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JULY 6, 2018

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VOL. 7 NO. 327

DISMANTLING SHANTIES

Personnel of the Pasig Rehabilitation Commission and the Metropolitan Manila Manila Development Authority dismantle the shanties of informal settlers along the Estero de Magdalena.

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

Palace defends Duterte remarks on Batangas mayor slay

BY JELLY MUSICO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Malacanang on Tuesday defended the remarks made by President Rodrigo Duterte hours after controversial Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili was assassinated while attending a flag raising ceremony last Monday.

“I will quote from the translation of what the President said, ‘suspicion’. So, it’s a suspicion,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during a Palace press briefing.

During the 58th Founding Anniversary of Southern Leyte in Maasin City, Duterte said Halili’s killing could be related to illegal drugs.

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May 2019 best date to hold plebiscite for federal Charter: Puno

15 Duterte’s second-year performance fruitful: Palace

❱❱ PAGE 11 Palace defends

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❱❱ PAGE 10

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Philippine News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Halili daughter dismisses Malacañang: drug lord tag on pa as hearsay Duterte says no to same-sex marriage, yes to civil union

BY SAUL PA-A Philippine News Agency

TANAUAN CITY, BATANGAS — Angeline Halili, daughter of slain Mayor Antonio C. Halili of Tanauan City, broke her silence amid their bereavement and dismissed on Tuesday morning as hearsay the allegation that her father was a drug lord.

In an interview with media at her father’s wake, Angeline broke her silence over the raging controversy that her father was a drug lord and was among five mayors in the Calabarzon region on the police’s “narco list.”

“My father would rather die than become a drug lord,” the daughter stressed, saying that her family has “black and white” documents to prove that the family’s businesses are legal.

She said there are several angles over her father’s death, including his iron-fist policy against drug offenders and criminal suspects under his “parade of shame” campaign, which was intended to rid the city of law breakers, especially on narcotics and criminality.

“Yung mga tao nagpursige na labanan ang drugs. Hindi pinili ng dad ko na mag-drug lord. Eh sila (opponent) naman yon, kamag-anak naman nila yon (People have been clamoring to fight drugs. My dad never chooses to be a drug lord. They are his opponents, their relatives),” Angeline said.

She also said claims that the fund spent for the construction of their big house came from her father’s illegal activities were “gossip and hearsay.”

“Dati naman wala kaming alam diyan (gossip), narinig na lang namin kasi lumabas yan.

(Before, we were not aware of that, and came to know about it when it spread). When he decided to run for Mayor, yun na lumabas na iyong tismis na yon, kasi lumabas sa kalaban. (that’s the time the gossip spread coming from his political opponents),” she said.

She also debunked issues by some quarters that her father’s death was drug-related. Some rumors even linked him to bigtime drug lords who were also

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Angeline Halili.

slain in the past.

Angeline also pointed out that criminals were the ones against her dad and lamented “these are the people who should not be around us.”

She also confirmed that her father had received death threats. Angeline said she had supported him “because he was fighting for his rights and the rights for all the people here.”

“In this city, sa lahat, kalaban namin lahat yan, buti sana kung kami ang masama. Hindi eh, ipinaglalaban namin mga tao na niloloko, sinisira ang buhay ng mga drug lord na ito. Anong gusto niyong gawin namin. (in this city, all of us fight against the drug lord, drug offenders and criminals. It would have been otherwise if we were bad.

But then that’s not true and we are fighting for those people who are deceived, whose lives are destroyed by the drug lords.

What would you want us to do?)

Leave the drug lords free and reign?” she said.

She emphasized that her slain father did not allow drug lords to do their thing in this city.

Angeline said the family was leaving everything to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“The PNP are honest people and it’s up to them to do the

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right thing,” Angeline said as she appealed to her father’s constituents to help in the investigation.

“Who am I to tell them what to do? Matalinong tao si President (Duterte) natin. Siya ang nakakaalam kung anong dapat gawin (the President is an intelligent man. He knows what to do the proper way). He knows how to be respected. He knows how to bring justice to my father’s death,” Halili’s daughter said.

She said they plan to bury her father on July 14 but this could be moved to a different date as they have to wait for their relatives from abroad.

Her brother, Mark Anthony, just arrived Tuesday from an international engagement abroad and they will be initially discussing the details of the funeral rites and interment with the Halili clan.

The controversial mayor succumbed to a bullet wound to the chest at around 8:10 a.m. while gracing Monday’s flag raising ceremony at the New Tanauan City Hall grounds in Barangay Natatas.

The mayor was brought to CP Reyes Medical Center by local civil security unit personnel but was pronounced dead around 8:45 a.m. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

THE PRESIDENT may not be in favor of same-sex marriage, but the Palace clarified that he nodded to a same-sex civil union.

“Kung same-sex marriage, pati si Presidente tutol. Pero ang union, pabor d’yan si Presidente para maayos ang iba’t ibang aspeto ng pagsasama ng magkaparehong kasarinlan (If it is about same-sex marriage, even the President is against it. But if it is about a same-sex union, the President is in favor to fix the different aspects of same-sex union),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. said in a press briefing on Monday, July 2 in Maasin City, Southern Leyte.

This was the Palace’s reaction to the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealing that 61 percent of Filipino adults would oppose a law crafted to allow a civil union of two men or two women.

Sponsored by the ally of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in the lower chamber House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a bill allowing same-sex civil union is being created, with the first transwoman lawmaker Bataan Representative Geraldine Roman among its proponents.

According to Roman, the term “civil union” is used in-

stead of “marriage” to avoid religious connotations that may ire conservative and religious groups.

While Roque said that Duterte is now against samesex marriage, through the years, the President has been changing his views on the subject.

In an interview with Vice Ganda back in 2015, the mayorturned-President was asked about his view on same-sex marriage, to which he answered with, “it’s good… everyone deserves to be happy.”

In March 2017, however, Duterte retracted his words, reacting to Time magazine’s article about the difference of “he” and “she.” “‘Yun ang kultura nila. Eh ‘di kayo lang, hindi ‘yan pwede sa amin. Katoliko kami at (That is their culture. That cannot be applied to us. We are Catholics and) there is the Civil Code, which says that you can only marry a woman for me. For a woman to marry a man,” he said.

Before 2017 ended though, he once again aired his support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community.

“You know, kung ano ‘yung kaligahayahan ng tao, bakit mo pigilan (why do you have to block something that makes the people happy)? Why impose a morality that is no longer working? So I am with you,” he said on December 17. ■

RICHARD MADELO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

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DOTr to push thru with bus rapid transit in Cebu

BY AEROL JOHN PATEÑA Philippine News Agency MANILA — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pushing through with the implementation of a bus rapid transit (BRT), which is part of the integrated transportation system (ITS), one of the solutions to address the traffic congestion in Cebu City.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said he made the decision following an inspection of the 23-kilometer route of the BRT with representatives of the World Bank and DOTr officials, National Economic Development Authority, Land Transportation Office, and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board last month.

The DOTr said in a statement Tuesday that an ITS will be implemented to synchronize various transportation solutions that will ease traffic congestion in Metro Cebu.

The ITS includes a point

to point (P2P) bus system; a Dino said that the BRT will sidered in two areas: a coastal monorail in Lapu-Lapu City, only be allowed on three-lane district and a city center. and the Light Rail Transit roads because operating it on Passengers will be ushered (LRT) lines from Carcar to Da- narrow roads may jeopardize to an interlink terminal where nao and the Mandaue to Air- other ITS components and ex- connecting transit systems of port Line which was discussed isting transport systems. all the components (bus-toduring the meeting of Tugade “It was a common agreement LRT, bus-to-BRT, or BRT-towith Presidential Assistant for that BRT on narrow roads will LRT) are located. the Visayas Michael Dino last fail. DOTr has identified the A LRT system is being eyed June 25. roads with three lanes in both that will traverse from the city “The ITS was of Carcar to Dadeveloped after nao City serving due considerinter-city pasation of Metro sengers.

Cebu’s road proA Singaporfile, and the fastOnce implemented, Cebu ean-Chinese and growing need of will become beautiful and Filipino consorefficient mass more livable. The ITS will tium has submittransport sysencourage interoperability and ted a proposal tems in bigger, interconnectivity of land, air, and to construct a interconnected sea transportation.

USD3 billion cities. Habang railway system papaunlad ang with a subway ating mga lungcomponent in sod ay kailangan Cebu City, an din nating tugunan ang pangan- directions where we can allow aboveground component from gailangan para sa mas episyente it to operate, as it will not be ef- Talisay to Carcar and from na pampublikong transporta- fective if we allow them to oper- Mandaue to Danao, and an airsyon (As our cities progress, we ate on already congested areas,” port line from Mandaue to the need to address the need for he said.

Mactan-Cebu International an efficient public transportaUnder the transport plan, a Airport (MCIA) complex. tion),” Tugade said.

Common Station is being con“The LRT will become the

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main arterial backbone of Cebu’s mass transportation, with other ITS components as feeder lines serving internal peripheries,” Tugade said.

On the other hand, a monorail system will serve as a transport system in the Mactan Island to different hotels and resorts in the tourist island.

The DOTr aims to achieve partial operability of the multimodal transport system within the next one and a half to two years.

“Once implemented, Cebu will become beautiful and more livable. The ITS will encourage interoperability and interconnectivity of land, air, and sea transportation,” Tugade said.

Earlier, Tugade said the BRT system needs to be reviewed as he cited that this might worsen traffic congestion in cities such as Metro Manila and Cebu.

He said that this mode of transportation might not be feasible on narrow and congested roads in urban areas. ■

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JULY 6, 2018

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Court administrator charged over alleged misuse of WB funds

BY PERFECTO RAYMUNDO, JR. AND CHRISTOPHER LLOYD CALIWAN Philippine News Agency

Mayor Antonio Halili.

TANAUAN CITY

PNP forms task group to probe Tanauan City mayor’s killing

BY BENJAMIN PULTA Philippine News Agency MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) formed a special investigation task group (SITG) to look into the killing of Mayor Antonio Halili who was shot dead during Monday’s flag-raising ceremonies at the Tanauan City hall in Batangas.

Speaking to newsmen, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde clarified that they are still awaiting the official report on the incident and will await the SITG report.

The police chief described as assumptions, unverified reports that a high-powered rifle was used by a lone gunman who managed to escape after the 8 a.m. incident at the New City Hall, Barangay Natatas, Tanauan City.

He was brought to the CP Reyes Medical Center where he

was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician, Dr. Alexandrix Carandang.

Albayalde also clarified that it had been the decision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to officially recall Halili’s powers over local police officers last December.

The PNP chief pointed out that despite the Napolcom directive, the PNP is still duty bound to work “to maintain peace and security” of all persons in their respective areas.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said it is ready to provide assistance to the PNP in solving the case.

“We’ll let the police do the investigation (for now). I will direct the NBI to get involved as may be warranted by circumstances,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in a statement. ■

MANILA — Court Administrator Atty. Jose Midas Marquez was charged with graft before the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday over the alleged misuse of USD21.9-million loan from the World Bank in 2003.

The position of Court Administrator of the Supreme Court is equivalent to the rank and salary of the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals.

In their complaint, Rizza Joy Laurea, founder of the Group of United Youth for Social Change, claimed that Marquez had “conflicting positions” in the judiciary and that he allegedly used his influence for his own benefit.

Aside from graft, the complainant charged Marquez for violation of Section 7(a) of RA 6713, or the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees”.

“The government, not just the Supreme Court, was injured not only because of the unexplained expenditures but worse, because the multiple appointment of respondent Marquez caused a deterioration of the accountability and transparency of the Supreme Court,” the complaint said.

Laurea argued that Marquez violated Republic Act 3019, or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act of 2002”, when he utilized the USD21.9 million loans from the World Bank in 2003.

The WB granted a loan to the SC for the implementation of the Judicial Reform Support

Project (JRSP) that aims to support a more accessible judicial system.

The JRSP has four components such as improve case adjudication and access to justice, enhance institutional integrity, strengthen institutional capacity, and assist in strengthening support for the judicial reform process.

Laurea claimed that the WB found irregularities and questionable disbursements of the fund under the leadership of the late Chief Justice Renato Corona where Marquez also held two other positions at the SC. The WB, through an aide memoire, said that the fund for the implementation of the JRSP has been on high risk due to “implementation delays and the additional work required for smooth project closing.”

The memoire also took fault against Marquez for spending USD199,900 or PHP8.6 million, out of the USD21.9million loan for 16 ineligible transactions.

Laurea claimed that such transactions include goodwill games, payments for conferences held in the United States and Indonesia, hotel accommodations, restaurant bills, airfare, seminar resource person fees, reimbursement of travel expenses, printing services, and the purchase of PHP6.3-million worth of computer equipment.

She added that the WB urged the SC to refund the amount, but Marquez supposedly disregarded the findings and called it a preliminary report.

The incumbent court administrator is currently a nominee for the position of the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Marquez already underwent the public interview of the Judicial and Bar Council.

The JBC screens and nominates candidates to the vacant positions in the Judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman.

Sought for a comment, Marquez dismissed the allegations which he described as a “recycled issue”.

“It’s an old recycled issue that does not even involve me.

In fact, the JBC (Judicial and Bar Council) has already disregarded this,” Marquez said in text message sent to reporters.

“The World Bank Project and funds never passed me despite my numerous positions.

That was under the Program Management Office of PMO which was never under me,” he added.

Marquez said he never had a copy of the aide memoire of the World Bank which was used as basis for the complaint as well as the JBC opposition.

He said that he “was never ordered or even requested, by any authority to comment on the same (Aide Memoire or the World Bank report).

Marquez said the aide memoir is strictly confidential and usually not disclosed to the public.

The aide memoire was first made public when an impeachment case was filed against the late Chief Justice Corona and was one of the issues raised against him.

“It was never substantiated even by the succeeding leadership in the court. Not then. Not now,” Marquez said.

Marquez, who is vying for a seat in the 15-member high court for the third time, has been serving the SC for 26 years. ■

Concom approves draft Federal Constitution

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Consultative Committee (Concom) tasked to draft a Federal Constitution on Tuesday approved in an en

banc session the entire proposal which seeks to distribute powers and resources among regions.

The 22-member Concom held an executive session at around 10:15 a.m. and voted to unanimously approve the draft Federal Constitution at around

11:05 a.m. at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

The Concom’s draft federal Constitution has 21 articles compared to the 1987 Constitution with 18 articles.

Each member took turns signing the draft Federal Conwww.canadianinquirer.net

stitution with lone female member lawyer Susan UbaldeOrdinario being the first signatory.

The rest of the members were called to sign in alphabetical order.

This vote comes over four months after the Concom offi-

cially convened on Feb. 19, 2018.

The proposal will be submitted to Duterte on or before July 9, in time for his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23.

Members are taking turns explaining their votes as of posting time. ■

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FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

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Philippine News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

May 2019 best date to hold plebiscite for federal Charter: Puno

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno on Tuesday said that there is no timeline for a plebiscite on the draft Federal Constitution noting that it was for the Congress to decide, but the best time to hold it would be in May 2019.

“We have no timeline. It’s up to Congress to deliberate on this draft Constitution,” Puno said in a chance interview on the sidelines of the Consultative Committee’s en banc session to vote on the draft of the proposed Federal Constitution in Pasay City.

“It should be by middle of next year or May 2019 so there will be time for the people to understand this new (Federal) Constitution,” he added.

Puno, Concom chairman, made this remark after the panel unanimously voted to approve the proposal after more than four months of deliberations.

The Concom is expected to submit the draft Federal Constitution to President Rodrigo R. Duterte on July 9. Afterwards, the Concom will also provide the public with a copy.

Puno, however, said that he is “not sure” if the President will approve the proposal noting that it is only “recommendatory.”

“I’m not sure. As I stated, they just told us to give our best effort to draft this Constitution and we did so. It’s up to him (the President). If he approves it, then he should endorse this to Congress,” Puno said.

“The Consultative Committee has been giving the media information on

Ex-CJ Reynato Puno.

what we approved as the day goes by, and off and on, Secretary Roque makes his comment on the work of the Consultative Committee and so far we have not received any negative comment,” he added.

Ready to defend

Puno, meanwhile, said that the Concom is ready to defend its proposal before the Congress.

“I expect that Congress will hold hearings and will call members of the Committee to defend the proposed Constitution that they have drafted,” Puno said.

According to Puno, the heart of the draft Federal Constitution is allocation of powers between the Federal Government and the regional governments especially the division of the taxing powers.

“This is most important because it will spell the success or the failure of federalism which we installed in our Constitution,” Puno said.

“If the allocation of powers is wrong, you can expect a failure on the part of the federal government that we established,” he added.

Puno also allayed fears anew that a Federal Constitution allows Duterte to stay beyond the end of his term on 2022.

“We clearly addressed that in the transitory provision. We specifically stated there that there will be no term extension for President and Vice President,” Puno said.

“We’re not even sure whether he will accept the position of transitory president or the person who will preside in the transition to federal government.

His term will end 2022 and that’s it. It’s not open-ended,” he added. ■

RTVM / PCOO

De Lima seeks SC nod to attend oral argument on PH withdrawal from ICC

BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD CALIWAN Philippine News Agency MANILA — Detained Senator Leila De Lima asked the Supreme Court (SC) to allow her to participate in the oral argument on the petition seeking to invalidate the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In her four-page manifestation with motion, de Lima asked the SC to allow her to personally argue, as one of the petitioners, during the oral arguments.

“This Honorable Court is respectfully asked to take judicial notice of its practice of permitting members of Congress to appear before it and argue their cases,” de Lima said.

The detained senator is the lead counsel for the minority senators.

De Lima, along with Senators Francis Pangilinan, Franklin Drilon, Paolo Benigno Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, and Antonio Trillanes IV filed a 17-page petition for certiorari and mandamus and said that under Article VII Section 21 of the 1987 Constitution, “entering into treaty or international agreement requires participation of Congress, that is, through concurrence of at least 2/3 of all the members of the Senate.”

The lawmakers also asked the High Court to compel the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations to notify the United Nations Secretary General that the Philippines is revoking the notice of withdrawal that it received last March 17.

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The diplomatic note stated that the “decision to withdraw is the Philippines’ principled stand against those who politicize and weaponize human rights, even as its independent and well-functioning organs and agencies continue to exercise jurisdiction over complaints, issues, problems and concerns arising from its efforts to protect the people.”

The petitioners said the Rome Statute is a treaty validly entered into by the Philippines that has the same status as a law enacted by Congress.

“The Executive cannot abrogate or repeal a law. In the same vein, the Executive cannot unilaterally withdraw from a treaty or international agreement because such withdrawal is equivalent to a repeal of a law,” they argued.

In withdrawing its membership from the ICC, the petitioners claimed that the respondents committed usurpation of legislative powers, which is punishable under the Revised Penal Code.

SC spokesperson Theodore Te said that the oral arguments have been moved from July 24 to August 7.

Since February 2017, De Lima has been detained at Camp Crame Detention Center over her drug cases pending before the Muntinlupa trial court. She is being accused of having a hand in the proliferation of drug trading inside the walls of the New Bilibid Prison during her stint as secretary of justice.

Two petitions are already pending before the High Court questioning the government’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute without Senate ratification.

The second petition was filed by the ❱❱ PAGE 12 De Lima

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

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Police nab mastermind, hired gunman behind Fr. Nilo slay

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer THE ALLEGED mastermind and gunman behind the killing of Catholic priest Fr. Richmond Nilo are now in the hands of the Philippine National Police (PNP), according to PNP chief, Director General Albayalde.

In a press briefing held on Monday, July 2, at Camp Crame, Albaylde identified “selfconfessed” gunman Omar Mallari, who was arrested in Arayat, Pampanga on June 22 for robbery and homicide case.

Mallari, alias “Bulik,” confessed that it was Manuel Torres who hired him to kill Fr. Nilo

inside a chapel in Nueva Ecija on June 10 in exchange of P100,000 payment. Aside from Torres and Mallari, other suspects behind the killing were Rolando Garcia and Marius Albis who surrendered to the police.

Torres allegedly has grudges against Fr. Nilo for filing charges of molestation and rape of his minor altar servers against his nephew, Christopher Torres, who was a former seminarian. Torres’s nephew did not become a priest due to the charges.

Meanwhile, Torres, according to the PNP, said he did not know Mallari and remained silent against the accusations lodged against him.

The police force earlier nabbed Adel Roll Milan, who was tagged as the “fall-guy” of Fr. Nilo’s murder but was later on released after the Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Cabanatuan City withdrew the case after learning that they got the wrong suspect.

Despite the arrest of the four suspects, the authorities said they will continue to look for the other suspects who were part of Fr. Nilo’s murder.

Fr. Nilo was the third member of the clergy who was killed in the past six months.

The first priest was Fr. Mark Ventura, a Cagayan priest and a known anti-mining advocate, who was shot dead by riding-

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE

in-tandem assassins when he was blessing children after celebrating mass.

Fr. Ventura’s death was followed by the killing of Fr. Mar-

celito “Tito” Paez on December 4, 2017. He was murdered after he helped facilitate the release of a political detainee in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. ■

Regions to get 50% share of top 4 revenue sources under federalism

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Under the Consultative Committee’s (Concom) proposed federal Constitution, every federated region will share equally in 50 percent of the total of the four biggest revenue sources of the national government.

Concom senior technical assistant and spokesperson Ding Generoso bared this on Monday noting that the draft federal Constitution has been finalized and is set to be voted on in an en banc session on Tuesday. It is expected to be submitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte on or before July 9.

“The Federated Regions shall be given a share of not less than fifty percent of all the collected taxes on income, excise, VAT (value added tax), and customs duties, which shall be equally divided among them and automatically released,” Generoso said in a press conference in Pasay City.

This proposed provision forms part of the design and structure of the federal system where the powers of government are distributed into exclusive powers and shared powers between the federal government and the governments of the federated regions.

