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VOL. 4 NO. 263

IN GRIEF

Relatives of victims of drug-related extrajudicial killings attend the Holy Eucharist Mass Action in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City..

NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / PDI

Duterte: Cops accused in deadly prison raid could be pardoned, even promoted

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESIDENT DUTERTE on Friday said he was not only willing to pardon the police officers accused of murdering drug suspect and Albuera, Leyte, Mayor Ro-

lando Espinosa, but he could even promote them afterward.

Mr. Duterte stressed he would not interfere with the legal process, noting that it was the Department of Justice which filed the murder charges against

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Drug killings peril PH trade, says EU

27 Tough guy image melts as Digong remembers mom ❱❱ PAGE 11

❱❱ PAGE 6 Duterte: Cops

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Philippine News

Government to resume talks with the Reds

Define ‘inordinate delay,’ Ombudsman asks SC

BY PHOEBE BALUBAR Philippine Canadian Inquirer

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

AFTER THE President called off talks over a month ago, the government decided to resume arrangements with the communist rebels yesterday in Norway.

However, at this point, there is no standing ceasefire in effect which means that both parties are still standing their ground in case of attacks from one another (or each other).

In a statement by Armed Forces (AFP) Chief Gen. Eduardo Año, the government could not yet announce a unilateral ceasefire because the New People’s Army (NPA) had taken advantage of the truce in the past to extort funds from businesses and civilians.

Año also urged the public to be vigilant and report extortion activities being done by the rebels. The military had

reported that since the President canceled the talks in February, there are more than 60 cases of arson related to extortion.

The President himself expressed the need to end the conflict, however, he said that there are certain conditions required in order to further proceed with the peace process. Among these are the following: a creation of a bilateral ceasefire agreement, stopping the burning of equipment and canceling the collection of the so-called revolutionary tax, stopping the claiming of territories and the release of captives.

AFP Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr. agreed with the President as the AFP called for a joint ceasefire with the communist rebels, saying that it is the most practical approach to stop the armed clash between the two parties. Padilla said that enforcing a bilateral ceasefire will enforce third-

party implementers which can further ensure the compliance of both parties to the truce.

For National Democratic Front Chief Negotiator Fidel Agcaoili, he said that the NDFP is “willing to be flexible” during talks for a truce and that they are open to work on enforcing a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government.

In a separate statement, the CPP-NPA said that it is expecting intensified operations by the military amid the talks.

Since its formation in 1968, the conflict between the Communist Party of the Philippines and the government had killed more than 40,000 people. Currently, the National People’s Army operates as its armed forces while the National Democratic Front of the Philippines is its political arm currently in charge of discussing terms and agreements with the government in order to possibly end the 49-year old conflict. ■

Senators frown on Du30 pardon for 19 cops in mayor’s killing

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer SENATORS ON Thursday frowned upon President Duterte’s insistence on granting absolute pardon to policemen charged with the murder of Albuera, Leyte, Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., saying it could give law enforcers the notion that they had blanket authority to kill drug suspects.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said Mr. Duterte’s attempt to clear the policemen led by Supt.

Marvin Marcos was “another proof” that the killings in the President’s brutal war on drugs were state-sponsored.

“As to the policemen who would be encouraged to follow Duterte’s illegal orders, they are forewarned that they would eventually answer for all these crimes,” Trillanes said in a statement. “Duterte won’t be

THE OFFICE of the Ombudsman is asking the Supreme Court to stop the Sandiganbayan from acquitting respondents in graft cases on the basis of “inordinate delay” in the trial of government officials accused of corruption.

The constitutional body tasked with investigating and prosecuting corruption cases also asked the high court to define what inordinate delay really meant.

In a 16-page motion dated March 23, the Ombudsman asked the high court to make a clear ruling on when inordinate delay may be cited in acquitting graft respondents, a practice that had led to acquittals in some high-profile corruption cases that the Ombudsman investigated and is prosecuting.

The Ombudsman urged the Supreme Court to “direct the Sandiganbayan to temporarily suspend the application of the ‘inordinate delay’ doctrine” pending a ruling of the high court on what inordinate delay really meant.

The Ombudsman had lost a number of high-profile cases because of alleged delays in the investigation of the cases.

Winston Garcia case

SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES / FACEBOOK

in power forever.”

Absolute pardon

In a speech to local officials in Socorro, Oriental Mindoro, on Wednesday, Mr. Duterte said policemen charged with killing drug suspects could just plead guilty and he would grant them absolute pardon.

Mr. Duterte said presidential pardon was his “only weapon” against “harassment of government men.”

Marcos and 18 other policemen are detained, facing mur-

der charges for the killing of Espinosa and another inmate during a search warrant raid on the Leyte subprovincial jail last Nov. 5.

Espinosa was detained on drug charges, and a National Bureau of Investigation probe showed that the policemen deliberately killed the mayor to cover up their links to his son, confessed drug boss Kerwin Espinosa.

The policemen claimed they ❱❱ PAGE 7 Senators frown

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One of these cases involved Winston Garcia, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) head during the Arroyo administration, who was investigated for and charged with corruption when he, in May 2004, awarded the socalled GSIS e-card project to Union Bank owned by the Aboitiz family even before the period for submission of bids had lapsed.

The Ombudsman also lost several cases involving the theft of government funds, supposedly spent on overpriced fertilizers, that then critics of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said were used to finance her campaign to be elected to a regular term.

In its motion, the Ombudsman said “the core issue” in its plea for Supreme Court intervention was “how the legal concept of inordinate delay” should be applied to graft cases

3

without violating the Constitution’s guarantee that “all persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases” in all “judicial, quasi- judicial or administrative bodies.”

“While it is well-established in jurisprudence that criminal cases may be dismissed on the ground of denial of the accused’s right to speedy trial, the concept of ‘inordinate delay’ that amounts to a violation of said right has eluded exact definition,” said the Ombudsman’s motion.

It said the Supreme Court, in its rulings, had laid down general guidelines on how courts should validate claims that respondents’ rights to speedy trial had been violated.

Dissonance

The Ombudsman, however, said there was a “marked and irreconcilable dissonance” between the Supreme Court guidelines and acquittals made by the Sandiganbayan, citing inordinate delay, including on the case against Winston Garcia.

As an example, the Ombudsman cited a high court decision acknowledging that “delays in the investigation process are inevitable especially when a case had to be reassigned due to staff movement and when a significant amount of time is needed to judiciously review voluminous documentary evidence.”

The Sandiganbayan, however, “showed no realistic appreciation of how corruption cases progress through various bureaucratic channels in our country and how much time is expended for every stage of the process,” said the Ombudsman’s motion.

The Ombudsman said the Sandiganbayan has its own interpretation of inordinate delay which has “far-reaching consequences” and which should prompt the Supreme Court to “clearly spell out the contours, extent and limitations of this confusing concept.”

The Ombudsman also asked the high court to refer its motion to the Supreme Court en banc, from the First Division, because it was of “transcendental public importance and will have significant effect on the investigation and prosecution of corruption cases.” ■

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Philippine News

APRIL 7, 2017

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First phase of mega-subway plan seen to require P214B in investment

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE GOVERNMENT expects the initial phase of the proposed Mega Manila Subway project—a part of the country’s infrastructure pipeline to address demand for mass transportation—to require an investment of least P214 billion.

In a presentation at the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association (Aprea) forum on Friday, Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral said the subway project would run a 23-kilometer stretch and have about 13 stations. This is among the many flagship projects planned by the Duterte administration under its “build, build, build” strategy and aspi-

ration to bring the country to a golden age of infrastructure.

It is a project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) but Cabral said she had been “sitting in many meetings because they (DOTr) have been collaborating with DPWH in terms of alignment.”

The proposed P214-billion subway is seen to have an initial ridership of 366,000 per day by 2025, based on Cabral’s presentation.

Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa earlier said the feasibility study covering the alignment for the central section of the proposed Mega Manila Subway was expected to be completed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) in the latter half of the year. He said the feasibility study would cover the cen-

tral zone of the subway, starting from Quezon City up to FTI. Based on a 2014 Jica report on the project, the subway project would start in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan in the north, then traverse the high volume corridors of Metro Manila and end in Dasmariñas Cavite in the south. With its North-South alignment, the subway is seen to connect Region III (Central Luzon), the National Capital Region (Metro Manila) and Region IV-A (Calabarzon).

To date, railways in the Philippines are either installed at-grade along open areas or elevated along existing roads and waterways like the mass railway transits. But due to the rapid urbanization of Metro Manila, the metropolis is seen to have little leeway to expand the infrastructure system, re-

DOLE orders contractors, subcontractors with expired registration to stop ‘endo’ PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has directed contractors and subcontractors with expired registrations to cease and desist from engaging in their activities as stated in the Department Order (DO) No. 174, which took effect on Monday.

With this, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III ordered all regional directors to publish a list of contractors and subcontractors with expiring and expired registrations for the renewal of their certificates.

“Contractors and subcontractors with expired registrations are directed to cease and desist from engaging in their activities while those with expiring registration are directed to renew their certificate of registration at least 30 days before expiration,” he said in a statement.

Bello’s reminder is in connection with the provisions of the DO which bans labor-only contracting and other forms of unlawful contractual arrangements.

He noted that contractors and subcontractors in their respective regions are required to submit their application for renewal of certificate to be included in the Registry of Legitimate Contractors, Subcontractors and Service Providers.

Bello also assured that all pending application for renewal of certificates and pending labor standard cases, as well as the cancellation of registrations, will be resolved without delay and will be monitored by the labor compliance officers.

On the other hand, the DOLE said that contracts and agreements executed under D.O. No. 18-A, series of 2011, must not be impaired or diminished and should be consistent with the provisions of the Labor Code.

The rights, benefits, and obligations of parties to an existing Service Agreement or Employment Contract under the prior department order will be respected until its expiration.

He said that contractors and subcontractors registered under D.O. No. 18-A are also not required to file an application for renewal as it also governed by the applicable provisions of D.O. No. 174.

“We must ensure uniform implementation of the new department order for the compliance of all the contractors, subcontractors and service providers. Our inspection teams headed by Undersectary Maglunsod are also ready to assure their compliance with labor standards and existing labor laws,” Bello added.

The new department order, which took effect on Monday puts an end labor-only contracting and other forms of unlawful contractual arrangements among Filipino workers. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

sulting in overcrowding of streets, heavily congested roads and insufficient capacity of the transport system.

Jica seeks to introduce the subway system concept to the country, citing this as a system “now being widely used in other

countries with large metropolitan and highly populated areas where space for construction of the structure for a mass transport project is very limited and the remaining option is to go underground wherever feasible.” ■

Duterte: Cops... the police officers in November for killing Espinosa during a purported raid on his jail cell.

Nineteen members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Eastern Visayas, led by Supt. Marvin Marcos, have been detained and are awaiting trial. They claimed that Espinosa and another inmate were killed in a shootout during the raid.

But Mr. Duterte stressed that he could not abandon the law enforcers and would use his constitutional power to pardon them.

“Because they could have really followed my orders,” President Duterte said.

Should Marcos and his men be convicted, the President said he would take care of it.

“Tell the judge to wait a while.

Pardon. Give this to the judge,” he said he would tell them.

The President said he would even be willing to do more than just restore their full political and civil rights.

“And reinstated order with the promotion one rank higher,” he said, stressing that as long as the police force followed his order, he would also take care of them.

He has insisted that his order ❰❰ 1

to law enforcers was to arrest drug suspects, but to not hesitate to kill them if confronted with violent resistance.

On Friday, the President also questioned those who side with Espinosa, who had been detained for charges of possession of drugs and unlicensed firearms. His trial had yet to be concluded when he was killed.

“Why do you grieve for a son of a bitch? He destroyed half of the Visayas. How many crazy people are now left unattended, whose families have been destroyed?” Mr. Duterte said.

“When you destroy somebody there in the family, that family is eternally dysfunctional. When the father becomes crazy then you grieve for this idiot who was supposedly killed inside [his cell].

Shit,” he added.

Espinosa’s lawyer earlier said that the trial of Marcos and the other police officers might not be finished before Mr. Duterte’s term was over, dashing any hopes that they would be pardoned if found guilty.

But in a speech in Oriental Mindoro on Wednesday, Mr. Duterte said police officers could skip trial and go straight to pleading guilty, and he could pardon them. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

Senators frown... raided the jail to search the cells of Espinosa and another inmate, Raul Yap, for drugs and weapons.

They said Espinosa and Yap fired on them, forcing them to fire back, killing the two men.

The Senate also investigated the death of Espinosa and found that the mayor’s killing was “premeditated.”

The younger Espinosa testified at the Senate inquiry, affirming that the policemen were on his payroll. ❰❰ 3

Promise of protection

Mr. Duterte, however, said on Wednesday that he believed the policemen’s version of the story.

“Now they have been charged with murder, I will support them,” he said.

Mr. Duterte said he had instructed the police and the military to arrest drug suspects and shoot them if they resisted arrest and promised them that he would protect them if charges were brought against them.

“Any policeman or military man charged [with] killing those bastards, they will have my protection. You can charge them with anything,” he said.

properly carrying out such orders knowing that pardon awaits them,” she said.

Sen. Bam Aquino said he found dis-

turbing Mr. Duterte’s remarks, as these appeared to show there were people who were “above the law.”

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Aquino said Mr. Duterte should let the judicial process to proceed before promising pardons. ■

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Constitutional

“I will have an exhibition. You know what that would be, congressman? They go to court and I say no more trial. Plead guilty—guilty. Bring them to the judge, pardon, absolute,” he said.

He said the grant of presidential pardon was provided for in the Constitution.

The 1987 Constitution states: “Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.”

Wrong message

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the committee on public order and dangerous drugs that investigated Espinosa’s murder, said on Thursday that he disagreed with Mr. Duterte “announcing [ that he would pardon Marcos and his men] to all and sundry and prematurely at that, because it sends a very wrong message to law enforcement people.”

“That could give them the impression of a blanket authority to murder illegal drug suspects and, worse, from somebody who has actually the legal authority to grant [pardons],” Lacson said.

Sen. Grace Poe described as “unfortunate” Mr. Duterte’s persistent defense of the Leyte policemen, “as it counters all our efforts to strengthen our legal institutions to ensure that only the guilty are prosecuted and convicted after a judicial process.”

“It could send a wrong signal to law enforcers that while they may be enforcing legal orders from their superiors, they could altogether ignore the rule of law in

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Drug killings peril PH trade, says EU Europe expects PH to abide by its international commitments

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer, Inc. Correspondents Jane Moraleda Cheng Ilagan Katherine Padilla Deby Mangabat Phoebe Balubar Socorro Newland Bolet Arevalo Gerna Lane Sotana News Anchor Manny Noel Abuel 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

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Member

TRADE WITH Europe would be affected if the Philippines continued to ignore warnings on human rights violations, including its bloody war on illegal drugs that has led to thousands of deaths blamed on the police and vigilantes, the European Union’s envoy to Manila Franz Jessen has warned.

Jessen told a select group of reporters on Friday that Europe was not imposing United Nations conventions on the country, but was expecting it to abide by its international commitments.

“The Philippines has ratified and therefore ensured effective compliance with core UN international conventions including human rights and good governance,” Jessen said.

“So it’s not 27 conventions we are imposing on you. It’s 27 conventions that you already signed up for in the UN system. So it’s not us imposing anything. We are simply saying you did that (ratified UN conventions) and we think you did right and therefore we are very happy to work with GSP+ (Generalized Scheme of Preferences) in the Philippines,” he said.

Respect for international commitments remains a requirement in landing a free trade agreement with the European Union as well as continuing the EU’s GSP+. A European mission recently concluded an assessment and follow-up on the Philippines in January and February. A report is expected at the end of the year.

“We are monitoring the respect of these (UN) conventions by the Philippines and we will carefully consider what implications the findings might have for our trade engagement with the Filipinos,” he said.

Jessen’s statement came on the same day that President Duterte cursed the European Union as a “son of a whore” and “crazy” for believing claims made by rights groups that he had personally ordered the deaths of drug suspects.

He repeated his earlier claim that the European Union also suggested that he build a clinic that would dispense meth, heroin and cocaine.

“I said, ‘Come here and we’ll talk because I want to slap you,” Mr. Duterte said he told the European Union. His comments were made Friday at a Women’s Day gathering in Malacañang.

But Mr. Duterte again did not say when the European Union made the remark.

Jessen on Friday said he checked with EU member states represented in Manila and “nobody suggested anything like it was stated.”

“Whatever we do in this country is by

European Union’s envoy to Manila Franz Jessen.

DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TO THE PHILIPPINES

definition in accordance with domestic law,” he said, adding that it was “simply not correct” to say that a representative of an EUcountry would have made any suggestion that was against local laws.

He said presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella had clarified that Mr. Duterte was not addressing the entire European Union but was referring to one of its 28 member-states.

Jessen said the European Union was nevertheless committed to “engage constructively” with Manila across a range of areas, from the health sector and law enforcement to the peace process, environment, disaster risk reduction and development specifically in Mindanao.

GSP+ has resulted in the reduction of tariff on 6,200 Philippine products to zero and helped the Philippines corner 17.5 percent in exports to the European Union worth $900 million in January.

Of this total, $225 million were exported under the GSP+ program.

Top Philippine exports to the European Unionwere agricultural oil products, electrical equipment, processed meat and fish, optical products, and processed vegetables, fruits and nuts.

Other GSP+ beneficiaries include Pakistan, Bolivia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Cape Verde, Mongolia, Paraguay and Sri Lanka.

The European Union had previously stopped preferential treatment for Sri Lankan imports due its failure to address reported human rights violations there. It only qualified in 2015 when the country’s new government carried out major reforms for national reconciliation there.

Jessen said that all GSP+ beneficiary countries were working to promote 27 UN conventions and were making steady progress.

“We are not expecting miracles here.

We just expect a sort of steady progress over time that labor conditions will improve. That conditions for child labor

will improve. That human rights conditions will improve. It’s not a question of what happened today, what happened yesterday,” he said. “But is a question of the right direction in accordance with the international commitments made by these partnercountries,” Jessen said.

He said that the European Union has a “tradition of being very frank and open” in discussions. He said the bloc considers the Philippines one of its longest diplomatic partners the past 53 years.

Jessen pointed out that when the European External Action Service summoned the Philippine chargé d’affaires Alan Deniega to Brussels to explain Mr. Duterte’s earlier outbursts, it only wanted to stress that both should “treat each other with mutual respect that each side deserves.”

But Jessen assured that EU assistance would remain, including a grant of P17 billion for various projects. Negotiations for a free trade agreement between both sides have been going on since last year.

Sen. Leila de Lima, Mr. Duterte’s top critic that has been jailed on what she claims are trumped up charges of profiting from the drug trade, said the European Union was beyond being threatened and “know a case of political persecution when they see one.”

“They know the truth, Mr. President.

They don’t buy your lies about me. So do a silent majority of your people,” De Lima said from detention.

She was reacting to reports that EU parliamentarians issued a statement calling for her release.

But Jessen said the European Parliament does not represent the EU government.

“Human rights discussions with the Philippine government are largely done in private. We (EU) are the executive branch. We speak for the EU government. We don’t speak for politicians. We don’t speak for political groups. We do not speak in their behalf,” he said. ■

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Philippine News

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

9

Bishop warns authoritarianism

BY JULIE M. AURELIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

KIKO PANGILINAN / FACEBOOK

Don’t fight media, Kiko tells Digong Presidents come and go, but press is very much around, says opposition Sen. Pangilinan

BY JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE Philippine Daily Inquirer OPPOSITION SENATORS warned President Duterte on Friday against his stinging attacks against two of the Philippines’ largest media outfits, saying an unfettered press was necessary in a functioning democracy.

“Our individual freedoms and our democracy are better served by a free and critical press,” Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said, as he criticized Mr. Duterte’s outburst against the Philippine Daily Inquirer and TV network ABS-CBN. Pangilinan said Mr. Duterte might not be used to hard-hitting news and a critical press when he was the longtime mayor of Davao City prior to landing the country’s top job.

“It is part of our democracy for Presidents to be at the receiving end of a critical press,” he said.

“Many Presidents before have had their share of squaring off with the press. All these Presidents have since left Malacañang but the press is still very much around,” he added.

In an expletive-laden speech on Thursday, President Duterte, 72, accused the two media giants of being biased against him.

Mr. Duterte complained about a supposedly “slanted” report by the Inquirer about how his war on drugs seemingly targeted the poor.

He then lashed out at ABSCBN, which, like the Inquirer, earlier reported allegations made by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV during the campaign period about his undeclared bank account that supposedly contained P200 million.

