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VOL. 11 NO. 245

Marcos buried on the sly Military officials salute as the coffin containing the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos is lowered during his noontime burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.

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In secrecy-shrouded rites, Marcos is buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani, sparking protests VP Robredo: He is no hero; his burial came ‘like a thief in the night’ Marcos family thanks Duterte for making it possible, seeks understanding

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO AND JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer EX-DICTATOR FERDINAND Marcos was buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani on Friday, in a secrecyshrouded ceremony that stunned the nation and sparked protests from the opponents of martial law and survivors of his mailedfist rule.

The burial of Marcos with military honors came as another stunning development in the remarkable political

comeback of his family, a phenomenon that was given fresh energy this year by the clan’s strong alliance with the country’s new leader, President Duterte.

It was Mr. Duterte who allowed the burial of Marcos at the heroes’ cemetery, a decision challenged in the Supreme Court by opponents of martial law and survivors of torture, who argued that an honorable burial for the dictator was “illegal and contrary to law, public policy, morals and justice.”

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Apec ministers push for Pacific free trade pact

32 Joey Abrenilla: Exuding the scent of winning with humility ❱❱ PAGE 22

❱❱ PAGE 7 Marcos buried

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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

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Philippine court urged to order Marcos’ remains exhumed THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Human rights victims who suffered during the rule of Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos filed petitions Monday asking the Supreme Court to order the exhumation of his remains that were buried last week at the country’s Heroes’ Cemetery.

They also want the court to hold officials and his heirs in contempt for carrying out the burial before the court heard final appeals against it.

Former President Fidel Ramos, who played a key role in the peaceful armybacked revolt that ousted Marcos in 1986, called the former leader’s burial at the military-run cemetery “an insult” to the sacrifices of soldiers and veterans.

Left-wing former lawmaker Saturnino Ocampo and other activists urged the court to hold Marcos’ widow Imelda, their three children, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and two military officials in contempt for “the hasty, shady and tricky” burial on Friday of the longdead president at the Heroes’ Cemetery.

The petition said they should be fined and detained for mocking the legal process that gave petitioners 15 days to appeal the court’s Nov. 8 ruling allowing the burial.

Opposition Rep. Edcel Lagman, who

UP Prof. Susan Villanueva (2nd from left), who is also president of Sandigan Para sa Mag-aaral at Sambayan (SAMASA) Alumni Association, discusses the pending motion for reconsideration filed before the Supreme Court against the burial of the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani during a press conference. Also in photo is Senator and acting Liberal Party President Francis Pangilinan.

RICO H. BORJA / PNA

represents another group of petitioners, sought a court order to have the remains exhumed “because the hasty and surreptitious interment was premature, void and irregular.”

He asked that the remains be examined to determine if they are not a wax replica.

The secrecy-shrouded burial at the cemetery reserved for presidents, soldiers and national artists shocked democracy advocates and human rights victims, prompting street protests in Manila and other cities.

Marcos’s rule was marked by massive rights violations and plunder. After be-

Du30 urged to probe ERC exec’s death

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer A CONSUMER group is urging President Rodrigo Duterte to look into the death of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) bidding chair who was forced to commit suicide due to pressure from his boss, ERC chair and CEO Jose Vicente B. Salazar.

Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas (ABP) said the suicide of ERC director Francisco Jose Villa Jr. has opened a can of worms on the ERC’s alleged shady deals with favored distribution utilities.

“The commission should be cleansed.

It is high time for President Duterte to lick corruption in that government agency,” said ABP secretary general Aya Jallorina in a statement.

The 54-year-old ERC executive took his own life on Nov. 9 because he could not handle the pressure from Salazar

ing ousted in 1986, he flew to Hawaii, where he lived with his wife and children until he died in 1989.

Groups opposed to the burial called for a national day of protest on Friday at Manila’s Rizal Park and in other parts of the country. Organizers urged Filipinos to join the protest and hold President Rodrigo Duterte accountable for allowing the burial and the Supreme Court for obscuring “the crimes of the dictator.”

Ramos, 88, who led soldiers in turning

against Marcos in 1986, told reporters the burial was an insult and a “trivialization of the role, the sacrifices of our armed forces, (police), coast guard, veterans.”

Ramos, a supporter of Duterte, expressed hope that Marcos’ widow, Imelda, will apologize to the Filipino people and contribute whatever ill-gotten wealth remains with the family to help compensate human rights victims and their descendants. ■

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who allegedly wanted Villa to rig the biddings and favor his boss’ preferred companies.

“My greatest fear in the bids and awards committee is the AVP by Luis Morelos which the chairman and CEO, Jose Vicente B. Salazar, chose through a rigged selection system. That will be a criminal act,” Villa said in a series of suicide notes he wrote three months ago when he started feeling the pressure from Salazar.

His sister, broadcast journalist Charie Villa, said “Jun was pressured to approve contracts for procurements and hiring consultants without proper bidding and procedure as bids and awards committee chairman.”

In a statement, Salazar said he viewed “with serious concern and disappointment allegations being hurled against me in the aftermath of the passing away of Director Jun Villa.” He said an “objective body” should look into Villa’s allegations. ■

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Apec ministers push for Pacific free trade pact

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer SENIOR MINISTERS of AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) member economies made a renewed push on Friday for the establishment of a free trade area in the Pacific Rim. In a joint statement after the Apec Ministers Meeting from Nov. 17-18 here, the members reiterated their willingness to move negotiations forward in the creation of the Free Trade Area in Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which was being pushed by China.

“We reaffirm our commitment to advance the process in a comprehensive and systematic manner toward the eventual realization of the FTAAP as a major instrument to further Apec’s regional economic integration agenda toward and beyond the Bogor Goals,” the ministers said.

The Bogor Goals refer to a set of initiatives for realizing free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific agreed by member economies in 1994 in Bogor, Indone-

Leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries have their group photo taken as they convene in the second day of the 24th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru. Here, the Philippines is represented by Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. KING RODRIGUEZ / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / PNA

sia.

Under the agreement, the members will pursue free and open trade among each other by further reducing barriers to trade and investment, and by promoting the free flow of goods, services and capital

among Apec economies.

The Apec ministers, in their joint statement, welcomed the regional grouping’s progress in implementing the Regional Economic Integration Capacity Building Needs Initiative, which was seen as a “solid step-

ping stone” for the realization of the FTAAP. “We look forward to the dialogue and seminar regarding FTAAP next year,” they said.

China and the United States are each making a push for their own free trade pacts with

the booming economies in the AsiaPacific region.

In October 2015, 12 Pacific nations reached an agreement on the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), whose members include the US, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei.

But the fate of the TPP has come into question after the election of US President-elect Donald Trump, who is opposed to free-trade deals and is expected to push a more protectionist economic policy when he begins his term in 2017.

The ministerial discussions were held ahead of the Apec Economic Leaders Meeting on Nov. 19-20, which would be attended by the heads of state or representatives of 21 Pacific Rim countries.

President Duterte landed in the Peruvian capital before midnight Thursday (Friday in Manila).

The Philippines was represented by Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez. ■

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Philippine News

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

De Lima: Kerwin may also end up dead

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDANO Philippine Daily Inquirer SEN. LEILA de Lima warned on Sunday suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa that he might end up dead like his father, slain Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., even if he cooperated with authorities.

De Lima said this was her “advice” to the younger Espinosa, reportedly the biggest drug lord in Eastern Visayas and whom authorities brought home on Friday from Abu Dhabi where he had gone into hiding.

Espinosa is set to testify on Wednesday at the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the killing of his father at the hands

of policemen inside a subprovincial jail in Baybay, Leyte, on Nov.5.

“Don’t ever think that your ‘cooperation’ will spare you your life. Sooner or later this government is going to make sure you end up like your father,” De Lima said of Espinosa.

“I make the same prediction for Jaybee Sebastian,” De Lima said in a text message.

De Lima was referring this time to Sebastian, an inmate at New Bilibid Prison (NBP), who testified at a House inquiry into the illegal drug trade at NBP that he gave her drug protection money when she was justice secretary.

Sebastian’s testimony against De Lima came a few weeks after the inmate survived a stabbing

incident inside the NBP. De Lima has repeatedly denied accusations by President Duterte and his men that she coddled drug lords inside NBP and accepted their drug money.

She accused Mr. Duterte of being behind moves to persecute her in retaliation to her having investigated him for allegedly leading the Davao Death Squad (DDS) in Davao City when he was mayor. De Lima was then chair of the Commission on Human Rights.

Espinosa’s father was killed after allegedly fighting off operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) out to serve a search warrant on him.

The death of the Albuera

mayor came two months after he executed an affidavit naming people, including De Lima, who he and his son had allegedly dealt with and paid off in their illegal drug business.

For “security reasons,” Wednesday’s hearing will be held in Camp Crame in Quezon City where Espinosa is detained, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who is leading the inquiry.

‘Very shocking’

Sen. Manny Pacquiao said that he was able to personally speak to Espinosa last Friday after the latter requested to see him.

Asked whether Espinosa revealed to him things about his illegal drug trade, Pacquiao said

the former said “a lot” of things to him that he found “very shocking.”

But Pacquiao refrained from revealing what Espinosa had told him as he noted that the latter would have an affidavit and was “willing” and “ready” to testify on Wednesday. But the senator said among those Espinosa had named were government and elected officials.

“He told me that they killed his father so that he would not talk, that he would keep quiet.

But now he said he will tell all on those dealing with them and accepted [drug money],” Pacquiao said of Espinosa.

Pacquiao said he found Espinosa’s story believable because the latter gave details. ■

FVR dismayed over secret burial of Marcos

BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Former President Fidel V. Ramos on Monday expressed his disappointment over the secret arrangement in the burial of the late ousted President Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“I was disappointed,” Ramos said during a press conference at his office in Makati City three days after the former strongman was buried amidst protest from various sectors, who said Marcos was not fit to be buried at the cemetery reserved for heroes.

The Marcos family, led by former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, made the arrangement with military authorities to have her late husband buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City without announcing to the public.

Ramos said the sneaky burial was planned in secret by the Marcos family with connivance of some military and police officers whom he did not name.

During the press conference, Ramos showed to the media a Memorandum of Understanding dated Aug. 20, 1992 between the government, represented by former Interior and Local Government Secretary Rafael

Former President and Special Envoy to China Fidel V. Ramos says he is saddened by the sudden burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani but he continues to support President Rodrigo Duterte and will remain loyal to the Filipino people JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

M. Aunan III, and the Marcos family represented by Mrs. Marcos.

At that time, Ramos was the President of the Philippines following his election in May 1992.

In that agreement, both sides “agreed that the remains of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos shall be allowed to be brought back to the Philippines from Hawaii, USA on 1 September 1992.”

It also states that the remains shall be brought directly to Laoag, Ilocos Norte.

“It shall be understood that once the aircraft enters the Philippine Area of responsibility, stopover for whawtever reason in any airport other than the airport of destination shall be allowed only upon prior clearance from the Philippine Government,” the agreement added.

Number 3 of the agreement www.canadianinquirer.net

states that the Marcos family “undertakes to fix a wake period of nine days beginning 1 September 1992 to allow friends, relatives and supporters to pay their courtesy , last respect and homage to the former President at the Marcos family home at Batac, Ilocos Norte.”

“It shall undertake further, to maintain peace and orderly wake and/or help and cooperate with local government authorities ensure that the same

will not be used to foment and promote civil disorder,” the agreement said.

Both parties agreed that the government shall provide appropriate military honors during the wake and interment.

But recently the Marcos family brought the idea of burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani because he was a former president and soldier.

The case was brought to the Supreme Court and the High Tribunal voted last week 9 to 5 allowing Marcos to be buried at the heroes’ cemetery.

There was a move to file a reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision.

However, before the reconsideration was filed, the Marcos family decided to bury the former President at the Libingan ng mga Bayani without announcing to the public.

Marcos was buried at the heroes’ cemetery in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City last Friday that triggered protests from various sector across the country.

A big rally will be held this Friday against the burial of Marcos.

Before the burial last Friday, the remains of the former strongman were kept at the family mausoleum in Batac where foreign and local tourists went there to view the embalmed body of the late President. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Marcos buried...

Opponents also cited Mr. Duterte’s political debt to the Marcos family, which supported his campaign for the presidency. ❰❰ 1

Supreme Court decision

An honor guard fired a 21gun salute and sounded taps during the ceremony, he said.

Two thousand riot police and soldiers guarded the perimeter of the cemetery, blocking entry by journalists and protesters who rushed there after the PNP confirmed that the burial was going on.

The highly secretive funeral shocked many democracy advocates and human rights victims who had planned protests across the country Friday to oppose the burial, but were surprised by the furtive move of the Marcoses.

Vice President Leni Robredo issued a statement saying the burial of Marcos at Libingan came “like a thief in the night.”

Last week, however, the Supreme Court voted 9-5 for Mr. Duterte, but gave the petitioners 15 days to appeal the decision.

Friday was only the 10th day since the ruling came down, but the nation was stunned when the Philippine National Police announced that the burial of Marcos at Libingan in Taguig City was going on.

The arrangements had been so secret that even officials at the Department of National Defense and in the Armed ‘He is no hero’ Forces of the Philippines were caught “He is no hero. If he were, obviously unaware by the news that the burial was his family would not have to hide his in progress. burial like a shameful criminal deed,” It was known, however, that the de- Robredo said. fense department issued a memorandum Governor Marcos read a statement to the military in August to prepare for after the funeral, thanking Mr. Duterte the burial of Marcos. for making the burial Chief Supt. Oscar possible and appealAlbayalde, director of ing for public underthe National Capital standing of her famRegion Police Office, He is no hero. If ily’s decision to bury denied the PNP had he were, obviously the strongman on conspired with the his family would short notice and in military to secretly not have to hide secret rites. bury Marcos at the his burial like a “First of all, I would heroes’ cemetery. shameful criminal like to thank PresiAlbayalde told redeed. dent Duterte who adporters that the dicvocated for this, and tator’s children, forthis was affirmed [by mer Sen. Ferdinand the Supreme Court],” “Bongbong” Marcos she said.

Jr. and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, “I am asking for understanding for the informed him of their plan to proceed decision of my family to bury my father with the burial at 5 p.m. on Thursday. in simple, private and solemn rites so as He said the Marcoses requested that the not to aggravate the pain of those who burial be kept “private and confidential.” are hurting,” she said.

It was not a state funeral, but the miliShe thanked supporters of her father’s tary would render honors as the dictator burial at Libingan and expressed satwas being buried, he said. isfaction that “at last, the final wish of The PNP chief, Director General Ron- my father, former President Ferdinand ald dela Rosa, said he learned about the Edralin Marcos, to be buried with his burial plan on Thursday. fellow soldiers has come true.”

He teased reporters for not learning Malacañang claimed it did not know about it earlier. that Marcos would be buried at Libingan “Outwitted, weren’t you? I was as well. on Friday.

I learned about it only yesterday,” Dela In Lima, Peru, where Mr. Duterte had Rosa said. just arrived to attend the Asia-Pacific Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokes- Economic Cooperation summit, presiperson for the AFP, said Marcos’ body, dential spokesperson Ernesto Abella which had been preserved in a refrig- said he was not sure whether the Presierated crypt and kept in a mausoleum dent knew that Marcos was going to be in his hometown, Batac, was flown by a buried at Libingan on Friday. military helicopter for burial at the AFPAbella read to reporters a statement run Libingan. for Mr. Duterte saying the decision to After landing at Villamor Air Base in bury Marcos at the heroes’ cemetery on Pasay City, Marcos’ body was taken by a Friday was “a personal decision of the black limousine to Libingan, where his Marcos family.” coffin, draped with the Philippine flag, “We respect their choice of date for was put on a carriage and later carried the interment,” the statement said. by military pallbearers to the gravesite, It said Mr. Duterte expressed hope Padilla said. that “everybody would find a space in The Marcos family and about 100 sup- their hearts to forgive and to set free porters followed the coffin to the tomb. those who had hurt or injured them.” ■

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PH to honor defense cooperation accord with the US

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer LIMA, PERU — The Philippines will continue to honor its Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) with the United States.

In a meeting on the sidelines of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders meeting here, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said he had communicated to US Secretary of State John Kerry the assurance of President Duterte that the Philippines would continue its defense cooperation with the United States.

“The President has assured America we will continue to respect our treaty agreement and the supporting agreements with respect to the Mutual Defense Treaty. We will continue with Edca,” Yasay told Filipino journalists after the Kerry meeting.

The country’s top diplomat met with his US counterpart, along with Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

In October, Mr. Duterte threatened to stop the implementation of Edca, saying

it was under government review. The President also reminded the US government that Edca was just an executive agreement.

Signed in April 2014, Edca allows US troops access to military bases and camps in “agreed locations” in the Philippines.

But Yasay clarified that Mr. Duterte “never said anything about discontinuing Edca.”

“In fact, during his inaugural speech, he said he would continue to respect our Mutual Defense Treaty and other supporting documents, including Edca,” the official said.

What Mr. Duterte had stressed, however, that the cooperation with the US would no longer be focusing on the area of “joint military exercises that would be demonstrative of preparing ourselves for any eventual attack from aggressors particularly China,” Yasay said.

As its relationship with China has improved for the better in spite of the territorial dispute in the South China Sea, it may be time to do away with this “bias or mindset insofar as our military alliance with the US is concerned,” he said. ■

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Veteran lawmaker warns against railroading of death penalty bill

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Member

MANILA — A veteran lawmaker expressed alarm on Tuesday over the marathon proceedings conducted by the House Justice Subcommittee on Judicial Reforms on the proposed measure seeking the restoration of the death penalty and warned that a railroading of its passage at the House of Representatives could be imminent.

Appearing before a press briefing at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman noted how the Committee on Justice has scheduled whole-day hearings on House Bill No. 01.

“The Committee on Justice set a wholeday deliberation on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. Before that, another hearing was also set last week. These are wholeday affairs,” Lagman pointed out.

“That would show to you how they would like to railroad the passage of this bill,” Lagman said.

Lagman also pointed out that the

chair of the House Justice Committee, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, has broached the idea of just limiting the imposition of the death penalty on drugrelated cases.

“I think they would like it easier to pass by limiting the imposition of death penalty on a particular set of crimes related to drugs. It is a way of hastening the bill because some might agree to just agree to limit it to drug-related offenses,” the veteran lawmaker and staunch death penalty critic said.

But just in case, Lagman said that proponents of the bill could expect strong opposition from a significant number of lawmakers in the House.

“They should expect opposition from members of the House and also coming from the super majority who are against the reimposition of the death penalty.

We would not want to unduly alarm members of the super majority but we have significant numbers,” Lagman said.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Rep. Tom Villarin also cautioned against the railroading of the measure.

“This proposal is no longer just within the confines of Congress, this is a public issue. Definitely, there would be a mobilization against this proposal,” he said.

“We would like to remind the leaders of Congress that the public is watching.

There are stakeholders to this big issue and it’s the future of our country that we are discussing here. The death penalty belongs to the dark ages. And I don’t think that we want to return to the dark ages,” Villarin said.

HB 01 is authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro.

The proposed measure seeks to reimpose capital punishment, through lethal injection, for human trafficking, illegal recruitment, plunder, treason, parricide, infanticide, rape, qualified piracy, bribery, kidnapping, illegal detention, robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons, car theft, destructive arson, terrorism and drug-related cases.

The House leadership is seeking to pass the bill before Congress adjourns on Dec. 16. ■

Lacson wants De Lima’s former bodyguarddriver invited in Senate inquiry

BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Senator Panfilo Lacson expressed interest on Tuesday to invite Senator Leila de Lima’s former bodyguard and driver Ronnie Dayan in the Senate investigation on the killing of former Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolanda Espinosa.

Lacson made the comment after joint operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) from La Union and Pangasinan arrested Dayan in a remote barangay in La Union on Tuesday morning.

The senator, however, clarified that his Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs will focus first on the slain mayor’s son, Kerwin Espinosa, who is set to appear before the Senate inquiry on Wednesday.