Both the federal government ated regions the power also to are given some taxation power, and the federated regions will make their own budget unlike there are safeguards to prevent have exclusive powers. How- today, where our budgeting is “unreasonable” impositions. ever, there are powers that they per department at the national The Constitution mandates will jointly exercise. level where departments iden- that taxation, whether at the Among others, the power tify programs in the region and federal or regional level is “unito promulgate regional socio- then have the budget approved form, equitable and progreseconomic development plans by the Department of Budget sive.” The Federal Inter-govand regional sources of revenue and Management and then by ernmental Commission (FIGC) shall be an exclusive power of Congress,” he added. is also empowered to ensure the regional governments.

Allocations will be deter- the effectiveness and efficiency “We are also giving feder- mined by the region’s Regional of the fiscal administration and ated regions the power to have Legislative Assembly (RLA) management of the regional sources of revenues–the power which will be composed of half governments and promote reto collect some taxes so that from the component provinces, gional cooperation.. they will have on their own, an highly urbanized/independent Moreover, the set up proinitial amount moted cooperaof revenue that tive competition they can use for among the federtheir programs ated regions so and projects,” The Federated Regions shall be that if a region Generoso said. given a share of not less than fifty wants to generAccording percent of all the collected taxes on ate investments, to Generoso, income, excise, VAT (value added it will have to through this, lotax), and customs duties, which make its procal officials will shall be equally divided among gram competino longer have them and automatically released. tive with those to line up in govof the other reernment offices gions, Generoso in Metro Manila explained. to seek for dole-outs or assis- chartered cities and half by protance from the national govern- portional party representation Equalization fund ment like what is happening at elected regionwide.

The Concom has also propresent.

“With the money that the posed the establishment of an “What we’re giving them is federal government is giving Equalization Fund which shall control and power over a cer- them, the Legislative Assem- not be less than three percent tain amount of money that they blies will be the one to enact of the annual General Approcan on their own allocate ac- their own regional budget,” priations Act. cording to their needs and pri- Generoso said.

“The Fund shall be distriborities,” Generoso said.

Generoso also clarified that uted based on the needs of each “So you now give the feder- while the regional governments region, with priority to those www.canadianinquirer.net

that require support to achieve financial viability and economic sustainability as determined by the FIGC,” Generoso said, citing from the draft Constitution.

He said that the FIGC will be tasked to administer the Equalization Fund; assist the federated regions in attaining economic viability and sustainability; formulate programs and policies in regard to grants in aid and fund transfers to the federated regions; ascertain the effectiveness and efficiency of the fiscal administration and management of the regional governments; and assess sufficiency of regional governments in raising revenues; among others.

“These are among the safeguards to make sure the regions do not abuse their powers,” Generoso said.

Generoso said that the FIGC will be composed of 15 members–a Chairman and two members to be appointed by the President, two members from House of Representatives, two members from the Senate, four members to be appointed by Council of Regional Governors, one from the Bangsamoro to be appointed by the Bangsamoro Regional Assembly, one from Cordillera region, and the Secretaries of Budget and Management, and Finance. ■

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JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Opposition solons condemn murder of Tanauan Mayor Halili

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

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OPPOSITION LAWMAKERS on Tuesday, July 3, condemned the killing of Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili who was shot dead during a flagraising ceremony in his town yesterday morning.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the death of Halili can be attributed to the “climate of killing and impunity” that President Rodrigo Duterte “created and nurtured.”

“This is another murder that possibly rode on the wave of killings in the country,” Hontiveros claimed.

“Political assassinations, like extrajudicial killings, are direct assaults on democracy. They abandon modern procedural justice in favor of satisfying the lust for blood and violence. The President has brought us back to the dark ages,” she added.

The President may have not used a gun to kill Halili, but for Senator Leila de Lima, he murdered the local executive through his ¯words.’

Sen. Risa Hontiveros.

JOSEPH VIDAL / SENATE PRIB “Ordinarily, it might be true that words do not kill. But when one is the will destroy other people’s lives, espe- Murder capital of Asia President, words become orders. This cially people here in Tanauan. What we Amid the spate of killings in the Philis how Duterte gives the killers their wanted to do is to help and clean up the ippines, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV mandate to kill, and protects them from city),” the young Halili told ABS-CBN’s accused Duterte of turning the country whatever semblance of the law still re- Umagang Kay Ganda. into “murder capital of Asia.” mains under his administration,” de She also said Duterte was misin“For someone who promised to reLima said. formed regarding her father. store peace and order in our country In his speech during the anniversary “Hindi ko rin naman masisisi iyung during the campaign, it is ironic for a of Maasin City, Southern Leyte on Mon- Presidente natin na makapagsalita ng lot of people that Duterte has actually day night, the Chief Executive said the ganoon kung siya naman ay nabibigyan turned the Philippines into the murder mayor got what he deserved for his in- ng mga hindi totoong impormasyon at capital of Asia,” Trillanes, one of the volvement in illegal staunchest critics of drug trade.

Duterte administra“Kanina, si Halili tion said in a statesa Batangas. Kunment. wari ipa-procession Political assassinations, like extrajudicial Like Hontiveros, ang mga addicts, siya killings, are direct assaults on democracy. They Trillanes said the pala, siya ‘yun (Earabandon modern procedural justice in favor of murder of public lier, Halili in Batansatisfying the lust for blood and violence. The officials and even gas. He pretended President has brought us back to the dark ages.

Catholic priests only to shame addicts by proved that Filipinos parading them, but are no longer safe. he was involved in il“Duterte’s culture legal drugs himself, it of violence is upon us. was him),” he said.

No one is safe now.

“I suspect he was into drugs. I just sus- ang mga impormasyon na ibinibigay Regardless, whether Mayor Halili is inpect,” he added. sa kaniya ay nakakasakit at nakakapa- volved in the illegal drug trade, nothing Reacting to the remarks made by the nira lang po sa mga taong gumagawa ng justifies this murder,” he said.

President, Halili’s second child, Ange- maganda (I cannot blame the President Halili was known for his “walk of line, defended her father, saying drug al- for saying such thing if he was fed with shame” campaign where criminals carlegations thrown against the mayor are wrong information and information rying “Wag tularan (Do not emulate)” not true as it has not been proven. meant to hurt and defame those who are slogan paraded around his town.

“We’re honest people. We’re not gon- doing good acts),” she stressed.

In 2017, Halili was stripped off of conna do anything na makakasira sa mga “Kung si Presidente natin pumunta sa trol over the police force for his supbuhay ng ibang tao, lalo na mga tao na- amin (If the President would visit us), to posed involvement in the drug trade. min dito sa Tanauan. Ang gusto lang na- be with us every day, he would know the The mayor, however, denied the allegamin is makatulong at malinis lang (that truth,” she continued. tions. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

9

Palace on Duterte, Church: There should be a ceasefire

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio.

CSIS

Davide nominates Carpio as next Chief Justice

BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD CALIWAN Philippine News Agency MANILA — Despite Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio’s pronouncement that he will decline any nomination for the Chief Justice post, former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. endorsed Carpio’s nomination to the vacancy following the ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno through a quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

In a letter to the Judicial Bar Council (JBC), Davide said he learned from media reports of Carpio’s decision to decline any nomination to the post vacated by then Sereno.

“He did not want to profit from the result of that he could not accept. I finally pray for Acting Chief Justice Carpio to reconsider his stand. He had earlier been by-passed twice. Delicadeza should no longer be invoked because the decision in the quo warranto case is final. It has become the law of the case,” Davide said in his letter.

Aside from Carpio, the four most senior justices include Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin.

Velasco and De Castro, however, are mandated to retire in August and October this year, respectively.

“It may be stressed that the inclusion as nominees of the first five Justices of the Court for a vacant Chief Justice position is automatic and is a sound and wise self-executing tradition, policy and practice of the JBC. The reasons behind these are obvious. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the first five are nominees of the JBC itself. The rule on recommendations by another, association or organization in Section 5 of Rule 1 of the Revised Rules of the Judicial and Bar

Council (JBC No. 2016-01) does not apply. The JBC is not required to apply the rule,” Davide said.

“I pray that the JBC should not, in the highest interest of public service, give due course to the stand of Acting Chief Justice Carpio. It should consider him a nominee of good standing despite and in spite of such stand,” Davide noted.

“Personal consideration must now yield to the demands of public interest and of the good of the service. He should not deprive the President to have the opportunity for a wider field of choice for the best for the Supreme Court in particular and the Judiciary and the people in general,” he said.

Carpio earlier said he would decline all nominations for the top judiciary post, stressing that he does not want to benefit from the quo warranto petition that ousted Sereno.

Though he voted against Sereno’s removal, Carpio said the latter committed culpable violation of the Constitution when she failed to submit all her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) when she applied for the chief justice post in 2012.

Carpio was one of the six justices who dissented from the ruling that nullified Sereno’s appointment as Chief Justice.

Peralta, who ranks fourth in terms of seniority, has still four years before retirement.

Earlier, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines had recommended the appointment of Carpio as head of the judiciary.

It had also asked President Duterte to uphold the seniority rule in the appointments in the judiciary The JBC had declared open the applications or nominations for the position of Chief Justice that was vacated June 19 with the ouster of Sereno.

The JBC set the deadline for filing and completion of all requirements on July 26, 2018. ■

MALACAÑANG ASKED for a “ceasefire” between the Chief Executive and the Church on Tuesday, July 3.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. called for this midst the tension between President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and several Church leaders, and institutions.

“It’s always bilateral. If there’s going to be a cessation of hostile language, it has to be from both institutions,” he told the reporters in a press briefing.

“I think it’s not just the President who should be told that as we hold this dialogue, that perhaps there should be a ceasefire. It should also be told to some Church leaders as well,” Roque continued.

Furthermore, the spokesperson cited an opinion piece by Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo saying that “God did not give us Duterte to be our President. The 16 million voters chose him to be President and he is now President. But God can write straight with

crooked lines. Even from something bad, good can come out.”

The piece read that while Duterte was elected by 16 million voters, it was “not even the majority” of the 50 million Filipino voters in 2016.

“He is not even a majority president,” it added.

With this, Roque said, “Remember, the President is also human. He will react if he reads something again prominently reported in the media.”

The spokesperson said that if “they” can talk, Dutert could also talk back.

“It’s really a dialogue. It’s a two-way street. Tell also the auxiliary bishop that perhaps he should not have said what he said,” Roque said.

Roque also stressed that the President will not interfere and will allow religious institutions have their freedomrespecting it — but it will always be a conversation.

The word war between Duterte and the Church began with his controversial speech when he called God “stupid” and questioned several verses in the Bible such as the Creation and the Last Supper. ■

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10

Philippine News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Duterte’s second-year performance fruitful: Palace PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Two years into his administration, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has fulfilled many of his promises of real change to the people, Malacanang affirmed on Sunday, July 1.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said, “I have witnessed firsthand the President’s hard work, dedication and sense of duty. Major promises have materialized because we are headed by someone who has strong political will, decisive leadership and compassion for his fellowmen.”

Winning war vs. illegal drugs For one, the current administration remains laser-focused on the President’s strong campaign against illegal drugs, one of the cornerstones of his administration.

Citing the latest data from the Philippine National Police (PNP), it said a total of 91,704 anti-drug operations were conducted by law enforcement agencies from July 2016 to March 20, 2018, during which 123,648 drug suspects were arrested.

The intensified effort against illegal drugs also resulted in the dismantling of 189 drug dens and clandestine laboratories in the country. P13.46 billionworth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu and P19.67 billion-worth of drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals, and laboratory equipment were seized by government forces.

Also, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that, as of April 2018, 6,462 barangays in the country have already been declared drug-free.

Robust economy The country has achieved significant economic feats two

PCOO

years into the Duterte administration.

In its April 12 report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.7 percent for the full year of 2017, making the Philippines among the fastest growing economies in Asia. The government is now targeting the country’s GDP to increase by 7 to 8 percent in 2018, OPS cited.

The administration’s tax collection efforts also received a boost during President Duterte’s second year in office.

In March 2018, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported that revenues from tax collections in 2017 reached P2.251 trillion, which is considered as the highest tax effort in 10 years prior to the introduction of new laws.

Investors’ confidence in the country also remains high. The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) recorded P195.7 billion-worth of investment approvals for January to April 2018, a 28-percent hike from the P153.1 billion investment approvals during the same period of last year.

Foreign direct investments

(FDI) are at an all-time high.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed FDI net inflows amounted to US$2.2 billion for the first quarter of 2018, a 43.5-percent hike from the US$1.5 billion recorded in Q1 last year.

The Duterte administration’s independent foreign policy with other countries has also proven beneficial to the country. The President’s state and official visits in the past months resulted in billions worth of investments, and are expected to create thousands of jobs for Filipinos.

Better services for Filipinos Efforts of the Duterte administration to afford all Filipinos of the services they deserve continue to be unrelenting.

Last June 2018, another Presidential promise was fulfilled, with the launching of the Overseas Filipino (OF) Bank, a wholly-owned Savings Bank subsidiary of LANDBANK that caters to the needs of the sector.

Also in June 2018, the President witnessed the ceremonial signing of the MOA between the Commission on Higher Education (CHED),112 State

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Universities and Colleges (SUCs), and 78-CHED Registered Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) on the implementation of Republic Act No. 1031 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. It allows around 1.3 million students enrolled in SUCs and LUCs to enjoy free tuition and miscellaneous fees beginning academic year 2018-19.

Filipino farmers can also now benefit from the Republic Act No.10969 or the Free Irrigation Service Act. Signed in February 2018, the law fulfills the President’s promise to ensure that free irrigation services are made available to poor farmers through the continued construction, repair, and maintenance of necessary irrigation facilities.

On the “Build, Build, Build” initiative, the administration is doing double-time to begin and to finish major infrastructure projects — preferably within the term of the President— that have lined up. Thirty-five (35) infrastructure flagship projects have been approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board,

chaired by the President. Of these 35 projects, 16 are estimated to be completed by 2022, while the remaining 19 will extend beyond 2022.

The tourism industry likewise experienced growth. As of March 30, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported an increase in foreign visitor arrivals to 642,757, higher than last year’s 574,065 during the same month. In addition, the January to March 2018 foreign visitor arrivals reached 2,049,094, 14.80 percent higher than 1,784,882 of the same period last year.

On the administration’s legislative agenda, the President signed into law a total of 93 Republic Acts during the 17th Congress. These include laws extending the validity of Philippine passports to 10 years and drivers’ licenses to five years, a measure establishing free internet access in public places, and an act increasing penalties for hospitals and medical clinics that refuse to administer appropriate treatment and support in emergency or serious cases.

Indeed, the first two years of the Duterte administration has generally been fruitful. Much has been accomplished but much more needs to be done.

It is a continuous work in progress in achieving and actualizing the promise of genuine and meaningful change for the Filipino people.

“The President cannot do it alone. No man or woman can do it alone. Let us help the Chief Executive fulfill his goal of building a nation where opportunities abound and where citizens are empowered to realize their aspirations,” Secretary Roque concluded. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

Palace ‘vindicated’ as poll shows most Pinoys back Boracay closure

BY JELLY MUSICO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Malacañang on Monday welcomed the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey saying majority of Filipinos support the full closure of Boracay Island to give way for a government-initiated rehabilitation. “(The) Palace (feels) vindicated and welcomes the support of the people,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a message to Palace reporters.

According to the March 2327 SWS survey, 64 percent of the 1,200 respondents agreed that the six-month rehabilitation should be extended to a year for the full rehabilitation of the island.

Only 16 percent disagreed, while 20 percent were undecided.

The poll also showed that 61 percent of Filipinos believed that the temporary shutdown would increase the number of tourists in the future, while 16 percent disagreed and 23 percent were undecided.

The closure of Boracay got the biggest support from Metro Manila with 71 percent of respondents saying it would help rehabilitate the beauty of the island, while 64 percent from both the balance of Luzon and

Mindanao and 61 percent from Visayas also agreed to it.

“Majorities across sociodemographics agreed with the government’s recommendation to close Boracay for one year for full rehabilitation, with stronger support coming from Mindanao, urban areas, and those with higher educational attainment,” the poll report said.

The six-month Boracay closure started on April 26, the same date President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No. 475 placing three Boracay villages, namely Balaag, ManocManoc and Yapak, under a state of calamity for a year.

Duterte had earlier described Boracay Island, known for its powdery white sands, as “cesspool” due to its worsening sewage problem.

Just two months after the rehabilitation works started, Malacañang expressed hope that Boracay’s pristine waters will be enjoyed by tourists following the sighting of a whale shark two weeks ago.

“That shows that the efforts to cleanup Boracay has succeeded,” Roque said.

An inter-agency task force headed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been tasked by Duterte to reverse the degradation of Boracay Island. ■

Local residents participate in a massive cleanup drive on Boracay Island on June 27, 2018, as part of the 6-month rehabilitation program to bring back the tourist destination's beauty.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN JAY JACALAN/DA

11

NCRPO: Better cops’ pay, technology main factors in crime rate dip

BY BENJAMIN PULTA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Technology and a well-motivated police force drove down crime in Metro Manila, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar said Tuesday.

“The advent of new technology such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, GPS (global positioning system) and tracking devices, smart phones and social media are also significant contributors in the decrease of the said crime rate,” Eleazar said in a statement, noting the marked decrease in crime for the first half of the year as compared to the same period last year.

Eleazar said the new technology provided easy access for reporting any relevant information to the police. This, he said, helped the police perform “efficient and successful response operation.”

The NCRPO said the implementation of local ordinances and national laws also helped minimize crimes.

“This drive precisely prevents petty violations of local ordinances and hinders possible crime incidents (from) happen(ing). The Team NCRPO had been the working force in the strict observance and implementation,” he added.

On Monday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said crime rate decreased to 25 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared with the same period last year.

“For the first two years of July 2016 to June 2018, the crime rate under the Duterte administration as compared with the last two years of July 2014 to June 2016 of the Aquino administration, the crime rate has gone down by 49 percent,” the PNP added added.

Aside from technology, the NCRPO said the government’s relentless war on drugs has been proven effective.

Since July 2016 to June 2018, the NCRPO has recorded a total of 233,896 drug users and pushers, who surrendered to the authorities. Also, 48,886 were arrested and jailed while 1,590 were neutralized during the police operations.

“Evidently, the less number of drug addicts on the street equates to lesser criminal activities and criminal incidents.

The drug addicts as expected will always find ways to get money in order to satisfy their physical and psychological craving for illegal drugs. To some extent, they are forced to steal, rob shops and innocent people on the streets, barge into homes, in worst cases have to assault, hurt and even kill their victims to get money to buy illegal drugs. Consequently, the government’s effort to intensify its campaign against illegal drugs through the PNP has been an effective tool to lessen such crime,” the NCRPO said.

The NCRPO added that police presence, better pay for law enforcement officials, improved information dissemination, and the internal cleansing policy initiated by former PNP chief Ronal Dela Rosa were also among key factors in driving down crime. ■

committed to leave no stone unturned in finding the truth behind the murder of Halili.

“The promise of the government is there will be substantial and depth investigation so that we will know who was really behind the killing of Mayor Halili,” Roque said.

Asked if the President will visit the wake of slain mayor, Roque said: “I don’t know. It’s not included in his schedules and we have not talked about it”.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Roque advised the public to better wait for the final results of the investigation before making any conclusion.

“With Mayor Halili, you really get mixed messages because he had a walk of shame which was the subject of consternation as far as human groups are concerned; but at the same time he was in the narco-list maintained by the government,”

Roque said.

Roque described as ‘premature’ Senator Kiko Pangilinan’s statement that Halili’s death was a clear example of extra judicial killing.

“Premature. We don’t know what is the reason behind the killing. He is speculating as well. So his speculation is as good as anybody’s speculation,” Roque said.

He assured the Palace “cannot sanction this type of killing”.

“This happened in broad daylight, obviously utilizing a very skilled sharp shooter and it’s always the obligation to take steps to investigate, punish the perpetrators because we need to instill fear anew in the hearts of the killers,” Roque said.

“So, I think the position of the Palace to investigate this can stand hand in hand with the suspicion of the President,” he added. ■

Palace defends... ❰❰ 1

“I heard today (Monday) that Halili has died. But we’re suspecting that it’s drug-related. It’s just a suspicion,” the President said in his speech before a mammoth crowd.

Duterte said Halili was “putting up a show” when the Tanauan mayor paraded drug offenders and common crime suspects as a measure to rid the city of unlawful activities.

“It was all for show, as he made those drug addicts walk in a procession and get flogged.

It wasn’t really…it’s him. It’s really him,” the President said.

Despite his controversial ‘walk of shame’ campaign, Halili has been included in the government’s so-called “narcolist,” prompting the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to strip him of police powers.

Roque said government authorities and law enforcers are www.canadianinquirer.net

12

Philippine News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Robredo asks SC to junk OSG extension plea for poll recount comment

BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD CALIWAN Philippine News Agency MANILA — The camp of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo asked the Supreme Court (SC), sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), to dismiss the motion filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) asking for another extension to file a comment on her appeal to uphold the 25 percent shading threshold in determining the validity of votes in the 2016 vice presidential race.

In a five-page motion dated June 29 but was released to media on Monday, Robredo, through her lawyers Romulo Macalintal and Maria Bernadette Sardillo, expressed her “vehement opposition” to the third motion filed by the OSG saying that the latter’s continued failure to comment on the April 24 resolution of the tribunal is delaying the resolution of her appeal.

“If motion for extension of time to file answer to an election

protest is not allowed under the rules, except for “compelling reasons” and only for a period not exceeding 10 days there is no compelling reason why the Solicitor General and or Comelec would be given more than 10 days to file its comment on an issue the answer to which is already available to the Comelec,” Robredo said.

“Hence, this vehement opposition to the third motion for extension of time filed by the Solicitor General since it would already total to a whopping 40 days period to file said comment and protestee’s motion that the said threshold issue be now resolved even without the said comment of the Solicitor General and or Comelec (Commission on Elections),” she added.

In its April 24 resolution, the Tribunal directed the Comelec to comment on Robredo’s appeal within 10 days from notice.

The OSG, which represents Comelec in the case, received a copy of the resolution on May 17.

On May 28, the OSG filed the first motion asking the tribunal

De Lima... ❰❰ 6

Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PCICC) led by former Commission on Human Rights chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales.

Named respondents in the petition were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Philippine Ambassador to the UN Teodoro Locsin Jr., and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo.

