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CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER
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PH presidential debate erupts in heated exchanges
Binay, the Martial Law and singing a new tune
Comelec to make May 9 polls most transparent election
Flood of tributes follows news of Rob Ford’s death
Security beefed up across world after Brussels attacks
Some winners, some losers emerge from first federal Liberal budget THE CANADIAN PRESS
AFTER CLOSED-DOOR SESSION Maia Santos-Deguito, RCBC Jupiter branch manager, and her lawyer emerge from the executive session of the Senate blue ribbon committee, which is looking into the laundering of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / PDI
Forgo dependence on money, says Tagle BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer FOR HOLY Week, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is encouraging the faithful to forgo their dependence on money, forsake violence and be merciful to neighbors and enemies. In his sermon yesterday, Tagle lamented how people’s obsession with
money and power had made them cold to the needs of their neighbors. “The world today no longer counts on God. We count on money, arms, private armies, intimidation and connection, and if we continue to do these, it is very easy to lose mercy [for] our neighbors,” said Tagle, who officiated Mass at Manila Cathedral in observance of Palm
Fil-Can in Focus: Clifford Belgica
OTTAWA — Budgets giveth and they also taketh away. Here is a look at some of the winners and losers in Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s debut budget: Winner: First Nations. The budget allocates $4.22 billion over five years for improvements, including $2.6 billion for on-reserve education, $1.8 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure, $634.8 for child and family services, $969.4 million over five years for education infrastructure and $554.3 million for housing needs. Winner: Veterans. The disability award for vets will rise to $360,000, retroactive to 2006, while the earnings loss benefit to injured vets will rise to 90 per cent of pre-release salary. The government will re-open nine veterans’ service offices across the country and add a 10th office. The government says this means $5.6 billion more in direct payments to veterans and families over five years.
❱❱ PAGE 26 ❱❱ PAGE 9 Forgo dependence
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Want to know if you’re in a ‘crime hotspot’? There’s a PNP app for that BY JAYMEE T. GAMIL Philippine Daily Inquirer
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Emerson Carlos points on the map the portions of Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) which are set for re-blocking and road repair by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) starting at 2 a.m. on Maundy Thursday to 2 p.m. on Easter Sunday. CHRISTOPHER LLOYD T. CALIWAN / PNA
No Holy Week break from Edsa traffic BY MARICAR B. BRIZUELA Philippine Daily Inquirer EXPECT HEAVY traffic on Edsa during the four-day Holy Week break, not because of vehicular volume but due to the repair of certain areas on the southbound and northbound lanes. In the agency’s Sunday radio program, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Emerson Carlos said that the repair work would start at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23 and end at 5 a.m. on Monday, March 28. According to Carlos, the affected areas are the stretch of Connecticut, San Juan City up to Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City on the southbound lane; and Madison Street in Mandaluyong City until Ortigas Avenue, Quezon City on the northbound side. The repairs would be extensive as it would cover several lanes on both sides. The MMDA assured motorists, however, that the road work would be done one lane at a time and at irregular intervals so that Edsa would remain passable. Also set to undergo repairs are portions of two streets in Quezon City—C.P. Garcia after Jacinto Street and Quirino Highway in front of Asia United Bank Lagro in Novaliches. One-day curing period Carlos said that the road work on Edsa was expected to be finished by noon on Easter Sunday. “The DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) gave us the assurance that [it] will use concrete which requires [a] one-day curing [period],” he added, noting that the previous curing period was three days. Carlos said that the MMDAwas allowing the conducting of road repairs during Holy Week as most streets were expected to be empty with a huge number
of Metro Manila residents headed for the provinces for the four-day break. “This will also [reduce] repairs and reblocking in the coming months, especially during weekends,” he added. The MMDA also announced that the Pasig River ferry system would not operate from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday. “We will, however, have the Stations of the Cross using the Pasig ferry on Monday, March 21, from 9 a.m. starting at the Guadalupe Station until Plaza Mexico which is near the Manila Cathedral,” Carlos announced. He encouraged the public to participate in the activity which would stop at churches near ferry stations. The MMDA earlier announced that 2,363 personnel would be deployed for Holy Week to man traffic flow on busy roads in Metro Manila starting on March 23. MMDA Traffic Discipline Office Head Cris Saruca said that most of these men would be assigned near bus terminals, churches, ports and airport terminals. He added that the MMDA expected traffic to be less heavy in Metro Manila next week since a lot of residents were expected to leave for the provinces. “But roads going to the north and south will be congested,” he said, referring to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) and South Luzon Expressway (SLEx). Expected to be affected as well were roads leading to SLEx such as Magallanes, Quirino Avenue and Osmeña Avenue; and Balintawak, A. Bonifacio, Mindanao Avenue and Visayas Avenue headed for NLEx. The MMDA also said that provincial buses would be exempted from the number coding scheme on March 23 to accommodate passengers bound for the provinces. ■
AN ONLINE project of the Philippine National Police aims to warn the public if they are entering a crime-prone area in Metro Manila. The “Bantay Krimen” (Crime Watch) website (www.bantaykrimen.com) and app allow users to view a “crime map” that indicates the number of crimes reported in an area based on PNP data since January. “When citizens are informed that a particular area is a hotspot for robbery and theft, the normal reaction is to shy away from those places; then they won’t get victimized. I would like to think crimes would be prevented [through the app],” said PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez during the launch on Wednesday. Bantay Krimen was a joint project between the PNP and a team of developers from the University of the Cordilleras in Baguio City. Downloadable for free, the app also provides contact information on the police
and fire stations near a particular area. It also comes with a crime reporting platform, though this is available only to users authorized by the PNP to serve as “force multipliers,” like barangay officials enrolled into the system. The restriction is deemed necessary “to prevent pranksters from getting into the system,” according Director Benjamin Magalong, head of the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management. Through a smartphone’s mobile data and GPS functions, the app can alert users when they are entering into a crime hotspot. At this stage, the crime mapwill reflect only incidents of robbery and theft (including those of cars and motorcycles). For now, the app is also available only to Android users. “Wewill continue to improve and make it accessible to more users,” Marquez said. “We are also focusing first on the major crimes that have impacted the communities in National Capital Region. [Other index crimes] such as murder and homicide will be inputted later in the system.” ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
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PH, US agree on 5 ‘bases’ US supplies, troops coming as Edca starts BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PHILIPPINES and the United States yesterday announced five locations where American forces will have access under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), including one facing disputed islands in the South China Sea. The announcement came after strategic talks in Washington, where the allies reiterated their opposition to militarization of outposts in the South China Sea, where six Asian countries have competing claims. China has built artificial islands with airstrips and military facilities as it asserts its claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, including islands and reefs claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. The two sides also announced the prospect of “significant” US funding for maritime security initiatives in the Philippines, support that comes as Manila pursues efforts to boost its external defense. Ensuring strategic American presence in each of the Philippines’ island groups, Manila and Washington announced that they had agreed to use four air bases and one military reservation for deployment of US forces under the Edca. One of the bases where US forces will have access is in Mindanao, where the United States is concerned about the presence of Muslim extremist groups. Five locations
The locations are at Antonio Bautista Air Base in Puerto Princesa, western Palawan, which faces the hotly contested Spratly islands in the South China Sea; Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro, southern Mindanao; Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga province; Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija province, used in joint Philippine-US military ex-
ercises, and Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu. Notably out of the list are the two former US bases in the Philippines: Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Subic Naval Base in Olongapo City, Zambales province, where US military ships dock every year on routine visits. Subic is closest to Panatag Shoal (international name: Scarborough Shoal), 230 kilometers west of Zambales, where the United States has seen Chinese activity that could be a precursor to more land reclamation in the South China Sea. China seized the shoal in 2012 after a two-month standoff between Chinese and Philippine vessels. It was the incident that forced the Philippines to bring its territorial dispute with China to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in January 2013, asking the tribunal to invalidate China’s claim to almost all of the 3.5-million-squarekilometer South China Sea. Reporting the Chinese activity at Panatag Shoal on Thursday, Adm. John Richardson, head of US naval operations, expressed concern that a ruling on the case expected in coming weeks could trigger a Beijing decision to declare an exclusion zone in the South China Sea. Richardson said the United States was weighing responses to such a move by China. Call for restraint
In a joint statement issued after the annual US-Philippine Strategic Dialogue in Washington, Washington and Manila called for restraint among parties in the South China Sea dispute, saying claims should be pursued in compliance with international law. “Both sides expressed their firm opposition to the ongoing militarization of outposts in the South China Sea and discussed their common view that the installation of new military assets on
An aerial view of the Subic station and, to the left, Naval Air Station, Cubi Point. PH1(NAC) DAVID R. SANNER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
the outposts escalates tensions,” the statement said, referring to China’s deployment of fighter jets, surface-to-air missiles and installation of radars on disputed islands and reefs in the strategic waterway. The two sides also “discussed options to address further militarization and unilateral actions in the South China Sea,” it said. They reiterated their stand that the ruling of the UN tribunal on the Philippine arbitration case against China “would be legally binding” on both claimants—an apparent call on Beijing to respect the legal process it has shunned, invoking instead “indisputable sovereignty” over the South China Sea. During the dialogue held on March 17 and 18, the two sides discussed next steps for the implementation of the Edca. The 10-year Edca was signed by US and Philippine officials in 2014, but it only got the green light in January after the Philippine Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional. It is a key part of the Obama administration effort to reassert US presence in Asia. The deal would give the US military greater access to Philippine military bases through rotation of troops, ships and aircraft for humanitarian and maritime security operations. Foreign Undersecretary Evan Garcia and Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino cochaired the meeting with their US counterparts, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel and Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear. Strengthening alliance
The United States and the Philippines also “reaffirmed [their] shared commitment to strengthening [their] alliance, in terms of ensuring both countries’ mutual defense and security, as well as jointly contributing to regional peace, www.canadianinquirer.net
stability and economic prosperity,” the statement said. “They committed to continue developing, planning and executing defense cooperation activities to reinforce their respective national defense capabilities and interoperability, in the areas of maritime security and domain awareness, enhanced joint activities, humanitarian and disaster response, counterterrorism, cybersecurity and information sharing,” it said. Discussions also touched on funneling greater US aid to boost the capacity of the Philippine military, including modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines with specific focus on maritime security and speedy delivery of humanitarian assistance in times of disaster. In particular, the US Department of Defense is planning to seek congressional funding for maritime-related projects in the Philippines, the statement said. US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Amy Searight said the Pentagon had told the US Congress of its intention to provide $50 million to help build regional maritime security. She said the Philippines would get “the lion’s share” of the funds, which are expected to go toward improving radar and other South China Sea monitoring capabilities. Movements ‘very soon’
US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg told reporters yesterday that movements of supplies and personnel to the base locations would take place “very soon.” Goldberg described the Edca as “a pretty big deal” that would allow for a greater US presence as part of the US rebalance to Asia and enhance the alliance with the Philippines. He stressed, however, that the agreement did not allow for permanent US ❱❱ PAGE 12 PH, US agree
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‘Let Mother Earth breathe’ BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer
UNA demands equal billing for its reply BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer
published or aired against them” on the same page or section as the assailed article.
THE UNITED Nationalist Alliance (UNA) has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to compel the Philippine Daily Inquirer to publish with the same prominence its reply to the paper’s report on Vice President Jejomar Binay’s alleged transfer of P100 million to Hong Kong through the same remittance firm involved in the $81million money laundering scheme now under investigation at the Senate. UNA on Friday filed before the Comelec a verified claim invoking the right to reply to the PDI report, saying that it was “intended to tarnish” the name of Binay, its standard bearer. An exclusive INQUIRER front page story on Thursday said Binay had routed P100 million to Hong Kong through Philrem Service Corp., the same remittance firm tagged in the transfer of $81 million in stolen funds from the Bangladesh central bank to fictitious bank accounts in the Philippines. The story on Binay was based on a report by the Anti-Money Laundering Council. The INQUIRER published UNA’s comments denying the story alongside the original report on the same page on the same day it came out. The complaint, filed by UNA secretary general Jose Virgilio Bautista, said the PDI report was meant to undermine Binay’s presidential bid, and it “put UNA in a bad light.” “The article was clearly intended to tarnish the reputation and besmirch the name of Jejomar C. Binay in order to discredit him in the public, and thereby diminish, if not destroy, his chances of winning in the May 2016 elections,” Bautista said. UNA invoked Section 16 of Comelec Resolution No. 10049, which gives all registered political parties and candidates “the right to reply to charges
Not what the law intends
To election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, however, the provision that UNA invoked applies only in situations where a rival candidate made the accusation, not when a media organization publishes a report based on other sources. “This is not the right to reply that the law intends… If it is an ordinary report, then freedom of the press must be upheld,” Macalintal explained when reached by phone yesterday. He said the provision only applies when it is a political opponent that airs the allegation, “not to news items made by a media entity based on reliable sources, subject of course to balanced reporting where the other side is always taken into consideration.” “Otherwise, with every other report that comes out in the papers, they (politicians) will invoke the right to reply,” he said. If that happens, he said, “where is freedom of the press there?” UNA had imputed ill motive to the INQUIRER for its stories on Binay, citing a report two days before the questioned story about how Binay received billions in kickbacks from infrastructure projects in Makati City during his term as mayor, based on a report by the AntiMoney Laundering Council. The Binay camp said AMLC had since corrected its initial report, clarifying that Binay only had one bank account containing P1.7 million, and not 242 accounts containing billions in funds. Binay has a pending P200-million civil claims suit against the INQUIRER, AMLC officials and 12 others for “conspiring to destroy his reputation and, consequently, to derail his presidential bid.” The Vice President is facing a string of corruption allegations, all of which he has denied, attributing the reports to a purported organized effort to derail his presidential bid. ■
ture worldwide.” According to the CCC, “(v)arious science-based studies have linked the emergence of new infectious diseases, TIME TO “give Mother Earth a break,” destruction of the ecosystem, supertythe Climate Change Commission (CCC) phoons, droughts, floods and mudslides, said as it urged Filipinos to join today’s and the unusual rise in sea levels to cliEarth Hour and turn the lights off from mate change.” 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. The Philippines has experienced 328 “If people need weather-related mato rest after a week jor occurrences from of working, isn’t it 1994 to 2003 caused only just that we give by climate change, Mother Earth a break the most by any other from all carbon diThe Philippines country in the world. oxide emissions and has experienced After Supertyother human activi328 weatherphoon “Yolanda,” the ties that cause global related major strongest typhoon warming for at least occurrences from to make landfall, one hour?” CCC head 1994 to 2003 hit Eastern Visayas Emmanuel de Guzcaused by climate in 2013, the Philipman said in a statechange, the most pines became the ment. by any other world’s poster child Joining Earth country in the for climate change Hour “allows Mother world. and a leading voice Earth to breathe,” he at the Paris Climate added. Change Summit last The CCC described year. climate change as With the Philipone of the world’s pines in the lead, most pressing security issue, as it causes countries vulnerable to climate change extreme weather conditions that have pushed to limit temperature rise to 1.5 “posed serious threats to food supply, degrees Celsius to prevent catastrophic water, health, livelihood and infrastruc- repercussions. ■
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Philippine News
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
PH on US list of major money launderers BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer
tivities and arms trafficking, and potentially narcotics.
THE NEXT President should make the easing of the bank secrecy law one of his top priorities because of the embarrassing position in which the country has found itself in the alleged laundering of $81 million stolen by hackers from the central bank of Bangladesh, according to Sen. Sergio Osmeña III. Osmeña said amending the law has now become a necessity with the Philippines being identified as one of the major money-laundering countries in 2015 in a report on money laundering and financial crimes by the US State Department released earlier this month. Osmeña joined an earlier call made by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amado Tetangco Jr., who also chairs the Anti-Money Laundering Council, to amend the “very strict” Republic Act No. 1405, or the Law on the Secrecy of Bank Deposits, which he said was one of the obstacles in fighting money laundering. But with the latest controversy over the theft of $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s US account that was transferred to the Philippines where it vanished without a trace, there may be hope that his longstanding proposal, which has been stymied in Congress, to amend RA
Casinos the weak link
Osmeña said the US State Department had identified the Philippines as one of the major moneylaundering centers in the world in a report issued this month.
1405 will prosper, Osmeña said. “I hope this puts pressure on the next administration to give it priority, because it’s embarrassing. This is, No. 1, the biggest bank scam in Asia. People will say, ‘Do not send money to the Philippines because it’s a moneylaundering center,’” Osmeña said. It emerged in a Senate investigation into the theft that the $81 million stolen last February from the US Federal Reserve account of the Bangladesh central bank was wired to the Jupiter, Makati City, branch of Rizal Commercial Bank-
ing Corp. (RCBC). The funds were then passed on to a foreign exchange broker, which transferred some $30 million in cash to an ethnic Chinese man who is believed to be a casino junket operator and the rest into accounts at two casino companies. Serious concern
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Osmeña said the US State Department had identified the Philippines as one of the major money-laundering centers in the world in a report issued this month. He was referring to the International Narcotic Control Strategy Report of the department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, which was posted in the US State Department website earlier this month. “Money laundering is a serious matter in the Philippines because of its international narcotics trade, high degree of corruption among government officials, trafficking in persons and the high volume of remittances from Filipinos living abroad,” the report said.
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It said the Philippines faces challenges from sophisticated transnational drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs), including “Hong Kong triads,” or criminal syndicates, that use the country as a drug transit country for illegal drugs, mainly cocaine and methamphetamine. “These DTOs use the Philippine banking system, commercial enterprises, and particularly casinos, to transfer drug proceeds from the Philippines to offshore accounts,” it said. “Other transnational criminal organizations, including groups based in Africa, are expanding their presence throughout East Asia and will likely continue to exploit the Philippine financial system to launder and transfer drugtrafficking proceeds,” it added. It also said insurgent groups in Mindanao clean dirty money through ties to organized crime, with the funds obtained from kidnapping-for-ransom ac-
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The report also said organized crime groups have infiltrated casinos in the region and have facilitated prostitution, narcotics trafficking, loansharking, and suspect junket and VIP gaming tours. “International experts and observers note that the Philippine casino industry is a weak link in the country’s AML/CFT (antimoney laundering/combating the financing of terrorism) regime,” it said. It also took note of the findings of the Global Financial Integrity that ranked the Philippines eighth in the world with regard to illicit outflows primarily due to abusive trade mis-invoicing, a form of trade-based money laundering. The report also said the Anti-Money Laundering Council, throughout 2015, continued its efforts to amend the AntiMoney Laundering Law (Amla) to include casinos, but was hampered by politics. “Progress has been slow as national elections near and because of extensive lobbying from the casino industry. Considering unsuccessful attempts in the past, the inclusion of casinos under the Philippines’ AML/CFT regime may not occur absent sustained international pressure,” it said. It also noted that Congress did not approve the inclusion of real-estate agents in the expanded list of covered institutions under the amendments to the Amla. It is thought that the high end of the country’s booming property development sector also caters to foreigners who may be laundering money. Leni for amendment
Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo yesterday said she agreed that the country’s tough bank secrecy law should be amended to prevent criminal syndicates from using the Philippines to launder dirty money. “From the start, I have been campaigning for the bank secrecy law to be eased up because while the primary purpose of it is to protect the depositors, it’s being used to cover up wrongdoing,” Robredo, a vice-presidential candidate of the ruling Liberal Party, said while campaigning in Santa Rosa, Laguna province. Robredo, who who attended a “Zumba for Leni” event organized by Santa Rosa Mayor Arlene Arcillas and Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, said individuals seeking elective posts should show the way by making available details of their banks deposits to the public. “While the law has yet to be relaxed, I think it’s incumbent upon us candidates to issue an authorization allowing the public to scrutinize our bank records once we filed our COCs (certificates of candidacy),” she said. ■
Philippine News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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Philippine presidential debate erupts in heated exchanges THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A Philippine presidential debate erupted into heated exchanges Sunday over allegations of corruption, a lack of patriotism and incompetence hurled against the leading candidates in a tight race to lead their poor and divided nation. The second of three debates, held in the central Philippines’ vote-rich Cebu province, aimed to shift the public’s focus toward policy debate and programs to confront social ills. The four main contenders in the May 9 elections, however, often used the nationally televised debate to exchange personal attacks. President Benigno Aquino III ends his six-year term in June. Under Aquino, the economy has been growing steadily but daunting challenges remain, including corruption and poverty, issues that figured prominently in Sunday’s three-hour debate. Among the first to square off were Sen. Grace Poe, who has led in pre-poll surveys, and Vice-President Jejomar Binay. Poe sniped at Binay for failing to attend a Senate inquiry into allegations of large-scale cor-
Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel "Mar" Roxas II (right) and Senator Grace Poe (3rd from left) enjoy a light moment before the start of the second Presidential Debates at the University of the Philippines (UP) Campus in Cebu City on Sunday night (March 20, 2016). Also in photo are Vice President Jejomar Binay (left) and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. PNA
ruption against him when he was still mayor of the financial district of Makati city. Binay lashed back by questioning Poe’s love of her country because she once renounced her Filipino citizenship and became a U.S. citizen to live with her family in the United States. “You always say you’re a true Filipino, but how can you be one when you took an oath to become an American and you abjured, you were ashamed of where you came from,” Binay said. Elections officials disquali-
fied Poe from running for president last December, saying she was not a natural-born Filipino as the constitution requires of presidential candidates and did not have the 10-year residency requirement ahead of the elections. Poe brought her case to the Supreme Court, which ruled this month that she was eligible to run. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of southern Davao city, who is known for his tough stance against criminality and corruption, challenged Binay to with-
draw from the presidential race with him if the vice-president can prove that Duterte has been charged with graft. “I’d like to be very, very brutally frank to the vice-president. Sir, you have so many cases ... that’s public knowledge,” Duterte said. Duterte accused another candidate, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, of a lacklustre response to the massive deaths and devastation wrought by Typhoon Haiyan, which ravaged the central Philippines in 2013.
Duterte called Roxas “a weak leader,” adding that the former interior secretary appeared “lost, like a zombie” amid the typhoon devastation. Roxas said Duterte would be a dangerous leader because he has a tendency to spring into action based solely on his own suspicions, alluding to Duterte’s repeated threats to have criminals and drug pushers killed across the country if he wins the presidency. The final debate will be held next month. ■
‘Semana Santa’ still part and parcel of the Catholic Filipino’s way of life BY PRIAM F. NEPOMUCENO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Despite their modern get-up, Catholic Filipinos, especially the faithful, are still taking time to observe the week-long commemoration of Christ’s sacrificial journey through death and resurrection which paved the way for the world’s redemption from its sins. The ritual starts with Palm Sunday — the Sunday before Easter — where people bring palm fronds (palaspas) to church to be blessed by the priest. People would usually bring home the blessed “palaspas” believing that it will drive away evil spirits or any bad vibe.
