Philippine Canadian Inquirer #252

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER JANUARY 20, 2017

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VOL. 1 NO. 252

Accused plunderer Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and his wife, Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado, find time to be together at the Sandiganbayan.

GRICG MONTEGRANDE / PDI

Duterte among world’s strongmen

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer THE US-BASED Human Rights Watch warns that “strongman leaders” like President Duterte are replacing accountable government and the rule of law with their own vision of growth and security while populist leaders like US President-elect Donald Trump promote the “politics of intolerance.” It says the best antidote to this is strong popular re-

action.— An international human rights group has lined up President Duterte alongside “strongman leaders” who have replaced accountable government and the rule of law with their own authority to ensure their countries’ growth and security.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), a USbased international organization of lawyers, journalists and academics, warned in its World Report 2017 that emerging

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PH awaits US official policy

17 House panel OKs traffic crisis bill ❱❱ PAGE 7

❱❱ PAGE 9 Duterte among

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Duterte: I will US Homeland Security lauds declare martial DOJ cybercrime office’s antilaw if I want to child pornography drive preserve my nation PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer

quired to submit a report to Congress within 48 hours after the proclamation of martial law or suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas DAVAO CITY—“I will declare corpus. Members of the Senate martial law if I want to and no- and the House of Representabody can stop me” if it is needed tives would then vote jointly to to preserve the country, Presi- revoke the proclamation or exdent Duterte said last night. tend its effectivity.

“I tell you now, if I have to deThe Supreme Court has the clare martial law, I will declare power to review the martial it ... to preserve my nation, peri- law declaration or suspension od,” Mr. Duterte said, speaking of the privilege of the writ of before members of the Davao habeas corpus if any citizen City Chamber of questioned the Commerce and sufficiency of the Industry at the factual basis for Marco Polo Hothe proclamatel.

I will really kill tion or suspen“I don’t care you (if you’re sion of the priviabout the Suinvolved in lege of the writ preme Court beillegal drugs). and promulgate cause the right a decision within to preserve one’s 30 days. life and my naCiting a postion, my country sibility of the transcends evCongress and the erything else, even the limita- Supreme Court taking opposite tions. If I want to and it will de- sides on the issue, Mr. Duterte teriorate into something really, believed the President will have really virulent, I will declare the final decision. He said the martial law if I want to. Walang delegates who crafted the 1987 makapigil sa akin (Nobody can Constitution had not considstop me),” Mr. Duterte said. ered this possibility.

He was addressing talk of a Last December, the President possible declaration of martial expressed his desire to amend law to push for a federal form the Constitution to make it less of government and prolong his difficult for any President to presidency. declare martial law, saying the “Those who are thinking, current safeguards were mere mostly Manileños, about mar- “reckless reaction” to what Filitial law lengthening my stay (in pinos experienced during maroffice), bullshit,” Mr. Duterte tial law under former President said. “I do not need the position Ferdinand Marcos. at this time of my life. I do not After giving mayors naneed it,” he added. tionwide a tongue-lashing at He said the martial law provi- Malacañang on Wednesday, the sions in the Constitution were President also announced last intended to defend the country night that he would summon but these were “destroyed by provincial governors next week the Cory Constitution because to apprise them of the complicof their hangover on martial ity of many local officials in the law.” narcotics trade.

Under the 1987 Constitu“I’ll be calling the governors tion, the President can declare next week,” he said, adding martial law in case of invasion, that it was intended to reiterinsurrection, or rebellion, but ate his seriousness in the war after 60 days, Congress must on drugs. decide on granting an exten“I will really kill you (if you’re sion if sought. involved in illegal drugs),” Mr. The President is also re- Duterte said. ■

MANILA — The US Homeland Security Investigation has commended the Department of Justice-Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC) for its intensified war against child pornography.

“This is a validation of our efforts to protect our children from the evils of exploitation and pornography,” Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said in a statement on Wednesday.

In a letter sent to the DOJ, the US Homeland Security Investigation, represented by its attaché, Ransom Avilla, thanked the agency for its cooperation and “tremendous assistance” in the Calvin Bernhardt child pornography case.

“Our Filipino youth, has always been and will always be, the hope of our future. They are our future. The DOJ will support all efforts to protect them.

Let this be a warning to preying

pedophiles, we will come after you,” Aguirre said after he received the communication.

The letter of gratitude, ended by stating, “This is an example on how our collective efforts can combat and bring to justice pedophiles involved in this horrific crime against children.”

Calvin Bernhardt, an American national, who was caught exploiting Filipino children in cyberspace, was convicted by a federal court due to five counts of child pornography and child exploitation crimes. He is now facing up to 25 years of incarceration in US prison.

Last May 2016, the joint operation of National Bureau of Investigation-Anti-Human Trafficking Division (NBIAHTRAD) and theDOJ-OOC jointly carried out the operation to arrest a woman for allegedly pimping her 15-year-old daughter to a foreigner online in Pasig City.

The operation stemmed from the report of the National Center for Missing and Exploited

Children (NCMEC), a USbased non-profit organization which helps identify and rescue victims of child pornography and child sexual exploitation around the world, including the Philippines.

Based on the report received by the DOJ-OOC, Bernhardt, a resident of North Dakota persuaded the arrested woman to produce and send explicit photos of herself via private messages.

The sex offender, earlier arrested by the US authorities for child exploitation, was later on discovered to be sending money to the victim’s mother in exchange for her daughter’s photos.

The mother will face charges for violation of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 in relation to RA 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 while her daughter is now under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). ■

PH awaits US official policy

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer MALACAÑANG ON Thursday said the statement of US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, that China should be denied access to the artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea, should be respected.

“The remarks of Mr. Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearing before the US Senate foreign relations committee reflect his personal beliefs and should be respected,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said.

Andanar said the Duterte administration would wait for the official policy statements from the incoming Trump administration.

“The reasonable response is to wait and see what the new adwww.canadianinquirer.net

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ministration’s policy pronouncements would be,” he said.

Andanar said the Philippine

government remained committed to maintaining peace in the Southeast Asian region. ■

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Philippine News

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Target: ‘Tokhang for ransom’ cops Lacson says the PNP should show no mercy to police officers involved in ‘tokhang for ransom’ South Korean Embassy worried about the businessman’s kidnapping during a drug raid After an appeal by the victim’s wife, Dela Rosa says he will not tolerate cop

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer THERE SHOULD be no mercy for policemen engaged in “tokhang for ransom,” Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday as he scored the “slow” and “soft” action of the Philippine National Police on the officer implicated in the abduction of a South Korean businessman who has been missing since October.

Lacson, a former PNP chief, said President Duterte should move to rid the police force of officers who abuse the government’s war on drugs.

“The PNP leadership should show no mercy to policemen who engage in ‘hulidap’ and kidnap-extortion cases who take advantage of the government’s no-nonsense efforts against drug offenders,” he said.

“They destroy the image and credibility of the entire police force,” said the lawmaker, who in November last year denounced the operation of “ninja cops” undertaking kidnapextortion activities targeting Chinese-Filipino businessmen.

Lacson’s statement came as the wife of missing Jee Ick-joo renewed her appeal to PNP Director General Ronald dela Rosa to find her husband, three months since he was kidnapped from his home.

The Inquirer first reported Jee’s case on the weekend.

It came as the PNP credited

Mr. Duterte’s tough anticrime stance for a general drop in crime.

The President has vowed to protect police officers from criminal prosecution, as his war on drugs left more than 6,000 dead since he assumed power six months ago.

“Tokhang” is a Filipino combination word that stands for “knock” and “plead.” Police officers would rap on a suspect’s door and ask him to stop using illegal drugs and join community-organized exercise activities.

And while the government has insisted the program has been effective, the PNP is known to have a long history of corruption, and crooked officers apparently are using the President’s vow as cover for their illicit deeds.

Jee, a 53-year-old businessman and a former director of a South Korean firm, was seized on Oct. 18 last year at his home in Angeles City by a team led by an antinarcotics officer, who has been relieved pending an investigation.

Jee, however, has not been found, and his distraught wife has been forced to seek help, including from President Duterte and Dela Rosa.

An earlier investigation by the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) has recommended the investigation of a police officer, four other companions and several “John Does” in the kidnapping.

Restrictive custody

Dela Rosa said the suspect police officer, assigned at the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, was already under restrictive custody.

“We are not condoning (the abduction). If it’s proven that he was responsible, he doesn’t deserve any day in this organization,” he said on Monday.

The Inquirer has decided to withhold the name of the suspect policeman as requested by Jee’s wife, Choi Kyung-jin, who said she continued to fear for her husband’s safety and that of her family.

Lacson, who headed the now defunct Presidential AntiOrganized Crime Task Force that handled abduction cases, stressed the suspects should already be in detention.

“Relief is a mere administrative remedy. By now, due process already factored in, those involved should have been summarily dismissed and incarcerated for a nonbailable offense of kidnapping for ransom,” said Lacson, chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs.

The PNP action “is not only slow but too soft on such kind of misconduct and criminal act being perpetrated by people who are supposed to enforce the law,” he said.

Deep anxiety

Choi said Dela Rosa’s statement has given her reason to

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte shakes hands with a member of the Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) following a meeting at the Music Room in Malacañan Palace.

REY BANIQUET / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / PNA

hope. “Dela Rosa’s promise is a great hope for me,” she told the Inquirer on Monday.

“I want you to focus on finding my husband and for an accurate and thorough investigation. If you can find only my husband, I have nothing to wish for. I hope to see my husband soon,” she appealed to Dela Rosa.

The South Korean Embassy, in a statement to the Inquirer, said the case had “caused deep anxiety” among the 90,000 South Koreans living and working in the country.

“We take this case very seriously and with urgency,” the embassy said. “We are very much concerned about the security of our kidnapping victim.

We very much look forward to his release as soon as possible.”

The embassy urged the PNP

“to conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the case.”

Kidnapping

Jee was taken by the gunmen who barged into his home announcing a drug raid. They also took some P540,000 worth of jewelry and other personal items from his house.

He and his house helper were taken out of his village inside his own car. The incident was captured by the neighbor’s security camera. It showed a black pickup truck that belonged to the officer’s wife.

Helper Marisa Dawis was released the following day, but Jee has yet to be found, although his wife paid a ransom of P5 million on Oct. 31 without telling police investigators assigned to the case. ■

BOC weeds out 71 erring brokers

BY JULIE M. AURELIO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE BUREAU of Customs (BOC) is now removing importers and brokers firms which violated the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) from its list of accredited importers and brokers.

First to go were 27 importers and brokers at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and 44 at the Port of Manila.

Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon announced the del-

isting of the said firms in a press briefing on Friday at the BOC office at the Port of Manila.

“We have 11,000 accredited importers. Once we’re through cleaning this list, we might be left with just half of that number,” he told reporters.

The lists for the Port of Manila and MICP were distributed to the media, with the companies mostly based in Metro Manila.

With their removal from the list of accredited importers and brokers, the delisted firms are now effectively banned from transacting

with the BOC, Faeldon said.

Aside from cleansing the list of erring companies, the BOC will also collect evidence against these firms for the possible filing of criminal cases against them for violating the CMTA. A check of the list showed that the delisted importers and brokers had shipments which were seized due to various irregularities such as misdeclaration or underdeclaration of imported items.

The initial 71 delisted firms committed violations of the CMTA from July to December 2016. www.canadianinquirer.net

Faeldon said they intended to further cleanse their accredited importers and brokers by sifting through all violations of customs and tariff laws for the past six years in all 17 ports and collection districts.

“On a weekly basis we would release new lists… We are publicizing their names because we want the public to know these erring firms,” he explained.

Faeldon, however, maintained that what they are doing is not a shame campaign.

“We have to warn the public because these people are ask-

ing the public for importation activities. Overseas Filipino workers will use them for forwarding,” he said.

An importer or broker’s accreditation to transact with the BOC is valid for three years.

Those delisted were notified of their current status and were given three days to submit their reply to the BOC to justify why they should still be given accreditation.

So far, only five firms operating at the Port of Manila have submitted their respective replies. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

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Leni invited, then disinvited to Grueling sched to Malacañang’s ‘vin d’honneur’ test beauties’ poise

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY ARMIN P. ADINA Philippine Daily Inquirer

WHEN PRESIDENT Duterte offered a toast to members of the diplomatic corps at Wednesday’s vin d’honneur in Malacañang, urging “Kanpai, bottoms up!,” Vice President Leni Robredo wasn’t around.

She received an invitation to the event on Dec. 28, but Malacañang recalled it on Jan. 4, stating that the guest list was limited. “It is a prerogative of the Palace to invite those who they feel is needed to be Vice President Leni Robredo pays courtesy call on President Rodrigo R. Duterte there,” said Ernesto Abella, Mr. at the Malacañan Palace, afternoon of July 4, 2016.

Duterte’s spokesperson.

KING RODRIGUEZ / MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU Manolo Quezon, a communications undersecretary in the was sent on Dec. 28, she said. not come from the same party Aquino administration, said “On Jan. 4, Malacañang called (Carlos P. Garcia and Diosdado that “disinviting, if it happens, the office to retract the invita- Macapagal) and whenever Vice is done quietly.” tion, stating that the guest list Presidents have parted ways Using the Japanese term for was limited.” Was it a diplo- politically with Presidents “cheers,” President Duterte matic faux pas? “It is a preroga- (Emmanuel Pelaez from Maraised a glass of cider, urged tive of the Palace to invite those capagal, Fernando Lopez from “Kanpai, bottoms up!” to con- who they feel is needed to be Ferdinand Marcos, Salvador tinued friendships at the tradi- there,” said Ernesto Abella, Mr. Laurel from Corazon Aquino, tional reception for diplomats Duterte’s spokesperson.

Teofisto Guingona from Gloria to which Vice President Leni Robredo, one of the outspo- Macapagal-Arroyo), civility beRobredo had been invited but ken critics of Mr. Duterte’s war tween the two highest officials later told not to come. against drugs, resigned as hous- has been a casualty—from invi“You know, in the subdip- ing secretary after she was told tations to simply appearing in lomatic gatherings, especially not to attend Cabinet meetings. the same place,” Quezon said. in Asia, we just say kanpai. It’s She has been accused by “There have been instances always bottoms when a first lady up. So be carecould disinvite ful with this, people even after our Asian broththey showed up at ers and sisters.

'It is a prerogative of the Palace to Palace events. But When they say invite those who they feel is needed normally, petty kanpai, say, to be there,' said Ernesto Abella, Mr. ostracism from ‘no, just half of Duterte’s spokesperson. events would be the kanpai,’ he downplayed by said, to chuckboth sides and les at his first restricted to gosvin d’honneur in sip,” he said.

Malacañang on Wednesday.

Malacañang officials of plotting Mr. Duterte used the occa“We believe that friends help with the “Yellow” forces of for- sion to renew his commitment each other and utilize construc- mer President Benigno Aquino to fight “three basic evils”— tive engagement to achieve III to oust Mr. Duterte. drugs, corruption and criminalcommon goals. In truth, we “Usually, disinviting, if it ity. all share the same aspiration happens, is done quietly,” ofAmong the ambassadors of greater peace, progress and fered ManoloQuezon, a former present were Sung Kim of the prosperity,” the President said Aquino communications un- United States, Zhao Jianhua of in an exchange of toasts with dersecretary.

China and Igor Khovaev of RusArchbishop Giuseppe Pinto, sia. the Vatican’s envoy and dean of Civility a casualty There was no blast against the the diplomatic corps.

Former Vice President Jejo- United States in Mr. Duterte’s Robredo’s absence at the re- mar Binay had been invited to usually expletive-laden speech. ception, attended by Cabinet Malacañang receptions, even He stuck mostly to his preofficials, was reported by her after he had a falling out with pared speech, and only deviated spokesperson, Georgina Her- Aquino. from it toward the end when, nandez.

“From the first time Presi- after downing a glass of cider, An invitation to the event dents and Vice Presidents did he said, “Kanpai!” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

IT’S AN elegant competition where poise is a premium, but with all the hectic activities lined up for contestants from around the world, the 2016 Miss Universe pageant might as well be an amazing race for the coveted crown.

More than two decades since last hosting the Miss Universe pageant in 1994, the Philippines again laid out the red carpet for over 80 delegates from around the world, who will face a grueling prepageant schedule that will test their stamina, patience and overall charm.

A string of photo sessions in historic Intramuros in Manila starts off the quest for the crown, to be followed by a beach romp in Boracay, a fashion show in Vigan, a governor’s ball, a swimsuit competition in Cebu, a benefit dinner, an island tour of Iloilo and Davao, a special luncheon and several charity events.

On Saturday, some beauty queens will experience living in paradise on Boracay—voted “best island in the world” by Conde Nast Traveler users—in a kickoff party hosted by Solar Entertainment Corp., the official broadcast arm of the competition.

On Sunday, another group of contestants will be whisked off to Vigan City in Ilocos Sur for a special Philippine terno show.

Swimsuit

Outgoing Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach officially commences the final stage of her reign on Monday during a “Governor’s Ball” at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, with Miss Universe aspirants joining her.

The contestants will be flown to Cebu City on Tuesday for a special swimsuit competition at JPark Island Resort. The following day, the summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City, will host a benefit dinner for the beauty queens.

Also on Wednesday, some of the contestants will be taken to Pico de Loro in Batangas via the “Miss Universe Yacht,” while another batch will fly to Iloilo City for an island tour. A third set will visit Davao City.

Wurtzbach is also set to join eight selected contestants for a charity activity with Smile Train on Friday morning in Manila.

The Miss Universe contestants will join her as well for a special luncheon hosted by Solar Entertainment at the Manila Hotel.

The contestants will join her anew in the evening for a program called Queen of the Universe at a location yet to be disclosed.

On the same day, a group of contestants will meet officials of Philippine Airlines, the official carrier of the 65th Miss Universe pageant in Manila.

On Saturday morning, Wurtzbach will fly to Coron, Palawan, to take part in a charity event for Cordaid, the philanthropy partner of the Miss Universe Organization for several years now.

The reigning Miss Universe will fly back to Manila that same evening for a dinner hosted by Okada Casino and Hotel with 44 selected contestants.

Gift auction

On Jan. 23, the beauty queens will visit President Duterte in Malacañang in the afternoon. They will later be joined

by Wurtzbach in the evening for the national gift auction dubbed Women on the Move at Conrad Hotel.

On Jan. 24, the World Trade Center in Pasay City becomes a blur of color showcasing diverse cultures as candidates flaunt their national costumes in an evening festival.

All the months of preparing for the contest will come to a head after the national costume festival, when the Miss Universe preliminary competition is held at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on a date that will be announced later.

The preliminary portion determines a big part of the scores in the beauty pageant, as the contestants parade in their gowns and swimsuits. The closed-door panel interview with the judges has yet to be scheduled.

The hectic schedule will culminate on Jan. 30 at the coronation ceremonies, where Wurtzbach will take her final walk and crown her successor at SM Mall of Asia Arena. The 8 a.m. program will be beamed live to at least 190 countries. ■

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House panel OKs traffic crisis bill

BY FILANE MIKEE CERVANTES Philippines News Agency MANILA — The bill seeking to grant special powers to the Duterte administration in addressing the country’s worsening traffic problem has hurdled the committee level at the House of Representatives.

The House committee on transportation approved on Wednesday House Bill (HB) No. 4334 entitled, “Traffic Crisis Act of 2016”, which was authored by committee chair Cesar Sarmiento, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas.

“This traffic crisis act is not forever. We’re just addressing the traffic crisis for a limited period of time,” Sarmiento said during the committee’s 12th hearing on emergency powers.

“If you look at the whole traffic crisis act, this is not emergency power. This is a law that contains strategy and reforms that we identified in the course of the 16th Congress and even now in the hearings of (the) traffic crisis act,” he added.

Sarmiento noted that many ideas from the House bill had been adopted in the Senate version, thus making the harmonization of the two versions easier.

HB 4334 identifies and limits the scope of the bill to the land traffic crisis in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Davao City.

Under the bill, the Secretary

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) plans to extend the "no window hours" of the number coding scheme for another six months. The objective of the plan is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and decongest the traffic in Metro Manila.

JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

of the Department of Transportation is designated as the ex officio Traffic Chief and shall have the power of supervision and control over the following: Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Cebu Coordinating Council, Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), Land Transportation Office (LTO); Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Road Board, and the Metropolitan Davao Traffic Administrator.

The Traffic Chief will be allowed to also implement similar mechanisms and systems provided in the bill to other cities and municipalities around the country which may suffer from a traffic crisis.

“This bill is intended to ad-

dress or mitigate (the traffic problem) but it’s not a magic wand miracle that will solve everything if approved. Since there are a lot of varying traffic ordinances coming from LGUs (local government units), this bill will give the traffic chief the power to harmonize all these,”” Sarmiento said.

New amendments introduced in the measure include the following: (1) Expanding the composition of Metro Cebu, referring to nine cities and 36 municipalities of the province of Cebu; (2) Clearing of sidewalks and identification of need for elevated crosswalks, suitable locations for the elevated crosswalks which must be integrated to the designated public utility vehicles (PUVs) terminals and

bus stops; (3) A system to expedite the reporting and clearing of vehicular accidents through the admissibility of digital photographs as a basis of police report or other traffic investigation reports; (4) Relaxing the timeline with the formulation of a traffic management plan being completed within 90 days and route rationalization within 8 months.

(5) On the power of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to certify, concur, or approve.

(6) Approval of plans, programs, and projects by the traffic chief shall take the form of a development permit that shall be issued prior to any land development and shall be in lieu

of all other permits such as those issued by the MMDA and LGUs. (7) Drivers, driver’s assistants, mechanics, and other employees of the PUV operators affected by a revocation or modification of franchise shall be entitled to financial social support services, such as in the form of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) funding for the entire 2017.

(8) Bidding out or procurement of the priority projects including infrastructure projects, software, or IT components and attendant acquisition of the goods and consulting services as identified by the Traffic Chief and submitted to the JOC. (9) Legality/constitutionality of priority projects, programs, policies, rules and regulations to be implemented under the act (10) The creation of a separate and permanent Department of Urban Traffic Management, which shall be tasked with the control, planning, and management of land-based traffic in the metropolitan areas and will take over and continue to exercise all the powers and authority transferred on the traffic chief.

HB 4334 addresses the impending displacement of public utility drivers and operators who will be affected by route rationalization and DOTr’s mass transport projects to solve traffic congestion. ■

Lady solon files bill to help curb teenage pregnancy in PHL PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — A bill that seeks to establish programs addressing the country’s “alarmingly high” teenage pregnancy rate has been filed at the House of Representatives.

House Bill No. 4742, authored by Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones, proposes the creation of a National Program on the Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy (NPPTP) in the country.

“Ten percent of our country’s population is composed of girls aged 15-19; of these 10 million

girls, one in 10 get pregnant — that’s one million teenagers who must deal with the difficult realities of raising a child,” Aragones said.

The lady solon cited that teenage pregnancies in the Philippines remain alarmingly high despite a worldwide decline in pregnancies of women between the ages of 15 and 19.

