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JANUARY 11, 2019

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VOL. 1 NO. 353

PANATA

Devotees swarm the procession of the Feast of the Black Nazarene at the Quirino Grandstand after the midnight mass of the Traslacion 2019.

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Put up water treatment facilities: PRRD tells Manila Bay hotels

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday asked hotels operating near Manila Bay to ensure that

there are enough water treatment facilities established in the area or else risk getting a closure.

Duterte made this statement during the Barangay Summit on Peace and Or-

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Gov’t produces tangible results to ease poverty: Palace

23 Tanong #7: Anong suporta ang iyong kailangan?

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Sandra Oh, ‘The Americans,’ ‘Spider man’ win at Globes

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JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Excise tax hike on alcohol, tobacco bills certified as urgent

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte agreed to certify as urgent two measures meant to raise excise tax on alcohol and tobacco products to fund the government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President announced his decision during Monday’s 33rd Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.

Panelo was referring to Senator Manny Pacquiao’s Senate Bill No. 1599, which sought to further increase the excise tax on tobacco products.

Under the measure, the current cigarette tax rate of PHP30 per pack will increase to PHP60 per pack. This is aside from the annual increase of 9 percent from the current 4 percent increase in excise tax per year.

Pacquio’s measure was backed by the departments of

Finance and Health.

“The recommendation of the Department of Finance (and Health) is that this bill should be certified as urgent because under the proposal, the tax on tobacco would be raised to 60 per pack while on the part of alcohol, it will be 40 per liter,” Panelo said.

“So the recommendation is that that bill should be passed and signed into law. That was what was approved last night,” he added.

Panelo said if the measure passes into law then that will automatically amend what is stated in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“This is a key public health measure to reduce deaths and disabilities due to tobacco and alcohol consumption and, at the same time, a revenue measure to fund the universal health care program,” Panelo said.

In December last year, Fi-

Under the measure, the current cigarette tax rate of PHP30 per pack will increase to PHP60 per pack. This is aside from the annual increase of 9 percent from the current 4 percent increase in excise tax per year.

AL.GEBA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

nance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III pushed for the increase in the current tobacco excise tax rates to levels that would effectively curb smoking and also help supplement funds for the UHC program.

In the same month, the House of Representatives approved House Bills 8677 and

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8618, which increase the tax on cigarettes and alcoholic drinks, respectively.

HB 8677 seeks to increase excise tax rates for tobacco by PHP2.50 every year, starting July 2019 until 2022.

Under the measure, cigarette excise tax rate will be raised to PHP37.50 per pack by July 2019,

PHP40 for 2020, PHP42.50 for 2021, and PHP45 for 2022. The rate would be raised 4 percent every July annually, starting 2023.

Meanwhile, HB 8618 aims to to raise excise taxes on distilled spirits, wines, and fermented liquors.

Under the measure, the current 20 percent ad valorem tax imposed on distilled spirits shall be increased to 22 percent, while specific tax rates per proof liter of PHP30, PHP35, PHP40, PHP45 shall be imposed from 2019 to 2022.

The specific tax rate shall be increased by 7 percent annually, starting 2023.

In November last year, the Bicameral Conference Committee approved the consolidated version of the UHC bill which aims to give all-inclusive health coverage for Filipinos.

Duterte endorsed UHC bill as among his priority measures during his State of the Nation Address on July 23, 2018. ■

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JANUARY 11, 2019

DOLE to provide jobs to 3K ‘Usman’-hit workers in Bicol

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BY FERDINAND PATINIO Philippine News Agency MANILA — Around 3,000 affected workers displaced by Tropical Depression Usman in the Bicol Region will initially benefit from the emergency employment assistance of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the agency has set aside an initial PHP10 million to provide displaced workers and their families with immediate short-term income support.

The employment assistance is under the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD).

“Most of the affected families of (Tropical Depression) Usman were farmers and farm workers, and we aim to provide immediate assistance to these affected workers by giving them temporary income-support while still coping up with the devastation brought by the typhoon,” Bello said in a state-

ment Saturday.

Under the TUPAD Program, beneficiaries will be provided with emergency employment in the form of 10-day community work with a minimum salary of PHP305 a day.

Bello noted that they are also conducting profiling of displaced workers in priority areas including Sangay, Camarines Sur and in Tiwi, Albay, to further reach more employees affected by the calamity.

On Friday, Bello joined President Rodrigo Duterte in visiting devastated areas in Bicol to determine the needs of the affected communities.

Also, other assistance programs are available to the displaced workers, including skills training, livelihood assistance, as well as the provision of grants and loans to help them recover.

On the other hand, the families of active OFWs affected by calamity will be provided with PHP3,000 worth of assistance by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

The families of inactive OFWs will receive PHP1,500. ■

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Palace allays fears on PNP ‘profiling’ ACT teachers

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Teachers who are members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) have nothing to fear about being profiled if they are not doing anything illegal, Malacañang said Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo was reacting to reports that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has called for an inventory of all public and private school teachers “who are members of or aligned with” ACT. “If you’re not doing anything, why should you be afraid? If you’re not doing anything, wala namang mangyayari eh (nothing will happen),” Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Panelo echoed the PNP’s remark, noting that the agency has already denied the profiling of teachers but at the same time stressed that ACT has long been identified with the left.

“Unang-una, tinanggi na nila iyon.

Siguro ang nakikita ko diyan baka iyong pino-profile o mino-monitor iyong mga nakikita ng PNP na maling ginagawa nila (Firstly, the PNP has already denied that. Maybe the teachers being profiled or monitored are teachers who the PNP have suspected are doing something illegal),” Panelo said.

“Kasi tandaan ninyo iyong ACT is a legal organization na-identified sa kaliwa and sinabi na ng PNP at ng Presidente na may mga legal fronts (Because, if you remember, ACT is a legal organization identified with the left and the PNP and the President has also mentioned that they have legal fronts),” he added.

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Panelo stressed that it is definitely not the policy of the PNP to surveil teachers but defended the PNP can monitor any conspiracies to commit rebellion.

“Definitely yung policy is not to surveil teachers. Mahal ni Presidente ang mga teachers. Pero if you’re doing something illegal or irregular, natural lang na trabaho ng pulis yun na i-monitor yung ginagawa mo. Kung may nagrereklamo for intelligence for instance nakatanggap ka ng report (Definitely the policy is not to surveil teachers. The President loves teachers. But if you’re doing something illegal or irregular, it is natural for the police to monitor what you’re doing. Especially if they received intelligence reports),” Panelo said.

He said if it is true that the PNP is profiling teachers, he believed that it was only profiling the “hardcore leaders” who gave police a reason to surveil them.

“Kung halimbawa may nag-report sayo na itong isang teacher na ito nakitang nakikipag ugnayan sa mga identified NPA or pinagduduhdahan na NPA, kung ikaw ba ay pulis, di mo imo-monitor yung gawa nila (For example, if somebody reported a teacher seen coordinating with identified NPA or suspected NPA, if you were a policeman, wouldn’t you monitor what they’re doing)? Panelo said.

Panelo, meanwhile, said President Rodrigo R. Duterte has always considered the welfare of teachers since his late mother was a teacher herself.

“Ang Nanay ni Presidente ay teacher din so malapit sa kanya mga teachers (The President’s mother is also a teacher that’s why teachers are close to his heart),” Panelo said. ■

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FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

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Philippine News

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Malacañang hails Makati court’s ruling on Trillanes’s rebellion case

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Salvador Panelo lauded the decision of a Makati court that junked Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV’s appeal to dismiss the rebellion case lodged against him in connection to his involvement in the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.

“While currently at liberty after posting bail, Senator Trillanes must still come to grips with the criminal transgressions he committed as an ingrate and renegade military officer,” Panelo said on Tuesday, January 8.

“He may have succeeded in evading his accountability before the law but the law is now catching up on him,” he added.

In an order dated December 18, 2018 but was only made public on Monday, January 7,

Judge Elmo Alameda of Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 did not reverse his September 25 decision to have the opposition senator arrested.

Alameda ruled that Trillanes “failed to prove” that he indeed submitted an application form for his amnesty.

“Since the existence of the duly accomplished application form for amnesty has never been established nor the fact of his admission of guilt of the crime he committed, the substitutionary evidence presented

by Sen. Trillanes is considered hearsay evidence and cannot be admitted as evidence to prove compliance with the minimum requirements set forth in Proclamation No. 75,” the decision read.

To recall, President Rodrigo Duterte revoked the amnesty granted to Trillanes by the administration of former Presi-

Comelec still prepping up for BOL plebiscite

BY FERDINAND PATINIO Philippine News Agency MANILA — The preparations for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) plebiscite on January 21 and February 6 are ongoing, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Monday.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez noted that they continue to prepare for the scheduled referendum despite three petitions filed before the Supreme Court (SC) against the BOL. “The petitions filed at the SC is not that significant to the Comelec. If a TRO is issued, then we just stop our work,” he said in a press briefing.

“The problem is, if we let it affect us, and allow it to dictate the phase of our preparations, what if there is no TRO issued?

Then, we will be caught flat

footed,” Jimenez said.

At the same time, the Comelec official added that they are ready to provide comments if required by the SC. Jimenez said the petition was filed not against the holding of the plebiscite but rather against the law.

“Remember, the challenges are not directed versus the Comelec, but the law itself. If ever the Comelec is going to be a party, it will be mere incidental since we are just the enforcer of the law,” he said.

On Monday, Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) commissioner Manuelito Luna filed the third petition before the SC challenging the BOL. The other petitions were filed by the Philippine Constitutional Association and Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan II. ■

dent Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Duterte, through Proclamation No. 572 that he signed in August, declared the grant of amnesty to Trillanes is declared “void ab initio” as he failed to comply with the minimum requirements to qualify under the Amnesty Program.

In his statement, Panelo said Trillanes’s “comeuppance” is “finally knocking at his door,” adding that the only person the senator can blame for his predicament is himself.

The spokesperson also gave warning to government officials, saying that what is happening to Trillanes “should strike fear in the hearts of those who after being financed by the taxpayers’ money for their education will plot against the government that nurtured them as well as those who use their political power to shield them from accountability as they malign and sow intrigues against

ANTONIO "SONNY" TRILLANES IV/ FACEBOOK

persons they dislike even inciting the citizenry to hate duly constituted authorities.”

Trillanes obtained temporary liberty after he posted bail amounting to P200,000 on the same day Alameda ordered the solon’s arrest.

While the Makati RTC Branch 150 denied the senator’s

appeal, the Makati RTC Branch 148, on the other hand, earlier junked the motion by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue an arrest warrant and hold departure order (HDO) against Trillanes for coup d’etat charges over the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny. ■

PNP reveals Baldo also ‘planned’ to kill his predecessor

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer AFTER TAGGING Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo as the mastermind behind the murder of AKO Bicol Representative Rodel Batocabe, the Philippine National Police (PNP) made another revelation: the mayor also planned to kill his predecessor, former Daraga Mayor Gerry Jaucian.

This was disclosed by PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, Chief Superintendent Amador Corpus in a press briefing on Monday, January 7, stressing that the information came from their primary witness, Emmanuel Judavar. Judavar took part in the planning of Batocabe’s killing but backed out from the execution.

“Nakasalaysay din doon sa statement ng witnesses na si mayor [Baldo] pinlano rin [patayin] si Mayor Jaucian (Based on the statement of the witwww.canadianinquirer.net

ness, Mayor Baldo also planned to kill Mayor Jaucian) in the amount of P350,000,” Corpus said.

Corpus said those who are involved in Batocabe’s slay were the “same people” who were supposed to assassinate Jaucian.

“But hindi natuloy dahil (it did not push through because) the mayor died of illness sometime June 2018,” he said.

Jaucian, who was supposed to be Daraga’s mayor until 2019, died in May 2018 after battling lung cancer. Following his death, Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara appointed Baldo, who was then serving as Daraga’s vice mayor, to be Jaucian’s successor.

On Saturday, PNP chief, Director General Oscar Albayalde announced that all six individuals hired allegedly by Baldo to kill Batocabe are now in police custody, after suspects Rolando Arimado alias “RR,” a former New People’s Army (NPA) rebel, and Danilo Muella

alias “Manoy Dan” surrendered themselves to the police.

Baldo allegedly offered to pay the six-man hit team five million pesos for the lawmaker’s murder, but the suspects said the mayor failed to give them the full reward money after they killed Batocabe.

All allegations thrown against him, however, were belied by the Daraga mayor, saying that he was just being used as a “convenient scapegoat.”

The Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) on Sunday announced that it has revoked the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) it initially issued to Baldo, saying that the latter will no longer be the party’s official candidate in the Daraga Mayoralty race in May’s midterm elections.

Before this, the PNP filed double murder and frustrated murder charges against Baldo and his cohorts. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

7

Filipino workers speak out Panelo says against Halifax businessman Duterte won’t stop in immigration fraud case ‘dramatizing’ remarks, won’t apologize over ‘touching’ a maid story

BY BRETT BUNDALE The Canadian Press HALIFAX — Emotional workers spoke out against a Halifax businessman at his sentencing hearing Friday in an immigration fraud case that exposed the exploitation of foreign workers and divided the local Filipino community.

Hector Mantolino, originally from the Philippines, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to misrepresentation under provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The owner and operator of several cleaning and maintenance companies used the temporary foreign worker program to staff his companies, bringing 28 workers to Canada from the Philippines over a number of years.

But workers say they were underpaid and mistreated, remaining quiet for fear of being deported back to the Southeast Asian country.

The Crown is recommending a sentence of two years in prison, noting the need to deter “like-minded individuals” and to fully denounce the offences against vulnerable workers.

“Temporary foreign workers are part of Canada’s economic landscape. When the program is comprised by employers who lie, the effects are far reaching,” Crown lawyer Timothy McLaughlin said in a sentencing brief filed with the court.

The case appears to have caused a rift in the city’s Filipino community, with some continuing to support Mantolino even while others denounce his actions.

Despite the prominent businessman’s guilty plea, some of the workers expressed trepidation about sharing their experiences out of fear of retaliation.

“We were hearing that some were concerned that there could be repercussions to reading the victim impact statement in court and we wanted to speak to the judge about that,” defence lawyer Lee Cohen said in an interview.

“We want people to understand that in a Canadian court, everybody is free to express

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Hector Mantolino.

themselves freely,” he said. “We just wanted to be sure that everybody understood that.”

After meeting with Crown and defence lawyers in his chambers, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Glen McDougall told the court that victims have a statutory right to read their victim impact statements without fear of reprisals.

Two Filipino workers read their statements Friday, in addition to four workers who read their statements last month.

Rhodee Benigla, who signed a contract as a cleaner in 2010, described feeling “hopeless” about his meagre pay and fear of being sent back to the Philippines.

“Those were the days that my self-esteem was at the very lowest part of my life,” he said. “Being deprived of a proper salary for almost two years is a trauma deeply engraved on my heart.”

Even after Mantolino was arrested, Benigla said many continue to live in fear of harassment.

“This has caused problems in the Philippine community,” he said, noting that Mantolino has many relatives and supporters who have accused the workers of being ungrateful and owing the businessman a “debt of gratitude.”

Meanwhile, Raymond Basilio, who also signed a contract as a cleaner in 2010, said he felt sad and homesick about being unable to send money to his family in the Philippines due to his very low salary and long hours of work.

He said Mantolino took his tax refund, and made him do

HECTOR MANTOLINO / FACEBOOK

extra work at his house such as gardening, mowing and snow plowing.

“I had no choice but to follow his orders,” Basilio said. “I lost my pride and self-respect doing all his orders and errands.”

According to a joint statement of facts, Mantolino, the operator of Mantolino Property Services Ltd., signed contracts with the workers stipulating a rate of pay that he knew wouldn’t be paid to them.

The total difference between the official salaries and the amounts actually paid to the workers is “no less than $500,000,” according to the court document.

McLaughlin said although there are some expenses employers can charge for, such as accommodations, travel is considered an employer expense.

Meanwhile, a third worker said he was grateful to Mantolino for helping him come to Canada, and that given the opportunity he would work for the businessman again.

The sentencing hearing resumes Jan. 25. It’s expected more victim impact statements will be read, followed by sentencing arguments.

“This case is not about the hiring of temporary foreign workers, rather it is about exploiting foreign labour markets and taking advantage of temporary foreign workers’ personal financial circumstances to fill a company’s need for profit,” McLaughlin said in his sentencing brief.

“It is the selling of the Canadian dream of permanent residency at an exploitive price.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

FILIPINO PEOPLE will probably hear more controversial statements from President Rodrigo Duterte as he will not stop ‘dramatizing’ his remarks as he thinks this catches the public’s attention and this allows him to deliver his message effectively.

“If you notice the President has been doing that even during the campaign and that has been very effective on the listeners,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters in a Palace briefing on Thursday, January 3.

“Klaro din ‘yung mensahe.

Kaya sa tingin ko he will not stop at doing this kasi nakikita niyang effective, naiintidihan siya (The message is clear. That is why I think he will not stop at doing this because he sees it as effective and that people understand him),” he added.

Panelo was referring to the statement of Duterte last December 29 where he revealed that when he was a teenager, he molested their household helper who was then sleeping. His latest statement drew flak from various organizations, including women’s group Gabriela, who found the President’s story as “deeply disturbing.”

Even being in the hot waters for such remarks, Panelo said Duterte will not apologize for it as his story was just his way of criticizing the “hypocrisy” of some members of the clergy, specifically the priest who sexually abused him when he was young.

“Precisely, sinadya niya nga ‘yon kaya sinasabi niya (he intended to say that); that was intentionally made. It was a concocted story to dramatize the hypocrisy of that particular man in the cloth,” he said.

The spokesman also does not believe that Duterte’s statement, whether it was made up

or not, will encourage violence against women.

“I don’t think so because it was dramatized in such a way that audience will laugh. But even that, the message is not lost on the listeners. Alam nila na merong mensahe si Presidente kahit na dinaan niya sa pagpapatawa sa kanila (They know the President has a message although he said it in a way that makes them laugh),” Panelo explained.

Duterte’s statement, the spokesman said, was only a problem to those “ultraconservatives” and his critics who only find fault in Duterte’s actions, adding that the President’s story was not even obscene.

“Hindi naman mahalay ’yung kwento niya, nagtatawanan nga. Alam mo ‘pag mahalay, ang reaction ng audience ay masama, magagalit sa kanya (His story was not obscene, they even laughed at it. You know if it was obscene, the reaction of the audience will be bad, they will get angry at him),” the Palace official stressed.

The President had been criticized by several government officials, women’s rights groups, and some for his actions and remarks against women. In June 2018, Duterte drew flak when he kissed a married Filipina on the lips in public during his official visit in South Korea.

Aside from his remarks against women, the President has also been slammed for his anti-Church statements. In November last year, he encouraged Catholics to just build their own chapel inside their houses so they do not have to attend mass to “pay” for the prelates whom he called as “idiots.” ■

Philippine News

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JANUARY 11, 2019

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Gov’t produces tangible results to ease poverty: Palace 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 AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — The government did not wait until the second half of the term of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to come up with desired economic gains, Malacañang said on Tuesday, in response to a former president’s advice to produce “tangible results” to ease poverty.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made this remark after House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo urged the government to speed up the implementation of programs that will bear results, which “people can feel in their day-to-day lives.”

Arroyo, a former president, said government should also prevent a repeat of the rising inflation the country experienced last year.

“We note Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has recognized inflation is on a downtrend,” Panelo said in a statement, noting that economic managers have implemented measures to address inflation.

“In taking action on the issue of inflation, we saw the collaboration of the Executive and the House leadership. This is a good case of statesmanship demanded by our people from their elected leaders,” he added.

Panelo pointed out that Arroyo shared the economic managers’ pronouncements that tangible results must be done and did not wait until the second half of Duterte’s term to come up with economic gains.

He noted that the Duterte administration did not waste time in enhancing workers’ employability and competi-

RICE SACK FOR A MATTRESS. A homeless middle-aged man sleeps on an empty rice sack against a

sidewalk wall on the streets of Malate, Manila, Philippines.

WAYNE S. GRAZIO/FLICKR, CC BY-NC-ND 2.

tiveness.

Citing data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Panelo said government generated 826,000 net employment with services and industry as main drivers for growth in 2018.

Panelo said the government also expects to create more jobs this year and the coming years through its “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program.

He stressed that Arroyo should also bear in mind that the Duterte presidency has achieved more in terms of policy reforms and infrastructure projects than the past two administrations.

“The Speaker must be aware that the

two and half years of the Duterte presidency has achieved more than the combined terms of the Arroyo and Aquino presidencies in terms of major policy reforms and flagship infrastructure projects duly processed and ready for groundbreaking, and some already near completion,” Panelo said.

At present, the average inflation rate under the Duterte administration is at 3.6 percent, which falls within the government’s target range of 2 to 4 percent.

Duterte’s economic managers vowed to continue exerting all efforts to bring down inflation and ensure price stability all year round. ■

Año, (I told Roy Cimatu and even Gen. Año) you start cleaning the Manila Bay. They will start to clean it whether they like it or not,” Duterte said.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that the President is likely to issue an executive order for the Manila Bay clean-up.

Panelo also said hotels which violated regulations, particularly on the absence or lack of water treatment facilities, may also face closure.

“The policy of the government is if you violate certain regulations – then you have to pay for that. Kung ano iyong ginawa natin sa Boracay, iyon din ang gagawin natin sa lahat (What we did in Boracay, that’s what we’ll do everywhere),” Panelo said.

He said according to Cimatu, the goal

was to finish the clean-up of Manila Bay by end of the President’s term.

“Ang timeline ni Secretary Roy—dahil ang laki ng Manila Bay eh, ang daming rivers na lilinisin, ang daming esteros.

Parang hopefully sabi niya, at the end of your term matatapos ‘to (The timeline of Secretary Roy–because the Manila Bay is large, there are too many rivers to clean, many canals. Hopefully, at the end of the term it will be finished),” Panelo said.

“It will take some time, but what is important is uumpisahan (we get it started),” he added.

However, he said the clean-up may continue even with the succeeding administrations.

Put up... ❰❰ 1

der at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

“Lagyan ninyo ng water treatment yung hotel ninyo kung hindi, sirain ko ‘yan. Wag mo nga akong hamunin (Place water treatment facilities in your hotels, if not, I will demolish them. Don’t try me),” Duterte said.