Lacson said it would be better to invite Dayan in the next Senate hearing to also give the Philippine National Police (PNP) enough time to deal with De Lima’s former driver.

“Maybe he will be invited in the next hearing. Let’s give the PNP enough time to prepare,” Lacson said.

Dayan went on hiding since he was

PNP Chief Ronald Dela Rosa presents Ronnie Dayan, former security aide and alleged drug money bagman of Senator Leila de Lima, during a press conference at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

tagged as bagman of De Lima in connection with the alleged illicit drug trades inside the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

De Lima earlier confirmed rumors that she was once in a romantic relationship with Dayan.

The lady senator, however, denied allegations about her link in the illegal drug trades.

In a press statement she issued on Tuesday, De Lima said she is hoping that Dayan will be treated properly by the

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authorities.

“Ganoon na rin ang panawagan ko sa Pangulo para sa iba pang mga tetistigo laban sa akin katulad ni Kerwin Espinosa. Ako naman talaga ang habol ninyo.

Huwag na ninyo silang pahirapan pa, mga criminal man sila o hindi (That is also my plea for the President regarding others who will testify against me like Kerwin Espinosa. It is me you are after.

Don’t make it hard for anyone else, may they be a criminal or otherwise),” De Lima said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

9

Marcos burial Duterte to declare disputed can be reversed area a no- fishing zone for all anytime–Pimentel THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer

tasked to make the funeral arrangements, he said.

Such disallowance would compel the AFP to “justify, explain or return the sum spent.”

“If it was allowed, then what was done must be reversed,” Pimentel said.

THE LATE dictator Ferdinand Marcos “does not deserve to be buried” at the heroes’ cemetery, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Saturday, arguing that it could Stolen wealth still be transferred to another Pimentel noted that the state site. has existing claims against the Pimentel is strongly against Marcoses, who are accused of Marcos’ burial. His father, for- stealing about $10 billion from mer Senate President Aquilino state coffers, according to estiPimentel Jr., was among op- mates. position leaders detained dur“They owe the state a huge ing the strongman’s repressive debt, and yet the state even gave martial rule. them a favor,” he “Of course, said, stressing this being a pothat the COA had litical issue, let a strong arguus not lose hope, ment to press its because this Then by 2022, case against the can be reversed when we Marcoses. anytime,” said have a new “This is not bePimentel, chief President and cause of the legal ally of President he believes (aspect). It is beDuterte at the that there are cause a benefit Senate. disqualified is given to a perIt was Presipersons son or his famdent Duterte, buried at ily against which whose father, ViLibingan ng the government cente, served in mga Bayani, has financial the Marcos Cabithen he can claim, which net, who had alorder their has not been relowed the late transfer, or turned and/or dictator’s intertheir removal. repaid,” he conment at Libingan tinued. ng mga Bayani.

The issue of Pimentel, who Marcos’ burial heads the Presialso prompted dent’s party, said Pimentel to file he was not keen a measure that to raise the issue again with Mr. would set aside land within the Duterte as Marcos has already Libingan for the burial of “Filibeen buried. pinos of historical interest,” However, he said Mr. Duterte separate from plots reserved could still have a “change of for the military. heart.” If not, the succeeding This area would be called Commander in Chief could Libingan ng mga Makasayundo the burial. sayang Pilipino, where former “Then by 2022, when we have Presidents of the Philippines, a new President and he believes statesmen, dignitaries, and nathat there are disqualified per- tional artists and scientists may sons buried at Libingan ng mga be buried.

Bayani, then he can order their This would “preserve the transfer, or their removal,” he LNMB as a military memorial told the Inquirer. consistent with the purpose The Commission on Au- intended” when it was estabdit (COA) may also “disallow lished in 1947, he said. all expenses connect with the Pimentel advised Filipinos burial once it reviews the trans- to exercise their constitutional actions” of the Armed Forces rights while learning our recent of the Philippines, which was history. ■

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has decided to issue a formal order declaring a sprawling lagoon in a disputed South China Sea shoal a maritime sanctuary where Filipinos and Chinese will be prohibited from fishing, officials said in a statement Monday.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said Duterte relayed his plan to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the just-concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru.

Esperon and other Philippine Cabinet officials present at the meeting said Xi did not say whether he agreed to Duterte’s plan in the Scarborough Shoal.

China seized Scarborough in 2012 after a tense maritime standoff with the Philippines.

Duterte’s plan is delicate because it may imply Philippine territorial control in a strategic shoal, which Chinese coast guard ships have closely guarded.

Both governments have also mutually suspected each other of harbouring plans to erect

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President Rodrigo Duterte.

concrete structures in the Scarborough’s shallow lagoon to cement their territorial claims.

If Duterte’s plan proceeds, Filipino, Chinese and other fishermen would only be allowed to fish in the deeper waters just outside Scarborough, which has a vast triangularshaped lagoon naturally fenced by coral outcrops with an entryway watched by Chinese coast guard personnel.

“You can go in but ... don’t fish because it’s a maritime sanctuary,” Duterte’s Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, responded by bringing the shoal dispute and other territorial issues against

KING RODRIGUEZ / PPD / PNA

China to international arbitration. An international tribunal ruled in July against China, saying it violated the Filipinos’ rights by banning them from fishing.

China, however, ignored the ruling, which also invalidated its vast claims to virtually all of the South China Sea. Duterte, who took office in June, reversed his predecessor’s adversarial stance and reached out to China.

Shortly after Duterte discussed the Scarborough dispute with Xi in a state visit to Beijing, Filipinos were allowed to return to the shoal to fish.

Philippine coast guard ships also resumed patrols in the vicinity of the shoal. ■

10

Philippine News

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Sen. Risa Hontiveros files ‘Tres Marias’ bills vs. online sexual harassment

BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Senator Risa Hontiveros filed on Tuesday three bills she dubbed as “Tres Marias” which aim to boost existing laws that protect women particularly from sexual harassment, both online and offline.

Hontiveros disclosed the filing of Senate Bill Nos. 1250, 1251 and 1252 in a press conference attended by Dr. Sylvia Claudio of the University of the Philippines (UP) Center for Women Studies and student PROTECTING WOMEN'S RIGHTS. Philippine Commission on Women Executive Anne Nicole De Castro at the Director Emmeline L. Verzosa (left) delivers her message during the press conference on the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women.

Senate.

RICO H. BORJA / PNA SB No. 1252 is an act strengthening the Anti-Rape Law while SB. No. 1250 is an act amending tional or psychological distress devices. the Anti-Sexual Harassment to female victim or Lesbian Gay On the other hand, the AntiLaw and SB No. 1251 aims to Bisexual Transgender Queer Rape Act amendment bill seeks criminalize gender-based elec- (LGBTQ) victim. to increase the age of statutory tronic violence.

Hontiveros explained that rape to 18 years old from the She said her “Tres Marias” misogynistic and homophobic current age of 12 years old. bills are in response to the attacks on social media are exThe Anti-Sexual Harassment growing number of sexual ha- amples of gender-based elec- or peer-to-peer sexual harassrassment cases against women. tronic violence, victimizing ment bill, meanwhile, seeks to The lady senator cited the young netizens who use social amend the current law by incases of Vice President Leni media as their primary outlet of troducing sexual harassment Robredo who was recently expression. between peers and those comthe subject of a mitted to a sunasty pregnanperior officer by cy rumor and a subordinate, De Castro who or to a teacher were sexually There is an urgent need to institute by a student, or harassed online protective measures and strategic to a trainer by a after joining the policies to combat the prevalence of trainee. protest against the rape culture in our society which Hontiveros the burial of forleads to physical sexual assault and said it is high mer President other forms of violence against our time to end Ferdinand Marwomen and children. the culture of cos at the Libinrape and male gan ng mga Baysexual violence ani. by bringing the “There is an urgent need to Under the bill, the offend- fight to “our very homes, workinstitute protective measures ers will be sentenced with up places and the internet.” and strategic policies to combat to 10 years imprisonment and “We will give no quarter to the prevalence of the rape cul- will be fined up to PHP500,000 misogyny and sexism. We will ture in our society which leads for recording and “uploading not allow the gross and blatant to physical sexual assault and and sharing” private pictures, disrespect, sexual assault and other forms of violence against audios and videos without the objectification of our women our women and children,” Hon- consent of the victim. and children to continue to tiveros said.

The bill also prohibits ha- take safe refuge in our commuAccording to SB 1251, gender- rassment of the victim through nities,” Hontiveros said. based electronic violence is an text messaging, obscene, miThe filing of the “Tres Maoffense that refers to any acts sogynistic, homophobic or in- rias” bills coincided with the or emissions using “ephemeral decent posts in social media observance of the Internationdata or any form of information sites; cyber-stalking; hacking of al Week for the Elimination of and communication technolo- personal accounts; and the use Violence Against Women and gy” which causes mental, emo- of location trackers on cellular Children (VAWC). ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY

SC resets deliberations on Marcos burial petition on Nov. 29 PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rescheduled the deliberations on the petitions filed by groups of martial law victims against the burial of the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) in Taguig City last November 18.

In a press conference, SC spokesman Theodore Te said that the magistrates are currently tackling the urgent motion for exhumation filed by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman and the contempt of court petition filed by Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo against the respondents Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ricardo Visaya and Rear Admiral Ernesto Enriquez, Deputy Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retiree affairs.

However, he said that the magistrates decided to reset their deliberations on the pending pleadings to the next session on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

This was the second time the high court deferred action on pleadings of petitioners in this case.

In the high court’s session last Nov. 15, the justices also decided to reset deliberations on the motions due to absence of four justices.

When the SC handed down the ruling allowing the burial last Nov. 8, Lagman and Ocampo filed urgent motions seeking to temporarily suspend the Marcos burial until the decision becomes final and executory.

They asked the high court to re-issue the status quo ante order, which was lifted in the SC decision, in order not to render moot the motion for reconsideration of the court decision that they intended to file.

The burial of Marcos proceeded last Nov. 18 as Te earlier said there is no existing order from the high court disallowing the Marcos funeral at the

LNMB since it lifted the status quo ante order (SQA) in its ruling earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Jose Calida said there was nothing illegal in allowing the Marcos family to proceed with the interment at LNMB after the Supreme Court has given its go-signal in its decision last November 8.

Calida, who defended President Duterte’s position during the oral arguments, said the SC decision had also vindicated the President’s call for unity and national healing.

The top government counsel also said he does not see the SC reversing its ruling on the matter, citing the clear margin in the 9-5 vote of the justices.

He disprove the actions of Lagman and other petitioners in the SC case that the burial was an act of contempt of court since they have yet to file an appeal and that the decision is not yet final and executory.

Calida stressed that the SC ruling allowing the Marcos burial was immediately executory.

He said that the motions of Lagman and other petitioners to seek from the SC contempt of court order against the government and also an order to exhume the remains of Marcos pending finality of the ruling would not prosper.

He believes that with the history of the high tribunal’s resolution of appeals, granting motion for reconsideration on a decision with such a clear margin would be improbable.

“Given the numerical superiority of the majority, I don’t think the Supreme Court will reverse it,” he stressed.

Calida said that burial of former President Marcos at the LNMB is President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s major step towards national unity.

“The landmark decision of the Supreme Court allowing the interment of the remains of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani is a major step towards national reconciliation,” Calida said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

11

DA chief orders cancellation of agri import permits

BY LILYBETH G. ISON Philippines News Agency MANILA — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol on Tuesday ordered the immediate cancellation of import permits for all agriculture products, except rice, for the protection of local farmers.

Piñol, in a press conference held at the DA central office in Quezon City, explained the move was to stop alleged “recycling” of import permits and “misdeclaration” of agriculture products by unscrupulous individuals.

He said importers will have to apply permit to import directly at the DA Secretary’s office.

Piñol assured there will be no disruption in the supply especially on meat and chicken products during the Christmas season as approval of import permit application will be done within the day.

“I will assign a technical working group (TWG) even on weekends at the Office of the Secretary to review and validate the import permit applications,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the Samahang Industriya sa Agrikultura (SINAG) has welcomed with cau-

tion Pinol’s statement revoking all agri import permits to curb smuggling of agricultural commodities in the country.

SINAG, in a statement, said smuggling continues to flourish “because those who have benefitted have never been punished and those who allow smuggling to prosper are not punished either, despite the enactment of new laws to combat smuggling of agricultural products.”

“Ilang alert na ang nailabas, ilang mga smuggled agri commodities na rin ang nakumpiska in the past weeks and months, pero wala pa ring nakakasuhan (Several alerts were already issued, volumes of agricultural products were also confiscated in the past weeks and months, but no case was ever filed against the smugglers). Up to now, hindi pa rin naibibigay sa atin ang mga owners and incorporators of those smuggled commodities (Up to now, identities of the owners of these smuggled commodities are still unknown),” said SINAG chair Rosendo So. “We are just hoping that the re-issuance of new import permits would not be a new source of corruption for some people,” he added.

The agri group said the re-

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel “Manny” Piñol.

view of import permits should start with the accreditation process for importers.

Since last year, SINAG have been pushing to let the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) review importers applying for accreditation, since the BIR will have the updated data on sales and equity of an importer — that is operating at least two years.

“Only those with legitimate financial standing in the last two years, at the least, should be accredited as importer.

Smugglers are not legitimate importers, it said.

PNA PHOTO

There is also a need for the DA to publicly list all accredited importers and their Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) papers, annual financial/ income report for the past three years so we can weed out spurious imports,” the group said.

The Inward Foreign Manifest (IFM) and Import entry declaration should be given to DA, the BIR, and concerned stakeholders at least two days before shipment arrives, so there is an ample time to alert the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of suspicious shipments, it added.

In the last five years, SINAG

research revealed that close to PHP200 billion worth of agricultural goods were smuggled into the country.

It also showed that rice, with a market value of Php94 billion, is the single biggest agricultural commodity being smuggled into the country. This was followed by pork at PHP40 billion, then sugar at close to Php25 billion.

Other commodities monitored by SINAG include chicken, garlic, onion and carrots.

According to the group, a market value of Php200 billion translates to around Php60 billion to Php80 billion in lost revenues for the government since these agricultural commodities are supposed to be protected and levied a higher tariff of 3040 percent.

“Smuggling exposes the country to unsafe and high risk agriculture and food products as smuggled goods do not pass quarantine and food safety inspection,” the group said.

“The common fight against smuggling was to prevent the further erosion of our farmers’ livelihoods. The smuggling of agricultural products endangers the survival of the agriculture industry which is the very fiber of our society,” it added. ■

PNP chief ‘losing patience’ with druglords at Bilibid

BY PERFECTO T. RAYMUNDO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa is apparently losing patience with inmates inside the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) who continuously engage in illegal drugs trade.

This was the reaction of Dela

Rosa after it was revealed that an inmate inside the NBP was allegedly behind the 22-kilo drug shipment confiscated by authorities from two couriers during a buy-bust operation in Guadalupe, Makati City on Monday.

“Ano gawin natin? Patayin na natin, nakakaubos na ng pasensiya. Ewan ko kung ano ang gawin natin sa kanila (What do we do?

Let us execute them already, my patience is already running out.

I do not know what to do with them),” Dela Rosa said.

Dela Rosa identified the inmate as Hilario Labadero, the alleged boyfriend of one of the drug couriers identified as Maria Rosario Echaluse who serves as his courier or seller.

Labadero, an inmate inside the NBP’s Maximum Security Compound, has a “contact” in Hong Kong who calls another person in Pampanga for the delivery of shabu, Dela Rosa said.

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“I don’t know kung paano nila ginawa yung kanilang komunikasyon. Maari ito ay bumisita doon without cellphone, bibisita doon, pagbisita ito ang binibigyan ng instruction. Kung nasa labas ito, pwede silang mag-communicate sa Hong Kong o sa China (I don’t know how they communiciate. They might do it through frequent travels where instructions are passed. When outside, they can communicate in Hong Kong or

China),” Dela Rosa said.

He added that Labadero is a personnel of one of the big time druglords transferred to the MSC’s Building 14 and was able to continue the illegal activity of his superior.

Dela Rosa noted that the drugs lords inside Building 14 were rid of mobile phones, but their “remnants” outside the NBP could possibly be communicating with them through a “human contact.” ■

12

Philippine News

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

EPD: 78 ‘Tokhang’ surrenderers dead

BY JODEE A. AGONCILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer A TOTAL of 78 people who had surrendered to the Eastern Police District (EPD) under Oplan Tokhang have been killed since the antidrug campaign was launched in July, either in police operations or vigilantestyle attacks.

According to EPD records, 38 surrenderers have been killed by unidentified gunmen—their

cases listed as “deaths under investigation (DUI)”—while 40 have died as a result of police operations.

The EPD covers the cities of Pasig, Marikina, San Juan and Mandaluyong.

In Pasig, the local police have recorded five DUI cases; 10 in Mandaluyong, and 20 in Marikina. (San Juan has recorded 18 drug suspects killed since July but none of them were Tokhang surrenderers.)

Meanwhile, police opera-

VP warns vs false text messages

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer THE OFFICE of Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday urged the public to remain “more vigilant about any extralegal movements during this dark time in our history,” following a false text message that claimed of a scheduled recount of ballots for vice president at the end of the month.

The Office of the Vice President issued the statement early last night to address a text message that went around over the weekend that a “recount of ballots from four to five provinces will start end of November and finish by December, deliberations after.”

“You can bet early next year, we have a new VP. From a trusted source,” the text message read.

No recount

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), is still in the preliminary stages of tackling the election protest filed against Robredo by former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. who lost the vice presidential race by a little over 200,000 votes.

Georgina Hernandez, Robredo’s spokesperson, said the PET had not issued a recount order.

On the rumor, Hernandez said: “The objective is to steal the vice presidency from VP Leni.”

“This fear and grave concern are exacerbated by the way the Marcoses sneaked the burial of the dictator from the Filipino public. To get what they desperately want, they have resorted to impunity and complete disregard for the rule of law,” Hernandez said. ■

Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo delivers her keynote address at the 3rd Annual SEC-PSE Corporate Governance Forum.

JESS M. ESCAROS JR. / PNA

tions resulted in the death of 16 Tokhang surrenderers in Pasig, eight in Mandaluyong; 15 in Marikina and one in San Juan.

The police maintained that in most cases these suspects were cornered by teams conducting buy-bust operations, wherein they allegedly fired at the lawmen upon sensing the trap and were killed in the ensuing “shootout.”

In an earlier interview, Chief Supt. Romulo Sapitula, the

EPD director, noted that many suspects who had surrendered continued to be involved in the drug trade.

As of Nov. 15, the EPD has recorded 9,375 surrenderers from the four cities, of whom 244 were listed as drug pushers while the rest were counted as drug users, according to Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, the EPD deputy chief for operations.

Pasig has the highest number of surrenderers with 4,019;

Mandaluyong is second with 2,438; Marikina has 2023, while San Juan has 895.

Since July, 979 suspects — those who did not surrender under Tokhang but were on the drug watch list prepared by their barangays—have been arrested; 41 were killed in police operations; 14 were found dead in the streets, while 139 were killed by unidentified gunmen.

At least 1,822 drug users are currently undergoing rehabilitation, De Ocampo added. ■

Duterte admin pursues South Line of North-South Railway to ease Luzon to Bicol travel

BY AEROL B. PATENA Philippines News Agency MANILA — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) recently approved the South Line of the North-South Railway Project (NSRP) to promote ease of travel for passengers to and from the Southern Luzon and Bicol regions.

The South Line covers Metro Manila to Legazpi City, Albay serving as the sole rail backbone connecting the metropolis to currently undeserved areas in Southern Luzon.

The South Line of the NSRP consists of long haul passenger rail operations from Manila to Legazpi City with extensions to Batangas City and Matnog in Sorsogon and commuter rail operations from Manila to Calamba City in Laguna.

The railway between the existing Tutuban station and the city of Calamba in the Laguna province is a 56 km section of the NSRP and is proposed to have commuter rail operations in addition to long haul rail operations of NSRP. This section represents an existing Philippines National Railway (PNR) right-of-way (ROW) which runs through Metro Manila.