But an official transcript of Mr. Duterte’s speech in Bukidnon last week quoted him as saying that the poor were mostly the ones getting killed.

He said: “They’re all poor because it’s the poor who are ignorant and so they are the ones who will get hit.”

Sen. Leila de Lima, in a dispatch from detention inside Camp Crame, warned that the President’s “unabashed contempt to media and other critics is intensifying and his resort to toxic or vitriol language is at a seeming apex.”

She agreed with the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s editorial which said that Mr. Duterte had lost the argument.

the polls despite legislative efforts to stop it.

In its resolution number 10177, the poll body detailed A CATHOLIC bishop who was the schedule of activities, such a member of the 1986 Constias the designated election and tutional Commission cautioned campaign periods and the filing the public on Thursday against of candidacy papers. “gripping authoritarianism” unThe resolution was dated der the Duterte administration.

March 28 and signed by ComeNovaliches bishop emeritus lec chairperson Andres BautisTeodoro Bacani warned against ta and all six poll commissionPresident Duterte’s intention ers. to postpone the barangay elecIf Barbers is successful in his tions anew, and appoint instead law to stop the polls, it would of electing officials. be the second time that baran“We are begay elections are coming an aucancelled. Presithoritarian govdent Duterte ernment. Slowly, signed a law last that is gripping In the end, the president will turn out year deferring authoritarianto be a dictator. the 2016 baranism,” Bacani said gay and Sangguin an interview niang Kabataan over Church-run elections to this Radio Veritas.

“It cannot be done through year.

He was reacting to moves appointment, it’s not provided The body set for Oct. 23 this to postpone the 2017 baran- for in the law. That is elementa- year the schedule for the barangay elections anew and allow ry democracy. In the barangay, gay and Sangguniang Kabataan Duterte to appoint officials of this is where we first choose our elections. It said the election his own choosing in the coun- leaders,” he said. period begins a month earlier, try’s 42,095 barangays. Mr. “This is why the law man- during which several acts are Duterte has said majority of dates that people will choose, prohibited, including carrying barangay leaders elected were and not the President,” he said. of firearms. involved in illegal drugs.

The official campaign period Surigao del Norte Rep. Rob- Poll body prepares will be from Oct. 13 to 21. All ert Ace Barbers earlier this The Commission on Elec- the candidates have until Nov. week filed House bill 5359, tions has issued its calendar of 22 to submit their Statements seeking to defer the said polls activities for the electoral ex- of Contributions and Expendito May 2020. ercise, releasing guidelines for tures. ■

Fix own backyard, first

“Why blame the media when there is much of Duterte’s behavior and that of his circle of sycophants that warrants ❱❱ PAGE 10 Don’t fight

www.canadianinquirer.net

Bacani warned that the situation may soon lead to a fullblown dictatorship, especially with the President’s popularity.

“You will notice the people slowly being pushed towards authoritarianism, and the people will just agree. In the end, the president will turn out to be a dictator,” he said.

Bacani also objected to the plan to simply appoint barangay officials instead of electing them, as this will go against the basics of “elementary democracy.”

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Philippine News

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Don’t fight... scrutiny and even censure?”

De Lima pointed out.

“Go fix first yourself and your own backyard, Mr. President, before picking a fight with everybody else,” she said.

Mr. Duterte called the owners of the Inquirer and ABSCBN “fools” and threatened to curse them and use the stateowned TV network to ridicule them “to get even.”

“There are press (people) who are sons of bitches and who know nothing but lies,” he said in a speech at the oathtaking of government officials at Manila’s Presidential palace.

“Inquirer, you’ve never been fair. I know that it’s supposed to be antagonistic but fair? You’re rude,” President Duterte said. “ABS-CBN is also rude, really rude.” ❰❰ 9

Berserk strongman

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Friday attempted to explain Mr. Duterte’s rant, saying Mr. Duterte was not generally complaining of the press’ adversarial role but the two agencies’ unfair reports.

“However, it is unfortunate that these two media outfits tend to project the President as a caricature of a berserk strongman over a failed state,” Abella said in a statement.

The President objects to his war on drugs being framed as a war against the poor, he stressed.

“It seems to imply that he is actually focusing on a particular class which is hardly the point. But the way that particular media framed it insinuates a particular bias which leans toward malice,” Abella said.

Objectivity and fairness

“The President’s statement is a call for media to be more fair and unbiased; after all, nations succeed when all sectors maintain objectivity and fairness as they collaborate in nation-building,” he said.

He said the President was not about to file formal complaints about the negative reports.

“There are more serious matters to be taken on,” Abella said.

Accusations of illness

In his tirade on Thursday, Mr. Duterte also protested what he said were the media’s speculations that he was sick.

He later mentioned his use of an oxygen converter because of his Buerger’s disease, a condition where blood vessels constrict due to the accumulation of nicotine.

His use of the machine was made known when Malacañang and his sonin-law released pictures of him being greeted by his grandchildren in his Davao City bedroom on his birthday.

The machine could be seen beside his bed in the pictures. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippine News

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

11

Tough guy image melts as Digong remembers mom

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer DESPITE A tough guy image, President Duterte continues to have a soft spot for the one woman he has the highest respect for—his late mother, Soledad Roa. Mr. Duterte took the chance to pay tribute to Soledad, a leading opposition figure during the Marcos dictatorship, at a speech before women supporters in Malacañang.

“My sorrow really is that I hope she had seen me become president,” Mr. Duterte said at the Digong’s Day for Women affair in Malacañang.

But the President, who often shares stories of his past as a troublesome student who took seven years to finish high school, joked that his mother would have been incredulous at the turn of events.

“But of course, I know she would not have believed it. I myself wouldn’t have believed I’d win,” he said.

Benefit of the doubt

He said women who have troublesome children like him should give their kids the benefit of the doubt. “They might become president,” he added.

He recalled how Soledad supported him and his siblings after being widowed.

According to Mr. Duterte, Soledad had a nervous breakdown after the death of husband Vicente. It was a time when Mr. Duterte and his siblings were still in school. The family, he said, got mired in debt after the loss of his father.

When Soledad recovered from the illness, she had to look for money to send her children to school. Mr. Duterte recalled offering to stop his law studies in San Beda and transfer to Davao, but Soledad told him to stay put.

His mother’s inheritance from her parents was used up, but he and his siblings finished school and he became a lawyer.

“That’s why I went home,” said Mr. Duterte. “I never practiced here in Manila. I said I would just help out in our manggahan (mango grove) because I pitied my mother,” he said.

Corporal punishment

While extolling his mother, he also recalled the physical punishment he received from Soledad.

“When my mother gets angry, she would hit me with whatever she could grab,” said the President.

“She was a bit of a child abuser. If that happened now, she would have faced cases,” he said with a smile, eliciting laughter from his audience.

He also recalled being made

Duterte said he would often come to the defense of women being abused by their husbands.

The President had been denounced for statements and actions degrading to women, among them joking about how he should have been first in line to rape an Australian hostage.

He had also once catcalled a reporter during a press conference.

Expletives

ALBERT ALCAIN / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

to kneel in front of the altar with his arms spread like those of Jesus’ in the crucifix.

But throughout all those, Mr. Duterte said Soledad’s support for him never wavered.

“I am not trying to marginalize my father but I’ve always been close to my mother because she was the only one who stood by me,” he said.

When he dies, he said, he would like his cremated remains to be placed beside the urn that holds his mother’s ashes.

During his speech, Mr. Duterte also defended himself

from criticism that he was a “chauvinist pig.”

“I just like to joke around,” he said.

“I am not really a bad boy, do not believe that. You know me, when was I ever disrespectful to women?” he later added.

He said he could not in conscience be abusive to women because he has daughters who might be subjected to the same kind of abuses.

He jokes around with female aides, he said. He slaps them playfully and jokingly called one nurse ugly.

As mayor of Davao, Mr.

Mr. Duterte also continued to receive flak for his frequent use of expletives, which spared no one.

On Friday, the President showed no sign of changing this, recalling an advice given him by Sen. Panfilo Lacson who said his birthday wish for Mr. Duterte was for the President to be statesmanlike.

Mr. Duterte said he tried and even bought a book on how to be a statesman. But he said he simply could not see himself being prim and proper.

“Statesman, statesman,” Mr. Duterte said. “It’s Lacson I see, not me. You just become the next president,” he said, addressing himself to Lacson.

“I would not become a statesman. Frankly, I’ve never graduated to being really a president,” he said.

He said his character remains to be that of a mayor— crass and uncouth. ■

MMDA ordered to craft measures to ease traffic

BY AEROL JOHN B. PATENA Philippines News Agency MANILA — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is set to implement various measures that would address the traffic congestion

in Metro Manila.

MMDA General Manager Thomas Orbos, in an interview with reporters Tuesday, said that President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the agency during Monday’s Cabinet meeting to craft proposals that would further improve the traffic condition across the metropolis.

Orbos said the agency would start its clearing operations of illegal obstructions along the Roxas Boulevard to reduce the vehicular congestion in the area after the Holy Week break.

The MMDA is eyeing to file administrative charges against barangay officials that will be

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negligent in clearing roads of illegally parked vehicles.

It is also considering allowing delivery trucks to traverse major roads to further strengthen the night time economy.

Furthermore, the MMDA will also create a technical working group that will craft guidelines

to implement flexible working schedule for government employees.

Orbos emphasized that the President wants to ensure ease in travel for Metro Manila residents as they conduct their everyday activities through the implementation of these measures. ■

12

Philippine News

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

‘Defeatist stance’ on China assailed

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer MAGDALO REP. Gary Alejano enumerated a slew of President Duterte’s pronouncements showing his “defeatist stance” toward China’s activities in the West Philippine Sea and on Benham Rise when he filed supplementary charges to his impeachment complaint against the President. Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo called the complaint nonsense. Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano on Thursday filed supplementary charges to his impeachment complaint against President Duterte, accusing him of taking a “defeatist stance” by doing nothing to challenge China’s activities on Benham Rise and in the West Philippine Sea. In a 12-page affidavit, the opposition congressman said Mr. Duterte had made a slew of remarks that proved he had no intention to protect Philippine sovereignty and had alienated key allies like the United States through “rants and unstoppable outbursts.”

Alejano alleged that Mr. Duterte betrayed the public trust and violated the 1987 Constitution by refusing to challenge China’s incursions into Philippine territory, including Benham Rise, an underwater landmass off the eastern coast of Luzon that the United Nations declared in 2012 part of the Philippines’ continental shelf.

Impeachable offenses

The former Marine captain accused Mr. Duterte of “inaction” and dereliction of his duty to assert the country’s sovereign and maritime rights and territorial claims to Panatag Shoal and islands in the West Philippine Sea—waters within the Philippines’ 370-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

in the South China Sea—and Benham Rise.

The complaint adds to a laundry list of what Alejano says are impeachable offenses that amount to high crimes, abuse of power and betrayal of public trust.

Alejano submitted the initial complaint twoweeks ago, just as Congress went into recess, a move aimed at keeping it in the public spotlight and preventing Mr. Duterte’s allies in the House from dismissing it right away.

Congress resumes sessions on May 2.

Mr. Duterte is frequently accused of abuse of power, though none of the allegations has so far stuck.

The populist former mayor of Davao City commands a legislative majority and enjoys huge public support.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said on Thursday that Alejano’s additional complaint was “nonsense” and only intended to generate propaganda and publicity for Alejano.

Alejano said Mr. Duterte had failed to act on a ruling by the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague last year that invalidated China’s claim to almost all of the South China Sea, its justification for bulding artificial islands on reefs within the Philippines’ EEZ. “President Duterte, through his actions and pronouncements, has continued to ignore our national interest and has refused to act on urgent security matters brought by the alarming activities of China in the West Philippine Sea and [on] Benham Rise, apparently, because he is afraid to offend his Chinese friends,” Alejano said.

China buildup

Alejano cited the “disturbing” news that China was preparing to build environmental monitoring stations or radar

stations on six disputed islands, including Panatag Shoal.

He said Mr. Duterte’s pronouncement that he could not and would not stop China from building on Panatag Shoal because China was too powerful indicated his unwillingness to defend the country’s rights.

Alejano also cited Mr. Duterte’s giving China permission to send survey ships to Benham Rise without the knowledge of the Department of National Defense and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has said that Chinese survey vessels were spotted crisscrossing the Benham Rise area from July to December last year.

It was not clear what the ships were doing in the area.

Diplomatic inquiry

Acting Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told a television interview on Thursday that the DFA, after the presence of Chinese ships on Benham Rise was reported, sent a diplomatic note to China to inquire what they were doing there.

“China replied that number one, they fully respect and recognize sovereign rights of the Philippines on Benham Rise and, [number two], it is not an area under dispute,” Manalo said, adding that the DFA was satisfied with China’s explanation.

He said China wanted to survey Benham Rise for resources but did not want to involve Filipino scientists as observers.

For that reason, the DFA rejected China’s requests for survey permits, he said.

Some requests from China are still pending, Manalo said.

He also said the Philippines would ask China to clarify its intentions in building structures on Kagitingan, Zamora and Panganiban reefs in the Spratly archipelago during bilateral talks in May.

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PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

‘What do you want us to do?’

The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, part of the US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, released a report earlier this week saying China had nearly completed construction work on runways, aircraft hangars, radar sites and hardened surfaceto-air missile shelters on the three Philippine-claimed reefs.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon told reporters on Wednesday that the government was aware of China’s buildup but could not do anything about it.

“What do you want us to do, attack the facility?” Esperon told reporters after attending a Senate hearing on a proposed development authority for Benham Rise.

Problematic

Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas sees Alejano’s supplemental complaint as problematic.

Sought for comment on Thursday, he questioned whether the House of Representatives should accept it at all.

“I seriously doubt that a supplemental complaint is allowed in impeachment cases. The Rules of Court allow an amended or supplemental complaint before the other party answers,” Fariñas said.

“But under our rules on impeachment, the other party may not be required to answer at all since the justice committee has the power to dismiss the

complaint due to insufficiency of form or substance, subject to the approval of the plenary body,” he said.

“Only when these two requirements are met that the official sought to be impeached [will] be required to submit a verified answer. Thus, it would be unfair to allow a supplemental or amended complaint to add another cause of action to the original complaint or make [it] sufficient in form or substance,” he added.

Panelo said Alejano’s supplemental complaint could even be dismissed on a technicality, because under the Constitution, only one impeachment complaint could be brought against the same official in one year.

In his initial complaint, Alejano accused Mr. Duterte of mass murder for the deaths of more 8,000 drug suspects in his brutal war on drugs, and of amassing P2.2 billion in unexplained wealth, among other high crimes.

Scandal to help complaint

Alejano, in a press briefing after filing his supplemental affidavit, said he believed the impeachment of Mr. Duterte could gain traction in the House with the very public spat between Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

13

Forgive Du30’s sexist quips, women urged

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer A MALACAÑANG official called on women on Friday to be more forgiving about President Duterte’s catcalling and sexist remarks about women, saying the country’s Chief Executive was no priest or saint.

At the “Digong’s Day for Women” event in Malacañang, Assistant Communications Secretary Marie Banaag was asked whether the President’s remarks about women, including jokes about extramarital affairs, have been good for their empowerment.

“I don’t want to be defensive about all these, but for women’s month, if we can have a forgiving heart. We voted for a President, we did not vote for a priest, we did not vote for a saint,” Banaag said.

Taking issue with catcalling was “relative,” she said.

“It depends on the person who will be hurt,” she said.

“Of course, we are not saying that everything a person says is perfect or

right,” Banaag added.

Interior Undersecretary Emily Padilla said Mr. Duterte can joke about extramarital affairs because he’s not married.

Mr. Duterte’s marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman, with whom he has three children, has been annulled. The President has a new partner with whom he has one child.

Justice Assistant Secretary Aimee Neri, who worked with Mr. Duterte when he was Davao City mayor, said that beyond the President’s utterances and possibly “misinterpreted words” was a “helping hand” and a “heart that cares.”

Neri said it was only in Davao City where there was a special council to handle matters of violence against women and children.

“He does not tolerate any forms of abuses,” she said.

The event in Malacañang was intended to honor women. The guests were offered medical and dental referral cards, legal consultation, Tesda scholarships, and spa and wellness services. A tour of Malacañang Museum was also offered. ■

Despite tirades, EU urges PH to implement RH Bill

BY PHOEBE BALUBAR Philippine Canadian Inquirer PRESIDENT DUTERTE had once again called out the European Union, saying that the region should not impose its western standards in the Philippines.

The region had been vocal about their opposition, and criticism of Duterte’s violent anti-drug campaign led to the vote in favor of Senator Leila De Lima’s release.

The President criticized the EU for portraying him as a tyrant and the main perpetrator of extrajudicial killings in relation to his anti-drug campaign. On the other hand, De Lima was illustrated as a martyr and a hero.

Despite the bitter ground between the Philippines and the EU, the latter had championed in the campaign for gender equality and gender empowerment programs, also called for the full implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RH) Act of 2012. As of the moment, the Supreme Court had issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the bill, leaving the government’s campaign on family planning and population unresolved.

EU Ambassador Franz Jessen had welcomed Duterte’s commitment to fully implement the law. He also pointed out that the TRO is what is keeping the government from procuring and distributing 70 percent of modern contraceptives by 2019. This would then result to major stock-outs of contraceptives in most government and rural health clinics.

Because of this, the Philippines had failed to meet its RH-related Millennium Development Goal and its Philippine Development Plan targets for the period of 2011-2016. The Philippines also ranks as one of the countries in the Southeast Asian Region with the highest teenage pregnancy rates.

The rates of teenage pregnancies rose from 6.3 percent in 2002 to 13.6 percent in 2013 which the EU cited as a worrisome case in the region.

In his message for the “Annual Dialogue on Sexual and Reproductive Health” in Quezon City, Jessen said that the EU remains fully committed in supporting the Philippine government and other social organizations in the campaign to promote reproductive health and champion in gender equality and women’s rights. ■

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Opinion

14

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

MIAA chief to airport Government to send passengers: Come much earlier 5,000 illegal workers in Saudi back home

BY MA. CRISTINA C. ARAYATA Philippines News Agency

MANILA — As passengers start to flock at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) days before the Holy Week, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal’s advice is for them to arrive there at a much earlier time.

This is for them to have time to deal with the traffic, which is also starting to slow down in the airport’s vicinity, and so that they can have time to go through security measures.

MIAA expects heavy volume of passengers for the Holy Week, and also cited that most of the international flights are already fully booked.

In NAIA Terminal 2 alone, there is already a long queue of passengers Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, international passengers may still face the long lines at the Bureau of Immigration counters, since many

BY PHOEBE BALUBAR Philippine Canadian Inquirer THE KINGDOM of Saudi Arabia is set to implement its 90day amnesty towards illegal immigrants this week. There are around 5,000 undocumented overseas FIlipino workers (OFWs) that are expected to be repatriated.

Officials from the Department of Labor and Employment had been sent to facilitate and make the arrangements in order for the OFWs to avail themselves of the three-month amnesty program.

The team is led by Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say with the participation of Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) Hans Cacdac, OWWA Deputy Administrator Brigido Dulay, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Mary Sol dela Cruz, OWWA representative Cesar Chavez Jr. and POEA

representative Patricia Jacobo.

Processing centers will be set up in Riyadh, Al Khobar and Jeddah.

The team will also address other problems being encountered by Filipino workers in the area, particularly the money claims that were filed by OFWs who were laid off from companies such as the Saudi Oger Ltd., Saudi Bin Laden Group, MMG and other cases in the same fashion in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia in April to discuss bilateral agreements and terms with the King, and other concerns possibly in relation to overseas Filipino workers deployed in the area.

Saudi Arabia remains the top OFW destination in the world with a wide range of demands of various services such as household, medicine, engineering and construction. ■

Bangsamoro led by the Office of the show that children living in frag- parable to least developed counPresidential Adviser on the Peace ile or conflict-affected countries tries such as Sierra Leone and the Process.” are more than twice as likely to be Central African Republic.” One Unicef Philippines representa- malnourished, three times as likely example: only one of every 10 stutive Lotta Sylwander attested to to miss primary school, and almost dents in ARMM who begin elementhe value of the partnership be- twice as likely to die before age tary education will graduate from tween her organization and the five compared to children living high school.