“You do something about your waste there or otherwise I will close it. Sigurado ‘yan (That’s for sure),” he added.

Duterte made this remark a day after Monday’s Cabinet meeting where the proposal to use road user’s tax to finance the clean-up of Manila Bay was raised.

He said he had already asked Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año to spearhead the clean-up.

“Sabi ko kay Roy Cimatu, pati si Gen.

www.canadianinquirer.net

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

9

Urgently pass 2019 budget, Palace urges Congress

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Malacañang on Monday night called on the Congress anew to urgently pass the proposed PHP3.757-trillion 2019 national budget stressing that further delay would be “unacceptable” to the Filipinos who voted for them.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the remark asking the Congress to steer off partisan considerations and focus their attention to pass the proposed 2019 budget in service of the people.

“We urgently call on Congress and graciously urge it to approve the general budget at the soonest possible time, otherwise delay in its approval will affect the release of the funds for the salary hike of soldiers, policemen, teachers and civilian employees,” Panelo said in a statement.

“Further unreasonable delay on the part of Congress to approve the General Appropria-

tion Bill that will throw a monkey wrench on the program of the administration will be unacceptable to the sovereign people that placed them in office,” he added.

Panelo said the proposed budget’s swift passage was necessary as the country continues to face crisis and calamity one after the other, the most recent one being tropical depression “Usman” which wreaked havoc in the Bicol region.

He emphasized that the swift passage of the proposed budget “will merit approbation and accolade to all the members of Congress by a grateful nation.”

Aside from affecting the salary hike of government employees, Panelo also pointed out that the delayed passage of the proposed budget will also stall the commencement and continuation of infrastructure projects.

The proposed budget’s delay, he said, will also have an adverse effect on the efficient delivery of social services since

PRRD to barangay leaders: ‘Just follow the law, I’ll defend you’

BY EARL JED ROQUE Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday vowed to defend barangay leaders as long as they are following the law in the performance of their duty.

“Basta ako (As far as I am concerned), I am asking you, I cannot help you if it is graft and corruption.

But I can help you in cases na in-enforce ninyo ang batas tapos masabit kayo (which you merely enforced the law and you got sued),” Duterte said in his address to barangay leaders at the National Capital Region (NCR) Barangay Summit on Peace and Order in Pasay City.

The President said he will protect local officials, regardless of party affiliation, as long as they tell the truth.

“Hindi na kailangan kapartido tayo. Sabi ko, wala naman akong hiningi sa iyo, wala ka naman

hiningi sa akin, ‘di tabla. (We do not need to be partymates. I said, I did not ask anything from you and you did not ask anything from me, so it’s equal),” he said.

Duterte added that he has also been fair in dealing with his political allies tagged in corruption allegations.

“Usually political ganun, maski sabihin mo kakampi ko PDP (even if a person is my ally in PDP-Laban) … I would always tell you be fair. I will not be a party to any injustice. Never,” he said.

About 4,000 barangay and local government officials in Metro Manila convened in the Barangay Summit on Peace and Order held in Cuneta Astrodome where they discussed government measures to fight illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.

The President is known to fire officials in his administration, including allies, allegedly involved in graft and corruption. ■

PNA

maintenance and operating expenses will be impaired and new capital expenditures will be excluded.

Panelo reminded the Con-

gress that the Executive Department submitted the proposed general budget on the very day that the President delivered his third State of Nation

of Address (SONA) on July 23, 2018.

He said this is 29 days earlier than the maximum period required by the Constitution, precisely to give Congress the ample time to review it and make amendments thereto.

He stressed that it is their Constitutional duty to approve the proposed 2019 budget.

On Dec. 28, 2018, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed a resolution extending the validity of the 2018 National Expenditure Program (NEP) to Dec. 31, 2019.

Currently, the government has started operating under a reenacted budget on January 1 this year until the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is passed.

The Congress failed to pass the budget bill before the end of 2018 becase of allegations of “pork” insertions in the 2019 budget.

Congress earlier vowed to speed up the passage of the budget bill when sessions resume on January 14. ■

Taiwan offers more scholarship slots to Filipinos

BY JOYCE ANN L. ROCAMORA Philippine News Agency MANILA — The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila (TECO) is offering an increased scholarship slots for Filipinos intending to pursue degree studies or Mandarin language program in Taiwan.

In an announcement on Friday, the TECO said Taiwan’s Ministry of Education (MOE) has decided to offer additional scholarship slots for Filipinos “due to popular demand and the positive response” from Filipino students in the previous year.

Taiwan Representative to the Philippines Michael Peiyung Hsu is hoping that more Filipinos will “seize this opportunity to study and experience” Taiwan.

He noted that the people of Taiwan and the Philippines “complement each other,” and www.canadianinquirer.net

that Taipei is “the best location” for Filipinos to pursue higher education.

Starting January 1 until Mar. 16, 2019, TECO will accept application for the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), with grant covering the student’s full tuition, living expenses, economy class airfare tickets, and textbook costs.

Scholars pursuing master’s degree will receive a monthly stipend of 15, 000 NTD and 17, 000 NTD for those pursuing doctoral degrees.

Interested scholars may visit http://www.icdf.org.tw/ct.asp.

On February 1 until Apr. 30, 2019, TECO will accept applications for the MOE scholarship, with the grant covering a fouryear undergraduate studies, a two-year scholarship for master’s degree, or up to four years for doctoral degree.

The MOE will shoulder 40,000 NTD each semester for the corresponding tuition and

miscellaneous expenses.

Interested applicants may visit the ministry website at http://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/ EngLawContent.aspx.

The Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, which allows applicants to pursue a two-month or three-month intensive Mandarin courses, will provide a monthly stipend of 25,000 NTD to cover the student’s expenses from tuition to miscellaneous fees.

The application, starting February 1 to Mar. 31, 2019, will be subject to TECO’s approval. ■ Interested parties may visit http://edu.law.moe.gov.tw/ EngLawContent.aspx.

For further information regarding Taiwan’s scholarship offerings, applicants may check the “Study in Taiwan” section on TECO’s official website https:// www.roc-taiwan.org/ph_en/ cat/38.html or contact TECO’s Education Division at philippines@mail.moe.gov.tw.

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Philippine News

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Satur asks prosecutors to junk IP school abduction raps

BY BENJAMIN PULTA Philippine News Agency

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT / FACEBOOK

DSWD provides emergency shelter for ‘Usman’ survivors PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY MANILA — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to provide emergency shelter assistance to families whose homes were partially and totally damaged during the onslaught of Tropical Depression “Usman”, an official said Tuesday.

DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Glenda Relova said the shelter aid is part of the government’s relief efforts to help calamity survivors return to their normal lives.

“Kapag maayos na ang mga lugar na binaha ay bababa ang ating mga kawani sa DSWD upang magsagawa ng komprehensibong assessment sa mga damages na nakuha ng mga kabahayan dahil sa bagyo upang malaman kung ito ay partially o totally damaged at upang mabigyan sila ng emergency shelter assistance ng DSWD (Once the weather condition returns to normal, personnel from the DSWD will go to the affected areas to hold a comprehensive

assessment and determine if the damaged houses are partially or totally damaged. This will be the basis for the amount of emergency shelter assistance that the affected families will receive),” Relova said in a statement.

In its latest report, the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB) said there are already 11,312 reported damaged houses in the regions of Calabarzon (Cavite/ Laguna/Batangas/Rizal/Quezon), Mimaropa (Mindoro/ Marinduque/Romblon/Palawan), 5 (Bicol Region), and 8 (Central Visayas) which are set to be assessed by the DSWD in coordination with their respective local government units (LGUs).

The DSWD is also continuously delivering food and nonfood items to affected LGUs. It also continues to conduct psychosocial interventions in evacuation centers. Processing of financial aid for medical and burial assistance is also ongoing in affected regions.

As of Tuesday, the aid given by the DSWD now amounts to

PHP30,932,864.94.

Meanwhile, Relova urged the public to work hand-inhand with the government to intensify relief efforts for the families affected by the recent disasters.

“Hinihikayat po namin ang ating mga kababayan na nais tumulong na pagsamahin ang ating mga efforts para sa higit na mas sustenableng pagtulong sa ating mga nangangailangang kababayan. Patuloy tayong makilahok sa mga programa ng ating pamahalaan at magkaroon tayo ng responsibilidad sa bawat isa dahil sa pamamaraang ito mas ma-mimitigate natin ang magiging mga problema natin sa kalamidad sa darating na panahon (We are encouraging the public to work together and combine our efforts in providing sustainable assistance to our countrymen in need. We enjoin everyone to continue to participate in government programs and to learn to take responsibility for each other to lessen the impact brought by disasters in the future),” Relova said. ■

www.canadianinquirer.net

MANILA — Former Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo asked the Tagum City Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Davao Del Norte to dismiss the criminal charges filed against him in connection with the incident last November involving minors transported from an Indigenous People’s (IP) school.

In a 15-page counter affidavit filed on Tuesday, Ocampo denied having been actually at the school where the incident took place claiming he was left in a van which was not allowed to proceed to the school at a military checkpoint in Sitio Igang on the way to the school.

Ocampo has been charged with violation of Republic Act No. 10364 (Expanded Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012) in relation to Republic Act No. 7610 (Anti Child Abuse Law) and kidnapping and failure to return a minor.

“I was on board the van that was not allowed to pass through.

We stayed at the checkpoint in Sitio Ignang and waited for the other vans to return. I was not part of the group that met the students and teachers who were forced to leave the Salugpungan school in Sitio Dulyan,” Ocampo said.

Aside from Ocampo, also named respondents by the Talaingod Municipal Station were ACT Teachers partylist Rep. France Castro, Meggie Nolasco, Pastor Edgar Ugal, Rev. Ryan C. Magpayo, Pastor Eller A. Ordeza, Rev. Jurie Jaime, Jesus Modamo, Maryro Poquita, Maria Concepcion Ibarra, Jen-

veive Paraba, Merhay Tallado, Maricel Andagkit, Marcial Rendon, Ariel Ansan, Mariane Aga, Nerfa Awing and Wingwing Daunsay.

“I categorically deny the complaint for violation of RA in relation to RA 7610 and kidnapping and failure to return a minor against me. I did not commit any crime. Hence, I humbly pray that the instant complaint be immediately dismissed for lack of probable cause and for being a clear case of political persecution,” Ocampo said.

Ocampo’s group were arrested on Nov. 29, 2018 in the act of getting student indigenous peoples of the Te Tanu Ingkanogon Community Learning Center Inc., a Lumad school, and moving them out of the town.

Troops from the Talaingod Municipal Police and the 56th Infantry Battalion stopped the group on board five vans at a checkpoint in Barangay Sto. Niño. The police contacted the local Municipal Social Welfare Development chief Arlene Batua who insisted on taking custody of the minor students.

Batua, in her sworn statement, claimed the personalities involved failed to present legal documents authorizing them to transport the said minors.

At least one witness, Toting Loyod, one of the parents of one of the minors, said Ocampo’s group and National Solidarity Network (NSW) did not seek permission from him regarding the transport of his daughter from Talaingod, Davao del Norte to Maco, Compostela Valley. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

11

Chong presses for NBI PRRD endorses 3 admin bets probe on aide’s slay

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency

BY BENJAMIN PULTA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Former Biliran Rep. Glenn Chong met with officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday to seek assistance in the investigation into the death, under suspicious circumstances, of his aide Richard Santillan last month.

Chong met with DOJ officials led by Undersecretary Adrian Sugay to request that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) take over the investigation.

In his request to the DOJ, Chong, in particular, asked that the NBI take custody of his Toyota Fortuner SUV (NOF 845) impounded by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The PNP claims Santillan shot it out with policemen, prompting law enforcement authorities to use overwhelming force.

Chong and Presidential Anti-Corruption Commissioner Greco Belgica accompanied Santillan’s widow Jenette to the DOJ in seeking assistance.

Aside from the car, Chong said they also want the NBI to take custody of the clothes worn by Santillan during the incident, as well as conduct “a reconstruction of the events” from the time Santillan was last seen alive.

He added that a crucial piece of evidence, particularly footage from the dash camera in-

stalled on his SUV, could also shed light to the event.

“This is not a case of extrajudicial killing but a clear case of murder by guns for hire,” Chong told reporters after his meeting at the DOJ as he reiterated his call for the PNP leadership to surrender those guilty for the assault.

Belgica, for his part, underscored that no less than President Rodrigo Duterte has called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

Chong, an outspoken critic of government election services contractor, Smartmatic of Venezuela, reiterated that he could have been the real target of Santillan’s assailants.

The victim was found sprawled in Chong’s Toyota Fortuner (NOF-845). A police report showed that Santillan allegedly shot it out with a group of policemen manning a checkpoint on Eastbank Road, Cambridge Village past 1 a.m. on Dec. 10, 2018.

Chong insists his expose on election irregularities in the use of Smartmatic’s Precinct Count Optical Scan machines was the motive for the attack.

Two police officers from the Rizal Provincial Police Office were relieved from post on December 12 in connection with the incident.

Relieved were Rizal Provincial Police Director Senior Supt.

Lou Evangelista and Cainta police chief, Supt. Pablito Naganag. ■

MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday night endorsed three administration candidates anew after a survey for the senatorial race showed that they failed to make it to the top 12 list.

The recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that Duterte’s former Presidential Political Affairs Adviser Francis Tolentino ranked 17th on the survey.

Former Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go ranked 14th to 15th, tying with former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa.

Speaking before guests present at Tolentino’s birthday celebration in Tagaytay City, the President said he attended the event because he believed his former adviser possessed the qualities that make him a good senator.

“Francis, birthday niya, pumunta ako dito. Bakit? Gusto ko siyang ma-senador (Francis, it’s his birthday. I came here. Why? I want him to be senator),” Duterte said in his speech.

Duterte said he felt that people who were surveyed have made a “mistake” by not including him in the top 12 in the senatorial aspirants.

“Nagkamali lang ‘yung tao pero (People have made a mistake) I do not have to, you know, derogate others. Iyong nangunguna sa survey (But those leading in the survey). Susmaryo-

President Rodrigo R. Duterte raises the hand of former Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Francis Tolentino during the latter's birthday celebration at the Tagaytay International Convention Center in Tagaytay City on January 3, 2019.

VALERIE ESCALERA/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

sep,” he said.

The President praised Tolentino for being dedicated, knowledgeable, and diligently followed orders, citing how the former adviser who served as Mayon crisis manager during the volcano’s eruption in early 2018.

He stressed that he did not endorse Tolentino because he was a friend but given his “proven integrity”.

Aside from the birthday celebrator, Duterte also endorsed dela Rosa and Go, calling them “fundamentally honest” and “extraordinarily honest”, respectively.

“Si Bato, ganun lang ‘yan (he’s only like that) but he is

really fundamentally honest.

(He) became my chief of police.

Maniwala kayo (Believe me),” he said.

The Chief Executive said Go was a person he trusted enough to have allowed him to work for him as his top aide for almost 20 years.

At present, the SWS showed that Senators Cynthia Villar and Grace Poe have topped the senatorial race obtaining a voter preference of 62 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano, re-electionist Senators Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara and Nancy Binay shared the third to fifth places, obtaining 40 percent of the votes. ■

PRRD reiterates plan to turn NDRRMC into ‘regular department’

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte reiterated his call for the creation of a Department of Disaster Management (DDM) that will focus on minimizing risks in the advent of disasters.

“I have plans of making this department a regular department. Solely to meet the challenges,” Duterte said during Friday’s situation briefing held in Pili, Camarines Sur, after

conducting an aerial inspection in the area that was devastated by Tropical Depression Usman.

Duterte was referring to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), which is headed

by Executive Director Ricardo Jalad.

The NDRRMC is in charge of policy-making, coordination, integration, supervision, monitoring and evaluation functions in relation to disaster risk reduction and management.

In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23 last year, Duterte appealed to Congress to pass a measure that will allow the creation of an agency that will have more powers than the NDRRMC. “We, in the Cabinet, have approved for immediate endorsement to Congress the passage of a law creating the ‘Department of Disaster Management,’” Duterte said.

“I fervently appeal to Congress to pass this bill with utmost urgency. Our people’s www.canadianinquirer.net

safety requirements cannot wait,” he added.

The House of Representatives has already passed a bill on the creation of a disaster department. However, the Senate is still deliberating on its version of the bill.

Citing lack of coordination between national and local government units, Senator Grace Poe, also urged her colleagues in the Senate, to approve the measure that would create a new department in charge of responding to calamities quick-

ly.

She lamented how the Senate has prioritized other bills but only remembers the measure creating a disaster department during disasters.

Last year, Poe filed Senate Bill No. 1735 that seeks the creation of a Department of Disaster Resilience and Emergency Management that will strengthen the country’s disaster risk reduction and management system and institutions, particularly, the NDRRMC. ■

12

Philippine News

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Arroyo lauds inflation decline in December

BY JOANNA BELLE DEALA Philippine Canadian Inquirer HOUSE SPEAKER Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Saturday, January 5, hailed the data released by the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), showing a sign of easing in the country’s inflation crisis.

“It is good that inflation is on a downtrend,” Arroyo said.

On Friday, the PSA announced that the inflation rate or the increase in the prices of goods slowed down to 5.1 percent in December 2018, Christmas season. This latest figure was 0.9 percent lower than the six percent recorded in November 2018.

The slowdown, the PSA said, was due to the slower annual increments in food and non-

alcoholic beverages which is at 6.7 percent and transport at four percent.

It added that lower annual increases were also noted in alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 21.7 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 4.1 percent; furnishing, household equipment, and routine maintenance of the house at 3.8 percent; and restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services at 4.3. percent.

December’s 5.1 percent was also lower than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) forecast range of 5.2 to six percent.

While pleased about last month’s figure, Arroyo still called on the government to “act quickly” in implementing its plans and programs so that the Filipino people will feel the result of such improvement in

House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO, BEAT THE ODDS / FACEBOOK

their everyday lives.

“The focus must now be on implementing things quickly and efficiently, in all fronts,” the House speaker and former

PRRD ready to spend P46-B for new houses in Bicol

BY AZER PARROCHA Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte said that the government is “ready to spend” approximately PHP46 billion to build at least 300 sturdier houses in the Bicol region in the wake of Tropical Depression Usman.

Duterte made this announcement on Friday during a situation briefing held in Pili, Camarines Sur, after conducting an aerial inspection in the calamity-hit region.

“Ang akin lang (If it were just me) if they would listen to my appeal that we use part of the money for the pressing problems of Bicol. It’s about PHP46 billion,” Duterte said, stressing that he wanted the houses to be more disaster resilient.

“I’m ready to spend the money for — to improve the topography of the place and make it safe for people to build houses,” Duterte said.

He said he will ask Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo Del Rosario to initiate the construction of houses in the region.

Philippine president said.

“This is consistent with some Cabinet members’ call for vigorous implementation of the government’s infrastructure

Resumption of peace talks with Reds slim: Lorenzana

BY PRIAM NEPOMUCENO Philippine News Agency

ALFRED FRIAS / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

“If it can be freed and transferred to another department for good use, I said I will ask Ed (Del Rosario) to initiate some — mga houses dito sa napili mo na na lugar (of these houses here in areas) , which you think are safe. Maybe I’ll give you 300 houses,” Duterte said.

Duterte said he wanted the houses to be made of cement and used solely for evacuation purposes.

“It has to be a durable one, semento (cement). But this can only be used for evacuation purposes and to keep the people safe and not to disturb the resumption of the govern-

mental functions that we have, the ministrant schooling and everything,” Duterte said.

He also noted that since Del Rosario is currently busy with the rehabilitation of Marawi City after the ISIS-inspired Maute Group occupied the city on May 23, 2017, the housing chief could order someone to do it for him.

“If you are not so loaded with work in Marawi, you might also want to assign one guy here to do just the observation and for you to go around and suggest what would be the best remedy.

You can always contact General Año,” Duterte said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

program. We must produce tangible results all around during the second half of the President’s term,” she added.

Despite the drop in the inflation rate, Malacañang earlier assured to the Filipinos that it will “not fall into complacency” in maintaining the country’s economic progress.

It also stressed that December’s inflation was slower because of the actions made by President Rodrigo Duterte such as his issuance of Administrative Order No. 13 “which streamlined procedures on the importation of agricultural products such as rice” and the Memorandum Order Nos. 26, 27, and 28 “which helped stabilize the prices of agriculture and fishery products at reasonable levels.” ■

MANILA — Chances of reviving the stalled peace talks with communist rebels remain slim as the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) continue to commit atrocities and threaten to oust President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Sunday.

“With his (CPP founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison’s) threat to oust PRRD and the continuing attacks, extortions and burning of construction equipment I personally don’t see any chance of resumption of talks in the near future. I have consistently said that Sison and his people should also show some sincerity,” he said in a message to reporters.

Lorenzana described Sison’s call to oust Duterte “hollow” and said the CPP-NPA is losing to the government’s anti-insurgency campaign.

“His previous call of priori-

tizing the ouster of PRRD is a hollow one knowing fully how popular the President remains.

But he has to make it ostensibly to rally his fighters,” Lorenzana said.

The DND chief said now that Duterte has hinted that peace talks is still possible, Sison is “grasping at thin straws to keep his dream alive.”

“But he can dream on. The President has consistently said that he would re open the talks if he believes there is a compelling reason to do so. The President likewise set some conditions for talks such as: no attacks on government forces and civilians, no extortion, no destruction of properties and talks should be held here in the Philippines, among others,” Lorenzana said.

Citing continued attacks by the NPA, Duterte scrapped the negotiations in 2017.

The NPA, the CPP’s armed wing, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

13

Build strong evacuation centers 4 luxury cars from to avoid class suspensions: PRRD Japan intercepted

BY EARL JED ROQUE Philippine News Agency MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered government officials to speed up the construction of durable evacuation centers and housing units to ensure that there will be no disruption of classes in the aftermath of calamities.

In a situational briefing after his aerial inspection in the aftermath of Tropical Depression Usman in Camarines Sur on Friday, Duterte said he wants the planned evacuation centers to be made up of concrete in order to ensure its durability in times of calamity.

“It has to be a concrete… I would not be satisfied with ’yung mga kahoy-kahoy lang (if it’s only made up of wood).

They will be the first to go if the winds come. This is quite a novelty of recent time because walang hangin, puro tubig (there are no winds, just purely rainfall). So nakita ko kanina (I saw it), it has become a huge

lake,” he said.

