Philippine Canadian Inquirer Issue #5

PHILIPPINE CANADIAN VOL. 3 NO. 5

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

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NEWS INSIDE

Lawyer gets slap on the wrist for ‘hear no Miriam’ ( On page 2 ) P-noy: Small mining to continue ( On page 3 ) Go into BPO, Baldoz advises jobless nurses ( On page 8 )

Photo by Lyn Rillon

Same Pacquiao training routine against Bradley ( On page 15 )

FACE-OFF Buisness tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan and environmental advocate Gina Lopez exchange sharp words on mining issues during the open forum of the Conference on Mining’s Impact on the Philippine Economy and Ecology at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City on Friday. A visibly peeved Pangilinan takes his seat as Lopez asks for more time to answer him. MVP retorts: I didn’t say that. Now, you’re lying.

Prosecution scores win Impeachment court admits Corona bank accounts as evidence

BY CHRISTIAN V. ESGUERRA Philippine Daily Inquirer LAWYERS of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona last March 6 lost in their bid to suppress evidence pertaining to his bank records, despite suspicions that the prosecution had obtained them through illegal means.

The records showed that the Chief Justice, who is charged with betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution, kept millions in several peso accounts that he did not disclose in his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNS).

Senators, sitting as judges in the impeachment court, ruled to accept the evidence offered by prosecutors for the second impeachment article, which alleged that Corona failed to publicly declare his SALN. “The court has arrived at a decision

and ruling that it will deny the motion to suppress and accept the evidence for the consideration of the court in connection with Article 2 of the articles of impeachment,” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer, said shortly after a two-hour caucus in his office.

Enrile said the impeachment court would issue a “lengthy and formal” written decision on the matter by the time trial resumed on March 12.

‘Unanimous’ He refused to discuss how the ruling was arrived at, but one senator, who asked not to be named, said it was “unanimous.”

“There were strong legal grounds articulated during the course of the caucus favoring denial of the motion,” the informant told the INQUIRER.

Absent in the caucus were Senators Aquilino Pimentel III, Manuel Villar and Miriam Defensor-santiago.

Dollar deposits Enrile left the door open to the court’s admission of more prosecution evidence, this time, pertaining to Corona’s dollar deposits, the opening of which is now the subject of a pending case in the Supreme Court.

Acting on a petition by Philippine Savings Bank (Psbank), the high tribunal earlier issued a temporary restraining order preventing the impeachment court from scrutinizing the dollar accounts.

Last week, the prosecution said it was resting its case after presenting three articles of impeachment, but “reserved” the right to present more evidence for More on A4

Policy expert calls for independent review of education spending in B.C. ( On page 16 )

AABC’s First Immigrant seminar launched ( On page 20 )

Top 7 skills to pay the bills ( On page 26 )

Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Luisa Marshall ( On page 27 ) It’s winter in Canada’s national parks ( On page 31 )

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Lawyer gets slap on the wrist for ‘hear no Miriam’

BY CATHY C. YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

FOR COMMITTING what his nemesis, Sen. Miriam Santiago, said was “a galactic act of epal,” or a publicity-seeking hound, volunteer prosecution lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre II got away with only a slap on the wrist.

Santiago said she had no problem with the penalty meted out on Aguirre, who cupped his ears with his hands as she slammed the prosecution for suddenly announcing it was dropping five of the eight articles of impeachment and was resting its case against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada had called attention to Aguirre for being “very disrespectful” to the Senate impeachment court.

‘Correct penalty’ But in a magnanimous display of sobriety, Santiago told reporters she accepted the

apology that Aguirre offered in interviews with radio and TV networks earlier in the day. He repeated an earlier statement that he was sorry for causing the senator discomfort but was standing by his position that lawyers deserved respect.

“Justice has been done and honor has been satisfied… If he offers an apology, it would be uncivil of me to refuse it,” said the former trial judge who had been berating the prosecution chief, Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., and calling his panel a bunch of fools ( gago).

Aguirre said he was “very happy that only a light penalty was imposed” against him.

“This will pave the way for the impeachment court to focus on its main agenda, whether to convict or acquit… Corona.”

Santiago said the admonition to Aguirre, announced following a caucus, was “the correct penalty.”

“It is not punitive or vindictive and I agree, particularly if (Aguirre) shows the proper spirit of contrition which apparently he did this morning by apologizing (in media),” the senator said in an impromptu news conference.

Swift decision Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto said the decision to simply admonish Aguirre was reached within “two to three minutes” during the caucus that also discussed other matters related to the impeachment trial. Santiago was not present at that time.

In a news conference, Enrile acknowledged that Aguirre’s act “may be considered contemptuous of the court” but senators

decided “simply to admonish” him “to be more careful henceforth.”

Still, Santiago who suffered from an elevated blood pressure of 140/90 yesterday afternoon could not help but take jabs at Aguirre.

“It was a galactic act of epal,” she told the INQUIRER. She added that should she suddenly fall dead during her news conference, her next of kin should be advised to “donate her organs to that lawyer who apparently needs them.”

Santiago let out a loud guffaw when asked if the package would include her brain.

Lesson for epal The senator also said she was “underwhelmed”

by Aguirre’s 50 or so townmates from Quezon who showed up at the Senate gates to show their support for him.

“I was elected by millions of people in the May 2010 elections so I am not likely to be impressed by 50 people,” she explained.

“That epal lawyer really had to be taught a lesson… He had a little prepared speech and he was completely defiant. That’s the best way to send a judge to the funeral parlor,” Santiago noted.

After the Aguirre incident, Santiago said she went home and proceeded straight to the basement and “hit my punching bag until it fell to the floor.”

Afterward, she ran to her room on the second floor, “set the Jacuzzi to get a massage and after that, I just fell straight asleep. I have been asleep for the last three days.” ■

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 2

PHILIPPINE CANADIAN

Publisher Philippine Canadian Inquirer Head of Editorial Melissa Remulla-Briones Editorial Consultant Maria Ramona Ledesma Contributors Jeffrey J.D. Andrion Gigi Astudillo Dr. Rizaldy Ferrer Marietta Pangan-Dutkoski Stella Reyes Jenn Torres Frances Grace H. Quiddaoen Graphic Designer Victoria Yong Illustration Danvic C. Briones Photographer Ryan Ferrer Sales and Operations Laarni de Paula Dominador Masakayan MaryAnn Roque

Bucor spent P204K for Noy ‘red carpet’

BY FE ZAMORA AND MARLON R. RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer THEY MAY have spent close to P2 million for the visit of President Aquino lasting just a few hours but that doesn’t mean they were not adhering to his policy of following the “matuwid na daan,” or the righteous path.

Interviewed on Radyo Inquirer, the Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) spokesperson, Supt. Richard Schwarzkopf, confirmed that “more or less ” that amount was spent in three days of preparations for Mr. Aquino’s visit to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) on Jan. 27.

The presidential visit marked the launch of the “Bucor 2012 Road Map,” a 10-year prison reform program.

Schwarzkopf said the meetings prior to the project’s launch “were attended not just by more than 1,000 employees of Bucor, but also representatives of religious groups, nongovernment organizations.”

He said the Bucor would not engage in excessive spending because “we follow the matuwid na daan policy of President Aquino.”

The launch of the project coincided with a government program against frivolous spending.

P221,000 for meals Documents obtained by the INQUIRER showed that the Bucor spent over P576,000

for the printing of tarpaulin banners and P203,700 to rent the carpet used at the event.

The documents also showed the Bucor paid P450,000 for the rental of an air-conditioned tent and P221,000 for meals for the launch.

The Bucor has a daily budget of P50 for every inmate.

On a separate issue, Schwarzkopf denied reports the Bucor had cut more than 50 century-old trees at the vast government reservation, saying if that were true, “the streets here should be wider.”

He also dismissed as “old issues” claims that VIP prisoners were allowed to live in “kubol” (huts), instead of in cells with other inmates.

“The kubols have been restructured. In the past, it was used only by one prisoner. Now it’s occupied by six to 10 prisoners,” he said.

‘Taken for a ride’ At the Department of Justice (DOJ), a lawyer walked out of a fact-finding investigation into alleged anomalies in Bucor.

Saying he could not stand hearing “nonsensical questions,” an incensed Alan Paguia left the closed-door proceedings presided over by Muntinlupa City Prosecutor Edwin Togonon barely 20 minutes after the investigation started.

Paguia, whose eight-year suspension from law practice for unethical behavior was lifted by the Supreme Court last October, also accused the DOJ panel of “taking us for a

ride” purportedly to protect embattled Bucor Director Gaudencio Pangilinan Jr. “I wanted to do a Miriam. But I’m no Miriam,” Paguia told reporters, referring to Sen. Miriam Defensor-santiago’s berating of the prosecution panel last week during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Losing his cool Paguia said he lost his cool when Togonan started “grilling” a Bucor prison guard, Kabungsuan Makilala, on matters not related to the latter’s complaint against Pangilinan.