“Pabasa”, locally known as “Pasyon”, the Gregorian chanting of Christ’s life, death and resurrection starts on Holy Monday and ends depending on the speed of ‘readers’. Starting Maundy Thursday, most offices, academes and businesses would take a break commencing the “Triduum.” It is the period of three days when the passion, death burial and resurrection of Jesus is contemplated. “Visita Iglesia” or “Church Visit” is also done during this day. People would normally visit seven churches representing the Seven Last Words or “Siete Palabras” or 14 churches as likened to the 14 Stations of the Cross. Good Friday is underlined with somber street processions
and the remembrance of Jesus’ Seven Last Words. Processions are quainter in the provinces. Some towns would perform a ‘Passion’ play called Senakulo. Devotees selfflagellate or even have themselves nailed on the cross. By doing so, they believe that sins will be forgiven and personal prayers granted. At 3:00 p.m., everyone falls to utter silence contemplating on the death of Christ. Prayers and reflections abound followed by the funeral procession of the deceased Christ. The funeral carriage would be brought around town for veneration. Black Saturday is the spillover of the previous day’s solemnity. Parishes would stage Judas’ suicide for his guilt in www.canadianinquirer.net
Parishioners of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem by raising their "palaspas" or palm fronds for the blessing by the priest during the observance of Palm Sunday. ROLAND NABLO / PNA
betraying Jesus. Some would find it funny and strange, but in some remote villages, young men would flock to local ‘quack doctor’ and have their rite of passage to “manhood” (circumcision). Come Easter Sunday, everybody would join a joyous celebration starting with a dawn
mass called the ‘Salubong’. People would prepare bountiful food and some would even do the west-influenced Easter egg hunting. During this time, everything would be for the celebration of Christ’s resurrection and his reunion with his mother, Virgin Mary. ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
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JOJO BINAY OFFICIAL FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
Binay, the Martial Law and singing a new tune BY KATHERINE PADILLA Philippine Canadian Inquirer
ippines from his 3 year self-imposed exile in the United States despite of threats against his life. The fear of Ninoy’s family came true. Fires were shot and Ninoy fell off the tarmac with a hole in his head, an event that changed the course of Philippine history. In a memoir penned by Jun Sambalilo published in Inquirer.net, he recalled the day he brushed elbows with Binay, the Mabini lawyer. Days after Ninoy was executed, Binay, along with top Mabini lawyer, Rene Saguisag, spoke in a rally that protested Ninoy’s execution. “Binay stood tall in his courage to fight the Marcos regime,” Sambillo wrote. He
nigno Aquino III, son of Ninoy and Cory signed into law the Republic Act 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013. The MANILA — United Nationalist Alliance law is to award P10 billion pesos to about (UNA) standard bearer Jejomar Binay 10,000 victims of human rights abuses on Sunday said that he’s in favor transduring the Marcos regime. ferring the remains of former president More than a year later, the Human Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. to Libingan ng Rights Victims’ Claims Board started mga Bayani, a statement that conflicted accepting applications from victims of with his history as human rights lawyer human rights abuses. during the Martial Law period. In June 2014, Vice President Binay Before he sat as Makati City’s mayor, said that he will file an application for Binay was a lawyer by profession. A himself and urged his “fellow victims” to graduate of UP College of Law, Binay follow suit. passed the bar in 1968. “I call on my fellow detainees and huOn September 21, 1972, then-presman rights victims during Martial Law ident Ferdinand to file their claims. Marcos, Sr. put the It’s not the money country under Marbut the recognition tial Law, a period that of the justness of our would last for nine The former human rights lawyer and political fight against tyranny years. During these prisoner who called the abuses committed and oppression,” he years, Binay spent his during the Martial Law era as “tyranny and said. time doing pro bono oppression” had dismissed the martial law as “a But in September works for politithing of the past.” 2015, Vice President cal prisoners in the Binay sang a new 1970s. Soon after, he tune. The former huwas jailed at Ipil Reman rights lawyer habilitation Center in Fort Bonifacio, a saw Binay join rallies against the Mar- and political prisoner who called the detention center where political prison- cos regime with Ninoy’s widow, boycott abuses committed during the Martial ers of the Martial Law era were usually products produced by crony companies Law era as “tyranny and oppression” thrown. Binay, who once defended po- and defend a rival candidate of Imee had dismissed the martial law as “a thing litical prisoners of their human rights, Marcos in a congressional seat. of the past.” had become a political prisoner himself. On February 25, 1986, Corazon “Cory” “We have to move on. It’s over,” he Upon being freed, Binay helped found Aquino took office as the 11th and first said. Movement of Attorneys for Brother- female president of the Philippines. Today, Binay is in favor of interring hood, Integrity and Nationalism, Inc. President Aquino appointed Binay as the remains of Marcos at Libingan ng (MABINI), an organization whose mem- acting mayor of Makati. mga Bayani, a cemetery where military bers include lawyers Joker Arroyo, Rene Binay sat as Mayor of Makati for 21 personnel, heroes and martyrs rest. Saguisag, Lorenzo Tañada and Wigberto years. On June 30, 2010, he left the Binay, who devoted years of law pracTañada. He continued to advance hu- Makati City Hall and moved to the Co- tice in advancing human rights and man rights as MABINI lawyer. conut Palace, when he won the vice- fighting off dictatorship now deemed On August 21, 1983, Benigno “Ninoy” presidential race. the man he protested against for decades Aquino, Jr. decided to return to the PhilOn February 25, 2013, President Be- as worthy of being laid beside heroes. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
Philippine News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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They were ‘like family,’ but suspects no-show in Durolfo murder probe BY KRISTINE FELISSE MANGUNAY Philippine Daily Inquirer
security video from Solaire Resort and Casino, where Durolfo and the four respondents checked in for their party. “Many have seen it, there is nothing to ALL FOUR suspects in the death of So- hide. Somehow (the four respondents) laire hotel officer Edgel Joy Durolfo did already admitted that they really ennot show up for the preliminary inves- tered the (hotel) room, that they went tigation at the Parañaque City prosecu- out carrying (Durolfo), took her to the tor’s office on Tuesday. clinic and went straight to San Juan de Raymond Fortun, counsel for the Dios Hospital. For me, if they want to reDurolfo family, said only the lawyers of set on the ground that they want a copy three respondents, Josiebell Uy, Molo of the (footage), notwithstanding that Hwang and Rodney Ynchausti, attended what is material in this case is what hapthe 2 p.m. proceedings, where the media pened inside the room and not outside, was not allowed. then it’s part of due process. We will give The fourth susthem the benefit,” pect, Paul Egoc, filed Fortun said. a counteraffidavit Deputy City Prosearlier in the day. A ecutor Napoleon copy of the document Ramolete set the next obtained by the InThere was no hearing for March 29. quirer showed that reason at all for Egoc maintained in Egoc mainly repeatme and the rest of his six-page countered the account earlithe respondents affidavit that he and er given by Ynchausti to harm or lay a his companions were to Solaire security ofhand on (her and innocent, saying they ficials: That Durolfo do something) “loved (Durolfo) so bumped against furthat will result in much.” niture while jumping her death. We “Up to this day, I and dancing, had difwere very close am mourning her ficulty breathing, and to each other; we passing with deep resuffered a seizure at were like family. gret and sorrow,” he a Solaire hotel room said, calling Durolfo during their drug-fua “beloved friend” eled get-together on he first met in Octothe night of Feb. 25. ber last year through Durolfo was proYnchausti, his high nounced dead in school classmate. the hospital hours later on Feb. 26. On March 4, the Parañaque police charged Private party her live-in partner Ynchausti and the According to Egoc, he, Ynchausti and three others with murder based on au- Durolfo agreed on Feb. 20 to have a “pritopsy results showing that the 26-year- vate party” on the 25th. Durolfo then old victim sustained contusions and said she would reserve a room at Solaire hemotomas and died of “asphyxia by and that her coemployees Hwang and manual strangulation.” Uy would be joining them. In an interview with the Inquirer, All except Hwang arrived at Solaire’s Fortun said the lawyers of Uy, Hwang Sky Tower around 9:30 p.m., checking and Ynchausti asked for a reschedule as into Room 812. Durolfo asked the group they first wanted to obtain copies of the to wait for Hwang. “In the meantime,
(she) was dancing and jumping around the room and taking pictures with (Uy).” Durolfo then slipped and bumped against a cabinet. “We asked her if she was OK and she replied, ‘OK lang ako (I’m OK),’” Egoc said. Around 11 p.m., Hwang arrived and Durolfo distributed ecstasy pills for everyone to take, Egoc said. Later, she was again “jumping and rolling on the carpet floor and shouting ‘Ang taas-taas ko (I’m so high).” At 2 a.m. on Feb. 26, he heard Durolfo tell Ynchausti that she could not breathe. Ynchausti gave her water and loosened her upper garment. Egoc remembered massaging her toes as she sat on the bed. When they noticed Durolfo’s nails turning black, they decided to take her to the hospital. Ynchausti carried her to the elevator. But in their confusion, and fearing that “we might be noticed and confronted” by Solaire employees and guards on the
Forgo dependence... Sunday. Catholics flocked to churches to have their palm fronds blessed and recall Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Deploring the people’s tendency toward materialism, Tagle alluded to the $81-million money-laundering scheme involving the Philippines. “How can we learn from Jesus’ mercy and compassion in a world without mercy and compassion?” he asked. “Millions of dollars changing hands and until today we do not know [who is responsible]. Everyone is washing their hands [of it]. Where is mercy? Where is ❰❰ 1
compassion?” he said. “This Holy Week, let us learn from Jesus Christ how we can bring back mercy and compassion to our world,” he added. Tagle said the message of the passion and death of Jesus was for people to learn to forgo their desire for revenge against their enemies and to put their trust in God when wronged. “Jesus was hurt but he chose to be silent and not to seek vengeance … . He even begged God to forgive those who hurt him,” the archbishop said. “Let us put our faith in God [so] we will have peace of mind and we will learn to love our enemies,” he said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
ground floor, “we brought her back into the room.” Egoc said they also worried at that point that Durolfo’s ‘’employment (at the hotel) might be affected.” Once inside the room again, they repeatedly asked Durolfo how she was feeling. Ynchausti and Uy decided to give her a bath. “And when she was brought out of the bathroom (Durolfo) even gave us a thumbs-up sign,” Egoc said. But when Durolfo suffered a seizure, they decided to bring her out again and head for the hospital, he said. “There was no reason at all for me and the rest of the respondents to harm or lay a hand on (her and do something) that will result in her death. We were very close to each other; we were like family,” Egoc said. At Tuesday’s proceedings, lawyers Pelagio Lawrence Cuison and Michael Daguinod appeared for Ynchausti, while Ruben Gerald Ricasata III represented Uy. ■
Philippine News
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Thousands of Group airs appeal: public schools lack Help keep Metro esteros clean clean water, toilets, DepEd reveals BY MARICAR B. BRIZUELA Philippine Daily Inquirer
BY KRISTINE FELISSE MANGUNAY Philippine Daily Inquirer MORE THAN 3,000 public schools—both elementary and secondary—have no regular source of safe and clean water. This according to Education Secretary Armin Luistro who addressed the 2016 Rotary International Presidential Conference on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools (WASH) which opened at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City on Friday. The two-day conference was organized by the international civic organization to “spread awareness of the water crisis, share each other’s knowledge in finding solutions, and ultimately gain the commitment to implement these solutions, whether individually or collectively.” According to Luistro’s PowerPoint presentation, the 3,628 elementary and secondary schools that have no regular source of safe and clean water represent 7.76 percent of the 46,739 public schools in the country—38,657 of them elementary schools, and 8,082 secondary schools. “We have identified different sources—deep wells, rain catchments, water districts and nearby streams and rivers as sources of water. It is critical that the school managements recognize the advantages and disadvantages of such and monitor how
these are used,” Luistro said. As for the number that had sanitation facilities, Luistro’s presentation showed 91.8 percent of the overall number of public schools in the country had toilets. Louise Maule, sanitation and hygiene expert at the United Nations Children’s Fund, however, said that while the Philippines had a “relatively good” national toilet-to-pupil ratio—one toilet is to 39 pupils— “some areas are being missed.” She cited as an example the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which she said had a ratio of one toilet to more than 100 people. “Hygiene promotion coupled with basic washing sanitation… not only improves children’s health but increases their performance in schools… but half of schools in lower and developing countries have no amenities,” Maule said. She said that apart from the lack of amenities, globally there was also “still some way to go” before the facilities that do exist were something “we would like.” According to Luistro’s presentation, there were at least 3,620 public schools that had “substandard” toilets. The DepEd also needs to check whether or not the toilets listed were actually functional. “We want all schools to end up being three-star schools (including their toilets). We recognize getting there is a process,” Maule said. ■
LANCE CPL. WESLEY TIMM / U.S. MARINE CORPS / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
AFTER THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) collected 288 truckloads of garbage and silt from five esteros in its ongoing cleanup, an environmental watch group has urged people living near these waterways to maintain their cleanliness. According to the EcoWaste Coalition, households and businesses near rivers, drainage systems, canals and esteros must dispose of their garbage properly to avoid clogging these waterways and prevent flooding during the rainy season. “We request our city dwellers, especially those with houses by the rivers and canals, to cooperate with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and concerned local government units in protecting our waterways from garbage,” EcoWaste Coalition coordina-
tor Aileen Lucero said on Sunday. Citing Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, Lucero said that throwing garbage into the streets and bodies of water “was unethical and unlawful.” Dumping of waste in public places carries a fine of P300 to P1,000 and/or a 15-day community service, she warned. “Among other major impacts, indiscriminate trash disposal increases flooding events that can pose [a] serious hazard to life and property,” Lucero said. “By properly managing our discards, we prevent trash from getting into the drainage systems, blocking the drains and ultimately clogging creeks and rivers, and hampering the free flow of water which can aggravate floods and other water-related disasters,” she added. The group also challenged local and national candidates to include the protection of waterways in their platforms. Lucero
said tackling water and sanitation issues and solutions would benefit all residents in Metro Manila. Last Friday, the MMDA said that it was able to collect 288 truckloads or 2,989 cubic meters of garbage and silt from the first five esteros it cleaned up through its “Estero Blitz” cleanup drive which started on March 1. These were the North and South Antipolo Open Canal, Estero de Kabulusan, Estero de Magdalena, Estero de San Miguel and Estero de Quiapo. The MMDA earlier announced that it would ask the Ombudsman to help it go after barangay officials who neglect the waterways in their area despite repeated clearing operations conducted by the agency. It warned that should it find the waterways full of trash again, it would file a report in the Ombudsman and ask it to “determine the liability of the negligent barangay officials.” ■
RCBC sacks Deguito, Torres over falsification of documents BY JOANN SANTIAGO Philippines News Agency MANILA — The two officers of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Jupiter, Makati branch, where the USD 81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank (BB) was coursed through, have been axed from their jobs. In a statement Tuesday, lawyer Maria Cecilia FernandezEstavillo, head of RCBC’s legal and regulatory affairs group, said RCBC Jupiter branch manager Maia Deguito and senior customer relationship officer Angela Torres have been terminated. This, after the two were found to have violated bank policies and procedures and falsified commercial documents, the statement said. “Other branch and bank officials are expected to be meted www.canadianinquirer.net
out various sanctions ranging from termination to suspension in the coming days when the internal investigation is expected to be completed,” it said. The bank said failure of the two to strictly follow the country’s banking laws “facilitated the alleged laundering of USD81 million of remittance that is now being investigated by the Senate and other government agencies.” “Appropriate charges in court will be filed by the bank against Deguito and Torres by next week,” it added. During last week’s Senate hearings on the alleged money laundering, Deguito admitted opening an account for businessman William Go, where the stolen money was consolidated, without his consent. After being stolen from the dollar account of the BB with the Federal Reserve of New
York, the USD 81 million was sent to four accounts in RCBC Jupiter branch on February 4, 2016. These were sent, at various amounts, to the accounts of certain Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez. Upon checking the identification documents submitted by these four when they opened the accounts on May 15, 2015, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) learned that the documents were fake. Last week, the Council filed money laundering charges against Deguito, Cruz, Lagrosas, Vergara and Vasquez. Deguito and Torres are also facing charges filed by Go, who claimed that the two used fake identification cards and forged his signatures to open a bank account for him. ■
Philippine News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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PNP assures to stop harassment by rebels in agricultural plantations, mining industries in Mindanao BY LILYBETH G. ISON Philippines News Agency MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has assured to help agricultural plantations, mining industries, and other big businesses in stopping harassment by insurgents in Mindanao. In a closed-door meeting recently between the PNP’s Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) in Western and Eastern Mindanao and the private security forces of the industries, the PNP introduced a scheme known as “Adopt Your Police Station Program,” which will deploy adequate police forces in areas threatened by the rebels. Police Senior Supt. Daniel G. Macatlang Jr. of DIPO-Western Mindanao explained the scheme as a cooperation between the PNP and businesses in solving the atrocities committed against plantations and other businesses in southern Philippines. According to the scheme, business groups can donate a piece of land in areas regularly harassed or threatened by rebel forces so that the PNP can build a police camp to help secure their businesses. Macatlang said that the property to be donated should be outside of the businesses’ grounds and just near the vicinity of the company’s area of operations. Thus, it will also be able to protect the communities around the area. Under the “Adopt Your Police Station Program,” policemen trained for combat operations will be deployed from their Risk Public Safety Battalion (RSBP). Macatlang said the number of police personnel to be deployed depends on the gravity
of the threat. A police force ranging form a platoon to as big as a battalion can be deployed to stop the rebels’ harassment, he said. Macatlang pointed out that private security guards are not combat-trained, they are just for protection and ordinary police work, and can’t fight the rebels. However, if they are military trained and given highpowered weapons, they can also fight the rebels. He also emphasized that the policemen fighting insurgencies are not only engaged in combat operations. They are actually doing Law Enforcement Operations, which means that the police forces work closely with the Army and would normally stay behind after the fight with the rebels. Macatlang said the police component includes the SOCO (Scene of the Crime Operatives) to document what happened during the fight to prevent the rebels’ black propaganda. The SOCO will identify the casualties, the origins of their arms, thus it will prevent the rebels from claiming that the casualties are innocent farmers or just plain ordinary citizens. “The key in this scheme is the cooperation of the industries with the PNP and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). Usually, we are called when the atrocities are already happening or have happened already. If you will provide us advance information, even before the rebels attack, we can help prevent it,” said Macatlang. He said the rebels would normally send warnings or demand for revolutionary taxes but industries will either just keep quiet or give in to their demands. If the police or military are informed ahead of time, then their harassment will be
Two farmers sprinkle their backyard garden with water to ensure growth of their vegetables against the scourging heat of the sun. AVITO C. DALAN / PNA
anticipated and could even be prevented. The cooperation will even be strengthened if the PNP is provided with a place where they can build their camp, which will be permanent, then the policemen assigned to the police stations can also engage in intelligence and surveillance work, he added. Macatlang said the Adopt Your Police Station Program will require at the minimum, a 500-square-meter of land and the PNP will be responsible for building the camp’s facilities. The policemen to be assigned are combat-trained and they can fight the rebels. The company, which would like to join the program, should request and file directly to the PNP chief. They will be required to file incidence of atrocities committed by the rebels to determine the size of the police force to be deployed. Macatlang said the presence of the police force will be maintained in the area, they can also
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train the private security forces of the company and work together in maintaining peace and order in the community. The insurgency problem affects almost all industries in Mindanao. It has been a major problem in the last five decades caused by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) or commonly referred to as CNN. Their atrocities involve arson, extortion, harassment, black propaganda, infiltration of labor unions, meddling with agribusiness venture agreements, among others. There are 52 communist fronts nationwide — 24 are in Eastern Mindanao or 46% while the remaining 28 fronts (54%) are scattered in the rest of the country. Most of the big industries in the countryside are located near rebel bases. They are vulnerable to CNN-initiated violent and non-violent attacks. Rebels also harass smaller businesses in the areas where they
operate. A couple of years back, the base camp of Sagittarius Mines Inc. in Tampakan, South Cotabato, then the biggest mining investment, was burned down by rebel forces while its workers were celebrating New Year’s Day. Last year, the NPAs attacked Mindanao plantations almost on a monthly basis beginning in January until November. The NPAs burned heavy equipment, container vans and cargo trucks loaded with bananas in various parts of Mindanao, such as T’boli and Surallah in South Cotabato; Barobo and Lianga in Surigao del Sur; Quezon, Bukidnon; Maco, Compostela Valley; and Maasim, Sarangani Province. The attacks stopped, probably because of the annual ceasefire agreement during December, but the NPAs have stepped up their violent activities against the plantations starting late January up to last week. The attacks covering the period January 22 to March 15, 2016, have already surpassed the number of attacks for the whole of 2015. The NPAs burned four Martignani spray trucks, a warehouse inside a packinghouse compound and other heavy equipment from eight different plantations in Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Sarangani and South Cotabato. They have also bombed transmission towers in various parts of Mindanao. The turbulent situation in Mindanao could stop further expansion of the plantations, at the very least, but it could worsen when industries start packing up and leaving for other countries eyeing to grab the lucrative fruits export market in Asia and the Middle East from Mindanao exporters. ■
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Philippine News
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
12M living in extreme poverty BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer MORE THAN 26 million Filipinos remain poor with almost half, or a little over 12 million, living in extreme poverty and lacking the means to feed themselves, according to official government statistics for the first semester of 2015. The figures, however, reflect slight improvements from the same period in 2012, two years after President Aquino assumed power, as well as in 2009 and 2006, under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presidency. “The statistics are actually good. Yes, we can be happy about it,” said Rosemarie Edillon, acting deputy director of the National Economic and Development Authority. She said it was a sign that economic growth was trickling down to lower-income families, helping bridge the wealth disparities between the rich and the poor. The economy has been growing at an average of 6 percent under the Aquino administration. “We have attributed this first to fast-rising incomes,” Edillon said. “The incomes of the bottom 30 percent have actually improved the fastest. That means that inequality is actually being reduced as well.” Marginal declines
In the first three months of 2015, 26.3 percent of Filipinos were found to be living below the poverty line, a measure of the minimum income required to meet basic food and nonfood needs, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a briefing yesterday. This translates to about 26.48 million Filipinos, based on the Philippine population in 2015 of 100.7 million. In 2012, national poverty incidence stood at 27.9 percent of the population. In 2009, it was at 28.6 percent, practically unchanged from the 2006 figure three years before, of 28.8 percent. The 2015 survey also found that 12.1 percent of the population—roughly 12.18 million Filipinos—are living in subsistence or extreme poverty, meaning their earnings are not enough for them to eat three square meals a day. This, too, indicates marginal declines from the three previous years the survey had been taken. In 2006, 14.2 percent of Filipinos lived in extreme poverty; in 2009, the number stood at 13.3 percent, and at 13.4 percent in 2012.
have the opportunity to send their children to school. “As you know the 4PS program does not really intend to reduce poverty in the long term because the amount of transfer is only about 20 percent. And for 2015, [it’s targeting] only 15 percent of people below the poverty line. It’s only pantawid (to help tide them over),” she said. But the program “provides social protection because it provides regularity of income stream, so you know that month after month, you will receive this amount of cash,” she said. Some of the poorest regions, however, appear to be in dire need of more intervention.
The 2015 survey also found that 12.1 percent of the population—roughly 12.18 million Filipinos—are living in subsistence or extreme poverty. SUSANA SECRETARIAT / FLICKR
respectively. In 2012, 52.9 percent of the populace was poor, and 20.4 percent extremely poor.
Regional variations
Edillon said the government’s 4Ps, or conditional cash transfer program, has helped a great deal in reducing poverty, providing safety nets to families which otherwise would not
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had the highest proportion of the poor, who comprised 59 percent of the ARMM population in 2015. Almost a third of ARMM residents, or 30.1 percent, were living in extreme poverty, the survey showed. The trend on both indicators in the conflict-ridden and economically stunted region has risen dramatically over the years. In 2006, 49.8 percent of the ARMM residents were considered poor, while 21.1 percent were extremely poor. In 2009, the figures were at 49.7 percent for poor and 15.1 percent,
By contrast, Metro Manila had the lowest proportion of the poor, in spite of the heavy presence of urban poor. The capital region only had 6.5 percent of the population below the poverty line, although its share has been on the rise as well, from just 4.4 percent in 2006 to 5.4 percent in 2009. According to the PSA, the national poverty threshold in 2015 stood at P10,969 per month, meaning a family of five needed to earn that much to be able to eat, have shelter, travel, buy medicine, or go to school, among other life necessities. On the other hand, the national food threshold was P7,638 per month—the requirement for a family to be able to have regular meals.
It is important to note that the poverty and food thresholds are averages, and the actual numbers vary from region to region. For example, the poverty threshold in Metro Manila is highest at P12,517 per month, and lowest in Mimaropa ( Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) at P10,097. The same trend holds true in food threshold. Metro Manila has the biggest income requirement at P8,741 per month, and Mimaropa, the smallest at P7,051 per month. National statistician Lisa Grace Bersales said the findings came from the PSA’s Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted in July 2015. The two-phase survey is taken every three years, with the first phase in July and the second in January of the following year. The full report, including the findings from the second survey, is made available in the fourth quarter. ■
against the Chinese. In a statement issued yesterday, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the petitioners that lost the case against the deal in the Supreme Court, called the selection of the five locations “a midnight deal” by President Aquino’s administration, saying the bases were chosen within his last few months in office. “Aquino will go down in history as the President who brought back US bases to our shores. There will be strong resistance from the areas where these bases will be set up,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said. Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate called the selection of the
five locations an “utter surrender of our national sovereignty.” “President Aquino should be called to account for this,” Zarate said. Kabataan Rep. Antonio Tinio said the agreement would be the most extensive military bases deal since World War II. “Under the postwar military bases agreements, US military presence was confined mainly to Clark and Subic. Under the Edca, US forces will be hosted continuously (in the guise of ‘rotational presence’) in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,” he said. Senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares said the deal was a cause for alarm, as it would make the Philippines a tar-
get for enemies of the United States. “The most prudent way to deal with China is through the [UN] arbitral court and the help of the international community,” he said. Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla brushed aside the criticisms, citing the Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Edca. “The ruling of the Supreme Court speaks for itself: There is no violation of the Constitution. There are no new US bases being built,” Padilla said. In Cagayan de Oro, Councilor Teodulfo Lao said he did not understand why the city was offered to American forces when it was not a strategic location in
the defense of Philippine interests in the South China Sea. He said allowing US forces to use Lumbia Air Base could have negative effects, such as the rise of prostitution in the city. On the other hand, he said, the presence of US forces could boost the confidence of investors in the city. Councilor Lourdes Darimbang said she opposed the plan because it could increase the security threat to the city. But Mayor Oscar Moreno said he saw no problem with US use of Lumbia Air Base, home to the Philippine Air Force 15th Strike Wing. He said the long-term benefit of US use of the base should be considered. ■
4Ps a big help
ARMM in dire need
NCR least poor
PH, US agree... bases that existed for 94 years until 1991, when the Philippine Senate voted to evict them. “This isn’t a return to that era. These are different reasons and for 21st century issues, including maritime security,” Goldberg said, adding that all US deployments would require Philippine approval. In a separate opinion issued with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Edca, Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who is actively campaigning against China’s “creeping invasion” in the South China Sea, said the deal was essential in building “credible defense” for the Philippines and that it would give the country “a fighting chance” ❰❰ 4
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Philippine News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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UP among top universities in the world in 4 subjects BY FILANE MIKEE Z. CERVANTES Philippines News Agency
The Meralco Building.
ELMER B. DOMINGO / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Electricity bills to rise this year BY RIZA T. OLCHONDRA Philippine Daily Inquirer A YEAR and P2.5 billion in collections since power consumers started paying the feed-in-tariff allowance (FIT-All), households are set to pay a higher round of fees for renewable energy (RE). The FIT-All is the uniform charge all power consumers pay (as a line item in electricity bills) to fund guaranteed energy rates for qualified RE projects and encourage more solar, wind, mini-hydro and biomass developments. According to the National Transmission Commission (Transco), which manages the FIT-All fund, the first inflow of collections was last March 16. An estimated P2.5 billion has been remitted to the fund over a one-year period, Transco said. Going into the second year of FITAll collections, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is finalizing its order on the new—and higher—FIT-All, which was provisionally approved earlier this month, ERC Chair Jose Vicente B. Salazar said in a text message. “The order is now being finalized for the signature of the members of the commission.” The regulatory body assessed the list of existing FIT-qualified projects as well as pending applications that are likely to have met the requirements for eligibility before the March 15 deadline for the second batch of solar FIT. It should be noted that the ERC-approved FIT rates are P6.63 a kilowatthour (kWh) for biomass, P5.90 a kWh for hydro, P8.53 a kWh for the first phase of wind and P7.40 a kWh for the second phase of wind, as well as P9.68 a kWh for the first phase of solar and P8.69 a kWh for the second phase of solar power. “The list totaled 1,054 MW (megawatts). Using this capacity, we provisionally computed the FIT-All to be 12.40 centavos (a kWh),” Salazar said. All power consumers connected to the
grid would do well to brace themselves for a year of higher charges as more RE projects qualify for FIT incentives. A typical household consumer of Manila Electric Co. uses 200 kWh of electricity amonth. All other power bill components being equal, the 200kWh consumer will have to pay an additional P24.80 a month starting April if the government formally approves the higher FIT-All rate. The order was in response to Transco’s application, as FIT fund manager, to collect a higher FIT-All than the current 4 centavos a kWh. TransCo was designated as the FIT-All fund administrator on behalf of renewable energy producers. Energy experts said the FIT scheme would initially result in higher power bills but this should lead to stable power prices over time. FIT rates are expected to decrease as RE technologies get cheaper and more efficient. The price of RE power is also seen to remain stable or even get cheaper in the long run compared to oil and coal, which get depleted and thus demand higher prices over time. The government allowed the installation of 500 MW of solar power projects, 400 MW of wind power projects, 250 MW of hydro and 250 MW of biomass projects. Transco sought the regulator’s approval in December to collect a FIT-All of 10.25 centavos a kWh from consumers starting this year, but the ERC approved a higher rate based on certain assumptions such as the total capacity of 1,054 MW that was likely to qualify for FIT. In is application, the agency said it sought a lower FIT-All from the computed level of 14.70 centavos ak Whin view of the ERC’s decision limiting the forecast renewable energy generation included in the computation to those renewable energy plants with certificates of endorsement. ■
MANILA — The University of the Philippines (UP) has emerged as the country’s premier university across four subjects, according to the latest figures published on Tuesday by the independent international rankings agency Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). In the 2016 edition of QS World University Rankings by Subject, UP was ranked between 101-150 in English Language and Literature; in the 151-200 category for both Modern Languages and Agriculture and Forestry; and between the 301-400 range in the field of Medicine. UP’s performance was less than stellar compared to last year’s rankings as it had landed places in 8 subjects including Communication & Media Studies, Development Studies, Politics & International Studies, and Sociology. This year’s results also saw top two universities in the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and De La Salle University (DLSU), securing spots.
