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NOVEMBER 30, 2018

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VOL. 11 NO. 348

QCPD 79TH ANNIVERSARY

Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde (3rd from left) troops the police line during the arrival honors for the celebration of the 79th Quezon City Police District Founding Anniversary held at Camp Tomas Karingal in Quezon City.

JOEY O. RAZON / PNA

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PH new Chief Justice is Lucas Bersamin — Guevarra

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer THE SUPREME Court (SC) will now have a new head as President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin to become the next Chief Justice, according to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday, No-

vember 28.

Bersamin will replace retired Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, who left her post in October after serving for less than two months.

Duterte picked Bersamin over acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Per-

Upsilon Sigma Phi to conduct probe on #LonsiLeaks controversy

ConGen Rosalita Prospero: Embracing her role to keep the Pinoy-ness of Filipinos in Canada

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Get the latest news & updates www.canadianinquirer.net

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Philippine News

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Bishop David refutes Duterte’s Legarda bats for regulation drug claim: I only take of single-use plastic vitamins with fruit shake PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer BELYING ANOTHER claim made by President Rodrigo Duterte against him, Caloocan Bishop Virgilio David said he is not involved in illegal drugs and that he only takes vitamins along with fruit shake.

“I only take vitamins with fruit shake blended with malunggay (moringa) in the morning,” Bishop David said on Monday night, November 26.

“You might want to try it, Sir. It will do you a lot of good. God bless you,” he added.

In a speech during the kick off of a water supply in Davao City on Monday, Duterte accused the prelate that he is into drugs and slammed other bishops who supposedly had asked cars from the government.

“I’m telling you, David. Nagdududa nga ako bakit sige ikot ‘yan ng gabi. Nagduda tuloy ako p***** i** nasa droga ka (I wonder why you keep going around late

at night. I suspect, son of a b*tch, you are into illegal drugs),” Duterte said.

However, Bishop David refuted this, stressing that he has “never been” into drugs of any sort whether it is legal or illegal.

“I only help in rehabilitating people addicted to drugs. I partner with the anti-drug abuse councils/offices of the local government units of Caloocan, Malabon, and Navotas in this endeavor,” the Church leader explained.

“Thank God I am not even taking any maintenance drugs yet,” he continued.

Bishop David earlier this month urged Filipinos to pray for the President, whom he called as “a very sick man,” after the latter, on All Saints’ Day, branded saints as “gago (fools)” and “lasenggo (drunkards).”

It was last Thursday when Duterte hit back at the prelate, accusing him of stealing from Church offerings, but Bishop David was quick to deny the allegation, stressing that his parents never taught him to do such thing. ■

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MANILA – In observance of National Environmental Awareness Month, Senator Loren Legarda renewed her call to ban the use of single-use plastic products as an effective and immediate way to reduce waste.

Legarda, author of Republic Act No. 9512 or the Environmental Awareness and Education Act that declared November as Environmental Awareness Month, said single-use plastics end up as litter, clogging drainages, polluting waterways and even endangering marine animals, human health, and ecosystem.

“Plastic bags are ubiquitous components of the world’s consumer culture.

Single-use plastics symbolize the throwaway culture, which the Philippines and many other countries have developed,” Legarda said in a press release dated Nov. 22.

“Single-use plastics, such as cigarette butts, drinking bottles and caps, food wrappers, grocery bags, lids, straws, stirrers, and take-away containers, are immediately discarded and end up in landfills. They are harmful for the environment and human health because they pollute our water; cause blockages in sewerage and drainage systems, which lead to flooding; and release toxic emissions when burned,” she added.

Legarda has filed Senate Bill 1948 or the “Single-Use Plastics Regulation and Management Act of 2018,” which seeks to regulate the manufacturing, importation, and use of single-use plastic products; and provide penalties, levies, and incentives for industries, businesses,

and consumers.

The measure aims to phase out single-use plastics in the country by prohibiting importation and use in food establishments, stores, markets, and retailers. Consumers shall be encouraged to use reusable materials, while all single-use plastics already in circulation shall be collected, recycled, and properly disposed in accordance with the provisions of the Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. A minimum levy of five pesos shall be charged to consumers for each singleuse plastic used in transactions, 20% percent of which shall be kept by the enterprise, while the 80% shall be remitted to the proposed Special Plastic Fund.

The bill also urges government agencies to undertake research and development on alternatives to single-use plastics; assess impact on affected industry workers and employees; and develop capacity building programs for alternative livelihood opportunities.

Moreover, businesses and individuals engaged in the manufacture of singleuse plastics alternatives shall be given incentives provided under existing laws and from local government units, while violators shall be imposed penalties ranging from P5,000.00 to P500,000 and permanent suspension of business permit.

“This bill provides for an ambitious yet comprehensive approach to solving our problem on single-use plastics.

I hope for the support from the government and all sectors on this urgent policy promoting a circular economy,” Legarda added. ■

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“Single-use plastics, such as cigarette butts, drinking bottles and caps, food wrappers, grocery bags, lids, straws, stirrers, and take-away containers, are immediately discarded and end up in landfills.”

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Philippine News

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

PNP allows real cops in ‘Ang Probinsyano’ scenes

BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD CALIWAN Philippine News Agency MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it will allow its police officers to participate in the shooting of scenes in the action drama series “Ang Probinsyano.”

“We agreed to their request to use real cops to make police operation scenes more realistic provided that their participation won’t affect their work and affect the performance of their duties,” PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said in a press briefing after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the PNP and broadcast network ABS-CBN. Albayalde added that they will also send police officers to serve as advisers and consultants to ensure that the portrayal of the police force in the show will be realistic.

The signing came a week after a meeting between officials of the PNP, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the network to address the concerns of the government

agencies about the series.

Albayalde, however, clarified that they do not want to interfere with the plot of the series.

“Basically, we did not ask for any assurance kasi ayaw naman nating totally baguhin yung kanilang script kung talagang ganun (we don’t want to revise the plot totally). With the understanding that we had, basically, magbabago yun (there will be some minor revisions) and we also pledged our full support to them, if they will really portray the true story about the PNP. Actually the national headquarters are open for them if they need to use the facilities if only, para mapalabas kung ano talaga yung totoong nangyayari (to show what is really happening),” Albayalde explained.

“We hope to put all the animosity and clashing opinions behind us, and introduce to our countrymen the true-to-life Filipino police officers imbued with the finest tradition of valor, service and sacrifice for God, country and people,” he added.

Also present during the signing of MOU was actor Coco Martin, who plays the lead role in the series as Ricardo “Cardo” Dalisay. ■

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DFA urged to file diplomatic protest vs.

SoKor over trash

BY DIVINA SUSON Philippine News Agency

the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to shut down and cease all the assets of Verde Soko,” he said.

ILIGAN CITY — This city’s lone district He also added that VSPIC could have representative has asked the Depart- violated the Solid Waste Management, ment of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to file a Customs Tariff and the international diplomatic protest with the South Kore- agreement known as Basel Convention an government following the discovery on the control of transboundary moveof alleged garbage docked at the Mind- ments of hazardous wastes and their anao International Container Terminal disposal.

(MICT) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

Siao was worried because MICT also In a transmitted communique to the services Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro City press on Sunday, Rep. and the rest of NorthFrederick Siao made a ern Mindanao “for privilege speech at the starters and onward House plenary session to the rest of Mindlast Nov. 14 where he As representative anao.” brought up the matter of Iligan City, The shipment of about the South KoI say that the the said garbage, acrean scrap imports. residents of Iligan cording to the Bureau “We want the DFA City reject these of Customs (BOC), to tell the govern51 containers of entered the Philipment of South Korea garbage from pines in July 24 this to conduct a thorSouth Korea. year, the biggest volough investigation ume of waste that enof this shipment of tered the country, so garbage and to prefar, according to the vent any other similawmaker. lar shipments from being shipped to our “As representative of Iligan City, I country over again,” Siao said. say that the residents of Iligan City reThis, even if Verde Soko Philippines In- ject these 51 containers of garbage from dustrial Corporation (VSPIC), the com- South Korea,” Siao said in his privilege pany that owns the shipment, already speech. explained that the 51-container van of In an earlier statement, the South garbage will be processed into pellets and Korean government, through its embriquettes and will be shipped back to bassy, said it already ordered an invesSouth Korea and China as raw materials tigation on the exporter involved in the for plastic furniture and other items. incident and stressed that it would take “We want the Department of Environ- measures to have the garbage shipment ment and Natural Resources (DENR), the brought back to South Korea as soon as Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), possible. ■

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Philippine News

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Philippine News

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

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Palace maintains President’s MO 32 not for ML, not election-related

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer AS CRITICS speculate on the President’s recent order to reinforce additional police and military forces in some areas of the country, Malacañang maintained that the directive was issued to address the “series of acts committed against civilians, against soldiers, and policemen” in the said areas.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo on Monday, November 26, said that this is part of the government’s move to counter any communist program from whatever source.

This was in relation to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Memorandum Order (MO) No. 32, dated November 22 and signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, that di-

rected the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to deploy more forces in the provinces of Samar, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and the Bicol Region. This, after “a number of sporadic acts of violence have occurred recently” in said areas were “committed by lawless groups,” according to the MO. “Maraming (There are a lot of ) incidences of terrorism, of ambushes, of killings, kaya kailangan talagang mag-deploy ng mga troops doon (that is why it is necessary to deploy troops in those areas),” Panelo added.

In the same press briefing, the media asked the Palace’s reaction to the statements of Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and former Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares, with both questioning the motive behind the MO. Lacson, a former PNP chief, earlier told dzBB that there was no need to deploy additional

forces to the areas, when the government could have just re-deployed soldiers and police from those areas with lesser threats.

The senator added, behind this order, Malacañang might be planning to declare martial law (ML) or suspend the writ of habeas corpus.

“Well we repeatedly said if there was an intention, it would have been declared, but there is none,” Panelo clarified.

The spokesperson also stressed to the media that while the move was ‘not necessary’ for Lacson, for Duterte, as the President, there was a need for it.

On the other hand, senatorial candidate Colmenares told GMA News Online that the issuance of the MO may be used against the opposition running for the incoming midterm election. Though the Palace immediately denied the allegation, Panelo said that Colmenares “should be happy.”

Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo holds a press briefing for the Malacañang Press Corps.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESPERSON/FACEBOOK

“Even if it (the MO) has anything to do with that (election), the more Mr. Colmenares should be happy about that, the more we will be securing the area during election time,” the spokesperson said.

“The memorandum precisely and expressly says that we should respect the rights of the individual. That Memorandum 32 was done pursuant to the constitutional duty of the Pres-

ident to protect and to serve the people,” he said emphasizing on a clause of the MO. Panelo also said that the MO was not just a preemptive move of the government to address the lawless violent acts, but “a reaction to what is happening,” reiterating that the directive was to address the “incidents of killings, of ambushes, of destruction or properties in those areas.” ■

De Lima asks CA to Okada backs PRRD order for block 13 convicts as cops to keep off casinos prosecution witnesses

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency

BY BENJAMIN PULTA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Senator Leila de Lima has filed a petition before the Court of Appeals (CA) to stop 13 prosecution witnesses from testifying, in connection with the drug charges filed against her before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC).

In a 29-page petition dated Nov. 19, the defense counsels for the detained senator said Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 206 Judge Lorna Navarro-Domingo should not have allowed the 13, all convicted criminals serving time at the New Bilibid Prison, to testify against the senator.

The 13 witnesses, German Agojo, Nonilo Arile, Jojo Baligad, Joel Capones, Peter Co, Herbert Colangco, Engelberto

Durano, Rodolfo Magleo, Noel Martinez, Jaime Patcho, Vicente Sy, Hans Anton Tan and Froilan Trestiza, incriminated de Lima as having transacted numerous times with them to solicit campaign funds for her senatorial bid in 2016. “(T)he presentation of the above mentioned criminal convicts violates the law and the rules of court,” de Lima argued.

“Since the above mentioned prosecution witnesses are criminals previously convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude, they are disqualified from becoming and from being presented as state witnesses in the trial of the case,” the counsels of the detained senator said.

De Lima is challenging the Muntinlupa court’s order dated Sept. 24, 2018, denying her motion to disqualify prosecution witness. ■

MANILA — Hotel and casino Okada Manila vowed to cooperate with the government in addressing alleged crimes taking place within its premises after President Rodrigo R. Duterte described it as “crawling with usurers and kidnappers.”

“Okada Manila shares President Duterte’s concerns. Management will cooperate and coordinate with the proper authorities to address this matter,” Okada said in a press statement.

“The safety and welfare of our guests will always be our utmost priority,” it added.

On Thursday (Nov. 22), Duterte described Okada, one of the hotels located in the Entertainment City gaming strip, as a place where “low-life” members of the society stay.

He warned police personwww.canadianinquirer.net

nel that he would assign Army Rangers to patrol Roxas Boulevard in Manila if they do not stop engaging in gambling activities in the hotel.

“Yung Okada diyan. I’d like to announce, lahat kayong mga pulis, umalis kayo diyan (That Okada. I’d like to announce, all cops, stay away from there),” Duterte said in his speech during the inauguration of the Cavite Gateway Terminal, the country’s first container barge port, in Tanza, Cavite.

“One more policeman there and incident and I will call the Rangers to come down and patrol the whole of Dewey (Roxas) Boulevard,” he said. Duterte said he would dismiss cops, either in uniform or civilian, who violate his order. The President has repeatedly voiced out his dislike for gambling, said he would not allow the construction of new casinos in the country.

Meanwhile, the Philippine

National Police (PNP) said that it will strictly enforce its ban on cops setting foot in casinos, gambling establishments and places of ill-repute.

Chief Supt. Benigno Durana, PNP spokesperson, said that the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials under Republic Act No. 6719 prescribes a set of norms that promote a high standard of ethics in public service.

Durana also cited Presidential Decrees 1067-B and 1869 which forbids government officials, members of uniformed services, students and minors from gambling in casinos.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea also signed Memorandum Circular 6 which restated the ban. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

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Upsilon Sigma Phi to conduct Duterte appoints probe on #LonsiLeaks controversy CA Justice Rosmari

Carandang as new SC justice

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer UPSILON SIGMA Phi said it will conduct an investigation into the supposed conversation of some of its members that went viral recently, earning the ire of many netizens as it contains “highly offensive statements” against different sectors of the society.

“In light of these recent events, we have conducted an initial investigation on the matter, and we will relay to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) all information at our disposal,” Upsilon, a fraternity based in University of the Philippines (UP) said in its statement on Friday, November 23.

“We will unconditionally cooperate with the efforts of the OVCSA not only in gathering facts but in ensuring accountability consistent with the dictates of due process,” it added.

According to Upsilon, it was in November 20 when an anonymous source circulated screenshots of the alleged conversation attributed to the members of its fraternity, showing various slurs and misogynistic comments against women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) community, Lumads, and Muslims, among others.

Speaking against women, a supposed fratman said, ”Tang*na kasing mga babae, salita nang salita. Alam naman ng lahat na kaya lang sila binigyan ni Lord ng bibig ay para meron silang magagamit sa pag ch*pa (Son of a b*tch, these women keep on talking.

Everyone knows that the Lord gave them a mouth to use it for blowj*bs).”

Another alleged fratman, meanwhile, said he believes that “ugly” women should be “killed on sight” so that they won’t “contaminate” the gene pool.

UP is known for supporting indigenous groups’ rights; however, a supposed Upsilon member seemed that he does not share the same view with the university as he said that Lumads should just be “killed.”

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

The alleged fratmen also made the Muslims the topic of their conversation with one saying, ”Kung ang sabon ay inimbento para linisin ang katawan, ang bomba ay inimbento para linisin ang Mindanao (If a soap is invented to clean the body, a bomb, on the other hand was invented to clean Mindanao),” while the other said, ”Tang*na. Maniniwala na nga lang sa Diyos, doon pa sa mali (Son of a b*tch. They believe in God but in the wrong one).”

In its statement, Upsilon said it condemns all acts of discrimination, especially against the mentioned sectors.

“Many student leaders who are members of our Fraternity have time and again led and worked with organizations and individuals to fight for equality.

We will continue to do so because this is what we stand for,” the group stressed.

“The student members of the Fraternity take these accusations very seriously and will not tolerate members espousing such backward, misogynistic, and discriminatory views,” it continued.

Upsilon also expressed empathy to people who have been affected by the postings and asked for sobriety as they do not want to “further aggravate any harm.”

Threats

Amid this #LonsiLeaks controversy, a certain Cleve Arguelles posted on Facebook that a UP Diliman student was “abducted and beaten up” inside the campus on Thursday night after he received threats

that included raping his girlfriend, from the alleged members of the fraternity.

The name of the student was not revealed, but he is identified as Twitter user @iskolarspeaks, a known online personality who has been publicly criticizing Upsilon.

On Twitter, @iskolarspeaks notified everyone that he is fine, obtaining nothing but a “busted lips, a slightly more singkit (chinky) right eye, and a whoozy head.”

“I just need to rest for now.

No worries, I still remember my name, recite my ABCs backwards, and well cute pa rin ako (I’m still cute) bang bang,” he wrote to make light of the situation.

Another Facebook user, Roseball Toledo, also posted a screenshot of a message sent to her on Friday morning by a supposed fratman member, telling her to take down her post if she does not want something bad to happen to her sorority sisters.

“To whoever this is– I doubt this is anything but an empty threat but BY GOD SUBUKAN NIYO LANG (do not dare to try),” Toledo wrote in her caption.

“THE DAY YOU LAY A FINGER ON ANY ONE OF MY SISSES IS THE DAY I BURN YOUR SORRY EXCUSE FOR A FRATERNITY TO THE GROUND,” she added.

The screenshots of the supposed conversation of some Upsilon members became the talk of the town just a few days after the fraternity celebrated its Centennial Anniversary last November 18. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

COURT OF Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang will be joining the high tribunal as she was appointed

by President Rodrigo Duterte to be the newest associate justice of the Supreme Court (SC), Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Wednesday, November 28.

According to Guevarra, a Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) ex-officio member, the Office of the Executive Secretary already released the appointment papers of Carandang.

Carandang, 66, will fill in the position vacated by Teresita Leonardo-De Castro when she was appointed by Duterte to replace ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. De Castro retired from her post last August.

The new SC associate justice will stay in the high court until January 2022, reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Carandang finished her law degree at the University of the Philippines (UP) as cum laude and class salutatorian in 1975.

Before she joined the CA in 2003, Carandang served as a presiding judge at the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) in

1994 and taught civil procedure at the Manuel L. Quezon School of Law in 1999. She has also been teaching corporate law and land registration at the Philippine Christian University School of Law for eight years.

Carandang was not only Duterte’s latest appointee to the SC. Also on Wednesday, Guevarra confirmed that the President appointed Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin as the new Chief Justice.

Bersamin was chosen over acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela PerlasBernabe, and Andres Reyes, Jr., who also vied for the top magistrate post.

On Wednesday, Malacañang expressed confidence to the two justices, stressing that they “will continue to uphold judicial excellence, assert its independence and stand firm against erring members of the bench, the bar and court personnel as they lead the third branch of the government.”

“Both Justices belong to what PRRD calls ‘the best and the brightest’ as Chief Justice Bersamin placed 9th in the 1973 Bar Examinations, while Associate Justice Carandang also claimed the same spot in the 1975 Bar Examinations,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. ■

New Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang takes her oath of office before newly-appointed Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin.

LLOYD CALIWAN VIA @PNAGOVPH / TWITTER

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Close to 300K drug surrenderers complete recovery program Correspondent/Hosts Bea Kirstein T. Manalaysay Joanna Belle Deala Gianna Llanes Arianne Grace U. Lacanilao Violeta Arevelo Babes Newland Graphic Design Shanice Garcia Ginno Alcantara Arlnie Colleene Talain Singca Account Manager Kristopher Yong Director/Producer Boom Dayupay Photographers/Videographers Ginno Alcantara Ronnie Garcia Maria Crizandra Baylon Aldyn R. Soriano Sales Aireen De Asis Paul Acosta Dennis Cruz Margarita Perez Operations and Admin Victoria Yong Amelia Insigne Management Alan Yong Victoria Yong For photo submissions, please email editor@canadianinquirer.net For General Inquiries, please email info@canadianinquirer.net For Sales Inquiries, please email sales@canadianinquirer.net or contact 778-788-4998 Philippine Canadian Inquirer is located at 11951 Hammersmith Way, Suite 108 Richmond, B.C. V7A 5H9 Canada

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BY CHRISTOPHER LLOYD CALIWAN Philippine News Agency MANILA — Close to 300,000 drug surrenderers have graduated from the Recovery and Wellness Program (RWP) undertaken both by the government and the private sector across the country as part of President Rodrigo Duterte administration’s campaign to holistically address the illegal drug problem.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Assistant Secretary Marie Rafael said from July 1, 2016 to October 31, 2018, a total of 292,108 surrenders completed the program.

The figure can be broken down into 142,280 surrenderers who graduated from the RWP initiated by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and 149,828 from supported community centers.

“For now, we have five general interventions being conducted by law enforcement agencies, while six community-based from local government units under by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and rehabilitation program under the Department of Health (DOH),” Rafael said during the Real Numbers press briefing in Camp Crame Tuesday.

She added that from January to October this year, there were 3,364 individuals, consisting of 3,323 inpatient and 41 outpatient, undergoing rehabilitation in health facilities.

For his part, PNP spokesperson, Chief Supt. Benigno Durana said authorities dismantled a total of 271 drug dens and shabu laboratories in the country from June 2016 to October 2018.

Durana said out of this figure, 258 are drug dens and 13 are clandestine shabu laboratories while various types of illegal drugs worth PHP25.06 billion were seized.

This amount includes 3,276.42 kilograms of shabu with an estimated street value of PHP18.31 billion.

Durana also said that at least 8,935 out of the 42,044 barangays (villages) in the country have been declared drugcleared as of October 31.

As of this posting, a total of 23,161 barangays have yet to be cleared of illegal drugs. However, the PNP together with the PDEA, stressed that the government’s campaign against illegal drugs is continuing.

Real Numbers data showed authorities also arrested 161,193 individuals involved in illegal drugs during the said period.

Durana said included in the total figure are 600 government workers — 257 of them elected officials, 65 uniformed personnel, and 278 government em-

PCOO ASec Marie Rafael.

ployees.

Around 113,570 anti-illegal drugs operations were conducted by joint law enforcement agencies during the period.

As of October 2018, the consolidated report showed that 4,999 drug suspects have died during the anti-illegal drugs operations.

Meanwhile, PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon said a total of 287 members of law enforcement agencies were dismissed from service for drug use while 130 personnel were sacked for other drug-related offenses.

Carreon also reported that the government has shelled out PHP49.23million reward to 56 informants for providing information on suspected illegal drug activity in their community from the period of July 2016 to October 2018.

Carreon said the cash rewards were given under PDEA’s Operation “Private Eye” (OPE) — a scheme designed to encourage private citizens to report any suspected illegal drug activity in their community.

He said the Private Eye Rewards Committee, composed of members from the academe, non-government organizations, law enforcement, religious and business sectors approved the resolution granting monetary rewards to the informants after a careful and thorough deliberation.

“Operation Private Eye” is one way of encouraging the public to help the government’s anti-drug campaign by providing cash reward for information that result in the seizure of illegal drugs and arrest of drug personalities,” Carreon said.