“It is very alarming to see the increasing number of teenagers, who instead of pursuing education, would suddenly drop out from school because of early pregnancy. We need to address this worsening problem because these children do not have

enough capacity to start and support a new family,” she said.

According to the United Nations Population Fund’s State of World Population 2016 Report, teenage pregnancy limits far too many girls’ hopes, dreams and aspirations. It undermines girls’ health, rights and opportunities. It also costs the country around PHP33 billion each year in foregone revenues.

On the other hand, girls who reach adulthood with an education and their health and rights intact could triple their lifetime incomes, thereby fueling progress for generations and entire nations, the study further noted. www.canadianinquirer.net

Under the measure, the NPPTP will be developed through an inter-agency collaboration with the National Youth Commission (NYC), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Commission on Population (POPCOM).

If the bill is passed into a law, age and-development-appropriate comprehensive sexual education (CSE) will be taught starting from Grade 5 onwards, including topics such as human sexuality, adolescent reproductive health, health and nutri-

tion, gender-sensitivity, gender equality and equity.

The bill likewise provides training for the teachers, guidance counselors, and school supervisors on comprehensive sexual education (CSE) through the DepEd, Technological Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The training shall involve the DOH, POPCOM, and NYC for technical assistance. Funding for the training shall be allotted in the concerned government agencies’ annual allocation to be approved by Congress. ■

Philippine News

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JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

UN hails Du30’s RH order

BY JULIE M. AURELIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

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UN POPULATION agency vows full support for Duterte’s family planning program Funding boost from gov’t agencies will increase RH budget four-fold Bishops, conservatives pose hurdles to Digong’s contraceptives plan The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Friday hailed President Duterte’s intervention to provide free contraceptives to poor women as a “new momentum” in the provision of family planning services in the Philippines.

But Executive Order No. 12, signed by Mr. Duterte on Monday, faces hurdles, with conservatives and religious leaders preparing possible challenges.

In a statement issued late on Thursday, the UNFPA said Mr. Duterte’s order was a “major push” for the government’s family planning program, which has been hindered by opposition from the Catholic Church and prolife organizations.

Critically important

“The full and immediate implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law is critically important for the government to deliver on its family planning program,” said Klaus Beck, UNFPA country representative.

Beck said Mr. Duterte’s order would “lend new momentum to the implementation of the law as it demonstrates the highest level of support to the measure.”

Mr. Duterte issued the order on Monday, directing government agencies to ensure free access to contraceptives for 6 million women who could not obtain them because of poverty.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said on Wednesday that the intensified drive to make contraceptives available and ensure “zero unmet need for family planning” was important to reduce poverty.

Pernia said the government’s target was to cut the poverty rate from 21.6 percent in 2015 to 14 percent or 13 percent by the end of Mr. Duterte’s term in 2022.

According to EO 12, out of the 6 million women with unmet needs for modern family planning, 2 million have been identified as poor.

The 2 million women should have access to contraceptives by 2018, and all the rest thereafter, the order said.

EO 12 also directed government agencies to locate couples with unmet family planning needs, mobilize agencies up to the village level and partner with civil society in intensifying the drive.

Mr. Duterte’s directive did not mention a Supreme Court order issued in June 2015 restraining the Department

Socio-economic Secretary and National Economic Development Authority Director General Ernesto Pernia, in a press briefing in Malacañang on Jan. 11, 2017, announced that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has signed Executive Order No. 12 that will allow government agencies to fully implement the Reproductive Health law which is stalled due to a temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court.

REY BANIQUET / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / PNA

of Health (DOH) from distributing a contraceptive implant that opponents of the RH law considered abortifacient.

The Supreme Court also directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put on hold the renewal of licenses for other contraceptives, directing the agency to call public hearings as part of the licensing process.

The government has appealed the ruling.

“The government cannot continue to tolerate this delay in judgment because time is of the essence as far as the implementation of the [RH] law is concerned,” Pernia said on Wednesday.

He said 11 Filipino women die each day from complications of pregnancy and delivery and the law would reduce maternal deaths and teen pregnancies in addition to enabling families to have the number of children they want.

Full support

In its statement on Thursday, the UNFPA expressed concern that the Supreme Court order might hinder full implementation of the RH law, but said it would support the government and its civil society partners in the provision of reproductive health services. “[The] UNFPA has been working with local governments in ensuring that access to quality reproductive health services, including family planning, will be available, especially for the poorest and disadvantaged communities who need these services most,” it said.

Juan Antonio Perez, executive director of the DOH’s Commission on Population, on Wednesday said if the contraceptives were made available to the 6 million women with unmet family planning needs, contraceptive prevalence rate would increase to 65 percent, from the current 40 percent.

Population growth

The Philippines’ population, now at 104 million, is growing at a rate of around

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1.7 percent yearly, but the growth may be lowered to 1.4 percent if the family planning campaign is fully implemented, Perez said.

About 25 percent of the population live in poverty. Millions of poor women have no access to contraceptives partly because the government’s family planning program runs on a shoestring budget of P500 million.

This could change, however, as EO 12 directs government agencies to put in funds for the family planning program in their 2018 and 2019 budgets, Perez said.

That would enable the government’s family planning budget to increase fourfold to the ideal level of P2 billion, he said.

Conservatives view Mr. Duterte’s intervention as a circumvention of the 2015 Supreme Court order.

“Here comes President Duterte issuing an executive order circumventing the intention of the hold order,” Rep. Lito Atienza said on Thursday.

Atienza is the representative in the House of the prolife party-list group Buhay.

He said his group would study EO 12 “word for word, phrase by phrase,” and “if illegal, we will question it” in the Supreme Court.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said it remained opposed to contraception despite the poverty-reduction intent of Mr. Duterte’s order.

The bishops criticized what they described as Mr. Duterte’s “antilife” measures, calling on people to join a “grand procession” next month to make a stand.

“When society opens its doors to welcome artificial contraception, abortion, divorce, legalized same-sex union, it opens the minds of people to a particular mindset that problems can only be resolved through termination of relationships, terminations of persons,” the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on the Laity said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

9

Duterte among... ❰❰ 1

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of a child during the mass baptism of 400 children from Manila's slums. The christening, held at the Manila Cathedral, was sponsored by the Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation, which said that poverty should not hinder the poor from receiving the Sacrament.

OLIVER MARQUEZ / PNA

DOLE expands ban on employment of minors PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

The DOLE order also prevented minors to work in harvesting activities that involve cutting and picking, spreading MANILA — The Department of Labor for drying, hauling, topping, tumbling, and Employment (DOLE) on Wednes- tuxying, stripping, burning of field, day expanded the coverage of the ban sticking and classifying, threshing, loadon the employment of minors in agri- ing and carting of produce. culture and livestock farming in a bid to In post-harvest, young workers may prevent young people from exposure to not be employed in de-husking, scoophazardous work conditions. ing, sacking of products, charcoal makBased on Department Order No. 149-A ing, hauling of products as led by animal issued by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello guide, loading and unloading of packed III, it classified other work and related farm products, coconut kilning and defarming activities such as plant propa- meating from shell or core, sealing and gation activities that carting of produce involve grafting, budfor warehousing and ding and marcotting, transport to marand tending activities ket and all ancillary that involve weeding Child workers work such as clearof soil, as hazardous are compelled ing, cleaning, and reand among the worst to help augment cycling of farm waste forms of child labor. their families’ in its preparation as Also classified danmeager income animal food and othgerous are handling, by engaging in er related processes. spraying and applicahazardous work.

In livestock farmtion of harmful fering, the work and retilizers, pesticides, lated activities that herbicides and other are declared hazardtoxic chemicals; and ous to minors include: loading and carrying of heavy loads. rearing such as collecting, loading, unThe order also strengthens the exist- loading and transporting of feeds, mainteing ban on the employment of minors in nance and care of large and/or dangerous farm activities such as clearing of land, animals, collecting and disposal of dead plowing, harrowing, irrigating, con- animals, animal manure and other waste structing paddy dike and cutting. materials, administering of vaccines and “Child workers are compelled to help vitamins, and handling of disinfectants augment their families’ meager income used for cleaning animal pens/enclosures by engaging in hazardous work. That is or for disinfecting animals. why the labor department will strictly Likewise, minors are not allowed to enmonitor and assess occupational safety gage in harvesting activities that involve and health standards (OSHS) related to catching or collecting, ranching, and child labor,” Bello said in a statement. milking in preparation for warehousing In making sure that OSHS is strictly or transport to market, and post-harvest followed, the DOLE chief noted that it activities including the packaging and would ensure that workers’ employ- processing of dairy and other animal byment does not endanger their life, safe- products in preparation for warehousing ty, health and morals, nor impair their and transport to market; and working in normal development. slaughterhouses or abattoirs. ■

populist leaders were threatening human rights and potentially even Western democ-

racy.

It singled out the rhetoric of US President-elect Donald Trump as “a vivid illustration of (the) politics of intolerance.”

If such voices prevail, it said, “the world risks entering a dark era.” The report said Trump’s success reflected a dangerous and growing “infatuation with strongman rule” also evident in Russia, China, Venezuela and the Philippines.

“These converging trends, bolstered by propaganda operations that denigrate legal standards and disdain factual analysis, directly challenge the laws and institutions that promote dignity, tolerance and equality,” the human rights watchdog said.

The report cited the “unprecedented level of killing by law enforcement” in the Philippines since Mr. Duterte assumed the presidency.

The President’s campaign of killing all “who make the lives of Filipinos miserable,” including suspected criminals, was supposedly aimed at ridding the country of narcotics, crime and corruption.

In his war on drugs, however, Mr. Duterte publicly praised extrajudicial killings of suspects, the report said.

“The killings have highlighted the country’s longstanding problem of impunity for abusive state security forces,” it said. From July 1 to Nov. 3 last year, 1,790 suspected drug dealers and users had been killed in police operations— a giant leap from the 68 recorded from January to June 15, 2016.

The report said 3,001 others had been killed from July 1 to Sept. 14, 2016, in attacks attributed to vigilantes. These killings have been categorized by the police as deaths under investigation, although “there is no evidence that police are actively probing the circumstances in which they occurred,” it said.

“Duterte has ignored calls for an offi-

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cial probe into these killings. Instead, he has said the killings show the ‘success’ of his antidrug campaign and urged police to ‘seize the momentum,’” the report said.

In his introduction to the report, HRW executive director Kenneth Roth pointed to a worldwide trend of authoritarian populists who seek to overturn the concept of human rights protection, treating rights as impediments to public interest.

“When populists treat rights as obstacles to their vision of the majority will, it is only a matter of time before they turn on those who disagree with their agenda,” he said.

“We forget at our peril the demagogues of the past: the fascists, communists and their ilk who claimed privileged insight into the majority’s interest but ended up crushing the individual.”

HRW said politicians like Trump were exploiting a “cauldron of discontent” over joblessness, extremist attacks and increasing ethnic and racial diversity to scapegoat refugees, immigrants and minorities. Truth was “a frequent casualty.”

The report asserted that Trump’s suggestion to ban Muslims “demonized the very Muslim communities whose cooperation is important for identifying tomorrow’s plots.” His threatened mass deportation of migrants would uproot many who contribute productively to the economy, while doing “nothing to bring back long-lost manufacturing jobs.”

Roth defended the report against the suggestion by one reporter that its criticism of Trump seemed partisan.

“This is not a partisan issue, this is a rights issue,” he said.

The best antidote to ascendant populism, the report said, is public activism.

“Populists thrive in a vacuum of opposition. A strong popular reaction, using every means available ... is the best defense,” it said. ■

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Philippine News

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Robredo is ‘Vice Ganda’ in surprise Comelec mum visit to Tondo relocation site on Marcos’ camp

claims on data in SD cards from unused VCMs in May 2016 polls

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer IN A Tondo community, Leni Robredo is “Vice Ganda.”

Vice President Robredo visited a rundown tenement in Barangay 105, along Road 10, in Tondo on Thursday, and was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd as she took a look into their tough living conditions.

“Ang ganda pala ni Vice!

(Wow, Vice is beautiful!),” the Inquirer heard some women exclaim while they took photos of Robredo on their camera phones as she went from room to room at the tenement and spoke with residents.

Others called Robredo “Vice Ganda,” the screen name of a popular gay comedian.

Robredo went around Building 29 where more than 2,000 families live in squalid conditions, save for the occasional television, a small washing machine. Babies, children and the elderly crowded the rooms, but nearly everyone had mobile phones.

It is just one of the 32 buildings in a relocation site called Happy Land, originally envisioned as a temporary housing for informal settlers in Balut, Tondo, in 1994 but many have remained. Over time, their extended families have stayed with them as well.

Children walked in the dirty and muddy ground barefoot, and the overpowering stench of garbage has become a part of their lives.

Robredo has had a grueling week marked by the so-called #LeniLeaks and being disinvited by Malacañang from President Duterte’s first vin d’honneur.

But she repeatedly said she wanted to focus on what her office could do for the people who needed the government’s help the most, which was why she found herself in Tondo on Thursday.

She met with the village officials and the volunteers of Project Pearls, which offers frontline, day-to-day assistance to the residents like a daily feeding program for nearly 300 school children.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP), through its Angat

SUPERGABBYSHOE / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

BY FERDINAND G. PATINIO Philippines News Agency

Buhay poverty alleviation program, will partner with Project Pearls by looking for more private nongovernment organizations that could extend help to the residents of Happy Land.

Robredo learned from the women at Building 29 that they pay P70 for a drum of water they use for taking a bath and doing the laundry. This does not include drinking water.

She also noticed the large hole on the roof of Building 29.

“What happens when it rains?”

Robredo asked the residents, who replied simply that they get wet.

“Every day, they buy their water. I will ask Maynilad if they could find a permanent solution. And since the NHA (National Housing Authority) owns the lot here, I will propose that the land be awarded to them so that they could have permanent dwellings,” Robredo said. ■

MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) refused to comment on the claims of the camp of former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., stating that the presence of data in the Secure Digital (SD) cards sourced from unused vote counting machines (VCMs) proves that there was electoral fraud in the May 2016 polls.

Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez refused to further comment on the issue since the case is pending before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET).

“This is a live case. And so any comment outside of that forum is potentially inappropriate,” he explained.

Likewise, Jimenez said it would be premature to interpret the alleged data found in the SD cards since the decryption process remains ongoing.

“The most prudent course of action now is to await the result of the decrypting process,” he added.

On Monday, Lawyer Victor Rodriguez, Marcos’ spokesperson questioned the data found in the SD cards when the VCMs should have been unused.

This was after the ongoing decryption of the SD cards from unused VCMs at the Comelec main office showed that 13 of the 26 SD cards were found to have folders containing data.

Jimenez added it is expected from the camp of the former lawmaker to issue such claims.

“The statements (of Marcos camp) appear to be speculative in character and are, unsurprisingly, consistent with their theory. However, this does not mean that they are accurate,” he explained.

In the May 2016 vice presidential race, Marcos got only 14,155,344 votes as against Vice President Leni Robredo’s 14,418,817 votes. ■

11 gunmen, 6 bikes, 2 Marikina drug slays Cops see one group behind 3 attacks in a span of 35 minutes

BY JODEE A. AGONCILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer MOTORCYCLE-RIDING gunmen shot three drug surrenderers in separate incidents on Wednesday night in Barangay Malanday, Marikina City, killing two of them and leaving the third wounded.

According to one account, the killers moved as a group composed of 11 men and closed in on their target on six motorbikes.

A 69-year-old woman who just happened to be passing

by also ended up in the hospital after she was hit by a stray bullet, according to the police. Vivencia Basiloy remains confined at Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center (ARMMC) for a gunshot wound in the ankle.

The shooting incidents happened within a 35-minute period and in three areas that were quite near each other, leading the police to suspect that these were carried out by just one group. Another angle they were looking into was the three surrenderers’ possible involvement in a gang selling diluted

“shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride).

A report to Senior Supt. Lorenzo Holanday, Marikina police chief, said that Alvin Alcanar, 29, was standing on Narra Street in Libis Bulelak at 6:25 p.m. on Wednesday when around 11 bonnet-wearing men on six motorcycles without license plates shot him. He died on the spot.

The police recovered from the scene eight cartridges from a gun of an unknown caliber, two slugs and a sachet of suspected shabu.

Around 20 minutes later, Rewww.canadianinquirer.net

nald Pangan, 33, was seated in front of a warehouse on Camia Street in Minahan Libis when he was shot by motorcycle-riding men, according to a report sent to Holanday.

Basiloy was standing nearby and was also hit. Both she and Pangan were rushed to ARMMC where the latter was declared dead on arrival.

At 7 p.m., corn vendor Nelson Ramos, 50, was cooking in the kitchen of his house on Daisy Street, Minahan Libis when unidentified men barged inside and shot him.

Ramos was brought by his

relatives to Amang Rodriguez where he remains confined.

Holanday told the Inquirer that Pangan, Ramos, Alcanar had earlier surrendered to Barangay Malanday officials as drug users. The police, however, had information that they were also involved in drug pushing.

At the same time, Holanday said they were also verifying reports the three were members of a drug group which were allegedly fighting over shabu that was being diluted by adding “tawas” (alum). ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

11

Construction of LRT-MRT common station starts Dec. 2017

BY AEROL B. PATENA Philippines News Agency MANILA — After being stalled for several years, the construction of a common station that will connect the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) will start in December 2017.

This after a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed Wednesday by the Deartment of Transportation, SM Prime Holdings Inc., Universal LRT Corporation (BVI) Limited of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), North Triangle Depot Commercial Corporation (NTDCC), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA).

The MOA consists of the parameters for the common station which will be the basis of its detailed engineering design.

The common station that will link LRT Line 1 and MRT Lines 3 and 7 seeks to provide seamless transfer of passengers and interconnectivity between the railway lines.

It is expected to be completed

by April 2019.

“We hope that this initiative will be able to provide comfort and ease to passengers,” DOTr spokesperson Asec. Cherie Mercado said in an interview.

The station will be located between the SM North and Trinoma in Quezon City, and will be broken down into 3 components: Area A wherein the platform for LRT-1 and MRT-3 are located; Area B which consists of two common walkways connecting Areas A and C; and Area C, where the platform for MRT7 is located.

The DOTr will finance the construction of the PHP 2.8 bil-

lion Area A while the operation, maintenance and development will be split between LMRC for LRT-1 and DOTr for MRT-3.

DOTr explained that the PHP 2.8 billion allocation was needed to further improve the common station.

“The DOTr is seeing this as cost of governance for passenger convenience. It is an improved and bigger station with private sector shouldering part of the cost. The initial location was approximately 7,200 sqm, the second location was approximately 2,500 sqm, while the current location is at 13,700 sqm. The size is projected to an- September 2016, which settled Station are interconnected and swer the future demand in pas- the dispute over the location of that SM City North EDSA and senger traffic,” Mercado said. the common station. The Term Trinoma are interconnected to Area B will be financed and Sheet outlined the general prin- the station. A defined level of built by the NTDCC, an affili- ciples of what was agreed upon, service will also be maintained ate of Ayala Land Inc., and will which are needed to move the at all times by providing a bigbe in charge of its operation, common station project and ger space for the station. maintenance and development. identify its location.

“A certain level of space will Area C will be financed and Extensive discussions among be limited for stalls so that built by SMC who will also op- the parties followed the signing this will not compromise the erate, maintain and develop the of the Term Sheet which led to level of comfort of passengers area. and ensure their For its part, safety as well,” the DPWH will DOTr Assistant build an underSecretary for Lepass along EDSA The common station is expected to gal Affairs Leah at the area where serve 40,000 commuters an hour, Quiambao said. the common stabenefiting over a million commuters SMPHI, DOTr, tion will be loin Metro Manila daily once it is and LRTA will cated. constructed. file a joint maniFor his part, festation with Transportation the Supreme Secretary Arthur Court to resolve Tugade expressed gratitude to their agreement on the design the issue of the temporary retheir partners in the construc- parameters, service level re- straining order (TRO) on the tion of the common project. quirements, and the parties’ common station project and “We want to thank all the par- responsibilities and contribu- proceed with its construction. ties as you have labored well. tions to the project.

An appeal for the dismissal This achievement was made The concept design of the of the case will be filed by all possible through the support common station will be pre- parties to pave way for its final of the private sector and shows sented to concerned constitu- legal resolution after its engiproof that the government and ents, representatives and local neering design is completed by the private sector can work officials before the final design fourth quarter of 2017. hand in hand,” Tugade said. to incorporate concerns from DOTr assures proper hanThe agreement was the result various sectors. dling and planning of traffic imof discussions made after the The design shall ensure that pact of Common Station consigning of the Term Sheet last all components of the Common struction and will put in place a

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JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

Traffic Management Plan that will be approved by the Metro Manila Council and the I-ACT as part of its detailed engineering process.

The common station is expected to serve 40,000 commuters an hour, benefiting over a million commuters in Metro Manila daily once it is constructed.

The Common Station project started in 2009 but was bogged down due to the issue of its location. The LRTA initially signed a PHP200-million deal with SMPHI to build the station in front of SM North EDSA. Five years later, the DOTC decided to build the station near Ayala’s Trinoma mall. SMPHI filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), which was granted by the Supreme Court in 2014.

Upon assumption into office, DOTr Sec. Tugade vowed to get all shareholders to agree on a single location for the Common Station within his first 100 days.

Finally, on September 28, 2016, principal stakeholders who are also the country’s top CEOs signed an agreement identifying a location for the Common Station and decided to build it. ■

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Philippine News

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Senate panel tackles bill removing Revised Penal Code’s ‘cruel punishment’ PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — A Senate panel started on Wednesday its public hearing on proposed Senate Bill No. 14 seeking to amend Revised Penal Code and remove its ‘cruel punishment’ on individual who commits petty crimes.

Drilon said the Republic Act No. 3815, as amended, otherwise known as the Revised Penal Code which was enacted in 1930, provides 12 years and one day to 20 years imprisonment to individual who stole property worth only PHP251 in a public building or a church.

“Isn’t that cruel, degrading,

and inhuman to imprison for 12 years and 1 day to 20 years one who is found guilty of robbery a public building or a church where the value of the property is only PHP251?” Drilon asked during the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes’ first public hearing on the proposed measure.

Despite undergoing a number of piecemeal amendments over the years, Drilon said the Revised Penal Code has for the most part endured and remained to be the most extensive and significant reference work in Philippine Criminal Law. “Yet even the finest pieces of legislation are rendered ob-

solete by the passage of time.

In this case, 80 years. Today, beyond obsolescence, the Revised Penal Code may even be attacked as inflicting “cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment,” which is, as we all know, in violation of our Bill of Rights, Section 19, Article 3 of our Constitution,” Drilon said.

Drilon said even the Supreme Court (SC), in the 2014 case of Lito Corpuz versus People of the Philippines, was called to settle an issue concerning the fairness of continuing to impose penalties based on the amount of damage measured by the value of money 80 years ago.