Japanese government. “We are in more peaceful, stable environTo address this appalling situavery happy to begin a close part- ments. tion, the nership with the government of *** program aims to “deliver qualJapan,” said Sylwander. Japan, she The situation also has broader ity enhancement and expansion of added, has been a staunch sup- implications. Social and economic basic social services through basic porter of the peace process and the indicators in conflict-affected education, early learning and soeconomic and social re-integration cial development of conflict-affectThe peace process in Mindanao seems to be stuck in limbo, of Mindanao, and ed children and even as poverty and ignorance condemn another generation they both believe youth.” Unicef says of children living under the shadow of conflict to a dark future. that “children can the program will only grow and dealso support chilvelop to their full potential if they Mindanao, especially in the Au- dren who have left the armed forclive in a peaceful society without tonomous Region in Muslim Min- es of the MILF through measures armed conflict.” danao, continue to be significantly like social protection, psychosocial Targeted interventions in behalf lower than for the rest of the coun- support, life skills training and othof children in Mindanao are partic- try. Says Unicef: “While the Phil- er learning opportunities. ularly important. After all, conflict ippines has been enjoying several *** affects many aspects of children’s years of rapid economic growth, The project, said Japanese Amdevelopment, including survival, the situation of children in Mind- bassador Kazuhide Ishikawa, gender equity, poverty reduction anao remains alarming, with some “marks another milestone in and access to education. Studies of the indicators at the level com- strengthening the friendship be-

tween the peoples of Japan and the Philippines as well as the strategic partnership between our two countries.”

Of late, the peace process between the government and different groups of Moro rebels, foremost of which is the MILF, seems to have taken a back seat to the negotiations with the communist rebels. The peace process in Mindanao seems to be stuck in limbo, even as poverty and ignorance condemn another generation of children living under the shadow of conflict to a dark future. The Unicef project, with valuable support from the Japanese government, is aimed at addressing the fundamental injustice that afflict children in conflictaffected areas and which could lead to a fresh and deadlier armed campaign. This is centered mainly on education, which, according to Ambassador Ishikada, is “surely the key for peace and development in the long run… the foundation for their future through utilizing the expertise of Unicef.” ■

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

of the Immigration officers were reportedly on leave.

Apparently, these officers filed a leave of absence to protest the removal of their overtime pay and allowance.

While authorities concerned

are trying to address the issue, they expect that the remaining Immigration officers may not be enough workforce to serve the heavy volume of passengers, especially for the Holy Week. ■

AT LARGE

Help from friends

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer EVEN as prominent officials and much of the public are obsessing over weighty matters like a spat between two mistresses that led to a power (and money) struggle between prominent congressmen (one of them the Speaker, no less), our friends abroad are choosing to look the other way and chipping in with their own contributions to help in the country’s development.

Most recently, the government of Japan donated $6.2 million to Unicef, the UN children’s agency, to support peacebuilding and education efforts for children in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.

Among these children, we are told, are children “disengaged” from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s armed forces, otherwise known as child soldiers.

The program, Unicef says, is “broadly aligned with the country’s peace process under the Comprehensive Agreement on the

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Opinion

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

15

PUBLIC LIVES

The price of national independence

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer ON APRIL 8 and 9, Manila will be the venue for an international conference aimed at expressing solidarity with the Cuban people in their bid to end more than half a century of American sanctions against their country. I understand that President Duterte, a self-described socialist, has been invited to speak at this conference, which is being organized by two local Filipino-Cuban friendship associations.

I sincerely hope he accepts the invitation. It will be a great opportunity for him to meet the Cuban delegation, and also to learn more about Cuba, whose colonial history and emancipatory aspirations closely parallel ours. The Cuban national hero Jose Marti is to Cuba as Jose Rizal is to our country. They were both writers and nationalist intellectuals who personified their respective peoples’ quest for independence. They died within a year of one another, both in the prime of their youth.

Following the successful wars of independence against Spain, Cuba and the Philippines were ceded to the United States by virtue of the same 1898 Treaty of Paris, the settlement that followed the end of the Spanish-American War. Cuba

secured its nominal independence between the two countries, but less Fidel didn’t stop writing and as a republic in 1902, while we got quickly calcified into a compre- making speeches either, tirelessly ours only in 1946, after almost 50 hensive blockade that discouraged egging his compatriots to stay the years of US colonial rule. In any every country that wished to freely course. event, the two countries effectively trade with America from having But it wasn’t just socialist rhetobecame American neo-colonies anything to do with Cuba. This ric that kept the majority of Cuafter the grant of independence. policy of isolation forced Cuba to bans faithful to the socialist vision.

That is probably where the similar- be dependent on the Soviet Union Despite the chronic scarcity of ity ends. for almost its major imports, espe- resources, Cuba managed to feed, In 1959, a revolution led by Fidel cially oil. clothe, educate, and house its poor.

Castro overthrew the dictatorship When the Soviet Union disinte- Cuba’s universal healthcare sysof Fulgencio Batista. America ini- grated in 1991, Cuba found itself tem, which focuses on the preventially welcomed the fall from power alone, forced to make socialism tion of illness, is one of the best in of a corrupt and detested regime, work under conditions that were the world. Illiteracy has been comand praised Fidel pletely wiped out.

Castro’s leadership Cuba is one of the in the hope of confew places in the In the wake of the socialist collapse in Eastern Europe, the trolling the politiworld where peoworld waited for the Cuban socialist experiment to fall next. It cal transition. But ple actually read didn’t.

Cuba’s new leaders books. had had enough of There are no neocolonial servility, and sought to the exact opposite of what Marx’s shopping malls, fast food restaubuild a truly sovereign nation, free writings had anticipated. Progres- rants, or air-conditioned cinema to decide its own path to develop- sive socialism was supposed to be theaters in Havana, Cuba’s largest ment and free to determine its built on the technological gains of city—in short, none of the emblems foreign relations. America showed capitalism; it was meant to democ- of a consumer society. But there them that this was not possible— ratize wealth, not poverty. are plenty of parks, libraries, and certainly not at the backdoor of the Only the charisma, vision and museums. And live music is everyworld’s most powerful country. determination of Fidel Castro kept where. There is something to be The outcome for Cuba was ex- Cuba together during that arduous said for a culture that is forced to tremely costly. Unable to convert and demoralizing “tiempo espe- rely on its own gifts and meager reFidel Castro into its puppet, Amer- cial.” Hunger and endless queues sources. Evolving in isolation from ica instigated a fierce policy aimed for basic provisions became the the flattened world of consumerat isolating and punishing Cuba, daily reality of ordinary Cubans. In ism, it has a charm that is uniquely with the view to ultimately trigger- the wake of the socialist collapse in its own. ing a regime change.

Eastern Europe, the world waited Cubans know they have had to It started as a commercial em- for the Cuban socialist experi- pay a very high price for their indebargo seeking to stop all trade ment to fall next. It didn’t. The age- pendence, and for displeasing the

great power next door. Yet, even after Fidel Castro’s recent death, they also believe there is no reason for them to reverse gears just to be in the good graces of America.

Even as their powerful neighbor has largely ignored them, they have been resolute in reaching out to the rest of the world for understanding and solidarity.

Before bowing out of the US presidency, Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba, capping this with an official visit last year. He made it possible for many ordinary American tourists to visit Cuba, and allowed the use of the US dollar as currency for Cuba’s international transactions.

But the rest of the institutional system behind the embargo continues to operate, as though it had taken a life of its own.

It requires a willful and unequivocal act of the US Congress to end this heartless punitive measure against an unbowed people. For that to happen, sympathy must supplant antagonism in the hearts of America’s political leaders. In view of this, I hope that, if he agrees to speak at this conference, President Duterte expresses his solidarity with the Cuban people by tracing the common path that our two nations shared across history, rather than by seeking common cause to further attack America. ■

LOOKING BACK

History, cherry blossoms, and the Kudan

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer DURING the cherry blossom season in Tokyo, tourists and locals alike visit a part of the Imperial Palace complex that has Instagramworthy views of the blooms on the moat. Quite close to this important sakura viewing spot is the residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan, the main gate and sprawling garden of which have blooming cherry trees. Since the mansion— nicknamed “Kudan”—remains among a handful of original prewar structures in an area teeming with modern multistory structures, it should be preserved, if not under Japanese heritage rules, then by Philippine heritage rules.

In March 2014 a bronze plaque was unveiled at the entrance of the mansion by then Ambassador Manuel M. Lopez and then National Historical Commission of the

Philippines (NHCP) Chair Maria Serena Diokno formalizing its declaration as a National Historical Landmark. It is the first and only such declared landmark outside the Philippines today. By virtue of its being listed as a National Historical Landmark in the registry of Philippine historic structures, no renovation or alteration can be implemented on the Kudan without consultation and the written consent of the NHCP chair in Manila.

By this it is understood that the property cannot be sold or redeveloped without the NHCP’s approval.

While the Kudan survived the fire bombing of Tokyo in 1945 as well as the postwar urban redevelopment of Japan, it was almost sold in 2010 and marked for the wrecking ball to give way to a high-rise apartment building. Fortunately, by bringing the matter to the public and through successful lobbying, the Philippine Ambassadors Foundation secured

its status as national patrimony, thereby ensuring its present and future existence and conservation. We hope the incoming ambassador, Jose Laurel, will oppose any new moves to sell or redevelop what is historically the first Philippine embassy ever established by our Foreign Office.

The present building was completed in 1935, on a site whose previous owners can be traced on maps all the way back to the 17th century.

Future research will ascertain the name and nationality of the architect of the Yasuda mansion. At present there are three versions: 1) Yoko Ono remembered that the architect was a Frenchman; 2) Leon Ma. Guerrero, who worked in the mansion when it was the Philippine embassy in 19441945, said the architect was German; and 3) architecture historian and professor Uchida, after undertaking recent research, named the architect as Tokisuke Yokokawa of the Yoko-

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kawa Construction Co. Before it became the residence of the Philippine ambassador to Japan, the Kudan served as both chancery and residence at the close of World War II. It is historically significant that the Kudan was the first Philippine embassy and residence established outside the Philippines. Jorge B. Vargas was the first Philippine ambassador to Japan who carried Diplomatic Passport No. 1, the first ever issued in Filipino instead of English.

Telegrams were sent to the foreign ministers of 24 countries informing them of the proclamation of Philippine Independence and the inauguration of the second Philippine republic. Only nine countries replied to recognize the Republic of the Philippines: Japan, Manchukuo, China, Croatia, Burma, Thailand, Italy, Germany and Slovakia. Three countries—Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain—sent messages of congratulations but were

silent on recognition. The Vatican was the most diplomatic of all: Its telegram simply noted the contents of the message fromManila.

During the war the Philippines maintained only one embassy in Tokyo, and the entire foreign service was composed of six persons: Ambassador Vargas and a handful of staff members, namely: Francisco Lavides, counselor; Faustino Sy-changco and Leon Ma. Guerrero, both carrying the rank of second secretary; Jose Carmona, third secretary and finance officer; and last but not least, Kazuma Nakayama, interpreter.

In another significant corner on the mansion grounds are cherry trees that were planted after the war to commemorate Elpidio Quirino’s pardon of Japanese prisoners of war, who were released from the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa and repatriated. It would be a pity if the Kudan and all its history cannot be maintained. ■

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APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Canada News Canadian man loses family members to conflict in Libya, says Ottawa could have done more

BY MICHELLE MCQUIGGE The Canadian Press

PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA WEBSITE

PM sticks to his guns amid fresh calls from U.S. for NATO allies to spend more

BY LEE BERTHIAUME The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doubled down Friday in his defence of Canadian military spending levels, as the U.S. brought fresh pressure to bear on NATO allies to pony up.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used his first NATO summit in Brussels to demand that all allies come up with a plan to increase the amount they spend on defence to two per cent of GDP. “Our goal should be to agree at the May leaders’ meeting that, by the end of the year, all allies will have either met the pledge guidelines or will have

developed plans that clearly articulate how, with annual milestone progress commitments, the pledge will be fulfilled,” Tillerson told his counterparts.

Canada currently spends about one per cent of GDP on defence, which would mean having to double its $19-billion military budget.

But Trudeau sidestepped a question over whether Canada will draft such a plan and instead stuck with his message when asked about the U.S. demand during a Toronto news conference.

“Canada has always been one of the handful of countries that has always been ready and capable of stepping up on im❱❱ PAGE 23 PM sticks

TORONTO — A Canadian man who tried to organize an aid shipment to relatives stranded in a conflict-ridden area of Libya says he recently found out most of his family members had died during his fruitless efforts to send them food and water.

Ali Hamza of Mississauga, Ont., had flown to Turkey with his wife and children last month in a bid to mobilize relief efforts for the residents of Ganfouda, a militant-controlled neighbourhood in the city of Benghazi that has been besieged by Libyan army troops that answer to a powerful commander.

Amnesty International has raised the alarm over the situation in Ganfouda, saying residents had been trapped there for months with dwindling food and fuel supplies.

Hamza spent nearly a month in Turkey attempting to partner with an NGO to send in a delivery of food and water, but the precarious security situation kept the aid shipment on the ground.

Two weeks ago, Hamza says he got the devastating news that five of the six family members he was trying to help had died.

He says one brother and one sister died on Feb. 25 during a bombing attack in Ganfouda that he learned of later, adding they had been living on

tree bark and rain water in the weeks before their deaths.

On Mar. 18, Hamza says his elderly mother and three remaining siblings boarded a bus in a bid to flee to a safer part of Benghazi, only to be ambushed on their way out. His mother, a brother and a sister all died, he said, adding only one sister survived and is being detained.

Hamza said the news came as a crushing end to an already upsetting trip.

“In the plane, maybe three times I cried very loud,” he said of the return journey from Turkey. “We lost family. We lost the grandmother of our children, we lost uncles and aunts.”

Hamza had called on the Canadian government to take a more active role in providing aid and support to Ganfouda and expressed disappointment at the lack of strong public statements from Ottawa on the plight of those stranded in the area.

Libya has been beset by violence and chaos since the ouster and death of longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi in a 2011 civil war.

Despite a UN-brokered peace deal reached a year ago, Libya remains divided between east and west, with no effective government and rival factions and militias — each side with backing from different foreign countries.

Last month, Hamza borrowed money and put the family SUV up for sale in order to finance an aid shipment to 30 families. By working in part-

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nership with the Turkish NGO known as the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, he hoped to provide them with food, water and basic medication for at least 10 days.

But Hamza said the NGO never received clearance to deliver the shipment due to ongoing security risks on the ground in Benghazi.

He said he was unaware that his family members were dying during the wait until receiving word through other aid groups on March 19, the day after the bus carrying most of his surviving relatives was ambushed by forces Hamza alleged answered to a military commander.

In the aftermath of the losses, Hamza said he still feels intense disappointment in the federal government as he feels it reneged on its international obligations to provide aid and comfort to those in need.

“They never considered us or those who are there as worthy of defending and standing with.

So condolences from them ... are rejected.”

The federal government said in an email Friday that Omar Alghabra, a Parliamentary Secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, has been in touch with Hamza to offer condolences and express Canada’s deep concern with the ongoing conflict in Libya and how it has affected civilians. ■ with files from the Associated Press

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17

Toronto doctors identify new disease in children caused by defective gene

BY SHERYL UBELACKER The Canadian Press TORONTO — Daniel NevinsSelvadurai’s case had doctors at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children baffled. At age three, he had developed blood in his stool, a sign of possible hereditary inflammatory bowel disease. But testing for all the genetic mutations known to cause the condition came back negative.

As he grew older, Daniel’s symptoms became more diverse. He developed unusual rashes and painful lumps in his legs, as well as having an abnormally high white cell count and low platelets in his blood, pointing to an unidentified problem with his immune system.

A host of doctors at the hospital — among them specialists in blood disorders, cancer, rheumatology, immunology and gastroenterology — couldn’t pin down

the cause of the child’s illness.

“Nobody could give us a diagnosis, so he was passed from one specialist to another over the years and various people did various tests,” said his mother, Christina Arulrajah.

“He showed signs of so many different diseases.”

Still, Dr. Aleixo Muise, a gastroenterologist who had been seeing Daniel for his inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, said that because of the boy’s wideranging symptoms “all the doctors thought that he must have a genetic cause to his disease.”

Then in 2014, a team led by Muise launched a project to explore the genetic basis of IBD, using an advanced technology for studying patients’ DNA. Daniel’s genome was among those investigated using a technique called whole-exome sequencing.

It was then that they had their eureka moment.

Testing of Daniel’s genome

turned up a mutation never before seen. The defect was in a gene known as ARPC1B, which produces a protein the body’s cells need to change shape, move, divide and perform other vital functions.

His ARPC1B gene was expressing none of this critical protein.

“ARPC1B, we know, plays a very important role in the immune system and how different cells in the body — mostly found in the blood — work,” said Muise.

“Sometimes it’s surprising that one defect causes such widespread different types of disease in one patient, but this one mutation explains all the problems Daniel had.”

The Sick Kids team subsequently discovered two other patients who were related to each other but not to Daniel, who also had a mutation that left them with very little ARPC1B protein. Since then, about

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20 children worldwide have been identified with the genetic mutation.

“It gave us enough evidence to know that this was a brand new disease that hadn’t been described before,” said Muise.

The discovery of what’s been dubbed ARPC1B syndrome is described in Monday’s edition of the journal Nature Communications.

“Daniel was over the moon to get a diagnosis,” said his moth-

er. “When they found out what was wrong, it was a real relief.

“In his mind, it’s all about the cure. Now that there’s a diagnosis, there’s now going to be a cure.”

His doctors believe a bonemarrow transplant will give Daniel new blood cells — including immune cells — that won’t carry the genetic mutation. A search is now on for an ❱❱ PAGE 18 Toronto doctors

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Canada News

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Missing and murdered women’s inquiry not reaching out to families: advocates

BY LAURA KANE The Canadian Press VANCOUVER — The national missing and murdered indigenous women’s inquiry has failed to adequately reach out to loved ones and survivors, says a coalition of advocacy groups and families less than two months before hearings are set to begin.

The Coalition on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in British Columbia is calling on the commission and federal, provincial and territorial governments to do a better job of communicating with distraught families.

“This is the last chance that family members who want to be heard will be heard,” said Michele Pineault, the mother of Stephanie Lane, whose DNA was found on serial killer Robert Pickton’s farm. “This inquiry is very, very important to a

lot of people.”

Coalition member Fay Blaney said at a news conference Monday that the group was concerned about media reports that said the inquiry had only located about 100 family members or survivors as of two weeks ago.

An RCMP report in 2014 said police had identified nearly 1,200 missing or murdered indigenous women and girls in Canada.

Blaney said she understood the federal government had not shared with commissioners the names of those who came forward during pre-inquiry consultations due to privacy obligations.

She said the commission should immediately request that all levels of government and indigenous organizations reach out to family members and survivors to ensure they know how to register to be a witness.

The coalition is also concerned that federal, provincial

Toronto doctors... appropriate donor for the 10-year-old.

“If you do a bonemarrow transplant or you replace his immune system, this should cure him of his disease,” said Muise.

Daniel’s mother said she’s still trying to get her head around the notion of a cure after watching her son deal with so many health issues since infancy, the worst of which was seeing him repeatedly in pain.

“While we have never let his ❰❰ 17

illness define him, and he remains a very positive and energetic boy, it was always on the back of his mind,” Arulrajah said of her soccer-loving son.

She hopes a successful bonemarrow transplant will mean an end to all the medications Daniel has had to take to treat his various symptoms over the years, including long courses of a steroid that have affected his growth.

“It would be absolutely fantastic.” ■

and territorial governments appear not to be assisting the inquiry, Blaney added.

Chief commissioner Marion Buller said in a statement that the commission has now identified 195 family members and survivors.

Buller said it has been reaching out to families and communities through its website, social media, podcasts, newsletters, regular teleconferences with national indigenous organizations and advisory meetings.

The inquiry is holding a series of regional meetings across the country to receive input from survivors and families before the first public hearing on May 29 in Whitehorse.

The commission has said families and survivors who would like to share their stories do not need to apply for standing and should instead send an email or call a toll-free number. It has asked national indigenous organizations to share the contact

information, said Buller.

But Lorelei Williams, whose aunt went missing decades ago and whose cousin’s DNA was found on Pickton’s farm, said the commission should be proactively reaching out.

“I’m feeling so frustrated and very upset about what is going on with this inquiry so far,” she said. “Families are freaking out right now.”

Williams questioned why preinquiry consultations were held at all, if not to collect names of family members for the inquiry.

“What did they do that for?” she asked. “I’m going to assume that those families put their names forward for a reason. ...

They want to be a part of this.”

Shawn Jackson, a spokesman for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, said it transferred to the national inquiry in November a database of information collected during the pre-inquiry process including meeting recordings and correspondence.