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He added that under “Operation Lawmen,” 33 operating units have also received the monetary reward amounting to PHP17.94 million for their meritorious anti-drug operations on the same period.

Carreon said the joint law enforcement agencies rescued 1,820 minors during the anti-illegal drug operations from July 2016 to October this year.

The granting of rewards was based on the creation of “Operation Lawmen” pursuant to Section 22 of RA 9165 which was institutionalized through Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Regulation Number 1, Series of 2016 and took effect on September 3, 2016.

“Operation Lawmen” is the reward or award program for law enforcers or members of the anti-illegal drug units/ teams or task forces including the support unit/s,” Carreon pointed out adding that this reward scheme will boost the morale of different law enforcement operating teams in conducting anti-drug operations.

Of the 1,820 minors arrested, there 976 are pushers; 487 possessors; 255 users; 91 visitor of drug den; six drug den maintainers; three drug den employees and two cultivators.

According to the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD), the rescued minors, after court proceedings, will be turned over to the Bahay Pagasa centers of LGUs within eight hours of police custody, before turning them over to the DSWD. Since they are minors, the DSWD said they would not be put behind bars together with hardened criminals. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

Gov’t vows to support free college tuition in SUCs: Nograles PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY

funds for the law would be a challenge given government’s limited financial resources.

“At that time, I was the chairMANILA – The government man of the House Committee may have limited resources, but on Appropriations, and I signed the Duterte administration is the measure well-aware that committed to ensuring funding Congress would have to find the for Republic Act 10931 or Uni- funds for the law. Did I think it versal Access to Quality Tertia- would be impossible? No. Did I ry Education Law, which makes think it would be difficult? Yes,” tuition free in the country’s he added. over one hundred state univer“But as someone intimately sities and colleges (SUCs) familiar with the workings of This according to Cabinet the budget, I knew we would Secretary Karlo Nograles, who be able to find the funds, if we on Sunday said that the Presi- wanted to. Ika nga, kung gusto, dent’s decision to sign RA 10931 maraming paraan; kung ayaw, in August 2017 shows how so- maraming dahilan,” he said. cial services like education is a He said the government has priority of his Administration. found ways, saying that the ad“The President knew there ministration was able to secure would be chal40 billion pesos lenges involved to fund the iniin making this tiative in its first law work… but full year of imI believe the Kung gusto, plementation.

President recogmaraming “This year the nized then what paraan; proposed budwe and generakung ayaw, get for this is 51 tions of educamaraming billion pesos. tors, academics, dahilan.

In the years to and policy makcome, this figure ers have known should be exfor decades: only pected to grow, a nation with as the costs of properly educated citizens education inevitably rise,” he can hope to aspire for great- added. ness,” said Nograles, who was Nograles called on attendees one of the guest speakers in of the summit, which include the three-day National Student student leaders and school adRegents and Trustees Summit ministrators from SUCs, to organized by the Commission work together to ensure that on Higher Education and the the free college tuition law Unified Student Financial As- meets its noble objectives. sistance System for Tertiary “Making the free college tuEducation Board. ition law truly work for more “As far as the government’s Filipinos is going to be a chalcommitment to providing re- lenge for all the sectors insources for Republic Act 10931 volved. For government, the is concerned, I believe the Pres- challenge is to generate revident’s decision to sign the law enue and find resources to fund speaks for itself. If there is a this initiative; for school adwill, there is a way––and if any- ministrators, it is to ensure that one has shown the political will these funds are used efficiently necessary to ensure the proper so that these are maximized; for implementation of this law, it is its beneficiaries, the challenge the President,” he said is to work with administrators Nograles, who is one of the to ensure the smooth impleco-authors of the RA 10931 mentation of the law––and to and former chairperson of the make sure that the people’s House Committee on Appro- investment in your education priations when it was passed, redounds to the benefit of you, said he and his fellow legisla- your family, and your country,” tors were aware that sourcing he said. ■

9

PH new... ❰❰ 1

las-Bernabe, and Andres Reyes, Jr., who also vied for the chief top magistrate post.

Bersamin, 69, started his career in the judiciary when he was appointed as presiding judge of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 96 in November 1986.

He was then promoted to the Court of Appeals (CA) in March 2003 before he was appointed by former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the SC. He earned his law degree at the University of the East (UE) in 1973 and landed in ninth place in the Bar Examinations given that same year with an average of 86.3%, according to the SC’s website.

In 2006, the magistrate was named as one of UE’s “60 Most Outstanding Alumni Awardees” and the university’s “Outstanding Alumnus in the Judiciary” in 2001.

Bersamin was among the eight justices who voted in favor of Solicitor General Jose Calida’s petition that sought to nullify the appointment of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Calida’s petition accused Sereno of failure to comply with all the requirements needed to be chief justice when she did not submit all of her Statements of Assets Liabilities and

www.canadianinquirer.net

Newly-appointed Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin takes his oath of office on Wednesday before former Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio alongside other justices of the Supreme Court LLOYD CALIWAN VIA @PNAGOVPH / TWITTER

Net Worth (SALN) to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the body that screens and shortlists applicants for judicial positions, including the chief justice.

Aside from this, Bersamin also voted in favor of the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the declaration and extension of martial law in Mindanao, and the arrest of opposition Senator Leila De Lima over drug-related charges.

Moreover, he wrote the high court’s ruling that acquitted Arroyo of plunder and the decision that allowed former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who is charged with plunder over the pork barrel corruption

scandal, to post bail.

Bersamin, who is the third most senior magistrate at the high court, will be serving as chief justice until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 on October 18, 2019.

The announcement came after the President on Tuesday night, November 27, announced that he had already chosen the new head of the judiciary; however, he declined to reveal the name of his latest appointee.

“I have appointed one already. I signed the appointment before I left Manila the other night,” Duterte said.

“The office will release the appointment, then you will see that there is the name there,” he added. ■

10

Philippine News

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

‘Historic’ coco levy fund measure AFP chief calls on to benefit farmers: Nograles military personnel

to help end VAW

PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles on Sunday hailed as “a historic piece of legislation” the measure creating the 100 billion-peso coco levy trust fund after the Senate and House of Representatives agreed on a unified version of their respective bills.

“The decades-long fight of coconut farmers to directly Secretary Karlo Nograles with President Rodrigo Duterte.

KARLO NOGRALES / FACEBOOK benefit from their toil and hard work is nearing positive completion,” Nograles said. lion pesos in Treasury and es- tion in the government body, The bill, known as the Coco- crow accounts and an estimat- giving farmers six seats in the nut Farmers and Industry De- ed 30 billion pesos in assets.

11-member PCA board. velopment Act, was among the “These shall be used to im“More than the value of the priority bills pushed by Presi- prove the plight of coconut funds, the significance of the dent Rodrigo Duterte. farmers and to push our coco- Coconut Farmers and Industry The coco levy fund traces nut industry further forward. Development Act is the correcits origins to taxes imposed on The unified Senate and House tion of previous wrongs related coconut farmers’ products in bills provide for the release of to the coco levy fund’s use and the Seventies during the time 5 billion pesos annually to the management,” he added. of former President Ferdinand PCA on top of the 10 billion peThe President, he said, was Marcos. It is now estimated sos provided by the General Ap- all along determined to see to have grown this measure to around more through, and than 100 billion we’re grateful pesos. that Congress “The fund’s More than the value of the funds, shared the same history is strewn the significance of the Coconut sense of urgency with misuse, Farmers and Industry Development and historical abuse and misAct is the correction of previous duty to finally management. wrongs related to the coco levy address the matGenerations of fund’s use and management. ter of the coco Filipino coconut levy fund.” farmers and their Nograles, who families have assumed the suffered greatly because of it. propriations Act,” he said.

Cabinet Secretary post last NoCongress is now rectifying the Allocations are assured, vember 5 and is former Chairmistakes of the past. We’re put- Nograles noted, for the follow- person of the Lower House ting into place a comprehensive ing programs: shared facilities, Committee on Appropriations, mechanism that manages the scholarships, empowerment was specifically directed by the fund and allocates resources to of coconut farmer organiza- President to work on the pasfurther develop the coconut in- tions and cooperatives, farm sage of the piece of legislation. dustry,” Nograles added. improvement to encourage The former Davao congressUnder the measure, he said, self-sufficiency and health and man had pushed for the craftreconstituted and strength- medical benefits. ing and implementation of a ened Philippine Coconut AuHe clarified that a related bill Coconut Industry Road Map in thority (PCA) shall handle the reconstituting the PCA gives coordination with the Departfund which consists of 76 bil- farmers greater representa- ment of Agriculture. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Aside from defending the nation against all forms of security threats, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Carlito Galvez called on all military personnel to support the advocacy aimed at ending Violence against Women (VAW).

“We are continuously conducting activities that enlighten our soldiers and civilian personnel on women’s rights, especially on the working space.

We have taken steps to eradicate traditions that perpetuate Violence against Women, and we keep on encouraging everyone to be knowledgeable about the issue,” the APF chief said during flag-raising ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Monday.

November 26 marked the beginning of the 18-day national campaign dubbed as “VAW-free Community Starts with Me,” which the AFP is taking part of.

The campaign started on November 25, which marks the International Day to End VAW, and will run until December 12, a historic date that commenced the campaign for the adoption of a United Nations Protocol to prevent trafficking in women and children.

During the 18-day campaign, the AFP will conduct activities anchored on the said objectives.

Units and offices were directed to display the official campaign streamers of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) in their respective areas and on official websites/social media sites.

It will also develop informa-

tion, education and communication materials to raise the awareness on VAW aside from encouraging its members to participate in online campaign threads and discussions about the campaign using the official #VAWfreePH hashtag.

Based on national statistics, one in every five Filipinas suffered physical violence since the age of 15.

The Philippine Statistics Authority and the Philippine National Police in 2017 reported that nearly 12,000 women have been sexually abused in Metro Manila alone.

This number does not yet include filed cases that are not filed due to women’s fear of being blamed and judged by societal standards.

The AFP chief said that despite efforts to support the advocacy to end VAW, it is expected that there will be unavoidable instances, where harassment and violence can occur in the workspace.

“I urge every woman to come out and speak against those who will attempt to violate your rights. The AFP leadership will not tolerate anyone who disrespects women, and we shall always be one with you in fighting for women empowerment and gender equality,” Galvez said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

11

Imelda Marcos wants to bring graft conviction to the SC

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer ILOCOS NORTE Representative Imelda Marcos filed a notice of appeal, informing the anti-graft court that she wants to bring her graft conviction to the Supreme Court (SC).

According to the notice of appeal filed before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on Monday, the congresswoman “requests the records of the instant case be forwarded to the Supreme Court for further proceedings.”

The camp of Marcos decided to elevate the case to the high court as the Sandiganbayan’s decision contradicts the truth.

“To date, the motion for leave filed by the accused has not yet

been resolved. With due respect, the accused submits that the decision convicting her is contrary to facts, law and jurisprudence,” it said.

On November 12, Marcos filed a motion for leave to avail of post-conviction remedies justifying her absence on the promulgation of the guilty verdict against her by the Sandiganbayan. Explaining her non-appearance, the 89-year-old congresswoman earlier said that she is suffering from “multiple organ infirmities” and was “under strict orders from her physician to refrain from stressful conditions that will put her at risk for heart and brain attack and recurrence of seizure.”

The anti-graft court has yet to decide on Marcos’s request for post-conviction remedies.

The former first lady was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of seven counts of graft due to her “financial interests and participation in the management of private foundations in Switzerland” while holding a government position during her late husband’s term, former President Ferdinand Marcos.

She was sentenced to imprisonment from six years and one month up to 11 years for each count of graft, and that she is also perpetually disqualified from holding any public office.

Despite this, the Marcos matriarch was granted bail of P150,000 for her temporary liberty, which she immediately posted.

The Sandiganbayan, meanwhile, earned the ire of several lawmakers due to this. ■

No debt trap in China-funded projects, envoy assures

BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA Philippine News Agency MANILA — There is no danger of any debt trap in Chinafunded projects that account for about a third of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, a Chinese Embassy official assured Monday.

“Those projects are proposed by the Philippine side and are economically viable and positive for the Philippine economy. I can assure you that there will be no dangers of the socalled debt trap,” said Chargé D’affaires Tan Qingsheng at the China-Philippines Business Forum at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Taguig City.

While Beijing is ready to provide financial and technical support to the development of the country, Tan underscored the need for an “enabling environment” for Philippine-China economic ties to further thrive.

“Both countries need to provide an enabling environment for their enterprises to invest in each other’s country,” the envoy

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and President Xi Jinping of People's Republic of China pose for a photo prior to their expanded bilateral meeting at the Malacañan Palace.

RICHARD MADELO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

said, as he noted that economic cooperation is a win-win choice for both states and should be the “bedrock” of their relations.

“Some media reported that China-funded projects account for about a third of the government’s 75 flagship infrastructure projects under the “Build, Build, Build” program and the Philippines is facing a debt trap.

I cannot understand the logic behind this,” he said.

The statement came days af-

ter Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded his historic visit to the Philippines.

During the trip, 29 cooperation documents were signed between the Philippines and China.

Tan said this should translate to a “great opportunity” for both sides to explore more “possibilities” in its partnership, and improve its mutual trust and traditional friendship. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

VP LENI ROBREDO / FACEBOOK

Robredo, Morales’ remarks on PH-China oil deal ‘unfair’

BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Monday described the remarks made

by Vice President Leni Robredo and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation on oil and gas development between the Philippines and China as “premature, baseless, and unfair.”

Panelo said both Robredo and Morales based their comments merely on media reports, and not on the actual document itself, which the Palace released to the public.

“The two ladies, therefore, may have not studied nor even read the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation on Oil and Gas Development prior to their manifesting their misplaced observations and apprehensions, not to mention the unkind accusations,” Panelo said.

Panelo also expressed disappointment on how Robredo and Morales, both lawyers, failed to understand the purpose of the MOU which was signed during the two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Nov. 20 and 21.

“Sadly, disappointment comes to mind as expectations for their being trained in the law have not been reached. Legal minds are not only analytically exacting but judicious as well,” Panelo said.

He reiterated that the MOU is only “an agreement to agree on certain things” which meant it served as a framework for a future agreement based on mu-

tual respect on each other’s sovereignty.

“Under the MOU, the two governments agreed to establish an inter-governmental joint steering committee and inter-entrepreneurial working group to look into possible energy cooperation,” Panelo said.

Panelo also denied claims that the MOU will create rights or obligations under international or domestic law which may delineate the country’s territory or sovereign rights.

He described the apprehensions of Robredo and Carpio as “more imaginary than real.”

Malacañang provided members of the media with copies of the MOU in both English and Chinese languages.

Under the MOU, both Philippine and Chinese governments “have decided to negotiate on an accelerated basis arrangements to facilitate oil and gas exploration and exploitation in relevant maritime areas consistent with applicable rules of international law.”

It also states that “the two governments will endeavor to agree on the cooperation agreements within 12 months of this Memorandum of Understanding.”

“This Memorandum of Understanding and all discussions, negotiations and activities of the two governments or their authorized enterprises under or pursuant to this Memorandum of Understanding will be without prejudice to the respective legal positions of both governments. This Memorandum of Understanding does not create rights or obligations under international or domestic law,” it added. ■

Philippine News

12

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

House eyes implementation of anti-inflation measures

BY FILANE MIKEE CERVANTES Philippine News Agency

Parking 1.

2.

3.

4.

is located between historic Hazelmere and the beautiful Campbell Valley, just 7 minutes from Highway 99 and 3 minutes from Highway 15.

1. Office 2. Sampaguita Garden 3. Individual Family Plots 4. Greater Vancouver Orthodox Cemetery 5. Green Burial (2019) Community Partnership Opportunity

Future Development

Sampaguita Garden 5.

Heritage Gardens Cemetery 19082 16th Avenue, South Surrey, BC, V3Z 9V2 T: 604-538-0074 www.heritagegardenscemetery.com

DEATH IS ETERNAL.

is a community section dedicated to Filipino culture and tradition.

For more Information, contact: Laarni Liwanag of CYT Consulting Telephone : 604-551-3360 Email: cytconsultingservices@gmail.com

People speak about it in hushed tones. For what is more life changing than death in the family wherein those who are left behind are beholden to grief, anxiety, and fear. Grief for the loss, anxiety for what the future holds, and fear for the financial burden the demise will cause to their bottom line.

On the other hand, death is a discerning process putting to light that deceased people are past all the pains and ethereal peace is now within their reach. It is but befitting to make their last few hours on earth consequentially memorable. And to make their resting place a repository of an everlasting legacy of the time they spent on earth.

Heritage Gardens Cemetery is envisioned to be a place of remembrance and respect. A burial place provided to allow people to honor their traditions and heritage and to reflect their true family values. The Crean family who owns and operates Heritage Garden Cemetery, has the insight to reconnect people with the emotional and spiritual tenets of society.

Trevor Crean, who took the challenge to oversee management and operations of the cemetery, has a salient narrative of its beginning and how it is meant to alleviate the pains of loss and to provide affordable burial options for everyone.

Tom, his father, and Trevor, are 3rd and 4th generation funeral directors. In 1908, Trevor’s great grandfather bought a funeral home in Vancouver. Through the passing of time, funeral business has undergone many changes, not just in Vancouver but across the country. In the 1950s there were 14 family funeral homes in Vancouver and burial plots cost $50. Today only one real family funeral home remains and a burial plot costs $23,000 and higher. Needless to say, most of the aforementioned 14 family funeral homes for economic reasons faced 2 choices- a generation succeeded the previous or sold the business to more enterprising investors.

These days, taking care of the dead is more pronounced. Death is now big business. DEATH IS A LIVING as a matter of fact. But the Crean family has a different take about this.

In the past, through the Funeral parlor they owned, they helped families to repatriate their dead loved one back to their country of origin either to follow their valued tradition or because the cost of burial in Vancouver was so unaffordable. Either way, it was costly.

It was repulsive for the Crean family. For they have been moved by the unmasked face of emotional pain, for they have been touched by the tinge of sadness in voices, for they have witnessed the financial hardships of

MANILA — As the House of Representatives pivots from policy to action, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday said the chamber will support the government’s implementation of policies to address inflation.

During a lunch meeting with House media, Arroyo said the legislative has done its part to enact a set of laws in support of President Duterte’s economic policies.

“This week, the House can report with confidence that it has already either passed or is in the final mile of the effort to pass, the President’s legislative agenda as he announced in his 2018 State of the Nation Address. Thus, the country already has a good policy framework in place, supported by good legislation,” Arroyo said.

Arroyo stressed the need to pivot from “mere policies to implementation” to “harvest the results” during the final three and a half years of Duterte’s term.

“This cannot be done merely by mak-

ing good economic policies and then stopping there – we need to take the extra step to implement those policies and transform them into actual business activity,” she said.

She noted that the issues of supply must be addressed to curb the rising prices.

“The solution, of course, is to increase the supply. When applying this example to the economy as a whole, this means we have to generate the economic activity that will produce more goods and services for the economy, and in doing so, create pay checks for the people involved in producing them,” Arroyo said.

The Speaker vowed to help the executive branch in the implementation of laws as the 17th Congress nears its end.

“For the remaining months of the 17th Congress, the House is prepared to give the implementing departments and agencies the support that they may need, to the extent that they make this pivot from policy to action, such as by way of House resolutions from the elected representatives of the people, or through the helpful exercise of House oversight functions,” she said. ■

people who lost their loved ones. So they thought of a way to provide not just affordable but comforting burial options as well. Tom sold his half of the funeral business to his brother and set out to build a cemetery. Two and a half years later, it is now known as Heritage Gardens Cemetery situated on 16th Avenue in South Surrey.

Heritage Garden is a sustainable and environment friendly cemetery in South Surrey. With rapid urbanization swallowing rustic and serene landscapes, cemeteries can play a larger role in preserving healthy communities. In a country as large and as multicultural as Canada, it is only natural that more burial spaces be provided to allow different groups to honor their traditions and heritage. Further, management believes that the deceased are part of our social fabric. Their lives are the stories we learn from, our history is the experiences of those who have gone before us. Stories that must be told for the sake of future generations.

As fate would have it, a group of Filipinos approached Heritage Gardens and proposed the idea of a Filipino dedicated section of the cemetery to be called Sampaguita Garden. The proposition was welcomed and assented. Presently, over 140 plots are reserved or sold in the Sampaguita section. The Filipinos requested further for a gazebo and a prayer room to be a gathering place every November 1st and 2nd to honor their dead loved ones - which was approved by Management.

Following the approval of the dedicated section for Filipinos, the cemetery was inspired to provide areas of the cemetery to all communities and denominations.

As the first new cemetery to open in the Lower Mainland in over 50 years, Heritage Gardens gives people a choice of natural and sustainable options – burial for 10 in a single plot with 2 caskets and 8 urns; with or without vault for natural decomposition; manicured traditional lawns or pollinator friendly grounds for weeds and flowers to grow and give pollinating insects a foothold.

Suffice to say, Heritage Gardens Cemetery is a unique place that will give a meaningful and lasting memorial for the departed. It will go a long way to achieving a positive outlook that cemeteries are not just a burial place but a wholesome place to honor the legacy of lives well lived.

By Carmelita Tapia and Trevor Crean For more information visit the website www.heritagegardenscemetery.com or, get in touch with Trevor Crean- trevor@hgcemetery.com

www.canadianinquirer.net

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

13

CANADIAN TOUR-OF-DUTY

ConGen Rosalita Prospero: Embracing her role to keep the Pinoy-ness of Filipinos in Canada

BY BOLET AREVALO

SOME DREAMS are not made of laces and frills.

To Consul General Rosalita Prospero of Toronto, the dream was simply to work in an impressive building along Roxas Blvd. in Manila.

That was the young Rosalita dreaming every time she and her Dad, Ramon, drove down the famous boulevard from their home in Cavite. When probed, she said, she did not even know what she wanted to be at the time that she was saying that. The building she is referring to is the Asian Development Bank building that eventually housed the main headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Amazing coincidence, isn’t it?

The Road to A Foreign Service Career

ConGen Prospero’s journey to a foreign service career either was not as clear as a planned path for her nor was it any near being an environment where the likes of doctors or lawyers in a family or clan were bred or thrown into as a family tradition. The good consul though is proud to have come from a family of teachers or educators, from great-grandparents to her own mother, Aurora, a native of Imus, Cavite. This is how, she thinks, her eyes were opened and consciousness awakened to serving unreservedly, and with a great sense of fairness and charitable heart.

Just like any other college girl, her idea of a line of a profession to go into or end up with, seesawed from one interest to another. From becoming a doctor to a lawyer or to, maybe, a writer. But a writer indeed she became at a very young age of 20. She was a freelance writer and a regular contributor to the Super Shots, a popular sports magazine in the ‘80s.

But it was actually her first serious job with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as an international

science relations officer that fuelled her interest in foreign affairs. The job called for coordinating with the DFA, the foreign-assisted projects of DOST. It was such close and continuous liaison with the DFA and exposure to international projects of DOST that paved the way for her to consider a career in foreign service.

“A DFA job entails a lot of writing and analytical exercise,” she remarked. And in both of these skills, she, fortunately, had been honed with her previous jobs, including her freelance writing experience.

