Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #30

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER VOL. 9 NO. 30

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

CANADA NEWS Canada’s Prime Minister Appoints Filipino-Canadian as Senator (On page 22) Minister reprises get tough message for Canadian immigration cheats (On page 23)

Canada’s Medical Services Plan

GEORGE PIMENTEL

(On page 25)

The Red Carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival. Selena Gomez, Rachel Korine, James Franco, Filipino-American actress Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson star in Spring Breakers. The Toronto International Film Festival® is the leading public film festival in the world, screening more than 300 films from 60+ countries every September. The Festival has become the launching pad for the best of international, Hollywood and Canadian cinema. More on page 32.

Palace OKs P1-B pistol deal, but sets new bidding for rifles

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA, MICHAEL LIM UBACPhilippine Daily Inquirer THE LONG and short of it is that the assault rifles that the Philippine National Police wanted to buy were overpriced and the pistols it sought to acquire were not, officials said .

Deputy Director General Emelito Sarmiento, chief of the PNP bids and awards committee (BAC), said the plan to purchase assault rifles was aborted after the late Secretary Jesse Robredo ordered it stopped.

However, there’s no stopping the implementation of the P1-billion contract for the purchase of 60,000 Glock 17 (Generation 4) 9mm pistols awarded on Aug. 31 to Glock Asia Pacific Ltd. and its local partner, Trust Trade.

The notice of award appears to be in order, according to Malacañang, which reiterated President Aquino’s earlier

directive to stop the bidding process for a separate contract for rifles.

“Remember, we don’t have problems with the pistols—the (ones manufactured and distributed by) Glock. There’s no problem with the bidding on the Glock. It was the bidding on the rifle that the President has some concerns,” the President’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said at a Palace briefing.

Online search Lacierda said the President had discovered, when he checked online via Google search, that a rifle would cost half the price being offered by the remaining bidder.

Sarmiento said Robredo called the committee secretariat on June 25 and ordered the suspension of the bidding process for P408 million worth of M4 assault rifles.

“Of course, we followed (Robredo’s) order although it was already moot and

academic by that time (for the first batch of rifles to be purchased),” Sarmiento said.

He explained that when Robredo gave the order, the committee had already considered R. Espinelli, the lone bidder for the first batch of 1,500 M4 assault rifles (worth P178 million).

The bidder was later disqualified for failing to submit the required documents.

“The bidder was disqualified within that period … June 26 or June 27. The bidding process did not proceed because there was a failed bidding,” Sarmiento said.

“We then followed (Robredo’s) order for the second batch (of rifles),” he said.

Second batch Sarmiento said the bidding for the second batch of 1,800 M4 rifles worth P230 million was also suspended because the

Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards (On pages 26)

Bert Monterona Art Exhibit (On page 27)

The Toronto International Film Festival (On page 32) BC Winery Restaurants with a view (On page 36)

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News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 2

Philippines hails China vow on free navigation

City outline panorama of Vladivostok, the center of APEC Forum ‘2012.

BY TJ BURGONIO, GIL C. CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

AS PRESIDENT BENIGNO Aquino prepared to travel to Russia for a meeting of the leaders of the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, Malacañang welcomed China’s promise to ensure freedom of navigation and safety in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and work with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct to manage territorial disputes.

Mr. Aquino leaves for the Russian port city of Vladivostok, where he expects to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the Apec leaders’ summit.

The summit will be held on Russkiy Island, off Vladivostok.

On the eve of Mr. Aquino’s departure, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Philippines was glad that China had promised to ensure freedom of navigation and safety in the West Philippine Sea and cooperate with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for the establishment of a code of conduct for the disputed waters.

But Lacierda added that China’s promise would be more welcome if it followed its words through with “concrete actions.”

China’s promise came after a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Beijing.

“Freedom and safety of navigation in the South China Sea is assured,” Yang told a joint news conference with Clinton in the Great Hall of the People.

“For China and our neighboring countries, the South China Sea is really a lifeline for exchanges, trade and commerce. There is no issue currently

in this area, nor will there ever be issues in that area in the future,” Yang said.

Lacierda said the Philippine position was maintaining the centrality of Asean in the establishment of a code of conduct for the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines and Vietnam, both at odds with China over territory in the West Philippine Sea, are the principal proponents of the code of conduct.

The United States strongly supports the introduction of such a code, which would prevent territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea from erupting into armed conflicts.

‘Cool down’ A day after China promised to ensure freedom and safety of navigation in the West Philippine Sea, a top Chinese newspaper told the Philippines to “cool down” in looking to US backing in settling its dispute with China.

The Global Times wrote in an editorial, “No Winners in Containment Strategy,” that the Philippines should start to be more independent in taking care of its own affairs.

The Global Times, published by the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily, also cautioned Japan against relying on the United States in pushing its claim to the Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. Japan disputes ownership of the Diaoyus, which it calls Senkaku islands, and has agreed to buy them from their private Japanese owners, a move that could worsen its territorial row with China.

“The public in the Philippines and Japan have been striving to find any hint of support from the US,” the Global Times said. “But it’s time for these countries to cool down. East Asian countries should take serious measures to solve their own problems.”

The United States is pivoting back to Asia in a new military strategy that will see the deployment of 60 percent of its warships to the region by the end of the decade.

China doubts the United States will pursue the strategy to the hilt.

The Global Times said: “It would be incredible if the US focused its national strength on East Asia and launched a bid for strategic containment of China. This would be costly and have no benefit for the US. Such a strategic choice would be one that the US could not bear.”

Aquino-Hu talks Mr. Aquino and Hu may discuss the dispute between the Philippines and China over Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) and some islands in the Spratly chain in the West Philippine Sea during their meeting on Russkiy Island, that is, if the Chinese side will bring up the issue.

In an interview with Filipino reporters at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, site of the Apec meeting, Foreign Undersecretary Laura Q. del Rosario said there was a “mutual interest” between the Philippines and China in a bilateral meeting.

The two sides, however, have yet to firm up when the meeting between Mr. Aquino and Hu will be held and what the agenda will be, Del Rosario said.

In Manila, Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), also said the proposed meeting between Mr. Aquino and Hu had yet to be confirmed.

If the meeting goes ahead, it will be the two leaders’ first meeting since Mr. Aquino’s state visit to China in August 2011 and since the Philippines stepped back from a two-month maritime standoff with China at Panatag Shoal in mid-June.

“Our problem is that do they have a common time, you know, because, I think, the leader of the Chinese economy is also very busy,” Del Rosario said.

“I’m sure we are not the only one who want to meet with him. Remember they are 21,” she said, referring to the 21 Apec leaders.

“Even if we just get requests from half of them, that will already fill up your three and a half hours. Each leader only has three and half hours to accommodate all the requests so it is really complicated. I don’t know how the last final list will look like.”

China asked for talks In a briefing for reporters in Malacañang, Del Rosario said China had asked for the bilateral meeting, and Mr. Aquino would accept, though he would not initiate discussion of the territorial dispute between the Philippines and China.

If Hu raised the dispute, Del Rosario said Mr. Aquino would explain to him what the Philippines was doing to deescalate it.

If Hu would not raise it, Mr. Aquino would discuss reinvigorating trade between China and the Philippines, Del Rosario said.

She said there was no “preagreed agenda” for the meeting.

“It’s anybody’s guess, but definitely these bilaterals add to the—what do you call that—to the improvement of understanding between two sides whether it’s China, whether it’s—let’s say it’s Peru or Chile—you know,” Del Rosario said. “It’s a very rare moment for these leaders to be together.”

So far, Del Rosario said, Mr. Aquino had confirmed meetings with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera Echenique. n

3 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2012

News-Phils

Photo courtesy of Malacanang Photo Bureau

Palace takes bow for PH competitiveness ranking

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC Philippine Daily Inquirer

Malacañang credited President Benigno Aquino for the rise in the country’s competitiveness, after the Philippines jumped to the 65th spot in this year’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) from 10 ranks down.

“President Aquino’s presence in government is the number one institutional reform in this country and, hence, you see the competitiveness of our country going up,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told Palace reporters.

Taking a leaf from the US Democratic Party convention, he said: “Are we satisfied? Are we happy? Yes, we are happy. Are we satisfied? No. Can we do something … will we try to improve it? In the words of (US) President (Barack) Obama, ‘Yes, we can.’”

Lacierda singled out the “leadership by example” of President Aquino as being instrumental for the new assessment.

“The fact that he is clearly known to the world as not susceptible to corruption is a big incentive,” said Lacierda. This, he added, “is in and of itself an institutional reform to governance.”

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad also welcomed the country’s performance in the GCI for 2012-2013, noting that since the Aquino administration took over in 2010, the Philippines had leaped by 20 places among 144 countries, from 85th in the 2010-2011 GCI. ‘Most improvement’ Abad said that the index cited the Philippines as among the countries which had been showing the “most improvement,” particularly in the quality of institutions (23 places

up from last year to 94th) and the macroeconomic environment (18 places up from last year to 36th).

“President Aquino had said in his State of the Nation Address in July: ‘What used to be impossible is now possible.’ In partnership with the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders, the government will up the ante in reform, that is, to make public institutions resilient to corruption and effective enablers of our country’s competitiveness,” Abad said.

Lacierda also cited other reforms initiated by the President, such as the elimination of red tape in business process licensing systems and increased revenue collections by the national government and local government units (LGUs).

“We also have the Philippine Business Registration, which is for the national government, and also for the local governments we have, through (the late) Secretary Jesse Robredo, the Seal of Good Housekeeping,” Lacierda said.

Robredo’s legacy Robredo had instituted the Seal of Good Housekeeping to LGUs that advanced the primacy of performance, accountability and transparency.

The late DILG chief had issued a circular which provided that LGUs that qualified for the seal would be entitled to a cash incentive to finance administrative and procurement reforms and development projects particular to the needs of the municipality.

Lacierda disclosed that 748 LGUs had streamlined their business process licensing systems in the two-year period since Mr. Aquino assumed office. n

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 4

House forms RH panel without hotheads

BY JOCELYN R. UY, LEILA B. SALAVERRIA, TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE HOUSE of Representatives moved to break the deadlock on the reproductive health (RH) bill by forming a panel without hotheads, but the Catholic Church hierarchy said the measure was “beyond redemption.”

Supporters and opponents of the measure will join the proposed informal technical working group to craft an acceptable version of the controversial population control bill with the participation of the executive branch and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“That is a good step, that we have a dialogue,” said Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez after the decision was reached to form the group in a meeting presided by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

He also said lawmakers agreed that the hard-liners would not be included in the informal working group, only moderates.

Rodriguez said Belmonte told the lawmakers that before the bill was tackled on the floor, proponents would be given prior notice so no one would be caught unawares. Tempers flared when the question of quorum was raised after an effort was again initiated to introduce changes to the bill following weeks of delays because of privilege speeches.

“There will be lesser tension and the rules are very clear, no discussion of RH until everybody is informed it will be taken up. So there would be no surprises.

We won’t have any more fireworks in the plenary,” Rodriguez told reporters.

About 15 lawmakers, consisting of House leaders and staunch critics of the measure, attended the meeting over the reproductive health bill . The meeting was “cordial,” according to Cebu Representative Pablo Garcia.

During the meeting, the authors of the measure presented their proposed amendment, which was to limit the provision of contraceptives to the poorest of the poor as identified by the social welfare department’s National Household Targeting System.

But the critics of the bill remain concerned. Rodriguez said he did not want the government to use public funds to buy contraceptives, while Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said there was no need for the bill, and that the budget for contraceptives should be taken from the conditional cash transfer fund.

No consensus yet Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said while no consensus about the bill’s latest incarnation was reached , at least, lawmakers from both sides of the divide were talking.

“The speaker just wants that there would be a basis for discussion,” he said.

At any rate, Gonzales said the House could not tackle the bill this month because it would be busy with the 2013 budget.

The RH bill had been a heated topic in the House, with no end in sight to the debate, until President Benigno Aquino personally implored lawmakers during a lunch meeting in Malacañang last month to proceed to the period of amendments to get the measure enacted swiftly.

On Tuesday night, tension rose again in the plenary when Rodriguez flared up over the declaration of a quorum just as Pangasinan Representative Kimi Cojuangco was to deliver a privilege speech on the subject although the bill was not scheduled to be discussed.

Rodriguez, in a loud voice, said the secretariat was wrong and that there was no quorum on the floor. As Rodriguez was shouting, Gonzales moved to adjourn the session, later telling reporters that he did not want to deal with Rodriguez.

Beyond redemption Fr. Melvin Castro, executive director of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, said Church officials were wary of participating in the informal panel.

He said critics, especially those in favor of the RH bill, might construe it as a form of compromise on the family planning measure.

If cooperation from the Church was needed, Castro said the CBCP would most likely let lay experts present the bishops’ position to the panel.

“We would like to leave it to the anti-RH lawmakers to get their wisdom into this new development in Congress,” Castro told reporters. “If at all, it should be our lay experts but not

priests or bishops … as of now, that’s what I know,” said Castro.

“Our worry is that if the bishops or priests attend, they might say that we are already compromising so that’s what we are avoiding because we don’t know what is going to be the dynamics of that technical working group,” he said.

He maintained that the Catholic Church was standing by its objection against the RH bill even as its proponents said they were open to amending the provisions of the measure.

“Our position is that the RH bill is beyond redemption,” Castro said.

“Our position is still to reject the bill in its entirety.”

Palace upbeat Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda welcomed moves in the House to push the measure forward after a decadelong delay. “We are hopeful that an RH bill acceptable to a greater segment of the population will be approved,” he said in a Malacañang briefing.

Lacierda welcomed the move to exclude the hotheads from the deliberations of the panel.

“That’s a good suggestion coming from Speaker Belmonte. That’s why we’re saying we hope that reasonable men and women come together and discuss the amendments to the RH bill since this is already the period of amendments,” he said.

Given the lengthy debate, only House leaders could say if the bill would be approved within the year, Lacierda said. n

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...from page 1 committee had discovered that the rifles were available at a lower price.

“We suspended the invitation to bid.

The second batch was referred back to the (PNP) Directorate for Logistics so that the price could be studied further,” he said.

“In short, no procurement materialized.

We stopped this,” he said.

Incoming Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas is expected to begin a new round of bidding for the rifles.

Lacierda said the bidding for the rifles would not continue because the President stopped it. The President has ordered an investigation of the bidding for the rifles.

The bid price was P80,000 per rifle, but the President was surprised to discover that the price had actually gone down to P40,000 per rifle.

Lacierda said the original price of the rifle was P150,000 per piece, but this was later reduced to P119,000. When it was being considered by the Aquino administration, the price was further reduced to only P80,000, he said.

News-Phils Gas piston rifles Sarmiento explained that the rifles were priced at P80,000 each because the PNP had wanted to get more modern “gas piston” rifles.

“We wanted gas piston rifles. But now, we’re going back to gas (operated) rifles so that we can buy more units,” he said.

The President also complained that while he had ordered the bidding process stopped, “somehow, some portion reached the post-evaluation process.”

“This is because the bids were opened on May 30 while Secretary Robredo called our secretariat (only) on June 25,” Sarmiento said.

Puno’s role The head of the BAC said Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno was not a member of the committee and “did not influence” it in its decisions.

“He would sit with us because he is the undersecretary for peace and order.

He sits as our overseer, but we are very

Dolphin shows no place for field trips, says solon

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

SCHOOLS should be more careful about where they take their students on educational field trips and among the places they should avoid are amusement parks that feature dolphins, whales and other marine creatures that are held in captivity, according to a militant party-list lawmaker.

In a resolution he filed last week, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino urged the Department of Education to ban school trips to theme parks that hold such animals in captivity, saying this sends the wrong message to the students and does not really teach them anything that they cannot learn about the creatures in the classroom.

These amusement parks target school officials by offering them bulk discounts or commissions to take their students there, Palatino said.

“Such exhibits risk teaching children the wrong value that extracting wild animals from their natural habitat, keeping them for profit and treating them cruelly are acceptable,” he said in his resolution.

Palatino said keeping dolphins and whales in captivity was “intrinsically cruel” because they are known to experience stress and illness when forced to live in tight unnatural settings and forced to perform tricks.

Many of the animals, he said, are also captured through cruel means.

“The cruel practice of hunting dolphins and whales for

consumption and entertainment has not only brought suffering and death to these amazing and intelligent marine mammals, but has deeply affected the ecosystem by displacing species that play critical roles in the environment, and eventually push some species to the brink of extinction,” he said.

According to Palatino, scientific studies have shown that dolphins held in captivity have shorter life spans and die prematurely compared to those left in their natural habitat due to capture shock, exhaustion and stress-related illnesses.

Palatino also said training whales and dolphins usually involved techniques like starving them and then forcing them to perform tricks before they would be given food.

The cetaceans have super sensitive hearing that they use for hunting in the wild. When held in captivity, sounds bounce off the concrete walls of their tanks “in maddening reverberations,” Palatino said. This causes them to suffer and the added noise from the crowds aggravates their stress, he added.

He also noted experts’ claims that the highly intelligent animals suffer depression when taken from their natural habitat.

Palatino said that based on the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, eight dolphin subpopulations are considered critically endangered, while two species and three subspecies were classified as endangered. n

independent. He did not influence us,” Sarmiento said.

“I’m the chair of the committee and I have four other generals as members.

We vote to reach our final decisions,” he added.

Sarmiento said he was not aware of Puno’s supposed attempt to exempt the arms deal from public bidding rules. “I am not aware of that but we did everything based on public bidding. There was no negotiated bidding,” he said.

“Negotiated bidding was done before, but we’ve learned our lesson,” he added.

Process, not person The Palace, however, gave ambiguous statements on Puno’s liability in the arms deal.

“What we know is that what is being investigated now is the process itself—the BAC. What happened to that BAC? The DILG is investigating the BAC. I don’t know if there is any (investigation) of Usec Puno,” Lacierda said, invoking the oft-repeated line of the Palace that what

was being investigated was the process itself, not necessarily the liability of persons involved.

“So the President asked the DILG, ‘What is the competence of the bids and awards (committee)?’ So he was looking into the process itself. He was investigating the process. But in the meantime, while investigating the process, he already told Secretary Jesse Robredo to stop that bidding and it was stopped,” Lacierda said.

But the official was also mum on reports that before Robredo’s death, he had already informed the President that Puno was under investigation for the overpriced rifles.

“I am not aware of any such statement or statement of Secretary Jesse Robredo to the President,” Lacierda said.

“What now appears is it’s as if he’s the focus of the investigation. But those investigations are all confidential. We don’t even know if he is the subject of an investigation,” he added. n

More Pinoys make it as UK gov’t scholars

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer

PURSUING higher learning across various disciplines, an increasing number of Filipinos is flying to the United Kingdom as scholars of top British schools.

The 12 Filipino students are entering various UK schools this year under the Chevening Scholarship, an annual program of the British Government that has been granting schooling subsidies to deserving scholars around the world since 1983.

The batch of 12 scholars this year is the biggest yet, said the British Embassy, four times the 2010 group of three students.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie recently held a reception for the scholars at his Makati City residence, citing the Philippines’ impressive record in the program.

“I’m always impressed by the high quality of scholars coming from the Philippines. I’m delighted that this year we’re able to offer a record number of Chevening Scholarships in this country. It’s a sign of the importance that we attach to our dynamic links with the Philippines,” Lillie said in remarks during the reception.

Every year, an average 500 scholars from around the world receive the Chevening grant to study in UK universities. Funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the program has supported higher education of some 32,000 alumni from across the globe.

In this year’s batch, five lawyers are pursuing masteral studies: Rommel Abitria will pursue a Master of Laws in

Criminal Justice degree at the University of Kent while Sherielysse Bonifacio will pursue a Master of Laws in Development and Governance degree at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Janice Lee and Anna Lorem Ramos, former staffers of now Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, will go to Queen Mary University of London to take up Master’s in Public International Law studies.

Ana Rhia Muhi will enroll in the same school to specialize in Environmental Law. Joyce Marison Camacho of the Department of Foreign Affairs will take up International Political Economy at King’s College London while journalist Jessica Hermosa will take up the same course at the University of Birmingham.

Two scholars will go to the University of Cambridge: Biotechnology consultant Stephen Michael Co will pursue a Master’s in Bioscience Enterprise while Melvin Noche, a corporate finance consultant, will take up his Master’s in Finance.

Nongovernment organization worker Abdul-Jalil Umngan will go for a Master of Science in Sustainable Development with Management Studies at Kingston University—London.

Healthcare researcher Marian Theresia Valera will be taking a Master of Science Public Health (Health Economics) at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of London, while Deniece Yusun, a designer in a local architectural firm, will take up Master’s in Environmental Design and Engineering at Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. n

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 6

Palace draws line on scrapping pills Philippines only 2nd country to ratify ILO convention on househelp

BY TJ BURGONIO AND LEILA SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

Malacañang is agreeable to “watering down” the reproductive health (RH) bill to craft a compromise version but not to the point of scrapping provisions on the promotion and funding of contraceptives such as pills and condom, officials said.