PNR’s long haul commuter service from Tutuban to Legazpi otherwise known as the Bicol Express has been discontinued since October 2012 due to conwww.canadianinquirer.net

cerns about the integrity in sections along the line. Extensive rehabilitation and reconstruction is needed to bridges and road crossings to bring it to safe operating condition. Its tracks must also be cleared of obstructions such as houses and other structures built by informal settlers along its right of way.

“The NSRP-South Line seeks to provide commuters fast, reliable, safe and convenient transportation and aims to reduce road vehicle traffic along SLEX, EDSA and C-5,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary for Railways Cesar Chavez stated in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Chavez disclosed that its construction is expected on the second quarter of 2019, and will be completed by fourth quarter of 2022.

Once the proposed rail line becomes operational, it will handle 10 daily trips, with seven train sets, passing through 66 stations. It is expected to carry 316,000 passengers a day in the initial year of operation. Approximately 44,000 public and private vehicle users are anticipated to shift to the new railway service.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier stated that the government is eyeing to finance the project through official development assistance (ODA) either from China or Ja-

pan and has called off its public private partnership (PPP) auction.

“We will instead look for financing — either Japan or China. With the government, we can borrow with a lower cost.

We don’t need return on investment,” Diokno said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City last week.

The budget secretary stated that the NEDA has increased the cost of the project to between PHP250 billion and PHP260 billion from its original cost at PHP170.7 billion.

He explained that the government has adjusted its costing as it wanted a measurable gauge for the railway project.

Diokno further related that the government will be developing the project similar to the construction of the Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway (SCTEX) which was funded through Japan ODA while its operation and maintenance was auctioned off.

Eventually, the private sector will be in charge of the operation of the project.

The DOTr has already signed a USD2 billion loan agreement from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the North Line of the NSRP involving a 37 km. railway connecting Tutuban and Malolos, Bulacan in November 2015. ■

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

13

Kerwin Espinosa claims he gave De Lima PHP8-M – Pacquiao

BY JELLY F. MUSICO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Senator Manny Pacquiao revealed on Tuesday that suspected drug lord Kerwin Espinosa told him that the latter gave a total of PHP8 million to then Justice Secretary and now Senator Leila de Lima.

“He (Espinosa) mentioned that PHP8 million in total has been given to De Lima,” Pacquiao said in an interview with cable ANC television.

Pacquiao said he talked with Espinosa for an hour after the son of slain Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolanda Espinosa was brought back to the country from Abu Dhabi last week.

He said Espinosa told him that the latter was asked by De Lima’s bodyguard and driver Ronnie Dayan to go to Baguio City where Espinosa gave the money to De Lima.

Contrary to whistleblower Sandra Cam’s claim that Espinosa will name more than one senator, Pacquiao said Espinosa mentioned only De Lima as the senator in the drug list that Espinosa will reveal on Wednesday’s Senate probe on the killing of Mayor Espinosa.

When asked for comment, De Lima denied that she met Espinosa, saying, “I have not received a single centavo from those so-called drug lords.”

“It’s not true. I did not meet him. First, I don’t know him.

So why I will instruct that I will meet him and talk to him to ask for money that in the first place, I don’t know him,” De Lima said.

De Lima also defended Dayan, expressing doubts whether the name of her former bodyguard and driver was mentioned by Espinosa’s slain father, Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa.

“Oh my goodness, gracious.

So they are linking Ronnie again. I have not seen it, but you can look at the supposed affidavit of Mayor Espinosa, did they mention Ronnie Dayan before?

It’s only now that that they link his name,” De Lima said.

She said Dayan is being linked again “because they want to pin

Philippine National Police Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa presented before the media early Friday alleged drug lord Kerwin Espinosa in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Espinosa, wearing a bullet-proof vest, arrived back to the country.

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

down me.”

De Lima earlier admitted that she had an affair with Dayan, an admission that is expected to boost a disbarment case filed

against her by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

Dayan was reportedly arrested on Tuesday in La Union. ■

10 highest paying overseas jobs revealed PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — WorkAbroad.ph, the country’s leading online platform offering overseas employment opportunities, has listed the 10 highest paying jobs abroad this year.

WorkAbroad.ph launched the 2016 Overseas Salary Report in Makati City on Tuesday.

The report revealed that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the field of health care have the highest paying jobs, with a monthly average salary of PHP111,620.

In particular, those who are specializing in pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology have the highest salary across OFW jobs.

The same report noted that such countries as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, New Zealand, and United King-

dom give the highest salary for health care professionals.

The highest salary for health care workers in the UAE is logged at PHP253,826 a month, followed by Canada and New Zealand at PHP172,500 a month, and UK at PHP153,333 a month.

Overseas demand for health care workers is also strong, according to the report that was done from January to September this year.

Health care jobs shared 11 percent of the 117,000 jobs posted at WorkAbroad.ph over the period.

Following health care professionals, OFWs in process design and control and instrumentation have the second highest average monthly salary of PHP87,027.

Third highest paying specializations abroad are in public relations and communication with an average monthly salary

of PHP83,375.

This was followed by aviation and aircraft maintenance and law and legal service, with an average monthly salary of PHP81,149 and PHP80,500, respectively.

Completing the list of 10 highest paying jobs for OFWs are education and training and development at PHP62,438; quality control at PHP58,463; information technology-related jobs at PHP57,639; engineering-related jobs at PHP57,102; and architecture and interior design at PHP55,660.

Among the 10 highest paying jobs abroad, only the health care and engineering sectors are also in the top 10 list for in-demand overseas jobs from January to September 2016.

Over the period, engineeringrelated jobs are the most in demand overseas, accounting for 26 percent or 30,972 of the total

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job postings at WorkAbroad.ph.

This is followed by general work, such as housekeeper, driver, messenger, dispatcher, among others with job orders of 22,367; hospitality-related jobs, with postings of 13,681; health care, with 13,399 job postings; manufacturing and production operations, with 7,159 job postings; maintenance and repair, with 4,484 job postings; personal care, beauty and fitness service, with 3,059 job postings; sales-related jobs, with 2,896 postings; clerical and administrative support, with 1,833 job postings; and arts, creative and graphics design, with 1,761 job postings.

During the media launch, WorkAbroad.ph Business Unit Manager Rhea Suiza said aspiring overseas workers should review their competencies and undergo training courses to broaden their knowledge.

Suiza added that aspiring

OFWs should apply in industries with the most job openings and explore other industries if they consider better career options.

WorkAbroad.ph has registered four million jobseekers for overseas postings.

The 10 countries with the most number of job postings for OFWs are Saudi Arabia (46,026), Qatar (11,991), UAE (6,670), Kuwait (3,465), Bahrain (2,433), Oman (1,950), United States (1,225), New Zealand (572), Brunei Darussalam (518), and Australia (473).

According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, more than 1.8 million land-based and sea-based OFWs have been deployed in more than 197 countries. ■

Opinion

14

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

ANALYSIS

Ramos split with Duterte widens

By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer

PRESIDENT

DUTERTE returned from the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (Apec) Summit in Lima, Peru, sailing into a storm of protests sparked by the reburial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the cemetery for heroes with full military honors, which he allowed.

The reburial has ignited the worst political unrest the Duterte administration has faced since it took office last June. It has reopened festering wounds from the abuses of the Marcos tyranny, and plunged the country into a turmoil that threatens to unseat President Duterte who has barely completed its first six months.

It is unfortunate that the protests were triggered by the Marcos family’s devious attempts to rehabilitate the dictator from national

disgrace, among them, the reburial of his remains in the cemetery for heroes, with the complicity of the Duterte administration.

The controversy has blown up into a crisis of confidence for the administration as former president Fidel Ramos joined the groundswell of popular outrage over the sneaky and secretive reburial of Marcos.

Last Monday, as the President flew in from the Apec forum, Ramos unleashed a devastating criticism of the reburial, warning Mr. Duterte and his administration that because of the “sneaky” burial, they were “losing support,” and “losing friends.” It also signaled the widening gap between Mr. Duterte and Ramos who had resigned his assignment as special envoy to China to assist Duterte’s so-called “nationalist independent foreign policy.”

The President has declared the Philippines’ “separation” from the

United States, tilting it toward an alignment with China and Russia.

Ramos denounced the Marcos reburial as “an insult to veterans” and a trivialization of the sacrifices of uniformed men. “Why did the sneaky burial happen without you knowing too much about it? Ramos asked in a media briefing. “Because there was advance planning, call it connivance, led by the Marcos family, together with some local police and Armed Forces of the Philippines officials.”

In his warning, Ramos also criticized Marcos’ daughter Imee, for telling him that he himself apologize for the martial law atrocities because he was the chief of the Philippine Constabulary then. Ramos said he had atoned for his shortfalls by leading the Edsa People Power that toppled the Marcos regime. “I hope you people remember your history. My apology wasmore than

an apology,” Ramos said, recalling that he risked his life in breaking away from Marcos in 1986, “in the Christian tradition you confess and then you atone.”

He also rejected Imee’s claim that she and her siblings were still young during the martial law years, noting she was one year older than his eldest daughter who was 18 at the time, and was national president of Kabataang Barangay during martial law.

Asked what should be done now, Ramos said, “The ball is now with the Supreme Court.” Relatives of martial law victims are taking to the streets in protest of the burial and have petitioned the Court for the exhumation of Marcos’ body.

They claim that they were not given enough time to appeal the Court’s ruling upholding Mr. Duterte’s decision to authorize the burial.

With these developments, a

new round of buck-passing has begun. The ball is in the hands of Mr. Duterte who is now in the horns of a treacherous dilemma. He asked the nation to bear with his decision. He said that while “there was really a wound in the country, but for those who cannot really forgive, that’s the hard part. You just have to live with your grief, and that grief is hate. That is the problem.” He pointed out that there are “only two legal criteria for one to qualify for a Libingan burial and Marcos fits in both—as soldier and/or president.”

To the question of whether Marcos was a hero, he replied that this was a case of “a word against their word.” With these, Mr. Duterte put the case for judgment by the unruly street protesters.

Let Mr. Duterte, and his top officials as well, be warned of the unforgiving wrath of a people who feel betrayed by their leaders. ■

PUBLIC LIVES

The struggle against forgetting

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer

I DON’T know which is worse:

President Duterte’s statement that the opposition to the burial of Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani is merely a continuation of the personal war between the Marcoses and the Aquinos, or the wording of the Supreme Court’s decision upholding the President’s right to order the dictator’s burial at the national military cemetery.

Mr. Duterte’s view is not only an ill-informed reduction of the complex events that led the country back to democracy after an almost14-year fatal flirtation with authoritarianism; it is also an unwarranted disparagement of the sacrifices of those who gave their lives resisting oppression and exposing the corruption during the brutal years of the Marcos dictatorship.

The Court’s decision avoids this fatuous allusion to a family feud. Indeed, it notes: “Interestingly, even if they were empowered to do so, former Presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, who were themselves aggrieved at the Martial Law, did not revise the rules by expressly prohibiting the burial of Marcos at the LNMB.” But the Court majority is no less guilty of belittling the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship.

Toward the end of this self- of the number of votes obtained in votes.” My translation: Duterte indulgent treatise, the author of elections, or the message from the made known his intention to give the decision, Justice Diosdado number of participants in public Marcos an honorable burial durPeralta, solemnly declares: “It is assemblies.” ing the campaign. He has won the undeniable that former President Does Justice Peralta even re- presidency. Ergo, the people’s votes Marcos was forced out of office by member that the 1987 Constitu- gave him the mandate to proceed. the people through the so-called tion that he is sworn to preserve is If that’s not interpreting electoral EDSA Revolution. Said political a product of that momentous event outcomes, I don’t know what it is. act of the people should not be he now demeans as the “so-called The pretense at legal detachautomatically given a particular Edsa Revolution.” Though I am not ment is palpable throughout this legal meaning other than its obvi- a lawyer, I know that judicial rul- shabbily written ponencia. But, ous consequence—that of ousting ings must be formulated separately the bias stands out. Example: “For him as president. To do otherwise from the imperatives of politics. his alleged human rights abuses would lead the Court to the treach- But, this is not the same as saying and corrupt practices, we may erous and perilous path of having that the Court can be oblivious of disregard Marcos as a President to make choices from multifarious history or of what is happening and Commander-in-Chief, but inferences or theowe cannot deny ries arising from him the right to Duterte made known his intention to give Marcos an the various acts be acknowledged honorable burial during the campaign. He has won the of the people. It is based on other presidency. Ergo, the people’s votes gave him the mandate to not the function positions he held proceed. If that’s not interpreting electoral outcomes, I don’t of the Court, for or the awards he know what it is. instance, to divine received.”

The the exact implicaword “alleged” is tions or significance of the number outside of its echo chambers. misplaced if the National Historiof votes obtained in elections, or In fact, Justice Peralta’s recita- cal Commission of the Philippines, the message from the number of tion of the facts of the case belies which has questioned the authenparticipants in public assemblies.” his woefully myopic understand- ticity of the Marcos war medals, is Wow! ing of the Court’s function. “In to be believed. It should come beLet’s go over this revisionist the campaign period for the 2016 fore “awards” rather than before thesis once more: “So-called Edsa Presidential Election, then candi- “human rights abuses and corrupt Revolution…. should not be auto- date Rodrigo R. Duterte (Duterte) practices.” matically given a particular legal publicly announced that he would Umberto Eco, the Italian writer meaning other than its obvious allow the burial of former Presi- and semiotics professor, wrote: consequence—that of ousting him dent Ferdinand E. Marcos (Mar- “Linguistic habits are often imas president…. It is not the func- cos) at the Libingan Ng Mga Bay- portant symptoms of unspoken tion of the Court … to divine the ani (LNMB). He won the May 9, sentiments” (“Five Moral Pieces,” exact implications or significance 2016 election, garnering 16,601,997 2001). The unspoken is indeed ev-

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erywhere in the Supreme Court’s Nov. 8 ruling. In cliché after cliché, the Court tells the nation to forget.

“Finding closure” is one overused phrase: “In law, as much as in life, there is need to find closure.”

“Moving on” is another: “To move on is not to forget the past. It is to focus on the present and the future, leaving behind what is better left for history to ultimately decide.” And there’s the other one: “Let history be the judge.”

No, the refusal to allow Marcos’ burial among the nation’s heroes is not just about the past. This battle is as much a vital part of the struggle to prevent another dictatorship from destroying this country again.

“We are here to remember what happened,” Eco writes in reference to the fascist nightmare in Europe, “and to declare solemnly that ‘they’ must never do it again.”

The struggle against forgetting is not an easy one. While events may remain vivid in memory, the emotions felt during those events fade over time. But, last Friday, upon learning that the Marcos family had pulled a fast one by burying the dictator’s remains in the LNMB, I felt a deep anger in my guts. Then, I heard that students were massing in protest. Rage is back, I told myself. Perhaps nothing revives the emotions more forcefully than a jolt in the present. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

15

LOOKING BACK

Take a break from social media

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer SOCIAL MEDIA has become so toxic these days that one needs to take a break from it to preserve one’s composure—and friendships. One also needs to get away from the distraction of social media to get work done. Facebook, for example, has evolved so much in the past few years that it should be studied by sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists to see how it has changed the way we live and the way we handle relationships online and off.

There are certain things one says online with a click of a mouse that one will never say to another person face to face without risking a punch in the nose or the discomfort that comes when one draws tears. But of late, with Duterte, Trump and the Marcos burial, some people have drawn lines online where there used to be none. Politics is divisive, but in the era before social media people were able to live with oth-

ers’ views and opinions. There stead of taking selfies with them, of design. was more patience, tolerance can be a rewarding experience. At “Luz drawings and collages, beand understanding in the world. the Ateneo Art Gallery there are littled by auction houses and colThese days I would read rants four exhibits going on at the same lectors as ‘minor works’ or even online like: “If you like Duterte, time, showing art by various art- derisively as ‘works on paper,’ are Trump, or Marcos you can un- ists in various periods to suit ev- worth a closer look because these friend me because we have never ery taste and temperament. An form the backbone of his art, the been friends from the start.” ongoing exhibit of works by Ar- initial steps to painting. Whether Many people have to relearn turo Luz took my mind off social drawing the stylized stick figures how to interact in the real world, media for a while. At its opening that have since become his tradeto turn off phones mark, or spinat a dining table ning the intricate and indulge in web of lines that Luz works from his imagination. The performers, face-to-face, rathform his imagiacrobats, troubadours and nudes that fill canvas and paper are er than virtual, nary cityscapes, all invented, like the Japanese or Chinese-sounding titles he conversations. A Luz produced gives to some of his works. posted photo of and continues to the “supermoon” produce drawing can never match the experience last Wednesday I delivered this after drawing, in an attempt to of seeing it yourself. A good book appreciation: exhaust all possible forms and might be available online, but the “At 90, National Artist Arturo permutations. The seemingly taste of ice cream on a hot day R. Luz has lived beyond the man- random act of throwing differyou can never get from your com- datory retirement ages of 60 or ent elements on an empty piece puter, tablet, or phone screen.

65 and continues to work, pro- of paper to form a collage is an Aside from enjoying the gift of ducing over 300 drawings during elegant expression of design. The life or being with people you gen- a recent hospital confinement. recent geometric sculpture in uinely like, there are other ways A selection of these crude draw- Philippine hardwood is actually to take a break from social media. ings, photographed and blown figurative—the ancient ‘anito’ Visiting the National Museum, up, will comprise yet another se- made modern. for example, to look and think ries of art based on a unique, in“Luz works from his imagiabout the artifacts on display in- stinctive, almost magical, sense nation. The performers, acro-

bats, troubadours and nudes that fill canvas and paper are all invented, like the Japanese or Chinese-sounding titles he gives to some of his works. When he does take from the real world by photographing boxes, shells, and even leaves that litter his garden, Luz transforms them into otherworldly still lifes that seem to come from his imagination as well.

“Luz breathes new life into old works: transforming a tired series of prints by adding collage; instead of discarding rejected photographic proofs he cut them up into collages; adding shell, stone, or leaf to a collage and photographing these into a new series of still life. The possibilities seem endless for an artist whose mind and eye are perpetually at work.

“This modest exhibition, mounted to celebrate the artist’s 90th birthday, provides a glimpse into his ‘luz’—the light in his creative process.” (#luz@90 runs till April 2017.) ■

AT LARGE

The selfie generation awakened

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer WE FOUND ourselves walking on the sidewalk of a dark White Plains Avenue on Friday night. A group of fellow “pilgrims” following us was suddenly thrown into a panic when an elderly man who was part of their pack stumbled, tripping on a portion of concrete.

Indeed, the sidewalks of Manila are not for seniors.

We felt even more out of place when we reached the People Power Monument and found ourselves surrounded by young people in hoodies and T-shirts, predominantly in black. Though angry, harsh slogans filled the air—“Marcos, hindi bayani,” “Hukayin! Hukayin!” (“Marcos, not a hero,” “Dig him up!”), the overall atmosphere was congenial. I smiled in comradeship with every grayhaired, lined visage I encountered. Lots of young people held up obviously hand-printed or personally printed posters.

The gathering had a genial, impromptu nature to it.

