Philippine Canadian Inquirer #253

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER JANUARY 27, 2017

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VOL. 1 NO. 253

CUT, BALLED OR PRUNED

That’s the fate awaiting these trees on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, where they stand in the path of the upcoming MRT 7 project..

NINO JESUS ORBETA / PDI

1,800 trees to make way for MRT 7

BY JODEE A. AGONCILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer “THEY HAVE to go,” an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said on Thursday on the fate of some 1,800 trees on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, that stand in the way of the Metro Rail Transit 7 project. Each tree, however, will be replaced by 50 seedlings. A total of 1,858 trees, including narra, molave and ipil

species which are on the endangered list, will “have to go” to make way for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7 project, a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) official said on Thursday.

“MRT 7 is a priority project. In the first place, the trees were planted there without anticipating there will be engineering developments… We love the trees. We share the sentiment of the en-

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Duterte hits Aquino on Mamasapano

26 U.S. President Trump signs notice to withdraw from Trans Pacific Partnership ❱❱ PAGE 16

❱❱ PAGE 13 1,800 trees

Resolution weary?

8 workouts that might rev up your routine

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JANUARY 27, 2017

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FRIDAY

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

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ASEAN to continue path to greater progress, prosperity under PHL leadership — Pres. Duterte PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday vowed that under the Philippines’ chairmanship, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will continue on the road towards greater progress and prosperity.

In his speech during the launching of the ASEAN 2017 Business and Investment Program (ABIP), the President said the Philippines “will work tirelessly to ensure that ASEAN’s economic integration as an object and instrument of policy are fully harnessed.”

“The Philippines will work closely with the ASEAN member states and will engage our partners constructively to fully realize the positive changes we desire and aspire for our region,” the President said.

Addressing members of the Diplomatic Corps, ASEAN businessmen and other honored guests, Duterte noted that with economic integration, ASEAN benefits from a vibrant flow of the exchange of goods, services, and investments.

He added that “along with both young and skilled labor, ASEAN now stands out for its dramatic diversity and dynamism.”

Collectively, the 10-nation ASEAN has a market worth over USD2.5 trillion and the 7th largest global economy. ASEAN

member states also represent the third largest market base in the world, next only to China and India.

“ASEAN needs to sustain its momentum towards inclusive growth, ensure that businesses and industries continue to thrive and secure a policy environment that supports meaningful economic change and reform,” Duterte said.

The Philippines, he said, will work together with ASEAN member states and partners to ensure that the trajectory of inclusive growth remains always President Rodrigo Roa Duterte meets with businessmen from the Gideons International who paid a courtesy call on the President. on the upswing.

REY BANIQUET / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / PNA To do this, the President Duterte said the Philippines will focus on three key areas: pur- gional value chain,” Duterte will also be sought for the pursuit of development initiatives said. suit of innovation-led proat the grassroots by building the He added that sub-regional grams. capacities of micro, small, and economic cooperation such as “The objective is to use techmedium enterprises (MSMEs); the Brunei Darussalam-Indo- nology, innovation and creativpursuit of innovation-led pro- nesia-Malaysia-Philippines ity to spur growth in existing grams; and the industries and e m p ow e r m e n t to stimulate new of women. ones, including “MSMEs form starts-ups,” the the backbone The objective is to use technology, President said. of the ASEAN’s innovation and creativity to spur “If we’re able collective econgrowth in existing industries and to to evolve toward omy. The objecstimulate new ones, including startsbecoming smart tive is to build ups. economies, we the capacities of have to be inMSMEs to make telligent about them active and investments, competitive players in the na- East ASEAN Growth Area which includes investment tional, regional, and global (BIMP-EAGA), which the Phil- not just in the areas of science economies,” he said. ippines also chairs this year, and research and development “I encourage business lead- will likewise be crucial in pur- but equally important is our ers and the enterprises here to suing development initiative at precious human resources,” tap the MSMEs and help them the grassroots.

Duterte said. integrate into the national, reMeanwhile, full fulfillment He said that the Philippines

will likewise work tirelessly to advance the empowerment of women so that they can take on the greater economic roles and participate even more broadly in nation and region-building.

“The objective is to achieve the full economic potentials of women and to bridge the gender gap,” he said citing studies which show that advancing gender equality will result in USD900 billion additional output to east and west Asian economies in 2025.

“In ASEAN, we will go beyond that and focus on achieving the equity and justice that all our women deserve,” Duterte said.

In the meantime, the President urged all business leaders and enterprises to take an active part in the vital programs developed to support initiatives under the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship.

These programs include ASEAN MSMEs mentors’ conference and ASEAN creative business forum and exhibit; the ASEAN women’s business conference; the inclusive business summit; the 2nd ASEAN young entrepreneurs’ carnival; creative market place slingshot; and the ASEAN MSMEs summit among others.

“Your experience and expertise will help in ensuring that our roadmap to growth remains responsive and relevant. Let us together work ASEAN even stronger, more resilient and ready to do business,” President Duterte said. ■

Prayer for justice and healing on SAF 44 2nd year anniversary PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY LAOAG CITY — Local officials and members of the Philippine National Police led the commemoration rites of the 44 slain members of the PNP Special Action Force on Wednesday in front of the Capitol.

As a special tribute to Police Officer 2 Omar Nacionales, a resident of Escoda village, Marcos town and one of the 44 commandos who died in the encounter, a huge portrait of him

is hanged on the wall of the provincial Capitol building.

Philippine flags, representing the 44 SAF troopers and posters which states, “Justice for SAF 44” are displayed at the Capitol ground as an expression of the Ilocanos reverence to the fallen heroes.

It has been two years since the death of Nacionales but for his mother, Florencia, the deep wound it caused to her family is still fresh.

“I am grateful for the support of the Marcos family and the government. All of these are be-

cause of my son. I pray that justice be served and for our son to finally rest in peace,” said a teary eyed Florencia after she received a cash envelop from Senior Provincial Board Member Matthew Joseph Manotoc after the flag raising ceremony and offering of solemn prayer for Nacionales and the other 43 commandos.

Manotoc represented his mother, Governor Ma. Imelda Josefa Marcos who failed to attend the event.

In his speech, Manotoc said the province of Ilocos Norte www.canadianinquirer.net

is one with President Rodrigo Duterte’s sentiments about the incident saying “a re-investigation must be made and there must be a sense of accountability and responsibility” to give justice to the slain victims.

“We mourn with the family of Omar Nacionales and the other victims. Over the years, we had offered assistance to them but as we know, no amount of assistance is sufficient,” he said in a short speech.

Of the 44 fallen SAF troopers who participated in “Oplan

Exodus” in Tukanalipao village, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, majority of them were Ilocanos. The operation was meant to neutralize international terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir and other members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Unfortunately, the clash ended with the tragic deaths of the 44 commandos on Jan. 25, 2015, the biggest loss of government elite forces in Philippine history. ■

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Philippine News

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Leni to Bongbong: Prove poll fraud or withdraw protest

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer THE CAMP of Vice President Leni Robredo on Thursday dared former Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to withdraw his election protest should he fail to prove “massive election fraud” from the encrypted data from 13 secure digital (SD) memory cards under investigation by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Romulo Macalintal, the Vice President’s lead lawyer, issued the challenge on the heels of claims made by Marcos’ lawyer

Victor Rodriguez that the fact there was data in the supposedly untouched SD cards was proof of election fraud.

If such claims are not proven, “then Marcos should withdraw his election protest against our client, Vice President Leni Robredo, and his lawyer who made such irresponsible statement should surrender to the Supreme Court his licence to practice law,” Macalintal said in a statement.

The prominent election lawyer said he was willing to surrender his own licence to practice law and withdraw from representing the Vice Presi-

dent if the Comelec did end up proving the existence of fraud in Robredo’s narrow victory over Marcos in May last year.

The former Camarines Sur congresswoman and widow of former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo won by a margin of more than 260,000 votes against Marcos, the son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

On Monday, Rodriguez said Marcos’ electoral protest had been bolstered by the discovery of data in unused SD cards and vote counting machines (VCMs) in the general elections.

“This strengthens our position that massive fraud was

SENATOR BONGBONG MARCOS' OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE

indeed committed in the last elections because SD cards from unused VCMs should be empty,” he said.

But Macalintal said such a claim was “highly ridiculous, if

not outright frivolous” as neither the Supreme Court justices nor the Comelec officials were aware of what the data represented as they were still in encrypted or unreadable form. ■

Unitary tax on cigarettes favors multinational firms over local tobacco industry PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Northern Luzon lawmakers and tobacco farmers pressing for the passage of a proposed bill seeking to revert to a two-tier system of taxation on tobacco products on Tuesday said the unitary taxation implemented this year under the Sin Tax Reform Act allegedly favors only the interests of multinational tobacco firms selling premium brands at the expense of local tobacco farmers whose livelihoods are now being threatened to the brink of extinction.

In an interview, House Deputy Speaker Eric Singson said that Congress should pass into law House Bill (HB) No. 4144, which seeks to revert to a twotier system of taxation on tobacco products, in order to protect local farmers and assure them of their livelihood.

“We have always been fighting for more tiers even before and not only now because we know how farmers can really make money and we know how far they can go,” Singson said.

“We fear that the unitary taxation would allow branded cigarettes using ‘premium’ tobacco to flood the market since price disparity between once

high-priced premium brands and low-priced cigarettes are now minimal,” he said.

The Ilocos Sur lawmaker, one of the convenors of the association of lawmakers from the tobacco-producing provinces better known as the Northern Luzon Alliance, pointed out that while tobacco is a highvalue crop, it is composed of so many grades.

“If the lower grades would not be sold, farmers would suffer big losses and they would stop planting. There is no such thing that could equal the price of tobacco. If that happens, there will be no more local tobacco industry to speak of,” he said.

According to the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), Virginia tobacco, the main tobacco crop in the Ilocos Region, sells at PHP81 per kilogram for Grade AA; PHP79 for A; PHP77 for B; PHP75 for C; PHP68 for D; and PHP67 for E. For the lower grades, the prices are at PHP59 for F1; PHP56 for F2; and PHP46 for reject.

Meanwhile, the price of corn, an alternative crop proposed by government for farmers who will be affected, ranges only between PHP12 to PHP20 per kilo.

Singson’s sentiment was

echoed by ABS party-list Rep. Eugene Michael de Vera, the main author of HB 4144, who said that since price disparity between premium brands and low-end brands are now minimal, “cigarette manufacturers could opt to import higher quality tobacco leaves instead of purchasing the locally grown tobacco leaves.”

De Vera, who hails from Sto. Domingo in Ilocos Sur, said that such scenario would diminish the demand for tobacco leaves produced domestically especially for the lower grade tobacco types such as Grades D, E, F1, F2 and R. “These lower classified leaves comprise 2 percent to 30 percent of the leaves in one single stick of cigarette,” de Vera noted.

But more than protecting the country’s tobacco farming industry, he pointed out that the proposed amendment to the Sin Tax Reform Act also promotes public health by curbing smoking and, more importantly, generate more revenue for the government.

Until the end of December 2016, cigarettes with a net retail price of PHP11.50 per pack was taxed PHP25 per pack; while those higher than PHP11.50 was taxed PHP29 per pack.

But since January 1, 2017, a unitary tax rate of PHP30 per www.canadianinquirer.net

pack has been imposed.

Under HB 4144, from the unitary PHP30 a pack, tax rates for cheaper brands would be increased to PHP32 while PHP36 per pack would be imposed to the higher priced brands.

HB 4144 was approved on third and final reading last December 13 at the House of Representatives through nominal voting with 176 votes, 30 against and 3 abstentions.

“Imposing a higher excise tax on cigarettes will help significantly drop the number of smokers in the country. At the same time, HB 4144 would provide the government of President Rodrigo Duterte an additional PHP14 billion in annual revenue as a result of increased tax rates for both low-end and premium cigarette brands,” De Vera said.

In the meantime, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, a stalwart of the ruling Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said it is right and just that high priced cigarettes should pay higher amount of tax.

“It just stands to reason that high-priced products should be taxed higher,” the Ilocos Norte lawmaker said.

For his part, Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza added that “the past Congress has failed

to protect the country’s local tobacco industry for approving laws that only serve the interests of multinational companies selling imported and branded cigarettes.”

“It is high time for Congress to pass HB 4144 to address the flaws of the Sin Tax Reform Act,” the Deputy Minority Leader.

Meanwhile, the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers Association and Cooperatives (NAFTAC) appealed to the Senate and President Duterte to support the passage of the proposed bill.

NAFTAC president Mario Cabasal said in a radio interview that majority of tobacco farmers would be affected by the unitary taxation since most of them produce only low grade tobacco.

“We fear that our low-grade tobacco would never be bought anymore in the market if taxes on low-end and high grade cigarettes are the same,” he lamented.

“We are thus calling on President Duterte and the Senate to heed our plea for a return to a two-tier system of taxation for tobacco because we believe that this proposal is the only guarantee we have that our livelihood will be protected,” Cabasal said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

‘THREE HOLES’

Sueno says he was offered bribe by gambling lords

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer INTERIOR SECRETARY Ismael Sueno said on Tuesday that gambling lords had tried to offer him payola even before he officially assumed his Cabinet post last year.

Sueno said money from illegal gambling operations was allegedly given to benefactors in government through “three holes,” one of which was for the head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The three holes are a variation of the “Three Kings” during the Arroyo administration.

Declined attempts

At a Senate hearing on the operations of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Sueno said that he declined all attempts to bribe him and that he did not know exactly who were behind the offers of payola.

He, however, admitted that someone was taking the amounts on his behalf without authority.

“When I sat down as secretary of the DILG, I heard that there were three holes, and that money was funneled through these holes,” Sueno told the Senate committee on games and amusement.

“I don’t know what amount, but one of the holes belongs to the secretary, to the SILG (interior secretary). But up to now I have not received any centavo, although I was encouraged by several to accept,” he told the committee chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Sueno also disclosed that someone was taking the money for him, and that he was now “trying to find out” who that person was.

“I have reports saying that I have been receiving [the money] because someone is collecting the money from the hole (meant for the interior secretary),” he said.

Metro Manila, Central Luzon

Asked later in an interview,

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno.

KING RODRIGUEZ / PPD / PNA

Sueno said amounts involved ranged from P4 million monthly in Metro Manila to P13 million in Central Luzon.

“I think these are bribes. I’m trying to find out who is getting it for me and I will also ask why [that person is] taking it when there was no order to do so,” he said.

Offer came from ‘operators’

Sueno said money sent to the holes came from illegal gambling, and were different from shares that local governments and the police regularly receive from legitimate earnings in state gaming operations.

“Even before I sat down as SILG, someone came to tell me … I do not know who they were … I was still in Mindanao, someone from Luzon came…,” he said.

All he knew, he said, was that the offer came from “operators.” The offer, he said, was to get a “monthly take” from illegal gambling operations.

Big amount

“They did not say (how much), but they said I will get a big amount. I said I was afraid,” he said.

Saying he was still new in his post, Sueno said he would soon seek the public’s help to crack down on illegal gambling.

“You tell us. We will ask people what to do, because we do not know how to. If you ask me, I’m not involved in any gambling at all. I do not know how to gamble. So there, we will ask people how to detect, how to stop it,” he said.

Amend PCSO Charter

Lacson revived calls to amend the 1954 PCSO Charter to provide legal cover to policies, rules and guidelines that the state-run firm has been implementing, including the regular provision of shares to local governments, congressional districts and police offices out of gaming earnings.

“What the PCSO does right now has no basis in law. The charter is so old and it only talks of sweepstakes. Sweepstakes are not popular anymore … And now, we have STL (small town lottery), which is also not in the charter,” Lacson said.

He said recent additions to PCSO activities were covered by executive orders. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

5

Digong says Bato stays as PNP head

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer

the South Koreans right now,” Sueno said.

He added that his department and the PNP “will not tolerate any illegal activity within their power and jurisdiction, as they will never allow acts that will tarnish the image of the entire police institution, the ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, corruption and criminality.”

“Similarly, we will not let these few rotten members of the PNP undermine the gains of the anti-illegal drugs drive, particularly ‘Oplan Tokhang,’” Sueno said.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE on Sunday came to the defense of beleaguered Director General Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, rejecting calls for the Philippine National Police chief to step down over the killing of South Korean businessman Jee Ickjoo by policemen.

In a palpable vote of confidence, Mr. Duterte attended his longtime security aide’s 55th birthday party on Sunday night, which was held at the PNP Multipurpose Center in Camp Big blow to PNP Crame, just steps away from Saying the Korean case was the area where Jee was alleg- “a big blow to the PNP,” Rep. edly strangled to death inside Romeo Acop of Antipolo urged the businessman’s vehicle.

Dela Rosa to submit his cour“He stays there. Bato has my tesy resignation. complete trust,” the President Acop, a former PNP chief said in a television interview. superintendent, said the PNP Mr. Duterte also assured the should have cleaned up its ranks public that the first when Mr. policemen imDuterte anplicated in Jee’s nounced his antikidnapping and narcotics cammurder would be He stays there. paign when he prosecuted.

Bato has my took office in July.

Earlier on complete trust.

“As the saying Sunday, calls goes, clean up went out for your house bea purge in the fore you clean up PNP, beginning your neighbor’s with the courtesy resignation mess,” he said. of Dela Rosa.

Jee was abducted in October last year allegedly by policemen Improve police service who claimed the Korean was inLocal Government Secretary volved in illegal drugs.

Ismael Sueno told reporters he A suspect, SPO4 Roy Villewould support any inquiry, ei- gas, gave harrowing details of ther in the House of Represen- the abduction and murder in tatives or in the Senate, into the an affidavit submitted to the killing of Jee to improve and Department of Justice after it professionalize the police ser- was discovered that the victim vice and avoid similar incidents had been killed and his body in the future. cremated.

Sueno said he met with Jee’s According to Villegas, Jee was family to express his condo- killed by Sta. Isabel, on the night lences and promised that heads of his abduction. The murder would roll in the PNP. took place near Dela Rosa’s of“I have personally asked the ficial residence in Camp Crame.

PNP chief to continue to moni- Sta. Isabel allegedly wrapped tor the case, as well as to ac- the victim’s head with packaging celerate the investigation and tape and strangled him. ensure that all police scalaLater, Sta. Isabel turned over wags involved in the incident, Jee’s body to an accomplice particularly SPO3 Ricky Sta. who brought it to a funeral Isabel, be meted with appro- home in Caloocan City where it priate sanctions in accordance was cremated. ■ with the rule of law. The speedy resolution of Mr. Jee’s case is With reports from Jerome Anthe best justice that this coun- ing, Nikko Dizon and Christine try can give to his family and to O. Avedaño

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JANUARY 27, 2017

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FRIDAY

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

7

SC orders deeper probe on judges who handled Espinosa drug case

BY GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA — The Supreme Court has sought a deeper probe of three lower court judges who issued the search warrant and handled the detention transfer request of Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr.’s who was murdered by a police team inside his sub-provincial jail last Nov. 8.

High Court spokesperson Theodore Te said the Supreme Court en banc on Tuesday ordered the re-docketing of the administrative case against Baybay, Leyte RTC Branch 14 Judge Carlos O. Arguelles; Basey, Samar RTC Branch 30 Judge Tarcelo A. Sabarre Jr; and Calbiga, Samar RTC Branch 33 Judge Janet M. Cabalona to Associate Justice Gabriel T. Ingles of the Court of Appeals of Cebu City.

The high court was apparent-

ly not pleased with the results of the probe of the Office of the Court Administrator, which gave the three judges a mere slap on the wrist – Arguelles was only given a reminder to be more “circumspect” in resolving very urgent motions such as when she sat on the request of Espinosa to move to another detention from the sub-provincial jail of Baybay, Leyte; and a P10,000 fine for Sabarre and Cabalona for gross ignorance of the law for issuing search warrants in a government prison and another province.

“The Court, after considering the OCA’s report, disagreed with the OCA recommendation in so far as Judge Arguelles is concerned, finding that there is enough reason to warrant further investigation of the three judges,” said Te. The high tribunal noted that while Arguelles pondered on Espinosa’s transfer request, two

drug detainees were killed in jail on Aug. 11, 2016, or three months before Espinosa was shot down

by CIDG team from Region 8 inside his cell along with another inmate, Raul Yap, on Nov. 5.

In its report to the Supreme Court, OCA said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group applied for a search warrant in a government detention facility because there was a collusion between Espinosa and the jail guards. But OCA said that courts should not allow themselves to be used and that the police should have exhausted other means before seeking a search warrant. The Supreme Court said these incidents should have alerted Arguelles that Espinosa’s fears of threats to his life were “real and not imagined.”

The Supreme Court also cited the need to look into the anonymous letters the OCA received, which stated that Sa-

MAGALHÃES / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

mar’s RTC judges were friendly with the CIDG in the region because Cabalona’s husband was a police superintendent; and that Sabarre issued the the search warrant in exchange for the CIDG stopping a young boy from suing him for seduction.

The OCA also found out that Cabalona also issued two search warrants against detainees in a government facility who, like Espinosa, were killed by the police who served the warrant.

While the OCA dismissed the letters as “loose talks,” the Supreme Court opined that they

raise serious allegations that need to be clarified.

“Judges are expected to resolve matters before their salas impartially and independently.

Allegations that tend to show that they decided a matter for considerations other than their own conscience and knowledge of the law not only smear their dignity but threaten the very foundations of the judiciary as well,” Te said.

Te noted that their failings were made more “grievous” by the deaths of individuals due to failures in the court process. ■

Why are Trillanes Harry Roque still a and Cayetano congressman–House leader fighting again?

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer “YOU FIRST.” “No, you first.”

It came down to a swapping of resignation calls between fierce administration ally Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and staunch critic Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday as the two bickered over the latter’s charges that the President’s former running mate was out to snatch the Senate presidency.

“If Sen. Trillanes thinks I am the problem, then we should resign together tomorrow. Because I think he is the problem in the Senate,” Cayetano said in a press conference on Friday.

Told of Cayetano’s response, Trillanes made a quick retort and made reference to the stillunfulfilled campaign promises of the Duterte administration.

“He should go first because he was the one who promised to resign if [the administration] cannot

solve crime, corruption and illegal drugs within three to six months,” Trillanes said in a statement.

It all began when Trillanes accused Cayetano of leading an ouster plot against Pimentel, the President’s chief ally in the chamber and head of Mr. Duterte’s party, the Partido Demokratiko PilipinoLakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

In a television interview on Thursday, Trillanes, among the three in the Senate minority, said the majority bloc led by Cayetano was plotting to remove Pimentel from the chamber’s helm.

Trillanes noted how Senators Joseph Victor Ejercito, Juan Miguel Zubiri and Richard Gordon, showed behavior aimed at destabilizing Pimentel’s clout.