Simply lucky, Grateful to be where she is

In Canada, the DFA as an organization is headed by Ambassador Petronila Garcia, whose base is in Ottawa. Her Office is called the Philippine Embassy in Canada. Under Philippine Embassy are three (3) Philippine Consulate General (PCG) offices – one in Vancouver, British Columbia (headed by Consul General MeiAn Austria); one in Toronto, Ontario (by Consul General Prospero) and the recently created PCG in Calgary, Alberta (headed

by Consul General Bert Asuque).

Additionally, there are three (3) Honorary Consulates in Canada headed by prominent and respected by Fil-Canadians from their respective communities. The offices are in Halifax Winnipeg and Edmonton.

These Consulates have a physical office and are required to open 5 days a week. The headship though is a pro-bono position. They can 1) issue visas, 2) certify affidavits with certain limitations, 3) extend assistance to nationals in distress; and 4) help promote Philippine culture, trade and investments.

It should be true that to many Filipinos or maybe even nonFilipinos, foreign service seems to be a very fascinating and glamorous job. A diplomat’s career path is too well-defined and structured that even as the path narrows as one goes up the executive ladder, the hardworking aspirant keeps his eyes keen on the prize – that is, to be able to serve his kababayans (fellow Filipinos) with the much-cov-

SUPPLIED

eted title of consul, deputy consul or maybe as consul general.

“I think I am just lucky, and for that, very much grateful, “ the very humble Consul General stated.

She continued, “Toronto is my first “solo” posting as head of my own office (away from the main headquarters of an embassy, that is).” There was fear, she added, but her mentors assured her that it was time.

But first assignment away from the Manila headquarters was really Sydney, Australia as vice consul and then consul. “It is in Sydney where I learned the ropes of this role,” she admitted. This posting also allowed her to squeeze in a Master’s degree in international studies at Sydney University, attending classes in the evening and working at the Consulate General in the daytime. She finished her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the famous Diliman university, University of the Philippines (UP).

The next posting was even more enviable. It was France.

She served as Minister and Consul General in the Embassy for half of her tour-of-duty. In the second half, she was asked to serve as Minister and Permanent Deputy Representative to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), whose office is also at the Philippine Embassy in France.

Carrying Toronto on her back

As the dear old saying goes, “diplomats are like turtles. They carry their home on their backs, “ the ConGen mentioned in jest but affirmed, it is true. No permanent address, in other words.

While ConGen Prospero has www.canadianinquirer.net

skipped marriage (for now, maybe) and has lived away from her nuclear family, she does not feel alone, she assures. She is with people, a lot of people every day in her work as a diplomat. When she is not with them or in her office, she is experimenting with her culinary skills or exploring the exciting Toronto.

Speaking of Toronto, and putting up consulates, she informed that for the DFA to consider putting up a PCG office in a country, they look at some factors like 1) the number of Filipinos in the area which has to be really sizeable ; 2) the potential for establishing trade and investments with the Philippines, and 3) the opportunities it will present in promoting our history and culture.

Toronto has definitely been a strategic and vibrant place for the Philippines to achieve such objectives. As mentioned, for the good ConGen, Toronto was her first chance to administer her own office away from the wings of the embassy which, in Canada, is based in Ottawa. But she also banked on her experience with her stints in the US Division of the DFA that handles affairs in North America, including Canada.

Facing Up to the Problems of Skilled Immigrants

Similarly, in Vancouver, ConGen Prospero is faced with the persistent problem of our skilled immigrants taking up menial jobs, supposedly at the beginning of their immigration.

But many others get stuck and are never able to integrate into the workplace of their desire or assimilated into their rightful professions.

“Some simply just give up, stop trying and focus on earning a living to support their own families and or help families in the Philippines,” she lamented.

But the PCG is not giving up.

“We are aware that many of what we hope to accomplish in the area of credentials recognition or accreditation of our skilled professional are a long shot, but we continue to make representations,” she bravely stated.

Consul Edna May Lazaro, who joined our conversation, contributed the fact that colleges (speaking here about the body that regulates its own ranks like the college of nurses for all nurses) and the federal government of Canada are two (2) independent bodies. As it is, their views differ in terms of fast accreditation of our skilled people in this country.

Both of them recalled a time when our nurses would just be asked to take a board exam and if they pass that, they are allowed to practice their profession. But not anymore. As some of our nurses would lament today, “Parang dumadaan sa butas ng karayom.” Only the persevering and the brave survive.

The two cited, however, the case of the Filipino accountants in Canada. They are proud of this group because unlike many others, this group has closely bonded together and carefully chart their course to be able to get their own recognition in their field. They have been successful so far, and more importantly, have been guiding their fellow accountants. Our dentists, lawyers, architects are going the same path. Hopefully, they will also be as successful.

Understanding home-grown professionals

From the point of view of Canadian graduates though, Filipinos or non-Filipinos, like a true diplomat, the ConGen wants everybody to be kind and to understand that it is only natural to “protect your own ranks.”

To this author’s mind, may be as well, as to protect the integrity and quality of the healthcare ❱❱ PAGE 17 ConGen Rosalita

14

Canada News Politicians promise help for GM workers; stress that saving plant hopeless

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD AND SHAWN JEFFORDS The Canadian Press PROVINCIAL AND federal leaders alike conceded the futility Monday of trying to persuade General Motors to keep its Oshawa, Ont., automotive plant running beyond 2019, and instead focused on ways to ease the pain of more than 2,500 workers who stand to lose their jobs.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford insisted Monday there was nothing his government could do to talk GM into abandoning its plan to shutter the factory at the end of next year. Ford and lawmakers in Ottawa vowed to work together to help affected workers, their families and the city — which will lose its biggest employer.

“The first thing I said was, ‘What can we do?’,” Ford said Monday, recalling his phone call Sunday with Travis Hester, the head of GM Canada. “He said, ‘The ship has already left the dock.’”

The closure of GM’s Oshawa operation, just east of Toronto, would deliver a major economic blow to the region and will be felt at the Ontario and national levels. In addition to the Oshawa plant, the automaker announced Monday it was planning to close four other plants in the United States and two overseas by the end of 2019 as part of a global restructuring that will see the company cut costs and focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles.

Prime Minister Justin

Trudeau said he told GM’s global CEO Mary Barra that he was deeply disappointed about the closure and insisted his government would do everything possible to help laid-off auto employees and their families.

“Obviously, our hearts go out to the workers in the region affected,” Trudeau said during question period in the House of Commons, before noting his government has invested more than $5.6 billion to help the auto industry.

Over the years, billions and billions of public dollars have provided help to the sector, which federal Industry Minister Navdeep Bains says supports 500,000 direct and indirect jobs across the country.

In 2009, during the financial crisis, the federal and Ontario governments spent a combined $13.7 billion of taxpayer money to rescue GM Canada and fellow automaker Chrysler Canada from potential bankruptcy.

Bains was asked Monday by reporters whether he thought the 2009 bailout was a mistake now that one of the companies is closing a major operation. He said the 2009 decision, made by the previous Conservative government, was made because the situation was “very dire.”

Federal programs remain in place to support the auto sector. Bains pointed out the federal government’s announcement last week that it would add another $800 million over five years to its strategic innovation fund, which has provided public money to companies such as Toyota.

In its search for ways to help affected auto workers, the fed-

eral government declined to get into specifics — but insisted all options are under consideration.

“We’re very disappointed and very surprised by GM’s announcement that we learned about only yesterday,” said Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, who joined Bains at a news conference in Ottawa. “Obviously, it touches, (it) affects thousands of families in a cruel manner.”

Duclos, striking a slightly more optimistic tone, insisted Ottawa wouldn’t give up on efforts to persuade GM to stay in Oshawa because too much is at stake.

Ontario called on the federal government Monday to extend employment-insurance eligibility by five weeks to a maximum of 50 weeks for workers affected by the closing. Ford said the province will immediately bolster employment help and retraining measures.

Politicians from both the federal and Ontario governments, who have frequently clashed in public, made efforts Monday to show that when it comes to the GM matter they have, so far, set aside their differences.

“This is not a political issue, this is not about pointing fingers,” Bains said. “This is about standing up for the automotive sector, this is about standing up for the auto workers.”

Ford said he and his federal counterparts would work hand in hand.

But opposition politicians applied pressure on both governments.

At the federal level, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer

www.canadianinquirer.net

Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

demanded Parliament hold an emergency debate on the matter Monday. Scheer said the governing Liberals must immediately explain how they will help workers and protect other manufacturing jobs in Ontario.

“What we’d like to know from this government is, what is on the table? What is possible?” Scheer said in Toronto. “We do know that some of the reasons being cited, being talked about, are the rising costs of energy. We know that GM and other automakers are affected by the Liberal carbon tax, so before we even get to bailouts we could be looking at any number of other ideas.”

The Conservatives have launched regular attacks against the Trudeau government’s incoming carbon-tax plan. On Monday, Tory MP Pierre Poilievre urged the Liberals to put it on hold.

The federal NDP want the Liberals to create a national auto strategy to ensure product lines and manufacturing processes meet the changing needs of the industry. The party also criticized the Trudeau government’s announcement last week that it plans to provide

FORDNATION / FACEBOOK

$14 billion worth of tax incentives for corporations over the next half-decade.

“We can’t afford billions in tax giveaways to these large companies when those same companies are pulling up stakes and leaving people out of work,” NDP MP Guy Caron said during question period.

At the provincial level, Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath accused the Ford government of giving up on trying to keep the auto jobs from leaving Oshawa.

“I’ve never seen a government roll over so quickly and throw in the towel on good jobs in this province,” Horwath said.

The union representing the Oshawa auto workers says it will put up what it calls “the fight of our lives” to keep the plant open.

“They are not closing our damn plant without one hell of a fight,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said Monday.

“We are sick and tired of being pushed around. And we’re not going to be pushed around … we deserve respect.” ■ with files from Paola Loriggio in Toronto

Canada News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

15

Alberta planning eight new parks Liberals say for land protection and recreation government must

BY BOB WEBER The Canadian Press EDMONTON — The Alberta government has proposed eight new parks covering 4,000 square kilometres along the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains.

Premier Rachel Notley, saying Alberta’s parks must expand to keep up with a growing province, compares the move with former premier Peter Lougheed’s creation of Kananaskis Country west of Calgary.

“Today, just like in the 1970s, Alberta is seeing new pressure on its parks,” she said Friday.

“Just like premier Lougheed, today we are seizing the opportunity to create something special. That something special is the Bighorn Country.”

Bighorn Country lies in westcentral Alberta along the eastern

edges of Banff and Jasper national parks. It features mountains, foothills, forests, lakes, streams and the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River that more than a million Albertans depend on for drinking water.

The area has been under consideration for protection since the 1980s and its core remains relatively free of energy, forestry and farming activity. The region is home to vulnerable species from grizzly bears to bull trout to harlequin ducks.

The plan calls for parks and land-use areas with a variety of permitted activities. Off-highway vehicles, horse packing and hunting would be allowed to continue, said Environment Minister Shannon Phillips.

Grazing leases would also continue, she said. No existing trails would be closed.

The plan comes with $40 million over five years to build and

improve infrastructure. That would include bathroom facilities, better bridges, new parking spaces at trailheads, improvements to 240 campsites and the addition of 150 more.

Phillips praised the stewardship of local groups.

“There was so much really good local planning that already went on,” she said. “What we’re doing is building on that.”

But increased use creates the need for oversight, Notley said.

“We have heard many, many concerns from many folks about the need for better management. We’ve heard of user damage to the land, user conflicts, lack of protection of wildlife and a lack of investment.”

The plan also contains provisions for Indigenous co-management of the area, parts of which are heavily used for tra❱❱ PAGE 17 Alberta planning

B.C. finance minister says budget on track, province to lead country in growth THE CANADIAN PRESS VICTORIA — Finance Minister Carole James says British Columbia’s economic growth remains “strong and stable” and the budget is on track to record a surplus in the 2018-19 fiscal year.

James said Monday the operating debt, which builds up when tax or other revenue misses spending pledges made in a budget, has been reduced to zero for the first time in four decades.

The province’s second quarter results for this fiscal year show a projected surplus of $1.35 billion, she said.

The Finance Ministry forecasts GDP growth of 2.2 per cent this year, while the value of all goods and services produced by the province is forecast to climb by 1.8 per cent in 2019.

James said risks facing the province include a $250-million drop in Crown corporation

earnings, mainly due to losses at the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, as well as a slowing down of the housing market.

To offset those risks, she said a fund that covers potentially volatile revenue changes has been increased by $600 million.

“That additional prudence is very critical … to help mitigate any kind of provincial revenue impacts,” she told a news conference at the legislature.

The B.C. Liberals say property tax revenues are expected to decline by at least $400 million, which means the province is becoming more dependent on personal and corporate income tax revenue.

Shirley Bond, one of the party’s finance critics, says they are concerned about the tax burden on business because of government plans to charge medical service plan premiums and the employer health tax in 2019.

“The burden is compounded

with the introduction of the new speculation tax and the devastating effects it is already having on the construction industry with cancelled housing starts and lost jobs, as well as continued increases to the carbon tax and an increase to the corporate tax rate,” she said in a news release.

James said RBC and other analysts remain positive about economic growth in B.C., forecasting the province will remain a leader in Canada this year and next, even before the benefits of a liquefied natural gas development in Kitimat are added to projections over the next several months.

“Private forecasters expect that B.C.’s economic growth will be strong. In fact, they are predicting that we are going to lead the provincial rankings in 2019,” she said.

The 2019-20 budget will be released Feb. 19, along with the third quarterly report. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

show it can pay for promises as legislature returns

BY GIUSEPPE VALIANTE The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Quebec’s legislature resumes sitting Tuesday for the first time since the Oct. 1 election, and Premier Francois Legault has two weeks before the winter break to begin delivering on his party’s campaign promises.

Among Legault’s commitments were pledges to cut taxes, launch large-scale infrastructure projects, reduce immigration levels and make kindergarten available to fouryear-olds across the province.

The legislature will elect a speaker Tuesday, followed Wednesday by Legault’s inaugural speech outlining government priorities.

Finance Minister Eric Girard will deliver an economic update Dec. 3, in which Quebecers will learn the size of the projected surplus for this fiscal year, which ends March 31.

Liberal finance critic Carlos Leitao told reporters Monday the economic update will be an important test of the new government.

Legault and his ministers have tough choices to make, Leitao said, because despite what he called a “considerable surplus” left over by the Liberal

Liberal finance critic Carlos Leitao.

government, Quebec’s finances “aren’t a bottomless well.”

Last March, the Liberals said the province would finish the fiscal year roughly $3 billion in surplus, but Girard and Legault have both challenged that number since they took office.

“The flexibility is substantial,” Leitao, the former finance minister, said, “but the promises (Legault made) were more substantial — and many of them were not costed. They have to choose what programs they are going to abandon or else tell Quebecers how they are going to pay for them.”

It’s unclear how many bills Legault’s ministers will table before the end of the short session. But Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette has said he will submit his plan to reduce annual immigration by 20 per cent before the Christmas recess.

Quebec is expected to welcome no more than 40,000 immigrants next year, down from about 50,000 this year. Legault has justified the reduction by stating too few newcomers have sufficient knowledge of French and their unemployment rates are unacceptably high.

Between January and August 2018, however, the unemploy❱❱ PAGE 16 Liberals say

CARLOS J. LEITAO / FACEBOOK

16

Canada News

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

Senate passes back to work bill, putting end to rotating postal strikes

BY JOAN BRYDEN The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Mail service will resume all across the country at noon Tuesday after the Senate passed legislation ordering an end to five weeks of rotating strikes by postal workers.

Royal assent was granted late Monday shortly after senators approved Bill C-89 by a vote of 53-25. Four senators abstained.

The government had deemed passage of the bill to be urgent due to the economic impact of continued mail disruptions during the busy holiday season.

It rushed the bill through the House of Commons last week.

But senators, after holding a special sitting Saturday to debate the bill, insisted on taking a little more time to reflect on the constitutionality of stripping postal workers of their right to strike.

They held another special sitting Monday and only put the bill to a vote after more than five hours of additional debate.

“I thought the extra time we took was valuable and was a demonstration of how the Senate should be reviewing government bills,” said Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, leader of the independent senators’ group.

Sen. Peter Harder, the government’s representative in the Senate, urged senators earlier Monday not to delay any further.

“I’m gratified that after two days of intense debate the Senate did what, in my view, is the right thing and passed this legislation,” he said after the vote.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers issue a statement declaring that it is “exploring all options to fight the back-towork legislation.”

“Postal workers are rightly

dismayed and outraged,” said CUPW national president Mike Palecek. “This law violates our right to free collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

Some senators — independents, Liberal independents and even some Conservatives — agreed with that assessment and voted against the bill.

But the majority either disagreed or concluded that it’s up to the courts, not senators, to rule on constitutionality.

An amendment by independent Sen. Murray Sinclair, who proposed delaying implementation of the back-to-work order for at least seven days after royal assent, was rejected.

Earlier Monday, Labour Minister Patti Hajdu said that the special mediator had concluded his work and the two sides were no longer negotiating.

Negotiations have been underway for nearly a year, but the dispute escalated more recently when CUPW members launched rotating strikes Oct. 22.

Those walkouts have led to backlogs of mail and parcel deliveries at the Crown corporation’s main sorting plants in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

Picket lines were up Monday in parts of British Columbia, including Vancouver, Richmond and Surrey, and in parts of Ontario, including Hamilton, Ajax, North York, Pickering and London. Workers also walked off the job in Halifax and Dartmouth, N.S. During debate, Harder told senators that failure to speedily pass Bill C-89 would have severe consequences for those who rely on stable mail delivery service, including the elderly, residents in rural and remote areas and, most especially, re-

tailers who use Canada Post to deliver online purchases.

“It is the government’s strong view that if it does not act now to protect the public interest, it will have acted too late,” he told the Senate, arguing that postal disruptions are “not merely inconvenient.”

“The strikes come at a critical period for retailers,” Harder said.

“Unlike other kinds of ecommerce transactions … lost holiday sales are unlikely to be deferred to a later date. They represent real and actual lost business for these companies.”

Canada Post said Monday that the backlog of mail and parcels is “severe” and expected to “worsen significantly” once online orders from Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are processed.

In a statement, the post office said it is experiencing delivery delays across the country and that’s expected to continue throughout the holiday season and into January.

The union wants better pay and job security, guaranteed hours for its 8,000 rural and suburban carriers, and equality for those workers with the corporation’s 42,000 urban employees.

CUPW also wants Canada Post to adopt rules that it says would cut down on workplace injuries — an issue the union has said is now at a “crisis” level.

Under the new legislation, the union said postal workers will be forced to go back to work under the old collective agreement, which it asserted would result in at least 315 disabling injuries and thousands of hours of forced, unpaid overtime.

The previous Conservative government forced an end to a lockout of postal workers during a 2011 dispute by enacting back-to-work legislation, which

Montreal’s business school.

Legault’s government has also promised legislation banning public sector workers in positions of authority from wearing conspicuous religious symbols at work. But Legault has said the legislation, which

would affect employees such as judges, police officers and teachers, will not be tabled before the spring.

Ewan Sauves, a spokesman for Legault, said Quebecers voted for change Oct. 1.

“We will have a clear game

A Canada Post Truck in the GTA.

RAYSONHO / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

was later declared by a court to be unconstitutional.

But the Liberal government argues Bill C-89 is different, in that it does not impose immediate outcomes affecting postal contracts.

Whereas the 2011 bill imposed a settlement that favoured Canada Post, the current legislation would give a mediator-arbitrator appointed by the government 90 days to try and reach contract settlements. Failing that, a settlement could be imposed either through a decision from the arbitrator or by choosing from one of the final proposals put forward by Canada Post or CUPW. In drafting the bill, Harder said the government has taken into account court rulings and is confident that its limitations on the right to strike would be upheld as a reasonably justifiable infringement of charter rights in a free and democratic society.

Independent Sen. Marc Gold, a former constitutional law professor, said he’s inclined to agree with the government.

But another independent,

Sen. Andre Pratte, said the bill makes “a fair, negotiated agreement impossible by depriving workers of the lone source of their bargaining power, their right to strike.”

“Because the right to strike is a fundamental right … I am convinced that more time should be allowed for negotiations to come to a fruitful conclusions,” he said.

While not all Conservative senators supported the bill, several of their colleagues slammed the Liberal government for failing to put an end to the strikes sooner.

“This government was so concerned with appearances, not wanting to look like previous governments, wanting instead “to wag their finger and lift their chin in righteous indignation, that they sat on their hands until it was almost too late. And it still might be too late,” Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos told the upper house.

Fellow Conservative Sen. Don Plett said “the government sat on its hands until the 11th hour and then in a panicked rush suddenly decided something needed to be done.” ■

plan to present, built around our three priorities: education, economy and health care,” Sauves said of Legault’s speech Wednesday. “Quebecers want change, and we expect to meet their expectations.”

Leitao said he wants the eco-

nomic update to include Legault’s commitment to transfer 1 percentage point of Quebec’s 10 per cent sales tax to municipalities. He also said he expects to see a clear plan to address labour shortages affecting businesses across the province. ■

Liberals say... ❰❰ 15

ment rate for immigrants aged between 25 and 54 dropped sharply, from 8.1 per cent to 6 per cent, according to an independent research institute created by the Conference Board of Canada and Universite de

www.canadianinquirer.net

Canada News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

Alberta planning... ❰❰ 15

ditional ceremonies and other purposes.

Chiefs of the Stoney Nakoda Nations, which include the Bearspaw First Nation, Chiniki First Nation and Wesley First Nation, said in a release Friday night that have agreed to recommend to their Councils to work with the Alberta government “towards co-management of and sharing of economic benefits in the proposed Bighorn Country parks.”

“We are the stewards of this land and will be involved in the management of the new parks,” said Chief Wesley.

The chiefs also said they expect any creation of parks in their traditional territory “will be mindful of the Nations’ outstanding land claims in the region.”

Notley said adding a little infrastructure to the area’s great natural beauty could make it an important hub for tourism.

“We’re here today to create good jobs, to invest in tourism.”

Some remain suspicious.

“There’s no trust,” said Calvin Rakach of the Bighorn Heritage ATV Society.

Rakach puts little faith in promises to keep trails open.

He pointed to southern Alberta’s Castle region, where the government plans to close some off-highway vehicle access.

He said he needs to get more

details.

“I’ve got to hear what the conversation is and build my trust on that.”

Jim Duncan, reeve of Clearwater County in the heart of the Bighorn, called the plan “a positive step forward.”

He said he’ll take a close look at the proposed boundaries and ensure that industries which support local jobs don’t lose land access.

“I need to look at the plan,” Duncan said. “Everything is still on the table.”

He welcomes infrastructure spending that could boost tourism in communities such as Nordegg, Rocky Mountain House and Drayton Valley.

Environmental groups are enthusiastic.

“It’s amazing to see protection coming to these amazing lands,” said Joanna Skrajny of the Alberta Wilderness Association.

She said the boundaries are very similar to those first proposed in 1988 and are wellplaced to conserve ecosystems.

A release from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said: “We are simply overjoyed.”

The proposal is up for public comment. The province opened an online survey Friday which goes through to the end of January. ■

ConGen Rosalita... ❰❰ 13

system, for example.