On March 14, President Rodrigo Duterte announced the Philippines’ withdrawal of its ratification of the Rome Statute, a United Nations (UN) treaty creating the ICC. In the statement, Duterte cited “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” against him and his administration as the reason for his withdrawal as a state party.

“Given the baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks

on my person as well as against my administration, engineered by the officials of the United Nations, as well as the attempt by the International Criminal Court special prosecutor to place my person within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, in violation of due process and the presumption of innocence expressly guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution and recognized no less by the Rome Stature, I therefore declare and forthwith give notice, as President of the Republic of the Philippines, that the Philippines is withdrawing its ratification of the Rome Statute effective immediately,” the President said in a statement.

This came after ICC special prosecutor Fatou Bensouda began a preliminary examination on the alleged human rights violations amid the Duterte administration’s intensified war on drugs. ■

for it to be given 15 days to comment on Robredo’s appeal.

On June 11, it filed another appeal asking for 15 days or until June 28 and on June 26, it again asked for another 15 days to file its comment.

In its five-page resolution dated April 10, the PET denied Robredo’s plea to direct the head revisors to apply the correct threshold percentage as set by the Comelec in the revision, recount and reappreciation of the ballots, in order to expedite the proceedings for lack of merit.

Robredo immediately filed a motion for reconsideration and argued that allowing a 50 percent threshold would disenfranchise voters because votes that fell below the 50 percent threshold have already been counted as valid by the Vote Counting Machines in the 2016 national and local elections and then confirmed by the Random Manual Audit.

The camp of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has already opposed Robredo’s motion and asked the Tribunal to dismiss her plea.

OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT

In his comment, Marcos said there was “no categorical declaration” in Comelec resolution No. 16-0600 that the 25-percent shading threshold was adopted by the poll body en banc “during the judicial recount and revision of ballots in election protest.”

The PET started the recount last April 2 and said it could not determine yet when the recount would be finished.

Robredo won the vice-presidential race in the May 2016 polls with 14,418,817 votes or 263,473 more than Marcos’ 14,155,344 votes. ■

Palace says Duterte takes full responsibility on police-soldier clash

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer THE PRESIDENT has taken full responsibility for the “misencounter” that took the lives of six policemen to stop the finger-pointing.

This was according to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. who sent a text message to reporters on Saturday, June 30 to laud President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

“It’s to end the blame game.

Spoken like a true leader, the buck stops with him,” Roque said.

“It’s an unfortunate incident which should not happen again. Closer coordination can be expected between the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philipwww.canadianinquirer.net

pines) and the PNP (Philippine National Police) in future ground combat operations,” the spokesman added.

A 20-minute gunfight was exchanged between PNP’s 805th Company of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion and the 87th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army on June 25 when the police forces were conducting minor combat operations. Apart from the six police officers that died, nine were also wounded in the incident.

During a speech in Tacloban on Friday, June 29, Duterte took the blame for the misencounter.

“I came here to visit the wounded soldiers and policemen in a very unfortunate event. So nagbigay po ako ng ano, na (I said) for both the Filipino soldiers and the Filipino

policemen, I’d like to tell you that I take the ultimate blame, fault is on me being the Commander-in-Chief,” the President said.

“I do not want to use the word. But ako po ‘yung pinaka nila (I am their leader) And so there was a lot of tragic stories weaved around the incident.

Sabi ko sa kanila, ‘Kalimutan na lang ninyo. Tutal, hindi naman sinasadya (I told them, ‘Forget it since it was not intentional),’” he added.

Furthermore, Duterte added that he is the commander of both the police and the army.

“And so you — let’s just say it’s all my fault. But since you are all my soldiers, let us forget the hurts, allow the investigation to go on, and let us see what develops in the future,” he continued. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

13

Palace to hold pre-SONA 2018 forum at PICC

BY JELLY MUSICO Philippine News Agency

Pres. Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr.

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Roque: Church leaders, Reds working together to remove Duterte from office

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON Harry Roque Jr. on Monday, July 2, claimed that Catholic Church leaders are working with members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

In a press briefing in Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Roque said, “Baka marami nga sa kanila ay hindi nila tatanggapin si Presidente, kaya nga hindi malayo na magkaisa iyong ilan sa kanila diyan saCPP-NPA na patalsikin si Presidente Duterte (There may be a lot of them who won’t accept the President, that is why it is not far-fetched for them to unite with the CPP-NPA to oust President Duterte).”

The Palace official said the criticisms of the Catholic Church against Duterte began when their candidate, whom Roque did not identify, lost to then Davao City mayor in the 2016 presidential elections.

“Tapatan na, Kristiyano naman tayo, bakit pa tayo magpapaligoy-ligoy. Marami po talaga sa Simabahan hindi matanggap na ‘yung kandidato nila talunan (Let’s be straight to the point, we are all Christians, why should we beat around the

bush? There are a lot of people in the Church who could not accept that their candidate lost),” he said.

Roque then said the members of clergy and communist rebels are dreaming if they think the Chief Executive will be ousted from his post.

“Iyan po ay panaginip. Dahil ang Presidente po, unang-una, nanalo po iyan ng walang daya (That is dreaming. Because the President, first of all, won without cheating),” he said.

On Friday, June 29, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) earlier refuted allegations that the Catholic Church is behind any destabilization plot against the President.

“That is not true, definitely that’s not true, definitely there’s no such thing,” CBCP Public Affairs Committee chairman, Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista said in a report by GMA’s News To Go. “It is just a fabrication.

Wherever it came from, it cannot come from the Church,” he added.

Evangelista assured that such remarks will not come from the Church.

“It is not for us to make the situation chaotic as it is already.

We are all for peace, peaceloving people as nation,” he stressed. ■

MANILA — The public will have a chance to take a glimpse of policies, programs and projects the government has implemented during the second year of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS) and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) have organized a series of forum in preparation for Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23.

Roque said the month long pre-SONA 2018 campaign called ‘Tatak ng Pagbabago’ will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

“It will feature Cabinet clusters that will discuss their respective policies, programs and projects implemented during the Duterte administration’s second year and what they mean for the future of every Filipino,” Roque announced in a Place press briefing.

He said the first forum entitled ‘Tatak ng Pag-unlad’ to be held on July 6 will feature

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Philippine International Convention Center.

RAMON FVELASQUEZ / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

the economic cluster and infrastructure cluster.

“No less than the chairpersons of the three clusters namely Secretaries (Carlos) Dominguez and (Mark) Villar will present the accomplishments and plans for their respective clusters,” Roque said.

The second forum entitled ‘Tatak ng Malasakit at Pagkakaisa’ set for July 11 will feature the participatory governance headed by Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año and the Human Development and Poverty Reduction cluster headed by Acting Secretary Virginia N. Orogo of the Department of Social Welfare

and Development.

The third and last forum entitled ‘Tatak ng Katatagan’ will be held on July 18 and will discuss the climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu will talk in behalf of the National Disaster Risk Resiliency cluster while Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will tackle security, justice and peace.

“Each forum will include an open forum with select Secretaries of each cluster. And will be live streamed in the Facebook pages of the PCOO and its attached agencies such as PTV and Radyo Pilipinas,” Roque said. ■

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Philippine News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

US to work on DuterteReturn to PH if Trump Washington meeting you want to help, Palace urges Joma

BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA Philippine News Agency

MANILA — United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim on Tuesday said Washington will push for the next meeting of President Rodrigo R. Duterte and US President Donald Trump.

This, seeing that both countries have “strong interest” in facilitating Duterte’s visit to US. “As you know, President Trump has already invited President Duterte to visit Washington but obviously there had been lots of important development here in the Philippines and I think it’s a question of scheduling as to when President Duterte would make a visit to the US,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.

“I think there is strong interest in both sides in facilitating the visit to Washington so we’ll continue to work at it,” he added.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo himself relayed hopes for the two leaders’ meeting when he met Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano on June 22.

Trump and Duterte met in Manila on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit last November. During the meeting, the two discussed issues on drug menace, terrorism, and trade issues.

Following the meeting, Kim, at the 4th of July Reception in Makati City, said the two leaders have forged a “very strong relationship.”

“The two gentlemen have shared much in common including on the importance of rule of law even as the Philippines continues to pursue the

BY JELLY MUSICO Philippine News Agency

U.S. Pres. Donald Trump (left) and Pres. Rodrigo Duterte (right).

serious challenge of illegal drugs in the Philippines,” he said.

“We understand that the drug issue is a huge challenge for the Philippines, we understand that President Duterte is so focused on that big problem and we will continue to work with the Philippine government,” the envoy added.

US has been providing Manila support in areas such as demand reduction and drug rehabilitation efforts.

Among others, US has also established law enforcement cooperation with the Philippine National Police and other agencies in the country.

“I think our robust law enforcement cooperation will continue and it is important both sides agree on the importance of rule of law and respect for human rights as we proceed with efforts to deal with the drug problem,” Kim said.

Ties in great shape On the same event, Kim, who

PCOO

was hosting his second US Independence Day Reception in Manila, said there had been significant development on the Philippines-US relations.

He noted the two countries’ growing partnership from defeating terrorists in Marawi City to rebuilding it after its liberation in October 2017.

“We worked together to defeat the terrorist attack on Marawi City and now we’re supporting the government’s efforts to rebuild Marawi,” he said.

In addition, he said the economic partnership between the two countries continues to be “very strong.”

“We welcome the Philippines interest in doing a free trade agreement with US and of course President Trump had a wonderful visit to the Philippine in November, so I think the relationship is in great shape and I think the future of the relationship is very bright.” ■

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dreaming. You cannot oust a government while you are in Europe. You come back and live here in the Philippines so that MANILA — Malacañang on you will see the condition here.

Monday urged self-exiled com- Our economy is in very good munist leader Jose Maria Sison condition,” he added. to come back and help the govRoque said while poverty still ernment’s efforts to build com- remains a problem in the counfortable life for the Filipinos. try, “many” have been lifted out “Stop talking. If you really of poverty. want to help our countrymen, “Because you live a comfortyou return here and be part of able life there in other counbuilding a comfortable nation try, you don’t know already for the Filipino what the situapeople,” Roque tion here in the said in a press Philippines is,” briefing in MaaRoque said. sin City, Leyte.

Sison went Roque said into exile in the Sison should acNetherlands afcept the invitaBecause ter former presition of President you live a dent Ferdinand Rodrigo Duterte comfortable Marcos’ twoto conduct peace life there decade regime negotiations in in other ended following the Philippines country, you a bloodless Peoand not in other don’t know ple’s Power Revcountries. already what olution in 1986.

“It is not the the situation Last week, Sig o v e r n m e n t ’s here in the son has reportfault that peace Philippines edly said that the talks did not is.

National Demopush through. It cratic Front of was Joma who the Philippines backed out. We (NDFP) will no are Filipinos. longer negotiate What the Presiwith the Duterte dent had said, administration let’s talk peace and would inhere,” Roque said. stead join forces to topple the He said Sison should not wor- government. ry of his safety since Duterte Duterte has belittled Sison’s has assured him that he will not threat, saying he finds no probbe detained in the country. lem “if they are not willing to “But Joma Sison is really talk to me”. boastful. He thinks he is the The President, however, said savior of the country. He said he would continue to reach out he will oust the President, to the enemies of the states, inthe term will not be finished,” cluding the Moro rebels in MinRoque said. danao, to bring genuine peace “Joma Sison, wake up. You’re in the country. ■

15

Canada News Trudeau thanks Canadians for standing up for each other as counter tariffs begin

BY TERESA WRIGHT The Canadian Press OTTAWA — As Canadians celebrated the country’s birthday on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was on the road highlighting the stand he has taken against the U.S. government’s decision to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.

Speaking in Leamington, Ont., Sunday morning, Trudeau thanked residents and Canadians for always standing up for one another and for Canadian values.

“This is who we are, we’re there for each other in times of difficulty, in times of opportunity. We lean on each other and we stand strong and that’s what we do from coast to coast to coast,” Trudeau said.

The Ontario town is one of three cross-country stops the prime minister scheduled on Canada Day, and one of two designed to reflect the looming trade war between Canada and the United States.

Trudeau met with workers at a major canning and food processing operation in Leamington, where the tomato paste used in French’s ketchup is made. Later in the day, he visited a major steel refinery in Regina. The two industries are at the heart of the trade dispute.

Trudeau’s counter-tariffs on a range of products took effect on Sunday — a month after the Trump administration slapped duties on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from Canada and other allies.

Canada’s response includes imposing $16.6 billion worth of tariffs on a long list of consumer products that come from a wide range of sectors — from beer kegs, to ballpoint pens, to ketchup.

On Friday, Trudeau spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump by telephone, reiterating that Canada has had “no choice” but to take counter-

measures against the U.S. tariffs.

It appears Trump, too, is not backing down.

In an interview that aired Sunday morning, Trump said he will delay signing a revised version of the North American Free Trade Agreement until after the U.S. mid-term elections in November in hopes of reaching a better deal.

He said he could quickly sign an agreement with Mexico and Canada, “but I’m not happy with it. I want to make it more fair.”

In the interview on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo,” Trump again threatened to impose tariffs on imported cars, trucks and auto parts, saying, “The cars are the big ones.” The move has been viewed as a possible negotiating ploy to restart NAFTA talks, which could resume following Sunday’s elections in Mexico.

U.S. tariffs on auto imports would be a major blow to Canada’s economy because of the importance of the auto industry plays in the country. The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to hold hearings on auto tariffs in late July and to complete its investigation into auto imports later this summer.

Despite the tense political rhetoric among leaders, Trudeau kept his remarks upbeat and patriotic on Canada Day as he spoke to a crowd in Leamington. He praised Canadians for their supportive attitudes in the face of a trade dispute with its largest trading partner.

“There is so much to be proud of as a country, but the thing we always have to be most proud of is Canadians ourselves — the way we step, the way we lean on each other, the way we’re creative and optimistic about the future, the way we look at challenges as opportunities, to grow, to build, to be there for each other. That’s the message we’re celebrating on Canada

PM Justin Trudeau in Papineau

Day,” he said.

Trudeau was speaking on the front steps of Highbury Canco with CEO Sam Diab.

Diab said in an interview that the tomato-processing facility will face increasing cost pressures as a response to the Canada-U.S. trade dispute.

However, the company does not plan on laying off any workers or shrinking its production, Diab said.

Trudeau got a tour of the facility and the two spoke about the trade environment and how Diab supports Trudeau’s retaliatory tariffs.

“We just need closure so that we can move forward and companies can start investing again,” said Diab, adding that the prime minister’s visit to the company made him feel more “confident” in the market.

“Our company will survive no matter what.”

Later in the day in Regina, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said Canada’s tariffs were designed to offer a clear message that the Trump administration’s trade action against Canada is “illegal and absurd” and that Canada is rewww.canadianinquirer.net

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sponding, dollar-for-dollar, in retaliation.

“We will not just be victims of American policy, we’re going to fight back.”

He said Trudeau wanted to be on the ground with steelworkers at a family event on the day Canada’s counter-tariffs came into effect to “make it really tangible what this is about.

“It’s not about corporate board rooms and decisionmaking at some 30,000-foot level. This touches families and lives and homes and communities.”

Meantime, revellers on Parliament Hill who braved scorching temperatures to take in the festivities in Ottawa also expressed support for Trudeau’s hard line against Trump on trade.

Angela Egan said she feels Trump is trying to “bully” Canada into submission.

“I’m glad that Justin Trudeau is standing up to him, because I feel like that’s his modus operandi, he just tries to bully to get his way and we need to stand up for ourselves,” she said.

“I think if you stand up to him, he’ll back down.”

Ian Cross of Prince Edward Island said he does not believe Canada-U.S. relations are being damaged too deeply by the current trade spat.

“I think we’ll get through this.

Everybody has to go through different arguments and discussions. People do it, families do it, so I don’t think this is a big deal.”

The prime minister ended his long Canada Day tour in the Yukon where he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of about 600 people in Dawson City.

Arriving a little late, Trudeau waded slowly through the crowd that had gathered for a barbecue at the city’s Waterfront Park, shaking lots of hands and posing for photos and selfies.

Premier Sandy Silver and Mayor Wayne Potoroka were there as Larry Bagnell, Yukon’s Member of Parliament, gave Trudeau a rousing introduction as “the first prime minister in decades who has been outside Ottawa on Canada day.”

Sounding a little hoarse, but still energetic, after his crosscountry day of speech making, the prime minister said it was great to be back in the Yukon.

“Happy Canada Day, Dawson City,” he shouted to his cheering audience.

“You know, I’ve been right across the country all day, starting in Leamington, Ontario, through Regina, Saskatchewan, and ending here, and the sun is a long way from setting, so we’ve got a lot of time to party still.”

He then returned to his themes from earlier in the day, talking about Canadians being “there for each other,” looking to the future “with optimism and strength,” and “facing down any challenges that come our way.” ■ With files from Alanna Rizza in Leamington, Ont., Sam Maciag in Regina, Dan Davidson in Dawson City, and The Associated Press.

16

Canada News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Order of Canada recipients include outspoken critics of Trudeau government

BY TERESA WRIGHT The Canadian Press

enous women, said she couldn’t believe she was even chosen for the honour. “I was actually quite shocked because I’m always so critical of Canada and its government.”

OTTAWA — He was ripped from his famOther outspoken critics of governily as a child and placed in a residential ment are also on the 2018 list. Cindy school. He survived abuse at the school Blackstock has battled Ottawa for more and later went on to become a lifelong than a decade over aboriginal child weladvocate for the rights of Indigenous fare, while former auditor general SheiPeoples in Canada. la Fraser recently reviewed and found And now, Matthew Coon Come is be- fault with the way the RCMP deals with coming an Officer of the Order of Canada. sexual harassment complaints.

But don’t expect Coon Come to wax The Order of Canada is a welcome acpoetic about Prime Minister Justin knowledgment of the often thankless Trudeau or his oft-repeated commit- work of political and social advocacy, Jament to renew the federal government’s cobs said. But it’s not going to keep her relationship with Indigenous Peoples. from being critical of the government “I’m not too fond of his leadership. I when such criticism is called for. think they’re too preoccupied with stuff In particular, she said, it won’t divert that doesn’t really count,” Coon Come her from standing in opposition to a said in an interview this week. number of government policies and de“There’s a lot of rhetoric, a lot of trust cisions she believes fly in the face of Inthat is broken.” digenous rights — most notably the conCoon Come isn’t the only Order of troversial and divisive Trans Mountain Canada recipient this year who remains pipeline expansion. openly critical of the government. 1 2017-10-05 “There3:45 are decisions that the Trudeau Joel_CanadianInquirer_print.pdf PM Beverley Jacobs, an Indigenous activ- government is making that are intrudist who was an early voice in sounding the ing on the rights of Indigenous peoples alarm about missing and murdered Indig- and their lands and their territories … he

Matthew Coon Come.

has to change his decision (on the pipeline),” Jacobs said.

“I respect (the award), of course, but it’s not going to stop me from fighting for my people.”

Coon Come was thoughtful when asked about how he feels about the award itself, reflecting on his environmental work and leadership of the Cree people of northern Quebec, which has earned him national and international recognition.

In the end, any success he has achieved was due to a willingness to challenge the status quo and to accept change, he said.

There’s a lesson there for Indigenous Peo-

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ples as they continue their fight for recognition of rights and reconciliation, he added.

“I think the government needs to go back to the Indigenous communities and involve the members and the community representatives and look at community projects that will benefit the people, and also to implement the treaties or the modern land claims agreements,” Coon Come said.

“I always believed that sometimes in order to build or to plant, you must dismantle, uproot, tear down those structures and do things you’ve never done before.” ■

Coquitlam mayor calls for more accessible taxis after woman waits three hours THE CANADIAN PRESS COQUITLAM, B.C. – A B.C. mayor is calling for more accessible taxis after a woman in a wheelchair was forced to wait three hours out in the cold and rain on Canada Day. Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said he waited with the senior, who had reserved an accessible taxi that never showed up and they made multiple calls to the dispatcher.

He said she and her companion, who was shivering “aggressively,” were examined by paramedics as they waited.

Bel-Air Taxi could not be reached for comment.

Stewart said 15 per cent of the taxi fleet in Coquitlam must be accessible and whenever a taxi company has applied to expand its fleet, the city has requested that it include more accessible vehicles, too.

Stewart is calling on the passenger www.canadianinquirer.net

transportation board, which regulates the taxi industry in B.C., to enforce its requirements that passengers who need accessible vehicles get priority service.

“We need some enforcement of the existing requirement that taxis place a high priority on persons with wheelchairs,” Stewart said. “I can get a ride home with someone else, but I was unable to offer this woman a ride home.”

The number of accessible taxis approved in the province increased 51 per cent between 2012 and 2017, the board says on its website.

“Operators may use wheelchair accessible taxis to serve any passenger; however, priority must be given to persons with wheelchairs or other mobility devices,” it says.

The provincial government said there are 454 wheelchair accessible taxis, representing 16 per cent of the total fleet in B.C. The majority, 371, operate within Metro Vancouver. ■

Canada News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

17

‘That can’t come soon Alberta’s energy regulator enough:’ Churchill ignoring own rules on hopes propane crisis tailings ponds: critics sparks railway repair

BY BOB WEBER The Canadian Press

BY KELLY GERALDINE MALONE The Canadian Press

the kind of hardship they have experienced because I’ve seen it ? and I hear it.”