“This panel is not credible and my evidence is the questions they were asking, which had no connection with (Makilala’s) complaint,” Paguia said.

In his formal complaint, Makilala accused the Bucor chief of entering into a P16-million catering contract with a private company without the approval of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

“They were beating around the bush.

Sorry. But I cannot stand hearing nonsensical questions. I have no patience for that,” Paguia said.

He also questioned why the investigation was held behind closed doors and insisted the public “has the right to know what’s happening in the proceedings.”

He likewise assailed Togonon for supposedly not answering questions on why Pangilinan did not attend the investigation. ■

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

P-noy: Small mining to continue

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO Philippine Daily Inquirer THE GOVERNMENT is poised to allow small-scale mining to continue in the country despite the dangers this poses to both people and the environment.

President Aquino is waiting for the completion of the executive order (EO) on mining but among the things he assumes may be included in the document is the continuation of smallscale mining in some areas.

The President, however, said that this time

the practice of small-scale mining would be different from the way it was being done.

In a chat with INQUIRER editors and reporters at the wake for the late INQUIRER publisher Isagani Yambot at Arlington Memorial Chapels in Quezon City, Mr. Aquino disclosed that the mining EO draft was returned to those crafting it because there were “oppositors,” who included even some of the “authors.’’

Mr. Aquino said one of those who opposed the draft was presidential adviser for

disasters in the country, citing for instance the case where three landslides occurred in a mountainous area where the only part left standing was the middle of the mountain.

He said the question in the minds of people in that area was “not if that (middle part) will end up collapsing, but when (it will collapse).”

Mr. Aquino also said he did not want a repeat of another incident where people were evacuated from a mining area that collapsed due to a landslide, only for them to return and then experience yet another landslide.

“The local government unit said it had prohibited the return (of the people) but the barangay allowed them to return. That is a guaranteed tragedy,” he said.

Asked if the government aimed to balance the need for development and the need to protect of the environment in crafting the new mining policy, the President explained this was the same question he wanted the group drafting the mining EO to address.

He conceded that the government wanted to pursue mining if it would generate jobs, but “now that we have jumped into so many fields, you have to ask, is it still as gainful to merit the risks?”

Mr. Aquino pointed out that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had been pushing for the country to go beyond the “extractive” to the “processing side” as this would “induce more jobs.”

Still, he pointed out, mining in general posed a “potential danger to the environment” which in turn provides a “great potential for tourism” in the country. ■

environmental protection Neric Acosta.

“He (Acosta) was saying (the draft) does not seem to conform..but he did not specify..,’’ Mr. Aquino said, noting that he had not yet seen the draft himself.

The President said the draft would be sent back to mining stakeholders.

He said that when he first tasked a group of government agencies to review the country’s mining policies and to draft a new mining EO, there were several questions he raised to which he wanted answers.

“People are making money (in mining), (that is) clear. Is the country making enough?

Does it really generate employment? There are risks for these extractive processes. Are these risks commensurate to the gains we are getting? And if not, what are the safeguards that have to be put in place?’’ the President said. But he ruled out a total ban on mining.

Mr. Aquino said he believed large-scale mining could be “easily regulated.’’

“The idea basically is they’re (large mining companies) large entities, they can execute bonds that you can forfeit. They’ll be in a more specific geographical area that will make it easier to regulate,’’ he said.

“You will allow, I assume, some smallscale (mining) but it cannot be that if you’ve stopped mining in a danger area, people there will return and then another landslide happens...” Mr. Aquino said.

He said there might be a need to “put in checks if you are able to cluster” small mining claims.

Mr. Aquino recalled recent mining

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News-Phils Prosecution scores... A1 Article 2 should the Supreme Court later on rule to allow the opening of the dollar accounts.

Violation Asked to explain how the Senate ruling would relate to the pending case in the high tribunal, Enrile said: “That’s another matter. Let the Supreme Court decide the case. If they’ll say there’s a violation of RA 6426, so be it. But that violation does not imply or mean that the evidence, released in violation of the law, could not be admitted as evidence.”

Republic Act No. 6426 refers to the Foreign Currency Deposit Act. “Now, the result of a decision that there’s a violation means that whoever was the one responsible for the release will have to go to jail when a criminal case is filed against that person, whoever he is or she is, under the penalties provided in the laws,” he added.

Section 8 of the law states that “all foreign currency deposits authorized under this Act … are hereby declared as and considered of an absolutely confidential nature and, except upon the written permission of the depositors, in no instance shall (they) be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office whether judicial or administrative or private.”

Defense lawyers cited this provision

in their motion to suppress evidence on Corona’s bank records.

Enrile made it clear that the ruling pertained only to this motion. He said the impeachment court would issue another ruling to identify which pieces of evidence that the prosecution formally offered last March 2 would be admitted.

Account numbers exist Enrile noted that the defense motion cited cases in which pieces of evidence were excluded because the “unwarranted search or arrest is done by the state or its agents like the police, the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), and other law enforcement people.”

In the case of Corona’s bank records that the prosecution submitted, the presiding officer said “there’s no clear showing that it (leak) was done by the government and so far, as the facts indicate, there’s no question that these alleged bank deposit account numbers exist.”

If the bank records had been leaked by a “private party,” Enrile said the “exclusionary rule” would not apply.

The rule means that a piece of evidence would be inadmissible if it was gathered in a manner that violated constitutional rights.

No exclusionary provision Enrile noted that both RA 6426 and RA 1405 (Bank Secrecy Law) did not

contain the “exclusionary” provision, which “expressly excludes or proscribes the admissibility of the records of bank deposits when they’re illegally released to the public.”

Told that he had pointed to examiner Jerry Leal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as the one responsible for the leak, the senator said: “My opinion was simply an opinion at that moment.

We’re still investigating it.”

But what if it was proven later on that it was a BSP official who released Corona’s bank records? Enrile replied: “We are going to decide this case on the basis of facts now present. In that case, at that point, if it was done by government agents, then they would have to suffer the penalties.”

Until the Supreme Court resolves the dollar deposit issue, the impeachment court would focus on evidence on bank deposits submitted by the prosecution so far, Enrile said.

At least 15 exhibits The prosecution’s written formal offer of evidence contains at least 15 exhibits, including specimen signature cards, bank certifications and bank statements.

Based on the testimony of a Psbank president and a manager of the Bank of Philippine Islands Ayala branch, the prosecution said Corona kept P31.75 million in the two banks in 2010, but declared only P3.5 million in cash and

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investments in his SALN for that year.

“We are talking of the documents that were submitted. We are not talking of opening the (dollar) accounts,” Enrile said. “(But) assuming that those accounts exist, based on the evidence presented to us, we will accept the evidence presented to us because there is no provision, expressed provision in the Republic Acts (1405 and 6426) mentioned to exclude them as evidence when offered as evidence,” he said.

Vague position Enrile also sought to clarify the prosecution’s vague position on whether it was “withdrawing” or “terminating” its presentation of evidence on the five remaining articles of impeachment.

In a notice, the prosecution said it had “terminated the presentation of evidence” on Articles 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8. But defense lawyers earlier argued that such a move meant that they could still present their own evidence on these charges.

Enrile said the court would issue a formal ruling “at the proper time.” But he said: “The records will bear us out that we clarified it very clearly and our understanding and the understanding of the court is that those articles … are deemed as if they were not in the articles of impeachment filed before the court.”

“The decision of the court will matter, not the manifestation of the prosecution,” he said. ■

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PUP gets rid of 170 janitors ‘WE’RE BEING TREATED LIKE RAGS’

BY JAYMEE T. GAMIL Philippine Daily Inquirer AROUND 170 janitors of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) staged a picket last March 6 on the main campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila, to protest their being discarded like trash.

The demonstrators—some of whom have been working as contractual employees for the state university for decades—vowed to continue their protest until they are reinstated.

“I will stay here because I need to.

I can’t pay rent, send my children to school or buy food without this job,” Rey Cogomoc, president of the Samahan ng mga Janitor sa PUP , told the INQUIRER in a phone interview.

According to him, he and his coworkers earn only P426 a day.

“Many of us have been working for the university for decades. We should have been recognized as regulars by now but instead, we were booted out from work.

We’re being treated like rags, thrown into the trash can after being useful,” Cogomoc added.

Cops to do part for environment, plant 10M trees

BY KRISTINE L. ALAVE Philippine Daily Inquirer WHAT one sows, so will he reap.

The country’s police force has pledged to plant 10 million trees by 2013 under the environment department’s massive national reforestation project and, one would like to think, in keeping with the biblical adage.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed a memorandum of agreement to start the implementation of “Pulis Makakalikasan: 10 Milyong Puno, Pamana sa Kinabukasan.”