But Cayetano said he would have no use for the Senate presidency as he is expected to leave the Senate to serve the cabinet as foreign secretary in the middle of the year. ■

AS FAR as the House of Representatives is concerned, Harry Roque of the Kabayan party-list group is still a congressman.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas on Wednesday said the former University of the Philippine law professor would remain on the roster of House members while the leadership heard both sides of the story.

“There’s a procedure. One is saying he [Roque] has been ousted. But the Speaker has not received any papers. Where are their papers? One says it’s the Comelec (Commission on Elections) that should decide,” he said.

“Anything goes. We will study well and hear both parties,” Fariñas told reporters.

Roque was unseated by Kabayan as its representative in Congress over his “severely damaging” statements, including a call on the Senate to oust www.canadianinquirer.net

Sen. Leila De Lima in November.

In a Jan. 12 resolution released to the media on Tuesday, the group’s Board of Trustees said it ordered Roque’s removal as a member of the party, and consequently, as its representative in the House of Representatives.

But Roque contested the decision of the board, saying he filed a petition to compel his party to hold a congress to resolve the issue on “rightful leadership.” His petition also sought the annulment of the “illegal resolution” issued by the board for being null and void.

Fariñas said he was pained by the feud between Roque and his fellow Kabayan representative Ron Salo, who had lodged the complaint against his colleague.

Both Roque and Salo are members of the powerful rules committee. Salo is with the majority while Roque is in the minority bloc. Earlier this month, Roque sought Salo’s expulsion from the House for his “illegal schemes and machinations.”

“I will ask both of them to go on leave first from the committee on rules. I apologize to the body. Two members are the ones fighting on the floor when we are the ones who should maintain order in the plenary,” Fariñas said.

In its resolution, the Kabayan board said there was an “overwhelming call” on the part of its members to unseat Roque for his words and actions during the Nov. 24 inquiry held by the House justice committee on the proliferation of drugs in the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City.

In that hearing, the lawmaker had urged the Senate to remove De Lima if she refused to resign over allegations she had tried to prevent her former driver Ronnie Dayan from testifying in a House inquiry.

Kabayan, short for Kabalikat ng Mamamayan, is a group representing marginalized sectors, including farmers, senior citizens, disabled, migrant workers, and the poor. ■

Philippine News

8

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Duterte hits Aquino on Mamasapano

BY MARLON RAMOS AND NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer, Inc. Correspondents Jane Moraleda Cheng Ilagan Katherine Padilla Deby Mangabat Socorro Newland Bolet Arevalo Gerna Lane Sotana Administration Head Victoria Yong Graphic Designer Shanice Garcia Photographers Angelo Siglos Vic Vargas For photo submissions, please email editor@canadianinquirer.net For General Inquiries, please email info@canadianinquirer.net For Sales Inquiries, please email sales@canadianinquirer.net PHILIPPINE PUBLISHING GROUP Editorial Assistant Christelle Tolisora Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at 11951 Hammersmith Way, Suite 108 Richmond, B.C. V7A 5H9 Canada Tel. No.: +1 (888) 668-6059, +1 (778) 889-3518 | Email: info@canadianinquirer.net, sales@ canadianinquirer.net Philippine Canadian Inquirer is published weekly every Friday.

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Member

PRESIDENT DUTERTE announced on Tuesday the creation of an independent commission to look into the Mamasapano massacre and challenged former President Benigno Aquino III to come clean and answer lingering questions on the slaughter of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos two years ago.

Speaking in Malacañang before relatives of the slain troopers on the eve of the second anniversary of the carnage that sparked widespread outrage, Mr. Duterte claimed that the clandestine operation to get Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, was actually an operation of the US Central Intelligence Agency, a charge Philippine and US authorities had previously denied.

“I’m addressing myself to former President Aquino. I don’t have any quarrel with you. I don’t want to disturb your life now that you are retired … But all the investigations unfortunately left a void and unless we address the issues and find the reasons why, (only) then will the families of the SAF 44 have a respite,” Mr. Duterte said.

Bloodbath

“Otherwise, they will bring to their grave the hurt and agony that they had to endure losing a husband, a father, a brother. The investigation, you could have completed it,” he added.

Mr. Duterte said it was not enough for Aquino to own up responsibility for the Mamasapano bloodbath without explaining what exactly were his mistakes that led to the slaughter of the elite troops of the Philippine National Police.

Frivolous and absurd

The Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday indicted former PNP Director General Alan Purisima and SAF Director Getulio Napeñas for bypassing the chain of command in carrying out the operation that killed Marwan.

Purisima had been suspended on a graft case when he and Napeñas planned the assault on the terrorist hideout in the cornfields of Mamasapano in Maguindanao.

Aquino was not among the respondents in that case.

After Aquino stepped down at the end of his term in June last year and lost his presidential immunity from suit, three criminal complaints were filed against him by relatives of the slain SAF commandos.

Aquino then dismissed the complaints as “frivolous” and “absurd.”

“The loss of the SAF 44 is a tragedy,” he said.

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte gets a gesture of respect from a boy whose father was among the 44 Special Action Force troopers killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015. The President met with the families of the slain police officers.

ROLANDO MAILO / PPD / PNA

“I reiterate that if my instruction to then SAF Director Napeñas were followed to the letter, perhaps the risks of the operation could have been minimized, and that this tragedy could have been averted,” he added.

There was no immediate comment from Aquino on Mr. Duterte’s challenge to him to explain his entire role in the operation.

Civilian commission

Mr. Duterte asked Aquino why the SAF personnel, whom he claimed were only trained to fight urban terrorism, and not the Army, were deployed to carry out the operation.

“They are practically surrounding the Mamasapano area. Why did you not use the Army? And why was it under wraps?

And why did you hide that actually it was an operation of the CIA?” the President said.

“What was so special about the SAF?” he asked.

“Why was SAF sent there when SAF is organized and geared into the service to meet the challenges of urban terrorism?

Urban is urban. They should be here in the city,” he added.

In announcing his plan to form an independent commission to look into the Mamasapano slaughter, Mr. Duterte said he would appoint men of integrity, including Supreme Court justices, to compose the panel, ostensibly similar to the citizen’s group headed by retired Justice Corazon Agrava that investigated the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino on Aug. 21, 1983, on his return from three years of self-exile in the United States.

“You can summon and even ask the United States government and their

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participation and where did the reward money go,” Mr. Duterte said, referring to the $5 million US bounty for the head of Marwan.

House probe

The US Embassy has said its involvement in Mamasapano was limited to airlifting casualties, in accordance with existing protocols.

Rep. Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna on Tuesday filed a resolution urging the House of Representatives to “further investigate the unanswered and unresolved” issues in the Mamasapano debacle, particularly how much Aquino knew of the operation and the participation of the United States.

Zarate said in his resolution that further probing into the US involvement in the antiterrorist operation called “Oplan Exodus” would be in line with President Duterte’s “pursuit of having an independent foreign policy,” including his desire to get US forces out of Mindanao.

Zarate listed a number of what he deemed were unresolved “significant issues” from the Mamasapano encounter, including whether there was an order for the military to stand down in the face of the ongoing slaughter of the troopers.

“While results of the investigation have uniformly established the full knowledge and approval of the operation by President Aquino, and the supposed ‘limited involvement’ of the US, yet, these details were no longer pursued nor were further details threshed out—a sheer injustice and disservice not only to the kin of the victims, including the SAF members, but, more importantly to the Filipino people demanding justice,” Zarate said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

9

Aguirre’s testimony full of holes, says Trillanes

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer SEN. ANTONIO Trillanes IV on Tuesday urged Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II whom he called “paranoid” to stick to the issue as the latter’s testimony at the Senate inquiry into the alleged P50-million bribery/extortion scandal at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) had many holes.

Trillanes was reacting to Aguirre’s accusation that he and Sen. Francis Pangilinan wanted to offer legislative immunity to former BI Deputy Commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles who allegedly extorted money from casino tycoon Jack Lam in exchange for testifying against the justice secretary.

A day after Trillanes accused Aguirre of being part of a shakedown of Lam following a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on the BI controversy, the senator said the justice secretary “is being haunted by the truth that’s why he is getting paranoid.”

“Aguirre should stick to the issue.

There are so many holes in his testimony,” Trillanes said.

Aguirre left the Senate hearing on Monday when Trillanes raised the possible involvement of the justice secretary in the BI controversy.

9 questions

The senator raised nine questions that Aguirre had to answer.

Why did the justice secretary meet with “suspects” in a case in a hotel?

Aguirre met on Nov. 27, 2016, with Lam and Wally Sombero on the BI arrest of 1,316 Chinese nationals illegally working for Lam in Clark Freeport in Pampanga. Sombero, a Lam representative, is the person that Argosino and Robles claimed to have given them a P50-million bribe for them to help in the release of the Chinese workers.

Why did Aguirre invite Argosino, “his fraternity brother (both came from San Beda College of Law), to the meeting with Lam instead of the BI chief, Jaime Morente?

Why did Aguirre tell Argosino “ikaw na bahala” after he left the meeting with Lam. Why did he tell Argosino not to cooperate with then BI Executive Assistant Charles Calima Jr., who turned out to be investigating the two BI officials for allegedly extorting money from Lam through Sombero?

How did Aguirre know the amount of the supposed bribe of P50 million to P100 million as early as Dec. 1 when nobody supposedly told him about it?

Why did Argosino ask for P100 million from Sombero if his frat brother and boss Aguirre did not approve of it?

(Sombero could simply validate this directly with Aguirre).

If Aguirre wasn’t part of the extortion/ bribery, why would Sombero give P50 million to Argosino when he knew that Argosino didn’t have the authority or power to release the Chinese workers?

RAMON FVELASQUEZ / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

No legislative immunity

Pangilinan denied as “baseless and unfounded” Aguirre’s accusation against him.

“The Senate does not have the power nor the authority to grant legislative immunity. In fact, legislative immunity doesn’t exist in the Senate rule book so the accusation is baseless,” Pangilinan said.

The senator also said he did not want immunity to be granted to Argosino and Robles who were fired as BI deputy commissioners by Aguirre for receiving the P50 million.

“On the contrary, I want them both charged criminally and thrown behind bars,” Pangilinan said, adding that Aguirre was “being fed with wrong information.”

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said there was “no express mention of legislative immunity” in the Senate rules, “only immunity for witnesses in legislative proceedings.”

Aguirre denied the claim of Trillanes that he was involved in the alleged extortion try on Lam. But after the hearing on Monday, Senators Richard Gordon and Leila de Lima agreed that Aguirre had to explain some things following testimonies made at the hearing.

“The jury is not out yet. But there are some questions (Aguirre) has to explain,” he said, adding that he had many questions to ask the justice secretary.

Asked to comment on Aguirre’s possible accountability, Gordon said Argosino’s statement that Aguirre had told him to be on top of the meeting with Lam was “conflicting.”

Gordon said, however, that he did not hear Aguirre had made this statement to Argosino.

But Gordon, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said that what Aguirre said was for Sombero not to listen to Calima and that Sombero could make everything clear.

Asked whether he was convinced that Aguirre had no involvement in the controversy, Gordon said: “I did not say that.

I am not yet done. We are still not done (with the inquiry).”

De Lima, for her part, could not understand why Aguirre had to meet with Lam when there was already a case against his workers.

“That meeting should have taken place at the BI,” said De Lima, who served as justice secretary during President Benigno Aquino III’s administration. ■

Dole appeals to OFWs to come back, teach in PH

BY JULIE M. AURELIO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment on Friday appealed to Filipino workers (OFWs) who are licensed teachers to return to the country and practice their profession as public school teachers.

The labor department’s appeal is in line with the Dole’s OFW reintegration program called “Sa ‘Pinas, Ikaw ang Ma’am/Sir,” which allows OFWs who passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers to apply and be employed by the Department of Education (DepEd) as teachers.

“We aim to provide decent and sustainable work for returning OFWs as public school teachers,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said.

The program will cover OFWs who returned to the Philippines in the last three years and had teaching experience in the past five years.

Those who have no teaching experience at all, or those whose teaching experience was interrupted for more than past five years, will undergo an online refresher course.

Those interested may check www.

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nrco.dole.gov.ph, while online application forms are available at http://tiny. cc/ofwletpassers.

The DOLE’s National Reintegration Center for OFWs implements the program with the DepEd, Professional Regulation Commission, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Philippine Normal University.

Bello noted that the OFW reintegration program has been a good source of public school teachers for the DepEd. “It has helped ease the country’s insufficient supply of public school teachers especially in the provinces and remote areas,” he said.

The program has also reunited several OFW families after years of separation.

The labor secretary pointed out that 19 OFWs who were licensed teachers have been employed by different public schools in Central Visayas.

The former OFWs used to work as teachers and household service workers in Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

They were hired for permanent positions with a Teacher 1 or Salary Grade 11 rank after having complied with all the requirements. ■

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Philippine News

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Maxine stronger after the bashing The social media bashing has only made Miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina stronger as she now knows what to focus on, said her sister

BY ARMIN P. ADINA Philippine Daily Inquirer SHE WAS bashed on social media for being less than proficient in English, but reigning Miss Universe Philippines Maxine Medina “handled (the issue) patiently and became even more determined,” her mother Maria Fe said.

“She took it positively. That’s what amazed me,” she added.

Younger sister Ferica said Medina’s bashers “made her a stronger woman.” She added: “That’s where (Maxine) drew her strength. She learned what she had to focus on, to work on, because of the criticisms that she got.”

Medina’s steely resolve was a revelation even to her mother who said, during a press conference early this month, that the beauty queen was a “shy, soft-spoken” child, and that the thought of her joining a pageant was farfetched.

“I’m proud of her. She exceeded my expectations,” Maria Fe said, adding that when Medina told them she was considering joining a pageant, she advised her daughter to “finish her studies first, so she could have a fallback option if she doesn’t make it.”

Most coveted

So Medina, 26, earned a degree from the Philippine School of Interior Design and dabbled in modeling before trying her luck in the beauty contest cir-

schedule as Binibining Pilipinas titleholder and Miss Universe contestant has cut down their times together, Topacio said he would always be there should she need him, “even if only to carry her bag.”

He declared: “She is the one.”

Fighting form

Miss Universe candidates pose with Philippine Navy Officials headed by flag officer in command PN Vice-Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado (front row 3rd from right) and other PN officials for a souvenir photo with Miss Universe candidates. Also in photo is former Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson (in black polo).

KING RODRIGUEZ / PPD / PNA

cuit. under the sun in the question- times ask myself that. (FortuWhen she finally did, she and-answer round,” Ferica re- nately), she’s not the jealous bagged the most coveted crown called telling her sister. type.” in the Binibining Pilipinas pagBut the seasoned fashion Topacio met Medina through eant and earned the right to model conquered her fear, and the Professional Models Asrepresent the sociation of the country in the Philippines, Miss Universe where both are pageant. members, as was Ferica, a forI told her it was scary. And this being Medina’s aunt, mer “Miss Nursthe Binibining Pilipinas (pageant), it’s 1990 Binibining ing” at the Uninot a joke. It’s being broadcast live.

Pilipinas-University of Santo Showing yourself in front of a lot of verse Germelina Tomas, offered people is frightening.

Padilla. her ate useful Dating Medina tips about joinhad given him ing pageants. newfound fame, “I told her it was scary. And ended up with a crown on her Topacio said. “People have recthis being the Binibining Pilipi- head, a triumph that had her ognized me before. But now, nas (pageant), it’s not a joke. It’s beau, model and TV actor Marx when I’m with Maxine, more being broadcast live. Showing Topacio, asking himself, “Am people would notice me.” yourself in front of a lot of peo- I good-looking enough to be The couple has been together ple is frightening. I also told her Maxine’s boyfriend?” for six years now. she would be asked anything He added in jest, “I someAlthough Medina’s hectic

Despite the bashing, Topacio hopes people would look at Medina through the eyes of her family and loved ones to see who she really is.

“She has changed a lot, really, I’m amazed. I’m proud of her,” said her mother, Maria Fe. “She has transformed emotionally, physically and mentally.”

Medina’s sister agreed. “We believe she is ready for the Miss Universe crown. After her training with (the beauty camp) Aces and Queens, we know she’s in fighting form.”

Said Topacio: “Have faith in her. She has given her 100 percent for the Philippines. Believe in her, we will win this.”

Medina is facing 85 other aspirants in the 65th Miss Universe competition, which is technically the pageant’s 2016 edition.

Reigning Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach will relinquish her title in coronation rites at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Jan. 30.

Aside from Wurtzbach, two other Filipinos have won the Miss Universe crown: Gloria Diaz in 1969, and Margarita Moran in 1973. ■

Palace apologizes for death of Korean businessman PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Malacanang apologized on Tuesday to the Korean people for the killing of a Korean executive while in police custody at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters at the Camp Crame.

“We apologized to the Korean government and people for this irreparable loss,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a televised Palace briefing

over state-run PTV Channel 4.

Jee Ick Joo, an executive of South Korean shipping company Hanjin, was reportedly killed with his head covered with packaging tape inside Camp Crame on the same day he was abducted in Pampanga in October 18 last year.

Abella said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and the Filipino people would like to express sympathy and condolences to Jee’s widow Kyungjin Choi.

“We commit the full force of the law to ensure that justice is

served and not delayed. To the Korean people, please accept our sincerest and deepest regrets,” Abella said.

The abduction and killing of Jee has prompted several lawmakers including President Duterte’s close ally House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to call for the resignation of PNP chief Director General Ronald Dela Rosa.

Dela Rosa has verbally offered his resignation but the President ordered him to stay.

“Certainly, his (the Presiwww.canadianinquirer.net

dent) trust to the Director General is well-pleased considering the fact that he is the one who is part of the President’s agenda in fighting crime, in fighting corruption within the system,” Abella explained.

SPO3 Rickey Sta. Isabel has been tagged as the main suspect in the kidnapping and killing of the Korean national.

The Department of Justice, particularly the National Bureau of Investigation, is also investigating other incumbent and former police officers for

their involvement in the Korean kidnap-slay case.

Meanwhile, Abella described as “over imaginative” Senator Leila de Lima’s claim that President Duterte’s equivocal support to Dela Rosa has created culture of impunity among the PNP ranks.

“I think it’s not fair. The culture (of impunity) is there. It was existing even before the President came in. In fact, that’s exactly why we came in to address that particular culture,” Abella said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

No need for separate indie film fest PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — A Senator on Tuesday saw no need to establish a separate film festival for independent movies noting that the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) could instead be improved.

“It won’t be necessary. I think we can include (both mainstream and independent films),” Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, told reporters in an interview.

Poe made this remark after meeting various stakeholders from the film industry in a Senate hearing on a resolution recommending the establishment of an indie film fest during the long semestral break.

This was Senate Resolution No. 257, filed by Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. Sotto filed this measure stressing that it would give indie films their “most-deserved spotlight” without compromising the profit earned by mainstream films.

Poe, however, said that instead of placing mainstream and indie in different categories, the film industry should call for unity and bridge the gap between both types of films.

“I think we should balance having good quality and commercially-viable films. We have to ensure that Filipino films will earn and contribute its earnings to the MMFF,” Poe said.

Money matters

Sotto stressed that the MMFF was established as a fund-raising campaign to help members of the organization that provides for the welfare of workers in the film industry or the Movie Workers Welfare Foundation (Mowelfund).

He pointed out that MMFF,

Debates on death penalty begin next week

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. ALEX NUEVAESPAÑA / PUBLIC RELATION AND INFORMATION BUREAU

in essence, is “profit-oriented” and called for a balancing act specifically on commercial viability and quality of films being shown in the MMFF. The senator said that there was drop of over 60 percent in the MMFF 2016 revenue to PHP373 million from over PHP1 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Sotto clarified that his intention was not to “favor anyone” amid reports that he filed his resolution due to the absence of mainstream films in the festival including “Enteng Kabisote 10 and the Abangers” which stars his brother, Vic. “A lot of people thought that I filed Reso No. 257 because Vic was not included in the 2016 MMFF entries. That is not true; and just to drive a point, Vic already made a decision not to join this year’s MMFF,” Sotto said.

He also claimed that movie legend Fernando Poe Jr. “passed down” to Vic the responsibility of ensuring the film industry would not falter.

Another chance

MMFF Selection Committee Member Mae Paner also dis-

agreed to creating a separate indie film fest stressing that it was not true that indie films did not get as much of an audience as mainstream films did.

Paner claimed that 2016 MMFF entries such as indiedocumentary such as “Sunday Beauty Queen” had a full-house audience after it won Best Picture but theater operators stopped screening it to make room for mainstream films.

She instead recommended legislation to turn the MMFF into a “national film fest for all types of films, covering all theaters in all regions, for all genres, both mainstream and indie.” Sotto earlier called for a similar proposal.

Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) Chair Liza Diño-Seguerra, like Paner, said a separate indie film fest could be “premature” and opted to give the current MMFF format a chance.

Mowelfund President Boots Anson Roa, meanwhile, agreed in the changes of MMFF in terms of goals, structure, but noted that it should not be too drastic.

She also agreed to infuse greater quality in mainstream or commercially-viable films. ■

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11

PROPONENTS AND opponents of the bill restoring the death penalty are poised to begin their showdown on the House plenary floor next week.

“We expect that the fireworks on this revival of capital punishment will commence on Tuesday or Wednesday next week,” said Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, leader of the “Magnificent 7” independent minority bloc.

He said he was told by Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas of the change in schedule. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez earlier announced the plenary debates would begin this week.

At a press briefing, Lagman reiterated his call on the House leadership “not to insist on a party or a pressure vote.”

No justification

“House members should be allowed to freely exercise their conscience and conviction in voting on the measure,” he said.

Lagman said he wished to dispel the impression that the 1987 Constitution prescribed the death penalty. “On the contrary, it prohibits it,” he said.

“As of now the proponents have failed to make any justification on the death penalty.

They are citing that incidents of crime have risen in recent years. That is incorrect. PNP (Philippine National Police) data show there is a decreasing incidence, except for murder,” he said.

Akbayan Rep. Tomasito Villarin also called for a stop to “misinformation,” especially among rookie lawmakers.

“Some are saying that if you’re a member of the justice committee, you can’t interpellate. If you’re a member of the rules, you can’t interpellate.

This kind of misinformation is a kind of pressure on members not to speak out against the death penalty,” he said.

Party vote

Last week, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said he was “very confident” that the measure would pass because of the strength of the President Duterte-controlled supermajority in the House.

Alvarez, a bosom buddy of Mr. Duterte, assured his colleagues that there would be no consequences for not supporting the bill, although he did not give a clear answer when asked if he would call for a “party vote” and apply pressure on supermajority members to take a collective stand.

In December, the House justice committee approved by a 12-6-1 vote a substitute bill allowing the return of capital punishment for heinous crimes and sent the measure to the plenary for second and third reading.