The President said he wants these buildings to be used solely as evacuation centers and avoid using schools in the conduct of relief operations by government agencies during disaster times.

“Every typhoon, calamity that would need the evacuation of people, the public schools really suffer. And also it disturbs the system. It causes an aberration rather in the schooling of children… These (planned evacuation centers) can only be used for evacuation purposes and to keep the people safe and not to disturb the resumption of the governmental functions that we have, the ministrant schooling and everything na hindi makakaistorbo in this area (so areas affected will not be disturbed),” he said.

In the same briefing, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said the construction of local and regional evacuation centers in landslide- and typhoon-prone areas is their

priority.

“Our priorities would be the construction of local evacuation centers, aside from the regional evacuation centers to be constructed by the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), particularly in the eastern seaboard of our country where about 15 to 20 typhoons visit every year,” Año said.

Late in December, “Usman” lashed parts of Bicol, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon Province), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), and Eastern Visayas.

Data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed that the calamity damaged the Bicol region immensely, particularly Albay and Camarines Sur, where heavy rains resulted in flash floods and landslides affecting more than 23,000 families, with at least 122 deaths, and 28 reported as missing. ■

at Cebu port

BY FERDINAND PATINIO Philippine News Agency MANILA — The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) of the Port of Cebu has recommended the issuance of Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) against a shipment containing four undeclared luxury vehicles.

In an statement issued Saturday, the Port said the vehicles, a Range Rover Evoque, a Porsche 911, a Mercedes-Benz, and an Alfa Romeo were discovered on Friday after the container underwent 100-percent physical examination.

The examination was based on the alert order issued by District Collector lawyer Elvira Cruz for possible misdeclaration.

“The shipment imported

by Kylemelan General Merchandise with office address at Malabon City arrived at the

Port of Cebu last 19 December 2018 under Bill of Lading No. 181206750071 declaring the same to contain only one piece car body for decoration,” it said.

Before undergoing physical examination, the shipment from Japan, underwent x-ray inspection on Thursday.

“The scanning image of the shipment, however, exhibited that the same actually contained four completely-built up motor vehicles,” the BOC Port of Cebu added.

It noted that the discrepancy prompted the CIIS to request for the issuance of an alert order against the shipment for suspected act of misdeclaration under Section 1400 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

The recommendation to issue a WSD against the whole shipment was for violation of Section 1400, in relation to Sections 1113 par. (f ), (i) 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the CMTA. ■

Reenacted budget not an ‘excuse’ for delay in pay hike: solon

BY FILANE MIKEE CERVANTES Philippine News Agency MANILA — House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. on Tuesday said a reenacted budget is not an excuse to stop the implementation of salary increases of government employees for 2019.

In a statement, Andaya said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has all the tools in pushing through with the salary increases this year.

“Considering the fact that the cash budget proposal this year is the same as last year, then a reenacted budget covers the needed funding for the salary increases,” he said.

Andaya, in a separate statement, also appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to remind DBM Secretary Benjamin Dio-

kno to transmit to the Office of the President all the documents needed to facilitate the release of salary increase for government employees due this year.

“Sec. Diokno will be doing the country a great disservice if he fails to submit these documents to the President on time.

The President needs to sign the pertinent documents in order to effect the releases by January 15,” Andaya said.

“These are the same documents that the President signed last year for the first tranche of salary increases for uniformed personnel, at a time when the pay raise was still not included in the 2018 budget proposal,” he added.

The fourth and last tranche of the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) has been deferred pending the approval of the proposed PHP3.757-trillion national budget.

Diokno earlier told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that “government authorities cannot spend on items not authorized by Congress.”

He explained the last tranche of the SSL “is part of the 2019 President’s Budget, not 2018 Budget.”

“Congress has to approve the 2019 budget before government workers can avail of the 4th tranche,” he said, pointing out that “the re-enacted budget is a second-best option provided for in the Constitution.”

The best option is the approval of the proposed allocation, Andaya added.

On Dec. 28, 2018, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed a resolution extending the validity of the 2018 National Expenditure Program (NEP) to Dec. 31, 2019.

Currently, the government has started operating under a reenwww.canadianinquirer.net

House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. ROLANDO "NONOY" ANDAYA JR / FACEBOOK

acted budget on January 1 this year until the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) is passed.

Congress failed to pass the budget bill before the end of 2018 because of allegations of

“pork” insertions in the 2019 budget.

It earlier vowed to speed up the passage of the budget bill when sessions resume on January 14. ■

14

Canada News B.C. Indigenous group anticipating RCMP action at anti-LNG pipeline camp

BY AMY SMART The Canadian Press SUPPORTERS OF an Indigenous camp blocking access to a planned pipeline in northern British Columbia say they are anticipating RCMP action over an injunction filed against them.

Jennifer Wickham, a member of the Gidimt’en clan of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, said on Sunday that police have gathered in Smithers and Houston, B.C., which are the closest towns to the Gidimt’en checkpoint.

“They have a charter bus, RV, and what seems to be a tactical vehicle,” she said.

TransCanada has said it has signed agreements with all First Nations along its Coastal GasLink pipeline route to LNG Canada’s $40 billion liquefied natural gas project in Kitimat, B.C. But Wickham says the company does not have the authority to build through Wet’suwet’en territory because the house chiefs, who are hereditary chiefs rather than elected band council leaders, have not given consent.

“Our traditional governance system is separate, and that is who has jurisdiction over the house territories and clan territories,” she said.

RCMP said in a statement Sunday morning that while it is responsible for enforcing the injunction order, its top priority is safety.

“In planning for the enforce-

ment of this injunction, police are taking the remote location of the Morice River Bridge into account and will be ensuring that enough police officers will be present in the area to keep the peace and ensure everyone’s safety,” the force said.

“The primary concerns of the police are public safety, police officer safety, and preservation of the right to peaceful, lawful and safe protest, within the terms set by the Supreme Court in the injunction.”

On Dec. 14, the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs issued a statement saying they were deeply concerned by the National Energy Board’s decision denying their request to participate in a jurisdictional challenge to the permits issued to TransCanada’s Coastal GasLink pipeline project, which would cross Wet’suwet’en territories.

While members of another Wet’suwet’en house, the Unist’ot’en of the Gilseyhu clan, erected a camp and checkpoint in the area of the planned pipeline years ago, the Gidimt’en gate was erected 20 kilometres away in December.

“We wanted to show that even though the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en are from separate clans, all the chiefs have been opposed to pipelines in our territories for years and years and years,” Wickham said.

“Unist’ot’en has been holding that responsibility all by themselves, so the (Gidimt’en) chief decided it was time for all of us to physically show our support.”

In an amended injunction

order filed Friday, a B.C. Supreme Court justice said the defendants — which include anyone “occupying, obstructing, blocking, physically impeding or delaying access” in the area — have until Jan. 31 to file a response to Coastal GasLink’s injunction application.

In the meantime, the order says they are prohibited from physically interfering with or impeding any person or vehicle trying to access the area or carrying on pipeline business, including pre-construction and construction activities. The defendants are also prohibited from threatening, intimidating or getting within 10 metres of anyone actively working on the project.

TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said on Sunday the company is not asking for the camp to be dismantled, only for access to the construction area.

“The camp established next to the bridge will remain as is.

In fact, we see no reason why the camp cannot continue with its activities. We simply need to use the public bridge to access our pipeline right of way,” Cunha said in an email.

When the company announced the agreements with First Nations elected councils in September, it also said it would continue holding discussions with some hereditary governance groups.

LNG Canada announced on Oct. 2 that its joint venture participants had taken a positive investment decision to construct the Kitimat export facility.

B.C. Premier John Horgan

www.canadianinquirer.net

International Call to Action for Gidimt’en Access Checkpoint.

WET'SUWET'EN ACCESS POINT ON GIDUMT'EN TERRITORY / FACEBOOK

said LNG Canada’s decision ranked on the historic scale of a “moon landing,” emphasizing just how much the project means to an economically deprived region of the province — an estimated $23 billion in provincial revenue.

In a notice of civil claim filed Nov. 23, Coastal GasLink says construction on the pipeline is scheduled to begin this month for completion in 2021.

“Coastal GasLink has project agreements with all 20 elected Indigenous bands along the length of the project in British Columbia,” the company said in the court document.

The company has tried to begin work in an area only accessible by the Morice Forest Service Road, but has been prevented from doing so by the demonstrators, it said.

“A small delay in completing the work could contribute to a significant overall delay for the project,” it says.

Around 2012, the Unist’ot’en camp set up a blockade by con-

structing a gate and other obstacles to the area, and a second gate has been constructed recently at the Morice River Bridge, it said. Coastal GasLink was most recently prevented from accessing the area on Nov. 20, it said.

In a statement posted on its website, the Unist’ot’en camp issued an international call to action for the Gidimt’en access checkpoint and at least 17 events had been organized by Sunday afternoon.

The statement describes potential RCMP action as “an act of war,” pointing to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which says Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their territories.

“We are now preparing for a protracted struggle. The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en and the land defenders holding the front lines have no intention of allowing Wet’suwet’en sovereignty to be violated,” it said. ■

Canada News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

15

Canada’s two major railways ‘Between two worlds:’ well poised for trade Saskatchewan headwinds in 2019: analysts Premier apologizes to ’60s Scoop survivors

BY CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Canada’s two major railways are well-positioned to weather potential economic headwinds and the U.S.-China trade war, analysts say, as ongoing investments in new cars and track bolster crude-by-rail and commodities shipments.

Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. shipped 23 per cent more oil and petroleum in 2018 to drive a four per cent increase in total freight traffic, according to the Association of American Railways.

Crude-by-rail exports have spiked over the past year amidst a pipeline shortage and a big discount on Western Canadian Select oil, hitting a record 327,229 barrels per day in October, a 58 per cent year-overyear increase, according to the National Energy Board.

With Enbridge’s Line 3 not set to come online until late this year and the Trans Mountain expansion facing uncertainty, CN and CP can expect continued high demand for shipments of the black stuff, DBRS analyst Amaury Baudouin said.

The railways have drawn on lessons from unfilled contracts following the crude-by-rail boom five years ago, entering into multi-year contracts with oil shippers that set minimum volumes and higher fees to help insulate them from volatile demand, he said.

“I think lessons of the past have been learned, and a lot of this capacity is being contracted on a take-or-pay basis… which means that if the economics of Western Canadian oil change a lot, CN and CP will still have that oil to move around to the U.S. refineries and the Gulf Coast.”

In 2017 petroleum, chemicals and plastics brought in 16 per cent of CN’s $13.04 billion in revenue and 14 per cent of CP’s $6.38-billion revenues. With crude comprising only a portion of those categories, surging

BY RYAN MCKENNA The Canadian Press

Canadian National Railway 2452 is a General Electric C40-8M. TYLER SILVEST FROM OLATHE, KANSAS - CN 2452 (C40-8M) / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CC BY 2.0

sales will have a limited impact on the bottom line and the stock price, Baudouin cautioned.

Over the past year, Montreal-based CN has invested in rail cars, track doubling and expanded rail yards — particularly between Chicago and the West Coast — to the tune of $3.5 billion, 30 per cent more than its three-year average. It has plans to keep building in 2019.

Calgary-based CP, meanwhile, aims to have 1,000 more grain cars in service by this spring, following CN’s order for 1,000 hoppers last May. The moves follow a major backlog in grain shipments last winter. However both railways have roared back from the bottleneck. CP moved 2.64 million tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products in October, a company record for monthly shipments that it nearly matched in November.

CN reported the highest quarterly revenues in its 99-year history in October, spurred on by revenue growth of between 15 per cent and 25 per cent for grain and fertilizers as well as metals and minerals, forest products and coal.

CP, though lacking its rival’s broad access to maritime ports, traffics heavily in bulk commodities such as grain, potash, coal and fertilizer that amount to 44 per cent of its revenue, according to a DBRS report from October.

“There’s this shift in China where the diet is changing to more Western-style habits and

they’re eating a lot more grain.

That also demands a lot more potash 1/8for fertilizer 3/8 than the traditional seafood-based diet,” Deutsche Bank analyst Seldon Clarke said.

The expanded port at Prince Rupert, B.C., where CN has laid track directly on the dock, is another reason for long-term optimism. It offers shippers a swift route for Asian-produced goods, avoiding the congestion of Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, more grain is being stuffed into shipping containers and dropped on carriers bound for China, he said.

Lumber and automotive parts, however, pose a potential weak point for both railways.

“The American housing market is looking pretty weak and not going to have a sharp turnaround any time soon. Same goes for the auto industry in the U.S.,” Clarke said, pointing to plummeting lumber prices.

Automotive shipment revenues dropped 21 per cent for CP and 10 per cent for CN in 2017, with further declines in 2018.

Ongoing steel and aluminum tariffs affect only a fraction of the railways’ shipments, but CN and CP remain vulnerable to the fallout from U.S.-China trade tensions and a potential economic slowdown following a decade of global growth, Clarke said.

“You’re seeing a slowdown in economic activity in China, and it’s probably a fair guess to say that that starts to impact North America at some point.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe apologized to survivors of the ’60s Scoop Monday for failing them and leaving them “caught between two worlds.”

“On behalf of the government of Saskatchewan and on behalf of the people of Saskatchewan, I stand before you today to apologize. I stand before you to say sorry,” Moe said before around 200 people at the legislature.

“We are sorry for the pain and the sadness that you have experienced. We are sorry for your loss of culture and language. And to all of those who lost contact with their family, we’re so sorry.”

About 20,000 Indigenous children were seized from their birth families and relocated to non-Indigenous homes starting in the 1950s until the late 1980s.

The practice stripped children of their language, culture and family ties.

Moe said the consequences are being felt to this day and he thanked the survivors, now adults, who told their stories at six sharing circles the government set up so that the province could better understand what happened.

“We are grateful for your candour and we are grateful for your courage,” he said.

Survivor Kerry OpoonechawBellegarde, 43, said she felt lonely going into the legislature because she wanted her parents to be there. Both of her parents were residential school survivors.

She had hoped Moe would mention the parents of those seized in his apology. She met with Moe afterwards but left disappointed.

“I showed him the picture of my parents and I said, ‘You forgot to directly apologize to our parents,”’ Opoonechaw-Bellegarde said.

Robert Doucette, a survivor

and co-chair of Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Saskatchewan, said he cried during the ceremony as he thought about lost members of his family that he’ll never see.

The apology was a highlight of his life and a step in the right direction, he said.

“I waited 56 years for this apology,” Doucette said. “I heard the premier say he was sorry, and there was acknowledgment of the harms that they perpetrated on First Nations and Metis children and I appreciate that.”

Survivor Terri Parsons said the apology was very moving and needed to be said. Alberta and Manitoba have already apologized for their role in the ’60s Scoop.

“It’s a step in the right direction for the future, even for my daughter and the future generations,” she said.

Moe acknowledged that there “is nothing that we can offer that will fully restore what you have lost.

“But what we can offer is the solemn assurance that government policies have changed and they continue to change.”

Some survivors said before the apology that they hoped it would come with action to reduce the number of children in care.

The number of children in out-of-home care in Saskatchewan was over 5,200 at the end of September.

Chief Bobby Cameron from the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in the province, did not attend the ceremony.

He said the apology is empty if it’s not accompanied by action and called for child welfare reform.

“Our First Nations children are still being ripped away from their families, communities and culture,” Cameron said in a statement. “This needs to stop immediately.” ■

Canada News

16

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Military expert suggests Canada may want to consider its own space force

BY PETER RAKOBOWCHUK The Canadian Press Canada’s Food Guide.

CANADA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MUSEUM / FLICKR, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Cheesed off: Food Guide makeover worries farmers as government prepares release

BY KRISTY KIRKUP The Canadian Press OTTAWA — An overhaul of the Canada Food Guide is set to be released soon, a highly anticipated makeover that will do away with the rainbow visual many Canadians associate with the dietary guide commonly used in hospitals and daycares.

One of the major changes expected in the new guide is a focus on plant-based sources of proteins — a move that has sparked concern among industry players, including the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the national policy and lobby organization representing Canada’s farmers warned the decision could have a detrimental impact on future generations and harm a sector that continues to be “negatively impacted by the concessions granted in recent trade agreements.”

“Not only will this harm the dairy sector and the hundreds of thousands who depend upon it for their livelihoods, it also risks harming Canadian consumers by creating confusion about the nutritional value of dairy,” said its president Pierre Lampron.

Hasan Hutchinson, director general of nutritional policy and promotion at Health Canada, said Friday that Health Canada has stayed true to its goal of basing the new Food Guide on

the best available evidence also recognized by international organizations.

When the overhaul began years ago, Health Canada said it wouldn’t base its new guide to healthy eating on research from food industries.

The department is not saying that animal-based proteins are not nutritious, Hutchinson said, noting the food guide will continue to recommend Canadians choose from foods including lower-fat milk, lower-fat yogurt and cheeses lower in fat and sodium.

It will also refer to lean meats, poultry and other animal-based foods as examples of nutritious choices, he said.

“However, there will be a bit of an emphasis, a focus on having more plant-based foods,” he said.

“Regular intake of plantbased foods, so vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and these plant-based proteins can have positive effects on health,” he said, noting cardiovascular disease is a particular concern.

In a document put out for consultation, Health Canada said most Canadians do not eat enough vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and many also drink beverages high in sugars.

It also said what is needed is a shift towards a high proportion of plant-based foods generally, adding new advice could help Canadians eat more fibre-rich foods, eat less red meat, and replace foods that contain mostly saturated fat with foods that contain mostly unsaturated fat. ■

ed, it should focus on making Norad — the bilateral North American Aerospace Defence Command — more effective.

MONTREAL — President “I would think that any coDonald Trump’s push to creoperation that we do with the ate a U.S. space force is being States as it relates to North welcomed by military experts American defence, as it relates in Canada, and the executive to aerospace, should be part of director of one defence think the Norad discussions,” he said. tank says Canada should conRandall Garrison, the NDP sider following suit. defence critic, criticized “At some point we might like Trump’s plan to launch a sixth to think about a space force,” branch of the U.S. military.

Matthew Overton, executive “New Democrats are fundadirector of the Conference of mentally opposed to the miliDefence Associations Institute, tarization of space and believe said in an interview. “Thinking that space should only be used about space as a separate entity by all of humanity for peaceful in itself that deserves attention purposes,” he wrote in an email. and expertise, I think is a good “New Democrats urge the idea.” government of Canada to upBut it is not something that hold the principles of peaceneeds to be done immediately, ful space exploration and to he added, sugengage with our gesting Canada allies on a reshould first denewed call for velop a centre the drafting of of excellence on Thinking about space as a separate an international space knowlentity in itself that deserves treaty aimed at edge. attention and expertise, I think is a the prevention Last month, good idea. of an arms race Trump took a in space.” first step toward Overton pointa space force ed out that space when he signed an order to concentrate resources in that has long been exploited for milcreate a U.S. Space Command, domain, which probably merits itary purposes, and there’s no which pulls together space-re- a separation from the air force,” way it can be avoided. lated units from across military Ellis, a past president of the Ca“Communications satellites, services into a co-ordinated, in- nadian Space Society, said in an GPS and intelligence commudependent organization. interview. nications, you name it — all that The move comes amid grow“Perhaps now is a good op- is there,” he said. ing concerns that China and portunity to look at a totally The office of the Minister of Russia are working on ways to separate branch — at least for National Defence noted in a disrupt, disable or even destroy the U.S.” statement that “space-based U.S. satellites.

He noted that Canadian mili- capabilities have become esThe U.S. air force has operat- tary personnel have worked sential to Canada’s operations ed a space command since 1982, side by side with the U.S. mili- at home and abroad. and its mission is “to provide re- tary for decades. “A lot of these “That is why Canada’s desilient, defendable and afford- positions are actually space fence policy … commits to able space capabilities for the positions at various bases so, at investing in a range of space air force.” It also operates the some point, our posted person- capabilities such as satelmysterious X-37B space plane, nel are going to be interacting lite communications, to help known simply as its orbital test with the U.S. space force as it achieve global coverage, includvehicle. The unmanned plane gets set up,” he added. ing the Arctic.” has already completed four James Bezan, the ConserThe statement goes on to clandestine missions, carrying vative defence critic, said he say that “Canada will continue classified payloads on long-du- wants to see more details about to promote the peaceful use of ration flights. the space capabilities Ameri- space and provide leadership Overton, who served in the cans envision. in shaping international norms Canadian Forces for 39 years, “For Canada, my sense is that for responsible behaviour in noted that Canada’s Air Force we need to watch this and see space.” ■ already has a space component. how it evolves,” he said. Before It is led by Brigadier General Canada considers creating its With files from The Associated Kevin Whale, Director General own space force, Bezan addPress. www.canadianinquirer.net

Space. Its mission, a spokesman said by email, is “to maintain space domain awareness, and to develop, deliver and assure space-based capabilities.”

Overton said Trump’s space force makes a lot of sense, but he expects there will be tension as the new entity gets down to work with other branches of the military. He gave the example of the GPS network, which is crucial for land, air and sea forces, but could become a space force responsibility.

“What is the relationship with other forces? How do you work out that dynamic?”

Wayne Ellis, who served in the Canadian military for 20 years, agrees that a U.S. space force is a good idea.

“I think there’s enough activity and potential activity to

Canada News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

17

Push carefully but do no harm to Canadians imprisoned in China: senator

BY MIKE BLANCHFIELD The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The Liberal senator leading the Canadian parliamentary delegation travelling to China says his group will tread carefully in calling for the release of the two Canadians detained there.

Sen. Joseph Day said that engaging directly with Chinese lawmakers is crucial but his group doesn’t want to do anything to hurt Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

“We will first of all do nothing to harm their situation, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that they’re treated fairly and hopefully the result of — indirectly — of our visit will be that the judicial and executive branches in China decide to release these two gentlemen,” Day told The Canadian Press by phone on Friday from Montreal before boarding a flight to the People’s Republic.

The two countries may have

different views about what constitutes the rule of law but both need to find common ground on some basics, he said.

“Sometimes little expressions like ‘rule of law’ take on different meaning for different people. We go back to the fundamentals,” the New Brunswick senator said. “One of the fundamentals is if they’re being detained they have a right to representation. They have a right to know what’s being alleged against them, and how they’re going to defend themselves.”