“The Supreme Court turned the spotlight on a perceived

injustice brought about by the range of penalties that the courts continue to impose on crimes against property committed today, based on the amount of damage measured by the value of money 80 years ago in 1932,” Drilon, a lawyer by profession, said.

Since the High Court cannot adjust the outdated values set forth in the Revised Penal Code without committing judicial legislation, Drilon said the Senate has to overhaul of archaic laws that were promulgated decades ago when the political, socio-economic, and cultural settings were very different from today’s conditions.

He said the proposed measure seeks to accomplish two

things: First, update the value of damages used to determine the extent of liability; and second, adjust the amount of fines.

“We can multiply the PHP250 by, let’s say, 200 times,” Drilon said.

According to the Public Attorney’s Office, the bill, if passed into law, will benefit about 50,000 prisoners.

“We are not saying that they will be released. What we are saying is that their sentences may be reduced, or maybe they have served the whole period, so they may be benefited,” Drilon explained.

Drilon said his committee will try to pass the bill before Congress adjourns in June this year. ■

Trillanes, Zubiri almost figured in a fistfight over BI scandal probe PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Senators Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV and Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri had a heated exchange in the Senate after the former called the latter a “cheater” during a plenary session on Tuesday.

Trillanes accused Zubiri and Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon of trying to “whitewash” the proposed Senate probe into the alleged bribery attempt by Chinese businessman Jack Lam to some officials of the Bureau of Immigration.

These BI officials also happened to be fraternity brothers of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte.

Zubiri insisted that the inquiry should be conducted by the

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Gordon.

A resolution earlier filed

by Senate Pres. Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon referred the inquiry to be moved to the Senate Committee on Civil Service Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation chaired by Trillanes.

In a 14-7 vote on Monday, however, the Senate voted to remove the resolution to probe the BI scandal from Trillanes’ committee.

Zubiri took offense to Trillanes’ whitewashing comment and Trillanes responded by saying that his remark was “meant to be offensive.”

Zubiri finally lost his nerve when Trillanes called him a “cheater” referring to a poll fraud allegation that led him to

resign as Senator in 2011.

He meanwhile shot back by pointing out that Trillanes was also accused of “rebellion and treason” referring to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny which Trillanes led.

The clash between the two senators, which almost got physical, prompted their colleagues — including boxer-senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao — to come between them.

After almost an hour-long suspension to allow both senators to cool down, Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III moved to strike off the record of the heated exchange except the line where Zubiri said he had “nothing to do with any whitewash”.

Zubiri said that he and Trillanes, during the suspension,

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Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri (right) and Antonio Trillanes IV (center) shake hands after trading barbs which almost led to a fistfight between them as the Senate tackles a proposed Senate probe into the alleged bribery attempt by Chinese businessman Jack Lam to some officials of the Bureau of Immigration.

agreed that he was not part of any whitewash and also agreed to an investigation. The two senators later shook hands. ■

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

13

Canadian food critic hails Filipino resto one of Ottawa’s best PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

HARIBONEAGLE927 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Lawmakers question SSS premium increase

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer NOT SO fast.

Several lawmakers said the Social Security System (SSS) would violate the law if it increased the monthly contributions of members so it could raise the pension of some 2.2 million retirees.

Aday after President Duterte gave the SSS the go-signal to grant a P1,000 increase in pension effective January, Senate President Pro Tempore Franklin Drilon said the move was “commendable” but “should not be used to justify an increase in the premium payment.”

“The SSS is not allowed to raise the premium rates so it can increase benefits,” Drilon said in a statement.

Social Security Law

SSS Chair Amado Valdez said the P1,000 pension increase required a corresponding increase in the monthly contributions of active members from 11 percent to 12.5 percent. The increase in premium, to be shared by employees and their employers, will take effect in May. Drilon said Section 4 of Republic Act No. 8282, or the Social Security Law, prohibited the SSS from recommending an increase in benefits that would require an upward adjustment in contribution.

“The increase in benefits of our pensioners must not come from a similar increase in the burden shouldered by current SSS contributors. The law is crystal clear in that regard,” he said.

Section 4 (2) of the Social Security Law states that the “SSS shall have the powers and duties to provide feasible increases in benefits every four years, including the addition of new ones, under such rules and regulations as the Commission may adopt, subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines: Provided, that the actuarial soundness of the reserve funds shall be guaranteed: Provided, further, that such increases in benefits shall not require in the rate of contribution.”

Sen. Bam Aquino said the increase

in the premium payments by members surprised him and the business community. “While the 1.5-percent increase is small but when you sum it all, it is a big thing,” he said.

Aquino said he favored the SSS improving its efficiency in collecting contributions “and not increase the premium of members.”

Welcome statements

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III welcomed the increase in pension.

“The mere fact that it took time for the President to approve the said amount means that the issue has been studied well and the SSS fund is not put in any jeopardy even after the increase,” Pimentel said in a text message.

Sen. Richard Gordon said the pension increase was “very much” welcomed by pensioners.

In a statement, Gordon said the Senate would have to provide “appropriate legislation to help the SSS become an even more outstanding manager of the fund so that it could expand its membership, maximize the use of its assets and invest the funds in projects that would ensure a healthy return on investments.”

The Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises of Gordon earlier came out with a resolution seeking a P2,000 increase in the pension of retirees, the first P1,000 to be given supposedly last December and the second P1,000 in 2019.

MANILA — A cozy Filipino-themed café and restaurant situated in the historic and elite Glebe neighborhood of Ottawa has been selected as one of the best restaurants in Ottawa.

Tamis Café is a family business run by Lito and Liza Sare, with their daughters Jessica and Jiselle, Noted food critic Peter Hum featured Tamis Café in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper in his year-end review of Ottawa’s dining scene.

Hum said Tamis Café is among the “more humble [sic] but worthy momand-pop joints,” which joins the ranks of ambitious and distinctive restaurants that set themselves apart from other dining establishments in Ottawa.

The café was featured by the Citizen in the summer of 2016 where Hum noted how “Tamis Café brings (the) sweet, savoury tastes of Manila to the Glebe.”

At the time, he noted the “simple,

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House legislation

In the House of Representatives, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said Congress could still pursue enabling legislation for the P2,000 increase in pension for SSS retirees even though President Duterte had approved the hike.

Fariñas said the House was poised to take up on third reading Joint Resolution No. 10 raising the SSS monthly pension, and House Bill No. 2158 rationalizing and expanding the powers of the Social Security Commission.

Both measures were passed by the chamber on second reading last month. ■

home-style savoury dishes that have been consistently well-made, tasty, generously portioned and bargain-priced.”

The author found the vegan chocolate pâté at Tamis Café very likeable, and confessed that it is a dish that he craves for.

Tamis Café also mixes its own unique blend of organic tea and coffee. Among their popular beverages is ube (purple yam) latte. They also bake their own pastries and cakes– including pandan (screwpine), ube desserts, leche flan (crème caramel) and the venerable pandesal bun. For the winter season, the café has recently begun to offer bulalo (beef soup) and lomi (thick noodle) soup.

Their unique take on Filipino food staples such as the classic and ube brazo de Mercedes (dessert roll), okoy (shrimp fritters), kare-kare (peanut and ox stew) and bistek (beef steak) have been featured in various diplomatic and government functions and receptions of the Philippine Embassy and the Canadian Parliament. ■

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1114

Opinion

14

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

PUBLIC LIVES

PH plunging into fascism, protesters warn

By Amando Doronila Philippine Daily Inquirer CANBERRA—On New Year’s Eve, Filipinos were warned by a coalition of civil society groups that President Duterte’s war on drugs is plunging the country into the maelstrom of fascism. The war has resulted in the killing of more than 6,000 people since Mr. Duterte took office midyear of 2016.

The mounting death toll has revived protests in the midst of the Christmas holidays, calling for an end to the slaughter blamed by activists on vigilantes. The latest of these protests came from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which urged other dioceses in the country to follow the example of the archdioceses of Jaro in Iloilo and of Nueva Segovia in Ilocos Sur. In a statement issued by the bishops, Fr. Erwin Gariguez voiced support for the activities

of the two archdioceses and said: “Killing of drug traffickers without due process, even in the name of a just cause, is morally unacceptable.”

The statement emphasized that while the bishops are supportive of the administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, “the method used is unjustifiable.” What is alarming is that the poor are most vulnerable to loss of life as well as violation of their rights, the statement pointed out.

The archdiocese of Jaro had at least 97 parishes putting up streamers calling for respect for life and an end to the extrajudicial killings. The archdiocese of Nueva Segovia held similar activities to condemn the killings.

Gariguez noted that most of those killed were poor people living in slum areas. “President Duterte’s claim of ... protecting those whohave less in life becomesmere lip

service should the state continue to violate and disregard the rights of the poor,” he said in the statement. “We support and encourage all forms of campaigns by the dioceses to stop the extrajudicial killings and other morally unacceptable acts of the government.”

The statement marked the intervention of the Church and put it at loggerheads with the administration and its brutal antidrug policy. The intervention appears to be a sign that the Church is using its influence and preparing the ground for a mass movement that would end the reign of terror, similar to the call of Jaime Cardinal Sin in 1986 that was instrumental in launching the People Power revolt that toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

Whether or not Mr. Duterte will heed this call to lift his mailed-fist policy and forego violence as a preferred approach to intimidate

critics who stand in the way of his crackdown is a matter of conjecture. There is no sign that he is backing off from violent confrontation.

The grim reality in this seeming standoff is that the road is wide open for more killings, in which innocent noncombatants are at risk as “collateral damage.” The worst-case scenario is the prospect of military intervention to end the mayhem in the streets or a coup attempt against the Duterte regime.

Toward the end of 2016, the options for nonviolent solutions seemed to be narrowing, and the atmosphere was charged with loose talk of nondemocratic options, such as the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the declaration of martial law.

But days after complaining about the safeguards against martial law in the 1987 Constitution, Mr. Duterte said he had no plans

of placing the country under martial rule. But he was far from reassuring. In a quick turnaround in a live TV interview, he said martial law would “lead to the downfall of the country.” He added: “Me, I don’t need to do it.” He also said he would just tell the people of the occurrence of lawless violence and the steps he would take to stop it.

It was in a speech in Pampanga before Christmas that Mr. Duterte revealed his true colors. Hesaid he wanted to change the provisions in the 1987 Constitution that requires the Congress and the Supreme Court to review a president’s proclamation of martial law. If the two institutions had conflicting findings, there could be trouble, he said, and added that only one person should be giving directions in a situation requiring martial law.

In short, that’s one-man rule. ■

PUBLIC LIVES

What is the secret of Mr. Duterte’s popularity?

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer TO BE able to state what seems commonsensical without fear of being labeled immoral, or criminal, or uncivilized, or even crazy, has been one of President Duterte’s abiding rhetorical skills. It is what makes him a captivating speaker despite his penchant for longwinded and incoherent monologues.

One never knows what he’s going to say, or who will be the next object of his unrestrained cussing and threatening language. He can’t seem to resist stepping out of a prepared script regardless of the occasion. He is alternately funny and fearsome, ironic and straightforward, rude and decorous. In a word, he’s unpredictable. In this manner is he able to command the undivided attention of his audiences.

A good example was his recent foray into what one might bluntly call the economy of killing. Informed that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the state agency that regularly replenishes the President’s Social Fund, has earmarked P1 billion for the rehabilitation of drug dependents, he casually remarked that the money could have been used for worthier purposes.

The occasion was the oath tak-

ing of a new batch of presidential hidden sources, they draw satisfac- drug trade, oblivious to the minor appointees, and the speech was tion from hearing them confirmed roles they play and the circumaired on national television. The by no less than the nation’s highest stances that draw them to this way President explained: “So just official. of life. If a study of those who have imagine, one billion which could Therein, I think, lies the secret been killed in this so-called war have been used for something like of Mr. Duterte’s popularity. His were to be conducted, it would not feeding the hungry. Napunta sa approach to the complex work of be surprising to find that none of mga ulol hindi ko naman… gusto governance is founded upon the these slain drug pushers from the kong patayin lahat eh … magka- presumed futility of conventional slums ever became rich from drug karoon tayo ng eskandalo. So I had methods. He has no qualms about peddling. to subsidize also the … eh Pilipino shortcircuiting the requirements Their starting point has been a eh.” of formal institutions, believing world of poverty and squalor. SniffThe real scandal in this remark, these to be, at best, superfluous, ing drugs gave them a momentary however, is that many Filipinos and, at worst, dysfunctional. escape from that world, and selling will most likely agree with it. To This is a knee-jerk reaction to sachets of shabu augmented their them, it’s commonsense: A poor the complex demands of a mod- meager incomes. But, at that level, country cannot afford to waste ern society. Instead of figuring out earnings from drug peddling would precious resources never have been on the rehabilitaenough to feed a [Duterte] has no qualms about shortcircuiting the tion of drug adfamily. requirements of formal institutions, believing these to be, at dicts. Drug addicts My brother, best, superfluous, and, at worst, dysfunctional. are better off dead Caloocan Bishop than alive, a drain Pablo David, has on government resources. It is for ourselves how to master the opened a rehabilitation program foolish to think that, with a little routines of democratic statecraft, for drug dependents who seek help from the public, they can be we have sought refuge in the deci- treatment for their addiction and rescued from their self-chosen ad- siveness of sultanic rule. No mat- a refuge from the killers that stalk diction. ter how dubious the premises of their neighborhoods. Not equipped The power of Mr. Duterte’s these unorthodox solutions are, for resident patients, the program words resides in the fact that while we scramble to find a warrant for requires its participants to attend he freely articulates such senti- them, even portraying them as in- all-day therapy sessions. He noments, ordinary Filipinos who may spired and born of native wisdom ticed that despite their eagerness hold these beliefs with more or less and experience. to be cured of their addiction, only the same conviction cannot openly We echo this way of thinking a few could come for the whole day. say them out of fear of being called when we rationalize the killing The rest said they had to take care barbaric or unchristian. Rather of poor folks by the police or by of their families first before they than examine these disturbing masked gunmen by pointing to could come in for therapy. Rehabiases if only to understand their their participation in the illicit bilitation may give them a better

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chance at a normal life, but it does not free them from the exigencies of poverty.

Serious drug rehabilitation programs entail enormous investments in resources, facilities, time, and dedicated and trained personnel. Still, recidivism is high everywhere. In short, they are costly—so costly that if one measures their value in terms of economic rationality, they would easily lose out to other priorities. But that’s the reason we have governments; they are supposed to operate according to a different set of norms.

In the same speech, Mr. Duterte turned to his critics: “I may not really be the ideal public official that you’d want me to be. Sabi hindi raw statesman. Eh p_ ina statesman; ang kinuha ko law. There’s no such degree as statesman. Bakit mo ipilit sa akin ganon, statesman, statesman?

Wala ka naman ginawa sa bayan mo.”

The last sentence is the clincher: that being a statesman means nothing if you can’t do anything for your country. It’s a false equation.

A statesman is a leader who gains the world’s respect and admiration for his country and people, by the selfless way in which he represents their highest ideals, and by the measured manner he harnesses the nation’s collective power to solve its problems. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

15

AT LARGE

A movie of sweetness and light

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer IN THIS day and age—of cynicism and pessimism—and in this season in our national life—of fear of “tokhang” and the rule of casual cruelty and lies—we need a movie like “La La Land.”

Locally, movies like “Saving Sally” and “Sunday Beauty Queen” proved to be welcome distractions, sweet and touching and honest explorations of the human condition and the power of love. “La La Land,” a product of the entertainment behemoth that is Hollywood, defies the stereotype and gives us two hours or so of escape and innocence. And like the two local productions, provides the needed lightness in a season of grief and disgust. And like the two protagonists who float in the night sky and cavort among the stars, we end up floating on illusions of possibilities and dreams.

As filmmaker Damien Chazelle tells it, the movie had a long, difficult gestation. He wrote the

screenplay in 2010, inspired by of cast members and the cyniAnd the leads—Ryan Gosling the golden age of Hollywood mu- cism of onlookers who believed as the struggling musician and sicals “to pay homage and salute the movie musical was a genre Emma Stone as the aspiring acpeople with an unrealistic state that had outlived its usefulness tress—embody both the raring of mind, who move to Los Ange- and public appeal. ambition of most of those who les to chase their dreams.”

And to make things even riskifind their way to Hollywood But like the protagonists in er, one of the lead characters is a seeking to leave their mark on the movie in his mind, Chazelle jazz musician, not even a fusion the world, as well as the brightand his partners met countless jazz exponent (that he briefly eyed optimism that allows them obstacles, including producers becomes) but a firm adherent of to soldier on despite the indifferwho wanted him to change the “classic” and therefore inacces- ence of those who hold their fates identities of the lead characters sible jazz. in their hands. and the ending Indeed, I loved he had written. how Chazelle What sweet vindication it is, then, that this “Cinderella” Along the way, he managed to hark movie is reaping the rewards of its creators’ faith and was distracted by back to the golden perseverance, including bagging seven citations in the Golden an offer to make a age of lavish muGlobes the day before we previewed “La La Land.” film about an assicals while impiring drummer buing his movie, and his abusive set in the present mentor (“Whipday, with the hard lash”) whose success finally Despite the odds and the barri- truths of life in the entertainbrought him and his movie to the ers, “La La Land” is a sweet suc- ment capital. attention of the right producers. cess. Its winning and winsome *** *** story about two struggling art“La La Land” is a nickname In this sense, “La La Land” ists finding each other amid the given not just to Los Angeles and could be called a “Cinderella” hustle and hubris that surround Hollywood but also to the entire film. It is a film that struggled to them in Hollywood is timeless, world of show business, where get made according to the vision transcending even the hard edg- fantasy is often its own excuse for of its creators, and once filming es of contemporary romance, or deception and deceit. began, had to cope with a change what passes for it.

Only the foolish, it seems,

would devote their lives to the pursuit of the dubious rewards of the near-impossible dream.

And it seems so apt that both Stone and Gosling contributed their own real-life experiences and frustrations in the audition circuit to illustrate how their characters have to deal with the blows of the casually cruel and the mindlessly mundane powersthat-be.

What sweet vindication it is, then, that this “Cinderella” movie is reaping the rewards of its creators’ faith and perseverance, including bagging seven citations in the Golden Globes the day before we previewed “La La Land.” Does this presage even greater glory when the Oscars come around? In the tradition of happy-ending movies, let’s hope this good-hearted, happy but grounded movie prevails over its gloomier rivals. We could all use a little “la la land” in our lives these days. ■

LOOKING BACK

Incriminating stuff rarely on hard copy

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer “NO DOCUMENT,” the late Teodoro Agoncillo growled into a tape recorder in 1984, “no history!” Agoncillo’s area of expertise—the late 19th century—provided him with enough archival and library material to write his landmark works: “Revolt of the Masses: The Story of Andres Bonifacio and the Katipunan” (1956) and “Malolos Crisis of the Republic” (1960). Then, in 1965, he published “The Fateful Years,” a two-volume work on the Japanese Occupation in which he drew a compelling narrative not just from historical materials but also from his own experience of surviving the war.

When Ferdinand Marcos’ continued rule was being questioned and challenged by street rallies following the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in August 1983, Agoncillo was often asked how he would treat the Marcos period in an updated edition of his required collegiate Philippine his-

tory textbook. He replied that a “electric” typewriter, and shifted ers or their containers. The same historian needed perspective—in to a complicated word processing goes with video recordings. this case, at least a decade from program called Wordstar. HandWhen archived properly, exactual or present events to see written or typewritten docu- tant presidential papers can proevents more clearly. ments are still accessible, but vide material for many books and I remember Agoncillo a lot those composed on now obsolete articles, but much material is not these days as I explore the Mar- programs cannot be accessed. set on paper anymore because cos years, often asking myself For example, the infamous we communicate using SMS and how he would cope with the Nixon Watergate tapes were e-mail. Then, of course, there changing nature of documenta- made with “old technology” inac- are hardly any hard copies of intion. The world has evolved so cessible unless material is trans- criminating material, and when fast since he passed away in 1985; ferred and continually updated these do exist they are disposed documents are of with paper not confined to shredders. Many When archived properly, extant presidential papers can paper anymore. historians have provide material for many books and articles, but much We have “hard” profited from material is not set on paper anymore because we communicate copies and “soft” close inspection using SMS and e-mail. copies. E-mail has of historical pamade snail mail pers, especially almost obsolete. SMS and voice into the new digital formats. marginal notes that document calls have made noteand letter- Marcos kept a lot of memoranda important decisions. Today, even writing a fast-disappearing art. on Dictaphone recordings, and those have been compromised More historical material is I was told some of these tapes by small squares of yellow pachurned out these days than at are still extant somewhere but per with an adhesive strip called any other time in the past, and cannot be accessed without a Post-its, where important scribthe big challenges of the future compatible player. Audio tapes bles can mark a document and be will be access and validation. on reels, or on cassettes, can be removed when later convenient.

Millennials will not be able to transferred easily to digital on I once asked a US diplomat why imagine how their elders wrote players provided the tapes have they were not allowed to keep manuscripts by longhand, typed not disintegrated due to mois- journals, and he replied casually: out things on a “manual” or ture or become tangled in play- “Because these can be subpoe-

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naed.”

Of late I have invested a lot of time surfing the internet and reading declassified information from the “Foreign Relations of the United States” as well as Wikileaks—and seeing but a tip of the proverbial iceberg. There is so much material on our contemporary history waiting for Filipino historians in archives in the United States. Access is relatively easy; with a valid ID, you don’t need to know anyone high up to do research in the Library of Congress or the National Archives and Records Administration. And when you encounter a sensitive document, you can file for access under the Freedom of Information Act. Research on presidential papers in the Philippines is more difficult because you first have to find out where these are kept.

Then the next hurdle is gaining full access to them. The key to understanding our present seems to lie in the yet unwritten history of the second half of the 20th century. ■

16

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Canada News Canada’s party for Trump: Poutine, salmon, and a reduced bill for taxpayers

BY ALEXANDER PANETTA The Canadian Press WASHINGTON — As the Canadian government prepares its quadrennial U.S. presidential inauguration bash at its embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue, this year’s menu plans include poutine, salmon, beef, tourtiere — and a reduced bill for taxpayers.

The government hopes to have companies foot the full cost for this year’s festivities, unlike in 2013, when sponsors covered three-quarters of the cost and taxpayers paid the remaining $44,096, according to documents obtained by The Canadian Press through the Access to Information Act. Canada’s event usually draws a strong turnout given the prime location as the only foreign embassy in the area, near the National Mall and right along the parade route. On Friday, Donald Trump will take the oath of office at the U.S. Capitol to become the 45th president, then pass the embassy and its string of Canadian flags en route to the White House.

Few Canadians appear inclined to celebrate this year’s event, if polls are to be believed.

A mere 18 per cent told an Angus Reid survey in November that they were somewhat or very pleased with Trump’s win.

So did the government have any second thoughts about hosting a party this year? Not for a moment, said David Mac-

Naughton, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. “We’d be crazy not to use the assets we have here — of being the only embassy between the Capitol and the White House,” MacNaughton said in an interview.