True, we were impelled by an- be than a family? Yes, all children bles the “normal” family setup. ger and indignation, searching are born into a family, even if that In Gmeiner’s words, every child for an outlet for the feelings of family should turn out to be a should be able to grow up in “the rage and betrayal engendered by single mother or father with little natural world of the family,” prethe day’s events. But the sight of or no resources to raise them. scribing that nine children live young people taking part in—nay, Or, the child may lose what little together looked after by a house leading—the protest against the family into which he or she was mother who is “not a social worksneaky, cowardly burial of Ferdi- born to death, hardship, or aban- er or teacher,” but a woman “who, nand Marcos’ remains in the Lib- donment. What then is to happen once and for all, is there for these ingan ng mga Bayani was some- to the child? children … [providing] a real how comforting. We veterans of Fortunately, in the Philippines home for the children, a family protest marches in which even the and rallies may psychologically ill stumble our way child can develop But the sight of young people taking part in—nay, through future freely.” leading—the protest against the sneaky, cowardly burial of mass actions, but *** Ferdinand Marcos’ remains in the Libingan ng mga Bayani was obviously the Gemma Gosomehow comforting. selfie generationliat, the national has beenawakdirector of SOS ened, and there is no turning there is the SOS Children’s Vil- Children’s Villages here, says the back for them. lage, a network dedicated to the movement opened its first village *** proposition of providing “a lov- in Lipa, Batangas, in 1967 and has If Christmas is the season ing home for every child.” since expanded to eight villages for children, then our thoughts Founded in 1949 in Austria nationwide. should turn toward them and go by Hermann Gmeiner to help “I consider the real heroes beyond just meeting their wish children orphaned by war, SOS of SOS the house mothers who lists. For some children, wishes Children’s Village has since be- devote their lives to rearing the and wants can be so much more come a global movement with children,” says Goliat. Every basic and essential than just an- a single goal: to help the most house mother strives to bring up other toy or fancy gadget. And helpless children grow up in an her wards in a family setting, far how more basic could that need environment that closely resem- removed from the institutional

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harshness of traditional arrangements. Four principles underlie the world of every SOS Children’s Village: the mother, with each child under the care of a caring parent; brothers and sisters, with children growing upwithin the bosom of a family; the family, with every family group creating its own home; and the village, a community that connects the homes and families.

Every year, SOS Children’s Village launches a fund-raising campaign to meet the many urgent needs of every village. Once more, they are reaching out to companies who may want to make SOS a recipient of their corporate social responsibility programs, or to allot a portion of their profits for the villages.

They also accept donations in kind, such as extra inventory, and encourage companies to involve their employees in their fundraising program. This is the way the SOS Children’s Village family grows and expands, giving every child not just a home but also a network of caring adults. ■

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Canada News Federal infrastructure bank to build electricity connections between provinces

BY JOAN BRYDEN The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Trudeau government intends to use its new infrastructure bank to finance a “nation-building effort” to build clean electricity systems between provinces and territories.

But does that mean the decades-old dream of a pan-Canadian power grid is finally about to become a reality?

Not likely.

Sergio Marchi, president of the Canadian Electricity Association, says the technological know-how to transmit electricity for vast distances across the country doesn’t yet exist and, even if it did, would be prohibitively expensive.

More likely, Marchi believes the bank could be used to develop regional energy “interties” — connections between two electricity systems — between provinces.

For instance, he said it could finance the infrastructure needed for British Columbia to transmit its abundant hydro power to Alberta, which is trying to shift off coal-fired electricity, or for Manitoba to transmit its hydro to Saskatchewan, which gets more than 40 per cent of its energy from coalfired power plants.

Similarly, he said more of Quebec’s hydro could be transmitted to Ontario or to the Atlantic provinces.

“I think regionally and picking our spots, I think that’s very doable,” Marchi, a former fed-

eral cabinet minister, said in an interview.

“And so we already think that the federal and provincial governments on some of these interties are looking at that very thing and we’re expecting the budget to unveil that.”

Creating a national energy grid, enabling some provinces’ surplus hydro power to be transmitted across the country instead of south to the United States, has long been touted as a nation-building project, a way to strengthen east-west ties that bind Canada together and to counteract the pull of northsouth ties.

The possibility that the federal government might be considering financing a pan-Canadian energy grid was raised Monday by Environment Minister Catherine McKenna when she announced the accelerated phase-out of coal-fired electricity by 2030 as part of the federal strategy to combat climate change.

“The Government of Canada will support this transition by using the Canada Infrastructure Bank to finance projects such as commercially viable clean energy and modern electricity systems between provinces and territories,” she said in a news release.

The release included a quote from Dominic Barton, chair of the federal advisory council on economic growth, calling connecting the provinces with a clean energy system “a nationbuilding effort” that will position Canada to “compete for

“The Government of Canada will support this transition by using the Canada Infrastructure Bank to finance projects such as commercially viable clean energy and modern electricity systems between provinces and territories” MONOTOOMONO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

significant global investments in our power sector.” Barton’s growth council is one of the biggest champions of the need for an infrastructure bank.

The Trudeau government is planning to launch the bank next year, with $15 billion in direct federal investments and another $20 billion in repayable contributions, loans and loan guarantees. It hopes to leverage up to $5 in private investment for every $1 in government funding.

Government officials say no decisions have yet been made on specific projects to be financed through the bank.

But asked about the possibility of using the bank to finance a national energy grid, a spokeswoman for Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi, like Marchi, talked instead about interties.

“We see great potential for

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the Canada Infrastructure Bank to help support green infrastructure such as intertie and commercial scale renewable energy projects,” Kate Monfette said in an email.

She added that Natural Resources Canada is “in the process of evaluating strategic grid inter-connections” and that work will “help provinces prioritize their grid infrastructure decisions.”

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr has long been an advocate of an east-west power grid. But Marchi said his association has advised the minister to think instead about regional inter-connections. And in the group’s discussions with Carr, McKenna and their advisers, he said it’s become clear that high-level discussions on the issue are already well under way between Ottawa and the provinces.

Opposition parties have pounced on the government’s plans to use the infrastructure bank to leverage private investment for major projects, predicting that investors’ demand for a high rate of return will mean additional costs to build infrastructure and inevitably result in road and bridge tolls and other user fees.

But the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities says there are not enough details yet about how the bank will operate to be able to make such predictions.

“I don’t know how anybody knows that now until we can see actually what comes out of it,” Clark Somerville said in an interview.

The federation has been promised it will be consulted on the details, which are expected to be unveiled in the next federal budget in a few months, he added.

In the meantime, Somerville said municipalities welcome creation of the bank as another tool in their tool box for financing costly infrastructure projects.

Led by the federation, some 100 municipal leaders from across the country are in Ottawa this week to lobby ministers and MPs on the need to rely on municipalities’ expertise in designing the second phase of promised infrastructure funding. The government is promising to devote $186 billion over the next 12 years during the second phase, which includes the infrastructure bank. ■

17

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

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18

Canada News

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Quebec indigenous leaders renew call for inquiry into relations with police THE CANADIAN PRESS MONTREAL — Quebec indigenous leaders are renewing calls for a public inquiry into the relationship between police and First Nations communities, even as the province continues to refuse.

Ghislain Picard, chief of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, told a news conference Monday that it was unacceptable that the province has refused to hold an independent probe.

The calls came after last week’s decision by Crown officials not to charge any of the six provincial police officers accused of abusing indigenous women in the northern Quebec town of Val d’Or. Quebec’s Public Security Department had mandated the Montreal police force to investigate allegations of physical

and sexual abuse by provincial and the decision not to lay Murdered Indigenous Women police in Val d’Or, following an charges in other cases meant and Girls. award-winning investigative that the burden of proof wasn’t “The reaction of (Quebec report by Radio-Canada’s in- met. premier Philippe) Couillard vestigative program “Enquete” An independent observer government is to sweep this all in 2015. appointed by the government into the federal camp,” Picard It later exsaid. “What happanded that inpened to the sacvestigation to rosanct provininclude other cial jurisdiction complaints from Yet the Government of Quebec of Quebec, espeother parts of continues to resist and ignore the cially in matters Quebec. overwhelming evidence of the need of policing?”

Montreal pofor an provincial judicial inquiry — a The province lice looked at 38 revision of how justice is administered said Friday it cases of police to and for indigenous populations. would create a abuse allega“working roundtions, includtable” on the ing alleged rape, quality of relasexual assault, tions between harassment and so-called “star- suggested the existence of police forces and indigenous light tours,” where police would discrimination and systemic people. allegedly take people against racism in Quebec’s provincial That’s not enough, said Mattheir will and drive them far police force toward indigenous thew Coon Come, the grand outside town and abandon people. chief of the Grand Council of them.

Picard accused Quebec of the Crees, adding a federal inThe Crown confirmed Friday hiding behind the federal Na- quiry wouldn’t give the issue two people had been charged tional Inquiry into Missing and the attention it needs.

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“The prosecutors admission of the limitations of the justice system was equally disturbing,” Coon Come said. “What has happened and will continue to happen to these women is not isolated to Val d’Or — this is a province-wide crisis needing the attention of the province.”

Coon Come questioned why the provincial government was so quick to act when journalists complained about spying or when a Quebec City woman accused a member of the provincial legislature of sexual assault.

“The double-standard could not be more striking,” said Coon Come. “Yet the Government of Quebec continues to resist and ignore the overwhelming evidence of the need for an provincial judicial inquiry — a revision of how justice is administered to and for indigenous populations.” ■

19

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

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20

World News

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Suspicion grows on link Trudeau sounds between Samsung, S. Korean pro-trade note president’s confidante at close of APEC summit amid cloudy future

BY YOO SEUNGKI Philippines News Agency

SEOUL — Suspicion is growing over a secret link between Samsung Group, South Korea’s biggest family-run conglomerate, and President Park Geunhye’s longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil who has been indicted for criminal acts in conspiracy with the embattled president.

Choi was charged by prosecutors on Sunday with multiple counts, including abuse of power and extortion. Park was identified as an accomplice to Choi, becoming the first sitting president of South Korea to be investigated as a suspect.

Choi, whose friendship with the president dates back to the 1970s, is accused of using the friendship to prod 53 conglomerates, including Samsung, into donating 77.4 billion won (USD65.9 million) to two non-profit foundations controlled by Choi.

Samsung made the biggest donations, offering 12.5 billion won to Mir Foundation, a cultural fund, on Oct. 27, 2015 and 7.9 billion won to K-Sports Foundation, a sports fund, on Jan. 12 this year, respectively.

Prosecutors saw the donations as a move to avoid possible government retaliations, such as tax inquiries, but they also probed whether Samsung donated to get favors in the merger of its two subsidiaries, crucial to the transition of management control.

The investigation would be a key to decide the criminal penalty on President Park and her confidante. By law, abuse of power and extortion are sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, but conviction of bribery charge amounting to more than 100 million won get a punishment of at least 10 years in jail or life imprisonment.

According to local media reports, the prosecution office began to look into the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries last July to create a de facto holding company of the country’s largest conglomerate.

It was aimed at helping Samsung Electronics Vice Chair-

BY JOAN BRYDEN The Canadian Press

South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

FREDERIC LEGRAND - COMEO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

man Lee Jae-yong to succeed management control from his father Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who has been hospitalized for two-and-a-half years following a heart attack.

Elliott Management, a US hedge fund, strongly opposed the merger due to an unfair exchange ratio of stocks between the two affiliates. Elliott was the third biggest shareholder of Samsung C&T before the merger.

Samsung proposed a swap of every Samsung C&T share for 0.35 Cheil Industries stocks. It was favorable to the shareholders of Cheil Industries, in which Vice Chairman Lee and other members of the founding family held a 42 percent stake.

The Samsung proposal was approved on July 17, 2015, as the National Pension Service (NPS), a shareholder of Samsung C&T, voted for it at a general meeting of shareholders. The NPS was the second biggest owner of Samsung C&T shares at the time.

The merger motion was approved with a 69.5 percent support, just 2.8 percentage points above the two-thirds of the voting stocks required for passage.

Without the NPS vote in favor, Vice Chairman Lee may have gotten into big trouble in the transfer of power.

Local newspaper Hankyoreh reported last week that the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and then Minister of Health and Welfare Moon Hyung-pyo pressured the pension fund operator to support the merger, citing a member of the NPS’s advisory board.

The NPS usually hands over

sensitive decisions to the advisory body, but the endorsement was determined by an internal discussion as more than half of the advisors were highly likely to oppose the merger.

Citing the minutes of the internal discussion, Hankyoreh’s reported on Tuesday that the national pension fund supported the Samsung-proposed exchange ratio though it acknowledged that an exchange of every Samsung C&T share for 0.46 shares of Cheil Industries would be fair.

If it proves that the presidential office pressed the NPS to back the Samsung merger in return for bribes, President Park and her confidante would face a minimum of 10-year imprisonment. Moon, former wealth minister who is the NPS chairman, has denied the allegations.

A week after the merger approval, President Park held an open meeting with 17 conglomerate chiefs on July 24, 2015.

Park met separately one by one with seven heads of them, including Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

In the following month, Samsung Electronics began to give 2.8 million euros to a German company owned by Choi. Prosecutors would look into whether there was any quid pro quo for the money.

Vice Chairman Lee and other senior Samsung executives had been summoned by prosecutors for questioning. The South Korean parliament plans to call in Lee as a witness during next month’s separate investigation into the scandal involving the president and her friend. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

LIMA, PERU — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and leaders from Asian and Pacific nations — so eager to cement free trade in the region — are leaving an annual summit facing an uncertain future about the movement of goods, people and services across borders.

That uncertainty has been created with U.S. presidentelect Donald Trump and his anti-trade rhetoric set to take over the White House, potentially leaving a leadership vacuum on the world stage.

Trump’s anti-trade stance shook up the agenda of the APEC leaders’ annual meeting, forcing them to speak of the public relations war they now must wage to convince their citizens that trade has worked for them.

Trudeau said trade deals needed to spread benefits to more Canadians because the beneficiaries of the pacts over the last 30 years have largely been higher-income earners, “and I think that’s wrong.”

The final declaration from the 21 leaders of Asian and Pacific countries speaks of keeping borders open to trade, avoiding currency manipulation and devaluation, and ensuring that everyone benefits from economic growth because not all countries and sectors have rebounded equally from the 2008 global financial crisis.

Trump has referenced each of those as issues he wants addressed in trade deals that he believes are unfair for the American economy.

“This is not based on ideology or opinion, this is based on the fact that Canada has benefited extraordinarily over the almost 150 years of our existence — and well before that — from strong trading relationships with the Americans and indeed with the

world,” Trudeau said, pointing to the auto sector.

But the prime minister is leaving Peru without a commitment from U.S. President Barack Obama on the ongoing softwood lumber dispute — “the American lumber industry has a large say in how this is going to unfold. Indeed they have a veto over what the administration might propose,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau also didn’t say whether he would lobby Trump to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which the presidentelect has spoken of fondly.

All Trudeau would say about the man who dominated the agenda at the APEC leaders’ summit was an echo of what Obama has said this weekend: The realities of global economies will turn Trump away from killing trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement.

“The level of integration and inter-dependence between the Canadian and American economies on many levels, for me is the strongest proof point that trade has been good for both of our economies and will continue,” Trudeau said.

Earlier in the day, the outgoing president tried to ease concerns that the Liberal prime minister would clash with the Republican president-elect who has threatened to tear up the NAFTA unless he gets concessions from Canada.

“Through Conservative governments, Liberal governments, Democratic or Republican governments, the relationship between the United States and Canada is one of the most important constants in the world and I have no doubt that will continue,” Obama said.

Obama used his last international summit to calm the nerves of world leaders, and keep on track a Pacific Rim ❱❱ PAGE 23 Trudeau sounds

World News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

21

Obama gathers key Europe leaders amid questions about Trump

BY DAVID RISING AND JOSH LEDERMAN The Associated Press BERLIN — President Barack Obama is joining the leaders of key European countries in Germany to discuss an array of security and economic challenges facing the trans-Atlantic partners as the U.S. prepares for President-elect Donald Trump to take office in January.

Obama’s meeting Friday with the leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Spain is likely his last in such a setting before he leaves office. The session expands on lengthy talks he held the day before with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Since Obama’s arrival on Wednesday on his sixth and last trip to Germany as president, he and Merkel have focused several meetings on issues of globalization and trans-Atlantic co-operation. The talks come largely in the context of what the election of Donald

Trump will mean to efforts to seek peace in Ukraine and Syria, the strength of the NATO alliance, trade agreements, efforts to fight climate change, and other pressing matters.

At a news conference with Obama on Thursday, Merkel diplomatically said she was approaching the incoming Trump administration “with an open mind.”

Around the world, many are looking to Merkel — one of the longest serving leaders of a major world power, leader of Europe’s largest economy and one of the biggest U.S. trade partners with the U.S. — for leadership as Obama leaves office.

Obama seemed to underscore that reality as he effusively thanked Merkel for her “deep friendship.” He said he couldn’t “ask for a steadier or more reliable partner on the world stage,” while adding that if she chooses to run again for a fourth term next year, he’d vote for her — if he could.

Joining the two leaders Friday

are the heads of countries at the centre of many of the European Union’s coming challenges.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing her country for negotiations to leave the trade bloc. Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy faces economic woes in his country that have contributed to financial instability in the EU. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s already shaky economy has been rocked by tens of thousands of refugees. And French President Francois Hollande’s socialist government faces a major challenge from the farright in elections next year.

Trump has applauded the British decision to exit the EU, or “Brexit,” and has had meetings with Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party and a key player in the British decision to leave. For his part, Obama said Thursday his hope was that the Brexit negotiations be “conducted in a smooth and orderly and transparent fashion and preserve as closely as

VERVERIDIS VASILIS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

possible the economic and political and security relationships between the UK and EU.” Still, he noted that he considered the EU “one of the world’s great political and economic achievements.”

Germany has emphasized that it respects the British decision to leave, but that the United Kingdom won’t be able to cherry-pick what parts of the EU it wants to keep, and what not.

On other issues, Obama said he hoped for continuity of U.S.-European relations under Trump, saying “how important it is that we work together.”

Obama said that “continued global leadership on climate in addition to increasing private investment and clean energy is going to be critical.” He added that the U.S. would “continue to stand united with Germany and our NATO allies” in Afghanistan, and that on the refugee crisis he had put in place more robust support from Washington and that he was “hoping that continues beyond my administration.”

Following his meetings in Berlin, Obama heads to Peru, the final leg of his last foreign tour, for an Asia economic summit. ■

When you send money home to take care of your loved ones.

You’re making the di fference.

It’s a moment worth sharing.

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

FILIPINO-CANADIAN IN FOCUS:

Joey Abrenilla: Exuding the scent of winning with humility

BY BOLET AREVALO WHEN YOU watch him run up and down the stage, hog that microphone and hear his confident voice as he addresses the audience, you are almost sure Joey Abrenilla is not destined for something ordinary. You can almost smell success in his presence.

Success or winning is not new to Joey. He lived his young life geared up for it. Even as a graduate of occupational therapy from a relatively unknown college in the southern part of the Philippines, the Velez College, but one of the only 2 colleges offering his course, he pursued his dream like he were ready to always win and conquer.

Joey knew what he wanted to be when he was starting out, whether it was for a profession or in the line of public service.

He wanted to be an occupational therapist. This was an area that was relatively new then but he always knew it was indemand abroad like the United States and Canada. After college, he and two of his friends ventured into putting up a clinic or a center for kids with special needs in Butuan City. It branched out in Davao City and Cagayan de Oro but because he had left for Canada, the Butuan branch had been closed.

The journey to specializing in his profession did not begin or end with that venture. Soon, he found himself competing with over 200 applicants for an allexpense paid 18-month training on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) in New Jersey, USA. After writing the exam and passing the interviews, they were down to 10 and Joey was one of the best ones who flew to New Jersey. However, even before leaving for that paid internship, Joey had already applied for a permanent residency in Canada which approval came after he had returned to the Philippines from the US training.

As if his path was meticulously planned out for him, he maximized the 16-month deadline

before flying to Canada to be able to serve in the Philippines and share the knowledge and skills he had gained from training in their different centers.

He landed in Canada in 2005.

Alone, But Not Lonely Joey migrated alone. Youngest in the family of 3, a brother is a ship captain while a sister is a nurse in Cebu City. His father, Jose Jr., is a retired CPA and his mom, Fe Andrino, used to be a primary school teacher. They are all based in Butuan City. As of this time, none of his immediate family has joined him in Canada. He is also very much single. Does he ever get lonely being alone?

“Even in the Philippines, I am used to living independently from my parents. High school and college, they were in Butuan, and I was somewhere else studying. So coming over by myself and 11 years after, I simply have gotten used to be living by myself,” Joey narrated.