Secretary Manuel Mamba, chief of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) that acts as the bridge between the executive branch and Congress, admitted that administration lawmakers were bending backwards to accommodate amendments and save the bill.

“As much as possible they want to accommodate the bill but only up to a point,” Mambasaid by phone, referring to President Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives.

Mamba said there were “extreme proposals” from some lawmakers to water it down to the point of scrapping provisions that seek to promote and finance contraceptives.

“I don’t think the Palace will agree to that. That’s practically passing nothing,” he said, indicating that the provision on contraceptives was nonnegotiable.

In a bid to compromise with the Catholic bishops, House leaders broached the idea of tweaking the provision on contraceptives. Instead of promoting the use of contraceptives nationwide, it was suggested that the bill make contraceptives available only to the “poorest of the poor.”

“That’s tantamount to class legislation,” Mamba pointed out.

The legislation mandates the government to promote contraceptives and educate all Filipinos on family planning.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, principal author of the Senate version of the RH bill, had introduced amendments deleting an entire subsection which Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said could be used to effectively legalize abortion in the country.

She proposed replacing the controversial subsection with a direct statement: “Abortion is a criminal act in accordance with existing laws.”

On the inclusion of certain birth control devices in the list of essential drugs, Cayetano proposed that the bill simply state that the Philippine National Drug Formulary System be observed in including or excluding birth control supplies in the essential drugs list “in accordance with existing practice.”

Both amendments were approved unanimously.

Mamba said he would not know how far Mr. Aquino would go to rally lawmakers to muster the votes necessary to approve it in plenary.

“I really don’t know how far the President will intervene. He has said his piece,” he said, referring to the meeting convened by Mr. Aquino and attended

by House lawmakers in August before they overwhelmingly voted to end the period of interpellation and move to the period amendments on the bill.

With some allies opposed to the measure and given the proximity of the 2013 midterm elections, support for the measure in the House was not as solid as before, Mamba said.

“They won’t bring it to a vote unless they have the numbers. I don’t know where it will go. But it’s a priority measure. The President really wants it.”

In the Senate, Mamba believes the administration has the numbers to approve the measure, but has to deal with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sotto who are fiercely opposed to the bill.

“That’s the problem,” he said.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, one of the authors of the RH bill, called for putting the controversial measure to a vote, regardless of whether the opponents were satisfied with its latest incarnation or not.

Lagman said that even without compromises, the bill was already acceptable to majority of Filipinos.

“The RH bill in its pristine form has been acceptable to the overwhelming majority of Filipinos as documented consistently by periodic surveys with 71 percent of Catholics endorsing the bill,” he said. n

BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE PHILIPPINES has ratified a landmark international convention that seeks to protect domestic workers around the world, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said .

The Philippines is the second country after Uruguay to ratify the measure, a move seen as a “significant milestone in the protection of migrant domestic workers,” the DFA said .

Ambassador Evan Garcia, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva formalized the Philippines’ ratification of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 189, or the Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers.

More than 150,000 Filipinos work as household help in different parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, Europe and North America.

The ILO convention seeks to provide equal protection to domestic workers, assuring decent pay, work conditions and other benefits.

“This convention ensures the effective promotion and protection of the welfare and rights of all domestic workers, including our Filipino migrant household service workers,” said the DFA spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez.

The convention stipulates standards that would ensure that domestic workers are treated with “the same respect, dignity and protection given to other workers,” Hernandez said.

No major migrant-receiving country, however, has ratified the convention so far, noted Migrante International, an organization of overseas Filipino workers.

There are around 53 million domestic workers worldwide but experts put the total number at 100 million as this

kind of work is often unregistered, according to recent ILO estimates.

In developing countries, domestic workers make up at least 4 to 12 percent of wage employment, of which 83 percent are women or girls and many are migrant workers, the ILO said.

The ILO said the treaty would extend standards to a group which continues to be poorly regulated and remains largely part of the informal sector.

The convention lists basic rights for domestic workers, including reasonable working hours, weekly rest of at least 24 consecutive hours, a limit on in-kind payment, clear information on terms and conditions of employment, and respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.

Garcia made the Philippine ratification official when it presented the Instrument of Ratification to ILO Director General Juan Somavia at the organization’s Geneva headquarters.

The convention, finalized last year by an ILO committee that the Philippine labor department chaired, will come into force in the Philippines next year, the DFA said.

President Aquino signed the convention’s ratification earlier this year.

On August 6, the Senate approved on third reading the resolution concurring the ratification of the convention with 20 votes.

In a statement, Somavia said the Philippine ratification of the treaty “sends a powerful signal to the millions of domestic workers who will be protected when the convention comes into force.”

Somavia said he was hoping to see more and more countries committing to protect the rights of domestic workers. n

News-Phils

7 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Sotto does it again, channels Robert F. Kennedy in Filipino DID ROBERT F. Kennedy know how to speak Filipino?

This appears to be the gist of Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III’s defense amid new allegations of plagiarism after he delivered the fourth and last part of his “turno en contra” speech against the reproductive health bill.

It took bloggers less than two hours to find out that Sotto did it again.

A tweet from a certain Michel Eldiy at 5:30 p.m., more than an hour after the Sotto speech, triggered online discussions on the supposed intellectual dishonesty of the senator.

“Not true that last part of Sotto’s speech is original. See Day of Affirmation speech of Robert Kennedy in 1966 in South Africa,” said Eldiy, who goes by the Twitter handle, “ChiliMedley.”

She then tweeted a link to the Kennedy speech and later compared it with the speech of Sotto.

Sought for comment, the senator said: “It was texted to me by a friend.

I found the idea good. I translated it into Tagalog [Filipino]. So what’s the

Photo Courtesy of Stocksnapper / Shutterstock.com

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

problem?” Sotto told the Philippine Daily Inquirer when asked about his reaction to the fresh accusations.

“Ano? Marunong nang mag-Tagalog si Kennedy? (What now? Does Kennedy now know how to speak in Tagalog)?” he added.

In a separate text message, the senator lamented that proponents of the RH bill were nitpicking.

Answer the issues “They should just answer (the issues about) funding, population control and abortion,” said Sotto.

The following was Sotto’s conclusion to his lengthy privilege speech against the RH bill: “Iilan ang magiging dakila sa pagbali ng kasaysayan, subalit bawat isa sa atin ay maaaring kumilos, gaano man kaliit, para ibahin ang takbo ng mga pangyayari. Kapag pinagsama-sama ang ating munting pagkilos, makalilikha tayo ng totalidad na magmamarka sa kabuuan ng kasaysayan ng henerasyong ito. Ang mga hindi-mabilang na iba’t ibang galaw ng katapangan at paninindigan ang humuhubog sa kasaysayan ng sangkatauhan. Tuwing naninindigan tayo para sa isang paniniwala, tuwing kumikilos tayo para mapabuti ang buhay ng iba, tuwing nilalabanan natin ang kawalan ng katarungan, nakalilikha tayo ng maliliit na galaw. Kapag nagkasama-sama ang mumunting galaw na mga ito, bubuo ito ng isang malakas na puwersang kayang magpabagsak maging ng pinakamatatag na dingding ng opresyon.”

According to a post on Twitter, it was an alleged direct translation from a speech of the late US Senator Kennedy in 1966: “Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events,

and the total—all these acts—will be written in the history of this generation.

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage such as these that the belief that human history is thus shaped.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Sotto said his detractors should answer the issues he raised in his speech against the RH measure.

“Let them answer the P8 billion now being used [for reproductive health and related concerns].

“Let them answer the laws [already existing on maternal health].

Let them answer the deception about reproductive health when it’s a population control bill,” Sotto said.

He said his critics had gone so low because they could not answer his arguments against the bill.

Does he consider his conclusion a product of plagiarism?

“Impossible. It’s a good thought and better in Tagalog,” Sotto said. n

Volunteers needed to clean up Philippine coastline

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino eco-warriors are invited to take part in the International Coastal Cleanup in the Philippines on Oct. 6, according to the international environment organization Ocean Conservancy.

“We need more volunteers than ever,” David Pittenger, director of Ocean Conservancy’s TrashFree Seas program, said in a statement coursed through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Nearly 600,000 people around the world picked up more than 4 million kilograms of trash along more than 30,000 kilometers of coastlines in 2011, according to the US-based Ocean Conservancy.

The volunteers also found “enough clothing (266,997 items) to outfit every audience member of the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony,” and “enough light bulbs (24,384) to replace every light on the Eiffel Tower.”

In the statement, the group, along with ICC Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), announced that the 27th annual International Coastal Cleanup will be held on Oct. 6, instead of Sept. 15, as previously scheduled.

Ocean Conservancy and ICC Philippines signed on Aug. 16 a memorandum of agreement with the PCGA as co-coordinator and organization responsible for the management of the International Coastal Cleanup in the Philippines.

The national coordinators urged volunteers around the world to pledge to “Take on the Trash”— this year’s theme.

“Those who pledge will help build the collective movement for Trash-Free Seas – both by reducing their own trash impact and helping clean up what’s already out there,” the group said.

“Trash jeopardizes the health of our oceans, our economy and people. That’s why it’s important to tackle what’s preventable,” Pittenger said.

The cleanup is part of a growing movement to tackle ocean trash at every point in the life cycle, he said.

Over the past 26 years of cleanups, according to Ocean Conservancy, the volunteers found: • 55 million cigarettes butts, which if stacked vertically, would be as tall as 3,613 Empire State Buildings; • Enough glass and plastic bottles to provide every resident of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago,

Houston, and Philadelphia a cold beverage on a hot summer day; • Enough appliances (125,156) to fill 37,434 single-axle dump trucks; • More than 870,000 (870,935) diapers – enough to put one on every child born in the United Kingdom last year; • Enough cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons to host a picnic for 2.15 million people.

The group also identified six ways to “take on the trash”: 1. Join the International Coastal Cleanup: Check out signuptocleanup.org to find cleanup opportunities; 2. Sign the pledge and invite your friends, and build the movement to reduce the impact of trash on our ocean; 3. Clean up your neighborhood; 4. Check out Ocean Conservancy’s new mobile app, Rippl: Sign up to be among the first to know when it’s released. Rippl helps you make sustainable lifestyle choices by delivering weekly green living tips and helping to build new habits that lead to a lower trash impact; 5. Support trash-free seas, and donate to help; 6. Check out Ocean Conservancy’s running list of features, blog posts and more. n

News-Phils

Kasambahay bill to benefit 2-M househelp Labor standards It added that the state wanted to establish labor standards for domestic workers so they can be assured of decent employment and income, enhanced coverage of social protection, respect for human rights and strengthened social dialogue.

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara, one of the authors of the measure, said that this should goad employers into treating their house helpers better.

“The passage of this bill sends a strong message to abusive employers who mercilessly maltreat their ‘kasambahay,’” Angara said in a statement.

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA, NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE “YAYA,” cooks or gardeners who make domestic life a little bit easier for many Filipinos deserve a proper minimum wage and should be provided with basic necessities, health care and other benefits, according to the so-called “Kasambahay bill” passed on third reading in the House of Representatives.

The bill stands to benefit close to 2 million household helpers.

Under House Bill No. 6144, which seeks to institute regulatory policies for domestic work and establish standards of protection for their welfare, employers would be required to provide board, lodging, and medical assistance to their house helpers and to ensure their health and safety.

The measure also aims to set a minimum wage for the workers, to be determined by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards, as well as mandate their daily and weekly rest periods and leave benefits.

Contract Employers would have to enter into a contract with their domestic workers, setting the latter’s duties and responsibilities, the period of employment, the authorized deductions from their salaries, loan agreement, and the termination of employment.

They are also prohibited from placing the domestic worker under debt bondage, as well as from employing minors as domestic workers. Employers must also give their helpers access to basic education and allow them to join organizations of their own choosing.

Protecting domestic workers is an important duty of the state, according to the bill.

“The state recognizes the need to protect the rights of domestic workers against abuse, harassment, violence, economic exploitation, and performance of work that is hazardous to their physical and mental health,” it said.

Senate version Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada said he would convene the bicameral conference committee as soon as the House could come up with the final list of its delegation members.

“As soon as the bicam report is finalized, I would report it out on the floor,” Estrada told Senate reporters in a weekly news forum.

Estrada, author of the Senate version of the bill, later said that he expected President Benigno Aquino to sign the bill into law before the year ends. The Kasambahay bill is an administration-backed measure.

P2,500 pay in Metro The salient points of the Senate version include the setting of a minimum salary for house helpers at P2,500 a month in Metro Manila; P2,000 in chartered cities, first and second class municipalities; and P1,500 for third, fourth and fifth class municipalities.

It also provides for a 13th month pay for the helpers.

They would become members of the Social Security System, Philhealth, Employees Compensation Commission and Pag-Ibig Fund through contributions paid for by their employers, Estrada said.

If passed soon enough this year, does it mean the helpers should already receive their 13th month pay come December?

“Yes. Perhaps, it would be prorated for some.

For instance, if you became employed only in October, you can’t have the entire 13th month pay,” Estrada said.

Senator Loren Legarda lauded the approval of HB 6144, the House version of Senate Bill No. 78 that was passed as early as December 2010.

Vice President Jejomar Binay also hailed the approval of the measure, saying “our (household helpers) deserve access to decent and humane work.”

Binay said employers were mandated to register their domestic helpers as members of the Pag-Ibig housing program and to pay a counterpart contribution.

“Under the law, domestic workers earning P1,500 and below shall contribute 1 percent of their salary, while those earning P1,500 and above shall contribute 2 percent of their salary. Their employers are required to contribute 2 percent as counterpart,” he said in a statement. n

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 8

No major shakeup at DOTC, says Abaya

BY BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THERE WILL be no drastic reorganization in the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) initially in his term, according to the department’s newly appointed secretary, Cavite Representative Joseph Emilio Abaya.

Abaya said he would only be bringing in executive assistants, “someone [to] answer my phone,” when he takes over from Manuel Roxas, who has moved to the interior and local government department.

“I’m generally keeping [Roxas’] people… He has a very competent team,” Abaya told reporters.

With no immediate reorganization at the DOTC, stakeholders can be assured of stability and the continuity of projects despite a new secretary being appointed, he said.

According to Abaya, there is apprehension among industry stakeholders that whenever someone takes over a department, he or she would start from zero and the rules would be changed. He said this was a “very big deterrent” in the agency.

He said he would retain even the chiefs of the Land Transportation Office, and the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board.

“Until I get my feet wet, study the system, and find a reason to replace, I will keep everybody. It wouldn’t be logical if I reshuffle people without reason as soon as I take my seat. It is safest to retain them until I have justification [to replace them],” he said.

Abaya said he intends to carry out all of the projects being planned and funded in the DOTC. As for major concerns such as getting the Philippines to regain its Category 1 status with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), this would entail institutional changes as it is “a wholistic problem,” he said.

The FAA downgraded the Philippines to Category 2 for failing to meet international aviation safety standards. This rating prevents the country’s airlines from increasing their flights to the US and its territories.

Abaya has yet to relinquish his seat in the House of Representatives and transfer fully to the DOTC. He said he has to first shepherd the 2013 budget bill in the House up to the third and final reading.

The budget is scheduled to be approved by October 15. The House plenary will begin tackling the budget next week. n

9 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2012

News-Phils end to DOH fails to contain dengue

Santiago bill will put an premature campaigning

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

SENATOR MIRIAM Defensor-Santiago said she will file a bill that would keep public officials from engaging in premature image-building months before a mandated election campaign period.

Santiago said the bill would require would-be candidates to file a certificate of intent to run for public office (Cirpo) six months before the deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy.

“It will be mandatory to file the Cirpo, otherwise the person will be declared ineligible to file a certificate of candidacy,” said Santiago in a symposium at the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology in Manila.

“Once a person files his certificate, he falls under all the legal prohibitions against premature campaigning,” she said.

The bill shall prevent any person who has filed a Cirpo from engaging in the following: Endorsing any product or service, paid or unpaid; accepting any employment in any media outfit as news anchor, writer or talent; buying

media space to advertise himself or a product or service, and engaging in any activity that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) considers premature campaigning.

“Under the present situation, it is legal to engage in premature campaigning. But not all that is legal is ethical,” Santiago pointed out.

She said her bill would also abolish the provision in the Poll Automation Law that provides that “any person who files his certificate of candidacy shall only be considered a candidate at the start of the campaign period for which he filed his certificate of candidacy.”

The loophole allows politicians to engage in premature campaigning even before the Comelec-mandated campaign period because they are not yet considered official candidates until the campaign period begins.

“Since it is not yet the campaign period, the ‘senatoriables’ appearing in media advertisements are not yet considered candidates and, hence, they can start to campaign. This is preposterous, ridiculous and ludicrous,” Santiago said. n

BY KRISTINE L. ALAVE Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (DOH) has failed to contain the spread of the dengue virus with the number of cases in the first month of the year already breaching the DOH’s projection of 80,000 dengue cases for the entire year.

Based on the Dengue Surveillance Report, 80,745 Filipinos have been afflicted by the dengue virus from January 1 to August 18.

DOH spokesperson Dr. Eric Tayag had earlier said they were looking to limit the number of dengue cases for 2012 to 80,000.

“The cases last year was over 125,000. We targeted that this should not be more than 80,000 [this year],” Tayag said in July.

The number of dengue cases from January to August 2012 is 14.14 percent higher compared to the 70,745 cases recorded in same period last year.

Deaths from dengue also continue to rise from 424 last year to 496 this year.

Most of the dengue cases reported were in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 16,087, followed by Central Luzon with 12,401 and Calabarzon with 11,839.

A steep rise in dengue cases has been reported in Zamboanga Peninsula, from 883 to 2,825 (219 percent); Western Visayas, from 2,121 to 6,242 (194 percent); Davao Region, from 2,352 to 5,917 (151 percent); Northern Mindanao, from 1,316 to 3,248 (146 percent), and Bicol Region, from 835 to 1,926 (130 percent).

More than half of dengue victims were male, said the report. About 40 percent of the dengue cases involved children aged between 1 to 10 years old, the DOH said. n

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 10

Senate jails suspected rice smuggler

BY NORMAN BORDADORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE SENATE detained the president of a grains traders federation after the committee on agriculture cited him for contempt for “lying” during the panel’s inquiry into the alleged smuggling of P450-million worth of rice from India.

Cesar Ramirez was ordered detained after he denied that he was communicating via e-mail with the Indian rice importer, Protik Guha. Guha later told the committee that Ramirez had communicated with him through e-mail regarding the questioned rice importation.

The Senate agriculture committee, chaired by Senator Francis Pangilinan, also ordered the arrest of Guha, the CEO of Amira C Foods, a rice exporter based in New Delhi, for also lying during the investigation.

Guha, however, was in India and did not attend the hearing .

Guha is believed to be the source of the shipment of Indian white rice that was seized by the Bureau of Customs last month after it was abandoned in the Subic Bay Freeport last April. The shipment, consisting of 420,000 bags, was reportedly rejected by Indonesian port authorities and was looking for a free port that would accept it.

Authorities said the consignees planned to sell the rice in the Philippines.

Ramirez, who heads a federation authorized by the National Food Authority (NFA) to import rice, is believed to have used his cooperative as a cover to mislead authorities about the real consignee of the rice shipment.

Guha earlier told the hearing that his company did not intend to distribute the rice in the Philippines. The Bureau of Customs, however, presented the committee with evidence showing how the rice was to be transported by truck to Manila and to other provinces to the south of the capital.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile earlier said that at least five witness invited to appear at the Senate committee hearings on the rice-smuggling case had “lied” during their testimonies.

Pangilinan said that of the five people who were asked to answer show-cause orders, two, Ramirez and Guha, have been ordered arrested.

The three others are Cesar Bulaon, one of the owners of Metroeastern Trading Corp., the freeport locator to whom the rice shipment was consigned; Stefano Sano, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority executive who had allegedly asked

Metroeastern to hold the rice in its warehouse and help look for a buyer in the Philippines, and a certain Vicente Cuevas, believed to be representing the Indian exporter.

Ramirez has submitted a manifestation explaining that he was very nervous during the hearing that he wasn’t able to express what he really wanted to say truthfully concerning the exchange of e-mails with Guha.

Guha, through his counsel, asked that he be allowed to file a motion for reconsideration.

“I have no reason to doubt that Guha wants to appear. You know, they’e still interested in the 420,000 sacks of rice,” Pangilinan told reporters after the hearing.

At a hearing , Senator Ralph Recto confronted Ramirez about his role in the whole affair that would have legitimized the entry of the questioned rice into the Philippine market.

“You were willing to do that for [Guha]? To do it legally?” Recto said.

Ramirez answered in the affirmative, but claimed he didn’t know the rice had already been seized by the authorities when he entered the picture.