Under the project, the PNP personnel numbering around 140,000 are required to plant 72 seedlings each.

“Indeed, this is another convergence we are pursuing under the NGP (National Greening Program),” said Environment Secretary Ramon Paje. “This early, I can tell that it is going to be successful because of the commitment shown by PNP’S top hierarchy.”

Yesterday’s protest was backed He said that he had been working for the university for the past 30 years while the by teachers, students and militant “newest” among them was hired 10 years ago. labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno. PUP student regent Rommel Aguilar Cogomoc and the others were laid said that the student body was “in off on Feb. 16 after a new employment full support” of the workers who agency, Care Best International Inc., were clamoring for their “legitimate took over the janitorial services at the rights.” state university.

“Some of them have served us for Care Best had won the bid for the P24- 30 years. You can’t just discount million contract after PUP’S contract that,” he said. with the previous agency expired on He noted that in February, the old Dec. 31. janitors were “disrespectfully” laid off The janitors claimed they had signed without notice. Aguilar also alleged a memorandum of agreement with PUP that the PUP Board of Regents, to officer in charge Estelita de la Rosa in which he belongs, has yet to sign any which they were assured that they would contract with Care Best. be absorbed by Care Best once they This was confirmed by De la Rosa submit certain requirements. although she said that she had given But despite the submission of the the company a notice to proceed necessary documents which included because of the urgent need for police, health and barangay clearances, janitorial services. they were not hired, Cogomoc said.

At the same time, she asked the For her part, De la Rosa said that Care company to meet with her and explain Best had rejected the applications of the why it did not comply with the agreement that they should consider former PUP workers. the old janitors for their workforce.

“I feel for our old janitors. I have been “Otherwise, I will refuse to pay asking [Care Best] why they would not take our janitors even if that was what we them when they bill us. We can just agreed on. They would not answer. They meet in court and maybe then they will explain themselves,” she said. ■ would not meet with me,” she added.

The PNP will put up tree nurseries in its camps throughout the country to produce seedlings, in coordination with DENR specialists who will help identify tree species suitable for planting based on climatic and soil conditions.

The DENR will also help the PNP identify areas for their tree planting activities. The planting sites should have forest communities that will care for the seedlings. The DENR will initially provide the planting materials during the early stage of the project.

Under the agreement, the PNP will replace the seedlings provided by the DENR as soon as those they produced on their own “reached plantable size.”

Aside from the PNP, the DENR has also tapped civil sector groups to supply them with seedlings.

The DENR has signed an agreement with the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) and the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation Inc. (PTFCF) to help the agency produce planting materials using native tree species.

Both FPE and PTFCF have been promoting the concept of “rainforestation”—the use of indigenous species for reforestation—since the 1990s and in early 2000, respectively, through their partner forest communities, people’s organizations and other civil society groups.■

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Disaster training for barangays

BY MIKO MORELOS Philippine Daily Inquirer THE LIGA ng mga Barangay in Metro Manila will work with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to help its members prepare for natural calamities and other disasters through the conduct of training programs.

A memorandum of agreement was signed yesterday by MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino and Liga President Teodoro Virata Jr. at the MMDA headquarters in Makati City.

It was witnessed by Renato Brion of the Department of the Interior and Local GovernmentNational Capital Region and MMDA general manager Corazon Jimenez.

Under the agreement, the MMDA would offer training on various kinds of rescue operations involving different scenarios like earthquakes and landslides, floods and other calamities.

The disaster risk reduction and management fund will be used to finance the seminars. ■

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Palace vows justice for UPLB student killed by holdup men

BY CHRISTINE O. AVENDAÑO IN Manila AND MARICAR CINCO, Inquirer Southern Luzon Malacañang gave assurance that it would get justice for a 19-year-old student of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) who was stabbed dead by unidentified holdup men in a street near the university campus on March 4.

Ray Bernard Peñaranda, an agriculture student, was killed at about 1:30 a.m. along

F.O. Santos Street in Barangay (village) Batong Malake in Los Baños, Laguna.

Only last week, the body of a 14-year-old girl was found near the area, a victim of apparent rape.

“These killings strike at the very heart of the peaceful, orderly and safe community that UPLB has been, and must be again.

We will not rest until justice is done and the perpetrators are punished,” President Aquino’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said in a statement.

Lacierda said authorities were taking steps to ensure the safety of the campus from criminals. “We would like to assure concerned faculty, parents, students and all those in the UPLB community that steps are being taken to make the campus a safe place to work and live in and visit,” he said.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and Governor Jeorge “ER” Ejercito have separately offered rewards ranging from P100,000 to P200,000 for information that may help identify the assailants.

Robredo ordered more police personnel on UPLB grounds, as well as a stepped-up investigation of the recent murder cases on and off campus.

Los Baños police have released an artist’s sketch of one of the suspects in the murder of Peñaranda. The suspect is at least 5 feet, 5 inches tall and with medium build, based on descriptions given to police

by Peñaranda’s companions.

The two had sought help in a nearby

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 6

dormitory after two men attacked them on Sunday.

Supt. Dante Novicio, who was relieved from his post as town police chief after the incident, said a footage from a CCTV (closed-circuit television) camera of a private dormitory showed the killers escaping. However, he said, they were not clearly identified in the footage.

Los Baños Mayor Anthony Genuino said investigators were following leads in the killing of Peñaranda and the rape-killing of Rochel Geronda, a student of Los Baños National High School, on Feb. 27.

He offered P100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Geronda’s killers.

He said the recent cases were “isolated case(s), although very alarming.”

“We are doing everything to solve and prevent these kinds of crime (and) we are appealing to the students to be extra careful,” Genuino said in an interview before a meeting of the peace and security council with UPLB constituents and chairs of the town’s 14 barangays yesterday afternoon.

Genuino said the council was expected to draft a security master plan and impose tighter security measures in the villages of Batong Malake, San Antonio and PuthoTuntungin, which surround the UPLB campus.

He said the municipal government would also establish police outposts on every street in the three villages, install

more lighting facilities and roll out CCTV cameras in strategic locations.

Another proposal being studied was an alcohol ban starting at 10 p.m., he said.

“We are extending our condolences and every help we can to the families of Bernard and Rochel,” the mayor said.

The remains of Geronda were expected to be buried on March 6. Peñaranda’s body was immediately brought by his family to their hometown in Rizal province.

The UPLB Student Council led an indignation rally at the university campus at 5:30 p.m. yesterday to call for justice for the deaths of the three students.

Outraged students, alumni and sympathizers have flooded social networking sites with messages that blamed the murders on the inability of the local government unit to keep the residents safe.

Five months ago, a UPLB student, Given Grace Cebanico, was abducted on her way to her dormitory in Batong Malake before she was raped and killed along IBP Road in Barangay Tuntungin-Putho on Oct. 11, 2011.

Batong Malake is right outside the campus where most student dormitories and apartments are located.

Following Cebanico’s killing, the Laguna police announced the deployment of more personnel to augment the Los Baños police force. A curfew for minors was imposed.■

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Yasay slams ways of banking officials

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer FORMER Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Perfecto Yasay Jr. last March 4 lambasted officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for “flagrantly and illegally railroading” the liquidation of the closed Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgage Bank.

Yasay, Banco Filipino vice chair, also sought the help of President Aquino and the Senate in investigating the supposed arbitrariness by which the BSP, the Monetary Board (MB) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) sold the assets of banks shut down by the central bank “at ridiculous prices.”

It is a “disgraceful racket of the banking regulator of giving assets of closed banks to their favored constituents at fire sale prices,” Yasay said in an e-mailed statement.

He said the action of BSP and MB officials was tantamount to “grabbing the valuable land and other assets of the bank

News-Phils in violation of the constitutional protection against depriving anyone of property without due process.”

According to Yasay, BSP officials had been abusing their “extraordinary powers” by not allowing affected banks to participate in the disposition of their properties and remaining assets.

He said this scenario happened to Orient Bank and Urban Bank which ceased to operate after declaring a bank holiday several years ago.

Said Yasay: “These assets are sold at ridiculous prices way below their current fair market value favoring certain influential individuals or to whoever the BSP, at its sole discretion, wants to give these assets to.”

“It is for this reason that I urgently call upon the President and the members of Congress to investigate this scandal and travesty of justice,” he said.

The former SEC chair also accused the central bank of “unlawfully leaking to (the) media” certain “rumors and false information” which, he said, led to a bank run that eventually caused the closure of Banco Filipino.

Yasay also assailed the BSP, MB and their lawyers for their supposed failure to comply with a Jan. 27 order of the Court of Appeals which directed the central bank to reopen Banco Filipino and provide it with a P25billion financial rehabilitation package. ■

Valenzuela City gets 33rd barangay

BY JAYMEE T. GAMIL Philippine Daily Inquirer FROM 32 to 33 barangays.