Although since leaving, he goes back almost every year to the Philippines to visit or give lectures on whatever new information he gathers in the course of practising his profession in Canada.

While he claims to have had his share of the Fall syndrome, the difficulties and disappointments as a newcomer to Canada, it should be safe to say that the best combination of luck and hard work easily catapulted him to where he is right now.

“Being an immigrant here in Canada wasn’t at all bed of roses, “Joey confided. He said may be he was just lucky enough to be hired as an assistant pre-school teacher at Vaughn Nursery school in St. Clair just two months after his arrival in Canada. Then, he got to work as a behavioral therapist at Geneva Centre for Autism before he got his license as a registered occupational therapist. Joey is only one of the handful FilCanadian practising as occupational therapists in the City of Toronto Homes. He obtained his license in the Philippines, USA and Canada.

“However, all those challenges made me stronger and the kind of person that I am today,”

he is proud to say. With that strength and as his way of giving back to universe, Joey finds himself even busier with a lot of volunteer work in the Filipino community particularly at the Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA) parish as the Youth Coordinator of the said church.

Embracing Volunteerism as a New Canadian

In Canada, volunteerism is a way of life. According to the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP), there are more than 6.5 million Canadians volunteers who have freely rendered over 1 billion hours of equivalent work time to charitable and voluntary organizations between October 1, 1999 and September 30, 2000. This represents 549,000 full-time jobs and a total payroll cost of about $17 billion.

Joey acknowledged that “Volunteerism had played a major role in my current status here in Canada. Plus, of course, my faith and hard work.” But even as a volunteer, he declared his dedication and passion for working for his groups in Toronto, many of which are Filipino organizations. Although, serving had seemed to be something that runs in his blood as an Abrenilla.

A brother of his father is a municipal mayor in Bohol, Mayor Fortunato Rances Abrenilla.

He recalled that even in elementary and high school, he would always be lured into running for leadership in his classes because he takes joy in being able to do something worthwhile and to make a difference.

He also tried local politics in Canada once when he ran as Trustee of the Toronto Catholic District School Board He also considers himself lucky to be in a situation where his family does not depend on his status as someone working abroad to be able to live a comfortable life in the Philippines.

He earns for himself but is happy surprising his parents or siblings with some gifts or his presence every now and then.

That generosity he also extends to members of his church, the Our Lady of the Assumption www.canadianinquirer.net

(OLA) Parish, where he is the Youth Coordinator.

Aside from OLA, Joey is also a member of TCDSB’s Filipino Advisory Committee-F.A.C.; business manager of Filipino Canadian Parents Association in Catholic EducationFCPACE; vice president of the Pinoy in Canada Patriotic Movement (PCPM) and 4thdegree knight of the Knights of Columbus. He also strongly supports the advocacy of Answering the Cry of the PoorANCOP charity movement.

He also had his share of the limelight in broadcast, stage and entertainment arena in various capacities as a budding actor, event producer, local radio-tv host, and recently stage director of the popular annual Taste of Manila street festival in Toronto. Just as we are writing this article, Joey will be awarded as one of the Most Outstanding Filipino Canadians in elegant ceremonies in Toronto, under the auspices of the Binibining Pilipinas of the World Family in Toronto, this December 4, 2016.

Growing Up Loved and Recognized

Barely in his 40s, Joey recalls his stint as a host of an online TV program called Today with Joey A, where they feature fastrising Fil-Canadians who are making waves in their respective fields in the city of Toronto.

He was happy showcasing other people’s achievements and doing that goes to show that Joey’s breed differs from the sad impression of some Filipinos’ penchant for crab mentality.

And I was scrutinizing how he grew up to be such a generous person, Joey only shared that, “I remember growing up in a family that was very loving and who did not deprive me of recognition.”

This led me to thinking that sadly, if a child grows up lacking in love and enough degree of approbation within the family, he or she tries to find that elsewhere. Unfortunately for some, they do not find it so easily even outside and thus, when they find it, they exhibit a tendency to hoard it for themselves or grab it from others who have it.

What a beautiful family lesson we just crystallized while talking to Joey.

The final lesson that Joey wants to impart to fellow kababayans or immigrants is that very lesson that he himself pursued — that is, “It is best to stay focused and know what you want.” When he came, he said, the only thing he wanted was to be an occupational therapist. He studied the process to get there and made sure he gets there. And he did.

That being achieved, he further advised, “Look for a community where you can utilize your talent and your energy.”

Successfully having done that, too, Joey strongly believes that it completed his transformation into the humble character that helped him to become the happy and fulfilled person that he is today.

The character that will ensure a continuing successful journey to where he eventually wants to be in the next 5 or 10 years — public service. ■

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FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

CANADA EVENTS November 26 2016 Winter Lights Festival John Peake Memorial Park 121 Chestermere Station Way Chestermere, AB T1X 1V2 Canada Schedule of events: 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Fire pits, food trucks & skating in the Park.

4:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. - Sleigh rides 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Children's activities & craft fair at the Library 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. - Little toot train rides 6:00 p.m. - Christmas lights turn on 8:00 p.m. - Fireworks There will be performances by: Fire spinners, Stilt walkers, Chestermere High School band November 27 2016 Annual Art Show & Sale FCJ Retreat & Conference Centre 219 19 Avenue S.W. Calgary, AB T2S 0C8 FCJ Center's annual art show and sale November 27 2016 The Jeepney Tour 2016, Spongecola Concert Massey Theatre 735 8th

Ave. New Westminster, BC, V3M2R2 DX & Darryl 604-317-7747 & 778-237-9443 December 01 2016 Monthly Networking Meeting - VWN White Rock BALANCE - Work, Life, Play Hotel & Lodging · Hotel in White Rock, British Columbia Diana Ng, Author, Speaker, Labyrinth Expert December 04 2016 The 13th Annual Rogers Santa Claus Parade Suite 200, 55 Water Street Vancouver, BC V6B 1A1 If you are a community group or a person who loves the thrill and excitement of a great public event, and thrives in a large team environment, the Rogers Santa Claus Parade is for you! Over 300,000 spectators will be entertained by more than 50 festive floats, marching bands, dance troupes, and community groups while being supported by over 300 volunteers. Once again we’ll be collecting food and cash donations to support the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Trudeau sounds... trade pact designed to act as a counterbalance to China’s growing influence in Asia in the face of Trump’s threats to cancel the deal.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership would cement free trade among 12 nations encompassing nearly 40 per cent of the world’s GDP, including Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States. The deal cannot come into force without the approval of those latter two countries.

During a closed-door session Saturday with TPP members, Obama urged them not to give up on the deal.

Leaders in the room voiced support for moving ahead with trade pact if the stars aligned in the coming months, and no country said it was ready to walk away from the agreement, according to international offi❰❰ 20

cials who were in the room, but not authorized to speak publicly about the talks.

Trudeau said he wouldn’t jump to any conclusions about what Trump will do with TPP once in office, saying the Liberals are “keeping our options open.”

And in one of his last faceto-face meetings with a world leader, Obama sat next to Trudeau and spoke about the work the two have done on refugees and climate change.

Trump has vowed to roll back environmental funding and put in stricter immigration rules.

Obama praised Trudeau and said he looked forward to the prime minister’s continued leadership on those issues in the coming years.

Obama said he and Trudeau are going to try and get as much work completed on thinning the borders during the last two months of his presidency. ■

So, what survival job will you take?

BY BOLET AREVALO GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE DIGNITY OF TAKING ON A SURVIVAL JOB OF YOUR CHOICE. AS I said, your decision to take on a survival job should not take you as far as desperation.

You should be able to give yourself at least the dignity of being able to choose which survival job to take.

Survival jobs abound. The economy survives on the takers of survival jobs. How many survivalists made the Olympics events possible? Definitely the ratio is more than ten-to-one or even one hundred-to-one, for every full-time paid employee.

I read unhappy blogs that say, at a certain point, immigrants feel this is part of the strategic master plan, pushing low-paying survival jobs on people to force them to spend money on an education to upgrade and get those required certificates.

In both cases, the economy endures, and maybe flourishes.

If you give yourself enough leeway before getting into a survival situation, then you can still have some choice in where you will work. The most sensible thing to do is to find a survival job that will at least be related to your previous work or academic degree.

I would prefer to see my son who is a fine arts graduate in my country to work in an arts supplies store or an art school, whether as a sales assistant or a receptionist, rather than for a fast food outlet or janitorial company. For example, my marketing and events planning background made me accept work as a sales associate in a retail store as well as liaison work for the Olympics.

The simple reason behind this is that you get a little satisfaction for being in an environment that you are familiar with. You will be happy to be in a workplace where you think you can pitch in based on your www.canadianinquirer.net

past experience and have the hope that they will recognize your efficiency and skills and take you on a more regular schedule and in a more decent position.

Some take on two to three survival jobs at a time to be able to augment t h e i r family income.

That is not bad at all. It is not bad to feel responsible. But may I ask you not forget about your dream, your ultimate desire to go back to what you were professionally or academically prepared for.

I would advise that the survival job should leave you enough time and energy to continue looking for other jobs or allow you to go back to school to upgrade. As most survival jobs are part-time and do not pay much, the temptation will always be there to take on more jobs. But hold on to your dream, please.

Once you have decided on a survival job, stay positive. Stop feeling miserable. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Look forward and move on confidently.

If the job requires a lot of stamina, be ready with your vitamin supplements. Get enough rest and sleep. Keep your Ben-gay handy if you need to soothe aching backs and muscles. Eat well. My son always reminds me not to scrimp on food. You need to stay healthy to survive that survival job.

It is, however, true that the survival job will not allow you to go to fancy restaurants or even to afford Starbucks for your morning coffee. But reward yourself once in a while so you will feel better. Always buy something you really like at least once a month. This item

does not have to be luxurious, after all you cannot afford it, but should be something to remember each month of breaking your back at work. Share a little of that, too, with your family and friends. It need not be expensive, of course, but it will provide the joy of sharing your blessings, even in a smallest way.

There is no reason not to feel good, even in this period of difficulty.

Unfortunately, your new host country’s hospitality may not include immediately welcoming you into the workplace of your own choice or academic or professional discipline. Hold on to your dream even as you take a survival job. Give yourself enough time to look somewhere else. Stay positive. Look forward. Reward yourself and your family no matter how simple. ■ Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion.

She is author-publisher of the book: The Most Practical Immigrating and Job Hunting Survival Guide, proven simple steps to success without the fears and the doubts. The book is available in Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo, the Reading Room and other online bookshops worldwide.

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

25

Entertainment LOTLOT ON JANINE-ELMO BREAKUP:

No blockbuster fare in this year’s MMFF

I think she deserves more

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer JANINE IS a very smart girl.

She is moneyed, she has a career, and she has a college degree from a good school. She deserves to be treated well.”

That was actress Lotlot de Leon’s reaction when the Inquirer asked what she thought of her daughter Janine Gutierrez’s decision to call it quits with boyfriend Elmo Magalona.

Never a woman to mince her words, Lotlot added: “I’m not saying this because she’s my daughter. If she can be treated like a princess, then that would be better.”

She said Janine has been coping with the breakup better than she expected. Lotlot’s eldest daughter recently celebrated her 27th birthday by vacationing in Taiwan.

“I’m so proud of her. I just think that if you’re no longer treated well, or that if you are not happy anymore, then you should move on,” the mom pointed out.

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

Janine Gutierrez and Elmo Magalona.

KHENDYGIRL / CHAREZE STAMATELAKY / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Extra mile

She would often remind Janine that “if there is someone who would go the extra mile for her to get a particular project because it would be good for her, that would be me. In the same way that I would also turn down something that I think would not be beneficial to her.”

Lotlot added: “I’ve been in this industry for so long. I’ve learned that there are projects you have to let go of because

Acceptance

She recalled the time when she would tell Janine, “If you join this industry half-heartedly, or if you’re just in it for the money, you wouldn’t last long.

You have to accept it and whatever comes with it—the good and the bad. Eventually, people will see that and the work that you do will reflect that.”

Lotlot has three other children with estranged husband Ramon Christopher—Maxine, Diego and JesJanine’s decision sica. She said she While she and felt lucky that her daughter had all her kids are discussed the I devoted my life to taking care of my achievers. breakup lengthfamily and never had the chance to “Even if my ily, Lotlot said it do what I’ve always wanted. But now, children have difwas just Janine everything seems to fall into place. ferent personaliwhomade the deties, the one thing cision in the end. they have in com“She’s already mon is that they of age. She can all have dreams. very well decide for herself,” Lot- they’re really not for you. But if They strive to achieve what they lot stressed. “I just pray that she you are able to prove that you’re want for themselves, and that’s continues to make the right ones. worth other people’s time and enough for me,” she declared.

As a mother, we try to steer our are talented, then more offers With her kids focused on purchildren to the direction that we would eventually come.” suing their respective dreams, think is right for them, but someLotlot observed that Janine Lotlot now has time to realtimes they really have to be in has already learned to appreci- ize hers. She recently opened a that particular situation to learn ate and embrace show business restaurant in Parañaque, The from it. It hurts me to see her like as her chosen career.

South Grill. that, but I think it needed to hap“She is doing everything now “I devoted my life to taking pen for her to learn.” to improve not only as a person care of my family and never Lotlot, who also acts as Ja- but as an actor. She spends time had the chance to do what I’ve nine’s talent manager, said their at the gym doing pilates and always wanted. But now, everyideas usually clash, “but I listen boxing— may abs na nga siya! thing seems to fall into place. I to Janine, too, because she is She keeps herself busy by at- just realized that if you want to her own person, with her own tending acting workshops. She ideas, so we explain our views.” is never idle,” Lotlot said. ❱❱ PAGE 38 I think

ACADEMICIAN NICANOR Tiongson, head of the eightmember screening committee of the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), is confident that with proper marketing, this year’s eight movie entries will become commercial successes.

“These films have substance.

We’re proud to say that what we will showcase this year are good products. These films are worth our while,” Tiongson assured reporters during the media launch of the 2016 MMFF at the Club Filipino on Friday afternoon.

“Let’s not dumb down the audience,” Tiongson said in reaction to questions by the media on the lack of the usual blockbuster fare, featuring bigname actors.

Tiongson said the commercial viability of a film was not the first concern but its quality. “Even their genres were only a secondary consideration,” he pointed out. “The process of choosing them (from 27 hopefuls) was easy. One cannot say that we were influenced by the other judges because we did not talk to each other the whole time. We didn’t see the results until the day of the deliberation. Wechecked against our individual ratings and we were surprised that we all agreed with the choices.”

Those that will be competing in the full-length category are “Die Beautiful” by Jun Ro-

www.canadianinquirer.net

bles Lana; “Kabisera” by Real Florido and Arturo San Agustin; “Saving Sally” by Avid Liongoren; “Seklusyon” by Erik Matti; “Sunday Beauty Queen”

by Baby Ruth Villarama; “Oro”

by Alvin Yapan; “Vince, Kath and James” by Ted Boborol, and “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2” by Marlon Rivera.

The short films that made the cut are: “Birds” by Christian Paolo Lat; “EJK” by Bor Ocampo; “Manila Scream” by Roque Lee and Blair Camilo; “Mga Bitoon sa Siyudad” by Jarell Serencio; “Mitatang” by Arvin Jezer Gagui; “Momo” by Avid Liongoren; “Passage of Life”

by Renz Vincemark Cruz and Hannah Daryl Gayapa, and “Sitsiritsit” by Brian Spencer Reyes.

Screening committee member Mae Paner pointed out: “There are 365 days in a year.

What we’re asking is for these eight good films to be appreciated by the Filipino audience for only two weeks. I guess that’s not a lot to ask.”

Other members of the committee are Allan Allanigue, Lawrence Fajardo, Krip Yuson, Joy Belmonte, Crispina Belen and Ping Medina.

“We are confident that they will be well-received by the majority of the audience, especially (the animated film) ‘Saving Sally,’ which is really a film for children and the kids at heart,” Paner stressed. “I can say the films in this lineup are all awesome. People will look forward to watching them and that word will eventually spread.” ■

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Entertainment

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Warner Bros’ ‘Fantastic Beasts’ tops box office PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” star Eddie Redmayne.

FEATUREFLASH PHOTO AGENCY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros’ “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” debuted at first place this weekend in Northern America.

“Fantastic Beasts” opened at 4,144 locations in U.S. and Canada this three-day weekend and grossed USD75 million.

As a Harry Potter related franchise, “Fantastic Beasts” attracted older audience. Statistic shows that only 18 percent of the opening weekend audience was under the age of 18 while 55 percent was over the age of 35, which suggests previous Harry

Potter fans showed up, but the new generation wasn’t quite as inspired.

“Fantastic Beasts” scored an “A” CinemaScore from opening day audiences, and it received a 76 percent of recommendation rate from critics on RottenTomotoes.

Disney and Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” placed in second with an estimated weekend of USD17.67 million, a 59 percent drop compared to last weekend. For the total revenue of “Doctor Strange,” it has got over USD181.5 million in North America and its worldwide box office went to USD571.5 million.

Fox’s “Trolls” with an es-

timated USD17.5 million weekend, a 50 percent drop compared with last weekend.

“Trolls” has gained 116 million dollars in America and Canada, its worldwide revenue went to USD261 million, far more over its USD125 million budget.

In this weekend, the top 12 films at box office grossed a combined USD149.4 million.

Rounding out the 10 mostpopular movies this week were “Arrival” (11.8 million dollars), “Almost Christmas” (7 million), “Hacksaw Ridge” (6.7 million), “The Edge of Seventeen” (4.8 million), “Bleed for This” (2.4 million), “The Accountant” (2.1 million) and “Shut In” (1.6 million). ■

Reports say Kanye West has Bono recruits Julia been hospitalized in Los Angeles Roberts, Channing Tatum for AIDS fight THE CANADIAN PRESS

his wife Kim Kardashian did not reply to several messages left by the AP seeking confirmation or comment.

The hospitalization was first reported by NBC News.

Kardashian had been expected to make her first public appearance Monday night since she was tied up and robbed at gunpoint last month in Paris. It was to come at the Angel Ball, a charity event in New York honouring her late father, Robert Kardashian.

But amid the reports about West, she did not show up.

in San Jose, West said he didn’t vote in the presidential election but would have cast a balLOS ANGELES — Kanye West lot for Donald Trump, praising has been hospitalized after the president-elect’s “method abruptly cancelling the last 21 of communication” as “very fudates of his national tour, acturistic.” cording to reports from several On Saturday in Sacramento media outlets. he ended his show after just Citing anonymous law enfour songs but not before a forcement sources and West 10-minute tirade about Berepresentatives, the media outyonce, Jay Z, Hillary Clinton, lets reported that the hip-hop Mark Zuckerberg, the radio and superstar was taken to Ronald MTV. Reagan UCLA Medical Center Over the weekend, West also in Los Angeles on Monday afflooded his Instagram account ternoon because of stress and with nearly 100 fashion photos, exhaustion, and many snaps of he is spending photos that were the night there out of focus and for his own safepoorly cropped. ty.

Representatives for West and his Sunday’s show Without conwife Kim Kardashian did not reply in the Los Angefirming that to several messages left by the AP les area was canthe patient was seeking confirmation or comment. celled then West West, Los Andecided to scrap geles police told the entire tour.

The Associated Concert proPress that offimoter Live Nacers were called to a house on Her mother, Kris Jenner, and tion said tickets would be fully Laurel Avenue near West Hol- sisters Khloe and Kourtney refunded. The tour was to have lywood for a disturbance at Kardashian were on hand. made stops through Dec. 31 in about 1:20 p.m. When they arWhen asked how the cou- Dallas, Denver, Atlanta, Philarived it was clear that nothing ple was doing, Jenner simply delphia, Detroit, Boston, New criminal was occurring and it smiled and said, “They’re good.” York City and Washington, D.C., was a medical situation instead.