However, Jackson said many people participated in the consultations anonymously and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada is prevented by privacy rules from providing the lists of participants.

The coalition is also urging the inquiry to make efforts to include “families of the heart,” or friends. Evelyn Youngchief’s friend Georgina Papin was killed by Pickton and she said many friends of the missing and murdered would like to speak.

“We’ve been waiting for a very long time,” she said. “Changes need to be made on how aboriginal women are looked at. Stop killing us.”

Pineault said it has been difficult to tell her story over and over again for the past 20 years.

“It’s at a point now where I just want to say, ‘I want a life of normalcy. I just want to stay home and not have anything to do with this.’ But I have to do it to the bitter end.” ■

Syrian refugees cook, deliver food for Halifax shelters to give thanks THE CANADIAN PRESS HALIFAX — A group of Syrian refugees is cooking meals on weekends for Halifax shelters as a way of giving back to the community.

Mohammad Al Jokhadar says the idea was thought up by a friend after a Syrian refugee

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family in Halifax was harassed in an attack that included racial insults and spitting.

He says they’re trying to balance the negativity “with a little bit of positivity to counteract the effect.”

Eight out of 10 members of the Syrian Thanksgiving Group of Nova Scotia are Syrian refugees.

On Sunday, several families

came together to cook Syrian foods and then delivered them to Adsum for Women and Children, Herring Cove Apartments, Metro Turning Point, Phoenix House and Phoenix Youth Shelter.

Al Jokhadar says a lot of his Syrian refugee friends come from refugee camps, where they experienced extreme poverty. ■

World News

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

19

White House wealth: Trump employees disclose their finances THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE WHITE House released financial disclosures for many of its senior officials Friday — a group of some of the wealthiest people ever to join a presidential administration.

The documents provide a snapshot of what the employees’ finances looked like when they joined government service in January, but they do not give a full account of how those people are disentangling from business assets that could pose possible conflicts of interest.

President Donald Trump, a billionaire New York businessman, and Vice-President Mike Pence, the former Indiana governor, are not legally required to file new financial disclosures until next year. Here are some findings from The Associated Press review of thousands of pages of documents: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump

Kushner, the president’s senior adviser, and Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife and the president’s daughter, resigned from all of their business entities and sold off 58 assets. But the couple held onto much of what they have built into a global and real estate-focused empire. The documents show that have at least $240 million in assets.

Kushner began selling off the most problematic pieces of his portfolio shortly after Trump won the election, and some of those business deals predate what is required to be captured in the financial disclosure forms. For example, Kushner sold his stake in a Manhattan skyscraper to a trust his mother oversees. Kushner organized much of his holdings into trusts for which he is the sole primary beneficiary.

Gary Cohn

One of the wealthiest members of the Trump administration — aside from the president himself — is Gary Cohn, who left a top position at Goldman Sachs to become Trump’s chief economic adviser. His financial disclosure shows he received at least $40 million in income from Goldman Sachs-related

dividends, interest, salary and bonuses, about half of which was in some form of stock compensation.

His investments range from prestigious venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz to self-storages units in Ohio.

Cohn also reported more than $1 million in income from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China — something the White House has said he is in the process of divesting along with his Goldman holdings.

Steve Bannon

Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, disclosed assets between $13 million and $56 million, including his influential political consultancy, Bannon Strategic Advisors Inc., worth as much as $25 million.

Bannon also disclosed that he earned slightly less than $200,000 last year as executive director of Breitbart News Network LLC, before he resigned to join Trump’s campaign last August.

The documents show he was vice-president of the data firm Cambridge Analytica for more than two years, before resigning in August 2016 to help run Trump’s campaign.

Cambridge was the main data provider for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who waged a bitter battle with Trump for the Republican nomination. Bannon’s consulting firm pulled in more than $125,000 from Cambridge last year. He has stake in Cambridge somewhere between $1 million and $5 million, but the disclosure says he has an “agreement in principle” to sell his investment.

Bannon also disclosed his ownership stake worth up to $5 million in Bannon Film Industries Inc., the entertainment company that veered into political-themed documentaries, including last year’s anti-Hillary Clinton documentary “Clinton Cash.” He retains that investment even while selling off other arrangements, according to the filing.

Kellyanne Conway

Kellyanne Conway, who became the first female campaign manager to successfully elect a president, is, not surprisingly, a

successful woman herself.

Even before being named counsellor to the president, Conway was worth as much as $40 million, derived mostly from her investments and her salary at her personal political consulting firm, “the polling company/WomanTrend.”

Conway earned, through her company, slightly more than $800,000 in business income for her work in 2016. The business is worth between $1 million and $5 million, according to her disclosure statement.

Most of Conway’s assets, more than $31 million, are held in cash or money-market accounts — likely because she had to sell most of her investments before taking a job in the White House. She does still own stock in drug giant Pfizer, snack food companies Kraft Heinz and Mondelez, and tobacco companies Altria and Philip Morris. Those stock holdings are relatively minor — less than $200,000 — compared with her net worth.

Conway gave speeches or provided political consulting services to dozens of political interest groups, mostly advocating conservative causes. She also gave a paid speech to Point 72 Asset Management, the firm owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen.

Don McGahn

Don McGahn, who served as Trump’s top campaign lawyer and is now White House counsel, made more than $2.4 million last year for his work at Jones Day, a prominent Washington law firm with deep ties to the Republican Party. McGahn listed legal services for more than 22 conservative and GOPtied entities last year, including the National Rifle Association, the Citizens United Foundation, the Republican National Committee and Americans for Prosperity.

A guitar player who often performs in public with an ‘80s cover band called Scott’s New Band, McGahn also disclosed that he earned $4,900 last year from a music booking firm.

Boris Epshteyn

A dogged television surrogate for President Trump durwww.canadianinquirer.net

RYAN JOHNSON / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

ing the 2016 presidential campaign, Epshteyn disclosed that his primary asset was a stake worth between $1 million and $5 million in TGP Securities Inc., a New Jersey investment banking firm where Epshteyn previously worked as a managing director.

Epshteyn made only $30,000 last year as a familiar Trump media surrogate. He made far more with TGP, earning $226,000 last year. He made another $240,000 from consulting fees with a health-care cost containment firm, Prime Health Services.

After the election, Epshteyn joined the White House press office, working with talk shows booking Trump administration figures. But in recent days, reports surfaced that he was leaving the post and it was unclear if he would wind up elsewhere in the administration.

Reince Priebus

Priebus, the White House chief of staff, took in more than $500,000 in salary and bonuses from the Republican Party. He also earned at least $750,000 from equity buyout and partner-distribution income from the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich.

Julia Hahn

One of Bannon’s employees at Breitbart — now his top lieutenant in the White House — has assets that could be worth as much as $2.3 million. That’s notable because of her young age: She’s in her mid-20s.

Hahn made a salary of $117,217 at Breitbart News as

a senior investigative reporter from July 2015 to January 2017.

Her previous job as executive producer of the Laura Ingraham show, where she worked from June 2013 until she went to Breitbart, earned her a salary of $74,082. She owns a very small stake in a real estate investment company known as Cherrywood Partnership, which owns apartment buildings in Pennsylvania. That stake is worth between $250,001 and $500,000.

Peter Navarro

Navarro’s only job before joining the White House as director of the National Trade Council was as an economics and public policy professor for the University of CaliforniaIrvine, where he had a salary of $240,000.

He has a variety of assets, including stocks, bonds and investment property. All told, the value is more than $1 million, but not by much. Most of his assets are tied up in his pension and investment properties, which have mortgages attached to them.

Jason Greenblatt

Greenblatt, a former Trump Organization lawyer advising the president on Middle East policy, listed assets of more than $1.4 million. Many of the holdings were stock mutual funds. He made $1.02 million last year at the Trump Organization.

Greenblatt has made two visits to the Middle East since join❱❱ PAGE 20 White House

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World News

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Park arrest, Malaysia deal: Let Japan envoy recalled the corks pop in Pyongyang over statue flap to return to S. Korea

BY ERIC TALMADGE The Associated Press TOKYO — There might well have been some corks popping in Pyongyang on Friday.

Not only did North Korean officials manage to repatriate the body of leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half brother and three North Korean citizens questioned in his assassination after a diplomatic standoff with Malaysia, but they also had the distinct pleasure of watching the humiliating arrest of their arch-enemy, South Korea’s fallen president, Park Geun-hye.

And all in the same day, no less.

The two bits of news may not exactly qualify as happy endings even for Pyongyang.

There’s still a murder trial to be held in Malaysia that could be very embarrassing, and the fall of Park hardly ends the two Koreas’ conflicts.

But coming just ahead of the North’s biggest official festivities of the year, the April 15th celebrations of the birth anniversary of national founder and “eternal president” Kim Il Sung, they might be adding a little more pep to the leader gratitude being expressed within the regime these days.

The political demise of Park was — one would imagine — particularly sweet for Pyongyang.

She entered the Seoul Detention Center in a black sedan before dawn Friday after a court approved her arrest on corruption allegations. She was ordered to change into light-green prison clothes, then locked in a solitary cell with just a television, a toilet, a sink, a table and a mattress.

Her scandalous downfall has been a stunning turn of events that the North has repeatedly capitalized on as proof of her moral failings — and by extension the superiority of its own leadership. She is expected to face charges of extortion, bribery and abuse of power and could face life imprisonment if convicted.

That’s nothing compared to what Pyongyang had in mind for her father, Park Chung-hee, when he was president.

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI The Associated Press

Former South Korea president Park Geun-hye.

KOREAN CULTURE AND INFORMATION SERVICE

It sent commandos after him in 1968 in an infamous and spectacularly unsuccessful attack on the presidential Blue House. Another attempt to kill the elder Park, by an ethnic Korean-Japanese who was a North Korean sympathizer, was thwarted in the Seoul National Theater in 1974, but a stray bullet hit and killed Park Guenhye’s mother. Park Chung-hee was gunned down five years later by his own intelligence chief.

With that kind of bad blood, it’s not surprising Park Geunhye was a hardliner toward Pyongyang. North Korea’s state-run media hammered her in the harshest terms throughout her presidency, and its aftermath.

The North’s official news agency ran two related stories Friday, one noting an anti-Park rally. The other cited an opinion poll about concerns of “fake news” in South Korea, which the North’s report concluded is “clear proof of the deplorable situation in South Korea plagued by deception, swindling, corruption and irregularities.”

The equally bizarre saga in Malaysia came to a head Thursday night with a political deal that allowed nine Malaysians in North Korea to return home.

Each country had barred the other’s citizens from leaving its soil in a dispute over the investigation of the killing of Kim Jong Nam, who was poisoned in

the crowded budget terminal at Kuala Lumpur’s airport on Feb. 13.

In exchange, Malaysia not only allowed more than 300 North Koreans to return home, but also granted Pyongyang’s most important demand — custody of Kim Jong Nam’s body — and even allowed three people sought for questioning who had been holed up at the North Korean Embassy to leave the country. The men were expected to have returned to Pyongyang Friday after being seen transiting Beijing airport.

Malaysia’s police chief declined to say who in Kim Jong Nam’s family wrote the letter asking that his body be brought back to North Korea. Kim had three children who live outside North Korea, but Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters Friday, “Legally speaking, Kim Jong Un is the next-of-kin.”

Malaysia seemed to have no appetite for a protracted standoff.

“Faced with a similar situation, even major world powers like the U.S. and Japan will be hapless vis-a-vis North Korea,” said Oh Ei Sun, an adjunct senior fellow with Singapore’s Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “Malaysia is only trying to make the best out of the situation by securing the earliest release of the Malaysians.” ❱❱ PAGE 22 Park arrest

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TOKYO — Japan said Monday that it is sending back its ambassador to South Korea despite an ongoing impasse over a “comfort woman” statue, stressing that it is not meant to be a compromise.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine will fly back to Seoul on Tuesday, along with the consul-general in the South Korean city of Busan.

Kishida said Japan made the decision because of the need to study and develop ties with a new government succeeding ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye amid North Korea’s missile threat. He said Japan regrets that South Korea has not complied with what was supposed to be a final agreement to resolve their differences over the comfort woman issue in late 2015, and that the ambassador will be working to make sure the new administration respects the deal.

Before and during World War II, Japan forced many Korean and other women in Asia to work in brothels for the Japanese military in what was known as the “comfort woman” system.

“The agreement is a promise

that the two countries made to international society. We must sincerely implement it,” Kishida said.

Japanese officials said sending the envoys does not mean Japan is caving in to South Korea’s refusal to remove the statue.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan’s other retaliatory actions, such as the suspension of some negotiations with South Korea, including a proposed currency swap arrangement for times of financial crisis, will stay in place. He said sending back the envoys also reflected Japan’s concerns over the safety of Japanese nationals in South Korea “when the political situation is extremely uncertain.”

South Korea will hold an election on May 9 to elect a new president to replace Park, who was impeached and later arrested amid a massive corruption scandal.

Japan recalled the ambassador and the consul-general in January in response to the placing of the statue outside of Japan’s consulate in Busan.

Activists in South Korea oppose the agreement. A comfort woman statue put up outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul in 2011 remains in place, and activists installed a similar statue by the same sculptor in Busan in December. ■

White House... ing the White House, meeting with Israelis and Palestinians and attending an Arab summit in Jordan this week. ❰❰ 19

Keith Kellogg

Kellogg, the National Security Council chief of staff, reported earning $96,000 in salary and severance for one month working for Cubic Corp., a defence contractor, plus ownership worth at least $366,000 in various investment funds, bonds and a retirement account. He owed at least $600,000 in loans, including a mortgage on his home.

Makan Delrahim

Deputy White House counsel Makan Delrahim reported earning a little more than $1 million last year in salary, stock payouts and a buyout from his law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he was a partner. Delrahim, a board member of the World Poker Tour Foundation, is also a passive investor in a movie called “Trash Fire,” according to the filing. ■ Reported by Associated Press writers Julie Bykowicz, Chad Day, Stephen Braun, Jack Gillum, Michael Biesecker, Ted Bridis, Bernard Condon and Ken Sweet.

21

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Park arrest...

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

No inquiry from Russia on likely Kyrgyz

Malaysian officials said they had already performed an autopsy and identified the body using DNA from Kim’s son. They said they questioned and cleared the three North Koreans before allowing them to leave the country.

Some experts believe the sophisticated and rare VX nerve agent used in Kim Jong Nam’s murder suggested a stateorchestrated hit, with North Korea as the prime suspect.

Experts say the VX was almost certainly produced in a staterun weapons laboratory and North Korea is widely believed to possess large quantities of chemical weapons.

North Korea vehemently denied any involvement and accused the Malaysians of either being dupes or liars. Moreover, it has stuck to its story that the victim was just a guy named ❰❰ 20

Kim Chol, the name on the passport he was carrying when he died. Never has the name Kim Jong Nam appeared in its state media or official statements.

No North Koreans have been formally charged in connection with the killing, though four suspects who left Malaysia the day Kim died remain at large.

The only people awaiting their day in court are two young women, one Indonesian and the other Vietnamese. The women, who allegedly rubbed the substance onto Kim’s face, say they were tricked into thinking they were taking part in a hiddencamera prank TV show.

If convicted, they could be sent to the gallows. ■ AP writer Eileen Ng contributed to this report from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Talmadge is the AP’s Pyongyang bureau chief.

native’s role in St. Petersburg bombing PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY MOSCOW — Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow spokeswoman said that Kyrgyzstan will assist Russia once it receives an inquiry into the possible involvement of a Kyrgyz native in the deadly St. Petersburg metro bombing.

“So far, there have been no [inquiries] because it seems to be unconfirmed information.

Security bodies are not telling us anything,” Gulbarchyn Bayimbetova said.

The Central Asian country’s State Committee on National Security (GKNB) confirmed to Sputnik earlier in the day that a suspected perpetrator of the Monday bombing could be a

CCMAKAROV / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen.

Asked whether Bishkek was ready to assist Russia and share the requested information on the suspect, the Kyrgyz embassy spokeswoman said “yes, of course.”

The explosion on Monday afternoon between two central

St. Petersburg metro stations killed at least 11 and wounded 45 people, according to Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK).

Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation into the suspected terrorist attack. ■

You Are Invited this Holy Week, Easter & All Year Long To the Anglican Church of Canada Churches of The Diocese of New Westminster In Full Communion with Philippine Independent Church (Aglipayan Church) & the Episcopal Church in the Philippines

holy communion services 2017 • Holy Week & Easter (Semana Santa) St. Mary’s, South Hill The Reverend Fr. Expedito Farinas

808 E. 50th Avenue, Vancouver 604.324.3365 • www.stmarysouthhill.com

• April 9 • 10:30am • Palm Sunday (Domingo Ramos) • April 13 • 7pm • Maundy Thursday (Huwebes Santo) • April 14 • 10:30am • Good Friday (Biyernes Santo) • April 15 • 7pm • Holy Saturday (Sabado Gloria) • April 16 • 10:30am • Easter Sunday (Domingo Alleluia)

St. Michael’s Multicultural The Reverend Fr. Wilmer Toyoken

409 E. Broadway Avenue, Vancouver 604.876.8191 • www.stmikes-church.ca

• April 9 • 10am • Palm Sunday (Domingo Ramos) • April 13 • 6pm • Maundy Thursday (Huwebes Santo)

• April 14 • 10am • Good Friday (Biyernes Santo) • April 16 • 10am • Easter Sunday (Domingo Alleluia)

St. Michael’s, Surrey The Reverend Fr. Louie Engnan

St. Mary the Virgin, Sapperton The Reverend Fr. Arvin Amayag

• April 9 • 10am Palm Sunday • Blessing of Palms • Liturgy of the Passion

• April 9 • 10am • Palm Sunday

12996 – 60 Avenue, Surrey 604.591.8323 • www.stmichaelschurch.ca

• April 13 • 6:30pm Maundy Thursday • Ceremony of the Washing of Feet • April 14 • 12noon • Good Friday • April 16 • 10am • Easter Sunday • Renewal of Baptismal Vows

WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU!

www.canadianinquirer.net

121 E. Columbia Street, New Westminster 604.521.2314 • www.stmarysapperton.ca

• April 13 • 7pm • Maundy Thursday • April 14 • 10am • Good Friday • April 15 • 6pm • Great Easter Vigil • April 16 • 10am • Easter Sunday

Community News

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

23

Rules for principal residence exemption not so cut-and-dried

BY SAMANTHA PRASAD, LL.B., AND RYAN CHUA, J.D. ONE OF the biggest tax breaks Canadian homeowners have is the tax-free nature of capital gains on the sale of your home, known as the principal residence exemption (PRE).

There’s been much talk recently about various technical rule changes to the PRE, but these won’t really affect the majority of homeowners. Still, the PRE is not as cut-and-dried as it might sound. So it makes sense to review what the actual rules for the principal residence exemption are?

Key rules and requirements

In order to take advantage of the PRE, certain requirements must be met: * The home must be ordinarily occupied for personal use by you, your spouse or former spouse, or a child at some time during the year. * The home must be “capital property.” If the home was renovated and “flipped” a short time after it was acquired, there is a risk it might not be considered capital property but rather the inventory of a business. * To claim the PRE on a large lot (over ½ hectare – about 1¼ acres), you must be able to establish that the excess land is necessary for the “use and enjoyment” of your home. * Restrictions also apply if part or all of your home is rented out or is not used by a

family member, or if you have not been a resident in Canada throughout the period of ownership (other than in the year of purchase). * As a general rule, a family can claim the PRE on only one home at a time. Claiming a second home is more of a problem. To stop you from trying to claim a separate exemption for another home by putting it in the name of a child, the rules restrict children from claiming the exemption unless they have reached age 18 in the year or are married. * Where specific conditions are met, non-Canadian properties may also qualify for the PRE. * It is possible for a trust to claim the PRE, provided that a corporation is not a beneficiary and the trust designates a beneficiary (or their spouse, common-law partner, or child) of the trust who ordinarily inhabits the property (referred to as a “specified beneficiary”).

PRE not cut-and-dried

Most people think of the PRE as a black-and-white matter – either you qualify to sell taxfree or you do not. Actually, this is not the case. When you sell your home, you must calculate the gain on your residence just like any other capital gain, then PRE itself reduces your gain.

Moreover, eligibility for the exemption is on a year-by-year basis, which might come as a surprise. The more years you qualify relative to your total period of ownership, the more

your gain gets reduced. To be more precise, here is the basic formula that normally applies:

Despite only allowing one property to be claimed, the rules allow a full exemption on two residences in a particular tax year, i.e., where one residence is sold and another is purchased in the same year.