Omnitrax, the company that owns the rail line, is appealing CHURCHILL, MAN. — People a federal regulatory ruling that in Churchill wrapped up in requires it to repair the track. scarves and mittens as they Hudson Bay Railway Co., walked down the streets of the which is owned by Omnitrax, northern Manitoba community has said it cannot afford to reover the weekend, but despite pair the line. the weather many homes mainOn Friday, the community tained the chill inside. issued a notice urging people Churchill is critically low on to turn off their heat or reduce propane — a fuel that is used to temperatures in homes and heat many buildings. businesses and to keep winThe town has been with- dows and doors closed. out its rail line linking it to the The temperature was so cold south for more than a year after over the Canada Day weekend flooding washed that many of the out portions of c o m m u n i t y ’s the tracks. celebratory ac“It goes back tivities were canto no rail line, celled or moved and that’s what Propane inside. the problem isn’t the only “The bigis,” said Mayor issue, Spence gest concern, of Mike Spence. said. The course, is heat “Last year the cost of food in the housing province had to and other units. They’ve bring propane materials has asked everyone in by marine significantly to try and prevessel which is increased serve as much the first it’s ever since propane as they happened in this Churchill can,” said Dave community.” became a Dealy with the On Monday, fly-in-only Churchill Chamas temperatures community. ber of Comsat around -2 C, merce. the Amundsen Propane isn’t icebreaker, a rethe only issue, search ship that Spence said. The has spent the last six weeks ex- cost of food and other materiploring Hudson Bay, pulled up to als has significantly increased the community’s now closed port. since Churchill became a fly-inIt’s arrival brought experts, only community. scientists and politicians, inThe surge of people on the cluding Natural Resources Amundsen was a good sign for Minister Jim Carr, north for a those in the community, detwo-day workshop exploring spite the pressures it put on climate change and globaliza- the low propane supply. Local tion of the Arctic. officials said they are working Carr said he is aware the with the province to bring in province and community are propane and are hopeful it will working to rectify the propane arrive within a few weeks. situation, and he hopes a simiOfficials added the top priorlar outcome will follow for the ity remains solidifying a tentarail line. tive deal to sell the rail line and “That can’t come soon port to a consortium of northenough,” he said. ern communities, along with “These people are tough, they help from the federal governare patient and I understand ment. ■

EDMONTON — Alvaro Pinto wants Alberta’s energy regulator to follow its own oilsands rules.

The director of sustainability for the Fort McKay First Nation — a community surrounded by oilsands developments — said he doesn’t understand how the agency can say it’s going to enforce one thing, then allow industry to do something else.

“We are very disappointed,” said Pinto, an environmental engineer who has worked in the industry around the world.

“The Alberta Energy Regulator is simply ignoring its own directive.”

Since last fall, the regulator has given interim approval to five plans for remediating oilsands tailings ponds. The approvals have come despite the regulator’s own reservations.

Spokespeople for the agency say the approvals are not the final word and deficiencies must be addressed. They say the public is being protected and industry needs time and flexibility to come up with a solution it’s already spent billions searching for.

But, with two more decisions to come, critics are increasingly concerned the province is drifting toward methods that no one is sure will fix significant environmental problems. Some say it’s time the government brings in hard targets for remediation and penalties for failure.

“That’s going to drive innovation, if you tighten the screws enough,” said Jodi McNeill of the Pembina Institute, a cleanenergy think tank.

The challenge is what to do with 1.3 trillion litres of toxic tailings that have been accumulating since oilsands mining started more than 50 years ago.

The tailings water holds minuscule particles of chemically tainted silt.

Industry has been working to find a way to deal with that $27-billion cleanup liability without ultimate success.

“Nobody has a proven, acwww.canadianinquirer.net

Alberta Energy Regulator.

ceptable way to get these tailings ponds ready to reclaim,” said Mark Taylor, the regulator’s vice-president of operations.

Plans from most operators rely heavily on end-pit lakes. Tailings water would be pumped into a deep pit, then “capped” with fresh water.

End-pit lakes have not been approved, said Taylor. Recent decisions only give companies permission to go ahead and work on them. Operators must return to the regulator in several years and show progress.

“If industry can prove that end-pit lakes are in the best interests of all Albertans and of the environment, then we haven’t precluded it.”

Taylor said there are interim goals to slow and eventually stop the growth of tailings ponds. They must be ready for final cleanup 10 years after a mine closes — although actual reclamation will take decades longer.

As well, all companies must file a Plan B. Pinto is not reassured.

“Postponing into the future, for some technology that’s going to come, doesn’t give me any comfort. There are things they could be doing right now and they are not.”

For example, new tailings ponds should have to be lined, Pinto suggested.

WWW.AER.CA

As well, he pointed out, nobody’s looking at what the cumulative effect of dozens of proposed end-pit lakes would be.

“What’s the consequence of having unknown water quality for so many years on a landscape?” Pinto asks. “It’s been 40 years and we haven’t seen any end-pit lake that’s reliable.”

McNeill said standards and deadlines are too flexible.

Industry is allowed to propose its own criteria for what constitutes treated tailings. In some cases, that has allowed companies to propose letting their ponds grow for decades to come, despite the regulator’s goal.

“There’s so little guidance and so little clarity provided that industry’s been given a huge amount of latitude,” she said. “The consequence of that is that they’ve come to the table with these unambitious and vague criteria that form the linchpin of their plans.”

Both McNeill and Pinto said it’s time for the government to impose enforceable standards and heavy fines.

“We’ve seen this approach now for five decades of regulating this problem with kid gloves,” McNeill said. “This liability is only going to continue to grow. “ ❱❱ PAGE 21 Alberta’s energy

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Canada News

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

PM addresses groping allegation, says he doesn’t recall ‘negative interactions’

BY TERESA WRIGHT The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he does not remember any “negative interactions” during an event he attended 18 years ago in British Columbia — acknowledging for the first time allegations of sexual misconduct that recently resurfaced about him at the event.

Trudeau told reporters in Regina on Sunday that he remembers attending the music festival in Creston, B.C., in the summer of 2000, but said he doesn’t recall anything going amiss.

“I remember that day in Creston well, it was an Avalanche Foundation event to support avalanche safety. I had a good day that day. I don’t remember any negative interactions that day at all,” Trudeau said.

This marks the first time

Trudeau has offered direct comment on the 18-year-old allegation that has resurfaced in media reports in recent weeks.

However, his answer is the same one that has been provided by his office in response to recent questions about the allegation.

The alleged incident reportedly took place at a music festival where money was being raised for the Avalanche Foundation, a charity Trudeau became involved with after his brother Michel died in an avalanche in 1998.

In the days that followed, an editorial appeared in the Creston Valley Advance alleging Trudeau had apologized to an unnamed female reporter at the newspaper after “groping” her at the event. It alleged he told the woman he would not have “been so forward” if he had known she was reporting for a national newspaper.

The unsigned editorial resur-

faced recently and has led to calls for the prime minister to address the allegations.

He answered one question on the issue Sunday, but did not offer an opportunity for any follow-ups.

The allegation is particularly problematic for Trudeau, who frequently proclaims himself a feminist and has generally taken a zero-tolerance approach to allegations of sexual misconduct within the Liberal party.

Four MPs have resigned or been kicked out of the Liberal caucus over alleged sexual misconduct since Trudeau became party leader in 2013.

Trudeau has acknowledged that he, like other political leaders, is struggling to figure out the best way to deal with allegations while still allowing due process for those accused.

“I don’t have a rule book that’s been handed down to me from Wilfrid Laurier as leader of the Liberal party on how to handle

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ART BABYCH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

these situations,” Trudeau said in January.

The Canadian Press has made efforts to speak to the other person involved in the alleged 2000 incident in Creston,

B.C., but those efforts have so far been unsuccessful. ■ With files from Sam Maciag in Regina and Mia Rabson in Ottawa.

World News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

19

Trump interviews with possible Supreme Court nominees begin

BY CATHERINE LUCEY AND KEN THOMAS The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has interviewed four prospective Supreme Court justices and had plans to meet with a few more as his White House aggressively mobilizes to select a replacement for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Eager to build suspense, Trump wouldn’t divulge whom he’s talking to in advance of his big announcement, set for July 9. But he promised that “they are outstanding people. They are really incredible people in so many different ways, academically and in every other way. I had a very, very interesting morning.”

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump met with four people for 45 minutes each Monday and will continue meetings through the rest of the week.

The interviews were with federal appeals judges Raymond Kethledge, Amul Thapar, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, said a person with knowledge of the meetings who was not authorized to speak publicly about them. The Washington Post first reported the identities of the candidates Trump spoke with.

The president spent the weekend at his Bedminster golf club, consulting with advisers, including White House counsel Don McGahn, as he considers his options to fill the vacancy with a justice who has the potential to be part of precedentshattering court decisions on abortion, health care, gay marriage and other issues.

McGahn will lead the overall selection and confirmation process, the White House said Monday, repeating the role he played in the successful confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch last year.

McGahn will be supported by a White House team that includes spokesman Raj Shah, taking a leave from the press office to work full time on “communications, strategy and messaging co-ordination with Capitol Hill allies.” Jus-

tin Clark, director of the Office of Public Liaison, will oversee White House co-ordination with outside groups.

Trump’s push came as the Senate’s top Democrat tried to rally public opposition to any Supreme Court pick who would oppose abortion rights.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a campaignseason call to action for voters to prevent such a nominee by putting “pressure on the Senate,” which confirms judicial nominees.

With Trump committed to picking from a list of 25 potential nominees that he compiled with guidance from conservatives, Schumer said any of them would be “virtually certain” to favour overturning Roe v.

Wade, the 1973 case that affirmed women’s right to abortion. They would also be “very likely” to back weakening President Barack Obama’s 2010 law that expanded health care coverage to millions of Americans, he said.

Schumer said that while Democrats don’t control the Senate — Republicans have a 51-49 edge — most senators back abortion rights. In an unusually direct appeal to voters, he said that to block “an ideological nominee,” people should “tell your senators” to oppose anyone from Trump’s list.

“It will not happen on its own,” the New Yorker wrote in an opinion column in Monday’s New York Times. “It requires the public’s focus on these issues, and its pressure on the Senate.”

Schumer’s column appeared a day after Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she would oppose any nominee she believed would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Collins, who appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and CNN’s “State of the Union,” said she would only back a judge who would show respect for settled law such as the Roe decision, which has long been anathema to conservatives.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in Ashland, Kentucky, on Monday that “it’s probably going to be close; I think there will be a big, national campaign rage. But in the end, I’m con-

fident we’ll get the judge confirmed.”

During his 2016 campaign and presidency, Trump has embraced anti-abortion groups and vowed to appoint federal judges who will favour efforts to roll back abortion rights. But he told reporters on Friday that he would not question potential high-court nominees about their views on abortion, saying it was “inappropriate to discuss.”

Without Kennedy, the high court will have four justices picked by Democratic presidents and four picked by Republicans, giving Trump the chance to shift the ideological balance toward conservatives for years to come. Both Chief Justice John Roberts and Gorsuch, Trump’s first pick to the high court, have indicated more broadly that they respect legal precedent.

Trump has said he is focusing on up to seven potential candidates, including two women, to fill the vacancy being left by Kennedy, a swing vote on the nine-member court.

Currently the court has three women justices, all appointed

by Democrats. Court watchers have been discussing the prospect of a conservative woman on the bench.

Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the Judicial Crisis Network, said she did not think picking a woman was “the top concern” of Trump, stressing judicial philosophy and experience. But she added, “If he does end up nominating a woman, she can stand on her own accomplishments.”

Anna Chu, vice-president for strategy and policy at the National Women’s Law Center, said she was concerned that a female pick could be a kind of “Trojan horse.”

“What’s important in addition to increasing diversity is how that person would actually interpret law,” Chu said. “There are real stakes here. You could be a woman and not be fair minded.” ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

UN Sec. Gen. Antonio Guterres visits Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

UNITED NATIONS

UN chief visits Rohingya in Bangladesh refugee camps THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH — U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Monday that the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh to escape violence have been victims of one of the “most tragic stories” of the violation of human rights.

Guterres was visiting the sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district to meet some of the Rohingya who have taken shelter there since last August.

He said at a news conference that the refugees had to live under terrible conditions in the camps because of massive violations of their human rights in Myanmar. He praised Bangladesh’s government for being generous toward the refugees.

“It is impossible to visit these camps without breaking our hearts with the suffering of the Rohingya people,” Guterres said. “First of all, listening to the terrible stories of massive violence — of killings, of rape, of torture, of house or villages burnt — it is probably one of the most tragic stories in relation to the systematic violation of human rights.”

He said the solidarity the international community was demonstrating toward the crisis was not necessarily being translated into reality when it comes to funding. Guterres said he was particularly wor-

ried about the potential threats of flooding and mudslides because of monsoon rains and urged the international community to step up with funding.

“When I see the young boys and girls, I remember my own granddaughters and I imagine what it would be see my granddaughters living in these conditions,” he said.

On Sunday, Guterres met Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and assured her of the U.N.’s continuing support for the Rohingya.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi also visited the camps.

“I am extremely humbled and moved by the courage of the Rohingya,” Kim said. “We cannot turn our heads away. We stand in solidarity. ... Today we are all Rohingya.”

Kim promised to continue to work with Bangladesh’s government to support the refugees.

Prior to Kim’s visit to Bangladesh, the World Bank announced a $480 million grant to Bangladesh to address the needs of Rohingya, including health care, education, water, sanitation and social protection.

Maulana Salamat Ullah, a refugee, told The Associated Press that he talked to Guterres and shared his thoughts of going back home.

“I told him we don’t have our country, please help us take ❱❱ PAGE 21 UN chief

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JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Merkel faces off with her Australian bishop rebellious allies over migration sentenced to year's detention for cover-up

BY GEIR MOULSON The Associated Press BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel and her rebellious Bavarian allies searched Monday for a way to resolve a standoff over migration after Germany’s interior minister offered to resign, but a compromise looked elusive in the dispute that has rocked her government.

The crisis that has raised questions over the future of Merkel’s 3 1/2-month-old government pits Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and his Bavaria-only Christian Social Union against Merkel, head of its longtime sister party, the Christian Democratic Union.

Ahead of a difficult Bavarian state election in October, the CSU is determined to show that it is tough on migration.

Seehofer wants to turn back at the border asylum-seekers who have already registered in another European Union country but Merkel is adamant that Germany shouldn’t take unilateral actions that affect other EU nations.

Seehofer and Merkel, who have long had a difficult relationship, have sparred over migrant policy on and off since 2015. However, the current dispute has erupted even as Germany is seeing far fewer newcomers than in 2015.

Seehofer reportedly argues that measures to tackle migration agreed at a European Union summit last week aren’t enough. He offered his resignation at a meeting with leaders of his party Sunday night — though he put it on hold ahead of a meeting Monday in Berlin with the CDU leadership.

The leadership of Merkel’s party approved a resolution Sunday stating that “turning people back unilaterally would be the wrong signal to our European partners.”

It is unclear what effect Seehofer’s resignation as interior minister and CSU leader, if he goes through with it, would have on the alliance between the two conservative parties and their governing coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats.

Over recent days, speculation

BY ROD MCGUIRK The Associated Press

ALEXANDROS MICHAILIDIS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

had focused on the possibility that Merkel would fire Seehofer if he went ahead unilaterally with his plan. That would likely end the seven-decade partnership of the CDU and CSU, which have a joint parliamentary group, and would leave the government just short of a majority.

In comments to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, Seehofer complained he was in an “inconceivable” situation.

“I won’t let myself be fired by a chancellor who is only chancellor because of me,” he was quoted as saying in an apparent reference to the CSU’s traditionally strong election results in Bavaria.

CDU leaders and lawmakers earlier Monday stressed the importance of maintaining the conservative alliance, Germany’s strongest political force for much of its post-war history.

Merkel says a plan to regulate immigration that EU leaders approved Friday and bilateral agreements in principle that she hashed out with some EU countries for them to take back migrants would accomplish what Seehofer seeks.

However, the more conservative CSU believes its credibility is at stake as it tries to curb support for the rival anti-migration Alternative for Germany party, known as the AfD, in the Bavar-

ian election.

So far, however, the gambit has played poorly in polls and Germans seem to be losing their patience.

“I think it’s caused by the atmosphere with the AfD,” said Joerg Hauvede, 47, as he left Berlin’s main train station. “I hope that the CSU will receive their just deserts for their actions.”

Hard-line Bavarian governor Markus Soeder said “action in Germany to strengthen European interests is absolutely necessary.”

But he also struck a conciliatory tone, saying “there is an abundance of possibilities ... for compromises” and insisting the CSU doesn’t want to break up the conservative partnership.

“We can achieve a lot in a government, but not outside,” Soeder said.

The Social Democrats, who have largely been bystanders so far, demanded that their coalition partners get their act together, and called for a meeting later Monday with the conservative leaders. Party leader Andrea Nahles said “the CSU is on a dangerous ego trip that is paralyzing Germany and Europe.”

“The blame game between CDU and CSU must end, because it is irresponsible,” she said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA — The most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse was sentenced to 12 months in detention by an Australian court Tuesday in a landmark case welcomed by some abuse survivors as a strong warning to institutions that fail to protect children.

Newcastle Magistrate Robert Stone ordered Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson to serve at least 6 months before he is eligible for parole.

But Wilson will not immediately go into custody. Stone will consider on Aug. 14 whether Wilson is suitable for home detention. He could live with his sister near Newcastle.

Stone in May found the 67-year-old cleric guilty in the Newcastle Local Court of failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by pedophile priest James Fletcher in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney during the 1970s. Wilson faced a potential maximum sentence of two years in prison.

Stone said Wilson failed to act against Fletcher because he “wanted to protect the church and its image.”

“The whole of the community is devastated in so many ways by the decades of abuse and its concealment,” the magistrate said. “We are all the poorer for what has occurred.”

The sentencing was another step toward holding the church to account for a global abuse crisis that has also engulfed Pope Francis’ financial minister, Australian Cardinal George Pell. Some lawyers said they expect many more clerics to be charged in Australia as a result of Wilson’s test case.

Survivors of abuse who protested against the church outside the court on Tuesday called on Wilson to resign as archbishop. They carried signs accusing the church of hypocrisy and describing it as a “fraudulent cult.”

One of Fletcher’s victims, Peter Gogarty, an advocate for fellow survivors, said he was disappointed that Wilson had walked free from court, but “there is no doubt the archbishop has received a significant sentence.”

Survivors remained pleased by the landmark conviction, he said.

“We have made history here in Australia: The highestranked church official to ever be brought to account for what we know was a worldwide systematic abuse of children and the concealment of that abuse,” Gogarty told reporters. “So I’m content that we’ve done something in Australia that nobody else has been able to manage.”

Another victim, Daniel Feenan, said he would not have been abused by Fletcher as a 12-yearold in 1988 if Wilson had spoken out about the allegations he heard in 1976.

“I do feel I’ve got justice,” Feenan said after the sentencing. “It’s an absolutely strong message today.”

Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Bill Wright said Wilson as a bishop had taken vigorous action against child abusers. As bishop of Wollongong, Wilson had rejected a Vatican ruling that a suspected pedophile priest should return to duty. As Adelaide archbishop, he helped police extradite a lay church employee from the United States.

“It is a deep shock and disappointment that this man has been found guilty of covering up abuse,” Wright said in a statement.

“Archbishop Wilson is a longtime friend and colleague of mine, and almost like a member of my family. But in these matters, all of us must rigorously set aside such considerations in the interests of justice and the protection of children,” Wright added.

Prosecutors last month told the magistrate Wilson must be jailed to send a message that such institutional coverups will no longer be tolerated. ❱❱ PAGE 22 Australian bishop

World News

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

21

Thai rescuers find missing boys and coach alive in cave

BY TASSANEE VEJPONGSA The Associated Press MAE SAI, THAILAND — Rescuers found all 12 boys and their soccer coach alive deep inside a partially flooded cave in northern Thailand late Monday, more than a week after they disappeared and touched off a desperate search that drew international help and captivated the nation.

Video released early Tuesday by the Thai navy showed the boys in their soccer uniforms sitting on a dry area inside the cave above the water as a spotlight, apparently from a rescuer, illuminated their faces.

Chiang Rai provincial Gov. Narongsak Osatanakorn said the 13 were in the process of being rescued, but he cautioned that they were not out of danger yet.

“We found them safe. But the operation isn’t over,” he said in comments broadcast nationwide, referring to the complicated process of extricating them.

Family members of the missing hugged each other as they cheered the news.

Aisha Wiboonrungrueng, the mother of 11-year-old Chanin Wiboonrungrueng, smiled and hugged her family as news of their discovery spread. She said she would cook her son a Thai fried omelet, his favourite food, when he returns home.

Rescue divers had spent much of Monday making preparations for a final push to locate the lost soccer players, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-yearold coach. They disappeared when flooding trapped them after entering the Tham Luang

Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai on June 23.

Narongsak said the divers located the missing about 300-400 metres (yards) past a section of the cave that was on higher ground and was thought to be where the team members and their coach may have taken shelter.

“When the medics have evaluated the kids to see if their health is in good condition, we will care for them until they have enough strength to move by themselves, and then we will evaluate the situation on bringing them out again later,” Narongsak said.

In the 5-minute navy video, the boys are quiet as they sit on their haunches, legs bent in front of them. They are clad in the uniforms they apparently were wearing on the morning they disappeared in the cave.

“You are very strong,” one of the rescuers says to them in English. One of them asks what day it is, and the rescuer responds, “Monday. Monday. You have been here — 10 days.

One of the boys, noticing the

camera and hearing words they don’t immediately understand, says in Thai, “Oh, they want to take a picture; tell him we’re hungry.I haven’t had anything to eat.”

Then the boy breaks into simple English, saying, “Eat, eat, eat,” to which another voice responds in Thai that he already told that to the rescuer.

Anmar Mirza, a leading American cave rescue expert, said many challenges remain for the rescuers. He said the primary decision is whether to try to evacuate the boys and their coach or to supply them in place.

“Supplying them on site may face challenges depending on how difficult the dives are,” Mirza, co-ordinator of the U.S. National Cave Rescue Commission, said in an email. “Trying to take non-divers through a cave is one of the most dangerous situations possible, even if the dives are relatively easy.

That also begets the question: If the dives are difficult then supply will be difficult, but the risk of trying to dive them out is also exponentially greater.”

UN chief... ❰❰ 19

back our country. I am requesting the entire world to help get us our country back,” he said.

“What would be our children’s future? How will they get educated? We don’t know what will happen,” he said.

The recent spasm of violence in Myanmar began when Rohingya insurgents staged a series of attacks on Aug. 25 on about 30 security outposts and other targets. In a subsequent crackdown described by U.N. and U.S.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha thanked the international experts and rescuers who helped locate the missing for their “tremendous efforts.”

“The Royal Thai Government and the Thai people are grateful for this support and co-operation, and we all wish the team a safe and speedy recovery,” Prayuth’s office said in a statement.