The division of Barangay Canumay in Valenzuela City into two barangays was approved by the majority of residents in a plebiscite.

In an announcement e-mailed to the INQUIRER yesterday, the city government said that 3,645 out of 6,543 residents voted in favor of the creation of Barangays Canumay East and Canumay West.

The results were attested to by election officer Patrick E. Enaje who served as the chair of the Canumay Plebiscite Board of Canvassers after the official tabulation of votes held at the session hall of the city council.

The creation of the new barangay was approved by 81 percent of the 38 clustered voting precincts.

With the division of Barangay Canumay, Valenzuela City now has a total of 33 barangays.

Ahna Mejia, public information chief of Valenzuela City, said that one of the reasons cited for the need to divide Barangay Canumay into two areas was the “huge physical gap” created by the North Luzon Expressway which runs through the barangay.

To deal with the situation, barangay

officials built two barangay halls, two day care centers, two health centers and two public schools.

In addition, to avoid confusion, residents began referring to one area as Canumay East and the other as Canumay West.

“With the creation of Canumay West and Canumay East, it is expected that there will be swifter and more efficient delivery of public service and immediate and adequate attention [given] to the needs of the communities,” the city government said.

The two new barangays, being distinct and independent of each other, will have their own sources of income to be able to respond faster to emergency situations.

“Given that the population of the East and West was double the required population the Local Government Code is requiring in forming one barangay, we decided to divide the barangay,” Mejia said.

Ordinance No. 37, Series of 2011, was thus drafted, proposing the creation of a new barangay. It was approved by the city council on Nov. 21, 2011, which led to Saturday’s plebiscite.

After a series of consultations, Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian is expected to appoint a new set of leaders to the barangay posts. ■

32 CCTVs in Biñan City

BY MARICAR CINCO Philippine Daily Inquirer Biñan City in Laguna rolled out 32 units of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, three of them near the Laguna Lake, for round-the-clock monitoring of key areas and major thoroughfares in the city.

The installation of the CCTVs was not just an anticrime measure, according to Roman Carencia, city information officer.

Carencia said the CCTVs would also be used to monitor water level in the lake.

CCTVs were installed in the lakeside villages of Dela Paz and Malaban to serve as early warning devices during storms when water could rise in the lake and spill into residential areas.

Memories of Tropical Storm “Ondoy,” which struck in 2009, still haunt many lakeside areas in Laguna when water from the lake swallowed entire communities. The floods didn’t subside for months.

Carencia said the CCTVs would give authorities “a good view of the lake.”

The city government spent at least P30 million for the CCTV system, which was installed on February 2, he said. ■

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PCGG opposes PNB, Allied Bank merger

BY NIÑA CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PRESIDENTIAL Commission on Good Government (PCGG) has asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to stop the merger between Philippine National Bank and Allied Banking Corp., which it claimed was part of the ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.

PCGG Commissioner Gerard Mosquera wrote the BSP and the SEC days ago ahead of the separate stockholders meetings of PNB and Allied Bank, both controlled by taipan Lucio Tan, scheduled for today to approve the merger of the two banks.

“We push for the merger not to happen. If Allied Bank is absorbed by PNB, the recovery of the ill-gotten wealth will be virtually impossible,” Mosquera said, showing reporters copies of his letters to the BSP and the SEC in a press briefing on Monday.

The PCGG presented to the BSP and the SEC the grounds for its opposition, including evidence submitted to the Sandiganbayan in relation to the ill-gotten wealth case, Civil Case No. 005.

The shares of stock owned by Tan and other stockholders of Allied Bank, which are presently under litigation before the Sandiganbayan, were alleged to be part of the illgotten wealth of former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Mosquera said that if the government were the beneficial owner of the shares of stock in question, any merger with another corporation should be approved first by the government.

“Without this approval, any merger is null and void,” the PCGG commissioner said, citing Section 77 of the Corporation Code. ■

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SC grants Bulacan folk relief in fight vs dump It’s official: Pagasa

BY TJ BURGONIO Philippine Daily Inquirer RELIEF in the form of a legal remedy from the Supreme Court (SC) has raised the hopes of residents opposed to the construction of a P1-billion landfill on Manila Bay off Obando, Bulacan.

The Supreme Court has issued a writ of kalikasan in favor of the residents who warned that the operation of the private landfill would set off an “environmental catastrophe.’’

The writ is granted to those “whose constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated, or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission… involving environmental damage of such magnitude as to prejudice the life, health or property of inhabitants in two or more cities or provinces.”

In a Feb. 21 en banc resolution, the Supreme Court resolved to issue the writ and referred the case to the Court of Appeals.

It ordered the respondents, including Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, to file a verified return showing that they did not violate any environmental law or commit any act resulting in environmental damage.

However, it put on hold the issuance of a temporary environmental protection order pending the hearing.

Reply required The high court also required the

Go into BPO, Baldoz advises jobless nurses

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer LABOR Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz is advising some 100,000 unemployed Filipino nurses in the country to try their luck in the booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry or call centers which she said had “nontraditional” health-related aspects.

petitioners to file a consolidated reply to the respondents’ comments on their petition.

Clerk of Court Enriqueta Vidal issued a one-page notice on the details of the resolution on Feb. 21, a copy of which was furnished the INQUIRER by environmentalists.

In November last year, Obando residents petitioned the high tribunal to stop the operation of the private landfill on a 45-hectare piece of land in Barangay Salambao and issue the writ.

Catastrophic effects They argued that the landfill would destroy a thriving mangrove ecosystem; cause persistent water, air and soil pollution in its immediate environs; aggravate the condition of the bay; destroy the livelihood of coastal residents, and worsen the flooding problem in Obando and adjacent towns.

“The proposed project,” they said, “involves the largescale dumping of unprocessed garbage into the coastal waters of Obando along Manila Bay, in blatant violation of the continuing mandamus issued by this court.”

The petitioners were Ma. Teresa S. Bondoc, Wilfredo DG. de Ocampo, Conrado C. Lumabas Jr., Melissa A. Padilla, Macaria D. Lumabas, Lucila S. Sayao, Mercy Dolorito, Arnel

R. Wico, Edwin T. Ramos, Joseph Ryan C. Raymundo, Rodolfo Jose C. Lapus, Victoria M. Correa, Adelina C. Baltazar, Milagros S. Suan, Virgilio C. Dimanlig and Antonio P. Roxas.

Other respondents in the case were Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region III Director Lormelyn Claudio, Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino SyAlvarado, Bulacan’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Obando Mayor Orencio Gabriel, the Obando Sangguniang Bayan, Salambao Sangguniang Barangay and Ecoshield Development Corp. (EDC), the project proponent.

Remote site The site is part of Manila Bay and can only be reached by motorized boats.

The petitioners said EDC will construct a landfill on existing fishponds in Obando “to meet the waste disposal needs’’ of Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The waste would be transported to the site by motorized vessels through waterways.

The project, to be undertaken on 45 hectares, would entail reclamation, water drainage and removal of live fauna to make way for a pit for the dump. It has a capacity of 1,000 metric tons of waste a day, they said.

The residents had communicated with environment and local officials to air their opposition to the project but to no avail. ■

and explore other emerging medical and health-related careers that are needed by our labor market today,” Baldoz said.

She said the job required the same skills required of nurses, like medical knowledge and skills in applying clinical regulatory requirements.

Citing a report from the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE), Baldoz said the healthcare information outsourcing sector of BPOS is considered as one of the fast-growing sectors with over 100,000 medical-related jobs open to nursing graduates.

“If they are into clinical review and decision making, they may consider a career as a clinical appeals specialist who abstracts relevant facts documented in the patient’s medical record, reviews clinical cases and responds to written medical appeals of patients and clients,” Baldoz said.

She said healthcare careers nowexpand into various disciplines which open huge career opportunities for nursing graduates and allied medical professionals.

Baldoz was referring to an array of nonclinical but medicalrelated information outsourcing opportunities such as medical transcriptionists, billers and health care secretaries, that provide alternatives for those seeking careers in the healthcare industry.

The Career Guides posted on the BLE website at http://ble.dole. gov.ph/career.asp said healthcare outsourcing careers that unemployed nurses could consider include Medical Transcriptionists; Medical Secretaries; Medical Coders and Billers; Medical Assistants; Medical Representatives, and Medical Butlers.

“With the fast-growing and innovative trends and advancements in the healthcare industry, I encourage you to go outof-the-box, beyond the traditional clinical jobs,

Nursing graduates may also apply to be clinical research associates who monitor and administer health and safety protocols, Baldoz said.

Citing the BLE Career Guides, Baldoz noted that these healthcare outsourcing jobs starting wages ranging from P14,000 to P18,000, while clinical appeals specialists employed in the BPO industry received a basic pay of P20,000-P40,000.