So far, none of that has been afforded to Kovrig and Spavor, each of whom has had only one visit by the Canadian ambassador in China since being arrested last month. The detentions are in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of high-tech executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the United States.

The Chinese government has said they’ve both been arrested on national-security grounds.

On Thursday, a Chinese gov-

ernment spokesman said it was not “convenient” to discuss the allegations against the two Canadians despite an assertion by the country’s top prosecutor that they broke the law.

China’s chief prosecutor, Zhang Jun, told a separate briefing on Thursday that “without a doubt” Kovrig and Spavor broke the country’s laws and are being investigated.

The Chinese government, including its ambassador to Canada, as well as the country’s state-controlled media have sharply criticized the Canadian legal system. Ambassador Lu Shaye has called Meng’s detention “a miscarriage of justice” and said it has “no basis in international law.”

Canada has an extradition treaty with the U.S., and Meng has been released on bail after an open court hearing in Vancouver.

Day said part of his delegation’s task is to explain such things to their fellow Chinese lawmakers.

Sen. Joseph Day.

“We have our work cut out for us in terms of explaining our system and how it’s different.”

The stated purpose of the trip is to deepen Canada’s trading relationship and people-topeople ties with China in an attempt to reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S., he said.

“We’re building a relationship with them that’s critically important because the better you get to know one another the

@SENDAYNB / TWITTER

more they will discuss things frankly and openly. Until you do that, you don’t get beyond the diplomatic niceties.”

Day said his delegation has been well briefed by Global Affairs Canada and he’s not worried about its members’ personal security. He added that a firmer travel advisory for Canadians, warning them about ❱❱ PAGE 20 Push carefully

Former Alberta MP Myron Thompson, known for cowboy hat and controversy, dies

BY ROB DRINKWATER The Canadian Press SUNDRE, ALTA. — A former Alberta MP known for his cowboy hat and controversial positions on a number of issues has died.

Myron Thompson — who supported the American-led war in Iraq, opposed gun laws and same-sex marriage, and argued for stronger animal protection and child pornography legislation — was 82.

Thompson served as an MP for the Wild Rose riding from 1993, first for the Reform Party and later for the Conservatives, until he stepped down in 2008.

Jason Nixon, a United Conservative provincial politician who knew Thompson, says the former MP’s family pastor informed him Sunday of the death on behalf of Thompson’s wife, Dot. “I don’t think anybody, no

matter what side of the political argument that you may have been on with Myron,… would ever doubt that he loved the people that he represented,” Nixon said in a phone interview, noting that Thompson had been fighting cancer.

“He got up each day and fought for them the best way that he knew how.”

Thompson’s positions and controversial comments frequently garnered national attention.

When the Reform Party passed a policy at its national convention in 1994 to deny family benefits to same-sex couples, Thompson said, “I do not hate homosexuals — I hate homosexuality.”

In 2001, he told question period that he felt too many RCMP officers were patrolling national parks searching for poachers instead of hunting in cities for terrorists. At the start

of the U.S. war in Iraq, Thompson, whose son Dennis was a U.S. combat soldier in Iraq, told a pro-American demonstration in Calgary that Canada should be supporting the war.

And when controversy erupted in 2006 over a decision to bar media from the base where the bodies of Canadian soldiers were arriving from Afghanistan, Thompson declared he would shoot any media if they tried to come on site to cover a dead son of his.

“I do speak my mind and that’s never changed,” Thompson said in a 2006 interview for a story about whether Conservative MPs felt muzzled by their party.

He was born in Colorado and said he’d once tried out for the New York Yankees. He moved to Canada in 1968 and served as mayor of Sundre, Alta., before moving on to the federal scene, later returning to municipal politics in the town after his www.canadianinquirer.net

time as an MP. In 2004, when U.S. president George W. Bush visited Ottawa, Thompson met with him to tell him there were Canadians who supported the war in Iraq.

According to Thompson, the president thanked him and also wanted to know if Thompson was from Bush’s home state.

“Bush said, ‘I really like you.

You are a straight-shooter. Are you sure you’re not from Texas?’“ Thompson recalled after the meeting.

In 2007, Thompson presented a petition to Parliament with 110,000 signatures calling for tougher laws against animal cruelty. The names had been collected by Tamara Chaney of Didsbury, Alta., who was outraged after a horrific case of animal abuse involving a family dog.

“He was passionate about animals. He was one of the most gentle people that I’ve ever seen when you watched him interact

with animals … so that’s something he fought for,” Nixon said.

Numerous former colleagues issued statements of condolence on Sunday.

“Myron Thompson was a colourful and straightforward Westerner who well served the West, his constituents, and the country as a member of parliament,” former Reform Party Leader Preston Manning said in an emailed statement.

“Sincere condolences to Dot and the rest of his family, with deepest thanks for sharing Myron with us.”

Jason Kenney, a former Conservative cabinet minister who now leads Alberta’s United Conservative Party, said there’s a long list of people who loved Thompson.

“It was a privilege to serve with Myron in Parliament. A true character, Myron will be deeply missed,” Kenney said on Twitter. ■

World News

18

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Hundreds of federal scientists miss conferences in shutdown

BY CLAIRE GALOFARO The Associated Press THE WORLD’S largest airborne observatory was supposed to be parked in Seattle this week, so thousands of scientists attending the “Super Bowl of Astronomy” could behold this marvel: a Boeing 747 outfitted with a massive telescope used to study the fundamental mysteries of the universe.

But conference-goers will not be able to see NASA’s space-exploring plane. Its visit to the 233rd Meeting of the American Astronomical Society was cancelled, one of a growing list of scientific casualties of the partial government shutdown now stretching into its third week.

Along with the plane, hundreds of government scientists are also no longer allowed to attend the conference or two other major scientific gatherings scheduled to begin this week. Those meetings will address pressing issues in the fields of technology, space exploration, extreme weather and climate change.

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But the shutdown’s impact on science stretches well beyond the empty chairs at this week’s conferences, said Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society. It means some of the nation’s smartest scientific minds are sitting at home, not doing science, for weeks, with no clear end in sight.

“That’s difficult to recover from,” said Seitter. “We’ll be seeing ripple effects from this for a long time.”

Attendees of the events describe them as crucial opportunities for scientists from the government, the private sector and academia to exchange research and ideas. The gatherings are like threelegged stools, said Kevin Petty, the chief science officer for the private climate company, Vaisala. And this week one of the legs is missing.

“That’s the value of these conferences, it’s the people I run into in the hallway or the coffee line, start up a conversation and realize there’s a connection between what they’re doing and what I’m doing,” said Amanda O’Connor, a satellite imag-

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ing expert who is attending a weather Conference organizers have scramconference. “It’s those serendipitous bled to shift speakers, relax the rules to encounters that are lost and really im- allow non-governmental employees to portant.” present the work of their federal colSome 700 federal employees who leagues and negotiate with hotels to alplanned to attend the American Meteo- low government employee to cancel resrological Society conference in Phoenix ervations made long ago. are staying home. Another 500 will miss “In the same week that the Chinese the American Institute of Aeronautics government lands a rover (on the far and Astronautics’ SciTech Forum and side of the moon) and the U.S. sends a Exposition in San Diego. The American probe to the furthest object ever visited Astronomical Society estimates that be- by humanity,” said Kevin Marvel, the tween 300 and 450 astronomy organizascientists will be abtion’s executive ofsent this week from ficer, “scores of scithe world’s largest entists at all career annual astronomiIt means some levels are being precal meeting, where of the nation’s vented from attendthe NASA plane was smartest scientific ing our meeting.” supposed to be. But minds are sitting at One concrete casuit’s hard to get a firm home, not doing alty could be the govcount, said Rick science, for weeks, ernment’s ability to Fienberg, the organiwith no clear end in recruit and retain the zation’s press officer: sight. next generation of Organizers emailed scientists, said Seita survey, but furter, with the Ameriloughed government can Meteorological employees aren’t Society. Take E.L. even allowed to check their email.

Meszaros, a doctoral student at Brown Even Jim Bridenstine, NASA’s new University, who had been scheduled to administrator, and the leaders of the present her research on human-drone National Weather Service are no longer communication techniques at the San able to attend the weather conference, Diego technology conference. and the organizers scrambled to replace But her work was funded by NASA, as their presentations. was her trip to the conference. So she’s Until late last week, Fienberg said the stuck at home in Rhode Island. She astronomical organization had hoped always imagined she’d work as a pubthe politicians in Washington could lic servant. But now she has scientist work out a deal to resolve the impasse friends who work for the government over President Donald Trump’s de- who haven’t been paid in weeks and are mands for $5.6 billion to build a wall on interviewing at other places. the southern border.

“If you can’t guarantee that you’re goBut on Thursday, employees at the Na- ing to be able to pay your employees,” tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- she said, “then it does make you second istration, which includes the National guess whether that’s where you want to Weather Service, were told to cancel work.” ■ their conference plans. Scientists and engineers from NASA and the Smithso- Associated Press writer Ben Finley connian were also told they couldn’t attend. tributed.

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The list of scientific casualties of the partial government shutdown as it stretches into its third week is growing.

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World News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

19

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announces his departure

BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, announced Monday he is resigning at the end of January.

Kim’s unexpected departure three years before his term was set to expire is likely to set off a fierce battle between the Trump administration and other countries who have complained about the influence the United States exerts over the World Bank.

In a letter to bank staff, Kim said that he has long believed that the key to bridging the gap between the massive financing needs of developing countries and the amount of support available was to work with the private sector.

“I have therefore decided that it’s time for me to take on new challenges and fully focus my efforts on leveraging private finance for the benefit of people around the work,” Kim said in

his note to staff.

Kim’s departure will give President Donald Trump the opportunity to nominate his own choice to fill the World Bank post.

The 189-nation World Bank is the largest government source for development funding, providing low-cost loans for projects around the world.

Since the creation of the World Bank at the end of World War II, its leaders have all been Americans. Its sister lending agency, the International Monetary Fund, has always been headed by a European.

Other countries, including China and other Asian nations, have complained about this pattern. The IMF, which provides emergency loans to countries in economic crisis, is currently headed by former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.

Kim, the former head of Dartmouth College, was first tapped by former President Barack Obama to lead the World Bank

in 2012. He was nominated by Obama for a second term in August 2016. That term would have ended on June 30, 2022.

In his resignation statement, Kim said that in addition to joining a firm that will focus on increasing infrastructure investments in developing countries, he will also rejoin Partners in Health, an organization he co-founded more than 30 years ago to provide medical support to poor nations.

The World Bank said Kim will be succeeded Feb. 1 on an interim basis by Kristalina Georgieva, its chief executive officer and the bank’s executive board would immediately start the process for selecting a permanent successor to Kim. “It has been a great honour to serve as president of this remarkable institution, full of passionate individuals dedicated to the mission of ending extreme poverty in our lifetime,” Kim said.

Kim’s permanent successor will be decided by the World

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Bank’s board of directors. The United States is the largest shareholder in the bank, which is headquartered in Washington.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin looks forward to working with other countries on the bank’s 24-member ex-

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ecutive board to select Kim’s successor, a Mnuchin spokesperson said.

Kim, the World Bank’s 12th president, faced a number of crises during his tenure, including marshalling resources to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. ■

20

World News

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Trump says he needs to deal with Dem leaders to end shutdown

BY CATHERINE LUCEY AND LISA MASCARO The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump acknowledged Sunday that weekend shutdown talks led by his vicepresident would not break an impasse, as newly empowered House Democrats planned to step up the pressure on Trump and Republican lawmakers to reopen the government.

Heading to Camp David for staff meetings, Trump showed no signs of budging on his demand for $5.6 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Undercutting the staff-level talks, Trump declared that only he could make a deal with Democratic leaders — “in 20 minutes, if they want to.”

Said Trump: “If they don’t want to, it’s going to go on for a long time.”

With the partial shutdown in its third week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she intends to begin passing individual bills to reopen agencies in the coming days, starting with the Treasury Department to ensure people receive their tax refunds. That effort is designed to squeeze Senate Republicans, some of whom are growing increasingly anxious about the extended shutdown.

The seemingly intractable budget showdown marks the first clash for Trump and Democrats, who now control the House. It pits Trump’s unpredictable negotiating stylings against a largely united Demo-

cratic front, as many Republicans watch nervously from the sidelines and hundreds of thousands of federal workers go without pay.

After another round of talks led by Vice-President Mike Pence with senior congressional aides, Trump tweeted that the session had been “productive.” But two Democrats familiar with the meeting gave a different take, saying the White House had not provided the budget details they had requested and again declined to re-open government. One of the officials — neither was authorized to speak publicly — said no additional meetings were scheduled.

Trump said earlier in the day that he was hoping for “some very serious talks come Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.”

While insisting he wanted to make a deal, he also declared he would not give an inch in his fight for funding for a border barrier, saying: “There’s not going to be any bend right here.”

Speaking to reporters later in the day, Trump said he had told aides to say that they wanted a steel barrier, rather than the concrete wall he promised during the campaign. Trump said Democrats “don’t like concrete, so we’ll give them steel.”

The president has already suggested his definition of the wall is flexible, but Democrats have made clear they see a wall as immoral and ineffective and prefer other types of border security funded at already agreed upon levels.

Among the Republicans ex-

pressing concerns was Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should take up bills from the Democratic-led House.

“Let’s get those reopened while the negotiations continue,” Collins said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Democrats criticized McConnell for waiting on Trump’s support, but Collins said she was sympathetic to McConnell’s opposition to moving legislation without agreement from the president.

Several Republicans pushed the Interior Department to find money to restaff national parks amid growing concerns over upkeep and public safety.

And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested Sunday that pressure would only mount amid the shutdown, which he said is disrupting Transportation Security Administration operations, home loans and farmers in his state.

“Democrats and now a growing number of Republicans are coming together and saying let’s open up the government and debate border security separately,” Schumer told reporters in New York.

Adding to concerns, federal workers might miss this week’s paychecks. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that if the shutdown continues into Tuesday, “then payroll will not go out as originally planned on Friday night.”

Trump reaffirmed that he would consider declaring a na-

and will meet with counterparts from China’s National Peoples’ Congress.

Day said the delegation will not meet with John McCallum, the Canadian ambassador based in Beijing, but it will receive a briefing on the latest developments regarding the detainees from Weldon Epp, Canada’s consul general in Shanghai.

Kovrig is a diplomat on leave from Global Affairs Canada and is employed by the Interna-

tional Crisis Group; Spavor is an entrepreneur who organized travel to North Korea.

Robert Malley, president of the International Crisis Group, urged the lawmakers’ delegation to push for the release of the two Canadians in any meetings with their Chinese counterparts. He said the continued detentions are harmful to China because they will discourage businesspeople, academics and others from travelling to the country

President Donald Trump, speaks to the media after meeting with Democrats to discuss the ongoing partial government shutdown.

MICHAEL CANDELORI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

tional emergency to circumvent Congress and spend money as he saw fit. Such a move would seem certain to draw legal challenges.

Incoming House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said on ABC’s “This Week” that the executive power has been used to build military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan but would likely be “wide open” to a court challenge for a border wall.

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff called the idea a “nonstarter.”

“Look, if Harry Truman couldn’t nationalize the steel industry during wartime, this president doesn’t have the power to declare an emergency and build a multibillion-dollar wall on the border,” said Schiff, D-Calif.

Trump also asserted that he could relate to the plight of the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who aren’t getting paid, though he acknowledged they will have to “make adjust-

ments” to deal with the shutdown shortfall. A day earlier, the president had tweeted that he didn’t care that “most of the workers not getting paid are Democrats.”

Mulvaney, sought to frame Trump’s support for a steel barrier as progress in the negotiations, saying on NBC that “if he has to give up a concrete wall, replace it with a steel fence in order to do that so that Democrats can say, ‘See? He’s not building a wall anymore,’ that should help us move in the right direction.”

Trump said he planned to call the heads of American steel companies in hopes of coming up with a new design for the barrier he contends must be built along the southern border.

His administration has already spent millions constructing wall prototypes near the border in San Diego. ■

“I think it’s important that they raise this case and that they make clear that China understands that even though they’re going, others are not going, and over time, still others will decide not to go if they feel that the atmosphere and the environment in China is not safe for this kind of travel,” Malley said in an interview.

The Conservative opposition has criticized the Liberal government for not doing enough to secure the release of the two

Canadians, and has targeted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not calling his counterpart directly. Trudeau has said that bypassing diplomatic channels could backfire.

Malley said he has full confidence in the approach the government has taken.

“I’m sure that Canada is doing everything that it can to secure the release of their nationals. I have no doubt about that.

I’m not going to second-guess what they are doing.” ■

Associated Press writers Julie Walker in New York and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report.

Push carefully... ❰❰ 17

visiting China after the Kovrig and Spavor arrests, would be counterproductive.

Day is leading a six-member delegation of the Canada-China Legislative Association on a trip that had been planned before the current controversy erupted. The delegation includes a Conservative senator, three Liberal MPs and one Conservative MP. They are travelling to Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong

www.canadianinquirer.net

World News

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

21

Women navigate... ❰❰ 33

Congo President Joseph Kabila.

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Congo delays announcing results of presidential election

BY MATHILDE BOUSSION AND SALEH MWANAMILONGO The Associated Press KINSHASA, CONGO — Congo’s government Sunday postponed the release of the results of last weekend’s presidential election, fueling suspicions President Joseph Kabila’s ruling party is manoeuvring to cling to power.

No new date for announcing the winner of the Dec. 30 election was given. Electoral officials have compiled 53 per cent of the votes and will not release any information until all the ballots have been tallied, said Corneille Nangaa, head of the electoral commission.

“We handle sensitive data and have to handle it responsibly,” he said. He asked Congo’s people to “remain patient.”

“We are aware this process has always been surrounded by distrust,” he said, referring to calls from the Catholic Church, the African Union, the U.S. and other diplomats for the government to announce accurate results.

Kabila, who is stepping down after 18 years in power, had delayed the election for two years. The postponement in announcing the winner was seen by some Congolese as part of an

effort by Kabila’s party to manipulate the results in order to claim victory.

The Catholic Church, an influential voice in this heavily Catholic nation, turned up the pressure by saying it already knows there is a clear victor, based on data compiled by the church’s 40,000 election observers. Because Congo’s regulations say only the electoral commission can announce election results, the church did not name the winner.

Congo’s ruling party, which backs Kabila’s preferred candidate, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, called the church’s statement “irresponsible and anarchist.”

The leading opposition candidate is Martin Fayulu, a businessman and lawmaker.

This could be Congo’s first democratic, peaceful transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

For the past week, the government cut off internet access across the vast Central African country to prevent any speculation on social media about who won. The government has also blocked transmissions from Radio France International, which was alleged to have speculated on the winner, and revoked the press credentials of ❱❱ PAGE 36 Congo delays

her gender identity, wrote critically about her appearance and bashed her abilities.

A few weeks into the season, Creveling removed herself from the Renegades’ roster, citing anxiety and self-esteem issues. She hasn’t returned to the LCS since.

Creveling declined to be interviewed by the AP, but did say she has resumed competing and will be looking for a new team soon.

Other major esports have similarly thin histories of women at the highest levels. The NBA 2K League said it had one woman in a pool of 250 finalists for roster spots in its inaugural season. She did not land one of the 102 available slots.

The Overwatch League had one woman for its inaugural season, Kim “Geguri” Se-Yeon with the Shanghai Dragons. Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn, a transgender woman, won a major “Starcraft II” tournament in February and is the only woman to win such an event in that game.

Se-Yeon and Hostyn have been reluctant to embrace the spotlight as female role models. Both have said they simply want to be seen as talented gamers.

“Being the icon or being looked up to because I’m female — I’m grateful,” Se-Yeon said via translator at a press conference in March. “But I don’t really have any thoughts about it. That’s not how I want to be known.”

At the lower levels

Tiffany Chang is a fan of SeYeon’s. The amateur player doesn’t blame the “Overwatch” pro for shying away from attention as a woman. Chang sometimes gets the urge to do the same.

Chang hosts Twitch streams of herself playing “Overwatch” and other games to collect donations for charity, and routinely plays online against strangers. Women like Chang encounter a lot of toxic behaviour, much of it the same sort of trolling women see elsewhere on the internet. They’ll get remarks about their appearance, the tone of their voice, and more than anything, a dismissal of their ability and knowledge in the game.

Even if Chang can tune out the harassment, it can still afwww.canadianinquirer.net

fect her performance. Esports like LoL and “Overwatch” are heavily teamwork and strategy dependent. Each player chooses a character, and those characters are designed for specific roles, like attacking, holding territory or healing. A good “Overwatch” team needs tanks and healers, just like a football team needs quarterbacks and left tackles.

Women are often pressured to play as female characters, and female healers in particular. In “Overwatch,” that character is usually Mercy, a fairy-like flying doctor who can heal and resurrect teammates.

Chang has been harassed for playing as other characters, but also gets snide comments when she plays as Mercy. In certain games, it becomes impossible for her to assume any role, even if she’s simply trying to help the team.

“You want me to do this, and you’re going to harass me for it?” she said. “It’s definitely something that we face.”

Briah Luther gets the same treatment in LoL. Sometimes when the 35-year-old school teacher shouts out a key bit of information, like the location of an attacking opponent, men simply ignore her, leading to a huge tactical advantage for opponents. It’s a common complaint from female gamers, and that lack of trust can sink a team and affect players’ rankings in the competitive sphere.

“The second they realize I’m a woman, I no longer have power,” Luther said.

Ella Lasky has pro gaming aspirations, and the 12-yearold is on a promising path. She is one of the top players in the “Minecraft” City Champs circuit operated by Super League Gaming. Most importantly to her parents, video games have played a key role in her social development.

“It’s given her a sense of pride,” said Ella’s mother, Johanna.

Ella was featured on a Nickelodeon TV show about the league, and that exposed her to a different side of esports.

Internet commenters did not respond well to a woman taking centre stage on a video game broadcast. “‘Why is the girl so loud?

Why is the girl shouting? The girl needs to shut up. She’s annoying me with her voice,”‘ Jo-

hanna recalled reading. “I explained to her, ‘I think part of it is that because you’re a girl, you’re being targeted.”‘ Ella wasn’t fazed and plans to keep gaming. But she’s already keenly aware of the assumptions made by many in the esports community based on her gender.

“I don’t think girl gamers get as much respect as boy gamers,” she said.