The heart of the matter is empathy. If the situation is reversed, it is understandable that any homegrown professional would have second thoughts about readily moving over or giving away his space to everybody else who just came in, nor would any government of a developed country allow the quality of its healthcare system, for example, to wane by plainly loosening up.

She, therefore, advised that the best and most practical solution is- to know the Canadian system fully.

“When you come in and are determined to practice your chosen profession, work at learning the ins and outs of the system,” she further said.

Unfortunately, the truth is, not many will be willing

to give away the “secrets” or their strategies as to how they worked their way around. One has to painstakingly endeavour to learn his own way into it.

As each Filipino immigrant or Fil-Can struggles to build a better life in Canada, the ConGen wants her office to be there to serve and protect them. While PCG’s programs vary from public service to settlement issues, and on economic opportunities, she takes pride in always coming up with projects that touch on Filipino history and culture, including different art forms such as music, visual arts, and most especially our cuisine.

Heartwarmingly, ConGen Prospero assures that the consulate will always be at the core of our kababayans’ desire to keep their Pinoy-ness alive and burning all the time. ■

17

Security agencies warn industry of foreign espionage threat to networks

BY JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Canadian companies should watch out when they use technology supplied by state-owned companies from countries that want to steal corporate secrets, the country’s security agencies have warned them.

The RCMP organized two workshops last March — one in Calgary, the other in Toronto — to raise awareness about threats to critical systems, including espionage and foreign interference, cyberattacks, terrorism and sabotage, newly disclosed documents show.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service materials prepared for the workshops advise that “non-likeminded countries,” state-owned enterprises and affiliated companies are engaged in a global pursuit of technology and know-how driven by economic and military ambitions.

The materials were released to The Canadian Press in response to an access-to-information request.

The heavily censored records do not go into detail about specific countries. But the presentation does include a passage from a 2017 U.S. government report saying competitors such as China steal American intellectual property valued at hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

In addition, CSIS openly warned in 2016 that Russia and China were targeting Canada’s classified information and advanced technology, as well as government officials and systems.

The presentations to industry dissected techniques used by adversaries and offered advice on protecting confidential information and assets.

The intelligence community’s concerns emerge as Canada considers allowing Chinese firm Huawei Technologies to take part in developing a 5G telecommunications network.

Former security officials in Canada and two members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence have warned www.canadianinquirer.net

against such a move, saying the company’s ties to Beijing could compromise the security of Canada and its closest allies.

Huawei has denied engaging in intelligence work on behalf of any government.

The workshops led by the RCMP’s critical infrastructure team highlighted the problem of “supply chain vulnerability” — a back-door tactic to infiltrate systems.

The RCMP did not respond to questions about the sessions. CSIS spokesman John Townsend said the concerns stem from cases where equipment and related computerized control systems and services are manufactured and installed by companies controlled by or affiliated with a foreign government.

“These foreign governments may pursue not only profitable commercial objectives but may also try to advance their own broader and potentially adverse strategic and economic interests,” he said.

The tactics could include gaining influence and leverage over the host country, espionage, technology theft and malicious cyberactivities, Townsend added.

The security presentations also warned of “spear-phishing” attempts by hostile forces to gain access to computer systems through emails that fool employees into giving up passwords or other sensitive data.

The agencies encouraged companies working on leadingedge research to take stock of protective measures and develop a corporate security plan to

manage risks. For instance, scientists should consult corporate security about precautions when outside delegations visit.

“If you detect suspicious activity, contact authorities,” the presentation materials say. “All infrastructure sectors should remain engaged with RCMP and CSIS to share security intelligence.”

Patrick Smyth, vice-president of performance at the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, said security is “top of mind” for member companies, which share information and help each other ensure they are prepared for emerging hazards and threats.

Cyberattacks are an evolving threat, but not a new one for pipeline operators, he said in an interview.

“They’ve been looking at it for a number of years and tracking the evolution around the sophistication of bad actors who might wish to find entry points into individual companies, and take over control of certain elements of the infrastructure and cause damage,” he said.

If a state-owned enterprise is looking to acquire an asset, “these companies have programs, checks and balances in place to address that.”

Pipeline operators receive intelligence from the RCMP, CSIS, the federal natural-resources and public-safety departments and U.S. agencies, Smyth added. However, he sees a place for the awareness workshops, saying any “additional source of information and intelligence is helpful.” ■

18

World News

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

Maryland governor says panel will redraw congressional map

BY DAVID MCFADDEN The Associated Press BALTIMORE — An emergency commission has been created in Maryland to redraw boundaries for a sprawling congressional district in compliance with a federal court order, the state’s Republican governor announced Monday.

Gov. Larry Hogan said a “nonpartisan” nine-member commission will craft a redistricting plan for the state’s 6th congressional district that isn’t tarnished by gerrymandering.

In Maryland, Democrats were in charge of the last controversial redistricting and the state’s congressional map is often held up as a highly partisan patchwork.

“The outcome of decades of redistricting cycles has made Maryland’s congressional and legislative districts an embarrassment,” Hogan told reporters at a news conference.

He said the commission he is creating by executive order will

be made up of three Democrats, three Republicans, and three unaffiliated voters.

Hogan’s announcement comes weeks after a panel of U.S. judges unanimously ordered Maryland to submit a new map for its meandering 6th district, now stretching from vote-rich suburbs of the nation’s capital to rural western parts of the mid-Atlantic state.

The federal panel said the lines must be drawn using “traditional criteria for redistricting,” showing regard for “natural boundaries.” In a decision written by 4th U.S. Circuit Court Judge Paul Niemeyer, the state’s 2011 congressional map that removed roughly 66,000 Republican voters from the 6th district and added around 24,000 Democratic voters brought about “the single greatest alteration of voter makeup in any district in the Nation following the 2010 census.”

That Democrat-drawn redistricting in 2011 has been cited by critics as a major reason former Democratic Rep. John Delaney

was able to oust 10-term Republican Roscoe Bartlett in 2012. In the November midterm elections, Democrat David Trone won the sixth congressional district, the only open seat due to the departure of Delaney, who is running for president.

Some Republican voters had sued over the 6th district’s boundaries, claiming Democrats who controlled the governorship and legislature blatantly redrew the map to put more Democrats in the competitive district. The U.S. Supreme Court reviewed the case before referring it back to a lower court, effectively allowing the 2011 map to remain in place for this year’s election cycle.

Earlier this month, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the federal panel’s recent order for state officials to draw up a new redistricting plan by early March. Frosh, a Democrat, also filed a separate request for the redistricting case to remain on hold until the Supreme Court acts on the state’s appeal.

www.canadianinquirer.net

Hogan on Monday blasted Frosh’s involvement, asserting that the state’s attorney general “continues to be on the wrong side of this fight and the wrong side of history.”

A spokeswoman for Frosh’s office said it had no comment.

Hogan on Monday also stressed that it’s high time for Maryland politicians to get out of the way of redistricting decisions, arguing that the large majority of state residents want a neutral party to draw electoral maps.

“The legislature cannot continue fighting against the will of the people,” said Hogan, who pledged to introduce a bill called the Redistricting Reform Act of 2019 during the first day of the next legislative session.

“The people of Maryland and the federal courts agree that the time for our state to act is now to finally restore balance and fairness to our elections, to once and for all remove the politics and the politicians from the process of drawing their own districts,” he said.

Hogan has already appointed

three commissioners to redraw the 6th district: Retired Judge Alexander Williams, a registered Democrat; Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a registered Republican; and Ashley Oleson, an unaffiliated voter.

The remaining six members will be chosen by their applications in coming days and will be made up of a similar political balance, according to the governor.

Hogan vowed that the new commission, when completed, will hold livestreamed sessions and meetings will be open to the public.

Damon Effingham, director of the Common Cause Maryland non-profit, praised Hogan’s executive order to create a commission but said enduring redistricting changes were needed.

“There are limits to the commission, as without a decision from the Supreme Court or legislation from the General Assembly, Marylanders aren’t guaranteed to continue having an open, nonpartisan process under future governors,” Effingham said.■

19

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

Tanong #5: Anu-ano ba ang dapat unahin?

BY BOLET AREVALO

SABI-SABI: Daig nang maagap ang masipag.

Ngayon na buo na sa isip mong mag-abroad, ano nga ba ang mga dapat mong unahin?

Unahin mong isipin ang magiging kahulugan ng pag-aabroad na ito sa iyong pagkatao.

Magiging mas mabuti ka bang tao? Mas makatutulong sa iba?

Mas mabubuo ang mga hangarin at pangarap mo para sa sarili?

Kailangan bang maging mas masaya ka dahil sa desisyong ito?

Simple lang ang definition ko ng maturity as a person. Maturity is the ability to postpone self-gratification — ang kakayahang ipagpaliban ang pansariling kasiyahan o kaligayahan. Hindi ko sinasabing hindi ka rapat maging masaya. Ang kaibahan lang ay kaya mong maghintay maging masaya habang ginagampanan mo ang in-

aakala mong tama mong papel bilang dakila at responsableng ama, ina, anak, asawa o kaibigan.

Unahin mo ang kapanatagan at kapayapaan ng loob. If you are at peace with yourself in this decision, then you have made the right decision. Then you will believe na may liwanag kang dadatnan saan ka man mapadpad.

Sa paghahangad mo ng liwanag, tatandaan mo na bawat bagay ay may dalawang mukha — mabuti at masama, marumi at malinis, pangit at maganda, madilim at maliwanag. Ganun pa man, sahugan o lahukan mo ang efforts mo ng pag-asa, maraming pag-asa. Sapagka’t dahil sa pag-asang ito kaya ka pupunta sa malayong bansa Unahin mo ang pagbuo ng tiwala at pag-asa sa iyong puso at sa puso ng iyong pamilya. Dahil sa pag-asang ito ka lamang makapagpapatuloy sa iyong paglalakbay at masusumpungan ang iyong tamang kapalaran.

Unahin mo ang maayos na pagpaplano at masistemang pagkilos. Kailangan siguro sa

dong hindi ka bibitawan — ang ating paniniwala na may isang kataas-taasang kapangyarihang hindi natin nakikita pero sa tuwina’y nararamdaman nating laging nandiyan at totoo.

Kaya lang, ang sabi nga — nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa.

Ang Totoo: Daig ng maayos at madasaling tao ang sinumang maagap at masipag na wala namang malinaw na pangarap at direksyon. ■ JERICK PARRONE / FLICKR, CC BY-SA 2.0

umpisa ay mag-unload ka ng mga dala-dala mong baggages sa buhay. Clear your mind, empty your heart of worries, resentment, fears, hatred and bitterness. Ang hirap kaya magisip nang tama at maayos kung magulo ang isip. Start on a clean slate. Kapag ganun, madali na ang magplano at kumilos nang tama.

Unahin mo ang humility sa ibabaw ng lahat ng ito. Sabi nga, ‘wag mauna ang yabang. Hindi ka pa nga umaasenso, wala ka nang kilala. In fact, ang humility na tumanggap ng tulong at

payo ng iba ay malaki ang magiging papel sa tagumpay mo sa paglalakbay na ito. Tapos, siguraduhin mong bitbitin ang sipag at tiyaga saan ka man pumunta. But you will be better if you are humble.

Unahin ang pagkapit sa iyong pananampalataya. Mas malaki ang dedesisyunan, mas mahirap umasa sa opinion ng ibang tao, whether or not malapit sa iyo or hindi mo kaano-ano ang hinihingan mo ng opinion. Sa ganoong kasikip na sitwasyon, isa lang ang matatakbuhan mo at makakapitan mo na sigura-

Abangan sa susunod na isyu: Tanong #6 PAANO MO KAKAYANING TALIKURAN ANG LAHAT? Bolet is a marketing communications practitioner and dabbles in writing as a personal passion.

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

Mayor calls for patience, family seeks answers in shooting THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOOVER, ALA. — The mayor of an Alabama city offered sympathy Monday to the family of a black man killed by a police officer responding to a Thanksgiving night shooting at a shopping mall.

“We all want answers and we believe with patience and focus the truth will be firmly established,” Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said while reading a public statement in which he pleaded for patience while a state investigation continues.

The shooting of Emantic “EJ” Bradford Jr., 21, sparked multiple protests in the suburban city outside Birmingham and calls to publically release body camera footage and other video.

An officer killed Bradford while responding to the report of a shooting that wounded two people at the Riverchase Galleria mall outside Birming-

ham. Hoover police initially portrayed Bradford as the mall gunman and said officers acted heroically to “take out the threat” within seconds of shots being fired in the crowded mall.

They later retracted the statement, and said while Bradford was seen with a handgun, evidence indicates he was not the person who shot an 18-year-old and a 12-year-old bystander.

Authorities say the actual gunman remains at large.

A lawyer for Bradford’s family said witnesses have contacted his law firm saying Bradford was trying to “wave people away from the shooting” and the officer did not issue any verbal commands before shooting the 21-year-old.

“He saw a black man with a gun and he made his determination he must be a criminal,” Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for Bradford’s family said of the officer at a news conference Sunday in Birmingham.

Responding to building ten-

sions, police and the city of Hoover on Monday offered public sympathy to the Bradford family and issued more detailed statements about the shooting and the investigation.

“We can say with certainty Mr. Bradford brandished a gun during the seconds following the gunshots, which instantly heightened the sense of threat to approaching police officers responding to the chaotic scene,” the statement said.

They later clarified the use of the verb “brandished” saying it meant Bradford was holding a gun.

Bradford’s father and other family members said they want to see body camera video from the shooting. Family members expressed frustration and anger that the young man was initially described as a gunman who shot two people.

“I knew my son didn’t do that.

People rushed to judgment.

They shouldn’t have done that,” Emantic Bradford, Sr. told The www.canadianinquirer.net

Associated Press.

Hoover police said Monday that “body camera video and other available video has been turned over to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) which is now investigating the shooting. “Release of any video will be done as ALEA deems appropriate during the investigation,” the statement added.

The mayor said he is requesting a meeting with the Bradford family. Family members have said they learned through social media of their loved one’s death. Video circulated on social media of Bradford lying uncovered in a pool of blood on the floor of the mall.

Bradford’s father, a former longtime employee of the Birmingham Police Department jail, said his son had a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which issues concealed carry permits, referred questions to ALEA on whether Bradford had a permit to carry

a concealed handgun.

Bradford was a graduate of a Catholic high school in Birmingham and afterward joined the U.S. Army, although he had recently left the military, family said.

A U.S. Army spokesman said that Bradford, Jr. reported to the Army for initial entry training in November 2017 but “was administratively separated in August 2018 before completing training” and being awarded a specialty certification.

The shooting sparked a weekend protest at the mall, with demonstrators chanting Bradford’s name as they walked past Christmas shoppers to the spot where he was killed. A group of pastors on Monday joined the called for police to release additional information.

“His mother deserves answers. The community deserves answers,” said the Rev. Nate Brooks of the Greater Saint John Baptist Church in Birmingham. ■

20

World News

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

Scientists warn new Brazil president may smother rainforest

BY CHRISTINA LARSON AND MAURICIO SAVARESE The Associated Press SAO PAULO — Scientists warn that Brazil’s president-elect could push the Amazon rainforest past its tipping point — with severe consequences for global climate and rainfall.

Jair Bolsonaro, who takes office Jan. 1, claims a mandate to convert land for cattle pastures and soybean farms, calling Brazil’s rainforest protections an economic obstacle.

Brazilians on Oct. 28 elected Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate who channeled outrage at the corruption scandals of the former government and support from agribusiness groups.

Next week global leaders will meet in Poland for an international climate conference to discuss how to curb climate change, and questions about Brazil’s role in shaping the future of the Amazon rainforest after Bolsonaro’s election loom large. New Brazilian government data show the rate of deforestation — a major factor in global warming — has already increased over the past year.

Brazil contains about 60 per cent of the Amazon rainforest, and scientists are worried.

It’s nearly impossible to overstate the importance of the Amazon rainforest to the planet’s living systems, said Carlos Nobre, a climate scientist at the University of Sao Paulo.

Each tree stores carbon absorbed from the atmosphere.

The Amazon takes in as much as 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year and releases 20 per cent of the planet’s oxygen, earning it the nickname “the lungs of the planet.”

It’s also a global weathermaker.

Stretching 10 times the size of Texas, the Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest. Billions of trees suck up water through deep roots and bring it up to their leaves, which release water vapour that forms a thick mist over the rainforest canopy.

This mist ascends into clouds and eventually becomes rainfall — a cycle that shapes seasons in South America and far beyond.

By one estimate, the Amazon ply burned, directly releasing creates 30 to 50 per cent of its carbon dioxide, said Artaxo. own rainfall.

“In the Brazilian Amazon, far Now the integrity of all of and away the largest source of three functions — as a carbon deforestation is industrial agsink, the Earth’s lungs, and a riculture and cattle ranching,” rainmaker — hangs in the bal- said Emilio Bruna, an ecologist ance. at the University of Florida in On the campaign trail, Bol- Gainesville. sonaro promised to loosen Now observers are parsing protections for areas of the Bolsonaro’s campaign stateBrazilian Amazon designated ments and positions as a conas indigenous lands and nature gressman to anticipate what’s reserves, calling them impedi- next for the Amazon. ments to economic growth. “All Bolsonaro — who some call these reserves cause problems “tropical Trump” because of to development,” he told sup- some similarities to U.S. Presiporters. dent Donald Trump — is a forHe has also repeatedly talked mer army captain with a knack Brazil president-elect Jair Bolsonaro. about gutting the power of the for channeling outrage and environmental ministry to en- generating headlines. As a fed- ronmental Institute in Brasilia, force existing green laws. eral congressman for 27 years, a non-governmental group.

“If Bolsonaro keeps his cam- he led legislative campaigns In a Nov. 1 postelection interpaign promises, deforestation to unravel land protections view with Catholic TV, Bolsonof the Amazon will probably for indigenous people and to aro said, “We intend to protect increase quickly — and the ef- promote agribusiness. He also the environment, but without fects will be felt everywhere on made derogatory comments creating difficulties for our the planet,” said Paulo Artaxo, about minorities, women, and progress.” a professor of environmental LGBT people.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly physics at the University of Sao Much of his support comes said that Brazil should withPaulo. from business and farming in- draw from the Paris Climate Bolsonaro’s transition team terests.

Accord, a treaty his predecesdid not respond to an interview “These farmers are not invad- sor signed in 2016 committing request from the Associated ers, they are producers,” said to reduce carbon emissions 37 Press. congressman and senator-elect per cent over 2005 levels by Brazil was once seen as a Luiz Carlos Heinze, a farmer 2030. After the election, he has global environmental success and close ally of Bolsonaro. He publicly wavered. story. Between Meanwhile 2004 and 2014, he has named a stricter enforceclimate-change ment of laws to denier, Ernesto safeguard the Bolsonaro has repeatedly said Araujo, to berainforest — aidthat indigenous territories in the come the next ed by regular satAmazon should be opened up for foreign minister. ellite monitoring mining and agribusiness, which Nelson Anaand protections goes completely in the opposite nias Filho, susfor lands desigdirection of our Constitution. tainability conated reserves ordinator at for indigenous Brazil’s National peoples — sharpAgriculture and ly curbed the rate of deforesta- blamed past “leftist adminis- Cattle Raising Confederation, tion, which peaked in the early trations” for promoting indig- which backed Bolsonaro’s cam2000s at about 9,650 square enous rights at the expense of paign, said, “Brazil’s agribusimiles a year (25,000 square ki- farmers and ranchers. ness will adapt to whatever cirlometres).

“Brazil will be the biggest cumstances come.”

After a political crisis en- farming nation on Earth during Whether or not Brazil forgulfed Brazil, leading to the Bolsonaro’s years,” said Heinze. mally remains in the Paris Cli2016 impeachment of presiIndigenous-rights advocates mate Accord, the only way for dent Dilma Rousseff, enforce- are worried about the new di- the country to make its emisment faltered. Ranchers and rection signalled. “Bolsonaro sion targets is to completely farmers began to convert more has repeatedly said that indig- stop deforestation by 2030 and rainforest to pastureland and enous territories in the Ama- to reduce agricultural emiscropland. Between 2014 and zon should be opened up for sions, said Nobre, the climate 2017, annual deforestation mining and agribusiness, which scientist. ”If Bolsonaro keeps doubled to about 3,090 square goes completely in the opposite moving in the current direcmiles (8,000 square kilome- direction of our Constitution,” tion, that’s basically impostres). Most often, the trees and said Adriana Ramos, public pol- sible.” underbrush cut down are sim- icy co-ordinator at Social EnviThere’s another danger lurkwww.canadianinquirer.net

JAIR MESSIAS BOLSONARO / FACEBOOK

ing in deforestation.

Aside from the oceans, tropical forests are the most important regions on the planet for putting water vapour in the air, which eventually becomes rainfall. “It’s why we have rain in the American Midwest and other inland areas — it’s not just the Amazon, but it’s the largest tropical rainforest,” said Bill Laurance, a tropical ecologist at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia.

Carlos Nobre and Thomas Lovejoy, an environmental scientist at George Mason University, have estimated that the “tipping point for the Amazon system” is 20 to 25 per cent deforestation.

Without enough trees to sustain the rainfall, the longer and more pronounced dry season could turn more than half the rainforest into a tropical savannah, they wrote in February in the journal Science Advances.

If the rainfall cycle collapses, winter droughts in parts of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina could devastate agriculture, they wrote. The impacts may even be felt as far away as the American Midwest, said Laurance.

Bolsonaro’s rhetoric about potentially dismantling the environmental ministry and rolling back indigenous rights worries Nobre who says, “I am a scientist, but I am also a Brazilian citizen, and a citizen of the planet.” ■ AP Science writer Christina Larson reported from Washington, D.C.

World News

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

21

Mississippi senator banking on boost from Trump rallies

BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS The Associated Press JACKSON, MISS. — The final chapter of the 2018 midterms is nearing a close in Mississippi, where the prevalent themes of President Donald Trump and race have combined for a much closer contest than anyone expected in one of the country’s most deeply conservative states.

Republican Sen. Cindy HydeSmith, appointed to the seat in April, gives unwavering support to the president who will campaign for her at two rallies on Monday, a day ahead of the runoff. Trump also has thanked her right back on Twitter for voting for “our Agenda in the Senate 100% of the time.”

She is up against Democrat Mike Espy, a former congressman and U.S. agriculture secretary who is seeking to become Mississippi’s first black senator since Reconstruction. And in the final weeks of the campaign, race has become a dominant issue.

Hyde-Smith has drawn fire for attending a white private school that was founded after court-ordered school desegregation of public schools. She’s been seen in a photo wearing a replica hat of a Confederate soldier and in a video praising a supporter by saying, “If he invited me to a public hanging, I’d be on the front row.”

Mississippi has a history of racially motivated lynchings and violence against people who sought voting rights for black citizens. Some 38 per cent of the state’s residents are black, and Espy is trying to boost their turnout and pick up support from white voters who are uneasy with Trump or the racially tinged stories about Hyde-Smith.

The winner Tuesday finishes the final two years of a term started by Republican Sen. Thad Cochran. He resigned in April amid health concerns.

It’s the last U.S. Senate race to be decided in 2018 and will determine whether Republicans pad their slim majority.