The pay may even be higher depending on the hours of work, typing speed and type of employment, Baldoz said.

“The salary in these alternate medical careers is almost double the average monthly salary of P10,000 received by nurses working in local hospitals and private institutions.” she added. ■

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says summer is here

BY KRISTINE L. ALAVE Philippine Daily Inquirer THE HEAT is on.

And so are the trendiest beach outfits for bodies that want to look cool when temperatures rise.

Summer is officially here and it comes a little early than usual this year.

“It’s anomalous this year. We can say it’s time to go to the beach,” said Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) forecaster Jun Galang, noting that the temperature would rise even more in the next weeks.

The probability of a typhoon spoiling company outings is low as well, Galang said. March, April and May could have one tropical cyclone or none at all, he said, citing Pagasa models.

The weather bureau said the highpressure ridge usually makes itself felt in the Philippines no sooner than the third week of March, but not this year.

The dry season is here with the exit of the northeast monsoon and the dominance of the north Pacific high-pressure ridge, which is responsible for the warm and sunny weather from March to May, according to Pagasa.

Galang said the temperature for the month of March ranges between 21 and 33 degrees Celsius. Maximum temperature in the country is expected to hit mid-30s Celsius as the dry season peaks.

Hottest days in May By comparison, Metro Manila’s hottest day last year had a reading of 35.3 degrees Celsius, which happened on April 16. The hottest days in the country are usually recorded in May, according to Pagasa records.

The months of March, April and May are considered the height of summer in the country, when millions troop to the beaches.

These are usually the driest months, with typhoons hitting only in mid-may, when the country transitions to the wet season.

The Philippines has entered the summer season but parts of the country will still experience above-average rainfall because of the La Niña weather phenomenon in the Pacific.

Galang said the system will be responsible for the easterlies that will bring isolated rain showers, especially in the eastern seaboard.

“From March, April and May, it will be weakening but there will still be easterlies,” he said.

La Niña, which had a resurgence late last year, is a phenomenon that occurs when the surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean gets colder. El Niño refers to the increase in the surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean.

Pagasa said it expects the temperature in the ocean to return to normal by mid-year. ■

A9

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

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Sardines biting again off Mindanao

Tesda gears up for major role in K+12 plan

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BY TARRA QUISMUNDO Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY KRISTINE L. ALAVE Philippine Daily Inquirer COMMERCIAL fishing boats have again been allowed to harvest sardines in the waters of southwestern Mindanao after the government lifted a three-month closed season on sardine fishing on March 2.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Asis G. Perez said the government had reopened the East Sulu Sea, Basilan Strait and Sibuguey Bay to sardine fishing following the three-month ban aimed at increasing the fish population in the region.

“Our studies on the development of larvae and juvenile of various sardine species during the closed season indicate that the closure was timely and the areas covered were important spawning and nursery grounds for the fish,” Perez said.

The BFAR, an agency under the Department of Agriculture, imposed a closed season on sardine fishing from Dec. 1, 2011, to March 1, 2012, the months when parent sardines reproduce. Allowing them to breed unhampered for three months would guarantee that there would be new fish next year, the BFAR said, The BFAR said the strategy appeared to have worked. Based on observations from the fish catches in Sulu and Basilan, the sardines and round scad are nearing maturity, with their length averaging 11 centimeters The size at first maturity for sardines is 14 cm.

According to BFAR studies, for every one ton of fish left to spawn, a threefold increase in the biomass of the fish is expected. However, considering the migratory nature of sardines as well as the vastness of the fishing ground, the change will not be felt until after the next three months, the agency said.

The Zamboanga region is the capital of the country’s sardine canning industry. It has 454 commercial fishing vessels going out to catch species such as sardines, tuna and round scad.

Statistics for 2010 showed that sardines represented about 26 percent of the 1.24million metricton catch from commercial fisheries and 11 percent of the 1.18-million metric-ton municipal fish catch.

The Southern Philippines (Sophil) Deep Sea Fishing Association has backed the expansion of closed seasons to other major fishing grounds.

The group said a closed season should also be imposed in the Bicol region, Leyte, Cotabato and other areas where sardines are also caught.

“If warranted, we will support even a nationwide closure if only to ensure the sustainability of sardine fisheries,” Jimmy Yap, president of YL Fishing, said.

Sophil is composed of 10 companies operating 16 sardine purse seine fleets in Zamboanga and Sulu waters. The group has been urging the government to seriously implement the sardine management plan in the last 6 years. ■

IS THE Philippine education system ready for the K+12 model?

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) is working on improving high school students’ academic standing by initiating a review of its vocational training programs as part of its adoption of K+12 (Kindergarten to 12 years), the Aquino administration’s flagship education program.

In a statement issued March 4, Tesda Director General Joel Villanueva said the agency would update its courses in line with K+12, a program that would add two years to the 10-year basic education cycle to give high school students more specialized training.

Spearheaded by the Department of Education (Deped), the implementation of K+12 is being introduced in phases, with the first graduates of the 12-year cycle expected in March 2018.

Under the program, students would spend two years in senior high school to specialize in their chosen field, be it vocational training, music and the arts, agriculture or sports. The government hopes K+12 would produce qualified high school graduates ready for employment or prepared for college.

Villanueva said the introduction of K+12 was a major educational reform that addresses the needs not only of basic education but of technical education, skills development and higher education.

“We recognize that Tesda has an important role to play in the K+12 reform initiative and under the leadership of the Deped, we affirm our commitment to make it work and succeed,” he said.

Villanueva said K+12 would bring together the parallel efforts of Tesda, the Deped and the Commission on Higher Education with regard to skills training, which is seen as a critical growth area with the continuing rise of the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry in the Philippines.

Under the program, K+12 graduates of vocational courses may undergo Tesda certification.

Villanueva said this would incorporate in the mainstream Tesda programs in basic education and “prompt [the agency] to further improve its learning infrastructure.”

“It becomes imperative for Tesda to move up and focus toward the development and implementation of higher level qualifications,” Villanueva said. ■

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PH got $193M in US development aid last year

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE UNITED States last year provided nearly $193 million (about P8.26 billion) in development aid to the Philippines, according to the US Department of State.

In a report posted on the website of the US Embassy in Manila, the Washington-based agency noted that the US government provided $192.9 million in grant funds to Manila in 2011.

The funds were intended to “foster inclusive economic growth and alleviate poverty; strengthen democratic institutions and governance; and counter transnational terrorism and insurgency in Mindanao,” said the state department.

“To achieve inclusive economic growth and alleviate poverty, the US government is supporting a broad range of socioeconomic efforts, including activities to promote fiscal and trade policy reforms, infrastructure development, business climate improvement, enterprise development, natural resources management, improved health and education services, and increased access to clean and affordable energy, water and sanitation services,” it explained.

According to the agency, the United States also gives humanitarian aid to victims of calamities and displaced persons in conflict-affected areas.

The report noted that in September 2010, the US government-run Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a $434-million compact with the Philippines.

The five-year deal “provides funding for three major projects: road construction and rehabilitation, community development and revenue administration.”

“In November 2011, the United States and the Philippines jointly launched the Partnership for Growth, a focused development effort which seeks to address the most significant constraints to economic growth in the Philippines and stimulate enhanced, inclusive economic expansion in line with other high-performing emerging economies,” said the state department.

Under its Country Assistance Strategy for the Philippines for the period 2009 to 2013, Washington’s overall strategic vision is a “more prosperous, wellgoverned and stable democracy that is able to meet the needs of its people, especially the poor,” said a US Agency for International Development (USAID) report.

The program’s priority goals include “accelerating growth through improved competitiveness; strengthening governance, rule of law and the fight against corruption; investing in people to reduce poverty; and promoting a peaceful and secure Philippines.”

Late last year, the USAID announced that it was focusing assistance on rebellion-torn Mindanao.

Gloria Steele, the FilipinoAmerican head of the agency in Manila, said Mindanao was “still Usaid’s top priority because that’s where the need is greatest,” pointing to a region where literacy and maternal and child mortality rates are highest.

Steele told the INQUIRER the agency was “working in partnership with the administration of President Aquino” and “making sure our programs will support the President’s priority projects.”

The USAID has over 30 projects in southern Philippines, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Between 1996 and 2010, the agency provided over $500 million to develop basic infrastructure in Mindanao, such as ports, roads and bridges, and to assist rural banks in providing loans and deposit services to microenterprises.

The USAID claimed the incidence of violence had been reduced by at least 40 percent in areas supported by its development activities. ■

Archbishop Tagle: Quit ‘ka-ek-ekan,’ dogs, butterflies in weddings “This is one great challenge for us during this year of faith because our liturgy and sacraments, sad to say, sometimes are no longer considered as celebrations of faith,” Tagle said during the Manila Archdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly held at Paco Catholic School auditorium in Manila.