What can be done

Publishers have made progress responding to harassment complaints since the Gamergate scandal, but video games are still not a space known for gender equality. Riot Games, which publishes LoL and operates the LCS, was criticized just this summer for its treatment of female employees in a story

by Kotaku. Riot apologized publicly to fans and employees, and it has outlined a plan of action to address the issues.

More in-person gaming might help. Women say men and boys tend to be better behaved without the anonymity of online play. The Laskys think that’s one benefit of the Super League competitions, where teams gather at movie theatres to compete face-to-face.

Some fans also are disappointed by the number of women promoted by the streaming service Twitch, as well as game publishers.

One issue at the pro level is the housing situations for elite teams. Esports athletes are often placed in swanky team housing, but sharing a living space with a group of collegeaged men isn’t ideal for many women.

Then there’s the anxiety of the spotlight. Fans have eagerly dismissed barrier-breaking female gamers as mere PR stunts, and the weight is even greater on women when they find themselves alone on that platform.

“It ultimately comes down to the community and the fan base,” Kim said. “(Women) don’t want to deal with the toxicity. They don’t want to deal with the media going crazy over them. They don’t want to deal with living with the boys or getting preferential treatment.

They don’t want to deal with all of that. They just kind of want to play.” ■

22

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

PANGARAP: SO, OUR JOURNEY BEGINS

Tanong #7: Anong suporta ang iyong kailangan? sure you made a well-informed decision. Hindi mo kakayaning suportahan ang sarili mo sa isang desisyong magulo at hindi mo napag-isipan nang husto.

Ang Totoo: In the end, you will discover that you will be your own best friend. Ikaw pa rin ang makatutulong sa sarili mo at makauunawa ng lahat. ■

BY BOLET AREVALO

SABI-SABI: No man is an island. Walang sinuman ang dapat mabuhay nang nag-iisa.

Madalas, sa mga mabibigat nating desisyon o kaganapan sa ating buhay, we feel so alone.

Either dahil itinago muna natin ito or kasi it is so major and serious that family and friends rather stay out it, lest they get blamed later for helping you make a bad decision.

Pero minsan, mas gusto pa natin na wala na lang tayong marinig kaysa sobrang dami ng unsolicited advice na puwedeng makagulo lang sa ating isipan.

Nevertheless, ano pa man ang ating sabihin, iba pa rin ang may nararamdamang may karamay ka at kaagapay every step of

Abangan sa susunod na isyu: Tanong # 8 ALAM MO BA KUNG SAAN KA PUPUNTA?

the way or maybe somewhere along the way. Mas lumalakas ang ating loob or mas confident tayo ‘pag ganun.

Sa hirap ng buhay, pinakamahirap siguro ang maghanap ng financial support. Pero kung meron, dapat magtulongtulong ang pamilya sa pag-re-

raise ng kanilang pondo. Bago umani ng tubo, syempre may puhunan munang dapat ilaan.

Sa desisyong mag-abroad, may investment na involved kaya dapat paghandaan ‘yun. Tawagin mo itong investment at hindi gastos para alam mong dapat bumalik itong may tubo

pa. Otherwise, may mali sa mga nangyari.

But in the end, you will realize, ikaw lang ang best support system ng iyong desisyon. Kailangan mong i-convince ang iyong sarili sa strength ng ginawa mong decision. And the best way to achieve that is: make

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.

Democratic Wisconsin governor takes office, urges compromise

BY SCOTT BAUER The Associated Press MADISON, WIS. — Newly sworn-in Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers called for a rejection of “the tired politics of the past” in his inauguration speech Monday, urging lawmakers to find bipartisan solutions to the biggest issues facing the state.

Evers, the state superintendent of schools since 2009, took over for Republican Scott Walker and faces a Republicancontrolled Legislature that will oppose many of his biggest priorities. Republican legislative leaders, also speaking on inauguration day, echoed Evers’ call for bipartisanship but said they wouldn’t back down in the face of a new Democratic governor.

“We must turn the page on the tired politics of the past, we must lead by example,” Evers said during his inauguration address in the rotunda of the state capitol. “It’s time to remake and repair our state and reclaim our better history. The people of Wisconsin demanded a change this November, and

that change is coming.” and Evers won’t “drive the car lems unless people come before Evers called for transcending alone.” politics,” Evers said. “We’ve bedivisiveness.

“I promise you over the next come paralyzed by polarity and “May we have courage in our two years, we will not let gov- we’ve become content with diconscience,” Evers said. “And ernment expand at the expense vision. We’ve been indifferent may we be willing to do what’s of your freedoms,” Vos said. to resentment and governing best for the next generation Republican Senate Majority by retribution.” rather than the next election.”

Leader Scott Fitzgerald told reThis marks the first time Evers’ ascendance as gover- porters that he opposes Evers’ since 2006, when Democrat nor marks a new era in Wiscon- call to raise the minimum wage. Jim Doyle was governor, that sin politics, ending eight years But he’s also warning GOP the entire Legislature is conof Republican dominance. It senators to think twice before trolled by the opposite party of also marks the first time since pursuing bills on topics like the governor. In 2007 and 2008, 1986 that all conDoyle was goverstitutional offinor and Democers are Democrats had control crats. of the Senate, Evers called We cannot fix these problems but Republicans for a return to unless people come before politics. had the Assemthe values of bly. In 2009 and kindness, re2010 Democrats spect and civilcontrolled everyity, and he urged thing, and since Republicans and Democrats to abortions and “some Second 2011 Republicans had it all. set aside party allegiances to Amendment stuff” that they Walker and Doyle were work for a greater good. While know Evers won’t sign into law. joined by three other former some have said divided governEvers emphasized his cam- Wisconsin governors at the ment is a recipe for gridlock, paign priorities, including fully inauguration: Tommy ThompEvers called for compromise. funding public schools “at every son, Scott McCallum and MarRepublican Assembly Speak- level” from pre-kindergarten tin Schreiber. Among the other Robin Vos said some may ex- through college; making health ers who attended were both of pect the Assembly to “veer into care more affordable and acces- Wisconsin’s U.S. senators, Ron the left lane” now that Evers sible; and improving the condi- Johnson and Tammy Baldwin, is governor, but the body will tions of Wisconsin’s roads. members of Congress, Milwauhave to move down the centre “We cannot fix these prob- kee Mayor Tom Barrett and nuwww.canadianinquirer.net

merous past office holders.

Evers took the oath of office from Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack.

In addition to Evers, all other constitutional officers elected in November were also sworn into office. Those were Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Secretary of State Doug La Follette. La Follette is the only incumbent.

Barnes, the first African American lieutenant governor in Wisconsin history, said “the gravity of this moment is not lost on me as we strive for equity.”

Newly elected members of the Legislature also took office.

In the Assembly, 63 Republicans and 36 Democrats were seated. Of them, eight Republicans and seven Democrats are new, including 19-year-old Kalan Haywood, the youngest member of the Legislature.

In the Senate, 11 Republicans and six Democrats took office. Of them, three Republicans and one Democrat are new. Republicans hold a 19-14 majority. ■

23

Entertainment Paolo Contis, LJ Sandra Oh, ‘The Americans,’ Reyes welcome ‘Spider man’ win at Globes baby girl Summer

BY LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer CELEBRITY COUPLE Paolo Contis and LJ Reyes are starting off the year in the most delightful way as they welcome their first child together, daughter Summer Ayanna Contis last Friday, January 4.

LJ posts a photo of Summer’s toes captioned, “We’ve waited for you, and now I can’t believe you’re already in our arms!

Worth every single pain! I love you so much Summer! Mommy is so crazy about you!” Paolo, on the other hand, initially shares that Summer was born at 4:56pm then jokes around in a separate post, saying in Filipino, “You already wanted to get out last December, my child.

Thank you that you waited until 2019! It’s hard to change the hashtags from my old posts!”

The couple announced their pregnancy last August 2018.

In November, the couple already anticipated naming their daughter “Summer” because LJ always admired the name.

“Ayanna” is an African name that means ‘beautiful flower,’ as the duo wanted their daughter’s name to start with the letter ‘A.’ Before finishing off the year, LJ says her “biggest blessing [of 2018]” was “the little Summer that will light up [their] lives!

The little Summer that will bring so much joy into [their] days.”

This is Paolo’s third daughter, as he also has two girls Xalene and Xonia from ex-wife Lian Paz. As for LJ, Summer is her first baby girl, as she has a son named Ethan “Aki” Akio from former boyfriend Paulo Avelino. The day before giving birth, LJ honored her eight-year-old son Aki on her social media, wanting to “express how grateful [she] is for [him].” In the lengthy caption, LJ tells Aki, “Thank you for teaching me how to be a tough, yet loving mother. I have learned so much from you and I am so blessed to have you. I may not be able to give you the world, but I give you all of me, my heart, my soul and my mind. You showed me what love really is!” ■

“We’ve waited for you… and now I can’t believe you’re already in our arms!

Worth every single pain!” @LJ_REYES / INSTAGRAM

NEW YORK — Lady Gaga won for the song “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” “The Americans” won best drama series for its sixth and final season and cohost Sandra Oh spoke passionately about “faces of change” at a Golden Globes that shrugged off the seriousness of last year’s black-draped ceremony for a more lighthearted show.

Oh and Andy Samberg opened the 76th Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on a note of congeniality, including a mock roast of attendees and a string of jokes that playfully commented on critiques of Hollywood. Oh performed an impression of a sexist caveman film executive who casts like the title of Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong drama: “First … man!” Noting the success of “Crazy Rich Asians,” Oh alluded to films with white stars in Asian roles like “Ghost in the Shell” and “Aloha,” the latter of which prompted Emma Stone, who starred in “Aloha,” to shout out “I’m sorry!” from the crowd.

But Ottawa-born Oh, who later also won for her performance on the BBC America drama series “Killing Eve,” closed their opening monologue on a serious note explaining why she was hosting with Samberg.

“I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here to look out at this audience and witness this moment of change,” said Oh, tearing up and gazing at minority nominees in attendance.

“Right now, this moment is real. Trust me, this is real. Because I see you. And I see you.

All of these faces of change. And now, so will everyone else.”

Soon thereafter, the stars of “Black Panther” took the stage to introduce the best picturenominated film by pronouncing, in unison: “Wakanda forever!” They, along with the casts www.canadianinquirer.net

Sandra Oh.

FEATUREFLASH PHOTO AGENCY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

of “Crazy Rich Asians,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Roma” and others made for a diverse array of nominees.

As expected, Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt won best song for the signature tune from “A Star Is Born,” the film most expected to dominate the Globes.

“Can I just say that as a woman in music, it’s really hard to be taken seriously as a musician and as songwriter and these three incredible men, they lifted me up. They supported me.”

Best supporting actress in a motion picture went to the Oscar frontrunner Regina King for her matriarch of Barry Jenkins’ James Baldwin adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

King spoke about the Time’s Up movement and vowed that the crews of everything she produces in the next two years will be half women. She challenged others to do likewise.

“Stand with us in solidarity and do the same,” said King, who was also nominated for the TV series “Seven Seconds.”

A year after the Globes were awash in a sea of black and #MeToo discussion replaced fashion chatter, the red carpet largely returned to more typical colours and conversation.

Some attendees wore ribbons that read TIMESUPx2, to high-

light the second year of the gender equality campaign that last year organized the Globes black-clad demonstration.

Alyssa Milano, the actress who was integral in making #MeToo go viral, said on the red carpet that in the past year a “really wonderful sisterhood has formed” and that they’re “really finding our voice through our pain and our collective pain.” But she added that she’s more concerned with women in underseen industries — farmworkers, those in the military, hotel employees — than those walking the red carpet alongside her.

The night’s first win went to Michael Douglas for the Netflix series “The Kominsky Method,” besting Douglas dedicated the honour to his 102-year-old father. The second award went to the acclaimed “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” for best animated film.

For its sixth and final season, FX’s “The Americans” took best drama series over shows like Amazon’s conspiracy thriller “Homecoming” and Oh’s own “Killing Eve.” Richard Madden, the breakout star of the terrorism suspense series “Bodyguard,” won best actor in a drama series. Ben Wishaw took best supporting actor in a lim❱❱ PAGE 24 Sandra Oh

24

Entertainment

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Darren Criss proud to be first Filipino Golden Globe winner, dedicates award to Cebuana mom

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer The country’s talent hits a milestone once again as actor Darren Criss becomes the first Filipino to receive a Golden Globe, honored for his performance as serial killer Andrew Cunanan in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” The ceremony of the 76th Golden Globe Awards took place at The Beverly Hilton in California last Sunday, January 6.

During his acceptance speech, Darren made sure to dedicate his award to his mother, who is originally from Cebu.

In his words, “This has been a marvelous year for representa-

tion in Hollywood, and I’m so enormously proud to be a teeny-tiny part of that as the son of a firecracker Filipino woman,” he adds, “Mom, I know you’re watching this. I dedicate this to you.”

In interviews, Darren also referred to his mother when speaking about his inspiration of getting into showbiz, best known for his role as Blaine in hit musical series “Glee.” He also always shares that upon receiving that role, the first thing he did to celebrate was go to a Filipino restaurant in Los Angeles with his family. When recently speaking to online magazine “Deadline Hollywood,” Darren said that being Filipino is “a great privilege – and [he is]

@DARRENCRISS / INSTAGRAM

proud to be part of that,” sharing, “I feel like I have been given a superhero cape and I am glad

‘I’m Drunk, I Love You’ sequel is still about Carson, Dio

BY BEA KIRSTEIN T. MANALAYSAY Philippine Canadian Inquirer IT WAS a regular Tuesday afternoon last October 16, 2018, when Director JP Habac dropped the bomb on Twitter that got netizens buzzing with excited and confused tweets, gif images, and film memes.

For fans who still have a happy hangover from the announcement of a sequel, yes, to answer that boggling question in your hearts, the sequel to “I’m Drunk, I love You” is still about Carson and Dio. Last year, Habac on Twitter teased fans with a shot of the script title page entitled “I Love You, I do,” a sequel to the 2017 film starring Maja Salvador and Paulo Avelino.

Co-written by Kristin Barrameda, the director on Saturday, January 5, on the sidelines of his new film “Sakaling Maging Tayo” confirms that the sequel will still star Maja and Paulo for the same characters.

“It will revolve around the two of them seven years after ‘I’m Drunk, I Love You.’ It’s set in 2022,” Director JP shares in an ABS-CBN report.

“Magandang araw, mga bata.”

In the same report, JP also says that the script is still being finished and they are hoping to release it “soon.”

No other details like plot or the much-anticipated development and status of Carson and Dio’s relationship are bared.

However, based on the teasing that the director did to tickle the movie’s fans last year and the title of the sequel, it can be traced to be about tying the knot.

@JPHABAC / TWITTER

His tweet last year, along with the script photo was captioned, “Magandang araw, mga bata (Good day, kids).” And because that is not yet enough to get people’s hearts rising, he also included hashtags in the form of emoticons – the iconic beer, a broken heart, and a peace sign.

The second hashtag included a heart and an engagement or wedding ring.

The said tweet is pinned to the director’s Twitter profile. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

to step up to that plate.”

When talking about that diversity in his speech, Darren

is also pertaining to the fact that fellow Asian Sandra Oh, who also hosted the show, becomes the first minority to bag the award for Best Actress in a TV series, recognized for her role as Eve Polastri in drama “Killing Eve.” Her Korean immigrant parents were ecstatic and in tears as their daughter received her award, Sandra’s speech wowing the audience.

She shares, “I said yes to the fear of being on this stage tonight because I wanted to be here and look out onto this audience and witness this moment of change. I’m not fooling myself. Next year could be different and probably will be.

But right now, this moment is real.” ■

Sandra Oh... ❰❰ 23

ited series for “A Very English Scandal.”

The press association typically likes to have first crack at series that weren’t eligible for the 2018 Emmys.

They did this year in not just “The Kominsky Method” and “Bodyguard” but also the Showtime prison drama “Escape at Dannemora.” Its star, Patricia Arquette, won for best actress in a limited series.

The 2018 Globes were the first major televised awards in Hollywood following the downfall of Harvey Weinstein and the subsequent push for greater gender equality in the film industry. Usually the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s ceremony is known for its freewheeling frivolity and fun.

The free-flowing booze helps.

Last year’s show, like a lot of recent awards shows, saw ratings decline. Some 19 million tuned in to the Seth Meyershosted broadcast, an 11-per cent decline in viewership. This year, NBC has one thing in its favour: an NFL lead in. Ahead of the Globes, NBC broadcast the late afternoon wild card game between the Chicago Bears and the Philadelphia Eagles, which proved to be a nail-bitingly close game — likely delivering the network a huge audience.

Nominees that have been in sizable box office hits may also

potentially help the Globes, none more than Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther,” up for best picture (drama) and score. “A Star is Born,” which is expected to dominate the drama side of the movie awards, recently passed $200 million in domestic ticket sales.

Adam McKay’s highly critical Dick Cheney portrait “Vice,” starring Christian Bale, came in with a leading six nominations. While music-heavy films “A Star Is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” opted to contend in the Globes’ drama categories, “Vice” tops the comedy-musical nominees, though it’s closely trailed by multiple nominees, including “The Favourite” and “Green Book,” Peter Farrelly’s interracial road trip tale starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. At stake are not just Golden Globes awards but Oscar momentum. Voting for the Academy Awards nominations begins Monday.

Jeff Bridges was to receive the Globes’ honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award. A similar television achievement award is also being launched, dubbed the Carol Burnett Award. Its first honoree is Burnett, herself. ■ Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report from Los Angeles

Entertainment

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

25

No. 1 on the Golden Globes carpet: Statement beauty, bling

BY LEANNE ITALIE The Associated Press

20 carats that drops at the centre.

Bows were also big, said De Sole.

“It’s a trend we saw all over the red carpet, from the velvet ribbon bow in NiNEW YORK — Regina King sparkled in cole Kidman’s hair, front and centre on rose blush by Alberta Ferretti, Nicole Charlize Theron’s black and white gown Kidman wore a form-fitting liquid ox- to more subtle details on Alison Brie blood gown by Michael Kors Collection and Gemma Chan’s dresses,” she said. and Sandra Oh wore a couple of stand- “Julianne Moore’s Givenchy dress had a out old Hollywood looks, but the Golden beautiful bow on it — perhaps the best of Globes’ return to red carpet colour after the bunch.” last year’s protest in black was led by Teen Vogue’s fashion features editor, Lady Gaga in powerhouse periwinkle.

Jessica Andrews, shouted out a couple The pop star and Ally to Bradley Coo- of the guys. per’s Jackson in “A Star is Born” hon“Instead of the traditional tux, Timooured an outfit Judy Garland wore when thee Chalamet and Cody Fern opted for she starred in a 1954 version of the film, memorable looks that showed their perwith Gaga showing off a more contem- sonality,” she said. “Timothee in a Louis porary twist in bulbous sleeves that hit Vuitton harness and Cody Fern in a black, just above the elbows and were attached (partially) sheer top and Margiela heels.” to a ground-skimming cape. She had a The Times Up movement was top of bluish-purple updo to match. mind last year, with celebrities wearKing’s strapless dress fit her like a ing black dresses and donning pins as perfect glove and shimmered under the a show of solidarity with sexual assault lights as she picked up a statuette for survivors. This year, only a few used “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Oh was in their fashion platform to amplify the white Atelier Versace on the carpet, with movement, including Amber Heard and a statement pleated piece on one shoul- her Times Up ribbon worn as a bracelet der fit for a 1980s on the red carpet. prom. She changed Overall, Andrews into white with long, supported more cofull coppery sleeves lour risk-taking. on stage as she coBold diamond “It was great to hosted Sunday’s cernecklaces and see celebrities move emony with Andy earrings ruled away from the metalSamberg in Los Anthe red carpet. lic gowns of red cargeles. pets past and experiBut it was Gaga ment with colour. who emerged the While some ventured fashion winner. toward muted hues “Lady Gaga won the night in her cus- like sky blue (Gina Rodriguez in Reem tom Valentino Haute Couture gown, Acra, Dakota Fanning in Armani Prive which I think we all expected given her and Alison Brie in Vera Wang), others press run leading up to the movie’s re- went for more powerful tones like red lease,” said Channing Hargrove, a fash- (Lili Reinhart in Khyeli Couture and Elion writer for the millennial-focused sie Fisher in Kenzo).”

Refinery29.com. “Cinderella could nevBeauty had a big night out. Jessica er!”

Cruel, deputy beauty director for ReGaga wore one of the night’s strongest finery29.com, had all good things to say trends around her neck: Big-talking dia- about Oh. mond bling.

“Sandra Oh’s asymmetrical updo was “I Love that Lady Gaga fully embraced gorgeous,” she said. “The style had an the drama of the red carpet,” said Rickie old Hollywood glamour to it that is exDe Sole, fashion market and accessories actly what you’d expect from award seadirector for W magazine. “Her Tiffany son.” diamond statement necklace was imOf Reinhart, Cruel said her red eyepossible to miss.” shadow matched her red gown perfectly.

She added: “Bold diamond necklac“Red is a colour we generally see on es and earrings ruled the red carpet. I lips, but the way Reinhart covered her particularly loved the diamond choker eye in a ruby colour was unique and necklaces on Rachel Weisz and KiKi modern,” she said.

Layne. I love jewelry in the hair and She also noted that “neon eye makeup thought Emily Blunt’s vintage diamond reigned.” brooches were the perfect complement “Typically at award shows people go to her silver Alexander McQueen dress.” for bold lips, but bold eyes are having a Gaga’s custom Tiffany & Co. neck- moment,” she said. lace was made with more than 300 diaSarah Kinonen, Allure’s digital skinmonds, including a pear-shaped stone of care editor, lauded Camilla Belle’s elec-

Lady Gaga.

FEATUREFLASH PHOTO AGENCY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

tric teal eye shadow and Gaga’s complete look.

“I know I’m not alone when I say this, but one of my favourite looks of the night was Lady Gaga’s monochromatic blue look. Not just because she looked absolutely gorgeous from head to toe, but because when she goes for a look she really commits. I mean, hello? Did you see her blue hair? Flawless,” Kinonen said.

Kinonen’s No. 1 for beauty: Lucy Boynton. She was splendid in metallic goddess gold, a longer take on a short hem-

line shown by Celine for spring 2019.