Under the proposed “Death Penalty Law,” the penalty of death by hanging, firing squad or lethal injection shall be imposed on 21 major offenses, including treason, qualified piracy, murder, rape, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, plunder and dangerous drug offenses. ■

12

Philippine News

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Ex-mayor calls for review of rules on STL franchises

BY MARLON RAMOS AND JODEE A. AGONCILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer A PARTY-MATE of President Duterte on Sunday described as unfair the right of Small Town Lottery (STL) operators to match the bid offered by aspiring players for the franchise of the state-sanctioned numbers game.

Former Mayor Roderick Umali of Tiaong, Quezon province, urged Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to review the “right to match” privilege given to existing STL operators under the implementing rules and regulations approved by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board.

“The ‘right to match’ privilege means that the current STL operators could win the bidding if they match the highest bid of the new players. It’s that simple. I think it’s unfair,” Umali told the Inquirer.

He said the reforms implemented to fix the STL benefited only existing gaming operators, who have been found to have billions of pesos in unpaid taxes.

Third front

Mr. Duterte designated Aguirre to head the multiagency task force created to introduce institutional changes in STL in an effort to stamp out illegal gambling, the third front in the President’s war against criminality.

The Arroyo administration reintroduced STL in 2006 to stem underground lottery, but was conveniently used by gambling syndicates as a smokescreen for similar illegal numbers game, such as “jueteng,” two-ball and “masiao.”

Similar mechanics

In STL and jueteng, bettors

choose two-number combinations. Bets in jueteng involve a pair of numbers from 1 to 37. In STL, the choices are from 1 to 40.

Unlike the PCSO-run lotto, where draws are televised nationwide, STL draws are done locally.

Because the two games had similar mechanics, STL was used as a front by jueteng operators.

Sought for comment, Aguirre said the concerns of Umali and other other applicants of STL franchises had already been addressed by the PCSO chair, Jose Jorge Corpuz, and its general manager, Alexander Balutan.

Contrary to Umali’s claim, he said the reforms in the STL operations would ensure a level playing field for all interested gaming firms and increase the PCSO’s income.

“Besides, the right to match privilege is just 50 percent of the criteria for awarding an STL franchise. The applicants are also chosen according to their ability to provide employment and financial capability,” Aguirre said in a mobile phone interview.

In fact, he said at least four of the 18 current STL operators lost the bidding despite enjoying the right to match privilege.

With the reforms being implemented, the justice secretary said the PCSO could generate as much as P30 billion a year from STL operations, which would be used to fund Mr. Duterte’s health programs for the poor.

Cash bond

He said the “presumptive monthly retail receipts” or the projected minimum monthly income, which would be collected from the gaming companies as cash bond, would protect the PCSO from unscrupulous STL franchise owners

who underreported their collections.

Corpuz said he would be in Malacañang on Tuesday to discuss and launch the PCSO program for STL. “All the questions will be answered in Malacañang,” he said.

Corpuz said his office “will soon announce the winners” of the bidding for STL franchises.

He said the PCSO board evaluated between Oct. 1 last year and Jan. 10 this year, a total of 224 corporations that applied for a franchise.

“It took that long to evaluate all the records, so the right to match is done already,” he said.

From the initial 18, there are now 56 corporations that will operate STL,” the PCSO chair said.

“Umali did not take part [in the bidding.] So, it’s not my fault,” he added.

Umali, who lost the May 2016 elections as member of the President’s PDP-Laban party, said the projected minimum monthly income, which would be collected from the gaming companies as cash bond, provided an undue advantage to firms previously given STL franchises.

He pointed out that Aguirre and the National Bureau of Investigation had mentioned that STL franchise owners did not pay as much as 90 percent of their taxes.

Said Umali: “These companies were able to run away with billions of pesos in unpaid taxes. They should have been punished and disqualified outright because of their background.”

Besides allegedly using STL as a front for jueteng, operators have been suspected of shortchanging the government by underreporting their daily bet collections and their refusal to pay documentary stamp tax.

“If the current STL operators want to join the bidding process,

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Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan reechoes the government’s drive to eradicate illegal gambling as he urged illegal gambling operators to halt their operations and instead join the government in handling state-sanctioned numbers games during a press briefing in Malacañang.

KING RODRIGUEZ / PPD / PNA

they should pay their tax liabilities first. All operators who want to run the STL should have a clean record,” Umali said.

He cited the case of Ramloid Gaming Corp., the licensed STL operator in Laguna whose owner, incumbent Tiaong Mayor Ramon Preza, beat Umali in the mayoral race.

“But this is not about politics because the elections are over,” said Umali. “I just want to help the government in cleaning up the STL operations.”

DST settled

Corpuz said he did not know whether the BIR was running after Ramloid. “But when it comes to the PCSO, we already settle the taxes,” he said.

Corpuz said the PCSO had started paying documentary stamp taxes (DST) that were not remitted to the BIR. In 2015, a BIR representative said that STL operators had not paid a single centavo in documentary stamp tax since the STL was established in 2006.

The BIR won a Supreme Court ruling in 2008 that the STL is covered by a National Internal Revenue Code provision that imposes a 10-centavo documentary stamp tax for every P1 bet in jai alai, horse race, lotto, or other authorized numbers games.

But the PCSO ignored the ruling.

Corpuz said the PCSO is set to settle the P3.81 billion in back taxes (cut down from the

original P13.6 billion) that it incurred from 2006 to 2014 for the 10percent stamp tax document.

It paid P1.05 billion last October and P490 million in November.

The PCSO was expected to settle the remaining P1.34 billion last Dec. 31 and another P1 billion by June 30, 2017.

‘More reforms’

Corpuz said the recent reforms in the PCSO had resulted in aggressive expansion of financial assistance and increase in monthly revenues from 100 to 150 percent.

Since 2006, there are only 18 corporations running the STL and they have earned P4.7 billion in revenues.

“How much more if you expand the market to more than 50 corporations?” he said.

Corpuz cited, for instance, that the P43 million in presumptive monthly retail receipt in September last year was increased to P113 million in October in one location.

“This is the reason why we are very positive we are able to generate more charity funds going to the poorest of the poor.

We increase the daily allocation for financial medical assistance,” he said in an earlier interview. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

13

1,800 trees... vironmental groups but they have to go,” said Sofio Quintana, DENRNational Capital Region assistant director.

The 1,858 trees are found along the 23.17-kilometer-long development stretch for MRT 7 between SM North Edsa and Quirino Highway in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Of the 1,858 trees, 1,215 trees around 10- to 15-meters tall will be cut down; 623 will be earth balled while 20 trees will just be pruned, Quintana told the Inquirer.

Earth balling is the process of extracting the tree by digging out its roots. The tree is then replanted.

Quintana said of the 1,858 trees that will be displaced, 528 trees are categorized as “premium” species.

These include narra, molave and ipil which are classified as endangered tree species by the DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau.

“The cutting, balling and pruning cannot be avoided. Unfortunately, they have to go. But these trees can now be propagated easily,” he added. “If you don’t cut them, they will be an eyesore or a cause of danger.”

According to Quintana, they have already made a recommendation regarding the application submitted by ❰❰ 1

Senator Loren Legarda stresses the importance of enhancing the resilience to disasters and climate change impacts of electric cooperatives in the country.

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

Billions of pesos lost in traffic; Legarda pushes for sustainable transpo PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — As the country faces to lose six billion pesos daily due to the traffic jams in Metro Manila, Senator Loren Legarda is fervently pushing for the passage of a measure that promotes sustainable and alternative modes of transportation and other mobility options.

In filing Senate Bill No. 914, Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that while the Philippines is being hailed as one of the fastest growing economies worldwide, the traffic congestion in the metro impairs the economy.

“It is estimated that we are currently losing about three billion pesos a day due to the traffic problem in Metro Manila and without intervention, this could rise to six billion pesos a day by 2030 as projected by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA),” she explained.

“Because of traffic, people spend so much time on the road, become less productive and more tired, and spend less time with their families. So it affects not only the economy, but also the health and personal relations of our people,” she added.

Legarda, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said that the traffic congestion likewise aggravates the already huge contribution of the transport sector to carbon dioxide emissions. According to National Emissions Inventory in 2012, 85 percent of air pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) comes from vehicles.

In line with this, the Senator has been promoting the road-sharing scheme to improve mobility and the quality of life of citizens as well as lessen air pollution.

In fact, in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2016 and 2017, Legarda included a special provision under the

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) budget that states that the amount appropriated for the transport and traffic management services shall also be used for road-sharing activities such as the promotion of nonmotorized transport and conduct of programs and projects that are geared towards improving people mobility.

Legarda aims to institutionalize this under her proposed measure.

SBN 914 seeks to address these immediate traffic and transport issues through the establishment of an integrated and efficient transport system by stimulating health consciousness through a culture of walking and cycling and protecting the environment by subscribing to low-emission modes of transport.

Under the bill, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), in coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), will come up with a roadmap for national and local transportation system to be adhered to at all levels throughout the country.

It will include strategies relating to parking, public transport, cycling, walking and transport infrastructure. All of these will be contained in a Sustainable Transport Action Plan, which will also set out the actions required to achieve the mode shift target and emission standards set over a certain period of time.

The bill seeks to promote a shift towards public transportation as a primary mobility option to the public and encourages government to study various kinds of public transportation that are efficient and suitable to specific areas, such as a Bus Rapid Transit System and Water Ferry System.

To promote walking and cycling, the proposed measure also seeks to install walkways and provide bike lanes, bicycle parking spaces and bike racks. ■

EEI Corp. project manager Permo Saroza. It will also be submitted for approval to Environment Secretary Gina Lopez.

Quintana told the Inquirer that EEI Corp. would be required to replace every transplanted tree that dies with 100 seedlings.

Every tree that has to be cut will be replaced with 50 seedlings, for a total of 60,750 seedlings, he said.

The contractor is also required to submit to DENR their proposed landscape and rehabilitation plan for the affected area. “We will see to it that the landscape [plan] is followed, and that only small to medium tall trees will be planted [for security purposes].”

Quintana said the affected trees were part of the “adopt and plant a tree” programs that called for the regreening of major thoroughfares.

The P69.30-billion MRT 7 project includes the development of a 23-km railway system with 14 stations from North Avenue, Quezon City to San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

Once completed and operational by April 2020, the elevated train system is expected to initially accommodate 350,000 daily passengers and shorten travel time from the current 3.5 hours on the road to one hour. ■

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1114

Opinion

14

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

AT LARGE

Floating over Cappadocia

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer CAPPADOCIA—Ever since I watched an episode of Martha Stewart’s lifestyle show on TV, which she devoted to a visit she paid to Turkey—to Cappadocia in particular—I had put hot air ballooning above the weirdly shaped rock formations on my bucket list.

I almost had the chance to cross this off the list about two years ago when, on a tour of Cappadocia, we left our hotel at 3 a.m. to go hot air ballooning. But before the ballooning companies can take clients up in the air, they must first get clearance from air authorities, who determine whether wind speeds are safe enough to prevent collisions or even worse disasters.

So there we sat, in the dark in a field in the vast plains dotted by

“fairy chimneys,” hills and gullies, waiting for the anticipated permission to be issued. Alas, the wind proved to be too strong, and no balloons were allowed to float above the landscape just in time to catch the sunrise.

I had little hope of fulfilling this item on my bucket list on this visit. For one thing, it wasn’t on the agenda prepared by our hosts, the Turkish Flour, Yeast and Ingredients Promotions Group, for a gathering of journalists and flour importers. And for another, it is the dead of winter in Turkey, which by most accounts has been particularly nasty this year. I imagined that snowfall would be incompatible with hot air ballooning.

But when we mentioned our frustration during our last visit, and the overwhelming desire of the newbies to Turkey to give ballooning a try, our local guide

called some friends and, in less than an hour, managed to snag a hot air balloon trip for all 16 of us.

(Because it wasn’t in the agenda, we each had to pay $90 for the trip. But believe me, it was well worth it!) *** I imagined ballooning would be full of excitement and activity, and true enough, the preparatory steps—climbing into the gondola (in my case, one of the balloonists had to lift me into it), hearing and watching the pilot turn on the propane chambers to get liftoff, watching his assistants release the ropes—were a breathless blur.

But once we attained liftoff and the balloon and gondola rose in the air, it was the silence that struck me first, and most powerfully. I had expected a jolt as the balloon took off, but instead, it rose almost soundlessly.

I had always thought that, once floating above the earth, passengers would be hollering with joy at conquering gravity. But our normally noisy group just sort of stared at the receding landscape in silence, save for oohs and ahhs and clicks of cell phone cameras.

Indeed, the weird, otherworldly landscape of Cappadocia— dun-colored hills twisted into odd shapes sprinkled with a dusting of snow—lends itself to reverence and awe from mere human beings. Our pilot pointed out a rabbit skipping over the snow, and then a fox rushing to its den.

But otherwise, it seemed the picture laid below us had been created just for our enjoyment. *** Now that’s an item crossed off my bucket list!

One in our group, who’d done the balloon ride before, said she thought it was more fun in sum-

mer, when the landscape was less stark and you were surrounded by other balloons and excited passengers.

But I thought our spur-of-themoment lone balloon expedition allowed for more and better meditation on and realization of the wonders of nature and the grace of existence. I don’t know if my friends will send me, via social media, photos of the hour or so we spent up in the air, or the celebratory landing afterwards, when we downed glasses of wine spiked with champagne. But even if no physical evidence emerges of the experience, the balloon ride over Cappadocia will always be what’s known as a “prime experience.” It’s a moment to savor and draw out of one’s memory banks when life seems humdrum and hopeless. In many ways, I’ll always have the balloon ride over Cappadocia! ■

PUBLIC LIVES

Who are biggest beneficiaries of war on drugs?

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer The biggest beneficiaries of the current campaign against drugs are the rogue elements in the police force—particularly those “with an entrepreneurial affinity for proactive graft.” This type of police officers can turn every rebooted anticrime effort into an opportunity to shake down the vulnerable.

They will not hesitate to use the exigencies of law enforcement as a blanket warrant to justify trampling on basic rights that are meant to protect citizens from illegal arrests, searches, and intrusions into their dwellings. And they are ready to kill for the same reason—because they expect to be protected by superiors who grant them the presumption of regularity in their work performance, under a cover of secrecy made possible by the absence of any palpable effort to investigate the misdeeds of their brother policemen.

This seems to be the culture that created the likes of SP03 Ricky Sta. Isabel, a member of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Group, whohas been accused of abducting and killing Korean businessman Jee Ick-joo. The commission of this crime is astounding in its impunity, and perhaps nothing illustrates this more grimly than

the cold, unruffled look on the face Jee’s wife, Choi Kyung-jin, was We don’t know what happened of the principal accused. subsequently contacted by her hus- exactly. We don’t know if the KoThe 53-year-old victim, along band’s police abductors, who made rean was involved in drugs or not, with his housemaid, was taken her believe he was still alive and but it’s important to know how and from his home in Angeles City in would be released in exchange for why he became a target. Initially, October 2016 by unidentified po- a sum of money. Ms Choi managed perhaps, there was no plan to kill lice officers. The maid was later to raise only P5 million, which she him, but there was a clear intent allowed to go home. There was no promptly delivered to the group. to shake him down. When he could warrant for Jee’s arrest, but, ac- But, of course, they did not release not deliver what the police wanted, cording to the maid, her boss was Jee, who at that point was already they killed him just like that. Their “invited” for questioning in con- dead. Instead, they asked for more- first instinct might have been to nection with illegal drug activities. money. It was then that she sought wrap his body in packing tape, Before he could contact a lawyer, the help of the National Bureau of and dump it somewhere with a the Korean was brought to the Investigation. The NBI has since cardboard sign indicating his drug PNP headquarters in CampCrame, informed her of Jee’s gruesome links. The basic paraphernalia where, according to the affidavit of death and cremation. needed for vigilante-style killing another accused officer, SPO4 Roy From the accounts given by had been prepared.

Villegas, Sta. Isabel took over the SPO4 Villegas and another police But, this was not an ordinary interrogation and “tokhang” operastrangled the viction. These policeIt would be instructive to know how our police tim. men had other organization breeds this level of depravity in its ranks. How From Camp Crathings in mind, for did these police officers graduate from bribery to extortion, and me, Jee’s lifeless which they had from graft to murder? body was transto make it appear ferred to a funeral the victim was still parlor in Caloocan City, and then officer, Christopher Baldovino, alive. They were determined to to another in the same area, where who has admitted to being part of squeeze some money from his wife. it was cremated. The owner of the the team that conducted surveil- They had to make the body disapfirst funeral parlor, retired police- lance on the Korean businessman, pear instead, and how convenient man Gerardo Santiago, currently a the entire operation was planned that a former police buddy owned a barangay chair, allegedly received and led by Sta. Isabel from begin- funeral parlor. payment of P30,000 in cash and a ning to end. Their testimonies Even if only half of the testiset of 14 golf clubs belonging to the point to Sta. Isabel as the master- monies against Sta. Isabel were Korean for agreeing to accept the mind. But, it is hard to believe that true, the evidence would be more body. The golf set was later recov- these two police officers, Villegas than enough to support his guilt. ered from Santiago’s funeral home. and Baldovino, were unwitting par- In deciding to testify against their The story, however, doesn’t end ticipants in a criminal plot hatched police buddy, Villegas and Baldothere. solely by one of their own. vino were, I am sure, driven less

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by conscience than by a wish to be exonerated or charged with a lesser offense. It would be instructive to know how our police organization breeds this level of depravity in its ranks. How did these police officers graduate from bribery to extortion, and from graft to murder?

Sociological studies of the “moral career” of police officers show that almost all policemen everywhere find themselves initiated into a life of graft by the routine offer of a bribe (“pangmeryenda” or “pangsigarilyo”). This is passed off as a minor perk of the job. From there, they graduate to organized collection (“for the boys”) from operators of gambling and prostitution joints. Once a policeman accepts a share from the group “take,” it is almost impossible for him to talk about honest enforcement.

The descent to pure extortion is a certainty especially when dealing with narcotics.

No single police officer, no matter how brazen, can pull off a heinous crime like this without the collusion of other officers. But, more to the point, a crime of this nature can only be the byproduct of a climate of impunity and public timidity that—in the name of the so-called war on drugs—has normalized abduction and the raiding of homes, and has made killing an everyday thing. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

15

PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

So, what if you do not know anything about running a business?

BY BOLET AREVALO

I DO not want to believe that anybody could not know anything about running a business.

In many ways, running a household is very much similar to running a business.

You manage a cash flow in your family income, you take stock of your cupboard inventory, you make sure everybody contributes his time or effort in getting chores done, you institute cost-saving or energy-saving measures to cut expenses, you improve ways of doing things to get them done efficiently, you diversify your efforts to augment income by taking on part-time jobs, you control “salaries” or allowances so that everyone get their fair

share, and so on. Those are values and practices you apply in running a business.

I guess it is more like: What if I do not know what I want to put up as a business?

That to me makes a lot more sense, because everything starts with deciding on what to take on as a business.

It will very different if one knows the ins and outs of the business. But to achieve that, you need to start somewhere. It does not happen overnight. At the outset, be able to study the business well. Study what your competition is doing, where they are located, and how they promote their business. If it is food business, eat out, smell around, keep an eye on what the others are doing. You will never know until you start learning.

Sometimes, an idea can cross your mind, and presto, you have a new business! It can happen out of a stroke of genius, out of

a necessity, or by being plunged into certain situations. It can also be something that you have been exposed to as a young child by your own parents or relatives. Suddenly, you will find yourself in a new place that does not have this business, and you will have the opportunity to introduce an old idea in a new place.

A hobby can also lead you to it.

Or maybe a friend who is already in business will want to expand or branch out, but does not have the money or the resources to do so. Or maybe there will be something you were doing as a mere employee for quite a long time that you now believe you can do on your own.

There is a lot of advantage to going into something that you enjoy, have been exposed to or have been doing, friends or family can help you with, or is an entirely new idea that everybody will be excited about do-

ing with you.

In any of these cases, please note that going into business is best if it becomes a family matter, a family interest or a family decision. It is inevitable that family will be involved. In fact, it is best if the whole family can be involved. There is so much at stake in putting your savings to a business idea, and the stakes are higher if it will mean being able to put food on the table for everyone. In such case, each family member should know and contribute his own ideas, time and effort.

Many times, a person thinks of or wants to go into business, but feels he knows nothing and does not have the slightest idea of what business to go into. If that’s the case, you can try franchising.

It is easier to learn a business

t h a t is within your line of interest. It is also more exciting to go into something that is new but will allow you to use your creativity and resourcefulness. It is best if the business becomes a family matter in which each member of the family supports and contributes his own effort. ■ Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion.

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

LOOKING BACK

‘Tindera sinulog’ or ‘troupe sinulog’?

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer SINULOG, the name of the rowdy Cebu street dance festival held every third Sunday of January, comes from the root word “solog” that refers to the two-stepsforward-one-step-backward dance resembling the movements of the water current. If you are to believe the official Sinulog website, the dance refers to the water current of the Pahina river in Cebu, although the eminent Cebuano historian Resil Mojares says that in 17th-century friar dictionaries, “solog” could either mean the water current or refer to the island of Sulu.

In the 17th century, “sinulog” referred to a full dress with medium sleeves worn by the women of Sulu. Mojares adds that “sinulog” in 21st-century usage refers to the dance and the Cebu dance festival, but in earlier times the same word could have originally meant “in the manner of Sulu.”

To complicate matters, in Panay and Bikol “sinulog” means

rooster, and “sulog” the jumping, as late as the 1980s outside the nihan dance troupe’s costumes rooster-like movements of a war basilica during the nine-day of the Muslim South. These days dance. prayers. no one debates about authenticThe origins of the present SiTroupe Sinulog is performed ity anymore because the Sinulog nulog dance are lost to history, on the Monday after Sinulog Festival, invented in 1980, has but there are two types: the “tin- Sunday in the Casa Gorordo Mu- become a roaring success that dera sinulog” and the “troupe seumin Cebu’s Parian district. doubles the actual population of sinulog.” If you go to the Basilica I had the opportunity to attend Cebu during festival time. of the Santo Niño today (and this many years ago and listened Viva Pit Senyor! is the battle the nearby shrine to “Magel- to the late Estelita “Nang Titang” cry of the Sinulog Festival but lan’s Cross”), you will find wom- Diola explain how different the its meaning is lost on everyone I en selling candles who will do rhythm and movements of the asked for a translation. Of course, your prayers for I knew Viva (Long a fee, and finish live) and Señor Mojares adds that “sinulog” in 21st-century usage refers to them off with a (Lord) came from the dance and the Cebu dance festival, but in earlier times the dance of petition Spanish, but Pit same word could have originally meant “in the manner of Sulu.” or thanksgiving is a bit tricky: It with candle and was shortened handkerchief. This “tindera si- “original” dance are from the from the Cebuano sangpit (to call nulog” is the basis for the beat touristic and commercialized or hail), so when you put all the and movements of the Sinulog version performed the day be- words together and shout them Festival. “Troupe Sinulog” has fore. The version I watched had out, you are calling the attenbeen traced back to the 19th cen- the “Christians” wearing cos- tion of the Santo Niño to either tury and its tradition kept by the tumes that are textbook repre- thank him for some blessing you Diola family of Cebu. It is a dance sentations of Spanish explorers had received, or to petition him that Luzon people would refer to headed by a boy in cap and pan- for something (or someone?) you as “moro-moro” because it de- taloons, who everyone presumed want. picts the battle between Chris- was Ferdinand Magellan. The The story of the Santo Niño tians and Muslims. But the Cebu “Moros” or pre-Hispanic natives is worth looking into simply beversion was done in honor of the wore bright green and yellow cos- cause it has been reduced to a Santo Niño andwas performed tumes that resembled the Baya- prop in the Sinulog dance, the

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devotion to it being an excuse for tourists and locals to party wherever an ancient image is venerated, such as in Tondo and San Beda College in Manila, Aklan, etc. Rereading the account of the “discovery” of the Santo Niño de Cebu by one of Legazpi’s men in 1565 shows how they understood events as a divine sign for the establishment of Spanish Cebu, the Spanish conquest and Christianization of the Philippines.