Stand-up comedy “Sometimes, the faith is the last thing we focus on in the sacraments. The sacraments sometimes become mere social events or just cultural traditions with the faith being the last thing we consider,” he added.

But far from delivering a stern sermon, Tagle spiced up his message with bits of stand-up comedy, drawing laughter from the SRO crowd.

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer In the words of His Eminence, drop all those ka-ek-ekan (roughly translated frivolities).

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle last March 3 urged the faithful to avoid practices that embellish or depart from sacred Catholic rites, like having dogs as wedding ring bearers or wedding planners telling priests what to do and where to stand.

Tagle noted that some Filipino Catholics had been treating the sacraments as if they were merely venues for “social gatherings or cultural traditions,” thus losing the deeper spiritual meaning of these events and rituals.

Church dress code “Once, I received a letter from someone who was getting married and who was asking permission if they could have their dog as their ring bearer,” the prelate recalled. “The dog had been with them for a long time, but what had the dog got to do with our faith? What has become of marriage?

Tagle said he once had to remind a bride about the dress code inside the church, but the bride retorted: “Why does the Church still interfere with that? You are not the one who’s going to pay for my gown.”

“But what you are wearing should speak of your faith.

The symbols that you use should speak of your faith,” Tagle explained to his audience.

He also noted that it had become a trend in weddings for church doors to be closed before the bride walks down the aisle.

“The groom and the escorts had entered but when the bride is about to go in, the doors are closed. There are many weddings like that today. Why close the door? You’ll spend the rest of your married life closing doors,” Tagle said in jest.

“That is no longer faith. That’s a gimmick. Paborloloy, ka-ekekan na lang yan (Nothing but embellishments and frivolities).

Imagine, closing the door on your bride? Hay naku!” he added.

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Best punch line But Tagle reserved his best punch line for the most modern feature of marital rites: the wedding planner.

“There was this wedding I attended that was already 45 minutes late,” Tagle recalled. “I approached the groom and asked: ‘Why haven’t you started. Is the bride already here?’ Yes. ‘Are the godparents already here?’ Yes. ‘So why haven’t you started?’”

Finally, the wedding planner told him the reason for the delay: The butterflies had not yet arrived.

“What butterflies?!” Tagle recalled asking the planner.

The answer he got was simple: “Because as the bride walks down the aisle, we will let fly those butterflies.”

“What had those butterflies got to do with our faith? The union is just starting, and you already have all these flying away and separations. Do you know their meaning?” he then said.

Who’s the boss?

This prompted the wedding planner to remind him who was really running the show. “ ‘I am the coordinator. You will start when I say so,’” Tagle recalled the planner as telling him pointblank.

“So, I stood up and said ‘I am the official witness of the Church here and I am now starting this wedding.’ But the choir wasn’t ready so I started (singing) ‘Tan-tan-tanan. Tan-tan-tanan,’” he added in jest, mimicking the opening notes of the Richard Wagner wedding staple.

“March! Run!” he said. “Probably when the (couple) watch the video of their wedding, they’ll again see what I did.”

Tagle also recalled seeing funerals where the supposedly grieving family installed too many lights. “(It looked like) a Christmas party instead because there were so many Christmas lights.”■

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

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More Pinoys now wish to flee Syria at gov’t expense

Storm victims to get houses

BY JERRY E. ESPLANADA Philippine Daily Inquirer

BY PHILIP C. TUBEZA Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANY overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in strife-torn Syria are finally availing themselves of the government’s free repatriation program, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

From only about 200 in February, over 1,000 OFWS have since applied to be included in the repatriation program being overseen by the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez told the INQUIRER on Sunday.

The applicants included OFWS trapped in dire conditions in Homs and other protest hubs in the troubled Middle East country, said Hernandez.

The next batch of OFW repatriates, some 100, will come from Syrian conflict areas where the violence has become “very alarming,” he said.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, meanwhile, said the repatriation of Filipinos from Syria was “no easy feat.”

In a statement, Del Rosario explained that “repatriation involves negotiating with employers for their release,

including buying out their contracts, dealing with immigration officials and paying their fines, and in some cases being met with the challenges of having to extract them from areas considered to be “no man’s land.”

The latest batch of repatriates, 35 OFWS, arrived on Feb. 26 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on two Emirates Airlines flights from the Syrian capital.

So far, no Filipinos of the 9,000 estimated to be in Syria have been killed or injured in the ongoing crackdown on protesters by state security forces, said the embassy.

More than 7,500 people have died in the 11-month uprising against the regime of Syrian President Bashar alassad, according to the United Nations.

An Associated Press report on Sunday said the Syrian government had blocked a Red Cross convoy from delivering badly needed food, medical supplies and blankets to a rebellious neighborhood in Homs cut off by a month-long siege.

Humanitarian conditions in the former rebel stronghold of Baba Amr have been described as catastrophic, with extended power outages and shortage of food and water and no medical care for the sick and wounded. ■

Mandated kindergarten gets P2.39-B boost from DBM

BY RONNEL W. DOMINGO Philippine Daily Inquirer

Telcos overcharging texters–Casiño

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer MOBILE phone companies have racked up at least P2 billion in illegal profits for refusing to heed an order of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to stop charging an additional 20 centavos on text messages sent to rival providers, according to Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño.

“This is a conservative estimate considering the fact that as the text capital of the world, some 1.5 to 1.8 billion text messages a day are sent in the Philippines. In some of our computations, the overprice even reached five times this amount,” said Casiño in a statement.

Casiño castigated the NTC for having no political will to enforce its order of three months ago and punish the defiant cell phone networks.

“The NTC should stop being inutile and immediately sanction the mobile operators. The government should show these giant companies they can’t simply ignore a lawful order and get away with it. How would the telcos follow the NTC when they know that they can circumvent its orders just like that? Abusers should not be babied, they should be penalized,” said Casiño.

Casiño based his computation on the industry’s figured income on text messages of P200 million per day and estimated that about half of the messages were sent to cross networks.

PLDT group spokesperson Ramon Isberto said “this matter is now under deliberation by the NTC. We maintain our position that the proper charges have been applied with respect to SMS services.”

Yoly Crisanto, Globe spokesperson, said: “Let’s just wait for the decision of the NTC on the matter. It’s best not to say anything at this point.”■

THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P2.39-billion support of mandatory kindergarten education to help “improve basic education and broaden its accessibility to all Filipinos.”

“With the Kindergarten Education Act now in place, we can give more Filipino children a stronger foundation for scholastic excellence and achievement,” said Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad.

Under the law, Filipino children 5 years old and older are required to pass kindergarten before moving up to Grade 1—with the intention of kindergarten better preparing children for elementary school.

“Of course, the law will require funding for its efficient implementation, and the Aquino administration has addressed this need by releasing funds early,” Abad said.

“The early release will help facilitate the prompt execution of the universal kindergarten law for school year 2012-2013,” he said.

He explained that the fund was part of the P238.8billion budget for basic education this year, noting that the 2012 budget for kindergarten education was higher than the P2.34 billion earmarked last year.

“The President is determined to meet the Millennium Development Goals, particularly with respect to providing quality education for all by 2015,” Abad said.

The MDGS are a set of minimum commitments that governments make to the United Nations to eradicate poverty, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality in education, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS and ensure environmental sustainability by 2015.

In October, the DBM released P1.4 billion to fund universal preschool education aimed at helping to prepare children for formal schooling.

Of the amount, P1.38 billion was earmarked for the compensation of volunteer teachers while P32.4 million was for training and monitoring and other activities related to the implementation of the kindergarten program. ■

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VICE President Jejomar Binay has approved the purchase of seven relocation sites in northern Mindanao and the Visayas for the construction of 15,000 new homes for victims of Typhoon “Sendong.”

Binay, who is also chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said his office and the National Housing Authority (NHA) had authorized the purchase of four properties in Cagayan de Oro City, two in Iligan City and one in Dumaguete City at a total of P237 million.

“The sites would be subjected to geohazard surveys to ensure that the communities that we will build are safe and environmentally sustainable,” said Binay in a statement.

He said the NHA also allotted P288.8 million for the construction of 14,709 housing units in the relocation sites. Each unit will cost P110,000, of which P40,000 will come from the NHA and P70,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

“The resettlement projects will have socioeconomic facilities and police outposts. We will also ensure the availability of basic services for the beneficiaries,” Binay said. ■

Gov’t to rid busy Edsa of provincial bus terminals

BY PAOLO G. MONTECILLO Philippine Daily Inquirer SAY GOOD-BYE to bus terminals on Edsa.

In a briefing, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas II said that bus firms would be forced to give up their terminals on the busy thoroughfare and move to three passenger terminals that would be built with the approval of the government in separate areas in Metro Manila.