“All I know was that it must be covered by an import permit,” he said. n

FIELD SALES REPRESENTATIVE WANTED As a Field Sales Representative you will be leading the drive to service and sales within the residential market, selling Bell TV, Internet and Home Phone services to residential users who live in an MDU (Multi Dwelling Unit) and/or SFU (Single Family Unit) by going door-to-door.

This is a great opportunity for a seasoned, sales professional to be part of one of the most critical sales teams within the company. Backed by one of Canada’s most iconic brand and elite line of residential products, you will be equipped to prospect and acquire new customers. The team is seeking individuals who are hunters (by nature), results oriented and have past success with improving revenue results.

Responsibilities: • Attract residential customers to purchase Bell TV, Bell Hi Speed Internet, and Bell Home Phone services by going door to door.

• Represent Bell in the promotion and sales of select Bell products in the field and at special events plus any customer follow-up from the sales process.

• Establish and maintain positive relationships with property managers and the clients it serves for the purpose of accessing and increasing the penetration rate of select products in targeted MDU’s.

• Order processing and qualifying customers for Bell services.

What Bell offers you: • Highly competitive base pay plus commission (benefits not included) . Opportunity to earn up to 70K + • Monthly Mileage allowance • Smart phone • Training program to help you master your role and ongoing coaching to ensure your success

All interested candidates please forward your resume in confidence to harley.esguerra@bell.ca referencing “ Field opportunity 2012 “.

The masculine and feminine used in this job offer refer equality to employees of both sexes and in no way represent a particular distinction based on gender; Bell is an equal opportunity employer.

News-Phils

11 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2012

Photo Courtesy of philippinepresidency

Mike Arroyo wants Sereno out of case

Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer

FORMER FIRST GENTLEMAN Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo wants Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to inhibit herself from the case involving his and his wife’s questioning the watch-list orders issued against them by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last year.

Arroyo filed a motion in the Supreme Court for the voluntary inhibition of Sereno from the case.

The petition cited three grounds for asking Sereno to inhibit from the case and these were the Chief Justice’s “bias

and partiality” toward the administration of President Benigno Aquino; her being “subservient” to the family of the President, including the Cojuangcos, and her prejudgment of the case, as shown by her dissenting opinions.

On Sereno’s alleged bias for the Aquino administration, the petition cited as evidence the voting record of Sereno when she was an associate justice that showed her siding with Malacañang.

Among these cases was Malacañang’s bid to create a Truth Commission to investigate former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for alleged corruption during her administration.

The majority of the Supreme Court had found the Truth Commission order unconstitutional, but Sereno voted for it.

She also voted against the petition of former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, who had asked the court to stop the House from hearing an impeachment complaint against her, while the majority voted to grant the pleading.

Sereno also disagreed with the majority ruling to grant a temporary restraining order sought by PSBank to prevent the Senate impeachment court from scrutinizing the dollar account of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Arroyo also pointed to Sereno’s vote to provide the Senate with court documents related to the allegations against Corona as well as allow court employees to testify in the impeachment court when the majority resolved to stop them from doing so.

Arroyo said Sereno also expressed willingness to testify and explain her dissent in the impeachment trial but the Supreme Court stopped her from doing so.

“All of the above instances illustrate in big bright impasto strokes the propensity of CJ Sereno to vote blindly and consistently in favor of the stand

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of the present administration whenever it has shown its unequivocal interest— and at times a direct hand—in a desired result from the Supreme Court,” Arroyo said in his petition.

On Sereno’s alleged subservience to the Aquino-Cojuangco family, Arroyo noted the way she voted in the case of Hacienda Luisita, owned by the President’s family. While the majority on the court voted to peg the land value of the Tarlac estate at the 1989 fair market value of P40,000 per hectare, Sereno voted to fix it at the 2006 value of P2.5 million per hectare.

Saying that Sereno had prejudged the watch-list case, Arroyo reminded the court that she had disagreed with the issuance of a TRO to stop the Department of Justice from enforcing its travel ban on the former first couple.

Arroyo took issue with Sereno’s summarizing the voting during the deliberations on the TRO in her Nov. 18, 2011 dissenting opinion, as well as her statements that showed “overweening bias.”

All this, Arroyo said, showed that Sereno was “consistently toeing the Aquino administration’s line.” n

13 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

News-Phils

PH competitiveness ranking up by 10 notches First time country is in top 50% of world ranking

BY MICHELLE V. REMO Philippine Daily Inquirer

ENJOYING a favorable economic performance and having a government that claims to put premium on its anticorruption drive, the Philippines leaped 10 notches in the global competitiveness ranking for the year to 65th spot out of 144 countries.

The country’s latest performance followed a similar 10-notch jump to the 75th spot last year, resulting in an overall 20-notch jump so far under the Aquino administration.

“The Philippines makes important strides this year in improving competitiveness—albeit often from a very low base—especially with respect to its public institutions,” The World Economic Forum (WEF) said in its 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Report, which was released worldwide.

The WEF said the Philippines was one of the few countries that registered a double-digit improvement in ranking this year.

The Philippines landed on the 65th spot after it registered an overall score of 4.23 points (out of 7 points) across all 12 categories considered by businesses as major areas for determining a country’s competitiveness.

Guillermo Luz, cochairman of the Philippines’ National Competitiveness Council (NCC), said at a press conference that this year was the first time the country landed on the upper 50 percent of countries ranked in the global competitiveness survey.

He said the NCC was targeting the Philippines to join the upper one-third of the global competitiveness rankings by 2016, the end of the Aquino administration.

12 pillars The survey on global competitiveness, which taps businesses as respondents, grades countries based on the following 12 categories or “pillars.”

These are the following: [government] institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, goods market efficiency, labor market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.

Luz said the Philippines registered improvements in 11 out of the 12 categories.

Huge gain in institutions The Philippines gained the most in the “institutions” category, where it jumped 23 places to the 94th spot from last year’s 117th.

In the “infrastructure” category, the country improved its ranking by seven places to 98th; for “macroeconomic environment,” up 18 places to 36th; for “higher education” and training, up seven places to 64th; for goods market efficiency, up two places to 86th; for labor market efficiency, up 10 places to 103rd; for financial market development, up 13 places to 58th; for “technological readiness,” up four places to 79th; for “market size,” up one place to 35th; for “business sophistication,” up eight places to 49th; and for “innovation,” up 14 places to 94th.

Drop in health, primary education The only category where the Philippines registered a slippage was in “health and primary education,” where it fell six places to 98th.

The country’s favorable performance in the “institutions” category reflects the success of the Aquino administration in convincing the business sector that there has been an improvement in governance, Luz said.

Of the 15,000 businesses that responded to the global competitiveness survey for this year, 132 came from the Philippines.

On macroeconomic environment, Luz attributed the country’s improved ranking to the country’s favorable economic performance.

The Philippine economy grew 5.9 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, making the country one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. This brought its average growth rate for the first semester to 6.1 percent, making the government’s full-year growth target of 5 to 6 percent attainable.

Infra spending low But Ramon del Rosario Jr., chairman of the Makati Business Club, said a lot of work still had to be done in several areas to help ensure that the Philippines reaches the upper-third rankings in 2016.

To reach the upper upper third, the country must improve significantly on infrastructure development and market efficiency, particularly labor market efficiency, Del Rosario said.

Despite increases in government spending on infrastructure this year, infrastructure investment in the Philippines remains one of the lowest in the region.

Infrastructure spending in the country is estimated to be equivalent to less than 3 percent of its gross domestic product, below the 5 percent average for Southeast Asia.

“Despite these very positive trends, many weaknesses remain to be addressed. The country’s infrastructure is still in a dire state, particularly with respect to sea and air transport, with little or no progress achieved to date,” Del Rosario said at the press conference.

He said businesses considered infrastructure a vital area in deciding whether to invest in a country.

With its improved performance this year, the Philippines has beaten Vietnam, which enjoyed better rankings in the previous years. This year, Vietnam ranked 75th.

The Philippines, however, continues to lag behind other major Asian economies in the competitiveness rankings.

Hong Kong ranked 9th, Taiwan 13th, South Korea 19th, Malaysia 25th, China 29th, Thailand 38th, Indonesia 50th and India, 59th.

Singapore remained the highest ranking among Asian countries, landing on the second spot, the same as its last year’s ranking.

Switzerland was again named the most globally competitive country. n

Pinoys in NZ shipwreck freed

At the port city of Tauranga in New Zealand, near Astrolabe Reef where the Rena crashed

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE FILIPINO captain and the second officer of a cargo ship that ran aground off New Zealand last year have been expelled from the South Pacific country after serving half of their prison terms.

New Zealand media reports said Capt. Mauro Balomaga and Leonil Relon—the officers of the Rena that crashed into a reef last year and released contaminants into the sea—were freed from Waikeria Prison and left for the Philippines .

At press time , the Bureau of Immigration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration had yet to confirm if Balomaga and Relon had arrived in Manila.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez, quoting the Philippine Embassy in Wellington, said the pair had spoken with embassy officials after their release, but did not provide their flight details.

“The two officers told our our embassy that they were well treated and did not encounter any difficulties. They also thanked the embassy for the assistance and support extended to them as well as the numerous Filipinos who reached out to them,” Hernandez said in a text message.

Media reports quoted Balomaga and Relon’s lawyer, Paul Mabey, as saying that the two were eager to be reunited with their families and that they might get their old jobs back.

The two were officers of the Rena, the ship that crashed into the Astrolabe Reef near the port city of Tauranga in New Zealand’s North Island on Oct. 5, 2011. The shipwreck resulted in the spilling of hundreds of tons of oil; thousands of seabirds were also killed. The coastal cleanup took months to complete while the damaged marine environment has yet to recover.

Balomaga and Relon were each sentenced to seven months in prison last May after they pleaded guilty to the charges of operating a ship dangerously, being officers of a vessel that released contaminating materials into a coastal area, and altering ship documents.

They were, however, jailed for only three and a half months. Under New Zealand’s parole law, anyone sentenced to two years or less in prison must be released after serving half of their sentence. n

Opinion

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 14

THERE’S THE RUB

A matter of trust

BY CONRADO DE QUIROS Philippine Daily Inquirer WHENCE come President Aquino’s chart-busting, confidence-boosting, enemy-scuttling ratings?

Not from the economy’s 10-notch jump in the World Economic Forum’s competitive ratings, from 75th place last year to 65th this year, though that is no mean feat by itself. The news of that came a little too late to affect the respondents’ judgments in the latest SWS survey. And in any case, that is the business perspective, not that of the cross-section of the population.

But that is likely to have an impact in the next surveys. At the very least that’s so because it thoroughly demolishes the Gloria MacapagalArroyo camp’s rehash of Bill Clinton’s Bushwhacking line, “It’s the economy, stupid” to attack its nemesis. The P-Noy camp may now hurl it back, “It is the economy, idiots.”

At the very most it’s so because it reaffirms something Nobel-Prize-winning economists have always known and dumb ones do not, which is that the economy is not just influenced by market forces, it is influenced by psychological factors. Chief of them confidence. It’s not just that progress inspires confidence, it is that confidence inspires progress. It’s a two-way street. That’s the reason the economy fell by the wayside under Arroyo and is bolting like Usain Bolt under P-Noy. But the reasons P-Noy himself has vaulted in the ratings are more immediate. As I see it, they are:

First, the removal of Renato Corona as chief justice. Until late last year, “’Pag walang corrupt, walang mahirap” was just a slogan. You didn’t know whether it would be backed up by political will, you didn’t know whether it would translate into action. Then, toward the end of the year, government blocked Arroyo’s flight, literally and figuratively, to parts unknown and everything changed. People who had doubted, or underestimated, P-Noy’s resolve to fight corruption turned, if not into instant believers, at least into on-the-road converts.

When P-Noy’s allies impeached Corona, from whom Arroyo derived her sense of security— her camp had been boasting she couldn’t be touched, they owned the Supreme Court—the public perception became a certainty: P-Noy meant to see his campaign through. How popular his move to remove Corona was you saw in survey after survey. A thing that drove Corona to do the unexpected, which was to resort to melodrama; desperate times called for desperate measures. Alas, he succeeded only in driving the final nail on his coffin.

The day the impeachment court found him guilty as charged, there was dancing in the streets, or echoes of it. Quite literally, there was opening of champagne in some Filipino communities in the United States.

No, it’s no surprise at all that P-Noy should jump in the public’s esteem. It’s a matter of trust.

Second was government’s response to the torrential rains. Though not a typhoon but regular monsoon rains made irregular by being dragged along Luzon by a real typhoon headed toward

China, the rains wrought more devastation on Metro Manila and neighboring provinces than bona fide tempests. The unrelenting downpour submerged streets in Metro Manila, Bulacan and Pampanga and ruined crops.

P-Noy’s strongest surge in ratings came from Metro Manila, and this might well have something to do with it. As government had done in past storms and floods, it monitored the wind and rain and evacuated residents in danger areas. A contrast with Arroyo’s administration which was caught flat-footed by “Ondoy.” As government had done in past storms and floods, the President himself led the relief effort, braving the floodwaters to assist the ravaged. A contrast with Arroyo herself who could not brave the flood of fury coming her way from the afflicted.

As government had done in past storms and floods, it showed its people they had a friend in it, a pader to lean on when they needed to lean on something. A contrast with the Arroyo administration whose help they spurned, it left them worse off than they were.

No, it’s no surprise that P-Noy should rise higher than floods in the public’s regard. It’s a matter of trust.

And third was the Sona. I don’t think we’ve really sufficiently appreciated it.

Its power did not just lie in the fact that it gave us to glimpse the extent of what government had done in such a short time, much of it we did not know. Its power did not just lie in the credibility P-Noy put behind the facts and figures: People

listened to them because they did not naturally see them as lies.

Its power lay in the power of articulation.

People often mistake this as the need for PR: You hire a PR group, and by propagating the biggest lie through paid hacks in media, mainstream and social, you can turn it into gospel truth. Not true. As Abraham Lincoln said, you can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Ask Marcos, ask Arroyo.

The power of articulation lies in giving truth a solidity that allows us to grasp it.

Reality doesn’t really become real until you put it in words, until you give it shape and sinew by words. That is so particularly where the reality is not about facts and figures but about subtle things like changes of mood, changes in attitude, changes in disposition.

That was what P-Noy’s Sona did, it gave us a sense that something had happened. That slowly, almost imperceptibly, our world had changed. Before we knew it, we had a new culture, we had a new social contract, we had a new way of doing things. Before we knew it, we had hope, we had daring, we had a future.

Spoken particularly in the language the masa understood, that Sona was gamechanging. The way people gushed over it afterward, you knew the next surveys would register the power of that power, the truth of that truth.

It’s a matter of trust. n

AS I SEE IT

Enrile: RH bill hangs in balance in Senate

BY NEAL H. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer THE REPRODUCTIVE Health bill, already passed by the House of Representatives, is in peril in the Senate. Those opposed to it have a onevote lead over its supporters, according to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who was the lone guest at the Kapihan sa Manila at the Diamond Hotel last Monday. Enrile said that based on a head count he had made, nine senators would vote against the bill, eight would vote in favor, with six senators still undecided. The fate of the RH bill will therefore depend on these six. Enrile said he himself would vote against the bill.

What aspects of the bill are some of the senators opposing, and will amendments make it acceptable to them? Enrile said he did not know the amendments being proposed. As for his own objection, he said progress and development would depend on investments, not on the size of the population.

He cited China—now one of the richest nations in the world and a global power—as an example.

With 1.3 billion inhabitants, it also has the world’s biggest population. With a population that huge, the factories have a very big market for their products.

It also has a big pool of workers that enables it to make its products cheaper, which makes these more competitive in the world market.

On the other hand, some countries like Germany and Singapore that have diminishing

populations have to import foreign workers. They are now urging their people to have more children.

Singapore is offering bonuses to its young people to marry and have children.

Poor countries like the Philippines export their workers. That puts a strain on their families, depletes the countries’ experienced work force, and decreases the market for their products.

On contraception, Enrile echoed the Church’s argument that once fertilization takes place in the womb there already is life and we do not have the moral right to terminate life.

Told that contraceptives, such as condoms and diaphragms, precisely prevent fertilization, that the sperm and ovum do not even meet, Enrile answered: “How do we know when fertilization, life, begins? Only God knows and gives that.”

On the “sin tax” bill that would raise the taxes on, and therefore increase the prices of, cigarettes, Enrile also expressed his opposition. Aside from the fact that he comes from a tobacco-growing region, he said that increasing the prices of tobacco too much would only encourage smuggling.

When the price of any product is too high in any country, that only encourages smugglers to bring in similar products, such as cigarettes, from abroad.

Instead of discouraging smokers, they would have access to cheaper ones, the smuggled cigarettes.

“Remember when smuggled cigarettes were being sold all over the Philippines? Do we want those days to return?” Enrile said. “We were not

able to stop smuggling then; we won’t be able to stop smuggling now.” With its many islets and secluded beaches, the Philippines is very vulnerable to smuggling. Our navy boats cannot even catch up with the kumpit of the smugglers, he added.

Instead of increasing revenues, too high taxes would decrease them, as what happened in other countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Australia that also raised taxes on cigarettes.

Enrile said he was not totally against raising the sin tax. “But not too much,” he added. As proposed in the bill, cigarette prices would more than double. That’s greed already.

“Even the cigarette manufactures are amenable to an increase in the sin tax,” Enrile said, “but not at the level they are proposing. The manufacturers, such as Fortune Tobacco, also want to maintain the multiple levels of taxes.” Fortune manufactures low-priced cigarettes. The sin tax bill will impose the same rate of tax on all brands; it will be the same for high-priced and low-priced cigarettes.

High prices will not discourage smoking, Enrile said. Smoking is not just a habit, it is an addiction. Even if a smoker wants to quit, he cannot because his body craves for the nicotine.

He will continue to crave for a cigarette. So what will he do if he cannot afford a cigarette? Like a drug addict, he will steal to satisfy his craving.

Or buy smuggled cigarettes.

Exorbitant taxes will not improve the health of smokers, either. That line is only propaganda.

On the contrary, they will affect his health more.

Why? A poor smoker will devote a bigger part of his money for cigarettes and cut the part for food.

Help the smokers with alternatives to smoking, not with high prices, because smoking is really drug addiction. The drug is nicotine.

Enrile is more optimistic with the Freedom of Information bill.

“That was already passed by the Senate in the past but Congress adjourned before it could be approved by the House,” he said. “So it has to go back to the beginning of the legislative mill.”

“I am personally in favor of the bill,” he added.

“It is the members of the House who are blocking it. Why be afraid of the truth if you are not doing anything wrong?”

He also said the proposed budget for 2013 would have no trouble hurdling the Senate. Asked if there would be enough funding for the proposed budget, which is very much bigger than the current one, he replied in the affirmative.

Enrile also defended the outgoing and controversial Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno, who is suspected of trying to get sensitive documents from the offices and living quarters of Secretary Jesse Robredo after his plane crashed in the sea off Masbate. It is rumored that Puno is involved in the cases Robredo was investigating, such as “jueteng,” illegal logging, and overpricing in the purchase of guns for the Philippine National Police. n

Opinion

15 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

AT LARGE

9/11 and the first responders

BY RINA JIMENEZ-DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer NEWS ON THE “9/11” anniversary yesterday focused on the ballooning costs related to the construction and management of the National Sept.

11 Memorial and Museum (the museum has yet to open) at the World Trade Center.

The New York Times reported earlier that the snag in the opening of the museum could be blamed on “issues” between the Sept. 11 Foundation in charge of the site (headed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who raised tens of millions of dollars for the project and donated millions of his own money) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land on which the WTC stands. The authority is controlled by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who must sign off on any agreement between New York City and State.

Mainly, both sides have been “unable to resolve their differences” over which government agencies will shoulder the operating costs of the museum (with the US Congress balking at picking up the bill), and which of the two—the foundation or the Port Authority—“will have oversight of the museum and the surrounding memorial.”

This is why no one knows when the museum will open for public viewing, a crucial development since maintaining the entire site depends in part on fees to be charged the museum goers.

There’s also a tug-of-war between those who believe the memorial should provide open space for the general public (including picnickers and tourists), and those (mostly family members of 9/11 victims) who think of the entire site as a sanctified area, a solemn memorial for the dead. *** Between the tourists and fund-raisers, and the grieving families, there lies another class of people caught between enjoying the memorial and denouncing it.

“Why are we pouring all this money into buildings when men don’t have enough insurance to buy breathing apparatuses?” asked an indignant Leslie Haskins who lost her firefighter-husband in 9/11 and continues to speak for all the “first responders” who died or got sick because they rushed to save lives in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.

They have since been suffering a number of physical and psychological illnesses, ranging from respiratory diseases to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Wire reports say the number of those who died from 9/11-related illnesses may reach more than 1,000 (officially, 2,600 died as a result of the attacks), while at least 20,000 “Ground Zero” workers are seeking treatment.

John Feal, who lost part of his leg doing 9/11 recovery work, was quoted as mourning the loss of those who died that day, but pointing out that “they didn’t suffer long.” In contrast, he says, “these first responders have been slowly dying for 11 years.” ***

Reading this, I remembered scenes from the documentary “Sicko,” one of the more popular products from the extensive oeuvre of filmmaker Michael Moore.