In 1571 one of Legazpi’s men “discovered” the image of Nuestra Señora de Guia (Our Lady of Guidance), now enshrined in Ermita Church in Manila. This image was considered the divine sign for the establishment of Spanish Manila.

Who brought these two images to the islands? Is the Santo Niño de Cebu the exact same one given

by Magellan to the Queen of Cebu in 1521? Is it possible that one or both images were brought by the Portuguese, but could not be acknowledged as such because it would run counter to the Spanish Crown’s claim to the islands? ■

16

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Canada News U.S. President Trump signs notice to withdraw from Trans Pacific Partnership THE CANADIAN PRESS

decision.

“It signals storm clouds ahead for the NAFTA. Canada needs to be prepared if the U.S. decides to pull the plug on that deal.”

It remains unclear if Trump would seek individual deals with the 11 other countries in the TPP, a group that includes Canada and represents roughly 13.5 per cent of the global economy, according to World Bank figures.

There was no immediate

main preoccupation.

Canada had been taking a waitand-see approach to the TPP, OTTAWA — President Donald with the Liberal government Trump wasted little time Monlaunching a sweeping consultaday in signing official notice tion that appeared designed to that the United States is pullpostpone a decision until the U.S. ing out of the proposed Transresolved the question of whether Pacific Partnership trade deal. or not to take part.

Trump called the move “a Canada’s trade department great thing for the American said in a study last year that the workers.”

TPP would generate more than But at least one Canadian $4 billion in long-term GDP trade expert said it heralds gains for the Canadian econmore trouble on omy but would trade, includlead to the loss of ing the North $5 billion if it did American Free not join the deal.

Trade AgreeThe incoming Liberals affirmed they, Canada’s parment between too, were ardent free traders, but said ticipation in the U.S., Canada they wanted to consult widely before the TPP was ceand Mexico — the deal was implemented. mented by the another deal that previous ConTrump has in his servative govsights. ernment two “It reflects a weeks before disdain for open markets and comment from Calgary, where they lost power in the October liberalized trading arrange- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 2015 federal election. ments and the manifestation is taking part in a two-day cabiThe incoming Liberals afof Mr. Trump’s ‘America First’ net retreat with his ministers firmed they, too, were ardent policy,” Toronto trade lawyer — a meeting where how best to free traders, but said they wantLawrence Herman said of the deal with the Trump team is the ed to consult widely before the

EVAN EL-AMIN / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

deal was implemented. The Liberals have also said the TPP would not survive the withdrawal of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland — in her previous role as trade minister — has said that the TPP can only come into force if ratified by six of the 12 member countries representing 85 per cent of their combined GDP. Trump has blamed past trade deals such as the North Ameri-

can Free Trade Agreement and China’s entrance into the World Trade Organization for a decline in U.S. factory jobs.

The signing of the memorandum Monday is basically a formality, since the agreement had yet to receive required Senate ratification.

Trade experts say that approval was unlikely to happen given voters’ anxiety about trade deals and the potential for job losses. ■

CMHC: impact of GTA house prices being felt in wider circle of Ontario cities THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the high price of housing in the Greater Toronto Area is having

a widening effect on other Ontario real estate markets.

CMHC says it appears that people have gone further afield to buy a single-family home such as a detached or semi-detached house.

It says Barrie to the north of Toronto and the St. CatharinesNiagara area to the south have been more influenced by the GTA’s sky-rocketing housing prices since the 2008-9 recession than before it.

The CMHC report says Hamilton is the Ontario market that’s most sensitive to housing prices within the Greater Toronto Area.

It estimates that a one per cent change in GTA house prices could increase or decrease

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Hamilton prices by two per cent after three years.

A similar but smaller multiplier effect would be felt in Guelph, Brantford, Kitchener, Barrie, Peterborough and St. Catharines. ■

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FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

Ontario premier, cabinet ministers, trade open letters with O’Leary

BY ALLISON JONES The Canadian Press TORONTO — The Ontario Liberal government is blitzing federal Conservative leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary with a series of fact-check open letters, which a political pundit said could be part of an electoral long game.

McMaster University political science professor Henry Jacek said the Liberals know that going after O’Leary will appeal to their potential voters.

“They’re not likely to like Kevin O’Leary at all, so it doesn’t hurt at all to tell these people: ‘Kevin O’Leary doesn’t like us,”’ he said.

“If you know your base dislikes somebody and doesn’t trust them, boom, just play that up that they’re attacking you...

Going into the next election they’ll probably move it a little step more and associate the opposition leader with Kevin O’Leary.”

Premier Kathleen Wynne fired off the first open letter on Sunday, taking the former “Dragon’s Den” television personality to task for comments he had made about Ontario’s auto sector — noting it has seen nearly $2 billion in investment

recently — and corporate tax rate.

O’Leary responded in kind Monday, slamming Wynne in an open letter of his own for Ontario’s more than $300-billion debt and suggesting she call a snap election at a time when her popularity is extremely low.

Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid then followed up Monday, writing to O’Leary that debt-to-GDP ratio is a more important figure, and Ontario’s — about 40 per cent — is lower than Quebec’s and not too much higher than some Atlantic provinces’.

O’Leary also mentioned Ontarians’ anger over rising hydro rates in his open letter, so Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault wrote a missive Monday saying it was important to shut down coal plants and noting the government is trying to cut electricity bills.

John Duffy, a strategist who has advised Liberal campaigns, said the principal motive is to correct the record.

“Kevin O’Leary speaks with a very loud voice,” he said. “This isn’t potshots from (Conservative leadership candidate) Brad Trost. This is Kevin O’Leary.

He’s famous. People listen to him.” ■

Canada can forge ties with Trump while sticking up for values, Hajdu says

BY LAUREN KRUGEL The Canadian Press CALGARY — Federal Labour Minister Patty Hajdu says it’s possible to forge a strong relationship with the new U.S. government while standing up for values that may be at odds with those of the Trump administration.

The abrupt turnaround in Canada-U.S. relations is dominating discussions as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal cabinet hold twoday retreat in Calgary.

Ministers sought to convey business-as-usual messages during Monday’s session, downplaying concerns about the unpredictable new administration.

Trump adviser Stephen Schwarzman, a good friend of Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, told Trudeau and ministers that Canada should not fear any reworking of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Hajdu, who had the Status of Women portfolio before being

HELGA ESTEB / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

shuffled into her new role earlier this month, says Schwarzman’s attendance shows a fondness and affection for Canada and she believes the two countries can work well together.

But she also expressed support for the thousands of Canadians who took part in Women’s Marches over the weekend denoucing the new president.

“Canada stands firm in its values. Having said that, we understand that other countries have different priorities and different focuses,” she said.

“This doesn’t mean we’re going to back away from our fundamental belief in gender equality.”

On Sunday, Trudeau tweeted his support for those who marched: “Congratulations to the women and men across Canada who came out yesterday to support women’s rights.

You keep your government inspired.”

Officials in Washington estimated that at least 500,000 turned out for the march in the U.S. capital.

Roughly 600 Canadian travellers, most of them women,

also made the overnight trek on chartered buses from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Windsor, Ont., to join that march.

“People have a right to stand up and say that they’re disappointed in a policy and a perspective and an approach,” said Hajdu. “In Canada we believe in that right.”

During last year’s presidential campaign there were accusations of sexual misconduct against Trump, while he also came under attack from those who felt some of his comments toward women in general were disrespectful.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order reinstituting the ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information about abortions.

Day 2 of the retreat is expected to feature a panel discussion with Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Calgary police Chief Roger Chaffin and representatives from local community organizations, followed by a town hall later at the University of Calgary. ■

Alberta Liberals want public inquiry into drug deaths in provincial jails

BY JOHN COTTER The Canadian Press

Kevin O’Leary.

17

EDMONTON — The Alberta Liberals want the government to call a public inquiry into all drug-related deaths of inmates in provincial jails since 2012.

Liberal Leader David Swann said there has been a spike in the number of drug-related police investigations at the Edmonton Remand Centre over the past year.

Swann said he suspects the same thing is happening at jails across the province due to the growing problem of dangerous www.canadianinquirer.net

opioids such as fentanyl.

“We have a very significant increase in deaths and near deaths in both remand and correctional institutions and it appears to be related to opioids,” Swann said in an interview Monday.

The common thread in these cases is that inmates have died as a direct result of drugs being smuggled into jails, he said.

In a letter to the government, Swann said a fatality inquiry should look at how to better prevent drugs from getting into correctional facilities.

Swann, who is a physician and a former medical health

officer, said the inquiry should also review the effectiveness of staff training and addiction treatment programs.

In his letter, Swann cites Edmonton Police Service statistics that show the number of investigations involving drugs at correctional facilities in the Capital Region jumped to 127 last year, compared to 65 in 2015.

The Edmonton Remand Centre is the largest in the province and can currently house up to 2,000 inmates awaiting trial or sentencing. ❱❱ PAGE 22 Alberta Liberals

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JANUARY 27, 2017

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World News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

19

Push to save Pacific Rim trade deal after US exits TPP pact

BY KRISTEN GELINEAU The Associated Press SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, as promised, is prompting other member countries to seek ways to salvage the trade pact.

Leaders of some of the 11 other nations involved in the initiative said they hope to push ahead with the agreement in some form, with or without the U.S. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Tuesday he had discussed the pact’s future recently with the prime ministers of Japan, Singapore and New Zealand, all TPP members, and believed the pact could survive without the U.S. “Losing the United States from the TPP is a big loss, there is no question about that,” Turnbull told reporters. “But we are not about to walk away from our commitment to Australian jobs.”

Trump says he favours oneon-one agreements with other nations rather than multinational pacts like the TPP, which would have included markets comprising 40 per cent of world GDP and was eventually meant to be the foundation for a wider pan-Pacific trading bloc.

As expected, on Monday the new president officially abandoned the trade deal in one of his first acts after taking office.

Advocates of the TPP said it would set a “gold standard” for modern trade rules, with stringent requirements for intellectual property, labour and environmental protections. A key goal was to lead in shaping trade rules for this century, and also to counter the growing in-

fluence of China, which is not part of the pact.

Critics said the TPP would put corporate interests ahead of public and national sovereign interests.

The U.S. about-face on the deal is a setback for leaders of other TPP countries who invested political capital in fighting to get it ratified.

That includes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who told lawmakers during parliamentary debate that he hoped to gain Trump’s “understanding” on the TPP’s importance. Abe has said he hopes to meet with Trump as soon as possible.

Japan completed the TPP ratification process last week, the deal. In its current form, the on other trade deals.” well aware Trump planned to TPP can only take effect after it Whatever the deal’s fate, the drop out. Abe said its goals were is ratified by six countries that region shows no sign of retreatstill important for Japan and account for 85 per cent of its ing from the market-opening the TPP could be a model for members’ combined gross do- trend that helped transform its trade deals with other nations, mestic product. The U.S. made many developing nations into a including those in Europe. up 60 per cent of the TPP’s com- relatively stable zone of affluThe remaining 11 TPP mem- bined GDP, so it could not be ent, middle-income economies. bers will meet to discuss the implemented as it stands now.

New Zealand Prime Minister next steps, said Bill English said Malaysian Seche agrees with ond Trade Minhis predecessor ister Ong Ka ChJohn Key’s view uan.

Losing the United States from the that the U.S. risks “Twelve counTPP is a big loss, there is no question ceding some intries signed the about that. fluence to China (TPP), but now in the Pacific one wants out. without the TPP. The other 11 can E n g l i s h continue by making change to Though he didn’t suggest showed little enthusiasm for the clauses. There are many Trump himself would reverse the sort of “one-on-one” bilatpossibilities that these 11 coun- his position, Turnbull did say eral trade deal with the U.S. that tries can still proceed with,” the the U.S. eventually might.

Trump said he prefers.

Bernama news agency quoted “You have to recognize that “If you ask me today, I’d say him as saying. He didn’t elabo- his secretary of state, Rex Til- there’s a pretty low chance of rate. lerson, has been a longtime that happening in a form that Other TPP members are Can- advocate for it,” Turnbull said, we’d find satisfactory,” English ada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Viet- referring to Trump’s nominee. told reporters in Wellington. nam and Brunei.

“The Republican Party in the “But we wouldn’t want to rule it Turnbull said that in theory Congress have been strong sup- out, any more than we’d want to China could join the pact fol- porters of the TPP. It is possible rule out other versions of proglowing the U.S. departure. But that U.S. policy could change ress on free trade, with TPP or that would require a revamp of over time on this, as it has done not.”

Although losing the U.S. as part of the TPP means losing nearly two-thirds of its market, English said the initiative was still advantageous for New Zealand and therefore worth pursuing.

Vietnam was expected to be one of the main beneficiaries of the TPP, and the collapse of the pact could be a blow to the economy of the Communist country, which is heavily driven by exports and foreign direct investment.

Le Dang Doanh, a senior Vietnamese economist and former government economic adviser, said the U.S. could also be hurt by its decision to drop out.

“Vietnam’s main export items to the U.S. include catfish, shrimp, garments, shoes and wooden products,” Doanh said.

“Without TPP, American consumers will have to pay more for these products.”

Trump’s threats to impose tariffs of up to 45 per cent on some imports are a big worry for most Asian countries, given the region’s heavy reliance on exports. The U.S. is the largest single market for China and Japan, and indirectly a huge source of demand for many of the commodities and goods produced across the region.

“All of us are working to see how we can ensure we maintain this momentum toward open markets and free trade,” Turnbull said. “Believe me, protectionism is not a ladder to get you out of the low growth trap.

It is a shovel to dig it deeper.” ■ Associated Press writers Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand; Elaine Kurtenbach and Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo; Tran Van Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam; and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

Over 161,000 people displaced in Iraq’s Mosul due to clashes PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY UNITED NATIONS — More than 161,000 people are internally displaced as a result of ongoing fighting in Iraq’s Mosul

city, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing on Monday.

Humanitarian partners delivered aid packages consisting of food, water supplies and hygiene materials to 4,500 people in an east Mosul city neighbor-

hood on Sunday, said Dujarric.

Over last week, some 56,100 people living in east Mosul received aid packages from UN partners, he noted.

Iraqi security forces have been fighting fiercely to drive out the Islamic State (IS) miliwww.canadianinquirer.net

tants from their last stronghold on the northern outskirts of the eastern side of Mosul, the city which has been under IS control since June 2014.

In October 2016, Iraqi troops kicked off operations to recapture Mosul, some 400 kilome-

ters north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Battles in Mosul slowed down in December as extremist militants started using civilians as human shields, resorted to suicide car bombings and made mortar and sniper attacks. ■

20

World News

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Department of Justice, Microsoft Blanket of fog battle in court over user privacy disrupts air travel at

airports in London

PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MOSCOW — Arguments in a Seattle federal court began on Monday, on whether the government should stop Microsoft from alerting their users when a government agency requests their personal information.

In the case of Microsoft v. Department of Justice, the tech giant will continue their effort to fight against “overly broad” government surveillance.

“Microsoft has said that it received more than 5,000 federal demands for customer information or data between September 2014 and March 2016.

Nearly half of those demands were accompanied by gag orders preventing Microsoft from notifying the affected customers that the government had requested their information. The majority of those gag orders contained no time limit,” the ACLU said in a statement.

Microsoft claims that when they are served demands for user data, the demands are often accompanied by gag-orders with no expiration date. The company believes that the gagorders violate the First and Fourth Amendments.

“Before the digital age, indi-

PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

JULIA KUZNETSOVA / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

viduals and businesses stored their most sensitive correspondence and other documents in file cabinets and desk drawers.

As computers became prevalent, users moved their materials to local computers and on-premises servers, which continued to remain within the user’s physical possession and control. In both eras, the government had to give notice when it sought private information and communications, except in the rarest of circumstances,” Microsoft pointed out in court documents.

The company argued that individuals and businesses keep documents on remote servers owned by third parties, such as in the cloud, so that they can access correspondence and documents from any device.

“The transition to the cloud

does not alter the fundamental constitutional requirement that the government must — with few exceptions — give notice when it searches and seizes the private information or communications of individuals or businesses,” the company stated.

The DOJ argued that Microsoft is not suffering any “concrete injury” by not being able to disclose to their users when the government has requested their personal data, Ars Technica reported. The DoJ also argues that, under current law, the company cannot file a Fourth Amendment claim on behalf of others.

A big aspect of this case will depend on whether Microsoft will be allowed to argue for the constitutional rights of their customers. ■

LONDON — London’s major airports were badly affected Monday as a blanket of freezing fog hit large areas of Britain.

By midday, more than 100 flights at London Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, had been cancelled, while 65 were cancelled at London City Airport and a number were also cancelled at London Gatwick.

Luton and Stansted airports were able to continue to operate, with just a few delays.

Heathrow explained on its social media site why it has been badly affected by fog.

Its message said, “Bad weather of any type can create flight delays for arriving and departing aircraft at any airport around the world. Due to Heathrow operating at 98 percent capacity, the effects of fog on flights can be more noticeable than most airports.”

“The vast majority of airports have spare runway capacity so aircraft can be spaced out more during fog without causing delays and cancellations.”

“Heathrow is unusual in that

it operates at 98 percent capacity, with a plane landing or taking off every 45 seconds. Without taking preventative action, spacing flights out more during fog inevitably causes delays and cancellations because there is simply no room to accommodate the delayed flights.”

Passengers at all airports in the greater London area were being advised to check with airlines whether their flights had been cancelled or delayed because of the weather.

Parts of northern England were also affected by fog, with the possibility of flights from some provincial airports facing delays.

Fog also caused major problems for commuters on motorways and major roads as they headed to work.

Visibility on some roads made driving conditions hazardous, but there were no reports of any major road crashes caused by the poor visibility.

With temperatures in some parts of southern England down to minus 8 degrees Celsius during the night, weather forecasters said temperatures would struggle to climb above zero in many areas. ■

UN: Boko Haram’s toll includes 515,000 malnourished kids

BY JENNIFER PELTZ The Associated Press MORE THAN half a million children in the West African area wracked by Boko Haram extremists are so malnourished their lives could be in danger unless they get aid, a U.N. humanitarian official said Monday, describing a region where millions get by on one meal a day and some communities have lost all their toddlers.

Military campaigns have driven Boko Haram from much of the territory it took during a seven-year uprising that killed more than 20,000 people,

displaced over 2 million and shocked the worldwith the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls. But as aid workers got into areas the Islamic militants had controlled, the suffering they left behind became clear in the last six months, said Toby Lanzer, the U.N’s humanitarian coordinator for the region.

“What we have seen is extraordinary,” he said at a news briefing at U.N. headquarters.

“I have seen adults sapped of all energy, who are almost unable to walk. We have had villages and towns devoid of 2- and 3- and 4-year-old children because they’ve died.”

Some totally destroyed towns

had been cut off from the outside world for more than three years, Lanzer said.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari declared that Boko Haram was “technically defeated” in December 2015, but attacks have continued in some places. Two women suicide bombers killed 57 people and wounded 177 in December at a northeastern Nigerian market, in violence blamed on Boko Haram.

Saying that Nigeria and the Lake Chad region are enduring the worst humanitarian crisis in Africa, the U.N. is launching a more than $1 billion appeal and hopes a conference meeting www.canadianinquirer.net

DAVID MBIYU / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

next month in Oslo, Norway will spur donations, Lanzer said.

About 11 million people are “in desperate need” of aid, about 7.1 million of them are “severely food-insecure” — essentially, getting one meal a day if they can — and roughly 515,000 children are or soon will be severely, acutely malnourished, Lanzer said.

“If they don’t get the help they need on time, they die,” he said.

While the Nigerian government has stepped up efforts to help, an international effort is needed, Lanzer said.

Buhari, however, has accused the U.N. and aid agencies of exaggerating the crisis to seek donations. ■

World News

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

21

Saudi Arabia warns White House press secretary: destructive computer ‘Our intention is never to lie’ virus has returned

BY DAVID BAUDER The Associated Press

BY JON GAMBRELL The Associated Press DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Saudi Arabia is warning that a computer virus that destroyed systems of its staterun oil company in 2012 has returned to the kingdom, with at least one major petrochemical company apparently affected by its spread.

Suspicion for the initial dispersal of the Shamoon virus in 2012 fell on Iran as it came after the Stuxnet cyberattack targeting Tehran’s contested nuclear enrichment program.

It wasn’t immediately clear who could be responsible for the new infection, though the relations between regional rivals remain tense.

A report Monday by Saudi state-run television included comments suggesting that 15 government agencies and private institutions had been hit by the Shamoon virus, including the Saudi Labor Ministry.

The ministry said it was working with the Interior Ministry to contain the virus.

Sadara, a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Oil Co. and Michigan-based Dow Chemical Co., shut down its computer network Monday over a disruption.

Company spokesman Sami Amin said its network remained down Tuesday, though it hadn’t affected operations at the facility. He declined to comment further.

Sadara is based in Jubail Industrial City, which sits about 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of the eastern Saudi city of Dammam in the heartland of the kingdom’s oil industry.

Symantec Corp., a Californiabased security firm, warned in late November that Shamoon had been spotted again in Saudi Arabia. Computers affected had their hard drives erased and displayed a photograph of the body of 3-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, who drowned fleeing his country’s civil war, Symantec said.

The November attacks ap-

parently involved previously stolen passwords, suggesting the virus’ use was a long time coming.

“Why Shamoon has suddenly returned again after four years is unknown,” Symantec said .

“However, with its highly destructive payload, it is clear that the attackers want their targets to sit up and take notice.”