The move is in line with President Aquino’s Executive Order (EO) No. 67 which orders several government agencies to work together to establish integrated mass transport terminals in the metropolis as part of efforts to decongest major thoroughfares.

Roxas said that implementing the EO would involve the revision of routes of all provincial buses to start or end at any of the three government-approved terminals.

“There will be uniformity of franchises. The end-points of their franchise will be at these stations,” he added.

One of the terminals will serve the northern part of Metro Manila. The other will cater to the southern part and the third to the eastern portion. The terminals will be located near other modes of mass transport such as train lines to make it easier for travellers to get to their destinations.

“Because the people are our bosses, we want to make traveling safe and reliable,” Roxas said.

He added: “We are putting the welfare of the people at the center of our initiatives. It’s not that they have not always been our focus but they will be even more so now.”

The establishment of the government-approved terminals is expected to significantly reduce the number of provincial buses which enter Metro Manila to drop off passengers at their respective terminals—in the process contributing to road congestion.

Right now, there are 7,736 buses in Metro Manila. About 5,300 of these ply routes inside the metropolis while the rest ply provincial routes.■

News-Phils What’s the weather?

Ask a farmer

BY KRISTINE L. ALAVE Philippine Daily Inquirer IS IT going to rain? Farmers will soon have the answer.

Farmers in Irosin, Sorsogon, who are in the path of typhoons, and two other towns would soon provide weather information such as rainfall and humidity to the weather bureau in Manila.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and the mayors of Irosin; Gerona, Tarlac, and Tubigon, Bicol, signed a memorandum of agreement on the setting up of automatic weather stations (AWS) in their municipalities.

The Local Government Units and Pagasa also committed to share the

Chavit now backs sin tax reform

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) has found an unlikely supporter of the sin tax reform law in Luis “Chavit” Singson, governor of tobacco-rich Ilocos Sur and author of the current tobacco excise tax law.

scientific information they would gather. This would give Pagasa more accurate information on local weather systems.

On the other hand, the mayors said they were pioneering climate information and forecasting for agriculture to give them sufficient warning of extreme weather conditions to be able to build defenses against destruction to lives and properties.

Irosin Mayor Eduardo Ong said: “We really need this weather station.

We are the rice granary of the province. Sometimes we don’t know how much rain is going to fall and when.”

“We need the information to help our farmers, so we can tell them when to harvest,” he added.

The information on rainfall is also important as it would help irrigators determine when to release water so as to avoid flooding.

In a press conference at the DOH office in Manila, Singson explained his turnaround: “Takot ako sa monopoly (I am afraid of monopolies).”

He was referring to the recent merger of the mammoth tobacco firm Philip Morris and the Lucio Tan-owned Fortune Tobacco Corp., which virtually created a monopoly in the tobacco industry.

Singson, who had admitted handing over to former President Joseph Estrada millions of pesos in tobacco tax kickbacks, yesterday said the merger gave the two companies the power to control the price of tobacco “and our farmers are already crying.”

“Perhaps, many of you are wondering why I am here because for many years, I had been among the groups opposing plans to increase cigarette taxes... But all those years, I observed that only the manufacturers benefited [from the tax law] and not the farmers,” Singson told reporters.

Singson is the author of the Tobacco Excise Tax, also known as Republic Act No. 7171, which has boosted the economy of the Virginia-tobacco producing provinces in the Ilocos region.

He stressed that the Aquino administration’s plan to restructure the excise taxes on tobacco products will be a boon to all Virginia-tobacco farmers in the Ilocos, contrary to the belief of some lawmakers that an increase would kill the tobacco industry.

“It’s not true that it will destroy the industry, that farmers will be badly affected,” said Singson, adding that an increase in tobacco taxes would even provide farmers with the latest farming technology. He

Ong noted that the weather in recent years had become unpredictable. In the past, the rains came during the months of June and July like clockwork. But recently, heavy downpours lasted for days in January. “We couldn’t plant,” Ong said.

Agriculture officials said having accessible data on the weather would boost farmers’ resiliency and lessen their risks against climate change.

Farmers often complain that severe weather warnings are slow to reach them, leaving them with little time to harvest or save their crops before a storm swooped in. The DA said the most basic AWS for agriculture costs between P30,000 and P50,000.

The establishment of weather stations in key agriculture areas is part of the Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) project to integrate climate change into local agriculture management. ■

described the current tobacco farming methods in his region as “antique” and most often a “hit and miss” system.

He said reforms in the law would also draw more tobacco industry players, thus empowering farmers to dictate the prices of their harvest.

He said the annual P4.5 billion allocated to tobacco farmers would increase under the reform measure being aggressively pushed by the DOH, although for more altruistic reasons.

The sin tax reform initiative, filed by Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, aims to shift to a simple unitary tax system for all tobacco and alcohol products.

Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr., president of the 80-member League of Provinces of the Philippines, expressed his support yesterday to the DOH in pushing for reforms in the sin tax law, saying it will “help the government’s universal health care program.”

The DOH projected that an increase in sin taxes would generate at least P60.7 billion in additional government income this year. Of this figure, P45 billion will be allocated to tobacco farmers while the rest will fund the government’s universal health care program.

In batting for Abaya’s House Bill 5727, Health Secretary Enrique Ona explained that an increase in taxes on cigarettes would help curb the prevalence of smoking among the youth. ■

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Ex-officers behind oust-aquino plot, says Trillanes

BY CATHY YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PLOT to oust President Aquino is real and those behind it are using the criminal cases filed against erring military officers to convince recruits the current administration is antimilitary and procommunist.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said as much in a phone interview, adding that those attempting to recruit soldiers to their cause were also spreading the rumor that President Aquino had offered communist leader Jose Ma. Sison a Cabinet post.

Trillanes said some retired military officers were doing the recruiting of active Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel.

“They are using the same tactics and recruitment lines of the 1980s during the time of President Cory (Aquino),” the senator said.

Last week at the anniversary of the Presidential Security Group, President Aquino said there were people out to topple him.

While he did not identify those behind the supposed plot, Mr. Aquino described them as those whose illegal activities had been adversely affected by his anticorruption campaign.

“Concerned soldiers alerted me about this,” said Trillanes, no stranger to ouster plots himself following his leadership of two attempts to oust former President Gloria Macapagal-arroyo.

The senator said possible recruits are invited to dinner where their likelihood of joining a plot against the Aquino administration is gauged.

“The group that invites the soldiers floats ideas about an ouster plot. The soldiers who appear or sound like they have a grudge are identified. They are invited to another event where the conversation is taken to the next level,” Trillanes said.

He, however, said that “many of those invited are not biting. That’s how the information reached us. The soldiers would rather report the anti-administration efforts than join them.”

Recruiters would reportedly weave into their conversations with potential recruits the supposed harassment being heaped on Navy personnel accused in the death of Navy Ensign Philip Pestaño, the human rights case lodged against retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and the plunder charge filed against former AFP comptroller Brig. Gen. Carlos Garcia.

“The recruiters are making it appear that military officers are being harassed by weaving together cases that are not related in any way. They also point out that the release of members of the Morong 43 should be seen as something objectionable,” Trillanes said.

The Morong 43 is the group of health workers who were arrested by the military in a resort in Morong, Rizal, for allegedly engaging in subversive activities.

Trillanes said those being targeted for recruitment belonged to different batches of the Philippine Military Academy. ■

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Opinion

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

PUBLIC LIVES

The ‘upper’ house

BY RANDY DAVID Philippine Daily Inquirer THE WORD “senator”—like “sir,” “senior” and “senile”—comes from the Latin “senex,” meaning an old person. In many countries, the senate is largely an honorary assembly of wise elders who occupy their seats either by inheritance or by appointment. Not so in the Philippines, where the Constitution treats the Senate and the House of Representatives as coequal and autonomous chambers of the legislature. Indeed, because they are elected by a nationwide vote, our senators see themselves as national figures and think of their position as one step removed from the presidency. It is significant that their term is twice as long as that of congressmen. For these reasons, the public cannot be faulted for thinking that the House of Representatives is called the “lower house” because it is somehow lower in the government totem pole than the Senate.

Nothing, of course, is farther from the truth. In many ways, the House has more substantial powers than the Senate. But, if one has been watching the ongoing impeachment trial, it is difficult not to think of the Senate as having the upper hand. While everyone else is held to very strict rules of conduct inside the court, the senators are able to intervene in the proceedings at any point, and to talk at will. They are allowed to question the witnesses, interrogate the

counsels of both sides, subpoena more witnesses and documents, make side comments, give speeches or lectures, and even publicly rebuke and insult the lawyers to their faces.