That is why the above formula adds “1” to the number of years the property was a principal residence (the “plus one rule”).

As you can see from the above formula, to get the tax reduction, you must designate the home as a principal residence on a year-by-year basis. If your gain is completely covered by the principal residence exemption, under the previous rules, the CRA did not require you to file the designation form with your tax return. This has now changed, and you’ll have to keep it in mind when filing your tax return. ■

PM sticks... portant missions of participating and of punching well above their weight,” he said.

The prime minister pointed to the upcoming mission in Latvia, where Canada will lead a 1,000-strong NATO battlegroup to deter Russian aggression in the region, as proof of its commitment.

“Canada has always done more than its share in NATO and we will continue to,” Trudeau said.

Tillerson is only the latest ❰❰ 16

U.S. official to press NATO allies to spend more on their own defence, with U.S. President Donald Trump banging the drum the loudest.

But Liberal officials have said in private that the message is more for European allies and that the Trump administration appreciates Canada’s military contributions to Iraq, Latvia and Ukraine.

At the same time, the Trudeau government is preparing a new defence policy, which is expected to offer a long-term

vision for the military over the next couple of decades.

That policy is expected to be released in early May, before Trudeau, Trump and other NATO leaders meet at a summit in Brussels.

Sources have indicated the policy will include new investments in the military, though any new money could be a while coming, given ongoing delays with procurement projects and the size of the federal deficit. ■ with files from the Associated Press www.canadianinquirer.net

RICH ABARQUEZ, a name to watch in the ramp modeling industry, has once again graced the runway in the recently concluded Vancouver Fashion Week. As Rich disclosed in his FB page, he was discovered by Zuhal Kuvan-Mills a year ago because of him wearing different bow ties. Aside from being a greenembassy model and brand ambassador, Rich is now a scout for models and actors for Dusty Talents.

@EDNGPHOTOGRAPHY AND @KUNAPHOTOGRAPHY

24

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Entertainment Iza: X should spark dialogue not discord Osaka best performer weighs in on MTRCB decision against ‘Bliss’

BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer NO, actress Iza Calzado never imagined she would ever be the star of an X-rated film at this point in her career.

After all, she had just won best performer at the Osaka Asian Film Festival for the “disapproved” film, Jerrold Tarog’s “Bliss,” and being labeled a “porn star” was the most unexpected result of such an international recognition.

“I did know that the film was going to break my ‘good girl’ image, but I had no idea it would be rated X,” she quipped, laughing.

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board had given the horror film an X rating on its first review.

Producers have requested for a second screening.

Turning serious, Iza admitted: “I was saddened by the news. I was thinking more along the lines of an R rating for the current form of the film.”

She pointed out: “I have seen foreign films that have shown much more violence and nudity than our film, so it makes me wonder if they have a different mindset in rating local films.”

She, however, refused to be swallowed up by the intrigues, choosing to accentuate the positive. Instead of discord, she expressed the hope that the controversy would spark discussion.

“This is an opportunity to sit down and initiate a proper dialogue with the board, to understand their side and defend our position, too,” she explained.

This issue should not be reduced to a single sound bite, pitting “artists against the MTRCB,” she insisted. “Rather, it should be about how we can

work together to give the audience the best version of the movie that they deserve.”

She feels strongly that Filipinos should get to see the acclaimed film in its integral form.

“It is a story about the vicious cycle of abuse. It is a powerful eye-opener that will make you think about the kind of oppression and exploitation we go through,” she asserted. “Its message resonates in all sectors of our society. Yes, we all should be aware of the many patterns of abuse … and wake up from them.”

In more ways than one, “Bliss” marks a departure for the actress, who is often seen in drama serials on television (like “A Love to Last”).

“It is one of my most daring and challenging works to date,” she acknowledged. “It opened my mind to the many possibilities of making a mark in world cinema. It made me want to

IZA CALZADO / FACEBOOK

tackle edgier pieces that would inspire critical thinking.”

On a personal note, she remarked: “This movie certainly pushed my limits as an actress, and I enjoyed going out of my comfort zone.”

She has a simple message to “our friends at the MTRCB.” “I look forward to learning more about your views and thoughts about our film. I hope that you will keep an open mind

during our discussion, and we will do the same,” she said.

She remains willfully optimistic for the audience and the future of local cinema: “I hope that one day, we will be confident enough to trust that the Filipino youth, as young adults, have the proper moral compass to legally drive, drink and watch nudity, and have that mindset that we are at par with other countries.

No more double standards.” ■

2 reasons why Sharon now wants reunion movie with Gabby

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer AFTER HESITATING for nine years, actress Sharon Cuneta is now willing to do a “reunion movie” with ex-husband Gabby Concepcion not only for the sake of their fans.

“There was clamor for it when he (Gabby) first came home from the United States. I was the one who hesitated back then, but I heard that he was interested,” Sharon said.

So what made her change her mind?

The Megastar gave two reasons.

“First, for closure,” she said.

“I know our fans, who grew up with us, were also hurt when they learned that we broke up.”

The other reason, Sharon said, was “to signal a new beginning. If the teamup becomes successful, it could lead to other projects, or even endorse-

ments. Ours was such a strong brand…”

However, she quickly added: “Truth be told, I’ve had bigger hits with other leading men and on my own. This project was actually meant for someone else. I just told Star Cinema to give the GabbySharon tandem a try.”

She denied rumors that the Star Cinema reunion movie project had been shelved after a delay in its shooting. They were supposed to film last January.

“It’s painful to be let down—our fans will be disappointed,” she said. “I’ll just keep quiet about it until we’re halfway through the movie. I have to finish it at some point, because I have a concert tour abroad in June.”

The actress said she would resume intense dieting as soon as the shooting schedule of her coming movie with Gabby was confirmed.

Sharon, who has been working on losing weight for over a year now, said she had real-

ANNA DASIG VIA SHARON CUNETA / FACEBOOK

ized that the key to shedding the extra pounds was a definite change in lifestyle.

“You eat, and not lamon (gorging),” she said, laughing.

The Megastar admitted that she had tried surgical procedures to lose weight in the past, “but these things are useless unless you control your eating.

When I’ve learned to accept that, I realized that I was OK with just eating small meals to satisfy my cravings. If I wanted www.canadianinquirer.net

cake, I’d eat a bit but not finish the whole slice. Before, I had to have two slices.”

Sharon, who is working on losing 20 pounds more, added: “I’m not into eating rice. My downfall is eating bread with butter. Cutting down on it was difficult for me. The principle is that you do the reverse of whatever you did that caused you to gain weight.”

The 51-year-old actress admitted that her progress was

rather slow. “My overall loss is only 65 lbs. It’s been a year and two months since I promised to go on a diet in 2016. I relaxed on it a bit because I got tired of the diet. Once I start feeling deprived, I’m scared that I might binge again.”

Sharon said she has already tried the Cohen diet but discontinued it, “because I’m scared of the rebound effect.”

She’s now using what she calls “a variation of the Scarsdale Medical diet, “which helped me lose weight in the 1990s and when I had Frankie (Pangilinan, her second daughter).”

She explained that the diet “allows you to eat more protein and less carbohydrates. You’re also allowed fruits, which is good because this satisfies your sweet tooth.”

Sharon is currently part of the talent tilt, “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” and the soon-to-air “The Voice Philippines Teen Edition.” ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

25

Bamboo: ‘The Voice’ No torrid scenes for ‘KathNiel’ Love team is venturing into more mature roles coaches become life mentors, too

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ. Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ. Philippine Daily Inquirer “I’M VERY opinionated. I use my music as a way to vent my frustrations,” said singer-songwriter Bamboo Mañalac.

He added that listening to his band’s version of the song, “Tatsulok,” would often frustrate him. The song, originally performed by the folk-rock band Buklod, talks about the armed conflict between the government and rebel groups.

“I’d like to think that I’m a citizen who is conscious of what is happening in our country and around the world. I have certain opinions, which I don’t want to share on camera,” said Bamboo, who made the comment after a contestant performed “Tatsulok” during the blind auditions for the latest edition of ABS-CBN’s “The Voice Philippines.” “I’m frustrated about what’s currently happening. I try to show [how I feel] when I do gigs.”

The latest season of “The Voice Philippines” will feature 13- to 17-year-olds. Aside from Bamboo, Lea Salonga, Sarah Geronimo and Sharon Cuneta will serve as coaches.

Bamboo said he was pleased to hear that Season 2 grand winner Elha Nympha, who bannered Team Kawayan, got invited early last month to NBC’s “Little Big Shots,” hosted by Steve Harvey.

“I told her to enjoy the moment and enjoy Los Angeles with her mom. She is a kid with a great heart. The hunger (for music and for performing) that she had when she first won is still there—that’s what I like about Elha.”

Bamboo added: “I always tell the kids from my team that I’m just one call away. They consult me. I give them advice. I’m very proud of those who have moved forward and started their own career. Hearing updates on Justin (Alva, Season 3 third-placer) makes me happy, too.”

Asked what the audience should look forward to in the latest edition, Bamboo said: “It has a different tone. I noticed that the contestants ask a lot of questions. It appears like we’ll become life coaches, instead of just [coaches] for music. We will help shape them as artists. Also, contestants of this batch have different singing styles. It’s going to be very colorful.”

Several contestants performed Bamboo’s songs during the blind auditions. The singer said he did not want to feel obligated to include them in his team just because they sang his songs. “It’s hard when you’re in that chair, because you have a lot to consider, including how you’d bring to the finals every child you’d turn your chair for.” ■

DANIEL PADILLA and onscreen partner Kathryn Bernardo are ready to take on more mature roles now that they’re 21.

However, this does not mean their fans would be seeing them do torrid kissing or steamy love scenes onscreen.

“It’s too early for that,” said Daniel on Thursday at the media gathering of their latest film, “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which will hit cinemas OMINIC ROQUE VIA KATHRYN BERNARDO OFFICAL / FACEBOOK on April 15.

The film, with Mae Cruz-Alv- show more skin,” added Mae. complaints from them. They iar at the helm, centers on Gab “In this movie, they still act just did them.” dela Cuesta (Kathryn)—a high- their age. They’re young people KathNiel was last seen on strung career woman engaged handling adult problems. Let’s the big screen in the Olivia Lato her longtime boyfriend not rush them into doing things masan drama, “Barcelona.”

(Matteo Guidicelli). like that. They still have their Kathryn admitted to feeling the Her well-planned life be- whole lives ahead of them.” pressure of at least matching comes chaotic when she discovMae said Kathryn and Daniel, the previous film’s box-office ers legal records success. showing that she “Of course we is already marwant this movie ried to a total to be a hit, but stranger —the This movie may be a romcom, but it’s more importanthappy-go-lucky handled maturely. ly, we want to be tour guide Dos able to affect the Gonzales (Danlives of a lot of iel). people with the “This movie may be a rom- collectively known as KathNiel, roles we are playing here,” she com (romantic comedy), but have now become “more pro- explained. it’s handled maturely,” Kathryn fessional and less playful” on Daniel added: “We’ll be happointed out. the set. py if the movie earns, but that’s “Mature not in the sense “They are growing up in front just a bonus for us. What we that you’ll see Kathryn wear- of our eyes,” she observed. value more is the fact that our ing a two-piece bathing suit “I got to see a few portions director thinks we did justice to or me wearing trunks, but ma- of the film while editing, and our roles, and that people were ture when it comes to handling I was pleased with what they happy on the set. I believe that problems,” added Daniel. have done. I had asked them to if you love what you do, people “The maturity of an actor is do scenes that they found too will appreciate you and will not reflected on his ability to difficult, but I didn’t hear any love you back.” ■

Cena proposes, Gronk steals the show at WrestleMania THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ORLANDO, FLA. — WrestleMania got Gronk’d.

WWE’s version of the Super Bowl also saw John Cena take a knee.

And the “yard” belongs now to Roman Reigns.

Cena, long WWE’s biggest star, stole the show when he seemingly gave a real proposal to Nikki Bella at the end of their victorious mixed tag team

match. Cena got down on one knee after the pair defeated The Miz and Maryse on Sunday at WrestleMania 33 at the Citrus Bowl.

Bella said yes and the couple , who star on “Total Bellas,” celebrated with family at ringside.

Cena and Bella are both scheduled for the “Today” show Monday morning. Cena is a regular on the show and weatherman Al Roker was the guest ring announcer for the bout.

Rob Gronkowski took a break

from rehabbing for the New England Patriots and got involved in the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal to help his real-life buddy Mojo Rawley win the event. Gronkowski watched from the front row until bad guy Jinder Mahal tossed a drink in the tight end’s face.

Gronk, who celebrated in the Daytona 500 victory lane with Kurt Busch, charged the ring and snapped into a three-point stance to take out Mahal and help Rawley win. www.canadianinquirer.net

WWE announced a crowd of 75,245 at the Citrus Bowl, though those numbers are usually inflated for entertainment purposes.

Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight champion, defeated Bill Goldberg in the bout of the night to win the WWE Universal championship.

Reigns defeated The Undertaker , in perhaps his last match, in the main event of a card that stretched seven hours.

Other major results include:

Randy Orton defeated Bray Wyatt to win the WWE world heavyweight championship.

The Hardy Boyz made a surprise return to win the WWE Raw tag team championships.

Matt and Jeff Hardy, WWE stars in the late 1990s and early 2000, had reinvented themselves in other promotions as “broken” characters who were on an expedition for tag team gold.

Seth Rollins defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a no-holds barred match. ■

26

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Lifestyle Makati business district is art hub From buildings to underpasses, the city is hosting art in all its forms, including a Japanese zen garden from Washington Sycip

BY CATHY CAÑARESYAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer AYALA LAND keeps looking for ways to make art a constant and consistent presence throughout Makati. From Ayala Museum to galleries, from Japanese Zen garden to public parks, from Tower One to underpasses, the city is hosting art in all its forms. “Art provides … an additional layer that distinguishes one city from another,” Manuel Blas said. Following the successful fifth edition of Art Fair Philippines last February, Ayala Land continues to look for ways to make art a constant and consistent presence throughout Makati City.

Baby steps have already been taken, says Ayala Land corporate brand marketing head Cathy Bengzon: “See how many buildings have their own art collections? Private businesses have decided on their own, it’s not like there’s a master plan.”

Ayala Museum itself showcases what its website lists as “history, contemporary art, music and design, including temporary exhibitions, lectures, artist/curator’s talks, workshops and performances.”

Bengzon gives a respectful nod to RCBC Plaza’s Yuchengco Museum that houses “the most exquisite material designed to encourage cultural opportunities for those who work, visit and live in Makati” and its theater, the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium.

Gaining buzz is the Japanese Zen garden that industrialist

Washington SyCip donated to the Makati Commercial Estates Association for the public’s enjoyment last Valentine’s Day. “We did not solicit it,” said Manuel Blas, vice president of Ayala Land’s Strategic Landbank Management Group. “Mr. SyCip’s office called us to donate a Japanese garden, in cooperation with Security Bank. Seeing it is like being in Japan. They brought in authentic Japanese designers who themselves constructed it, putting in the big stones and sand.”

Bengzon points out that smaller galleries have also begun to emerge in the city.

Project development manager Marishiella Aguilar adds to this list La Fuerza compound and The Collective—two venues with a heavy presence on the art scene.

Bengzon describes the evolution as “organic,” adding with a hint of pride that Ayala Land has “partly” been a “catalyst” in the process, since most of its developments are deliberately designed to house art pieces.

Public parks around the commercial business district feature sculptures donated by Impy Pilapil. Sculptor Jose Mendoza’s monuments are prominently featured along Ayala Avenue.

The Santo Niño de Paz chapel in Greenbelt was designed by renowned sculptor Ramon Orlina.

‘Humans of Makati’

Tower One along Ayala Avenue regularly hosts art events. Its latest was “Street,” a stopmotion video filmed in New York City by artist James Naires. Last year, Tower One

hosted Xyza Bacani’s commissioned photo exhibit called “Humans of Makati.”

One of Ayala Land’s recent projects is the sprucing up of pedestrian underpasses in the commercial-business district.

“There is an interesting story,” says Bengzon. “We sent out invitations to companies and locators, asking if they wanted to adopt a particular underpass.

Our biggest worry was whether we would get their support.”

Kitkat, Security Bank and RCBC wasted no time in responding positively. Ayala Land marketing manager Mitch Suarez says more companies said yes, too.

“The intent was not to use the underpasses as advertising space. We only wanted to uplift how the underpasses would look,” she explains. Notable among the underpass designs was the visible lack of self-promoting ads from sponsors.

“Art provides Makati with an additional layer that distinguishes one city from another,” says Blas. “Now we are where we are. Wesee around us all signs of art so there is an opportunity to make this an arts and culture center, so when people come to visit, they always have a takeaway, like, ‘That was a fantastic museum. They have a nice performing arts theater. There are art pieces all over the place!’”

The recent Artfair Philippines that ran at The Link carpark in Ayala Center, its organizers say, is a testament to Ayala Land’s commitment to showing modern and contemporary visual art in a very accessible setting.

www.canadianinquirer.net

ART FAIR PHILIPPINES / FACEBOOK

At present, the company awaits the completion of the P1.5 billion performing arts theater that will seat 1,500 people at Circuit Makati, an Ayala Land project that will be completed 2020.

Bengzon says the theater is designed to host international and local performances and likewise serve as venue for international art exhibits.

“We want to encourage Filipino troupes and talents to perform,” she notes. “It would be incentivized enough to make them perform in our theater.

That has always been the vision for Circuit.”

Blas says part of the company’s art-oriented “ongoing redevelopment” in the city were three “major nodes” that would blend art and architecture in building construction.

These include the “One Ayala” complex, a mixed-use building where the old Hotel Intercontinental used to stand; another construction at the tip of the Ayala Triangle; and a

third at the City Gate complex near the Makati Medical Center.

Blas reveals that Ayala Land Inc. board chair Fernando Zobel de Ayala “has a personal hand in reviewing all the design, inside and outside, and landscaping all around these projects in order to make sure they are not just functional buildings that serve their purpose. From the outside, you would want to look at these as works of art.”

Blas adds that part of the dream is to see a Makati that would “attract artists to set up their workshops and galleries, so they become not just artists who put their art on display in the city but artists who live and work here.”

“If you look at the artist population,” Blas says, “the opportunity is to go and venture to a city like Makati to make a name and a mark and go places. You can’t really find that in new cities because they are too new. Also, not in old cities that do not have the dynamism of Makati.” ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

27

The endless search for ‘the best’: shoppers stress over making the ‘right’ buy

BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI The Canadian Press TORONTO — It’s happened to so many of us: You need a water bottle — or cellphone, laptop bag or toaster — and turn to the Internet to find the best of the bunch, only to have a seemingly simple search spiral into a weeklong research project.

Since when did even small purchases become so fraught with doubt and anxiety?

The fear of making the wrong choice is a reflection of modern consumer behaviour, in which increasing social pressure puts shoppers on constant alert for something better than what they bought before, says sociology Prof. Martin Hand.

And Google offers up a staggering number of reviews and meticulous rankings for just about any product, all purporting to help you make “the best” choice you won’t regret.

“Have I gone on the right vacation? Am I wearing the right clothes?” says Hand, chair of undergraduate studies at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., of the modern neuroses gnawing at many consumers.

“Some people find this relatively easy to cope with. For other people, it exacerbates an existing insecurity.”

Online publishers know

shoppers are on an endless quest for “the best” of everything.

Last year, the New York Times acquired the reviews websites the Wirecutter and the Sweethome, which focus entirely on identifying the top products in a wide range of categories. Just about every headline on the sites starts with “best” or “the best.”

Others acknowledge the pressure to slip the b-word into as many headlines as possible — even if the term’s ubiquitous use seems to have rendered it meaningless.

“It’s a lot less offensive than some other clickbait. And I do struggle with it,” says cosmetics blogger Janine Falcon, whose review site Beautygeeks sometimes employs the term as a necessary evil.

“I’ve often gone, ‘Well, if I don’t use it, somebody’s going to click on a “best” and my story’s not going to be found.’

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

Nevermind the fact it’s such a subjective term, adds Falcon, whose top lipstick pick “could be the worst for the person standing next to you.”

Car analyst and reviewer Timothy Cain is leery of using it in reviews at his site GoodCarBadCar, but admits “best” creeps into copy because readers want

Public platforms tend to encourage opinions that conform to prevailing thought, while friends might be reluctant to offer any negative feedback.

quick and easy verdicts.

It’s a 140-character age, he notes.

“We’re all trying to figure out the Googles,” says Cain, based in Halifax.