Both DLSU and ADMU were ranked in the 151-200 range in English Language and Literature. Meanwhile, DLSU was featured between the 201-300 band in Education. According to the news release, the tables are dominated by United of States higher education frontrunners Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, each of which claims the number one spot in 12 subjects. UK universities come first in eight subjects, while the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Switzerland each claim one top spot. A total of 16 universities claim at least one number one spot. Published annually since 2011, the QS World University Rankings by Subject highlights the world’s top-performing institutions in a broad spectrum of individual academic areas. The 2016 edition features 42 subject tables with six subjects added to the list this year--anthropology, archaeology, mining engineering, nursing, performing arts, and social policy. The annual subject rankings are based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and research impact. ■
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Philippine News
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
MIAA to fliers: No big sendoff, Bets urged: Bare welcome groups, please stand on plight of ‘lumad’ folk BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer
WHILE THE Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) is preparing for the expected influx of passengers at the country’s premier airport for the Holy Week break, it asked travelers to do their part, including avoiding coming to the airport with a huge sendoff or welcoming party. Over the weekend, the MIAA started over the weekend its Oplan Semana Santa 2016 and came up with additional measures to ensure “safe, reliable and convenient” operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) from March 18 to 28. In a statement, MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado assured the public that the airport management was prepared for the influx of passengers expected to head for the provinces this Holy Week. According to Honrado, “preparations are in place to make sure that traveling will be as hassle-free as possible this Holy Week. We advise passengers to prepare accordingly as
well, especially as they travel to the airport.” During Holy Week last year, from March 27 to April 6, the MIAA recorded nearly 600,000 departures and over 570,000 arrivals at the four airport terminals. To help decongest the airport, Honrado asked passengers to minimize the number of people sending them off or welcoming them home. Every day at the airport, at least five persons send off a passenger and at least 10 people welcome an arrival, bloating pedestrian volume at the terminals. The so-called “barangay” sendoffs and welcomes, generally accepted as part of Filipino culture, are a common sight at the airport and cause crowding at the entrances and exits of the terminals. Apart from limiting the number of people at the terminals, the MIAA asked travelers to avoid bringing prohibited items to the airport and as much as possible, put belongings in a single carry-on baggage for faster processing at security screening checkpoints. Honrado also asked passengers to factor in the anticipated heavy volume of vehicles in
their travel time to the Naia, advising them to leave for the airport at least three hours before their expected time of departure. As part of Oplan Semana Santa 2016, Honrado said that the MIAA has coordinated with air carriers for the efficient processing of their passengers at the check-in counters which entails the deployment of more airline personnel. Likewise other agencies operating at the Naia, such as the Office for Transportation Security; and Bureaus of Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine have said that they would deploy more personnel to ensure the smooth flow of passengers. To ease the flow of traffic and protect passengers, the Airport Police Department (APD) will work closely with the Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the traffic enforcement units of Parañaque and Pasay cities. While the APD and the Avsegroup secure the airport complex and its immediate vicinity, the MMDA and local traffic enforcers will man major roads leading to the terminals. ■
Poe retains survey lead, vows “no letup” campaign in remaining 48 days BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Independent presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday promised to campaign “with no letup” in the remaining 48 days after Mayor Rodrigo Duterte took share of the top spot in the recent Pulse Asia survey commissioned by ABS-CBN television network. The ABS-CBN/Pulse Asia survey showed Poe and Duterte now statistically tied with the lady senator getting a voter preference rating of 26 percent while Duterte garnered 25 percent. Opposition candidate Vice
President Jejomar Binay and administration standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II came close with ratings of 22 percent and 20 percent, respectively while Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago got 3 percent. “Once again, with humility and gratitude, we thank the Filipino people for getting us to the top of the latest Pulse Asia survey. We owe it to them for making their voices heard on their choice for the next president,” Poe said. “With about a month and a half remaining in the campaign period, there will be no letup in our efforts to get to the people to explain what Gobyernong May Puso can do for them,” she added.
Poe said she would be steadfast in connecting with the people and earning the highest mandate come May 9. In the vice presidential survey, Poe’s running mate and Santiago’s vice presidential candidate Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos were also statistically leading in the Pulse Asia survey held from March 8 to 12 with 2,600 respondents. Marcos garnered 25 percent while Francis Escudero received 24 percent followed by Roxas’ running mate Congresswoman Leni Robredo with 20 percent; Senator Alan Peter Cayetano with 13 percent; Senator Antonio Trillanes IV with 6 percent; and Senator Gregorio Honasan with 5 percent. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer
Barangay Hagan, Bongabong, she added. More than half of the evacuees were children, Ruiz said. ADVOCATES OF children’s “Indisputably, forced disrights on Sunday called on pres- placement triggered by miliidential candidates to present tarization has deprived thoutheir stand on the displacement sands of people, especially of indigenous peoples (IP) in children, of their inviolable conflict-ridden areas that has right to live in a peaceful enviled to trauma and health issues ronment,” she said. among their young. “Most of these families were Children’s Rehabilitation left with no choice but to leave Center Inc. (CRC) challenged their houses and livelihood bethe candidates to make their hind in order to find safe shelpositions known on the forc- ters. At the same time, children ible evacuation of “lumad” as a are traumatized and, in most result of military operations in cases, their health and educaparts of Mindanao and other tion are also affected,” Ruiz said. pockets of communist insurThousands of lumad who gency. evacuated last “Cyclical patyear in Davao tern of forced City and Sudisplacement rigao del Norte of indigenous We expect are still living in people, particuthem evacuation cenlarly the lumad (presidential ters, as the conin Mindanao, recandidates) tinued military mains a pressing to present presence in their concern houndsolutions to communities ing the country this issue. impedes their today,” said Jacsafe return, she quiline Ruiz, exsaid. ecutive director The candiof CRC. dates, Ruiz said, “We expect them (presiden- should create plans on how the tial candidates) to present solu- government could effectively tions to this issue,” she said in a ensure the welfare and prostatement. tection of children, especially Ruiz said her group docu- those in emergency situations. mented two recent cases of “The government should creforcible evacuation: in San ate a more systematic mechaMiguel, Surigao del Sur prov- nism in providing the needs of ince, on March 12 and in Bong- displaced families, including abong, Oriental Mindoro prov- the delivery of appropriate and ince, on March 16. immediate response such as Thirty-three families, or 172 relief and financial assistance, people, fled their houses in Pu- psychosocial intervention and rok 6, Barobuan, San Miguel, medical provision,” she said. due to intense operations by Ruiz said the Aquino adminsoldiers belonging to the 36th istration was to blame for the Infantry Battalion and 2nd Spe- “massive deployment” of solcial Forces of the Armed Forces diers in indigenous commuof the Philippines, she said. nities for counterinsurgency A day earlier, a Manobo purposes, and for “coddling” or farmer in the community was condoning the actions of miliallegedly shot twice by military tary and paramilitary elements agents. accused of human rights abuses. On March 16, almost 300 Ruiz urged the candidates Mangyan families, or 653 peo- to include the resumption of ple, were forced to leave after stalled peace talks between the a fire fight erupted between Philippine government and the soldiers and rebels belonging communist-led National Demto the communist New People’s ocratic Front of the Philippines Army (NPA) in Sityo Bukbok, on their agenda. ■
Philippine News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
15
Comelec to make May 9 polls most transparent election in PHL history PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Amid few concerns on possible election cheating and postponement, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday assured that the commission is working hard to make the upcoming May 9 polls as the most transparent election in the Philippines history. During the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on the Automated Election System (JCOC-AES) public hearing on the election preparation at the Philippine Senate, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said all safeguards are in place as provided by Republic Act No. 9639 or the Automated Election Law. “All the safeguards will be in place for the 2016 elections and, in fact, we will endeavor to make this election as the most transparent election in the Philippine history,” Bautista told the JCOC-AES panel. Bautista’s statement was in response to the recent Supreme Court (SC) final decision requiring the activation of the voter verified paper audit trail (WPAT) or the vote receipt printing feature of the vote counting machines (VCMs). “For sure the SC decision created curveball in our preparations for the upcoming 2016 elections but that is past, we have to move on and we are looking to catch up,” Bautista said. Bautista said the Comelec, however, will only use ‘simple receipt’ as allowed by the SC ruling. “Comelec to print only simple voters’ receipts for election. It will have no identifying marks, hashcode and security marks such as precinct number
and time stamp,” Bautista said. However, Marlon Garcia of Smartmatic technology manager said the simple receipt will have a date to be found on the left corner. Bautista said they will also propose in the Comelec en banc to adjust the voting hours from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. although the election staff including Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) can start preparation as early as 4 a.m.. “We are doing this to take advantage of the daylight. We want to start and finish while there’s still daylight,” Bautista said. Pimentel advised the Comelec to do massive information about the voting hours to make the voters aware of the need to vote early. The Comelec chairman explained that the SC decision would extend the voting time per voter from 20 seconds to at least one minute due to the time to be consumed for onscreen verification and printing of the receipts. JCOC-AES co-chairman Senator Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III found ‘overkill’ the security features having receipts and on-screen verification. Bautista agreed, saying “it might be an overkill if we will use both on-screen verification and voters’ receipts.” Bautista has expressed some concerns on the timeline for the procurement of thermal paper since it has to go through regular procurement procedure that requires public bidding. “The Comelec earlier asked government Procurement Police Board to allow emergency procurement for thermal paper and forego public bidding,” he said. The Comelec chairman said asked the JCOC-AES to cer-
Chief Superintendent Ulysses Abellera, of the Police Regional Office in the Cordilleras, writes on a ballot to test the vote counting machine during the demonstration and press conference of Comlec. Looking on are lawyer Ederlino Tabilas, director of Comelec-Cordillera; and 702nd Brigade Commander, Gen. David Diciano. Law enforcement agencies vowed to keep the peace in the region during the conduct of the May 9 national election. JOJO B LAMARIA / PNA
tify that the procurement of thermal paper is an emergency matter. Rep. Elpidio Barzaga of lone district of Dasmarinas City said the JCOC-AES has no jurisdiction to make recommendation to forego the public bidding requirement for the purchase of thermal paper. Pimentel believes the Comelec is already in emergency situation, saying the commission has limited time to meet the deadline for the purchase of thermal papers that have to be delivered in 81 provincial treasurers in time for the May 9 elections. Commissioner Robert Lim said the Comelec has already started retraining Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) regarding the SC decision requiring the printing of the voters receipts. “The retraining or training is critical because if you give a person without knowledge at all
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how to operate the machines, even the simplest procedures would not be implemented,” Lim said. Bautista said the Comelec has to use PHP200 million from its savings to purchase thermal paper, scissors and receptacles. Bautista, meanwhile, assured also the persons with disabilities (PWDs) and senior citizens will be given priority while medical assistance will be provided on elections day. Pimentel also questioned why the VCM has no capability to cut paper properly, prompting the Comelec to purchase scissors. Pimentel, however, said he will pursue the issue in the regular hearing of the Senate committee on electoral reforms under his stewardship. On the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV), Lim informed the panel that more than one million Filipinos abroad have registered for the AOV, sur-
passing the 2013 mid-term election’s numbers of 700,000 registered voters. Lim said all systems go for the AOV set from April 9 to May 9. Susan ‘Toots’ Ople of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, however, said only few Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) got information about the AOV due to lack of Comelec’s efforts to reach out the Filipinos abroad. The Comelec officials told the JCOC-AES that their target is 100 percent transmission of the election results during election day. Transmission test is set April 25 to 29. In the country’s only third computerized election, the Comelec will use 92,509 VCMs, excluding 3,535 contingency VCMs to be distributed in different municipalities depending on the size of the area. ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
ANALYSIS
China seeks new maritime tribunal to replace UN By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer ANTICIPATING an adverse decision from the UN Arbitral Tribunal on its sweeping territorial claim over almost the entire South China Sea, China has declared it would establish an international maritime center as it seeks to shore up its claim, which is at the center of an escalating regional dispute. In a report last week, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said the declaration came as the UN tribunal prepares to decide the case related to China’s claim in the South China Sea, where it has built a series of artificial islands capable of hosting military facilities. The declaration is seen to counter mainly a case lodged by the Philippines in the UN tribunal as a means to settle competing territorial claims in the region, where China has made sweeping assertions of sovereignty. China has refused to participate in the arbitration case. According to the AFP, the new maritime center will help China “implement its strategy of becoming a powerful maritime country.” It quoted Zhou Qiang, head of the
Supreme People’s Court, as he delivChina has long-standing disputes military to pursue its claim, but last ered a report at the annual session of over territory in the East and South month, the government served nothe communist-controlled National China Seas, where it has aggres- tice that it was not relying solely on People’s Congress. Zhou said the sively pursued its claims through diplomacy to enforce its claim and center would “resolutely defend Chi- an increasingly muscular military was beefing up its military muscle to na’s national sovereignty, maritime posture. In recent years, the waters stand up to Chinese bullying. rights and interests, and other core of the South China Sea have become The government has announced interests.” His statement sends the the stage of confrontation for domi- that it would lease five TC-90 trainmessage that China is taking a tough nance between China and the United ing aircraft from Japan to “help hardline stance to reinforce its gun- States—the world’s two largest eco- our Navy patrol our territory” in boat diplomacy and its building of a nomic and military powers. China the Spratly Islands. The announcechain of fortresses built on reclaimed has never clearly defined its claims ment drew fire from China, whose land in disputed territories, includ- to the strategic region through which foreign ministry spokesperson ing those claimed by the Philippines. about a third of the world’s trade Hong Lei warned that Beijing is The planned maritime center is as passes. “firmly opposed” to challenges to offensive as the enits sovereignty and croachment of Chisecurity and would The general urged other nations to exercise their freedom na’s Coast Guard “remain on high to fly and sail in international space and waters claimed by China, and Navy into disalert.” He added: “or risk losing it throughout the region.” puted territories “Japan is not diin the South China rectly concerned Sea. China’s declaration in effect The Philippines and several other in the South China Sea dispute. We means that it will establish an inter- littoral states, including Vietnam, urge the Japanese side to mind its national maritime court supplanting Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, have words and actions and refrain from the UN Arbitral Tribunal. competing claims in the South China undermining the peace and stabilZhou said China already has a Sea. The Philippines’ decision to take ity of the region.” system of maritime courts that have its case to the UN Arbitral Tribunal China’s steady buildup of miliadjudicated more than 225,000 cases based in The Hague has infuriated tary facilities in the Spratlys has since 1984. His report provided no China, which insists that the matter prompted US officials to warn that details about how the new center lies outside the court’s jurisdiction. if the buildup is left unchecked, Beiwould differ from existing institu- Among the rival claimants, the Phil- jing would raise the risk of military tions. ippines has relatively the weakest conflict. And the New York Times
reported that the scale of the multibillion- dollar effort of China has “challenged the status quo that has defined the Western Pacific since the end of World War II.” Tension between the United States and China has spiraled, with the two sides reaffirming their unwillingness to back down. The standoff has led a top US general to say that there is “a possibility of a miscalculation” leading to conflict in the increasingly militarized region. Gen. Lori Robinson, commander of the Pacific Air Forces, said that the United States would continue to fly daily missions over the South China Sea despite China’s new missile batteries. The general urged other nations to exercise their freedom to fly and sail in international space and waters claimed by China, “or risk losing it throughout the region.” As the New York Times reported, “While officials in Washington say China is nowhere near gaining the capacity to keep American forces out of the South China Sea, analysts say the buildup will make it more difficult for the US Navy to quickly defend allies with weaker militaries, like the Philippines.” ■
PUBLIC LIVES
A day at the Marcelo H. del Pilar Museum By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer THE OTHER day, I was guest speaker at the opening of the new Marcelo H. del Pilar Museum in Sitio Cupang, Bulacan, Bulacan, where the famous Filipino writer and leader of the propaganda movement in Spain was born. Located in the same site where a shrine to his name has long stood, the Del Pilar museum is one of the 21 museum-libraries built all over the country by the National Historical Commission under the leadership of Dr. Maris Diokno. I took along my 15-year-old granddaughter, Julia, an incoming Grade 11 student, who, like many of her English-speaking generation, continues to grapple with the polysyllabic sounds of the Filipino language. As we left the North Luzon Expressway and made our way through the interior streets of Bulacan, I told her about the historic significance of this province. “How much do you know of Marcelo H. del Pilar, one of its greatest sons?” I asked her. “I remember this place, Lolo,” she told me when we reached the Del Pilar shrine. “I was here on a field trip with my classmates, but there was very little to see then.” The museum was filled with students when we got
there. They were busy navigating Our nation had modern begin- ers of his generation who, like him, various topics in Philippine history nings. It was not sprung from the yearned and actively campaigned for a on the monitors of about 15 comput- self-assertion of any particular eth- country of their own in which reason, ers, all connected to the museum’s nolinguistic or racial or religious justice, and equality would be availWi-Fi. At the short program, I spoke community. Indeed, it was first con- able to everyone regardless of ethnic of the deep friendship and falling out ceived in the imagination of a group origin or station in life. between Rizal and Del Pilar, the two of educated young people in whose That campaign took many forms headstrong leaders of the Filipino veins a mixture of Malay, Spanish, as it evolved. It was neither separatcommunity in Europe. Later, Maris Chinese, and other foreign blood ist nor revolutionary at the beginning. Diokno and her team of young writ- flowed. In Europe, they were often Believing that the situation in the ers and creative designers took us mistaken for Japanese or Chinese. colony might greatly improve through on a tour of the different rooms that Their occasional reference to each representation in the Spanish Cortes, constitute the core of the museum’s other—“indios bravos”—was an iron- these young Filipinos initially worked tribute to Del Pilar and his times. ic appropriation of a pejorative word for the recognition of the islands as an I was deeply autonomous provmoved by the ardor ince of Spain. They They never had a chance to understand and appreciate the and care that perenlisted the support struggles and personal sacrifices that went into the formation of vaded the entire of progressive Spanthe Filipino nation. exhibit. This is the ish politicians and exact antidote to intellectuals, carethe amnesia that seems to afflict our that signified inferiority. In time, ful not to alienate them with strident people, I told myself. I realized how they took pride in calling themselves anti-Spanish rhetoric. They sought to much we have taken for granted the “Filipinos,” a term originally used drive a wedge between the friars and existence of the Filipino nation, and for Spaniards born in the Spanish the civilian authorities that governed how little the effort we have exerted colony. the islands. to instill national consciousness in If there was anything that bound At a certain point in their work, every generation. I began to see why this group together, it was the shared each in their own time, our nation’s it has seemed so easy for many Fili- belief that, regardless of their racial or founders felt that the campaign for pinos living abroad to give up their ethnic roots, they owed the country of reforms had reached a dead end. citizenship and to swear allegiance their birth the duty to work for its col- Rizal came home in 1892 to organize to another country. They never had a lective wellbeing and progress. Jose La Liga Filipina, an association that chance to understand and appreciate Rizal was the most persistent advo- aimed to establish the foundations of the struggles and personal sacrifices cate of this nationalist view, which is a self-reliant society through trainthat went into the formation of the why he is sometimes called “the first ing in active citizenship and cooperaFilipino nation. Filipino.” But there were many oth- tive work. Despite his efforts to make
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his moves transparent, the Spaniards saw the organization as no more than a cover for insurrectionary activities, and promptly arrested and exiled Rizal to Dapitan. The Katipunan was born in the wake of La Liga’s untimely demise. Left alone in Spain to put together and publish the fortnightly La Solidaridad, Del Pilar, who missed his family so much he begged them to send money for his return trip, fell into penury and contracted tuberculosis. Rizal’s final letters to Del Pilar dripped with resentment over an unfortunate misunderstanding. His “hugot,” as my young granddaughter puts it, read thus: “The scratches inflicted by a friend hurt more than the wounds inflicted by an enemy.” But, the last of these letters hinted at a longed-for reconciliation. Rizal: “I wish to see you in Manila or here [Hong Kong] so that we can come to an understanding and we can once again be what we always were.” Del Pilar: “[Y]ou know that no other idea encourages me more than that of unity and fraternity with the coreligionists. We reserve our energies for the enemies of our tranquility.” They never saw each other again. Del Pilar died in Barcelona on July 4, 1896, a few months before Rizal’s execution by a firing squad in Manila. ■
Opinion
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
17
LOOKING BACK
Buried alive by Japanese soldiers By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer ON MARCH 9, 1945, Fr. Bernardino de Celis, an Augustinian friar, narrated what he experienced in the previous month. Howmany religious— Franciscans, Recollects, Capuchins and Augustinians—were gathered at San Agustin convent in Intramuros but restricted to their rooms and only allowed out accompanied with an armed Japanese guard? On Feb. 8, 1945, all the men were taken out of the convent and brought to Fort Santiago, where Spaniards were separated from Filipinos and their personal effects stolen from them by the Japanese. They were held for three days without food because whatever supplies were sent from San Agustin were taken and eaten by the Japanese. Their cell was so cramped that one could not lie down to sleep. After three days Celis was brought back to San Agustin, where he experienced better treatment. It was the proverbial calm before the storm. Days later they were marched out to a bodega near Santa Clara, then forced into a shelter in front of the Ma-
nila Cathedral, on the corner of General Luna and Aduana streets: “I was one of the first to enter into a very large shelter. It was long and very well made with stout timbers. We must have been about 125 in all, including about 37 priests, and I believe that in the shelter in which I entered there must have been over 80 people, because on entering I heard the soldier at the door say that at least 80 people had to enter the shelter. In the other shelter we are sure that there were 17 people of whom between 8 and 10 were saved. Perhaps there was another shelter where the others were placed, but we had no news of it. “I remained near the door. In about half an hour the Japanese began to throw hand grenades in through the air holes. We were all very badly wounded. We ran to the door in order to go out and a group of soldiers received us with a volley, and what is worse they laughed while they were doing it. Quite a number of us [fell] dead at the door. Then the Japanese covered the entrance with large stones, gasoline barrels full of earth, and earth. They covered the entrance as best they could so that
we were being suffocated. We were, in reality, buried alive. “After this, at night, [I] decided not to die there by suffocation and to get out in any way. I went up to the door and scratched and dug in the earth until I was able to open a hole to breathe through. In the morning of the 20th [February 1945], a Japanese appeared. He saw the hole I had made. He fired several shots through the hole and then covered it up again. After a while I opened it again and no more Japanese came by that way. I was lying on top of the corpses of my companions. Each bomb that fell near caused the earth from the roof of the shelter to cave in a little, so that we were all covered, partially, with dirt and stones. The groans of the dying could still be heard, the dead bodies were already decomposing—there were already worms in them—and a swarm of flies covered everything. “I had a companion near me, Mr. Rocamora, who was the only one I was able to save. I lay there near the hole until the 21st at night. Then I made the hole bigger and spent the night outside in the grass. My companion was still unable to go out because he was too
stout and I had not been able to make the hole big enough yet. In addition, his wounds were worse than mine, even though one side of my body was covered with wounds from a grenade that had burst at my side. When day came, the shelling was very intense, and since I was convinced that the Americans would come in that day, I decided to wait for them in the shelter. The whole day passed, and seeing that they had not yet come, on the night of the 22nd, being unable any longer to resist my hunger and thirst, I decided to leave the shelter and to escape. Then I told my companion and helped [him] to get out, making the hole bigger. We left there at about midnight, by the light of the moon.” Celis returned to San Agustin and was warned by the nuns to hide or return where he came from before the sentries returned. He did as he was told, and advised his companion to remain hidden while he foraged for food and drink. He found an abandoned Japanese garrison and: “[I] thought that perhaps they might have left something, no matter how miserable. I did not find food, but I found water in the tank of a
toilet —the tank was completely full. As I drank I could feel my strength coming back. I don’t know how much I drank, but it was a great deal. After drinking I did not forget my companion. I looked around for something to carry water in and I found a can. I filled it and took to him. He too was able to revive a little, and then I brought him to the place where the water supply was. There we lay until the following day. At about 5 or 6 of the morning of the 23rd February, the firing became intense—machine gun bursts and rifle fire, so much that it seemed a very inferno. In our building the windows, walls and doors fell in, and we were not able to breathe on account of the dust.” Celis was later overjoyed to see American soldiers, and only realized later that he was one of the few who survived. This and other firsthand accounts compiled in the “Report on the Destruction of Manila and Japanese Atrocities February 1945” make for very painful reading, and prove that carefully chosen primary-source documents teach Filipino students more than textbooks ever will. #neveragain ■
AT LARGE
‘O Susana!: Untold Stories of Martial Law in Davao’ By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer MARTIAL LAW “deniers,” who view the years between 1972 and 1986 as some kind of “golden age” for the country, would do well to try to get their hands on the book “O Susana!: Untold Stories of Martial Law in Davao.” Despite its rather whimsical title, “O Susana!,” edited by Macario D. Tiu, is a sometimes searing chronicle of the years immediately before, during and after the era of police and military raids, “hamletting” of poor rural communities especially of lumad, summary arrests and killings, and yet also of challenging and gratifying grassroots work in different areas of Mindanao. The book’s title refers to the Susana building, described as “an unpainted and tired-looking two-storey wooden building” in Davao City. It housed on the ground floor the offices of Menzi, an agribusiness concern, as well as the store of Davao Farms, a “popular source of eggs and dressed chicken,” whose products unfortunately permeated the premises with the stink of chicken feed and manure. In 1971, the building already looked ramshackle, recall the early residents. Its vacant second floor was given over to the offices of various foundations and agencies, including
those of the association of banana The denizens of Susana were made pino people who struggled through growers, and eventually of various of different stuff: mainly commu- the dark years of martial rule, the NGOs (before the term even came nity organizers and Church-based part played by the religious women into fashion) and Church-based or- researchers who reached out to com- in this historical drama could not be ganizations. Flora Ninfa Santos Leo- munities in isolated areas, especially ignored. In fact, even if most of them cadio, one of the pioneer occupants those of indigenous peoples. only played silent roles by standing of Susana, writes in her essay that as My copy of “O Susana!” was sent to quietly at the back during rallies and more and more offices were estab- me by a good friend, Mary Lou Biron- demonstrations, their very presence lished there, “it began to draw people do-Caharian, known to one and all as in the public sphere across the counand visitors, perhaps because it was “Belo.” Her story (and those of many try empowered thousands of people. housed in an unprepossessing no- other contributors to the book) is il- Long before the photos of those nuns frills building, with no artifice.” lustrative of the tough and resilient facing the military at Edsa holding With time, though, especially after characters who frequented Susana rosary beads became iconic images the declaration of martial law, Susana building: young, idealistic, coura- of the 1986 People Power Revolution, also “became known as the activists’ geous and devoted. They braved rough there were already fearless nuns lair, never mind if in Davao who had some of us did not stood their ground Long before the photos of those nuns facing the military at deserve the credit.” facing the military Edsa holding rosary beads became iconic images of the 1986 Already coming eye-to-eye.” People Power Revolution, there were already fearless nuns in Davao under suspicion, Indeed, what “O who had stood their ground facing the military eye-to-eye. Susana would soon Susana!” makes be subject to almost constant surveil- roads, crossed rivers and streams, and clear is that years before the political lance, raided time and again, although sought dialogue and understanding and social opposition to the Marcoits offices were never shot at or sub- with the poor and impoverished, in- ses and martial law coalesced after jected to “extreme harassment.” cluding indigenous tribes, Muslim the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, in *** communities and marginalized farm- Davao and other places in Mindanao, BUT “O Susana!” is not just a chroni- ers and fishers. And the irony was that individuals were raising their voices cle of life in an otherwise anonymous their organizing work was both de- and risking their lives to initiate building. It is also a retelling, told rided by those in the Left and viewed change and empower the most powthrough the lens of remembering, of with hostility by the powerful. erless among us. Their stories need life in the volatile dangerous place *** to be told. that was Mindanao in the 1970s. KARL Gaspar, a well-respected fig*** Those were the years when the ure in the religious and activist com- KNOW a woman whose life, work Moro rebellion broke out, while the munity and himself a political pris- and dedication to a cause is worthy communist New People’s Army be- oner in 1983-1985, writes that “if one of emulation and celebration? Then gan to gain ground and adherents. were to write the history of the Fili- why not nominate her for this year’s
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Ten Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS) awards? Given every two years, the TOWNS awards recognize women of accomplishment who can serve as role models to generations of younger women. Awardees are recognized for their achievements, character (or personality), commitment and pioneering zeal. Nominees must be no more than 46 years old by Oct. 31 this year, and no younger than 21. Open to Filipino citizens, the TOWNS awards are administered by a distinguished panel of judges who, by tradition, are headed by the Chief Justice. In the last awards ceremonies, the distinction gained even more significance as Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno is herself a TOWNS awardee. Nomination forms are available at the TOWNS Foundation Secretariat office, care of Cristina dela Paz at Unit 9A, MDI Corporate Center, 39th Street corner 10th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City (mobile number 09178124836). You may also get in touch with Amihan Bonifacio Ramolete, who heads this year’s TOWNS Search Committee, at the Dean’s Office, College of Arts and Letters, UP Diliman. Call her at 928-7508 or email her at towns2016award@gmail. com. The deadline for the submission of nominations is July 30. ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Canada News
Flood of tributes from politicians, public follows news of Rob Ford’s death BY PAOLA LORIGGIO The Canadian Press TORONTO — The death of Toronto’s controversial former mayor Rob Ford sent shock waves throughout the city and beyond Tuesday, with supporters and detractors alike voicing their grief and sympathy at the loss of one of Canada’s most colourful and notorious public figures. Politicians of all stripes praised the passion and fierce determination that made Ford a political powerhouse for years and endeared him to throngs of devoted followers despite the cloud of scandal that hung over him. Ford’s successor, Mayor John Tory, said he was sad the man he described as “a profoundly human guy” would not return to city hall, adding Ford’s presence “will be missed.” “The city is reeling with this news, and my thoughts are with his wife Renata and their two children, as well as Rob’s brothers Doug and Randy, his sister Kathy, his mother, Diane, and the rest of their tight-knit fam-
ily,” Tory said. of him and protected him from to & his family,” Harper said in He praised Ford as a man who the day he was born,” the state- a tweet. “spoke his mind and who ran ment said. “I miss him so much. Ford was also remembered for office because of the deeply He was my best friend.” as a “tireless fighter for the taxfelt convictions that he had.” A moment of silence was payer and a true advocate for “I remember this man who observed at Ontario’s legisla- the people he represented” by was, at one and the same time, ture as news of Ford’s death the interim leader of the federal very true to himself and true spread. Opposition, Rona Ambrose. to his principles but also very Premier Kathleen Wynne By early evening, people gregarious,” Tory said in a news said the former mayor “earned started creating a makeshift conference. “He was a person widespread respect for his un- memorial at the Ford family who loved the home in west Tocity, he loved ronto. people.” They left flowAll flags on ofers and a burning ficial poles at ToMy heart is ripped out. I loved Rob votive candle by ronto civic censo much I took care of him and a lampost on the tres, including protected him from the day he was front lawn. city hall, were born. The brash flown at halfpolitician whose mast in tribute populist ideals to Ford, whose drew unwaverpolitical career spanned more wavering persistence in the face ing loyalty from the so-called than a decade, the mayor said. A of serious health concerns.” “Ford Nation” was remembook of condolences was set up Prime Minister Justin bered on social media, where a at city hall and mourners lined Trudeau expressed his condo- flood of condolences made him up throughout the afternoon to lences to Ford’s family, as did a trending topic Tuesday. sign it. former prime minister Stephen “RIP Rob Ford, you were a Doug Ford sent a statement Harper, whose close ties to the legend,” one person wrote on to Toronto television station ex-mayor were highlighted in Twitter. CP24 late Tuesday, saying he is last fall’s federal election. “RIP Rob Ford. You may have devastated by the loss of his be“Rob was a fighter through- been Toronto’s Mayor, but you loved brother. out life & dedicated public ser- were America’s Sweetheart,” “My heart is ripped out. I vant who will be remembered another said. loved Rob so much I took care for his courage, love for ToronEven those who denounced www.canadianinquirer.net
RMNOA357 / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
his agenda voiced their grief online. “My condolences to the family of Rob Ford. Although I did not subscribe to his politics I believe he was sincere. This is so sad,” read a message on Twitter. “Clearly, I was not the biggest fan of Rob Ford, but the man has a family and actually loved Toronto. This is very sad,” read another. Ford’s death also captured international attention, with news outlets around the world publishing profiles of the politician who made headlines when he admitted to using crack cocaine. Ford bobblehead dolls, which the ex-mayor sold and autographed on several occasions, were being listed for sale online Tuesday, some with an asking price of up to $500. Proceeds from at least one edition of the so-called “Robbie Bobbies” went to two Toronto hospitals where Ford received treatment for cancer. Ford, 46, died in hospital with his family by his side after a long battle with a rare and aggressive type of cancer. ■
Canada News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
19
‘I impute no bad motives’: Liberal budget seeks to defer future arbitrator slashes amount cuts to small business tax rate owing for 14 senators BY STEPHANIE LEVITZ The Canadian Press
THE CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — More than a dozen senators who were ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars back to the Senate in questionable expense claims have had their bill reduced by a special arbitrator. Former Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie has ruled that 14 senators who owed $322,611 properly billed the Senate for travel and hospitality expenses half the time. The final bill the group of current and former senators now owe is $177,898. “I impute no bad motives to any of the senators,” Binnie said in his report. He said the predominant attitude he encountered from the senators was that they were not fully aware of the rules, rather than specifically seeking to break or get around them. “The attitude was, ‘If we knew the rules, we would follow them,’” Binnie told a news conference. “I didn’t feel for the most part that they were gaming the system.” The expenses were flagged last year in a critical audit of Senate spending by the auditor general that identified nearly $1 million in problematic expense claims. In his final report, Binnie said senators were acting in accordance with what they “believed to be their entitlements.”