West had just pulled the plug among others. ■ Police told the AP West was on his Saint Pablo Tour after taken in an ambulance to the days of erratic and angry behav- AP writers Mark Kennedy in hospital and placed on a psychi- iour that made an even hotter New York and Andrew Dalton in atric hold. topic than usual on social media. Los Angeles contributed to this Representatives for West and On Friday, during a concert report www.canadianinquirer.net

BY MESFIN FEKADU The Associated Press NEW YORK — If you donate at least $10 to Bono’s charity (RED), the singer is giving you a chance to drink tea with him and Julia Roberts, enjoy a private concert from U2 or party in Las Vegas with “Magic Mike” star Channing Tatum.

Those are three of the “experiences” donors can possibly win after giving money to (RED), which raises funds to fight AIDS. The campaign dubbed “(RED) SHOPATHAN,” in its second year, launches Tuesday, one week before World AIDS Day, which is Dec. 1.

“It is a battle now for funding. It’s just a street battle, pitch battle, and we have to keep this stuff in the news or literally those people don’t get the drugs. It’s that simple,” Bono said in an interview with The Associated Press last week.

“We have to just remind people that America has led the war on this tiny little virus and is winning the war, but it is unthinkable, but it is possible, that if we stall on funding then we start to undo all this good work.”

Other “experiences” that can be earned after donating

on Omaze.com/RED include a night out with Neil Patrick Harris; tickets to see Broadway’s “Hamilton” and backstage access with show star Javier Munoz; a Snapchat and jet ski adventure with DJ Khaled; and a studio hangout with One Direction’s Liam Payne.

The campaign will return to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for a full show on Tuesday night, where Bono, The Killers, Herbie Hancock, DJ Khaled and Halsey will perform, while special guests include Roberts, Tatum, Patrick Harris and Kristen Bell.

Bono will sing a re-worked version of Cole Porter’s “Well, Did You Evah!” and the Killers will perform Christmas songs.

“The Killers are doing Christmas songs to end all Christmas songs,” Bono said with a laugh, “which actually, believe or not, has me singing ‘if you don’t help people with AIDS you’re going to hell.”’

“I wrote that line,” Kimmel said during the interview about the original song, written with Brandon Flowers of The Killers. “But that’s true — if you don’t help people with AIDS you are going to hell, and that seems like a good enough reason to help alone. I mean, just think of yourselves.” ■

27

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Lifestyle Marikina Shoe Museum, ‘mamang sapatero’ and Imelda

BY CONSTANTINO C. TEJERO Philippine Daily Inquirer OF MANY Marikina landmarks, probably none more fully represents the place and its people than the Shoe Museum.

Built in the 1860s, the structure was used as an arsenal by the Spaniards; a detention cell during the Filipino-American War; a motor pool during the American occupation. It was converted by the Tuason family into a rice mill after World War II, renovated in the late 1990s, and opened as a museum in 2001 in homage to the city’s shoe industry.

This is the prime product that has put Marikina on the international map. Displayed in one of its malls is the biggest pair of shoes in the world—5.29 meters long, 2.37 meters wide, 1.83 meters high, with 16-inch heels, and made of genuine leather— which took 77 days to finish. Renowned as the Shoe Capital of the Philippines, the city holds a Sapatos Festival from mid-September until year’s end.

Marikina was already producing bakya (wooden clogs) before the Spaniards came.

Eventually it became known for its cottage industry of making slippers. The shoe industry was started by capitan del pueblo Laureano Guevarra, the culture hero popularly known as Kapitan Moy, founder of the Philippine footwear industry.

An ilustrado (father from Quiapo, mother from Pasig), Guevarra took apart his

wornout English shoe, studied its construction and components, and learned how to work on leather from two Chinese cobblers in Escolta. In 1887, the first pair of shoes in Marikina was designed and made in what is now known as the Kapitan Moy Building.

It was once visited by Andres Bonifacio. The place, established in 1780, was declared a national shrine in 1968 and turned into Sentrong Pangkultura ng Marikina in 1993.

Object of beauty

Some 50 meters away from it, just across the Church of Our Lady of the Abandoned, is the Shoe Museum. This is one of the more popular tourist destinations in the city, averaging 50 visitors on weekdays, 60-70 on weekends including foreigners.

From a recent tour group, it received 193 visitors.

By the entrance is a life-size diorama depicting the traditional way of making shoes, with notes tracing the history of the shoe industry.

At the center of the hall is a column of old wooden shoe lasts. At the foot of the stairwell to the mezzanine is a pair of 3feet-tall soft-leather boots.

The museum showcases the footwear worn by prominent personalities and figures in Philippine history, from actors and senators to Presidents and their First Ladies. Of the presidential shoes displayed, the biggest is that of Joseph Estrada’s size 10.

Also displayed are traditional footwear from other countries,

such as Indian moccasins, Viking boots, Roman sandals. On one corner are the awardwinning shoes in the city’s annual design competition, most of them fantasy footwear.

Inevitably the museum highlights former First Lady Imelda Marcos’ shoes (size 8 ½). At least 804 pairs of her reported 3,400 are here—from handcrafted designer pieces to downy boudoir slippers and slick knee-length boots.

They occupy one long wall of cabinets and reach up to the mezzanine. She actively promoted Marikina’s shoe industry and was reportedly gifted with an average 10 pairs a week by local shoemakers, thus her vast collection. Said to be her favorite is the Italian-made luxury pair by Beltrami.

As the guest of honor at the museum’s opening, she was quoted as saying: “This museum is making a subject of notoriety into an object of beauty.

More than anything, this museum will symbolize the spirit and culture of the Filipino people.”

When Typhoon “Ondoy” struck in 2009, Marikina was one of the most deluged areas in the country with floodwaters reaching 4 ft deep inside the museum. Many shoes were damaged, but the most significant had been hauled up to the mezzanine in time, including, of course, Imelda’s.

Typical shoemaker

A typical Marikina shoemaker is Rolando “Oly” Santos, 68, who has been making shoes for 54 years.

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Marikina Shoe Museum.

Santos apprenticed when he was only 10 and made his first pair at 14. He says he can finish a pair in a day and a maximum of 18 in a week, helped by wife Perla.

He makes only handcrafted men’s shoes of cowhide, though he has done alligator skin—and only custom-built shoes, upon order, or what’s now fancifully called bespoke.

Made-to-order items are more expensive, but how many orders can one get in a month?

Santos says he can afford to make only customized shoes for now, “‘di pa kaya ang bulk; maghahanap na ng five-six niyan.” He tries to make both ends meet with his trade, to put his children through college and maintain a P4,000 rent for a cramped dwelling-cum-workshop.

“Ten years na ’tong puwesto ko,” he says. “Laging binabaha.

Tinangay ng ‘Ondoy’ mga sapatos, pati molds ko. Ang makina nasira, kinalawang mga piyesa.”

He has tried to teach his craft to

JANNICADIAZ / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

his two sons but neither knows how to make shoes. One son finished marketing, so he hopes this one could help him in his trade.

Popular renown

Fortune looked kindly on him in June.

A few days before the inauguration of President Rodrigo Duterte, Santos sent him a pair of size-9 boots in tan brown, of calfskin and pigskin with decorative perforations. He calculated the fit and style just by watching the incoming president on television.

President Duterte was gifted with over 100 pairs of shoes for the inaugural, “pinaka-walang class ang box ng sa akin,” but his was chosen anyway, Santos enthuses.

He was told the shoes were not used at the inaugural as there were no pants to match them with, but, he points out, the President wore them during ❱❱ PAGE 29 Marikina Shoe

28

Lifestyle

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

David Rockefeller Jr.:

Without art and culture, ‘everything would be gray and uninteresting’

BY CATHY CAÑARES YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

Got a java head?

Some holiday gift ideas for coffee lovers

BY LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press NEW YORK — Coffee lovers can also be lovers of other things, clearly, but the true java head surely wouldn’t scoff at a related holiday gift.

Some ideas:

on a budget or have a truly dedicated coffee fanatic who’s in search of the ultimate pour but looking to combine. Some have steam wands and brew at the same time. Some are compact.

Generally, they take up less space than two or more machines. Look to DeLonghi for some nice ones.

Not your average to-go cup

Pods with a purpose

A coffee lover AND a tech nerd’s dream come true is rolled into the Ember coffee mug. Smart technology allows it to rapidly cool down your liquid to your desired temperature for up to two hours on the go or hours more when placed on its special coaster. Sleek, black design. Holds 12 ounces.

The creation of entrepreneur and coffee lover Clayton Alexander and his Ember team. On pre-order in November. Embertech.com. $149.95.

Little rocket ships

Speaking of technology, the 3D-printing loving folks at Shapeways.com offer the Rocket Espresso Cup. By designer Craig S. Kaplan, it’s the little java ship that could in porcelain that’s food, oven and dishwasher safe in a variety of colours, or in white plastic. Hey 1 percenters, you can get one of these printed up in platinum for $150,000.

For the rest of us, the plastic is $40 and the porcelain versions $33.17. Shapeways.com.

Coffee and espresso combo

Higher end and lower end combination machines are out there, so shop around if you’re

Oakland Coffee, owned by Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, offers fairly traded organic beans packaged in plant-based rather than plastic bags. Oakland, based in Oakland, California, has partnered with San Francisco Bay Coffee Co. on fully compostable single-serve soft pods of arabica blends from small farms in Peru and Honduras. The pods contain no plastic. A 10-count costs $12.99 on Amazon but are currently out of stock. Worth waiting for. Details at Oaklandcoffee.com.

It’s about the grind

Fancy automatic coffee grinders can make the taste and are abundant, but they can be pricey. Treat your java lover but do your research. Not looking to break your bank and got a DIY-er? Go for a manual grinder. There are plenty, including the Hario Skerton Ceramic Coffee Grinder available at Williams-Sonoma.com for $49.95. It promises burrs that easily adjust to produce a range of grind sizes, from super fine espresso to coarse for French press brewing. And it looks cool. ■

nancial and professional support for more than 190 Filipino artists and art professionals in field such as visual arts, music, dance, archeology, film, architecture and theater since 1965.)

The Philippines, Rockefeller stressed, “has a melding of so many different cultures, of the indigenous, the Chinese, the Spanish, some American… and I think that blend is what makes Filipinos so distinct, with great passion.”

Amid the anticipation by analysts of a global power shift to Asia (it is, after all, being referred to as “the Asian Century”), Rockefeller said international leaders must take care not to leave arts and culture in Asia behind in development efforts.

“It must involve art and culture.

Otherwise, everything would be gray and uninteresting,” he noted.

Rockefeller even alluded to the apparent preference of President Duterte toward a

talent. It’s wonderful to come here,” she said in an interview.

Heart and soul

In a prepared speech later, DAVID ROCKEFELLER Jr. O’Neill reminded guests that nodded, and a smile played on “the arts are often not seen as his lips as he listened to the essential to society, but arts are Philippine Madrigal Singers’ our heart and soul. Creativity, Westernized rendition of “Ili Ili innovation and design. The arts Tulog Anay.” are indispensable.”

Rockefeller, once a chorisShe said ACC plans to “find ter of The Cantata Singers in more partners in the PhilipBoston, studied the singers’ pines so we can reach out to the faces intently as they followed next generation of artists and up with Juan del Encina’s pasart professionals, and transsionate and dramatic “Mas Vale form the Philippines and the Trocar” and a delicately arworld through arts.” ranged “True Colors.” Then he That night, ACC Philippines stood and slow-clapped at the trustee Malu Gamboa introend of the medley. duced the four Filipino grant“I’ve sung for 50 years myself ees, including Rogelio Braga so I know how hard this is,” he who proposed to do research on told INQUIRER Lifestyle. narratives from ethnolinguistic Rockefeller was at the Ayungroups of communities across tamiento de Manila in IntraSoutheast Asia; visual artist Aze muros Thursday night for the Ong, who will conduct research 15th anniversary on contempoof the Asian Culrary art practices tural Council and works that (ACC) Philipuse textiles in the pines FoundaHere in the Philippines, you have US; dance artist tion, Inc., the loincredible talent.

Ea Torrado, who cal partner of the will interact with global group that key people in the provides educafield of dance in tional and professional oppor- stronger alliance with China. New York and Saratoga; and tunities for artists, scholars and “Although I hope the United visual artist Irma Lacorte, who cultural groups through grants. States would always play a will participate in workshops Rockefeller, from the fourth strong part in the Philippines, I on the muralmaking process in generation of the American fam- think the Chinese offer to help the US. ily involved in industry and phi- with the infrastructure of the Three other scholars already lanthropy, is one of the ACC trust- Philippines is very good. I hope in the US include Jenibel Paray ees who flew to Manila last week it happens because you need who has begun her fellowship to meet four among the latest good infrastructure to have at the Smithsonian Institute in batch of seven “exceptional” Phil- good programs and happy peo- Washington DC; curator-writer ippine-based grantees. With him ple,” the philanthropist said.

Lian Ladia, now completing her was ACC chair Wendy O’Neill, anACC chair O’Neill has lived in curatorial program at the Cenother Rockefeller scion.

Hong Kong for 15 years, studied ter for Curatorial Studies in Bard John Rockefeller III found- Chinese and Chinese culture at College, New York; and visual ed ACC after World War II “to Harvard University and admits artist Nikki Luna, who recently bring Asia and America to- to “an affinity for Asian culture.” opened her show at the Owen gether” by bridging the cultural “I lived in China in the 1980s. James Gallery in New York. gap between Asia and the West. I go back to Beijing and it’s Former ACC scholars who In separate interviews at the transformed. The arts are re- were present that night were event, the two philanthropist- spected and thriving and you National Artist for Music Radescendants stressed the im- see that all over Asia. We just mon Santos and Chris Milportance of continued global came from South Korea, and lado of the Cultural Center of and national support for arts the creativity there is remark- the Philippines, viisual artists and culture. able— the combination of tech- Leeroy New and Ambie Abaño, nology and traditional arts in a choreographer and soloist CaSince 1965 modern way. Here in the Phil- rissa Adea and music scholar (So far, ACC has provided fi- ippines, you have incredible Teresa Barrozo. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

29

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Sports Brazil keeps losing sponsors in wake of corruption scandals

Ginebra’s LA Tenorio describes Bulacan as breeding ground of champion athletes

BY STEPHEN WADE AND MAURICIO SAVARESE The Associated Press

PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

reached 359 million reals ($107 million) in 2014 — a 50 per cent increase.

It fell to 339 million reals ($101 million) in 2015, the last year for which the CBF provided data.

RIO DE JANEIRO — The Brazilian socSponsorship income was expected to cer confederation has lost five major be much lower in 2016 as Brazil’s faces sponsors in the last 18 months as its its deepest recession in decades with inpresident — and the previous two presi- flation and unemployment each over 10 dents — has been indicted on corruption per cent. charges.

Reports of corruption at the CBF are The latest to bail out is Samsung, decades-old, but came into focus when which joins Michelin and Gillette as high-ranking soccer officials were armajor sponsors abandoning the CBF, rested in Switzerland in May 2015 in whose president Marco Polo del Nero raids at a five-star hotel. They included is wanted by U.S. prosecutors on rack- Jose Maria Marin, the former president eteering, fraud and other charges. of the CBF who was extradited to the The CBF confirmed Samsung’s exit, United States and awaits trial on corrupbut declined other tion charges. comment. The CBF’s Marin, who is out website shows it has on a $15 million bond, 10 sponsors remainis under house arrest ing, including Nike, in a luxury New York Chevrolet and MasThe amounts apartment. A trial terCard.

CBF was getting date has been set for Reports in Brazil were very November 2017. say Samsung may high, mainly Marin’s predeceshave to pay $20 milbecause of the sor, Ricardo Teixlion to get out of the tournament eira, and current deal. The South Kobeing played CBF president Del rean company has here.

Nero, have both been been buffeted by reindicted by U.S. ofcent financial losses ficials but have not related to its Galaxy been extradited.

Note 7 phone.

Brazil has an extradition treaty with The shaving brand Gillette, owned the United States, but seldom extraby Proctor & Gamble, left 11 months dites its own nationals. However, legal ago and told the newspaper Folha de authorities in Brazil are reported to S.Paulo at the time that “it is committed be co-operating with their American to sound ethics and seeks partners who counterparts in pursuing Del Nero and correspond with our values.”

Teixeira.

Erich Beting, the owner of Brazilian Del Nero is reported not to have travsports marketing company Maquina do elled outside Brazil since he fled Zurich, Esporte, said Brazil’s economic crisis is Switzerland, in the wake of the FIFA also playing a role in the exits. He said raid, and seems unlikely to attend the sponsors overpaid in the run-up to Bra- 2018 World Cup in Russia, where Brazil zil’s 2014 World Cup. will be a favourite.

“The amounts CBF was getting were Del Nero has acknowledged he earns very high, mainly because of the tour- about 200,000 reals monthly ($60,000), nament being played here,” Beting told which the Sao Paulo lawyer has deThe Associated Press. “Brazil’s economy scribed as “too little.” crisis is making companies rethink their The Sao Paulo newspaper Estadao investments.” also reported last year that members of The CBF’s website shows income from the Brazilian national team have been sponsorships soared in the run-up to the selected by sponsors — rather than the 2014 World Cup. coach — that want only the most “marSponsorship income for 2012 was 235 ketable” players picked. million reals (now $70 million), and The CBF denied the allegations. ■

MALOLOS CITY, BULACAN — Basketball superstar LA Tenorio of crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel team in the Philippine Basketball Association told young athletes of Bulacan that the province could become the breeding ground of Olympic champion.

Tenorio, who was the guest of honor during the opening of the 4th Bulacan Collegiate Athletic Association (BCAA) on Tuesday, hailed Malolos City Mayor Christian D. Natividad for organizing such a sporting event that aims to hone the skills of young Bulacan athletes.

“The Malolos residents and the Bulakenyo youth are lucky because they

have Mayor Natividad who is doing this kind of sports program. I do believe that time will come that there will be athlete from this province who will bring home medals like the he elusive Olympic gold medal,” Tenorio, a former member of the Gilas Pilipinas basketball team, said.

He also told the young athletes to never give up and always do their best.

Natividad, for his part, thanked the presidents and officials of different colleges and universities in Bulacan for their unwavering support in making BCAA one of the most awaited sporting events in the province.

Natividad also commended Jose Anthony Villanueva, head of the city sports department, for a job well done in organizing the 4th BCAA games. ■

Marikina Shoe... his meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry and at the 115th anniversary of police service in Camp Crame.

Material for the celebrated shoes cost P2,800 (plus P350 for labor). Santos admits it took some time to finish as he had not enough money to buy the material.

He says such shoes would cost P4,500 in Marikina; P8,000 at SM; and P12,000 if exported.

Now the cost of his shoes “halos nagdoble,” he says, not because the instant popularity has made him hike his price but the customers themselves would of❰❰ 27

fer to add to his pricing. He reveals the President has ordered a few more pairs, of the same style though in various color tones, but instead of the standard P4,000, the President has offered: Why not make it P6,000?

Santos says he wouldn’t have asked to be paid as he has a lot to thank the President for. The instant celebrityhood has given him a slot to showcase his creations at the ongoing Shoe Festival.

And on the façade of the dilapidated workshop of this mamang sapatero, one establishment has put up a tarpaulin that reads: “Pride of Marikina.” ■

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Please submit a current resume to fabio@redpathfoods.com

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30

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Business Kids and value of their savings in an expanding economy

BY JOANN SANTIAGO Philippines News Agency

conduct, and home economics, particularly on entrepreneurship.

BSP Corporate Affairs Office (CORAO) Director Fe Dela Cruz, in an interview, said the tie-up between the two government agencies proved to be so beneficial as it did not only enable the central bank to push its financial education program but really ingrained among the students the value of savings.

“It was a good one because we were able to establish a linkage between the classroom and the actual practice of opening a deposit,” Dela Cruz said.

The program also involved the banks, which were tapped to provide savings account products for kids sans the maintaining balance and an opening balance of only Php100.

Initially, 12 bank-members of the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) joined the program.

The program faced a slow start since the financial institutions were not sure how many

cluded the high school students and the public in general.