“Searchers are trying to figure out the best way to get the information they want and we’re trying to figure out the best way to make sure we’re near the top when someone wants to know something.”

Before the age of social media, shoppers were generally “more independent” in their choices, says Rotman School of Management Prof. Claire Tsai.

“But nowadays, especially younger people who are very active social media users, they try to get validation while they’re still browsing,” notes

the marketing expert.

“They actually take pictures in the store, in the fitting room, and even upload it to Instagram right away and even Snapchat.”

The purchasing decision is suddenly a group one, and not an entirely honest one, at that.

Public platforms tend to encourage opinions that conform to prevailing thought, while friends might be reluctant to offer any negative feedback, she notes.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with consulting others before making a decision, and the Internet has been a boon to data-hungry consumers who love to comparison shop.

But more information doesn’t necessarily improve the ability to make a good choice,

adds Tsai. People tend to be inconsistent in assessing various factors, she says, and biases can start to creep into the decision.

Cain says he often hears from people after they’ve already shelled out for a pricey vehicle — folks seeking reassurance that they didn’t make a horrible mistake.

“You never want to look at the flyers after you went grocery shopping and find out you should have gone to Sobeys when you went to Superstore,” chuckles Cain, who also writes for AutoFocus and The Truth About Cars and has been reviewing vehicles for 13 years.

“People do tend to be either disappointed or elated when they discover what other people have to say.”

It can be easy to succumb to online hype, so remain critical of what you read and who’s behind it, says Falcon.

“You’re looking for information that helps you make a personal decision and nobody else is going to make that decision for you. And if you’re letting somebody else make the decision for you, you’ve got a problem.”

And be leery of “the best” labels, Hand adds. “(The term) becomes empty after a while. The more someone says (something is the best) the emptier it gets.” ■

Living by the sword: Carving a niche making warrior

BY MICHAEL HILL The Associated Press NEW HAMPTON, N.Y. — Through smoke and sparks and staccato banging from his anvil, John Lundemo forges swooping swords that look like they should be pulled from a stone, swung by a samurai or thrust on “Game of Thrones.”

The 60-year-old has carved out a niche making pricey blades that are inspired by history but liberally mix in elements of East and West, high art and Hollywood.

“I do tend to add my own flair,” Lundemo said in his shop recently. “Making exact copies,

I don’t do.”

While not precisely like the weapons wielded by gladiators or knights, these razor-sharp weapons stretching up to 6 feet long and costing upward of $3,000 are built to be used — even if it’s for slashing milk jugs in the backyard.

Lundemo has been making swords for about three decades, about half that in his workshop 50 miles north of New York City. The forge, anvil and scalding oil tank speak to his craft.

And the posters on the wall for the movies “Gladiator” and “Grindhouse” speak to his tendency to slice and dice details.

His $1,950 “Serenity” sword, for instance, is described on-

line as drawing on classic German, Chinese, Japanese and Swiss designs. But the butt end of the handle, the pommel, was inspired by a sword in the 1993 martial arts movie “The Bride with White Hair.”

Movies, specifically the 1974 horror flick “Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter,” sparked Lundemo’s sword fascination as a young man. He began buying blades for mock sword fights with his brother. But there were problems with those steel swords.

“I was breaking them all the time. You know, halfway through a sword fight and your sword breaks, it’s annoying,” he said. “So I started making them.”

He forged blades in the back of www.canadianinquirer.net

a New Mexico jewelry shop and later after hours in the upstate New York sign shop where he worked. Those first swords stunk, he says, but he educated himself on the finer points of edge geometry, metal tempering and distal tapering, which refers to the blade getting thinner from guard to tip.

Over time, he established his brand Odinblades in what can be a cut-throat business. There is an army of sword makers who sell historical replicas, fantasy swords, “battle ready” swords for under $100. Online retailer Kult of Athena in Elgin, Illinois, for example, sells swords from more than 30 makers.

So who buys swords in the 21st century?

Collectors and history buffs who hang them on a wall, “cutters” who want a sharp and balanced weapon for slicing jugs, pieces of bamboo or test dummies, and sword fighters.

Whittlinger said moviemakers and theatre groups account for some sales, too. The apparently racially motivated killing last week of a black man in New York City with a 26-inch sword illustrates the rare times when such weapons are still used for their original purpose.

Lundemo says he makes enough from swords for his wife and himself to pay the bills.

They’re not getting rich, but the work has its benefits.

“The cool factor is way up there,” he said. “Cool factor 11.” ■

28

Lifestyle

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Women talk about their journey taking care of loved ones who are ill

BY LEILANI S. JUNIO Philippines News Agency MANILA — When Josephine Esteban found out that her child has ADHD, she went all out to find a way to help herself and her family on how to handle their situation.

Just like her, Jeanne Desiree Khonghun, an epileptic, has been relying on her family’s support in taking care of two children and her mother who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Both women shared their personal experiences in caring for a family member suffering from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, epilepsy and dementia during Tuesday’s media briefing dubbed “The Journey of Women in ADHD, Dementia and Epilepsy”, held in observance of Women’s Month this March.

“As mothers and care providers, women have to bear the burden in coping with the challenges posed by these serious neurological conditions. It is only fitting that we are holding this event during our celebration of Women’s Month,” said Cheryl Maley, president and managing director of Novartis Healthcare Philippines, which organized the forum.

Pediatrician and neurologist of the Batangas Medical Center, Dr. Elizabeth Palines, spoke of the challenges of raising a child with ADHD. It is important that the parents of a child with ADHD learn “the art of accepting it,” as well as how to deal with the child when he or she starts throwing a tantrum, being disruptive, or showing poor performance in school.

According to experts, ADHD symptoms differ from one to another but its symptoms always begin in childhood and include inattentiveness, impulsivity, and hyperactivity.

Palines said children with ADHD require behavioral therapy.

Josephine noted that before she found out that her 13-yarold son has ADHD, she was often summoned by the school guidance counselor over the boy’s “misbehavior”. She also

had a difficult time bringing had an episode at work, she was him to parties because he would advised not to return. This led be disruptive, throw tantrums, to her slight depression. and grab things from other chil“That was when I decided dren. The boy was also often to go for a bachelor’s degree in irritable that she began seeing music. I was telling myself, at him as a “problem child”. least in the end, I will be holdAfter it became clear to her ing my own load. I have my own that the boy has ADHD, she time, so I can do this,” she said, went through a stage of de- adding that in school, they did nial, fearing what other people not make a big deal out of her would say, but she eventually illness. came to accept it.

“And probably because I have “The first thing I had to give handled it, my friends and proup was pride,” she said, adding fessor did not consider it as that once she got through the something heavy to carry. They stage, she joined an ADHD sup- treated me normally,” she said, port group. relating that she taught them The group, she said, has been how to do first aid in case she truly helpful. It was where she suffers an attack. learned of creative ways to deal Jeannie moved on to the next with or talk to her son. And stage of her life when she marwhen she heard that depression ried a childhood friend who unis an accompanying disease of derstands her condition. When ADHD, she began seeking med- she got pregnant, she said she ical advice on how to avoid it. was categorized as high risk.

Josephine’s message to other “So, I had to resign. After said, relating that for four years, mothers like her — early accep- giving birth, I was advised not her mother refused to take tance would enable them to act to breastfeed while I’m taking medication, insisting that she quickly. “Had I known ahead medicine. That was another was not sick. about it, I would have consulted thing,” she said.

“It was only last year when a behavioral therapist at once,” With a family, she decided she started taking medicine. she said. not to pursue a full-time job.

And it was not even regular beMeanwhile, Dr. Leonor Ca“I teach Piano 101 now and cause she would forget and my bral-Lim, chair of the Depart- then. I chose to stay with my dad would forget as well,” she ment of Neurosaid. sciences of the Jeannie reUniversity of counted that one the Philippinestime, her mom Philippine GenSome patients may not find the right gave the house eral Hospital, words to express their thoughts and help PHP2,000 said it is possible are thus usually misunderstood, for the market for women with prompting them to become and completely epilepsy to give frustrated and irritable. forgot about it birth and even that she started breastfeed her telling people child. that her money “Most pregnancies of women kids and take care of them. was stolen. The housemaid with epilepsy are successful. Now, I am a housewife. My son, eventually left, she said, adding Majority of them — as much who is 11 years old, just gradu- that no house help could stand as 95 percent — can have nor- ated from grade school, and my her mom. She also told of an inmal children and they can raise daughter is turning Grade 3. I stance when her mom had a fit families,” said Lim. “A majority am thankful that my husband is and choked someone. of persons (with epilepsy) can very supportive and we have a Since she was no longer earnlive a normal life, although they family business,” she said. ing as much as she used to and have limitations.”

A huge challenge for her was not socializing much, JeanShe noted that it is important though is the cost of her medi- nie’s mother became depressed. that pregnant epileptic patients cation, about PHP250 a day, And as an offshoot of her mom’s work closely with their obste- after the discount given to per- mood swings, her sister became tricians and pediatricians to sons with disability (PWD). bipolar, Jeannie related. enable them to enjoy motherJeannie has another chalIn this critical period, she hood. lenge — her 76-year-old mother said she is just counting on the Jeannie’s epilepsy only sur- who has been diagnosed with strong support of her family. faced when she was in college. Alzheimer’s. Being the eldest in Taking care of a loved one But despite her condition, she her family, the responsibility to suffering from Alzheimer’s Dismanaged to complete her de- care for her mother fell on her ease is a big challenge, said Dr. gree in tourism and find a job in lap.

Socorro Martinez, chairperson a museum. However, when she This journey is not easy, she of the Dementia Council of the www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippines Neurological Association.

Alzheimer’s, she said, is irreversible and only worsens with age, affecting a person’s attention, concentration, ability to solve a problem, orientation, and language.

“Some patients may not find the right words to express their thoughts and are thus usually misunderstood, prompting them to become frustrated and irritable,” Martinez said.

So far, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, she said, pointing out that the drugs available only address the symptoms.

Caregivers need to exercise patience when responding to the questions of Alzheimer’s patients, Martinez said, advising them to remember the three “Rs” — Respect, Repetition and Re-assurance.

“When you say respect, never start the statement with a negative word. Don’t say, ‘No, no it’s Tuesday.’ Just state the day so they don’t get offended,” she explained.

The patients tend to forget, that is why they keep on repeating the same questions. To this, Martinez said just state the answer.

“Then, often reassure them that they can still do it,” she said.

She also advised caregivers to take a day off at least once a week. ■

29

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

Sports Star eyes share of early lead

BY MUSONG R. CASTILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer STAR IS going great guns in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, and the scary thing about it is that the Hotshots aren’t even in full force yet.

Marc Pingris will sit out a fourth straight game as Star tries to stay unbeaten, clashing with Mahindra and its new import on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

A Hotshots victory would mean a share of the early elimination round lead.

Pingris, the team’s heart and defensive pillar, is still out with a hip injury, and the Hot-

shots will be contending with an import they barely know in the 4:15 p.m. contest with the Floodbuster to unveil Keith Wright.

Once the starting center for Harvard where Jeremy Lin also played, Wright comes over to take the place of James White, whom Mahindra had to let go of for reasons beyond statistics.

“It wasn’t anything based on numbers,” Mahindra coach Chris Gavina told the Inquirer over the phone after the only practice Wright had with the team on Tuesday. “We just felt that we need an inside presence with the (local) personnel we have.”

Wright has just come from the NBA D-League and is in

great shape.

“He’s ready to bang,” Gavina said. “Hopefully he brings us to the right path and brings us stability on both ends, which we have been lacking.”

It would be interesting to see how “big” Wright plays, as he will be ranged against Tony Mitchell, a workhorse of a reinforcement who has been chiefly responsible for Star’s 3-0 start.

Star is loaded on all fronts even with Pingris sitting it out, with Paul Lee and Mark Barroca leading a battery of talented backcourt men that coach Chit Victolero could rotate.

While Star tries to stay spotless, GlobalPort and crowd darling Barangay Ginebra shoot for

Araneta Coliseum.

first victories in the 7 p.m. contest, with the Gin Kings coming off a sorry 91-94 loss to Phoenix Petroleum in their debut on Saturday in Davao.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Commissioner has slapped a P30,000 fine and suspended San Miguel Beer swingman Ronald Tubid for the Beer-

WAYKURAT / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

men’s next two games because of a flagrant foul 2 infraction on Meralco’s Chris Newsome last Sunday.

Commissioner Chito Narvasa handed down the penalties after proving that Tubid hit Newsome with a closed fist that resulted in the Meralco guard sustaining a swollen right eye. ■

Olympic silver medalist Diaz, Alab Pilipinas athletes laud government support bows to Singapore PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY

fore must be addressed now). It’s time for change,” said the amiable and humble Diaz, whose dedication and sacrifice has not only gained her respect but also proved that in pursuit of sports excellence is “believing and having confidence (in) one’s self.”

To budding athletes, Diaz emphasized, “Mahalin nila ang Pilipinas. Dapat alam nila kung bakit sila nandito, dahil mahal nila ang

in her province — a venue for poor but budding athletes.

Diaz revealed that she has already acquired a lot costing her MANILA — Rio Olympic silver more than PHP2 million from medalist Hidilyn Diaz praised her cash incentives in winning the government for extending the Olympic medal. support to the Filipino athletes Recently, for the span of two and coaches. weeks, the PSC has conducted Interviewed by Philippines a sports caravan that has re-esNews Agency (PNA), Diaz, pride tablished communications with of Zamboanga, the first Filipina local government units which to win an Olympic focused the medal, stressed strengthening of that the future of the decades-old Philippines lies in Philippine Sports grassroot develWhat was lacking before must be Development opment. addressed now.

Council (PSDF).

Last April 1, the Under the Philippine Sports PSDF, local govCommission ernment units — (PSC), the government sports sports nila, madali na lang mana- starting from the barangay units body, through its chair William lo (Let them love the Philippines. up to the regional level — are “Butch” Ramirez, announced They must know why they are mandated to develop its grassthe increase of athletes and here: because they love their roots sports program. coaches allowances. sport, winning will come easy).”

The funding requirements of “Para sa akin masaya. Nara“Nakikita ko ang future ng Phil- the sports program comes from ramdaman namin ang support nila ippine sports, dapat ma-develop the so-called National Sports De(For me, it’s happy. We feel their ang grassroots sports talaga (I see velopment Fund (NSDF) where support),” said Diaz, emphasizing the future of Philippine sports, it is sourced from Philippine the support should be sustained. grassroot sports must be devel- Amusement and Gaming Corp.

“Kung ano ang pagkukulang oped),” added Diaz, who herself (Pagcor) and Philippine Charnoong time ko dapat i-address has devoted some of her time in ity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), ngayon (What was lacking be- the construction of a sports gym among others. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Slingers despite Ravena’s presence

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer ALAB PILIPINAS’ inconsistent play resurfaced on Sunday, leaving the Philippine club teetering on the brink for the first time in its maiden season in the 2017 Asean Basketball League.

Struggling to find their flow on offense and a step slower on defense, the Filipinos bowed to the Singapore Slingers, 67-77, in Game 1 of their best-of-three ABL semifinal series before a sellout crowd at OCBC Arena here.

The Slingers crushed Alab’s zone defense with five triples early—including two each from ex-PBA player Josh Urbiztondo and Wong Lei Long—to seize control, before leaning on Xavier Alexander down the stretch to hold off Alab in the fourth period.

“It’s the same story for us the whole season,” said Alab coach

Mac Cuan. “We just can’t get over this discipline issue on defense. Those mistakes cost us especially now that we’re in the playoffs.”

“I just felt we went away from what we’re trying to do,” added Cuan. “We just didn’t pay attention to details. It wasn’t about our offense, but missed assignments defensively. We weren’t disciplined enough to play defense.”

Compounding Alab’s woes were injuries to point guard Jeric Fortuna, who hurt his shoulder in the first period, and Ray Parks, who sustained a sprained ankle in the third period and did not return to the game.

Parks, who finished with just four points in 14 minutes, is doubtful for Game 2 on Friday when the series shifts to the Star Arena in Baliwag, Bulacan.

The loss spoiled former UAAP star Kiefer Ravena’s 16-point debut for Alab. ■

30

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Business Building the foundation PLDT confident of a house buying budget of sustained mobile requires resisting temptation revenues amid lower

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD The Canadian Press

like car loans or leases, credit card payments and line of credit payments.

However, DeRose says those two ratios likely don’t capture the full picture for many Canadians.

“Everyone’s financial situation is different, so just using a calculator is not going to give you all the answers,” he says.

“Everyone is in a different

ation could change. For those planning on having children, keep in mind the cost of daycare in a big city can be more OTTAWA — Whether it’s the than $1,000 a month. sizzling real estate market or Canada Mortgage and Housthe desire for something just a ing Corp. publishes a step-bylittle bit nicer, the temptation step guide for potential hometo stretch your homebuying buyers including worksheets budget may be tough to resist. that help people take a careful But there are numerous faclook at their household budget tors to take into account before now and in the future. making the biggest It also includes purchase of your lists of possible costs life, even if you’ve in addition to the qualified with your purchase price, such lender for more. as legal and inspecJohn DeRose, who tion fees associated oversees Vancity’s with the transaction mobile mortgage as well as moving exspecialists, says peopenses, all of which ple paying $1,500 a can add up to thoumonth in rent can’t sands of dollars. necessarily afford a Ina Wielinga, a monthly mortgage knowledge transof $1,500. fer consultant at “When you own a CMHC, says it is imhome there are extra portant to be honest costs, so that’s why when creating a budit is important to get and planning for sit down and talk to the future. somebody,” he says.

For those planning The maximum to have a family, amount people that could mean can spend on a a drop in househome depends hold income on the size of Everyone’s financial situation is while one partheir down paydifferent, so just using a calculator is ent takes materment and two not going to give you all the answers. nity or paternity key ratios. leave, Wielinga According to said. the gross debt “How would service ratio rule, that impact our monthly housing costs — which part of their life cycle. They payments? Can we still maininclude mortgage payments, have expenses that others may tain the type of lifestyle we property taxes, heating expens- not have, they may have chil- want?” she said homebuyers es and 50 per cent of any condo dren, they many not.” need to ask themselves. fees, if they apply — should not Planning for the future is im“There could be potentially exceed 32 per cent of one’s aver- portant because costs can fluc- also some things that are unage gross monthly income. tuate throughout life. Inter- foreseen. Maybe there could be The second rule, called the est rates are near record lows a job loss.” total debt service ratio, says now but will likely rise at some In a hot real estate market, monthly debt loads should be point, as will things like utility potential buyers need to be reno more than 40 per cent of costs, property taxes and condo alistic about what their budget average gross monthly income. fees. Your paycheque, however, will allow for today and beyond, That includes all housing costs may not keep pace.

DeRose says. included in the gross debt serThere’s also the costs of buy“Sometimes renting is betvice ratio as well as other debts ing a new car, or a family situ- ter,” he says. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

voice call rates

BY AEROL JOHN B. PATENA Philippines News Agency MANILA — PLDT said its recent decision to lower call rates to all mobile networks for as low as Php 1 per minute has no significant impact on the firm’s revenues.

PLDT Chief Revenue Officer and ePLDT President and CEO Eric Alberto said that the initiative was in line with the government’s directive to lower the interconnection rates of mobile service providers and help ensure affordable voice calls for its subscribers.

“The lower call rates are very much discounted with our bundled services. The competition in the industry enables us to offer affordable services to our subscribers,”said Alberto in an interview with reporters late last week on the sidelines of the launching of its partnership with international information technology (IT) firm Cisco for the offering of its latest digital based solutions for businesses in the country.

Smart Communications has announced that it will provide subscribers with 50 minutes of all-net calls valid for 3 days, lowering the cost to only Php 1 per minute through its Smart Express Call 50. Smart subscribers will be able to avail Smart Express Call 50 as an add-on to top Smart Prepaid offers, boosting the network’s already feature-packed data, call, and text promos.

The Php 1-per minute all-net call rates shall also be made available for Smart Postpaid subscribers who may enjoy the rates on top of their existing plan.

TNT and Sun shall also roll out similar offers, allowing users to conveniently boost their

existing TNT and Sun promos with 5 minutes of all-net calls for only Php 5.

Smart has continued to sustain its growth in mobile data business as it posted revenues amounting to Php 25.5 billion in 2016, increasing by 26 percent from the previous year’s Php 20.2 billion due to the availability of more smartphones, data offers bundled with digital content and services, and upgrade on its mobile network.

Mobile data usage of Smart subscribers improved to 148,000 terabytes last year, 49 percent higher than the 2015 figure.