“It is a fantastic asset for the people of Canada. We would be nuts not to use it to continue to build our contacts and our relationships with the government in the United States, at all levels ... regardless of who the president of the United States is.”

Members of Congress and some governors are likely to drop by, he added. Trump adviser Newt Gingrich has made an appearance in the past.

“For those who would criticize, I can’t imagine what the reaction would be if we said, ‘Oh, we’re actually not going to use this asset that the people of Canada have paid for, to help promote Canada,”’ MacNaughton said.

“That would be pretty dumb, frankly.”

The embassy team has been seeking out U.S. allies at all levels of government, and in different industries, for potentially difficult conversations this year surrounding the North American Free Trade Agreement and Buy American infrastructure restrictions.

The Canadian-hosted event has occurred for every inauguration since 1993. The embassy expects 1,800 people to attend this year’s bash, which will include a tailgate party and parade-viewing from the em-

bassy’s outdoor courtyard.

Some of the more prominent guests will be invited up to the ambassador’s suite atop the building. Earlier this year, visitors to the embassy’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner party included Reince Priebus — chairman of the Republican party at the time, and soon to be the White House chief of staff.

An embassy spokeswoman suggested Friday’s cost to taxpayers would be lower than for Barack Obama’s last inauguration. The federal documents obtained by CP suggest the final tally came in at $186,174, with corporate sponsors footing $142,078 of the bill.

“Our expectation is that the events (this time)... will be fully covered by our corporate partners,” said spokeswoman Christine Constantin.

Another difference from the Obama inaugurations is the level of enthusiasm in Washington.

Inauguration tickets are still being offered online. Several musicians have pulled out of the event. The latest cancellation came Monday from Bruce Springsteen — not from the musician himself, who’d refused to play for Trump, but from a cover band that also withdrew.

Numerous hotel rooms are still available in Washington. Trump’s even less popular here than he is in Canada. In the U.S. capital, the incoming president received four per cent of the vote — the worst result for any major party nominee in the district, ever. ■

ART BABYCH / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

Ethics watchdog to investigate PM’s use of Aga Khan’s private helicopter

BY JORDAN PRESS The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canada’s ethics watchdog plans to take a closer look at Justin Trudeau’s recent family holiday at the Aga Khan’s private island in the Bahamas, fanning the flames of a controversy the government has so far been unable to snuff out.

Trudeau’s holiday with the Aga Khan — a family friend, noted philanthropist and hereditary spiritual leader to the world’s approximately 15 million Ismaili Muslims — bears closer scrutiny, ethics commissioner Mary Dawson confirmed Monday.

In a letter to Blaine Calkins, one of two Conservative MPs who filed formal complaints, Dawson said she will examine both Trudeau’s stay at the

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island and his use of the Aga Khan’s private helicopter to get there.

Dawson wrote that she has “commenced an investigation” to determine if Trudeau broke two sections of federal ethics laws “in connection with his recent stay at and travel to the Aga Khan’s privately owned island.”

The vacation included Trudeau, his wife and three kids, Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan and Liberal party president Anna Gainey, all of whom took part in helicopter flights between the capital city of Nassau and the secluded island.

Though not a registered lobbyist, the Aga Khan is on the board of directors of the Aga Khan Foundation, which receives tens of millions of dollars in government contributions to ❱❱ PAGE 20 Ethics watchdog

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Canada News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

17

Home sales won’t be as big an economic boost this year, CREA says

BY ALEXANDRA POSADZKI The Canadian Press TORONTO — Home sales, one of the pillars of the economy last year, are not going to be as big of a driver this year as the effect of new federal mortgage measures fully kicks in, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.

The real estate industry accounted for roughly 12 per cent of the country’s GDP in October, the most recent monthly data available, according to Statistics Canada.

But Gregory Klump, the chief economist for the Canadian Real Estate Association, said he expects home sales aren’t likely to be as big of a contributor to the economy in 2017.

“New regulations mean that in order to qualify for a mortgage, homebuyers will either have to save longer for a bigger down payment or purchase

a lower priced home,” Klump said in a statement.

“In urban centres where the latter are in short supply, that’s likely to translate into fewer sales.”

Ottawa tightened mortgage rules in October, including requiring that all insured mortgages undergo a stress test to determine whether borrowers are still able to make mortgage payments if circumstances change, such as interest rates rising or incomes declining.

Such tests were previously not required for fixed-rate mortgages longer than five years.

TD economist Diana Petramala says it will take some time before the full impact of the changes materializes. That’s because even though the regulations took effect last October, they don’t apply to those who were pre-approved for a mortgage prior to the rules being implemented.

“As such, the effect may not

be fully felt until January,” Petramala said in a research note.

BMO economist Robert Kavcic agrees that real estate will account for a smaller part of Canada’s GDP this year.

“One of the big contributors has been Vancouver, and just through the last four or five months the market there has already started to correct,” said Kavcic.

The real estate association, which represents more than 100,000 real estate brokers, agents and salespeople, also released data for last month showing that home sales were up 2.2 per cent compared to November, rebounding partially from a big drop following the introduction of the new mortgage rules.

The number of homes trading hands posted the biggest monthly retreat in more than four years from October to November, the trade group said.

On a year-over-year basis,

The real estate industry accounted for roughly 12 per cent of the country’s GDP in October, the most recent monthly data available, according to Statistics Canada.

home sales were down five per cent last month compared to December 2015, when they reached the highest level for that month.

Annually, the number of homes that changed hands was up 6.3 per cent last year compared with 2015, as sales started out strong before softening.

The MLS home price index in December was up 14.3 per cent compared with a year ago,

while the national average sale price climbed 3.5 per cent yearover-year.

Supply continued to tighten, with new listings down in more than half of all local markets.

The number of homes newly listed for sale slipped three per cent from November to December, with B.C.’s Lower Mainland, Calgary and the Greater Toronto Area seeing the biggest declines. ■

Two richest Canadians have as much wealth as poorest 30 per cent: Report says

BY NICOLE THOMPSON The Canadian Press THE TWO richest Canadians have the same amount of wealth as the poorest 30 per cent of the country combined, according to a new report from a group of international aid organizations.

The Oxfam report says the wealth of billionaire businessmen David Thomson and Galen Weston Sr. equals that of about 11 million Canadians.

The group of organizations, under the banner group Oxfam International, published its report “An Economy for the 99%” ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which begins Tuesday. The report also said that the world’s eight richest people have as much wealth as the poorest 50 per cent of the world’s population.

“This is not a report about the rich and the poor. It’s about the

super-rich and the rest of us,” said Lauren Ravon, the director of policy and campaigns at Oxfam Canada.

Oxfam made its calculations about global wealth distribution based on the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Data book, and calculated the wealth of the world’s richest people using the annual billionaires list from Forbes Magazine, which was last published in March 2016.

Jim Davies, a professor at the University of Western Ontario who works on the Credit Suisse report, said there can be broader implications of wealth inequality. He noted that those implications are often different from those of income inequality.

Wealth is calculated by subtracting a person’s debts from their assets, he said, whereas income refers to the money or assets a person makes or receives over a period of time.

Wealth offers security, Davies said, which income doesn’t

always do.

“If you lose your job, you’re in a much worse position if you don’t have money in the bank,” he noted.

Ravon said the effects of wealth inequality can ricochet into other parts of society.

“In countries that are more unequal, there’s higher rates of crime. Those societies are less healthy. People distrust each other more,” she said. “People feel like they’re disconnected from society when they see that the super-rich are writing the rules in their favour.”

And Stephen Harris, a professor of public policy at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, said wealthy business owners have more power to lobby the government than the majority of everyday Canadians, which contributes to inequality.

“We used to really be a caring-sharing society,” he said.

“We lost some of that.”

A society with so much inwww.canadianinquirer.net

equality isn’t economically sustainable, Ravon added. “In the long-term, if there’s such concentration of wealth in the hands of just a few, there will be no one left to buy the goods, to keep the economy running.”

But Harris said the problem isn’t so easily fixed.

“I guess if I had a solution I’d be rich,” he said. “But I don’t have a bullet that would fix it.”

He said there are some things Canada can do to address the problem — such as policies for wealth redistribution used in Nordic countries, which tend to have less inequality — but they won’t work unless the population gets behind the changes.

“We can’t just migrate a system to this country,” he said.

“People have to be supportive of it if it’s going to have legitimacy.”

Oxfam’s report made a number of suggestions for the government to implement in its next federal budget, including progressive taxation — a system

used in Nordic countries, where those with higher incomes pay a greater portion of that income in taxes.

It also suggested raising the proportion of government spending on public services and social protection.

For the government’s part, an official in the office of Social Development Minister JeanYves Duclos said in a statement that Trudeau’s Liberals have already started making changes to grow the middle class.

Mathieu Filion wrote in an email that one of the first things the government did after coming to power was to cut taxes to the middle class and raise them for families with an income of $250,000 or more.

He also noted the government introduced the Canada Child Benefit, which he said gives an average of $2,300 to 90 per cent of families.

He said the government is watching the issue of wealth inequality “closely.” ■

18

Canada News

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Police need training, new technology, not just 911 regulations: advocates

BY TERRY PEDWELL The Canadian Press OTTAWA — It’s going to take a lot more than new regulations to allow all Canadians to send urgent, life-and-death text and video messages to emergency call centres, say advocates of so-called next-generation 911 services.

Organizations, including the Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group, say a hearing this week by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission into expanding 911 service across the country is just the beginning of what’s needed to upgrade services to take advantage of new technologies.

Police services will need to train their 911 operators to deal with an influx of text messages and the potentially disturbing pictures and videos likely to be relayed by witnesses and victims alike, says CITIC executive director Eric Torunski.

When it comes to texting, “somebody has to read the text, somebody has to interpret the text; sometimes it takes a lot longer than a voice call would take,” said Torunski, who will be an intervener at this week’s hearing in Gatineau, Que. “Similar with pictures, you might be getting a picture

that’s not all that pleasant, say, of an accident scene,” he said.

“There’s a lot of extra training that will go into that.”

Torunski and others say 911 services in both Canada and most of the United States are tethered to older voice-centric technology that will have to be upgraded.

Next-generation emergency services, referred to as NG-911, rely on Internet protocol (IP) broadband technology to allow the transmission not only of voice calls, but also text data, pictures and video.

The CRTC, which regulates phone service providers, will study the technical requirements for implementing NG911 across Canada. It will also examine and ultimately decide who will pay for the upgraded systems. There are also issues of confidentiality that have to be examined.

But the actual provision of 911 services falls under provincial jurisdiction, and the operation of those services is in the hands of local police, paramedics or firefighting authorities.

The city of Toronto voted last summer to have its police service examine the prospect of adopting emergency texting, on the reasoning that sending a text could be a safer alternative in some situations, such as when a caller is hiding from a

would-be assailant.

“There are situations in which making voice calls would attract unwanted attention and texting would provide a safe alternative,” Toronto city Coun.

Norm Kelly argued in July.

He cited examples of cities in the United States that were considering adopting emergency text services in the wake of the June massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Since then, nearly 700 dispatch centres south of the border have been outfitted to accept 911 texts, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Montreal councillor Francois Limoges has also asked his city’s police force to examine 911 text messaging.

The Toronto Police Services Board warned in July that text messaging could overwhelm its already-stretched 911 voice operations.

Hundreds of communities across the country already provide 911 texting service for people with speech or hearing impairments after the CRTC ordered telecommunication companies to upgrade their networks to support the feature

by January 2014. Pilot projects were launched in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Ontario’s Peel region.

Making those services avail-

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able to everyone will require co-ordination of CRTC regulations with governments, phone service providers and emergency responders on the ground, said Torunski, whose not-forprofit organization represents the national Association of Fire Chiefs, the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs and the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada.

“One of the main concerns ... is a lack of co-ordination and consistency with the current 911 environment,” added Diane Pelletier, who chairs a volunteer group of provincial, territorial and municipal experts known as the NG-911 Coalition of the Willing, which was scheduled to testify at the hearing Monday.

Lawyer Timothy Denton, who was appointed by the CRTC to research next-generation telecommunications networks, echoed those concerns, warning that such a lack of coordination would lead to problems that could mean the dif-

ference between life and death for 911 callers.

“Without organization, a national (not federal, but nationwide) response to the challenges of transiting to IP-based systems will be less efficient, effective and swift than it might otherwise be,” Denton wrote on his blog, calling for “a body of policy-types who can talk, plan, consider, exchange ideas, and otherwise concern themselves with the transition.”

About 94 per cent of landline telephone and smartphone service subscribers across the country currently have access to enhanced 911 service, where emergency call centres automatically receive an address or location of the caller. Another two per cent of Canadians, largely in the Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador, have to provide their location to a 911 operator. Emergency 911 service is not available in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. ■

B.C. housing minister says first time home buyer program attracting applicants THE CANADIAN PRESS VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s housing minister says a program to help first-time homebuyers received applications within hours of launching.

Rich Coleman said that within six hours of the provincial loan program’s launch on Monday, 29 applications had been submitted.

He said the province would be ready to approve eight of the applications by Tuesday for the loan that is interest- and payment-free for five years.

“This opportunity will change a number of lives,” Coleman said.

The B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership announced last month gives firsttime buyers a maximum $37,500 loan toward a down payment.

The loan matches a first-time buyers’ down payment up to five per cent of the purchase price on homes with a maximum value of $750,000.

The loan must be paid off over the subsequent 20 years past the interest-free period, with payments scheduled at current interest rates.

After the program was announced last month, some economists criticized the move saying it would only drive up housing prices by creating more competition in the market.

“They’re wrong,” Coleman said when asked about the program’s potential to raise housing prices.

“Let’s say 10,000 people took advantage of this ... This isn’t going to fuel the market. It’s not large enough to change the market.”

The program wasn’t designed to respond to sky-high housing prices in Vancouver, Coleman www.canadianinquirer.net

said, but to help first-time buyers across the province.

“The market prices are different, but the ability to get into your first home and stabilize your family in home ownership is a good thing,” he said.

The program could also open up the rental market, by transitioning renters into home ownership, he said.

The province previously announced that it is spending around $500 million to increase rental housing.

Coleman said the combination of the loan and rental programs would ideally make both

real estate and rental markets more affordable.

He said the anticipated cost of about $703 million for the first-time buyers program is not being funded by taxpayers.

“We already have the dollars from where we’re at with the property transfer tax,” he said, adding funds generated from taxes introduced last year on luxury homes and foreign buyers helped make the program possible.

Over 40,000 families are expected to benefit from the province’s first-time buyers program over the next three years. ■

World News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

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South Korea seeks arrest of Women have many Samsung scion in graft scandal motivations for DC inauguration protest

BY YOUKYUNG LEE The Associated Press

SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF — In a departure from the leniency typically given South Korean big businesses, prosecutors on Monday requested the arrest of the de facto head of Samsung Electronics, the country’s most valuable company, in an influence-peddling scandal that has toppled the country’s president.

Lee Jae-yong, the 48-year-old vice chairman at Samsung Electronics, faces allegations of embezzlement, of lying under oath during a parliamentary hearing and of offering a bribe of 43 billion won ($36 million) to a longtime friend of impeached President Park Geun-hye, according to Lee Kyu-chul, a spokesman for a special prosecutors’ team investigating the political scandal.

It will surprise many that prosecutors requested the arrest of the man who symbolizes the future of South Korea’s most important chaebol, as family-controlled conglomerates are known. Such leaders tend to be treated as vital for the national economy.

Samsung Electronics is South Korea’s most successful company and a source of pride for many who equate its huge global success with national prestige.

The company has gone through a rough patch in the past half-year, however, after its latest premium smartphone was found to be prone to catching fire.

Prosecutors understood worries that Lee’s arrest could hurt the economy, but “we believed that it was even more important to carry out justice,” Lee, the spokesman at the special prosecutors’ team, told reporters.

A Seoul court said it will review the prosecutors’ request on Wednesday. The request takes two to three days to review, according to a Seoul court official in charge of arrest warrants who declined to give his name because of office rules.

“The public demand that chaebol, especially Samsung, should not be an exception and that everyone should be equal before laws has become stronger,” said Kim Sang-jo, executive director of Solidarity for Economic Reforms, a private

BY NANCY BENAC The Associated Press

People at Gwanghwamun Square calling for punishment of president Park Geun-hye and Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong who has been questioned in corruption probe.

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watchdog on big businesses.

“Prosecutors and judicial institutions cannot ignore the huge pressure from the public.”

Samsung allegedly donated funds to various entities controlled by Choi Soon-sil, the jailed secretive confidante of the president, including two non-profit foundations and a winter sports centre run by Choi’s niece. This allegedly happened while the company was seeking the government’s help with a leadership succession within the Samsung group to Lee Jae-yong from his father who has been hospitalized for more than two years.

Part of the money given to Choi allegedly was embezzled by the Samsung vice chairman, the spokesman for the prosecutors said. He declined to disclose the exact amount.

Samsung said it has never made donations to win favours.

Prosecutors also indicted exhealth minister Moon Hyungpyo on Monday on charges he abused his power to compel the national pension fund to support a contentious Samsung merger in 2015.

“We cannot accept the special prosecutors’ argument that there were unlawful favours related to the merger or the leadership succession,” Samsung said in a statement.

The investigation of the Samsung chief could also target Park.

Her impeachment is under review by the constitutional Court, which will decide whether to restore her power or force her from office. The prosecutors’ spokesman said investigators had evidence proving that Park shared wealth with Choi and was an accomplice in the Samsung bribery case. They plan to summon Park

and will then decide whether to name her as a suspect in the Samsung case, he said.

The national pension fund is the biggest shareholder in Samsung C&T. Its vote in favour of the company’s merger with Cheil Industries helped facilitate Samsung’s leadership succession, allowing Lee Jaeyong to increase his control over Samsung Electronics without spending any of his own money.

Smaller shareholders said the merger unfairly benefited Samsung founding family members and hurt minority shareholders.

Samsung sought “unlawful favours” related to “leadership succession,” the prosecutors’ spokesman said.

Samsung Electronics was founded by Lee Jae-yong’s grandfather. The younger Lee has been serving as its de facto head since his father suffered a heart attack in 2014.

Other leaders at Samsung, Hyundai Motor and SK, including Lee’s father Lee Kun-hee, have been convicted in the past for embezzlement or tax evasion. But most avoided imprisonment and later won pardons from presidents who worried that the economy might suffer if they were jailed.

In turn, the businesses often responded to such pardons by announcing big investments or jobs. A former South Korean president pardoned Lee Kunhee, the ailing Samsung chairman, in 2009, in hopes he would help South Korea win a bid to host the Winter Olympic games.

He was reinstated as a member of the International Olympic Committee after the pardon and South Korea won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics games in Pyeongchang. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

WASHINGTON — Call them rebels with a cause. Or two. Or three. Or 10.

When throngs of women from around the nation converge on Washington for a march on the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, they will arrive driven by a multitude of motivations.

Gay rights, gun control, immigrant rights, equal pay, reproductive freedom, racial justice, worker rights, climate change, support for vaccinations: They all make the list of progressive causes that are attracting people to the Women’s March on Washington and its sister marches across the country and the world this coming Saturday.

“We are not going to give the next president that much focus,” says Linda Sarsour, a national march organizer and executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. “What we want from him is to see us in focus.”

But while Trump’s name may not literally appear in the march’s “mission and vision” statement, the common denominator uniting the marchers appears to be a loathing for the president-elect and dismay that so much of the country voted for him.

“This march feels like a chance to be part of something that isn’t pity, isn’t powerlessness,” says Leslie Rutkowski, an American living in Norway who plans to fly back for the march.

“I hope it is unifying. I hope it flies in the face of Trump’s platform of hate and divisiveness.”

Adds Kelsey Wadman, a new mom in California who’s helping to organize a parallel march in San Diego: “It’s not just about Donald Trump the person. It’s about what he evoked out of the country.”

The march in Washington is set to start with a program near the Capitol and then move toward the White House. It probably will be the largest of a number of inauguration-relat-

ed protests.

Christopher Geldart, the District of Columbia’s homeland security director, said he expected the march to draw more than the 200,000 people organizers are planning for, based on bus registrations and train bookings.

The focus of the march has been a work in progress since the idea of a Washington mobilization first bubbled up from a number of women’s social media posts in the hours after Trump’s election.

The group’s November application for a march permit summed up its purpose as to “come together in solidarity to express to the new administration & Congress that women’s rights are human rights and our power cannot be ignored.”

That phrasing rankled some who thought it was tied too closely to Hillary Clinton, the defeated Democratic nominee, whose famous Beijing speech as first lady declared that “women’s rights are human rights.” The fact that the initial march organizers were mostly white women also generated grumbling, this time from minorities. Gradually, the march’s leadership and its mission statements have become more all-inclusive.

Recent releases from march organizers state the event “intends to send a bold message to the incoming presidential administration on their first day in office, to leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and to the world, that we stand together in solidarity and expect elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities.”

America Ferrera, leading the celebrity contingent for the march, rolled out a long list of concerns in a statement announcing her role.

“Immigrant rights, worker rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, racial justice and environmental rights are not special interests, they affect us all and should be every Ameri❱❱ PAGE 38 Women have

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World News

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

UN chief calls for global fight Secret WWI against hate crimes, bigotry telegram holds lessons for today, historians say PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

UNITED NATIONS — With anti-Muslim hate crimes and bigotry on the rise, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said communities that look different become easy scapegoats in times of insecurity and asserted that “discrimination diminishes us all.”

“In times of insecurity, communities that look different become convenient scapegoats.

We must resist cynical efforts to divide communities and portray neighbors as ‘the other’,” Guterres said, in a video message to a high-level event on combating anti-Muslim discrimination and hatred, in New York yesterday.

The UN Chief said antiMuslim hate crimes and other forms of bigotry are on the rise as are xenophobia, racism and anti-Semitism.

BY JENNIFER MCDERMOTT The Associated Press

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“Discrimination diminishes us all. It prevents people and societies from achieving their full potential,” he said.

He made a strong appeal for people to draw strength from the values of inclusion, tolerance and mutual understanding.

Quoting from the Holy Quran, Guterres said people everywhere need to feel that their cultural identities are valued.

The high-level event was organized by the Permanent Mis-

sions of Canada and the US to the UN and the Delegation of the European Union and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Guterres also highlighted the Organization’s Together campaign, an effort to promote respect, safety and dignity for all.

“Together, let us stand up against bigotry and for human rights. Together, let us build bridges. Together, let us transform fear into hope,” he said. ■

tunate to know the spiritual leader of the Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan, for all my life and I was glad to see him on vacation,” Trudeau said.

“Of course, I’m open and welcoming of any questions and concerns people have because people’s trust in government and in those who serve them is really important to me.”

Dawson’s decision marks the first time a sitting prime minister has had his or her personal travel scrutinized by the ethics commissioner under the ethics law brought in a decade ago by the previous Conservative government.

Former prime minister Stephen Harper and several cabinet ministers came under Dawson’s gaze in late 2009 over elements of partisanship in government advertising, but the commissioner closed the file after concluding that no laws were broken.