Shamoon first emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012. In that attack, which hit Saudi Aramco and Qatari natural gas producer RasGas, the virus deleted hard drives and then displayed a picture of a burning American flag on computer screens. The attack forced Saudi Aramco to shut down its network and destroyed over 30,000 computers.

“All told, the Shamoon virus was probably the most destructive attack that the private sector has seen to date,” then-U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said at the time.

Shortly before Panetta’s speech, a former U.S. official told The Associated Press that American officials firmly believed Iranian hackers likely backed by Tehran were responsible for the attack.

Iran denied being responsible for the 2012 Shamoon outbreak. Tehran had no immediate comment on the new outbreak.

Last year, a series of fires at Iranian petrochemical plants and facilities have raised suspicions about hacking potentially playing a role.

Hostilities persist between Shiite power Iran and Sunniruled Saudi Arabia.

The countries support opposite sides in the wars gripping Syria and Yemen, while the kingdom has backed Bahrain’s Sunni rulers amid a crackdown on dissent on the Shiite-majority island.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran last year after protesters there — angry about its execution of a Shiite cleric — stormed two Saudi diplomatic posts.

Associated Press writer Adam Schreck contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — White House press secretary Sean Spicer told a roomful of reporters that “our intention is never to lie to you,” although sometimes the Trump administration may “disagree with the facts.”

Spicer’s first full press briefing was closely watched Monday following a weekend statement about President Donald Trump’s inauguration audience that included incorrect assertions. After White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway received wide social media at- White House press secretary Sean Spicer. tention for her explanation that STOCK_PHOTO_WORLD / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC. Spicer had presented “alternative facts,” Monday’s briefing Spicer didn’t back down from some of the thinking that went was televised live on CNN, Fox his claim that Trump’s inaugu- into it. Like countless White NewsChannel, MSNBC and, for ration was the most-seen ever, House staffs before them, the a time, even ABC. clarifying that he was includ- Trump team is exasperated Meanwhile, ABC announced ing people who watched online. about “negative” and “demoralthat anchor David Muir would The ceremony didn’t have the izing” coverage. interview Trump for a one- highest TV ratings and aerial “When we’re right, say we’re hour prime-time special to air photographs indicate the live right,” he said. “When we’re at 10 p.m. EST Wednesday. crowd wasn’t as big as it was wrong, say we’re wrong. But Spicer tried to defuse tension for Obama’s first swearing-in, it’s not always wrong and negaby opening with a self-depre- but there are no reliable crowd tive.” cating joke about his lack of estimates or numbers indicatSpicer broke with the White popularity, and his 78-minute ing how many people across the House tradition of opening session was wide-ranging and world watched the ceremony briefings with a question from mostly substantive. He cor- online.

The Associated Press. The AP rected one disputed statement He expressed frustration was traditionally given the first from Saturday, defended an- about an erroneous report, question because it is a broadother and expressed some frus- later corrected, stating that a based news co-operative that tration regarding how the new bust of Martin Luther King Jr. represents the largest swath of Trump administration feels had been removed from a room American newspapers, broadabout its news casters and other coverage. kinds of news orAsked for a ganizations. pledge not to lie, Instead, Spicer Spicer assented, When we’re wrong, say we’re initially called saying, “I bewrong. But it’s not always wrong and on a reporter lieve we have to negative. from the New be honest with York Post, and he the American took questions people.” He said from several he had received incorrect infor- in the White House following news organizations that were mation about Inauguration day Trump’s inauguration. rarely called on during the preridership on the Washington “Where was the apology to vious administration. He said Metro system when he initially the president of the United four seats in the briefing room claimed the system was used States?” Spicer said. “Where would be kept open for out-ofmore Friday than for Barack was the apology to the millions town reporters to participate Obama’s 2013 inauguration. of people who thought that it via Skype.

“There are times when you was racially insensitive?”

The new press secretary — tweet something out or write One reporter said Spicer had who took no questions Satura story and you publish a cor- accepted an apology from the day — drew a laugh when he rection,” he said. “That doesn’t news outlet that made the mis- said he’d stay at the podium for mean you were trying to de- take in a pool report. as long as the reporters wanted ceive readers or the AmeriSpicer would not say whether him there, and he nearly did. can people, does it? I think we he was ordered by Trump or “I want to make sure we have should be afforded the same other staffers to make Satur- a healthy relationship,” he opportunity.” day’s statement, but explained said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

22

Community News

It is with great pleasure that we write to invite you to UCFSA’s 25th Anniversary Gala on February 18th, 2017 at 6:00 PM. The University of Calgary Filipino Students’ Association has grown tremendously from a little idea for a student social club to a highly active presence in the student and Filipino community.

Our anniversary gala will be held at the Glenmore Inn: Glenmore East Ballroom with a formal dress code. The evening will include dinner, silent auctions, games, performances of traditional dances, information about UCFSA’s progress and presentations from both the alumni and current executive.

Tickets are priced at $70 for the general public, $35 for kids aged 4 – 12 and $45 for students. All proceeds will go towards supporting our club in our future events.

For ticket sales and inquiries please contact us at uofc.fsa@gmail. com or calling 403-714-2486/403-835-6989.

We hope you will be able to join us on this monumental night dedicated to supporting and promoting our youth in the Filipino community and celebrating 25 years of priceless experiences and many incredible friends joined together through UCFSA.

Alberta Liberals...

The Liberals have also asked Alberta’s ombudsman to review drug-related near-deaths in the province’s jails.

Swann said the health of both inmates and corrections staff are at risk from fentanyl, a powerful drug that has been linked to hundreds of overdose deaths in Canada.

Erez Raz, an occupational health and safety representative with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, said he supports the call for an inquiry.

Raz, a former correctional officer, said drugs coming into jails is a growing problem and that drug detection training is not being taken seriously enough by the government.

Opioids such as fentanyl are harder to deal with, he said.

“Security measures need to be beefed up nowadays because of the fact that this is a very serious drug that has come around and there are stronger ones coming - they need to do something about it.”

Don McDermid, chairman of Alberta’s Fatality Review Board, said he had not received Swann’s letter but will review it when he does.

Alberta’s Justice Department said there have been two con❰❰ 17

firmed drug overdose deaths at correctional facilities in the province between 2013 and 2015. Statistics for last year were not available.

Katherine Thompson, a spokeswoman for the department, said the government has strategies in place to intercept drugs at all provincial correctional facilities.

“These strategies are used to locate and remove drugs and drug paraphernalia through the use of drug detection dogs, ionizers, random and targeted urinalysis, routine searches and sharing of intelligence among correctional staff and law enforcement partners,” she said in an email.

A spokesman for Alberta’s Ombudsman said the office can’t deal with Swann’s request under the rules it operates under, which include receiving complaints from people who are personally affected by an issue.

“To date our office has not received individual complaints that would cause us to consider launching such an investigation.”

The ombudsman can also investigate if asked to by a cabinet minister or by a committee of the legislature. ■

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

RRSP limits and investments for 2016 contributions

BY ROBYN K. THOMPSON, CFP, CIM, FCSI Fundata Canada Inc.

Options. Covered put and call options on qualified stocks are eligible as RRSP investments. Note, though, that I wouldn’t recommend options IF YOU want to contribute to a for everyone. These are speRegistered Retirement Savings cialized types of investment Plan (RRSP), and you haven’t products, and can be quite risky set one up yet, you’d better get a if you don’t know exactly what move on. For the 2016 tax year, you’re doing. you have until March 1, 2017, to Money or cash deposits make a contribution, provided (including foreign currencies you were not over the age of 71 under certain circumstances). in 2016. Here’s a summary of GICs. Guaranteed Investhow much you can contribute ment Certificates are, of course, and what you can invest in. qualified RRSP investments.

The simplest way to see how Other. Annuities, mortgagmuch you can contribute to es, certain shares of small busiyour RRSP is to check your last ness corporations and venture Notice of Assessment from the capital corporations can be put Canada Revenue Agency. Your in an RRSP. You may also put personal allowable RRSP conmoney into investment grade tribution limits for the year apgold and silver bullion, coins, pear in a special box at the bot- Qualified investments and certificates. But again, I tom of that Notice.

RRSPs may hold a wide vari- wouldn’t recommend rushYour maximum contribution ety of investments, including ing out and putting your RRSP to an RRSP is calculated as the mutual funds and exchange- retirement fund into precious lesser of 1) 18% of your earned traded funds. Here’s a quick list metals or venture capital corincome from the porations, for prior year, or 2) example, withthe maximum out some pretty contribution heavy-duty adlimit for the tax Most of us tend to overestimate our vice from a qualyear, or 3) the capacity to deal with market volatility ified adviser. limit after deand take investment losses. ducting compaKnow yourself ny pension plan and invest wisely contributions.

For many of “Earned income” includes your of what the CRA says are quali- us, an RRSP is our only source salary, but may also include fied RRSP investments. The of retirement income apart alimony payments and rental CRA website has more details. from the Canada Pension Plan. income, but not investment inBonds. Federal, provincial, And while you can invest in come. municipal government bonds just about every type of asset The maximum contribution are eligible. Bonds of publicly- class, an RRSP not the place limit for 2016 is set at $25,370. traded companies are also qual- to speculate on junior mines, It increases to $26,010 for 2017. ified investments. high-tech start-ups, commodiExchange-listed securi- ties, or other risky and volatile Carry forward contribution ties. This encompasses com- assets. Remember, tax benefits room mon and preferred shares, like the dividend tax credit, the A contribution to an RRSP exchange-traded funds, closed- capital gains tax exemption, gives you a tax deduction for end funds and other securities and the ability to offset losses the year of the contribution. that are traded on designated against gains are lost within an This may reduce your overall stock exchanges in Canada or RRSP. tax bill, or even result in a re- other countries. This also inAside from not contributing fund. cludes limited partnership to an RRSP at all, the RRSP inMany people are unable to units and royalty units. Canadi- vestment choice is where most make the maximum RRSP con- an and U.S. stock exchanges are people go astray. Most of us tribution in a given year. If so, listed as designated exchanges. tend to overestimate our capacthe rules let you carry forward However, “over-the-counter” ity to deal with market volatilthe missed contribution in- trading systems are not eligible. ity and take investment losses. definitely as extra contribution Exchange-traded funds So be realistic about your own room for future years. Your un- (ETFs). ETFs traded on desig- tolerance for risk. Work with used contribution limit is also nated stock exchanges are qual- an objective financial planner shown on your CRA Notice of ified RRSP investments. to allocate your RRSP assets acAssessment.

Mutual funds. Canadian cording to a plan determined by The carry-forward feature mutual funds are eligible – and your personal goals and a realmay be especially useful for there are thousands of these to istic assessment of your tolerthose who expect to be in a choose from. ance for risk. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

higher tax bracket in future years.

The sooner you start taxsheltered compounding in your RRSP, the better. Start off with small amounts, gradually increasing as your salary rises.

Remember the magic of compounding. Even a $500 monthly investment compounded monthly at a relatively conservative rate of 6% will grow to $500,000 in 30 years.

You can also increase your contribution in a given year by using “contribution room” you’ve carried forward from previous years (the contribution you didn’t make last year, for example). And you should also reinvest your tax refund.

It’s found money.

23

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

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JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Entertainment Denis Villeneuve, Ryan #LoveWins: Tim Gosling, NFB animated short Yap proposes to get Oscar nominations Javi Martinez Pardo ‘When you have a good thing, you have to make it last forever,’ he said

THE CANADIAN PRESS DENIS VILLENEUVE has received his first-ever Oscar nomination.

The Quebec director is up for best director for the alienshave-landed thriller “Arrival,” which is also up for best picture.

The film also received nominations for film editing, adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing and production design.

Villeneuve has been making waves in Hollywood lately with several high-profile films, including the highly anticipated sci-fi film noir “Blade Runner 2049,” which stars Ryan Gosling, who received his second career Oscar nomination on Tuesday morning.

The London, Ont., native is nominated for best actor for “La La Land” — his second such nomination after a nod for “Half Nelson” in 2007.

BY PAM PASTOR Philippine Daily Inquirer

HELGA ESTEB / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

Gosling plays a jazz musician in the musical ode to Old Hollywood. He’s already earned a Golden Globe Award for the role.

The National Film Board of Canada animated short “Blind Vaysha” also received an Oscar nomination, while Xavier Dolan missed out on receiving

his first-ever Oscar nod.

The 27-year-old Montreal director’s drama “It’s Only the End of the World” was up for best foreign language film.

The French-language film, about a dying writer who returns home to his estranged family, is up for a leading nine Canadian Screen Awards. ■

TIM YAP celebrated his 40th birthday with a Miss Universethemed bash, asking guests to come wearing any national costume. Prizes, including a plane ticket to Europe, awaited those who came in the best outfits.

His friends, who had gathered at Manila House in BGC for the party, were in for a bigger surprise: Tim proposed to longtime boyfriend Javi Martinez Pardo.

“When you have a good thing, you have to make it last forever,” he said, as his friends screamed.

Someone handed Tim a purple box and he said, kneeling before his partner: “With this ring, and with all the people in the universe, I wanna ask you,

Javi, will you be my partner in life?”

Javi nodded and the two kissed and hugged.

“I hope it fits,” Tim said, as he slipped the ring onto Javi’s finger.

Then, as the crowd cheered, he announced, “He said yes, guys! We’re engaged!”

Congratulatory messages for the couple have flooded social media, with Iza Calzado calling it a “kilig moment.”

“I was crying like crazy while this was happening,” posted Lovi Poe on Instagram.

“So happy for you both,” wrote fashion designer Rajo Laurel.

Divine Lee posted, “You bring out the best in each other. I’m so happy for you guys!”

“I officially have two BFFs! Congrats on your engagement!” posted Jenni Epperson. ■

Bella Padilla and ex-BF agree to compromise

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer BELA PADILLA said she has ended her four-year romantic relationship with businessman Neil Arce, but not their “artistic/creative partnership.”

“I would like to think that I’m quite mature for my age,” the 25-year-old actress said during the press conference of “My Dear Heart,” ABS-CBN’s newest drama program to premiere on Jan. 25. “That’s why Neil and I were able to come up with a compromise. We’ve agreed to still work together.”

“We jive where new and interesting concepts are concerned. In fact, we are currently working on a movie,” Bela

pointed out.

Shewas referring to Dan Villegas’ “Luck at First Sight,” starring Jericho Rosales. She cowrote the script with Neil.

The ex-couple also conceptualized Irene Villamor’s comedy flick, “Camp Sawi.”

She insisted that there was no bad blood between them. She said: “I can see us being friends for a long time. We will work on more concepts in the future.

When it comes to these things, I still value his opinion more than anybody else’s.”

Mutual decision

Bela refused to reveal the reason for the split, but insisted that it was “a mutual decision.”

She then pleaded with show biz reporters to “please be nice

to him. You can criticize me all you want, just spare him. I don’t want him to read writeups that could make him feel bad. He has no control over this. I’m the only one present at this press con, and it was just my side of the story that you heard.”

She claimed that the breakup was still so fresh that “it hasn’t sunk in yet. I guess it’s because I’m busy with work. I tape for our teleserye every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; study (scriptwriting under Ricky Lee) every Sunday; and work on the film during the remaining days.

Besides, I’m here to talk about the show and not about my personal issues.”

In “My Dear Heart,” Bela plays Clara de Jesus, the mother www.canadianinquirer.net

of child heroine Heart (Nayomi Ramos), and wife to Jude (Zanjoe Marudo).

The child, who has always been the source of strength and happiness of her parents, gets diagnosed with a congenital heart disease.

Desperate to find a cure for their daughter’s illness, Jude and Clara turn to Dr. Margaret Divinagracia (Connie Reyes), considered the best heart surgeon in the country. However, the latter is unable to cure Heart’s illness, leaving the child hovering between life and death.

Bela said she doesn’t mind portraying mother roles. This was her second since she transferred to ABS-CBN. The first was in “FPJ’s Ang Probinsya-

no.”

“First and foremost, I’m an actress. My character’s personality and status in life are not always similar to mine. That’s what actually makes it challenging,” she pointed out, adding that she fell in love with Nayomi on Day One of taping.

“I’m very patient with kids.

On the set, I treat Nayomi as my little sister. I don’t see myself having my own kid just yet.

I don’t think I’m ready to take on that responsibility at this point.”

“My Dear Heart” also features Joey Marquez, Rio Locsin, Eric Quizon, Susan Africa, Ria Atayde, Jameson Blake, Mark Oblea, Hyubs Azarcon, Sandino Martin and Robert Arevalo. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

25

No more nerds, sex bombs: Female animators draw away cliches

BY KIRSTEN GRIESHABER The Associated Press SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — The California Institute of the Arts was created partly by Walt Disney’s desire to bring more top-flight animators into the profession. And it has during its 47 years, though for a long time almost all were men.

Now, nearly three-quarters of CalArts’ more than 250 animation students are women, and there’s a new goal: ensure that when they land jobs, they get to draw female characters reflective of the real world and not just the nerds, sex bombs, tomboys or ugly villains who proliferate now.

“Male villains, for example, can be any shape or size. But female villains are usually in their menopausal or postmenopausal phases. They’re older, they’re single, they’re angry,” said Erica Larsen-Dockray, who teaches a class on “The Animated Woman” for CalArts’ experimental animation program.

“Then you have the innocent princess,” she added with a chuckle, “whose waist is so small that if she was actually alive, she wouldn’t be able to walk.”

To call attention to that cartoonish reality, CalArts has

played host the past two years to “The Animated Woman Symposium on Gender Bias.”

This year it focused on the roles of “Sidekicks, Nerd Girls, Tomboys and More.”

During a recent raucous two-hour symposium, nearly a dozen student researchers who spent months watching cartoons and reading comic books questioned why almost all female sidekicks look like nerds.

Also why female heroes like Kim Possible are over-the-top beautiful. And why there are so few gay, lesbian and transgender characters.

“What are nerd-girl stereotypes? They have glasses, they’re shy, they’re awkward, they have some freckles going on,” said film-video student and artist Madison Stubbs as she flashed drawings of several, including two of the most popular: Velma from “ScoobyDoo” and Meg Griffin of “Family Guy.” “And we have Tootie from ‘Fairly OddParents,’“ Stubbs said of the long-running Nickelodeon cartoon show’s pigtailed, braces-wearing, bespectacled sidekick. “Basically, she’s just in the show to go, ‘Oh, Timmy. I want you. Why do you ignore me?’“ Not that all female cartoon sidekicks are unattractive.

Velma could be the “hot girl,” Stubbs said, if only she would lose those nerdy glasses. But every time she does, she trips over stuff, walks into things and nearly upends another paranormal investigation by those meddling kids from ScoobyDoo Mystery Incorporated.

Kim Possible, who couples her intellect with martial-arts skills to scuttle nefarious Dr. Drakken’s plans to take over the world, has her own problems.

Unable to attract any handsome, smart guy, she ultimately settles for her nerdy male sidekick, Ron Stoppable.

There’s a reason for such drawings and scenarios, said Marge Dean, president of the industry group Women in Animation: Men still fill animation’s writing rooms and director’s chairs.

“Many, many, many women are going to animation schools.

At CalArts, it’s over 70 per cent.

But yet if you start looking at women in creative roles, the last number we have is only 22 per cent,” said Dean, whose organization tracks figures through schools and industry groups.

In an effort to boost those numbers, CalArts faculty invites studio representatives to campus for events like portfolio days and maintains a close relationship with groups like

Dean’s, which is pushing the studios to have a creative workforce of half women and half men by 2025.

CalArts, with a student enrolment of nearly 1,500, offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in such fields as animation, art, music, film, acting, photography and others.

The small school situated amid picturesque rolling hills some 30 miles north of Los Angeles has produced many of the entertainment industry’s leading creative figures, including director Tim Burton and Oscar-winning animator and Disney-Pixar executive John Lasseter.

Other alumni, including Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter, have directed nine of the 15 Oscar-winning animated feature films since that category was created in 2002. Only two of those 15 films had female directors.

Both of them, Brenda Chapman and Jennifer Lee, are CalArts graduates.

Dean believes the character landscape will change as the popularity of animation continues to grow. Three of last year’s top 10 box office films were animated — “Finding Dory,” “Zootopia” and “The Secret Life of Pets.”

None were directed by

women, although Lee, who wrote and co-directed the 2013 Oscar-winning film “Frozen,” had a writing credit on “Zootopia.”

To make real change, students entering the animated world must demand it, said Stacey Simmons of the production company Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.

“The only way you’re going to change it is to keep doing it,” she said. “The industry itself has changed a lot, but it has not changed at the same rate the country has.” ■

LaBeouf led livestream says ‘He Will Not Divide Us’

BY DEEPTI HAJELA The Associated Press NEW YORK — Shia LaBeouf wants you to know: “He will not divide us.”

For the first few days of Donald Trump’s presidency, the actor has been repeating that sentence into a live camera mounted on a wall outside a New York City museum, usually with a backdrop of everyday New Yorkers chanting and singing along.

The livestream from outside the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens is for a participatory public art project LaBeouf and two collaborators intend to have running for the duration

of Trump’s presidency.

The camera went live the morning of the inauguration, along with a website inviting the public to show up and repeat the phrase, “He will not divide us,” any time of the day or night.

The scene in front of the livecam has ranged from lively — with scores of young people dancing and clapping — to lonely late at night.

LeBeouf has been a frequent, though not constant presence, wearing the same blue jacket and red hat.

“Trying to keep the conversation going. Trying to keep the fire stoked,” he said Monday after agreeing to be interviewed by an Associated Press

reporter, but only in front of the livestream camera. He interspersed responses to interview questions with repetitions of the chant.

The site is around the corner from a New York City performing arts high school and a couple of students were there Monday, singing into the camera. On Inauguration Day, actor Jaden Smith, the son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, led the crowd reciting the chant.

At off hours, the livestream has captured puzzled dog walkers checking out the camera up close, people showing up to play music, a man and woman delivering the message and then kissing and quiet debates www.canadianinquirer.net

between visitors about what it all means. People were out in heavy rain chanting Monday night.

Technically, the project from LaBeouf and his performance art partners Nastja S?de R?nkk? and Luke Turner isn’t about opposition to Trump.

The project website says the meaning of the mantra “He will not divide us” should be “guided by the spirit of each individual participant.”

“We’re anti-division out here.

Everyone’s invited,” LaBeouf said, rocking back and forth.

“I’m just saying, ‘Be nice to each other.’”

Taxe-exempt public charities, like the museum, are prohibited from engaging in parti-

san political activity.

The line as to what constitutes partisan politicking is a blurry one, but IRS rules say charities are barred from “intervening in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”

Jason Eppink, curator of digital media at the museum, said the project wasn’t partisan because those who take part can express themselves any way they like.

People have shown up periodically to flash “Make America Great Again” signs.