The long sleeves were full but cuffed at the wrist, a detail that played nicely with a matching fitted wide waist. The gown’s skirt draped into a peekaboo all the way up and her platinum bob was left down and beach wavy. The star also sported double-wing eyeliner with Twiggy-inspired clumpy mascara.

“Overall, I LOVED Lucy Boynton’s whole beauty look,” Kinonen said. “She’s a newcomer but really went out. Everything was magic.” ■

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26

Lifestyle Why you resolved to get thinner and fitter this year

BY PATTY THILLE Assistant Professor in Physical Therapy University of Manitoba, The Canadian Press DID YOU make a New Year’s resolution this year? If so, you are participating in a social as well as a personal ritual. The patterns of resolutions, considered collectively, reveal what many of us consider to be virtuous.

You’d be in the majority if you chose to work on “healthy living” in some way. Eating healthier and being more physically active are two of the most popular Canadian and American New Year’s resolutions.

What drives this particular version of the virtuous life — healthy living as virtue — rather than the many alternatives?

Would you be surprised to hear that the root is Protestantism?

The early Protestants believed that the way to salvation was through hard work and self-discipline. Max Weber, one of the early sociologists, argued that this “Protestant ethic” became core to capitalism.

While Western society has grown less religious over time, we continue to value working hard and containing ourselves.

On occasion we justify letting loose, but resolutions bring us back to that original Protestant core value: Self-discipline.

We could self-discipline ourselves to watch less television, shop less, reduce use of disposable plastics or volunteer more.

Why do eating and exercise get so much attention?

We are told fat is lazy, eating

sinful

Chalk that up to the frequent messages that fat bodies are bad, and thin bodies are good.

Thinness has long been thought to be virtuous, an idea that also has its roots in Christianity, where fatness was associated with sloth (the opposite of hard work), and eating with carnal pleasures and sinfulness.

Pro-thinness and anti-fatness rely on two core assumptions: all bodies can be thin through self-discipline with food and exercise, and body size simply reflects personality and commitments to social norms.

Neither are true. We are continually told we can all be thin if we eat less and exercise more but that assumption is unscientific. In one of the most robust studies of intensive, long-term support for changing lifestyle routines, only 27 per cent of participants bodies were 10 per cent lighter over an eight year period. A 10 per cent reduction of weight is significant, but does not necessarily mean a thin body.

A recent example has been the follow-up studies of participants in The Biggest Loser.

Thirteen of 14 contestants regained the body fat. What’s more, the dramatic eating and exercise routines promoted on the show actually slowed the participants’ metabolism over time!

If you exercise and eat the same as people 30 years ago, you’re likely to have a body that is substantially heavier and fatter. So what else is at play? Answering that question is still a work in progress. An attempt to map the various influences on weight gives a much more hon-

est and complex picture, one that is still incomplete.

Genetics, medication side effects, pollutant exposures, hormonal changes, stress and poorer sleep patterns are all part of the answer.

Fuelling disgust and shame

Unfortunately, unscientific and harmful ideas about thinness and fatness persist through continual messages from the big institutions. Governments, public health organizations, corporations and the media routinely reinforce the message that self-discipline leads to thin bodies, that we are in a crisis of fatness and that it is up to us to keep ourselves thin no matter the unhealthy pressures put upon our bodies.

Corporations sell us unhealthy food, then run campaigns about the importance of moderation. They even lobby governments to recommend their unhealthy foods to the public.

The media is rife with judgemental and dehumanizing messages about fatness. This is true of both news and entertainment media. Consider the latest offering: Netflix’s Insatiable, a show about a girl whose body drops pounds after her jaw is wired shut, then gets revenge on her bullies. The show is something of one long fat joke.

Governments continue to allow non-nutritious foods to be sold, while supporting public health campaigns that emphasize self-discipline.

Health promotions campaigns continue to use visual messages

www.canadianinquirer.net

that fuel disgust, shame and loathing of bodily fat despite evidence that such campaigns are less effective and deepen stigmatization, which worsens health.

All of these societal messages shape our emotions and thoughts about our own and other people’s bodies.

We feel responsible for the size and shape of our bodies, despite the many influences on the styling of our lives and our bodies. We are encouraged to see our bodies and health as personal projects, and as failures unless they conform to a particular ideal.

New visions of virtuous living

What would it mean to refuse such pressures?

To some, this is a rejection of the social norms that create solidarity. People might become uncomfortable or defensive when others refuse to participate in moralistic talk about food, exercise and bodies — talk that sounds something like “I can have this piece of cake because I worked out this morning.”

But what if we resolved, for the rest of 2019, to express social solidarity while reinforcing other virtues?

We can, for example, resolve to be kinder to each other and ourselves. We can resolve to learn something new in the next three months, or to start a new volunteering gig.

We can collectively invite other visions of virtuous living together. ■ Jen Wrye, Instructor at North Island College in B.C., co-authored this article.

Lifestyle

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

27

Boomer bikers are turning to three wheelers to keep up life in the fast lane

BY ALEKSANDRA SAGAN The Canadian Press MONTREAL — Pam Fraser had never been on a motorcycle — or anything resembling one — such as the three-wheeled Piaggio scooter her husband Dan hauled home from the dealership 10 years ago.

“I thought for sure he is going to kill himself on this thing,” she said.

Dan, a firefighter at the time, relented, trading in the Piaggio a few months later. “The next thing you know he’s buying a Can-Am Spyder,” recalled Pam, 64. “Boys and their toys.”

Dan, 66, who gave up biking as a young man, implored her to try the trike, made by Quebecbased BRP Inc. and resembling one of the company’s Ski-Doos on wheels — one in the back, two wide apart in the front.

“So I put on my snowmobile helmet and popped on behind him and went for a little ride,” Pam said, her risk aversion honed by decades in personal insurance. “I was hooked.”

The roadster has rerouted their retirement. Pam and Dan have put more than 250,000 kilometres on seven Spyders over the past decade. They’ve trekked to trike rallies in Missouri, Tennessee and North Carolina. Last July they rode to Deadwood, S.D., notching 1,000 kilometres a day.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby; it’s more of a lifestyle,” said Pam, who moderates the Ontario Spyder Ryders Facebook

page, which counts more than 770 members. “It gives you a sense of freedom that you don’t have in a car.”

The retirees from Orangeville, Ont., are part of a growing wave of baby boomers who are rediscovering life on the open road aboard the motorbike’s more stable cousin, the three-wheeled motorcycle.

And manufacturers are scrambling to get on board, aiming to expand a mere industry sidecar into a major driver of sales while dodging licensing obstacles and derision from the hog elite.

The number of threewheeled vehicles registered in Quebec rose 60 per cent to 15,147 between 2014 and 2017, according to the Transport Ministry. Motorcycles grew 17 per cent to 185,416 in the same period.

The rest of the country has been slower to adopt, but producers have their eyes on sunnier climes than Canada.

Companies like BRP, HarleyDavidson Inc., Quebec-based Campagna Motors and Minnesota’s Polaris Industries are looking to expand in the U.S. as well as Australia, Japan and Europe.

BRP chief executive Jose Boisjoli hopes to triple global sales of three-wheelers over five years to more than $1 billion — or nearly one-quarter of total company revenues in 2017 — driven largely by the newly released Ryker roadster. The sporty trike chops the Spyder’s starting price of US$17,000 to

US$8,500 in a bid to attract younger and less wealthy riders.

Ultimately, though, youth is not where it’s at. The average Spyder customer is 62, Boisjoli said.

“To be honest, at the beginning we were saying we should attract younger people. But lately we’re saying, why? Retired people have disposable income. They have time,” he said.

Enthusiasts say three-wheelers offer the exhilaration of a standard motorcycle but without the physical strain that comes with it.

Still, some traditionalists remain resistant, even hostile, to three-wheelers, said Jeff Maguire, an account director with a Toronto-based ad agency that focuses on power sport products.

“Most motorcyclists wave to each other,” he said. “I’ve noticed with Can-Ams, that doesn’t really happen. It’s not that they don’t wave, but they don’t get a wave back.”

The sentiment may be “snobbish,” but having tried threewheelers, he said he gets where it’s coming from.

“It took all the things you get from riding a motorcycle — the freedom, the handling, the ability to lean into a corner — and sucked the fun out of it,” said Maguire, a third-generation biker who owns two Harleys and a 1972 Honda.

On top of rider ridicule, licensing and regulations pose another hurdle. Some states, such as California, allow any-

A Can-Am Spyder.

one with a driver’s licence to ride off the lot with a threewheeler, though getting that licence can still be a deterrent.

In Quebec, car drivers need only complete a special sevenhour course to drive a BRP roadster, which the company makes available at 17 driving schools in the province.

Many states and several provinces and territories, however, require riders to enter a graduated motorcycle licensing system that amounts to a barrier to entry, he added.

Ryan Blake, a motorcycle instructor at Learning Curves in Toronto, said three-wheeled motorcycles are partly an industry response to shifting tastes as riders look beyond big Harley cruisers for “old white guys” or roaring Japanese performance bikes.

Products such as the Harley trike and Seattle-based Ural Motorcycles — famed for its sidecars — present a viable option to aging hog riders and dis-

STEINDY / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 3.0

abled individuals, he said “In the old days, a lot of senior riders would get a sidecar to balance their vehicle — and put their dog in,” he said.

“I have seen a lot of students with disabilities, guys who have artificial limbs…Their intentions are often to go and get a three-wheeled machine. It think it’s great, it’s fantastic.”

Three-wheelers’ automatic transmission and stable handling can build confidence for consumers new to motorcycling as well as older riders returning from decades of selfimposed exile, Blake said. “‘As a real man, you ride two wheels, you don’t ride three.’ I think those stigmas are dropping today, I really do, because the technology is so fun to play with,” he said.

“Back in the old days, you would never, ever see a group of Harley riders riding with sport bike riders. Now you see it everywhere. Everyone’s riding together.” ■

‘Staying alive, Staying alive:’ Pet owners gain peace of mind with pet first aid THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CALGARY — Dollar and Ghost are watching with great interest as their owners bounce along to “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees.

Dollar, or Dolly as she is called by her owner, even gets up close and personal. The Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever licks the face of her human mom

while Sharon Manly is learning mouth-to-snout resuscitation and CPR on a dog mannequin.

“One, two. You’re helping, aren’t you?” laughs Manly, a dog groomer who rescued Dolly from Mexico eight years ago.

Manly is one of seven students one day recently at the Walks `N’ Wags pet first-aid course taught by Sarah Macknak, owner of Paw Responder in Calgary.

And why “Staying Alive?”

It was suggested, along with children’s song “Baby Shark,” by students who were asking how fast to do CPR. “You’re giving two breaths through the nose after 30 compressions, OK? So two to 30 … and reassess every couple of minutes,” instructs Macknak.

“Uh, uh, uh, uh. Staying alive.” The students are countwww.canadianinquirer.net

ing aloud with each beat.

“The other important thing here is to check for a pulse every couple of minutes,” says Macknak.

First-aid courses for pets have been around for the last 15 years and are popular at the Calgary Humane Society where the class is being held.

“Our pet first aid is mostly geared towards dogs, but you

can do it for cats and rabbits and other species as well,” explains Cheryl Grant, the humane society’s behaviour outreach co-ordinator.

“Obviously our pets cannot communicate with us properly.

They don’t speak with us so we need to really know what they are communicating.” ❱❱ PAGE 31 ‘Staying alive’

28

Lifestyle

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Detecting depression: Phone apps could monitor teen angst

BY LINDSEY TANNER The Associated Press RISING SUICIDE rates and depression in U.S. teens and young adults have prompted researchers to ask a provocative question: Could the same devices that some people blame for contributing to tech-age angst also be used to detect it?

The idea has sparked a race to develop apps that warn of impending mental health crises.

Call it smartphone psychiatry or child psychology 2.0.

Studies have linked heavy smartphone use with worsening teen mental health. But as teens scroll through Instagram and Snapchat, tap out texts or watch YouTube videos, they also leave digital footprints that might offer clues to their psychological well-being.

Changes in typing speed, voice tone, word choice and how often kids stay home could signal trouble, according to preliminary studies.

There might be as many as 1,000 smartphone “biomarkers” for depression, said Dr. Thomas Insel, former head of the National Institute of Mental Health and now a leader in the smartphone psychiatry movement.

Researchers are testing experimental apps that use artificial intelligence to try to predict depression episodes or potential self-harm.

“We are tracking the equivalent of a heartbeat for the human brain,” said Dr. Alex Leow, an app developer and associate professor of psychiatry and bioengineering at the University of Illinois’ Chicago campus.

At least, that’s the goal. There are technical and ethical kinks to work out — including privacy issues and making sure kids grant permission to be monitored so closely. Developers say proven, commercially available mood-detecting apps are likely years — but not decades — away.

“People often feel that these things are creepy,” because of the tech industry’s surreptitious tracking of online habits for commercial purposes, said University of Oregon psychologist Nick Allen.

Using smartphones as mental

illness detectors would require informed consent from users to install an app, “and they could withdraw permission at any time,” said Allen, one of the creators of an app that is being tested on young people who have attempted suicide.

“The biggest hurdle at the moment,” Allen said, “is to learn about what’s the signal and what’s the noise — what is in this enormous amount of data that people accumulate on their phones that is indicative of a mental health crisis.”

Depression affects about 3 million U.S. teens, and rates have climbed in the past decade. Thirteen per cent of 12to 17-year-olds had depression in 2017, up from 8 per cent in 2010, U.S. government data show. One in 10 college-aged Americans is affected.

Suicide has risen to the second leading cause of death for ages 10 to 34. Rates among teen girls doubled from 2007 to 2015, climbing to 5 per 100,000.

And among boys, rates jumped 30 per cent, to 14 in 100,000.

A recent study suggested a parallel rise in smartphone use likely contributed.

People with mental illness typically get treatment “when they’re in crisis and very late in the course of an illness. We want to have a method to identify the earliest signs,” in an objective way, Insel said.

If smartphones prove to be accurate mood predictors, developers say the ultimate goal would be to use them to offer real-time help, perhaps with automated text messages and links to help lines, or digital alerts to parents, doctors or first responders.

Facebook is already doing just that with what it calls “proactive detection.” After a livestreamed suicide, Facebook trained its AI systems to flag certain words or phrases in online posts that could indicate imminent self-harm. Friends’ comments expressing concern about the user’s well-being are part of the equation.

“In the last year, we’ve helped first responders quickly reach around 3,500 people globally who needed help,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in November. Face-

book has not disclosed outcomes of those cases.

The ongoing research includes: — A Stanford University study involving about 200 teens, including kids at risk for depression because of bullying, family circumstances or other life stresses. As part of the research, teens who have been tracked since grade school get an experimental phone app that surveys them three times daily for two weeks with questions about their mood.

Researchers are combining those answers with passive smartphone data, including how active or sedentary kids are, to identify any changes that might be linked with future depression.

Study participant Laurel Foster, 15, acknowledges feeling stress over academics and “the usual” teen friendship pressures and says depression is rampant at her San Francisco high school. She said using the smartphone app felt a bit like being spied on, but with so many online sites already tracking users’ habits “one more isn’t really a big difference.”

“I feel like it’s good to actually find out what is stressing you,” Laurel said, endorsing the idea of using smartphones to try to answer that question.

— At UCLA, as part of a broader effort to battle campus depression launched in 2017, researchers are offering online counselling and an experimental phone app to students who show signs of at least mild depression on a screening test.

About 250 freshmen agreed to use the app in the first year.

Personal sensing data collected from the app is being analyzed to see how it correlates with any worsening or improvement in depression symptoms seen in internet therapy.

Sophomore Alyssa Lizarraga, who had the app on her phone for about six months, said it was “a little like the Big Brother thing. Half of me felt that way.

The other half felt like I hope it www.canadianinquirer.net

will be useful.”

Lizarraga, 19, has had depression since high school in Whittier, California.

She has worried that she’s “addicted” to her phone and spends a lot of time on social media sites.

“People need to see

the best side of me” there, she said, and comparing herself with others online sometimes gets her down.

But using smartphones in a positive way for mental health might help nudge people to seek early treatment, if they could see how their phone use showed signs of depression, she said.

— At the University of Illinois’ Chicago campus, researchers studying depression and mania in bipolar disorder are using crowdsourcing to test their experimental phone app.

Anyone can download the free app, and nearly 2,000 have so far, agreeing to let the researchers continuously track things such as typing speed, number of keystrokes and use of spellcheck. Participants include healthy people, and their data will help researchers zero in on changes in phone use that may

signal onset of mood problems, said Leow, the psychiatry and bioengineering expert who helped develop it.

The study is for ages 18 and up, but if proven to work, the technology could be used in kids too, Leow said.

— Mindstrong, a Palo Alto, California, tech health company co-founded by Insel, the former NIH official, is testing a “digital phenotyping” app in several studies. Insel thinks the technology has promise to transform psychiatry, but that the most important question is whether it can be used to improve patient health.

— Verily, a tech health arm of Google parent company Alphabet, is developing a similar app but declined to elaborate beyond a statement from its mental health leader, Menachem Fromer. He cited two key goals: making predictions about someone’s mental health and their symptoms and “discovering new subtypes of disease that may inform treatment decisions.” ■

29

Sports Phoenix Fuel Masters trade Pinto for Elite’s Eribou, release Alolino

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

Manny Pacquiao.

FARYSA HAMZAH / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Manny Pacquiao clarifies goal for next fight, wants to knock out Adrien Broner

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer WORLD CHAMPION boxer Manny Pacquiao is ready to represent the Philippines once again as he trains in anticipation for his fight against American Adrien Broner, whom he recently shared in an interview when he said that he wants to “knock out Broner.”

During Pacquiao’s New Year’s Eve training at Wild Card Boxing, he shared that he is “not making a prediction, but [he] is looking for a knockout against Broner,” stating, “I have to maximize the opportunity. I forgot how much fun winning a fight by knockout was until I stopped Lucas Matthysse last summer to win the WBA (World Boxing Association) (secondary) welterweight title.”

Pacquiao emphasized that he “felt great to win” his last match against his previous Argentinian opponent, and wants to win in the same way on January 19. When asked about going against the fellow boxing champion who has won in four divisions, Pacquiao jokes, “I have nothing personal against

Adrien Broner. This fight is strictly business. He is fun. He makes me laugh. He knows how to sell himself and to sell a fight.” Pacquiao is aware, however, that the 29-year-old Broner has never lost by knockout.

Filipino boxing fans, as well as Pacquiao’s family, is flying to Las Vegas for the fight in two weeks as this is the athleteturned-politician’s first appearance in the United States since battling it out against Jessie Vargas in 2016.

To prepare for the fight, which many assume is a step towards the Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch, the “Fighter of the Decade” (according to the Boxing Writers Association of America) promoted his best friend and assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez as head trainer, while Coach Freddie Roach has been helping as well. Fernandez proudly shared that he is “very pleased with the training camp Manny has had. His footwork, distance, and angles are all coming together nicely,” confidently adding, “When he hits the mitts it sounds like an explosion. I have never felt such raw power.” ■

LOOKS LIKE the Phoenix Fuel Masters are looking to up their game for the upcoming 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) season as they make edits in their lineup.

One of the team’s biggest surprises was releasing sophomore guard Gelo Alolino, who averaged 6.0 points with a 44% shooting range beyond the arc, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game last season, which he could not complete due to an injury in his right ankle. Alolino, who is a graduate from the National University (NU) and was also chosen second overall in his

draft class, is now a free agent and is looking to be picked up by the Blackwater Elite.

In the meantime, the Elite participated in a one-on-one trade themselves with the Fuel Masters involving John Pinto in exchange for Joseph Eribou.

During the most recent Governor’s Cup, Pinto proved to be improving in his fifth year averaging 11.64 points, 6.27 assists, and 3.91 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, big man Eribou from Mapua averaged 5.5 points and 1.0 rebounds in the four games he played for the Fuel Masters’ run in the Governor’s Cup, but his height was strongly desired by Blackwater head coach Leo Isaac.

Pinto is excited to join his new

team, sharing, “I know it will be a big adjustment, but I’m excited for the new environment and a new journey in my career. Hopefully, I can contribute on playing defense and create plays.”

When it comes to more updates before the January 19 opening of the newest season, Northport veteran Gabby Espinas was also released by his former team, now having the opportunity to spend his 13th year in the PBA for any other team. The Alaska Aces let go of Marion Magat, Ronald Pascual, and Karl Dehasa, but also signed rookies MJ Ayaay and Gboy Babilonia. Carlo Lastimosa and Dylan Ababou have also been released by their team Columbian Dyip. ■

PBA Legend Jimmy Alapag joins SMB Coaching staff

BY GIANNA LLANES Philippine Canadian Inquirer

guys who I played with.”

SMB Head Coach Leo is delighted with his acquisition, also telling the media, “This WITH THE arrival of former is his first day, but if you look TNT Katropa member Terrence at his spirit as a coach, he has Romeo into the San Miguel something to offer to us and Beermen (SMB) squad comes anybody who joins the team is another member of the team – always welcome. We welcome not on the lineup, though, but with open arms.” on the coaching staff.

As for players, besides new Former Philaddition Romeo, ippine Basketwho attended his ball Association first SMB prac(PBA) star and tice last ThursGilas Pilipinas I’m thankful we had a lot of success day, January 3, member Jimmy when I was there but now it’s a new the coaching Alapag goes back chapter and a new opportunity. staff will be hanto his SMB roots dling the likes of as he not only Most Valuable mentors the Player (MVP) reigning champion San Miguel Martin, and Dayong Mendoza. June Mar Fajardo, Christian Alab Pilipinas in the Asean Bas- He further explained, “I don’t Standhardinger, Marcio Lasketball League, but he also be- think my role is clearly defined siter, Arwind Santos, and Chris came the assistant coach for the as of yet, but it’s a chance to Ross for the upcoming PBA franchise’s team in the pros. He learn a great deal from coach season beginning January 13. told the media that he is “just Leo and the staff. It’s a chance The team lost Brian Heruela, thankful for the opportunity to work a lot with some of the David Semerad, and 2022 first to be [with San Miguel],” even best players in the PBA today, round pick for 4x PBA All-Star mentioning his former stint guys who I played against and Romeo. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

with Talk N’ Text stating, “My history with Talk ‘N Text was my history there. I’m thankful we had a lot of success when I was there but now it’s a new chapter and a new opportunity.

So I’m looking forward to it.”