The Conflict of Interest Act and Trudeau’s own ethics guidelines for his cabinet ministers bar the use of sponsored travel in private aircraft, allowing it only for exceptional cir-

cumstances and only with the commissioner’s prior approval.

The act also prohibits a minister or any member of their family from accepting gifts or “advantages” that could reasonably be seen as influencing government decisions. The only exception is if the person providing the gift is a friend.

Trudeau has repeatedly called the Aga Khan a longtime family friend, noting the spiritual leader was a pallbearer at his father’s funeral.

Dawson’s letter says she will decide whether the two are friends as defined in legislation “to determine the acceptability of the gift.”

In a letter of his own to Dawson, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called the flight a “clear-cut violation of the rules,” imploring her to fast-track her probe of the helicopter flight while she takes more time to look into the entire trip.

“The prime minister has every right to take a vacation,” Mulcair wrote. “However, like all other Canadians who take vacations, he does not have the right to break the law.” ■

Ethics watchdog... international development projects.

“The ethics commissioner is quite right to investigate this,” Conservative MP John Brassard said in an interview.

Such potential violations of ethics rules and laws raise questions about whether government spending decisions could ultimately be influenced, he added.

“This is one example where the rules ... have potentially been broken,” Brassard said.

“What other rules have been broken that Canadians aren’t aware of? If you do it once, they can certainly do it again. Canadians need to be mindful of this.”

The prime minister, who was travelling Monday in Nova Scotia, was scheduled to take part in a public town hall later Monday in Dartmouth, N.S. In an interview with Halifax radio station News 95.7, Trudeau said he has heard from Canadians concerned about the ethics of the trip and takes the issue “very seriously.”

“The fact is I’ve been for❰❰ 16

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NEWPORT, R.I. — In a secret telegram a century ago, Germany tried to get Mexico to join its side during World War I by offering it territory in the United States. Britain intercepted, deciphered and shared the “Zimmermann Telegram.”

Historians, seeing parallels to today, say there’s a lot to be learned.

They gathered at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, last week and discussed how a foreign government hacked a secret communication and used the information to sway American public opinion and policy.

When it was released, there was a heated debate over whether it was real or what we now call “fake news.”

The message’s publication — and Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare — was the culmination of a series of events that drew the United States into the war.

Fast-forward a century. Today, the U.S. intelligence community says Russia hacked Democratic groups during the presidential campaign to help Republican Donald Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. President-elect Trump says the DNC was “totally open to be hacked” and praises his future chief of staff for ordering “hacking defence” at the Republican National Committee.

“The greatest strategic threat the U.S. faces is the general ignorance of the past and how the past is with us every day,” said David Kohnen, interim executive director at the U.S. Naval War College Museum.

German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann sent the telegram in January 1917 to the German representative in Mexico. Germany would resume sinking vessels without

warning and Mexico could ally itself to reconquer Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, he wrote.

Germany wanted to keep the United States busy fighting Mexico so it couldn’t send troops and supplies overseas.

The British waited to share the information to avoid compromising their intelligencegathering methods. But once the “German plot” appeared in headlines, President Woodrow Wilson had few options, said Kohnen, the conference organizer. The United States declared war April 6, 1917.

Retired Rear Adm. Samuel Cox, current director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, said he sees parallels with Russia’s recent actions, but stressed that England wasn’t trying to diminish U.S. influence in the world by discrediting its values and democracy.

Cox focused on how many people refused to accept the telegram’s authenticity because it didn’t fit with their preconceived notion of reality, which he said is a reminder of the importance of driving misinformation and rumour out of political debate.

“If you have an environment where the truth becomes optional, like we’re kind of facing today, once you’re in that environment it becomes difficult to break out of it,” he said. “People refuse to believe the truth because they can’t tell the difference.”

Other historians pondered the consequences of the Germans’ overconfidence in their abilities to encode messages.

Cryptographers get too arrogant_ they think no one will get into “my system,” said David Hatch, a National Security Agency historian.

“It was true in 1917 and it’s certainly true today,” he said at the conference.

Cox has sent a memo to naval leaders about the significance of the Zimmermann Telegram so the lessons learned could prove useful. ■

World News

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

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Ivanka Trump to continue working on women’s issues

BY CATHERINE LUCEY The Associated Press DES MOINES, IOWA — She may not be working in the White House, but that doesn’t mean Ivanka Trump is staying out of politics.

Although she has said she will have no official role in her father’s administration, Ivanka Trump has been quietly laying the groundwork for an effort that could make her perhaps the best-connected policy advocate in Washington. Trump, who has made clear she wants to push for policies benefiting women and girls, last week sought the advice of a group of female executives and media stars in New York City. And transition aides have reached out to congressional staff on childcare policies, an area she has urged President-elect Donald Trump to prioritize.

In a Facebook post detailing her next moves, Ivanka Trump thanked people who had reached out on such issues and added that she is determining the “most impactful and appropriate ways for me to serve our country.”

It is not clear if Trump will establish herself independently or if she will eventually enter the White House. But operating from the outside may take her into uncharted territory, as there are few recent examples of a first family member without a White House office advocating for policies. The closest

model is the first lady, who has an office in the East Wing.

For now, the businesswoman has said only that she is stepping away from executive roles at the Trump Organization and her lifestyle brand and is moving her family to Washington so that her husband Jared Kushner can take a job as a senior adviser. She has also stressed that she wants to focus on settling her three young children in a new home.

But Ivanka Trump is also thinking beyond that.

On Thursday, she attended a dinner with female executives at the home of her friend Wendi Deng, ex-wife of media executive Rubert Murdoch. The dinner was put together by Dina Powell, a Goldman Sachs partner who is joining the Trump administration as an assistant to the president and senior counsellor for economic initiatives.

Powell has been advising Ivanka Trump and is expected to continue working closely with her.

Other guests included MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, model Christy Turlington Burns, former White House press secretary Dana Perino, Xerox Chairperson Ursula Burns, Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert, Glamour Editor-in-Chief Cynthia Leive and Time Managing Editor Nancy Gibbs. Another attendee, Pattie Sellers, executive director of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summits, wrote on Fortune.com that Ivanka Trump “explained that she wanted to

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learn from the efforts of leaders in their fields.”

Also there was Sheila Marcelo, founder of www.care.com, a website that connects families with caregivers, said an attendee who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a private dinner. Marcelo spoke about the high cost of caregiving — both for children and adult family members.

The attendee said the group also discussed the Trump transition team’s recent outreach to the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee staff about Trump’s child care proposals. Asked about news reports about the outreach, Ivanka Trump noted that these were priorities for the president-elect, the source said.

A Trump Transition spokesperson declined to comment on the event.

Ivanka Trump’s interest and

influence on these issues was clear during the campaign. Encouraged by his daughter, Donald Trump offered a child care plan in September, which includes guaranteeing six weeks of paid maternity leave for new mothers, as well as some incentives to encourage employers to provide childcare to workers.

The policy would require congressional approval — a considerable hurdle. Such proposals are not a high priority for Republican leadership and it’s not clear how well they’ll be received by conservatives in the GOP-controlled Congress.

Ivanka Trump has already made some outreach to lawmakers, including meeting with Republican women back in September. But it is not clear if, moving forward, she will lobby Congress directly.

There is little precedent for a president’s adult child seeking

to have that sort of influence, said University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter, who served as ethics counsel for President George W. Bush.

The closest comparison would be the policy work by first ladies, like Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign. Painter said that first ladies are generally not subject to conflict of interest laws, though in the past they complied voluntarily like past presidents.

But Painter said to avoid conflicts, Ivanka Trump should, like her husband, follow federal ethics laws. For example, he said she should not offer her father advice on international trade if she continues to have a financial stake in her clothing business. He said he did not think Ivanka Trump would need to register as a lobbyist if she was a policy advocate if she was she not paid.

Ivanka Trump has said she will take a “formal leave of absence” from her executive positions at the Trump Organization and her lifestyle brand — which offers shoes, clothes and messages of female empowerment. Her company will be run by the current president and a board of trustees.

The Trump team has said Ivanka Trump will divest some assets and will receive fixed payments rather than a share of the profits from the Trump Organization. No details have been released on her financial arrangement with the lifestyle brand. ■

Oman says it accepts 10 Guantanamo Bay inmates at US request

BY JON GAMBRELL The Associated Press DUBAI, UNITED Arab Emirates — Oman said Monday it accepted 10 inmates from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay ahead of President Barack Obama leaving office, part of his efforts to shrink the facility he promised to close.

There was no immediate word from the U.S. Defence Department about the transfer.

Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Oman News Agency that it had accepted the prison-

ers at Obama’s request. It did not name the prisoners.

Omani and U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

The sultanate of Oman, on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, previously accepted 10 Guantanamo prisoners from Yemen in January 2016.

Oman also took another six in June 2015. Meanwhile, Oman’s neighbour Saudi Arabia took four prisoners on Jan. 5 and the United Arab Emirates took 15 prisoners in the largest-single transfer during Obama’s administration on Aug. 15.

Oman, ruled by Sultan Qaboos bin Said since 1970, has served as an interlocutor between the West and Iran. It also has negotiated a number of prisoner releases in recent years for Western countries.

Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, remains in the grips of a civil war and a Saudi-led military offensive against the rebels — making returning Guantanamo inmates there impossible.

Days earlier, authorities said 19 of the remaining 55 prisoners at the U.S. military base in Cuba were cleared for release and could be freed in the final days of Obama’s presidency. www.canadianinquirer.net

It was part of an effort by Obama to shrink the prison since he couldn’t close it.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said during his campaign that he not only wants to keep Guantanamo open but “load it up with some bad dudes.”

The U.S. began using its military base on southeast Cuba’s isolated, rocky coast to hold prisoners captured during the Afghanistan invasion, bringing the first planeload on Jan. 11, 2002, and reaching a peak 18 months later of nearly 680.

There were 242 prisoners when Obama took office in 2009, pledging to close what

became a source of international criticism over the mistreatment of detainees and the notion of holding people indefinitely, most without charge.

Obama was unable to close Guantanamo because of Congressional opposition to holding any of the men in the United States. That ultimately became a ban on transferring them to U.S. soil for any reason, including trial, making the failure to close the detention centre part of his legacy.

The majority of Guantanamo prisoners released have been sent to Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. ■

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Community News

JANUARY 20, 2017

FBL Opening Ceremony: A Huge Success THE FILIPINO Basketball League opened its maiden season with a bang last January 15 at St. Mary Secondary School in Pickering. Teams from Crossover Basketball, CKATT-Robinson, NK Warriors, UNDFTD, North York and Lapsley attended the ceremony. It started with an opening prayer led by Ms. Arnie Lopez followed by the singing of the Philippines and Canadian National anthems by Sing Galing Toronto Finalist Keanna Cerezo. FBL Operations Director welcomed the teams, coaches, parents, sponsors and guest. UST Team Manager Gina Francisco Ramos was the guest of honor and provided word of encouragement to the young basketeers. Crossover Sheen Yusay led the oath of sportsmanship and FBL Commissioner Wallie Landicho declared the season open. Games and contest followed the opening ceremony with AJ from UNDFTD winning the best in free throw, Marlon from CKATT-Robinson winning the best in lay-up and Allan Robino from Crossover was the 3 PT King. Lots of giveaway items were provided to all winner courtesy of Scarborough Toyota and TFC. Crossover Sports Canada provided free pop corns to all kids who attended. The opening was hosted by Mr. Banj Ruiz.

Other personalities who graced the event were Victoria Cup top honcho Philip Beloso, NABA GTA leader Roger Tarca, FBL advisers Dome Florido and Abe Oligane and Crossover Sports Canada coordinator Ms. Leslie

Ruiz.

At the game opening salvo Lapsley defeated Maharlika 3422 in the U11 Division with Anthony leading the way with 12 pts. Lapsley and Red Warriors renewed their rivalry in the U15 Division with the former overpowering their opponent 6758 and Xavier Cortez topping the score with 17 pts. UNDFTD bested Maharlika and Crossover dominated Maharlika as well in the U10 category. Zoren Pascual led Crossover with 16 pts and AJ scored 11 pts for UNDFTD. After the games University of Santo Tomas held a tryout for aspiring players from the GTA. Players Rob Ocampo, Evyn Santiago, Nic Malabanan, Josh Samonte, Brendon Ocampo, Andre Cruz, Angelo Sarsonas and Alvin Florido got the attention of UST Team Manager Gina Ramos.

FBL wished to thank all the parents and guest who came to

FRIDAY

PHILIPPINE CANADIAN Inquirer congratulates Mary Loa of Kumare for the opening of its third restaurant, the Kumare Express located on 5183 Joyce Street, Vancouver B.C. The new outlet was formally opened to the public on January 14, 2017. Guests include Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer and friends. In photo are the tandem Mary Loa of Kumare and Liza Muyco. ■

support the event. They also would like to acknowledge our partners TFC (Mr. Manny Gutierrez), Millennium Financials (Ms. Elsie Altamirano), Scarborough Toyota (Mr. Manny Yanga), PNB Global Remit (Mr. Manuel Arnaldo), Philippine Career International (Judith Gonzales), Action Honda (Mr. Gani Gregorio and Mr. Rafael Nebres), Ariel Santos and Estacion Foods. Audio Spin Entertainment provided the DJ and sound system to spice the opening games and ceremony.

League games are held every Sunday 10 AM to 5 pm from January 15 to June 2017. Interested parties who may want to partner with FBL may contact Mr. Michael Cruz (4167958985) or Ms. Leslie Ruiz (4168047973).

Proceeds from the partnerships will benefit Team Canada — NBTC that will again participate at the 9th SM NBTC Basketball Championships in Manila on March 2017. ■

RP welcomes Iran apples FILIPINOS MAY soon have a taste of Iranian apples, as the government of Iran is keen on bringing its produce to Philippine markets.

Iranian Ambassador to the Philippines Mohammad Tanhaei met on January 13, 2017 with Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol to discuss the request of the Iranian government.

Piñol said told Tanhaei that as part of the standard procedure, the Philippine Department of Agriculture is still finalizing the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) in apple fruit samples for pests.

“I’m still waiting for the re-

sults, and if everything turns out okay, rest assured that (the document on) importation of apples is ready for signing,” Piñol said.

The DA chief expressed his excitement for possible ventures because of the huge market for tropical fruits particularly banana and pineapples in Iran. As such, he requested the Teheran government to reduce the tariff on bananas.

At present, the tariff on bananas is pegged at 24 percent.

The ambassador said Iran is also interested in exporting cherry, pomegranate and pistachios to the country.

Teheran is also willing to col-

laborate with the Philippine government in research and development for rice, biotechnology and modern farming.

The Secretary mentioned that the Department is willing to assist Iranian companies interested in business ventures on banana, in identifying possible sites for the project.

Ambassador Tanhaei also said Iran has a huge demand for abaca, which is widely utilized in making tea bags and wellness products in his country.

Piñol bared his plans to visit Iran in May to explore agriculture ventures with the country and lead in agri-fishery trade shows. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

ERIC BACULINAO, the NBC News China Correspondent, met the Philippine PRESS Club Ontario on Jan. 10, 2017 at FV Foods - Scarborough; and discussed the Philippine and China recent BUSINESS and TRADE Agreements, and how each country could benefit from each other. ■

23

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24

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Entertainment ‘Not justifiable:’ Filmmakers weigh in on the ‘Oro’ controversy ‘But censorship is not the answer... The worst thing that could happen is for filmmakers to self-censor’

BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Philippine Daily Inquirer FROM ALL indications, “Oro” was a worthy film effort derailed by a string of bad decisions, made not only by its creators, but by the Metro Manila Film Festival’s executive committee.

The first was to allow the actual killing of two dogs during the production.

The second, to film the slaughter and its aftermath.

The third, to include the footage in the final cut.

The fourth, to allow the screening of the movie even in the absence of the all-important legal disclaimer. (“No animals were harmed during the production of this film.”)

The fifth, to deny it ever happened when allegations of animal cruelty first came out. (“It was a goat with prosthetics.”)

The sixth, to disavow any involvement when denial was no longer possible. (“No member of the crew participated in the killing of the dogs, or ate the dog meat.”)

The seventh, to attempt to justify it when proof was finally offered. (“It’s part of the culture of the rural areas. What about the slaughter of the miners?”)

The eighth, to vandalize the film by blacking out the offending scenes.

The ninth, to pull the film out of the theaters, thereby denying Filipino audiences the opportunity to take whatever lessons they could from the movie, and the filmmakers a chance at whatever redemption they could salvage from the ruins.

Unfortunate canines

Film being a collaborative medium, the blame for the entire fiasco can’t be placed solely on director Alvin Yapan.

There’s certainly enough to go around, and the filmmakers are

still facing charges for violating the Animal Welfare Act of 1998.

But the two unfortunate canines may not have died in vain.

At the very least, the “Oro” controversy has sparked awareness, in the Filipino independent film community, of the ethical and moral dimensions of art and the creative professions.

“It’s a big lesson for everyone,” says award-winning independent filmmaker Sari Raissa Lluch Dalena (“Ka Oryang,” “The Guerrilla is a Poet”).

Dalena, who teaches at the University of the Philippines Film Institute, says the controversy is unfortunate, but at least it has opened a discussion in the independent film community on the ethics of filmmaking, coming on the heels of the notorious Baron Geisler “pissing incident.”

“When I first saw the film, it was a very powerful work and I admired the ensemble, specially Irma Adlawan,” she says.

“I think they deserve the recognition they got.

“I had no problem with the violence, I think the graphic depictions were appropriate for the film,” adds Dalena. “The scene of the dog slaughter was planting the seeds for what would happen to the miners— that they would be treated like animals also. It was integral to the script.”

Red flag

It wasn’t so much the realism of the scene where the dog was drawn and quartered that bothered her, she says, as the fact that there was no legal disclaimer at the end credits.

“I knew right away that there was a problem,” she says.

The absence of a legal disclaimer, usually a statement to the effect that no animals were harmed during the making of the film, suggested that there might have been violations, and

should have been a red flag for the screening committee, suggests Dalena.

Hollywood films are monitored by the American Humane Association during production to ensure that they abide by US laws on animal cruelty. While there is no similar mechanism for local productions, studios usually have legal teams to scrutinize scripts set for production, looking for potential liabilities so they can be nipped in the bud.

“In my experience working with film grants with, for example, Cinema One and Cine Filipino, scripts go through a series of consultations with lawyers who screen them for potential problems such as copyright.

Even the use of literary excerpts, I have to justify and get permission. There’s checking, which I appreciate.”

Moral responsibility

Apparently, no such oversight was available for “Oro” during its preproduction.

“For me, moral responsibility should always align with professional responsibility,” says Dalena. “You’re making an important film with a socially relevant message, but you still have exploitation or ill-treatment of workers. The conceit of advocacy filmmaking comes in when you are sending a very strong message that does not match the best practices of film production.”

In short, there really is no justification for actually harming or killing an animal for a film.

“I have no problem with the slaughter of the dogs as a scene, using it as a metaphor,” she says.

“But there was no need to harm any animals. Even if you’re going for authenticity, there are all these techniques available.

But even without that, it’s basic common sense and sensitivity that you shouldn’t do it.”

Dalena cites Alejandro Gonwww.canadianinquirer.net

SCREENSHOT FROM THE MOVIE

zalez Iñarritu’s “Amores Perros” as prime example.

When the film first came out, it was roundly criticized by animal rights advocates for its scenes of savage dog fights.

But a behind-the-scenes documentary revealed how the filmmakers used special effects and hired professional animal handlers to ensure realism without actually harming the dogs.

These production techniques, of course, cost money, which independent films, working on shoestring budgets, don’t have. They may also be working on tight schedules, facing the temptation to use shortcuts that—as in the case of “Oro”—could lead to disastrous consequences.

Be that as it may, Dalena feels that censoring the film, or pulling it out of the theaters, isn’t the answer.

“I think it deserves to be seen,” she says. “Censorship is not the answer. I’m worried that because of this, they might impose stricter laws, and the worst thing that could happen is for filmmakers to self-censor.

This issue shouldn’t be used to restrict freedom of expression.”

Other ways

For artist and filmmaker Roque Lee, better known as Roxlee, the controversy has overshadowed what, in essence, is a good film, with a strong message about the death of the four miners.

“It would have been a good film if they hadn’t really killed the dogs,” he says in Filipino.

Lee’s short experimental film “Manila Scream” (directed with Blair Camilo) won a special jury prize in the same Metro Manila Film Festival.

“They could have worked around it without losing the message of the film.”

Lee, who hails from Naga City, also takes issue with the filmmakers’ initial statements that killing and eating dogs is part of the culture of the area.

“We don’t really slaughter and eat dogs as much as they do in the north,” he says. “It’s not Bicolano per se, which is not to say that it doesn’t happen.

Mostly it’s drinkers who do it, like anywhere else.”

He agrees that the scene is essential to the film, but feels that it might have gone too far with the hanging carcass.

“I think they wanted to be realistic, because they were shooting in a semidocumentary style, and the film was based on true events, but there are other ways to show it realistically,” he says. “Besides, if they were really after authenticity, maybe they should have done the film in Bicolano.”

But since they had already compromised by doing it in Tagalog, they could have compromised as well by not really killing the dogs.

“It’s not justifiable to kill for a film,” he says. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

25

Fans surprise Alden Richards with a birthday bash APART FROM the birthday celebrations set for the Philippines’ Pambansang Bae Alden Richards, his ever-loyal fans collectively known as the Aldenatics surprised him with a lavish party last January 15 at the Solaire Resort Grand Ballroom in Pasay City.

Alden, who always makes time for his supporters, returned to Manila last Sunday after attending the Sinulog Festival in Cebu — just in time for his birthday bash.

Among the celebrities who attended the big event was Alden’s on-screen partner Maine Mendoza who was a scene stealer with her simple but sophisticated black dress.

The well-loved Kapuso actor, who turned 25 last January 2,

celebrated his natal day with a special performance during Eat Bulaga’s first live show for 2017.

A mass with his friends and colleagues was later held at Concha’s Garden Café, his newlyopened restaurant in Quezon

City.

Alden’s fans abroad will also have the chance to give him their belated birthday greetings as he joins the Sikat Ka, Kapuso! show in California set to happen on January 22. The

event is organized by GMA’s flagship international channel GMA Pinoy TV in association with Polaris Media & Marketing. ■ Sikat Ka, Kapuso! will be held at

Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California with the show starting at 6 PM. For tickets, please visit www.ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000. For more information, dial (424) 3824804. (30)

Will Miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina inherit Pia Wurtzbach’s crown?

BY LILY O. RAMOS Philippines News Agency MANILA — There is no doubt about it. Miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina is an outstanding beauty with brains to match her charm, opening the possibility that she might receive the crown from Pia Wutrzback on Jan. 30 when the Miss Universe beauty pageant is held at the Mall of Asia arena in Pasay City.

A few days ago, well-known psychic Madam Venus, who is best remembered for correctly predicting that former Davao mayor Rodrigo Duterte would be elected president of the Philippines two weeks before the May election, declared that Medina has a 90 percent to 95 percent chance of winning the most prestigious beauty title after Wurtzbach.