Hyde-Smith’s support of

Trump is unmistakable. She used both her opening and closing statements of the only debate of the runoff campaign to promote Monday’s presidential rallies, citing the online address to get tickets. Even on trade and tariffs, where Trump’s decisions could hurt Mississippi farmers, HydeSmith praised the president.

“I have met with the president, and I proudly support him in negotiating these trades,” she said. “All the Mississippi farmers want is a fair deal, and I’m excited that the president has stepped up to renegotiate these deals.”

Hyde-Smith and Trump are set to appear together at a late Monday afternoon event in the northeastern city of Tupelo, best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Then, they fly to the Gulf Coast for a larger evening rally in Biloxi.

Democrats also have used some star power. Former Vice-President Joe Biden has endorsed Espy, and three Democrats who could run for president in 2020 — Sens. Ka-

www.canadianinquirer.net

mala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick — have been to Mississippi to campaign for the former congressman who served as agriculture secretary in 1993 and 1994 under Democratic President Bill Clinton.

For Espy, turnout is key. He has to close the gap in a state where Trump received 58 per cent in 2016 and that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1982.

About a third of Mississippi voters were African-American in the four-way race on Election Day, and Espy won support from about 80 per cent of them, compared to about 20 per cent of white voters, according to VoteCast, a wide-ranging survey of the electorate conducted

by The Associated Press.

If Espy’s campaign can boost African-American turnout to 40 per cent and he can win 9 out of 10 of their votes, he would only need less than a quarter of white votes to secure a victory.

Espy hasn’t hammered Hyde-

Smith on Trump at every turn.

His campaign has focused more on issues such as social justice, health care and raising wages.

“My approach is Mississippi first,” Espy said at last week’s debate. “That means that Mississippi over party, Mississippi over person — I don’t care how powerful that person might be.”

Espy also has carefully picked his time to talk about race.

He does remind voters while Hyde-Smith was in a white academy, he and his twin sister were being called racial slurs while integrating Yazoo City High School in 1969.

Hyde-Smith has apologized to “anyone that was offended” by the hanging comment, saying she meant no ill will. She and her campaign have refused to talk about the Confederate hat and have called the school issue a personal attack on her family meant to draw attention away from issues.

Walmart asked Hyde-Smith to return a $2,000 campaign contribution because of the hanging remark. ■

World News

22

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

UK’s May fights to sell Brexit deal to a skeptical country

BY JILL LAWLESS The Associated Press LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May made a blunt appeal to skeptical lawmakers on Monday to back her divorce deal with the European Union: It isn’t perfect, but it’s all there is, and the alternative is a leap into the unknown.

In essence, she urged Parliament: Let’s agree and move on, for the sake of the voters.

Britain and the 27 other EU leaders signed off on a Brexit deal Sunday after more than a year and a half of tough negotiations. It was a day many doubted would ever come, but May was anything but triumphant as she reported back to Parliament, which now controls the fate of the deal. May confirmed that British lawmakers will vote Dec. 11, after several days of debate, on whether to approve or reject the agreement.

Scores of legislators — from both the opposition and May’s governing Conservative Party — have vowed to oppose it. Rejection would plunge Britain into a political crisis and potential financial turmoil just weeks before it is due to leave the EU on March 29.

“No one knows what would happen if this deal didn’t pass,” May told the House of Commons.

“Our duty as a Parliament over these coming weeks is to examine this deal in detail, to debate it respectfully, to listen

to our constituents and decide what is in our national interest.”

Before then, May plans a frantic two-week cross-country campaign to convince both the public and lawmakers that the deal delivers on voters’ decision in 2016 to leave the EU “while providing a close economic and security relationship with our nearest neighbours.”

But May’s defence of her hard-won deal in Parliament was followed by a torrent of criticism, from hard-core Brexit-backers, pro-EU lawmakers and previously loyal backbenchers alike.

In another potential blow for May, President Donald Trump said her deal would make it more difficult for the U.K. to strike a trade deal with the U.S. Brexiteers see a wide-ranging trade deal with the U.S. as one of Britain’s main goals after leaving the EU. Trump said that “right now if you look at the deal they may not be able to trade with us, and that wouldn’t be a good thing.”

“I don’t think that the prime minister meant that and hopefully she’ll be able to do something about that,” Trump said outside the White House. “But right now as the deal stands, she may not, they may not be able to trade with the U.S. and I don’t think they want that at all.”

In response to Trump’s comments, May’s 10 Downing St. office said that under the deal

Prime Minister Theresa May.

agreed with the EU, “we will have an independent trade policy so that the U.K. can sign trade deals with countries around the world — including with the U.S.” But during Monday’s debate in Parliament, legislators again expressed their deep unease, if not hatred, of the deal that keeps Britain outside the EU with no say but still subject to the rules and the obligations of membership at least until the end of 2020 while a permanent new relationship is worked out.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the “botched deal” would leave Britain worse off, with “no say over EU rules and no certainty for the future.”

“Plowing on is not stoic. It’s an act of national self-harm,” he said.

May argued that the British people are sick of endless de-

THERESA MAY / FACEBOOK

bates about Brexit, and backing the deal would allow “us to come together again as a country whichever way we voted.”

“The majority of the British public want us to get on with doing what they asked us to,” she said.

The majority of lawmakers appear unconvinced. Dozens of Conservative legislators say they will reject the deal, either because they want a harder or a softer break with the EU. Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which props up May’s minority government, also opposes it, as do all the main opposition parties.

“The Prime Minister and the whole House knows the mathematics — this will never get through,” said Brexit-backing Conservative Mark Francois, who described the deal “a surrender” to the EU. Brexit Secretary Stephen

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Barclay conceded that “it’s going to be a challenging vote.”

But he said Britain would be in “choppy waters” if the deal was rejected.

Both Britain and the EU are adamant that the U.K. can’t renegotiate the agreement, and opponents of the deal do not agree on what should happen next if Parliament rejects it.

Some want an election, others a new referendum, and some say Britain should leave the bloc without a deal.

“I can say to the House with absolute certainty that there is not a better deal available,” May said.

She said rejecting it “would open the door to more division and more uncertainty, with all the risks that will entail.” ■ Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this story. Zeke Miller contributed from Washington.

CLOSE DAVIS TO VIL SUBW LE AY STOP

23

Entertainment Why most Canadians won’t see Oscar contender ‘Roma’ at their local cinema

BY DAVID FRIEND The Canadian Press TORONTO — With director Alfonso Cuaron’s sweeping epic “Roma” floating on a cloud of positive buzz, the Netflix film seems destined to be a major awards contender.

But unlike other best picture Oscar bets “A Star Is Born,” “Black Panther,” and “Widows,” it’s angling to get there without playing theatres across the country.

Despite a critically acclaimed premiere at the recent Toronto International Film Festival, Netflix is only screening the Spanish-language film by the Oscar-winning director of “Gravity” at a small number of theatres in Canada.

Only Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are scheduled to play “Roma” at this point, with the possibility of other cities showing the film if it’s a hit.

And just one theatre is actually screening it before the streamer does — Toronto’s

downtown arthouse TIFF Bell Lightbox premieres “Roma” on Thursday. Montreal and Vancouver theatres don’t get it until Dec. 14, the same day “Roma” makes its global debut on Netflix.

The strategy reflects big screen Oscar ambitions that don’t actually include a strong commitment to movie theatres.

“For Netflix it all comes back to the monthly subscription,” says Katie Bailey, content director at film industry trade publication Playback.

“They build their revenue $9.99 at a time.”

Netflix acquired the rights for Cuaron’s semi-autobiographical tribute to his native Mexico with the purpose of putting it on the small screen.

Reed Hastings, the company’s chief executive, has long accused movie exhibitors of being unable to think outside the multiplex boxes. He’s called for Hollywood to release more films for home viewing the same day they open in theatres.

That position has put Netf-

lix in a tough spot as exhibitors distance themselves and some within the film industry see the company as a competitive threat.

Netflix has managed to pick up Oscars for both documentary feature and short in recent years, but has failed to score gold in the major awards categories.

It’s hard not to view the company’s Oscar campaigns as halfhearted at best.

Theatrical runs for “Mudbound” and “Beasts of No Nation” — which are required to qualify for the Oscars — were booked at the smallest theatres in Los Angeles and New York, making it tough for even the local audience to find.

Neither film turned Oscar nominations into wins.

Now “Roma” is being showered with near unanimous critical praise, with cinephiles revelling in its black-and-white cinematography and surround sound. During TIFF, Oscar prognosticators saw potential nominations for Cuaron, new-

Actress Yalitza Aparicio, filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, and Libo–the woman who inspired the character Cleo in ROMA. ROMACUARON / FACEBOOK

comer actress Yalitza Aparicio and best picture.

But Canada’s biggest exhibitor Cineplex isn’t interested in showing a film that will head to the small screen in mere weeks.

“We are more than happy to play their films if they abide by the same rules as everybody else,” CEO Ellis Jacob says in a recent interview of Netflix.

Cineplex has long held a 90day window policy between a

movie’s theatrical debut and its appearance for rental or streaming at home.

It’s a niche, art house film that only a small audience will pay full price to see, suggests Bailey.

“Two people — $30 easy. Plus popcorn,” she says.

“You can get a lot of Netflix for that.” ■ With files from Tara Deschamps

A worldwide celebration of love: Netizens applaud GMA’s 2018 Christmas station ID ‘Puso Ng Pasko’ felt worldwide via GMA’s 2018 Christmas station ID GMA NETWORK received several praises from netizens after it successfully unveiled the 2018 Christmas station ID (SID) ”Ipadama ang Puso ng Pasko” last Sunday, November 18.

The Kapuso Christmas Station ID, which has breached the 1-million mark on YouTube, also gained over 1 million Facebook views in less than 24 hours. #PusoNgPasko was likewise a top trending hashtag on Twitter and the Christmas SID proceeded to be the number one trending video on YouTube for almost 24 hours.

Viewers from different online platforms expressed their appreciation to the Kapuso Network for the inspiring message that anyone, no matter the circumstance in life, has the ability to also touch lives in a positive way.

On Facebook, Dennis P Abrigo said “[Ang] sarap sa pakiramdam kapag yung maliliit na tao at simpleng empleyado ay nabibigyan nila ng pansin at halaga tulad namin na mga gwardiya na mababa ang tingin sa amin ng ibang mga tao, kaya sobrang saya kapag naa-appreciate nila yung ginagawa namin,

mas lalo kaming na-iinspire at mas lalo pang pagbutihin ang aming mga trabaho. Salute to Kapuso. Thank you.”

Facebook user Juliano Betalia also said “Ang pasko ay hindi lang sa pamilya kundi sa lahat ng tao sa mundo. Walang pinipili mahirap man o mayaman ang mahalaga maipadama mo ang diwa ng pasko. Kaya I love GMA CSID sobrang ganda, lahat masaya lahat nagbibigayan.”

On YouTube, Rol Dan said “GMA at its finest! They always give a new flavor of their CSID each year, at ramdam mong di nakikipag kumpetensya, gusto www.canadianinquirer.net

lang ipadama ang #PusoNgPasko taon taon.”

“When we say GMA, the first thing that comes to mind is their genuine sincerity to help others. This is their best CSID for me, the message was clearly executed! And the song is quite catchy! Congrats GMA, you did great,” jairinealexa also commented.

Twitter user @dncrkerbs mentioned, “Ang ganda ng CSID ng GMA. Yung beat ang saya nakakaindak. And syempre goosebumps. ‘Sabay-sabay sa buong mundo, ipadama ang puso ng Pasko’ Ang ganda ng

linyang to. #PusoNgPasko nice one @gmanetwork!”

More than the presence of the Kapuso celebrities, the Christmas campaign featured the Network’s heart for genuine public service via GMA Kapuso Foundation and Kapwa Ko Mahal Ko, as well as its collaboration with various organizations. ■ To watch the full version of the GMA Christmas Station ID “Ipadama ang Puso ng Pasko,” visit www.GMANetwork.com or GMA Network’s official social media accounts.

24

Entertainment

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

‘SpongeBob’ creator Stephen Hillenburg dies at 57

BY ANDREW DALTON The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Stephen Hillenburg, who used his dual loves of drawing and marine biology to spawn the absurd undersea world of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” has died, Nickelodeon announced Tuesday.

Hillenburg died Monday of Lou Gehrig’s disease, also known as ALS, the cable network said in a statement. He was 57.

He had announced he had the disease in March 2017. His death comes just weeks after the passing of another cartoon hero in Marvel creator Stan Lee. Hillenburg conceived, wrote, produced and directed the animated series that began in 1999 and bloomed into hundreds of episodes, movies and a Broadway show.

The eternally, obliviously jolly SpongeBob and his yell-along theme song that opened “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!” quickly appealed to college kids and parents as much as it did kids.

“The essence of the show is that SpongeBob is an innocent in a world of jaded characters,” Hillenburg told The Associated Press in 2001. “The rest is absurd packaging.”

Its vast cast of oceanic creatures included SpongeBob’s

starfish sidekick Patrick, his tightwad boss Mr. Krabs, and his always-exasperated neighbour Squidward Tentacles.

Hillenburg’s undersea world of Bikini Bottom was a realm like no other, real or fictional.

SpongeBob can play his nose like a flute and could not possibly be happier to work his fastseafood job of flipping Krabby Patties.

But he has his troubles, too.

He constantly fails his boatdriving test, forcing his frightened blowfish teacher to inflate.

In one episode he suffers a broken butt and is afraid to leave his pineapple home for days.

“I don’t want to face my fears,” SpongeBob, voiced by Tom Kenny, says in another episode. “I’m afraid of them!”

Kenny presented Hillenburg with a special honour at the Daytime Emmy Awards in April, and said in his speech that Hillenburg himself is the embodiment of his main character.

“SpongeBob’s vocal cords might be mine,” Kenny said.

“But SpongeBob’s playful spirit of gentle anarchy, his humour and the joy he takes in his vibrant, colorful, music-filled world come directly, directly, 100 per cent from my good buddy, Mr. Stephen Hillenburg.”

Born at his father’s army post in Lawton, Oklahoma, Hillen-

burg graduated from Humboldt State University in California in 1984 with a degree in natural resource planning with a marine emphasis, and went on to teach marine biology at the Orange County Marine Institute.

While there he drew a comic, “The Intertidal Zone,” that he used as a teaching tool. It featured anthropomorphic ocean creatures that were precursors to the characters on “SpongeBob.” Hillenburg shifted to drawing and earned a master of fine arts degree in animation from the California Institute of the Arts in 1992.

He worked on the Nickelodeon show “Rocko’s Modern Life,” from 1993 to 1996 before he began to build SpongeBob’s universe, which showed off his knowledge of marine life and willingness to throw all the details out the window.

“We know that fish don’t walk,” he told the AP in 2001.

“And if you know much about sponges, you know that living sponges aren’t square.”

The show was an immediate hit that has lost no momentum in the nearly 20 years since its creation and helped define the culture of Nickelodeon.

“He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon,” the network’s statement said. “His utterly original characters and

Stephen Hillenburg.

CARLOS CAZURRO VIA TOON A VILLE / FLICKR, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”

Its nearly 250 episodes have won four Emmy Awards and led to an endless line of merchandise to rival any other pop cultural phenomenon of the 2000s.

“When you set out to do a show about a sponge, you can’t anticipate this kind of craze,” Hillenburg told the AP in 2002.

In 2004, the show shifted to the big screen with “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie” and a 2015 sequel, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.” David Bowie, Johnny Depp and Scarlett Johansson are among the dozens of major stars who provided guest voices to the show or movies.

Intensely involved in every aspect of the show initially, Hillenburg after the 2004 film stepped back into an execu-

tive producer role on the show, where he remained for the rest of his life.

A musical stage adaptation debuted on Broadway in 2017, with music from such stars as Steven Tyler, Sara Bareilles and John Legend. It earned 12 Tony Award nominations, including one for best performance by a leading actor for Ethan Slater.

“I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of Stephen Hillenburg,” Slater said in an email Tuesday. “Through working on ‘SpongeBob,’ I got to know him not only as a creative genius, but as a truly generous and kind person. He warmly embraced us on Broadway as the newest members of his wonderful ‘SpongeBob’ family, and made it so clear from the get-go why he is so beloved: genuine kindness.”

Hillenburg is survived by his wife of 20 years Karen Hillenburg, son Clay, mother Nancy Hillenburg, and a brother, Brian Kelly Hillenburg. ■

Ben & Ben & Ben? Rowell Santiago completes ‘triplets’

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer WHILE IT is not rare for artists in show business and the music industry (even in the indie scene) to meet because of the overlap of their celebrity worlds, amusement is in the air when a certain meet-up feels like some sort of a family reunion.

Lead artists of the indie folkpop band Ben&Ben, twins Paolo Benjamin Guico and Miguel Benjamin Guico are already dubbed as ‘cute’ by netizens who find their interaction and teasing online and offline endearing. Indeed they are more than just “two

identical faces” as apart from the talents they display when they take the stage, their relationship as brothers is another thing that their fans are fond of.

Adding one more look-a-like did not seem so possible aside from having a mirror, until actordirector Rowell Santiago – totally not a “Ben” – meets them, and this cuteness is bad for the heart!

In an Instagram post that Rowell posted on Monday, November 26, he could not help but caption it with “I finally found them,” as if he just met his long lost twin boys or even twin brothers.

Sporting a pair of spectacles that coincidentally seemed to be similar to the glasses frames

DIREKROWELL/ INSTAGRAM

of the twins, Rowell firstly took a selfie with Miguel, then another with the two. They say that you look exactly like seven other persons in the world, and looks like with this meeting, the www.canadianinquirer.net

twins just need to find six more.

Adding the hashtag #wearefamily made online users adore the lead singers of the band and the director more.

Poking fun on the evident

identical features of the three despite not sharing the same blood, the post by Rowell was filled with comments of laughter.

Instagram user @cams.n could not help but comment, “you could pass as their dad!”

Meanwhile, @gienmoto wrote, “Mr. President ’di ka po nagsasabi triplets po pala kayo (you did not even tell us that you guys are triplets),” referring to his role as President Oscar Hidalgo in the long-running television drama “Ang Probinsyano.”

Another user also pointed, “This is probably the only picture I’ve seen of them smiling.

They’re usually poker-faced,” according to @supermommeye. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

25

Wacky-go-lucky on the runway: Maymay on Arab Fashion Week

BY ARLNIE COLLEENE TALAIN SINGCA Philippine Canadian Inquirer FROM A photo shoot in a weekly task in Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Lucky Season 7 last 2016, to walking on the catwalk of the Arab Fashion Week last November 22, Maymay Entrata did not fail to amaze the fashion industry with her natural modelling skills.

Dubbed as the “Wacky-go-lucky ng (of ) Cagayan de Oro,” Marydale Entrata, or most commonly known as “Maymay,” first charmed the Filipinos with her bubbly attitude in the Filipino version of the reality show Big Brother. Maymay easily caught the hearts of the viewers as she bared her honest self on national TV – eventually causing her to win and earn the Big Winner title.

Even before entering the PBB house on August 2016, Maymay’s dream has always been to become a professional model. In a tweet posted by @mbchavez, a MayWard (Maymay and her fellow PBB housemate Edward Baber’s love team) fan account, are the photos of Maymay’s old modeling application form and her official invitation to the Arab Fashion Week from Amato Couture – with the caption quoting Maymay’s answer from the application form which says “To become a professional model.”

The 21-year-old model first showcased her skills in modelling in a weekly task inside the PBB house called Ms. Teen PBB, wherein the teen lady housemates competed with each other in a pageant. As a part of the weekly task, the candidates did a photo shoot – where Maymay easily caught the attention of not just fashion enthusiasts but even normal viewers. A lot of people online commented at how Maymay magically transformed from the quirky probinsyana (girl from the province) to a professional high fashion model. The playful girl who only wears a casual shirt and a pair of jeans with her messy ponytail, bloomed into a professional model in her designer outfits and glammed up hairstyle and makeup. Many people say that being a model looked so natural on Maymay because of her frame that seemed to be fit for a model.

After being hailed as the season’s Big Winner and coming back to the outside world, Maymay’s career as a model boomed as if it was just an opportunity all along waiting for her to come out of the famous yellow house. The next thing fans know, she’s already on the covers of the magazines all over the Philippines.

It was Inside Showbiz Weekly who got to feature her solo magazine cover debut on March 2017. Maymay definitely

slayed her first ever solo cover, rocking a simple but elegant black velvet turtle neck, matched with a very natural morena makeup accentuating her special features like the eyes and lips, with her shiny black hair flowing down to her neck.

And it was just one of the many, she has posed for the magazines like Meg, Mega, Metro, and many more. Sometimes she appears on a magazine cover alone, and sometimes she’s being featured with her best friend and also a PBB housemate Kisses Delavin. Of course, there were those also with her on-screen partner Edward.

One of her biggest magazine covers came on June of this year, where she posed for the fashion magazine Mega alongside with some of the biggest female stars: Maja Salvador, Erich Gonzales, Nadine Lustre, Janella Salvador, Julia Barretto, Elisse Joson, Gabbi Garcia, and Kisses – all wearing a Furne One creation.

Maymay is also one of the biggest stars who endorse the local clothing line Bench. Last August, Maymay graced in the clothing line’s Bench OJ Dailyware fashion show – where she was noticed by the American TV personality and former model Tyra Banks, who is one of her favorite runway models. Tyra apparently liked a video posted of Maymay walking on the runway of the said event posted by the official Twitter account of Bench.

Many netizens urge the young Kapamilya to join the famous reality TV show Asia’s Next Top Model. In fact, Maymay has also made it to the Wishlist of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 6 (AsNTM6).

On their official Facebook account, AsNTM6 said “Maymay Entrata has what it takes to be Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 6 contender. This young Filipina celebrity and grand winner of a reality show, Pinoy Big Brother, can slay like a pro! Check out her portfolio in this gallery,” and attached is an album of some of Maymay’s photo shoots.

With all the successful modelling projects laid down before her, PBB’s “Wacky-go-lucky” totally emerged to an international catwalk model as she was invited by Furne One to model for his collection on the Arab Fashion Week – marking history as the First Filipino celebrity to walk in the Arab Fashion Week.

Furne is the founder of the Arab brand Amato Couture and has dressed international personalities such as Beyonce, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande, and Pia Wurtzbach. In an exclusive interview with Gulf News before the event, Furne said, “Her [Maymay] being real and being different is what I like about her. Before, [models were] stereotyped as tall, blue-eyed, blonde. But

Maymay takes the Arab Fashion Week runway.

now, it’s more on diversity, it’s more on being different, it’s about the character.”

When asked by the news outlet about Furne’s creations, Maymay said, “What I like the most about Furne’s creations is that when you wear them, you feel like a princess. You even feel like a queen. It’s very elegant. I really love Furne’s gowns and it’s very unique.”

@STARMAGICPHILS / INSTAGRAM

And true to her words, Maymay graced the Arab catwalk like a queen – earning a loud cheer from the crowd from the moment she appeared on the runway. Her performance, as seen on @starmagicphils Instagram account, was perfected with the combination of her natural modelling aura, and Furne’s elegant collection. ■

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26

Lifestyle Zamboanga City’s ‘Motherly Yours’

BY REY-LUIS BANAGUDOS Philippine News Agency ZAMBOANGA CITY — The title of Lilia Macrohon-Nuno’s weekly radio program, “Motherly Yours,” is an appropriate and authentic description of her as an exceptional civic and community leader and benefactress of this city.