“That re-emphasized the important of savings and for MANILA — Are Filipinos ready the banks to collect these savto take advantage of the impact ings for lending to productive of the rising economy? Do they activities that will generate have the know-how on opporjobs,” she said. tunities available to them?

Since the program was iniAs the Philippine economy tially for students in the elecontinues to expand, along mentary level, Dela Cruz said with people’s increased income they were currently improvand capacity to save, Filipinos ing it to include high school need financial knowledge and students. the right opportunities to help Bank accounts of students them take advantage of the under the “Banking on the economy’s growth.

Future” program are only up And where should the govto those who are 12 years old. ernment start?

Beyond this age, the bank acThe Bangko Sentral ng Pilipicounts are upgraded into regunas (BSP) and the Department lar deposits accounts, thus, of Education (DepEd) started it they lost the no maintaining with the kids. They have formed balance clause. a partnership in educating the “That’s why we’re really kids on the value of savings. working on extending the proThe two agencies came into gram,” Dela Cruz said. the picture in 2007 after eduAnother program targeted cators from the University of to teach kids about the value the Philippines (UP) and the of money is the “Tulong Barya Ateneo de Manila University Para sa Eskwela”, a coin recir(ADMU), master teachers and culation program launched in school princi2006. pals from pubThis involves lic schools and the distribution well-known of coin banks in economists were It made the kids imbibe the discipline schools, banks brought togethof savings for the future. They already and business eser to formulate have the vision of what they want to t a b l i s h m e n t s. modules for the be and how they can succeed in the Money collected students. future. from this drive These econoare put together mists include Dr. for the construcSolita Monsod, tion of class popularly known as Mareng students would join the pro- rooms all over the country.

Winnie, media personality and gram and because of the issue Dela Cruz said they had a a writer; Dr. Vicente Valdepe- about the carrying cost. nationwide awareness and inñas, former Economic Planning The kiddie accounts carries formation campaign for this Secretary and Director-Gen- a cost but do not provide the program, which was warmly reeral of the National Economic banks yields just like the regu- ceived by school officials. and Development Authority lar deposit accounts.

She cited an elementary (NEDA), and current member Dela Cruz said these appre- school in Dumaguete City, of the central bank’s policy- hensions were eradicated as where the kids brought their making Monetary Board (MB), time pass and in 1999, during own coin banks. former MB member Juanita the 60th anniversary of the old “The coin banks were placed Amatong and BSP Governor Philippine Central Bank, offi- on a table on stage but since Amando Tetangco Jr. cials of the central bank and the there are lots of coin banks The modules are for three financial institutions inked an the others were placed on the entry-subjects – Heyograpiya, agreement supporting not only stage’s floor. You can see that the Kasaysayan at Sibika (HEKA- the “Banking on the Future” coin banks are really heavy beSI) or geography, history and savings programs for the el- cause you can see the impact of civics; good manners and right ementary students but also in- its weight on the table,” she said. www.canadianinquirer.net

“It was so amazing because the kids, teachers and even the parents gave their full support knowing that it will benefit them,” she said.

Public schools serve as temporary shelters during disasters and calamities and polling precincts during elections, thus, the big impact of the “Tulong Barya para sa Eskwela,” she said.

“It was a good introduction to the kids about the importance of small things, which when put together can make a real difference,” she said.

“It made the kids imbibe the discipline of savings for the future. They already have the vision of what they want to be and how they can succeed in the future,” she said.

Asked on her rating on the program’s success , Dela Cruz said the rise in the number of kids opening their own deposit accounts was a solid proof that the program was a win-win solution to encourage kids to save early on.

To date, there are about 700,000 kiddie savers account nationwide but Dela Cruz said BSP Governor Tetangco’s goal was for this to hit one million.

Each bank has its own strategy to encourage more savers.

Some banks have allocated specific place in their branches for kids, who are treated to an

audio visual presentation about savings. Some banks provide lunch bags or art materials upon opening of kiddie accounts while others extend insurance coverage.

Dela Cruz said some banks even sent their personnel to the schools to collect the students’ deposits.

She stressed that one thing is for sure, banks that are part of this program have passed regulatory requirements in terms of soundness of their operations.

“This is also a way of nurturing future clients, one way of getting their loyalty. Once these students have their own jobs they will need bank services and this is where banks can gain from,” she added.

Philippine banks are still funded mostly by deposits.

BSP data show that as of endJune 2016, total deposits placed in the country’s banking system amounted to Php9.65 trillion covering 52.4 million accounts.

Most of these deposits have amounts of Php5,000 and below, numbering to about 33.86 million.

Deposits accounts amounting to Php15,000.01-Php40,000 came in second at 3.99 million while deposits amounting from Php5,000.01-Php10,000 were on the third place with 3.43 million accounts. ■

Business

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

31

DTI sees more perks for foreign investors

BY AMY R. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) wants to remove the current fiscal incentive regime’s “export and nationality bias” in order to allow more foreign businesses to set up shop in the country.

“The DTI is in favor of pushing for a liberalized Philippine economy to allow the entry of more players in local industries where foreign ownership or participation is currently restricted. We are reviewing the Foreign Investment Negative List in order to open activities where foreign equity is limited.

Our target is to open up industries that could create high quality jobs and income,” Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said during a forum orga-

nized by the Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

He said this was in line with the current administration’s thrust towards modernizing the existing incentive system.

“We are also pushing at the Board of Investments (BOI) for a modernized incentive system.

(Currently) in the BOI, we’re only allowed to give incentives mostly to domestic companies or to companies that have a maximum 40 percent foreign ownership, except for companies that are going into exports. So we’d like to remove that export bias and nationality bias, because for us, the strong growth of the Philippine economy is actually the biggest attraction for any company to go here,” Rodolfo said.

Creation of jobs He said the nationality of companies and its owners does

not matter. “What matters are the jobs that are being created in this country.”

The Philippines enjoyed a strong economic growth of 7.1 percent in the third quarter, making the country the fastest growing nation among major Asian economies.

Inflation also remained muted at 2.3 percent as of October 2016.

Rodolfo noted foreign direct investments posted net inflows of $4.2 billion for the first semester of 2016, almost 95 percent higher than the $2.2 billion recorded in the same period a year ago. Total BOI foreign and local investment approvals from January to September 2016 also increased by more than 48 percent to P286 billion compared to the same period last year.

“Our financial and banking

PHILIPPINE'S BEST. Various products made of bamboo highlight the versatility of

this evergreen plant belonging to the grass family as raw material.

CATHERINE J. TEVES / PNA

systems are healthy and robust and our credit rating continues to receive stable and positive investment grades. Many analysts believe that the economic growth momentum is likely to be sustained under the lead-

ership of President Duterte…

Business and consumer confidence are expected to remain strong to meet our full year [gross domestic product] target of 6 to 7 percent,” the trade official added. ■

Big banks bet BSP will hike rates PSEi, PHP weakens as FOMC meeting nears

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer

AGAINST THE backdrop of strong domestic economic growth and rising consumer price pressures, the inflationtargeting Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is seen to turn hawkish or biased for monetary tightening by next year.

At least three financial institutions—Citigroup, Bank of the Philippine Islands and Nomura—have projected interest rate increases by the BSP ranging from a low of 25 basis points to as much as half a percentage point next year.

On the other hand, two financial institutions—HSBC and Barclays—do not see the BSP turning hawkish anytime soon.

Instead, HSBC even called for a 1-percentage point reduction in the reserve requirement on banks within the first half of 2017.

Both BPI and Citigroup expected a 25-basis-point rate increase next year. BPI expected the rate adjustment to come by mid-2017 while Citi expected one rate increase by the fourth quarter of next year.

“When inflation next year starts exhibiting a trend to-

ward a persistent breach of the 4-percent inflation target, BSP is likely to hike. Wesee this taking place near mid-2017. We only see one hike for now,” BPI economist Emilio Neri Jr. said on Friday.

Citi Philippines economist Jun Trinidad said in a research note on Friday that the BSP had the “luxury of time in deciding when to tighten its policy rate stance in view of upside risk to the inflation outlook.”

“Meanwhile, in the near term, it can sustain prevailing low interest rates to mitigate downside risk to the growth outlook,” he said.

Last week, it was reported that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had expanded by 7.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, beating all expectations. This brought nine-month average GDP growth to 7 percent, making the Philippines the fastest-growing economy in the region.

On its policy rate-setting meeting last Nov. 10, the BSP kept its overnight borrowing rate or reverse repurchase (RRP) facility at 3 percent. The corresponding interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also kept steady along with the reserve requirement ratios. While the

BSP sees the country’s inflation rate settling slightly below the lower edge of the 2- to 4-percent target range in 2016, it is projected to rise toward the mid-point of the target range in 2017 and 2018 owing largely to the pending petitions for adjustments in electricity rates along with the proposed tax policy reform program.

Citi expects Philippine inflation probing 3 percent by the late first quarter 2017 and settling in the BSP’s mid-point 3-percent target in the second half of 2017. Accelerating the rate tightening event is the risk to Citi’s base case rate increase of 25 basis points in the fourth quarter of next year.

For its part, Nomura said in a Nov. 17 research note that the country’s solid growth outlook and rising inflation could prompt the BSP to raise rates by a cumulative 50 basis points in the first half of next year.

Barclays, on the other hand, said in a research note last week that there would likely be no change in the BSP’s stance for some time.

“Furthermore, we believe that a rate hike would only be likely if growth remained elevated around current levels ❱❱ PAGE 33 Big banks

www.canadianinquirer.net

BY JOANN SANTIAGO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Heightened expectations of a hike in the Federal Reserve rates in December continue to spoil the Philippines’ equities markets and the local currency on Monday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 1.26 percent, or 88.67 points, to 6,979.06 points.

All the other indices followed, with the All Shares down by 0.74 percent, or 31.66 points, to 4,222.62 points.

The Property index led the sectoral indices with 1.90 percent drop trailed by the Mining and Oil with 1.28 percent and Holding Firms, 1.16 points.

The Services contracted by 0.99 percent, the Financials by 0.72 percent and the Industrial by 0.20 percent.

Total volume of trade involved 1.97 billion shares amounting to Php5.67 billion.

It was a tight fight between gainers losers at 88 to 86 while 49 stocks were unchanged.

This trend in the equities market negatively affected the peso, which finished the day at

49.83, its weakest after its 49.99 finish on Nov. 20, 2008.

A trader said risk aversion due to political uncertainties in the US along with anticipations for a Fed rate increase during the Dec. 13-14, 2016 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) were the main reasons for the peso’s current depreciation.

“Profit taking might help the peso a bit in the coming days but it’s generally on a depreciation trend,” the trader said.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said factors affecting the peso came from both the local and external events.

He said weakening of the country’s trade balance was among the reasons for the peso’s weakness but noted that this was not really bad because of strong domestic demand.

“The strong domestic demand would keep overall economic growth at trend or above trend. But the cost is a widening trade deficit,” he said.

Uncertainties on the policies of US president-elect Donald Trump was also among the major factors in the peso’s weakness, he added. ■

32

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Technology How did troll army take over the online world?

Sharpen your ‘crap detector.’ Know how it operates

BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Philippine Daily Inquirer ERNEST HEMINGWAY once said that to be a great writer, you needed “a built-in, shockproof crap detector.” These days, you need one just to navigate the internet.

The online world was supposed to be a zone of free expression, a democratic space where the truth would eventually prevail, because netizens were essentially rational, thinking beings capable of discerning fact from fiction, fabrication, false assumptions, wishful thinking, obfuscation, misdirection, propaganda, spin, half-truths, untruths and all manner of skullduggery.

Troll army

That was before special-interest groups and their army of trolls took over.

Having tested and proven the effectiveness of social media in running political campaigns, partisan groups now routinely use web brigades to push propaganda to sway public opinion and advance their own agendas.

By inserting themselves into normal discourse on social media sites, this troll army attempts to give news events and current issues the spin that is to their own advantage.

The loudest noise seems to be coming from netizens both for and against the controversial policies of President Duterte.

The relative anonymity of cyberspace has a way of encouraging netizens to give free rein to their worst tendencies, special-

ly where emotionallycharged political and social issues are concerned. Online discussions, say about the war on drugs and the alleged extrajudicial killings that have accompanied it, tend to escalate into virtual screaming matches where threats, curses, name-calling and other hate speech are par for the course.

Now the web has turned into an anarchic free-for-all where the mob rules, where “the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity,” as William Butler Yeats foresaw in his apocalyptic poem “The Second Coming.”

No wonder some evangelical Christians consider the internet the new Tower of Babel, where God, after the deluge, “confused the language of the whole world.”

Responsible use

In a recent hearing to address the problem of “cyberbullying and misinformation on social media,” the Senate called on the Department of Education to take measures to educate the youth on the responsible use of social media, and to stop trolls from spreading “malicious mis-

information,” fake news and hate speech.

Predictably, these moves soon sparked a deluge of online venom from netizens (and of course, trolls), not least because the proponents happened to be Senators Leila de Lima, a vocal critic of Duterte, and Sen. Bam Aquino, cousin of the former president.

The gist of the spew is that the hearing was part of a sinister

“yellow” conspiracy to muzzle free speech, specially since proDuterte sites apparently have the numbers on social media.

The conspiracy theory gained steam when the Senate hearing was linked to an online petition to close down the popular Mocha Uson Blog, a pro-Duterte Facebook page which has been accused of spreading misinformation through, among other things, links to fake news sites.

But even as the petition

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gathered momentum, the petitioner himself was swamped by trolls, and shut down by Uson’s supporters.

Ironically, even as this was going on, free speech advocates spoke up in defense of Uson’s right to express her views, and the right of her four million followers to believe her.

more and more young people get their news from social media sites. Studies have also shown that many online news sites publish stories with little or no effort to verify them.

Given this state of affairs, Filipinos would do well to follow Hemingway’s prescription when going online.

Sinister ‘conspiracy’

Trolling infrastructure

Numbers are important in the world of social media.

Diehard Duterte supporters boast that the Mocha Uson

Blog beats both the news site Rappler and this paper, hands down, in terms of followers, likes, shares and engagement. They cite this as proof that people no longer trust the mainstream media, which they see as “biased” against President Duterte.

The most extreme among them seem convinced that mainstream media are pawns of a sinister “yellow” conspiracy to bring him down.

Global trends indicate that

Learning the infrastructure of misinformation is a good place to start developing your own “crap detector.”

It is said that the troll armies are like call center operations, and that there are at least three such huge operations in Metro Manila and in the north.

Trolls are the basic building blocks of that infrastructure. Originally someone who inserts himself into an online conversation to provoke a reaction or disrupt the discussion, today’s trolls are as likely to be pursuing specific communications objectives in support of one group against its perceived rival groups.

According to one study, organized online trolling is the most effective way to troll pages or groups to push an agenda. Often run through “boiler room”type operations, these web brigades possess a structure: Central Command is in charge of formulating core messages and online strategies.

Writers compose boilerplate responses to the issues selected by the Central Command, and in some cases actual articles for posting on social media and ❱❱ PAGE 36 How did

Technology

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

33

Why fingers make handy, if not foolproof, digital keys

BY BRANDON BAILEY The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — It sounds like a great idea: Forget passwords, and instead lock your phone or computer with your fingerprint. It’s a convenient form of security — though it’s also perhaps not as safe as you’d think.

In their rush to do away with problematic passwords, Apple, Microsoft and other tech companies are nudging consumers to use their own fingerprints, faces and eyes as digital keys.

Smartphones and other devices increasingly feature scanners that can verify your identity via these “biometric” signatures in order to unlock a gadget, sign into web accounts and authorize electronic payments.

But there are drawbacks: Hackers could still steal your fingerprint — or its digital representation. Police may have broader legal powers to make you unlock your phone. And socalled “biometric” systems are so convenient they could lull users into a false sense of security.

“We may expect too much from biometrics. No security systems are perfect,” said Anil Jain, a computer science professor at Michigan State University who helped police unlock a smartphone by using a digitally enhanced ink copy of the owner’s fingerprints.

Bypassing the password

Biometric security seems like a natural solution to wellknown problems with passwords. Far too many people choose weak and easily-guessed passwords like “123456” or

“password.” Many others reuse a single password across online accounts, all of which could be hacked if the password is compromised. And of course some use no password at all when they can get away with it, as many phones allow.

As electronic sensors and microprocessors have grown cheaper and more powerful, gadget makers have started adding biometric sensors to familiar products.

Apple’s iPhone 5S, launched in 2013, introduced fingerprint scanners to a mass audience, and rival phone makers quickly followed suit. Microsoft built biometric capabilities into the latest version of its Windows 10 software, so you can unlock your PC by briefly looking at the screen. Samsung is now touting an iris-scanning system in its latest Galaxy Note devices.

All those systems are based on the notion that each user’s fingerprint — or face, or iris — is unique. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be reproduced.

Jain, the Michigan State researcher, proved that earlier this year when a local police department asked for help unlocking a fingerprint-protected Samsung phone. The phone’s owner was dead, but police had the owner’s fingerprints on file.

Jain and two associates made a digital copy of the prints, enhanced them and then printed them out with special ink that mimics the conductive properties of human skin.

“We tried the right thumb and it worked right away,” Jain said.

Researchers at the Univer-

sity of North Carolina, meanwhile, fooled some commercial face-detection systems by using photos they found on the social media accounts of test subjects.

They used the photos to create a three-dimensional image, enhanced with virtual reality algorithms. The spoof didn’t work every time, and the researchers found it could be foiled by cameras with infrared sensors. (The Microsoft face-recognition system uses infrared-capable cameras for extra precision.)

But some experts believe any biometric system can be cracked with sufficient determination. All it takes are simulated images of a person’s fingerprint, face or even iris pattern. And if someone manages that, you can’t exactly change your fingerprint or facial features as you would a stolen password.

To make such theft more difficult, biometric-equipped phones and computers typically encrypt fingerprints and similar data and store them lo-

cally, not in the “cloud” where hackers might lift them from company servers. But many biometrics can be found elsewhere. You might easily leave your fingerprint on a drinking glass, for instance. Or it might be stored in a different database; Jain pointed to the 2015 computer breach at federal Office of Personnel Management, which compromised the files — including fingerprints — of millions of federal employees.

Most crooks won’t go to that much trouble. But some experts have voiced a different concern — that biometrics could undermine important legal rights.

U.S. courts have ruled that authorities can’t legally require individuals to give up their passwords, since the Fifth Amendment says you can’t be forced to testify or provide incriminating information against yourself.

In the last two years, however, judges in Virginia and Texas have ordered individuals to

unlock their phones with their fingerprints.

There’s a legal distinction between something you know, like a password, and something you possess, like a physical key or a fingerprint, said Marcia Hofmann, a San Francisco attorney who specializes in privacy and computer security.

While you can’t be forced to reveal the combination of a safe, she noted, the Supreme Court has said you can be required to turn over a physical key to unlock a door.

“Getting your thumb print or iris scan is not the same as making you speak,” agreed Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University.

“In practice it’s another way of getting access to the computer, but through a very different means.”

The issue hasn’t been tested yet in higher courts, though it’s likely just a matter of time.

Even with vulnerabilities, some analysts say the convenience of biometric locks is a plus — not least because it may give the password-averse another easy option to secure their devices. “It’s bringing secure authentication to the masses,” said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, a tech policy expert at the non-profit Center for Democracy and Technology.

Others say the best approach would combine biometric systems with other protections, such as a strong password or PIN. “It’s good to see biometrics being used more, because it adds another factor for security,” said Jain. “But using multiple security measures is the best defence.” ■

said that despite upside risks to inflation, the BSP would have scope to keep rates on hold through 2017, but noted that term deposit rates were rising.

“While the BSP should consider numerous global and domestic variables, the relative stability of the Philippine economy amid tepid inflation—despite some upside risks stemming from FX (foreign ex-

change) and utility tax hikes— reduces the need to change policy for now, but larger term deposit auction volumes are already resulting in incremental tightening,” HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra said in a research note on Nov. 17.