Eppink said it was about “creating a forum for conversation about a very fractured moment that we’re experiencing.” ■

26

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Lifestyle Resolution weary? 8 workouts that might rev up your routine

BY KELLI KENNEDY The Associated Press MIAMI — It’s only mid-January and dedication to that New Year’s fitness resolution may be seriously waning. Relax. Maybe it’s time to try something new — live DJs, fog machines, raves, obstacle courses, even cocktails.

A few ideas for fitness that goes way beyond the treadmill and free weights: Morning raves

It’s like going to the coolest club but with endorphins instead of a hangover.

Daybreaker hosts monthly raves in 15 cities including Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles and New York. Each party includes an hour-long workout that varies from an obstacle course to ‘80’s themed aerobics followed by two hours of freestyle dancing. Every event has a theme like ugly sweater party or ‘90s dress up.

Don’t let the 6:30 am call time for Morning Gloryville ‘s four-hour dance party turn you off.

T h e par-

ties include free massage, organic coffee, a smoothie bar and yoga, as well as costumed performers who offer motivational tips. Available in in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Colorado and New York.

And if you’re looking for a more regular dance party for a daily workout, try 305 Fitness in New York, Washington and Boston. There’s always a live DJ and they throw in a few minutes of leg and arm exercises on alternating days.

IF YOU GO: Daybreaker cost between $20 and $35 a class.

305 Fitness single classes start at $32. Morning Gloryville prices are around $16.

the joints. Translation: A highintensity cardio and body toning workout that will leave you a lot less sore. The trend has been popular in Europe in recent years and is just starting to catch on in the U.S. New York’s Aqua studio ‘s salt water pool draws celebrities, Miami just opened a sleek new centre called Element Aqua and West Hartford, Connecticut has Cornerstone Aquatics Center.

If you go: You need special water shoes but you can rent them at most studios for a small fee. Some studios require showers before entering the water.

Class prices vary at studios but most start around $20.

Colour run

Bungee fitness

If you’re not a runner, keep reading. This is a no-pressure event. Their motto pretty much says it all. “Less about your 10-minute-mile and more about having the time of your life.” Walk, run or skip through the 5-kilometre event while being doused in colour powders.

After you finish, take your rainbow covered body over to their insane party once the sun goes down.

If you go: There are dozens of events across the U.S. Basic entry fee is $25. Wear white.

Underwater biking

Riding a bike underwater sounds easy, right? Not so much. Water’s zero-gravityfeeling is perfect for people with muscular, joint or obesity problems. Water offers an extra layer of resistance while its buoyancy supports

Crunch gyms are taking the fear out of flying with a new bungee class that uses gravity.

Think planks with a bungee belt around your waist, allowing you to lift your arms and legs in the air at the same time and then back to plank position on the ground. The elastic bungee harness can make the workout more challenging or also reduce impact on your joints depending on the move.

If you go: You must be a member of Crunch gyms to take a class. Bungee classes are being offered in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco.

turn through the aerial hoop. You’ll even perform a grand finale at the end. Lyra is also part of Crunch’s new class lineup being offered in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

If you go: Leggings and gloves are recommended.

IMAX spin

Just when you thought the spinning craze couldn’t evolve any further than cool lightning and Hamilton-themed classes.

IMAXShift , yes as in the movie theatres, recently opened a spinning class in Brooklyn. Participants will feel like they are cycling through the solar system, soaring over the coasts of Hawaii or pedaling to the beat with music-reactive visuals timed to the instructor’s choreography in a sensory overload experience. Oh yeah, there’s also a Beyonce and Jay-Z mashup class. Mic drop.

IF YOU GO: Costs $35 for a 45-minute class. Currently only in Brooklyn but plans for expanding to several locations along the east coast like Boston and Washington later this year.

Lyra

It’s Cirque du Soleil meets the gym. Giant hula loops known as lyras are suspended from the ceiling. Learn choreographed movements while getting a core workout as you twist and

www.canadianinquirer.net

Switch playground

What other workout requires special effect? Instructors lead group classes through a playground of activities with a partner stopping at various stations

to work on a boxing bag, rowers or stability balls for two minutes before moving to the next station. Sounds like a pretty standard high intensity interval training class so far, but this one’s got a live DJ, a darkened room lit with lasers and a fog machine.

If you go: Switch has two locations in South Africa, one in New York with a second location opening there later this month and more studios planned around the country.

Classes start at $35.

Yoga with a twist

There really is a yoga class for everybody these days. Steven Metz mixes virtual reality in an immersive yoga class at his Los Angeles studio with projected images of majestic canyons, twinkling galaxies and other serene pictures during his heated yoga classes. New York’s Retox studio hosts monthly wine tastings after class. Many studios around the country, including the Shakti Shala in Aspen, Colorado, offer classes with live DJs. Black lights and glo sticks are becoming more common. Yoga classes for those with medical marijuana cards are popping up in a handful of cities and many cities have studios that offer the combo of yoga in craft breweries.

If you go: Check the schedules at your local yoga studios for offerings. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

27

Photomontages from Digong and Leni are, Holocaust memorial in fact, friends–according selfies go viral to the Chinese zodiac

BY KIRSTEN GRIESHABER The Associated Press BERLIN — A series of photomontages showing people striking poses, taking selfies and even juggling at the Holocaust memorial in Berlin before the background changes to show them posing amid piles of murdered victims of the Holocaust went viral on the internet Thursday.

The creator, Shahak Shapira, told The Associated Press he produced the “Yolocaust” website after seeing thousands of selfies and other photographs of young, smiling people posing on the memorial to Europe’s 6 million murdered Jews on social media.

The website went live Wednesday and was clicked more than 500,000 times and shared at least 70,000 times on Facebook, Shapira said. After a few hours, the site collapsed because so many people were trying to access it, he said.

Shapira, 28, a Berlin-based Israeli satirist and grandson of a Holocaust survivor, said the selfies didn’t disturb or upset him, but he thought it was “a shame that there are people who don’t care.”

“These people should be the ones to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive,” Shapira said.

He picked the word “Yolocaust” because it combines Holocaust and “YOLO” — social media shorthand for “You only live once.”

The 11 colorful images of young people showing their prettiest smiles or posing with selfie sticks turn into a disturbing sight when the background suddenly fades. Instead of the memorial’s tombstone-like slabs, the people are seen smiling against a black-and-white backdrop of starved and gassed bodies.

The Holocaust memorial, which is located in downtown Berlin near the city’s landmark Brandenburg Gate, consists of thousands of concrete slabs installed as an uneven field, comparable to a gigantic graveyard.

It’s one of the most-visited landmarks in the German capital.

Since it’s inauguration in 2004, hundreds of thousands have come to see it. Critics have complained about some visitors jumping across the slabs and revelers from a nearby night club taking cigarette breaks inside the memorial, saying such behaviour trivializes the memory of the millions murdered. ■

BY CATHY CAÑARES YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer THE UNABASHEDLY outspoken President Duterte and the quietly intelligent Vice President Leni Robredo may both have fire signs on their birth dates, but instead of an incendiary relationship, their signs would make them work “on a friendly level.”

Mr. Duterte was born on March 28, 1945, making him a Yang Fire person. Robredo, born on April 23, 1965, is Yin Fire. Yin and Yang are Chinese concepts of polar opposites.

Feng shui master Lois Alog noted that Yang Fire and Yin Fire complement each other.

“Had both of them been Yang, they would be fierce competitors. Yin to Yin would have also made them competitors. This is what happens when two signs are of the same polarity. But Yin and Yang work on a friendly level,” she explained.

Alog, one of three Filipinos whose names appear on the roster of graduates of Hong Kongbased feng shui grandmaster Raymond Lo, said this means Robredo’s more reserved disposition is not expected to clash with that of the chief executive.

Mr. Duterte is typical Yang Fire, Alog notes. “Yang Fire is like the sun. He wants to be the center of attention. Usually maingay at talagang magiingay siya para mapansin, just like the sun,” she told Lifestyle.

‘Four Pillars of Destiny’

COURTESY OF YOLOCAUST.DE

Feng shui masters would need a person’s time of birth, with his birth date, to draft his “Four Pillars of Destiny,” or the four animals of the Chinese zodiac that correspond to his birth year, birth month, birth day and birth hour. From these pillars, a comprehensive picture of his behavior and likely future could be drawn.

Since the time of Mr. Duterte’s birth is unavailable, Alog made do with his birth date. The President, she said, was born in the year of the Rooster, the month of the Rabwww.canadianinquirer.net

bit and the day of the Monkey.

There might be a bit of trouble about the President’s health in the incoming Year of the Fire Rooster (Jan. 28- Feb. 15, 2018), she said, because the Rooster and the Rabbit are clashing signs in the Chinese zodiac.

“Rabbit and Monkey don’t have very good stars this year, although the Rooster has very good stars,” Alog said.

She added that a person’s birth month indicates “the way he runs a business. If we will gauge the way he will run the country, the Rabbit’s influence, since it is now clashing with the Rooster, means definite changes, turbulence. Politically, puwedeng magkaroon ng disturbance.”

Illness Star

Another thing Mr. Duterte must watch out for is the presence of the Illness Star in the northwest sector this year.

The Illness Star is among the nine Flying Stars that feng shui masters have diligently observed for the past 10,000 years.

Each star has characteristics and brings a specific kind of energy to the sector it occupies for the lunar year.

The Illness Star in the northwest sector for the year, Alog said, could mean health issues for the President.

“It falls in the direction that affects fathers—whether patriarch, father, the eldest male member of the family or the head of an office. As the father of the Philippines, he should be very careful, especially given his advanced age,” she explained.

The Illness Star also visits the south sector in March, which is the Chief Executive’s birth month.

“This is the worst possible combination. And this would repeat in January 2018,” Alog said.

‘Backstabber’

Feng shui expert Princess Lim Fernandez, in a huddle with reporters at New World Hotel, described the Illness Star as a “backstabber.”

She suggests that Mr. Duterte fill the northwest side of his office with brass— an alloy of copper, tin and zinc—to counteract

the effects of the Illness Star.

Copper has natural antibacterial properties, Fernandez said.

“That’s why almost all doorknobs are made from it.”

But the Philippines, being in Southeast Asia, enjoys the energy of the Prosperity Star this year, Alog noted.

“We can say that we are influenced by a good star; there is optimism. Happiness is in the southeast sector,” she added.

Robredo’s good stars

Robredo was born in the Year of the Snake, the month of the Dragon and the day of the Sheep.

“Right now, her luck pillar is governed by the Yin Wood Rooster, which is not favorable for her,” Alog warned.

Robredo’s birth hour is also not available, but based on the vice president’s birth details, Alog said that should Robredo finish her six-year term, the last four years “would be favorable to her.”

There may be challenges at work, but being born on the month of the Dragon also works to her advantage.

“The Dragon is in a very good position this year. Dragons have the Emperor Star, which means whatever project they start, they can finish. They can do practically anything because they have the influence of really good stars,” Alog explained.

Being a Yin Fire person also means Robredo is “mabait, but Yin Fire people are the kind who keep their anger to themselves. But once they cannot hold back anymore, kaboom,” the feng shui master warned.

Bato’s signs

Philippine National Police Director General Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa, born on Jan. 21, 1962, is an Ox. “His self pillar is Yin Earth, he will really face so many challenges. But for the Ox, kahit very challenging, there are some good stars that will help him in problem-solving.

Especially this January, there will be challenges but he would be able to handle all the pressure,” Alog said. ■

28

Lifestyle

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

How did rich Malaysian repay Pinay nannies?

BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Philippine Daily Inquirer “I’M IN the best place now, and where I should be,” says Shirley Maya Tan. Her eyes seem to light up whenever she mentions the Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan, a Gawad Kalinga community that she and other “social investors” helped grow into a model township, complete with a livelihood enterprise and alternative university for budding social entrepreneurs.

“The farm is my home, my playground, my birthplace,” says the 47-year-old Malaysian writer, blogger and now, community builder. “My home in Kuala Lumpur is the fantasy, the transit lounge.”

Of all her titles, however, Tan seems proudest of one: “Mother of Spartans.”

The “Spartans” are the graduates of Gawad Kalinga’s School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED), a radical approach to education for the underprivileged that aims to transform rural youth into agents for social change.

Instead of preparing them to be job seekers, the program makes them social entrepreneurs, creators of wealth, and generators of employment.

Township developments

“The whole thing is a platform for township development that has three components,” says Tan. “Community, industry and university. The community is the first to develop, because we have to take care of the people first. The second is industry, because we have to provide sustainability. And the last came two years ago, which is the university.”

Tan has just sponsored and nurtured her first brood of 10 “Spartans” through the course, and hopes to produce many more, since the vision is to replicate the SEED program in other Gawad Kalinga communities throughout the Philippines.

Indeed, the transformation can be striking. The “Spartans” start out as typical rural youth: shy, inarticulate, unsure of themselves. By the end of the course they are ready to take on the world in pursuing their dreams. It’s a testament to what

Various Gawad Kalinga projects.

Tan calls “the power of presence.”

“You cannot transform without the power of presence,” she says.

Gawad Kalinga’s social investors give not just financial support, but more importantly of themselves, in most cases living and working with their wards in the same community, as Tan has since 2015 when the program started. And even as they help their wards transform their lives, they find themselves transformed.

“Last year was very meaningful for me because instead of writing about it, I was living it, feeling it, breathing it,” she says. “I’m not a saint, I’m not philanthropic, I’m not even kind, really. Everything is training of the self. If it benefited others or did something good, that’s a bonus.”

Remarkable path

The path that led Tan to the Enchanted Farm is all the more remarkable because of where it began, in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Kuala Lumpur where she lived with her family, who are among Malaysia’s top property developers.

“I was your typical spoiled brat,” she recalls. “Everything was laid out for me. I didn’t have to work. My most difficult decisions in my past life were: should I buy a Porsche or a Ferrari? I had no clue how the other half lived.”

Beneath this life of luxury and privilege, however, were undercurrents of discontent.

ANTON DIAZ / FLICKR AND WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Even when you seemingly have everything, there is always the human longing for something more. This longing brought Tan to the doorstep of Tsem Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher who had established an ashram in Malaysia.

“I think the Chinese saying is true—when the student is ready, the master will appear, and the master could come in all forms, all ways, more than you know.

“I’m thankful to the guru for pointing the way,” she recalls. “He asked me: don’t you ever wonder if your life could be more? And then I realized: I had everything but I was the poorest person in the world, because all I had was money. I didn’t have anything else.

“It made me very depressed,” she adds. “Everyday I would wake up and it was the same old thing. It was like we were running constantly from one thing to another so as not to face the futility of our lives, the emptiness.”

Useful advice

Fortunately, the guru also left her with some useful advice: he told her she should write. That gave her the impetus to start her blog, “The Art of Fearless Living” (shirleymaya.com).

“I used to be the laziest person in the world, so writing the blog started out as a daily practice just to get me to do something,” she recalls. “It was a personal journal, notes to self. And funny enough, it took on a life of its own.”

The exercise led to being pubwww.canadianinquirer.net

lished in the Huffington Post as well as other online publications. But after a while, writing wasn’t enough.

The tipping point came in 2006, when she visited a friend working in one of Kuala Lumpur’s worst districts, rescuing abused children and trafficked women.

“I finally summoned the curiosity and the courage to visit after donating to it for many years,” she recalls. “I wanted to see what she really does. She had rescued two girls, 7 and 8, who were already sex workers, servicing five or six men a night.

But when I talked to them, they still had this innocence about the world. It was mindboggling, shocking. When I got home I looked in the mirror, and said ‘Shirley, what the f__ are you doing with your life?”

That moment of clarity showed her the way.

“I wanted to be transformed because I felt I wasn’t going anywhere,” she says. “That was the realization: did I want to die and rot in a beautiful golden cage, or do I risk everything to find the most important thing?”

Everyday heroes

Since the former was not an option, Tan decided to seek out teachers that could show her the way, just as her Tibetan Buddhist master had. But instinctively, she felt that organized religion didn’t hold the answer.

“I decided that the next step was to look for real, everyday heroes on the ground, teachers who could help me see the

world differently,” she recalls.

It was in Singapore where a friend told her that she should look for “this white-haired dude who builds houses for the poor in the Philippines.”

The “white-haired dude” turned out to be Tony Meloto, whose poverty-alleviation program Gawad Kalinga was transforming poor communities throughout the Philippines. It turned out to be the perfect fit.

“I like the Gawad Kalinga model because it’s very real, it changes all the time, and for lack of a better word, it puts you right in the heart of the battlefield. You battle yourself, you face every element outside of you as well as inside of you, and they both reinforce each other.

For me, it’s the best place to enrich my journey, and where I feel the most benefit.”

Tan tells the story in greater detail in her blog post “How the Philippines Taught Me to Love Malaysia.”

Reversing karma

Going to the Philippines also resonated with her in another way. Like many wealthy Malaysians, she had grown up with Filipino nannies and maids.

“I was quite abusive and mean but they were always so sweet,” she recalls. “They were always there to tie my shoelaces, feed me breakfast, pick me up from school. They would even shield mewith their own bodies when my father tried to hit me. I bullied them like hell, but they would still love me.

“I guess its karma, and now I’m reversing it,” she continues.

“The most meaningful way for me to pay them back is to adopt Filipino children and give them the opportunities they deserve, so that maybe they won’t have to leave the country. It’s very personal.”

In her blog, Tan writes about two ideas that seem to embody her world view: radical optimism and living fearlessly.

Living and working in the Enchanted Farm allows her to live these ideas.

“You have to be fearless,” she says. “You cannot be on a journey and still be in the confines of your comfort zone. You cannot be one foot in and one foot out. The process is everything.

It’s the journey that defines you. It’s the journey that reveals yourself.” ■

29

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

Sports Beijing 2022 preparations to speed up this year PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY BEIJING — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said last week that he was “sure” the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games would be a success. The remarks were made during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“Before we had talks last evening and today, I always said we are very confident about the success of these Winter Games. Now, after his visit, I would say we are sure it will be a success,” Bach told reporters after he met with President Xi at the Lausanne-based Olympic Museum on January 18.

These remarks can be viewed as a nod of approval to the job done by Chinese organizers over the past 18 months, and also as a motivational spur for preparations in the months and years ahead.

The Beijing 2022 organizing committee, which was set up in December 2015, has assembled a team of more than 170 staff members across nine departments and two operational centers. According to its work plan,

the preparatory work will be sped up in 2017.

Construction of Olympic facilities will start this year, including construction of venues for biathlon, cross-country skiing, and ski jumping. Also slated to begin is the renovation of Yunding Ski Field, the proposed venue for alpine skiing in Heibei province.

“In 2017, Hebei will spare no efforts in the construction of venues, basic infrastructure construction, and winter sports popularization, in order to lay a solid foundation for a successful Winter Olympics,” Li Pu, a Hebei Organizing Committee official for Beijing 2022, told Xinhua.

Competition venues are split into three clusters for the 2022 Games, with curling, ice hockey and skating events due to be held in Beijing. The Yanqing venue cluster, which lies between Beijing and the city of Zhangjiakou, is set to stage Alpine skiing, bobsled, luge and skeleton, while Chongli resort is the planned site for freestyle skiing, snowboarding, crosscountry, Nordic combined, ski jumping and biathlon events.

Construction work will be completed by 2019 so that all of the venues are ready for test

ANTON_IVANOV / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

events in 2020, organizers said.

“Reusing the 2008 legacy venues really helps Beijing 2022 stay ahead, while verifying Beijing’s promise to host the Winter Olympics in a sustainable way,” said Gui Lin, head of the Beijing 2022 committee’s department of planning, construction and sustainability.

In line with the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020, the Beijing 2022 Games concept will be incorporated into the long-term development goals for Beijing and neighboring Hebei province. The construction of new a high-speed railway and freeways to connect Beijing and Zhangjiakou has started, with other related projects set to start soon. The time needed for

inter-city travel will be reduced to less than 50 minutes after completion of the projects.

A worldwide competition was launched in August last year to find an emblem for both the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. A judging panel is assessing the candidate designs and the official logo is expected to be unveiled in the second half of 2017.

As highlighted in Beijing’s bid plans, China has pledged to encourage 300 million people to participate in winter sports ahead of the 2022 Games. Efforts are being made to expand participation in winter sport in northern China.

The Beijing municipal government has mapped out a five-year (2016-2020) plan on

public fitness, pledging “vigorous efforts” to introduce winter sports to the public including Alpine skiing, speed skating, figure skating and curling.

According to the plan, the government will use sports lottery revenue and other funds to build sporting venues, set up sports associations, and organize competitions and festivals.

China’s General Administration of Sport also released a plan in November last year to speed up the construction of winter sports infrastructure, aiming to build at least 500 skating rinks before the 2022 Winter Games.

The plan calls for 650 skating gyms, 500 of which will be built in five years, in addition to 800 skiing resorts across the country.

Bach predicted that Chinese athletes will be much more competitive in a winter Olympiad on home soil.

“We can already see now many improvements in many sports. I am confident the home team in China will be very strong not only in ice sports but also in snow sports. You can already see Chinese athletes coming up... We know the determination of the Chinese people and the government,” said Bach. ■

Boxing fans ask: Jeff Horn who?

The late-blooming Australian fighter comes virtually out of nowhere to become Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE LATE-BLOOMING Australian fighter comes virtually out of nowhere to become Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent. A ring icon back home in Brisbane but hardly known in the international arena, the unbeaten Horn will try to snatch the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown from Pacquiao on April 23. But there’s no venue yet. There are many tiers in boxing and it’s difficult to put the Australian fighter Jeff Horn in the most appropriate spot

yet. Without a doubt, Horn is a Class A boxer, but even at that level there are ladders that need to be climbed. Many a ring pundit would say that the unbeaten 28-year-old is still jostling for a prime place in the lower rungs with the other upstart worldranked contenders.

The truly elite ones like Manny Pacquiao are huddled at the top, waiting in ambush for daring challengers. Now, it’s Horn’s turn to try to sneak in after he was handpicked by promoter Bob Arum to take the big leap for international acclaim.

A ring icon back home in Brisbane but hardly known in

the international arena, Horn will try to snatch the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown from Pacquiao on April 23. The venue remains open to the highest bidder, although there’s a strong chance Pacquiao-Horn will be staged at the 52,500-seat Suncorp Stadium in the hometown of the former high school physical education teacher.

There, adoring fans can give Horn all the support and goading he would need to pull off a major shocker and hurt Pacquiao’s legacy as a boxer.

After all, Horn’s trainer, Glenn Rushton, and manager, Dean www.canadianinquirer.net

Lonergan of Duco Events, genuinely believe that their man is capable of cutting short what’s envisioned to be Pacquiao’s four-nation farewell tour.

Basking in the limelight at last, Horn (16 wins, one draw, 11 knockouts) is convinced that he has the power, strength and skills to match up with Pacquiao.