He seeks to expose the inequalities fostered by the American health system, which is dominated by private providers and health insurers, and those in other countries which provide universal health care to all citizens. Moore finds a group of 9/11 rescue workers who volunteered to help survivors of the attacks but had been denied government funds to cover their treatment for physical and psychological problems that cropped up as a result of their stint in such a dangerous, stressful, dust-filled rescue site.

Moore gathers these rescuers, along with others seeking health care whom he had interviewed in the course of making “Sicko,” joins them on an ostensible leisurely sail from Miami to Cuba, and ends up at the edge of the American-run Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.

“Gitmo” is where dozens of suspected terrorists have been detained since 9/11, many of them suspected of having links with the terrorists behind the WTC attacks. All of the detainees, argued Moore, receive free medical care courtesy of the US government. So it was only fair that the authorities running the camp provide the same quality of care to American citizens who had risked their lives and health as a consequence of 9/11.

Driven away by the soldiers guarding the Guantanamo facility, Moore and his ragtag group then proceed to Havana, where they are able to buy

inexpensive medicines and receive free medical treatment at a hospital (admittedly one that serves the Cuban elite). Before they leave, the rescue workers are treated to a party by a local Havana fire station, a touching moment of solidarity among the world’s first responders. *** Of course, we are all familiar with Moore’s incendiary brand of filmmaking, and we all know his documentaries are not so much “investigative” pieces as they are opinion pieces undertaken to underscore a previously scripted premise.

In fact “Sicko” was made just as the United States was entering into a period of debate over health care and curbing the power of insurance companies. In this year’s presidential election, in fact, health care is emerging as one contentious issue, with both sides debating whether to scrap the Obama health law altogether, or expand its reach.

I don’t know what happened to the rescuers who joined Moore in Cuba, and if their health situation improved after they returned to the United States.

But surely the hoo-ha over the delays in the opening of the 9/11 Museum, and the ill-feeling stoked by public behavior at the Memorial grounds can only fuel even more resentment over the inequalities of the American health system in general.

This is not just an interesting sidelight to an American controversy. Our own health system has been patterned after the US capitalist model, and we are even now seeing how we can woefully neglect people who fall between the cracks. n

LOOKING BACK

‘Cabeza de Jabali’

BY AMBETH R. OCAMPO Philippine Daily Inquirer WHEN people ask where I get the material for this column, I often smile and say that I make it all up. After all, one constipated academic sneered at my appointment at the UP Creative Writing Center, saying that I actually wrote fiction and passed it off as fact. I did not waste my time on a critic who was neither “creative” nor a “writer.” He was one among a handful who dismissed this column as “tsismis” or “trivia,” but if we go all the way back to Herodotus, who is considered one of the fathers of history as an art and as a profession, you will find gossip and trivia there. Gregorio Zaide and Teodoro Agoncillo wrote popular history and I wonder if they were criticized, too.

History for me has always been about connections, about finding the links between different pieces of information that lead to a bit of insight or at least an engaging narrative.

There is a place for unreadable academic history, and a place for storytelling. I draw my narratives from decades of reading, from many bits of information gathered over a lifetime. When I engage my students in a conversation, I realize that the world has become a lesser place because people have lost their appreciation for useless information.

I don’t know where it all started, but I do remember curling up in bed with volumes of the “Art Linkletter Illustrated Children’s

Encyclopedia” and marvelling at everything it contained. Why was science and history so terrifying in school yet so easy to learn from these books? From childhood I learned to connect the dots, and this developed into a cross-referencing system in my head that connects names to faces, connects stories to events. Going over my files recently, I reviewed interviews I have given over the years, and the one that stood out was on food and history. Here is a sampling: Q: It’s 1943, and Lola just came back from the rations office. What’s in her bayong?

A: A skinny chicken, tired-looking sayote, gnarled luya, some rice.

Q: What was a likely meryenda in the Rizal house? A breakfast in the Aguinaldo house? Dinner in the (other hero of your choice) house?

A: Rizal himself says he had sardinas secas for breakfast. That’s literally “dried sardines” that every Pinoy knows as tuyo.

Emilio Aguinaldo, pursued by the enemy in the Cordilleras at the turn of the 20th century, had buttered kamote and coffee for breakfast.

Aguinaldo was so deprived he wished aloud that after the revolution he and his friends would go on a grand European tour with a hefty sum for pocket money. Dinner? Preserved in the T.H. Pardo de Tavera collection in Ateneo’s Rizal Library is the cookbook of Juliana Gorricho, the ill-fated mother-in-law of Juan Luna, who listed not only her recipes but

also the stellar guests who dined in her Paris home: Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Jose Rizal, and more.

Q: If you liken Imelda Marcos to a dessert, what would she be?

A: A fabulous croque-en-bouche like the “croquembucheng caraniuan” that appeared on the cover of Pasteleria at reposteria francesa at española, aclat na ganap na naglalaman ng maraming palacad sa paggaua ng lahat ng mga bagay-bagay na matamis at mga pasteles ni P.R. Macosta; Isinalin sa uicang tagalog ni Crispulo Trinidad, Professor sa Latinidad, 1919.

Q: What makes Philippine cuisine so distinct? Why do you think it hasn’t broken into the world food scene yet?

A: Philippine food has been in the United States for the longest time but is only served at home and in carinderias unlike other Asian cuisine: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai that have better presentation, looks healthier and are served in restaurants. Most Westerners will not eat bagoong or dinuguan. They won’t even look at the oily adobo we remember from childhood. Filipinos have a long and rich culinary culture that just needs to be repackaged and aggressively marketed. The Thais studied their cuisine, standardized its taste, colors, flavors and branded it worldwide. Everyone knows what a green curry or tom yum should be, but how do you

cope with 7,000 adobos? There are as many adobos as there are languages, regions and cultures in our archipelagic country.

Q: Any favorites from the past that you wish would make a comeback?

A: Cabeza de jabali or boar’s head is mentioned in the same breath as rabo de toro or oxtail stew, and is still served, though infrequently, in Kapampangan homes. Gene Gonzalez thinks the cabeza de jabali was boar’s head in aspic.

Q: If you could select the national dish for the Philippines, what would it be and why?

A: We have a National Hero: Rizal; National Language: Filipino; a National Tree: Narra; but the other “nation al” things like dance, animal, flower, etc. were probably invented by National Bookstore to peddle as postcards and posters for schoolchildren.

Of course, you know that Socorro Ramos, who built National Bookstore, got the name off her cash register! The National Dish should be adobo hands down. I just hope the colonial-minded would stop saying it was a Spanish import. Adobo was already in the islands long before Magellan was born! Adobo comes from the Spanish verb “adobar” (to marinate), so when the Spanish were served their first taste of Pinoy food they described the food as marinated and labelled it adobo. Too bad nobody thought of recording what our ancestors called our marinated national dish. n

News-Phils

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 16

Aquino names 6 senatorial bets SC: Dual citizens can’t run for elective posts

Photo courtesy of Malacanang Photo Bureau

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer

The President at the APEC Summit.

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

RUSSKIY ISLAND, VLADIVOSTK, Russia – President Benigno Aquino III gave a sneak peek on who’s in and out of the administration’s coalition slate for next year’s senatorial elections but he was curiously mum on the inclusion of his friend, re-electionist, Senator Francis Escudero.

During a briefing, reports rattled off possible candidates in the administration slate and the President gamely made comments on whether they were a definite six or maybe still a four.

But when he was asked whether Escudero, who has been either number one or two in the senatorial surveys, the President was quick to say: “No comment.”

Among those that the President said has a lock on the slate were Movies and Television Ratings and Classification Board chair Grace Poe-Llamanzares; former Senator Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay Jr.; former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros; Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara. At least one seat has been reserved for the Biazons as the President said the LP has yet to make up its mind whether to field the son (Customs Chief Rufino Biazon) or the father (former Senator and Muntilupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon).

Those whose seat reservations have to be confirmed were the President’s cousin, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino; Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief Joel Villanueva; Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tanada III; and former Senator Jamby Madrigal.

Escudero ditched his presidential bid in the 2010 elections and supported a “Noy-Bi” (Noynoy-Binay) ticket.

Noynoy is Aquino’s nickname while Binay is incumbent Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Escudero is currently being wooed by the United Nationalist Alliance, the coalition formed by Binay and former President Joseph Estrada, possibly as a guest candidate.

“I think we’ve already discussed 10 and there are only 14 candidates vying for 12 seats. Of course, I don’t think those who would be included in the final list but were not mentioned now should feel bad. But those who will be left out and heard it for the first time here would probably start thinking about their non-inclusion. I think we should talk first, talk seriously with the whole group and these candidates,” said the President.

The President also declined to say how the slate would be divided among the coalition partners LP, Nationalist People’s Coalition and Nacionalista Party (which was likely to field former Las Pinas Rep. Cynthia Villar, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and Senator Alan Cayetano).

The President said that the final list would depend on the results of the upcoming senatorial surveys as well and those who would actually file their candidacy in October.

“We have to respond to surveys, we have to respond to the feedback we get from the ground.

We wanna make sure that the right timing happens for all of the candidates. We don’t want to rush this and sacrifice a person. This might not be the right time,” said the President. n

FILIPINOS with dual citizenship must first give up their foreign citizenship under oath before they can run for any elective post.

The Supreme Court issued the ruling as it upheld the Commission on Elections’ unseating of the Vice Mayor Teodora Sobejana-Condon of Caba, La Union for failing to renounce her Australian citizenship under oath as required by Republic Act No. 9225 or the Citizenship Retention and ReAcquisition Act of 2003.

“Failure to renounce foreign citizenship in accordance with the exact tenor of Section5(2) ofRA9225 renders a dual citizen ineligible to run for and thus hold any elective public office,” the court en banc said in a 24-page decision penned by Justice Bienvenido Reyes.

The high court upheld the September 2011 ruling of the Comelec en banc, which in turn affirmed the October 2010 decision of the La Union regional trial court that nullified Condon’s victory in the 2010 polls.

Condon was disqualified for failure to renounce her Australian citizenship under oath, contrary to the exact mandate of Section 5 (2) that the renunciation of foreign citizenship must be sworn before an public officer authorized to administer oath.

Condon appealed the Comelec ruling to the Supreme Court in October last year. The high court, however, did not issue a temporary restraining order so she was replaced the following month as vice mayor by the town’s first councilor, Philip Caesar Crispino.

The justices said that Condon’s act of running for public office does not suffice to serve as an effective renunciation of

her Australian citizenship. While the court has previously declared that the filing by a person with dual citizenship of a certificate of candidate is already considered a renunciation of foreign citizenship, such ruling was already adjudged superseded by the enactment of RA 9255 on August 29, 2003 which provides for the additional condition of a personal and sworn renunciation of foreign citizenship.

“The foreign citizenship must be formally rejected through an affidavit duly sworn before an officer authorized to administer oath,” the court said.

The justices said the fact that Condon won the elections cannot cure the defect of her candidacy since “garnering the most number of votes does not validate the election of a disqualified candidate because the application of the constitutional and statutory provisions on disqualification is not a matter of popularity.” “[Condon] is yet to regain her political right to seek elective office. Unless she executes a sworn renunciation of her Australian citizenship, she is ineligible to run for and hold any elective office in the Philippines,” the high court said.

Condon became a naturalized Australian citizen when she married Kevin Thomas Condon on Dec. 13, 1984.

On Dec. 2, 2005, she filed an application to re-acquire Philippine citizenship. She took her oath of allegiance to the Philippine state on Dec. 5, 2005 On Sept. 18, 2006, she filed an unsworn declaration of denunciation of Australian citizenship before the Department of Immigration and Indigenous Affairs in Canberra, which on Sept. 27, 2006 certified that she had ceased to be an Australian citizen. n

DOJ forms panel to handle Corona tax evasion case

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer The Department of Justice has formed a three-member panel to conduct preliminary investigation against former Chief Justice Renato Corona for tax evasion.

Prosecutor General Claro Arellano designated Senior Assistant Prosecutor Rosanne Balauag, as chair and prosecution attorneys Mark Roland Estepa and Jaywee Laurence Bandong as members of the panel.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said the panel was expected to come up with a resolution in 60 days.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue earlier filed P150.68-million tax-evasion complaint against Corona, his daughter Ma. Carla Beatriz C. Castillo and son-in-law Constantino Castillo III. BIR investigation showed that Corona had an income-tax deficiency of P120.5 million. Carla’s tax deficiency was calculated at P9.93 million while her husband’s was P20.25 million. n

News-Phils

17 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Abad, Sereno end budget war WITH THE Supreme Court under a friendlier force, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad visited Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and her court to talk about the once thorny issue between the two branches of government: the judiciary’s P17.7-billion budget and the control of its special allowances.

It was the first time in a long while that the two branches of government made an effort to sit down and discuss the matter.

Except for Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Arturo Brion, who were absent, Sereno led the 12 other justices in an almost two-hour-long meeting with Abad at the Supreme Court.

The two branches had clashed before on the issue of the judiciary’s budget, particularly the return to the National Treasury of collected docket fees, which are used for special allowances

Photo courtesy of Malacanang Photo Bureau

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Abad’s visit to the Supreme Court also came at a time when Sereno, barely two weeks into her new job, was reported to be having some problems with some of the senior justices.

Asked whether his presence there was somehow a statement of support of President Benigno Aquino for Sereno given her current dilemma with other justices, Abad merely said he was there upon the invitation of Sereno.

“There’s a new leadership and (Sereno) just wanted to be familiar with the budget process,” he told reporters, after the meeting.

Abad also said that the budget department makes visits “to every department that invites us.”

When pressed on the issues that Budget Secretary Florencio Abad were discussed at the meeting, Abad declined to reveal specifics. and benefits of court personnel. Then “We agreed that they (the justices) Chief Justice Renato Corona opposed are going to talk about this. This is this, insisting on the judiciary’s really their concern,” said Abad of the financial independence. judicial allowances.

Abad said the meeting was “a good opportunity” for the two branches of government to get together. He described their exchanges to be “cordial, open and frank.”

Senator Franklin Drilon, chairman of the finance committee, said he had finished the hearings of the judiciary’s budget and will submit a committee report to the plenary in the third week of November.

Drilon said that one of the issues that the committee needed to resolve involved the Special Allowances for the Judiciary (SAJ).

The Department of Budget and Management wants the SAJ, which are funds realized out of the collection of docket fees in courts, returned to the National Treasury, arguing that its original purpose, which was to serve as an advance on the salary benefits of court personnel, had been fulfilled. The judiciary opposed this position. n

News-Phils

Santiago to summon Puno on ‘jueteng’

BY CATHY YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

Two years since she exposed the links between operators of “jueteng” and government officials, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago wonders whatever happened to the campaign against the illegal numbers racket, if there is any, of the Aquino administration.

Santiago said she would summon Interior Undersecretary Rico Puno to a hearing of her Senate committee on revision of codes and laws this week and ask him pointblank with whom was he sharing his jueteng take.

“Absolutely, I would ask him, ‘Sinong kahati mo d’yan sa jueteng?’

That would be my first question to him.

Why would you beat around the bush?

It’s very clear, jueteng is already poised to bite [him] in the nose,” Santiago blurted out in a radio interview Sunday.

Former Archbishop Oscar Cruz, an antijueteng crusader, said in September 2010, three months after Mr. Aquino assumed office, that Puno and then recently retired PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa each received between P5 million and P8 million a month in jueteng payola.

Santiago said at the time that the annual collections of jueteng operators had reached P30 billion, due to a “conspiracy between the interior secretary and the police chief. They are the prime beneficiaries and ultimate protectors of jueteng.”

The senator reiterated her suspicion that a “backer” responsible for Puno’s appointment to the Department of the Interior and Local Government

(DILG) could be the reason jueteng continued to thrive despite officially announced government efforts to eradicate it.

Calling jueteng “the first problem of the DILG,” Santiago said the illegal numbers game remained hard to wipe out because of the continued collusion between its operators and the government officials tasked with eliminating it.

Asked whether Puno, as the DILG official given supervision over the Philippine National Police, was guilty of “inaction” against jueteng, Santiago replied, “Absolutely!”

“Nothing is happening to the antijueteng drive when that’s supposed to be the main thrust of police work. In addition to peace and order, that should be the most important,” she noted.

Huge monthly bribes Santiago said a portion of jueteng collections served as the source of “huge monthly bribes” that eventually found their way to the authorities.

“Just imagine, if you are the head of the PNP, or if you are the undersecretary supervising the PNP and you are in collusion with the head of the PNP who is under you—why, you could be a supermillionaire! You must be a dollar millionaire every year, every month,” she said.

The senator added that if a government official on the take from jueteng operators shared his loot with colleagues, “they would just follow your orders. You won’t be assailed and you would become untouchable. That’s what happened to Puno.”

Atong Ang et al.

Santiago’s complaint about inaction against jueteng apparently stems from a privilege speech she gave in September 2010 in which she named Atong Ang, an associate of ousted President Joseph Estrada, as the top jueteng operator in four of five regions where the numbers game was played around the country.

She said other prominent operators at that time included Danny Soriano, Bong Pineda, Aging Lisan and Tony Santos.

The senator wondered then why Ang did not make the list of Cruz who, as head of the People’s Crusade Against Jueteng, drew up his own list of jueteng operators and their beneficiaries.

Santiago gave a PowerPoint presentation then in which photos of Puno, Verzosa and former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno were flashed onscreen.

P300M for DILG, PNP chiefs Santiago said she had information then that the interior secretary and the PNP chief shared P300 million between themselves, a drop in the bucket compared with the yearly receipts.

She said it was important that the next DILG head would not succumb to the temptations offered by jueteng operators.

“The DILG is very important. You would notice that the crooks from prior administrations came from the DILG because they control jueteng. Imagine, this game earns hundreds of millions all over the country through the PNP. That’s why the PNP benefits from jueteng.

That’s why they cannot eradicate it. The secretary of DILG shares in the loot as a general rule,” she said.

Santiago said the one mystery that the Aquino administration needed to explain was why supervision of the PNP suddenly shifted to an undersecretary, specifically Puno.

“Puno is like a miracle figure in the bureaucracy. He can divide the functions of the secretary. It’s not like the secretary volunteered to share his functions with his undersecretaries.

It wasn’t that way at all,” the senator pointed out.

Santiago said Puno’s alleged backer could be credited for his seemingly secure position in the DILG. “Mr. Puno’s backer is only interested in controlling the PNP because it is the agency that protects and defends bigtime criminals behind corrupt activities in the government,” she said. n

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 18

Pro-Life founder Sr. Mary Pilar dies

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer

Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, founder of Pro-Life Philippines, died early Sunday morning, three days after suffering from a brain aneurysm while giving a seminar to medical and nursing students at De La Salle University-Dasmariñas in Cavite.

Verzosa would have turned 68 on Sept 24.

She died at 4:44 a.m. from herniation syndrome secondary to cerebral bleeding at the DLSU Medical Center, according to Manila Archdiocese communications director Peachy Yamsuan.

Her remains were cremated and brought to the Good Shepherd Convent chapel at 1043 Aurora Blvd. in Quezon City Sunday afternoon, said Yamsuan.

Interment has been scheduled for September 12 after the 3 p.m. Mass.

The pro-life movement leader was giving a talk when she collapsed. She was rushed to the university’s hospital, where she slipped into a coma and was placed on a respirator.

Verzosa was known to have started the pro-life movement in the country after the visit of the late Fr. Paul Marx, founder of Human Life International, in 1974, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

Marx gave a seminar on the issues of abortion, which was legalized in the United States in 1973 following the landmark Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision, which deemed abortion legal and a fundamental right under the US Constitution.

The decision also overturned a Texas interpretation of a law considering abortion a crime.

The nun, then 28, was inspired

by Marx’s call, urging Filipinos to hold on to their life-affirming values. She then started the prolife movement and became one of the staunchest advocates of life and family in the crusade.

She was also at the frontlines of the campaign against the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill now pending in Congress. n

News-Phils

19 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2012

Remember their faces, forget their names on poll day

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer ANNOYED by epal politicians’ posters and TV ads? Remember their faces and don’t vote for them come Election Day in May next year.

Constrained by a loophole in the law that disallows premature campaigning by candidates before they file their certificates of candidacy, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) could only offer this piece of advice to voters.

Jurisprudence had allowed premature campaigning, “so technically no law is being violated,” Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. said. “The best way to deal with these epals [is to] remember their faces now and forget their names comeelection day,” Brillantes made the statement yesterday via his Twitter account @ChairBrillantes.

The poll chief said that like the rest of the nation, he too was appalled by the proliferation of billboards and posters from this or that personality whose obvious intent is to run for an elective post next year.

“Epal posters cheapen our electoral process as if these candidates are supermarket commodities that need to be advertised,” said Brillantes.

Epal is a play on the words mapapel, Filipino slang for a scene stealer or attention grabber, and kapal or someone who is thick-skinned.