The arbitration process was established after the auditor general raised questions about spending claims from 30 current and former senators totalling nearly $1 million. Binnie was appointed as arbitrator last May to oversee disputes of the auditor’s findings. Of the 30 senators identified in the audit and ordered to repay the questioned amounts, 14 chose to go through the arbitration process led by Binnie while seven opted out of it and the remaining nine paid back money, according to the Senate website. Senators found to have spent inappropriately will have 30 days to reimburse the amounts owed. Amounts outstanding range from $1,120 to $75,227, according to the latest publicly available repayment status report. The Senate expense scandal was narrowed last week when it was revealed the RCMP informed 24 of the 30 named senators that the evidence against them didn’t warrant a full criminal investigation. On Friday, the chamber of sober second thought had its dwindling numbers bolstered when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named seven new senators — the first appointments in three years and the first to be based on the recommendations of a new arm’s-length advisory board, established by Trudeau in a bid to reduce partisanship in the Senate. ■
PA-GMAI-DEARUGE-Filipino Star Magazine-AB.indd 1
OTTAWA — A Liberal campaign promise to cut the small business income tax rate appears to have itself landed on the chopping block, blindsiding the group that represents hundreds of thousands of business owners across the country. Rather than continuing the legislated decrease towards a 9 per cent rate in 2019, the Liberals are fixing the rate at its current 10.5 per cent on the first $500,000 of active business income. Additional cuts are being deferred indefinitely. The move contradicts a Liberal campaign promise to stick to the existing schedule, set out in the previous Conservative government’s last budget. Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who billed the budget as a good one for small businesses, did not directly answer a question on why the government decided to abandon the promise. “We know that for small businesses the most important thing is to have an economy that’s working,” he told a news conference ahead of his budget speech. “That’s what we want for Canada.” Morneau said the Liberal budget’s focus on the middle class benefits small business because it will provide them with more customers, as it will give more people more money to spend. But Dan Kelly, president of the Canadian Federation of
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“We know that for small businesses the most important thing is to have an economy that’s working.”
Independent Businesses, said many of those small business owners are middle-class Canadians who will forfeit millions in earnings without those tax cuts. “Cancelling that, I have to tell you, is puzzling and, from my perspective, alarming,” Kelly said. It’s not the only slap, he added — the Liberals had also promised a employment-insurance holiday for businesses that hire students, but that was also a noshow. “It is a very troubling budget, one of the worst budgets we’ve seen in the last decade or two.” During the election, all three main parties were actively courting the support of small business by sticking to the Tories’ small business tax rate plan. But then-Liberal leader Justin Trudeau created a minor controversy when he suggested small businesses set up as private corporations were a way for people to avoid paying taxes. His political opponents pounced, with the NDP calling on him to apologize and the
Conservatives accusing him of saying all small businesses were nothing but “tax scams.” The CFIB said there was no evidence to support Trudeau’s assertion, but Liberals countered that they were relying on studies by economists to back up their claim. Despite that, they pledged to lower the rate, while ensuring its benefits would go to small businesses and not wealthy individuals. Kelly said they appear to have done some of that in the budget by tightening the rules on allowing investment income to qualify for the small business tax rate and removing the ability of partners in a business to individually claim that rate. Kelly, as well as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said they are also troubled by the reference in the budget to increasing the Canada Pension Plan. “As businesses struggle, this added pressure could slow down job creation and investment,” the chamber said in a statement. ■
16-03-07 11:13 AM
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Canada News
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Video of woman pitching coffee at man over handicapped parking spot goes viral BY PAOLA LORIGGIO The Canadian Press TORONTO — A YouTube video of a woman angered by a man who confronted her for parking in a disabled parking spot outside a Tim Hortons in Toronto has sparked howls of Internet outrage. The video, posted by the man — named Ryan Favro — has garnered more than one million views since it was posted on Monday. It begins with Favro politely asking the woman about her parking as she returns to her Jeep with her Timmys coffee and ice coffee. “So why do you park in a handicapped parking spot? Are you handicapped?” he is heard asking. “No,” she says, and walks away. “Well, what makes you so
special that you can park in a handicapped spot?” he asks. “Record me, I’ll break your (expletive) phone,” she says as she gets into the driver’s seat, and slams the door. The woman then gets back out, and hurls what appears to be the iced coffee — along with profanities — at the videographer. When he then persists in asking, “What makes you so special?” she throws the coffee at him. “I’m taking this to the police, you assaulted me,” he says. “Good for you!” she yells, before backing up and driving away, licence plate clearly visible in the video. Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash said it wasn’t clear where exactly the video was taken or who took it. “If there’s a name of the guy, then we can check, otherwise I don’t know that it’s potentially
SCREENSHOT FROM THE YOUTUBE VIDEO
our case,” Pugash said. “Her behaviour is appalling.” Most social-media users agreed with that assessment with a Facebook posting of the video by Instanews Toronto drawing thousands of comments. “I’d have kicked her doors in for throwing stuff at me,” said
one poster identified as Marcus Ward. Another, posting as Heide Churchward, said: “She has no respect for the law, for any potential handicapped person needing that spot while she was inside. She has no self-respect either.” Some, however, felt both
the man and woman, who appears to be in her late 20s, were wrong. “She was inconsiderate and downright lazy, parking in a handicapped spot when you don’t have any kind of disability is potentially putting someone that needs it at risk for injury,” said Christa Terry. “As far as the guy, if you catch someone abusing a handicapped spot then yes, I agree you should confront them. He should have confronted her politely.” One woman, identified as Brigitte MacDougall, said she felt sorry for the woman. “Imagine yourself in her shoes right now, reading all of these hateful and mean, nasty comments,” MacDougall said. “I bet she feels pretty bad about her actions, but the worst part is how this is going to affect her as a person, reading all these awful things. We all make mistakes.” ■
Some Canadians turn off the lights for 10th edition of Earth Hour BY MORGAN LOWRIE The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was one of many Canadians who joined millions around the world Saturday night in turning off their lights for Earth Hour. Government buildings and monuments across the country also went dim from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. local time, including Toronto’s CN tower, the cross on Montreal’s Mount Royal and Edmonton’s High Level bridge. Trudeau tweeted a photo of himself and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, cuddling by candlelight Saturday evening. “We’re all on this planet together,” he tweeted, hinting the upcoming federal budget would contain measures to deal climate change. “Tweeting about #EarthHour is one thing. Tuesday, we’ll put words into action with a budget that builds a clean economy for Canada.” Some of Trudeau’s cabinet ministers also took to social media. Environment Minister
Catherine McKenna posted a series of tweets and International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland also noted the occasion. The event’s main organizer said the leaders’ support was a welcome addition to the 10th edition of the event, which was launched in Australia in 2007 as a way to draw attention to environmental issues including climate change. “Seeing national, provincial and municipal leaders take part and encourage others to take part shows that Earth Hour is more than a symbolic gesture,” said David Miller, CEO of WWF-Canada. “It’s a message to change climate change that’s heard by those in positions of political power.” He said a record-setting 178 countries and territories participated this year. Canadians also participated in a range of activities in cities across the country, which ranged from a stargazing event in Westmount, Que., to a lowlight skate at Whistler, B.C’s Olympic Plaza. It was not immediately clear
how many Canadians took part in this year’s Earth Hour. Toronto Hydro tweeted Saturday night that the city’s electricity use dipped by 3.2 per cent, which the utility said was the equivalent of taking 36,000 homes off the grid. PowerStream, which serves nine municipalities north of Toronto, reported a 4.3 per cent drop in electricity consumption during Earth Hour. That was down slightly from the six per cent reduction achieved last year. The City of Edmonton tweeted Sunday morning that the city decreased its energy use by 2.5 per cent. While Earth Hour grew to include 7,000 cities worldwide last year, some say the event has been losing steam in recent years, at least in Canada. BC Hydro, for example, said British Columbians reduced the provincial electricity load during Earth Hour by just 0.2 per cent last year — much less than the two per cent reduction recorded in 2008. Miller says critics who measure the event’s success in www.canadianinquirer.net
CRAIG MAYHEW AND ROBERT SIMMON / NASA GSFC.
megawatt hours are missing the point. He said the event’s goal is to raise awareness, have fun, and celebrate recent successes such as the international co-operation shown by global leaders at
the Paris climate conference. He said political leaders seem to be getting the message that Canadians care about climate change. “Now we need to see it reflected in action,” he said. ■
Immigration
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
21
Canada’s private sponsorship of refugees a model for the world: UN refugee chief THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OTTAWA — The head of the United Nation’s refugee agency says he’d like to see Canada’s private sponsorship program
exported around the world. Filippo Grandi says while it is important for governments to show leadership by resettlement programs, having private citizens also engaged encourages a feeling of solidarity for the
world’s most vulnerable. Canada is one of only a handful of states that currently run such programs and private groups have sponsored more than 9,000 Syrians in recent months. Grandi says Canada as a whole
Journalists turned politicians playing key role in Commons’ media study BY STEPHANIE LEVITZ The Canadian Press
tage committee studying the state of local media in Canada. The study began in February amidst a wave of change in Canadian newsrooms. It will hold at least 10 meetings but has been inundated with requests from people to appear, raising the potential of going longer. What they’ve heard so far is not encouraging: a decision by the former government to stop advertising in community papers, for example, has seen some publications lose more than half their budgets. Three French-language community radio stations no longer have
What the entire study will come to is anyone’s guess, said Fry. The intent is to submit a report and with it, recommendaOTTAWA — Journaliststions. But she acknowledges the turned-politicians have earned media landscape changes daily. a bad reputation in Ottawa “Between the time we started in recent years thanks to the the study and now, the sands are spending shenanigans of two in shifting and we don’t know what’s particular: Senators Mike Duffy going to come out,” she said. and Pamela Wallin. Two things could change the Both former broadcasters, landscape in the coming months: they were appointed as Conserthe CRTC’s own review of local vatives to the upper chamber; broadcasting, which is also conDuffy is now awaiting a verdict sidering whether funds it has at on whether he’s guilty of fraud, its disposal could be used to betbreach of trust and bribery for ter support the industry; and the how he handled his Senate exLiberals’ promise to reinstate pense account $150 million in while an invesannual funding tigation into Pato the CBC. That mela Wallin for money could her use of Senate Now they are MPs, putting their come as early as funds remains in professional backgrounds to use at Tuesday’s budget. limbo. the Commons’ heritage committee Waugh said he Perhaps that’s studying the state of local media in sees clear benewhy another Canada. fits to having forbroadcastermer broadcastturned-politician ers like himself cracked a joke last and O’Regan at month at a House of Commons any paid staff. Since 2011, 20 the table. Witnesses — especialheritage committee meeting. out of 122 daily newspapers ly those from government de“Former broadcasters on have closed, including two in partments or the CRTC — can’t Parliament Hill . . . is an awful 2016, according to a presenta- hide anything, he said, because thing,” joked Liberal MP Sea- tion to the committee from the he and others have seen the remus O’Regan. “Next they’ll be Heritage department. alities of cuts and technological allowing the lawyers and teachBut the committee is also change first hand. ers into politics as well.” tackling bigger questions about But no matter their backO’Regan made the remark in the future of a free press in grounds, all the MPs on the acknowledging the presence on Canada and the impact digital- committee have a vested interthe committee of another for- only publications have on the est in trying to suggest some vimer broadcaster, Conservative age-old question of who is a able solutions to help support MP Kevin Waugh. journalist, or who polices the local news, he said. At the same time as O’Regan quality and veracity of content “As parliamentarians the was working for CanadaAM both online and on the air. worst thing that can happen and then CTV national news, Committee chair and Liberal is two years from now we have Waugh was covering sports for MP Hedy Fry raised eyebrows a big statement in the House CTV out of his home province early on when she asked the of Commons and we come out of Saskatchewan. CRTC if regulators were exam- and guess what, there’s nobody Now they are MPs, putting ining whether digital content there to put a mic to us,” he said. their professional backgrounds needed to be regulated to en“That’s what we’re headed to use at the Commons’ heri- sure it is truthful. for.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
has been a leader in global Syrian resettlement and that’s why he chose to visit here this week. He says he’d like the Canadian government to help other countries roll out programs like the one the Liberals put in place
to resettle 25,000 Syrians in a matter of three months. Grandi says he hopes to see Canada make a further commitment to Syrians at a pledging conference in Geneva later this month. ■
Some winners... Winner: Students. Canada student grants will rise to $3,000 from $2,000 for low-income students, to $1,200 from $800 for middle-income students and to $1,800 from $1,200 for part-time students. Total: $1.53 billion over five years. Winner: Families. The new $10-billion Canada Child Benefit will provide tax-free cheques of as much as $6,400, depending on the family situation. Winner: Those seeking EI benefits. Rules will be changed to make it easier for new entrants to the job market and for those re-entering the market to qualify for benefits. The wait period for the first EI cheque will drop to one week from two. Benefit periods will be extended by five weeks in areas with the sharpest increases in unemployment. Winner: Infrastructure plans. The document sets aside $11.9 billion for improvements to transit, water and green infrastructure and social infrastructure. Winner: Arts and Culture. The CBC will get $675 million over five years, with another $550 million for the Canada Council for the Arts. Winner: Canadian Coast Guard. The Kitsilano search and rescue lifeboat station, ❰❰ 1
closed under the previous government, will re-open as a coast guard base with an expanded environmental response capability: Cost: $23.6 million over five years. Winner: The environment. A low-carbon economy fund gets $2 billion over two years beginning in 2017-18. Another $1 billion over four years goes to support future clean technology investments, as well as $130 million over five years to support clean technology research and development. Losers: Small businesses. The government will not proceed with reductions in the small business tax rate promised in the last Conservative budget. They would have dropped the rate from 11 per cent to nine per cent on the first $500,000 of qualifying income as of Jan. 1, 2019. Instead, the rate will fall to 10.5 per cent, and future cuts are being deferred. Losers: National Defence. Billions in planned equipment spending is pushed off past the next election. Losers: Tax breaks. The budget undoes some of the former Conservative government’s targeted tax breaks, including tax credits for tuition and textbooks and children’s fitness and arts costs and income-splitting for families with children. ■
22
World News
China detains dozens after sales of poorly stored vaccines THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING — Police in eastern China have detained 37 people implicated in a scandal involving the selling of poorly refrigerated and probably ineffective vaccines, state media reported Wednesday. The scandal came to light after police last month announced the detentions of a woman and daughter thought to have sold nearly $100 million worth of the suspect products nationwide since 2011. The scandal re-enforces longstanding concerns among the public over the safety of food and medicine. Nine pharmaceutical wholesalers believed to have sold the vaccines are being investigated. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang issued orders late Tuesday for government administrations to work together to conduct a thorough investigation. Along with prosecuting the criminals involved, government officials found guilty of negligence should be held to account, Li said, according to the official government website. “This vaccine safety incident has created deep concern among the public and laid bare numerous regulatory loopholes,” Li was quoted as saying. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday ordered a thorough check on where the vaccines were distributed and how they may have been used. The central government administration demanded local authorities investigate the nine wholesalers believed to have sold the vaccines.
The vaccines included those for hepatitis B, rabies, mumps and Japanese encephalitis. The China office of the World Health Organization said it stood ready to provide support to Chinese health authorities. It said that vaccines need to be stored and managed properly or they can become less effective and that children risked not being protected from the disease against which they were supposed to have been vaccinated. “It is important to note, however, that improperly stored or expired vaccine seldom if ever causes a toxic reaction — therefore there is likely to be minimal safety risk in this particular situation,” the WHO said. One of the two women initially detained, a 47-year-old doctor with the surname Pang, is alleged to have sold about 2 million doses of suspect vaccines, according to state media reports. Shandong’s provincial food and drug safety administration has publicized a list of buyers and sellers. Police in Shandong province detained a total of 37 suspects implicated in the vaccine scandal, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday. It gave no details on the suspects, and police who answered calls in Shandong said they had no information on the case. Amid widespread counterfeiting and lax enforcement, China has struggled to ensure food and drug safety. Past scandals have involved phoney infant formula discovered to be nothing but starch and bogus vaccines containing only saline solution. ■
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Brussels airport attack is 2nd major bombing for Utah teen BY SALLY HO AND BRADY MCCOMBS The Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY — Surviving a major bombing is the extraordinary — and repeated — situation that one Utah teen can live to tell about. Mason Wells, a 19-year-old from Sandy, Utah, is expected to make a full recovery from the bombing attack at the Brussels airport Tuesday, which left him with a surgery scar, severed Achilles tendon, head gash, shrapnel injuries and severe burns. Wells had once again found himself at the centre of a major attack — standing within feet of a bomb that exploded at the Belgian airport. The blasts in the Belgian capital killed 31 people and wounded dozens at the airport and a subway station. Three years ago, Wells and his father felt the ground shake and narrowly escaped death from an April 2013 attack in the U.S., when a pressure-cooker bomb exploded a block away from where they were watching his mother run the Boston Marathon. “Hopefully he’s run his lifelong odds and we’re done,” said Chad Wells about the oldest of their five children. “I think it will make him a stronger person...Maybe the Boston experience was there to help him get through this experience.” The former high school football and lacrosse player had four months left on his twoyear Mormon mission, and was planning to major in engineer-
ing at the University of Utah next fall. He also wanted to reapply to the Naval Academy after barely missing the cut after high school, his father said. His father said he woke up to the latest news on the TV before calling his son’s mission president in France and found out his son was injured but alive. More than eight hours later, they finally spoke to their son, who was groggy and exhausted after surgery. The teen is in good spirits but his family is still figuring out when they’ll get to see him, and if he’ll finish his mission. “I’m completely shocked by the news. It’s the kind of thing as a parent you never, ever want to wake up to,” Chad Wells said. “We’re just grateful that’s he lived through this experience.” Other Mormon missionaries at the Brussels airport were also hospitalized. Richard Norby, 66, of Lehi, and Joseph Empey, 20, of Santa Clara, were with Wells and also hospitalized with serious injuries from the blast. Empey is doing well after being treated for second-degree burns to his hands, face and head, his parents, Court and Amber Empey said in a statement. He also had surgery for shrapnel injuries to his legs. “We have been in touch with him and he is grateful and in good spirits,” the family said. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert praised the Utah natives as “people of faith who have forsaken everything — family, friends, school and careers — in order to share a message of hope and love with the world.” Thousands of Utah Mormons
have served proselytizing missions around the world. Church members account for as many as two-thirds of the state’s population. The Utahns were at the airport with Fanny Rachel Clain, 20, of Montelimar, France, who was on her way to a missionary assignment in Cleveland. The woman had passed through security to a different part of the airport at the time of the explosion. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said she didn’t make her flight out and was hospitalized with minor injuries. It instructed others in the France Paris Mission to stay in their homes, though mission President Frederic J. Babin said the missionaries will still continuing working in their mission to preach the gospel. “We, since what happened in Paris last year, we have been working with all the missionaries on safety rules for them to be safe, wherever they are, in Belgium or in France,” Babin said in an official church video. As for Wells, family friend Chris Lambson said he thinks divine interventions have helped the young man survive in the face of such extraordinary, if not repeated, circumstances. In fact, Wells was also in France about two hours away from Paris during a series of attacks in the city last November. “He’s doing extremely well,” Lambson said. “His biggest concern right now is about housing at U of U.” ■ Sally Ho reported from Las Vegas.
Duke Energy signs deal to turn pig poop into electricity THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RALEIGH, N.C. — As one of the nation’s largest power providers, Duke Energy has invested large sums in whirring turbines and high tech solar projects. On Monday it announced a www.canadianinquirer.net
new excrement-to-energy project that could provide power to about 10,000 homes a year. The utility is partnering with Carbon Cycle Energy, which will build a North Carolina facility to take methane from pig and chicken waste and send it to four of Duke Energy’s plants
to convert into energy. Carbon Cycle, based in Boulder, Colorado, said the site of the facility will likely be in Eastern North Carolina and it is expected to begin operations next year. Duke Energy Corp. is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ■
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World News
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Security beefed up across world after Brussels attacks BY VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV AND VANESSA GERA The Associated Press MOSCOW — Authorities in Europe and across the world tightened security at airports, railway stations, government buildings and other key sites after deadly attacks Tuesday on the Brussels airport and its subway system. With Brussels on lockdown and the French prime minister saying that Europe is “at war,” European leaders held emergency security meetings and deployed more police, explosives experts, sniffer dogs and plainclothes officers, with some warning against travel to Belgium. The nervousness was felt far and wide. In New York City, authorities deployed additional counterterrorism units to crowded areas and transit locations. After a string of extremist attacks targeting the heart of Europe over the past year, some analysts say Europe will finally have to implement a much tougher level of security not only at airports, but also at “soft targets” like shopping malls — the kind that Israelis have been living with for years. “The threat we are facing in Europe is about the same as what Israel faces,” said Olivier Guitta, the managing director of GlobalStrat, an international security consultancy. “We have
Flowers and sign about terrorist attacks in Brussels at Belgium embassy in Madrid, Spain. NOBELIO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
entered an era in which we are going to have to change our way of life and take security very seriously.” Strong criticism of Belgian security came on Tuesday from Pini Schiff, a former security director at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, which is considered among the most secure in the world. After Palestinian attacks on Israeli planes and travellers in the 1970s, Israeli officials put in place several layers of security at that airport in Tel Aviv, meaning an attacker who escapes notice at one level of security would likely be captured by another. Schiff said the attacks at the Brussels airport mark “a colossal failure” of Belgian security and that “the chances are very low” such a bombing could have happened in Israel.