A busy fighter like the Filipino superstar, Horn sees his foe as “more vulnerable” now.

“He’s probably past his best days, that’s for sure,” Horn tells ringtv.com. “He hasn’t stopped anyone at welterweight for a while now. I’m a little bigger than him. I think I’d outmuscle

him.”

Horn, whose biggest claim to fame was making the quarterfinals of the 2012 London Olympics as a light welterweight, enjoys a three-inch height advantage at 5-foot-9 but has a reach just an inch longer than the Fighting Senator’s. “I think I’ve got the speed, I’ve got a similar style to his, so I’m a good mover,” he says. “It’s going to be harder for him to lay those shots on me because he’s fought a few guys that don’t move as well.”

According to Horn—he took up boxing to defend himself ❱❱ PAGE 30 Boxing fans

30

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Business Economic gains from tourism to double Projected infrastructure boom seen turning PH into ‘next Hawaii’

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer TOURISM CAN double its contribution to the Philippine economy and job creation, currently at around a tenth of the entire pie, on the back of an accelerated infrastructure spending committed by President Duterte, according to regional investment house CLSA Ltd. A Jan. 16 research note by Hong Kong-based CLSA senior economist Anthony Nafte titled “Up, up and away: Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) tourism” discussed a “feast” of investment opportunities awaiting the region in the travel and tourism space.

Aside from hotel and resort development, Nafte said diverse sources of investment would include transportation and other infrastructure, security industry and environmental protection as well as niche areas such as medical tourism and retirement destinations.

In the case of the Philippines, Nafte said tourism’s economic contribution of 10.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and employment share of 10.3 percent “could potentially double with stepped up investment.” He noted that the travel and tourism share of total investment in this country was

only 2.7 percent in 2015. egy though, is that future politi“The $23-billion commit- cal conflicts with China could ment for tourism infrastructure disrupt tourism revenues. This during Duterte’s six-year term, reinforces the argument for 1.3 percent of GDP in 2017 and tourism policy to have a mulin 2018, would complement ris- tiple focus, rather than the ing private investment,” Nafte exclusive objective of attractsaid. Quoting Japanese gaming ing more Chinese tourists,” he tycoon Kazuo Okada—whose added. $2.4-billion Manila casino reThe research also took note sort complex opened in Decem- of the Philippines as a “nice ber—the economist said this place to retire.”

A hammock at the beach with the view of Bacuit Archipelago islands, El Nido. was aimed at turning the PhilNafte said promoting the ippines into “the next Hawaii.”

Philippines as a retirement ha- 2017. CLSA said Asia-Pacific, duced Chinese tourists to the The CLSA economist said ven by offering a special visa for with its high share of air travel attractions of Thailand, lifting Mr. Duterte’s diplomacy with indefinite stay and multiple en- demand, would be well placed Chinese arrivals from 1.7 milChina could be rewarded with try was an interesting angle. He to benefit. lion to an estimated 8.9 milrising Chinese tourists lifting especially noted the minimum “Emerging Asean’s pros- lion in 2016, the CLSA research their share of topects will ulti- pointed out. tal arrivals from mately rely on “Other countries will strive only 12 percent tourist-friendly to emulate Thailand’s success at present. At the policies, efficient in attracting Chinese tourists. same time, he The $23-billion commitment for i m p l e m e n t a - This is rational given China’s said the country tourism infrastructure during Duterte’s tion of tourism top global ranking for interwas not ignoring six-year term, 1.3 percent of GDP in infrastructure national tourism expenditure, other avenues, 2017 and in 2018, would complement and facilitated $292 billion in 2015 from 127.9 notably efforts rising private investment. access for for- million tourist departures. to sustain toureign investment Even so, strategy should be ism flows from in tourism proj- broadened beyond China,” the Korea, which ects,” Nafte said. economist said. had the biggest share of arrivals age requirement for the retiree Within the region, Thailand For now, the research pointat 25 percent. visa at only 35 years. was cited as a “global success” ed to Indonesia and the Phil“President Duterte’s political Across the region, the CLSA in tourism expansion, ranking ippines having fallen short of realignment of the Philippines, research said the outlook for sixth highest in international their tourism potential. “Effidistancing from the US and tourism was boosted by the re- tourism receipts with $45 bil- cient implementation of tourmoving closer to China, is high port of increasing global pas- lion in 2015. Last year, tourism ism infrastructure with easy risk but has economic benefits. senger traffic in late 2016. The contributed more than 20 per- access for foreign investment Along with rising Chinese tour- International Air Transport cent of Thai domestic output, in tourism projects would turn ist arrivals, there is the pros- Association (IATA), while rec- driven by the estimated 33 mil- this around, generating a trepect of Chinese funding of tour- ognizing risks (not least ter- lion foreign tourist arrivals in mendous number of jobs and ism projects,” Nafte said. rorist threats), was hopeful of 2016. In 2012, the Chinese hit shoring up the balance of pay“The drawback of this strat- a sustained uptrend through movie “Lost in Thailand” intro- ments.” ■

Boxing fans... from bullies who had beaten him up twice in school—he wouldn’t have accepted the Pacquiao fight offer if he didn’t believe in his chances of victory.

“I definitely don’t want to say I’m going to stop Manny Pacquiao,” boxingnewsonline.net. quotes the Australian as saying.

“But, yes, I do think I’ll win. I’m very confident of that.”

Pacquiao fans may dismiss this as braggadocio, coming as it were from someone who took ❰❰ 29

up the sport at the late age of 17, notched 84 amateur fights, and turned pro just four years ago.

Horn, who bowed out of the London Olympics to eventual silver medalist Denys Berinchyk of Ukraine, may have been made to believe that way by Rushton, his first and only boxing coach.

Rushton promised to make Horn a national champion and Horn reigned for three years from 2009. The millionaire investment manager promised

Horn an Olympic stint and got it done. Only the promise of making Horn a world champion remains unfulfilled.

When Lonergan forged a deal for the title duel with Pacquiao, who has 50 more fights than Horn, Rushton did not hesitate despite the huge odds.

“I respect Pacquiao for everything he’s achieved in the sport,” Rushton tells smh.com. au. “But when you start to weigh it up, you will see what we have in Jeff. You can’t see the future, www.canadianinquirer.net

but I believe we’re looking at a future legend.”

Horn surged ahead of the rest of possible Pacquiao foes following three straight stoppage wins over Randall Bailey, Rico Mueller and Ali Funeka, the last one coming in the sixth round in Auckland, New Zealand, last Dec. 10. And like Brandon Rios, Chris Algieri, and Jessie Vargas before him, Horn now believes he has tools to defeat the Philippines’ future Hall of Famer.

Rios, Algieri and Vargas start-

ed the fight unconvinced about Pacquiao’s hand speed, nimble footwork and power. They all left the ring thinking that the only fighter to win world titles in eight divisions may indeed be a freak of nature.

Rushton says Horn stings like a hornet, possesses the heart of Rocky Balboa and attacks like The Terminator. Whether the fictional combination will work in actual battle against Pacquiao remains to be seen, though. ■

Business

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

PHL team, Chinese officials to discuss infra projects PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY BEIJING — A high-level delegation from the Philippines led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has arrived here for a series of meetings with top-ranking Chinese officials to hammer out details of several proposed big-ticket projects that China has offered for funding, which include irrigation systems, power generation and railways.

Dominguez said the followup meetings here between Philippine and Chinese officials would continue the discussions on how to “move forward” on the projects covered by the agreements signed between the two countries.

“We submitted last November a list of projects to the Chinese government through the Chinese embassy in Manila for their review. The Philippine team would like to get their reactions and determine what their priorities are and see whether this also match our priorities,” Dominguez said in an interview here with members of the Chinese media.

The top-level mission, Dominguez said, also aimed to further enhance “the strong friendship and economic cooperation” between the Philippines and China.

“President Duterte told me to extend his best regards to the Chinese officials that we will be meeting here as well as to the people of China, who showered him with a warm welcome during his state visit here last year,” Dominguez said.

Dominguez said the delegation’s list of projects that they would present to Chinese officials during the two-day visit include the improvement of irrigation systems for the benefit of the country’s poorest farmers; power generation, particularly in providing hydroelectricity; and railways construction.

“We admire China’s experience in all of these fields. China has demonstrated that it is among the best in the world in executing big infra projects,” he said.

“This will be our second discussion [with Chinese officials about the projects] since November last year. We hope that

in our visit here, we would be able to proceed with the projects that are ready to be implemented,” Dominguez said.

He said the generous assistance offered by China to the Philippines is among the concrete results of the President’s foreign policy rebalancing towards accelerated integration with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its major Asian trading partners China, Japan and South Korea.

“The President has recognized the importance of China in the region and he has redirected our economy more towards China and the ASEAN than to the West.

I believe that China will continue to lead the world and continue to lead the ASEAN in becoming the engine of global growth,” Dominguez said.

Besides Dominguez, the Philippine team also includes Secretaries Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Arthur Tugade of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Mark Villar of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and Director General Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

NEDA deputy director general Rolando Tungpalan, DPWH Undersecretaries Emil Sadain and Karen Jimeno, and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) presidentCEO Vivencio Dizon are also part of the delegation.

Secretaries Ma. Edita Tan and Mark Dennis Joven, DOTr Assistant Secretaries Leah Merida Quiambao and Cesar Chavez, and Assistant Secretary Julia Nebrija of the Metro Manila Development Authority.

While in Beijing, the Philippine officials are due to hold separate meetings with China Vice Premier Wang Yang, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng, and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) vice chairman Wang Xiaotao.

They also plan to meet top officials of the China Investment Corp. (CIC).

The meetings will cover discussions on the governmentto-government projects signed between the Philippines and

China; the proposed projects for financing and feasibility studies; the chairmanship of the Philippines this year of the ASEAN; and matters concerning the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Philippines’ flagship infrastructure projects.

Philippine and Chinese officials have agreed in November last year in Manila to move ahead on, and set up structures of coordination to effectively implement, the investment pledges forged between Manila and Beijing during President Duterte’s state visit to China.

NDRC deputy chairman Ning Jizhe led a Beijing delegation last November in discussing in Manila the investment commitments and laying the ground work to allow both sides to push swiftly in implementing the projects covered by these pledges.

The NDRC is China’s chief planning and strategy agency.

During Mr. Duterte’s state visit to China, Dominguez signed three agreements on behalf of the Philippines.

These included the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, which provides Manila with a RMB Yuan 100 million grant to implement projects for “anti-illegal drugs and law enforcement security cooperation,” and the MOU Supporting the Conduct of Feasibility Studies for Major Projects, in which China will provide financing support to the Philippines in undertaking feasibility studies for big-ticket projects in infrastructure, agriculture and rural development.

The third MOU signed by Dominguez during the President’s China trip was on Financing Cooperation with the Export-Import Bank of China (China EXIM), which would allow the Philippines to tap China EXIM funds for its major projects through the usual approval processes.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said last year these agreements were among the USD 24 billion-worth of aid and investment pledges that China had committed to the Philippines comprising soft loans totaling USD 9 billion and other economic deals amounting to about USD 15 billion. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

31

In debt and afraid: dealing with debt collectors

BY SARAH SKIDMORE SELL The Associated Press IT’S A scary place to be — in debt and afraid.

A new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report found that more than one in four consumers felt threatened when contacted by debt collectors.

The first-ever national survey of consumer experiences with debt collectors found consumers often faced calls that came too often, at odd hours and contained warnings of jail time and other threats. Some were contacted for debts they didn’t owe. And many said when they asked the collector to stop contacting them, the request was ignored.

CFPB Director Rich Cordray said the report casts a “troubling light” on the industry, and that the bureau is working to stop abuses. But what are your rights when facing off with a debt collector?

A few things to know: You are not alone

The CFPB says debt collection is a multi-billion dollar industry affecting 70 million consumers. People are most often contacted about medical and credit card debt. And more consumers complain to the CFPB about debt collection than any other financial product or service.

The Federal Trade Commission, which enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, also said debt collectors generate more complaints to its offices than any other industry.

While many debt collectors are careful to comply with consumer protection laws, some engage in illegal practices.

You are protected

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides protection for those being pursued for personal debts, such as money owed on a credit card account, an auto loan or a mortgage. It doesn’t cover debts incurred to run abusiness.

You have rights

Debt collectors can contact you by phone, letter, email or text message, as long as they follow the rules and disclose that they are debt collectors.

It’s against the law for a debt collector to pretend to be someone else to harass, threaten or deceive you.

They may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as early in the morning or late at night. And they may not contact you at work if they’re told not to.

Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you, according to the FTC. That includes threats of violence or using obscene language. Federal law also limits the number of calls a debt collector can place.

Collectors cannot lie to collect a debt, by falsely representing themselves or the amount you owe. And other than trying to obtain information about you, such as a telephone number or whereabouts, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

You can take action

Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General’s office, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Many states have their own debt collection laws that vary from federal law, so contact your attorney general’s office for help. ■

32

JANUARY 27, 2017

FRIDAY

Technology Apple depicts Qualcomm as a shady monopolist in $1B lawsuit THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is suing mobile chip maker Qualcomm for $1 billion in a patent fight pitting the iPhone maker against one of its major suppliers.

The 100-page complaint filed Friday in a San Diego federal court depicts Qualcomm as a greedy monopolist abusing its power in a key segment of the mobile chip market to extort royalties for iPhone innovations that have nothing to do with Qualcomm’s technology.

For instance, Qualcomm demanded royalties on Apple’s fingerprint identification system built into recent models of the iPhone and also for larger storage capacities on the devices, according to the lawsuit.

Qualcomm denied the allegations.

“We welcome the opportunity to have these meritless claims heard in court where we will be entitled to full discovery of Apple’s practices and a robust examination of the merits,” said Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm’s general counsel.

Apple says it has been co-operating with government regulators who have been investi-

gating Qualcomm’s business practices, prompting Qualcomm to retaliate by withholding about $1 billion in scheduled payments.

“Qualcomm’s recent effort to cover its tracks — by punishing Apple for providing truthful testimony at the request of government regulators — underscores the lengths to which Qualcomm will go to protect its extortion scheme,” the lawsuit alleges.

Apple launched its legal attack three days after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit alleging Qualcomm has been imposing unfair licensing terms on manufacturers.

Besides co-operating with the FTC’s investigation, Apple says it has been providing information about its dealings with Qualcomm to regulators in Europe, South Korea and Taiwan.

South Korea regulators last month imposed an $853 million fine on Qualcomm for violating its antitrust laws, a decision that Qualcomm is fighting.

Shares in San Diego-based Qualcomm Inc. fell $1.56, or 2.4 per cent, to close Friday at $62.88. Those of Apple Inc., which is based in Cupertino, California, ended up 22 cents at $120. ■

Samsung says faulty battery causes Galaxy Note 7 to catch fire PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY SEOUL — Samsung Electronics said Monday that faulty battery caused its flagship Galaxy Note 7 to catch fire after discontinuing the fire-prone device more than three months ago.

In a special press conference in its headquarters in Seoul, Samsung said the mix of thin battery design and other manufacturing issues caused the Note 7s to explode or set on fire, which led to property damages and injuries.

The findings are based on two investigations by USbased firms UL and Exponent, which examined batteries and one supply-chain analysis by a German company TUV Rheinland.

The first group of the devices carried batteries with thin separators between the positive and negative layers that raise a possibility for internal short circuit, according to the UL’s teardown examination.

Aggressively thin battery had been estimated by experts as one of the main reasons the flagship Samsung phone was overheated. Insufficient physical room can induce the positive and negative electrodes to touch and spark.

Sajeev Jesuda, one of the UL’s executives, told reporters that higher energy density in batteries can exacerbate the severity of battery failure in “general” terms, falling short of the confirmation of one of reasons for explosions.

www.canadianinquirer.net

PHOTOMANS / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

Deformation was found especially from the upper right corners of the batteries, weakening a protection capability from internal short circuit, the UL president said.

The second group of Note 7s was installed with batteries that have various manufacturing problems, including the missing insulation tape, irregular bumps and thin separators.

Those factors led to internal short circuits.

According to the Exponent’s analysis, no hardware and software issues have been discovered from the fire-prone devices.

The first group of phones showed deformation in upper corners of the defective batteries near a cathode tab. The second group had manufacturing issues, such as abnormally high bumps that can destroy an insulation tape and a separator.

Kevin White, a principal scientist at Exponent, told reporters that the first group suffered unintended damages to the cathode windings in the corner closest to the negative tab, saying it was caused by the pouch design.

The second group, he said, showed no deficiencies in the pouch, but welding defects in the positive electrode tab raised the short circuit possibility.

Meanwhile, no factor was found in the logistics and assembly processes that damage battery safety, according to the TUV Rheindland’s investigations into factories in South Korea, China and Vietnam.

Holger Kunz, the German company’s executive vice president, said its supply-chain analysis showed no specific defection of weakness, concern or obvious danger affecting battery safety integrity. ■

Technology

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

33

US ends probe of Tesla fatal crash without seeking recall

BY TOM KRISHER, JOAN LOWY AND DEE-ANN DURBIN The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Tesla Motors Inc. won’t face a recall or fine as a result of a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system, but U.S. safety regulators are warning auto manufacturers and drivers not to treat semiautonomous cars as if they were fully self-driving.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday it found that the system had no safety defects at the time of the May 7 crash in Florida, and that it was primarily designed to prevent rear-end collisions rather than other crash scenarios.

Bryan Thomas, the agency’s chief spokesman, said automated driving systems still require a driver’s full attention. He warned that automakers need to keep tabs on how drivers use the technology and should design vehicles “with the inattentive driver in mind.”

The probe began June 28, nearly two months after a driver using Autopilot in a 2015 Tesla Model S died when it failed to spot a tractor-trailer crossing the car’s path on a highway in Williston, Florida, near Gainesville.

Tesla’s Autopilot uses cam-

eras, radar and computers to detect objects and automatically brake if the car is about to hit something. It also can steer the car to keep it centred in its lane. The company has said that before Autopilot can be used, drivers must acknowledge that it’s an “assist feature” that requires both hands on the wheel at all times and that drivers must be ready to take control.

The agency’s criticism is likely to influence how automakers market semi-autonomous systems. Just about every company has or is working on similar systems as they move rapidly toward self-driving cars.

The investigation “helps clarify that cars are still supposed to be driven by attentive people, and if people behind the wheel aren’t attentive, it’s not the technology’s fault,” said Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book.

That will help avoid the stigma that the technology causes accidents, he said.

NHTSA released guidelines last year that attempt to ensure safety without slowing development of semiautonomous and self-driving cars. The agency says self-driving features could dramatically reduce traffic deaths by eliminating human error, which plays a role in 94 per cent of fatal crashes.

Black Tesla Model S electric car.

Thomas said NHTSA wants to encourage innovation “to get the best answer to how we use these automated systems to the best effect and saving the most lives.”

In its probe, NHTSA evaluated how the system functions and looked into dozens of other crashes involving Teslas, including a July one on the Pennsylvania Turnpike that injured two people.

The Florida crash killed former Navy Seal Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio. Tesla said at the time that the cameras on Brown’s Model S sedan failed to distinguish the white side of a turning tractor-trailer from a brightly lit sky and that neither the car nor Brown applied the brakes.

Thomas said Brown set the car’s cruise control at 74 mph — 9 mph over the limit — less than two minutes before the crash.

NHTSA’s crash reconstruction showed the tractor-trailer

TAINA SOHLMAN / SHUTTERSTOCK, INC.

should have been visible to Brown at least 7 seconds before impact, enough time to react.

Detecting vehicles that cross in its path were beyond the capabilities of the Autopilot system, Thomas said on a conference call.

In a statement Thursday, Tesla said it appreciated NHTSA’s thoroughness in reaching its conclusion.

When Tesla released Autopilot in 2015, some safety advocates questioned whether the Palo Alto, California, company and NHTSA allowed the public access to the system before testing was finished.

Consumer Reports magazine called on Tesla to drop the “Autopilot” name because it can give drivers too much trust in their car’s ability to drive itself.

In September, Tesla updated Autopilot software to rely more on radar sensors and less on

cameras. The update also disabled the automatic steering if drivers don’t keep both hands on the wheel.

Another federal agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, has opened a broader investigation into the Tesla crash.

It could be months before a final report that provides a probable cause for the collision is issued.

The company that made the camera and computer system for Tesla said in September that the company ignored its warnings about possible safety problems.

Israel-based Mobileye that before the release of Autopilot, it warned Tesla not to allow drivers to use the system without their hands on the steering wheel. Mobileye NV, a huge player in the self-driving business, has stopped supplying components to Tesla.

Thomas said investigators got information from Mobileye and evaluated the company’s statements, but still reached the no-defect conclusion. He wouldn’t comment on the company’s statements.

Tesla said at the time that Mobileye’s statements were inaccurate and stem from Tesla’s plans to develop its own vision system. ■ Durbin and Krisher reported from Detroit.

Roberta Bondar marks 25 years since becoming Canada’s first woman in space

BY KEVIN BISSETT The Canadian Press THE MORNING of January 22, 1992, was chilly along the east coast of Florida.

NASA officials watched the temperatures closely — just six years earlier, cold temperatures contributed to the Challenger disaster, claiming the lives of seven astronauts and grounding the shuttle fleet for three years.

On launch pad 39A, Roberta Bondar was strapped in aboard the Shuttle Discovery, waiting to become Canada’s first woman in space.

There were many things on her mind as minor issues delayed liftoff by an hour, Bondar recalled in an interview with The Canadian Press to mark the 25th anniversary of her historic flight this Sunday.

She ran through the emergency checklists — “very, very focused, very disciplined, thinking about what I had been trained professionally to do” — and also thought of her family.

Her father had seen her chosen as an astronaut, but died before her mission; her mother and sister were watching from the VIP area less than three miles away.

She had recorded a tearful message for her mother a few hours earlier — just in case things didn’t go well.

“I decided I’d use one of those old cassette recorders, which was the technology of the time, and talked into the unit to somehow placate her fears if anything happened to me. But I must say I was quite tearful when I was doing it and had to keep shutting it off to do it.”

Bondar arrived at the launch pad that morning with the six other members of the international crew. The launch pad had teemed with workers on her previous visits, but that mornwww.canadianinquirer.net

ing it seemed almost deserted — and the shuttle seemed alive, she said.

“We looked at the view and at the seething monster behind us and just tried to take it all in about being astronauts and going to punch a hole in the sky. It was really like The Right Stuff movie,” she said.

Bondar had trained for years for this moment — becoming a doctor, a neurologist, an astronaut. She was only the second Canadian (after Marc Garneau) onboard a space shuttle.

“I was thinking about being the first Canadian after the Challenger accident and how

difficult it would be for some people to watch it without being totally a bundle of nerves, and thinking about my own family and friends, especially my mother and sister who would be watching me disappear into the sky and hoping that nothing would go wrong,” she said.