The poll chief noted that with no law prohibiting the putting up of posters bearing the likenesses of would-be candidates, the Comelec could not run after them prior to the campaign period.

Brillantes said that to curb this practice Congress must reenact a law prohibiting and punishing premature campaigning.

“With this, I strongly support and urge the passage of the bill of my good friend [Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago] on premature campaigning,” said Brillantes.

Earlier, Santiago filed an anti- epal measure that penalizes politicians who claim credit for community projects bankrolled by taxpayer money.

The senator last week said she was filing this week a bill that would require wouldbe candidates to file a certificate of intent to run for public office (Cirpo) six months before the actual filing of certificates of candidacy required by the Comelec.

The bill would bar public officials from engaging in self-promotion or premature imagebuilding during the months leading up to the election campaign period, usually three months before Election Day. n

‘Karen’ now a storm

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE ACTIVE low pressure area spotted east of the Visayas has developed into a tropical storm locally named “Karen” while a shallow low pressure area was observed on the western side of the country, the state weather bureau said on Tuesday.

Karen (international name: “Sanba”) was seen 800 kilometers east of Guiuan town in Eastern Samar, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kph near the center, and gustiness of 80 kph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

It was moving northward at 11 kph, Pagasa said.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, a shallow low pressure area was also observed 170 kilometers off Bataan.

The tropical storm is seen to bring moderate to heavy rains, from 1020 mm per hour within its 300km diameter, the weather bureau said.

According to the Pagasa forecast, Karen is expected to be 600 km east of Siargao Island by Wednesday morning. n

News-Phils

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THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Syrian government has allowed the immediate repatriation of more than 255 overseas Filipino workers who sought shelter at the Philippine Embassy in Damascus to escape the ongoing civil war in the Middle Eastern state.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who is in Syria with Undersecretary Rafael Seguis on a two-day visit, said that beleaguered Syrian President Bashar Assad himself ordered that Filipinos be allowed to leave without the mandatory exit requirements.

The DFA said Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmad Arnous told Del Rosario by phone that Assad approved the waiver of exit visa requirements for all the OFWs in the shelter “immediately and without preconditions.”

Del Rosario, in turn, conveyed his thanks, as well as that of the Philippine government.

In a television interview, Del Rosario said the Belgium-based International Organization for Migration would provide a chartered flight back to Manila for Filipinos currently sheltered at the embassy.

The repatriation is expected to take place this weekend, he said.

“We don’t want to leave anyone behind who wishes to be repatriated,” he added.

Upon his arrival in Damascus, Del Rosario immediately met with Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, Syrian presidential adviser for political and media affairs, to ask that the OFWs at the embassy be allowed to leave

without paying exit visa fees and penalties at the Syrian immigration and passport directorate.

Del Rosario also sought Shaaban’s assistance in facilitating the repatriation of another 1,300 OFWs who want to go home, as well as about 2,400 others who are in Syria but have not manifested their intention to return to the Philippines.

Del Rosario explained that, although the remaining OFWs are staying in Syria legally, most of them were illegally recruited from the Philippines and may thus be considered victims of human trafficking.

With Shaaban’s help, Del Rosario was able to meet personally his Syrian counterpart, Foreign Minister Walid alMoallem, who was joined by Arnous and Ambassador Suleiman Saraa, chief of the foreign ministry’s Asia department.

Del Rosario said some OFWs who are worried about lack of job opportunities in the Philippines or who said their employers were taking care of them have declined to be repatriated.

In Manila, Vice President Jejomar Binay welcomed the decision of the Syrian government to allow 250 OFWs to leave even without exit permits.

The DFA said more than 2,100 Filipino workers had been repatriated from Syria since the uprising.

A mandatory repatriation and a deployment ban have been implemented in Syria since the country was declared under Crisis Alert Level 4 in December last year.

An estimated 4,000 OFWs are believed to be still in Syria. n

Malacañang welcomed the “significant gains” in the country’s global competitiveness.

“The rise in competitiveness of the Philippines can be directly attributed to the resurgence of the people’s trust in the leadership of President Aquino and his governance. This is further reflected in the trust in the public institutions and the public officials who serve under President Aquino,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, when contacted by phone .

Lacierda described the significant gains as “concrete affirmations of the success of the reforms which we continue to implement and foster.”

He said this marked improvement built on last year’s impressive jump from 85th to 75th.

Lacierda observed that notable gains were made with respect to Philippine public institutions (94th, up 23 places) and public trust in politicians (95th, up 33 places).

Justice system low This represents a steady renewal of social trust and the strengthening of our institutions as a result of the reforms the Aquino administration has pursued since 2010. Contributing to this favorable ranking are strong scores in transparency in policy formation (up 23 places) and fairness in awarding of contracts (up 19 places),” said Lacierda.

Improvements were also noted in minimizing the following: diversion of public funds (up 27 places), wastefulness of government spending (up 23), and irregular payments or bribes (up 11 places).

Lacierda, however, admitted that the justice system continued to be rated low.

Ranked 111th, the quality of judicial decisions in particular will have to be dealt with by the new leadership of our courts, he said.

The macroeconomic environment (36th, up 18 places) has also sustained its gains, with budget management, national savings rate and general government debt all rating high, he added. n

IL

BY JEROME ANING Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY MICHAEL LIM UBAC Philippine Daily Inquirer

PH

Syrians in Turkey staging a demonstration protesting the violence in Syria.

Palace credits gains to people’s trust in President

IL

DFA: Syria allows repatriation of 255 OFWS at PH embassy

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 20

22 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Canada’s Prime Minister Appoints Filipino-Canadian as Senator

holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from Letran College in the Philippines, a Masters Certificate in Project Management from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto and a Computer Studies Certificate from Centennial College in Toronto.

He has been involved with various organizations and charitable projects.

He is the Co-Chair of the Asian Heritage Month Celebration for the Greater Toronto Area. He was also a past Director of the Canadian Multicultural Council – Asians in Ontario. He is an

active member of the Knights of Rizal and the Knights of Columbus. He is the founder of the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation which hosted the Pinoy Fiesta held at the MetroToronto Convention last June. In 2012, Enverga was the recipient of the Queen’s 60th Diamond Jubilee Medal of Distinction.

Enverga, a Toronto resident, is originally from Lucena, Quezon. He is married to Rosemer Albovias Enverga.

They have 3 daughters, Rystle, Rocel and Reeza. n jojomaharlika@gmail.com

NEWS BRIEFS Study looks at if race affects flu shot choices TORONTO - With summer in its dying days and flu season looming, public health programs countrywide are gearing up for the push to inject millions of doses of flu vaccine into arms. A new study suggests those arms are more likely to belong to Canadians of a variety of ethnic backgrounds - Filipino, Japanese, Chinese and southeast Asian among them - than to people who describe themselves as white. - Helen Branswell n

Bell to launch a ‘made-in-Canada’ Netflix MONTREAL - Bell will launch a ``made-in-Canada’’ competitor to Netflix and other big U.S. online TV and entertainment providers, CEO George Cope said Monday as part of his pitch for the company’s $3.4-billion acquisition of Astral Media. The service would be available on demand on any device, and showcase Canadian and international movies from Astral’s pay TV services, such as HBO Canada and The Movie Network, as well as news, sports and entertainment content from Bell Media. n

Fed stimulus likely to lift Canada too

BY JOJO TADURAN

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - Tobias C. Enverga Jr. has just been appointed by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as a member of the Senate, the upper house in Canada’s bicameral parliamentary democracy.

Enverga will be one of the 105 appointed members representing Canada’s 10 provinces and 3 territories.

The Senate was created by the fathers of Canadian Confederation in 1867 to counterbalance representation by population in the House of Commons.

In recent years, the Senate has come to bolster representation of groups often under-represented in Parliament, such as Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and women. The Senate was also intended to provide Parliament with a second chance to consider bills before they are passed.

Enverga, 57, is the first FilipinoCanadian elected in the City of Toronto and serves as a Toronto Catholic District School Board Trustee. He is a Project Manager at the Bank of Montreal where he has worked for more than 30 years. He

OTTAWA - Canada’s struggling economy will likely get an indirect nudge, albeit a tiny one, from stimulus measures being adopted and contemplated in major world economies, economists say. With the U.S. Federal Reserve looking like it’s preparing to follow its European counterpart’s lead by introducing so-called QE-3 on Thursday, and China likely to join in later this fall, stimulus is still the name of the game three years into the stuttering recovery. n

Company hired to review pipeline safety CALGARY - Alberta’s energy industry regulator says it has hired a company to review the province’s pipeline network. The Energy Resources Conservation Board says Group 10 Engineering of Calgary has been chosen. n

23 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2012

Canada News

Minister reprises get tough message for Canadian immigration cheats

BY STEVE RENNIE THE CANADIAN PRESS

OTTAWA - The federal government reprised a familiar get-tough message for immigration cheats Monday, promising to revoke the status of more than 3,100 people it says abused the system in order to claim Canadian citizenship.

Several thousand more are being investigated to determine if they obtained or are maintaining their permanent residence fraudulently, said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who was forced to admit only a handful of people have been dealt with so far.

There are 3,139 Canadian citizens currently under investigation for residence fraud, but so far, only 19 of them have had their citizenship revoked.

That’s because the process - part of a long-term crackdown - takes several years, Kenney said.

Letters have been sent to 530 people informing them of the government’s intention to revoke their citizenship, he added.

``Canadian citizenship is not for sale,’’ the minister told a news conference. We will continue to take strong measures to combat the industry of crooked immigration agents here and abroad who seek to devalue Canadian citizenship by creating fake proof of residency and committing other forms of fraud.’’

Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman dismissed Kenney’s announcement as old information being warmed over for political purposes. ``It’s important that we take measures to eliminate fraud; no one disputes that,’’ Waldman said. ``But why is it that we have to continually send out this message?’’

Waldman also criticized the Conservative government’s use of hard-hitting, headline-friendly language when it comes to immigration issues, which he said can hurt most law-abiding newcomers to Canada. ``The message that’s constantly going out is, ‘We’re cracking down on fraudulent immigrants,’’’ he said. ``So the negative message is what gets all the coverage, and not the fact

that the vast majority of immigrants are law-abiding citizens who don’t commit crimes, who don’t commit fraud and who respect our immigration system. The unfortunate consequence of this constant repetition of negative messaging is that it, over time, will erode public confidence in the immigration system.’’

Citizenship and Immigration Canada says a total of nearly 11,000 people have been potentially implicated in lying to apply for citizenship or maintain permanent-residence status.

So far, Kenney said, federal agencies have removed or denied admittance to

more than 600 former permanent residents linked to the fraud investigations.

They have denied about 500 citizenship applications where the applicants did not meet residence requirements; nearly 1,800 applicants linked to cheating have simply abandoned their citizenship applications, he added.

Kenney also said he plans to introduce amendments to the Citizenship Act that would require immigration consultants to be members of a regulatory body, which he said is intended to crack down on crooked agents. n

World News

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 24

At ground zero, an anniversary without politicians reflects a decade of the politics of 9/11

BY JENNIFER PELTZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK - For the first time, elected officials won’t speak at Tuesday’s ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11 attacks - an occasion that has allowed them a solemn turn in the spotlight. The change was made in the name of sidelining politics, but some have rapped it as a political move in itself.

It’s a sign of the entrenched sensitivity of the politics of Sept. 11, even after a decade of commemorating the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. From the first anniversary in 2002, the date has been filled with questions about how - or even whether - to try to separate the Sept. 11 that is about personal loss from the 9-11 that reverberates through public life.

The answers are complicated for Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the pilot of the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon. She feels politicians’ involvement can lend gravity to the remembrances, but she empathizes with the reasons for silencing officeholders at the New York ceremony this year. ``It is the one day, out of 365 days a year, where, when we invoke the term ‘9-11,’ we mean the people who died and the events that happened,’’ rather than the political and cultural layers the phrase has accumulated, said

Burlingame, who’s on the board of the organization that announced the change in plans this year. ``So I think the idea that it’s even controversial that politicians wouldn’t be speaking is really rather remarkable.’’

Remarkable, perhaps, but a glimpse through the political prism that splits so much surrounding Sept. 11 into different lights.

Officeholders from the mayor to presidents have been heard at the New York ceremony, reading texts ranging from parts of the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address to poems by John Donne and Langston Hughes.

But in July, the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum - led by Mayor Michael Bloomberg as its board chairman - announced that this year’s version would include only relatives reading victims’ names. Politicians still may attend.

The point, memorial President Joe Daniels said, was ``honouring the victims and their families in a way free of politics’’ in an election year. ``You always want to change,’’ Bloomberg said in a radio interview in July, ``... and I think it’ll be very moving.’’

Some victims’ relatives and commentators praised the decision. ``It is time’’ to extricate Sept. 11 from politics, the Boston Globe wrote in an editorial.

But others said keeping politicians off the rostrum smacked of ... politics.

The move came amid friction between the memorial foundation and the governors of New York and New Jersey over progress on the memorial museum. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, have signalled their displeasure by calling on federal officials to give the memorial a financial and technical hand.

Some victims’ relatives see the nopoliticians anniversary ceremony as retaliation. Both states’ governors have traditionally been invited to participate. ``Banning the governors of New York and New Jersey from speaking is the ultimate political decision,’’ said one relatives’ group, led by retired Deputy Fire Chief Jim Riches. His firefighter son and namesake was killed responding to the burning World Trade Center.

To Riches, political leaders’ presence shows a nation’s respect and recognizes their role in passing laws that aided victims’ families and people sickened by working at ground zero.

With politicians excluded, ``the 9-11 families are having to turn their backs on the people who helped us so much,’’ he said.

Spokesmen for Christie and Cuomo said the governors were fine with the memorial organizers’ decision.

For former New York Gov. George Pataki, the change ends a 10-year experience that was deeply personal even

as it reflected his political role. He was governor at the time of the attacks. ``As the names are read out, I just listen and have great memories of people who I knew very well who were on that list of names. It was very emotional,’’ Pataki reflected by phone last week. Among his friends who were killed was Neil Levin, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

But Pataki supports the decision not to have government figures speak. ``It’s time to take the next step, which is simply to continue to pay tribute,’’ said Pataki, who expects he’ll continue to attend.

Of course, it’s difficult to remember 9-11 without remembering its impact on the nation’s political narrative. As both an event and a symbol, it’s ``seared into the American social and political psyche, with profound consequences,’’ says Baruch College political science professor Douglas Muzzio.

Also Monday, the White House said President Barack Obama and his advisers discussed specific measures the administration was taking to prevent 9-11-related attacks.

They also discussed steps that were being taken to protect Americans abroad and U.S. forces serving in combat zones.

The White House did not detail any of the measures being taken, noting only that Obama instructed government agencies to do everything possible to protect the American people both at home and abroad. n

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Immigration

When should I apply for BC Health Insurance?

There is a three month waiting period for Medical Services Plan (MSP) coverage to take effect; therefore immigrants should register as soon as they arrive. During the first three months, you should have a private medical insurance to cover medical costs you might incur. This is important as it will be expensive to pay for medical services out of your own pocket.

Applying as soon as you land will cover processing time and ensure that you are covered right after the waiting period, and when your private insurance expires.

Once you are covered by MSP, your CareCard will be sent to you. You take your card when you see a doctor or go to clinics and hospitals.

What Services Are NOT Covered By Medical Services Plan (MSP)?

MSP does not cover services that are not medically required such as: cosmetic surgery, dental and oral surgery not required to be performed in hospitals; routine eye examinations for individuals aged 19 to 65; prescription drugs; eye glasses, hearing aids and other medical equipment. Minors below age 19 however, receive free eye examination once a year, under government auspices so be sure to take advantage of this.

In addition, MSP does not cover: massages; chiropractor visits; physical therapy; and services of counselors and psychologists.

Most employers offer to partially subsidize some services and they are usually called Extended Health Care Benefits. We can talk more about this in future articles. It is always a good practice to check with your Human Resources (HR) / Admin Office for services you are entitled to under your benefit package.

Another partnership among

For more information on your BC health insurance visit: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/ For more detailed settlement-related information, click on: http://www.successbc.ca

Immigration

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 26

2012 GAWAD GENY LOPEZ JR. bestows first GLOBAL BAYANING PILIPINO to 7 winners Stories of Ordinary Individuals Performing Extraordinary Works Move Esteemed Audience

US-based actress Giselle Toengi and Ariel Oreta hosted

QUEZON CITY, Philippines, September 3, 2012—The first international awarding of the prestigious Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards unveiled its exemplary winners from the seven regions of the world, two national awardees for the individual categories and one national winner for the family category in dramatic ceremonies held at the Dolphy Theater of ABS-CBN Corporation, in Quezon City, Philippines this quarter and which is currently available at The Filipino Channel’s (TFC) video-on-demand and online services.

The Lopez family comprised by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eugenio Lopez III; Chief Information Officer for ABS-CBN and for its subsidiaries Mark Lopez; Head for Logistics and Procurement Cedie Lopez-Vargas; Head for Digital Partnership and Ecosytem Management Connie Lopez; and Head for ABS-CBN Publishing, Creative Programs Inc. and Sports Ernie Lopez bestowed the highest honors of Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards for the United States to Pusong Pinoy as represented by Donna Rosario, Chairman; for Canada to Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture as represented by Katherine Anne Estacio, Operations & Marketing Coordinator; for Middle East to Filipino Badminton Club as represented by Dr. Chie Umandap; for Europe to Lahing Kayumanggi as represented by Ronaldo del Barrio, Creative Director ; for Australia to Kapitbahayan Co-operative Ltd. led by its President Ruben Amores and for Japan to Network of Filipino Social Development Workers in Japan (NETFIL) as represented Malou Okuyama and April Morito and to Sagip Migrante as represented by Cesar Santoyo.

According to Middle East winner, Dr. Chie Umandap “Alam mo lahat qualified, sa nakita ko na naipakita sa video, sa laki ng mga organisasyon, parang ang liit namin kumpara sa kanila. Pero ang pagkakaiba siguro naming sa mga nakasabayan namin, mas malaki ang puso namin.”

But for Pusong Pinoy Chairman Donna Rosario, it is not always about the hugeness. Rosario whose organization started small via a call out at one of the

Angeline Quinto performed for winners and guests

social networking sites relays that at one time, one of their donors humbly donated $50 and was greatly recognized by the organization for his effort. The unnamed donor refused to be honored acknowledging the ‘small’ value of the amount of money he gave. Ms. Rosario assured him that no matter the amount, Filipinos’ help go a long way.

The long list of silent workers continues in Japan.

Frank Campos, coordinator of Net-Fil said that prior to the Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino award, his organization was really helping Filipino victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake under the radar. Campos said “Being in the helping profession ourselves, we were just silently helping Filipinos particularly after the March 2011 disasters through psycho-social services to individuals and groups. The award is an affirmation of what we have done and we will try to push ourselves even further to help empower the Filipino communities in Japan.” Another winner for Japan, Sagip Kapamilya, as represented also by Director Nestor Puno accept the award in all humility “I am very proud and honored for receiving this prestigious award, and very thankful to the organizers of Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Awards for recognizing our small contributions for our kababayans in Tohoku Region. Puno adds,” Helping people, especially our kababayans is always part of our daily life. Recognizing the plight of our kababayan always inspired us to help people. Small contributions to make their life better is our lifetime mission.”

In Australia, Mr. Ruben Amores of Kapitbahayan Cooperative Limited, with the help of his wife and volunteers who have also benefitted from the organization’s program, help low to medium-income Filipinos and even non-Pinoys get affordable housing.

Through kapitbahayan or a value that inspires people to ‘work together, share their expertise and provide social care,’ Kapitbahayan helps Filipinos realize their dreams of owning their own homes.

While the awardees in the U.S., M.E. and Japan help through social work, education, and housing, Lahing

Kayumanggi in London and Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture in Toronto meanwhile help their kababayans by helping them keep in touch with their family and roots. Lahing Kayumanggi’s del Barrio relays that they showcase Filipino culture in a foreign land but more importantly, bring together other Filipino artists and support their endeavors through funding. Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts & Culture’s Estacio said her group benefits a wide range of age groups but focus on second generation Filipinos who they hope to set `free’ from cultural detachment.

National Awardees included: Gamez Family for the Bayaning Pilipino – Pamilya, Bayaning Pilipino- Guro Rebecca Ouano and Bayaning Pilipino – Individual Dr. Roel Cagape. Together, the Global and National awardees left the esteemed audience, mostly comprised by ABSCBN Corporation and its subsidiaries’ officers as well as a stellar cast of celebrities teary-eyed as they witnessed the hardships and challenges the awardees went through, all in the service of Filipinos worldwide and for which they were duly recognized.