Thai navy SEAL divers and rescue workers from other countries had made initial progress through a narrow passageway early Monday after passing through a key chamber on Sunday whose high, murky waters had previously blocked their progress.

Gov. Narongsak had said earlier the passageway goes upward in some places and downward in others and is very narrow, making it difficult for divers and their gear to fit through.

Divers have been stymied repeatedly by rising water that forced them to withdraw for safety reasons. When water levels fell Sunday, the divers went forward with a more methodi-

cal approach, deploying a rope line and extra oxygen supplies along the way.

The SEALs’ Facebook page said that since Sunday night, the divers had reached a bend where the kilometre-long (half-mile) passage splits in two directions. The divers were aiming for a sandy chamber on higher ground in the cave.

Narongsak explained early Monday that fixing rope lines and deploying oxygen tanks along their route will allow the divers to operate.

In addition to the divers, teams have been working to pump out water as well as divert groundwater. Other efforts have focused on finding shafts on the mountainside that might serve as a back door to the blocked-off areas.

Teams have been combing the mountainside looking for fissure that might lead to such shafts. Several have been found and explorers have been able to descend into some.

Experts in cave rescues from around the world had gathered at the site. An official Australian group has followed a U.S. military team, British cave experts, Chinese lifesaving responders and several other volunteer groups from various countries.

“These are challenging conditions and there’s a lot of consideration for safety as well as, the environment outside is contributing to the environment inside,” said U.S. Air Force Capt.

Jessica Tait, part of a 30-member U.S. military team assisting in the search, referring to the rain that has been flooding the cave. “So I’d say, yeah, it’s an accurate statement that it’s challenging.” ■

Alberta’s energy... officials as “ethnic cleansing,” Myanmar security forces have been accused of rape, killing, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have been killed.

Rohingya are denied citizenship in overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar, where they’ve faced persecution for decades. They’re derided as “Bengalis,” and many in Myanmar believe they are illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement in Novem-

ber to start repatriating the Rohingya in January, but the process has been delayed over safety concerns and a complicated verification process. Global human rights groups and the U.N. said the conditions in Myanmar were not safe for the refugees’ return.

The U.N. refugee agency and Bangladesh finalized a memorandum of understanding this year that said the repatriation process must be “safe, voluntary and dignified in line with international standards.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

❰❰ 17

Taylor said the regulator has been tough when needed and has forced some temporary shutdowns.

“We have a wide suite of enforcement tools that we can compel you to get back on the right path.”

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said the current rules have only been in place since 2015 and were revised last October. She said more time is needed.

“If the current approach is

not (getting) results, then I think the province will have to take a more prescriptive approach,” she said.

“We’re not quite there yet.

We want to see all the plans.

We want to see some of the outcomes of the technologies we’ve invested in.”

About one thing all parties agree. As Phillips put it: “This is one of the more significant environmental challenges and technology challenges on the continent.” ■

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JULY 6, 2018

LA Bron... ❰❰ 29

he wanted to finish his career in Ohio, and although he’s leaving again, Cavs fans are more forgiving after he ended the city’s 52-year sport title drought in 2016.

Shortly after the announcement, which came in a surprising manner, James posted a three-photo tribute to Cleveland fans on his Instagram account.

“Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible four seasons,” James wrote. “This will always be home.”

But there will always be a portion of Cleveland fans disappointed that James left again and that he wouldn’t give the Cavs a longer commitment.

His deal with the Lakers is his longest since he signed for six years with Miami in 2010.

James informed the Cavs on Friday that he was not exercising his $35.6 million option and becoming a free agent. While in Los Angeles following a family vacation, he spoke to Cavs general manager Koby Altman moments after free agency opened

FRIDAY

Australian bishop... on Sunday, and it appears that was more a courtesy than a chance for Cleveland to make one last pitch.

The decision to join the Lakers was not a surprise to his innermost circle, with one person telling AP that it had been presumed for some time that he was headed to Los Angeles next season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one authorized that detail be released publicly.

James gave Cleveland something to remember in his final season. He played in all 82 regular-season games and then somehow carried a team that underwent several transformations to a fourth straight conference title and matchup against the Warriors.

As has been the case in the past, James didn’t have enough help as the Cavs were swept, dropping him to 3-6 in the NBA Finals — a record sometimes used to compare him to Michael Jordan.

His stay with the Cavaliers will best be remembered for 2016, when he rallied the Cavs

from a 3-1 deficit in the finals to stun the Warriors. James helped seal a Game 7 win with a chase-down block of Andre Iguodala, the signature moment of a career that has shown no signs of decay.

With the Lakers, James will be playing in the Western Conference for the first time and just down the Pacific Coast Highway from the Warriors, the team that has stymied him three times in the past four finals.

The chance to play for one of America’s most storied franchises was appealing to James, who prides himself on knowing the game’s history. In Los Angeles, championships are the standard and he’ll feel new pressure in upholding the legacies of Johnson, Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West and other Lakers greats. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

❰❰ 20

Defence lawyers argued that Wilson had several chronic illnesses and might not survive a prison sentence.

Australian state governments are ramping up pressure on the church to report child abuse and are legislating to prosecute priests who maintain that revelations of pedophilia made in the confessional cannot be disclosed. Wilson did not use the seal of the confession as an excuse for failing to acting on allegations against Fletcher.

Instead, Wilson testified that he did not recall ever hearing allegations against his fellow priest.

Fletcher was arrested on unrelated child abuse charges in 2004 and died in prison of a stroke in 2006 while serving an almost eight-year sentence.

A five-year national inquiry into child abuse recommended in December that priests be prosecuted for failing to report evidence of pedophilia heard in the confessional.

Wilson stepped down as Adelaide archbishop after he was

convicted in May. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia state which will bring in laws in October obliging priests to report evidence of abuse heard during a confession. The Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania state are planning similar laws.

But acting Adelaide Archbishop Greg O’Kelly said priests would not obey the law.

“Politicians can change the law, but we can’t change the nature of the confessional,” O’Kelly said last month.

Pell, who served at the Vatican as one of the pope’s top aides, has become the highest ranking Catholic in the world to be charged in the church’s global abuse scandal.

The 77-year-old faces trial in his home state of Victoria on decades-old child sex abuse allegations. Pell has denied wrongdoing. Details of the allegations haven’t been made public.

Francis has insisted top clerics be held responsible for failing to crack down on pedophile clergy. ■

23

Entertainment Title of Alex Gonzaga’s new film allegedly taken from a spoken word poem

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer FOLLOWING THE release of Alex Gonzaga’s new film “Nakalimutan Ko Nang Kalimutan Ka” on Saturday, spoken word artist Allen Tolosa expressed his utter disappointment in the movie which has the same title with his spoken poetry.

In a lengthy Facebook post on June 30, Saturday, Tolosa said, “I don’t know what should I feel about this. But right now I’m so disappointed how it turned out.”

Gonzaga’s new film is written and directed by Fifth Solomon, a former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate, and produced by Wilbros Films.

According to Tolosa, it was in 2017 when Solomon contacted him and requested if he can use the writer’s spoken poetry entitled “Nakalimutan Ko Nang Kalimutan Ka” for his movie.

Tolosa’s poem was first used in a three-minute film produced

by The Original Story on Janu-

ary 19 last year.

“I agreed and there was a point when he (Fifth) promised that he would set up a meeting which was cancelled twice and never pushed through,” the writer said.

“He also said that his EP [Executive Producer] would contact me about the TF [talent fee] (which I really dont care) which is the same rate they’re going to pay for Let Me Be The One,” he added.

Tolosa further said the director would also give him credit and even invite him to the showing of the film.

While he was hoping and waiting for Solomon to message him again, Tolosa had no idea that none of their previous plans will happen.

Last Thursday, the writer said Solomon reached out him not to finalize everything, but to inform him that the director will no longer use his piece as they already wrote a different one.

“Now I understand that

they don’t like it anymore so I thought theyre [sic] not going to use it. AND THEY DID. AND IT WAS THE TITLE OF THE FILM,” Tolosa stressed.

Tolosa said he was not talking about intellectual property law as he was not knowledgeable about it, but what he was trying to point out in his statement is about giving “respect to creative minds.”

“Filipinos are creative. We can compose artistic literaries that are funny, striking, strong, inspiring, and so much more. But they should be given weight, credit and even promoted. But this is what happens if a creative idea is not given that much weight and respect, people would just dismiss you that easily,” he noted.

“What I am pointing out right now is how I felt as a creative writer and this is what I am fighting for. I hope that people would PAY MORE RESPECT to creative minds out there, (because creating these ideas are not easy, and it doesnt [sic]

FACEBOOK

come often) so that they would be encouraged and strengthened to do more,” he continued.

As of writing, Solomon has not yet issued a statement regarding the issue. ■

Harvey Weinstein charged with sex crime against a 3rd woman

BY KAREN MATTHEWS The Associated Press NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein was charged Monday with a sex crime against a third woman, as New York prosecutors continue building cases against the former Hollywood studio boss whose downfall ushered in the #MeToo movement.

Manhattan’s district attorney announced the charges in an updated indictment, saying Weinstein performed a forcible sex act on the woman in 2006.

“A Manhattan grand jury has now indicted Harvey Weinstein on some of the most serious sexual offences that exist under New York’s penal law,” District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. said in a statement. “Our inves-

tigation continues. If you are a survivor of the predatory abuse with which Mr. Weinstein is charged, there is still time to pursue justice.”

Vance said Weinstein was charged with another count of criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault. The latter carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Weinstein is scheduled for arraignment on the new charges July 9. A lawyer for Weinstein said the 66-year-old former movie mogul will plead not guilty.

“Mr. Weinstein maintains that all of these allegations are false and he expects to be fully vindicated,” lawyer Ben Brafman said.

A grand jury previously in-

dicted Weinstein on charges involving two women. One of the alleged victims in the criminal case, who has not been identified publicly, told investigators that Weinstein cornered her in a hotel room and raped her in 2013. The other accuser, former actress Lucia Evans, has gone public with her account of Weinstein forcing her to perform oral sex at his office in 2004.

The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual assaults unless they come forward publicly.

More than 75 women have accused Weinstein of wrongdoing. Several actresses and models accused him of criminal sexual assaults, including film actress Rose McGowan, who said Weinstein raped her www.canadianinquirer.net

in 1997 in Utah, “Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra, who said he raped her in her New York apartment in 1992, and the Norwegian actress Natassia Malthe, who said he attacked her in a London hotel room in 2008.

The New York Times and The New Yorker jointly won a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for their reporting on Weinstein, which toppled a once untouchable star maker and helped prod women in other industries from technology to academia to factory work to tell their stories of sexual harassment by powerful men.

Mimi Haleyi, a former Weinstein Co. production assistant, made allegations against Weinstein last October that align with the charges in the updated

indictment.

Haleyi said Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006 in what appeared to be a child’s bedroom in his Manhattan apartment. Neither the district attorney’s office nor Haleyi’s attorney, Gloria Allred, would confirm that Haleyi is the accuser in the new charges.

New York City police detectives said in early November that they were investigating allegations by another Weinstein accuser, “Boardwalk Empire” actress Paz de la Huerta, who told police in October that he raped her twice in 2010.

Weinstein has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex, with his attorney challenging the credibility of his alleged victims. ■

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Entertainment

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

‘Jurassic World 2’ takes No. 1 again

Month after diss track, Drake emerges unfazed with new album

BY LINDSEY BAHR The Associated Press

BY MESFIN FEKADU The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” dinosaurs ruled the box office for a second weekend in a row, but also left a little room for more modest newcomers like “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and the basketball comedy “Uncle Drew” to over-perform in the crowded marketplace.

Studios on Sunday estimate that the blockbuster sequel to “Jurassic World” earned an additional $60 million in its second weekend in North American theatres, bringing its domestic total to $264.8 million. While its second weekend drop is about 10 per cent steeper than that of the first film, worldwide, the film has grossed $932.4 million to date and is barrelling toward the $1 billion mark.

The dinosaurs didn’t gobble up all the attention this weekend, however. “Incredibles 2,” now in its third weekend in theatres, took second place with $45.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $439.7 million.

North American audiences came out in larger than expected numbers for both the action thriller “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and “Uncle Drew.”

The “Sicario” sequel starring Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro earned $19 million to take third place. The film, distributed by Sony Pictures, cost a reported $35 to $40 million to produce.

Landing in fourth place was the basketball comedy “Uncle Drew,” which features NBA AllStars Kyrie Irving and Shaquille O’Neal. With a production price tag under $20 million, the film exceeded expectations grossing $15.5 million and got audience stamp of approval with an A CinemaScore.

The ad and marketing campaign included spots during the NBA playoffs and finals, a Wheaties box featuring Irving as Uncle Drew, and an Uncle Drew capsule collection from Nike.

Lionsgate, which distributed the movie, knew the film had built-in marketability because of the celebrity of the stars, but

was also pleased to discover that the film in early screenings appealed to non-basketball fans too.

“That was the surprise, that wow, we have a picture that really plays to a general audience,” said David Spitz, Lionsgate’s president of domestic distribution. “It has a really sweet message.”

The A CinemaScore, which suggests that the film will have good word-of-mouth buzz, could bode well for the film over the Fourth of July holiday and into the rest of the summer.

“We’re hoping it’s the old adage, ‘It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,”‘ Spitz said.

Lower down on the charts the Indian film “Sanju,” a biopic about Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, earned an impressive $2.6 million from only 356 screens in its opening weekend. And the Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbour?” now playing on 654 screens, continues to do well in its expansion. It added $2.3 million to its earnings this weekend.

After two weekends of $100 million plus movies, this past weekend provided a little blockbuster break before “Ant-Man and the Wasp” opens this week.

But even without a recordbreaker or a $100 million movie, the box office is still up 15.3 per cent from last summer’s abysmal performance and 9.3 per cent for the year overall.

“We can’t have every weekend like the last two weekends,” said comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

“The theatrical box office is on a major roll right now,” Dergarabedian added. “This puts to bed any notion that the summer movie season has run its course. Audiences want to go out to the movie theatre during the summer season.” ■

NEW YORK — A month ago, Drake’s world was crumbling.

Now, he’s untouchable.

Pusha T’s infamous diss track — where he was in full investigative journalist mode, divulging new information about Drake while also shading his mother, father and bestie — hit Drake hard.

Drake’s reply — well, lack thereof, marked a low for the rappersinger, who had surprised music fans when he won his rap beef with Meek Mill in 2015.

But Drake, who has been criticized by some as too commercial and too soft, is back on top seemingly unfazed. And those fans who enjoyed the revelations in Pusha T’s “The Story of Adidon” are likely listening to “Scorpion,” the highly anticipated, 25-track album by pop music’s No. 1 player released Friday.

“It’s not going to hurt him,” Carl Chery, Spotify’s creative director for urban music, said of the diss track. “If Drake comes out with his new single, you’re not going to listen to it?

Everyone is going to run and play it. And it’s going to become an Instagram caption.”

“Scorpion,” which features songs with Jay-Z and a previously unreleased Michael Jackson track, includes the massive No. 1 hits “God’s Plan” and “Nice for What.” It’s expected to debut at No. 1, and it was already heavily trending on social media ahead of its release.

Over the last few weeks, Drake memes were also trending, but it wasn’t advance publicity he would have hoped for.

Instead, the rapper — derided for being too sensitive by some hip-hop heads — was being roasted after the release of “The Story of Adidon,” which besides going for the jugular lyrically, also featured as its cover a photo of Drake in blackface (which the rapper explained was a publicity shot from his acting days from a project about the difficulties black actors face).

Pusha T started the beef with a line in his recently released album “Daytona,” and Drake responded with a whole track of digs in the song “Duppy Freestyle.” It seemed he won the www.canadianinquirer.net

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battle until Pusha T released his track — and Drake went silent.

Damien Scott, Complex’s editor-in-chief and vice-president of content and development, said that he thought Drake might have gone back in the studio to re-record “Scorpion” following Pusha T’s shocking revelation that Drake was a father (“A baby’s involved, it’s deeper than rap/We talkin’ character, let me keep with the facts/You are hiding a child, let that boy come home”).

“I think that the diss had an effect on him personally and as an artist,” said Scott, who said the song wouldn’t put a dent in Drake’s professional career.

“He’s never been in this space before. He’s never been on his left foot before and I don’t think he knows what that’s like.”

Scott may have been right.

For the first time Drake addresses his son in a song, rapping on “Emotionless”: “I wasn’t hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid.” On the closing track “March 14,” he raps about being a single father and says: “She’s not my lover like Billie Jean, but the kid is mine.”

For another artist, a diss track so heavy might have hurt their career — but not for Drake.

“He can still put this (album) out and get so much love in the midst of all of this other drama that’s happening,” said Cori Murray, entertainment director at Essence magazine. “He’s still beloved.”

The Grammy winner has been on a white-hot streak since he jumped from the acting world onto the music scene as both a rapper and singer in

2009, releasing hit after hit, multiplatinum albums and collaborations with everyone from Rihanna to Romeo Santos. His sound has evolved over the years to incorporate not just rap and R&B but pop, dancehall and African music.

“I call Drake the No. 1 pop star because of the type of music he makes. And I don’t mean that in a derogatory sense. I legitimately think he’s pop music in the way that Michael Jackson and Madonna were pop music, in the sense that they take all these influences and all these genres and use themselves as a filter through which they’re distilled into something brand new,” Scott said.

Murray agreed.

“Because of Drake I learned about WizKid. Because of Drake I learned about Black Coffee,” Murray said of the Nigerian singer who appeared on Drake’s hit “One Dance” and the South African DJ who performs around the world. “He’s introducing you to something (new) … so why not give him his credit for introducing us to someone we may not have known about?”

Chery said Drake’s everchanging sound has kept him consistent — with fans and on the pop charts.

“You have to change with the times, and he’s done that,” said Chery, referencing that Drake’s recent collaborations include Migos and rising rapper Lil Baby. “I think he just really has his finger on the pulse of what’s happening. And he knows when it’s appropriate for him to jump on something and kind of incorporate it in his game plan.”

“He’s like become a tastemaker in a sense,” Chery added. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

25

Family and friends mourn loss of two men from Toronto’s rap scene

BY ALANNA RIZZA The Associated Press TORONTO — Friends and family of two men gunned down in Toronto’s Entertainment District over the weekend said the two emerging artists in the city’s rap scene will be remembered for their hard work and ambition.

Jahvante Smart, 21, known as Smoke Dawg and Ernest (Kosi) Modekwe, 28, known as Koba Prime, were fatally shot Saturday evening. Police said a woman was also shot, but she is expected to recover.

Canadian record producer Shane Lindstrom, also known as Murda Beatz, said in an interview Monday that he was close with both Smart and Modekwe.

He said on the weekend before the shooting, Modekwe texted him at about 3 p.m. saying, “I love you, baby.”

“He would say stuff like that when he was out having fun,” said Lindstrom. “It’s heartbreaking. I didn’t see (the text) right away.”

Modekwe was the brand manager for a hip-hop collective called Prime, said family and friends. In April, billboards of the group towered over Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square when they released their song “Sopranos.” The group also launched a clothing line last year with, which Modekwe modelled for.

Lindstrom said when he found out about the shooting, he kept trying to reach Smart

and Modekwe.

He said they would get together “When I heard what was go- when Lindstrom would visit ing on, I knew (Kosi) was with Toronto about once a month.

Smoke, so I texted Kosi sayModekwe grew up in Toing, ‘I love you bro. When you ronto’s west end with his single get this call me, please, please, mother and two younger sibplease,”‘ he said. lings.

The two men were rushed to “He was the oldest so he was hospital following the shooting, always trying to take care of me, but both succumbed to their in- my brother and my mom,” said juries, police said. his sister Chinasa Modekwe in Smart released his first sin- an interview. gle in 2015 and was on Drake’s She said Modekwe worked Boy Meets World tour. Drake multiple part-time jobs to help posted on Instagram a photo of pay the bills and later bought him and Smart performing to- the family laptops and took gether with the caption, “Rest their mother on her first vacaup Smoke.” tion.

Smoke Dawg.

“Kosi was one of my best “He was a good man, with a friends,” Lindstrom said. lot of dreams, a lot of aspira- that he and Modekwe met in “Smoke was like a brother to tions,” Chinasa said. “He had so 2004 and were best friends for me. It’s definitely a loss for To- much life in him, he had the big- 14 years. ronto, they’ll always be remem- gest heart.”

“His energy was like no other, bered.”

A basketball star growing up, he made everyone smile, made Smart’s family released a Modekwe played his the high people feel happy, he would statement Sunday saying that school team and then for fun light any room, no matter how he leaves behind a one-year-old while he studied criminology at dark it was. It was very easy to daughter and 13 siblings. the University of Toronto. be Kosi’s friend, he was a defini“As a young man from Regent He wanted to be a lawyer, Chi- tion of friend,” Jermane Prime Park, he overcame poverty and nasa said, but her brother’s real said in the post. grew into a re“Kosi was sponsible caring everything to grown man who Prime, everytook care of his thing to my cafriends and famHis energy was like no other, reer, my life, if it ily,” the statehe made everyone smile, made wasn’t for Kosi, ment said. “He people feel happy, he would light I wouldn’t be helped people any room, no matter how dark it alive, he literwherever he was. ally saved my life could and will be once.” remembered for There has been his huge smile a string of shootand glowing personality.” passion was music as he was in- ings in Toronto in the past few Lindstrom said he met both spired by Kanye West, The No- weeks. On Sunday night, four Smart and Modekwe in To- torious B.I.G. and Drake. people were injured after shots ronto about four years ago and One of the Prime members were fired downtown, and last they instantly became friends. posted on Instagram on Sunday month two young sisters were

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wounded during a shooting at a community playground.

Police statistics for 2018 indicate there were 199 shootings in the city as of June 25, and 22 people killed by gun violence.

This time last year, there were 170 shootings and 16 killed by gun violence.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford released a statement on Monday expressing his condolences to the victims.

“This has been a very difficult summer in our city, and thoughts and prayers just aren’t going to cut it anymore.

We need action,” he said.

“I am looking forward to meeting with representatives from the Toronto police in the near future so we can get to work on a strategy to end this senseless violence.”