Alapag will be assisting head coach Leo Austria, who is also guided by Ato Agustin, Boycie Zamar, Biboy Ravanes, Peter

30

Business Local markets benefiting from inflation decline

BY JOANN VILLANUEVA Philippine News Agency MANILA — The deceleration of the country’s December 2018 inflation rate to 5.1 percent from month-ago’s six percent, reportedly helped both the peso and the main equities gauge to finish the week on a high note.

The local currency ended the shortened trading week at 52.51 against the greenback, PHP0.14 better than its 52.65 finish Thursday.

BDO chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the peso remained range-bound in this year’s first trading week after ranging between 52.50-52.75 to a US dollar.

Since trading for the year started last Wednesday, the peso strengthened by 0.13 percent week-on-week, he said.

On Friday, the local unit opened at 52.62, weaker than its 52.55 start in the previous session.

It was able to improve to as much as its closing level while the weakest stood at 52.63. This brought the day’s average to 52.56.

Volume reached USD684.95 million, lower than the US797.5 million a day ago.

Ravelas said the local unit’s close this week “signal(s) (that) strong support exists at the 52.50 levels.”

He also sees the possibility for of peso improving to as much as 52.00 to a dollar but also noted a pull towards the 53.00 level if the unit touches 52.75.

“Only a break below 52.500 will trigger tests towards the 52.00/52.25 level,” he said.

Relatively, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up to 7,761.11 points, an increase of 1.05 percent or 80.51 points from Thursday.

All the other counters tracked the main index, with

the broader All Shares up by 0.92 percent, or 42.31 points, to 4,652.59 points.

Mining and Oil led the sectors with a 2.25 percent hike and was trailed by the Industrial, 2.14 points; Property, 1.88 percent; Financials, 0.62 percent; Holding Firms, 0.49 percent; and Services, 0.42 percent.

Volume went up to 1.96 billion shares amounting to PHP9.04 billion.

Gainers led losers at 141 to 63 while 39 points were unchanged.

Ravelas said the PSEi improved by 3.95 percent weekon-week “as investors are betting Philippine equities could still do well amid expectations of cooling inflation and Wall Street’s volatility.”

“Investors are buying blue chips that will benefit from a possible reversal of foreign inflows and positioning in stocks that will gain as inflation eases,” he said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday reported the sustained slowdown of inflation rate in the last month this year from last November’s six percent.

Average inflation in 2018 stood at 5.2 percent, higher than the government’s 2 to 4 percent target for 2018-2020.

However, monetary officials sees within-target average inflation rate this year and the next as supply-side issues have been addressed.

Thus, Ravelas forecasts the PSEi to go up to 8,000-level after touching the 7,800-level this week.

“However, failure to clear the 7,800 levels could trigger some profit taking back towards the 7,300/7,500 levels,” he added. ■

P6-B investment eyed for Clark Airport terminal expansion

BY AEROL JOHN PATEÑA Philippine News Agency MANILA — The consortium managing the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the Clark International Airport is eyeing to allocate PHP6 billion for the improvement of its new terminal building, which is expected to serve around 8 million passengers or double the current capacity of its existing terminal.

The North Luzon Airport Consortium (NLAC) is confident that the improvement in the facilities of Clark Airport will lead to economic growth in the Northern and Central Luzon regions.

“We are honoured to be given the opportunity to participate in the development of Clark International Airport. We believe in the potential of the Philippines and the Luzon region.

Together with our partners and with the support of key stakeholders, we will develop Clark as the region’s premier gateway,” said Lim Liang Song, CEO of Changi Airports International, in a statement on Friday.

“Building on the airport’s geographical position and catchment, we will grow the airport’s network and provide passengers with a superior airport experience including a brand new commercial area.

In addition to global brands, the new airport terminal will also have a curated selection of retail and food and beverage outlets that showcases the best of what the Philippines has to offer,” he added.

The consortium, which is comprised of Changi Airport Philippines Pte. Ltd., Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings, Inc., and Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions, Inc., will manage and operate Clark airport’s existing terminal and its new terminal building.

The NLAC envisions to promote Clark International Airwww.canadianinquirer.net

Departure hall of Clark International Airport.

THEJMP617 / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS 3.0

port as the Northern and Central Luzon Gateway Airport through its partnerships with tourism authorities and airline carriers to increase traffic, build a wider network and establish connectivity to Clark with more domestic and international flights.

“With the new Clark International Airport, travelers and visitors can expect to be greeted with fast, efficient and hassle-free service. We believe that the ease in travel in a worldclass airport will help boost the region’s tourism industry and related businesses. It is NLAC’s vision to redefine the air travel experience at Clark International Airport. The airport will be the Northern and Central Luzon’s gateway, connecting the region to the rest of the Philippines and the world,” according to Josephine Gotianun-Yap, President and CEO of Filinvest Development Corporation.

“We are very optimistic about the prospects of Clark International Airport, and will do our part to support its growth by providing a world-class gateway

airport. With our Group’s experience in airline operations, property development and our various consumer-oriented businesses, we will provide the best service and value proposition to both passengers and airlines to make Clark International their airport of choice,” Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings Inc., said.

The construction of the new terminal, which started in December 2017 is expected to be completed by 2020.

The NLAC bagged the O&M of the Clark International Airport last December after the other bidder, X-Droid Consortium - which is made up of Indonesia’s Angkasa Pura II, Globalport 900, Mazy Capital, and Desco - was disqualified during the bidding conducted in November.

The notice of award was given to NLAC by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority for a hybrid Public Private Partnership project with a 25year concession period. ■

Business

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

31

Delaying 3rd telco entry to hinder improved services: DICT

BY AEROL JOHN PATEÑA Philippine News Agency MANILA — Delaying the entry of the third telco player in the country will derail the vision of achieving faster and better communication services for the public, the head of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Friday.

DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. said the new major player will promote competition and investments in the telco industry amid a petition filed before the Supreme Court that seeks to nullify the confirmation of Mislatel Consortium as the third telco player by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

“To undo the selection pro-

cess will ultimately derail the goal of achieving better and cheaper telco services for the Philippines. To do that, we need competition and investment, which the New Major Player will provide,” Rio said in a Facebook post, in apparent reaction to the petition, which was filed by data privacy lawyer Marlon Anthony Tonson.

The DICT official noted that the crafting of Memorandum Circular 09-09-2018, which set the terms of reference (TOR) for the selection of the new major telco player and the bidding process was conducted in a transparent manner.

“It should be noted that the bidding was the most transparent, publicly participated TOR (officially known as MC 0909-2018) ever crafted and the fact that there were 10 appli-

cants that bought the bidding documents at a non-refundable amount of PHP 1M is a testament to this,” Rio said.

Furthermore, the TOR will require the third telco player to ensure that its network and facilities will not compromise national and cyber security.

Tonson filed the petition before the Supreme Court last month, asking it to nullify the awarding of the third telco slot to Mislatel and invalidate MC 09-09-2018 on the grounds that it is “unconstitutional, exclusionary and dangerous to national security.”

In his petition dated Dec. 17, 2018, Tonson alleged that the selection process for the new major player in the telecommunications industry was “exclusionary” and “anti-competitive.”

According to him, the fees in-

Amazon emerges as most valuable US firm amid market turmoil THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon has eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the U.S. as a seesawing stock market continues to reshuffle corporate America’s pecking order.

The shift occurred Monday after Amazon’s shares rose 3 per cent to close at $1,629.51 and lifted the e-commerce leader’s market value to $797 billion. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s stock edged up by less than 1 per cent to finish at $102.06, leaving the computer software maker’s value at $784 billion.

It marks the first time Amazon has held the top spot and ends Microsoft’s brief return to the pinnacle after it surpassed Apple in late November .

The repositioning has been triggered by mounting concerns that the Trump administration’s trade war with China and rising interest rates will bog down the worldwide economy. If that were to happen, it’s likely to slow the growth of companies in technology and

PIXAVRIL / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

other industries that generate a substantial chunk of their revenue outside the U.S. That’s one reason most technology stocks are well off their peaks. Amazon, for instance, remains 21 per cent below its high reached in September when the company’s stock value stood above $1 trillion. Apple was worth even more back then, but its stock has plunged

by 37 per cent since early October to erase about $400 billion of its market value.

Apple confirmed some of investors’ worst fears last week when it warned that disappointing demand for iPhones, especially in China, caused its revenue for its most recent quarter to fall well below the projections of its management and industry analysts. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY - DICT / FACEBOOK

volved in the selection process likewise served as barriers that obstructed genuine competition.

The DICT has said that the guidelines for the selection process aim to ensure that the new major player has the financial and technical capability to compete with existing domi-

nant players PLDT and Globe Telecom in delivering telco services to the public.

“The winner is given 90 days to comply with all the postqualification requirements.

Therefore, the petition is premature as the process is still ongoing and has not yet been concluded,” Rio added. ■

‘Staying alive ...’ ❰❰ 27

The intensive oneday course includes what to do if your pet stops breathing, its heart stops or even if Fido or Miss Kitty end up bleeding or impaled on a branch.

“First you must always consider your safety. If you get hurt, you’re no good to help the animal … Restrain the animal with wraps and blankets,” says Macknak.

It’s important to check for anything that may be stopping the pet from breathing.

“The next thing you would want to try to do is open the animals mouth. You try to scoop it out with your fingers.”

If mouth-to-snout doesn’t work, there’s another way to jar anything loose.

“For smaller animals you can hold them upside down, holding the thighs just above the knee. Swing them back and forth to help the item dislodge … An abdominal press can be done on the larger animals to help dislodge,” Macknak says.

She uses stuffed animals to demonstrate the best way to bandage a tail wound, a puncture or putting on a splint.

There are challenges.

“What happens with tails?

They move. They wag. It’s a little bit hard to stop the bleeding

of a wagging tail, so you want to secure it to the leg.”

Despite having a difficult time with a moving target, Manly is glad she brought Dolly to practise on.

“I work with animals every day, so it’s important to have a live dummy. You really need to practise on something moving,” she says.

Valli Fraser-Celin, who’s using her dog Ghost as a practice animal, says she and her partner hike a lot and want to be prepared in case something bad happens.

“Everyone should have a basic knowledge of how to help their pet in a moment of crisis.

I think this is a really good class to take just to have that baseline knowledge,” she says.

“It’s important … that if something does happen you can potentially help them when they need it.”

The initial bandaging efforts on Ghost, a Catahoula leopard dog, are a little less than perfect, but Fraser-Celin promises to keep working on it at home.

“I’m going to bandage all of him at the same time, like the head, the feet. I’m going to splint him,” she laughs.

“He’s pretty chill so I think he’ll be OK with me practising on him.” ■

32

Technology Home items are getting smarter and creepier, like it or not

BY ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press NEW YORK — One day, finding an oven that just cooks food may be as tough as buying a TV that merely lets you change channels.

Internet-connected “smarts” are creeping into cars, refrigerators, thermostats, toys and just about everything else in your home. CES 2019, the gadget show opening Tuesday in Las Vegas, will showcase many of these products, including an oven that co-ordinates your recipes and a toilet that flushes with a voice command.

With every additional smart device in your home, companies are able to gather more details about your daily life. Some of that can be used to help advertisers target you — more precisely than they could with just the smartphone you carry.

“It’s decentralized surveillance,” said Jeff Chester, executive director for the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington-based digital privacy advocate. “We’re living in a world where we’re tethered to some online service stealthily gathering our information.”

Yet consumers so far seem to be welcoming these devices.

The research firm IDC projects that 1.3 billion smart devices will ship worldwide in 2022, twice as many as 2018.

Companies say they are building these products not for snooping but for convenience, although Amazon, Google and other partners enabling the in-

telligence can use the details they collect to customize their services and ads.

Whirlpool, for instance, is testing an oven whose window doubles as a display. You’ll still be able to see what’s roasting inside, but the glass can now display animation pointing to where to place the turkey for optimal cooking.

The oven can sync with your digital calendar and recommend recipes based on how much time you have. It can help co-ordinate multiple recipes, so that you’re not undercooking the side dishes in focusing too much on the entree. A camera inside lets you zoom in to see if the cheese on the lasagna has browned enough, without opening the oven door.

As for that smart toilet, Kohler’s Numi will respond to voice commands to raise or lower the lid — or to flush. You can do it from an app, too. The company says it’s all about offering hands-free options in a setting that’s very personal for people. The toilet is also heated and can play music and the news through its speakers.

Kohler also has a tub that adjusts water temperature to your liking and a kitchen faucet that dispenses just the right amount of water for a recipe.

For the most part, consumers aren’t asking for these specific features. After all, before cars were invented, people might have known only to ask for faster horses. “We try to be innovative in ways that customers don’t realize they need,” Samsung spokesman Louis Masses said.

Kohler’s Numi.

Whirlpool said insights can come from something as simple as watching consumers open the oven door several times to check on the meal, losing heat in the process.

“They do not say to us, ‘Please tell me where to put (food) on the rack, or do algorithm-based cooking,”‘ said Doug Searles, general manager for Whirlpool’s research arm, WLabs.

“They tell us the results that are most important to them.”

Samsung has several voiceenabled products, including a fridge that comes with an app that lets you check on its contents while you’re grocery shopping. New this year: Samsung’s washing machines can send alerts to its TVs — smart TVs, of course — so you know your laundry is ready while watching Netflix.

Other connected items at CES include: • a fishing rod that tracks your location to build an online map of where you’ve made

www.canadianinquirer.net

KOHLER.COM

Samsung’s Family Hub.

the most catches.

• a toothbrush that recommends where to brush more.

• a fragrance diffuser that lets you control how your home smells from a smartphone app.

These are poised to join internet-connected security cameras, door locks and thermostats that are already on the market. The latter can work with sensors to turn the heat down automatically when you leave home.

Chester said consumers feel the need to keep up with their neighbours when they buy appliances with the smartest smarts. He said all the conveniences can be “a powerful drug to help people forget the fact that they are also being spied on.”

Gadgets with voice controls typically aren’t transmitting any data back to company servers until you activate them with a trigger word, such as “Alexa” or “OK Google.” But devices

SAMSUNG.COM

have sometimes misheard innocuous words as legitimate commands to record and send private conversations .

Even when devices work properly, commands are usually stored indefinitely. Companies can use the data to personalize experiences — including ads.

Beyond that, background conversations may be stored with the voice recordings and can resurface with hacking or as part of lawsuits or investigations.

Knowing what you cook or stock in your fridge might seem innocuous. But if insurers get hold of the data, they might charge you more for unhealthy diets, warned Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego. He also said it might be possible to infer ethnicity based on food consumed.

Manufacturers are instead emphasizing the benefits: Data collection from the smart fau❱❱ PAGE 36 Home items

Technology

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

33

With slump in iPhone sales, Women navigate are we post Peak Smartphone? toxicity, other

BY MAE ANDERSON The Associated Press

proving, new features tended to be incremental, such as a new flash technique to already excellent phone cameras. It’s the stuff consumers won’t typically notice — or want to shell out for.

“Since the iPhone 6 you’ve seen it has been tough to innovate to continue to raise the bar,” Ives said.

Apple customers now upgrade every 33 months on average, longer than the 24 or 25 months three years ago, he said.

Apple’s diminished growth projections, fueled by plummeting sales in China, have reinforced fears the world’s secondlargest economy is losing steam.

Its $1,000 iPhone is a tough sell to Chinese consumers unnerved by an economic slump and the trade war with the U.S. They also have a slew of cheaper smartphones from homegrown com-

Vivian Yang, a manager at a Beijing technology company, also balked at the price. “Nobody needs such a phone,” she said.

NEW YORK — Behind Apple’s IDC analyst Ramon Llamas disconcerting news of weak said the cycle might bottom out iPhone sales lies a more soberand start growing again in 2021 ing truth: The tech industry has or 2022, when people’s current hit Peak Smartphone, a tipping phones start reaching the end point when everyone who can of their useful life. “People will afford one already owns one still replace their phones. It’s and no breakthroughs are comgoing to happen eventually,” he pelling them to upgrade as fresaid. quently as they once did.

But there’s no “silver bullet” Some manufacturers have that will spur growth to levels boosted prices to keep up profseen in the past when the init. But Apple’s shortfall highdustry was less mature. lights the limits of that strategy.

Foldable smartphones, with The company said demand for screens that unfold like a waliPhones is waning and revenue let to increase display size, are for the last quarter of 2018 will one thing that could spur exfall well below projections, a decitement, but they’re expensive crease traced mainly to China. and not due out until at least Apple’s shares dropped 10 per the end of the year. cent Thursday on the news — its Another thing that might spur worst loss since growth: 5G, the 2013. The comnext-generation pany shed $74.6 that telecom billion in marcompanies are ket value, amid a But this is an indication that the currently in the broader sell-off smartphone market can be a victim process of buildamong technolof its own success. ing, expected to be ogy companies, faster and more which suffered reliable than the their worst loss current 4G netin seven years. petitors such as Huawei, Xiaomi work. The first 5G compatible Apple’s news is a “wakeup call and Oppo to choose from. phones are due out this year. for the industry,” said analyst The fact that even Apple’s “There’s more pressure on 5G Dan Ives of research firm Wed- iPhone juggernaut is suffering as the next-wave smartphone,” bush Securities. cements a larger trend for all since sales are so lacklustre, And it’s not just Apple. De- major smartphone makers. After said Ives. “There will be a battle mand has been lacklustre across a steady rise for a decade, world- royale for 5G phones.” the board, Ives said. Samsung, wide smartphone shipments fell But 5G will take years for long the leading seller of smart- 3 per cent to 1.42 billion in 2018, broad, nationwide deployment, phones, has been hit even the first annual drop, accord- so the new 5G smartphones harder, as its phone shipments ing to International Data Corp., coming out this year are not dropped 8 per cent during the 12 which tracks such movements. likely to make much of a splash months ending in September.

IDC estimates that shipments immediately either.

“The smartphone industry will rebound 3 per cent in 2019 Analysts say smartphone is going through significant to 1.46 billion, but that still falls makers need to push into unheadwinds, “Ives said. “Smart- short of 2017 levels. der-saturated areas like Afphone makers used to be like It doesn’t help that top rica and elsewhere, and also teenagers, and the industry was phones come with four-digit sell more services like cloud on fire. Now it feels like they’re price tags — $1,100 for the storage, streaming music and more like senior citizens in iPhone XS Max and $1,000 for phone software. But the glory terms of maturity.”

Samsung’a Galaxy Note 9. The days of untrammeled growth Tech innovations in phones top-end Max model sells for appear to be over. grew in leaps and bounds earlier $1,450 in the U.S. “It’s going to be a slow slog,” in the 2010s, with dramatic im“They’re getting more and Llamas said. “By no means is provements in screen size, screen more expensive while offering this the end of the smartphone resolution, battery life, cameras fewer and fewer new, innovative market. But this is an indication and processor speed every year. features that I’ll actually use,” that the smartphone market can But the industry is a victim of said Zachary Pardes, a tech-sav- be a victim of its own success.” ■ its own success. Innovation be- vy 31-year-old in Fairfield, Congan to slow down around 2014, necticut. “I’ll upgrade when the Associated Press writers Tali once Apple boosted the screen battery stops working. When Arbel in New York and Joe Mcsize with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus I’m forced to buy a new phone, Donald in Beijing contributed to models. While phones kept im- I’ll buy a new phone.” this article. www.canadianinquirer.net

barriers in esport

BY JAKE SEINER The Associated Press NEW YORK — Susie Kim thinks the women gamers are out there. As general manager for a championship esports team, she would know.

She’s not surprised none of them are on her roster.

The Entertainment Software Association reported this year that 45 per cent of U.S. gamers are female, yet women make up a scant portion of the professional esports player pool. Executives for games like “League of Legends” and “Overwatch” say they are eager to add women to pro rosters, where players can make hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet LoL’s Championship Series hasn’t had a female gamer since 2016, and the Overwatch League’s inaugural season featured just one.

The industry has grappled with harassment and toxic behaviour since the Gamergate scandal of 2014, when a group of male gamers organized to target women throughout the industry. Women say they feel marginalized within the community and are routinely subject to nasty comments about their ability or appearance. For elite gamers, much of it comes from fans, but opponents and teammates are sometimes just

Maria “Remilia” Creveling.

as challenging. At the lower levels, women are often bombarded by hyper masculinity in a space where most everyone is anonymous.

Kim’s London Spitfire won the first Overwatch League championship in June. Speaking to The Associated Press before the grand finals, she said there are “absolutely” women talented enough to be playing in the Overwatch League.

“But they’re just like, ‘It’s a headache. I don’t want to be part of this at all,”‘ Kim said. “I don’t blame them.”

At the top

Maria “Remilia” Creveling is the only woman — and only transgender woman — to compete in the LoL Championship Series (LCS), the top pro league for the world’s most popular esport. Her stay in the LCS was short-lived and not the inspiring breakthrough some fans had hoped.

Creveling was a standout support player and qualified for the LCS with team Renegades in 2015. She made her debut the next year under intense scrutiny. Many celebrated her, but the comment sections accompanying live streams of Renegades matches were flooded with sexist and transphobic harassment. Fans disputed ❱❱ PAGE 21 Women navigate

MARIA CREVELING / FACEBOOK

JANUARY 11, 2019

34

CANADA

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HIRING FOR 8 TIM HORTON STORES IN VANCOUVER Food Service Supervisors, Bakers, and Food Counter Attendants Permanent/Full Time. 6 mos.to 2 yrs. experience Salary range $13.00 to $14.70 per hour + benefits Willing to work shifts; Spoken English knowledge Anyone who is authorized to work in Canada can apply.

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HIRING 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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35

Travel Cavite: An emerging food destination south of Manila

BY GLADYS PINO Philippine News Agency KAWIT, CAVITE — Cavite is gradually boosting the food and beverage industry on top of its manufacturing hub, leveraging its “most populous” status to high consumption in retail services as among the top drivers of the province’s economy.

Given this direction, the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office (PTCAO) steps in to help promote not just Cavite’s rich historical past, but its various gastronomical treasures, on what makes Cavite unique in the palate of the foodloving public, PTCAO officerin-charge Rozelle Sangalang said on Thursday.

To position the province as the emerging food destination in southern Luzon, PTCAO embarked into a series of activities “to revolutionize traditional Cavite dishes and delicacies,” through its “A Taste of Cavite: An appreciation of Cavite’s Old Cuisines.”