“She’s a bright girl with a strong personality and sincerity which touches the heart, aside from being a lovely person,” said Madam Venus.

Very recently, Medina became the first Asian cover girl of the XPEDITION Middle East magazine, an international luxury travel magazine that caters to the high society of Dubai, expatriates and 12,000 paid sub-

(From left) Miss Uruguay Magdalena Cohendet; Miss Chile Catalina Caceres; Miss Argentina, Estefania Bernal; Miss Belgium Stephanie Geldhof; and Miss India Roshmitha Harimurthy pose before the media at the Dignitaries Lounge upon arrival.

(From left) Miss Myanmar Htet Htet Htun; Miss Turkey Sila Cakir; Miss Malta Martha Fenech; Miss Peru Valeria Piazza; and Miss Belize Rebecca Rath. The Miss Universe 2016 coronation night will be held on January 30 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

JESS M. ESCAROS JR. / PNA

scribers of United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.

EXPEDITION, founded by Filipino publisher and editorin chief Josh Mangila, paid a glowing tribute to Medina who was described as highly intelligent yet humble and lovable.

Mangila, who has been awarded by the European Tourism as the Most Influential Travel Journalist of 2015, described the 2016 Miss Universe Philippines as “the epitome of an empowered woman — despite the pressure and challenges of being a beauty queen and being a role model to many

girls all over the Philippines and the world, she still handles herself with grace and elegance, backed with her classy and authentic oriental charm — a true representation of luxury Philippines.”

Aside from hoping to become the next Miss Universe, Medina wants to promote tourism in the Philippines, Mangila said.

“Being able to promote and represent the country in the global arena is a privilege to showcase what the Philippines has to offer. I want everyone to know how rich the Filipino culwww.canadianinquirer.net

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

ture is. To be able to promote the Philippines gives me the opportunity to show the beauty of our country and our people,” she told Mangila.

“I would like to tell everyone about our unique Filipino values. To be raised and born as a Filipina is something that I will always be proud of and I will never trade places with anyone because growing up in my own country has taught me to be strong, responsible and Godloving individual.”

Aside from Medina’s editorial feature, the magazine also showcased the creations of in-

ternationally renowned Filipino designers, such as Frederick Peralta, Francis Libiran, Albert Andrada, Edwin Tan, Pepsi Herrera and Ivarlusi Aserol.

Mangila said the magazine’s fourth issue “is also a tribute to my homeland the Philippines, as we featured the other side of the Philippines — the luxury side of the island. I had a pleasure to work with a great team led by ace photographer Raymond Saldana and his team. We shot the Maxine’s pictorial and our editorial at one of the newest luxury property in the heart of the city, Nobu Hotel.” ■

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JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Lifestyle Still reeling from a rough 2016?

Tips for moving forward in the new year BYCASSANDRA SZKLARSKI The Canadian Press

alistic, so be conscious of what you’re capable of handling.

A daily workout may be too much if you typically hit the gym once a week. You can work up to that goal, but expecting too much too soon just sets you up for failure.

And if you’re still reeling from a rough 2016, acknowledge that means you’re not firing on all cylinders.

“If you’re depressed, some things are going to come off the rails,” says Pychyl. “Time heals but you’ve got to put one foot in front of the other and do your best.”

plans and the universe is great at screwing them up. So you have to realize that we cannot control the world around us, all we can control is how we react to it.”

TORONTO — It’s a new year and a chance for a new beginning.

And after the kind of year Be proactive that was 2016 — one of the Which brings us to that faworst in history, if you believe mous mantra of the late U.S. some parts of the Internet — we motivator Stephen Covey: Be can all likely use a good dose of proactive, rather than reactive. optimism and verve.

Pychyl is a big proponent of Psychology Prof. Tim Pychyl that advice, noting that proacsays there does seem to be a tive people focus their time and collective gloominess in the air, energy on things they can connoting that any individual trautrol, something Covey called ma we might have suffered last their “circle of influence.” year was compounded by innu“It’s easy to despair but then merable distressing headlines: Have the right mind set the question is: What can I do a string of celebrity deaths, Personal coach Caird Urqu- in my sphere of influence?”

Gord Downie’s brain cancer hart says the most effective way says Pychyl, author of “Solving diagnosis, the truck attacks in to move forward is to embrace the Procrastination Puzzle: A Nice and Berlin, the devastat- whatever obstacle has come Concise Guide to Strategies for ing Alberta wildfires, the shock your way.

Change.” of Brexit and “You can dethe off-the-wall spair if you want, U.S. presidential or you can say, campaign and ‘What do I stand election, to name So you have to realize that we cannot for? What are my but a few. control the world around us, all we values and now Pychyl himself can control is how we react to it. how am I going was not immune, to exercise those he admits. values within my “Just after my own circle of indad died we had Leonard Cohen “You might say: Why did this fluence?’ Now, that’s very powdie. There’s been lots of deaths. have to happen to me? I get erful.”

We’re all a little bit depressed,” that. But the fact is, it did. And It’s important to let go of says the Carleton University as soon as you wrap your head things you can’t control, adds professor, whose research cen- around the fact that it did, then Urquhart. tres on procrastination. you can go to a place of: How is “A death in the family. You So how does one shake off the it part of my evolutionary pro- just got fired. The weather,” she misery and face a new year with cess?” says Urquhart, president says. “The more we hang on to enthusiasm? A few tips: of Newroad Coaching in To- those things, the more stressed ronto. out and anxious we become.”

Have reasonable expectations “Nobody knows what’s Pychyl notes that goals fail around the next corner. Hu- Make small changes when expectations are not re- man beings are great at making If you feel like you’re in a rut

www.canadianinquirer.net

and have a hard time getting motivated, Urquhart suggests making small changes in your daily habits.

“I’m talking about really simple stuff like the kind of shampoo you use or the direction you drive to work in. Because any changes that you make, those that are that small, start to have a significant change in your pers p e c t i v e ,” says Urquhart, author of “30 Ways to Better Days: How to Rally After You’ve Been Dumped.”

“If you always go to the same coffee shop, go to a different one. If you always take the same elevator, take a new one, take the stairs. Do something slightly different and that will start to change your perspective because your body goes into automatic pilot.... As soon as you change the route, you have to wake up. And it’s that waking up that starts to stimulate us.”

Harness your fears

Many people will argue that fear of failure leads to procrastination. Pychyl says that’s not

always the case.

“It depends on the kind of person you are. If you have very low competence, it does lead to procrastination because you think, ‘Well, I’m not afraid of failing but I don’t think I have the ability.’ But if you know that you’re a competent person, the fear will actually just motivate you to act,” he says.

“There’s a whole group of people who harness this avoidance, they’re called defensive pessimists. They look at what the worst possible outcome could be and they go, ‘Oh, I’m so going to fail or the world’s so going to hell in a hand basket.’

And then they do everything in their power to make sure that doesn’t happen.” ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

27

The good, bad Millennials are falling and unknown behind their boomer parents about marijuana’s health effects

BY JOSH BOAK AND CARRIE ANTLFINGER The Associated Press

BY MALCOLM RITTER The Associated Press NEW YORK — It can almost certainly ease chronic pain and might help some people sleep, but it may also raise the risk of getting schizophrenia and trigger heart attacks.

Those are among the conclusions about marijuana reached by a federal advisory panel in a report released Thursday.

The experts also called for a national effort to learn more about marijuana and its chemical cousins, including similarly acting compounds called cannabinoids.

The current lack of scientific information “poses a public health risk,” said the report , from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Patients, health care professionals and policy makers need more evidence to make sound decisions, it said.

For marijuana users or those considering it, “there’s very little to guide them” on amounts and health risks, said Dr. Marie McCormick of the Harvard School of Public Health, who headed the committee.

Several factors have limited research. While the federal government has approved some medicines containing ingredients found in marijuana, it still classifies marijuana as illegal and imposes restrictions on research. So scientists have to jump through bureaucratic hoops that some find daunting, the report said.

A federal focus on paying for studies of potential harms has also hampered research into possible health benefits, the report said. The range of marijuana products available for study has also been restricted, although the government is expanding the number of approved suppliers.

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for a variety of medical uses, and eight of those states plus the district have also

legalized it for recreational use.

The report lists nearly 100 conclusions about marijuana and its similarly acting chemical cousins, drawing on studies published since 1999. Committee members cautioned that most conclusions are based on statistical links between use and health, rather than direct demonstrations of cause and effect.

The review found strong evidence that marijuana can treat chronic pain in adults and that similar compounds ease nausea from chemotherapy, with varying degrees of evidence for treating muscle stiffness and spasms in multiple sclerosis.

Limited evidence says marijuana or the other compounds can boost appetite in people with HIV or AIDS, and ease symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, the report concluded. But it said there’s not enough research to say whether they’re effective for treating cancers, irritable bowel syndrome, epilepsy, or certain symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, or helping people beat addictions.

There may be more evidence soon: a study in Colorado is investigating the use of marijuana to treat PTSD in veterans.

Turning to potential harms, the committee concluded: - Strong evidence links marijuana use to the risk of developing schizophrenia and other causes of psychosis, with the highest risk among the most frequent users.

- Some work suggests a small increased risk for developing depressive disorders, but there’s no evidence either way on whether it affects the course or symptoms of such disorders, or the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder.

- There’s a strong indication that using marijuana before driving increases the risk of a traffic accident, but no clear link to workplace accidents or injuries, or death from a mari❱❱ PAGE 29 The good

MILWAUKEE — Baby Boomers: your millennial children are worse off than you.

With a median household income of $40,581, millennials earn 20 per cent less than boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated, according to a new analysis of Federal Reserve data by the advocacy group Young Invincibles.

The analysis being released Friday gives concrete details about a troubling generational divide that helps to explain much of the anxiety that defined the 2016 election. Millennials have half the net worth of boomers. Their home ownership rate is lower, while their student debt is drastically higher.

The generational gap is a central dilemma for the incoming presidency of Donald Trump, who essentially pledged a return to the prosperity of postWorld War II America. The analysis also hints at the issues of culture and identity that divided many voters, showing that white millennials — who still earn much more than their blacks and Latino peers — have seen their incomes plummet the most relative to boomers.

Andrea Ledesma, 28, says her parents owned a house and were raising kids by her age.

Not so for her. Ledesma graduated from college four years ago.

After moving through a series of jobs, she now earns $18,000 making pizza at Classic Slice in Milwaukee, shares a two-bedroom apartment with her boyfriend and has $33,000 in student debt.

“That’s not at all how life is now, that’s not something that people strive for and it’s not something that is even attainable, and www.canadianinquirer.net

I thought it would be at this point,” Ledesma said.

Her mother Cheryl Romanowski, 55, was making about $10,000 a year at her age working at a bank without a college education. In today’s dollars, that income would be equal to roughly $19,500.

Romanowski said she envies the choices that her daughter has in life, but she acknowledged that her daughter has it harder than her.

“I think the opportunities have just been fading away,” she said.

The analysis of the Fed data shows the extent of the decline.

It compared 25 to 34 year-olds in 2013, the most recent year available, to the same age group in 1989 after adjusting for inflation.

Education does help boost incomes . But the median college-educated millennial with student debt is only earning slightly more than a baby boomer without a degree did in 1989.

The home ownership rate for this age group dipped to 43 per cent from 46 per cent in 1989, although the rate has improved for millennials with a college degree relative to boomers.

The median net worth of millennials is $10,090, 56 per cent less than it was for boomers.

Whites still earn dramatically more than Blacks and Latinos, reflecti n g the

legacy of discrimination for jobs, education and housing.

Yet compared to white baby boomers, some white millennials appear stuck in a pattern of downward mobility. This group has seen their median income tumble more than 21 per cent to $47,688.

Median income for black millennials has fallen just 1.4 per cent to $27,892. Latino millennials earn nearly 29 per cent more than their boomer predecessors to $30,436.

The analysis fits into a broader pattern of diminished opportunity. Research last year by economists led by Stanford University’s Raj Chetty found that people born in 1950 had a 79 per cent chance of making more money than their parents.

That figure steadily slipped over the past several decades, such that those born in 1980 had just a 50 per cent chance of out-earning their parents.

This decline has occurred even though younger Americans are increasingly collegeeducated. The proportion of 25 to 29 year-olds with a college degree has risen to 35.6 per cent in 2015 from 23.2 per cent in 1990, a report this month by the Brookings Institution noted.

The declining fortunes of millennials could impact boomers who are retired or on the cusp of retirement. Payroll taxes from millennials helps to finance the Social Security and Medicare benefits that many boomers receive — programs that Trump has said won’t be subject to spending cuts. And those same boomers will need younger generations to buy their homes and invest in the financial markets to protect their own savings.

“The challenges that young adults face today could forecast the challenges that we see down the road,” said Tom Allison, deputy policy and research director at Young Invincibles. ■

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Lifestyle

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Canuck cliche? Are Canadians really as nice as Meryl Streep and the world insist?

BYCASSANDRA SZKLARSKI The Canadian Press TORONTO — When Michiganborn author Kerry Colburn started dating a Canadian, her girlfriends had an immediate great impression of him — without even meeting the guy.

“They would say, ‘Oh you’re so lucky, you’re dating a Canadian. Those guys are so nice!”’ recalls Colburn, who went on to marry the Canuck.

The fact he was Canadian seemed to be the only thing her gal pals needed to know, she chuckles, adding that her Edmonton-born beau is indeed nice, as well as charming and funny.

The notion that Canadians are extra nice is an enduring stereotype the Seattle-based writer wholeheartedly buys into, and it would seem a lot of Americans do, too.

Hollywood movie star Meryl Streep was the latest to invoke the cliche in her Golden Globes speech on Sunday, a barbed critique of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump that included a salute to Ontario’s Ryan Gosling — and Canadians in general — for being “the nicest people.”

“It’s so funny that of all the adjectives that she could use for the Canadians she says ‘the nicest,’ right?” says Colburn, who teamed with her husband to co-write the tongue-in-cheek books “The U.S. of EH?” and “So, You Want to be Canadian?”

“Then (Gosling) proves it in his speech — could there have been a nicer acceptance speech from a man in Hollywood?

It was all about his wife, who was working to raise their kids while he could make this movie and also caring for her brother, who had cancer.”

Like it or not, Canadians should embrace this persistent perception, mostly because it’s true, U.S. author and avid traveller Eric Weiner says from his home in Silver Spring, Md., just outside Washington, D.C. “I get a lot of push-back from Canadians who say, ‘We’re really not that nice,”’ says Weiner, a columnist for BBC Travel and former foreign correspondent for National Public Radio.

“I know Canadians will bris-

Holywood heavyweights Meryl Streep and Ryan Gosling were the latest to invoke the cliche in their Golden Globes speeches.

HELGA ESTEB AND FEATUREFLASH PHOTO AGENCY / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

tle and say, ‘We’re really just A headline from the Guard- be really smug for a while. And passive-aggressive,’ and I don’t ian in the summer screamed, now we will have nothing but think that’s really the case. “Welcome to the new Toronto: smugness coming out of CanaThere is an element of passiv- the most fascinatingly boring da.” ity, I think, in the Canadian city in the world.”

There really is no proof that character that comes across Author and screenwriter Canadians are actually nice, alsometimes, but really I think Ian Ferguson takes it all with a though post-doctoral researchthe niceness is this politeness grain of salt, preferring to laugh er Daniel Schmidtke and PhD and this humility that we don’t it off as good-natured ribbing candidate Bryor Snefjella are have here.” from our bigger, brasher neigh- trying to apply some science to Of course, like any stereo- bours. it. type, the notion The McMasof the “nice Cater University nadian” is not duo is examinuniversally true, ing millions of he adds.

The question academics are still geotagged tweets Canadians are having big fights about is why the dating back to also regarded stereotype exists. Whether it reflects February 2015 as very funny, anything real about us, or is purely to see if there which might be mythical, is still really an open are any “positivconsidered a question and its effects are still an ity biases.” So far, paradox: “Huopen question, right? tweets originatmour requires a ing in Canada do certain edginess, tend to be kinder doesn’t it? It’s and gentler, says not always nice.”

And he’s quick to point out Snefjella.

Still, there’s nothing wrong how mean Canadians can be “They tend to be a little nicer with being nice, Weiner assures behind closed doors, especially than words that are distinctivehis northern neighbours. There when Americans are out of ear- ly American, a little more pleasare certainly far worse things to shot. ant,” says Snefjella, adding that be called.

“We just had eight years of research is far from complete.

Self-conscious Canucks will Barack Obama being presiPredominant “Canadian fret nonetheless — we’re also dent of the United States,” the words” include “great,” “amazfamously plagued by an infe- humorist says from Victoria, ing,” and “awesome.” Predomiriority complex that will twist where he’s working on a follow- nant “American words” include any so-called compliment into up to “How to Be A Canadian,” several curse words, along with a slam. Indeed, the frequent co-written with brother Will “hate” and “damn.” corollary is that Canadians are Ferguson.

Whether that means Canadiboring, bland and dull.

“We haven’t had an excuse to ans are actually nice is still an www.canadianinquirer.net

open question.

“The stereotype exists and it’s very stable across Canada and the U.S.,” Snefjella says from Hamilton.

“The question academics are still having big fights about is why the stereotype exists.

Whether it reflects anything real about us, or is purely mythical, is still really an open question and its effects are still an open question, right? Because a stereotype, if it’s good, might be a beneficial thing. Or a stereotype that’s bad might be detrimental, regardless of why it actually exists.”

Weiner, whose travel books include “The Geography of Genius” and the “Geography of Bliss,” suggests being nice is a survival mechanism, a way to relate to the overbearing superpower south of the border.

He points to late former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s famous assessment of living next to the United States as akin to “sleeping with an elephant.”

“You have to be nice, or else,” Weiner jokes.

More seriously, he suggests Louis Hartz’s “fragment theory” is at play here: The idea is that countries with a colonial past consist of fragments of European societies, their oldworld sensibilities intact. In Canada’s case, that includes a conservative, Tory streak which is more deferential than the feisty nature adopted by the U.S. founding fathers.

Ferguson, meanwhile, points to the mishmash of French, British and aboriginal traditions that struggle to coexist in the Great White North, an exercise in tolerance and politeness that admittedly doesn’t always succeed, but is continually tested.

Plus there’s the fact Canada is super cold. If you’re not nice, you die.

“If your car breaks down on the side of the road in northern Manitoba and the next person coming along doesn’t stop and help you, you’re in big trouble,” he says.

“We’ve found a way to sort of get along without having to embrace each other. We just sort of tolerate each other and politeness is part of that.” ■

29

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

Sports PHL Institute of Sports launched; focuses in strengthening grassroot development

BY PRIMO P. AGATEP Philippines News Agency MANILA — The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on Monday launched the Philippine Institute of Sports (PIS) focusing on national grassroot sports development and high performance level of training which was held at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco, who represented President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, has assured that the government will throw all its support to Filipino athletes, at the same time rallied sports leaders through the PIS to give emphasis on giving access to communities in sports facilities, training and development in line with the administration’s call for genuine change.

Evasco said “Sports can not be treated as a luxury neither sports is only for the elite. Its contribution in personal development and well-being can not be under estimated — that the poor and the marginalized

must feel and experienced.”

“Sports can help us and teach us to a more rounded-lives. And for the gifted, sports can be a vehicle for maximizing their potentials,” he added.

Evasco emphasized the PIS will still on them (aspiring athletes) a sense of citizenship to become productive individuals.

Dennis Uy, Presidential Adviser for Sports, has lauded sports leaders especially PSC chair William “Butch” Ramirez and his Team PSC for aggressively pushing the establishment of the institute.

He also called on sports leaders, athletes, local government officials, sports enthusiasts to help Philippine sports and hope to bag an elusive Olympic gold medal.

Aware that the government lack of funds in the development and promotion of sports, Uy together with the private sector has promised to raise PHP1-billion for the program.

A field of athletes, sports leaders from the Philippine Olympic Committee various

The good... juana overdose.

- There’s limited evidence for the idea that it hurts school achievement, raises unemployment rates or harms social functioning.

- For pregnant women who smoke pot, there’s a strong indication of reduced birthweight but only weak evidence of any effect on pregnancy complications for the mother, or an infant’s need for admission to intensive care. There’s not enough evidence to show whether it affects the child later, like sudden infant death syndrome or substance use.

- Some evidence suggests there’s no link to lung cancer in marijuana smokers. But there’s no evidence, or insufficient evi❰❰ 27

dence, to support or rebut any link to developing cancers of the prostate, cervix, bladder, or esophagus.

- Substantial evidence links pot smoking to worse respiratory symptoms and more frequent episodes of chronic bronchitis.

- There’s a weak suggestion that smoking marijuana can trigger a heart attack, especially for people at high risk of heart disease. But there’s no evidence either way on whether chronic use affects a person’s risk of a heart attack.

- Some evidence suggests a link between using marijuana and developing a dependence on or abuse of other substances, including alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. ■

National Sports Associations.

Timely, Filipino athletes at the thick of their training and preparation for the forthcoming 2017 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) to be held Malaysia in mid-August this year, members of the national team will be under the PIS’ High Performance Program.

To help improve their performance, services to be rendered to them include sports medicine, sports nutrition, psychology, rehabilitation and recovery, sports physiology and biomechanics.

The PIS is tasked by the PSC with the mission of leading and managing the sports development programs for grassroots and elite level of performance.

The PSC explained Performance monitoring teams will be deployed to observe and monitor individual athletes that they properly provided with the premium quality of said services during training and competition.

The grassroots program includes Education and Train-

ing Program designed to provide short and comprehensive building for Physical Education teachers both in public and private schools attuned to modern and scientific approach in teaching sports, physical fitness courses.

Targeted beneficiaries under the scheme are sports coaches, referees and sports practitioners — sports managers designed to help them more effective in their role.

Another aspect of the PIS is the Talent Identification Program (TIP) or Long Term Athlete Development Program (LTADP), which is primary tasked to identify young budding athlete and para-athlete and provide them support inn developing their skills in sports.

The program also aimed at providing the vehicle for these young athletes to be part of the developmental training and national training pool to eventually be a member in the country’s national team.

To fully realized the implementation of the program, the

PSC urged the cooperation of the public and private school, and local government units across the country.

The Institute also covers Athlete Career Education Program to chart their professional career growth and provide assistance to access educational degree.

PSC said the Community Development Program (CDP) will link PSC to the communities treated as partners in making sports as a tool for human and community development — sports peace, Indigenous Peoples games, sports for vulnerable sectors, among others.

Actually, the PIS was crafted by former PSC chair Philip Ella Juico following the mandate provided for to the government’s sports body.

Briefly, the plan took off, due to changes in the administration, the PIS was shelved.

PSC chair Ramirez took where PIS has started, this time with aggressive program, scientifically developing Filipino athletes’ skills aiming for the elusive Olympic gold. ■

Grieving Cawalaing tows Alab to fifth win

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer FORMER FAR Eastern U standout JR Cawaling provided the flash of inspiration as Alab Pilipinas rolled to a third straight win at the expense of the Westports Malaysia Dragons, 65-54, Sunday in the Asean Basketball League in the House of Champions in Cyberjaya in Malaysia.