There are some, however, who fear that little more can realistically be done. “The public needs to understand that if we are to continue enjoy living in a free society we have to respond in a proportional way,” said Simon Bennett, director of the Civil Safety and Security Unit at the University of Leicester, England. “In my opinion, airport security is as tight as we can reasonably make it in a free society.” In Moscow, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told Russian news agencies that authorities will “re-evaluate security” at Russian airports, although its measures are already among some of the toughest across Europe. There have been mandatory checks at the entrances to airports since a 2011 suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domod-
edovo airport that killed 37. Security was high at all Paris airports and at Gatwick and Heathrow in London, among many others. At Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, sniffer dogs were deployed in the check-in areas, while at Milan’s Malpensa airport police in carts were patrolling the areas before security checks. In Germany, the state rail system, Deutsche Bahn, halted its high-speed rail service from Germany to Brussels, stopping them at the border city of Aachen. Meanwhile, the international high-speed train operator Thalys suspended all of its train traffic Thursday and urged travellers to postpone trips to Belgium. Last year, an attack on a Thalys between Brussels and Paris was foiled by three Americans and a Briton travelling on the train.
Egypt also said it was increasing security, with top security officials asked to personally handle security checks inside airports and in outside areas like hotels and car parks. Egypt has been working to improve its security after a Russian jet was brought down last October by extremists after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the extremist Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for planting it. In Greece, police added additional security at airports, metro stations and embassies with uniformed and plain-clothed officers. But government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said there were no additional security measures being taken for refugees and migrants following the Brussels attacks. “We are not making any linkage between those two issues. That would be a defeat for Europe,” she said. ■ Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka in London, Daniella Cheslow in Jerusalem, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Nataliya Vasilyeva and Katherine Jacobsen in Moscow, Ciaran Giles in Madrid, Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Karel Janicek in Prague, George Jahn in Vienna, Colleen Barry in Milan and Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.
Millionaires: Raise our taxes to address poverty, fix roads BY DAVID KLEPPER The Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. — More than 40 millionaires, including members of the Rockefeller and Disney families, are asking to have their taxes raised to help address poverty and rebuild failing infrastructure. The millionaires wrote a letter to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and top New York lawmakers proposing new, higher tax rates for the top 1 per cent of earners in the state. The letter, a copy of which was given to The Associated Press, says
additional revenue is needed to address child poverty, homelessness and aging bridges, tunnels, water pipes and roads. “As New Yorkers who have contributed to and benefited from the economic vibrancy of our state, we have both the ability and the responsibility to pay our fair share,” the letter states. “We can well afford to pay our current taxes, and we can afford to pay even more.” Those signing the letter include Abigail Disney, Leo Hindery and Steven C. Rockefeller. The tax plan, known as the one-per cent tax plan, was worked out in conjunction with
the Fiscal Policy Institute, a leftleaning economic think-tank . “As a businessman and philanthropist and as a citizen of New York state, I believe we need to invest in our people and our infrastructure,” Hindery, the managing partner of InterMedia Partners, a media industry private equity fund, said in a statement accompanying the letter. “The one-per cent tax plan makes it possible to make these investments, and simply asks people like me to continue to pay a higher tax rate, as we should.” The one-per cent plan would create new, higher tax rates for those making $665,000 or more. www.canadianinquirer.net
Currently, single filers making more than $1,062,000 pay the state’s top rate of 8.82 per cent. Under the one-per cent plan, the 8.82 rate would apply to anyone making $1 million to $2 million, and higher rates of 9.35 per cent, 9.65 per cent and 9.99 per cent would apply to those making $2 million to $10 million, $10 million to $100 million and more than $100 million, respectively. Their proposal faces significant political obstacles in the state Legislature. While the Democratic majority in the Assembly has its own plan to increase taxes on millionaires,
the Republican-led Senate opposes the idea. Lawmakers are now negotiating the details of the state budget and hope to have a deal in place by April 1. An existing, lower tax on millionaires is set to expire next year. “Whether it’s income taxes, property taxes, business taxes, user fees, or tolls, we don’t support raising taxes or asking hard-working New Yorkers to dig deeper into their pockets to pay more,” Senate Leader John Flanagan, a Long Island Republican, said last month after Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, released his millionaire tax plan. ■
World News
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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WestJet denies sex assault claims from former B.C. flight attendant BY GEORDON OMAND The Canadian Press VANCOUVER — WestJet is rejecting allegations that it failed to take appropriate action after a former flight attendant reported being sexually assaulted by a pilot in 2010 while on an overnight stopover in Hawaii. The Calgary-based airline’s statement of defence, filed Tuesday in British Columbia Supreme Court, said it immediately launched an internal investigation into Mandalena Lewis’s complaint, but that the company was ultimately unable to conclude the pilot had committed such an assault. Lewis filed a notice of civil claim earlier this month describing how, after an evening of communal drinking in Maui,
an unnamed pilot invited Lewis back to his room where he allegedly pulled her onto a hotel bed and began kissing and groping her. In its defence document, WestJet said “excessive drinking, partying and fraternizing with flight attendants” fails to meet professional standards and that it suspended the pilot in question. The document said WestJet also issued the pilot a “last chance” warning and deprived him of the privilege of international flights, something Lewis alleged equates to the company protecting him from law enforcement in Maui. None of the allegations made in the statement of claim or defence have been proven in court. Lewis is also suing WestJet
over breach of contract and wrongful dismissal, saying she was terminated because of her repeated requests to view her employee file in order to learn what the company did about her complaint. WestJet took aim at Lewis’s employment history, saying its decision to fire Lewis earlier this year was rather the result of her perennially shoddy attendance, inappropriate use of social media and aggressive communication style. “Lewis’s employment ... was marred by significant performance deficiencies,” read the statement of defence. “She was consistently performance managed for poor attendance failure to adhere to WestJet policies and other performance deficiencies.” The document also described one alleged instance where
Lewis was removed from a shift over concerns she and two others drank alcohol before shift, which led to the flight being cancelled. Lewis dismissed the allegations as a red herring meant to distract from the core issue of flight-attendant safety. “This corporation is stepping away instead of stepping up. They continue to prove their failure to protect their flight attendants,” she said in an interview Tuesday, describing herself as outraged. “It’s very obvious that they are completely out of touch with what is going on in their workplace.... It’s unbelievable.” The WestJet document also highlighted an alleged instance where Lewis had posted expletive-laden posts on social media directed towards both the airline
and its customers. It said she was fired on Jan. 12, 2016, for “gross insubordination” after she sent an email containing a swear word to management demanding to see her employment file. “Lewis’s grossly insubordinate and insolent email, combined with Lewis’s extensive disciplinary record, warranted the termination of Lewis’s employment for just cause,” WestJet wrote. “The employment relationship was fundamentally and irreparably damaged by Lewis’s conduct.” Lewis said most of what was contained in WestJet’s statement of defence was false and that she was determined to prove that in court. “I will not be distracted or diverted by any red herrings,” she said. “It’s just refusing to address the core issue.” ■
Speech in Cuba, death in Belgium, anger in US: One day snapshot of the Obama era BY ALEXANDER PANETTA The Canadian Press WASHINGTON — Barack Obama was concluding a onceunimaginable televised speech to the Cuban people about the power of protest and democracy, capping it with a Spanishlanguage version of his 2008 rallying cry: “Yes, we can.” American television networks wasted no time cutting away. The instant he finished, cameras shifted to the chaos in Belgium. The president’s opponents urged him to forget the Cuba trip — and get home immediately to deal with the terrorism crisis. If an entire presidential legacy could be distilled into one moment, a solitary snapshot in time that captures the spectrum of triumphs and tragedies of a foreign-policy track record, this might have been it. Obama delivered a historic speech to Havana’s Grand Theatre with hundreds in the audience; Cuban leader Raul Castro watched from the balcony; and millions tuned in at home. He began with a statement on the Belgium attacks, before moving onto the main topic: Declaring he was there to bury
the last vestiges of the Cold War in this hemisphere. The president said this new relationship required honesty, even about one another’s perceived shortcomings. Castro had just mentioned the U.S. lacking universal access to health care and higher education. Obama added: Americans welcome this kind of debate and discussion. He pointed to how his own life was shaped by civil-rights protest. Obama noted that the year his father arrived from Kenya, it was illegal for him to marry his white mother in many U.S. states, and when he was a child southern schools were segregated. “But people organized. They protested. They debated these issues, they challenged government officials,” he said, to an audience including government officials from a one-party state. “And because of those protests and because of those debates and because of popular mobilization, I’m able to stand here today as an African-American and as president of the United States.” The audience cheered. He went on, hailing even the messy ongoing U.S. election that has prompted so much world-
wide ridicule and consternation: “It isn’t always pretty, the process of democracy. It’s often frustrating. You can see that in the election going on back home. “But just stop and consider this fact about the American campaign that’s taking place right now: You have two Cuban-Americans in the Republican party running against the legacy of a black man who’s president, while arguing that they’re the best person to beat the Democratic nominee, who will either be a woman or a democratic-socialist. “Who would have believed that back in 1959? That’s a measure of our progress as a democracy. “ This time the crowd laughed, and cheered too. Obama later met with dissidents, and attended a baseball game. Meanwhile, up in the balcony Castro, the leader of a government that frequently jails dissidents, but denies doing so, offered muted applause at the end of the speech, witnesses said. Obama’s opponents at home offered far less than that. American networks instantly cut away to scenes of carnage in the airport and subway system of Brussels, where dozens were killed in attacks for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility. www.canadianinquirer.net
His Republican rivals asked: What was he doing in Cuba on a day like this? “I think he ought to return home. He ought to work with the heads of state around the world,” Ohio Gov. John Kasich told NBC, just before Obama took the stage. Sen. Ted Cruz told reporters: “While our friends and allies are attacked by Islamic terrorism, President Obama is spending his time going to baseball games with Castro.” Donald Trump tweeted: “President Obama looks and sounds so ridiculous making his speech in Cuba, especially in the shadows of Brussels. He is being treated badly!” For the Obama presidency, there have been other days like this, albeit on a smaller scale. One particularly poignant example is chronicled in the latest edition of The Atlantic magazine, which conducted numerous interviews with the president and his advisors for an item headlined, “The Obama Doctrine.” It says the president is pessimistic about the limits of what the U.S. can achieve in the Middle East; skeptical of a U.S. foreign-policy establishment whose default position
is always military aggressiveness; and worried about the U.S. missing out on the world’s great opportunities, while it’s focusing on crisis after crisis. It describes his enthusiasm at an Asia-Pacific summit while meeting a young Filipina inventor, Aisa Mijeno, who’d created a lamp that works for eight hours, powered only by salt water. This was right after the Paris attacks — obviously the far bigger news story that day. The Atlantic writer then describes going up to Obama’s hotel room for an interview — just as new terrorist attacks had been committed in Mali. Obama suggested to the writer that he might as well start the Atlantic story with the contrast of that day. In a later interview, he elaborated: it would be foolish, he said, to let terrorism distract from other important conversations. “‘If we’re not talking to them,’ (The Atlantic quoted Obama saying), referring to young Asians and Africans and Latin Americans, ‘because the only thing we’re doing is figuring out how to destroy or cordon off or control the malicious, nihilistic, violent parts of humanity, then we’re missing the boat.’” ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS:
Clifford Belgica: Advocate of indigenous culture BY LAARNI LIWANAG Philippine Canadian Inquirer AN ERSTWHILE traveller having worked different places in the world he ended up with several academic and personal visits to Canada and Vancouver either as a faculty/ speaker or attendee at several conferences such as the Asia Pacific Conference on Disaster Medicine, the World Conference on Disaster Management and the World Disaster Forum; he was enthralled to immigrate for good. With a professional background he walked in and got hired at two Emergency Departments in the lower mainland in the same day. Armed with a temporary license he took on and joined the staff at Lions Gate Hospital under the then erstwhile North Shore Health Region, a conscious choice mainly because Vancouver especially the North Shore lent the environment and weather he was born in the Northern Philippines. A nursing degree graduate from the Saint Louis University he at one point in his career also went for the Masters of Management Program of the Uni-
versity of the Philippines-Bagu- services in the Philippines with the region as well as European io majoring in Health Services international standards and “Castillian” heritage. Management but was not able having brought initial trainers The saving grace for the presto finish the program because go through programs in Europe ervation of the richness of the of constant move. Back in Van- and Canada. indigenous culture of the Igcouver he finished the EmerBIBAK Organization of Brit- orots is partly because of their gency Program with the British ish Columbia celebrates its 25th fierceness and the geography Columbia Institute of Technol- year as an established society of the mountains that discourogy. He is now employed as a in BC this 2016. This is a con- aged the conquest and assimiClinical Information Special- glomeration of Canadians and lation and subjugation that the ist for Fraser Health and also BC residents who by descent or rest of the Philippines endured. keeps his clinical The challenge skills working however is ripe on supervisory for the need to roles as site leadcontinue preer in a number Cliff intimated that the main reason serving the culof Fraser Health for joining BIBAK BC is to ensure that ture amidst the hospitals. He his children will not lose their cultural current worldalso joined advoidentity and be an advocate of the wide migration cacy for foreign Igorot-Canadian. and assimilation. trained nursThus organizaes joining the tions like BIBAK workforce in BC BC and the Igas panelist for the registered affinity hail from the different orot Global Organization had nurses association of BC. He provinces and cities that line been established. Cliff intiwas also an invigilator for the up the Cordillera Mountain mated that the main reason for Nursing Licensure Examina- Regions of the Northern Philip- joining BIBAK BC is to ensure tions. pines. These are the provinces that his children will not lose Apart from established ca- of Benguet, Ifugao, Bontoc (Mt. their cultural identity and be reer in his chosen field he also Province), Apayao, Abra, Ka- an advocate of the Igorot-Canaat one point travelled back to linga and cities of Baguio and dian. He eventually was asked the Philippines establishing the Tabuk. Collectively they are and had served two terms as Baguio City Emergency Medi- known as Igorots. Cliff ascribes the President of the organizacal Services. This quasi gov- to the culture having a mixed tion. One of the highlight of his ernment unit is one of the first ancestry and lineage with par- term was the hosting of BIBAK integrated health emergency ents from different tribes in BC of the worldwide Igorot Inwww.canadianinquirer.net
ternational Consultation at the grounds of the Simon Fraser University where Igorots from different parts of the world come together every two years to celebrate their unique culture and discuss issues that affects the global Igorots. In his time also saw the constant participation of BIBAKBC especially the youth to Canadian-Filipino and mainstream community events in BC as an education advocacy and providing authenticity of the cultural practices and dances in these events. Cliff continues to be active with the community as a member of the advisory board of BIBAK BC as well as the Canadian-Filipino stream organizations like the United FilipinoCanadian Associations of BC. As an arts and indigenous culture advocate he continues to support the Philippine Historama group as a technical director and focusing on the authenticity of the depiction of indigenous culture. As a proprietor of TRIBU Productions he also focuses on quality musical productions uplifting the cultural Filipino arts landscape in BC and Canada. ■
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Travel
Come Together: Beatles fans still flock to zebra crossing for Abbey Road photo BY STEPHEN WICKENS The Canadian Press LONDON — It’s nearly 50 years since Iain Macmillan snapped the cover photo for the Beatles’ Abbey Road album, and still fans of the Fab Four flock from around the globe to the landmark zebra crosswalk to capture their own shot. “For many boomers, it’s on the bucket list, but lots of young people come too,” says Richard Porter, who runs a Beatles walking tour in London. When I first visited the crossing outside Abbey Road Studios in 2006, I met people from six continents in less than 30 minutes. They had come huge distances with a specific picture in mind and most, if not all, went home disappointed. Arriving when there was too much traffic was the main problem, though a young Aussie couple had it out on the sidewalk after learning their camera battery was still in the charger at their hotel. A decade older and wiser, I met London-based Associated Press photographer Matt Dunham at the intersection of Garden, Grove End and Abbey roads for tips on how to get it right. You can’t achieve perfection — the road painting is different and the white Beetle from the original is in Volkswagen’s museum in Germany — but you can get a fun shot. Preparation
“Study the original,” Dunham says, “or have it handy on your phone for reference.” The shot is square and the zebra crossing creates a band across the bot-
a cab after looking the wrong way before stepping onto the road. Some drivers won’t abide ditherers. Porter, who brings his tours to the crossing, says tension between drivers and Beatlemaniacs was once so great a local politician tried to have the crossing removed. The idea backfired and the site now has heritage protection. Dunham, who did a special 45th-anniversary Abbey Road shot for The Associated Press, recalls a driver leaning on the horn for ages. We can walk it out
“For many boomers, it’s on the bucket list, but lots of young people come too.” CLAUDIO DIVIZIA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
tom quarter. Note that the road meets the horizon almost dead centre and that there’s an apartment poking through the trees in the top right (the trees have since grown, but it’s still a good marker, especially when trees are bare).
block where the road meets the horizon. “A Hail Mary shot (holding the camera high above your head) will do if you’re tall,” Dunham says. “Oh, and make sure your battery is charged and in the camera,” he adds with a smile.
Equipment
Getting there
The original was probably shot on a square format Hasselblad, “and you’d need to be a mathematician to work out all the details,” Dunham says. An average person will want a wide-angle lens, at least 24-millimetre, for a DSLR. Pointand-shoot cameras and smartphones can do the job, though not if you want a serious print for posterity. The original was shot from the low rung of a ladder, though a solid box can get you high enough to ensure your subjects don’t
The crossing is nowhere near Abbey Road station on the Docklands Light Rail line, which confuses many tourists. It is in Westminster, north of London’s main tourist areas. Take the Jubilee tube line to St. John’s Wood station, which also houses Porter’s Beatles Cafe and souvenir shop. From there, the zebra crossing is a five-minute walk west on Grove End. A monument to Victorian sculptor Edward Onslow Ford is visible as you get close. The 139 and 189 buses also go there. Timing
Traffic is the enemy, so arriving before the morning rush is smart. Most people visit later and have to rely on luck. You can stop traffic at the crosswalk, but stopped cars ruin the background. Sunday is good, but the tube starts later (I walked). Summer is best because “trees are filled out in the original, and the sun rises earlier, creating more opportunities,” Dunham says. Try for a clear day: The original, shot Aug. 8, 1969, features blue sky. Road safety
Traffic moves fast and Britons drive on the left. I saw a woman almost hit by www.canadianinquirer.net
Subjects should stroll up the middle of the crossing with those long inverted-V strides the Fab Four used. Your shot will look lame and static if feet are flat on the asphalt. Moto Yama, originally from Tokyo but living in London, added a nice touch by wearing a white John Lennon suit and a wig for shots he and his wife Marika planned to send home to their parents, who are also big Beatles fans. Camaraderie
What you’ve learned will likely be used for shots of others. You may have to communicate through a language barrier to someone who will shoot for you. Visitors often trade email info so they can swap photos. On busy days, accidental photo-bombing is inevitable and patience and a smile is often the only response. As Aleks Zelikov of Moscow told me while waiting for traffic to clear so he could take shots of a Chilean couple who had just snapped pictures of him: “It’s United Nations buddy system,” he said. “All you need is love.” Celebrity sightings
A few months back, a couple of women declined an offer from a man offering to shoot their picture, Porter says. If they’d looked closely, they may have noticed they were talking to Paul McCartney, who lives nearby. Days before my visit, “Zoolander” stars Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller paid a visit. Any Time At All
Many now phone friends and relatives when they arrive so folks at home can watch at www.abbeyroad.com/crossing. The 24-hour web cam mounted at the recording studio has also caught scenes ranging from an exotic pole dance to a jogger being hit by a car. But mostly, during daylight, it shows pilgrims trying to get that perfect shot. ■
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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:
FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS Every week, the Philippine Canadian Inquirer celebrates the unwavering Filipino spirit through a feature called “Filipino-Canadian in Focus.” The feature recognizes the achievements of Filipinos living in Canada who have shown concern for the community, success in spite of trials, and the uniquely Pinoy practice of “bayanihan.” This year, we are welcoming nominations for the next subject of “Filipino-Canadian in Focus.”
MECHANICS: - All nominees must have (a) Filipino heritage/ancestry - All nominees must be residing in Canada at the time of nomination - Nominees from all industries are welcome (e.g. medical/health, politics, community service, business, entertainment, charity institutions, etc.) - Who can nominate? Anybody.
Fill up the nomination form online by scanning the code with your smartphone or by visiting InFocus.canadianinquirer.net.
www.canadianinquirer.net
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Community News
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Temporary Foreign Worker Program: World Water Day A continuing story of exploitation highlights concerns in BC ONTARIO-BASED LAWYER Fay Faraday was in Vancouver to speak at a gala event on Mar. 18, about Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program and how it is a story of exploitation. The gala at Holiday Inn West Broadway, was organized by local community migrant group Migrante-BC, an organization that advocates on behalf of temporary foreign workers. Faraday was the keynote speaker of the event. MLA Mable Elmore said, “Faraday is a noted human rights lawyer from Toronto who has done a lot of good work highlighting and exposing the many injustices of Canada’s temporary foreign worker program.” Elmore said the event also featured an art auction of works produced through Migrante’s art program. “There has been strong support for the event and a number of sponsors on board from the labour movement and law firms,” Elmore said. Faraday critically assessed the country’s current TFWP and issued a call to action and solidarity to map a vision for reform that builds security for migrant workers. Faraday is a social justice lawyer, strategic adviser and policy consultant whose work focuses on human rights, labour and constitutional law. Representing unions, community organizations and coalitions, she has litigated many leading con-
Fay Faraday.
stitutional and human rights cases at the Supreme Court of Canada. She also works collaboratively with community groups and coalitions to provide strategic and policy advice on human rights, constitutional and labour issues. Since 1990, she has worked with and advocated for the rights of transnational migrant workers. As an Innovation Fellow with the Metcalf Foundation, Faraday is engaged in legal and
PHOTO C/O MIGRANTE BC WEBSITE
community-based research addressing the rights of migrant workers. Her two major reports on migrant worker rights in Canada, Made in Canada: How the Law Constructs Migrant Workers’ Insecurity and Profiting from the Precarious, were published by the Metcalf Foundation in 2012 and 2014. She is also a visiting professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and holds the visiting packer chair in Social Justice at York University. ■
MARCH 22 marks the International World Water Day. It underscores the importance of sustainable access to safe water. In BC, New Democrat leader John Horgan and New Democrat environment spokesperson George Heyman released the following statements recognizing World Water Day. “Today on World Water Day we celebrate a major victory for Shawnigan Lake residents who have been fighting for years to protect the safety of their water. In 2013, the Christy Clark government granted permission for a company to dump 100,000 tonnes of contaminated soil uphill from the community’s water source. On Monday, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled that soil dumping is not a permitted use on the property. It’s great news for Shawnigan Lake residents and for all those who have supported them. “Here in British Columbia, protecting fresh water is a growing concern. Water is life – it is of fundamental importance to ecological health and sustains our communities and economies across the province. On World Water Day, let’s celebrate our wealth of magnificent rivers, lakes, aquifers, and watersheds, and acknowledge that bad decisions can put this lifesustaining resource at risk,” Horgan said. Meanwhile, according to Heyman, “Many others in British Columbia are still waiting for the Christy Clark government to
step in and protect their right to safe drinking water. “In Spallumcheen, the Christy Clark government has allowed a local farmer to continue to spray liquid manure on property above the local aquifer, despite knowing that this practice has led to elevated nitrate levels in the drinking water and has caused a waterquality advisory to be issued by Interior Health. Despite the dangers, the Christy Clark government has refused to release important public health information to the residents of the Hullcar Valley, Spallumcheen and the Splatsin First Nation. “There are also widespread issues of high lead levels in communities across the province. In the North West, Ministry of Health staff flagged possible water contamination in schools four years ago, but it wasn’t until last month that elevated lead levels were discovered in the drinking water of four Prince Rupert schools. In Pemberton, the municipality has issued a warning to residents that their tap water may have high levels of lead. “Protecting our right to clean water is one of the most critical jobs a government has. This World Water Day, let’s celebrate our province’s wealth of water, and keep fighting for the clean, safe, accessible water that all British Columbians deserve. British Columbians deserve a government that makes protecting fresh water a priority.” ■
Migrante advises voters on deadline for ballot request by mail MIGRANTE SECTORAL Partylist (MSP) Canada Coordinator Maru Maesa advises registered overseas Filipino voters to submit their ballot requests by mail to the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) on or before Apr. 22, the deadline set by the Comelec. “We need to inform our compatriots of this recent change by the Comelec. Let us spread the word to everyone concerned via social media, Twitter, Facebook so that our votes are not wasted,” Maesa said. The Comelec has recently ad-
opted the Automated Election System Modified Postal Voting (AESMPV) in its consular offices in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa for the upcoming elections which run from Apr. 9 to May 9, 2016. Overseas Filipino registered voters who want to have their ballots mailed are requested to file their written request personally or by email to the consular offices. The consular offices should receive their request letters on or before the set deadline of Apr. 22. The request should include the voter’s complete mailing
address. However, registered overseas voters who are able to go to their respective embassy or consulate can vote in person until May 9, 7 p.m. (Philippine time). Meanwhile, MSP Canada presses its demand for mobile polling sites or satellite polling stations particularly in Alberta and Montreal. As per latest Comelec count there are more than 1.3 million registered voters for the Overseas Absentee Voting. MSP has been vocal about the Philippine government’s neglect of migrants despite the www.canadianinquirer.net
$21 Billion (U.S) remittances they receive from overseas Filipino workers, money which has practically kept the Philippine economy afloat all these years. The group urges its fellow migrants to vote for people who will truly serve and protect their rights and welfare as echoed by MSP’s slogan ”Serbisyo Hindi Negosyo, Proteksyon Hindi Koleksyon” (Service not business, protection not collection!) ■ Requests for ballots through mail may be sent to the following email, fax and phone numbers as
provided by the Comelec: Toronto email at ov@philcongen-toronto.com, fax at 416-922-2638 or phone at 416-355-2784 and 416-355-2790, ask for Rosalie and Roberto. For Vancouver, email at overseasvoting@vancouverpcg.org fax at 604-6859945, phone at 604-685-1619 or mail at Office Overseas Absentee Voting, Phil Consulate General. 999 Canada Place, Suite 660 Vancouver BC V6C 3E1. For Ottawa: email at overseas.voting@ philembassy.ca fax at 613 233 4165 or phone at 613-233-1121, ask for Rhodora Liggayu or Glen Richard Martinez
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Entertainment
‘Why didn’t I stop him?’ TV doc on mother’s radicalization battle airs BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press TORONTO — A Calgary mother who finds out from a reporter that her son had been killed fighting with an extremist group in Syria is both the subject and voice of a new TV documentary slated to air this week. The documentary, “A Jihadi in the Family,” traces the painful transition Christianne Boudreau makes from oblivious mother of a troubled teen to international activist as she struggles to understand what happened to her child. In the process, Boudreau discovers kindred spirits in the scores of other grief-stricken mothers slammed by the winds of religious extremism and brutal geopolitics against which they can barely sputter. “The stories of our children are all the same,” Boudreau says. “And even though it’s a different country, we’re still going through the exact same challenges.” Boudreau’s 22-year-old son, Damian Clairmont, a convert to Islam, died in early 2014. He had left Canada in November 2012 to fight in Syria. Unbeknownst to Boudreau, Canadian intelligence agents had been watching him for two years before he disappeared. She thought he had gone to Egypt to study Arabic. “Why didn’t I see the signs? Why didn’t I stop him?” she asks. “These questions haunt me every day of my life.” Boudreau’s quest for answers morphs into a personal then public crusade against the forces of extremism that have lured thousands of western youth to the bloodied battlegrounds of Iraq and Syria. Families of all faiths and backgrounds have fallen victim to the sinister charm of fighting and dying for what their loved ones believe is a God-sanctioned cause. The intimate look at their private hell is a strength of the documentary, written and di-
SCREENSHOT FROM THE FILM
rected by filmmaker Eileen Thalenberg with Torontobased Stormy Nights Productions, produced by Gail McIntyre and Maryse Rouillard, and slated to air on the CBC TV program “Firsthand” on Thursday. At the same time, however, those seeking a better understanding of what drives young people to give up the relative comfort of their lives in Canada or Western Europe to go fight might be disappointed. Attempts at an explanation seem to end at a few passing references to disconnected or alienated youth. “The one common thing we have is that they are all everyday people,” Amarnath Amarasingam of the University of Waterloo says of the western jihadists. “We need to understand the broader cause or the broader drivers of these things.” Regardless of what motivates their children, Boudreau and other like her find common cause in a group called Mothers for Life devoted to putting out a contra-message: That the sophisticated siren call of jihad is a sure-fire path to self-destruction. In France, Boudreau seeks
answers from Mourad Benchellali, 34, who was once duped into going to a jihadist training camp in Afghanistan and ended up in Guantanamo Bay. Now a high-profile anti-radicalization activist, Benchellali was inexplicably barred last fall from Canada, where he was set to deliver his message both publicly and privately to law enforcement. As German counter-radicalization expert Daniel Koehle tells Boudreau, efforts by security forces to crack down on Islamic terrorists often play straight into the hands of extremist recruiters. Today, Mothers for Life exists in 10 countries. Fathers — otherwise conspicuous by their absence in the documentary — and siblings, also victims when loved ones sign on with extremist groups, are members. For Boudreau, however, the antijihadist cause has taken over much of her life. She moved to France earlier this year to be closer to her parents and family support, and, apparently, because she felt branded in Canada. “People say I’m the mother of a terrorist,” she says. “I wonder if I’ll ever lose that stigma.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
Dennis Trillo and Heart Evangelista are excited for reunion project DENNIS TRILLO and Heart Evangelista had their first taping day for their upcoming series on GMA Network, Juan Happy Love Story, where they portray a married couple. Described as a “sexy and naughty romantic comedy,” the series marks the onscreen reunion of Dennis and Heart, five years after they appeared together in the GMA fantasy series, Dwarfina. Rumors before were that Dennis had a crush on his leading lady, but nothing more than friendship ever prospered between them.