A vigil for Modekwe took place on Sunday night and a vigil for Smart is planned for Monday night. ■

Big Reveal: JC de Vera’s daughter and girlfriend

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer AS HE welcomes his daughter with fatherly pride to the world, JC de Vera also chooses this time to reveal to the public a piece of his private life.

As the world sets their eyes on his baby, vision rays also point to his long-time girlfriend who was also part of the virtual big reveal.

“My strength. My happiness.

My inspiration. My motivation.

My love. My life,” he wrote in an Instagram post on Monday, July 2, uploading a series of photos tagging his daughter Lana Athena and his girlfriend Rikkha Alyssa Cruz.

While the Kapamilya star earlier confirmed to Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP) last May the good news of being a father, this was the first time for JC to bare the identities of the two of the most important

figures in his life that make up his family.

At 32, the actor is still picky when it comes to sharing information about his life off cam, and did not confirm any marriage plans to Rikkha yet.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN, JC said that Lana was baptized last week.

Aside from all the congratulatory messages that his newlyunveiled family received, netizens have been pointing out the evident resemblance of Lana to www.canadianinquirer.net

the actor.

Cruzadobheng commented, “Kamukhang-kamukha mo si baby mo (You really look a lot like your baby). God bless!”

“Carbon copy,” flordeliza.carolino wrote.

Lana Athena, at two months, is already forming a fan club from the supportive Instagram users who have commented on how cute she is.

Another user, elvirabarrion commented, “Sweet smile!

Pampawala mo ‘yan ng pagod

(That will drain all your fatigue), JC.” Meanwhile, Instagram user domregaya wrote, “Aysus kacute naman niyang baby na ‘yan (That baby is so cute)!”

“Ang cute ng baby, super (The baby is super cute),” khlorose14 wrote, filling the comment box with hearts.

Currently, JC is playing in the shoes of John “Ginno” Corpuz in the nightly series “Since I Found You” starring Piolo Pascual and Arci Muñoz. ■

26

Lifestyle Muslim Arabs find warm welcome in Russia’s remote Grozny

BY HAMZA HENDAWI The Associated Press GROZNY, RUSSIA — Even during the World Cup, which brought hordes of foreigners to Russia, the capital of Chechnya remained well off the beaten path for most travellers. The Grozny airport doesn’t even have a conveyor belt for collecting baggage when you arrive.

Bags are lined up in a small side room instead.

Once there, though, visitors will find a unique mix of Islam and exceptional hospitality — along with signs of lingering conflicts related to the country’s civil war.

Muslims visiting from the Arab world will get a particularly warm welcome. Grozny residents seem eager to demonstrate their connections to Islam, perhaps in part because of their relative isolation as Muslims in Russia.

For me, in town to cover Egypt’s national team, which had made Grozny its base for the World Cup, that meant a taxi driver who refused to accept money because I was a “guest” at his home.

Other drivers saw their chance to practice Arabic.

“What do you like about Grozny?” one asked in perfect classical Arabic, the language used in the Qur’an and in literature.

It’s also taught in school, as opposed to spoken dialects used in each Arab country. Another spoke more broken Arabic, as he confided in me his bitterness that so many Chechens died in

the civil war.

One young stranger was kind enough to decipher a Russian menu for me, then offered me a free lift to the stadium. He said he was a jeweler who travelled widely in Europe and seemed eager to practice — or show off — his English. Though it was a bit startling when he randomly boasted, “The Chechnya Mafia and the Italian Mafia are like brothers!” I didn’t worry too much, figuring a real gangster wouldn’t share that with a stranger.

Grozny has a deeply conservative Islamic character. It’s home to one of Europe’s largest mosques. Many men wear beards. Women wear hijab headscarves and long dresses in line with Islam’s modest dress code. The region’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel who shifted alliances and is now backed by Moscow, is cultivating ties with Middle Eastern Muslim nations and has found patrons among the rulers of Abu Dhabi, largest and richest of the United Arab Emirates’ sheikhdoms.

Like his assassinated father before him, Kadyrov, who faces charges of human rights violations including torture and forced disappearances, has overseen the reconstruction of Grozny following devastation from civil war in the 1990s. Giant portraits of him adorn many buildings, alongside those of his father. He categorically denies the rights charges and blames the allegations on Chechnya’s “enemies.” He claims his rule has brought stability and prosperity to the oil-rich region.

Grozny, Russia.

My neat and friendly twostory hotel passed for Grozny’s version of a boutique hotel. But even in the hotel, language barriers sometimes created embarrassing moments.

I mistook the hotel’s owner, a slender man in his 40s, for a taxi driver when he offered to drive me to a money changer.

As I quizzed him about the motive behind his offer, the exchange was cut short by a hotel employee in long dress and headscarf who put her mobile phone in front of my face. “He is the owner,” read the words on the screen. To set me straight, she’d used Google Translate, the magic app that Russians have been using to communicate with thousands of nonRussian speakers descending on their country for the monthlong World Cup. Language was also a hurdle at the hotel restaurant. One day I drew a chicken on my notebook to make my order. When I asked the waitress for milk for my coffee, I said “moo” and made cow-

www.canadianinquirer.net

milking gestures. She found it so hilarious that I heard her back in kitchen, saying “moooooooo” and laughing as she shared the story with the cook.

One morning as I took a short walk around the hotel neighbourhood, I stumbled on a busy outdoor market, a mix of stores and street stands selling produce, poultry and meat. Outside a butcher’s store sat a mound of cattle heads, bloodied, flies buzzing about. Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim feast that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, was a few days away and shoppers were stocking up, with meat, the centerpiece of any good Eid meal.

I noticed several men, some with families, carrying firearms in the market. I asked my driver later and he said they were likely not policemen, adding, “Chechen people like firearms.

They love to fight and wage jihad (holy struggle) in the name of God.” Hundreds, maybe thousands, of Chechen jihadists have over

the years joined the militants of al-Qaida and its successor, the Islamic State group, in Syria, Iraq and Libya. Their Arab peers also joined them in their ill-fated rebellion against Russian rule in the 1990s. Militant groups maintain a foothold in Chechnya to this day, occasionally staging attacks.

Despite my fascination with Grozny, other Russian cities impressed me too. I’ll never forget St. Petersburg’s summer “white nights,” with 19 hours of daylight, along with the Neva river’s beautiful bridges and the architecture. Moscow impressed me with its wide boulevards, beautiful river and orderliness. But Moscow also has an edge. One waitress seemed angry with me for not understanding Russian. And when I asked a waiter at my Moscow hotel for milk, he screamed, “Wait a minute!”

It was a stark contrast to my reception in Grozny, where I’d been treated like a treasured guest. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

27

Activist disappointed in early Dior celebrates the version of Royal Ontario atelier, draws celebs Museum’s #MeToo display to Paris couture

BY KATHERINE PADILLA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

BY THOMAS ADAMSON The Associated Press

TORONTO — A woman who has accused the late street photographer Raghubir Singh of rape is expressing concern about how a #MeToo-inspired display for the Royal Ontario Museum will handle her painful past with the celebrated artist.

New York-based artist Jaishri Abichandani says negotiations are ongoing over how her story will be portrayed as one element of “#MeToo & the Arts,” an overview of gender inequity set to run alongside the exhibit, “Modernism on the Ganges: Raghubir Singh Photographs.”

Abichandani says a draft she saw Thursday describes her experience as “sexual harassment.” She’s calling on the museum to use the word “rape” and to include a photograph of her at a performance art/protest she staged last year at the Met Breuer in New York.

Press material for the ROM event also describes the allegation as “sexual harassment.”

Abichandani says the ROM initially suggested a photo of the protest that features a man in the foreground, instead of one she requested in which she is prominent.

“I found that to be kind of absurd (because) this movement is really about women,” Abichandani said Thursday by phone from Brooklyn.

“Yes, there are male survivors but the reality is the scale of violence towards women is just incomparable and this is about centring the voices of women of colour who have been subject to this violence…. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t use my story to make yourself look good and then actually misrepresent me and make me invisible, that’s just not acceptable to me.”

In a followup message, Abichandani said she would still support the display if the two sides cannot agree on wording.

The ROM’s South Asian Art curator Deepali Dewan said Thursday that “conversations

PARIS — Guests including Katie Holmes and Kate Bosworth were taken deep inside the inner workings of Christian Dior for the French brand’s nostalgic couture display that celebrated the artistry of the atelier.

Hundreds of retro busts and mannequins in unfinished-looking white gowns flanked the runway walls — from floor to ceiling — inside Paris’ Rodin Museum as designs showcased the pareddown finesse of age-old couture.

Here are some highlights of the fall-winter collections shown Monday.

Jaishri Abichandani.

are ongoing” with Abichandani.

“We are still actively working on the display and continue to engage in discussions about the content details,” Dewan said in an emailed statement.

Abichandani first revealed the allegations in a radio interview last October. Her claims have not been tested in court.

Singh died in 1999.

In an interview Wednesday, Dewan said the display would include a “head-on” reference to Abichandani’s allegations against Singh, as well as a broad look at sexual harassment in the arts.

“It’s difficult because there’s pain on all sides and we wanted to make sure we proceed in a respectful way,” said Dewan, who noted the display also includes input from Singh’s family, who provided the photographs for the exhibit.

The ROM also formed an external advisory committee made up of leaders in the arts community and women’s advocacy.

Abichandani said she’s pleased with much of what the museum has done: “What response the ROM has given me has been the best of any institution so far.” She also described Dewan as “open and receptive.”

But she expressed disappointment over being denied several requests: that the #MeToo display include a video of her protest, a photo of a sign made for the protest and

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a 25-centimetre long sculpture that she made.

She says Singh coerced her into sex during what she thought was a work trip to India when she was 25 and he was 52.

“It’s rape. I’m not just out there protesting him putting his hand on my thigh. It was an instance of him completely entrapping me and isolating me in a country and basically refusing to hear my verbal refusal and coercing me into the situation which I just felt like I had to survive,” says Abichandani, now 48.

“And he followed that up with an entire year or two, I can’t remember the length of it, of verbal abuse and intimidation once we got back to New York.

All of that to me is not encapsulated by the words ‘sexual harassment.”‘ Singh is considered a pioneer for his use of colour film to capture street scenes in India from the late 1960s to the 1990s.

In the earlier interview, Dewan called the #MeToo display a “milestone” in the way the museum handles difficult content, suggesting this could be the new norm for problematic projects.

The #MeToo program will include video clips of arts professionals reflecting on gender issues. There will also be films, panel discussions and possibly live performances.

Both displays run July 21 to Oct. 21. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Dior goes back to basics

There was an old-school vibe in the perfumed air of Dior: 1950s’ berets, veils and costume jewelry filed by in its Paris show.

Thick fabrics reminiscent of post-World War II styles were used evocatively in a midnight blue cape coat and a three-piece ensemble with a fringed spiralsleeve bolero.

The sheer restraint of the palette of powdery shades against nudes also harked back to a time, before the proliferation of bright colours in the 1960s, where designers still preferred subtle hues.

This season, the program notes said “(designer) Maria Grazia Chiuri goes back to the fundamentals.”

It made for a beautifully executed couture collection of 71 looks — but one that seemed to lack energy and avoided any huge creative leaps.

Still, there was plenty of beauty.

A raspberry double-face silk scuba bustier dress was sewn from just a single piece of fabric.

Chiuri developed silhouettes based on the batwing sleeve from the Bar Jacket — the centerpiece of Dior’s iconic 1947 “New Look” that revolutionized post-War fashion.

Van Herpen’s imagination

Dutch wunderkind Iris Van Herpen merged the organic and the electronic to demonstrate why she’s considered among

the most artistic couture designers working in Paris today.

A gown made of zigzag strips that resembled radio waves undulated down a model with a stylish bounce. It enveloped her body like a butterfly cocoon against the futuristic show decor of fibrous, triangular metal bars.

Elsewhere, a blood or rose red fabric skirt looked like a half-dissected heart and was hung from the neck by metallic threads. It was one of the 17-piece show’s most beautiful looks.

Beyond the edgy theme, this season the 34-year-old Van Herpen showed she has a real hand for delicate couture work. The zigzag motif was handled sublimely on a grey creation with knife pleating that looked like a human had mated with a jellyfish.

Its dramatic headpiece was blown, as if by a wave, across the face.

Schiarparelli is whimsical

The House of Schiaparelli said to expect the “unexpected and daring” for its couture display.

And as multicolored nylon neo-faux fur, zebra jacquard, golden winged leopard masks, butterfly and dog motifs as well as innumerable blooms paraded past the fashion elite inside the Paris opera, it didn’t disappoint.

The 41 looks, designed by Bertrand Guyon, aimed to capture the whimsical eclecticism of the late, great couturier Elsa Schiaparelli.

She was one of the most famous fashion designers in between the two World Wars when Surrealism was at its height, and she was heavily influenced by artists such as Salvador Dali.

Surrealist touches in the Monday show — from the sound of buzzing insects to faces obscured by flowers, and padlocks — proliferated in designs that moved from narrow fitted jackets for daywear to smouldering liquid satin draping for the night.

At times, some looks appeared a tad heavy-handed.

But that didn’t seem to bother the many VIPs, such as actress Melissa George and socialite Nicky Hilton, who applauded vigorously from the front row. ■

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Lifestyle

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Consent cards creating safe Seattle bans plastic space in Canadian yoga studios straws, utensils at

restaurants, bars

BY VICTORIA AHEARN The Canadian Press TORONTO — It’s one of the most intimate workout environments where issues of consent can arise as quickly as saying “om.”

Yoga classes typically see teachers giving hands-on assists or adjustments to students on the fly, but not everyone wants such treatment and some Canadian studios are now using so-called consent cards to remedy the situation.

Studios distribute the cards, which are either made in-house or bought online, at the start of a yoga class with wording such as “yes” on one side and “no” on the other. Throughout the class, students can flip their card to whichever side they prefer so the teacher knows whether that person wants any physical assistance.

“In the case of any type of abuse or even sexual abuse that some people face in their life, it’s an easy way for people to give consent to people touching them,” says Diana Butron, manager of Yogaspace in Toronto, which implemented the cards in May. “It can be something that people avoid going into a class for, maybe subconsciously or intentionally avoid it, just because maybe they’re feeling triggered in that moment. So it gives them a way to go and feel safe in that space without feeling that people may or may not put their hands on them without asking.”

Union Yoga and Wellness in Toronto says its consent cards, which it implemented last August, have lured in new clients who had previously stayed away for fear of being touched.

The concept has been empowering for both students and teachers, says owner Ruby Knafo.

“By having the consent cards it helps the teachers more easily identify who is open to touch and who isn’t,” Knafo says.

“So I think it’s been a gift for the teachers. And the feedback from our students has only been positive.”

Carolyne Taylor created consent cards to distribute at her

BY PHUONG LE The Associated Press

Victoria Yoga Conference two years ago.

At the time, she hadn’t seen them used in yoga and wanted to create awareness about consent, particularly for teachers.

She now sells the cards at consentonthemat.com and says she donates the proceeds to the Yoga Outreach charity.

“I know when I did my yoga teacher training, doing assists and adjustments and that sort of thing was just part of what we did and there wasn’t a question of consent or ‘What if people want it or don’t want it?”‘ says Taylor, the conference creator.

“I’ve been (to yoga) places recently where consent wasn’t asked for and wasn’t even brought up. I don’t have any issues around adjustments and that sort of thing. I’m quite happy to have somebody massage my neck or push me farther into a stretch, and I welcome that.

“But there were some awkward moments even for me where it was like, ‘Turn to the person next to you and give them a hug’ or whatever, ‘and if you’re not comfortable with that, don’t participate.’ Well, that’s not very easy…. If somebody wasn’t OK with it, it wasn’t even set up so they could exit gracefully from that situation.”

Such is the key to consent cards: their users don’t have to verbalize or raise a hand to express their wishes and single themselves out in a class.

“I think there are some people who saying no actually still feels difficult,” says Knafo. “They feel like maybe it’s offending the teacher or that it says something about themselves.”

Yoga leaders point out that a “no” can be used for a variety of reasons, whether it be trauma, fatigue, illness or simply just not wanting to be touched. The cards are also helpful for yogis who move from studio to studio, don’t know the instructors and may be shy in expressing their wishes to them.

Knafo notes that switching to the “yes” side doesn’t guarantee that teachers will give them adjustments, either, as they might not have time.

“It’s still not a perfect system,” Knafo says. “We emphasize you can change your mind at any time. For example, I’m someone who mostly likes hands-on adjustments but when it comes to savasana at the end of class, I typically like to left alone.”

Yoga leaders say it’s important the cards have wording and/or colouring on each side that clearly communicates a “no” or a “yes” so teachers can easily see it while walking around the class.

They also recommend training staff about them, distributing information to give clients a heads up, and having teachers explain them at the start of every class.

Some studios encourage all clients to use the cards without making them mandatory, while others insist that everyone uses them so no one is singled out.

“We’re really trying to make it an inclusive space and take the fear out of what some people can see as a barrier toward going to a practice or exercise or being in a gym or wellness environment,” says Butron. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

SEATTLE — Looking for a plastic straw to sip your soda? It’s no longer allowed in Seattle bars and restaurants.

Neither are plastic utensils in the latest push to reduce waste and prevent marine plastic pollution. Businesses that sell food or drinks won’t be allowed to offer the plastic items under a rule that went into effect Sunday.

Seattle is believed to be the first major U.S. city to ban single-use plastic straws and utensils in food service, according to Seattle Public Utilities. The eco-conscious city has been an environmental leader in the U.S., working to aggressively curb the amount of trash that goes into landfills by requiring more options that can be recycled or composted.

Seattle’s 5,000 restaurants will now have to use reusable or compostable utensils, straws and cocktail picks, though the city is encouraging businesses to consider not providing straws altogether or switch to paper rather than compostable plastic straws.

“Plastic pollution is surpassing crisis levels in the world’s oceans, and I’m proud Seattle is leading the way and setting an example for the nation by enacting a plastic straw ban,” Seattle Public Utilities General Manager Mami Hara said in a statement last month.

Proposals to ban plastic straws are being considered in other cities, including New York and San Francisco.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Theresa May announced in April a plan to ban the sale of plastic straws, drink stirrers and plasticstemmed cotton buds. She called plastic waste “one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world.”

Smaller cities in California, including Malibu and San Luis Obispo, have restricted the use of plastic straws. San Luis Obispo requires single-use straws only be provided in restaurants, bars and cafes when customers ask for them. City officials said

most customers will say “no” if asked if they want a straw.

The idea has met resistance in Hawaii, where legislation to ban plastic straws died this year, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday , with The Hawaii Restaurant Association and Hawaii Food Industry Association testified against the bill.

Seattle’s ban is part of a 2008 ordinance that requires restaurants and other food-service businesses to find recyclable or compostable alternatives to disposable containers, cups, straws, utensils and other products.

Businesses have time to work toward complying with the ban, said Jillian Henze, a spokeswoman for the Seattle Restaurant Alliance, an industry trade group. “We’ve almost had a year to seek out products to protect the environment and give customers a good experience (with alternatives).”

The city had allowed exemptions for some products until alternatives could be found. With multiple manufacturers offering alternatives, the city let the exemption for plastic utensils and straws run out over the weekend.

Environmental advocates have been pushing for restaurants and other businesses to ditch single-use straws, saying they can’t be recycled and end up in the ocean, polluting the water and harming sea life.

A “Strawless in Seattle” campaign last fall by the Lonely Whale involving more than 100 businesses voluntarily helped remove 2.3 million single-use plastic straws.

Supporters say it will take more than banning plastic straws to curb ocean pollution but that ditching them is a good first step and a way to start a conversation about waste and ocean conservation.

Seattle urged businesses to use up their existing inventory of plastic utensils and straws before Sunday. Those who weren’t able to use up their supply have been told to work with the city on a compliance schedule.

Businesses that don’t comply may face a fine of up to $250, but city officials say they will work with businesses to make the changes. ■

29

Sports Australia, Philippines players brawl in World Cup qualifier THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA — Basketball Australia says world governing body FIBA will enter “new territory” when it investigates a bench-clearing brawl during Australia’s World Cup qualifying match against the Philippines Monday.

It would not rule out criminal charges being laid.

Thirteen players, including four Australians, were ejected for their part in the brawl which took place in the third quarter of the match at the Philippine Arena in Ciudad de Victoria.

The match was won 79-48 by Australia.

Fighting erupted with four minutes left in the quarter when Australia’s Chris Goulding was knocked to the ground by an opponent, with Goulding’s teammate Daniel Kickert reacting by flooring a Philippines player with an elbow.

Philippines players and officials poured onto the court and a wild melee began. Australia’s Sudan-born NBA star Thon Maker was seen to aim several flying kicks at Philippines players and Goulding was trapped on the floor under a pile of players as punches were thrown and chairs were tossed into the arena by fans.

The Australian players were later helped to leave the arena, board a bus and return to their hotel by representatives of the Australian embassy.

Basketball Australia chief executive Anthony Moore said players were bruised and shaken but not seriously hurt.

He said his organization would fully co-operate with any FIBA investigation or tribunal but he would not speculate on what sanctions might be imposed.

“I can’t speculate on what the sanctions will be because we’re actually in new territory in this regard,” Moore said. “We want to

work with FIBA on the tribunal and get that outcome and we’ll assess our outcomes from there.

“We have briefed our lawyers on that, as you would expect us to do.”

Moore said Kickert’s retaliation after the foul on Goulding was an “unsavoury act.”

“Whilst we accept our responsibility for our role in last night’s incident, what we don’t accept is the action whereby fans and officials actually get involved in the fray,” Moore said. “We find that absolutely unacceptable.”

Moore said players feared for their safety in the “tinderbox” atmosphere inside the stadium.

“You will have seen in the vision our athletes and coaches actually stayed on the court for a considerable amount of time because that was deemed to be the safest place for our players and coaches,” he said. “That’s a fairly compelling set of circumstances; are we actually going to

Gilas Pilipinas' Troy Rike (centre, in blue) stands over Australian Boomers' Chris Goulding (lying on the ground, in yellow).

CHOOKS-TO-GO PILIPINAS

get out of here unscathed?

“Physically our players are fine. They’re bruised and battered... (but) all the players are shaken up and Chris in particular.”