Touching numbers were performed by artists who in one way or another have experienced working overseas, have for themselves relatives outside the Philippines and have or will represent the Philippines in global competitions. Performances were rendered in dance by Bb. Pilipinas Universe Janine Togonon who is going to represent the country in the next Miss Universe and in song by Eric Santos whose father was a former overseas Filipino in Saudi Arabia & by Angeline Quinto who offers her achievements for her real-life hero – her grandmother. Accompanying Angeline was the University of the East Chorale who won an International Chorale Contest in Brussels in 2008. Meanwhile, legendary folk singer and internationally known artist Freddie Aguilar sang his iconic hits. Achievers Yeng Constantino, the first winner of Pinoy Dream Academy; second season second placer Bugoy Drilon; and Jovit Baldovino, first winner of Pilipinas Got Talent ended the night on a high note with a medley of original Filipino music heralding the talent, good heart and most importantly, the heroism of Filipinos.

The event was hosted by former U.S.-based actress Giselle Toengi and seasoned host Ariel Ureta. Segments were anchored by international achiever and Ms. Universe 3rd runner-up Shamcey Supsup. Presentors included the cast of Angelito Ang Batang Ama headed by JM de Guzman; singer-actor Guji Lorenzo; real-life couple John Estrada and former Ms. Earth Priscilla Mireilles; and news reporters Niña Corpuz and Atom Araullo.

The Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino awards can be currently viewed via TFC’s video-ondemand service in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia & Japan and its online service – TFC.tv worldwide.

The Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards started as a National Awarding for outstanding Filipinos in the Philippines. In 1995, Chairman Emeritus Eugenio Lopez Jr. tapped Ugat Foundation Inc. headed

by Project Director Father Nilo Tanalega to make the recognition for outstanding Filipinos performing extraordinary works to come into fruition. This year, Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. bestowed the global awards to recipients who went through a screening process screened Board of Judges headed by Chairman Educator and Theater Artist Sonia Roco; Eugenio Lopez III; Gina Lopez; Ms. Evelyn Caja, Bayaning Guro Finalist 2003 and Outstanding SPED Teacher Lingkod Bayan Awardee and Timothy Gabuna, Director, Ateneo Residence Hall. n

27 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

BERT MONTERONA Art Exhibit: Diaspora, Diversity and Dialogue at the UBC

BY RUDY M. VIERNES

FAST FOOD FOR THOUGHT

THE INCARNATION IN THE PREVIOUS issue we wrote about the nativity of the Virgin Mary on September 8 which is a great mystery.

When Mary reached adulthood the angel Gabriel appeared to her to announce in the Annunciation, that she is favored by God to be the mother of His Son, that she will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and bear a son to be named Jesus Christ.

This is what we call the Incarnation, which is the central doctrine that God “became flesh”, assumed a human body and nature and became man in the form of Christ, the Son of God, and the second person in the Holy Trinity.

The moment Mary accepted the angel’s proposition that she would bear in her womb a son, the Marian doctrine of the Incarnation took place. This put her in the central role in the mystery of redemption.

Thereupon Mary remembered what the same angel foretold, which is that her cousin Elizabeth would also give birth to a son (St. John the Baptist) though she was already past childbearing years. The Holy Spirit in her manifested itself during her visit to Elizabeth whose baby leaped in her womb upon Mary’s greeting and she answered thus, “You are most blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

Mary’s response was one of abject humility.

How could she be called blessed when she and Joseph were denied comfortable accommodations at the inn? She was called blessed yet this didn’t give her deserved honor and respect. It was even humiliating that she had to give birth to the Son of God under lowly circumstances. This all the more strengthened her belief that nothing is impossible with God. So be it!

Mary has been called a litany of appellations.

These are Mother of God, Mother of the Church, Mother of Perpetual Help, Madonna, Notre Dame, Queen of Heaven and Earth and Queen of Peace, among others. During her numerous apparitions in unexpected and before unsuspecting innocent people in many places of the world, she has also

been called “Our Lady” – Our Lady of Lourdes (France), Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal), Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico), Our Lady of Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Our Lady of Loreto (Italy), Our Lady of Antipolo, Manaoag, Penafrancia, Lipa, (all in the Philippines).

Mary’s apparitions in the Philippines, the only Christian country in Asia, is a singular honor she had bestowed on a country that celebrates her feat in so many different ways, especially during the month of May, or stakes her image or statue before menacing tanks to topple a dictator during a revolution. To those whom she appeared she always brought the same message of hope, prayers, salvation, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, sacrifice.

Mary’s relationship with her Son places her as the mediator between him and mankind, not as an outsider but in her position as mother. As such, she can vigorously campaign for the needs of mankind. Her mediation is in the nature of intercession. Because the Mother believes in her son and Son acknowledges the authority of the Mother, anything that Mary asks of Jesus is considered fulfilled.

Thus countless miracles have been attributed to her. She was called the Refuge of Sinners when people who went astray seek her forgiveness; Comforter of the Afflicted when she is the source of cure and wellness; Queen of the Impossible when sterile women give birth to babies; Fountain of Hope to many people who were granted their temporal needs or lifetime pursuits.

How can we celebrate Mary’s birthday?

True to her simple life the celebration need not be elaborate. Meditate on her life and make the day holy. Learn from her by reading write-ups about her. Honor her with the recitation of the rosary. Venerate her in your altar with flowers and candles.

She believed in the word of God and was submissive to His will all of her life. We must do the same. n

ON VIEW from September 18 through October 31, 2012, at the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre Lobby and Café, The University of British Columbia, is the art exhibit of muralist and art educator Bert Monterona in collaboration with the PANCIT art collective.

The Diaspora, Diversity, and Dialogue: Cross-Cultural Conversations on Art, Justice, and Sustainability art exhibit will tapestries as well as mounted art works of Monterona. In addition, the art show will also feature art works by members of the PANCIT (Philippine Art Network for Community Interactive Training) art collective.

Philippine-born artist Monterona, who now lives and works in Vancouver, hails from the southern Philippines and his indigenous origins come across in his murals, installations, illustrations, designs and tapestries. Monterona says that his works are “strongly influenced by social, cultural, and religious, spiritual and political norms.” It is because of this that his works, regardless of the form and intent, reflect the “magical ritualism” of his rich indigenous roots.

He has done research and immersion work with the Lumad and the Moro communities in Mindanao.

Known and recognized in the Philippines and internationally, Monterona was the recipient of the Western Australia Department of the Arts and Australia Council for the Arts, the Asian Artists Awards of Vermont Studio Centre, USA, the ASEAN Art Awards, the GSIS Museum Artist Awards, the Art Association of the Philippines Award, and the Outstanding Mindanao State University Alumni Awards (TOMA 2008 in Visual Arts). In 2007, he was the Winner of the International Mural Festival and Competition in Manitoba and in 2009, the Artist-in-Residence of the

Leigh Square Community Arts Village Mural Project, City of Coquitlam.

He has exhibited in Hong Kong, Pusan, South Korea, Vermont, USA, Western Australia, and Tokyo, Japan. In Canada, his exhibitions include the “Illumination” at the Leigh Square Community Village, City of Coquitlam, “Vision and Hope for Justice and Peace” at the Maple Ridge Gallery Art Gallery, “Peace Murals” at the World Peace Forum at the UBC, “Southern Philippines Tribal Motifs, Culture and Struggle” at the Simon Fraser University Art Gallery and the “Magnifying Mindanao” at UBC’s Institute of Asian Research. More information is available at http://bertmonterona.com Known for his generosity as an art educator in imparting his skills and waking the sleeping artist in all his students, he has organized workshops and lecture presentations for teachers, social workers, artists, fine arts students, art enthusiasts, youth, and students not only in the Philippines but also in Vancouver and in the different places where he has exhibited.

The PANCIT Art Collective was born out of the most recent visual arts workshop and interactive mural painting production that Monterona facilitated with the participants, who range from practising artists, to art enthusiasts and art novices from the community, in over several weekends from April-August. Organized

by Migrante BC, the workshops were made possible by the City of Vancouver’s Community and Neighbourhood Arts Development Program.

The Opening Night Reception for the Art Exhibit is on September 21st, a Friday, from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Chilcotin Boardroom (Room 256) at the Ike K. Barber Learning Centre.

Everyone is welcome!

The Community Forum on the role of arts in justice, human rights and sustainability issues is on September 22nd, Saturday, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Victoria Learning Theatre (Room 182).

Everyone is welcome. Light refreshments will be available.

The organizers thank the UBC’s Irving K. Barber Learning Centre for the wonderful space for the exhibit and the forum and Professor Leonora Angeles for the inspiration behind the project. n

Lifestyle New iPhone nears as gadget makers begin to unveil their holiday lineups

BY ANICK JESDANUN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - After weeks of speculation, anticipation and a dose of hype, Apple is widely expected to announce a new smartphone at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Apple isn’t saying anything about the topic of the event, but the email invitation it sent to reporters contains a shadow in the shape of a ``5’’ - a nod to the iPhone 5. It is being held in San Francisco at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater, where Apple has held many product launches.

The new model is expected to work with fourth-generation, or 4G, cellular networks. That capability is something Samsung’s Galaxy S III and many other iPhone rivals already have. A bigger iPhone screen is also possible. The new model will likely go on sale in a week or two.

Apple Inc. also plans to update its phone software this fall and will ditch Google Inc.’s mapping service for its own, as a rivalry between the two companies intensifies.

In a related development, Google said Tuesday that it is releasing a new YouTube app for the iPhone and the iPad. The changes come amid the expiration of a fiveyear licensing agreement that had established YouTube as one of the built-in applications in Apple’s mobile devices.

Still unknown is whether Apple will announce a smaller version of its iPad on Wednesday.

Apple dominates the market for tablet computers, shipping seven out of every 10 tablets worldwide in the second quarter, according to research firm IHS iSuppli. Rivals have been trying to compete by producing smaller, cheaper models -such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

A mini iPad would challenge those relative newcomers.

Sales of Apple’s iPhones are still strong, though the company lost the lead in smartphones to Samsung this year.

Samsung Electronics Co. benefited from having its Galaxy S III out in the U.S. in June, while Apple was still selling an iPhone model it released last October. A new iPhone will allow Apple to recapture the attention and the revenue.

Amid expectations of a new iPhone, Amazon, Nokia and Motorola all tried to generate interest in their products last week, hoping that a head start on the buzz will translate into stronger sales. Makers of consumer electronics are refreshing their products for the holiday shopping season.

Amazon announced four new Kindle Fire models and a new line of stand-alone e-readers, while Nokia and Motorola unveiled five new smartphones between them.

Nokia and Microsoft, in particular, are trying to generate interest in a new Windows operating system out next month. The two phones announced

by Nokia are among the first to run Windows Phone 8.

Here’s a look at what to expect in the coming months:

- REKINDLING THE FIRE Amazon.com Inc.’s 7-inch (17.8-centimetre) Kindle Fire is one of the smaller tablets with decent sales. On Friday, it will sell an updated version with a faster processor, more memory and longer battery life. It will also cut the price to $159, from $199, making it far cheaper than the iPad, which starts at $399 for the 2011 version still on sale. (The most recent ones start at $499.)

Amazon is also releasing higherend models under the Kindle Fire HD line. A 7-inch (17.8-centimetre) one will go for $199, while an 8.9-inch (22.6-centimetre) one will go for $299. There’s also a $499 model that can use the 4G cellular networks that phone companies have been building.

A data plan will cost an extra $50 a year. The smaller HD model will start shipping Friday, while the larger ones will be available Nov. 20.

Amazon also refreshed its line of stand-alone e-readers, offering the Paperwhite, with its own light source. Tablets such as the iPad and the Fire don’t work as well in bright light because they are lit from the back.

Amazon says the light on the Paperwhite is directed down at the display.

Barnes and Noble Inc., which makes the 7-inch (17.8-centimetre) Nook Tablet, may have an update this fall as well.

Toys R Us, meanwhile, said Monday that it is making a 7-inch (17.8-centimetre) tablet aimed at children. The Tabeo will go on sale Oct. 21 for $149.99.

- MOTOROLA’S RETURN Though it’s a pioneer in the cellphone industry, Motorola hasn’t had a hit since the Razr phone came out in 2004. Under new owner Google Inc., Motorola Mobility is trying to change that.

Last week, Motorola announced three new smartphones bearing the Razr name. The $99 Droid Razr M will be in Verizon Wireless stores this Thursday, the day after Apple’s announcement.

Motorola will have two high-end models, the Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD, later this year. It’s emphasizing long battery life - up to 21 hours of talk time for the Maxx HD, or 10 hours of video streaming.

These are the first major products from Motorola since Google bought the company for $12.4 billion in May. Google, meanwhile, continues to sell a 7-inch (17.8-centimetre) Android tablet, the Nexus 7, made in partnership with AsusTek Computer Inc.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 28

- CALLING ON WINDOWS Microsoft Corp. will release a new version of the Windows operating system on Oct. 26, one that’s designed to work on both traditional computers and tablet devices. A new version of the Windows Phone system is coming out, too.

Once-dominant phone maker Nokia Corp. has been struggling in the shadow of Apple and Android, and it’s counting on the new Windows system for a revival. Last week, Nokia and Microsoft unveiled two new devices under Nokia’s Lumia brand - the 820 and the 920.

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop says the new phones will go on sale in the fourth quarter in ``select markets.’’

He didn’t say what they would cost or which U.S. carriers would have them.

Investors were disappointed, and Nokia’s stock fell 16 per cent on the day of the announcement.

Samsung, which surpassed Nokia as the world’s largest maker of mobile phones in 2011 and overtook Apple in smartphones this year, showed off a Windows 8 phone late last month. It didn’t announce an availability date either.

- SURFACE Microsoft plans its own tablet computer, too. It’s new territory for Microsoft, which typically leaves it to others to make devices using its software. Now, it will be competing against its partners.

The Surface tablet will come in two versions, both with 10.6-inch (26.9-centimetre) screens, slightly larger than the iPad’s. One model will run on phone-style chips, just like the iPad, and will be sold for a similar price. A heavier, more expensive version will run on Intel chips and be capable of running standard Windows applications. The Surface will go on sale on Oct. 26.

- NEW BLACKBERRYS A year ago Research In Motion Ltd. disclosed that it was working on a next-generation phone system for the BlackBerry, which now looks ancient next to the iPhone and Android devices. It was supposed to be out in time for this year’s holiday season.

That won’t happen.

In June RIM pushed the release of BlackBerry 10 devices into early next year, saying it wasn’t ready.

That means RIM will not only compete with the new iPhone and Android devices out this fall, but it will also have to contend with the new Windows devices. n

29 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Lifestyle

9 Affordable ways to get fit at home

ACCORDING to the authors of Freakonomics, people who purchase gym memberships overestimate their attendance by 70 percent. As a result, over $500 of the average annual cost of memberships is simply lining the pockets of gym owners -- and doing absolutely nothing for your waistline.

If you struggle with getting to the gym every day, try getting fit at home for a fraction of the cost. Though you may not have the fancy equipment offered by fitness clubs, you can still meet your goals affordably by considering the following tips.

1. Buy From Gyms Gyms undergoing renovations -- or simply making upgrades to their fitness equipment -- usually sell off their old stuff at killer prices. Call around to find out if any local fitness centers are currently selling old treadmills, stationary bikes or benches, or if they have any plans to do so in the near future.

2. Buy Used Fitness equipment is definitely one of those items best purchased used, if possible. In addition to scanning Craigslist and hitting up local garage sales, you can also look for remanufactured options online at Wayfair.com. When buying from private seller, be sure to research the brand and test the equipment before agreeing to purchase it.

3. Shop Online You can often find great deals on fitness clothing and accessories by

shopping online. Compare promotions and avoid delivery costs with such sites as FreeShipping.org, which offers discounts from popular sporting good stores. For example, you can save $10 on orders of $60 or more with a FinishLine coupon.

4. Use Your Body Squats, push ups, tricep dips and many other moves are all great ways to workout without the added cost of equipment. You can also get creative with items around your house. A chair is a great tool for step ups, tricep dips and decline push ups. Water bottles can be used in place of small hand weights and your child’s jump rope is a great way to burn calories quickly.

5. Suspend Yourself Suspension training systems -- which use a series of straps in addition to body weight -- are a popular way to intensify home workouts without bulky fitness equipment. TRX is likely the most well-known system but requires a significant investment.

GoFit’s Gravity Bar and straps offers an affordable alternative, and also travels easily for when you hit the road.

6. Go Discount Discount retailers are great resources for basic fitness accessories like DVDs, yoga mats, stability balls, fitness clothing and more. For example, a friend of mine recently found yoga blocks at TJMaxx for $5 each. Similar blocks at REI cost $15 each, over 60 percent of what she paid for them.

7. Use Technology Get free workout tips on your phone with apps like GymGoal ABC, which features 280 animated exercises and 52 workout routines that are adjustable to four levels of expertise. You can also find free personal training videos online at sites like BodyRock or FitnessMagazine. com. If you pay for cable, take advantage of the morning fitness videos available on Discovery Fit & Health.

8. Avoid Fitness Fads Shake Weight, anyone? Products boasting quick weight loss with minimal effort are usually too good to be true. No pain, no gain, remember? Don’t fall for the hype and read reviews before buying the latest and greatest DVD set or fitness system. There are some great ones being released on the market all the time, but ask for recommendations first.

9. Check Your Policy Like most Americans, you likely pay a lot for your health insurance premiums. Healthy policyholders means less risk for pricey doctor’s bills, and select health insurance providers offer incentives for fitness programs. Check with your provider for fitness programs that offer discounts on activewear, fitness rentals and equipment purchases. n

Island health officer says 230 people reporting sickness from norovirus STANHOPE, P.E.I.----The number of people who reported getting sick from the norovirus at an Island resort has risen to more than 230, says the province’s chief public health officer.

Dr. Heather Morrison said after the public health office issued an order to stop food service at Stanhope Beach Resort and Conference Centre, they received numerous calls from people who were sick. ``The number of calls has significantly dropped off, which would be expected,’’ she said.

The public health office issued the order Tuesday after stool sample tests confirmed many people who attended four weddings at the resort last weekend got sick from norovirus.

Symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps.

It was the second outbreak at the resort with more than 60 people who got sick after three events the weekend of Aug. 17.

Morrison said the latest incident was the 19th gastrointestinal outbreak the public health office dealt with in P.E.I. in 2012, although not all were caused by norovirus.

That includes a church supper in Malpeque that left 205 people sick.

Stanhope resort has since hired an outside company to clean and disinfect the resort, she said.

Morrison said the resort is aware public health officials will re-inspect the facility and offer food safety courses before it opens.

She said it’s important for people who are sick to stay home from work until they have been symptom-free for 48 hours. n

30 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Venice red carpet debut for Nora Aunor, Lovi Poe, Mercedes Cabral Cabral revealed that she had a complete wardrobe prepared—red-carpet gown by Mitch Desunia; cocktail dresses by Megan Pillos; everyday wear

by Anne Garcia; awards night gown by Cebubased designer Harvey Cenit.

Poe picked clothes from the collections of Ezra for the press con and Cary Santiago for the awards night.

BY BAYANI SAN DIEGO JR. Philippine Daily Inquirer

SINGER-ACTRESS Nora Aunor is looking forward to attending the world premiere of her latest movie, “Thy Womb (Sinapupunan),” at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.

Brillante Mendoza, who directed the film, told the Inquirer : “Nora earlier told me how excited she was.

This is her first time to attend the red-carpet premiere of a film that’s in competition in one of the world’s top three international film festivals. Apparently, she wasn’t present at the Berlin premiere of [Ishmael Bernal’s] ‘Himala’ in 1983.”

The international festivals in Venice, Berlin and Cannes are considered the top three.

(Aunor recalls that she made it to the premiere of Lino Brocka’s “Bona,” which was exhibited in the Directors’ Fortnight section of Cannes in 1981. Scriptwriter Ricky Lee also says Aunor attended the Moscow fest where “Himala” was screened in 1983, and the Cairo fest in 1996, where she won best actress for Joel Lamangan’s “The Flor Contemplacion Story.”)

Aunor told the Inquirer that she would wear a gown by Filipino designer Nono Palmos, a longtime collaborator, on the Venice red carpet.

Cast members Lovi Poe and Mercedes Cabral will join Mendoza and Aunor in Venice.

They know her “I’m thrilled that I’m going to Venice,” Poe told the Inquirer. “It will be my first time there.”

Mendoza related ongoing buzz about Aunor’s Venice trip: “The Italians know her. They know her work. Apart from ‘Thy Womb,’ Nora has another film included in this year’s lineup—the digitally restored ‘Himala.’”

Aunor is competing for best actress with another Mendoza star, Isabelle Huppert, whose entry is Marco Bellocchio’s “Bella Addormentata.”

Huppert is the star of Mendoza’s Berlin entry this year—“Captive,” currently showing in local theaters.

Also vying for best actress are Hollywood stars Amy Adams and Rachel McAdams.

Mendoza attended the Philippine premiere of ‘Captive’ at SM Pampanga on Sept. 2 and the gala premiere at Greenbelt Makati on Sept. 3, so the Philippine contingent couldn’t fly to Italy.