Now, Heart is happily married to Senator Chiz Escudero, while Dennis is back in the arms of his former girlfriend, Jennylyn Mercado, who incidentally was one of the bridesmaids in Heart’s wedding last year. Joining Heart and Dennis in Juan Happy Love Story, which will premiere this April on GMA Pinoy TV, are Gloria Romero, Lotlot de Leon, Gardo Versoza, Erika Padilla, Dominic Roco, Vincent Magbanua, Kim Domingo, Rob Moya, Leanne Bautista under the direction of LA Madridejos. ■
Around the world with Willie Revillame KAPUSO HOST Willie Revillame plans to bring Wowowin to other countries this year, as he revealed on his variety game show last March 15. Willie hopes to reach out to his fellow Filipinos overseas as he joins GMA’s flagship international channel GMA Pinoy TV in its aim to bring Filipinos abroad closer to home. “Sa ating mga Kapuso at kababayan dyan, kakatok kami sa mga tahanan at puso niyo para magbigay ng saya. ‘Yung mga hindi nakakauwi dito, kami ang lalapit sa inyo, at lalo [sa] mga dakilang OFWs natin (To all our Kapuso and fellow Filipinos, we will bring joy to you and your homes. To those who cannot go home yet, we will be the ones to visit you, most especially to our honorable OFWs).” Kuya Wil, as he is fondly called by many Filipinos around the world, is excited
for his upcoming inter-national shows and is grateful to his home network for its support. “Alam niyo ba napakasarap dito sa GMA. Iba ang pakiramdam, iba ang tibok ng puso ng mga tao dito sa GMA. Iba, talagang hahaplusin ka ng pagmamahal, iwe-welcome ka. Sobra. Totoo ‘yan, magmula sa aming mga technical engineering, camera men, sound men, sa lights, sa lahat ho. Sobrang mababait ‘tong mga taong ‘to (It is amazing to be working with with GMA. It is different, they welcome you warmly. It is true, from our technical engineering, camera men, sound men, lights, to everyone. They are all genuinely kind),” he says. “Napakaswerte ko nandito ako sa GMA 7, at napakaswerte nating lahat (I am very lucky to be with GMA 7, and we all are),” he furthered. ■
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Jake Cuenca: Arci Muñoz not cause of breakup with American girlfriend BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer ACTOR JAKE Cuenca has denied that Arci Muñoz, his screen partner in the recently concluded TV series, “Pasion de Amor,” was the cause of his breakup with his American girlfriend, Sarah Grace Kelly. The 28-year-old actor said the fact that he had several kissing scenes with Arci “never became an issue with her (Sarah Grace).” “Yes, we discussed it (kissing scenes), but she was never jealous of Arci. They even met each other,” he recalled. “[However], she did admit to feeling uncomfortable, seeing her boyfriend kissing someone on TV.” He cited “unresolved conflicts” in their long-distance relationship as the reason Sarah Grace decided to call it quits.
The 20-year-old fashion model is based in the United States. “This relationship affected me differently,” Jake confessed at a recent luncheon organized by the clothing brand Guitar, which he endorses. “Compared to my previous breakups— [when] I was happy to be single again and to finally go out and party—this time, I just want to stay home and be alone. I just don’t see myself in another relationship right now. I have to rest first.” Cuenca said what made his relationship with Sarah Grace special was that “in the beginning, she didn’t know I was an actor. She made an effort to really know me.” But their relationship didn’t work because “I guess the timing was not right,” Jake said. He continued: “I guess it’s difficult to understand an actor’s hectic schedule, and the
Jake Cuenca.
fact that he doesn’t have any control over it. “As someone who came from a small town in the States, she was also probably shocked by everything. The kind of lifestyle I live was overwhelming for her.” The actor added: “I still have
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to learn from this experience, something that I will be able to apply to the next relationship. That’s actually what’s sad about breakups, you don’t get to apply what you’ve learned to the person you really love.” “I hope one day we can meet halfway and continue what we
had,” he said. “For now, we just have to do what’s best for each other.” The actor said he didn’t have the heart to ask Sarah Grace to stay with him in the Philippines because she is still young “and also has dreams of her own. She liked me because I was able to show her that she can eventually achieve her dreams, that she only has to believe in herself. I couldn’t ask her to just stay with me, because she also has a family to take care of.” In the beginning, the ABSCBN star said he had hoped to balance work and flying to the States to be with his girlfriend. “But there were situations I couldn’t control, like the airing of ‘Pasion’ getting extended several times. My plans got delayed, and the problems that could have been easily resolved had we been together here weren’t resolved.” ■
Unforgettable award Woman power wins most for ‘Heneral Luna’ awards at CineFilipino fest BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer IF YOU ask actor John Arcilla, this latest honor is the most unforgettable award he has ever received so far. Arcilla and the other crew members of the historical epic film, “Heneral Luna,” were feted at the Camp General Antonio Luna in Limay, Bataan, on March 8. “Camp Luna is also known as the Government Arsenal, an agency under the Department of National Defense,” Arcilla told the INQUIRER. “It is where all the ammunition in the Philippines is manufactured.” Team “Heneral Luna” received a rousing welcome from the camp’s officials, led by Amelita Q. Omadto and Major Don de Dios. They were greeted by drum roll, trumpet-playing and a gun salute. Organizers awarded General Luna statuettes to producer Fernando Ortigas, scriptwrit-
er Ed Rocha, director Jerrold Tarog and Arcilla. “The organizers told us that the General Luna award is the highest honor given by the Government Arsenal,” Arcilla related. “It was the first time that it was given to people who are not government officials.” The organizers wanted to recognize the film’s unique achievements—particularly, in reinvigorating nationalism, especially among the youth, he said. Arcilla, who toured the compound and the museum with costar Alvin Anson and other “Heneral Luna” staffers, scored a selfie with a huge solid brass statue of his screen alter ego. “The officers saluted me as if I were a real general,” he recounted. “I got mistyeyed, overwhelmed by a sense of joy, gratitude and pride.” Arcilla was also nominated for best actor and “Heneral Luna” for best production design and costume at the 10th Asian Film Awards, held in Macau on March 17. ■
BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer HELD IN time for Women’s Month, the CineFilipino Film Festival awards show was a night that celebrated girl power in Philippine cinema. Indie films—focusing on strong and admirable women characters or directed, written, shot and edited by female filmmakers—dominated the fulllength feature film section of the second CineFilipino fest held Saturday night at the Kia Theatre in Cubao, Quezon City. “It’s empowering,” said Candy Pangilinan, who tied for best actress with Angeli Bayani. “I am so glad to see fellow women express their thoughts and get recognized for it.” Pangilinan won for portraying the valiant mother of a child with Down syndrome in “Star na si Van Damme Stallone.” Bayani won for playing a lesbian tattoo artist who wants to get pregnant in “Ned’s Project.” www.canadianinquirer.net
New dimension
“It’s about time for female voices to be heard, for female directors, cinematographers and editors to tell their stories,” Bayani told the INQUIRER. “I am sure they will bring a whole new dimension to the indie film industry.” “I feel so empowered, that I can do anything,” said Ice Idanan, who won two trophies for her work in “Sakaling Hindi Makarating.” She won best director and tied for best cinematographer with another female director of photography, Tey Clamor, who won for “Ned’s Project.” Lemuel Lorca, director of the best film winner “Ned’s Project,” was ecstatic about the impressive performance of women at the fest, which was spearheaded by Unitel, PLDT-Smart Foundation, MediaQuest and TV5, among other companies. “It proves the diversity of Philippine cinema,” Lorca said. “I’m really happy that different voices and points of view are
now represented.” “Ned’s Project” also won best production design (JP Sapitula), screenplay (John Bedia) and supporting actress (Max Eigenmann). Death-defying stunts
Lorca recalled how his cinematographer Clamor defied the odds, performing death-defying stunts like “hanging from the roof of a moving bus to get the perfect shot.” Idanan said well-meaning friends advised her to hire another person as cinematographer for her film, but she persisted. “It’s a great gift because I always doubted myself. But it turned out that I can do both.” Idanan’s directorial debut “Sakaling Hindi Makarating” brought home five other trophies: second best picture, best actor (for Pepe Herrera); musical score (Mon Espia); sound (Raffy Magsaysay); and editor (Hannah Espia who is the same young female filmmaker behind the Cinemalaya 2013 winner “Transit”). ■
Entertainment
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PR experts say Jian Ghomeshi’s career could rebound with acquittal but not easily BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press TORONTO — It took mere days for Jian Ghomeshi’s celebrated media career to disintegrate when sexual assault allegations first emerged in 2014. After decades spent ascending to CBC Radio’s top echelon he crashed with a sudden dismissal, while his image as an erudite man-about-town and social progressive was instantly blighted by stunning criminal charges involving several complainants. A judge is poised to release a verdict on the bulk of those charges Thursday, a ruling that will likely determine whether Ghomeshi has a chance at ever working in the public eye again. Some image experts believe the 48-year-old Ghomeshi could possibly become a media star again — if he’s acquitted of all charges. “There are things he can do, absolutely, but we’re talking about a reputation that’s been slaughtered,” says Eric Schiffer, of the California-based firm Reputation Management Consultants. “There’s always a way, if you’re innocent, to rebuild yourself,” insists the crisis management expert, who says his company has represented some of the biggest names in the world, including “some of the wealthiest men in Canada.” “He’s been decimated but there are tremendous oppor-
tunities. If he is innocent and found innocent, I think you can certainly do a magnificent job in telling this story from a different perspective.” Regardless of what a judge says, the court of public opinion will be the true arbiter, says public relations expert Martin Waxman. The flood of news reports recounting allegations against Ghomeshi have had a damaging impact, he added. “Just do a search of his name and you look on page one, page two, page three, page four, page five, page six ... there’s so much stuff about the trial,” says the Toronto-based Waxman. “With little other things peppered in, but absolutely no ‘good news’ stories. Even his Wikipedia entry, paragraph two talks about the scandal. He has a long way to go to repair his reputation and his image, if he can even do that.” Thursday’s verdict concerns four charges of sexual assault and one charge of overcoming resistance by choking. Ghomeshi has pleaded not guilty to all of them. If convicted of sexual assault, the former “Q” host faces a maximum sentence of 18 months behind bars. The choking charge carries a potential life sentence. If acquitted, the first thing Ghomeshi should do is start showing “a little bit of humility,” says Waxman. “Ghomeshi needs to demonstrate that he’s a human be-
Jian Ghomeshi.
SARJOUN FAOUR / CANADIAN FILM CENTRE / FLICKR
ing, he’s sympathetic, that he understands that maybe there are two sides to every story and maybe the women who charged him, they have their side too,” says Waxman, who conducts digital media training through Martin Waxman Communications. “Some kind of an apology would go a long way. If you think about our former mayor (Rob Ford) ... he always fell back on apologizing. Sometimes his apologies may not have seemed that sincere but his audience, Ford Nation, sure bought them. He was able to kind of draw the story away from the current scandal.” And there’s no time to delay rebranding efforts, says Alan Middleton, assistant professor of marketing at York University. “If I was him, I’d be looking at the day, or the minute, the court result comes in,” says Middleton.
But he would have to re-enter the public sphere gradually. “You can’t put his face on a program right off the bat,” says Middleton. “It’s too soon, too dramatic. But if people gradually get used to him, it allows them to say, ‘Well, he was acquitted. There was nothing there.’ And get used to him in the new role.” There’s still the matter of another count of sexual assault involving a fourth complainant. That matter will be tried separately in June. Until all charges are dealt with, Waxman guesses Ghomeshi’s lawyers have advised him to maintain a low profile, regardless of Thursday’s outcome. As for employment options, Ghomeshi’s chances of returning to a major national broadcaster are slim, says Schiffer. “Anyone that would be hiring him for the first year is
doomed.” He suggests Ghomeshi mount a podcast, which he could produce and distribute himself. “And strangely enough, I think his fan base, if leveraged right, can grow much bigger than it ever was before,” says Schiffer. Public relations expert Marjorie Wallens adds that Ghomeshi will have to spend a fair bit of time defending his reputation. “A lot of people write a book, and go on the talk shows and whatever,” says Wallens, of the Toronto-based MJW Communications. “And he will be invited to talk about it. He is a Canadian personality — if he is acquitted he likely will be asked to comment. And then, right then and there, he would start to build his key messages.” Schiffer and Waxman say Ghomeshi’s best bet might be to leave the country entirely and attempt a fresh start in the United States, or even Europe. But Middleton believes a big move could actually be more difficult. “The notoriety would work more against him internationally than here, not because there’ll be deep understanding of it but he had no credibility going in,” he says. “When they do the checking and this pops up, why would you hire a relatively unknown (broadcaster) with that background?” ■
Hulk Hogan-Gawker jury awards $25M in punitive damages BY TAMARA LUSH The Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Moments after a Florida jury hit Gawker Media and its founder with $25 million in punitive damages for publishing a sex tape of Hulk Hogan, the former pro wrestler told a gaggle of reporters that he and his legal team “made history.” Hogan said Monday evening that he thought “we’ve protected a lot of people from going through what I went through.”
The smiling 62-year-old, who wore all black throughout the three-week trial, added that he’s been overwhelmed with support by fans. “Everywhere I show up, people treat me like I’m still the champ,” he said. On Monday, the jury hit Gawker Media with a $15 million judgment and its owner, Nick Denton, with $10 million. It also assessed $100,000 against A.J. Daulerio, the Gawker editor who decided to post the edited sex video and wrote the post that accompanied it.
The punitive damages come on top of $115 million the jury imposed Friday after two weeks of trial. Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a video of him having sex with his then-best friend’s wife. Hogan said he didn’t know he was being taped. The president and general counsel of Gawker Media said in a statement that the media company expects the multimillion dollar award will be overturned by an appeals court. Heather Dietrick said in an email Monday night that because www.canadianinquirer.net
the jury was prohibited from knowing about “prior court rulings in favour of Gawker, prohibited from seeing critical evidence gathered by the FBI and prohibited from hearing from the most important witness, Bubba Clem,” that an appeals court could overturn the case. “We are confident we will win this case ultimately based on not only on the law but also on the truth,” she said. Hogan’s lawyer had asked jurors Monday to add punitive damages to the $115 million judgment. Gawker’s lawyer
pleaded that the existing verdict was already “debilitating” for the company. During brief closing arguments Monday, Hogan’s lawyer Kenneth Turkel said Gawker Media’s gross revenues in 2015 were $48.7 million and that founder Nick Denton has a total of $121 million, including a $3.6 million Manhattan condo. Gawker Media is worth $83 million, the lawyers said. Daulerio, the editor, has no assets, the lawyers said. They said Daulerio has $27,000 in student loan debt. ■
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Lifestyle
Status of gene patents in Cda unresolved, despite hospital’s successful challenge BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press TORONTO — One of the most contentious issues in genetics is whether researchers should be allowed to patent human genes found to cause disease and to commercialize diagnostic tests based on those mutated snippets of DNA. Courts in the U.S. and Australia, for example, have banned the practice, but in Canada no law prohibits scientists from taking out patents on bits of the human genome and their associated products for use in patients. But an out-of-court settlement earlier this month between an Ottawa hospital and a global company that holds patents on genes and a related test for a potentially deadly heart rhythm disorder may have vastly altered the Canadian genepatenting landscape. In what could be characterized as a David and Goliath contest, the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) launched a court challenge in late 2014 against U.S.-based Transgenomic Inc., which holds patents on five of the flawed genes underpinning long QT syndrome and the diagnostic test for the inherited disorder. CHEO argued that human genes should not be subject to patents for commercial or any other purposes. In the case of Canadian patients suspected of having long QT syndrome, their DNA samples had to go to U.S. labs for testing at a cost of at least $4,500, more than double the price tag in Canada. That patent-driven cost, argued CHEO, meant hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in excess costs to the country’s publicly funded health-care system. “But the broader issue was that those kinds of single-gene patents on naturally occurring sequences or mutations would
That patent-driven cost, argued CHEO, meant hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in excess costs to the country’s publicly funded health-care system.
in theory prevent us from moving forward with the next generation of genetic testing, which is already starting to be used,” said Dr. Gail Graham, a clinical geneticist at CHEO. That testing — called wholeexome sequencing — examines key chapters of all of the roughly 23,000 genes in the human genome. A consortium of Canadian researchers led by CHEO, called Care For Rare, has already identified 81 new gene anomalies related to extremely rare inherited diseases in children. “So in theory, if we had a child who we thought had a very rare genetic condition ... and we wanted to use whole-exome sequencing to find an extraordinarily rare disease gene in that child, the long QT patents might have prevented us from doing that,” Graham said. “Because we weren’t supposed to be reading through those particular genes, which are part of the exome.” That would have meant doctors couldn’t tell a child’s family about their findings — or their risks of having another child with the condition — without infringing on the patent. “And we just found that unacceptable,” she said.
“If you’re the one in a million who has a newborn baby who dies in the first few months of life, it’s absolutely devastating. And you would do almost anything to prevent that from happening again.” But on March 9, CHEO announced a settlement with Transgenomic, which agreed to allow it and all other public-sector Canadian hospitals and labs to use its long QT syndrome test on a not-for-profit basis. While the agreement doesn’t set a precedent in law — no Canadian court has ruled on whether human genes can be patented — it does serve as a precedent for the operation of the Patent Act, said Richard Gold, a professor in law and medicine at McGill University who helped advise CHEO on its challenge. “CHEO did achieve a precedent ... that a private entity looking after its commercial interests recognizes that it shouldn’t be making money off of the public sector,” Gold said, adding that the agreement provides a template for publicly funded institutions challenging other gene-related patents in the future. “So the next time someone comes into Canada with a gene patent and says we want to exwww.canadianinquirer.net
ercise it against a hospital or a lab, the answer is you should cite this agreement ... there are mechanisms that exist within the Patent Act that force essentially the same (outcome).” However, patent attorney Noel Courage isn’t convinced. “I wouldn’t call it a precedent. I wouldn’t call it binding in any way in any other gene case, but it’s a really interesting angle to the case,” said Courage, a partner at Bereskin & Parr LLP in Toronto. “To me, this doesn’t settle whether isolated genes are patentable; it doesn’t settle anything about whether methods of diagnosis are patentable. “There was no court decision on that, so that’s still an open issue.” Courage wonders whether Transgenomic capitulated because it believed its legal position wasn’t strong or because the company decided it wasn’t worth spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to litigate the case in the comparatively small Canadian market. “It doesn’t say much about what’s going to happen in any other case,” he said. “Someone else with a robust business in Canada may decide to fight for it.
“If somebody starts a new case, they’re starting from scratch.” So what might this mean for Canadian researchers who make new discoveries about disease-causing genes and want to seek a patent? “Fundamentally, I don’t think it will affect researchers at all,” said Samuel Abraham, former vice-president of research at the BC Cancer Agency, which took out “defensive” patents after leading the Canadian research team that first sequenced the SARS virus genome in 2003. “We took out patents on that on the proviso that we were able to work with groups nationally and internationally to create a patent pool,” Abraham said from Vancouver. “And we did that so we never lost control of access to it ourselves.” The purpose was to allow the global research community and pharmaceutical partners access to SARS’ genetic signature without ceding exclusive rights to any of them. “At the end of the day, they would generate vaccine and other methodologies for detecting, inhibiting (the virus) if SARS ever came back. And perhaps even coming up with therapeutic vaccines,” he said. “Those end products are what they got their patents around. The seminal or underlying information they never got to touch.” While there is nothing stopping a researcher from seeking a gene patent, Gold said their legality in Canada, at least, is still up in the air. “My opinion is that these patents related to isolated genes are invalid in Canada, but no one knows that for sure until a court decides,” he said. “So if I’m a researcher, would I spend the money patenting it when I know that ... even if a patent is issued to me, it’s quite likely invalid? “And my answer would be no.” ■
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FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
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Millennials are driving the current boom in Philippine art So great is the appetite for contemporary Philippine art that demand has now outpaced supply BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Philippine Daily Inquirer IT’S A GOOD time to be a Filipino artist, or to be part of the Philippine art scene in some way. At a recent gathering to announce the 10th year of Art in the Park—a one-day affordable art fair held annually, scheduled on April 3 at the Salcedo Market in Makati City—a random group of artists, art gallery directors, art event organizers and aficionados agreed that the country is in the midst of an art boom, with no signs of slowing down. Not only are the works of established artists fetching record prices at auction houses both foreign and local, even younger artists are finding a ready market for their works— thanks to the proliferation of art galleries and regular events such as the recently concluded Art Fair Philippines, which drew over 22,000 attendees over a five-day period. But perhaps the most significant factor driving the current art boom is the emergence of a new breed of art collectors: young, flush with cash and supremely confident in their tastes. While the trade in the masters—the BenCabs, Malangs and Ang Kiukoks—still rests largely in the hands of older, more established collectors, the younger collectors seem to be more interested in buying works by contemporary artists such as Geraldine Javier, Manny Garibay, Rodel Tapaya and Nona Garcia. So great is the appetite for contemporary Philippine art among the new breed of collectors that demand has now outpaced supply. “The art market is different now,” says Chitty Cometa of Metro Gallery. “Even if you can afford to buy, sometimes there’s nothing to buy. You like Yasmin Sison? Good luck finding one. Sometimes collectors will bite the bullet and buy a piece, even if it’s expensive, because it’s available. It’s a seller’s market.” Collectors flock to events
such as Art in the Park because, apart from the usual bargains, works by certain hard-to-find artists sometimes show up, since part of the proceeds of the event goes to the Museum Foundation of the Philippines. So even though it’s supposed to be an exhibit of affordable art (price ceiling: P40,000) in a friendly family atmosphere, collectors come even before the gates open to snap up the best pieces ahead of other collectors. “It’s crazy fun,” says Cometa. “Last year 14,000 people showed up. All these collectors wake up early. The gates open at 10 a.m., but the collectors were there at 6 a.m.” In some gallery shows, buyers are limited to one artwork per customer, so that other clients can get a chance. As in any other market, she says, scarcity is driving prices up. Meanwhile, collectors keep piling up, waiting for an artist’s next exhibit, sometimes buying up works even when the paint has barely dried on the canvas. “I think art collecting is more fun now, because you’re chasing each piece,” says Cometa. “Unlike before, when you’d just go to the gallery, buy a painting and go home. Boring. “I know one young collector who told me, ‘I want to change my collecting pattern. Instead of just buying whatever I like, I want to collect the works of one artist, but from his earliest works to his latest.’ Because collecting is really a hobby, and he’s gotten bored with just buying whatever he wants. It’s now a question of how to make his hobby more interesting.” The hunt
Just who are the new collectors? Some are yuppies, others young entrepreneurs. There is a smattering of young politicians and second- and thirdgeneration money. One thing they have in common is, they have plenty of disposable income, and they like to collect —and not just art. “Majority of collectors are male,” says Cometa. “They like the hunt. And they like showing off. Collecting art is one way of
measuring who has the bigger dick, because art is hard to get, even if you have the money.” Part of the “fun” is being able to say, “My Borlongan is bigger than your Borlongan.” “Twenty years ago, if a collector wanted to buy the whole show, he could,” she adds. “Now he has to wait and beg to be able to buy just one piece from the show. Even an established collector like Charlie Cojuangco, with his name and his family’s status, is finding it hard to get artworks now, so he’s turning to foreign artists. It’s not that the artists are unwilling, it’s just that they really don’t have anything to sell, because their gallery commitments are keeping them busy.” The new collectors are part of a juicy new market segment, the discerning type, which corporate entities have been eyeing for their premium products and services. “We’ve been keeping an eye on the new target market, who are younger, more passionate, very active—especially online— and highly discerning,” says Isabel Katrina del Carmen, a consumer marketing director of Globe Platinum, the telecom giant’s premium product division and a sponsor of Art Fair Philippines and Art in the Park. “We decided that one of the best partners for us is the Art Fair, because the audience for art is the same target market for our products,” she notes. “Back in 2013, after a lot of market research and interaction with different people, we found out that there is actually a new market: The discerning are no longer the usual old rich or those on top of the corporate ladder,” she points out. “A large part are millennials who are ahead of the game, who own their own businesses, who have their own passions. It’s a new generation. Mga magagaling na bata.” While there are more than a few women belonging to this segment, the collector’s bug seems to be a predominantly male thing, a postmodern expression of the primordial hunter-gatherer instinct. www.canadianinquirer.net
SHANICE GARCIA / PCI
First-gen wealth
“Men are natural hunters, and art collecting satisfies the hunter’s instincts,” says Del Carmen. The discerning follow a distinct profile. Many are firstgeneration wealth, are in their early 30s to early 50s, know what quality is and are willing to spend for it. They may have started collecting when they were children, perhaps toys or stamps or comic books, so the behavioral impulse was reinforced at an early age. As they got older and more successful, they elevated their collections. Rather than place their money in the bank, they invest it in their collections, because it excites them and is a measure of their status as well. But more than showing off their wealth, they are interested in showing off their taste. Where an earlier generation of new rich liked to flaunt their wealth by buying well-known luxury brands, the new-new rich prefer to show off their discernment and good taste by seeking out rare, exclusive, unique pieces. The same impulse that draws them to art also drives them to collect such objects as vintage Swiss watches, custom-built motorcycles and bespoke shoes hand-made by English cobblers—possessions that define their sense of individual style and refinement. Another factor driving the art boom is the “mainstreaming” of art appreciation, thanks to the relatively high ratio of artists and galleries per capita in the Philippines, the rise of social media and the Internet, and mass events such as Art Fair Philippines and Art in the Park. “Global art fairs are really focused on collectors, not so much on bringing people in and exposing them to what’s going on in art,” says Lisa Periquet, one of
the organizers of Art in the Park and Art Fair Philippines. “Here there’s an educational component. That’s what gives it a different energy. People love to go and hang out. They want to be part of that vibe.” Celebrity
Once a rarefied aesthetic experience restricted to the hushed confines of a museum or gallery, art is now part of everyday life. It’s in the shopping malls, in the architectural environment, in the mass and social media. Artists enjoy the same level of celebrity as musicians and serious actors. Young people go to art exhibit openings the same way they go to clubs and cafés. They think nothing of taking selfies with wellknown artists or their work, and posting these on social media pages. Now that the distinction between “high art” and “low art” is practically nonexistent, art has become even more accessible to ordinary young people. The global popularity of street art and pop surrealism, for instance, places art squarely within the context of popular culture, and makes it as easy to get into as tattoos or skateboarding. The emergence of younger, hipper venues such as Secret Fresh and Vinyl on Vinyl, and artists who produce limitededition toys and graphic works as well as more traditional paintings and sculptures, also provide a painless way for young Filipinos to get into art. “The Philippine art scene is very vibrant, and I think it will become even more vibrant in the next few years,” says Dawn Atienza, director of Tin-aw Art Gallery. “Compared to a decade ago, there are a lot of opportunities for Filipino artists.” The tenth edition of Art in the Park will be held on Sunday, April 3, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in Jaime Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village, Makati City. ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Business
Aequitas, upstart stock exchange in Toronto, marks one year since launch BY ALEXANDRA POSADZKI The Canadian Press
Regulators review rules on foreign exchange BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer REGULATORS ARE reviewing foreign exchange rules to prevent money launderers from using the black market, the INQUIRER learned yesterday. Leading the review is the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which is looking at better ways of tracking the flow of money into the Philippines, after the laundering through the country’s financial system of $81 million stolen by computer hackers from the American accounts of the central bank of Bangladesh last month. The review is taking a look at the role that the black market possibly played in transferring the $81 million from the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) branch on Jupiter Street in Makati City, where the hackers had wired it, and transferring the dirty money to other banks and casinos. Industry sources said the BSP had asked the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) to suggest measures to better regulate the foreign exchange sector. $2-M daily limit
A BAP committee tasked to look into the matter met last week and decided to recommend an increase in the amount of foreign exchange that banks could sell to residents without prior BSP approval from $120,000 to $2 million.