Still mourning the death of his brother, who passed away Saturday, Cawaling fired 11 points, including a dagger triple with 1:42 remaining that gave www.canadianinquirer.net

Alab a double digit advantage heading into the final minute and enabling the Filipino club to improve to 5-2.

Flashing the depth of their squad, the Filipinos stayed unbeaten in 2017 as they stayed in step with leaders Singapore Slingers, who rolled to a 74-62 home victory over the Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions late Sunday.

“I told them that JR could have been with his sick and dying brother but he chose to be professional and be with the team,” said Alab coach Mac Cuan. “I could have also been with my sick baby but I’m with

them.”

“All I’m asking for is to make the trip worth it and the sacrifices count. I wanted a statement game and they responded,” added Cuan.

Alab got off to a strong start, but the Filipinos needed a strong finishing kick anchored on Cawaling to sustain their longest winning streak so far this season.

Ray Parks and Sampson Carter finished with nine points each for Alab, which survived a tough shooting night by outrebounding the Dragons, 56-40.

Robby Celiz also had five assists for Alab. ■

30

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Business SM opening 4 malls in 2017 Leading property developer in Southeast Asia in terms of market capitalization

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer PROPERTY GIANT SM Prime Holdings Inc. is set to open four new Philippine shopping malls with a combined gross floor area of 292,000 square meters (sq m) this year, cementing its market leadership in the retail property space.

SM Prime—now the most valuable company in the local stock market and a leading property developer in Southeast Asia in terms of market capitalization — ended last year with 60 shopping malls in the country. With six malls in mainland China, its shopping mall portfolio has a gross floor area (GFA) of 8.6 million square meters.

In a chance interview on Thursday, SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said that this year, the company’s focus would be

on the shopping mall and residential space.

“We will open four new malls,” Alexander Pomento, vice president for investor relations at SM Prime, said in an e-mail on Saturday, when asked about new retail space to be made available this year.

The new malls to be opened this year are SM Tuguegarao (Cagayan Valley), SM Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Cherry SM Antipolo (Rizal) and SM Premier Cagayan de Oro. Pomento said the new malls would have the following GFA: Tuguegarao (40,000 sq m); Puerto Princesa (70,000 sq m); Antipolo (30,000 sq m) and Cagayan de Oro (152,000 sq m).

In recent years, SM Prime has been opening at least four new malls in the Philippines yearly but Pomento added it was always a “timing issue,” referring to paperwork to be cleared at the local government level.

So far, he said about 370,000

people were employed in SM Prime’s 60 shopping malls as of the end of 2016.

SM Prime’s newest shopping mall in the Philippines is the 80,000-sq m SM City East Ortigas, which targets customers in the eastern part of Metro Manila.

In the first nine months of 2016, SMPrime grew its consolidated net income by 13 percent year-on-year to P17.5 billion, buoyed by higher shopping mall, office, residential development and hotel revenues.

For the third quarter alone, SM Prime’s net profit rose by 15 percent year-on-year to P4.9 billion, supported by a 14-percent expansion in revenue to P18.5 billion.

Philippine shopping mall revenue grew by 9 percent yearon-year to P32.1 billion in the first nine months. Rental income expanded by 11 percent year-on-year to P26.9 billion from existing and new malls.

In the last two years, the group expanded its shopping mall GFA by one million square meters. Excluding earnings from the leasing of newly-built retail space, same-mall sales grew by 7 percent year-on-year.

CHENGESPIEL / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

In the meantime, mall revenue from China rose by 5 percent year-on-year to P3.1 billion in the first nine months while operating income grew by 6 percent year-on-year to P1.5 billion. ■

Gadget mountain rising in Asia threatens health, environment

BY STEPHEN WRIGHT The Associated Press JAKARTA, INDONESIA — The waste from discarded electronic gadgets and electrical appliances has reached severe levels in East Asia, posing a growing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm.

China was the biggest culprit with its electronic waste more than doubling, according to a new study by the United Nations University. But nearly every country in the region had massive increases between 2010 and 2015, including those least equipped to deal with the growing mountain of discarded smartphones, computers, TVs, air conditioners and other goods.

On average, electronic waste

in the 12 countries in the study had increased by nearly two thirds in the five years, totalling 12.3 million tons in 2015 alone.

Rising incomes in Asia, burgeoning populations of young adults, rapid obsolescence of products due to technological innovation and changes in fashion, on top of illegal global trade in waste, are among factors driving the increases.

“Consumers in Asia now replace their gadgets more frequently. In addition, many products are designed for low cost production, but not necessarily repair, refurbishment or easy recycling,” said the study.

It urges governments to enact specific laws for management of electronic waste or rigorously enforce existing legislation.

Only South Korea, Taiwan and Japan have long established recycling systems based

on laws introduced in the 1990s. Open dumping of leadand mercury-laden components, open burning of plastics to release encased copper and unsafe backyard operations to extract precious metals are the norm in most countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, which also lack laws governing the treatment of electronic and electrical waste.

The study said open burning and unsafe recycling is associated with a slew of health problems for workers and communities near recycling operations They include infertility, childhood development problems, impaired lung function, liver and kidney damage, inheritable genetic damage and mental health problems.

Backyard recyclers are after gold, silver, palladium and copper, mainly from printed circuit www.canadianinquirer.net

boards, but the crude acid bath extraction process releases toxic fumes and is also inefficient, recovering only a portion of the valuable material.

Asia as a whole is the biggest market for electronics and appliances, accounting for nearly half of global sales by volume, and produces the most waste.

Guiyu, a heavily-polluted rural town in China that specializes in dismantling consumer electronics, some of it exported from rich countries, has become synonymous with the costs of a throwaway high-tech world.

China has cleaned up Guiyu and other centres like it but the Basel Action Network, which brought Guiyu to international attention, said most of the dangerous practices continue in Guiyu albeit concentrated within a new industrial park on

its outskirts.

Ruediger Kuehr, one of the study’s authors, said the amount of waste being generated is higher than governments estimate, partly because of their narrower definitions, and should be a wake-up call to policymakers and consumers.

“We are all benefiting from the luxury of these electrical and electronic products to a certain extent, it makes our lives easier, sometimes more complicated,” he said. “However if we want to continue like this we must be reusing the resources contained in electronic and electrical equipment.”

A smartphone, for example, uses more than half the elements in the periodic table, some of which are very rare, and in the longer-run will be exhausted without recycling, said Kuehr. ■

Business

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

STARK INEQUALITY:

Oxfam says 8 men as rich as half the world

BY PAN PYLAS The Associated Press

ish founder of fashion house Inditex, financier Warren Buffett, Mexican business magnate Carlos Slim Helu, Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York.

Oxfam outlined measures that it hopes will be enacted to help reduce the inequality.

They include higher taxes on wealth and income to ensure a more level playing field and to fund investments in public services and jobs, greater cooperation among governments on ensuring workers are paid decently and the rich don’t dodge their taxes. And business leaders should commit to paying their fair share of taxes and a living wage to employees.

credibility is at an all-time low and government leaders are the least trusted group, according to the survey.

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND — The firm’s 2017 Trust BaromThe gap between the supereter found that 53 per cent of rich and the poorest half of the respondents believe the current global population is starker system has failed them in that it than previously thought, with is unfair and offers few hopes for just eight men, from Bill Gates the future, with only 15 per cent to Michael Bloomberg, owning believing it is working. That beas much wealth as 3.6 billion lief was evident for both the genpeople, according to an analysis eral population and those with

by Oxfam released Monday. college education.

Presenting its findings on “The implications of the globthe dawn of the annual gatheral trust crisis are deep and wideing of the global political and ranging,” said Richard Edelman, business elites in the Swiss ski the firm’s president and CEO. resort of Davos, anti-poverty “It began with the Great Recesorganization Oxfam says the sion of 2008, but like the second gap between the very rich and and third waves of a tsunami, poor is far greater than just a globalization and technological year ago. It’s urging leaders to change have further weakened do more than pay people’s trust in lip-service to the global instituproblem. tions. The conIf not, it warns, sequence is virupublic anger The implications of the global trust lent populism against this kind crisis are deep and wide-ranging. and nationalism of inequality will as the mass popcontinue to grow ulation has taken and lead to more control away seismic political from the elites.” changes akin to last year’s elecMax Lawson, Oxfam’s policy Edelman highlighted how tion of Donald Trump as U.S. adviser, urged billionaires to “the emergence of a media echo president and Britain’s vote to “do the right thing,” and to do chamber” that reinforces perleave the European Union. “what Bill Gates has called on sonal beliefs while shutting out “It is obscene for so much them to do, which is pay their opposing views has magnified wealth to be held in the hands of taxes.” this “cycle of distrust.” Accordso few when 1 in 10 people surThe ability of the rich to avoid ing to the survey, search engines vive on less than $2 a day,” said paying their fair share of taxes are trusted more as an informaWinnie Byanyima, executive di- was vividly exposed last year in tion tool than traditional news rector of Oxfam International, the so-called “Panama Papers,” editors, 59 per cent to 41 per cent. who will be attending the meet- a leaked trove of data that re“People now view media as ing in Davos. “Inequality is trap- vealed details on offshore ac- part of the elite,” said Edelman. ping hundreds of millions in pov- counts that helped individuals “The result is a proclivity for erty; it is fracturing our societies shelter their wealth. self-referential media and reliand undermining democracy.”

“We have a situation where ance on peers. The lack of trust The same report a year ear- billionaires are paying less tax in media has also given rise to lier said that the richest 62 often than their cleaner or their the fake news phenomenon and people on the planet owned as secretary,” Lawson told The As- politicians speaking directly to much wealth as the bottom half sociated Press. “That’s crazy.” the masses.” of the population. However, It’s because of this kind of Edelman said business may Oxfam has revised that figure inequality that trust in institu- be best-placed to help imdown to eight following new tions has fallen sharply since prove trust. Companies need information gathered by Swiss the global financial crisis of to be transparent and honest bank Credit Suisse.

2008, according to Edelman, with their employees about Oxfam used Forbes’ billion- one of the world’s biggest mar- the changes taking place in the aires list that was last published keting firms. work-place, improve skills and in March 2016 to make its headIn its own pre-Davos survey pay fairly, he said. line claim. According to the of more than 33,000 people The online survey was conForbes list, Microsoft founder across 28 markets, Edelman ducted between Oct. 13 and Gates is the richest individual found the largest-ever drop in Nov. 16, 2016. ■ with a net worth of $75 billion. trust across government, busiThe others, in order of ranking, ness, media and even non-gov- Jonathan Shenfield contributed are Amancio Ortega, the Span- ernmental organizations. CEO to this report. www.canadianinquirer.net

31

Japanese PM visit to spur Japanese investments in Davao, says city exec

BY FUNNY PEARL GAJUNERA Philippines News Agency DAVAO CITY — The visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Davao City last week will boost the city’s investments, a City Hall official said on Monday.

“We are confident as Davao City has successfully gained more interest from the Japanese businessmen,” said Davao City Investment and Promotions Center head Lemuel Ortonio.

Ortonio said Japanese businessmen should “invest, live, and play” in Davao City and take advantage of the city’s robust economy and ease of doing business.

In a video presentation, Ortonio showed the top 10 preferred investment areas in Davao, the diverse tourism activities, and priority government programs of the local government.

The 10 investment areas are agriculture business sector; tourism and recreational facilities; light manufacturing and assembly; property development; health and wellness, educational, and sports facilities; environmental protection and green projects; information and communication technology; generation of new sources

of energy; transportation and infrastructure; and public-private partnership projects.

Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, who represented Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio during the Philippines-Japan Business Forum held at the Waterfront Insular Hotel on Friday, said the peace and security program of the city leadership creates business confidence on the city.

The forum, held during Abe’s visit, was attended by at least 20 Japanese businessmen and representatives from such companies as Marubeni, Mitsubishi, Itochu, Sumitomo, Toyota, and Mizuho.

Executives from Chodai Company Limited, Sumifru (Philippines) Corporation, and Concentrix, which have all established base in the city, also shared their business success stories to the Japanese delegation.

The city’s pitch was also supported by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez by presenting the country’s growth trajectory and investment opportunities, emphasizing that the Philippines should be a great trade and investment partner for Japan because of its growing and stable economy, improved competitiveness and investment grade, strategic location in Asia, and human capital advantage. ■

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe look on as officials of both Japan and Philippines exchange signed agreements following a successful summit meeting during the official visit of the Japanese PM at Malacañan Palace.

ROBINSON NINAL / PPD / PNA

32

JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

Technology SpaceX launches first rocket since explosion in Florida

BY JOHN ANTCZAK The Associated Press

billionaire Elon Musk’s California-based company that has about 70 launches in line, worth more than $10 billion. In addition to commercial launches, SpaceX ferries supplies to the International Space Station and is developing a capsule capable of carrying astronauts to the station.

SpaceX officials say they identified all possible causes of the Sept. 1 accident during prelaunch testing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and took corrective action.

The accident destroyed the rocket and its payload — a satellite that Facebook wanted to

The September accident was the second time a Falcon 9 was destroyed. In June 2015, a Falcon loaded with space station LOS ANGELES — A SpaceX supplies disintegrated shortly Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from after liftoff. SpaceX determined California on Saturday and that a support strut broke. placed a constellation of satelThe 10 satellites launched lites in orbit, marking the comSaturday are part of McLean, pany’s first launch since a fireVirginia-based Iridium’s projball engulfed a similar rocket ect to replace its existing neton a Florida launch pad more work of satellites that provide than four months ago. global voice and data commuThe two-stage rocket lifted nications. off from Vandenberg Air Force The program, called Iridium Base at 9:54 a.m. carrying a payNEXT, was not only delayed by load for Iridium Communicathe SpaceX accident but again tions Inc., which is replacing its most recently as a powerful entire global network with 70 storm headed into California next-generation last weekend. satellites.

Iridium plans The satellites six more Falcon were deployed 9 launches, each about an hour afThe return to flight is an important carrying 10 satter launch. step for SpaceX, billionaire Elon ellites, as part of About nine Musk’s California-based company that a technology upminutes after has about 70 launches in line, worth grade expected the rocket blastmore than $10 billion. to be completed ed off, to cheers in 2018. from the control SpaceX’s effort room, its jettito recover Falsoned first stage con first stages landed upright on a so-called use to spread internet access in is intended to reduce costs by droneship in the Pacific Ocean Africa — and grounded the Fal- recycling a major piece of the south of Vandenberg — part of con 9 program as an investiga- launch system.

Spacex’s effort to make boost- tion took place.

The first stage contains tanks ers reusable.

SpaceX announced this for liquid oxygen and kerosene The company has succeeded month that investigators con- as well as nine engines that six times previously with land- cluded the accident involved a power the rocket and payload ings on a barge or ashore. failure of one of three helium into space, then separates 2 1/2 A camera aboard the first tanks inside the rocket’s sec- minutes into flight as the sinstage gave viewers a you-are- ond-stage liquid oxygen tank. gle-engine second stage ignites there experience as it returned The investigation involved and continues on to place payto Earth, flared landing rock- the Air Force, NASA, the Na- loads in the proper orbit. ets and made a perfect upright tional Transportation Safety The first Falcon booster to touchdown on the floating pad. Board and the Federal Aviation safely land back on Earth now The return to flight is an Administration, which issued a stands outside the company’s important step for SpaceX, license for the launch. headquarters. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

EDWIN LEE / FLICKR

Australia’s telco giant Telstra guarantees internet service on key Asian routes PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY SYDNEY — Australian telco Telstra plans to combine three undersea cable systems in order to ensure services in their Asian market are maintained in case of damage via natural disaster or shipping.

The recent typhoons in Taiwan and the Philippines damaged the sensitive fiber-optic cables under the sea, which carry over 96 percent of the world’s internet and phone traffic.

Paul Abfalter, head of emerging markets at Telstra, told the Australian Financial Review

(AFR) on Monday, the move would allow for the company to ensure customers on some of Asia’s busiest routes such as Hong Kong to Singapore, have optimized service.

“We operate three different cable systems intra-Asia and we have the largest network, and the technology is getting to the point where we’ll automatically be able to route customers in the event of cable damage,” Abfalter said.

Asia is one of the fastest growing markets in terms of data, with undersea cabling being crucial to ensure the continents internet and phone service needs are met. ■

Technology

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

33

Surge in traffic deaths outpaces increase in travel

BY JOAN LOWY The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Traffic deaths surged about 8 per cent in the first nine months of last year, continuing an alarming upward spiral that may be partially explained by more Americans on the roads due to the economic recovery, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates released Friday.

The sharp increase comes as drivers are putting more miles on the road than ever, the government said. But the rise in deaths is outpacing the increase in travel. Vehicle miles travelled in the first nine months of 2016 rose about 3 per cent.

There were 27,875 deaths in the first three quarters of last year, compared to 25,808 deaths in the same period in 2015.

Experts believe the increased travel is mostly a result of an improved economy and low gas prices. But NHTSA’s data ex-

perts said increased travel and a better economy alone can’t explain the rise in deaths.

“We still have to figure out what is underlying those lives lost,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said. “If it was simple, we would already know that.”

The increase in deaths is especially concerning because it has happened at time when cars are safer than ever. Nearly all new cars and light trucks now have electronic stability control and rearview cameras, for example.

Automakers are also beginning to equip more cars with sophisticated safety technology like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency-braking and blind-spot monitoring.

But there are also trends that are difficult to measure, such as increased use of cellphones and other mobile devices behind the wheel. And researchers are trying to tease out whether legalization of marijuana for recreational or medical use in some states may be leading to more stoned drivers behind the

wheel and more crashes. It’s not an easy question to answer, since drivers high on marijuana react differently than drunk drivers, and there haven’t been effective roadside tests for police to determine if a driver is high.

Weather is also a consideration, NHTSA officials said. Research shows that traffic fatalities go up in warmer weather months when daylight hours are longer and people do more driving. Warmer than normal winters in some areas of the country may be a factor.

In the early to mid-2000s, annual traffic deaths regularly totalled over 40,000 a year.

They started dropping sharply in 2008 during the Great Recession, reaching their lowest level in more than five decades — 32,744 deaths — in 2014. But in the fourth quarter of 2014, fatalities started soaring back.

In 2015, fatalities rose 7.2 per cent to 35,092 deaths.

NHTSA found some significant regional differences in the recent fatality increases.

In the six-state New England region, for example, fatalities increased an estimated 20 per cent in the first nine months of 2016. But in a six-state region that includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Nevada, the increase was only 1 per cent.

There are also pockets of the country that have had success with efforts to reduce fatalities.

New York City, for example, has seen a 23 per cent drop in fatalities in recent years.

Transportation Department officials announced in October that they were setting a goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and injuries in the United States within the next 30 years. Their plan focuses first on promoting efforts such as increased seat belt use, the use of rumble strips and campaigns against drunken and distracted driving.

Ultimately, offi-

cials hope that new technologies like cars that can communicate with each other to avoid collisions or self-driving cars that don’t make human errors can solve much of the problem.

The zero deaths idea was first adopted in Sweden in 1997 as a plan called Vision Zero. It has since been adopted in several countries, and by more than a dozen U.S. cities, including New York. ■

Companies increasing energy storage developments as renewables grow

BY IAN BICKIS The Canadian Press CALGARY — The rise of renewable power has created a need for energy storage that companies are fulfilling with underwater balloons, multi-tonne flywheels and decades-old designs.

“Where renewables go, storage will follow,” said John Wright, project manager at Northland Power.

The need for energy storage comes from the temporary and sometimes unpredictable nature of renewable energy. The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine.

Power companies and utilities have been looking to compensate for that with what amount to giant batteries and smooth out delivery, storing energy in times of low demand and distributing it when demand is high.

Northland has been develop-

ing a 400-megawatt pumped storage project that takes the form of an old flooded mine, sitting on a plateau just outside of Marmora, Ont. The roughly $900-million project in eastern Ontario pumps water up into the mine pit when there’s extra energy, and then lets it run out through a turbine when more energy is needed.

Meanwhile Alberta’s plan to replace coal-fired power plants with 5,000 megawatts of new renewable energy — more than the total amount of renewable energy currently online in Ontario — has prompted TransAlta Corp. to dust off half-century-old plans to expand its Brazeau hydroelectric project.

Similar to Northland’s Marmora project, Brazeau would be a pumped storage operation that would allow the company to pump water back up to the reservoirs of the existing hydro project.

TransAlta currently uses

the project’s 355 megawatts of hydro to cover peak demands, while the expansion would add 600 to 900 megawatts of capacity and increased its flexibility.

In announcing it was restarting development of the estimated $1.8 billion to $2.5 billion project last fall, TransAlta chief executive Dawn Farrell said the project was slated to be the company’s next hydro project in the 1960s before coal power became economic in the province.

“So the world turns around in a big circle, and here we are back to this project,” said Farrell.

The circle is even tighter at Turning Point Energy, where Peter Bubik is trying to develop the Canyon Creek pumped storage project on the edge of an inactive coal mine lease in the Rocky Mountain foothills.

He says pumped storage is still the most proven way of storing large amounts of energy, with Canada’s only existing pumped storage operation near Niagara Falls now in operation www.canadianinquirer.net

for 60 years.

“It is the most technologically proven way of storing bulk energy, and today still the cheapest way of storing energy,” said Bubik.

But new technology is opening other options.

Hydrostor is piloting a project with Toronto Hydro where air is compressed using power and pumped into underwater balloons sitting on the bottom of Lake Ontario.

When the power is needed, the water pressure helps push the air back out through turbines and the power is sent to the grid.

Hydrostor chief executive Curtis VanWalleghem said compressed air is growing as a way to store energy, but that it’s usually limited by the need for old mines or caverns in which to pump the gas.

“What you really need to do is fix the problem about where to store the air, and that’s what we focused on, and that’s proving

to be the winning sauce,” VanWalleghem said.

Temporal Power, another energy storage start-up, helped build Canada’s first grid-connected flywheel, which acts like a wind-up toy and helps smooth out minor supply variations.

The flywheel project is one of several that Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator has procured in recent years.

Chuck Farmer, director of stakeholder and public affairs, said that the IESO is waiting for Ontario’s long-term energy plan set to come out later this year before making any decisions on further energy storage projects, but that he sees energy storage as a long-term part of the grid.

“We see it at some point participating on an even footing with all the other things that provide services and energy, and we think it will get there in relatively short order,” said Farmer. ■

JANUARY 20, 2017

34

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Duties include; supervision care of child, organize activities for child, instruct child w/ personal hygiene and social development. P/u child from school.

Prepare and serve nutritious meals. Light housekeeping and cleaning duties.

Must speak, read and write English. Education equivalent to high schools graduate in Canada. Accommodation available at no charge on a live-in basis.

(This is not a condition of employment). Relocation costs and medical equivalent to OHIP covered by employer.