The group also includes scriptwriter Henry Burgos, producer Larry Castillo and Aunor’s manager Boy Palma. They will arrive at the festival just in time for the film’s premiere.

(A third Filipino film, the restored version of Manuel Conde’s 1950 film “Genghis Khan,” will be unveiled in Venice as well.)

“I expect it will be a tiring four days,” Mendoza said. “We’ll be back in Manila on Sept. 9.”

Among the stars, Cabral is the only one who has red-carpet experiences with Mendoza. They went to Cannes for “Serbis” in 2008 and “Kinatay” in 2009. But this is her first time in Venice.

“I plan to watch as many films as possible,” she told Inquirer. “I want to go around the city. I am proud to be going because Direk Brillante has made a beautiful film.” n

31 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Entertainment

Solar signs up Brillante Mendoza

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

AWARD-WINNING filmmaker Brillante “Dante” Mendoza has signed a five-picture deal with Solar Entertainment Corp., its president Wilson Tieng announced. Mendoza will also sit as creative director of Solar Films, the company’s film production arm, Tieng added.

First in line among the five films is the horror-thriller “Sapi,” starring Dennis Trillo.

“We felt flattered when Mendoza came to us,” Tieng said. “I’m sure there are other film companies interested in signing him up.” Mendoza won best director at Cannes International Film Festival in 2009 for “Kinatay.”

“We wanted to go back to film production after ‘Wapakman’ in 2009,” said Tieng during the recent media launch of Solar News at the Hyatt Hotel Casino, Manila.

Same vision Tieng said he had been impressed with Mendoza since the director made “Serbis,” which competed in Cannes in 2008. “We have the same vision,” he said of Mendoza.

Solar will also distribute Mendoza’s Venice entry “Thy Womb,” which will open in local theaters on Nov. 28.

Solar operates a number of cable channels such as ETC, Chase, 2nd Avenue (which airs on RJTV) and Talk TV, a joint venture with Southern Broadcasting Network. It launched its all-news channel last January.

The company is likewise into distribution of films by Paramount Pictures and Universal; the latest of these is “The Bourne Legacy.” Solar is bankrolling the “American Idols Live! Tour” on Sept. 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, through a partnership with Ovation Productions. n

Mainstream stars at indie film preem

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

While the cast members were generally clad in muddy and ragged clothes onscreen, they came out in red-carpet duds for the gala premiere of Brillante Mendoza’s “Captive,” at Greenbelt Makati.

Mendoza led the revelry, welcoming the film’s stars that included Angel Aquino, Che Ramos, Allan Paule, Rustica Carpio and Isabel Lopez, who played hostages in the film loosely based on the 2001 Dos Palmas kidnap crisis.

The film’s other kidnap victims turned up, too—Elizabeth Chua, Goldilyn Uy, Jess Evardone, Perry Escaño, Richard Manabat and Jon Achaval—along with reporter-turned-“Captive” writer Arlyn de la Cruz and cast members Evelyn Vargas, Perry Dizon, Roli Inocencio and Cherry Cornell.

But the lead star, French actress Isabelle Huppert, wasn’t around, prompting Lopez to joke: “Isabelle White isn’t here; only Isabel Brown.”

Foreign actors Foreign actors Kathy Mulville and Mark Zanetta, who also played captives, attended the screening in Huppert’s stead.

US ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr. represented the diplomatic community.

The local indie scene’s biggest crossover star, Coco Martin, was present; he has a cameo, as a young soldier, in the movie.

The actors who played Abu Sayyaf bandits came in their dapper best: Ronnie Lazaro, Timothy Mabalot, Tado Jimenez, Oliver Gaton and Sid Lucero, who was with mom Bing Pimentel.

Other celebs Also spotted were Lucero’s manager Ricky Gallardo, Urian-nominated indie actor Jess Mendoza, stage actress Ruby Ruiz, “The Animals” director Gino Santos and “Harana” documentarian Benito Bautista.

Mainstream celebs walked the red carpet: Eugene Domingo, John Lapus, Raymond Gutierrez, Tessa PrietoValdes, Daphne Oseña and Patrick Paez, Chari Villa, Mara Yokohama, Gwen Ruais, Melo Esguerra, Dennis Padilla, Leo Valdez, Meryll Soriano and Dennis Trillo, among others. Soriano and Trillo topbill Mendoza’s latest movie, “Sapi,” the director’s first horror flick.

The day before the Greenbelt preview, “Captive” had a premiere in SM Pampanga. Aquino, Lopez and Lucero attended that screening in Mendoza’s home province.

Mendoza has truly crossed over.

“Captive,” which opened in local theaters , is distributed by Star Cinema.

“I feel it’s important for more of our countrymen to see this movie,” Mendoza pointed out. “As responsible citizens, we need to be aware of what is happening in our society.” n

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Entertainment

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 32

Affleck thanks Canada with film ‘Argo’ at Toronto festival; stars in Malick’s ‘To the Wonder’

TORONTO - On behalf of himself and his fellow Americans, Ben Affleck is saying thank you to Canada.

Affleck made his latest return to the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday to premiere his Iran hostage thriller ``Argo,’’ for which he does double-duty as star and director.

Opening in theatres Oct. 12, ``Argo’’ chronicles a joint effort by the CIA and the Canadian government to rescue six Americans from Tehran after the U.S. embassy was taken over by Islamist militants in 1978.

While 52 others were held hostage at the embassy, the six Americans were hidden by Canadian authorities, who worked with U.S. operatives to concoct an elaborate scheme to get them out of the country. ``The idea they came up with was to pretend they were all on a location scout for a movie,’’ Affleck said in a telephone interview before the festival. ``They went to Hollywood and basically put together the back-story for a fake movie. They took out ads, did a read-through, all the real things a real movie would have to do.’’

Affleck stars as exfiltration specialist Tony Mendez, who teams with a Hollywood producer (Alan Arkin) to dream up a phoney Canadian science-fiction flick they want to shoot in Iran, intending to smuggle the six Americans out as part of the film crew. ``Argo’’ also features John Goodman and Bryan Cranston. ``It’s really a movie about Canadian heroics and the relationship between Canada and America,’’ Affleck said. ``Once you see the movie, you’ll

Mark Davis

BY DAVID GERMAIN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ben Affleck at the Red Carpet, Toronto International Film Festival

see how it resonates, the theme of, ‘Thank you, Canada.’’’

Affleck has reason to give personal thanks to Canada. His bank-robbery hit ``The Town’’ got a warm welcome from Toronto festival crowds two years ago, and he hopes for the same this time.

Along with ``Argo,’’ Affleck stars in a second Toronto festival film, Terrence Malick’s romantic rumination ``To the Wonder.’’ Featuring Rachel McAdams, Javier Bardem and Olga Kurylenko, the film stars Affleck as an American whose relationship

to a woman he met overseas turns cold, leaving him drifting back toward a childhood love.

Affleck had crossed paths with Malick over the years and showed him ``The Town’’ while Malick was working on his family epic ``The Tree of Life.’’

Malick was casting ``To the Wonder’’ at the time and offered Affleck the role. ``The Tree of Life’’ flowed from intimate domestic drama to images of the creation of the cosmos and the age of dinosaurs. Yet Affleck said that in ``To the Wonder,’’ Malick is ``pushing it kind of further in an avant-garde direction. Even less linear. Though there are no dinosaurs, at least in the last cut that I saw.’’

Unlike the press-shy Malick, who skips interviews, premiere red carpets and other public appearances, Affleck will be on hand for the early screenings of ``Argo.’’ Nerve-wracking as it is to put a film in front of an audience, Affleck said he enjoys studying the crowd’s response. ``I like to be part of it and be part of the ebb and flow of feeling an audience seeing it for the first time,’’ Affleck said. ``You do all this stuff in a vacuum, write the movie, rehearse it, shoot it. It’s like being on stage without an audience.

When the audience is finally there, I love to see how they react. ``It’s exhilarating and it’s satisfying and it’s terrifying. Luckily, I’m always distracted by the sort of constant evaluation between my expectation of the audience’s reaction and how they actually experience it. ‘Oh, that didn’t go over the way I thought it would.

Why did they laugh there?’ The terrible part is you start to want to recut it as you’re watching it.’’ n

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

Michael Shannon as Richard Kuklinski

Michael Shannon goes from cameos to Superman villain

Hawkes still hurting due to ‘Sessions’ role

TORONTO - Michael Shannon never expected to be a Hollywood leading man when he first got into acting. And he certainly didn’t imagine playing the lead villain in a big-budget summertime popcorn flick. But that’s where the respected actor finds himself now, after establishing his chops in the theatre world and then building an impressive collection of increasingly significant character roles and stealing scenes in his projects along the way.

He stars in The Iceman, the true story of Richard Kuklinski: loving husband, devoted father, ruthless killer. He is believed to have killed more than 250 people between 1954 and 1985. Also starring Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, David Schwimmer and Ray Liotta. n

TORONTO - John Hawkes is already receiving Oscar buzz for his role in ``The Sessions’’ as a severely disabled man who hires a sex surrogate to help him experience intimacy. But the lauded performance didn’t come without a considerable degree of pain. The Oscar-nominated ``Winter’s Bone’’ actor went to great lengths in order to fully inhabit the role of the late poet and journalist Mark O’Brien, who was largely confined to an iron lung after a childhood bout with polio. n

Pierce Brosnan with Trine Dyrholm

John Hawkes with Helen Hunt

Brosnan cherishes ‘Love is All You Need’

Tradition clashes with modernity in ‘Still’

TORONTO - As an Irishman in the Danish film ``Love is All You Need’’ - directed by Oscar winner Susanne Bier - you might think Pierce Brosnan felt like the odd man out. Not so, according to the former James Bond, who in fact says he had the ``time of (his) life’’ making the buzzed-about romance in Italy. n

TORONTO - All he wanted to do was build a home for himself and his ailing wife. But in sawing down the trees and milling his own wood, 88-yearold Craig Morrison found himself threatened with imprisonment for failing to comply with government building codes. n

James Cromwell with Geneviève Bujold

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Canada: Seen and Scenes

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 34

Personal Revival Asia (PRASIA) at the Aldcez Gardens. PRASIA provides excellent, anointed, life-changing music that inspires seekers to know God and impassions believers to reach the world for Christ. They produce quality Filipino gospel music and are coming out with a collection of Filipino praise and worship songs featuring lyrics from scripture verses. This is their third time in Canada, and have performed in the US, Beijng, Hongkong, Singapore, Malaysia for their ministry. PRASIA also conducts seminars to encourage church artists to use their gifts for missions.

Ms. Agnes Miranda of the World Financial Group (WFG) and Joy Sarmiento, publisher - editor of PINOY NEWS and excutive producer of PINOY WORLD television are closely coordinating each other in line with supporting the Filipino community not only in Toronto, Ontario but other parts of Canada and the United States. - St. Jamestown News Service, Romy Zetazate

At the ANCOP Walk (formerly ANCOP Can Walk and GK Walk) on August 12, an annual fundraising event of ANCOP International Canada to raise funds to help build homes for the poorest of the poor. ANCOP International Canada is a Christian registered non-profit charitable Canadian organization. ANCOP is an acronym for ANswering the Cry Of the Poor.

Its work started in the Philippines in the year 2000, through the GK program. To date, ANCOP has built more than 2,500 homes and provided educational assistance to our over a thousand children. The Vancouver ANCOP Walk was held at the Burnaby Central Park.

Most Rev. Bishop Vincent Nguyen celebrated the Mass for the Dead at Christ the King Cemetery on August 15, 2012. The Knights of Columbus from Bishop Charles P. Greco and John Paul II Assembly Sir Knights gave His Excellency the Honor Guard for the Mass. The Blessed Chinese Martyrs Church was the Host for this Celebration. A number of clergies from their Parish concelebrated in the Mass, together with Deacons from St. Bartholomew and St. Barnabas Churches.

35 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14 2012

Canada: Seen and Scenes

Hon. Ambassador Leslie B. Gatan, Philippine Ambassador to Canada, graced the 12th Anniversary celebration of the Pangasinan Association - Canada held at a dinner dance at Malvern Community Center in Scarborough on Aug. 25, 2012. Ambassador Gatan updated the Filipino Canadians about the current situation in the Philippines, the country’s great economic progress and the contribution of the Filipinos all over the world. PACA President Quintin Palisoc and his active committees were very happy with the over 400 guests who joined them in this evening. They enjoyed the line dancing and the delicious dinner. Palisoc mentioned that PACA is one of the largest provincial association in Ontario, with representatives from all the Pangasinan towns.

THE CONSUL GENERAL AT CNAC-O - Photo shows Philippine Consul General Junever Mahilum West (seated) together with Susan SJ. Llanera (standing), immediate past president of the Camarines Norte Association Canada - Ontario (CNAC-O) and who is now a member of association’s board of directors during the recent induction of CNAC-O officers held at the Time Zone restaurant. The Filipino diplomat who assumed her position last June 2012 is busy attending all the activities and functions of the different Filipino associations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. - St. Jamestown News Service, Dindo Orbeso

THE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF RIZAL AT PPCO INDUCTION - Sir George Poblete (2nd from right), regional commander of The Order of Knights of Rizal - Canada Region during the induction of officers and gala night of the Philippine Press Club Ontario (PPCO) held on September 8, 2012 (Saturday) at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel, 175 Wynford Drive, Toronto, Ontario. Others photo seated (L-R) Jojo Taduran, Fe Bustillos Paca Taduran, and Nena Sendin. Standing L-R are Lawyer Alex Guarnes, Camarines Norte Association Canada – Ontario President Larry Bercasio, PPCO Director Eugene Deocareza, and Joanne Corpuz. - Dindo Orbeso, photos by Larry Torres

36 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Best of: BC winery restaurants Weekend: Harrison Hot Springs, BC with a view

BY REMY SCALZA Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission

No less an authority than The New York Times has declared British Columbia’s Okanagan wine country a Napa North. Dotting the valley are hundreds of wineries, clustered between mountains and shimmering glacial lakes. But many visitors don’t realize that what’s on the plate in the Okanagan is just as impressive as what’s in the glass.

Among the best times to experience Okanagan dining is during the Fall Wine Festival, Sept. 28 – Oct. 7: 10 full days dedicated to celebrating the bounty from vineyard and field. In between gala tastings, lake cruises and concerts, don’t forget to soak up the view. With panoramic vistas of vineyards and lakes, these winery restaurant patios please the eye as much as the palate.

Wine-country comfort at Mica Restaurant, Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort: Located in Canada’s only desert, Mica overlooks vineyards sloping to Osoyoos Lake. The menu highlights wine-country comfort food, including trio of gourmet sliders on artisan buns featuring local Fraser Valley pulled pork, Pemberton Meadows short ribs and Peace Country braised lamb shoulder.

Mediterranean dining at Miradoro Restaurant, Tinhorn Creek Winery: With a commanding view of the valley’s sun-soaked Golden Mile, Miradoro brings together locally sourced ingredients, West Coast seafood

and Mediterranean influences. Take a seat on the glass-paneled patio and savour the signature thin-crust Neapolitan pizzas or spicy merguez sausage with apricot couscous. Wine Fest fun: Miradoro vs. Hawksworth Winemakers’ Dinner, Sept. 28.

Old World elegance at Terrace Restaurant, Mission Hill Winery: Set amid formal grounds high above Okanagan Lake, Terrace offers a classically elegant take on al fresco dining. Expect the best of cuisine du terroir: seasonal, local ingredients prepared with French flair. Favourites include the Sezmu flat-iron steak, from local beef raised on a steady diet of Okanagan red wine.

Cosmic sipping at Sunset Organic Bistro, Summerhill Pyramid Winery: Viticulture meets spirituality at Summerhill, where wines are aged in a four-storey replica of Egypt’s Cheops Pyramidand biodynamic principles guide the harvest. The same philosophy extends to the menu at Sunset Organic Bistro, which focuses on organic, locally sourced produce, meats and cheeses. Wine Fest fun: Sip into Sunset, Sept. 28 – Oct. 7.

Desert scenes at Sonora Room, Burrowing Owl Winery: Vineyards vie for space with cacti and antelope brush on the Okanagan’s Black Sage Bench. Rising from the sands, Burrowing Owl’s Sonora Room highlights field-to-table cuisine, bringing together the best fish, game, cheeses and produce from throughout the valley and province. Wine Fest fun: Burrowing Owl’s Fall Harvest Dinner, Oct. 3. n

BY MICHELLE PENTZ GLAVE Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission YOU’RE VISITING Vancouver, BC with the kids and you’d like to venture outside the city to see some of the rest of British Columbia. But, at around five hours, “Napa of the North”—aka the sun-drenched, wine-‘n-fruit-laden Okanagan Valley—seems just a bit too far for the squirrelly set in car seats.

Just point your car east to Harrison Hot Springs. At about one-and-a-half easy hours, you’ll drive through some lovely farm country along the way. Maybe even stop for some farmstead cheese, clover honey or justharvested hazelnuts and a picnic. There’s an April tulip festival with 40 acres of colourful blooms that will delight everyone.

Once you get to this mineral-springs resort town dating back to the 1800s, now a village of about 1,600 full-time residents, you can pretty much check out (i.e., trashy novel; a session at the Healing Springs Spa) while the kids spend the entire day splashing in the bathtub-warm water. There’s also three golf courses near Harrison Hot Springs and marina on Harrison Lake.

The best part? So the weather is crappy (yes, it rains a lot in BC), you’ll still have a great time because the steamy pools are just as nice in a downpour. The beautiful glacial setting is a bit Austrian Alps, the village a bit hokey—sort of mountain town meets “The Sound of Music.” Says Ian Maw, resort director of sales and marketing: “I call it Lake Louise on a budget.”

Stay: Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa has handsome rooms—130 face the lake, 17 are suites—with comfy king- and queensize beds and big TVs. In addition to the resort, there are 10 pet-friendly cottages.

Do: Honestly? Just stay in the mineral hot springs pools (five in all, three outdoor, two indoor; 60º C or 140º F coming out of the ground) for most of the day ‘til your fingers and toes turn pruney. Perhaps switch from the family pool to the round hot-tub-like hot pool, or hit the lap pool if you’re feeling energetic.

You could also rent bikes, quadra-cycles, kayaks (try Harrison River) and canoes, explore the lake by boat, or climb and hike

nearby. There are three operators who can take you out and about, including for catchand-release sturgeon fishing. Don’t miss eagle spotting and salmon-spawning in fall time. In winter (December to April), you can ski, go tubing and snowshoeing at nearby Hemlock Valley Resort.

Date: Remember dating? Sign the kids up for the resort’s children’s programs, which run during the busy season (ages 6 to 11; crafts, games, movie night, volleyball, field hockey, nature hikes) and get to know the guy you married back when.

Eat: Harrison Pizza & Deli (604-796-2023) is easy on the pocketbook and a crowdpleaser. Go for the Hawaiian. A large will feed four. Cookin’ Kim’s Country Café is great for a hearty breakfast and friendly, kids-fit-right-in service. Try the resort’s retro, 400-seat Copper Room for a fancy night out, even some dancing (live entertainment nightly). Or stay in. Room service is surprisingly affordable.

Shop: In Harrison, pick up some local bag goodies—smoked salmon, honey, hazelnuts— at Papples Market stand while the kids admire the Paul Bunyan-style chainsaw wood-art out front. Stop at nearby farms (there’s a map for a “Circle Farm Tour”) for some home-grown booty to take home to the pantry. Pack the cooler. Don’t miss The Farm House Natural Cheeses andLimbert Mountain Farm. If you visit in during garlic season (late July to midAugust), be sure to pick up some garlic The Back Porch—there are at least 18 varieties.

Camp: If you decide to camp at Sasquatsch Provincial Park, Deer Lake (electric motors only) and Hicks Lake (speed boats allowed) have tidy campgrounds and great hiking opps.

Then you can dip into Harrison Hot Springs Public Pool, owned by the resort, with the same sulphurous mineral water for $8.50/adult. The facility even rents bathing suits. Open daily.

Stop: On the way—Minter Gardens, a stunning 32-ac show garden and nursery for any gardening buffs; BC Hydro Stave Falls Visitor Centre to check out hydroelectric power in action; Kilby Historic Site, a 1920s historic farm with furry critters and a homestyle restaurant; water slides at Bridal Falls Water Park. n

37 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Travel

BY ALMAN DAVE QUIBOQUIBO

RANDOM RUMINATIONS

Masebong Cebu: a weekend survey of Cebu’s lovely cuisine EVERYONE KNOWS that cebu is famous for is its lechon. I remember the first time I ate at CNT some years back. I very innocently asked for mang tomas, and the server looked at me with derision and said: their lechon required no sauce. she offered me vinegar instead. and then last year, mr. marketmanila served anthony bourdain slices of lechon which the host of “no reservations” described as the best roasted pig he’s ever had, ever. based on that recipe, the zubuchon franchise was born: restaurants serving a variety of dishes all based on the now famous quote from the TV gourmand.