“The BSP requires banks to ask customers for documents to sell dollars over $120,000 per day. If you allow banks to have a higher limit, and hopefully open it up without limit, corporations and the public in need of dollars need not buy from the black market,” one banker said. The BAP has long been proposing to increase the threshold for foreign exchange transactions without prior approval, but after the RCBC scandal bankers themselves are looking to raise the daily limit to $2 million. “We believe the bulk of the black market [or] money service broker deals are in that level, but [it’s] best if they leave the amount open to prevent deals from going underground,” the banker said. According to industry estimates, 85 percent of foreign exchange transactions in the Philippines are conducted outside the banking system. But foreign exchange and money-changing services outside the banking system are not illegal. They are required to be registered and are also covered by the antimoney laundering law like the banks. Some argue that they need to be part of the entire ecosystem to grease the financial system. Tighter rules
But to prevent foreign exchange deals that are really meant to go underground, some bankers suggest the tightening of regulations for money changers. ■
TORONTO — Nearly a year ago, a new upstart stock exchange launched in Toronto with an ambitious goal: to create a stock market where ordinary investors wouldn’t fall prey to predatory trading strategies. Statistics released by the Aequitas NEO Exchange, which provide a glimpse into trading activities on the new stock market, suggest the plan is working, according to president and CEO Jos Schmitt. “On our market, over 50 per cent of all the trades are taking place between regular or natural investors — so a retail investor or an institutional investor trading with another retail investor or institutional investor,” says Schmitt. “That is an incredible achievement. ... It means that you are avoiding unnecessary intermediation, and unnecessary intermediation is typically the source of predatory trading.” Predatory trading strategies are employed by some highfrequency traders, or HFTs, to make a virtually risk-free profit at the expense of investors. In one such strategy, referred to as front running, an HFT that has discovered an investor’s intent to buy a particular stock will race ahead and purchase all of the outstanding shares of that stock on all of the various exchanges. The HFT will then sell the shares to the investor at a slightly higher price and pocket the difference. The Aequitas NEO Exchange, which celebrates the one-year anniversary of its launch on Sunday, has a “speed bump” in place to prevent high frequency traders from using such strategies. So far, the exchange has captured four to six per cent of trade volume in Canada, says Schmitt. It aims to have 20 per cent market share by mid-2019. www.canadianinquirer.net
In addition to trading securities that are listed on the TSX and the TSX Venture Exchange, Aequitas has also launched a listing service that allows companies looking to issue stock to list on the NEO Exchange rather than the TSX. Growing that side of its business has been a challenge, says Schmitt. “What we saw is a lot of interest,” says Schmitt. “People loved our value proposition, but everyone was looking at it like, ‘We would love to be on your exchange but we would like to be the second one, not the first one. We want to make sure that it all works and that there’s not going to be any issues.”’ In January, the NEO exchange announced it had snagged its first application for a listing — the PowerShares DWA Global Momentum Index ETF, which is expected to start trading later this month. While it continues to focus on growing its trading and listing businesses, Aequitas is also tackling another goal — to provide real-time market data at a competitive price. Aequitas contends that market data is overpriced in Canada, particularly given the size of the Canadian marketplace relative to that of our U.S. neighbours. In the U.S., investment advisers pay US$72 monthly for realtime data of all trading that occurs on any public exchange in the country. In Canada, it costs investment advisers C$30 for TSX data and another C$25 for TSXV data, bringing the total to C$55 a month. However, those two markets represented on average 62 per cent of Canadian trading volume last year, according to statistics from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. Aequitas says it’s important to take into account the fact that Canada’s market capitalization is US$2 trillion, com-
pared to US$28 trillion south of the border. That means Canadian investment advisers are paying C$55 a month for a snapshot that comprises only a portion of the trading taking place in a much smaller marketplace, according to the upstart. “If you want to have a view of the trading and activity that’s taking place in a security, it is extremely difficult and extremely costly,” says Schmitt. “I think personally that the securities regulators have a role to play over here.” In a filing submitted to the Competition Bureau last year, Aequitas alleges that TMX Group (TSX:X), which operates the Toronto Stock Exchange, has used its dominant market position to artificially push up the cost of market data — a claim that TMX Group calls “inaccurate and misleading.” Eric Sinclair, the president of TMX Datalinx, says market data fees in Canada are priced competitively relative to global peers, adding that it’s deceptive to factor in the relative sizes of the Canadian and U.S. marketplaces. “Our fees are actually less than the U.S., so the way to make us appear more expensive is to either divide the U.S. fees by the market cap of their companies, or multiply ours,” Sinclair says. “That’s a very deceptive way of making us appear out of step with everybody else.” The Investment Industry Association of Canada says it has been advocating for regulatory change on the issue of market data for several years, to no avail. In a statement posted on a website run by Aequitas, the association’s president and CEO called the cost of market data “considerable.” “Given the lack of regulatory response to this significant and pressing issue for Canadian dealers, the IIAC is supportive of industry efforts to develop a solution to this long standing problem,” Ian Russell said. ■
Business
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
37
Automakers say electrics, hybrids no longer just gas sippers BY TOM KRISHER The Associated Press NEW YORK — When Toyota aired a Super Bowl television ad featuring a surprisingly quick Prius gas-electric hybrid eluding police, it marked a turning point for the auto industry. For years, automakers pushed fuel efficiency to sell hybrid and electric vehicles. Now, in an era of cheap gasoline, the message is: These cars are faster and quieter than their gas-powered counterparts. And, yes, you still save on fuel. “They’ve graduated out of the class of something that’s a bit of an oddity to drive,” says Mike O’Brien, vice-president of product planning for Hyundai. “It’s all about making these cars better.” Until now, hybrids and electrics have largely appealed to the environmentally-conscious crowd. The vehicles cost thousands of dollars extra, and although drivers eventually recouped their money in fuel savings, the vehicles lacked
the power and handling of gaspowered rivals. Electrics also suffered from driver concern that the battery could run out of juice on a trip. Now, the tide is slowly turning. General Motors and Tesla will bring electric vehicles to market next year priced around $30,000, including a $7,500 federal tax credit. Battery range has improved significantly, experts expect gasoline prices to eventually climb higher, and the advent of autonomous vehicles favours motors powered by electricity over gas. At the New York International Auto Show this week, Hyundai will join Toyota in showing off new electric and hybrid vehicles. Hyundai will unveil battery, gas-electric hybrid and plug-in versions of a new car called the Ioniq, while Toyota will show a plug-in Prius that can run on electricity alone, as well as both gas and electricity. The new Prius has an increased battery range. The Prius hybrid, powered by both gas and electric motors, started the alternative fuel
movement in the U.S. in 2000. Toyota deliberately made it look different than other cars, knowing that buyers wanted to make a statement about being environmentally friendly. Other companies set their green cars apart as well. Even though sales grew as manufacturers added models, they never really caught on, partly because of the improved fuel economy of gas-powered vehicles. At their peak in 2013, with gas averaging $3.50 per gallon, Americans bought only 341,000 hybrids and electrics, about 2.2 per cent of total U.S. car sales, according to Kelley Blue Book. Many companies spent millions developing the cars, taking losses to meet government fuel economy standards that gradually increase and require the new-car fleet to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. As gas prices fell below $2 per gallon, sales of hybrids and electrics dropped further. Last year, automakers had 16 hybrid and electric models on sale, but sales sank to just over 274,000.
All of this makes for a bad environment to roll out more hybrids and electrics. But automakers will press on, now trying to sell them on style, acceleration, handling and reliability. “It looks better. It drives better. People can have more fun behind the wheel, but it still has new technologies and safety in it, and it also gets the benefits of a hybrid,” Bill Fay, Toyota’s U.S. general manager, said of the Prius. As a power source, electricity outpaces gasoline in just about every area, says Karl Brauer, senior auto analyst for Kelley Blue Book. Advancements have made batteries smaller, increased their storage capacity and brought prices down. Electric motors can take off faster than gas engines, and hybrids can power wheels with both electric and gas motors for better acceleration. Electrics also are far quieter. And with fewer moving parts, they’re more reliable, he said. Yet at $2 per gallon, it would take more than 10 years to recoup the $3,720 price difference
between a base model Toyota Camry hybrid and its four-cylinder gas-engine counterpart. But that’s not always a fair comparison, said Stephanie Brinley, senior analyst for IHS Automotive. Hybrids often come with more equipment and are comparable to better-equipped, pricier models, she said. The coming debuts of the Chevrolet Bolt and Tesla Model 3, which will have 200 miles of electric range, should make battery electric vehicles more appealing, even with cheap gas, Brauer said. A lack of charging stations, once thought to limit adoption of electrics, becomes almost moot because of the longer range, he said. Self-driving cars, which would use electric motors that can be recharged without humans, also would boost sales. Brauer thinks electrics and hybrids will make up more than half of U.S. sales in the next 12 years as SUVs and trucks get the new systems. Hyundai’s O’Brien thinks the shift will happen sooner. ■
China based Geo Jade offers $575 million cash to take over Bankers Petroleum
DTI aims to put in place 500 startup firms by ’20
THE CANADIAN PRESS
THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry targets to have in place by 2020 about 500 start-up companies, with a combined valued of $2 billion, as it seeks to position the Philippines as the next innovation hub in the region. These start-ups, which are expected to have a total funding of $200 million, are also seen to generate some 8,500 jobs—a development that will help the government achieve its agenda of inclusive growth. “There are stories of success in the Philippine startup scene. What we can do is to encourage these startups, link them to venture capitalists, and help them to improve their capacity to enter the global economy by creating an environment supportive of their persistence,” said Trade Undersecretary
CALGARY — Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (TSX:BNK) has received a friendly takeover offer that values the Calgary-based company at $575 million, excluding debt obligations. The directors and management of Bankers are fully supporting the offer from Charter Power and a numbered Alberta company, which are affiliates of China-based Geo-Jade Petroleum Corp. Under the proposal, Bankers would maintain a corporate and technical headquarters in Calgary and operational offices in Albania, Hungary and Romania. David French, the president and CEO of Bankers, says the
deal would provide the company with resources to accelerate activity in Albania and provide its shareholders with a premium price compared with recent stock values. The offer is worth $2.20 per Bankers share cash, about double the Friday closing price of $1.11 per share. The stock hit a 52-week high of $3.83 last April but fell to as low as 60 cents in January. The deal requires approval of two-thirds of the votes cast by Bankers shareholders. Each side has agreed to pay US$20 million to the other in certain circumstances if the deal doesn’t go through. Bankers will reschedule its previously announced general meeting and hold a special meeting before the end of May. ■
PH being positioned as next ‘innovation hub’ in the region BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer
www.canadianinquirer.net
Nora K. Terrado. With over 30 Filipino inventors holding 23 patents assigned to 12 foreign companies, the DTI sees startups as viable catalysts to the information era. As one of its core objectives, DTI now aims to develop a new breed of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through innovation. “As we define the innovation economy of the Philippines, we would like to focus on coming up with new breed of SMEs. It will not just be about digital startups, but we will also explore the field of agriculture, biotechnology, electronics, ecommerce, among others,” Terrado explained. Based on the 2015 assessment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Philippines climbed 17 notches to rank 83rd on the global innovation index. Aside from the country’s im-
pressive climb on the global innovation index, the Philippines’ strong compliance to the intellectual property rights protection also posed a viable qualification to be the next innovation hub in Asia. On a regional scale, the country ranked second for both patent protection and IPR protection in 2014. One of the country’s top Philippine innovations is the Salamander by H20 technologies, an amphibious flood faring utility vehicle. As the world’s first amphibious tricycle, H20 Salamander is a six-seater urban flood utility tricycle that has two variants. One is an electric fuel and the other is powered by gasoline. Driven by the global crisis on climate change, Salamander was developed to address the call for reduced carbon emissions and flood problems in the country. ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Sports
Raonic falls to Djokovic, Williams downed by Azarenka at Indian Wells finals THE CANADIAN PRESS INDIAN WELLS, CALIF. — Canadian Milos Raonic believes he has what it takes to beat the top players in tennis. He just didn’t have it in him on Sunday. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic rolled past the Thornhill, Ont., product 6-2, 6-0 to win the BNP Paribas Open for a record fifth time, improving to 22-1 in matches this year. “I need to work harder, I need to execute better,” Raonic said. “I’m on the right track. It’s about putting things together, being effective, which today I wasn’t able to do. “I think I have it within me, but obviously I need to reach a lot deeper to find that execution.” It was Djokovic’s third consecutive title in the California desert, breaking a tie with four-time champion Roger Federer, who lost to the Serb the past two years in the final and skipped this year because of a knee injury. The women’s final was equally one-sided. Victoria Azarenka defeated
error-prone Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4, returning Azarenka to the world’s top 10 for the first time since August 2014. Djokovic needed an hour, 17 minutes to dispatch Raonic, whose big serve got broken five times. The 25-year-old Raonic served just four aces and had 27 unforced errors. His first serve averaged 128 mph (206 kilometres per hour) — much faster than Djokovic’s 111 mph (178.6 kmph)_ but he connected on only 55 per cent. Djokovic landed 68 per cent of his first serves and was never broken. Raonic, who had been sidelined through February with an adductor injury sustained during the Australian Open semifinal in January, left the court for treatment after Sunday’s first set. “It feels similar (to the Australian Open injury) but not as bad,” Raonic said. “It could be frustrating, could not be. Maybe it’s just sort of a mental way of my body protecting.” On the women’s side, Williams gave fans little to cheer about on an unseasonable 91-degree (32 C) day while
making 33 unforced errors. After getting broken to trail 3-0 in the second set, Williams returned to her seat and smashed her racket. Trailing 5-1, Williams won three straight games and held two break points on Azarenka’s serve in the last game. But Williams ended the match with three straight errors. “Just unexpected nerves maybe. I definitely didn’t expect to be on that stage again,” said Williams, who was back at Indian Wells after ending her 14-year boycott last year. It was Azarenka’s first victory over the top-ranked Williams since the Cincinnati final in August 2013. She will move up seven spots to No. 8 in the WTA Tour rankings Monday. Azarenka hit just 10 winners and had 20 unforced errors in the two-hour match. She connected on 60 per cent of her first serves and broke Williams’ serve three times. Williams converted just 1 of 12 break chances. “I have to go for it,” Azarenka said. “She’s not a type of player that if you’re going to play safe she’s going to give it to you or
Novak Djokovic.
she’s going to miss. You really have to go out there and take away because there is nothing coming easy.” Williams was bidding to become the first woman to win three titles at Indian Wells, where she won in 1999 and 2001. After getting booed heavily while beating Kim Clijsters for her last title here, she vowed never to return. That year the Williams sisters were supposed to meet in a semifinal, but Ve-
YANN CARADEC / FLICKR
nus withdrew shortly before the match with a knee injury. The crowd reacted harshly and their father Richard said he heard racial taunts. “Obviously the last time I was there was probably the worst moment of my whole career. Not probably. Sure,” Williams said. “To be back out there, which I never thought I would be, was really different and special. I was overwhelmed with emotions and nerves.” ■
FIFA launches Diversity Award to tackle discrimination THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ZURICH — FIFA says it will present a Diversity Award in July to honour work eliminating discrimination in soccer.
The 11 judges will include former FIFA presidential candidate Tokyo Sexwale, executive committee member Moya Dodd and transgender American Samoa player Jaiyah Saelua.
The award was suggested in 2013 by FIFA’s discrimination task force, whose work has stalled since the 2014 World Cup. FIFA says the winner will be “an outstanding organization,
www.canadianinquirer.net
group initiative or football personality that is standing up for diversity and anti-discrimination in football.” To help tackle discrimination, FIFA asked its 209 member federations to submit an
“action plan” by the end of this month. FIFA wrote to members reminding them of their “responsibility to eliminate racism and discrimination in football within your jurisdiction.” ■
Sports
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
39
Generals captain Cirelli goes from OHL afterthought to NHL prospect
Superliga Invitational showcases young Thais
BY DHIREN MAHIBAN The Canadian Press
BY MARC ANTHONY REYES Philippine Daily Inquirer
OSHAWA, ONT. — After being passed over in the Ontario Hockey League draft twice, Anthony Cirelli thought his chances of playing major junior hockey were over. The Woodbridge, Ont., native had turned his attention to tier II junior hockey and the possibility of earning an NCAA scholarship when the Oshawa Generals called. Cirelli accepted an invite to camp in the summer of 2014 thinking it would be a good learning opportunity. Little did he know his hockey career was about to take off. “I was just going really for the experience to see what it’d be like and the competition level and how players are in the OHL,” said Cirelli, who was considering studying business. “Fortunately for me, I made the team.” Cirelli scored 13 goals and 23 assists in 68 games during his rookie season. He added two goals and eight assists in 21 playoff games. The biggest goal of the young centre’s career came last May as he scored the overtime winner in the Memorial Cup final as Oshawa edged the Kelowna Rockets 2-1. “That was a great experience, just to play in the tournament and be with the guys last year and playing in the tournament,” he said. “It was an unbelievable
THAILAND, hotbed of Southeast Asian volleyball, is sending its young stars to clash with Filipino club players in the Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference. Composed of players who saw action in the World U-23 and U-17 women’s championships, the EST Cola club of Thailand is set to arrive on April 4 ahead of the PSL Invitationals final round which starts April 7. Sensational open hitter Chatchu-on Moksri will banner the Thai team on his return to the country after playing in the Asian U-23 Championships here last year. Moksri is a member of the Thai national team along with Sasiporn Bundasak and Parinya Pankaew. “These players are being groomed for the Thailand volleyball team because after this year’s FIVB and AVC events, most of their players will retire (from Thai national team),” said PSL president Ramon “Tats” Suzara. “This is a very good chance to expose our present crop of players to top-level competitions because they are very promising and eager to show their worth.” Included in the team are World U-23 veterans Anisa Yotpinit (libero), Wipaw-
Anthony Cirelli.
feeling winning Memorial Cup. Words can’t really describe it.” The 18-year-old was rewarded for his fine rookie campaign when the Tampa Bay Lightning selected him in the third round of the 2015 NHL draft. This season, the two-way centre has taken on more of a leadership role. When New York Islanders prospect, and Generals captain, Michael Dal Colle was dealt to the Kingston Frontenacs in February, Oshawa placed the captaincy on Cirelli’s shoulder. The six-foot, 160-pound forward finished the regular season with 21 goals and a team-leading 59 points as the Generals secured the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, earning a first-round matchup with Dal Colle and the Frontenacs. “I don’t think at any stage of his life probably or certainly his hockey career ever took
ANTHONY CIRELLI (@ACIRELLI22) / TWITTER
anything for granted. He still doesn’t. He’s the hardest working guy in practice, he’s the hardest working guy in games,” said Oshawa general manager Roger Hunt. “I’m not that surprised when you get to know the person and what he puts into his craft. “It’s easy to say now because he’s had some success (but) I really believe it was meant to be, he got the opportunity and made the most of it.” According to Generals coach Bob Jones, Cirelli “has no glaring weaknesses” in his game, but in order for him to get to the next level he’ll need to work on his physical strength. “He needs to get to be where he’s man strong,” said Hunt. “His strength will improve. I think his work ethic and his approach to the game is what has endeared to him to (us) and Tampa Bay.” ■
ee Srithong (open hitter), Patchraporn Sittisad (open hitter) and Tichaya Boonlert (setter). All had international exposure and took part in the FIVB events aside from playing in the Thai pro league. The Thai team will play a single-round FIVB Grand Prixstyle tournament against RC ColaArmy, Petron and F2 Logistics. ■ Race 1—(Super 6/Qrt/Tri)— Okatokat (7), Kasilawan (2), Tuxedo (6), Dowry (5), Pax Romana (3), Life Is A Bounty (1) Race 2—(Qrt/Tri)—Noh Yana (5), Best Guys (6), Dixie Storm (4), Dream Of All (3) Race 3—(Super 6/Qrt/Tri)— Sigma’s Treasure (12), Calabar Zone (7), Burbank (5), Mi Bella Amore (11), Corragioso (2), Pusong Bato (6) Race 4—(Penta/ Qrt/Tri)—Camry (6), Real Pogi (1), Richko (8), Silver Screen (4), Casablanca/Primadonna (9) Race 5—(Qrt/Tri)—Kimagure (3), B Quick (1), Lover Of All (2), Mapaghinala (4) Race 6—(Penta/ Qrt/Tri)—Persian Empire (8), Bangkal Too (4), Precious Jewel (6), Soul Mate (5), Mr. Sensitive (3) Race 7— (Penta/Qrt/Tri)—Today’s Special (2), Grace Giver (6), MistyLoy (1), Damong Ligaw (5), Graceparkboy (8) Race 8—(Super 6/Qrt/Tri)—Cats Incredible (5), Three coins nd fountain (13), Musketeer (9), Manila Boy (12), My Destiny (14), Good Story (7)
Calma, Uy zoom to Vios Cup wins BY MARC ANTHONY REYES Philippine Daily Inquirer MABALACAT, PAMPANGA — Rising hotshot Andres Calma of GM Motorsport sure got speed running in his veins. Amid the burning rubber, steamy tracks and scorching heat, the secondgeneration athlete zoomed past his rivals and out of the shadows of his basketball great father Hector Calma. The 20-year-old Calma sized up a formidable field in the first
few laps before making a move in the third en route to winning Race 1 of the elite Super Sporting Class of the 3rd Vios Cup yesterday at Clark International Speedway here. The favorite on account of winning the overall title last year, Calma overcame the challenge of what he described as his least favorite track. “The race was great. It’s everything I had wanted it to be,” said the La Salle student who started racing as a nineyear-old karter. “My car handled well and I did the best I could.”
