBC hopes to make it easier for RBC clients to send money to those impacted by Typhoon Haiyan. RBC International Remittance is an online money transfer service for RBC clients who are enrolled in Online Banking. To enrol in Online Banking, clients can visit any RBC Royal Bank branch, call Royal Direct (1-800 ROYAL 1-1 or 1-800-769-2511) or go online to selfenroll. Further information is available at http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/sendmoney/index.html In addition, the RBC Foundation has donated $100,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to support emergency relief efforts. Anyone wishing to make their own donations to the Canadian Red Cross can do so at any RBC branch across the country, up until Friday, December 13, 2013. After that date, donations can continue to be made directly at Canadian Red Cross locations across Canada – more information is available at Red Cross disaster relief.
Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones editor@canadianinquirer.net Associate Editor Laarni de Paula
People clamber aboard a passenger jeep in Tacloban City Monday, two weeks after super typhoon Yolanda hit. Everyday life is slowly returning to normal in the city. PHOTO BY EXEQUIEL SUPERA/NIB PHOTO
Here are the special RBC bank account numbers that have been set up in four zones across the country, for donations to the Canadian Red Cross in support of their emergency relief efforts in the Philippines: WESTERN ZONE: (Saskatchewan, Alberta, North West Territories, British Columbia, Yukon and Manitoba.) Bank account number 00009-108649-5
ATLANTIC ZONE: (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.) Bank account number: 00004-100087-6 ONTARIO ZONE: Bank account number: 03252-101606-2 QUEBEC ZONE: Bank account number: 05101-110273-0 ■
An open letter to the editor: Philippine Canadian Inquirer DEAR MS. Editor, The images we see on TV all the time are simply appalling, disgusting and despairing especially when one looks at them with the background of the despicable and morally corrupt situation in our Congress and the influence of another ignominious character named Janet Lim Napoles. One wonders what has happened to the very humanity of some of our people that they can sleep through the nights after looking at the horrible pictures of the sufferings of our people and not feel any guilt. Have they already lost whatever sense of “delicadeza” they have as people, or have they sold their souls to the devil for the sake of money and power? At this time of great calamity where people have simply vanished, died, or are dying from hunger, thirst and simple diseases brought about by the disastrous typhoon, can these people in our government and other higher places still think of hoarding the money they have stolen from the people and not be bothered at all? Can they still eat sumptuous meals, drink and be merry or dress up so
lavishly and not feel any shame at all? What has become of us as a people or a country that claims to be the only Christian nation in Asia? Instead of doing good for others, some seem to be more occupied in hoarding billions of pesos to be used as fuel to burn their souls in hell. We who are living in other countries are so taken up with collecting donations of food, clothing and money to send to the Philippines. But very often our question is “to whom to send the donations that we can be sure will reach the people?” To the government? Certainty not, otherwise some government officials from the lowest barangay captains to the town mayors to the highest government officials will be the first to choose the best relief goods for themselves or their friends and relatives or to use them for politicking, as what have been reported in the past. The money? Heaven knows how the millions of donations not only from individuals but from other governments are spent. Perhaps the people should now demand a strict accounting of how those millions of dol-
lars are spent to make sure that they do not end up in the pockets of the politicians . It was good that the Philippine Consul of Vancouver announced on TV that we should give our donations to the Red Cross—not to the government—(although he did not say that, it is implied) so that the Canadian government can double whatever donation we can gather. So that is what most of our organizations here in Vancouver are doing, giving our donations through the Red Cross where we hope they will be used for the purpose we intended. This is not yet the last disaster that will come to the Philippines. Mr. P. Noy, and the members of the Justice Department, we ask you, please use the power vested on you by the people to make sure that what was stolen from them by our corrupt and conscienceless officials and their private links be returned to the people. That money should be used properly to build the necessary infrastructures to better protect our poor for the next calamity. (Florchita Bautista, Vancouver, BC—Nov. 18, 2013) ■
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Correspondents Gigi Astudillo Angie Duarte Maria Ramona Ledesma Katherine Marfal Frances Grace Quiddaoen Agnes Tecson Ching Dee Socorro Newland Lizette Lofranco-Aba 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 Advertising Sales Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 alice.yong@canadianinquirer.net Antonio Tampus (604) 460-9414 PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Editorial Assistant Phoebe Casin Graphic Designer Shanice Garcia Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at Suite 400, North Tower | 5811 Cooney Road, Richmond, B.C., Canada Tel. No.: 1-888-668-6059 or 778-8893518 | Email: info@canadianinquirer. net, inquirerinc@gmail.com, sales@ canadianinquirer.net Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly every Friday. Copies are distributed free throughout Metro Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. Member
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