Bondar said that after the Challenger disaster, families of U.S. astronauts could avoid the peering lenses of news cameras during the launch by watching from the top of the giant Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

But the same courtesy was ❱❱ PAGE 38 Roberta Bondar

JANUARY 27, 2017

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FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

35

Travel Group plans interactive Titanic museum for Niagara Falls, Ont.

BY MICHELLE MCQUIGGE The Canadian Press

Miss Universe candidates while aboard the luxury yacht M/Y Happy Life.

JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

Miss Universe skirts Bohol PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY TAGBILARAN CITY — The province of Bohol was excluded in the visit of Miss Universe 2017 hopefuls, newly installed regional director Catalino “Dodong” Chan III of the Department of Tourism (DOT), the brain of the successful Lanzones festival in volcanic island province of Camiguin, his hometown, said.

And the good news is that DOT will help promote by declaring the Bohol Ubi festival an international event and help promote it, Chan, the former Camiguin island tourism officer prior to become director in Cagayan de Oro-based DOT region 10, said.

He told the crowd at the Bohol Cultural Center for Ubi festival that he just assumed as DOT region 7 director on Dec. 16, 2016.

Chan, , told this writer in an exclusive interview in the sidelines of Ubi festival exhibits opening at Plaza Rizal here on Friday that how he wish Bohol was included in the itinerary of the Miss Universe bets.

He said that some 20 candidates were supposed to visit here but did not due to time constraint. The candidates were only able to visit Lapu-lapu city, Mactan, not even Cebu City, he added.

Many tourist operators and stakeholders in the province thought all along that Bohol would be one of the tourism sites to be toured by the Miss Universe bets.

It has been quite awhile since the visit of beauties of Miss Universe sometime in 1994 when the country’s bet was then Charlene Gonzales.

Just last year, some 48 aspirants for the newly formed Miss Global crown, another attempt for international beauty derby, visited Bohol and held their swimwear competition at the posh

Henann Resort in Panglao town.

Meanwhile, Chan stressed that DOT will help Bohol like including the promotion of Ubi festival of Bohol.

“If we are successful in promoting Lanzones festival in Camiguin, we should be successful in Ubi festival,” he said.

He said that like Cebu which is reviving the long lost popularity of mango but it’s Guimaras’ mango now becoming popular. Likewise, Ozamiz is embarking into promoting the so-called dragon fruit and so with Bohol with its Ubi rootcrop, he said.

He said, on the same vein, that Bohol would still benefit from the Cebu’s tourist arrivals, counting some 4.3 million tourists as of January this year due to the connectivity of flights.

He said that Cebu had just opened a connecting flight from Los Angeles international airport in United States and another five from the Middle East and China.

He said that Bohol has a fair share in tourist arrivals with some 68 percent of the foreign visitors landed in Cebu preferred to go to Bohol. And that’s something else in terms of economic activity.

Another up-coming big event would be the upcoming one visit to Bohol of bigwigs of Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and two for Cebu, he added.

Chan and Gov. Edgar Chatto led the ceremonial ribbon cutting during the opening of Ubifest exhibits on Friday till Monday showcased at Plaza Rizal this city.

He was accompanied by DOT 7 officials along with representatives of newly-assumed regional director Atty.

Salvador Divinagracia Diputado of the Department of Agriculture, Jim Paredes of former Apo Hiking Society, provincial tourism officer Jo Cabarrus, provincial board members and other town officials who graced their respective display of Ubi products. ■

AN INTERACTIVE museum that hopes to recreate the experience of sailing on board the Titanic may be coming to Canada.

A group in Niagara Falls, Ont., has conditionally purchased land that would house the museum and is moving ahead with plans to launch an exhibit dubbed “Experience Titanic.”

David Van Velzen, who’s spearheading the project, says the museum will differ from many similar efforts around the world by focusing on an interactive audience experience.

Van Velzen says the museum will feature rooms that replicate those on the doomed ocean liner that sank in 1912, and will aim to recreate the experience of striking the iceberg that brought the “unsinkable ship” down.

He also says the exhibit will try to educate guests about the various Canadian connections to the ship.

He says those connections make Niagara Falls a natural choice for the museum, but says the subject has appeal well beyond the local community.

“Titanic is a global subject,” Van Velzen said in a telephone interview.

“It appeals to everybody around the world, and there are permanent exhibitions about Titanic in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, in Branson, Missouri, in Los Vegas, Nevada, so why not Niagara

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Falls?”

Van Velzen said many of the roughly 130 Canadian passengers on board the Titanic had ties to southern Ontario, particularly the area between Toronto and Fort Erie.

He said he hopes to build the stories of those passengers into the museum experience.

He said guests would be given a boarding pass with the name and details of a real passenger and will learn facts about that person as they travel through the exhibit.

Video screens and tablets throughout the museum would provide trivia facts, video content and other material to educate potential visitors.

But the primary focus, he said, will be on creating a realistic experience of life aboard the Titanic.

“We are going to put you on the ship,” he said. “You will go through a boiler room, an engine room, a third-class cabin, a first-class cabin. ... We’ll put you on the deck of the ship just as it hits the iceberg.”

Van Velzen plans to take a multisensory approach to the project, including using sound to replicate what passengers may have heard as the iceberg approached, and a refrigerated wall that people can touch to get a sense of the temperature that night.

He said he hopes to finalize the purchase of the museum property by April and says he’s aiming to open the exhibit for business in spring 2018. ■

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Travel

JANUARY 27, 2017

Gottlieb Native Garden: a Southern California oasis

BY SOLVEJ SCHOU The Associated Press BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — Spread out along a hillside near the Beverly Hills Hotel, Susan Gottlieb’s baseball-fieldsize home garden — dubbed the Gottlieb Native Garden — boasts more than 100 species of native plants and brims with wildlife activity.

Birds flock to a large shrub called toyon, with white flowers in the summer, fall and spring, to nibble on its red berries. Bees descend on towering matilija poppies, whose large white and COURTESY OF THEGOTTLIEBNATIVEGARDEN.COM yellow flowers bloom in late spring. Butterflies love fragrant from around the world.” need for water led her to create coyote mint, an herb with necHer garden is on the Theo- a water-saving home oasis. tar-filled lavender flowers. dore Payne Foundation’s anShe ripped out the moistureFor the 75-year-old Gottlieb, nual home tour of native plant guzzling ivy growing around an environmentalist, philan- gardens, and all profits from the her Beverly Hills home and rethropist and nature photogra- book go to the foundation and placed it first with drought-tolpher, the garden has been a la- other environmental groups. erant plants, then native plants. bour of love for nearly 30 years. When the tour started more Dan and Susan Gottlieb also A new book, “The Gottlieb than a decade ago, 20 people own the G2 Gallery, a nature Garden: A California Love Sto- came to see her garden; in 2016, and wildlife photo gallery in LA. ry” (National Wildlife Federa- hundreds filed through in a day, “Where I grew up, we hauled tion, 2016), written by Mallory Gottlieb said. water to our home from the well, Smith and featuring more than The foundation’s executive and electricity was expensive,” 120 photographs by Gottlieb, director, Kitty Connolly, called she said. “It always bothered me captures the garden’s essence. the Gottlieb Garden “an inspi- that we use so much water here “Native plants in Southern Caliare so incredibly fornia.” important for Some of Gotwildlife and intlieb’s favourite sects, which are Most people, in the early ‘90s, I plants in her the base of everyfound, had no clue what a native garden include thing,” Gottlieb plant was, and drought-tolerant the perennial, said in an interplants weren’t on the menu either. purple-flowering view. “Most peoWhen I began the garden, I was a herb verbena ple, in the early rank amateur. I’ve learned a lot. and tall, green, ‘90s, I found, had pod-bearing no clue what a mesquite trees. native plant was, She loves sweetand drought-tolerant plants ration for all gardeners. Su- smelling California lilac, a lowweren’t on the menu either. san’s skilful use of native plants growing shrub whose spring When I began the garden, I was a shows how gardening can en- flowers go from white to dark rank amateur. I’ve learned a lot.” rich our cities, support native blue.

According to the Theodore wildlife and forge a strong conFor those wanting to create a Payne Foundation for Wild nection with our natural heri- garden with native plants, GotFlowers and Native Plants, a tage.” tlieb suggested starting off simnon-profit in Sun Valley, CaliOriginally from a small min- ple and small. fornia, native plants not only ing town in Canada, Gottlieb “Don’t get overwhelmed, thrive in local climates, but grew up with water and nature and don’t do it all at one time,” they provide food and shelter conservation in mind from a she said. “I did it a bit at a time for native animals and also save young age. She later moved to with my garden, and that’s why water.

California, worked as a nurse in it’s taken me 30 years. Take Yet native plants are not San Francisco and Los Angeles, gardening classes. California the same as drought-tolerant and met her husband, Dan Got- plants go dormant in the sumplants, Gottlieb stressed. tlieb, in 1984. Trips to Califor- mer, and Eastern plants tend to “Many California native nia’s Death Valley and concern go to dormant in the winter. It’s plants are drought-tolerant that lakes such as Owens Lake good if you can find a garden... but not all,” she said. And and Mono Lake would become ing class specific to the native “drought-tolerant plants can be dry because of Los Angeles’ plants in your area.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY

DOT exhibit showcases best of Eastern Visayas PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — A new exhibit in the Department of Tourism (DOT) headquarters launched Monday showcases an array of video and graphic presentations of numerous attractions throughout the country’s third largest island’s three provinces, namely Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar.

DOT Regional Office 8 Director Karina Rosa Tiopes invited the general public to visit the week-long DOT exhibit, “Samar Island Spectacle” exhibit at the DOT showroom in Gil Puyat Ave., Makati.

Tiopes said the exhibit projects the strength, resilience, and ingenuity, of the people of the region including Borongan, Catbalogan, Calbayog.

Also available at the showroom for sale are hand-crafted products and native Samar delicacies, including pinato, salukara, alisosu, bibingka and puto bagol.

DOT Secretary Wanda Teo, for her part, reaffirmed the promise of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to improve accessibility to lesser known destinations, such as those in Eastern Visayas (Region 8).

“We do have numerous natural wonders in the Eastern Vi-

sayas region, and I agree that the path to the discovery of these emerging destinations is accessibility and improved public services and facilities,” Teo said.

Among the top tourist destinations in the region include Calicocoan Island surfing site and the Philippine Eagle sanctuary in Eastern Samar, the countless waterfalls and rock formations in Northern Samar, and the caves and enchanted city of Biringan in Samar.

Eastern Samar Gov. Conrado Nicart, Rep. Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar), Rep. Edgar Sarmiento (1st District, Samar), and other Region 8 local executives meanwhile expressed hope that improvements in airport facilities and airline services would be hastened.

“We need better airports that can serve direct flights from Manila, Cebu and other key cities. We hope this can be given priority, as we fully support the government’s tourism program,” Evardone said.

Sarmiento also noted the need for improved facilities at tourist sites, such as public restrooms.

“If we truly want to bring about change in our impoverished region, then we have to open avenues to our wealth of natural wonders,” Sarmiento said. ■

PNA

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

37

Food Cherry cupcakes with orange bourbon frosting

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press THIS OLD-FASHIONED cherry cupcake is just the thing for Valentine’s Day. I’ve updated a cake that my mother used to make for my sisters and me when we were children with all the flavours of a bourbon Old-Fashioned. The rosy pink colour of the cake immediately brings to mind the Feast of Saint Valentine.

When I drink Old-Fashioneds, I seldom add cherries, but the cherries are essential to this cake. The cake is colored a beautiful rosy pink by the addition of maraschino cherry juice and a generous amount of chopped cherries that add texture, and moisture to the light white cake. The cake itself tastes like the best vanilla cake you have ever ate with a soft nod to the maraschino cherries.

A fragrant orange-bourbon buttercream tops the cupcakes and completes the adult “OldFashioned” flavour.

I had remembered this cake fondly but sometimes the memory is better than the actual thing. Not so in the case of this cake. In fact, I made it twice recently while my mother and I visited my sister and her family. We couldn’t get enough of the cake and it is now my current favourite. After all, everything that is new was once old and vice versa. When making

this cake for a mixed age crowd, you can make two versions of the boozy icing and eliminate the bourbon for the under 21 crowd. The orange buttercream brings a bright taste of sunshine to what can sometimes be dreary days in February, with or without the bourbon.

I never thought that this simple recipe would remind me of an important lesson. The day that I was baking the cupcakes for the photo, I ran into a legendary pastry chef. When I told him what I was making, he said “You cooks (as opposed to pastry chefs) have all the fun. Can you imagine what ‘they’ would say if I made a cake with maraschino cherries?” Because I love to make my food delicious and sometimes playful, it had never occurred to me that there might be ingredient boundaries for some cooks. I think that this is a good lesson for our holiday devoted to love: If you love it, and it makes you happy, don’t worry what other people think.

These Old-Fashioned cupcakes make me very happy — and I think that they’ll do the same for you.

Cherry cupcake with orangebourbon frosting

Servings: 20 Start to finish: 40 minutes

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened • 1 1/8 cups granulated white sugar

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour or 2 cups all-purpose flour • 2 teaspoons baking powder • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt • 1/4 cup maraschino cherry juice • 1/2 cup whole milk • 1/2 generous cup chopped maraschino cherries (about 1 cup of un-chopped cherries) • 4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Prepare a regular cupcake pan by placing liners in each mould.

Fill each cupcake 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool on a rack and make the frosting.

Preheat oven to 350 F Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in alternatively with the cherry juice and the milk.

Remove from electric mixer and stir the chopped cherries into the cake batter. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites.

• 1 box (1 pound) powdered sugar • Pinch of fine-grain sea salt • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened • 1/2 generous teaspoon pure vanilla extract • 1/2 teaspoon orange extract • 2 tablespoons heavy cream • 1-2 tablespoons bourbon, depending on taste • Zest of one large navel orange

Bourbon Old-Fashioned Frosting

Sift box of powdered sugar and salt or whisk well to remove any lumps. Set aside.

Cream butter until fluffy using a stand mixer or a hand mixer set on medium speed.

Slowly add the sugar. When the sugar is incorporated in the butter, add vanilla extract, cream and bourbon one tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency is reached.

Stir in orange zest at the end.

Taste and add more bourbon only if you want it to taste a little boozier.

If it is too stiff, add a little more cream. If it is too loose, add a little more sugar.

Taste for balance and add a touch more salt and vanilla if needed. Spread on top of cupcakes or place in a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and decorate in a swirl pattern. Top with a pink conversation heart or stemmed cherry, if desired.

Cupcake: Nutrition information per serving: 151 calories; 44 calories from fat; 5 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 13 mg cholesterol; 218 mg sodium; 25 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 15 g sugar; 2 g protein.

Bourbon Old-Fashioned Frosting: Nutrition information per serving: 200 calories; 65 calories from fat; 7 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 20 mg cholesterol; 23 mg sodium; 33 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 31 g sugar; 0 g protein.

Cauliflower is surprisingly versatile

BY SARA MOULTON The Associated Press UNTIL PRETTY recently, there was nothing sexy about cauliflower. Boiled or steamed, it’s bland at best. And if you overcook it, you’d better duck or suffer the smell of dirty diapers. But roasting or sauteing cauliflower is a different story.

The veggie’s natural sugars caramelize and its tasty inner

cauliflower suddenly blossoms.

Think popcorn with an attitude.

Cauliflower is surprisingly versatile, too. Pulsed in a food processor, it ends up looking and feeling like white rice. Indeed, given that it’s high in fiber and an assortment of vitamins and minerals, cauliflower is a healthy alternative to white rice.

In the interest of coaxing out cauliflower’s best flavour,

I have cooked this recipe’s allotment as if it were fried rice, sauteing it until golden. The “rice” is then infused with the usual Asian suspects — scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil — and bulked up with mushrooms, bacon and peas. (Vegetarians are welcome to swap in some tofu for the Canadian bacon.)

Wonderful as it is the first time around, this dish is also the perfect foil for leftovers.

Steak, chicken, shrimp, other cooked vegetables? Whatever’s sitting in the refrigerator and awaiting its second chance, toss it in. And if you need an excuse to go Asian, consider the Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 28.

Otherwise, feel free to enjoy this recipe year-round.

Fried cauliflower “rice” with shiitakes, Canadian bacon and peas

Start to finish: 1 hour (40

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active) Servings: 4 • 1 small cauliflower (about 1 3/4 pounds) • 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided • 2 large eggs • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper • 4 ounces Canadian bacon, cut into medium dice ❱❱ PAGE 38 This sheet

Food

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JANUARY 27, 2017

COOKING ON DEADLINE:

This sheet...

Cheesy Beer Dip with Hot Pretzels

❰❰ 37

BY KATIE WORKMAN The Associated Press IT IS easy enough to put out bag after bag of chips during a Sunday football-watching party, or any other gathering for that matter. And it’s not much harder to go the extra step and put those chips into an actual bowl ... you know, if you’re feeling classy.

But how about making a 15-minute snack that will have the crowds calling your name from the stands (or, in all likelihood, from the couch)?

A hot pretzel served up with a creamy, cheesy dip is the kind of food you would be thrilled to happen on and buy at a stadium. But you can easily find these soft pretzels in the frozen aisle of your supermarket, and they heat up quickly in the oven.

While you are heating the oven and baking the pretzels (which take less than 5 minutes!), you can stir together a quick cheeseand-beer dip for dunking. And while you are stirring you can imagine the expressions of happiness that will greet you when you plunk down this platter of hot pretzel goodness.

If you have a big crowd and want to make a larger batch of pretzels, double the dip recipe and keep it warm in a slow cooker. It can also be gently reheated over low heat in a saucepan if it starts to thicken up too much.

• 2 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms • 1 1/2 bunches scallions, sliced thin (white and green parts kept separate — you will need about 1/2 cup of the whites and 1/3 cup of the greens) • 2 teaspoons minced garlic • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger • 1 cup blanched fresh or thawed frozen peas • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce • 2 teaspoons sesame oil • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Prepare the pretzels according to package directions.

Nutrition information per serving: 364 calories; 131 calories from fat; 15 g fat (8 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 36 mg cholesterol; 551 mg sodium; 47 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 10 g protein.

Remove the core and chop the cauliflower roughly into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces. In a food processor pulse the cauliflower in 2-cup amounts until chopped into rice-size pieces (you should have about 4 cups) In a large nonstick or stickresistant skillet over mediumhigh heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a tablespoon of water, a pinch of salt and some pepper and add the eggs to the pan. Tilt the pan to spread the eggs all around to make a flat pancake. Cook until almost set, 30 to 45 seconds. Turn over the egg (you can cut it in a few pieces to make it easier, using the side of a nonstick pan-safe spatula) and cook for another 10 seconds. Transfer the cooked eggs to a cutting board.

Add 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, the Canadian bacon and the shiitakes to the pan

Bondar said that was a very sore point for her, and she was more nervous for her family than she was for herself as she waited for ignition and the kick of seven million pounds of thrust from the main engines and the solid rocket boosters.

But the launch and the mission went well — even extended by a day as the crew conducted a long list of experiments to study the effects of space flight and recovery on the human body. Bondar, the first neurologist in space, said she felt the pressure of getting good results for scientists on the ground who had spent years preparing the experiments.

Gilles Leclerc, director gen-

eral of space exploration at the Canadian Space Agency, said Bondar did Canada proud.

“She was a renaissance woman.

We were extremely proud, and still are of her contribution to the space program,” Leclerc said.

“That flight took place 25 years ago. A lot has happened since. She was really a pioneer.”

And a lot has happened in Bondar’s life in the last 25 years.

After her flight, Bondar became head of an international space medicine team working with NASA to look at various aspects of human physiology changes in space flight and on recovery. They published a number of papers over the next

10 years, and discovered how their research could be applied to illnesses here on Earth.

She was chancellor at Trent University for six years and started an educational foundation in her name.

Bondar is also a photographer, who took lots of pictures from space. During an inflight news conference, Bondar described seeing Canada from orbit for the first time.

“When I first came over Canada, it was the biggest thrill imaginable. Winter or no winter, it has to be absolutely beautiful and spectacular, and I’m coming back to Earth with a feeling that there’s absolute-

Cheesy beer dip with hot pretzels

Start to finish: 15 minutes Serves 12

• 2 (13-ounce) boxes of frozen hot soft pretzels, 12 pretzels in all • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 3/4 cup milk, preferably whole • 3/4 cup good beer • 2 teaspoons brown mustard • Sriracha or other hot sauce to taste • 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces • 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar • Coarse or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk and beer, then increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the mustard and Sriracha and cook, whisking occasionally, until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 5 minutes.

Whisk in the cream cheese until it’s melted, then add the cheddar cheese in several batches, whisking until each batch has melted before adding the next. Serve hot, with hot pretzels.

FRIDAY

and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is browned at the edges, about 6 minutes.

Transfer the bacon mushroom mixture to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining oil and the white part of the scallion to the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with the bacon mixture and return the skillet to the heat.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to the skillet, then add the cauliflower and a hefty pinch of salt, pressing it flat with the back of the spatula. Cook until the “rice” is golden brown in spots, turning it over with the spatula, about 10 to 12 minutes.

While the “rice” is cooking slice the egg into strips and add it along with the peas to the bowl with the bacon.

When the “rice” is nicely crisped, add the contents of the bacon bowl, the peas, soy sauce and sesame oil to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the mixture is heated through. Transfer the fried cauliflower “rice” to four bowls and top each portion with some of the sliced scallion greens and the pine nuts.

Nutrition information per serving: 483 calories; 350 calories from fat; 39 g fat (4 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 121 mg cholesterol; 665 mg sodium; 20 g carbohydrate; 7 g fiber; 7 g sugar; 15 g protein.

Roberta Bondar... not offered to her Canadian family.

“The families of all the men were on top of the VAB, and my poor family were sitting out in the stands the way Christa McAuliffe’s mother was.

You’ll remember McAuliffe’s mother was right there when the whole thing happened and the cameras were trained on her. There was no privacy and it was a horrible moment,” she said.

“They didn’t allow my family to be protected the way the rest of the crew was, and that was kind of a bad thing. It didn’t make me very happy and the Canadian Space Agency didn’t help either.” ❰❰ 33

www.canadianinquirer.net

ly nothing boring. There’s no boring place anywhere on this whole planet,” she said.

Bondar continues to explore the planet, taking photos, writing, working with people in Africa, and doing science such as studying the migration of the whooping crane.

Many people would think that Bondar might say that going into space was the most important thing she has done in her life, but that’s not the case.

She says becoming a doctor allowed her to save lives and do all the other things she’s done.

“Space was eight days of my life. I’m still evolving,” she said. ■

39

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2017

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CALL 310-HIRE (4473) OR VISIT SPROTTSHAW.COM www.canadianinquirer.net

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JANUARY 27, 2017

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