As a woman Muslim convert, her genuine leadership is testimony of the liberal type of Islam in the Philippines, in contrast to many countries where majority of Muslim women are relegated to supine roles.

At present, she is the executive vice-president of the national federation of Rural Improvement Club, one of the four major sectors of the Department of Agriculture (DA), as well as its Zamboanga chapter president.

Before that, she was the federation’s national president, a two-term city councilor, and one-term congresswoman. Before becoming a politician, she was for some 30 years a personnel and eventually regional manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Zamboanga region.

The agency’s humanitarian and social responsibility programs sharpened her sensitivities to the plight of people in dire need of help. By the time she retired from PCSO in 2006, she had established a reputation as a civic mother for the sick and neglected indigents of the city and archipelagic and peninsular region.

“I just love helping people,” Nuno said. “I am now 77 years old, and I have no plan to stop

anytime soon my civic and community assistance work and advocacies.”

She was first elected as city councilor in 2007, and it was during her incumbency that she launched her radio program to better reach out to her constituents.

In her program, which still runs to this day, she “discusses issues of the day, and conditions and affairs related to basic services.”

She walked her talk — as local and later national legislator — regularly sponsoring medical missions to poor communities around the city’s 98 barangay, with special attention to the many Muslim island villages.

“I easily connect with my Muslim constituents since I speak Sama,” she said.

She married into the prominent Nuno clan, whose patriarch was once vice-mayor of the city. Her family provided shelter in Taluksangay to many Sama and Badjao internallydisplaced families who were victims of the 2013 Zamboanga Siege.

The evacuee families now have comfortable homes built by government, with basic utilities like electricity and water and education in the village school.

Coastal Barangay Taluksangay, famous for its beautiful mosque, is her clan’s ancestral enclave.

In nearby Sitio Gapu, Nuno has a farm where, for years, she has indulged in vegetable farming — usually experimenting on how to grow successfully.

Sometime during her political stint, she realized that she “can do it, raise vegetables, why

Lilia Macrohon-Nuno visiting product expo. PNA

don’t I teach other women and farmers what I learned?”

That’s what she did to eventually create a name for herself in the Rural Improvement Club (RIC) national community.

The RIC caters to women projects aimed at raising their family’s welfare. Through RIC, she has been responsible for training hundreds of women to go into organic farming or livelihood projects like food processing, including making sausages, tapas, preserved anchovies, among others.

Now and then, the local RIC has been able to generate seed capital for these women entrepreneurs lent to them on a turn-key basis, she says.

In a far-off rural barangay of the city, she tapped farmers to grow bana grass for an ethynol fuel project in partnership with a foreign party, who failed eventually to put up his investment share.

www.canadianinquirer.net

She has since tapped the expertise of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and now the farm is making charcoal brickets from the plants — work and income for the farmers there.

She has also been notable for openly opposing the conversion of agricultural lands into use for industrial and housing projects.

When she was congresswoman from 2013 to 2016, she facilitated many scholarships for local college students. Her own family has been strong in that class of philanthropy, continuing until today.

As she goes around the city these latter days to pursue her advocacies, she is frequently approached by young professionals who tell her they were her scholars.

“That warms my heart, makes me happy,” she said.

Only a month ago, she do-

nated a 200-square meter lot to the mixed-culture barangay of Mampang, located in the suburb of the city, for the construction of a new and better day-care center.

“Years ago, I visited the barangay’s dilapidated day-care center there, whose Badjao teacher’s zeal impressed me,” she said.

The teacher grew up as an orphan but managed to go to school, then she raised her four children and sent them to school and now two of them are professionals, she recounts.

The Badjao mom has been running the day care center all these years, out of compassion for Badjao children, she says.

Compassion knows when it meets another compassion, and that in sum has made Nuno into the kind-hearted and hardworking achiever that she is today. ■

Lifestyle

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

For same sex couples, a new path to legal parenthood

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER The Associated Press BOSTON — When Sara Watson’s partner got pregnant with their son through in vitro fertilization, they were overjoyed.

Then the fear came.

They weren’t married, so Watson had no legal rights as Eli’s parent even though her eggs were used to conceive him with donor sperm. If the worst happened, Watson wondered, would she even be able to bring their baby home from the hospital?

“There was this possibility that if something were to happen to Anna, my son could end up in foster care and I hadn’t done anything wrong,” Watson said from their home in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Three years after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that gave same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide , a patchwork of outdated state laws governing who can be a legal parent presents obstacles for many LGBTQ couples who start a family, lawyers say.

But things are beginning to change. A simple hospital form that has long been off limits to same-sex couples because it only had room for the “mother” and “father” are now gender-neutral in some states. That means samesex partners in Massachusetts, Vermont and Nevada — and soon in California and Washington state — can quickly and easily secure their parental rights with the form rather than having to spend thousands of dollars in court to get an adoption.

“Kids need to be secured to their parents and we’re not getting the job done right now,” said Patience Crozier, an attorney with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders. “Some states are and that’s incredibly powerful and we need to keep moving in that direction,” Crozier said.

Since the 2015 gay marriage ruling, same-sex couples have won some big legal victories in the arena of parental rights, like when the high court ordered Arkansas to list both samesex spouses on their children’s birth certificates last year.

But differing state laws still means same-sex partners who

Gifts for the food, drink and coffee lover in your life

BY ELIZABETH KARMEL The Associated Press FOR THE foodie on your holiday list — or just people who might appreciate a good tequila or pie pan — we offer a gift guide. It’s got coffee machines, books, chocolate truffles and a fabulous tote to carry it all away.

didn’t give birth can be a legal parent at home but a legal stranger to their child if they move or go on a trip, lawyers say.

And the situation is even more complicated for unmarried LGBTQ couples who have children.

To guarantee their parental rights are protected across the country, many advocates encourage same-sex partners to go through with second-parent adoptions, even if they’re married and both their names are on the birth certificate. Without an adoption, the partner who didn’t give birth to the child can find themselves in a lengthy and costly custody dispute if the couple breaks up or something happens to the biological mother, lawyers say.

Adoptions, however, can cost thousands of dollars and take months. And many couples choose not to because they view it as invasive and offensive that they would have to adopt their own child, said Cathy Sakimura, deputy director and family law director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

“For a lot of couples that are less well-off, they just don’t bother to do it and if there is a break up or a dispute or whatever, the non-biological partner can wind up completely out of luck,” said Washington state Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat who pushed the bill to overhaul the state’s parenting laws.

Now advocates hope that will be a thing of the past for many same-sex couples, thanks to the hospital form that has long been used by unmarried heterosexual couples to establish who the legal father is. When an unmarried woman gives birth, the man signs a “voluntary ac-

knowledgement of paternity” form at the hospital and files it with the state to get on the child’s birth certificate and obtain the equivalent of a court order declaring him the dad.

Now that the form will be gender-neutral in several states, same-sex partners can also establish their parental rights in certain cases, like if were the intended parent of a child born through assisted reproductive technology, such as IVF. In Massachusetts, only unmarried couples can use the form, while married couples can in other states.

“Everybody who gives birth can sign it for free. It should have the force of a court order in every state. That is going to have a huge impact on the recognition of parents in the future,” Sakimura said.

In Rhode Island, which hasn’t updated its laws, Watson and her partner, Anna Ford, were told they couldn’t sign the form when Ford gave birth in 2016 because Watson wasn’t a man.

So until Watson’s adoption of Eli was finalized eight months later, she had no legal link to him, creating logistical complications and fear, they said. Watson couldn’t add him to her life insurance policy and needed written permission from Ford just to pick him up from day care, she said.

“It can’t be emphasized how degrading this process has been,” Ford said. “In Psych 101, they teach you how important it is for your kid to feel safe and secure and we were walking around feeling the opposite of that and yet trying to emanate this sense of security for our son,” she said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

27

For the entertainers

Opinel Cheese Knife and Fork Set , $45: Opinel is an iconic French knife maker. They are recognized and famous for their picnic “pocket” knife which is made the same way today as it was in 1890 when Joseph Opinel invented it. This compact set of an interlocking fork and cheese knife is made from stainless steel and a blond beech-wood handle. The set of two is perfect for anyone who entertains and loves cheese— which pretty much means all of us!

JK Adams Cherry Cheese Server with Double Handles, $75 plus: If you are a fan of cheese and charcuterie boards, this JK Adams Cherry Cheese Server is a must have. JK Adams is located in Dorset, VT, and has been making highquality wood products for 72 years. The cheese server is beautifully made from a solid piece of cherry wood and sports handles on either side for easy transport. The burnished edges give it a more finished look and the teak oil finish brings out the natural beauty of the wood. A gift giving plus is that the board can be personalized with either initials or a custom message for a small upcharge. This is a great holiday gift and a special way to commemorate a milestone.

Lodge Heat-Treated Mini Triangle Server, $16 each: The best thing about these triangle mini-server cast iron dishes from Lodge is that they are preseasoned and—hold your hat— dishwasher safe! But besides that, I love the triangular shape that lets you fit this dish into small spaces on a table. Finally, you can have lots of little dishes filled with nibbles and not be

concerned that your dishes are too big for your bar or coffee table. They are also oven-safe as all cast iron is, and you can bake the cutest individual wedges of cornbread, cobblers, pie, pot pies or cornbread-topped chili.

Because each dish is triangular, you can bake the individual portions and present them in all kinds of shapes.

Cristel Tulipe 8-Piece Saucepan Set with 1 Long Black Handle , $299 for the set: Cristel, made in France and designed by a former Peugeot car engineer, is sleek and functional.

The heavy-duty stainless-steel cookware is tailor-made for conserving space and small kitchens with detachable handles, and pots and pans that nest inside each other. The handles are removable, and also come in fun colours (those are sold separately). More importantly, Cristel performs masterfully. The bottom of every piece has a thick base of heatconducting metal that works on any stove including induction.

This is the best stainless-steel cookware that I have used. You would think all this comes with a steep price tag. And you would be right, except that now Cristel is making a new collection exclusively for Home Depot. The collection is charmingly called “Tulipe” referring to the slight outer curve on the bottom of the pan.

For the spirits lover

Herradura Selection Suprema Extra Anejo Tequila, 750 ml bottle $295-$412: First introduced in 1995, Selection Suprema is reported to be the first extraanejo or “extra aged” tequila in the industry. It is distilled twice and aged in American white oak barrels for four years before being bottled. When you pour the extra anejo into the glass, you first notice the deep amber colour that is produced naturally—no caramel coloring is added. Next, you smell a floral freshness and caramelized sugars from the cooked agave. Finally, you taste the soft, round, rich flavours of vanilla ❱❱ PAGE 28 Gifts for

28

Lifestyle

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

Gifts for... ❰❰ 27

and dried fruit with a spicy finish. This complex extra-aged tequila will appeal to any fan of smooth high-end brown spirits.

Paradiso by El Tesoro, 750 mL bottle $119.99: Paradiso is a mash up of Mexican tequila production and French cognac blending. The herbal nose gives way to scents of caramel and butterscotch, and the flavour is sweet and oaky with a smooth elegant finish that you would expect from tequila that has been aged for five years in cognac barrels. This is a tequila that you want to sip on after dinner or on a cozy day when time is on your side.

Volcan De Mi Tierra Blanco, 750 mL bottle $45: Volcan De Mi Tierra (a.k.a. land of volcano) is one of the newest members of the super-premium tequila club. Born at the foot of the Tequila volcano, the volcanic land provides rich soil and a sense of history for this new brand. The distillery combines old-world traditions with contemporary technique and mixes 75 per cent slow-roasted lowlands agave with 25 per cent highlands agave. The mixture is distilled twice, once in a copper still, and once in a stainless-steel still where it rests for a month before being bottled. All that is to say, that the result is a perfectly balanced, fresh, fruity, clean and slightly floral spirit that you can sip on all night long.

Riedel Ouverture Tequila Glasses , $29 for a pair: If you are a fan of wine and spirits, you know that George Riedel has devoted his life to creating glassware that enhances the wine and spirit. The glass is reminiscent of a champagne flute and it does make a difference both in the taste and the enjoyment of sipping tequila. This is the perfect glass to use with any sipping tequilas, or any others that you like to sip neat—no ice allowed.

For the reader

“The Best Cook in the World: Tales from my Momma’s Table,”

by Rick Bragg ($28.95): “Good food always has a good story and a recipe is a story like anything else,” writes Rick Bragg.

And, he has captured the essence of his family’s story and the food on their table in this food memoir with recipes. The central character of the book is Rick’s momma, Margaret. The story is like peeking through

the window into his family history. This is a book that will be a welcome gift for fans of Rick Bragg, working-class Southern food, and for those interested in the way life used to be when you grew and caught much of your own food.

“At the Table with an American Original ,” Edna Lewis, $28: Edna Lewis (1916-2006) is an almost mythical food figure and had always seemed somewhat intangible to me. Described as elegant by everyone who knew her, she was born and raised in Freetown, Virginia, in a selfsustaining farming community of emancipated slaves—this is the food and the life that is reflected in her most acclaimed books. This book of essays helps to anchor her contributions to American, and more specifically regional southern foodways.

The book, compiled and edited

by Sara B. Franklin, provides stories and insights from people who knew her and/or people who have been captivated by her writing and researched her.

“The Month of their Ripening: North Carolina Heritage Foods through the Year ,” Georgann Eubanks, $28: If you are a fan of both history and Southern food, or curious about the way that seasonal foods create a culture, this book is a must. It is written in the style of an oral history with vignettes of North Carolinians who are tied to these iconic foods. They are either continuing the traditions that their forebears passed down— or remembering them with wistful nostalgia. The book is organized by month, and each month is a chapter that features one iconic North Carolina ingredient. The stories will either bring back memories or teach you something new.

For the baker

Baking Steel, $89: Pretty much everyone loves pie, and this is the season for pie. But many pies need to be baked twice and that is a deterrent for even the most patient bakers. Blind-baking pre-bakes the crust so that it is not a mushy mess in the bottom of the pan, under the filling. But now, you can bake pies on the Baking Steel and eliminate the need to pre-bake your crust. Made from low-carbon steel, Andris Lagsdin created the baking steel because he wanted to make a better pizza without building a

wood-fire oven.

You preheat the oven with the steel inside for an hour before baking and then place your pie plate directly on the Baking Steel— if you are baking a fruit pie or a pie that might overflow while baking, I would put a piece of parchment paper or foil on the Baking Steel just to make the clean-up easier. You can also bake pizza and bread directly on the Baking Steel and, you can use it on your grill as well.

Revol Les Naturals SoftCream Pie Pan, $59.99: If you bake, you probably collect baking pans. Many of my favourite pans are made by Revol. Revol is the creator of the original French porcelain and makes bakeware, serving pieces and even coffee cups that are both beautiful, functional and easy to clean. This 9-inch porcelain pie dish from Revol is the perfect pie-pan upgrade for your favourite baker. This is a perfect pie pan because it is 9 inches wide and a perfect 1.5 inches deep. The cream-colored culinary porcelain pie dish comes in a gift box that is so durable that I use it to store my pie pan.

Heirloom Wrap Food Carriers from Millie/Lottie Totes, $40$56: Jan Hammock created the pie/cake/food carriers in honour of her southern mother Millie and her aunt Lottie—thus the name of the company. She carried food all of her life to dinners, potlucks and the like and finally in 2015 made a better food carrier for herself. She combined the southern tradition of wrapping food in a tea towel with the prettier ornamental tradition of Japanese Furoshiki, the centuries-old tradition of wrapping objects in fabric. It is a beautiful way to present a gift or carry food. It is also an easy “bag” to keep in your car or purse for trips to the farmers market www.canadianinquirer.net

and other shopping excursions.

The fabric also conforms to the shape of the dish instead of the other way around.

For the coffee lover

Illy X1 iperEspresso Anniversary 1935 Machine , $595: Years ago, espresso machines were cumbersome and messy but that all changed with the coffee pod, or capsules as Illy calls them. In honour of the 20th anniversary of the Francis Francis X1 machine, a special edition multi-beverage machine was designed. Now you can make espresso, cappuccino, regular coffee and lattes at home with one machine. Two types of capsules are available for the machine; one for espresso and one for brewed coffee. Both capsules comes in medium roast and dark roast. Espresso is also available in decaf, long espresso and three single origin varietals.

Cuisinart Cold Brew Machine, $99.95: These days, cold brew is better known as the ultimate iced coffee and loved because it is less acidic, and has a sweeter more citrusy quality. It also never tastes burnt. There are a lot of cold brew gadgets out there but most of them address the filtering process and don’t cut down on the time it takes to make. The Cuisinart Cold Brew Machine is an exception. In 45 minutes, it extracts all the flavour from the ground coffee and you have iced coffee ready when you are.

If you like a lighter coffee, it will take even less time. For comparison, the refrigerator method generally takes 12-24 hours. The machine looks like a traditional coffee maker, and has three separate filters which reduce the mess and the grittiness of the old-fashioned method.

For the chocolate lover

Hebel & Co. Chocolate Halva,

$12 for a 6.3 ounce bloc: Hebel & Co.’s chocolate halva is created with chocolate lovers in mind and it fully compliments the tahini. Robust 70 per cent cocoa chocolate ribbons through the tahini base and is so full of flavour that you taste chocolate first and sesame second. My favourite thing about the candy is that before it melts into a creamy confection, there is a whisper of a crunch as you bite into it and that flakiness gives you an appealing texture before it melts in your mouth and ends with the most delicious, almost savory flavour. It is the definition of balance—sweet, savory, full of texture. Just right.

La Madison du Chocolat “Bien Etre” Wellness Vegan Chocolate Gift Box, $34: If anyone could make a delicious vegan chocolate that didn’t trade down in any respect to quality, flavour or texture, it is La Maison du Chocolat. The box comes with a beautiful colour brochure that guides you through each fruit-infused chocolate as you sample them. The “Grenade” pomegranate literally tastes like pomegranate seeds bursting with fresh juice ending with a tart finish. The Mango Curcuma mixes mango and turmeric in a softer way with hints of mango, and turmeric but more dark chocolate forward. Other flavours in the box are Praline Squash Seeds, Green Apple Aloe Vera and Peach Propolis—and all are pure luxury. The chocolates are all gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free.

Milene Jardine Chocolates “Live by Love” 5-piece Chocolate Truffle Collection, $18: The flavours of Milene Jardine Chocolates are each influenced by a favourite place visited by its creator, for whom the chocolate company is named. The truffles are delicate and welldesigned with the silkiest centre textures. The combination of flavours tell a story but even if you don’t know the story, you will enjoy the chocolates. The 5-piece collection is a great gift and a nice way to be introduced to Milene Jardine. When you open the box, you first encounter a folded paper program that explains the flavours, their origins and their inspirations.

For example, the Harvey Wallbanger flavour is a tribute to her grandfather’s Harvey Wallbanger cake, and their home in New York City. ■

29

Sports Tamaraw Arvin Tolentino pays homage to both FEU, ADMU for UAAP experience

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer GRADUATING SENIOR Arvin Tolentino may have completed his University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 run with the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, but he did not hesitate to also thank the school that started his collegiate career, Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU).

Tolentino initially made headlines after his squad fell to Ateneo into entering the season’s championship last Sunday, November 25, as he joined the blue eagles in singing their hymn after the game. According to Tolentino, he had “mixed emotions,” saying, “It was our last game and not the way we want to end our UAAP career.

But of course, we’ll take it. It is what it is,” adding, “I was with Ateneo also for two years and they also cheered for me before so I’m thankful to them.”

On Tolentino’s Twitter, he shared his goodbye to “one hell of a crazy ride.” In his words, “Had a lot of ups and downs, but I’ll take it and move for-

ward as I always do. Learned a lot from my time in the UAAP and I’m very thankful to the Lord for giving me this opportunity.” He concluded, “As my journey in the UAAP comes to an end, one thing is for sure.

I will continue to Be Brave in this One Big Fight of life,” implementing both FEU and ADMU’s slogans.

In 2014, Tolentino was a highly-talked about recruit coming out of San Beda University’s high school. During his first year with the Blue Eagles, he received the Rookie of the Year award averaging 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds. The following season, his numbers dropped to 5.1 points and 2.4 boards per game, until Season 79 when he had to drop out of the Katipunan-university due to academics, eventually being taken in by FEU. After his exit out of collegiate basketball, Tolentino was asked about his upcoming steps moving forward, the 22-year old answering that he is “still undecided,” stating, “Me, my family, and my agent – we still need to talk about what’s next.” ■

Pinoy fighters win big in ONE championship

BY IVAN STEWART SALDAJENO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Despite a two-year layoff, Brandon Vera showed on Friday night that he can still pack a punch and still be the heavyweight champion.

Vera made a triumphant return to ONE Championship by knocking out Mauro Cerilli in the main event of “ONE: Conquest of Champions,” held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Vera needed barely a minute to finish off Cerilli. Cerilli missed out on a huge right hook, and Vera capitalized on it by connecting on a left hook of his own that sent the former down for good, forcing the referee to stop the contest at the 1:04 mark of the very first round.

Vera moves up to 21-6 overall.

Back as lightweight champ

Eduard Folayang is a world mixed martial arts champion again.

Folayang reclaimed the erstwhile vacant ONE lightweight belt after beating Singaporean opponent Amir Khan in the comain event of ONE. A year after he lost the belt to Martin Nguyen, who eventually relinquished it right at the same venue, Folayang took back the belt with an impressive performance against Khan.

Brandon Vera vs Mauro Cerilli.

Folayang began taking over in Round 2, foiling Khan’s aerial strike and converting it into a takedown, even going on a ground-and-pound action.

He again took down Khan in Round 3 while aggravating a cut under the latter’s right eye, which slowed him down the rest of the way. Folayang eventually won via unanimous decision.

Folayang became the fourth member of Team Lakay to win a ONE Championship belt this year, joining straw-weight champ Joshua Pacio, flyweight champ Geje Eustaquio, and bantamweight champ Kevin Belingon.

Banario edges Indian rival

Honorio Banario bounced back from his stinging defeat against Amir Khan last September with a victory over India’s Rahul Raju in one of the matches.

Banario survived Raju’s ground game and even came

ONE CHAMPIONSHIP / WEBSITE

close to a submission in some occasions before taking the unanimous decision win.

He delivered the crisper strikes on Raju in Round 1, but it was his newfound brilliance on the ground that made the difference in the last two rounds.

Banario got out easily off Raju’s early Round 2 takedown, and after some more strikes, got two chances at submitting Raju via armbar that the latter survived.

Raju got another chance at turning the tides early into Round 3 as he scored another quick takedown on Banario.

However, Banario once again got out of the takedown and even delivered a rear naked choke on Raju, only that the latter was just saved by the bell.

Bactol falls to Fujisawa

Meanwhile, Rockie Bactol ❱❱ PAGE 31 Pinoy fighters

PH to host record-breaking 56 games at 2019 SEA Games

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer AFTER A meeting in Manila last Saturday, November 24, the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) has decided to include a total of 56 sports happening in the biennial tournament happening from November 30 to December 10 in the Philippines in 2019.