The undertaking aims to make professional chefs, and culinary teachers, including students, aware, appreciate and come up with innovative approaches on how to promote, showcase Cavite’s cultural

history of local cuisines “but without losing its authenticity,” Sangalang quipped.

These activities include workshops and cooking demonstrations with Razor Philippines Executive Chef and “Punong Heneral” of Cavite’s Culinary Generals, Chef Christopher G. Carangian, and culminate to a “culinary tour” to showcase some of Cavite’s famous cuisines and dishes.

The tour had its initial run on December 14 which showcased famous, heirloom cuisines in the municipalities of Kawit, Tanza and Amadeo, as well as in the cities of Imus and Tagaytay.

Aside from satisfying one’s palate, the tour offers snippets of history and traditions and reflects some traits of the towns and its people with the way they prepare and share their famous dishes.

The first stop, where the province’s greatness is rooted from, is the historic Kawit town.

Chef Michelle Ortega taught the participants not just how to cook this favorite dish of General Aguinaldo but highlights what makes it unique with other Cavite town’s versions.

Kawit’s “adobong dilaw” uses turmeric “because of its therapeutic features’ unlike the “achiote” or Annato seeds —

an orange-red condiment and food coloring used not just to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma used by the other Cavite towns.

A buffet of toclongganisa from Imus City’s Toclong 1st Multi-Purpose Cooperative came next where preparations using old recipe, passed on from generation to generation, were featured.

Imus City’s longganisa uses no vinegar, but garlic and poses similarity, although more intensely flavored than the Hungarian sausage.

Lunch was at Casa Real in Tanza town where guests partake of the Spanish-Filipino cuisine.

This location was chosen as they served Caviteño cuisines where ingredients are sourced from what is available in the locality.

Appetizer is dried pusit (squid) with tamarind sauce and “patis tanza” (as Tanza is coastal town, their patis or salty sauce version is made of alamang or shrimp and not fish) and they use available and local products.

For the main courses, owners of this nearly century-old house prepared “kalandrakas” — a mix of vegetables, whatever is available in the surroundings like legumes, sweet potato, the

Tourism Kulinarya designed to share Cavite's traditional dishes with the different municipalities'cities of the Province of Cavite CAVITE TOURISM / FACEBOOK

“heart” or the flower bud of banana mixed with noodles.

The dish earned its name from the old tradition where money is not the help, contribution you give to the dead, but whatever you harvest.

The other food choices include “kaldereta,” an heirloom recipe which forms part of the establishment’s Spanish specialties.

Its large cut was due to the absence of refrigerators in the past, where all ingredients are cooked at the same time and share the remaining pieces with the neighbors.

There is also crunchy pork “binagoongan” (pork laced with shrimp paste); tokwa (soya bean) “sisig” (Filipino dish made of minced pork, chopped onions and chicken liver) for the health conscious, Paella (which uses squid, due to the

coastal features of Tanza) and lemon ginger mint as refreshment.

A tour of Cavite is not complete without the visiting Amadeo town, the coffee capital of the Philippines and famous for its Pahimis festival.

The last stop is at Amira’s in Tagaytay City famous for its “buko” (fleshy coconut) pie.

The PTCAO is set to engage more stakeholders for events like this, to ensure that the traditional cuisines are promoted, preserved, yet adaptive to the changing palate of food lovers.

Cavite, located in the Southern shores of Manila bay, abounds not just with historic sites and landmarks — being home to a number of Filipino heroes; but offers a wide range of food specialties to satisfy one’s taste buds. ■

Restored Pompeii gladiator building open to public

BY FRANCES D’EMILIO The Associated Press ROME — A 2,000-year-old building where Roman gladiators in Pompeii trained for combat has opened to the public eight years after its collapse following rainfall.

The Pompeii archaeological site said the public can tour the Schola Armaturarum on Thursdays. Experts will explain their painstaking restoration of frescoes that decorated the site

where gladiators trained before combat in the ancient Roman city.

Its opening was hailed by Italy’s culture ministry as the “symbolic place of Pompeii’s rebirth,” following years of dismaying news that various ruins had crumbled amid modernday neglect of the sprawling, once-flourishing city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The building, which has been previously excavated some 100 years ago, had also suffered

heavy damage from World War II Allied bombing. A few years later, reinforced concrete was used to build a protective cover.

A park statement said prosecutors investigating the 2010 collapse didn’t pinpoint responsibility. But it said there were several “probable” interlaced factors that were aggravated by days of heavy rain.

Those factors included probable malfunction of a drainage system, the weight of the postwar addition of cement and iron and “lack of a planned system of www.canadianinquirer.net

monitoring and maintenance.”

Restoration work after the collapse did, however, bolster knowledge about the building’s use, with archaeologists saying it appears to have served as a home to an ancient military association, which sometimes hosted banquets there.

Excavations carried out in part to shore up the structure revealed areas, apparently used by servants, to prepare for such banquets, as well as amphorae, or storage jugs, containing oil, fine wine and fish sauce im-

ported from Crete, Sicily, Spain and Africa, the archaeological park said.

Several other recent finds point to better days for the popular Pompeii tourist site.

Among the more recent discoveries, the remains of a harnessed horse were found in an excavated stable of what was an ancient villa on Pompeii’s outskirts. Other excavations have found well-preserved fresco decorations. ❱❱ PAGE 38 Restored Pompeii

36

Travel

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Shifting sands shift plans for Cape Cod beach parking lot

BY MARY ANN BRAGG The Associated Press PROVINCETOWN, MASS. — The popular waterfront parking lot at Herring Cove Beach will be rebuilt farther inland than planned due to an emerging “hot spot” of erosion that is expected to last several years at least.

But the construction project can’t come too soon for a local tourism leader who says the disintegrating parking lot has begun to take an economic toll.

“Many visitors start their trip to Provincetown spending the day at the beach, and then later spending time in town,” Provincetown Tourism Director Anthony Fuccillo said. “The latter part of the day in Provincetown is negatively affected if the beach parking isn’t available.”

The Cape Cod National Seashore’s $3.3 million reconstruction of the northern 208-space parking lot kicked off Oct. 17.

But changes must be made to plans developed in 2013 due to coastal conditions in the area that have led to rapid erosion on the northernmost end of the proposed lot, according to Seashore Superintendent Brian Carlstom. The completion date of the project is this spring, ac-

cording to a sign at the beach, although no apparent work was underway Jan. 2 due to the federal government shutdown.

In the past decade, winter storms have torn up pavement, covered parking spaces with sand, and loosened and pocked a seawall. Due to public pressure, though, the Seashore continued to repair the lot each summer at a cost of $300,000 to $500,000 annually. The construction now underway is meant to stop that outflow of repair money for at least 20 years, Carlstrom said in December.

“We don’t want to continue that yearly,” he said of the spending on repairs.

Herring Cove Beach is the most popular of the Seashore’s six life-guarded beaches, and the northern parking lot has for decades allowed visitors to drive up and park at the beach’s edge. That is compared with the larger, southern parking lot, which is shielded from winter storms by dunes.

The beach typically has about 850,000 visitors each year but that count has dropped into the mid-500,000 range in each of the past two years, according to National Park Service records.

That dip in visitation numbers has caught the attention of Fuccillo and others.

The town’s 2017 Tourism Economy Report flagged “infrastructure” as having a direct effect on the drop in visitation at Herring Cove and on the growth of visitation at the Seashore’s Race Point Beach, which is about three miles north.

“Visitors will choose to visit destinations with ease of parking and ease of ability to navigate and move about the community,” according to the report’s summary.

Parking in Provincetown is a commodity throughout the year, Fuccillo said.

“There just isn’t enough,” he said.

When the planning was completed five years ago to move the northern parking lot inland, the Seashore expected the investment would last 50 years, according to the environmental assessment. In that assessment, the long and narrow lot was to be replicated 125 feet inland and rebuilt 15 feet higher.

Now, with the old pavement and seawall largely washed away or removed, the shoreline is reinstating its natural contours, leading to a temporary high rate of erosion in a specific area, according to a Dec. 4 letter from Carlstrom to the Provincetown Conservation Commission.

Home items... ❰❰ 32

cet, for instance, allows Kohler’s app to display how much water is dispensed. (Water bills typically show water use for the whole home, not individual taps.)

The market for smart devices is still small, but growing.

Kohler estimates that in a few years, smart appliances will make up 10 per cent of its revenue. Though the features are initially limited to premium models — such as the $7,000 toilet — they should eventually appear in entry-level products, too, as costs come down.

Consider the TV. “Dumb” TVs are rare these days, as the vast majority of TVs ship with internet connections and apps, like it or not.

“It becomes a check-box item

“The design of the project will remain the same,” Carlstrom wrote.

But given the emerging hot spot, the lot will be moved 50 feet farther inland, with a 150foot pivot inland on the northernmost end to specifically accommodate the hot spot. Ultimately, the new parking lot will be parallel to the mean high water line, he said.

Province Lands Road, to the west, will also be moved farther inland an equivalent distance, he said.

Both Carlstrom and the Seashore’s geographic information systems analyst Mark Adams have mentioned a 20-year lifes-

pan for the parking lot rather than the 50 years stated in the environmental assessment.

The hot spot at Herring Cove Beach stems from developing conditions as Hatches Harbor, to the north, Adams told the conservation commission on Dec. 18. At that meeting, commission members granted the Seashore’s request for an amended order of conditions for the relocation of the parking lot.

The parking lot reconstruction project is the largest of about $10 million in capital improvements projects currently planned or underway across the Seashore. ■

Congo delays... for the TV manufacturer,” said Paul Gagnon, an analyst with IHS Markit. For a dumb one, he said, you have to search for an off-brand, entry-level model with smaller screens — or go to places in the world where streaming services aren’t common.

“Dumb” cars are also headed to the scrapyard. The research firm BI Intelligence estimates that by 2020, three out of every four cars sold worldwide will be models with connectivity. No serious incidents have occurred in the United States, Europe and Japan, but a red flag has already been raised in China, where automakers have been sharing location details of connected cars with the government.

As for TVs, Consumer Re-

ports says many TV makers collect and share users’ viewing habits. Vizio agreed to $2.5 million in penalties in 2017 to settle cases with the Federal Trade Commission and New Jersey officials.

Consumers can decide not to enable these connections. They can also vote with their wallets, Stephens said.

“I’m a firm believer that simple is better. If you don’t need to have these so-called enhancements, don’t buy them,” he said. “Does one really need a refrigerator that keeps track of everything in it and tells you you are running out of milk?” ■ AP writers Joseph Pisani and Matt O’Brien in Las Vegas and Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this story. www.canadianinquirer.net

❰❰ 21

RFI’s correspondent.

Election observers and the opposition have raised concerns about voting irregularities, including the government’s decision to bar 1 million voters in eastern Congo from casting ballots because of what it said was the Ebola outbreak in the region. Eastern Congo is known as a centre of the opposition.

Western observers were not invited to watch the balloting, and the U.S. has threatened sanctions against those who undermine the democratic process.

While Congo was largely calm during and after the voting, President Donald Trump said about 80 military personnel and combat equipment had been deployed to neighbouring

Gabon to protect American citizens and diplomatic facilities in Congo. Ahead of the vote, the U.S. ordered non-emergency government employees and family members to leave the country.

At stake is a vast country rich in the minerals that power the world’s mobile phones and laptops, yet desperately underdeveloped. Some 40 million people were registered to vote.

Kabila, who took office in 2001 after his father was assassinated, is constitutionally barred from serving three consecutive terms but has hinted he may run again in 2023. That has led many Congolese to suspect he will rule from the shadows if Shadary takes office. ■

37

Food Chinese chicken salad offers Considering shrimp an enticing variety of tastes for dinner? Check out this Greek recipe

AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN WITH ITS juicy oranges, tender chicken and a crunchy topping, Chinese chicken salad offers an enticing variety of tastes and textures. But many versions seem to have lost their way, weighted down with gloppy sauces, lacklustre chicken, sugary canned orange segments and watery greens.

We saw the potential to recast this salad in a healthier role by incorporating wholesome ingredients. To start, we traded canned oranges for fresh oranges rich in vitamin C and fiber. We cut out segments to top our salad and used the remaining juice as the basis for a bright vinaigrette, which we enlivened with 3 tablespoons of fresh ginger, a pop of Asian chile-garlic sauce, and just a touch of honey for sweetness.

We used some of this flavourful liquid to simmer our chicken breasts, then we shredded the meat and returned it to the pan to soak up the rich, bright flavours. For the salad’s base, we replaced the usual lettuce with nutrient-packed napa cabbage, red bell peppers, cilantro, and scallions. For crunch, we passed on sodium-laden fried chow mein noodles and added a much healthier handful of unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts.

You can substitute one clove of minced garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for the Asian chili-garlic sauce.

Chinese chicken salad

Servings: 6 Start to finish: 1 hour

• 3 oranges • 1/3 cup rice vinegar • 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce • 3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger • 1 tablespoon Asian chile-garlic sauce • 1 tablespoon honey • 3 tablespoons expeller-

AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN

pressed canola oil • 2 teaspoons expeller-pressed toasted sesame oil • 1 pound organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat • 1 small head napa cabbage, cored and sliced thin • 2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 2-inchlong matchsticks • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves • 6 scallions, sliced thin • 1/2 cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts, chopped Cut away peel and pith from oranges. Holding fruit over large bowl, use paring knife to slice between membranes to release segments; transfer segments to second bowl and set aside. Squeeze juice from membrane into first bowl ( juice should measure 6 tablespoons).

Whisk vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, chile-garlic sauce, and honey into orange juice in large bowl; transfer 1/2 cup orange juice mixture to 12-inch skillet. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle canola oil and sesame

oil into remaining orange mixture in bowl; set aside.

Bring orange juice mixture in skillet to boil over mediumhigh heat. Add chicken, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until meat registers 160 F, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping halfway through cooking.

Transfer chicken to plate and let cool slightly. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Off heat, return shredded chicken and any accumulated juices into skillet and let sit for 10 minutes.

Add cabbage, bell peppers, cilantro, and scallions to vinaigrette in bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to serving platter and top with shredded chicken, orange segments, and peanuts.

Serve. ■ Nutrition information per serving: 326 calories; 150 calories from fat; 17 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 55 mg cholesterol; 383 mg sodium; 21 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 14 g sugar; 23 g protein. www.canadianinquirer.net

IN THE traditional Greek dish called shrimp saganaki, sweet, briny shrimp are covered with a garlic- and herb-accented tomato sauce and topped with crumbles of creamy, salty feta cheese.

Restaurant versions, however, can be a gamble. The shrimp can be tough and rubbery, the tomato sauce can turn out dull or overwhelming, and the feta is often lacklustre. We set out to develop a foolproof recipe for home cooks.

Canned diced tomatoes along with sauteed onion and garlic provided the base for the sauce.

Dry white wine added acidity, and ouzo, the slightly sweet anise-flavoured Greek liqueur, added welcome complexity.

While the shrimp are typically layered with the tomato sauce and feta and baked, we were after a quick and easy dish.

We opted to cook the shrimp right in the sauce; adding the shrimp raw to the sauce helped infuse them with the sauce’s bright flavour.

And for even more flavour, we first marinated the shrimp with olive oil, ouzo, garlic, and lemon zest while we made the sauce. A generous sprinkling of

feta and chopped fresh dill over the sauced shrimp finished our recipe.

The cooking time is for extralarge shrimp (about 21 to 25 per pound). If using smaller or larger shrimp, be sure to adjust the cooking time as needed. If you don’t have ouzo, you can substitute an equal amount of Pernod or 1 tablespoon vodka plus 1/8 teaspoon anise seeds.

Greek-style shrimp with tomatoes and feta

Servings: 4-6 Start to finish: 45 minutes

• 1 1/2 pounds extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil • 3 tablespoons ouzo • 5 garlic cloves, minced • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest • Salt and pepper • 1 small onion, chopped • 1 red or green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes • 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained with 1/3 cup juice reserved • 1/4 cup dry white wine • 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley ❱❱ PAGE 38 Considering shrimp

38

Food

JANUARY 11, 2019

FRIDAY

Low calorie ice cream makers see appetite for their pints in Canada

BY ALEKSANDRA SAGAN The Canadian Press AN INFLUX of low-calorie, low-sugar ice cream hit Canadian grocery store shelves last year in bright packages that put the calorie count front and centre as producers try a new strategy for the beloved guilty pleasure.

While the ice cream industry may be declining in this country, experts and industry insiders believe companies serving less sinful scoops may have found a niche product that appeals to health-conscious consumers In March, the first pints from Los Angeles-based Halo Top Creamery went on sale in Canada. The company brought only half of the 24 dairy flavours it sells in the U.S., including birthday cake, and pancakes and waffles. A few months later it introduced four of its 14 American dairy-free pints. In September, it added a limited edition pumpkin pie — the company’s first seasonal flavour in Canada.

“With the demand that we had and the proximity, we thought it made a lot of sense to start in Canada as we look to expand internationally,” said president Doug Bouton, adding a Canadian expansion was the no. 1 consumer demand.

Also in March, Montrealbased CoolWay started selling its rebranded low-calorie ice cream in grocery stores. The

company, previously named CoolWhey, sold high-protein ice cream in gyms and supplement stores before realizing more opportunity lay outside the gym rat niche. It created a new recipe and plastered the calorie content on its bright blue pints. The eight flavours range between 280 calories at the lowest for vanilla bean and 390 at the highest for the seasonal special gingerbread cookie.

“It didn’t make sense to be in grocery stores for like just a few people who really look for protein. So, in order to capitalize on a bigger market, our only option was to go after the calorie trend,” said marketing director and co-founder Benjamin Outmezguine.

The founding trio noticed the shift to low-calorie south of the border and decided to go after that segment in the Canadian market.

There’s an overall decline in the Canadian ice cream market.

Revenue for the production industry fell at an annualized rate of 0.1 per cent between 2013 and 2018, according to estimates from a report by IBISWorld, a market-research firm. It anticipates 0.1 per cent growth between 2018 and 2023.

Low-sugar treats “absolutely” present an opportunity, said Joel Gregoire, an analyst with market research firm Mintel.

Creating an ice cream that is a bit more permissible to eat any time during the day, not

Restored Pompeii... ❰❰ 35

Massimo Osanna, director of the Pompeii archaeological site, said the archaeological park would concentrate on scheduled maintenance in hopes of preventing similar collapses.

“The time for extraordinary maintenance and restoration is over. Now the time for scheduled maintenance begins,” Osanna said.

In 2013, Italy’s government approved the appointment of a special superintendent to ensure that millions of euros in government and European Union funds for maintenance

just in the evening when tired adults look for a reward from a tough day, can be a way to drive sales, he said.

The products’ health claims can also alleviate people’s guilt about consuming snacks, he said, pointing to CoolWay’s 28 grams of protein per pint.

People are also increasingly looking for healthier options.

Seventeen per cent of Canadians find low or reduced calories an important factor when choosing ice cream and 23 per cent want to try one high in protein, according to findings from an online survey in the company’s 2016 report on the country’s ice cream and frozen novelties market. Lightspeed GMI surveyed 2,000 Canadians 18 years or older.

“If you were to capture 17 per cent or 23 per cent of a market, you’d be doing pretty well for most companies,” said Gregoire.

He compares the niche to plant-based food offerings. The number of consumers interested in alternative protein may appear low, but big companies are watching the space as an emerging opportunity.

Ice cream for the health-conscious crowd is not necessarily new. Skinny Cow, for example, has been selling low-calorie ice cream in various forms since the 90s.

But those products were targeted more as a diet ice cream for women, he said. The company’s logo once featured a car-

In March 2018, the first pints from Los Angeles-based Halo Top Creamery went on sale in Canada. The company was launched in 2012.

LEENA ROBINSON / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

toon cow in a seductive position with a tape measure loosely wrapped around its trim waist.

What makes companies like Halo Top and Cool Way stand out is their focus on quality ingredients and indulgent flavours, while still managing to limit calorie and sugar intake, said Gregoire.

“The one thing that I think ice cream makers will never be able to sell is that this is purely a health food,” he said. “If you want to eat healthy, you’re probably going to look for kale or other foods.”

Even big, international brands are entering the space.

Nestle recently launched its Goodnorth brand which makes four flavours ranging between 360 and 380 calories per pint — all with more than 20 grams of protein.

Both Halo Top and CoolWay see room for expansion in Canada and beyond.

Halo Top’s Bouton believes 14 dairy flavours and four to seven dairy-free will be the sweet spot for Canada, and the company is developing some uniquely Canadian ones it hopes to launch this year.

He wants to get the pints into even more grocery stores, as well as other channels, like convenience stores.

The company runs three scoop shops in Los Angeles, and depending on their success is open to testing the model in Canada.

CoolWay’s founders, meanwhile, also have plans for retail stores, said Outmezguine, as well as overseas expansion.

The company is looking at adding new flavours in 2019 and making their product available in more stores, he said.

“We have a lot of plans and we want to expand much more and we want to make CoolWay into a much bigger thing.” ■

utes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in remaining garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes and reserved juice, wine, and remaining 2 tablespoons ouzo. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until flavours meld and sauce is slightly thickened (sauce should not be completely dry), 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce heat to medium-low

and add shrimp along with any accumulated juices; stir to coat and distribute evenly. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are opaque throughout, 6 to 9 minutes, adjusting heat as needed to maintain bare simmer. Off heat, sprinkle with feta and dill and drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Serve. ■

Considering shrimp... and restoration of the archaeological marvel and tourist site would be properly spent.

A rash of collapses of structures in ancient Pompeii had sparked concern about Pompeii’s future. Days after the gladiators’ training facilities crumbled into fragments, a stretch of garden wall ringing the ancient House of the Moralist gave way after days of torrential rain.

Italy’s national budget has long skimped on funding for ordinary maintenance and protection of its vast artistic, architectural and archaeological treasures. ■

❰❰ 37

• 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 1/2 cups) • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill Toss shrimp in bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon ouzo, 1 teaspoon garlic, lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in 12inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, bell pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables release their liquid, 3 to 5 minwww.canadianinquirer.net

Nutrition information per serving: 330 calories; 150 calories from fat; 17 g fat (6 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 168 mg cholesterol; 1298 mg sodium; 16 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 11 g sugar; 21 g protein.

39

FRIDAY JANUARY 11, 2019

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JANUARY 11, 2019

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