Milwaukee Bucks centre Maker has defended his role in the incident, saying in a statement on Twitter that he was attempting to defend his teammates.

“I am deeply disappointed in the actions displayed during

yesterday’s game against the Philippines,” Maker said. “Being from a war-torn country, basketball for me has always been a means to bring people together.

“I feel a great responsibility as an NBA player to carry myself in a way that promotes peace and unity.

“My hope is that this experience provides a springboard for discussion regarding the security surrounding these games.” ■

LA Bron: James agrees to 4-year contract with Lakers

BY TOM WITHERS The Associated Press CLEVELAND — LeBron James is leaving home for Hollywood and an iconic team.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a new superstar — L.A.-Bron.

The four-time NBA MVP announced Sunday night that he has agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract with the Lakers, joining one of the league’s most storied franchises and switching conferences to try and dethrone the Golden State Warriors and grow his own legacy.

For the second time in his career, James is saying goodbye to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who drafted the teenage sensation from Akron in 2003 and have to be satisfied with winning just one title in the 11 years they had him.

Unlike his two previous forays in free agency, James did not drag out his decision and made the announcement less than 24 hours after NBA free agency opened.

This Summer of LeBron was barely a fling.

His management agency, Klutch Sports Group, announced his agreement with the Lakers in a release. It was a stark contrast from eight years ago, when a poorly conceived TV special to announce his departure from Cleveland backfired and damaged James’ image.

The game’s biggest star will now lead a young Lakers team — run by Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson — that has been overmatched in recent years while rebuilding. But the Lakers will instantly rise with James, a three-time champion who after

LeBron James.

being swept by the Warriors in this year’s NBA Finals said he is still driven and very much in www.canadianinquirer.net

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

“championship mode.”

The Lakers’ legacy is something that appealed to James

and it wasn’t long after his announcement that he heard from Kobe Bryant, who won five titles during 20 seasons with Los Angeles.

“Welcome to the family ?KingJames,” Bryant said on Twitter . “#lakers4life #striveforgreatness.”

Los Angeles will also provide James with a larger platform for his business interests and social activism. He already owns two homes in Southern California and has a film production company.

This is the third time in eight years James has changed teams. After bolting from Cleveland in 2010, he returned in an emotional homecoming four years later, determined to make the Cavs champions. The 33-year-old had previously said ❱❱ PAGE 22 LA Bron

30

Business Grads with a first job need to establish good financial habits early: experts

BY CRAIG WONG The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Depositing the paycheque from your first real job in your bank account can be a bit of a rush, leaving you feeling flush with cash and ready to put the frugalities of the student lifestyle behind.

But experts say new graduates starting their first jobs need to establish good financial habits early to set themselves up for success later in life.

Michael Allen, senior portfolio manager at Wealthsimple, recommends paying down debt first, especially if you have any high-interest debt such as an outstanding balance on a credit card.

A reduction in the amount you owe will also give you a guaranteed return in the form of interest you won’t owe on the amount you repay.

However, Allen says it’s also important to establish the habit of saving early, even if it’s just small amounts to start because they will add up. Starting early also gives you a chance to learn what it means to invest.

“Watching your accounts fluctuate in value, that’s a very important lesson that people need to learn because it’s going to happen when you’re investing in the equity markets,” he said.

Jennifer Auld of TD Canada Trust suggests continuing to live on a student budget for a couple of months while you make a plan, including establishing your short and longterm goals.

“What that allows you to do is get comfortable with your new reality before you go out and start changing your lifestyle and changing the way you live day-to-day,” said Auld, a district vice-president at the bank.

It is important to set a new budget based on your new income and stick to it, says Auld, who suggests using one of the many financial apps available to help track your spending.

“You can plug in all of your fixed costs and determine what’s left at the end, for you to spend,” she said. “It’s a critical first step in terms of establishing how much you’re able to save each month and what your discretionary earnings look

like.”

Once you’ve repaid any loans, Auld suggests you could allocate that money to savings, a change that would allow you to ramp up how much you put away with no change to your budget.

Allen says if your employer offers a group RRSP plan that includes a matching contribution, you should take advantage of that extra help for your savings.

“That’s free money,” he said of any employer matching contributions.

“But for someone who is making less than $50,000 a year, a tax-free savings account is a great option, especially for people coming right out of school.”

Allen says new investors should also keep a sharp eye on the fees they are paying to ensure their savings don’t get eaten up.

“When your fees are high you’re essentially padding someone else’s pocket instead of your own,” he said.

Both Allen and Auld acknowledge that sticking to your budget

isn’t always easy and the fear of missing out for new graduates may be strong.

It may be frustrating to see your friends Instagram new cars or vacations from exotic destinations while you brown bag your lunch to your new job. But if you can’t afford such expenses, being frugal is better than

taking on unnecessary debt.

Allen says the temptation to spend can be attractive, but it’s important to understand what you can afford and what you can’t.

“At the end of the day, it’s about focusing on yourself and how you’re going to better yourself down the road.” ■

Gov’t sets P3.8-T disbursements for 2019

BY KRIS CRISMUNDO Philippine News Agency MANILA — The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) announced on Monday that the government’s disbursement program next year is at PHP3.8 trillion and will be expanded to PHP5.362 trillion in 2022.

In a press conference following the 173rd DBCC Meeting, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Benjamin Diokno said PHP3.757 trillion of the total disbursements for 2019 will be cash-based, as the government

will be shifting from obligations-based budgeting for the next fiscal year.

“The shift to cash-based budgeting is projected to enhance the efficiency of national government disbursements,” said Diokno.

The DBM chief said the PHP3.757-trillion proposed national budget will be submitted to the Congress this month during President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).

He mentioned that the national budget for next year is equivalent to 19.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Although the proposed budget for 2019 is lower than the PHP3.8-trillion approved budget this year, Diokno explained that the cash-based appropriation is still by 18.3 percent compared to the cash-based program in 2018.

Moreover, the DBCC will be proposing to the Chief Executive to hike the budget deficit next year to 3.2 percent of GDP from the 3 percent it had projected earlier.

“The planned deficit is set at PHP624 billion for 2019 up to PHP774.3 billion in 2022,” Diokno said. “The medium-term financing program will continue to favor domestic borrowings, www.canadianinquirer.net

following a 65-35 [percent] mix in 2018, and a 75-25 mix from 2019 to 2022.”

Diokno noted that government infrastructure programs and investments in human capital development are gaining momentum.

He added that the government will ensure that these programs will not be in disadvantage because of lack of funding.

“We certainly want to accelerate the Build Build Build program and also we are accelerating the investment in education and investment in social services including health,” Department of Finance (DOF)

Secretary Carlos Dominguez III echoed.

Dominguez said the government’s borrowing needs to support its disbursement program next year will depend on the success of borrowing programs this year.

He mentioned that the Samurai bonds set to be offered this second half of the year will be a prepositioning for government funds.

In the first half of 2018, the national government issued USD2-billion 10-year global funds and 1.46-billion renminbi Panda bonds. ■

Business

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

31

China tariffs could Capital raising at record high in H1 hurt remaining US shark fin business PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

BY PATRICK WHITTLE The Associated Press

fins represent about a quarter of the value of a shark, and fins that U.S. fishermen harvest are often shipped to Asia for proPORTLAND, MAINE — A new cessing. set of Chinese tariffs on U.S. Animal advocates and enviseafood including items made ronmentalists have long called from shark fins could jeopar- for a complete ban on the shark dize what remains of the Amer- fin trade because they believe ican industry for the controver- it jeopardizes threatened spesial products. cies of shark. Oceana campaign China announced the 25 per director Whitney Webber said cent tariffs in mid-June that are a national fin ban would “reinexpected to apply to exported force the status of the United American goods such as lobster States as a leader in shark conand salmon beginning in July. servation.”

They also will apply to whole or But China’s new tariffs could cut shark fins, as well as shark have the opposite effect, pofin products that are canned or tentially increasing demand preserved, according to a Chi- for shark fins from countries nese government website. where fisheries are not as well The U.S. has managed, said long banned Robert Hueter, a “shark finning,” senior scientist a practice long and director of reviled by animal the Center for welfare groups It’ll just be Shark Research that involves rea hardship at Mote Marine moving the fin for the small Laboratory in from a shark and fish houses Sarasota, Floridiscarding the and the da. animal at sea. It fishermen “They can get is still legal to rethat fins from anymove and sell the participate where, and they fin of a legally in this don’t need it harvested shark fishery. from us,” Huetafter it is brought er said. “This is to land. hurting U.S. fishThe steep tarermen, not really iffs, which could solving any kind turn away busiof problem.” ness from U.S. exporters, might Beijing announced the tarhave implications for American iffs, which also apply to agrishark fishermen and proces- cultural products and cars, as sors. China is one of the big- retaliation against President gest buyers of shark fins, as the Donald Trump’s tariff increase product is used to make shark on Chinese products. The two fin soup, an Asian delicacy. countries, the world’s two larg“My sense is that’s going to est economies, are in the midst decrease demand for sustain- of escalating trade hostility. ably fished U.S. shark fins, and But some in the U.S. shark increase demand from coun- fin business do not believe fins tries with less sustainable fish- will be a casualty of a U.S.-Chieries,” said Shaun Gehan, an na trade war. Raymond Wong, attorney for Sustainable Shark a New York-based shark fin Alliance, which represents dealer, said the tariffs can be shark fishermen and dealers. easily bypassed by shipping “It’ll just be a hardship for the fins to Hong Kong, which is a small fish houses and the fish- common destination for them ermen that participate in this anyway. fishery.”

“If I get dogfish fin from Hundreds of fishermen in the Maine or wherever, I can send U.S. seek numerous species of it to Hong Kong,” he said. “I’ve shark for their meat and fins in been sending dogfish to Hong a tightly regulated fishery. The Kong for a while. I am OK.” ■

MANILA — Capital raised at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) was at a record high of PHP150.01 billion in the first half of 2018. The amount raised in the first six months was 40.5 percent higher than the PHP106.74 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The capital raising activities from January to June 2018 consisted of stock rights offerings by PetroEnergy Resources Corporation, Robinsons Land Corporation, Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust

Company, and Bank of the Philippine Islands and the initial public offering of D.M. Wenceslao and Associates, Incorporated.

There were also private placements in IRC Properties, Inc., China Banking Corporation, Basic Energy Corporation, and Golden Bria Holdings, Inc. “Market volatilities did not hamper the expansion plans of our listed companies. This is an indicator that they are set on completing their business initiatives amidst a robust domestic economy,” said PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Monzon.

“The Exchange is pleased to be a conduit in the growth of listed companies by serving

as a venue for capital raising.

We are also delighted to have already reached 75 percent of our target capital raising amount for the year,” Monzon added.

More fund-raising activities are expected to be completed in the next two months via followon offerings and stock rights offering.

“While the stock market has experienced a sharp decline from its all-time high early this year, we expect the country’s sound economic fundamentals to continue to encourage listed companies and potential issuers to raise capital through the equities market and to attract investors to participate in the offerings,” he noted. ■

Bank of Japan survey shows corporate sentiment worsening

BY YURI KAGEYAMA The Associated Press TOKYO — A central bank survey released Monday showed Japan’s corporate outlook has worsened from three months ago, underlining fears in this export-reliant economy about trade tensions.

The Bank of Japan’s “tankan” survey measuring confidence among large-scale manufacturers was at 21 points, down 3 from the March survey, which was the first decline in two years.

The manufacturers surveyed include automakers and electronics companies that are the mainstay of Japan’s economy.

Worries are growing about trade friction over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other nations’ action in response, including China and Europe.

Tankan, long seen as an important indicator of economic health, looks at the difference between companies surveyed that have a “favourable” outlook and those with an “unfavourable” outlook. The results show optimists outnumber pessimists but that difference is shrinking.

The tankan showed that big non-manufacturing compawww.canadianinquirer.net

JARRETERA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

nies, a group that includes the service sector, reported slightly better sentiment, at 24, up from 23.

That suggests domestic demand remains robust, said Chang Wei Liang, analyst at Mizuho Bank in Singapore.

The world’s third-largest economy has picked up steam in recent years under Prime Minister’s Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” deflation-fighting stimulus program, which has kept credit cheap and tried to push prices higher to compel businesses and consumers to spend more.

Although Trump’s tariff policies have yet to actually dent the economy, worries are simmering that they could set off a global slowdown and deaden Japan’s exports, a key force for economic growth here.

Japan’s longest streak of economic expansion in about three decades, or the so-called “bubble” economy of the 1980s, ended in the first quarter of this year, marking the first pullback in two years, according to government data.

But many are expecting the economy to have rebounded in the second quarter. ■

32

Technology Are parody Twitter accounts ‘fake news’?

Liberals, Conservatives disagree

BY MIA RABSON The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Liberal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna says parody social media accounts that deliberately try to mislead readers are a form of identity theft that needs to be addressed.

McKenna herself was targeted by a parody account that was shut down Tuesday by Twitter after McKenna complained, only to spring up again just hours later with a slightly different name and handle.

The account uses the same photo from McKenna’s own personal Twitter account, and while its biography does say it’s a parody, Twitter apparently deemed it a violation of its policy about not impersonating others online.

A Twitter official says the company does not comment on specific accounts, but notes the user of the account would have been told why the account was closed.

Conservative MPs and pundits, however, say parody accounts should not be shut down simply because the government doesn’t like what they say.

They point to a number of parody accounts about Conservatives — including one dubbed “Not Steve Harper,” online since 2009 — and say they should not be treated as so-called “fake news.”

Twitter allows parody accounts but they must include a word like parody or fake in the biography section and can’t use

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.

account names or handles that are the same as those of the person being impersonated.

McKenna’s personal Twitter account, which she opened in May 2010, has the username ?cathmckenna and the account name Catherine McKenna. The McKenna parody began life earlier this week with the handle ?cathemckenna and the account name Catherinne McKennna. It mostly posted things like advice for the environment but making fun of McKenna for flying first class or giving tax breaks to the rich.

Requests to Twitter to investigate the account were made by the government Monday.

The account owner says in his or her new version that the account was “blocked for 7 days initially, and then the Canadian government had me banned.”

But not for long.

ART BABYCH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

The account owner’s new version sprang up at 9:02 p.m.

Tuesday night, this time as ?catheemckenna and the account name CatheMcKennnna.

By 6 p.m. Wednesday night it already had 5,200 followers, about twice what the original account attracted in its brief life.

McKenna said she has “seen more than my share of personal attacks, bullying and harassment on Twitter and other social media platforms” and has no problem with parody. But accounts that deliberately try to mislead people are politically motivated and need to be addressed.

“It’s like identity theft, and it undermines our ability to have productive, informed conversations about issues that matter,” she said.

Conservative strategist and

www.canadianinquirer.net

media specialist Alise Mills said the government went too far by having this particular account shut down.

“Parody accounts are not fake news,” she said.

Mills acknowledges she herself was taken in by the account and retweeted one comment with her own response until someone pointed out the account was a fake. But she says just because users make mistakes doesn’t mean parody accounts should be shuttered.

The accounts that are problematic are the trolls that call for violence or are demeaning, said Mills.

In 2014, incoming Ontario Premier Doug Ford, called for the federal government to make it a crime to impersonate someone on Twitter with parody accounts and threatened to sue people who had made several of

him while he was a Toronto city councillor.

The government’s electoral reform bill, which is now at the committee stage, creates a new offence under the Elections Act to share or post information trying to pretend its coming from a party or a candidate. However the bill makes a specific exception for parody or satire.

The three largest political parties have no specific policy directing MPs or candidates on how to handle parody accounts, such as whether candidates can retweet them or create them on their own.

Conservative Party spokesman Cory Hann says the Conservatives give “general guidance” on social media use and warn candidates that “being in the public eye sometimes means being the subject of a joke.”

“Satire and parody are nothing new in politics and we hope our government has better things to worry about than what constitutes a parody Twitter account,” he said.

NDP MP Matthew Dube said while the NDP doesn’t have any formal policies, it should be a given that candidates and MPs don’t share fake news or parody accounts that are trying to look identical to that of an MP or political party.

“It muddies the waters of what is already a challenging environment when it comes to the information that is out there for the public,” said Dube.

“There is some burden on us when it comes to circulating this kind of stuff.” ■

Technology

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

33

5% of Ontarians own ‘cryptoassets’ such as Bitcoin: OSC survey says

BY ARMINA LIGAYA The Canadian Press

is lagging,” said Tyler Fleming, the director of the regulator’s investor office.

The survey comes about a month after the provincial regulator joined forces with its peers in the U.S. and Canada to warn investors about cryptocurrency-related investment schemes.

Dubbed Operation Cryptosweep, the project has resulted in dozens of inquiries and investigations, and pending or completed enforcement actions related to initial coin offerings or cryptocurrencies since the beginning of May, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association.

The OSC also said in April it was gathering information on

sion and the Bank of Canada have also issued warnings about investing in cryptocurrencies.

In December, central bank govTORONTO — A study by the ernor Stephen Poloz sounded Ontario Securities Commisthe alarm on Bitcoin, calling sion suggests five per cent of the purchase of the cryptocurOntarians own what the regularency “closer to gambling than tor calls “cryptoassets” such as investing.”

Bitcoin or Ether and awareness Some of Canada’s biggest is increasing, but knowledge is banks earlier this year halted lacking. the purchase of cryptocurrenThe online survey conducted cies using their credit cards as in March also showed that 1.5 well. per cent of respondents say Meanwhile, the price of Bitthey have participated in an coin has plummeted since the initial coin offering, in which beginning of the year, from investors usually buy digital roughly US$13,440 on Jan. 1 to tokens that can be kept, sold or US$6,100 on Thursday, accordtraded. ing to Bitstamp.net.

However, when the 2,500 OnThe OSC’s survey suggests tarians surveyed were asked to that on top of the five per cent identify true statements about who currently own a crypthese digital astoasset, an adsets, just 34 per ditional four per cent were able to cent of Ontarido so, according ans say they used to the OSC. It’s clear that interest in this sector to own one.

“We did find is not going to disappear any time Men aged 18 there is a lot of soon to 34 were more awareness of the likely to report sector, and peoowning a crypple are increastoasset, at 14 per ingly participating or being several cryptocurrency trad- cent. approached, but that under- ing platforms after it received a Most people aren’t spendstanding and knowledge and number of complaints. ing huge amounts of money comprehension of the sector The B.C. Securities Commis- on cryptocurrencies and other

digital assets, with just over half saying they spent less than $1,000 or no money at all to acquire them.

The survey suggested that roughly five per cent of cryptoasset owners did spend between $10,000 and $19,999, and another four per cent spent more than $20,000.

Most cryptoasset owners made their purchases using cash savings, at 55 per cent, but 26 per cent said they used their credit card. Fourteen per cent received them for free.

Of the purchases, 37 per cent were made within the past year, but nearly as many were made during the past three months, at 35 per cent.

As well, the study showed that 12 per cent of Ontarians had been approached about or

sought information themselves about an ICO. Most were approached via social media, at 39 per cent, followed by friends or family at 33 per cent.

“It’s clear that interest in this sector is not going to disappear any time soon,” said Fleming.

“So as time goes by, as people become more familiar with the product, we would certainly expect people to be doing more research, understanding the different types of products and risks out there.”

The polling industry’s professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error as they are not a random sample and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole population. ■

Ex-Equifax software developer charged with insider trading

BY KATE BRUMBACK The Associated Press ATLANTA — A former software developer for Equifax faces insider trading charges related to the company’s massive data breach last year, federal prosecutors in Atlanta said Thursday.

Sudhakar Reddy Bonthu, 44, used nonpublic information to determine Equifax had been breached last year before any public announcement and then bought put options that he exercised for a profit of more than $75,000 after the breach was announced, according to a court filing.

Bonthu, an Indian citizen, entered a not guilty plea Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman, who indicated the case would be referred to

a U.S. district judge for a guilty plea at a later date.

Bonthu’s attorney, Chelsea Thomas, declined to comment after the hearing.

Bonthu is the second former employee of the Atlanta-based credit reporting company to face insider trading charges related to last year’s data breach.

Jun Ying, former chief information officer of Equifax’s U.S. Information Solutions, was indicted in March. The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday also charged Ying with insider trading. Ying has pleaded not guilty.

“Upon learning of potential trading activity by Mr. Bonthu, we immediately launched a review of his trading activity and separated him from our company after he declined to co-operate with our inquiry,” Equifax

said in an emailed statement, adding that the company is fully co-operating with the SEC and the Department of Justice.

A total of about 147.9 million Americans have been affected

by Equifax’s data breach, which remains the largest exposure of personal information in history. It was disclosed to the public Sept. 7.

From mid-May through July in 2017, unknown individuals accessed some of Equifax’s databases without authorization, acquiring names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers, the court filings says. Federal authorities say Equifax discovered the suspicious activity on its network on July 29.

In mid-August, the company imposed a trading blackout www.canadianinquirer.net

date for employees who were aware of the breach.

On Aug. 25, Bonthu and other Equifax employees were asked to help respond to the breach, though they were told the work involved a potential Equifax customer, not Equifax itself, the court filing says. He was told the target date for announcing the breach was Sept.

6. On Sept. 1, Bonthu used his wife’s brokerage account to buy 86 put options in Equifax stock that expired Sept. 15, the court filing says. Put options allow the holder to make a profit if the stock price drops.

Equifax shares plunged in value after the company disclosed the breach Sept. 7.

Bonthu exercised his put options for a profit of more than $75,000, the court filing says.

Bonthu told a colleague he

had figured out it was Equifax that had been breached before the information was public, prosecutors say.

“The integrity of the stock markets are jeopardized when greedy individuals who are entrusted with nonpublic information use the knowledge for their benefit,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said in an emailed statement.

Equifax Chief Financial Officer John Gamble and three other executives sold shares worth a combined $1.8 million days after Equifax discovered suspicious activity on its network, but Equifax said an independent committee determined that these executives did not know of the breach when their trades were made. ■

JULY 6, 2018

34

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35

Travel Badlands and history in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

BY BETH J. HARPAZ The Associated Press MEDORA, N.D. — For travellers looking to visit all 50 states, North Dakota is often one of the last to be checked off. It's not exactly on the way to anywhere else, and flying there is expensive.