This is the most amount of sports to ever be included in the SEA Games, the initial list submitted to Manila only consisting of 30 activities. The biggest SEA Games so far was hosted by Indonesia in 2011 at 44 sports, followed by 2018 at 38 sports hosted by Kuala Lumpur.

Philippine Olympic Committee chair Abraham Tolentino initially announced the news during the meeting at Conrad

Hotel in Pasay City, concluding, “It’s final. We’re looking at the biggest hosting of the SEA Games,” adding, “Some of the council members are saying that with what they have seen, we are ready.”

Secretary-General of Singapore National Olympic Council Chris Chan is very appreciative of “the generosity of the Philippines” to be giving this amount of opportunity for varying www.canadianinquirer.net

sports, stating, “The hosts have been very magnanimous, and have included all the sports that we have appealed for to be at next year’s Games. Including some of these sports makes no sense to them because they have very little chance of winning a medal, but they have put them on the list anyway, and we are grateful.”

The final list of events will be announced by the Filipino

hosts on December 15, who are promoting the upcoming SEA Games theme “We Win as One.” There will be six different venues around the country for the 56 games, namely, Clark, Subic, Metro Manila, Batangas, La Union, and Tagaytay. The last time the country hosted was in 2005, where they got the most medals at 112 golds, 85 silvers, and 93 bronzes. ■

30

Business Dolce&Gabbana fiasco shows importance, risks of China market

BY KEN MORITSUGU AND COLLEEN BARRY The Associated Press BEIJING — Don’t mess with China and its growing cadre of powerful luxury consumers.

Dolce&Gabbana learned that lesson the hard way when it faced a boycott after Chinese expressed outrage over what were seen as culturally insensitive videos promoting a major runway show in Shanghai and subsequent posts of insulting comments in a private Instagram chat.

The company blamed hackers for the anti-Chinese insults, but the explanation felt flat to many and the damage was done.

The Milan designers cancelled the Shanghai runway show, meant as a tribute to China, as their guest list of Asian celebrities quickly joined the protests.

Then, as retailers pulled their merchandise from shelves and powerful e-commerce sites deleted their wares, co-founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana went on camera — dwarfed against the larger backdrop of an ornate red wall-covering — to apologize to the Chinese people.

“We will never forget this experience, and it will definitely never happen again,” a solemnlooking Gabbana said in a video statement posted Friday on social media.

The apology video, and the sharp public backlash that demanded it, shows the importance of the Chinese market and the risks of operating in it.

More broadly, it highlights the huge and still-growing influence of China, a country that cannot be ignored as it expands economically, militarily and diplomatically.

These trends are intertwined in frequent outbursts of nationalist sentiment among consumers who feel slighted by foreign brands or their governments.

It’s not the first time a company has apologized, and it surely won’t be the last. MercedesBenz did so in February for

featuring a quote by the Dalai Lama on its Instagram account.

For Dolce&Gabbana, it could be mark the end of its growth in China, a crucial market for global luxury brands that it has cultivated since opening its first store in 2005 and where it now has 44 boutiques.

“I think it is going to be impossible over the next couple of years for them to work in China,” said Cary Cooper, a professor of organizational psychology and health at Manchester University in England. “When you break this kind of cultural codes, then you are in trouble.

The brand is now damaged in China, and I think it will be damaged in China until there is lost memory about it.”

That could shake Dolce&Gabbana’s financial health. The privately held company does not release its individual sales figures. But Chinese consumers are responsible for a third of all luxury spending around the globe, according to a recent study by Bain consultancy. That will grow to 46 per cent of forecast sales of an estimated 365 billion euros ($412 billion) by 2025, fueled by millennials and the younger Generation Z set, who will make a growing percentage of their purchases online.

“Without China, the hinterland for growth, D&G will obviously be in a weak competitive position and in danger of being eliminated,” the Chinese business magazine New Fortune said in a social media post Sunday.

“This is one of the major reasons why D&G finally lowered its head. They really cannot survive without the Chinese market.”

While Dolce&Gabbana has displayed a knack for social media engagement, inviting millennial influencers with millions of collective followers to sit in their front rows or walk in their shows, that engagement has been a double-edged sword.

Pop idol Karry Wang, who has drawn hundreds of screaming Chinese fans to the designer’s

Milan showroom for season runway shows, was one of the first to disavow the brand, saying he was ending his role as Asia-Pacific brand ambassador.

Dolce found himself on the defensive several years ago after Elton John lashed out for comments that suggested he did not support gay couples using surrogate mothers to have children.

At the time, more than 67,000 tweets urged #boycottdolcegabbana, while Courtney Love vowed to burn her Dolce&Gabbana garb and Martina Navratilova pledged to trash her D&G shirts.

Gabbana, who has 1.6 million Instagram followers, faced a more contained backlash earlier this year when he responded to a collage of Selena Gomez photos on Instagram with the comment, “She’s really ugly.”

Celebrities took to social media Wednesday to blast Dolce&Gabbana and said they would boycott the show, which was cancelled. By Thursday, the company’s goods had disappeared from major e-commerce websites. The prevailing sentiment was captured by an airport duty-free shop that posted a photo of its shelves emptied of D&G products: “We have to show our stance. We are proud to be Chinese.”

The rapid escalation into a public relations disaster was fueled by social media. Individuals posted videos of themselves cutting up or burning their Dolce&Gabbana clothes, or picking them up with chopsticks and putting them in the trash. A parody of the offending Dolce&Gabbana videos, which featured a Chinese woman using chopsticks to eat pizza and an oversized cannoli, shows a white man trying to eat Chinese food with a fork and knife.

At least three rap bands took up the cause with new songs.

“Companies that don’t respect us don’t deserve our respect,” Wang Zixin, team leader of CD Rev, a nationalist rap band, said by phone from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan www.canadianinquirer.net

Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana went on camera — dwarfed against the larger backdrop of an ornate red wall-covering — to apologize to the Chinese people.

SCREENSHOT FROM DOLCE & GABBANA / YOUTUBE

province. Its new song had been viewed more than 850,000 times on Weibo.

“We hope people will remember companies that have ever insulted China, and not forget about them when the fallout passes,” Wang said.

That sense of pride reflects a nationalism that has been encouraged by the government, often in disputes China has with other countries over other foreign products.

Sales by Japanese automakers plunged in 2012 amid tensions between islands both countries claim in the East China Sea. The clash also illustrated the complexity of Chinese sentiment: Industry analysts said buyers didn’t want to be seen in Japanese auto showrooms but went ahead with planned purchases once tensions had passed.

More recently, several foreign companies ran afoul of Beijing’s insistence that they explicitly refer to Taiwan, a selfgoverning territory, as part of China. Many complied, showing how important the Chinese market has become.

Delta, American and other airlines agreed to refer to Taiwan as part of China, and Zara now says “Taiwan, China” on its website after regulators criticized the fashion brand for calling Taiwan a country. Marriott announced it “respects and supports” China’s sovereignty after it was ordered to shut its China website for a week.

Actor Richard Gere, a supporter of the Dalai Lama, has

told The Hollywood Reporter that movie studios balk at hiring him for fear of an official or public backlash that might affect ticket sales in China.

It remains unclear whether the D&G mea culpa video will stop the backlash — or if it will have implications for Made-in-Italy at large. The scandal erupted as Italy’s high-end furniture and design companies were making an annual presentation in Shanghai and as Miu Miu, the Prada Group’s little sister line, showed its cruise line in Shanghai.

Italian designers have so far refrained from comment.

Italian commentators mused whether the Dolce&Gabbana protests were truly spontaneous or if there was some level of government control behind them. The government has publicly said the spat had no diplomatic element and would not comment.

“Anywhere in the world, an entrepreneur can make a mistake, use inappropriate language. Usually it is the consumers and the market to decide the seriousness of the offence,” the Milan daily Corriere della Sera wrote in a commentary. “Only in China is one forced to produce a humiliating video with public self-criticism, like in the time of Mao’s revolution. Now China feels powerful and is applying reeducation on a global scale.” ■ Barry reported from Milan.

AP journalists Joe McDonald and Dake Kang and researchers Henry Hou and Jiawei Chen contributed to this report.

Business

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

31

Why is IKEA overtaking Twitterverse?

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer WHEN THE world’s largest home furnishing retailer, IKEA, announced on Tuesday, November 20, that it will be building a new home in the Philippine market, many netizens cannot stop sharing stuff about it on Twitter — making the subject trend on the social media site.

But while many are excited about its opening in the country, there are various reasons why people are talking about it. Curious? Then here’s why IKEA is getting the public’s attention: It’s going to be HUGE

Occupying 65,000 square meters or at around 150 basketball courts in total — yeap, IKEA’s store in the Philippines to be launched in 2020 will be the biggest branch in the world to be located at the Mall of Asia complex, in between SMX Convention Center and SM MOA Arena.

Inside the IKEA Philippines are 9,000 “well-designed, functional home furnishing products” that, believe it or not, won’t hurt your wallet. Given that the store is going to be huge, perhaps you might get

OLLE SVENSSON / FLICKR, CC BY-ND 2.0

tired and hungry while you are looking for an item that perfectly fits your taste. If you are worried that you might be interrupted as you have to look for, maybe something to eat outside the store, fret not because IKEA Philippines will not just offer the entire living room settings, but also the popular Swedish meatballs that are making people go crazy about the opening. What more could you ask for?

Welcome to IKEA, doggos!

It is not only the big opening in the Philippines that made IKEA be the talk of the town be-

Pinoy fighters... ❰❰ 29

failed to hold on as he fell prey to Akihiro Fujisawa.

In a battle between the former competitors of the reality show, One Warrior Series, Bactol came just close to surviving Fujisawa’s ground game, bringing the fight to the scorecards.

However, Fujisawa found an opening to strike his ground-andpound game on Bactol, forcing Referee Olivier Coste to end the match with only 18 seconds remaining.

Bactol actually had a good start, but Fujisawa’s ground game proved to be brilliant in the rest of Round 1, even coming close to a leg submission.

Fujisawa’s dominance continued in Round 2 before he went for the finish late in Round 3.

Brazilian downs exheavyweight title contender

Brazil’s

Alexandre

Machado

cause its branch in Italy is also making noise on Twitterverse.

IKEA Italia melted the hearts of people all over the world when it was learned that the store went further from selling home furniture to its shoppers to actually providing a home to stray dogs.

One of IKEA Italia’s customers, Martine Taccia told The Dodo that these homeless dogs get daily food and pampering from the store’s employees and clients. Some of these cuties, she added, did not only find a safe place to stay in, but also their forever homes with the shoppers.

According to The Dodo,

IKEA has previously advocated for animals when it worked with Home for Hope in a campaign where they encourage “pet adoption” through placing cardboard cutouts of dogs in some parts of their stores.

Earning positive impression globally, many netizens are now encouraging other businesses to emulate IKEA’s kindness and compassion to animals.

Employees leaving IKEA?

While IKEA Philippines will be offering a lot of job opportunities to Filipinos once it opens, employees of the furniture giant in the United States (U.S.)

are “reporting an exodus” from the store, according to Business Insider.

The business site said they had talked to a group of five IKEA “coworkers” across three states, who all requested not to be named due to “fear of retribution.” Based on the report, these employees were not ‘satisfied’ with the new IKEA USwide policy called “organization for growth,” also known as “O4G,” which “restructured employee roles within the stores.” This policy was officially launched in October 2017 but was not yet applied at any nonUS-based IKEA stores.

Since “new roles” were established when the policy was announced, an employee told the media outlet that some of them were able to get a pay hike, while others did not. This is only one of the reasons why the policy drew a lot of dissent from several IKEA personnel.

An IKEA’s spokesperson, however, explained to Business Insider that the IKEA Retail US decided to roll out such policy “to change the way we were organized and the way we work together throughout our organization” in order for them to “meet” their customer’s expectations and “strengthen” their position in the US retail industry. ■

Metrobank founder passes away made a huge recovery in the second round to beat Japan’s Hideki Sekine.

Machado turned things around after Sekine, Brandon Vera’s last challenger for the ONE heavyweight belt, got his ground game going in Round 1 and forced him to concede after some ground-and-pound action in the next five minutes.

Sekine quickly used his brilliance in the grappling game, taking down Machado four times in a little over two minutes to start the contest.

However, Machado kept his poise to prevent the submission defeat.

In Round 2, Machado connected on three left hooks to the head of Sekine that shook the latter up.

He eventually sent Sekine down and used the ground-and-pound on him, forcing Referee Olivier Coste to stop the contest at the round’s 1:44 mark. ■

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer BUSINESS ICON George S.K. Ty, founder of one of the largest banks in the Philippines, died at the age of 86, the company announced on Friday, November 23.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved Founder and Group Chairman Dr. George S.K. Ty,” Metrobank said in a statement.

“He was surrounded by family and loved ones at the time,” it added.

The company did not disclose the cause of Ty’s death, but according to a report by Inquirer. net, the business icon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six months ago. www.canadianinquirer.net

It was in 1962 when Ty founded Metrobank, which is now the Philippines’ second-biggest bank. He expanded Metrobank internationally and transformed it to a diverse business conglomerate, with the group currently having 18 domestic subsidiaries, partners and affiliates in various industries and 32 foreign branches, subsidiaries and representative offices.

According to Forbes Magazine, Ty has a net worth of $2.8 billion, making him the ninth wealthiest Filipino on its 2018 list of 50 richest people in the country.

Ty, who was the group’s de facto chairman emeritus as early as 2008, was not only known for being a businessman but also a philanthropist.

The Metrobank founder received the 2017 Ramon V. Del

Rosario (RVR) award for Nation Building given by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Manila and the Asian Institute of Management’s (AIM) Center for Corporate Responsibility.

“His commitment to contribute to the Philippines’ economic prosperity as well as to nation-building will continue to be lived by the Group,” Metrobank vowed.

Memorial services for Ty will be held on November 25 at the Heritage Park in Taguig City.

Metrobank said donations to the Philippine National Red Cross, Catholic Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Caritas Filipinas Foundation and Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation will honor Ty’s “spirit of generosity and memory.” ■

32

Technology Gene edited baby claim by Chinese scientist sparks outrage

BY MARILYNN MARCHIONE The Associated Press HONG KONG — Scientists and bioethics experts reacted with shock, anger and alarm Monday to a Chinese researcher’s claim that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies.

He Jiankui of Southern University of Science and Technology of China said he altered the DNA of twin girls born earlier this month to try to help them resist possible future infection with the AIDS virus — a dubious goal, ethically and scientifically.

There is no independent confirmation of what He says he did, and it has not been published in a journal where other experts could review it. He revealed it Monday in Hong Kong where a gene editing conference is getting underway, and previously in exclusive interviews with The Associated Press.

Reaction to the claim was swift and harsh.

More than 100 scientists signed a petition calling for greater oversight on gene editing experiments.

The university where He is based said it will hire experts to investigate, saying the work “seriously violated academic ethics and standards.”

A spokesman for He said he has been on leave from teaching since early this year but remains on the faculty and has a lab at the university.

Authorities in Shenzhen, the

city where He’s lab is situated, about the lack of transparency also launched an investigation. around the work,” Zhang, a sciAnd Rice University in the entist at MIT’s Broad Institute, United States said it will in- said in a statement. Medical vestigate the involvement of advances need to be openly disphysics professor Michael cussed with patients, doctors, Deem. This sort of gene edit- scientists and society, he said. ing is banned in the U.S., though Doudna, a scientist at the Deem said he worked with He University of California, Berkeon the project in China. ley and one of the Hong Kong “Regardless of where it was conference organizers, said conducted, this work as de- that He met with her Monday to scribed in press reports violates tell her of his work, and that she scientific conduct guidelines and others plan to let him speak and is inconsistent with ethical at the conference Wednesday norms of the scientific commu- as originally planned. nity and Rice University,” the “None of the reported work school said in a statement. has gone through the peer reGene editing is a way to re- view process,” and the conwrite DNA, the code of life, to ference is aimed at hashing try to supply a missing gene out important issues such as that is needed or disable one whether and when gene editing that is causing problems. It is appropriate, she said. gates to broader practice,” Dalhas only recently been tried in Doudna is paid by the Howard ey said. adults to treat serious diseases. Hughes Medical Institute and Notre Dame Law School proEditing eggs, sperm or em- Zhang receives grant support fessor O. Carter Snead, a former bryos is different, because it from the organization, which presidential adviser on bioethmakes permanent changes that also supports AP’s Health & Sci- ics, called the report “deeply can pass to futroubling, if ture generations. true.”

Its risks are un“No matter known, and leadhow well ining scientists Not only do I see this as risky, but tentioned, this have called for a I am also deeply concerned about intervention is moratorium on the lack of transparency around the dangerous, units use except in work. ethical, and replab studies until resents a perilmore is learned. ous new moment They include in human hisFeng Zhang and Jennifer Doud- ence Department. tory,” he wrote in an email. na, inventors of a powerful but Another conference leader, “These children, and their chilsimple new tool called CRISPR- Harvard Medical School dean dren’s children, have had their cas9 that reportedly was used Dr. George Daley, said he wor- futures irrevocably changed on the Chinese babies during ries about other scientists try- without consent, ethical review fertility treatments when they ing this in the absence of regu- or meaningful deliberation.” were conceived. lations or a ban.

Concerns have been raised “Not only do I see this as risky, “I would be concerned if this about how He says he proceedbut I am also deeply concerned initial report opened the flood- ed, and whether participants

www.canadianinquirer.net

truly understood the potential risks and benefits before signing up to attempt pregnancy with edited embryos. He says he began the work in 2017, but he only gave notice of it earlier this month on a Chinese registry of clinical trials.

The secrecy concerns have been compounded by lack of proof for his claims. He has said the parents involved declined to be identified or interviewed, and he would not say where they live or where the work was done.

One independent expert even questioned whether the claim could be a hoax. Deem, the Rice scientist who says he took part in the work, called that ridiculous.

“Of course the work occurred,” Deem said. “I met the parents. I was there for the informed consent of the parents.” ■

Technology

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

Device treating pain draws thousands of injury reports

BY MITCH WEISS AND HOLBROOK MOHR The Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. — Desperate for relief after years of agony, Jim Taft listened intently as his pain management doctor described a medical device that could change his life.

It wouldn’t fix the nerve damage in his mangled right arm, Taft and his wife recalled the doctor saying, but a spinal-cord stimulator would cloak his pain, making him “good as new.”

Taft’s stimulator failed soon after it was surgically implanted. After an operation to repair it, he said, the device shocked him so many times that he couldn’t sleep and even fell down a flight of stairs. Today, the 45-year-old Taft is virtually paralyzed, a prisoner in his own bed, barely able to get to the bathroom by himself.

“I thought I would have a wonderful life,” Taft said. “But look at me.”

For years, medical device companies and doctors have touted spinal-cord stimulators as a panacea for millions of patients suffering from a wide range of pain disorders, making them one of the fastest-growing products in the $400 billion medical device industry. Companies and doctors aggressively push them as a safe antidote to the deadly opioid crisis in the U.S. and as a treatment for an aging population in need of chronic pain relief.

But the stimulators — devices that use electrical currents to block pain signals before they reach the brain — are more dangerous than many patients know, an Associated Press investigation found. They account for the third-highest number of medical device injury reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with more than 80,000 incidents flagged since 2008.

Patients report that they have been shocked or burned or have suffered spinal-cord nerve damage ranging from muscle weakness to paraplegia, FDA data shows. Among the 4,000 types of devices tracked by the FDA, only metal hip replacements and insulin pumps have

logged more injury reports.

The FDA data contains more than 500 reports of people with spinal-cord stimulators who died, but details are scant, making it difficult to determine if the deaths were related to the stimulator or implant surgery.

Medical device manufacturers insist spinal-cord stimulators are safe — some 60,000 are implanted annually — and doctors who specialize in these surgeries say they have helped reduce pain for many of their patients.

Most of these devices have been approved by the FDA with little clinical testing, however, and the agency’s data shows that spinal-cord stimulators have a disproportionately higher number of injuries compared to hip implants, which are far more plentiful.

The AP reported on spinal stimulators as part of a nearly yearlong joint investigation of the global medical devices industry that included NBC, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and more than 50 other media partners around the world. Reporters collected and analyzed millions of medical records, recall notices and other product safety warnings, in addition to interviewing doctors, patients, researchers and company whistleblowers.

The media partners found that, across all types of medical devices, more than 1.7 million injuries and nearly 83,000 deaths were reported to the FDA over the last decade.

The investigation also found that the FDA — considered by other countries to be the gold standard in medical device oversight — puts people at risk by pushing devices through an abbreviated approval process, then responds slowly when it comes to forcing companies to correct sometimes life-threatening products.

Devices are rarely pulled from the market, even when major problems emerge. And the FDA does not disclose how many devices are implanted in the U.S. each year — critical information that could be used to calculate success and failure rates.

The FDA acknowledges its data has limitations, including

mistakes, omissions and underreporting that can make it difficult to determine whether a device directly caused an injury or death. But it rejects any suggestion of failed oversight.

“There are over 190,000 different devices on the U.S. market. We approve or clear about a dozen new or modified devices every single business day,” Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, the FDA’s medical device director said at an industry conference in May. “The few devices that get attention at any time in the press is fewer than the devices we may put on the market in a single business day. That to me doesn’t say that the system is failing. It’s remarkable that the system is working as it does.”

In response to reporters’ questions, the FDA said last week that it was taking new action to create “a more robust medical device safety net for patients through better data.”

“Unfortunately, the FDA cannot always know the full extent of the benefits and risks of a device before it reaches the market,” the agency said. In the last 50 years, the medical device industry has revolutionized treatment for some of the deadliest scourges of modern medicine, introducing devices to treat or diagnose heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Pete Corby, who injured his back working as a movie stuntman, said a spinal-cord stimulator helped him deal with his constant pain and stop using the opioids he’d become dependent on.

“This is the greatest thing that saved my life, literally saved my life,” said Corby, estimating that up to three-quarters of his original pain was alleviated by the stimulator.

Medical device companies have “invested countless resources — both capital and human — in developing leadingedge compliance programs,” said Janet Trunzo, head of technology and regulatory affairs for AdvaMed, the industry’s main trade association.

At the same time, medical device makers also have spent billions to try to influence regulators, hospitals and doctors. ❱❱ PAGE 38 Device treating

www.canadianinquirer.net

33

Apple to tutor women in tech in bid to diversify industry

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is launching a new program designed to address the technology industry’s scarcity of women in executive and computer programming jobs.

Under the initiative announced Monday, female entrepreneurs and programmers will attend two-week tutorial sessions at the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters.

The camps will be held every three months beginning in January. For each round, Apple will accept up to 20 app makers founded or led by a woman.

The app maker must have at least one female programmer in its ranks to qualify. Apple will cover travel expenses for up to three workers from each accepted company.

Like other major tech companies, Apple has been trying to lessen its dependence on men in high-paying programming jobs. Women filled just 23 per cent of Apple’s technology jobs in 2017, according to the company’s latest breakdown . That’s only a slight improvement from 20 per cent in 2014, despite the company’s pledge to diversify its workforce.

The idea behind the new camp is to keep women interested and immersed in the field, said Esther Hare, Apple’s senior

director of world developer marketing.

Apple’s training camp is “a great step forward,” said Lorrain Hariton, CEO of Catalyst, a group that fights for equal rights for women workers.