We descended upon the zubuchon in mango, which was apparently the largest branch. the crew was very helpful in making us decide what to order: basically everything. we had the zubuchon, the boneless belly zubuchon, the pritchon, the zubuchon paksiw, the monggo with zubuchon bits, the zubuchon dinuguan, and just to even things out, we also ordered saguyon, which are deep-fried discs of really tiny fish found only in a lake mainit in agusan del norte. I would also highly recommend the kamias shake, which, so I am told, has some slimming properties.

I don’t want to take anything away from mr. bourdain and the depth of his experience. nor do I wish to offer conjecture as to the quality of the lechon offered in zubuchon and its faithfulness to the original recipe that mr. marketmanila conceived. but I’ve quite frankly had better lechon. which does not mean that I won’t recommend zubuchon. in fact, I went home with a kilo. it’s possibly the best commercially-available lechon I’ve tasted -- it certainly trumps all the

lechon that you’d find in and around manila, particularly those that claim to be cebu lechon, and might actually be more flavorful than CNT, which i understand, has declined in the last few years.

But nothing beats lechon lovingly turned by an attentive and devoted roaster. this is what mr. bourdain had when he visited cebu, and i fear it might not be the same when you suddenly decide to roll out roasted pigs on a larger scale. in the food industry, quality is the first to suffer when you mass-produce. and in the case of zubuchon, theirs was not a sustainable enterprise when you supply three restaurants teeming with brisk business, and when you actually accept orders to fly the lechon to manila.

Cebu is also obsessed, at least it seems to me, with evolving a culture all its own, but always looking to

what manila is doing, particularly in how the capital is making the dining experience more interesting and enticing. although I wasn’t quite as hungry as I usually am, our athletes wanted to recover the calories they burned during the race, so meat was in their minds while we were thinking of what to eat. and when you plan dinner immediately after you’ve finished lunch, it can only mean your brain can’t function without thinking of food. so this brought us to casa verde in the walk, located in cebu’s IT park. we had to wait almost 20 minutes to be seated, and while we watched others eat, we were already salivating after having scanned the menu. I haven’t eaten here before but ging had given a rave review, so i was extremely excited to order one of the more popular beef dishes. it was good enough steak, I would say, although for some reason, I could not finish

my plate. I had generous helpings, including tasty side dishes which perhaps I shouldn’t have bothered eating if i wanted to gorge on the meat. but what clearly overwhelmed us were the desserts. we only had two slices, and I was trying to imagine the size of the entire cake. both had tremendous amounts of ice cream, and we wiped both plates clean despite still burping from our unfinished dinners.

My survey of cebu’s cuisine was completed by two buffet breakfasts from the marco polo cebu and the tides at shangri-la mactan.

Thank you cebu for the additional poundage during a weekend when the most exercise i got was walking from the shangrila’s lobby to the farthest room on the 8th floor of its ocean wing. thinking of all the meals I had there makes we want to add more kilometers to my weekly quota. n

Business

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 38

Filinvest Land rolls out affordable mid-rise project

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Gotianun-led Filinvest Land Inc. is rolling out a new series of affordable mid-rise building (MRB) development under a new

brand, “Spatial,” whose proposition is “more space, more value” for start-up families.

The maiden offering for this new affordable brand of residential MRBs is “One Spatial Pasig,” which will have seven buildings with six floors each. Each unit will have 32 square meters in footprint and sell at P1.8 million, with buyers having the option of combining up to three units.

This project, which offers units that are “larger and designed for functionality and efficiency,” has an estimated total sales value of P1.5 billion, FLI told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

FLI said the units were an “ideal start-up home for families.” Located at a 1.8-hectare prime property along Amang Rodriguez street in Pasig City, the project is within walking distance to the Santolan Station of Light Railway Transit (LRT)-2.

The company said the “Spatial” MRBs were more affordable than its MRBs that are offered under the “Oasis” series. In general, the units are priced at around 20-25 percent less per square meter than the older series.

But just like its other MRB projects, FLI said its Spatial projects would feature lots of open spaces with the buildings’ footprint occupying only 35-40 percent of the total land area, “giving residents a truly spacious sanctuary amidst the urban sprawl.”

In addition, Spatial MRBs will continue to be built using the construction methodology employed

by FLI’s MRB, which allows the units to be free of beams and columns so homeowners can enjoy “bigger and unobstructed livable space.” This development also relies on reusable forms that save around 3,000 pieces of plywood and 85,000 board feet of lumber per building.

For 2011 alone, FLI said it was able to save a total of 40,000 pieces of plywood and 1.1 million board feet of lumber. In addition, all the buildings are constructed with the aim of maximizing natural light and ventilation.

FLI currently has 12 ongoing MRB projects, located at Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao City under the “Oasis” brand. It plans to launch MRB projects in other key urban areas such as Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro soon. In 2011, FLI completed the construction of 13 MRB buildings in its various projects.

The company believes that MRBs are the best housing alternative for the urban Filipino family. Its MRBs are “inner city” projects with several fiveto 10-story buildings clustered around the project’s expansive central amenity area. They are located at highly accessible areas. n

Sports Loss to Romanians stalemates Filipinos’ Olympic dream 39 FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer ISTANBUL, Turkey—The dream became a nightmare for the Philippines as it bowed to Romania, 1-3, in the 11th and final round and wound up 21st at the 40th Chess Olympiad here.

Nurturing hopes of a top 10 finish at the start of play, the Filipinos failed to muster their best form, with Grandmasters Wesley So and Oliver Barbosa settling for draws and fellow GMs Eugene Torre and Mark Paragua absorbing losses at Istanbul Expo Center.

The 35th-seeded Filipinos, who started strong and climbed as high as joint second after eight rounds, faltered in the homestretch, losing to the Chinese in the ninth (3.5-0.5) and drawing with the Vietnamese in the 10th to finish with 14 match points out of a perfect 22.

The men’s team copped the bronze trophy for Group B teams ranked 32nd to 62nd behind gold medalist Sweden and silver winner Denmark.

Armenia, which subdued the Philippines, 2.5-1.5, in Round 4, regained the Open division crown with 19 points following a closing 2.5-1.5 win over Hungary. The Armenians, champion in the 2006 and 2008 editions, edged the Russians, who also tallied 19 points after a 3-1 drubbing of the Germans via the tiebreak.

Even with just 14 points, however, the Filipinos bettered their performances in the previous three editions of the biennial event that lured a record 157 countries to this Asian-European metropolis.

They posted just 12 points and placed a worst-ever 50th in the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad, two years after a 13-point output and 46th place in Dresden, Germany. The Filipinos garnered 28.5 points the last time the game-point system was applied in the 2006 Turin (Italy) edition and wound up 44th.

They wound up No. 19 in 2004 in Calvia, Spain.

A team spearheaded by Torre placed seventh in the 1988 Thessaloniki (Greece) Olympiad, and, for a while, the Filipinos appeared capable of matching or even surpassing the feat.

The Philippines opened up with a 4-0 rout of Libya, stunned Moldova (2.5-1.5), blanked Kazakhstan (4-0) and rebounded from that loss to Armenia by melting Iceland (31), shocking Bulgaria (2.5-1.5), holding Bulgaria to a 2-2

draw and taming England, 3-1, to enter unfamiliar territory.

Eventually, however, the rigors of playing against higherrated opponents took their toll on the players as board 5 player International Master Oliver Dimakiling— winner of his first three games—wasn’t fielded again following a crushing loss to Armenian GM Gabriel Sargissian.

Only So, the country’s highest-rated player with an Elo of 2652, emerged unscathed for the Philippines, whose women’s team landed 43rd in a field of 127.

Like their male counterparts, the Filipinas also sputtered toward the end, losing to the Romanians, 1.5-2.5, in the ninth round and then settling for 2-2 draws with the lowerrated Malaysians and Bosnia & Herzegovina in succession.

Jan Jodilyn Fronda streaked to her third win against Sanja Dedijer on board 4 while Catherine Pereña trounced fellow Woman IM Elena Boric on board 1.

Shaken by the harrowing experience of being trapped for half an hour inside the elevator of Radisson Blu hotel, Janelle Mae Frayna bowed to Woman Fide Master Aleksandra Dimitrijevic on board 2. Jedara Docena also yielded to WFM Dijana Dengler on board 4.

The 57th-ranked Filipinas, including board 2 player WFM Rulp Ylem Jose, amassed 12 match points, matching their output in Khanty-Mansiysk, where they ended up 44th.

Russia kept its title with 19 points following a 4-0 drubbing of Kazakhstan, besting China in the tiebreak.

The Chinese, powered by world champion GM Hou Yifan, downed Bulgaria, 2.5-1.5.

Extending his amazing showing against players rated 2700-plus, So has pooled 29 draws, five wins and no losses.

The 18-year-old So, who took a break from his studies at Webster University in Missouri, split the point with GM Constanstin Lupulesco and so did Barbosa with GM Mircea-Emiliano Parligras as the Romanians repeated their 3-1 conquest of the Filipinos in the 1998 Elista Olympiad.

Paragua’s attack with white against GM Vladislav Nevednichy failed after a pair of weak moves. He resigned after 40 moves of a Pseudo-King’s Indian Variation.

Beset by a cramped position with black, Torre missed the lone drawing line and lost to GM Levente Vadja after 36 moves of a Scotch Game.

Vietnam drew a light final assignment in Uzbekistan and won, 3-1, to vault to 16 points and seventh place. n

Serena and Venus Williams to visit South Africa, play each other in exhibition

BY GERALD IMRAY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Serena Williams and sister Venus will play each other in an exhibition match on a visit to South Africa in early November.

Organizers say the Americans will also attend a coaching clinic in the famous Soweto township when they travel to the country in support of a women’s charity. They will face each other on court for the first time in Africa at the Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg.

Serena, who also won Wimbledon and Olympic gold in London this season, said they were ``proud and humbled’’ to be invited to travel to South Africa.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus - the Olympic champion in 2000 - said ``I look forward to taking my younger sister on in this exhibition tennis match in South Africa.’’ n

Azkals yield to Laotians in ill-tempered ‘friendly’

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer

UNABLE to build on its strong performance against Singapore, the Philippines absorbed a 1-2 loss to lower-ranked Laos in an ill-tempered showdown in Vientiane that capped its three-country Southeast Asian swing aimed at preparing the squad for the AFF Suzuki Cup late this year.

The Azkals conceded two second-half penalty kicks which the Laotians duly converted, before grabbing a late consolation goal from defender Rob Gier, who scored his first international goal in the second minute of stoppage time.

Playing their third match in six days, the Azkals missed top striker Phil Younghusband, his brother, James, who flew back to Manila, and

Jerry Lucena, who returned to Denmark after the 2-0 win over Singapore.

The travel-weary Azkals attacked with little purpose and struggled to cope with the fluid passing of the Laotians, who extended their unbeaten streak against the Philippines to nine matches.

But the match will be remembered more for its illtempered nature, particularly the melee in the second half where Misagh Bahadoran was sent off along with a Laotian player.

Prior to the melee, replays showed that the FilIranian was struck in the mouth after getting tangled with a Laos defender.

Azkals manager Dan Palami offered no excuses, saying that Laos deserved the win.

“It was a heated, physical and highly competitive game that we wanted to win badly but these do not

excuse some of our players for losing their temper,” said Palami. “We truly apologize for the incident.”

Minutes later, Stephan Schrock and Jason Sabio were jawing with another Laotian player, Keoviengphet Liththideth, while another player was seen throwing a punch, almost sparking a free-for-all.

The Azkals’ fortunes hardly changed after the incident and minutes later, Laos doubled the advantage with Visay Paphouvanin slotting home a penalty after he was brought down by Neil Etheridge.

Patrick Reichelt sent a left-footed effort high and wide, before Mulders volleyed over seven minutes from time as the Azkals grew desperate.

Gier’s goal came from a long throw-in from Sabio, whose ball appeared to have touched a Laos defender’s hand before falling kindly to Gier inside the six-yard box. n

Food Take a seasonal tour of pie baking with tips for making delicacy from scratch

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 40

Pumpkin pie, perfect for autumn

BY JUDY CREIGHTON THE CANADIAN PRESS Making home-baked pastry has never been one of my stellar talents, so it was with some trepidation that I approached an entire book on the subject.

In ``A Year Of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies’’ (Lark Publishing, $23.95, paperback) it wasn’t difficult to see that even a novice like me could in a pinch turn out a decent crust _ because author Ashley English makes it so simple. ``The most important variable in having a flaky, buttery pastry crust is to always keep it cold while you are working with the dough,’’ says the author of several books who resides in Candler, N.C. English says she even keeps her flour and butter in the freezer. ``And I don’t pull it out until immediately before I start kneading and incorporating it as quickly as I can.’’

Before she fills the pie crust, English chills it for at least an hour, then puts it in a very hot oven.

Asked her opinion on store-bought frozen pie crusts, she is diplomatic in her response but as a purist will still stick to homemade. ``Store-bought have their place if you are in a hurry and I would never cast aspersions on anyone who does buy them,’’ says English. ``But the flavour of homemade cannot be matched plus most readymade crusts are oil-based with processed shortening or canola oil.’’

The book includes six essential pie crust recipes, crust troubleshooting tips, instructions for creating various decorative pie and tart crusts and ideas for selecting seasonal ingredients.

For example, she has recipes for a gingercrisp crust, an almond shortbread crust and chocolate cookie crust to add variety to her collection.

One outstanding recipe for autumn is her Gingersnap Pumpkin Pie with Candied Pumpkin Seeds.

For winter, she has developed a decadent Chocolate, Coffee and Orange Marmalade Tart.

Fresh rhubarb stars in her springtime LatticeTop Rhubarb, Lemon and Vanilla Pie. Not content to treat her readers to dessert pies, English also offers savoury samples, such as her summertime Roasted Corn and Pepper Pie and Turkey Shepherd’s Pie , an ideal choice to use up leftovers from the Thanksgiving bird.

Here is her recipe for Basic Pie Dough (all-butter version) which she says is unrivalled for its flavour.

• 625 ml (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour • 6 ml (1 1/4 tsp) sea salt • 250 ml (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cubed • 175 ml (3/4 cup) ice water

In a medium-to-large bowl, mix flour and salt together.

Using a pastry blender or 2 forks, incorporate butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Slowly drizzle in ice water. Stir with a large spoon until dough becomes a clump.

Transfer dough onto a floured work surface and, using your hands, fold it into itself until all the flour is incorporated into the fats. The dough should come together easily but should not feel overly sticky.

Divide dough in half, shape it into 2 balls and pat each ball into a 1-cm (1/2-inch) thick disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Proceed according to recipe instructions.

Makes enough dough for 1 double-crust pie.

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FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 42

Remembering 9/11 When the hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in New York on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I was in Manila, over 8,000 miles away. My last class at the university had just finished and as I was getting ready to go home, I received a text message from a friend telling me about the attacks.

Like so many people around the world, I spent the rest of the night and the following days glued to the TV, watching the news. I pored over CNN’s memorial website for hours, reading about every single victim who died in the horrific act of terrorism and shedding tears over the loving tributes—my way of honoring their memory from far away.

The girl who died the day before her 25th birthday, the woman who found out she was pregnant that morning, the three-year-old who had just been adopted by his two dads. I could never forget them.

Ground zero In 2008, I found myself in New York on Sept.

11, exactly seven years after the attacks. We took the subway to the World Trade Center site where we saw a car with the image of the Twin Towers and the words “Never Forget” painted on its hood. There was a cross which was actually fused steel column from one of the World Trade Center buildings. Women with guitars sang about Jesus’ love while conspiracy theorists and protesters urged people to question the US government.

There were fire trucks and policemen, there were people wearing the images of the loved ones they had lost on 9/11 around their necks. Some held up framed photographs.

As we stood on the foot ramp and stared down at the construction at Ground Zero, a crazy-haired woman walked up to us.

“Are you from New York?” she asked.

“No,” we said, and she launched into a diatribe against the planned 9/11 memorial.

“What they’re doing is an insult,” she said, before walking away, still muttering to herself.

‘Reflecting Absence’ Five years before that, in 2003, an international design competition was opened, encouraging people from all over the world to send in their ideas for the 9/11 memorial. Over 5,000 entries were received from 63 countries.

According to the book “A Place of Remembrance,” a 13-member jury “that included world-renowned artists and architects, prominent arts and cultural professionals, a 9/11 victim’s family member, a lower Manhattan resident and business owner, and representatives of the governor’s and mayor’s offices”—was formed to evaluate the entries.

One of the jurors, Paula Grant Berry, whose husband David died in the South

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Ken Tannenbaum / Shutterstock.com

BY PAM PASTOR Philippine Daily Inquirer

Editor Melissa Remulla-Briones Associate Editors Maria Ramona Ledesma Frances Grace H. Quiddaoen

Tower of the World Trade Center told the New York Times, “I was overwhelmed that so many people cared—and wanted to share our grief.”

Ultimately, after much debate, the jurors chose “Reflecting Absence” which was designed by New York-based architect Michael Arad. The jury released this statement: “In its powerful yet simple articulation of the footprints of the Twin Towers, ‘Reflecting Absence’ has made the voids left by the destruction the primary symbols of our loss.”

Arad’s plan was to create two reflecting pools and waterfalls within the footprints of the twin towers. Michael worked with Peter Walker, a California-based landscape architect, adding trees and landscaping to the design.

The Memorial was going to cover eight of the World Trade Center’s original 16 acres.

Two months after it opened in September 2011, I had the chance to visit the memorial.

It was early evening on a Wednesday.

Armed with our visitor’s passes, we took the E train and got off at World Trade Center.

As we made our way down Church Street, we were met with chaos. People were rushing home from their offices. The Occupy Movement was still encamped at Zuccotti Park—there were protesters, policemen, bomb squads and emergency personnel all over the place.

We followed the signs to the memorial site and when we stepped into the entrance, there was sudden silence. Security was tight— airport tight—as it should be. Once we passed the security check, we walked towards one of the reflecting pools and marveled at its size and beauty. Thirty-foot waterfalls cascaded down its four sides.

The pools were surrounded by bronze parapets on which the names of the 2,983 men, women and children who were killed in the 9/11 attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon and the Feb. 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing had been stencil-cut.

It was remarkable how the names were arranged. Arad refused to just inscribe the names alphabetically. He wanted to allow meaningful adjacencies, which would make it possible for families and friends to be listed together. It was a task that sounded too

difficult and complex to many and it was. But it was worth all the effort.

In the end, the names were arranged by affiliation—employees of the same company, first responder units and flight crews were listed together. The families of the victims also asked for certain names to be placed next to each other and these requests were honored.

Visitors had left flowers and stones on top of their loved ones’ names. There were pink roses, clumps of baby’s breath, stargazers, daisies and gerberas.

Searching We made our way around each pool slowly, reading each name and tracing some of them with our hands. The names were lit from under—they glowed in the dark night as we walked by.

There were a number of people milling about, but I was struck by how solemn the place was. It was both beautiful and incredibly sad.

On one side of the memorial, there were computer screens that allowed visitors to search for specific names. Searches could be done by name, birthplace or residence, employer or affiliation, first responder unit or flight. The system provides information on the victims and tells you in which pool and which panel you can find their name.

We searched for those who were born or lived in the Philippines and said a prayer for them and all the other victims.

The Freedom Tower and the museum were both under construction during our visit. At the Visitor Center, items recovered from the site were being exhibited. There was a big piece of aluminum and a fireman’s dusty helmet.

Most striking to me were the recovered wallet, identification card and ring of Robert Joseph Gschaar, who was in the South Tower when it collapsed. The $2 bill that he presented to his wife when he asked her to marry him was still in his wallet when it was found. It was heartbreaking. People stood around watching 9/11 documentary clips on a big screen.

On the way out, I bought a copy of “A Place of Remembrance,” the official book of the memorial. A few steps later, we were back in the streets of New York, back in the intoxicating chaos of the city. n

Correspondents Lizette Lofranco Aba Jeffrey J.D. Andrion Gigi Astudillo Laarni de Paula Dr. Rizaldy Ferrer Rodel J. Ramos Stella Reyes Sarah Taguiam Agnes Tecson Graphic Designer Victoria Yong Illustration Danvic C. Briones Photographers AJ Juan Solon Licas Ryan Ferrer Angelo Siglos Art Viray Sales and Operations Laarni de Paula Alice Yong (778) 889-3518 HINGE INQUIRER PUBLICATIONS CUSTOM PUBLISHING GROUP Managing Editor Maita de Jesus Graphic Artists Reggie Goloy Maud Villanueva Editorial Assistants Phoebe Casin Anne Lora Santos Associate Publisher Lurisa Villanueva Jr. Associate Publisher Millicent Agoncillo Project Coordinator Lychelle Ang In cooperation with the Philippine Daily Inquirer digital edition PHILIPPINE CANADIAN INQUIRER is located at Suite 400 North Tower 5811 Cooney Road, Richmond B.C. Canada Tel No. 778-383-6090 / 778-383-3203 / (604) 279-8787 ext. 1722.

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