According to Alberto, the rise in mobile data traffic highlighted the popularity of data usage as well as the potential to grow mobile data revenues, particularly mobile Internet.

The telco firm is undertaking its 3 year rollout program to expand the coverage of LTE and 3G data networks through utilizing low-band frequencies such as 700 megahertz (MHz) for high speed LTE services.

The network rollout program has been completed in Metro Davao where subscribers now consistently enjoy average data download speeds of over 20 megabits per second (Mbps).

The LTE upgrade is now underway in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu, where improvements in data speeds are being experienced in areas where new LTE facilities have already been installed.

Higher data speeds of 80 to 90 Mbps have been registered in selected areas where LTEAdvanced (LTE-A) facilities have been activated. LTE-A can deliver higher data rates by combining two or more frequency bands using carrier aggregation technology. ■

Business

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

31

Foreign investments to hit 35% of total pledges with BOI

BY KRIS M. CRISMUNDO Philippines News Agency MANILA — Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the share of investment commitments from foreign sources in the Board of Investments (BOI) is likely to hit the 30 to 35 percent level this year.

Lopez, who is also the BOI chair, in an interview, said that the share of foreign investment pledges in the agency was expected to increase, driven by the interest coming from the countries which President Rodrigo Duterte made official and state visits.

In the past years, 80 percent of investment pledges in BOI came from local investors while foreign sources shared 20 percent of the total approved projects.

Last year, BOI approved Php 89.3 billion investment projects from foreign firms.

Top foreign country investors in BOI last year include Australia with pledges amounting to Php 30.5 billion, Singapore with Php 13.6 billion, the Netherlands with Php 13.1 billion, Japan with Php 6.8 billion, and South Korea with Php 6.4 billion.

“Indications are mostly coming from the new interested coun-

tries or investors,” Lopez said.

In particular, he cited the strong interest of Chinese companies to invest in the country following the meeting of President Duterte and President Xi Jinping in Beijing last October.

Just last month, the BOI received letters of intent from five Chinese firms: Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) International Aero-development Corporation; Liaoning Bora Enterprise Group Co., Ltd.; Huili Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd., Dalian Wanyang Heavy Industries Co., Ltd.; and YiDingTai (YDT) International.

These five companies expressed their interest to locate in the Philippines with investment projects amounting to around USD10 billion or some Php 500 billion.

The Philippines and China also revived the Joint Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation (JCETC), after a fiveyear hiatus, which is expected to further boost investment ties between the two countries.

Also last month, the country’s investment mission to Japan reaped some Php 200-billion worth of investment prospects from Japanese firms in areas

of manufacturing, integrated farming, minerals, energy, and infrastructure.

Moreover, President Duterte’s visit to other ASEAN member states strengthened the interest of the neighboring countries to the Philippines.

The BOI is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, targeting investment approvals of Php 500 billion at end-2017.

Lopez said with the improved interest of foreign investors to explore the Philippines, the BOI would hit or even surpass its target investment approvals for this year. ■

Japan ministry drafts Online stock brokerage profit up 25% action plan to assist PH power sector

BY DORIS DUMLAOABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY RONNEL W. DOMINGO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE JAPANESE government has drawn up a proposed power sector action plan for the Philippines aimed at helping solve electricity problems in the country such as rising demand and high cost for consumers.

According to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the plan was directly handed to the government of the Philippines during the first meeting of the JapanPhilippines Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation and Infrastructure last March 27.

“As one of the most dramatically growing economies in Asia, the Philippines is now facing an increase in electricity demand and therefore needs to ensure the capacity to supply sufficient electricity to satisfy expected needs,” METI said in a statement.

Based on the plan, the Philippines needs a total of 17,338 megawatts in additional generating capacity by 2030.

This is distributed at 10,070 MW for Luzon; 3,618 MW for Visayas, and 3,650 MW for Mindanao.

According to the Department of Energy, current capacity totaled about 14,000 MW nationwide while demand was pegged at 13,000 MW. The DOE wants to raise ca-

pacity to 16,000 MW in order to have enough reserve for the present level of demand.

“At the same time, the [ Philippines] faces challenges in the power sector such as higher electricity tariff than those in other Asian countries and a low electrification rate in regional areas such as in Mindanao,” Japan’s METI added.

The ministry said the electricity tariff in the Philippines “has decreased … but it is still the highest price in Asia.”

Through the action plan, Japan put forward suggestions on how to address the energy situation in the Philippines, including: • Improvement of power generation efficiency by renovating existing coal- fired and hydroelectric power plants; • Introduction of renewable energy by using the country’s abundant natural resources, including geothermal, wind and coal, and • Improvement of the energy balance (mix of resources) through introduction of an LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal The drawing up of the action plan was among the results of the Japan- Philippines summit held last January.

“Japan is prepared to provide different forms of assistance by utilizing technology and knowhow to solve problems facing the power sector in the Philippines,” METI said, referring to possible loans and technical aid. ■

LEADING ONLINE stock brokerage COL Financial reported a banner year despite a tough stock market environment in 2016, with net profit rising by a quarter to a record P328 million while revenue and market share also hit unprecedented levels.

Taking out nonrecurring items, primarily the booking of one-off tax expenses in 2015, COL’s recurring net profit last year rose by 14.7 percent to P328.5 million.

Last year’s profit performance boosted COL’s return on equity to 24 percent from only 20 percent in 2016.

“Our highly scalable business has shown operating leverage in 2016 as net income grew at a much faster pace than revenues,” COL president Conrado Bate said during the company’s stockholders meeting last week.

Consolidated revenue rose by 13.1 percent to a record P833.8 million. This was attributed to the significant growth in the value of transactions handled by COL as its share of value turnover in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) reached 5.6 percent from 3.9 percent in 2015.

Its share in terms of value of local transactions also jumped to a new high of 11.9 percent last year from 7.7 percent in 2015. Its rank in terms of value traded in the PSE improved to number six from number eight www.canadianinquirer.net

COL president Conrado Bate.

previously. It also maintained its number one position in terms of volume of transactions as it cornered 20.6 percent of the total during the year.

COL’s commission revenue last year rose by 24.4 percent to P605.6 million, driven by the 30.4percent jump in commissions from Philippine operations, making up for the slack in Hong Kong operations.

Commissions grew despite the 10.3 percent drop in the value turnover of the PSE in the same period as COL started to reap the benefit of its continuously growing client base.

The brokerage ended the year with more than 205,000 accounts, almost 43,000 more than its year-ago level. Client equity handled by COL also rose to P59.5 billion as of end2016 from P47.1 billion a year ago.

Bate added: “2016 was a pivotal year as we reshaped the brokerage industry and began transforming ourselves into a formidable and diversified fi-

COL FINANCIAL GROUP, INC. / FACEBOOK

nancial service provider. This shift will not come without challenges but we believe there are more opportunities on the horizon,” Bate said.

COL launched a new fund distribution business 18 months ago. Despite being a newcomer, COL Fund Source ended its first full year in 2016 with more than 18,000 clients while the total value of assets under administration reached P1.3 billion. COL’s mutual fund net sales reached P846.4 million in 2016, bringing its share to total industry net sales to 17 percent.

COL Fund Source currently carries the peso-denominated funds of six asset management companies which together account for around 98 percent of the assets under management of the mutual fund industry.

“We are glad to see the continuous growth of our client base and their investments which is a clear testament to our success in educating and encouraging more Filipinos to save and invest,” Bate said. ■

32

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Technology SpaceX launches its first recycled rocket in historic leap

BY MARCIA DUNN The Associated Press CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. — SpaceX successfully launched and then retrieved its first recycled rocket Thursday, a historic feat and the biggest leap yet in its bid to drive down costs and speed up flights.

It was the first time SpaceX founder Elon Musk tried to fly a booster that soared before on an orbital mission. He was at a loss for words after the Falcon 9 core landed on the bull’s-eye of the ocean platform following liftoff with a broadcasting satellite, achieving what some had once told him was impossible.

“This is a huge day. My mind’s blown, frankly,” Musk said. He called it an “incredible milestone in the history of space” and predicted, “this is going to be a huge revolution in spaceflight.”

Musk foresees dozens if not hundreds of repeat flights for a booster and rocket turnarounds of as little as 24 hours, perhaps by next year. Land, refuel and then back up again, with everything leading to one day putting humanity “out there among the stars.”

This particular first stage landed on an ocean platform almost exactly a year ago after a space station launch for NASA. SpaceX refurbished and tested the 15-story booster, still sporting its nine original engines. It nailed another vertical landing at sea Thursday once it was finished boosting the satellite for the SES company of Lux-

embourg. SpaceX employees flying back the Falcon’s firstjammed outside Mission Con- stage, kerosene-fueled boosters trol at the Hawthorne, Cali- in 2015; it’s since landed eight fornia, company headquarters boosters, three at Cape Cacheered loudly every step of the naveral and five on ocean platway — and again when the sat- forms — actually, six times at ellite reached its proper orbit. sea counting Thursday’s redo.

Longtime customer SES got On Thursday, the company a discount for agreeing to use even managed to recover the a salvaged rocket, but wouldn’t Falcon’s $6 million satellite en- First stage of a Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket on the Autonomous spaceport drone say how much. It’s not just closure, which used thrusters ship (ASDS) Of Course I Still Love You. The stage landed successfully after about the savings, said chief and parachutes to drop into the launching the SpaceX CRS-8 resupply mission to the ISS. According to SpaceX, technology officer Martin Hal- Atlantic. Until Thursday, try- the photograph was taken from a NASA chase plane. liwell. He called it “a big step for ing to retrieve the second stage SPACEX PHOTOS / FLICKR everybody — something that’s used to get the satellite into the never, ever been done before.” proper, high orbit seemed like fact, has soared five times from Future refights won’t need as “Absolutely astounding,” a “Hail Mary” pass, Musk said. Texas. These flights, however, much work, Musk conceded, Halliwell said after his com- But no more. were suborbital; in other words, Given its historic mission, pany’s satellite reached the Musk said this day was 15 nothing went into orbit. the booster will not fly again, proper orbit. “Just opened the years in coming and that, all NASA also has shared the Musk said, but rather remain at door into a whole new era of told, the reusability effort has quest for rocket reusability. Cape Canaveral for viewing. spaceflight.” cost the company at least $1 During the space shuttle proSpaceX — which aims to SpaceX granted SES insight billion, which will take time to gram, the twin booster rock- launch up to six reused boostinto the entire process of get- recoup. He brought all five of ets dropped away two minutes ers this year, two of them with ting the boostinto flight and the yet-to-fly, super-sized Faler ready to fly parachuted into con Heavy in late summer — is again, Halliwell the Atlantic for familiar with uncharted terrisaid, providing recovery.

The tory. confidence evThis is a huge day. My mind’s blown, booster segBesides becoming the first erything would frankly. ments were commercial cargo hauler to the go well. SES, mixed and International Space Station, in fact, is conmatched for each SpaceX is building a capsule sidering more flight. to launch NASA astronauts as launches later this year on re- his young sons to the launch — As for this SpaceX reused soon as next year. It’s also workused Falcon boosters. At a news and the news conference that booster, Halliwell said engi- ing to fly two paying customconference, Musk personally followed — wanting them to be neers went through it with a ers to the moon next year, and thanked Halliwell for having witness to history-in-the-mak- fine-toothed comb following is developing the Red Dragon, faith in SpaceX. ing. It was fitting, he noted, that its liftoff in April 2016. SES had a robotic spacecraft intended “You’ve got to get away from the rocket took off from NASA’s special access; the satellite pro- to launch to Mars in 2020 and the idea that it’s secondhand,” Launch Complex 39A at Ken- vider, after all, has a long history land. Musk’s ultimate goal is to Halliwell told reporters. “Flight nedy Space Center, the starting with SpaceX. A SES spacecraft establish a human settlement proven,” Musk quickly added, point for the Apollo moon shots was on board for SpaceX’s first on Mars. his preferred term. decades ago. commercial satellite launch in Key to all of this, according Boosters — the most expenBlue Origin, an aerospace 2013. to Musk, is the rapid, repeating sive part of the rocket, accord- company started by another Halliwell wasn’t so sure, turnaround of rockets — and ing to Musk — typically are dis- tech billionaire, Jeff Bezos, al- though, about the cleaning job. employees. SpaceX posted a carded following liftoff, sinking ready has reflown a rocket. One “It’s a bit sooty,” he said with a help wanted ad on its webcast into the Atlantic. SpaceX began of his New Shepard rockets, in smile. following the launch. ■

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Technology

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

33

Don’t forget the ‘killer robots,’ feds told amid artificial intelligence push

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Trudeau government’s drive to transform Canada into an artificial-intelligence superpower is stirring warnings about the possible dark sides of a technology with vast — and largely unknown — potential.

Among the concerns that surfaced this week: “killer robots.”

Known more formally as lethal autonomous weapons systems, the spectre of deadlyefficient technology came up during an open caucus meeting of Senate Liberals who were exploring the pros and cons of AI and robotics.

Expert panellists at the meeting each nodded to the positives associated with these technologies, but there were also calls for Ottawa to develop a welldefined national AI plan.

The feds were also urged to proceed with caution.

“The same underlying AI that can be engines of creation can also be engines of destruction,” Ian Kerr, who holds a Canada Research Chair in ethics, law and technology at the University of Ottawa, told senators Wednesday in his opening statement.

“We’re talking about weapons that can sense, operate, target and kill without human intervention or oversight. To

deploy these killer robots is to relinquish control by delegating the kill decision to the machine itself.”

Following Kerr’s remarks, the meeting’s co-chair Sen. Art Eggleton said: “Some frightening prospects there.”

The meeting was held about a week after the federal budget announced a $125-million investment in a pan-Canadian AI strategy. The goal is to help the country leverage its strengths in AI, so it can become a world leader in a rapidly emerging field packed with economic potential.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau held separate events in the Toronto region to promote AI-boosting measures in their budget.

Trudeau said plans for some 25 university research chairs would include “deep AI chairs” across the country.

The government has also made efforts to address widespread expectations that AI advances will lead to the elimination of a significant number of jobs over the coming years.

The budget increased federal support in areas such as skills and training to help workers adjust to the fast-approaching changes.

Some experts say the government should also get ahead of the ethical questions.

“It’s very popular, very current and quite frankly very cool

to ... invest in all of these technologies,” Kerr said in an interview Thursday.

“But I think we also have to develop clear road maps, have a clear sense of where we want to go and always have an ethical lens, which by its nature, will be cautious and will be skeptical and won’t be simply cheerleading the technology.”

Kerr said killer robots are likely just a futuristic technology at this point, but warned the AI field is evolving very quickly.

Paul Hannon, the head of Mines Action Canada, addressed the Senate meeting as a member of the public. Hannon has been urging Ottawa to support international efforts to pre-emptively ban lethal autonomous weapons.

“It’s not that we’re opposed to the technology,” he said. “It’s the ethical issues that don’t really get discussed.”

In an interview Thursday, Hannon added he would like to see Parliament put forward a resolution stating Canada’s opposition to the development, production and use of such weapons. He also said Canada is well-positioned to launch national and international discussions on the issue.

“The technology is moving so quickly that the quicker we get at this, the better off we’re all going to be,” Hannon said.

Economic Development Min-

“I think overall we have to recognize that technology should be a force for good, that technology should help make society better.”

ister Navdeep Bains, who’s leading the federal push to expand AI, was asked about Ottawa’s plans to address ethical concerns, including killer robots.

“I think overall we have to recognize that technology should be a force for good, that technology should help make society better,” Bains said in an interview Thursday.

“It’s not about human versus machine and, (regarding) any issues around ethical challenges associated with technology developments going forward, we will work very closely with industry and civil society in order to deal with those issues.”

Bains said he expected Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan to discuss the matter in greater detail over the coming months.

A Foreign Affairs Department spokeswoman wrote in an email that, at a December United Nations meeting, Canada supported the creation of a group of international government experts assigned to discuss lethal auton-

omous weapons systems.

The president of the research group responsible for overseeing Ottawa’s recently announced AI strategy said the $125-million plan calls for some discussion of the social, ethical and philosophical issues.

Between $1 million and $2 million of the investment would be used to bring together some of the best thinkers in Canada and around the world, said Alan Bernstein, head of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

“Now, if you’re saying one of those applications might be in weapons systems, yeah, it’s possible,” Bernstein said. “With AI, I’m not saying there aren’t societal implications — I’m sure there are and will be.

“But I certainly can’t predict what they will be and that’s why I think we need ongoing discussions, both within the public and by scholars, who are really focused on this issue and looking at it in its full dimensions.” ■

BlackBerry eyes wearables, tablet, appliances in software licensing expansion

BY ALEKSANDRA SAGAN The Canadian Press WATERLOO, ONT. — BlackBerry’s logo may soon appear on more than just smartphones as CEO John Chen says the company is expanding its software licensing business.

The former smartphone leader said last year it was exiting the hardware business in favour of focusing on its growing software division. It has since inked licensing deals to put its hardware into phones

manufactured by partners and opened a research centre for autonomous cars to help it capitalize on the burgeoning selfdriving vehicle market. It is also in talks about a new BlackBerry-branded tablet.

While the potential tablet deal is the closest to coming to fruition, Chen said in a media roundtable that he’s looking into putting BlackBerry software into wearables, appliances and medical devices.

“We (would) actually like to have our software technology and secure technology embed-

ded into everything,” he said.

Chen’s comments came after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, sending its shares soaring 11 per cent to $10.29 in afternoon trading in Toronto.

Licensing deals would follow a similar model to existing arrangements in place with partners who can design, manufacture and sell BlackBerrybranded smartphones, using the company’s software, in exchange for royalties per phone.

Earlier this year, BlackBerry partner BB Merah Putih www.canadianinquirer.net

launched the Aurora for the Indonesian market. In February, TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd. (TCT) revealed a BlackBerry-branded phone with the classic physical keyboard, which is expected to be sold in Canada and several other countries soon.

Chen said he expects to see some revenue from the Aurora this quarter, while TCT’s KEYone device likely won’t start shipping until May. He said he’d be disappointed with one million units sold and expects the licensing agree-

ments, in total, to pay royalties on multimillion units annually.

When the company reports its next quarterly results, Chen said he expects to disclose how much the company made from royalties, which will include fees from the handset deals.

BlackBerry said its fourthquarter loss under general accounting rules, reported in U.S. dollars, was $47 million, or nine cents per share — a big improvement from the $238-million loss it had at the same time last year.

Revenue for the quarter fell 38 per cent to $286 million. ■

APRIL 7, 2017

CANADA

CAREGIVER NEEDED ASAP Seeking a full time caregiver to assist in an English speaking household environment, to provide personal Care, hygiene, cooking, assist in all aspects of daily routine, with day outings, appointments to a social and demanding middle-age high-quad Male. With light house & yard keeping duties.

Applicant must be Canadian Citizen, Permanent resident, Foreign Worker. Living-in and with valid Drivers license for adapted minivan.

Completed Caregiver’s course or nursing qualifications. Emphasis will be based on reliability, communication skills, comprehension, trust, honesty, loyalty, initiative & flexibility.

Rate of Pay: $13.00/h, plus benefits. Guaranteed 168 hours bi-weekly (plus free R&B). Location: Devon. Alberta. To appy email Glen at maryglen@telusplanet.net

PROVIDE CHILD CARE FOR 4.5 YEAR OLD FULL-TIME, permanent position, $12.00 hour, 32 - 40 hours per week. Start ASAP. Location, Milton, ON. Provide child care for 4 year old. Preferably min. 3 years experience and has first aid certificate.

Duties include; supervision care of child, organize activities for child, instruct child w/ personal hygiene and social development. P/u child from school.

Prepare and serve nutritious meals. Light housekeeping and cleaning duties.

Must speak, read and write English. Education equivalent to high schools graduate in Canada. Accommodation available at no charge on a live-in basis.

(This is not a condition of employment). Relocation costs and medical equivalent to OHIP covered by employer.

Please email resume to jicconsulting@hotmail.com or call mobile: (905) 691 0776

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34

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

35

Travel No days off? No problem for Filipino cruise workers

BY AZER N. PARROCHA Philippines News Agency MANILA — Too busy wrapping a sarong around one of the dozen customers eager to purchase lengths of colorful fabric, Jennifer Magcamit barely had time for a quick chat.

She was in charge of the sarong wrapping demonstration activity on deck 12 of Star Cruises’ Superstar Virgo, the first cruise ship to make Manila its homeport.