“There a lot of talented women in technology. Hopefully, this helps set a tone for the entire industry.”

But it’s not clear how much of a dent Apple’s new program will make. Google also offers training for girls and women pursuing careers in technology, but its program hasn’t done much to diversify the workforce so far.

Women were hired for nearly 25 per cent of Google’s technology jobs in 2017, up from nearly 21 per cent in 2014, according to the company.

Apple and other technology companies maintain that one of the main reasons so many men are on their payrolls is that women traditionally haven’t specialized in the mathematical and science curriculum needed to program.

But industry critics have accused the technology companies of discriminating against women through a male-dominated hierarchy that has ruled the industry for decades.

Apple isn’t saying how much it is spending on the initiative, though beyond travel expenses, the company will be relying on its current employees to lead the sessions. ■

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

34

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Take children to and from school and appointments, travel with family if needed.

LUCKY SUPERMARKET 10628 King George Blvd, Surrey B.C is hiring all positions such as: store manager, grocery manager, produce manager, office administration, file maintenance clerk, head cashier, cook, BBQ chef, meat cutter, baker, bakery clerk, grocery clerk, frozen clerk, meat clerk, produce clerk, cashier, truck driver and kitchen helper.

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Electronic Technicians Needed Experience in Low Voltage Electrical System installation and Servicing Computers with Networking Email resume to suda@alarmboss.com Call 416-432-1902

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35

Travel Camiguin: A beach, trek, and lanzones paradise

BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Next to the inviting beaches and an adventurous trek to its Mt. Hibok-Hibok, lanzones is the craze in Camiguin during the “ber” months of the year.

In its season, this pebble-like fruit hiding a sweet and tangy flesh inside is what you’ll see everywhere in the small island — as a welcome offering in hotels and establishments or as a decoration in some houses.

Annually, domestic and foreign tourists alike flock to the island dubbed born out of fire to join the Lanzones Festival celebrated in gratitude for a bountiful The extravagant Lanzones Festival is held yearly. harvest.

While also abundant in some parts lowed a big hornbill into the forest not of the country, the fruit coming from knowing it was the Tagbusaw, an evil Camiguin is said to be the sweetest due creature that preys on children. to the island’s rich volcanic soils where The other child was abducted deep the plants flourish. into the woods. Hearing this, the ManoOften, you’ll see them sold by the mar- bo, or the earliest settlers of Camiguin, kets, open basketball spaces near the performed rituals for the child’s release, capitol, or along the road freshly picked but to no avail. by island folks themselves.

The creature was only angered furBut this year, Camiguin opened the ther. fences of its lanzones farm to tourists Left with no other recourse, the who want a first-hand experience of tribesmen, through their meriko (ritupicking the highly coveted fruit of the alist), sought the help of diwatas. The province. fairies gave the vilIn Mahinog, lage folk a bunch of Camiguin sits the first golden fruits, which lanzones farm tourwas then called Buaism site brimming Lanzones is the hanan, and instructwith over 800 trees craze in Camiguin ed them to give it as that grow around during the “ber” offering to Tagbusaw.

64,000 to 80,000 kilos months of the Tagbusaw accepted of langsat annually. year. the fruits and reAn entrance fee of leased the child, and PHP200 or around since then the island USD3.82 is already a dwellers grew and steal for a day-long unlimited pick-and-eat paid homage to Buahanan. A folk tale or frenzy inside the 6.9-hectare plantation. not, Buahanan is a blessing for the peoSince lanzones is a seasonal fruit, ple of Camiguin. tourists who want a taste of it are adMambajao Mayor Jurdin Jesus Rovised to book for flights and hotels from mualdez said with Camiguin lanzones in September to November. demand in Mindanao and Cebu, the supStill, the best time to visit is on the sec- ply is sometimes too depleted to even ond half of October, where the extrava- reach Manila, more so abroad. gant Lanzones Festival is held yearly.

Lanzones legend

You’ll be captivated by the curious lanzones lore as told by townsfolk dancing to its narration — the tale of Buahanan — the regular theme of the province’s lanzones dance parade.

Buahanan is the local name of lanzones in Camiguin.

According to the legend, two kids fol-

LISA R JOHNSON / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

your moods and cravings here.

Camiguin is a stockpot of restaurants that reverberates international to countryside cuisine.

There is the newly opened La Dolce

Vita owned by Italian Alessandro Cucchi offering his homemade Italian pizza and pastas, and the Guerrera Rice Paddy Restaurant which is said to be a favorite among visitors including Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat for its “fine Asian street food.”

On your way to Tuasan Falls or a few kilometers off the Sunken Cemetery and Old Church Ruins in Catarman, a rustic coffee shop in the middle of the woods will also welcome you with homely yet uncompromising ambience.

The Beehive Driftwood Cafe, owned by a Belgian expat, will surely prop your eyes fulfilled with aesthetically pleasing view inside and outside the cafe — all these while filling your tummy with equally good in-between meals and homegrown coffee that ranges from exotic Turkish coffee to Macadamia roast.

But if you hanker a bit of a countryside taste, J & A Fishpen’s floating restaurant ❱❱ PAGE 38 Camiguin: A beach

Island paradise for dive, food, scenery

Back to the inviting beaches and alluring trek to its mountains, Camiguin really redefines island living for tourists seeking tropical paradise — bucolic yet offers some city-like comfort at the same time.

The same way hotels and inns are all over the island, you won’t have a hard time finding good food that matches

# 1 7 9 - 8 1 3 8 1 2 8 S t r e e t S u r r e y, B C

www.canadianinquirer.net

36

Travel

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

Rising sea levels threatening historic lighthouses

BY WAYNE PARRY The Associated Press MAURICE RIVER TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Rising seas and erosion are threatening lighthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Volunteers and cash-strapped governments are doing what they can, but the level of concern, like the water, is rising.

New Jersey’s East Point Lighthouse has been lighting up Delaware Bay for the better part of two centuries. But those same waters that the lighthouse helped illuminate might bring about its demise.

With even a moderate-term fix likely to cost $3 million or more, New Jersey officials are considering what to do to save the lighthouse. Nancy Patterson, president of the Maurice River Historical Society, says something needs to be done now.

State and local governments routinely shore up the perimeter of the lighthouse property with 3,000-pound (1360-kilogram) sand bags and hastily bulldozed earthen walls. During normal conditions, the bay is about 40 yards (37 metres) from the lighthouse; aerial photos from 1940 show at least four times as much beach between the lighthouse and the bay as there is now.

And during storms, the surf pounds against an earthen wall just 10 yards (9 metres) from the lighthouse’s front steps.

“This lighthouse is in incredible danger; it’s getting worse and worse and worse,” Patterson said. “The water is right there, often within feet of the lighthouse.”

She recently led a save-thelighthouse rally to call attention to its plight and push the state Department of Environmental Protection to do something to save it before it falls into the bay.

It’s a threat affecting lighthouses around the country and the world, including those in low-lying areas being inundated by water, as well as those on bluffs or cliffs being eroded by storms and rising sea levels.

“It’s happening faster than anybody had predicted,” said Jeff Gales, executive director of the U.S. Lighthouse Society in Hansville, Washington.

While some of the lighthous-

es continue to be relied upon for navigation, others have been supplanted more modern technology, and are treasured more for historical and tourism purposes.

Climate change hastened by manmade greenhouse gases is not only melting polar ice, adding to sea levels, but the warmer waters are expanding and some land formations sinking.

Globally, sea levels have been rising over the past century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the rate has increased in recent decades. In New Jersey, seas have risen by 1.3 feet (0.4 metres) over the past 100 years, said Benjamin Horton, a Rutgers University professor and leading expert on climate change and sea level rise. That is a faster pace than for the past 2,000 years combined, he said.

Horton and other Rutgers researchers project that by 2050, seas off New Jersey will rise by an additional 1.4 feet (0.4 metres).

Tim Harrison is the editor of Lighthouse Digest, a Mainebased publication that maintains a “Doomsday List” of 53 lighthouses around the U.S. deemed to be in danger of being lost due to storms, erosion or other causes.

“Lighthouses were built for one purpose: to save lives,” he said. “Now it’s our turn to step up save these lighthouses.”

Rising seas have already forced the relocation of several lighthouses. In 1999, the National Park Service moved the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton, North Carolina, 2,900 feet inland, at a cost of $11.8 million. In 1993, the Southeast Lighthouse on Block Island, Rhode Island, was moved 300 feet inland.

In 2014 the Cape San Blas Lighthouse was moved from the edge of a storm-prone peninsula on Florida’s Gulf Coast to a park in Port St. Joe. A year later, the Gay Head Lighthouse on Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard was moved 129 feet back from an eroding cliff.

Others were not so lucky. The Galveston Jetty Lighthouse in Texas and the Sabine Bank Lighthouse in Louisiana were lost to storms or rising seas, and the Kauhola Point Lighthouse on Hawaii’s Big Island was demolished after erosion nearby

was deemed too severe to save it, Harrison said.

Lighthouses around the country considered to be in danger from rising seas include the Sand Island Lighthouse at the mouth of Mobile Bay in Alabama, the Morris Island Lighthouse near Charleston, South Carolina, and the New Point Comfort Lighthouse in Virginia.

Around the world, encroaching seas are drawing nearer to the Orfordness Lighthouse in Suffolk, England; the Troubridge Island Lighthouse in South Australia; and the Kiipsaar Lighthouse in Estonia.

In 2010, the Half Moon Caye Lighthouse in Belize was destroyed by a storm.

There are few easy answers, financially or scientifically.

The East Point Lighthouse is already on the highest spit of land around, which is only a few inches above sea level, so moving it is not an option. Nor is constantly dumping and plowing more sand in front of it.

Patterson wants some sort of bulkhead or barrier erected between the bay and the lighthouse to blunt the force of the waves.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, acknowledges the lighthouse has been “very vulnerable to storms due to erosion” for years. And he realizes the sandbags the state and local governments keep plopping on the shoreline are a stop-gap measure at best.

But while affirming the state’s interest in saving the lighthouse, he notes that moving or protecting it with rockfilled cages could cost several million dollars.

Because of the high cost of moving or protecting the lighthouses, volunteer preservation groups often partner with governments to maintain them; one has spent at least $5 million on the Morris Island Lighthouse in South Carolina. And cash-strapped governments often can’t spare funds to save lighthouses.

Patterson, the New Jersey lighthouse advocate, says a barrier needs to be built near the East Point Lighthouse immediately.

“This history matters,” she said. “We need to do something — now — while there’s still something to save.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Mt Bulaylay.

CUYAPO GOVERNMENT / WEBSITE

3 new attractions seen to boost Nueva Ecija’s tourism

BY MARILYN GALANG Philippine News Agency CUYAPO, NUEVA ECIJA — At least three new tourist attractions in this province’s first congressional district are set to receive much-needed boost with an imminent funding from Congress.

“Isa po sa isinusulong ng Department of Tourism (DOT) ngayon ay ang faith and ecotourism (One which is being promoted by the Department of Tourism is the faith and ecotourism),” said Senator Nancy Binay, chair of the Senate Committee on Tourism, after an ocular inspection on Mt. Bulaylay here Friday.

Binay also visited the Holy Face of Jesus at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish in Nampicuan town, which was included in a proposed legislation passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday as authored by Rep. Estrellita Suansing.

Also included in Suansing’s measure which seeks to support established tourism programs in her district was the popular Taong Putik Festival in Barangay Bibiclat, Aliaga town.

The amount which the legislation proposed to invest was not immediately known. Mt. Bulaylay in Barangay Landig in this northwesternmost Nueva Ecija municipality is now attracting local tourists with its

zipline as main draw.

“Kitang-kita ko ngayon na ang tatlong bayan na ito ay pwedeng magtulungan para i-develop yung ganitong klaseng tourist destination (I clearly see as of now that these three towns can help each other to develop such kind of tourist destination),” the senator said.

Binay said the tourism industry faced with good news due to rising tourist arrivals throughout the country really has still a lot to do as it remains lagging behind its Southeast Asian neighbors.

“Because us, we have seven million tourist arrivals and Thailand, I think has 30 to 50 million tourists already,” Binay said.

She stressed that since it is budget season, lawmakers need to monitor the budget of the DOT to help the fourth and fifth class municipality develop their tourism sites.

The country’s peace and order, she said, appears to be encouraging enough despite restlessness in isolated areas.

“I think the mere fact there is a growing trend in tourist arrivals, peace and order is no longer such a big problem but of course, there are some places in the country that until now are under alert status like Mindanao,” Binay said.

“I think here in Luzon and also in the Visayas, we can maximize the tourism industry,” she said. ■

37

Food Tenderize and tackle tough short ribs in a sous vide bath AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN BEEF SHORT ribs are a prime example of how the precise control of time and temperature afforded by sous vide cooking can affect a piece of meat.

Short ribs are a tougher cut, with a good amount of collagen and intramuscular fat so they are traditionally braised to a fall-apart texture. But with sous vide, you can achieve short ribs that have a texture similar to a medium-rare steak or you can deliver a more traditional flaky, braised texture—or land almost anywhere in between.

For this recipe, we were looking for a fall-apart tender, pot roast-style texture, so we decided on a higher-temperature water bath (160 F) while keeping the cooking time under 24 hours.

This cooking time and temperature combination allowed us to break down this tough cut’s intramuscular collagen, tenderizing the meat while keeping it moist and preserving a rosy interior from edge to edge.

To make things even easier, we frontloaded the work. We quickly seared the short ribs, and then we built a sauce with

traditional pot roast ingredients: mirepoix, tomato paste, red wine, beef broth, and herbs.

We bagged up the beef and sauce together for their sous vide bath.

Afterward, we strained the sauce and briefly reduced it on the stovetop, we poured it over the tender short ribs and finished the dish with a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Easy pot roast, no pot or roasting required.

Make sure that the ribs are at least 4 inches long and 1 inch thick. Be sure to double-bag the ribs to protect against seam failure.

Short rib pot roast

Servings: 4 Sous vide time: 20-24 hours (Active time: 1 hour) • 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed • Salt and pepper • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1 large onion, chopped • 2 celery ribs, chopped • 1 carrot, peeled and chopped • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 1 garlic clove, minced • 1 cup dry red wine • 1 cup beef broth • 8 sprigs fresh thyme • 2 bay leaves • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

STU_SPIVACK / FLICKR, CC BY-ND 2.0

Using sous vide circulator, bring water to 160 F in 7-quart container.

Pat ribs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over mediumhigh heat until just smoking.

Brown half of ribs on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes; transfer to plate.

Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and ribs.

Add onion, celery, carrot, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to fat left in pot and cook over medium heat until softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until

reduced by half, 2 to 4 minutes.

Stir in broth and simmer for 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender and process until smooth, about 1 minute.

Divide ribs, sauce, thyme sprigs, and bay leaves between two 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bags and toss to coat. Arrange ribs in single layer and seal bags, pressing out as much air as possible. Place each bag in second 1-gallon zipper-lock freezer bag and seal bags. Gently lower bags into prepared water bath until ribs are fully submerged, and then clip top corner of each bag to side of water bath container, allowing remaining air bubbles to rise to top of bag. Reopen 1 corner of each zipper, release remaining air bubbles, and reseal bags. Cover and cook for at

least 20 hours or up to 24 hours.

Using tongs, transfer ribs to serving dish. Tent with aluminum foil and let rest while finishing sauce. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into medium saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Bring to simmer over medium heat and cook until reduced to 2 cups, 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon sauce over ribs, sprinkle with parsley, and serve. ■ Nutrition information per serving: 464 calories; 211 calories from fat; 23 g fat (10 g saturated; 0 g trans fats);135 mg cholesterol; mg sodium; 6 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 44 g protein.

Make a sweet bread that requires you eat it with your hands AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN

ELIZA ADAM / FLICKR, CC BY-ND 2.0

MONKEY BREAD is a knottylooking loaf of sweet bread made from balls of dough coated with cinnamon, sugar and melted butter. It’s traditionally served warm so that the sticky baked pieces can be pulled apart. The name “monkey” refers to how you eat this sweet treat—with your hands.

Follow this recipe with your kids. www.canadianinquirer.net

Monkey bread

Servings: 8 Start to finish: 2 to 3 hours (Active time: 10 minutes) • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled • Vegetable oil spray • 1 pound pizza dough, room temperature

• 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar • 2 teaspoons milk In small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place melted butter in second small bowl. Spray 8-inch round cake pan with vegetable oil spray.

Spray counter lightly with vegetable oil spray. Place dough on greased counter and pat into 6-inch square. Use kitchen ❱❱ PAGE 38 Make a

38

Food

NOVEMBER 30, 2018

FRIDAY

Device treating... ❰❰ 33

In the U.S., where drug and device manufacturers are required to disclose payments to physicians, the 10 largest medical device companies paid nearly $600 million to doctors or their hospitals last year to cover consulting fees, research and travel and entertainment expenses, according to an AP and ICIJ analysis of data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This figure doesn’t include payments from device manufacturers like Johnson & Johnson and Allergan, which also sell other products.

On top of that, lobbying records show that the top four spinal-cord stimulator manufacturers have spent more than $22 million combined since 2017 to try to influence legislation benefiting their overall business, which includes other devices.

Some companies have been fined for bribing physicians, illegally promoting products for unapproved uses and paying for studies that proclaim the safety and effectiveness of their products, according to the joint investigation.

In a 2016 case, Olympus Corp. of the Americas, the largest U.S. distributor of endoscopes and related medical equipment, agreed to pay $623.2 million “to resolve criminal charges and civil claims relating to a scheme to pay kickbacks to doctors and hospitals,” according to the U.S. Justice Department. Olympus said that it “agreed to make various improvements to its compliance program.”

Some doctors enthusiastically promote spinal-cord stimulators without disclosing to patients they’ve received money from medical device manufac-

turers. Some experts say doctors are not legally required to disclose such payments, but they have an ethical obligation to do so. Sometimes the money goes to the doctors’ hospitals, and not directly to them.

As for Taft, he said he just wanted to get better, but he has lost hope.

“This is my death sentence,” Taft said, stretched out beneath his bed’s wooden headboard on which he’s carved the words “death row.”

“I’ll die here,” he said. *** A generation ago, tens of thousands of women were injured by the Dalkon Shield, an intrauterine device that caused life-threatening infections.

Consumer advocates demanded testing and pre-market approval of medical devices to prevent deaths and injuries associated with defective products.

So in 1976, Congress passed the Medical Device Amendments, a law meant to assure Americans that devices recommended by their doctors would do good and not harm.

“Until today, the American consumer could not be sure that a medical device used by his physician, his hospital or himself was as safe and effective as it could or should be,” President Gerald Ford said when he signed the bill into law.

Charged with carrying out the law, the FDA created three classes of medical devices.

High-risk products like spinalcord stimulators are designated to be held to the most rigorous clinical testing standards. But the vast majority of devices go through a less stringent review process that provides an easy path to market for devices

Camiguin: A beach... ❰❰ 35

is a trove of local dishes served in clay pots.

It also offers Surol, a Camiguin local chicken dish flavored with coconut milk and ginger.

To those adventurous and seeking exotic gastronomy, eating fresh sea urchin cooked in vinegar is the way to go. You won’t be on a hunt for a restaurant here since ambulant sea urchin vendors akin to Balut sellers are often strolling in the naked Medan Island.

deemed “substantially equivalent” to products already approved for use.

As designed by Congress, that process should have been phased out. Instead, it became the standard path to market for thousands of devices, including hip replacements implanted in tens of thousands of patients that would later be recalled because metal shavings from the devices made some people sick.

The AP found that the FDA has allowed some spinal-cord stimulators to reach the market without new clinical studies, approving them largely based on results from studies of earlier spinal stimulators.

Spinal stimulators are complex devices that send electrical currents through wires placed along the spine, using a battery implanted under the skin. An external remote controls the device.

The four biggest makers of spinal-cord stimulators are Boston Scientific Corp., based in Marlborough, Massachusetts; Medtronic, with headquarters in Ireland and the U.S.; Nevro, in Redwood City, California; and Illinois-based Abbott, which entered the market after its $23.6 billion purchase of St Jude Medical Inc. St. Jude’s application to go to market with its first spinal stimulator contained no original patient data and was based on clinical results from other studies, while Boston Scientific’s application for its Precision spinal-cord stimulator was based largely on older data, though it did include a small, original study of 26 patients who were tracked for as little as two weeks.

Once approved, medical device companies can use count-

less supplementary requests to alter their products, even when the changes are substantial.

For example, there have been only six new spinal-cord stimulator devices approved since 1984, with 835 supplemental changes to those devices given the go-ahead through the middle of this year, the AP found. Medtronic alone has been granted 394 supplemental changes to its stimulator since 1984, covering everything from altering the sterilization process to updating the design.

“It’s kind of the story of FDA’s regulation of devices, where they’re just putting stuff on the market,” said Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research, who has studied medical devices for nearly 30 years.

Medical device manufacturers have cited multiple industry-funded studies showing the effectiveness of spinal-cord stimulation in the treatment of chronic pain. Experts say treatment is considered successful if pain is reduced by at least half, but not every patient experiences that much pain reduction.

A 2016 study looking at different stimulation systems found “significant evidence” that they were “a safe, clinical and costeffective treatment for many chronic pain conditions.”

But Zuckerman noted that the more extensive studies came after the devices were being widely used on people.

“These patients are guinea pigs,” she said.

FDA said in a statement that it approves, clears or grants marketing authorization to an average of 12 devices per business day and its decisions are “based on valid scientific evidence” that the devices are safe and effective.

Dr. Walter J. Koroshetz, director at the neurological disorders and stroke division at the National Institutes of Health, said trials for medical devices like spinal-cord stimulators are generally small and industrysponsored, with a “substantial” placebo effect.

“I don’t know of anyone who is happy with spinal-cord technology as it stands,” Koroshetz said. “I think everybody thinks it can be better.” ■

position and heat oven to 350 F. Discard plastic. Place pan in oven and bake until top of monkey bread is light golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

Use oven mitts to remove monkey bread from oven (ask an adult to help). Place pan on cooling rack and let monkey bread cool for 5 minutes (no longer).

Place large plate on top of pan. Ask an adult to carefully flip out monkey bread onto plate. Remove pan. Let cool for

10 minutes before glazing.

In third small bowl, stir confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Use spoon to drizzle glaze over monkey bread. Serve warm. ■

Make a...

Often called White Island, this uninhabited sandbar is also an ideal area to capture the whole view of Mt. Hibok-hibok and Old Vulcan in a single picture.

Finally, a boat-ride to Mantigue Island is the perfect last-day trip to cap off your Camiguin tour. The island destination, fringed with vegetation, is one of the 19 recommended diving spots in the province for having an ideal “drop off” reef for certified divers. ■

❰❰ 37

shears to cut dough into 36 pieces Roll each piece of dough into ball. Dip each ball in melted butter to coat, roll in brown sugar mixture, then place in greased pan. Cover bottom of pan with dough balls in single layer.

Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and leave in warm place until dough balls are puffy and have risen slightly (about 1/2 inch), 1 to 2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle www.canadianinquirer.net

Nutrition information per serving: 280 calories; 90 calories from fat; 10 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 23 mg cholesterol; 443 mg sodium; 43 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 18 g sugar; 3 g protein.

39

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2018

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