Please email resume to jicconsulting@hotmail.com or call mobile: (905) 691 0776

Toronto Enquiries: salestoronto@canadianinquirer.net Philippine Enquiries: salesphilippines@canadianinquirer.net

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Tel: (1) 647-521-5155

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

35

Travel For ski resorts in Western US, too much snow is a good woe

BY THOMAS PEIPERT AND P. SOLOMON BANDA The Associated Press

and it’s never happened to me,” he said.

It’s hard to say how often resorts close because of heavy snow, but most agree it’s unusual.

Dan Lavely, who has lived in the Lake ARAPAHOE BASIN SKI AREA, COLO. Tahoe area for decades, was looking for— For ski resorts in Colorado and the Si- ward to heading to the Mount Rose ski erra Nevada, it’s a good problem to have: resort southwest of Reno. More than 10 too much snow. feet of snow fell in about a week at some Recent storms walloping mountains area resorts. across the West dropped up to 10 feet of “In all my years, it’s so rare to have snow, creating thrilling powdery runs. too much snow,” Lavely said WednesBut once avalanche danger emerged on day. “Having a season pass — you pretty roads and at the slopes, several resorts much live for these conditions. You want made the unusual move of shutting 2 or 3 feet of fresh powder, and you want down. to go play in it.”

While the closures cost resorts inWintry conditions close resorts in come from lift tickets, the businesses the Sierra Nevada, the mountains spanwill likely make it up in the long run by ning California and Nevada, more often promoting the fresh than those in Colosnow on Twitter and rado because they get getting more people massive amounts of excited to come up snow all at once, said and carve powder It’s extremely Michael Berry, presiturns. rare (for snow to dent of the National “It’s like you just go close a resort).

Ski Areas Associaout and get barrelled, I’ve been skiing tion. you drop in and come my whole life up, an’ pah! Drop and it’s never Why were the back down. Powhappened to resorts in Colorado der everywhere in me. closed? your face, you know?

Avalanches pose ... Mashed potato problems, more so powder,” said John on roads than at the Lencki, a New Hampshire native skiing resorts. Ski patrollers use explosives to Thursday at Arapahoe Basin Ski Area. mitigate slides every day and close porIt’s a change from previous years be- tions of resorts that are at risk. leaguered by drought. Even this season, “We have closures and we have ropes. the Colorado snowpack got off to its We have gates, and we really try to steer worst start in more than 30 years, forc- people to specific areas of the hill to ing some ski areas to push back opening keep them out of avalanche terrain,” day this fall. said Ryan Evanczyk, a ski patroller at Some resorts dug out in time for the Arapahoe Basin. holiday weekend, though the forecast in But “the big message here is not necColorado calls for more snow Friday and essarily the mountain is unsafe, but the Sunday. roads to get to and from the mountain Here’s a look at the problems — and were unsafe,” Linsmayer said. joy — a thick blanket of snow can bring Despite the closures, the snow led to to ski resorts in the West: bragging rights.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort in How often do resorts close because of western Colorado shut down its lifts too much snow? late Monday out of concern for guests Heavy snow typically does not affect and employees because of high winds resort operations, but it often creates and heavy, wet snow. Officials tweeted a problems on the roads leading to the photo of it piled high at a measuring staslopes, said Chris Linsmayer, a spokes- tion with the line, “We officially #burman for Colorado Ski Country USA, an iedthebutte.” industry group representing more than “It has definitely helped our publicity, 20 resorts. this week for sure,” spokeswoman Erica “It’s extremely rare (for snow to close a resort). I’ve been skiing my whole life ❱❱ PAGE 38 For ski

Tingguian tribe celebrates Tadek Festival PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY NUEVA ERA, ILOCOS NORTE — A decade-old annual celebration showcasing this town’s rich culture and traditions has started earlier this year as local residents welcomed 2017 in a festive mood.

Being held January 9-12, this year’s Tadek Festival of Nueva Era derived from the Tingguian tribe’s cultural dance highlights a variety show of local talents participated in both by young and old generations.

“Nueva Era’s Got Talent” and a variety show which will be held Tuesday night is an added attraction this year with at least nine competitors representing various organizations here.

Town Vice Mayor Aldrin Garvida said the main event of Tadek Festival that is running for 12 years now, will be on January 11, which is the Community and Tribal Day, showcasing a day with the community, parade of carabao-drawn carrier or the so called “Parada ti karison” and the

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coronation night of Miss Nueva Era 2017.

The local government of Nueva Era, which is poised to become the next summer capital of Ilocos Norte, has initiated the construction of an eco-cultural park featuring the distinct traditions of the Tingguian community—from tribal huts, tree houses connecting to hanging bridge with swimming pool amenities, and nature hikes.

Established in 2013, the area is a must see place when visiting the province and it is now being flocked to by thousands of local and foreign tourists.

Unknown to many, Nueva Era town located about 43 kilometers from Laoag City is endowed with verdant mountains and crystal clear rivers and it has an upland area with the same climate or probably colder than Baguio nowadays.

A development masterplan is now on its way for the construction of more tourism-related facilities in the area as investors had already committed to partner with the government to lure more visitors into this part of Luzon. ■

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JANUARY 20, 2017

FRIDAY

60 years since publication of famous travel guidebook

BY BETH J. HARPAZ The Associated Press NEW YORK — This year the legendary travel guidebook writer Arthur Frommer celebrates 60 years since the publication of his 1957 book, “Europe on $5 a Day.” Frommer began writing about travelwhile serving in the U.S. Army in Europe in the 1950s. When his book of travel advice for American soldiers sold out, he launched what became one of the travel industry’s best-known brands.

Frommer’s philosophy — stay in inns and budget hotels, sightsee on your own, eat in small cafes instead of fancy restaurants — had a huge impact on the way Americans travelled in the mid- to late 20th century.

His message of authentic bargain travel encouraged average people — not just the wealthy — to vacation abroad. There was a time when you couldn’t go to a tourist attraction in Europe without encountering Americans clutching Frommer’s books. It didn’t hurt that his books hit the market as the rise of jet travel made getting to Europe easier.

But as the cost of travel increased over the decades, the titles changed too. The “$5 a Day” edition became $10 a day, $20 a day and so on. The series ended in 2007 with “$95 a Day” guides. By then, Arthur’s

daughter Pauline had joined the family business, and the brand continued. There are now 101 Frommer’s guides available to destinations around the world.

Today, though, Frommer’s is one of many sources of travel information in a crowded field, competing not just with free online advice but also with other bestselling travel guidebooks like Rick Steves and Lonely Planet. Still, Frommer’s brand has survived in the digital world, with ebooks, a Frommers.com website and podcasts of a weekly radio show that Arthur and Pauline do live from New York.

Arthur Frommer, 87, recently shared his story with The Associated Press.

Q. How did the Frommer’s brand begin?

A: I was drafted into the Army at the time of the Korean War. But luckily enough and to my great surprise, instead of being sent to fight in Korea, I was sent to Europe because I had certain linguistic abilities. ... And while in the army overseas, I was always struck by the fact that my fellow GIs did not travel. They were scared to travel. They were worried about how you would pay for various items.

What currency would you use, where would you live at night, and I decided to do a guidebook.

And in my last three weeks in the Army, I wrote a little book called

five-star hotel was identical to every other five-star hotel. ... I taught them to sightsee on their own two feet. I told them to use public transportation. ... I think we were pioneers in also suggesting that a different type of American should travel, that you didn’t have to be wellheeled, you could be a person who just graduated from college.

PETER LÜBECK / FLICKR

‘The GI’s Guide to Traveling in Europe,’ which was circulated to the various PXs in Europe on the day that I left Germany and returned home. ... And immediately I got a cable from Europe that the book had sold out overnight.

Q. You returned to New York to practice law but decided to write another guidebook for civilians.

How did you do it?

A. During a one-month vacation, I returned to Europe and I went running to 15 different European cities, getting up at 5 a.m. in the morning, hitting the streets, going from one guesthouse to another, from one low-cost restaurant to another,

and I then wrote a book called “Europe on $5 a Day.” I printed 5,000 copies of the book, the book went on sale and again it sold out.

Q. What was the impact of your books?

A. In the 1950s most Americans had been taught that foreign travel was a once-in-alifetime experience, especially travel to Europe. They were taught that they were going to a war-torn country where it was risky to stay in any hotel other than a five-star hotel. It was risky to go into anything but a top-notch restaurant. ... And I knew that all these warnings were a lot of nonsense. ... I told them that every

Q. Do you ever fly firstclass?

A. I fly economy class and I try to experience the same form of travel, the same experience that the average American and the average citizen of the world encounters.

Q. What’s your favourite destination?

A. The one spot I could return to over and over again for the rest of my life is the city of Paris. It’s Paris, France, that to my mind excels in virtually every major area of human thought in terms of art, in music, in cuisine, in political discourse. I love going to Paris and I am horrified over the fact that tourism by Americans to Paris has fallen by as much as 30 per cent in the year that has just passed because of a fear of terrorism. I am continuing to travel. I will not permit some deranged terrorist from deciding where I should or should not go. ■

Eastern Visayas destinations on display in tourism showroom PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Tourism (DOT) regional office here has invited everyone to visit the Philippines Tourism Showroom at their central office as Eastern Visayas will be on display for two weeks.

The showroom has been opened to the public to showcase various destinations of the regions through video showing

as well as display of regional brochures, tour packages and local products.

“The project brings select products and services to the general public at the most affordable prices. It is also aimed at promoting domestic tourism with a region to be feature every two weeks,” said DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes.

In the next 15 days, the showroom will feature the destinations, local products and travel packages from the provinces

of Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte and cities of Baybay, Maasin, Ormoc, and Tacloban on Jan. 16 to 20, 2017 While Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar provinces and cities of Borongan, Calbayog, and Catbalogan will be featured on Jan. 23 to 27, 2017.

As part of the government’s inclusive growth agenda, the showroom will promote participating micro small and medium enterprises and hope to empower the supply communities in the countryside. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

ILOILO WANDERER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

37

Food Recipes for sous vide pork belly adobo, white asparagus with ricotta, creme brulee THE CANADIAN PRESS DON’T DISCOUNT vegetables when it comes to sous vide cooking, says chef Chris McDonald.

People tend to use the device for meat and fish, but it’s also useful for vegetables, eggs, eggbased desserts and sauces that can be tricky to make at home.

And even oatmeal.

“Your asparagus comes out with a way more intense flavour because there’s no flavour leaching out into your cooking water so you get a much more intense, more asparagus-y flavour and then you can go on to grill it if you want just to warm it through or you can just take it straight out of the bag and have it,” says McDonald, author of “The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook” (Robert Rose Inc.).

Sous vide cooking requires food be sealed — whether in a plastic zipper-close freezer bag, sous vide pouch or canning jar — and immersed in warm water. Each recipe indicates the precise temperature and number of hours required.

McDonald recommends purchasing a vacuum-sealing device or premium plastic bags that are free of Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to make some hard plastic containers and toys that was formally declared a toxic substance by Canadian authorities in 2010.

Because you’re not cooking at a temperature as high as with a microwave there is no danger from the bags, says McDonald, which can be washed and reused for those with concerns about generating waste.

With 175 recipes he created or adapted, McDonald lends his 35 years of expertise to cover the bases for everything a home cook might want to try. “The book runs from chicken breasts to quite complex restaurantstyle recipes,” he says.

He includes three recipes for octopus using different approaches. “It was the most con-

founding thing for me to figure out how to cook properly in my career really and so I wanted to empower people to do it at home,” he says.

There are even desserts that include fruit, which the sous vide machine turns into a “tidy, trouble-free endeavour.” However, McDonald says though it’s possible to prepare flour-based sweets in a sous vide machine, he doesn’t see any advantage because there is no browning or fragrance of fresh baking.

Filipino Pork Belly Adobo

This luscious sweet-and-sour pork belly is McDonald’s variation on what’s considered the national dish of the Philippines.

It’s hearty, filling and incredibly satisfying, says McDonald. Serve with steamed rice and a simple vegetable such as green beans or okra with preserved lemon.

You can halve or double this recipe.

The pork belly should be prepared ahead, but it’s best to make this recipe the same day you plan to eat it.

In this recipe the pork becomes tender and almost ready to fall apart just as the liquid is reduced to a slightly sticky, quite dark glaze on the meat.

If the pork is ready before the sauce, transfer it to a plate and cover while continuing to reduce the sauce. If the sauce is ready but the pork needs further cooking, add water to the skillet, a little at a time, to keep the sauce from over-reducing.

Adding 1 or 2 ground small

Essential Char Siu-style Pork Belly

dried chilies will add a nice spicy heat, if desired.

Piloncillo is a Latin American unrefined sugar made by boiling down sugar cane juice.

Palm sugar is more appropriate for Filipino cuisine, but it can be difficult to find the right kind. Piloncillo comes in cones, which are easily grated with a box grater. Just grate the amount you need for the recipe and store the rest in a cool, dark place in an airtight container.

Piloncillo has nice caramel and molasses notes; you can substitute turbinado or muscovado sugar in a pinch.

• 1 batch Essential Char SiuStyle Pork Belly (recipe follows), fully cooked, cooking liquid reserved • 60 ml (1/4 cup) cider vinegar • 30 ml (2 tbsp) finely chopped garlic • 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced • 30 ml (2 tbsp) grated piloncillo sugar

• 7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) freshly ground black pepper • 4 bay leaves Cut prepared pork belly into 2.5-cm (1-inch) chunks, leaving rind on if present. Set aside.

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, combine pork belly, vinegar, garlic, onion, sugar, pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a slow simmer and stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until juices are reduced to a sticky caramelized glaze and pork is very tender but not falling apart.

(The cooking time will depend on the diameter of your skillet; go larger if you are unsure.)

To prevent burning, check the mixture constantly as the juices reduce.

Serve pork on warm plates.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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Char siu was originally a Cantonese preparation of roast pork. It was adapted by the Japanese, who call it chashu and eat it mostly as a topping for steaming bowls of ramen. This recipe is designed for the same use and also as a base for Filipino Pork Belly Adobo.

Be sure to reserve the cooking liquid for Filipino Pork Belly Adobo or use it to season ramen broth. Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve before using.

You can easily halve or double this recipe to suit your needs.

If you double the recipe, use 2 bags.

• 900 g (2 lb) fresh pork belly (rind on or off ) • 90 ml (6 tbsp) soy sauce • 90 ml (6 tbsp) sake • 15 ml (1 tbsp) liquid honey • 2 green onions, thinly sliced • 15 ml (1 tbsp) finely chopped ginger root Preheat hot water bath to 68.3 C (155 F).

If the pork belly has the rind attached, use a sharp paring knife to score it at 2.5-cm (1inch) intervals across the belly.

Repeat in the opposite direction, scoring at a 90-degree angle to the first set of slashes.

In a heatproof glass measuring cup or small saucepan, stir together soy sauce, sake and honey. To cook off some of the alcohol in the sake, microwave ❱❱ PAGE 38 Recipes for

38

Food

Women have... can’s concerns,” she wrote.

Other prominent names involved with the march have put a spotlight on one concern — or another.

Actress Scarlett Johansson, who plans to participate, put her focus on the incoming administration’s intentions of “reducing the availability of women’s health care and attacking her reproductive rights.” Actress Debra Messing, listed as a supporter of the march, wrote of the need to protect Planned Parenthood.

Expect thousands of the marchers to turn up wearing hand-knitted pink “pussyhats” — sending a message of female empowerment and pushing back against Trump’s demeaning comments about women.

Scan #WhyIMarch posts on social media, and you’ll find a wide-ranging list of reasons. A sampling: equal pay for women veterans, fighting chauvinism, empowering daughters, renouncing racism, higher pay for women who are college presidents.

Wadman, the California mom, tweeted a #WhyIMarch ❰❰ 19

Mueller said.

Monarch Mountain ski area closed for a day this week because of work to control avalanches on a nearby mountain pass, tweeting a photo of powder stacked next to its sign with the hashtag #toomuchsnow. And after Arapahoe Basin closed because of slide danger on another highway, it simply posted, “Snow, Snow, Snow.”

In the Sierra Nevada, road closures and the threat of avalanches closed resorts around Lake Tahoe closed for several days this week. Some reopened Thursday.

How much snow has fallen?

The three Colorado resorts that closed received 3 to 5 feet over the previous few days.

In the Sierra Nevada, storms dumped the most snow the mountains have seen in six years, the National Weather Service in Reno said. It helped ease the effects of California’s lingering drought, with federal monitors saying Thursday that

FRIDAY

Recipes for... photo with her 4-month-old son and this note: “Because when my son asks me about this era of American history I don’t want to tell him that I did nothing.”

Rutkowski, the American living in Norway, emailed that she’s “not completely satisfied” with the mixed messages attached to the march.

“I also don’t like_ from what I’ve seen in the news and on Facebook — the proclivity for infighting,” she wrote. “But I believe that a quarter of a million female bodies — hopefully more, hopefully men, as well — will make the incoming administration and new Congress aware that we are watching, we are listening and we will resist.”

Carmen Perez, one of the march’s national organizers, sees beauty in the many messages attached to the march: “Women don’t live single-issue lives and we are thrilled to be joined by women who understand and reflect the intersecting issues for which we stand.” ■ Associated Press reporters Krysta Fauria and Ben Nuckols contributed to this report.

For ski... ❰❰ 35

JANUARY 20, 2017

more than 40 per cent of California is out of drought.

Why is Colorado seeing extreme avalanche danger?

“The simple answer is we’ve gotten a lot of snow in a short amount of time,” said Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

He compared the snowpack to the construction of a building. If you build one story at a time, the foundation has a chance to adjust to the added weight.

“But if you plunk down a 20-story building in a couple of minutes, it’s likely to break,” he said. “When you have this amount of snow in a couple of days, it piles up really fast and the snowpack has a hard time adjusting to the new load.

“With that rapid loading — a lot of weight in a short amount of time — it becomes unstable,” Greene said. ■ Associated Press writer Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada contributed to this report.

on High for 2 minutes or bring to a boil on the stove over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green onions and ginger. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until chilled.

Transfer pork belly and soy sauce mixture to large resealable freezer bag.

Seal bag and immerse in preheated hot water bath. Cook for 10 to 12 hours.

Remove bag from hot water bath, transfer to an ice bath and chill for 30 minutes. (To make ahead, refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months. To use frozen pork belly, thaw in the refrigerator overnight.)

Remove pork belly from bag, reserving cooking liquid for Filipino Pork Belly Adobo. (You can also use it to season ramen broth.) Strain liquid through a fine-mesh sieve before using.)

Pat pork belly dry with paper towels and remove skin, if desired.

Makes 6 to 8 servings ❰❰ 37

White Asparagus with Ricotta

McDonald says this recipe is the one he’s most proud of in the book.

“You cook the white asparagus in milk — the milk ends up being infused with the flavour of the white asparagus to a degree — and then you take the milk and bring it to a simmer with some yogurt stirred in so that it curdles and you end up with a ricotta that tastes of white asparagus and then you go on to season the ricotta and use it as a sauce for the asparagus.”

“It was just something that came out of the blue. I haven’t seen it anywhere. It’s a bit exotic because it’s white asparagus, but it’s easy and it’s a way to show readers how to cook white asparagus at home.”

The bottom half of asparagus tends to have a stringy exterior.

Peeling allows the whole spear to be tender from end to end, which is essential for white asparagus.

This recipe can be doubled.

Fresh chives and mint, in combination or alone, make a great substitute for the pesto.

Chop and mix with the ricotta.

Add a big pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper to adjust the seasoning.

• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) kosher salt • 2 ml (1/2 tsp) granulated sugwww.canadianinquirer.net

ar • 250 ml (1 cup) whole milk • 225 g (1/2 lb) white asparagus, trimmed and peeled (reserve peelings) • 15 to 30 ml (1 to 2 tbsp) plain yogurt • 15 ml (1 tbsp) pesto Preheat hot water bath to 90 C (194 F).

In a small saucepan over low heat (or in a microwave), dissolve salt and sugar in milk.

Transfer asparagus, asparagus peelings and milk to a large resealable freezer bag and seal.

Immerse bag in preheated hot water bath. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes, depending on thickness and desired doneness (McDonald finds white asparagus is best when fully cooked and tender). Check pouch after 45 minutes, giving asparagus a squeeze to check doneness.

Be careful when handling the bag — you are cooking at a high temperature so it will be hot.

Remove bag from hot water bath. (To make ahead, chill bag in an ice bath for 30 minutes, then transfer to refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat asparagus in hot water bath at 71.1 C/160 F for 5 minutes.)

Drain liquid from asparagus into a small saucepan, discarding peelings. Transfer asparagus to a plate; cover with foil and a folded kitchen towel to keep warm while preparing the sauce.

Stir 15 ml (1 tbsp) yogurt into saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

The milk should separate. If it doesn’t, stir in a little more yogurt and continue cooking.

Pour liquid through fine-mesh sieve and let drain — do not press on solids as you want the ricotta to stay moist. Discard liquid. Transfer ricotta to a small bowl and stir in pesto.

Place asparagus on warm plates, garnish with ricotta and serve immediately. The dish will be only slightly warm, which is intended and preferred.

Makes 2 portions.

Crème Brulee

Creme brulee is one of the most popular desserts on restaurant menus, and it’s easy to make at home using your sous vide device. Small canning jars make the perfect portion size — you can torch the sugar and serve them right in the jar.

“You don’t have to worry about it being completely without air because the glass will weight down the jar and you seal them and you drop them into your sous vide setup and the custard cooks to the perfect consistency and then you can take them as gifts to parties, take them to dinner at someone else’s house and finish them there,” says McDonald.

McDonald recommends using new jars that have not previously been heat stressed.

• 250 ml (1 cup) whole milk • 150 ml (2/3 cup) heavy or whipping (35 per cent) cream • 2 egg yolks • 1 whole egg • 30 ml (2 tbsp) granulated sugar • 5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract • 60 ml (1/4 cup) granulated sugar, divided In a small saucepan, combine milk and cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring, over medium heat. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, egg, 30 ml (2 tbsp) sugar and vanilla until well blended. Gradually whisk in milk mixture. Strain through finemesh sieve into a liquid measuring cup. (To make uncooked custard ahead, transfer mixture to an airtight container, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)

Pour equal amounts of mixture into jars, leaving 1-cm (1/2 inch) headspace. Wipe rims of jars thoroughly to ensure a good seal. Add lids and turn just until snug. Immerse jars in hot water bath preheated to 80 C (176 F) and cook for 50 minutes.

Remove jars from bath and let cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

Refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 3 days.

When ready to serve, open jars and spread 15 ml (1 tbsp) sugar evenly over surface of each custard. With torch at full blast, holding it 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) from surface, wave it over sugar. Keep torch moving constantly to avoid blackening sugar — you want a deep golden brown. Each custard will take about 2 minutes to complete.

Let cool for 3 to 4 minutes, then serve.

Makes 4 servings. ■ Source: “The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook” by Chris McDonald (Robert Rose Inc., www. robertrose.ca, 2016).

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FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2017

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JANUARY 20, 2017

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