Magcamit is only one of more or less 900 workers who practically live in the ship. Of the 900 cruise workers, 60 to 70 percent are Filipinos. Other nationalities include Chinese, Indonesia, Malaysian, Nepalese, Thai, Vietnamese among others. souvenir items in the Star Boutique. The There were so many Filipinos cruise shop was packed with customers asking workers aboard that in a span of 10 min- if the “Buy Three, Take One” chocolate utes, there’s a chance you bump into promo applies to all items on the shelf. one attending to your cabin, selling Ocampo, who answered a few questions you “pasalubong” (souvenirs) and even in between explaining that they were out cooking your food. of matcha-flavored chocolate, said that “Cruise workers have no days off,” despite not having any days off, the upside Magcamit said in between arranging the was that he was barely ever bored. fabric, when there were fewer custom“We get assigned to different ships and ers. “As long as there’s a cruise, we work.” have regular safety trainings. There is alShe said that instead of days off, they ways something to keep is occupied while are entitled to shore leaves or when a on a cruise,” he said. He has been working ship docks and passengers join off-ship for Star Cruises for four years. activities. It’s the only time they get to Perhaps one of the newest and youngrest aside from some est cruise workers eight hours sleep. was Edeileen BatinThey also get a 45gal, 23, who had only day annual leave debeen working on the pending on their conship as restaurant tract to spend time It takes some hostress for around with their families time getting six days that time the in their respective used to but it’s interview was done. provinces. not as difficult Batingal said that Magcamit, 33, hails as it looks. she no longer gets from Marinduque dizzy by the strong and has been workrocking motion of ing with Star Cruisthe boat. She started es since 2005. She as a waitress but was stopped working in eventually tasked 2008 and returned in to serve as hostess 2011. when the situation called for it.

She is a beauty therapist but is someShe still misses her family and friends times tasked to lead special activities in in Davao, but said that it was nice to the ship. When she’s not giving mani- share a room with fellow Filipino cruise cures in the ship’s spa and salon or sell- workers and one Indonesian who she ing beauty products, she’s assisting cus- considers a new friend. tomers with their sarongs.

“It takes some time getting used to but Iron chefs it’s not as difficult as it looks,” she said Sushi chefs Reden Bayani, 45 and cheerfully.

Arjay Escarill, 32 have another thing Never a dull moment in common besides cooking raw fish— Jayson Ocampo, 37, meanwhile, sells they’re both from Bicol and they’re also

PNA

roommates.

Bayani admitted that there were days it was tough to be away from loved ones, the support his workmates helped him get by. He said that it also helped that customers complimented him on his cooking.

Escarill, like Bayani, said that among their best experiences on the ship was when a Swedish captain (whose name they found difficult to pronounce and spell) ate in their restaurant and loved their cooking.

Sous chef Arman Panser, has been working with Star Cruises for almost 15 years. During the galley (kitchen) tour for media, he expertly demonstrated how the stoves operated using electricity instead of gas as a safety hazard.

Panser looked every bit tired but was ready to provide all sorts of details about the galley including how 30,000 to 40,000 eggs are used to prepare a day’s

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worth of meals in the ship.

He admitted that it was even more difficult to cook during rough seas, but he and his teammates have already mastered the art of making sure the dishes always looked presentable and Instagram-worthy.

Inspiration

Service captain Ougil Pinili of Genting Palace, the ship’s premier restaurant, said that he has always been inspired to work because he met his wife in the same ship.

Like the rest of the cruise workers, Pinili attended to several customers but always made sure that his workmates didn’t miss their meals.

Within earshot, he could be heard asking one of the waiters, “Kumain ka na?

(Have you eaten?)” and despite being in the middle of the sea, being on the ship somehow felt like home. ■

36

Travel

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

California’s desert wildflower Circle tour offers explosion draws record crowds Superior travel experience; splendours of Gichigami abound

BY JULIE WATSON The Associated Press BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIF. — An explosion of wildflowers in California’s desert sands is drawing record crowds to see the rare abundance of colour called a “super bloom.”

The natural wonder is thanks to a wet winter followed by warm temperatures in the Anza-Borrego State Park, northeast of San Diego. Wildflower seeds that have been dormant for years in the droughtplagued region have sprouted in mass, producing a spectacular display not seen in 20 years.

An estimated 150,000 people in the past month have converged on Borrego Springs, a town of about 3,500 that abuts the park.

Rain-fed wildflowers are springing up in different landscapes across the state and the western United States. In the Antelope Valley, an arid plateau northeast of Los Angeles, blazing orange poppies are lighting up the ground.

But the “super bloom” — mass amounts of desert plants blooming at once — has been concentrated in the 640,000acre (1,000-square-mile) AnzaBorrego State Park.

In California, super blooms happen about once in a decade in a given area. They have been occurring less frequently with the drought. Last year, the right amount of rainfall and warm temperatures produced carpets of flowers in Death Valley.

The natural show at AnzaBorrego is expected to roll along through May, with different species blooming at different elevations and in different areas. The state park is California’s largest, with hundreds of species of plants including desert lilies, blazing stars and the flaming tall, spiny Ocotillo.

Deputies were brought in to handle the traffic jams as Borrego Springs saw its population triple in a single day.

On one particularly packed weekend in mid-March, motorists were stuck in traffic for five hours, restaurants ran out of food, and some visitors relieved themselves in the fields. Officials have since set up an army

BY COLIN PERKEL The Canadian Press

of Port-A-Pottys, and eateries have stocked up. The craze has been dubbed “Flowergeddon.”

Tour groups from as far as Japan and Hong Kong have flown in to catch the display before it fades away with the rising temperatures.

Wildflower enthusiasts worldwide track the blooms online and arrive for rare sightings like this year’s Bigelow’s Monkey flower, some of which have grown to 8 inches (203 millimeters) in height. The National Park Service has even pitched in with a 24-hour wildflower hotline to find the best spots at the state park.

“We’ve seen everything from people in normal hiking attire to people in designer flip-flops to women in sundresses and strappy heels hike out there to get their picture. When I saw that, I thought, ‘Oh no. Please don’t go out there with those shoes on,”‘ laughed Linda Haddock, head of the Borrego Springs Chamber of Commerce.

On a recent day, a young woman sat among knee-high desert sunflowers and shot selfies against the backdrop of yellow blooms that looked almost neon in contrast to the brown landscape. A mother jumped in the air as her daughter snapped her photo among yellow brittlebushes.

The blooms are attracting hungry sphinx moth caterpillars that munch through acres.

The caterpillars in turn are attracting droves of Swainson hawks on their annual 6,000mile (9,656-kilometre) migration from Argentina.

“It’s an amazing burst in the cycle of life in the desert that has come because of a freakish event like a super bloom,” Haddock said. “It’s exciting. This is going to be so huge for our economy.”

This year’s display has been especially stunning, experts say. The region received 6 1/2 inches (165 millimeters) of rain from December to February, followed by almost two weeks of 90-degree temperatures, setting the conditions for the super bloom. Five years of drought made the seeds ready to pop.

Humans also helped. Park staff, volunteers and female prisoners have been removing the Sahara Mustard plant, an invasive species believed brought to California in the 1920s with another plant, the date palm.

Sahara Mustard had been covering popular wildflower areas, said Jim Dice, research manager at the Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center.

Sandra Reel and her husband drove hundreds of miles out of their way when they heard about this year’s super bloom.

“It is absolutely phenomenal to see this many blooming desert plants all at the same time,” she said. “I think it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

TORONTO — It might not have the must-do cachet of California’s Highway 101, of South Africa’s Garden Route or of the Rockies.

Yet a voyage around the world’s largest freshwater lake, the big sea they once called Gichigami, reveals a sublime and in-your-face spectacular natural wonderland unrivalled anywhere.

The 2,000-kilometre “Circle Tour,” done over multiple visits or for the more adventurous in one go, is to be savoured like one of the fine Group of Seven paintings the area north of Lake Superior inspired.

“It’s like every piece of shoreline is different and unique in some way,” says Dan Bevilacqua, executive director of Superior Country. “It goes for the communities as well.”

There are the Ontario city splendours of Sault Ste. Marie or Blues Fest in Thunder Bay. At its most westerly point, travel Bob Dylan Way through a charming Duluth, Minn., perched above the lake at the start of Highway 61, near the place from where the famed poet-singer hails.

In between, find out where a bear cub named Winnie-thePooh began his long journey to literary fame, check out the motel where renowned pianist Glenn Gould would get away from it all, or take in the striking monument where a cancerstricken Terry Fox gave up his one-legged trans-Canada run.

Stop and admire the revamped main street of Terrace Bay, or on the south shore — which the Americans call the north shore — meander through picturesque Marquette or breeze past Christmas on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Mostly, however, it’s about a lake that splits its sparkling waters between Canada and the United States.

Indeed, as the largest of the

Great Lakes, Superior offers seemingly boundless shoreline — log-strewn beaches, gentle river mouths, pristine sunbathing sands, rock cliffs and waterfall trails — all replete with oceanic vistas. In fact, it would be easy to confuse the greatest of the lakes for an ocean — were it not for its glass-clear water that on serene summer days makes for a bracing, salt-free swim.

At other times, however, that water can turn ferocious — with steely-grey waves two or three storeys high. Moodiness and power both awesome and breath-taking. Stop and look out over where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a November gale in 1975 just a few kilometres from safety — a tragedy immortalized in song by Canadian singer-songwriting legend Gordon Lightfoot.

Getting a sense of scale is difficult. At its longest, Lake Superior stretches some 560 kilometres as the eagle flies, abutting one province and three states.

By some counts, if you poured out its water, it would flood the entire continents of North and South America to a depth of 30 centimetres.

The shoreline of twists and turns that runs to about 2,780 kilometres offers stunning views and unsurpassed magnificence around most every corner — not to mention stupendous motorcycling or driving territory for the enthusiast.

Everywhere there are surprises, some steeped in indigenous history that traces back as far as 10,000 years, such as the Ojibwa pictographs at Agawa Rock. There is the delight of Old Woman Bay, where river meets lake, or places whose very names are the lure: Rabbit Blanket Lake, Pinguisibi Falls or Kakabeka Falls, nicknamed Niagara of the North.

Hunt or fish. Walk or cycle innumerable trails. Camp out in well-equipped provincial or federal parks, or stop by at hotels, motels, inns or lodges along ❱❱ PAGE 38 Circle tour

FRIDAY APRIL 7, 2017

37

Food Mustard and sherry inspire adult-friendly chicken tenders

BY MELISSA D’ARABIAN The Associated Press I MENTIONED to my husband recently that I had mastered an oven-baked chicken tender recipe, and his response was a little underwhelming; dismissive even. It sounded like a healthier version of a restaurant kid’s meal, and frankly, he wasn’t interested.

At the dinner table, however, I served them to the family, calling the dish “fried chicken” to my husband, and “chicken tenders” to my kiddos. I’m a big believer in cooking only one meal for the whole family — I’m not a short-order cook — but certainly the name could vary a little?

Success on all fronts! My husband is the fried chicken lover of the bunch, but he watches what he eats fairly strictly.

And he was sold on the chicken — crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside; no dipping sauce needed. (But hey, if you want to grab some lowfat yogurt or ranch dressing, I wouldn’t stop you.)

The secret to this adultfriendly chicken tender recipe is a few hours in a simple lowcal marinade made of sherry and Dijon mustard, which tenderizes the chicken and then serves as the glue for panko bread crumbs. Using panko means lots of texture and crunch without an overly heavy coating. (Another option: pulse up some fresh bread in a processor to create jagged, fluffy bread crumbs, and you’ll only need a slice or two of bread for a full recipe of tenders.)

Spraying the tenders with an oil mister combined with high oven heat work together to create a crispy crust — not quite fried, but pretty darned close.

With boneless skinless chicken breast meat boasting 31 grams of protein per serving (and fewer than 4 grams of fat), this easy chicken tender recipe may take a permanent spot in your weeknight dinner menu rotation.

Both the adults and the kiddos will be thrilled.

Dijon and sherry oven chicken tenders

Start to finish: 35 minutes, plus

marinating time Servings: 4 • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard • 1/4 cup dry sherry (or other fortified wine, such as Marsala or Madeira or Port) • 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, or dried herbes de provence, or dried tarragon • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast tenders, or boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips about one-inch wide and three inches long • 1 cup panko bread crumbs • olive oil in a spray mister (or nonstick spray) Place the mustard, sherry, herbs, salt and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag and mix the contents by squishing the bag a little. Add the chicken to the bag, coating well with the mustard mixture. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-8 hours.

Once ready to bake, heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit a baking rack on a large baking sheet.

(Cover the baking sheet with foil to catch drips and make clean up easier.) Lightly spray the baking rack with olive oil to keep chicken from sticking.

Place the bread crumbs on a plate and use a fork to remove chicken tenders from the marinade and toss in crumbs to coat on all sides. Place the breaded chicken tenders on the baking rack on the baking sheet and spray the top of the chicken lightly with the olive oil mister.

Bake the chicken until cooked through to 160 degrees, about 20-25 minutes. Serve.

Cooks note: Add 1 tablespoon of honey to the marinade for honey-mustard tenders.

Nutrition information per serving: 289 calories; 20 calories from fat; 2 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 97 mg cholesterol; 840 mg sodium; 19 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 41 g protein.

For a summer cocktail, look no further than a Ginnie Meyer THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA AS WE ease on down that road toward spring, you might start dipping your toe back into outdoor living. It starts with two minutes of staring into the sunshine before you huddle back under the blanket, but before you know it, you’ll be reading your newspaper al fresco with a cocktail in hand.

That moment requires planning, so it’s time to talk spring cocktail. Sure, you could go generic with your old standby, but

even small moments deserve to be celebrated with something a little extraordinary.

Let our Ginnie Meyer be your first taste of spring. The drink is a refreshing blend of gin, freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice, and ginger beer. It’s a slow wave goodbye to citrus season as the sun breaks through the clouds.

Meyer lemons are sweeter than everyday lemons, with a flavour that might remind you of a slightly tart orange. They are also usually a brighter, more vibrant shade of yellow that looks beautiful when sliced for garnish. You should be able

to find them at most grocery stores during the winter and early spring, but you can substitute equal parts lemon and

orange juice, if you can’t.

Like all citrus, Meyer lemons can be squeezed at the peak of their season and their juice fro-

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zen for later. Portion 1/2 cup of juice into small zip-top bags to have enough for four cocktails, and sip all year long.

You may have noticed old favourites like the Dark & Stormy and Moscow Mule popping up on happy hour menus. Ginger beer, which is stronger in flavour than the familiar ginger ale, is having a moment right now. This recipe capitalizes on the availability of high-quality and, if you’re lucky, local versions of this lightly carbonated, slightly spicy mixer. ❱❱ PAGE 38 For a summer

38

Food

APRIL 7, 2017

FRIDAY

Put a little spring in your hummus with roasted carrots

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press HUMMUS GENERALLY contains five basic ingredients; chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil. Once you have these ingredients combined, it is easy to add other herbs, spices and even roasted carrots — like I do here — to flavour and season basic hummus.

In the early spring, I love to roast fresh carrots until they are deeply caramelized and puree them to add to the base of chickpeas and tahini. To deepen the golden colour, I add a touch of turmeric. The combined result is a deep golden yellow hummus that is the perfect colour for daffodil season.

Served with flatbread for breakfast in some Mediterranean countries, the proteinrich and fiber-filled chickpeas make hummus a good way to start the day. In the U.S., hummus has become a popular appetizer and snack. Although hummus is sold at virtually all supermarkets, it is so easy to prepare that you really should start making it yourself. Frank-

ly, it also tastes much better than store bought.

The secret to creating the creamiest and freshest hummus is making sure that the skins of the chickpeas are removed and discarded. Many brands of water-packed cooked and canned chickpeas come mostly skinless, so this is not as labour-intensive as it may sound and it’s well worth the effort. I tested this recipe both ways and the skinless creamy texture made all the difference in the world. The skin-on version was rougher and chunkier and the texture took away from the delicate nature of the hummus.

Serve the hummus with crudites for a springy colorful snack or appetizer and pita chips. I like to make my own pita chips baked with a light brush of olive oil and seasoned with a sprinkling of coarse salt and za’atar.

Once they are seasoned, you can cut them into triangles — six per pita bread is a good size — and bake them in a 350 F. oven until they are crisp.

Roasted carrot hummus

Servings: 16 appetizer-sized portions

Start to finish: 50 minutes • 1/2 cup well-roasted carrots, cut into small pieces (about 6 small carrots) • Juice of 2 lemons, plus more as needed (about 2 ounces) • Zest of 1 lemon • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnishing hummus • 2 generous tablespoons tahini (sesame paste), with some of its oil • 2 15-ounce cans drained chickpeas, liquid reserved and skins removed • 2 cloves garlic, peeled, or to taste • 1 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

• 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper or pinch of cayenne pepper • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric • Paprika, a sprinkling for garnish • Curly parsley for garnish • Pita chips (homemade or store bought) • Raw vegetables Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat carrots with oil and season with salt. Place on a sheet pan and roast carrots. Remove from oven when soft and browned in places, about 30 minutes depending on the size of your carrots. Cut into small pieces and set aside.

Circle tour...

For a summer...

the way. But mostly, says Bevilacqua, stop and talk to the locals for their advice on what secret treasures their communities might offer.

“There’s lots of little hidden gems,” says Bevilacqua, whose Superior Country not-for-profit puts out a Circle Tour guide full of ideas. The guide can be picked up at tourist information spots or ordered online.

“The one thing that we strive to do is not make it an inexpensive journey, but to make it an experience that you want to do no matter what,” he says.

The route, he says, appeals to baby boomers, RVers and motorcycle enthusiasts, although increasing numbers of younger adventurers are discovering the excellent hiking or kayaking opportunities. Others prefer to do the circumnavigation by boat.

More and more, Bevilacqua says, there’s a move toward event-based travel, with people asking, “What’s happening here

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at this time?”

One answer, for example, might be the three-day Live from the Rock Folk Festival in Red Rock, Ont., south of Nipigon and its striking suspension bridge over the Nipissing River that joins east and west along the Trans-Canada Highway.

This year, Superior Country has revived a “passport” program for both lake and auto

travellers. Visitors can collect stamps along the way and, ultimately, a certificate of completion if they get all the way around. It’s also an opportunity for the organization to gather intelligence on who exactly is doing the touring.

“It’s absolutely fascinating how many people are interested in doing the Circle Tour,” Bevilacqua says. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Speaking of ginger, if you’ve never tried candied ginger, this is a good excuse to grab some at the store to use as a garnish.

CIA beverage instructor John Fischer created this cocktail and says, “Candied ginger is so tasty and so much fun because of its heat. My friends and I always try to steal the garnish from each other’s glasses.”

The candying process adds plenty of sweetness to offset the spicy qualities of this flavourful root. If you have leftover, chop it up and add to spice cookies or sprinkle on top of a baked pound cake.

The recipe calls for simple syrup, which is .simple. In a small saucepan, combine equal parts water and sugar, and bring to a boil until the sugar is fully dissolved. One cup of water and one cup of sugar is a convenient quantity to keep on hand.

The syrup can be flavoured by steeping ingredients like herbs and vanilla beans, or by blending with fresh fruit juice or pu-

Place carrots in a food processor with the lemon juice, lemon zest, tahini and olive oil and process until smooth, about 1 minute.

Put remaining ingredients except the paprika and the parsley in a food processor and begin to process; add a couple of tablespoons of the chickpea liquid and more olive oil as needed to allow the machine to produce a smooth puree. The amount will vary every time you make it based on how much liquid is in the chickpeas.

Taste and adjust the seasoning (I often add more lemon juice).

Serve immediately or chilled in a shallow bowl with pita chips and raw vegetables, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a bit of paprika and some parsley.

Will keep up to five days in refrigerator.

Nutrition information per serving: 129 calories; 81 calories from fat; 9 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 220 mg sodium; 10 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 3 g protein.

ree (like raspberries) — because soon enough, you’re going to need a summer cocktail.

Ginnie Meyer

Start to finish: 5 minutes Servings: 1 serving

• 1 ounce freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice • 1/2 ounce simple syrup • 2 ounces gin • 2 to 4 ounces ginger beer • 1 piece of candied ginger • 1 mint sprig, for garnish (optional) Pour the lemon juice, simple syrup, and gin into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake the cocktail like you mean it and strain over fresh ice in a Collins (tall) glass. Top with the ginger beer and garnish with a piece of candied ginger stuck on a toothpick. Top with mint, if desired.

Chef ’s Note: If you don’t have bar measuring tools, you can use a tablespoon measure — 1 ounce is equal to 2 tablespoons.

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