HSBC said it believed that a 100-basis point cut in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for banks would be likely over

the next six months, but this should have a negligible impact on overall bank lending given still low loan-to-deposit ratios.

Based on our anecdotal discussions with banks’ management, the country’s largest banks are unlikely to increase lending on the back of a RRR cut, but it would improve internal liquidity management.

Moreover, it would facilitate

the lending operations of foreign banks ramping up operations in the Philippines. This would provide a fillip for the policy objective of increasing banking coverage ratios,” he said.

The HSBC economist said there had been some incremental tightening in the financial system despite rates staying on hold. ■

Lifting prints, faking faces

Even with vulnerabilities, some analysts say the convenience of biometric locks is a plus — not least because it may give the password-averse another easy option to secure their devices.

Compelled to unlock

Big banks... with inflation moving high enough to justify an increase in rates.

Although there are rising uncertainties at a global level, we think the Philippines’ strong external position and low level of short- term debt provide the BSP with enough policy space to maintain an accommodative stance,” it said.

British banking giant HSBC ❰❰ 31

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

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35

Travel In volcanic Iceland, eruptions bring risk, and tourism boom

BY JILL LAWLESS The Associated Press VIK, ICELAND — An Icelandic volcano brought much of the world’s air travel to a halt. And then it brought the world to Iceland.

Few outside this island nation had heard of Eyjafjallajokull — and even fewer could pronounce it — when the volcano erupted in April 2010 after two centuries of silence, spewing an ash cloud that closed Europe’s airspace and grounded millions of travellers.

Iceland responded to its global notoriety with savvy selfpromotion, sparking a tourism boom to a country whose landscape of hardened lava, gushing geysers and steaming hot springs has a stark beauty that’s like nowhere else on Earth.

So the prospect of a new eruption brings a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

“We are kind of waiting for it,” said Thordis Olafsdottir, who runs the tourist office in Vik, a village at the base of Katla, a volcano that recently began rumbling after decades of quiet.

“It has been almost 100 years since it erupted,” she said. “It is ready.”

Like many Icelanders, Olafsdottir has a matter-of-fact attitude to life on this unpredictable island, whose hazards include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, avalanches and floods, as well as volatile North Atlantic weather that can bring rain, sleet, hail, snow and sunshine in one day.

Iceland is home to 32 active volcanic sites , and its history is punctuated with eruptions, some of them catastrophic. The 1783 eruption of Laki spewed a toxic cloud over Europe, killing tens of thousands of people and sparking famine when crops failed. Some historians cite it as a contributing factor to the French Revolution.

Most other volcanoes remained largely a local threat —

until Eyjafjallajokull (ay-yahFYAH’-lah-yer-kuhl) blew its top in April 2010. Aviation authorities closed much of European airspace for five days out of fears volcanic ash could damage jet engines, and the phones at Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection started ringing off the hook.

“News agencies that we didn’t even know existed — countries we didn’t know existed — were calling us,” said the department’s Detective Chief Inspector Rognvaldur Olafsson. “We were even getting phone calls from the public, and emails: ‘You have to do something about this volcano. Can you make it stop?”’

Iceland was briefly infamous as the country that stopped the world. But tourism authorities — realizing there’s no such thing as bad publicity — responded with a clever advertising campaign, creating TV and online ads in which Icelanders and visitors described how they were “Inspired by Iceland.”

News footage of lava-spewing craters helped make the country look cool and beautiful, with a hint of danger.

Suddenly, Iceland was hot.

Some 1.8 million people — almost six times the country’s population — are expected to visit this year, up from half a million in 2010. They are an economic godsend to a country still scarred by the 2008 financial crisis, which collapsed Iceland’s banks and sent unemployment soaring.

Katla has helped turn sleepy Vik, a community of 300 people some 110 miles (180 kilometres) east of the capital, Reykjavik, into a tourism hotspot. On a busy day it attracts hundreds of visitors who come to see the stark black sand beach, where jagged columns of basalt rock rise from the sea, and to hike up the Myrdalsjokull glacier, under which the volcano lies, invisible but rumbling.

Katla is one of Iceland’s largest and most feared volcanoes.

Some 1.8 million people — almost six times the country’s population — are expected to visit this year, up from half a million in 2010. They are an economic godsend to a country still scarred by the 2008 financial crisis, which collapsed Iceland’s banks and sent unemployment soaring.

Its last eruption, in 1918, lasted almost a month, unleashed floodwaters the size of the Amazon and extended Iceland’s coast by 3 miles (5 kilometres).

Like about half of Iceland’s volcanoes, it lies under glacial ice hundreds of meters (yards) thick. Eruptions melt the icecap, unleashing floodwaters that can destroy roads, buildings and power lines, and send icebergs the size of houses hurtling downhill. There are also risks from ash, lava and poisonous gases spewed by the volcano.

But Vik — home to a spiffy Katla information centre — is eager for volcano-related opportunities. Olafsdottir says eruptions are an annoyance and a danger, but “after, it’s great.”

Visitors flock to see stillwarm lava and newly created craters. The eruption of the Bardarbunga volcano in 2014 even created a new tourist attraction — a natural hot tub where warm lava meets glacier water.

But Iceland’s volcanoes remain potentially lethal. Since Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland has improved its already well-developed system of volcano monitoring, warning and emergency response.

At the Icelandic Meteorological Office in Reykjavik, meteorologists, seismologists and volcanologists watch hundreds of sensors that monitor seismic activity, signs of volcanic inflation and gas emissions — evidence that magma from deep underground is being pushed to the surface.

Still, said Sigrun Karlsdottir, the Met Office director of natural hazards: “It is almost impossible to say when the next eruption will take place.”

“We just have to follow very closely what is ongoing, to try to detect the precursors,” she said.

The biggest earthquakes in decades rattled Katla in late September, prompting authorities to raise their alert level and ramp up emergency procedures. The earthquakes subsided, but scientists say Katla usually erupts twice a century and is long overdue.

When it blows, residents in Vik may have only 15 minutes before they are enveloped in pitch black ash. Locals are well rehearsed in what to do — head to the church perched on a hill, the highest spot in town.

Authorities are developing new ways of making sure visitors know it, too. Police can

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send text messages to everyone in an affected area, and also issue safety warnings through television, radio, websites and social media.

“Trying to get that information across has always been a challenge, but it’s more of a challenge now because we have so much more of tourism than we used to have,” said Olafsson.

He says tourists are most welcome in Iceland, even if they have a tendency to do silly things, like go hiking in the mountains wearing sneakers and a T-shirt or climb a volcano without taking precautions.

So many have had to be retrieved by Iceland’s volunteer search-and-rescue teams that authorities discussed charging them a fee. The idea was rejected in case it discouraged travellers from seeking help.

Like almost everyone in Iceland, Olafsson wants tourists to see his country as safe and welcoming — but to stay alert.

“If you were going to be worried about anything that might happen you’d probably be best staying at home,” he said.

“You have to respect nature when you come to Iceland, and you have to be aware of where you are and what can happen.” ■

36

Travel

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

FRIDAY

Beyond rooms and homes: Airbnb adding tours and activities

BY BRANDON BAILEY The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Not content with just renting out spare rooms and vacant homes, Airbnb is adding local tours and activities like surfing lessons and pub crawls to its travel services in major cities around the world.

With the new features announced Thursday, the fast-growing online rental company is hoping to tap into leisure travellers’ desire for distinctive “experiences” that make them feel more connected with the places they visit, travel industry analysts say.

The move also shows the ambitions of a company that’s already one of the world’s fastest-growing privately held firms. Airbnb, which boasts millions of rental listings around the world, has been valued at $30 billion — though it’s run into growing pains in some cities where local officials complain the boom in short-term rentals is reducing longterm housing for residents.

Airbnb’s new guided activities include things like surfing lessons or cooking class led by a local chef, a pub crawl through a trendy nightclub district or even a truffle hunt in Tuscany. The company has been testing the services in a few cities over the last year, enlisting local hosts as guides. It’s expanding to 12 cities, while promising 50 by next year.

“They want to be viewed as more of a travel company and not just an alternative lodging firm,” said Henry Harteveldt, an analyst with Atmosphere Research.

“Our research shows travellers spend as much as 60 per cent of their travel budget at their destination. So they want to tap into that very large revenue stream.”

The new services add to a set of online guides that Airbnb introduced earlier this year that list restaurants, outings and other attractions recommended

by Airbnb hosts. Airbnb says it will also recommend “meet-ups,” or impromptu gatherings, and other activities keyed to travellers’ interest in topics like food, history, music or local crafts.

Travellers can already get similar recommendations from a variety of online services, including popular sites like Google and Facebook. But Airbnb hopes travellers will find it easier to use the new services within its own mobile app or website.

Similarly, the company is partnering with online booking app Resy to let travellers make restaurant reservations through Airbnb — in competition with services like OpenTable and Yelp.

In an interview, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said he hopes to add more services, including the ability to book airline flights.

Since the company launched in 2008, when the co-founders invited travellers to sleep on an air mattress in their San

Travellers can already get similar recommendations from a variety of online services, including popular sites like Google and Facebook.

Francisco loft, Airbnb has grown to be one of the world’s most valuable private startups by collecting fees when private hosts rent out accommodations listed on the site. It’s raised $3.9 billion from investors, according to CB Insights, which tracks venture funding.

Chesky declined to say if the company is profitable, although the Wall Street Journal reported last year that Airbnb was spending heavily to expand in more cities. The newspaper cited internal projections that forecast Airbnb to have nearly $1 billion in revenue last year and to become profitable by 2020.

Airbnb has run into regulatory battles in some cities, including New York and San Francisco, but Chesky said he’s

hopeful to resolve those issues.

The company also recently faced criticism after researchers reported some hosts appeared to reject rental applications from travellers whose names or photos indicated they were AfricanAmerican. In response, Chesky has apologized and said the company would institute new policies, including sensitivity training and an anti-discrimination pledge for hosts, developed with input from advocacy groups and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Chesky said Thursday that he’s committed to addressing discrimination, while adding: “I think this is something that we’re not going to be able to fix overnight.” ■

Part of the organism

portal.net.ph and du30newsinfo.com.

How did... other sites.

Graphic artists and videographers create memes and videos for posting.

Community Influencers create social media groups that can be used to spread the messages generated by Central Command. ❰❰ 32

Monitoring teams keep an eye on the opposition’s websites and pages, sometimes infiltrating them to gather ammunition against them. This is then fed back to Central Command so they can craft their responses.

Troll accounts then spread the messages.

“You inject the message into the real accounts, and they in turn will spread it to other people, and so on,” says a selfconfessed troll who worked for one such organized group.

“The real accounts are submerged by the trolls. If you are a real person with a real account and we convince you, you become part of the organism.”

Social media is also a numbers game where one’s power is measured in terms of followers, shares, likes and engagement. In this virtual world, one can “clone” oneself with relative ease by creating any number of fake accounts, or set up “bots” to do the trolling automatically, thereby amplifying one’s “voice.”

Another component of the troll ecosystem are fake news websites and websites with unverified information, with which social media sites and blogs often share broad objectives as well as content.

For instance, the aforementioned Mocha Uson Blog Facebook page often gets newsfeeds from pro-Duterte news sites such as scoopitph.com, trendingnews-

www.canadianinquirer.net

Echo chamber

This leads to the so-called “echo chamber” effect: the online community becomes an enclosed system where the core ideas of the reigning belief system are constantly reinforced, and opposing viewpoints are excluded or ridiculed.

The community exists in what is called a “filter bubble,” exposed only to ideas and opinions that they already agree with. Having “drunk the Kool-aid,” they are effectively inoculated from any outside ideas and dissenting opinions, like members of a cult.

Critical thinking is paralyzed.

“It’s social media mind conditioning,” says our former troll. He says the organized troll network he worked for even employed a psychologist to help craft messages that were more believable and persuasive.

A healthy dose of skepticism goes a long way in navigating today’s chaotic and confusing online environment. After all, it’s only misinformation if you believe it. ■

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2016

37

Food This hot cocktail is soothing and comforting on a cold day

BY THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA AFTER A snowy walk or long day on the slopes, there’s nothing like curling up under a warm blanket. Maybe you have a fire going and the dog asleep at your feet, with a good book just within reach.

But before you can relax, you need to warm up those cold hands and chilled bones. Before you settle in for your long winter’s nap, stir up this hot cider cocktail, featured at The Tavern at American Bounty at our campus in Hyde Park, New York.

Hot cocktails are inspired by the classic hot toddy, a curative mixture dating back centuries that includes whiskey, rum, or

brandy with hot water, a sweetener, and sometimes some spicing.

However you like your hot toddy, it should be soothing and comforting on a cold day.

In fact, hot toddies made with spirits, honey, and lemon juice are often used to ease the symptoms from our seasonal colds and coughs.

Our cider cocktail recipe begins with almond-flavoured amaretto and hot apple cider.

Bitters are added to help balance the sweetness from the cider (and the caramel sauce and whipped cream we’ll add later). Bitters are a blend of naturally sour or bitter botanical flavours — like orange peel or herbs. In cocktails, they add a concentrated dose of bitterness without diluting the primary

flavours in the drink.

There are no rules when it comes to a hot cocktail, and this recipe can be reformulated to suit your mood or the contents of your liquor cabinet. In place of amaretto, you can use any of your favourite spirits, like whiskey or apple brandy. If you like infused spirits or syrups (a great make-at-home holiday gift), a hot cocktail is the perfect way to show them off.

Cinnamon-infused bourbon or cardamom-infused simple syrup are great starts to making this recipe your own.

Hot cocktails are the perfect treat for a little bit of quiet time, but they are also an excellent make-ahead recipe when you are hosting winter parties.

They can be mixed and kept warm in a crock pot or on the

stovetop over a very low flame.

Be sure to put some of the hot apple cider aside before adding the amaretto, for children and guests who choose not to partake. Garnish your party drinks with freshly made whipped cream, our caramel sauce, and

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a cinnamon stick for a particularly Instagram-worthy presentation.

Hot cider cocktail

Start to finish: 20 minutes ❱❱ PAGE 38 This hot

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Food

NOVEMBER 25, 2016

Cheese fondue that’s healthy thanks to a sneaky ingredient

BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press CHEESE FONDUE is the ultimate winter comfort food. Living in France in my early 30s, I fell in love with the classic recipe made with crisp white wine and nutty gruyere cheese.

One of my favourite spots in Paris was a restaurant whose named translated literally into “Bread, Wine, and Cheese” that was hidden away in a cozy underground cave with low ceilings. Stepping inside from invariably chilly rainy Paris nights, we’d be hit with an appealingly musty aroma, like a freshly-popped wine cork combined with heady, fatty, aged cheeses.

French fondue is life-changing. And I’ve found a way to capture all that flavour for a fraction of the calories. Just kidding. Truth is, I can’t completely mimic my beloved winecave version of melted bliss.

But, I can get close enough to scratch the cheese-fondue itch in a dip while staying reasonably healthy, thanks to a sneaky ingredient: white beans.

Cooked white beans add lush body to the dip, so I can swap out a bunch of the cheese and heavy cream, bringing the calories and fat way down. Low-fat cream cheese, or Neufchatel, boosts the cheesy factor, so a mere half cup of high-quality grated gruyere goes a long way to keeping the dip squarely in the cheese-fondue flavour profile, helped by dry mustard and a dash of ground nutmeg.

The beans are also a wise way to boost the nutrient profile — one cup of white beans adds 19 grams of protein and 13 grams of fiber. If you are entertaining on a budget, including frugalfriendly beans in your menu to stretch more expensive ingredients (like gruyere) is a smart move — guests will be satisfied with the extra fiber and protein.

Since this is a dip, it pairs beautifully with veggies to create a stellar winter crudite — steam up cubes of butternut squash if you really want to winterize.

The beans offer a final benefit, and I’ve saved the best for last. Blended beans stabilize the cheesy dip, so you can

This hot...

Makes one drink

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• 2 ounces amaretto • 6 ounces warm apple cider • 1 dash bitters • Whipped Cream, as needed (recipe follows) • Caramel Sauce, as needed (recipe follows) • Combine amaretto, warm cider, and bitters in an Irish coffee mug or regular coffee mug. Top with fresh whipped cream and caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce

Makes about 2 cups

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream • 3/4 cup sugar • 1/2 cup light corn syrup • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

serve it warm, room temperature, or chilled — a relief if you are entertaining this holiday and don’t want to worry about cheese congealing. This dip will stay perfectly creamy all partylong.

Cheese fondue dip

Start to finish: 15 minutes Servings: Approximately 8

• 1/2 cup sliced shallot (about 2 large shallots) • 1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage • 2 teaspoons unsalted butter • 2 teaspoons flour • 1/2 cup dry white wine • 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth, divided • 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese (“light cream cheese”) • 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard • pinch ground nutmeg • pinch ground black pepper • 1 cup cooked white beans, drained and rinsed if canned Cook the shallot and sage in the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, until shallots are soft (but not brown),

about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour and over the shallots and cook for 1 minute, stirring.

Deglaze the pan with the wine, and let bubble for a minute to let the alcohol evaporate.

Add 1/4 cup of the broth and stir. Add the Neufchatel cheese and stir as it melts and creates a thick, creamy mixture, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the gruyere cheese and turn off the heat — it will melt with the residual heat.

Let mixture cool a few minutes.

Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/4 cup broth, lemon juice, dried mustard, nutmeg, pepper and beans in a blender.

Blend on high until smooth, about 30 seconds. (If bean mixture is too thick to blend, add a tablespoon of water.) Scrape the cream cheese mixture into the blender and blend all together until very creamy, about 30 seconds.

Serve warm, room temperature or cold. ■ Nutrition information per serving: 118 calories; 48 calories from fat; 5 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 17 mg cholesterol; 122 mg sodium; 9 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 6 g protein. www.canadianinquirer.net

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Prepare an ice bath. Bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Slowly cook to a golden brown without stirring, 8 to 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and put the saucepan in the ice bath for 20 seconds to stop the cooking. Remove from the ice bath and stir in the butter.

Carefully stir in the hot cream, mixing until fully blended. To store the caramel sauce, transfer it to a clean bowl or jar, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Reheat the

sauce over low heat or in the microwave before serving.

Whipped Cream

Makes about 2 cups

• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar • 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Chill a stainless-steel bowl and the beaters of a handheld mixer, the whisk attachment of a stand mixer, or a balloon whisk.

Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and whip on medium speed until thickened, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to high and gradually add the confectioners’ sugar while whipping. Add the vanilla extract and continue to whip until the cream has the desired peak according to its intended use.

Soft peaks are good for dolloping cream, while firmer peaks are better if the cream is to be piped, used for topping, or folded into another mixture.

Note: If your cream starts to turn slightly yellow while you are whipping, it is close to being overwhipped and turning into butter. Fold in a small amount of unwhipped cream, if you have it, to rescue the texture. ■ Nutrition information per serving of the cocktail without cream or caramel sauce: 310 calories; 0 calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 19 mg sodium; 56 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 19 g sugar; 0 g protein.

I think... ❰❰ 25

Surreal

achieve something, you have to go out and get it,” she reflected.

Lotlot admitted to doubting herself many times—particularly on whether or not she would be able to fulfill her dream. “It took three months to build the store. Seeing the restaurant’s signage being put up was so surreal! I’ve dreamt of this many times. In the past, if I didn’t have enough money, I didn’t have the time or lacked confidence in myself that I would be able to accomplish it.

One of my passions is to cook.

So far, all those who have tasted my dishes liked them. I have

not poisoned anyone yet,” she quipped.

The South Grill offers chicken, steak, lamb and Lotlot’s very own recipe of pork roast belly. It was Janine who came up with the store’s name. To raise the funds for it, Lotlot got a little help from her friends.

“I asked them to partner with me and they immediately said yes, without asking what the concept was. The fact that they trusted my vision was more than enough for me. They all wanted to call it ‘Lotlot and Friends.’ I said, ‘We will not do that! No!’” “Lotlot and Friends” was a popular afternoon variety show in the 1980s that she hosted. ■

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NOVEMBER 25, 2016

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