It ended up being 49th on my 50-state quest (sorry, Idaho!).

Part of the challenge was deciding what to do there and how to get there. I had to choose between visiting Fargo in eastern North Dakota (and the name of one of my favourite movies) or Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the west. It's 330 miles (530 kilometres) between them, and I didn't have time for both on a week-long road trip that also included Montana's Glacier National Park and Idaho's Craters of the Moon.

In the end, Roosevelt Park won out. Photos of its badlands and prairies enchanted me, and the story of Teddy Roosevelt's sojourn there following the

deaths of his wife and mother on the same day intrigued me.

What was it about this place that allowed this future president to grieve and recover — while at the same time inspiring him to become one of America's most influential conservationists? I needed to see it for myself.

ited in Alaska, Hawaii and the Southwest, not to mention Yellowstone and Yosemite. About 700,000 people visit Roosevelt Park yearly, compared to the more than 3 million annual visitors at places like Montana's Glacier Park.

Getting there

Teddy Roosevelt Park is open 24 hours daily. We arrived at 7:30 a.m. one day at the tail end of last summer. Map in hand, we drove the 36-mile (58-kilometre) scenic loop around the park's South Unit, stopping at many of the nearly 20 points of interest along the way.

Within minutes, we came upon a prairie dog town. Dozens of the tiny creatures scampered back and forth, popping in and out of little holes amid scrubby grasses. We'd see three more prairie dog towns before we completed the loop, along with wild horses grazing on a hill by the roadside and in another spot, a herd of bison. The wildlife encounters were thrilling and unexpected surprises.

My husband and I flew to Denver — by air from New York, the cheapest jumping-off point — and rented a car (unlimited mileage, of course). We then drove 600 miles (965 kilometres) north through Wyoming and South Dakota to the tiny North Dakota town of Medora (population 132), at the entrance to the park's South Unit.

Fortunately, those 600 miles were easily done in a day, thanks to speed limits of 75 and 80 mph (120-128 kph) in many spots, and little traffic outside Colorado. Still, it felt like we were heading to a pretty remote place, and I wondered if the park would hold its own against national parks I'd vis-

The loop and wildlife

Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

The landscape

The landscape was thrilling too. The scent of sage perfumed the air, and bursts of red foliage punctuated the grey-green grasslands. Stripes of peach, cream and mud-brown earth and stone lined the curving banks of the Little Missouri River.

Framing it all were the famous badlands stretching to the horizon: flat-topped stone formations with striated slopes in tawny yellows and russet reds, dotted with bright green

trees and patches of grass. They looked like the crusty paws of some massive alien creature on the verge of rising up.

We did most of the hikes along the loop drive, some just a few minutes' walk to an overlook, others 20 to 40 minutes along hilly trails covering a mile or more. At every stop, we were awed by the scenery, from the astonishing palette of earthy hues to the stone shapes etching land and sky. ❱❱ PAGE 38 Badlands and

Unique Quebec outdoor planetarium uses augmented reality to view the night sky

BY PETER RAKOBOWCHUK The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Jeremy Fontana was always getting questions from guests about the stars in the night sky above his outdoor retreat in Quebec's Eastern Townships.

So he decided to find a way that would help star struck visitors understand the mysteries of the heavens above.

“If you could look at the real sky and, at the same time know what you were looking at, it would be perfect,” Fontana said in an interview from the Au Diable Vert resort in Glen Sutton, Que.

So about two years ago, Fontana connected with Andrew Fazekas, a science writer and educator to create ObservEtoiles, an outdoor planetarium that uses augmented reality.

“It's never been done before,” Fontana said. “It's totally pioneering.”

Visitors sit in an open-air Roman-style amphitheatre with 180 heated seats built into the side of a mountain at an altitude of 365 metres.

The 90-minute show currently held weekly on Saturdays begins with a virtual trip through the solar system followed by a detailed tour of the actual night sky.

Using a special headset, they look up and view illustrated images of stars and constellations which overlap the actual nighttime sky.

“As you turn your head around, the constellations appear and disappear, but they're superimposed over the real stars,” Fontana said. “That's really the essence of the augmented reality, you've got both things happening at the same time.”

As an astronomer provides a laser-guided tour, the Greek and Roman mythology upon which the constellations are patterned are also explained.

Fazekas developed the show's www.canadianinquirer.net

concept and content and also brought National Geographic on board as partner.

The entrepreneurs hope to expand the concept elsewhere.

“I'm bringing in the educational and science aspect (and) National Geographic is bringing in their networking muscle and their worldwide branding,” he said.

“To be outdoors under a truly dark sky filled with countless numbers of stars is a really humbling experience and then to have this technology really unlock some of the mysteries of the night sky ... it's unlike anything that's out there.”

The experience is additional-

ly enhanced because the southern-facing location was only recently designated a “Dark Sky Preserve” by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. It's only the second such preserve in Quebec after Mont-Megantic, home to an observatory.

“It allows you to see a lot more stars than you would in lightpolluted areas,” Fazekas said.

Cloudy skies won't stop the night sky show, which starts as soon as it gets dark.

As a science communicator, Fazekas said he really wants to excite young people — “the next generation of astronomers, astronauts, mathematicians and engineers.” ■

Travel

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JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Local museum gives visitors a portal to the past

BY JESSICA LERNER The Associated Press

Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho.

Idaho: Huckleberry beer, Craters of the Moon and Sun Valley

BY BETH J. HARPAZ The Associated Press ARCO, IDAHO — Huckleberry beer, Craters of the Moon park and Sun Valley: It was a trio of unique Idaho experiences.

My husband and I came up with the spur-of-the-moment itinerary on a road trip out west last September. We'd planned on hiking in Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest but smoke conditions from fires in the region scuttled our plans. So we came up with a Plan B that more than made up for the loss.

Challis

We drove into Idaho from Montana, on a beautiful drive along Highway 93, also known as the Salmon River Road. We were heading to Challis, Idaho, to spend the night at the wonderful Watermark Inn, where the staff struck just the right balance: pleasant and helpful but not in our faces. They gave us great advice for dinner, too: the River of No Return Brewing Co., a tiny spot we never would have found on our own.

We dined on locally made garlic and sage sausage with an ice-cold huckleberry lager to

wash it down. The River of No Return, it turned out, is another name for the Salmon River, from the era when boats could only navigate in one direction due to the rapids.

Craters of the moon

The next morning, after granola and omelettes at the inn, we headed for Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Arco. It's a weird, stark landscape: fields of cold, black lava punctuated here and there with colorful bursts of sagebrush or wildflowers. A geologist in 1923 compared it to “the surface of the moon as seen through a telescope,” and NASA has sent astronauts and scientists here for research.

It became part of the national park system in 1924, and last year was designated a “Dark Sky” park, perfect for viewing stars because there's so little light pollution around.

A 7-mile loop road takes you around the park to a series of viewpoints and mostly short hikes to see features like cinder cones and craters. But you won't see a volcano. The lava came from a series of fissures ❱❱ PAGE 38 Idaho: Huckleberry

a string that controls the left hand that bears the sword.

With their characteristic stilted walk, these large pupBRANFORD, CONN. — You pets act out the glory and spirit can't travel through time, but of the Crusades, the battles there is a way you can visit the of knights and kings and the past. struggle of heroes against vilThe Stony Creek Museum lains and evil wizards. As the offers a snapshot into the past audience watched them pursue of shoreline village through its glory, fame, justice, love and many exhibits and multitude of impossible dreams, the puppets donated artifacts. brought to life a world of histo“There is so much in Stony ry, fantasy and mystery, accordCreek, in terms of stories, being to Weber. tween the people who came Along with the addition of here for the summer and the Golfredo, the museum also quarry and the Stony Creek features other attractions such granite. Then you've got the as vintage postcards, chosen puppets and the old-fashioned as a new exhibit this year due town of yesteryear,” Mary Lee to museum's large quantity.

Weber, a member of the Board “Sometimes, it's about what we of Directors for the museum, had in the collection,” she said. said.

Weber said Museum ChairFor former First Selectman woman Judy Robison spent Anthony “Unk” DaRos, it's hours sorting through the important to remember what thousands of vintage postcards, was here. Growing up in Stony which she said offers a look Creek, he described the expeback at the simpler times. One rience as “great,” as no one refrom 1903 reads: “I have done ally knew the nothing since I residents were arrived but eat there. and sleep. I'm “Yeah, (Stony going over on a Creek) has its There is so much in Stony Creek, boat ride to the quaintness and in terms of stories, between the Thimble Islands its strange way people who came here for the this afternoon.” of doing things, summer and the quarry and the Jake Greenbut that's its Stony Creek granite. Then you've vall, 79, said culture,” Dagot the puppets and the oldthese postcards Ros said. “I feel fashioned town of yesteryear. were almost like history and the a telephone call, preservation of as they would arhistory as well as rive the same day the culture for any community, canvas, over which they wear they were sent. whether it be Stony Creek or their costumes and hand-em“You could mail a postcard any other, I think it's very criti- bossed brass armour, which in the post office here this cal because once it's gone, it's range from the heavy full-plate morning, and you could send gone.” armour of the western Europe- it to someone in Branford. You Fortunately, Weber said the an knights to the flowing, color- could say, 'I'll see you this aftermuseum has been lucky enough ful robes worn by the Moors of noon,' and it'd get there before that people have saved these ar- North Africa. you did,” he said. tifacts and then donated them.

Unlike some of the other The museum also houses the Since opening to the public in puppets from Weil's collection, well-known Stony Creek Fife 2012, she said the museum has Weber said Golfredo was used and Drum Corps, historic fire featured a new exhibit every more for show than actual per- fighting equipment, a centuryyear since. One of this year's forming. She said he can bend old Apothecary Store complete new arrivals is a 175-year-old his knees and used to be able to with original drugs, tools from archbishop puppet, painstak- draw a sword, adding the larger the quarry and more. ingly restored by a former Stony puppets have more control and “You can't imagine the stoCreek puppeteer from the now did more fighting. ries they have to tell. You come non-existent Stony Creek PupFrom a 6-foot structure in here, and you can take a step pet House Theater. above the stage floor called “the back in time,” Weber said. “This Golfredo, a puppet from the bridge,” Weber said the puppe- is why you have museums: To Sicilian puppet collection of the teers would move figures with get a chance to look back, see Weil family, hangs on a display two steel rods, one through what it was like and makes you near the museum's entrance, the head into the torso and the feel like you can learn a lot from clad in armour, a shield and a other to the sword, and a heavy it.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

helmet with bright plumage.

Ornately built at the turn of the 20th century by the craftsman Sebastiano Zappala, Golfredo and 51 other puppets were brought to the United States in 1963 after performing for more than 50 years in Sicily, Weber said. He noted that these were among the last remaining ones from a collection of 300.

Weber said local puppet collector Grace Weil, who bought the former Puppet House in 1960 with the intention of opening an international puppet museum, learned Zappala's puppets were being stored at small theatre in Sicily and proceeded to buy the collection.

Most Sicilian puppets stand between 4- and 5-feet tall — Golfredo is about half their size - and weigh about 80 pounds.

Their heads are hand carved from solid walnut and painted with fine detail, she said.

She said their bodies are made of steel-reinforced hardwood covered with hemp and

37

Food This summer, drink your vinegar as part of a delicious shrub

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press WHEN I picked up my Community Supported Agriculture box at Amber Waves Farm a few days ago, I was invited to take a bunch of rhubarb. It was beautiful and about 3 feet long. I had never seen such pretty or long stalks of rhubarb before, so I took it but I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I usually make a pie or a crisp with rhubarb but I wanted to do something different. I thought about pickles or muffins, but neither one caught my fancy that day so I decided to ask for suggestions on Instagram. The first two people suggested a shrub. And that was exactly what I was in the mood for.

A shrub is a drinking vinegar. It is most often made from fruit, but can also be made from vegetables and herbs. If that sounds weird to you, rest assured that it doesn’t taste weird. You only use a little and top it off with sparkling water for a homemade soft drink that is refreshing and not too sweet.

It also makes a nice sweet-tart fruit base for a cocktail.

There are two popular methods for making a shrub. A cold method that can take days, if not weeks, and a hot-cooked method that takes about an hour from start to finish. My preferred method is the hotcooked method because I like the instant gratification, and in this recipe it also leaves behind the added bonus of a lovely rhubarb compote.

I am a big fan of fruit shrubs and usually make one in the fall and winter with fresh cranberries. But summer is really the time to make them because you can use any berry or stone fruit in addition to the rhubarb which is now my absolute favourite.

Because few things beat a rhubarb pie with a crumble topping, I added the spices that I use in my topping; cinnamon and ginger. As I cooked the fruit down

with sugar and water, a cinnamon stick and fat round slices of crystalized ginger, my kitchen smelled delicious. Just like a pie baking! And not surprisingly, the shrub tastes like the essence of a rhubarb pie. The tart fruit mixed with the warm spices and just enough sugar to bring out the sweetness is cooked to a mash consistency. The resulting syrup extracts the most beautiful pale pink colour from the rhubarb, and a delicate flavour from the fruit. And, the added bonus is the leftover fruit which tastes and looks like a rhubarb compote.

I gingerly tasted the hot fruit as I was straining the liquid from it. I didn’t know whether it was going to be delicious or totally “spent” and ready for compost. I was thrilled to find out that it was bursting with flavour, soft and perfectly balanced, tasting of vanilla even though I didn’t add any. It tasted like the primary recipe, not the leftovers. I love it when that happens, and you get two great recipes from one process. This was a happy accident resulting in zero food waste! I had to force myself to stop eating it directly from the colander. Since I made the shrub, I’ve spread the compote on toast like jam, and served it on top of grilled pound cake—it would be great simply served over vanilla ice cream as well. The compote will be gone long before the shrub!

Most of the time, I like to drink shrubs mixed with sparkling water as a festive nonalcoholic drink. But one look at the shrub and I realized that it would be perfect base for a “red” Fourth of July cocktail— and a nice change of pace from watermelon-based drinks. And it was kismet because my shrub making coincided with the new release of Booker’s 2018 bourbon collection. The new batch is titled, “Backyard BBQ,” It is a tribute to distiller Booker Noe’s legendary cookouts in his backyard. I poured two parts bourbon to one part

shrub over ice in a shaker and added a dash of bitters. After an energetic shake, I poured it into a glass and drank it neat, but you may want to pour it over crushed ice and top it off with sparkling water for a milder cocktail. The sweet hints of maple and vanilla in the bourbon were a match made in barrel heaven for the cinnamon and gingered rhubarb shrub—making this a drink that will be welcome at any celebration all summer long.

Gingered rhubarb shrub and a bonus fruit compote

This fruit shrub will remind you of a fresh-baked rhubarb pie and the leftover compote is a delectable bonus—you can eat and drink your fill of rhubarb and spices!

Start to finish: 30 minutes Servings: 2 1/2 cups of shrub makes 12 drinks (2 ounce each).

Also makes 4 servings of compote or about 1 cup.

• 2 generous cups fresh diced rhubarb • 3/4 cup granulated white sugar • 1 whole cinnamon stick • 5 slices of crystalized ginger • 1 cup bottled water • 1 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar such as Bragg Place the cut rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon stick, ginger and water in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Turn the heat on high and place a lid on the pan. Bring the water, rhubarb and sugar mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer with the lid on until the fruit looks like it has dissolved.

It will be completely soft and in strands instead of pieces, 8-10 minutes.

Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Pour the fruit and the liquid through a small colander or mesh strainer. Let the liquid drain into a bowl. You may have to do this in stages as the solids collect.

Press down on the fruit to extract as much juice as possible www.canadianinquirer.net

without pressing too hard, as you don’t want to get any solids into the shrub. In fact, don’t scrap the solids that collect on the bottom of the colander or strainer because those will make the shrub cloudy.

Chef’s Note: Don’t throw the fruit away, the resulting cooked rhubarb, cinnamon stick and ginger is the most delicious fruit compote and is good on toast, pound cake or served over vanilla ice cream. It’s a pity that you only get about a cup!

Once all the juice has been drained, add the vinegar through a fine steel strainer to the rhubarb syrup. Pour into a glass jar for storage, and transfer the rhubarb solids to another jar.

Refrigerate both until ready to use.

The shrub can be kept for

several months in the refrigerator and the rhubarb “compote” will last a week.

Rhubarb Shrub Refresher: Non-alcoholic. Mix 2 ounces of the shrub with 6 ounces of sparkling water and serve over crushed ice.

Booker’s “Backyard BBQ” Cocktail: Alcoholic. Mix 1 ounce of the shrub with 2 ounces of Booker’s and a dash of bitters in a cocktail shaker. Shake until well chilled and serve straight up or pour over a glass of crushed ice and finish with sparkling water. ■ Nutrition information per serving: 66 calories; 0 calories from fat; 0 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 2 mg sodium; 16 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 15 g sugar; 0 g protein.

Food

38

JULY 6, 2018

FRIDAY

Flavourful, well marbled short ribs with a crunchy crust AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN FLAVOURFUL, WELL-MARBLED short ribs seem like the perfect candidate for grilling, but getting the texture just right can be a challenge. We wanted meltingly tender meat with the nicely browned exterior that the grill provides—without having to constantly fiddle with the fire.

We started with a flavourful spice rub and a sweet-tart glaze. Ground fennel and cumin added more complex layers to the rub. For the glaze, we came up with several options using tangy, bright flavours to help temper the richness of the meat.

Short ribs are full of collagen, which converts to gelatin during cooking and produces a tender texture. We went with bone-in ribs to make sure they wouldn’t overcook before the collagen had enough time to break down.

Even a carefully monitored grill inevitably produces hot and cold spots, and the spotty heat was causing our short ribs to cook unevenly. Starting the ribs in the more even-heat environment of the oven was the optimal solution. When the ribs reached 165 F, we moved them to the grill to finish cooking and get a smoky, crunchy crust.

Grill-roasted beef short ribs

Servings: 4-6 Start to finish: 2 hours Meaty English-style short ribs are preferred in this recipe to thinner-cut flanken-style ribs.

Make sure to choose ribs that are 4 to 6 inches in length and have at least 1 inch of meat on top of the bone.

Spice Rub: • 2 tablespoons kosher salt • 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar • 2 teaspoons pepper • 2 teaspoons ground cumin • 2 teaspoons garlic powder • 1 1/4 teaspoons paprika • 3/4 teaspoon ground fennel • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper Short Ribs: • 5 pounds bone-in Englishstyle beef short ribs, trimmed • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar • 1 recipe glaze (recipes follow) For the spice rub Combine all ingredients in bowl. Measure out 1 teaspoon rub and set aside for glaze.

For the short ribs Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 F. Pat ribs dry.

Sprinkle ribs with spice rub, pressing into all sides of ribs.

Arrange ribs bone side down in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, placing thicker ribs around perimeter of baking dish and thinner ribs in centre. Sprinkle vinegar evenly over ribs. Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil.

Cook until thickest ribs register 165 F to 170 F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

— For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent halfway. Arrange 2 quarts unlit charcoal briquettes into steeply banked pile against side of grill. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts).

When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour on top of unlit charcoal to cover onethird of grill with coals steeply banked against side of grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.

— For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and

Badlands and... ❰❰ 35

Roosevelt’s story

An exhibit at the visitor centre tells Roosevelt's story. On his first visit in 1883, he hunted bison and invested in a ranch near Medora. He'd been a state assemblyman in his native New York, but after his mother and wife both died on Feb. 14, 1884, he left politics and returned to the badlands to mourn his losses. He lived in a small ponderosa pine cabin now located just steps from the visitor centre.

It's furnished with period pieces and some of his belongings, including his travelling trunk, a replica of his writing desk and a

heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium and turn off other burner(s). (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 275 F to 300 F.) Clean and oil cooking grate.

Place short ribs, bone side down, on cooler side of grill about 2 inches from flames.

Brush with 1/4 cup glaze. Cover and cook until ribs register 195 F, 1 3/4 to 2 1/4 hours, rotating and brushing ribs with 1/4 cup glaze every 30 minutes. Transfer ribs to large platter, tent with foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Mustard Glaze

Makes about 1 cup

• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar • 1 teaspoon reserved spice rub • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper • Whisk all ingredients together in bowl. ■ Nutrition information per serving: 518 calories; 261 calories from fat; 29 g fat (12 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 167 mg cholesterol; 727 mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 0 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 54 g protein.

Idaho: Huckleberry... rocking chair.

Roosevelt lived the cowboy life, spending days riding and herding in what was considered America's last frontier. His experiences there were formative: He lost more than $24,000 when blizzards decimated the cattle he'd invested in. He witnessed the environmental damage done by overgrazing. And he realized that the bison, who once roamed the plains in the millions, had dwindled to the hundreds.

Roosevelt wrote three books inspired by his Western sojourn. He eventually returned to politics, serving as New York governor and from 1901-1909,

as U.S. president. His accomplishments included the conservation of 230 million acres of land, a legacy that led to the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.

For me, Roosevelt Park ranks among the most interesting and beautiful I've seen. I wish I hadn't waited so long to visit, and I hope someday to go back and absorb more of the place that Roosevelt called “a land of vast silent spaces — a place of grim beauty.”

❰❰ 36

If You Go...

From Craters of the Moon, we drove about two hours to the world-famous Sun Valley

www.nps.gov/thro/index. htm ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

in the earth known as the Great Rift, according to the park service, beginning some 15,000 years ago.

You can also visit caves here, but you must obtain a permit to do so from the visitor centre and you're required to carry a flashlight. Sturdy shoes are a must as the terrain in the caves is uneven. The caves are actually tubes created by flowing lava that later cooled.

Sun Valley

Resort in Ketchum. The resort is known for skiing in winter and has been a haunt of the rich and famous for decades. Blackand-white photos lining hotel hallways show visitors like Ernest Hemingway and Marilyn Monroe.

We checked out menus at a few of the many dining options onsite and settled on Gretchen's, where we had a lovely cheese and fruit plate, fish and chips, and a veggie gnocchi dish.

Since my husband was driving, I decided to have a cocktail — a Hemingway daiquiri in his honour. ■

39

FRIDAY JULY 6, 2018

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