In clocking his best time of twominutes and 25.12 seconds in 12 laps, the 6-foot-2 Calma totaled 29:22.73 besting Toyota Alabang’s Estefano Rivera (29:30.47) and Daniel Miranda of Obengers (29:30.75) who placed second and third, respectively. Allan Uy of Toyota Quezon Avenue topped Race 2 later in the night with a 36:11.512 clocking. Calma settled for second in 36:11.772 while Miranda was third in 36:12.500. The elder Calma, who watched from the paddock, said www.canadianinquirer.net
his son took extra time to practice on the 4.2-kilometer track. He also won a street circuit race last year in Cebu. “It feels great to win the first race of the season,” said Calma. “I think my chances for the season is high after winning the first race, but the competition is tough and we’ll never know what happens next.” More at ease with narrow tracks, Calma took extra hours practicing at Clark which has 18 turns. “It’s not my favorite track but I’m happy I had enough prac-
tice,” Calma said. Paolo Rodriguez of Toyota San Fernando topped race 1 of the Bridgestone Sporting Class in 30:03.89, beating Miko Maristela of TQA (30:08.05) and Sean Velasco of Toyota Cebu (30:06.27). Celebrity DJ Sam YG of TMP, who graduated from Promotional/Celebrity Class to the Sporting Class, held forth most of the race but spun out in the seventth to land at eighth place. Sen. JV Ejercito also saw action in the category and finished 12th. ■
40
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Technology
Apple releases small new Twitter marks 10th iPhone, iPad for business use birthday searching for followers, profits
BY BRANDON BAILEY The Associated Press
CUPERTINO, CALIF. — Apple unveiled a small new iPhone, a new iPad tablet for business use and price cuts for its Apple Watch at a product event Monday. The announcements, which were largely expected, aim to keep up the company’s commercial momentum in the face of mounting challenges. The company could use a lift. Sales of its flagship iPhone are levelling off after surging last year to record levels that made Apple the world’s biggest company by stock market value. Many are wondering if Cook can come up with another big hit. And on Tuesday, Apple lawyers will square off with authorities in federal court over the FBI’s demand for help unlocking a San Bernardino killer’s encrypted iPhone. The tech giant insists the government’s plan would compromise security for all iPhone users. While Apple’s dispute with the government has commanded headlines for weeks, it warranted only a brief mention at the product event. “We did not expect to be in this position,” CEO Tim Cook told the gathering. “But we believe we have a responsibility to protect your data and to protect your privacy.” The new phone — the iPhone SE — is an upgrade to the older, four-inch iPhone 5S, released in 2013. It’s aimed at consumers who haven’t sprung for the bigger-screen iPhone 6 models that Apple introduced over the last two years. The new phone comes with features like Apple Pay and the company’s fastest processor, which have previously been offered only on versions of the iPhone 6. Apple also unveiled a smaller model of the iPad Pro, which the company introduced last year with several features — like a detachable keyboard and
BY MATT OTT The Associated Press
APPLE.COM/IPHONE-SE/
stylus — designed for business users. The Apple Watch got a price cut, and will now start at $299, down from $349; it will also come with new wristbands made of woven nylon. Apple launched the smartwatch to great fanfare last year, although it has yet to win a big following. The iPhone SE might not see the kind of blockbuster demand that Apple enjoyed with its large-screen iPhone 6 and 6S models, according to several financial analysts, but it could help Apple boost overall sales. It might also draw some additional users into the market for Apple’s online services, including Apple Music, Apple Pay and the highly profitable mobile App Store. While shoppers bought a record 74.8 million iPhones in the final three months of 2015, Apple has signalled demand in the current three-month period will fall short of the 61 million iPhones sold in the JanuaryMarch quarter last year. The iPhone SE will sell for $399 with no cellular contract, significantly lower than larger iPhone models, which list at $549 or more. The smaller phone may appeal to some shoppers, especially in overseas markets, who want a premium
phone at lower cost. It could also draw interest from owners of older iPhone 5 models who find the larger models unwieldy. Analysts generally expect Apple to release a more dramatically revamped iPhone 7 in the fall. The proliferation of iPhone and iPad models may seem contrary to Apple’s traditional focus — espoused by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs — on producing fewer products that it believes are superior to competitors’ offerings. Its rival Samsung, by contrast, is known for selling a multitude of phones and tablets at various sizes and prices. But Apple has gradually expanded its family of devices in recent years to reach consumers in different market categories, which also helps the company sell more online goods and services, said Gartner tech analyst Brian Blau. “Tim Cook has said he thinks there’s a lot of life left in the iPhone product line, despite the media and investor community pressuring Apple over the potential decline in premium iPhone sales,” Blau said. “I think it’s exactly these types of things that he has in mind.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net
expanding Twitter’s user base, which would in turn allow it to sell more advertising and to begin to make money for the first NEW YORK — Happy birthday, time. Twitter. The San Francisco-based The social media site famous company last year added a for hashtags and a 140-charac- “Moments” feature, a tool that ter “tweet” limit turned 10 years bundles video, photos and links old Monday, having evolved to news stories, making it easier from what was originally billed for people to find hot topics of as a “microblogging” site into discussion without needing to one of the Internet’s most in- figure out whom to follow to refluential means of communica- ceive updates. tion. It also got rid of its star icon The world’s first tweet, which signifying a “favourite” tweet, in was sent by co-founder Jack favour of a heart icon, similar to Dorsey on March 21, 2006, read Facebook’s “like” button. Twit“just setting up ter then changed my twttr.” the user timeWhen Capt. line, showing Chesley Sulfirst the popular lenberger safely tweets related landed a disabled Twitter’s to people users US Airways expansion follow, then the plane with 150 has slowed real-time feed, a passengers into dramatically feature users can a frigid Hudson over the turn off. River in January past year Hardcore Twit2009, witnesses and a half. ter users seemed tweeted photos mostly dismayed of passengers by the new changbeing rescued es and were borfrom the floatderline apoplecing plane. At the tic when rumours time, it seemed unthinkable circulated that the company was that Twitter didn’t exist just a considering doing away with the few years earlier. 140-character limit. Now presidents — and the The company rehired Dorsey Pope — have Twitter accounts. for a second stint as CEO last But after a long streak of ro- summer, and he signalled his bust growth that turned it into resolve to make Twitter profitone of the Internet’s hottest able by laying off 336 employcompanies, Twitter’s expansion ees, or 8 per cent of its workhas slowed dramatically over force. the past year and a half. But company lost another At the end of 2015, it had $90 million during the final about 320 million active users, three months of last year, prefar short of social networking serving its profitless history. leader Facebook and its 1.5 bilThat lacklustre performance lion users. has hammered Twitter’s stock, Twitter Inc. executives have which is trading at less than $17 acknowledged their struggle to per share, down from nearly convince people the service is $50 per share a year ago. Twitessential. They have tweaked ter’s November 2013 initial Twitter’s format in a bid to public offering price was $26 make it easier and more engag- and it reached $70 per share in ing to use. That’s seen as key to early 2014. ■
Technology
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
41
Emojimania: Fans and brands crying tears of joy BY LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press NEW YORK — When it comes to emojis, the future is very, very ... Face with Tears of Joy. If you don’t know what that means then you: a) aren’t a 14-year-old girl. b) love to hate those tiny pictures that people text you all the time. Or c) are nowhere near a smartphone or online chat. Otherwise, here in 2016, it’s all emojis, all the time. And Face with Tears of Joy, by the way, is a bright yellow happy face with a classic, toothy grin as tears fall. The Face was chosen by Oxford Dictionaries as its 2015 “word” of the year, based on its popularity and reflecting the rise of emojis to help charitable causes, promote businesses and generally assist oh-so-manymore of us in further expressing ourselves on social media and in texts. The Beyhive knows. The collective fan base of Beyonce recently spammed Amber Rose with little bumblebee emojis when they sensed a diss of their queen. Taco Bell also knows. Emoji overseers approved a taco char-
acter last year after a yearlong campaign by the company to get one up and running, rewarding users of said taco on Twitter with gifts of free photos, GIFs and other virtual playthings to celebrate. So what’s it all about? Here’s a look at the past, present and rosy future of emojis: Where did they come from?
While there’s now a strict definition of emojis as images created through standardized computer coding that works across platforms, they have many, many popular cousins by way of “stickers,” which are images without the wonky back end. Kimojis, the invention of Kim Kardashian, aren’t technically emojis, for instance, at least in the eyes of purists. In tech lore, the great emoji explosion has a grandfather in Japan and his name is Shigetaka Kurita. He was inspired in the 1990s by manja and kanji when he and others on a team working to develop what is considered the world’s first widespread mobile Internet platform came up with some rudimentary characters. They were working a good decade before Apple developed a set of emojis for the first iPhones.
“Words aren’t dead. Long live the emoji, long live the word.”
Emojis are either loads of fun or the bane of your existence. One thing is sure: There’s no worry they’ll become a “language” in and of themselves. While everybody from CocaCola to the Kitten Bowl have come up with little pictographs to whip up interest in themselves, emojis exist mainly to nuance the words regular folk type, standing in for tone of voice, facial expressions and physical gestures — extended middle finger emoji added recently. “Words aren’t dead. Long live the emoji, long live the word,” laughed Gretchen McCulloch, a Toronto linguist who, like some others in her field, is studying emojis and other aspects of In-
ternet language. Emojis have been compared to hieroglyphs, but McCulloch is not on board. That ancient picture-speak included symbols with literal meaning, but others stood in for actual sound. Emoji enthusiasts have played with telling word-free stories using their little darlings alone and translating song lyrics into the pictures, “but they can’t be put together like letters to make a pronounceable word,” McCulloch said. The emoji overseers
Back when Kurita was creating some of the first emojis, chaos already had ensued in trying to make all the pagers and all the emerging mobile
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phones and the newfangled thing called email and everything else Internet-ish that was bubbling up speak to each other. And also to allow people in Japan used to a more formal way of communicating make themselves understood in the emerging shorthand. Enter the Unicode Consortium, on the coding end. It’s a volunteer non-profit industry organization working in collaboration with the International Organization for Standardization, the latter an independent non-governmental body that helps develop specifications for all sorts of things, including emojis, on a global scale. Unicode, co-founded and headed by Mark Davis in Zurich, has a big, big mission, of which emojis have a place: making sure all the languages in the world are encoded and supported across platforms and devices. The key word here is volunteer. Davis has a whole other job at Google, but he has dedicated himself to the task above. He also co-chairs the consortium’s emoji subcommittee, a cog in a vetting process for new emojis that can take up to two years ❱❱ PAGE 47 Emojimania: Fans
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Events
42
Tunog ng Pagbabago By Filipino Canadian Toronto On. Duterte Cayetano Movement and Prestige By Night WHEN/WHERE: 7 to 10 p.m., Apr. 1, at 4544 Dufferin St., Toronto, On. New WelcomePack Canada Distribution Centre By WelcomePack Canada Inc. WHEN/WHERE: 1 to 5 p.m., Mon, Tues, Thu & Fri at the Filipino Centre Bldg., 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, On. MORE INFO: Call (416) 928-9355 Tagalog Class By Filipino Center Toronto WHEN/WHERE: 10 to 11 a.m., every Saturday,YUKON Filipino Centre Toronto
MARCH 25, 2016
Saturday, Filipino Centre Toronto, 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, ON MORE INFO: For registrations, call 416-9289355. The office, at 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m. Pabasa ng Bayan 2016 in Tagalog By St. Ann’s Parish Community WHEN/WHERE: 12 nn Mar. 24; 2 p.m. Mar. 25, at St. Ann’s Parish Hall, 711 Gerrard St., East of Broadview MORE INFO: Call Sis Fe – 905-889-7868 or the parish office at 416-466-2127
FRIDAY
CANADA EVENTS
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Consular Outreach in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island By the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa WHEN/WHERE: NUNAVUT 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Apr. 12; Homework/Tutorial ClassNORTHWEST and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Apr. 13, at Calvary By FCT TERRITORIES Christian Church Gym, 9 Capital Dr. cor WHEN/WHERE: 11a.m. to 12 nn, every Route 2, Charlottetown, PEI
BRITISH COLUMBIA ALBERTA
NEWFOUNDLAND
MANITOBA
SASKATCHEWAN Free Tax Clinic for Low-Income Newcomers By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: For full eligibility criteria, please visit www.mosaicbc.com/settlement-services. Call to make an appointment: Vancouver: 604-254-9626 (serves permanent residents, work permit holders and naturalized citizens), Burnaby: 604-438-8214 (serves permanent residents only) Recent Works by Joanne Frewer and Bert Monterona By Ferry Building Gallery WHEN/WHERE: Mar. 15 to Apr. 3; Meet the Artists: 2 to 3 p.m., Mar. 19, at Ferry Building Gallery, 1414 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver, B.C. Temporary Foreign Workers Uncontested Divorce Clinic By Law Courts Center WHEN/WHERE: Saturdays from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Justice Education Society at the Provincial Court of BC Room 260 800 Hornby St., Vancouver B.C. MORE INFO: To book an appointment, call/text 778322-2839 or email: tfw.divorce@gmail.com Skills Now: Project-based Training for Immigrants in Retail and Administration By ISS of BC WHEN/WHERE: Call or email at 604-684-2581 (ext 2193 Nanki) skillsnow@issbc.org MORE INFO: Receive a certificate or skills training in retail or administration; job search workshops; and strong employment opportunities. 10 Weeks of English Conversation By South Vancouver Neighbourhood House WHEN/WHERE: Feb. 1 to Apr. 9, 18 locations in Metro Vancouver MORE INFO: Call Amie to register – 604-324-6212 ext 142 Mentoring Programme for Immigrant High School
ONTARIO
QUEBEC
Students: Breakfast & Baon 101 By Mentorship & Leadership for Youth Programme WHEN/WHERE: 10 a.m. to 12 nn at Corpus Christi College (near UBC) 5935 Iona Dr. Vancouver BC. Free pick up and drop off service. MORE INFO: Meet young professionals plus learn to cook. Call/text Anna de Quito 604-763-2210. Free Counselling Support Group By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., every last Monday of the month, at Mosaic Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Darae (604)254-9626 Bae in the City Canada Tour 2016 with Alden Richards By Red Productions and GMA Pinoy TV; GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., Mar. 24, Massey Theatre 735 8th Ave., NWestminster, B.C. MORE INFO: Tickets at $80, $60 and $50 Youth Group for Education & Employment By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 1:30–3:30 p.m. every Monday until Mar. 29, at MOSAIC Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway St., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call - Solmaz at 604-438-8214 ext 120 Love, Mercy and Forgiveness: Pope Francis and the Future of the Catholic Church By St. Mark’s College and Newman Club at UBC and the Newman Association of Vancouver WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., Mar. 31, at St. Mark's Chapel, 5935 Iona Dr., Vancouver (UBC) MORE INFO: Most Rev. J. Michael Miller, archbishop of Vancouver will offer his thoughts on the matter. Wine and cheese reception to follow. Multicultural Women’s Conference & Fair By Canadian Immigrant www.canadianinquirer.net
WHEN/WHERE: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mar. 31, at Croatian Cultural Centre 3250 Commercial Dr., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO:NOVA Free Admission
SCOTIA
Information & Conversations for Work Permit Holders By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Apr. 2, 16, 23 & 30 at the Mosaic Community Room, 1720 Grant St. Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Lam: 604-254-9626 Canadian Citizenship Preparation By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Apr. 6 & 7 at New Westminster Public Library Main Branch, 716 6th Ave. NW, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Faustin: 778-591-9334 Seniors ESL Conversation Circle By Vancouver Public Library WHEN/WHERE: 1 to 2:30 p.m., Thursdays up to Apr. 7, Champlain Hts. Br., 7110 Kerr St., Vancouver, B.C. Greased Lightning Spring Dance By University of the Philippines Alumni Association in BC WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. to 12 mn, Apr. 9, at St. Monica Parish Hall, Richmond, B.C. MORE INFO: Tickets at $20 includes dinner Forum on Good Governance with Loida Nicolas Lewis By Global Pinoy Diaspora Canada and Vancouver Friends for Mar and Leni WHEN/WHERE: 1:30 to 4 p.m., Apr. 10, St. Patrick’s Parish Basement, 2881 Main St., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Treenee Lopez at 604-773-9192. I Belong Support Group By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 5:30–7:30 p.m., Apr. 11, at Mosaic Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Darae: 604-254-9626
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MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
Food
Don’t be intimidated by sausage making, this recipe is easy! BY SARA MOULTON The Associated Press IF YOU’VE always nursed a yen to make your own sausage, but you don’t own a meat grinder and you’re dubious about the joys of stuffing ground meat into casings, this recipe for rustic sausage patties is for you. So what about this ground meat mixture qualifies it as sausage? The answer is threefold: the seasonings, the way the ground meat is mixed, and the high fat content of the mixture. Most hamburger meat contains 15 to 20 per cent fat. Ground chuck clocks in at about 30 per cent. But when it comes to sausage, most of which is made from pork, the fat averages 30 to 50 per cent. And — big surprise! — that’s why we love it so much. The flavour and juiciness are enhanced greatly by all that fat. Still, there’s no reason to get crazy, which is why I’ve walked a middle line here, aiming for a fat content around 35 per cent. Pork shoulder (also known as pork butt or Boston butt) is my cut of choice. It’s inexpensive, tasty and rich with fat. But the ratio of meat to fat varies even within a given piece of pork shoulder. Some parts are leaner, some fattier. In order to arrive at just the right ratio, you need to slice off the fat and weigh it, then weigh the meat, too. Next, it’s time to toss in a couple slices of bacon, which is my way of adding smokiness to the sausages without actually having to smoke them. Given that most folks don’t own a meat grinder, we’re going to use a food processor to “grind” the meat. First, however,
the meat and fat must be frozen. This helps them break up more evenly during processing, and helps prevent them from overheating in the machine. You can take advantage of that freezing time to cook and chill the onion mixture. When all of the ingredients are combined — the ground meat, fat, onion and seasonings — it’s important to mix them well. Kneading makes the finished sausages denser and springier. These qualities are what make a sausage a sausage rather than a burger, which should be loose and crumbly. I call for the cooking and tasting of a “test pilot,” or tiny sample patty, before launching into full production. It’s a safe way to decide if the sausage is seasoned to your taste, given that you shouldn’t just pinch off and gobble down a piece of raw meat. First, it’s just not safe. Second, raw meat requires different seasoning than cooked meat. The patties can be formed a day ahead and chilled, which will improve their flavour even further. One last caveat: Be careful not to overcook the patties. All they’ll need is three minutes per side, plus a few more with the lentils. If you cook them to well done, they’ll be dry. I love the combination of pork and beans, which is why I paired these rustic sausage patties with warm lentils. The lentils and their cooking liquid are poured into the same skillet in which the sausages were grilled. This step deglazes the browned sausage juices on the bottom of the skillet and marries the pork to the lentils. If you want to make this dish more substantial, you might stir some baby spinach or kale into the lentils and let them wilt before adding the sausages.
Or throw in some steamed baby carrots. Or both. It’s all good. RUSTIC SAUSAGE PATTIES WITH LENTILS
Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes (45 minutes active) Servings: 4 For the sausage patties: • 12 ounces trimmed pork shoulder meat, cut into 1/2-inch chunks • 4 ounces fresh pork fat (from the trimmed shoulder meat), cut into 1-inch pieces • 2 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces • 2 tablespoons olive oil • 2/3 cup finely minced yellow onion • 2 teaspoons minced garlic • 1 teaspoon dried sage • 1 teaspoon dried thyme • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper For the lentil salad: • 1 cup dry lentils • 2 to 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard • Chopped fresh parsley, to serve To make the sausages, in a shallow container such as a baking dish or small sheet pan, spread out the pork, fat and bacon. Freeze, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, sage and thyme, then cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl and refrigerate until cooled to room temperature. Reserve the skillet.
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Once the pork has chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes, transfer the fat and bacon to a food processor. Pulse until it is very finely chopped, then transfer to a bowl. Add the pork chunks to the processor and pulse until finely chopped. Return the fat-bacon mixture to the processor and pulse several times to mix. Transfer the mixture back to the bowl along with the cooled onion mixture, the salt and pepper. Knead the mixture for several minutes, or until it is mixed well and holds together when you squeeze it with your fingers. In a small skillet, test a small piece of the sausage mixture, cooking it until nicely browned on both sides. Adjust seasoning as needed. Shape the mixture into twelve 2-inch patties, then chill, covered, until ready to cook. While the patties chill, prepare the lentil salad. In a 1-quart saucepan over medium-high, combine the lentils and 2 cups of the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook the lentils, partially covered, for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the lentils are just tender. When the lentils are nearly done cooking, heat the reserved large skillet over medium. Working in batches, add the sausage patties to the skillet and cook until they are nicely browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the patties to a plate. Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet, then add to the skillet the cooked lentils along with their cooking liquid, the sherry vinegar and Dijon mustard. Simmer gently, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, for 2 minutes, adding more chicken broth if desired to ❱❱ PAGE 47 Don’t be
Seen & Scenes: Vancouver
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
45
ALDEN RICHARDS IN VANCOUVER Aldenatics rejoice! Alden Richards’ Bae in the City Canada Tour 2016 is coming to Vancouver. Catch him on Mar. 24, at Massey Theatre in New Westminster, B.C.
MLA Pat Pimm, Peace River N. Ft St John, with officials of PCG and POLO Vancouver led by Consul General Neil Ferrer and Labor Attaché Jaime Gimenez.
CONSULAR OUTREACH AT FT. ST. JOHN Crowd shot of the recent Consular Outreach of Vancouver PCG and POLO at the Northern Grand Hotel in Fort St. John, B.C.
ORIENTATION SEMINAR The Philippine Overseas Labor Office successfully conducted a post arrival orientation seminar for newcomers and new immigrants at the Multicultural Helping House on Mar. 14 (Photos c/o Polo Vancouver).
NETWORKING Seen attending the Macau Chinese Networking event organized by lawyer Anthony Remedios and company, at the Shun Feng Seafood Restaurant in Richmond BC were MP Alice Wong, Councillor Bill McNulty, Deputy Consul General Anton Mandap of the Philippine Consulate in Vancouver, Richmond Councillor Chak Au and other bigwigs (Photos by Janice Lozano). www.canadianinquirer.net
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Seen and Scenes
MARCH 25, 2016
FRIDAY
LENT Our Lady of Assumption Church - Toronto held the traditional Palm Sunday Mass on Mar. 20. The church was full of Lenten devotees.
SUNDAY TALK SHOW Toronto Catholic District School Board Chairperson and Ward 11 Trustee Angela Kennedy (centre) posed with host Randy Bucao (L) and co-host Tony A. San Juan (R) during the interview broadcast at www. Pinoy Radio. Com's "Sunday Talk Show With Randy" in Toronto, Ontario on Mar. 20 (Photo by Ryan Orlanda).
GAWAD KALINGA DONATION Philippine Independence Day Council President Norma Carpio gives a $2000-cheque to Gawad Kalinga Canadian President Pidoy Pacis to help build a modern house which is typhoon- and earthquake-proof for a poor family in the Philippines. The handover was held on Mar. 20, during the Mrs. Philippines PIDC 2016 Pageant at Rembrandt Banquet Hall. Jun Villaruz and Roy Start are the chair and co-chairs of the event (Photos by Ariel Ramos).
MRS. PHILIPPINES 2016 Scenes from the Mrs. Philippines PIDC 2016 Pageant at Rembrandt Banquet Hall on Mar. 19. Guests included were Atty. Sol Gombinsky and Annabelle Migalbin of Solutions Immigration, Mel Galeon of FV Foods, Marilou Tamboong and Ms. Camacho (Photos by Amelia Insigne).
TADURAN VISIT
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Joaquin (Jojo) T. Taduran, Jr, KCR, a trustee of the Dimasalang Chapter of the Knights of Rizal, Canada Region, is shown in photo at left visiting a long-time friend, Rogelio Quiambo, KGCR, former Supreme Commander of the Knights of Rizal and former Assemblyman representing Quezon City, in his office in Barangay Socorro, Cubao, Quezon City (St. Jamestown News Service, Dindo Orbeso)
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Food
FRIDAY MARCH 25, 2016
Easy comfort dinner? All you need is a pan, lots of paprika BY KATIE WORKMAN The Associated Press CHICKEN PAPRIKASH is the kind of dish that reveals itself immediately and inarguably as comfort food, even if you’ve never eaten it before in your life. It’s a classic Hungarian dish which features chicken, onions, broth, tomatoes (sometimes, not always) and of course copious amounts of paprika. I have been playing around with my tin of smoked paprika for quite a while now, and while I love the flavour, it can come on strong. So here I relied primarily on the typical sweet Hungarian paprika, then added a little bit of smoked to give it another level of flavour. You also could add a bit of hot paprika to give the dish a different kind of kick. If you are the kind of person to make your own dumplings or noodles, this is a great moment to whip out that skill set. For the rest of us, and for a weeknight dinner, a bag of egg noodles fits the bill perfectly. You don’t want to heat the sour cream in the sauce over the stove, or it might curdle. Just stir it into the pot at the very end and it will add a tangy-creamy note to the warm sauce. CHICKEN PAPRIKASH
Start to finish: 45 minutes Servings: 8 • 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs • Kosher salt and ground black pepper • 1 tablespoon canola oil • 2 large yellow onions, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
It’s a classic Hungarian dish which features chicken, onions, broth, tomatoes (sometimes, not always) and of course copious amounts of paprika.
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika • 1 teaspoon smoked or hot paprika (optional) • 2 bay leaves • 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth • 3/4 cup sour cream • 16-ounce bag egg noodles Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a very large, deep heavy saute pan (such as cast-iron) over medium-high, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook for about 4 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for another 4 minutes; it will not be cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate. It’s fine if there are bits stuck to the pan. Return the pan to medium heat and add the onions. Saute for 5 minutes, or until softened and moderately browned. Stir in the garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in the flour and both varieties of paprika, stirring for 1 minute, or until well mixed. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasion-
ally and scraping the bottom to loosen any stuck bits. Return the chicken to the pan, along with any juices on the plate. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile, bring a large pot salted water to a boil and cook the egg noodles according to package directions. Drain and divide between serving plates. When the chicken is cooked, remove the pan from the heat. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce and discard, then stir in the sour cream. Top each portion of noodles with chicken and sauce. Nutrition information per serving: 520 calories; 140 calories from fat (27 per cent of total calories); 15 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 245 mg cholesterol; 410 mg sodium; 49 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 44 g protein. Katie Workman has written two cookbooks focused on easy, family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.”
Don’t be... achieve a soupy consistency. Add the patties to the skillet and simmer gently for 2 minutes. To serve, transfer a mound of the lentil mixture to each of 4 serving bowls, then top with 3 patties and garnish with chopped fresh parsley. ❰❰ 44
Nutrition information per serving: 590 calories; 310 calories from fat (53 per cent of total calories); 34 g fat (10 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 80 mg cholesterol; 500 mg sodium; 33 g carbohydrate; 12 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 38 g protein.
Sara Moulton is the host of public television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows, including “Cooking Live.” Her latest cookbook is “Home Cooking 101.” www.canadianinquirer.net
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Emojimania: Fans... before new ones are put into the Unicode Standard for the likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook to do with what they wish. Where does Davis sit with the rapid rise of emojis? “It has been a surprise. We didn’t fully understand how popular they were going to be,” he said. At the moment, Unicode has released 1,624 emojis, with more options when you factor in modifiers for such things as skin tone. The emoji subcommittee fields about 100 proposals for new emojis a year. Not all make it through the vetting process. “We don’t encode emoji for movie or fictional people, or for deities. And we’re not going to give you a Donald Trump,” Davis said. Gender, he said, is among the next frontiers for emojis. Demand for a female runner, for instance, will be voted on in May as critics have questioned a male-female divide. The consortium is trying to come up with a way to more easily and quickly customize emoji for gender, hair colour and other features, Davis said. “Personally, I am very much looking forward to a face palm emoji,” he joked. ❰❰ 41
Emoji lovers and haters
Meet Elle Brown. She’s a 9-year-old “kidpreneur” from Plant City, Florida. She makes emoji-theme jewelry and key fobs that she sells at school and church, and that her mom sells from her desk at an insurance firm. “My favourite one is the “poo” emoji, and the money emoji,” said Elle. People of all ages buy from her mom, Zee Brown. “It’s like having Girl Scout cookies. People come to me,” she said. While marketers are all over emojis these days, professional brander Kevin Winslow in Boise, Idaho, was a reluctant adopter. “I thought they were rather silly. It didn’t seem to me like something a grown-up would use,” he said. “Now they’re a necessity in social media campaigns. Sometimes they help do away with the exclamation point, which I also despise.” Vivian Rosenthal is founder
and head of Snaps, a platform on which keyboards full of branded images are launched, including marketing campaigns intended to support social causes, such as the plight of refugees. With nearly half of all Instagram posts now including at least one emoji and with more than 270 billion text messages sent a day across all mobile devices, brands are trying big time to monetize emojis, Rosenthal said. “Basically, messaging is social 2.0,” she added. “People want to convey more and more emotion. The language of the future is a visually based language. It’s very universal and democratic.” Rosenthal estimated somewhere around 6 billion emojis and stickers are sent every day across devices and services. Emojis and the youngins
Clearly, emojis are the darlings of the Millennial and GenZ generations. Other age groups are in the game, but Tayfun Karadeniz said age isn’t the entire story. He’s the founder and head of EmojiXpress, a third-party app for iOS that supplies users with every emoji available in the Unicode Standard. He’s also a new voting member of the Unicode Consortium. Of roughly 50 million downloads of his app over the last three years, 80 per cent of his users are female. Are they just about the fun? Are we, in the grand scheme, now dependent on emojis in some profound way? “I wouldn’t say our society would break down if we didn’t have them, but you could also ask why do we need art, why do we need TV shows?” Akash Nigam, the 23-yearold co-founder and chief executive of Blend, a group messaging app focused on Millennials and GenZers, thinks emoji use among those age groups has a slightly more urgent element. “They’re integral to their daily lives,” he said. “With this audience, it’s kind of like the punch line. Whoever uses the most unique emojis alongside a very witty text kind of gets the most kudos. Everybody is always pounding their keyboards looking for emojis that haven’t been used. I mean, yeah, you could paint a picture or write an essay, but it doesn’t feel the same.” ■
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MARCH 25, 2016
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