This is vastly different from the impeachment procedure followed in the United States, from where we borrowed the practice. There, the senators who sit in judgment are confined to hearing testimonies and examining the evidence. If they have questions to ask, they must do so in writing and wait for the presiding officer to read them.

No one perhaps has projected political arrogance more virulently than Sen. Miriam Defensor-santiago. Seeing and hearing her berate the prosecution panel the other day, as if she was scolding schoolchildren, I was moved to ask a former justice of the Supreme Court if that was normal behavior inside our courts.

“That’s judicial abuse,” he said. That kind of language, he assured me, is not acceptable even when a judge needs to lecture a bungling lawyer. He referred me to the Code of Judicial Conduct of 1989, which may be more familiar to senior judges than the 2004 version. Canon 3, Rule 3.04 of the old code might well have been written for judges afflicted with Senator Santiago’s temperament. It states: “A judge should be patient, attentive, and courteous to lawyers, especially the inexperienced, to litigants, witnesses, and others appearing before the court. A judge should avoid unconsciously

falling into the attitude of mind that the litigants are made for the courts, instead of the courts for the litigants.”

Time and again, in various rulings, the Supreme Court has warned judges to show great care in their conduct inside the court. In Conde v.

City Judge Superable Jr., the high court reminds judges: “Perhaps to no government official is the truism that a public office is a public trust more applicable. He dispenses justice for the community. He is its instrument to assure that everyone be given his due. He speaks and acts for the state, not for himself. His personal feelings must not get the better of him.”

“Judges are not common men and women, whose errors men and women forgive and time forgets,” the high court intones in Office of the Court Administrator v. Bartolome. “Judges sit as the embodiment of the people’s sense of justice, their last recourse where all other institutions have failed. As such they bring stability to society, especially where society is under stress. They should prove that the system, after all, works even if the system has its builtin weaknesses.”

More pointedly, the Supreme Court in Juan de la Cruz v. Carretas warns that “a judge who is inconsiderate, discourteous or uncivil to lawyers who appear in his sala commits an impropriety and fails in his duty to reaffirm the people’s faith in the judiciary … that it is reprehensible for a judge to humiliate a lawyer, … that a judge must at all times be temperate

in his language…. And that equanimity and judiciousness should be the constant marks of a dispenser of justice.” A judge “descends to the level of a sharp-tongued, ill-mannered petty tyrant when he utters harsh words.”

One can only stand in awe of the meekness with which grown men from the prosecution panel—legislators in their own right—took Senator Santiago’s tirade against them. They have given flesh to the phrase, “I submit, your honor.” So strident was the senator’s harangue that even private lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre’s supposedly contemptuous act of covering his ears while she spoke seemed nothing more than the pathetic reflex of a little boy being bullied by his own teacher. If Aguirre had meant to be disrespectful, he would not have bothered to explain himself. He could simply have yelled to her, from across the hall, “Chill out, lady!”

But law is nothing if not a culture of restraint. The House delegation has conducted itself with admirable composure in the face of repeated provocation. I find it disturbing that the Senate as an impeachment court would routinely cede the floor to Senator Santiago at the start of a session and allow her to set the tone with a rant dripping with recrimination.

I doubt if this is how the Senate wants to be remembered. Because of her, this is turning out to be indeed an impeachment sui generis.

Instead of prosecuting the case against the Chief Justice, the House finds itself pitted against the Senate.■

Materials that could be recycled are sorted: glass, metal, etc., amidst foul smell, flies, rats— and shattered lives. “Many were children, some as young as 6… Periodically, an aborted fetus turned up among dead cats and dogs…” Many youngsters are on drugs. “There is no future anyway,” a 15-year-old says.

An illiterate scavenger asked the priest to write a letter to a daughter he has not seen in a year. Being illiterates, bride and groom affixed thumb marks on the contract at a marriage presided by Father Heinz. “Not wanting to embarrass anybody, I added my thumb mark on the contract…. People smiled. Here was a priest who did not know how to write.”

Inayawan scavengers set aside partially rotten fruit and vegetables. “They eat them for snacks.” Manila’s Smokey Mountain scavengers dub the thin gruel they make from food scraps as “papag,” the late painter Joey Velasco discovered. Velasco then was tracking down 12 slum kids who modeled for his Last Supper oil painting, “Hapag ng Pagasa.”

“While waiting for the next truck, I’d listen to people’s life stories,” Father Heinz recalled.

Three women lost two children each because they could not afford hospitalization. Weng, 23, and husband James have five kids. They resorted to “5-6” usurers to get medicine for a dying child.

The 20-percent interest per month means all their income is in hock, till kingdom come.

Two women knelt in front of the 5-6 “banker usurer” to beg consideration. No mercy was

forthcoming. “Amazingly, some are even grateful to the loan shark,” Father Heinz noted.

“He saved lives of loved ones. This is an expression of utang na loob…”

In the dump, basic ecclesial communities guide people to see their condition in the context of the Gospel. They probe alternative lifestyles and craft projects. Conversion of heart and liberation from oppression go together. “‘My name is Lyra,’ says the girl with the big smile and badly made-up face. She is trolling for customers in a red-light district. Others rush up to tell Lyra I’m there to help. We talk.

And this leads us to a 68-year-old woman at a small stall displaying candies and cigarettes. “‘This is my mother Luccrecia,’ Lyra says.

The mother painfully displays a fractured right arm. The money she earned paid for X-rays, but wasn’t enough for surgery. She could not hide the pain from her daughter.

“Lyra could not bear to see her mother suffer. She quit school. Going to Cebu’s redlight district, the young desperate girl in her naivety thought, was the fast way to earn money for her mother’s surgery…. A young promising life… forced into prostitution for her mother’s medicine.”

Did all this “journeying” change the lives of the marginalized for the better or not, some ask.

Father Heinz has not had time for navelgazing.

“There is no doubt,” he says, “it has changed (me) into a different person.” ■

VIEWPOINT

Jumbo sneakers

BY JUAN L. MERCADO Philippine Daily Inquirer NO MISTAKING “those oversized rubber shoes,” Heinz Kuluke recalled. This Society of the Divine Word priest has served indigents in Cebu City’s garbage dumps, streets and slums for almost 26 years now. He gave those large sneakers to “Fred” weeks earlier.

Fred was scrounging through garbage bins when Father Heinz, in fluent Cebuano, offered him some food. “(He) had not eaten for two days and was caught by surprise…. It was the smile on a face without a nose that kept me moving forward.” Fred had stumps for arms and feet.

Released from a leprosarium years back, Fred had been abandoned by relatives and friends, Father Heinz wrote. “I visited on a regular basis and Fred made me part of his life”—then he disappeared without a trace.

Weeks later, Father Heinz stumbled across Fred. He lay, eyes open, among other “sidewalk residents” in front of Carbon market. “Seeing the oversized rubber shoes, I recognized him immediately. He must have died a few minutes earlier. I closed Fred’s eyes and traced the sign of the cross on his forehead. I requested his ‘ sidewalk neighbors’ to say a prayer. Then, I informed the police who took his body away.”

Father Heinz’s job description is SVD superior for southern Philippines. Mornings, he teaches post-graduate students at the University

of San Carlos. Nights, he “journeys with (those) at the margins of society”: thousands who huddle in the most unlikely places—from cemetery shacks to red-light districts, to garbage dumps.

“No one can do this alone,” he stressed.

Today, 70 coworkers are implementing 25 to 35 projects annually through the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC). Some Cebu families and foreign donors support programs that range from nutrition, medical care, alternative livelihood to education.

Father Heinz backpedals from the spotlight.

He capped guests to 15 when Germany awarded him its Federal Cross of Merit last January. In contrast, City Hall never acknowledged JPIC and its work. “No prophet is honored in his own country.” Yet, the work is vital in a world where more and more people are dehumanized.

Fred and others are featured in “Where God Has Found His Home,” a 58-page booklet Father Heinz wrote. Published in the centennial year of SVD presence in the Philippines, this tract compresses 26 real-life tales of people who huddle unseen, like Lazarus, into a mosaic of pain. The pattern is replicated in Davao, Iloilo, Calbayog, Cagayan and other cities.

“I was provided with a crude kahig,” (rake), the priest recalls when he lived with families of 160 scavengers in Inayawan garbage dump.

This is Cebu’s version of Metro Manila’s “Smokey Mountain.” Here, more than 75 trucks unload trash daily.

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THERE’S THE RUB

Opinion

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 14

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Success

BY CONRADO DE QUIROS Philippine Daily Inquirer THE PERSONALITIES in the impeachment have all sorts of advice to give to the new crop of lawyers. Not least of them Renato Corona himself who quipped in a congratulatory speech to them last week: “Kung gusto niyong magvolunteer as additional defense counsel (for me), puwede na rin kayo.” Others had far more serious things to say, but they were largely in the nature of platitudes. Certainly, they themselves were not the best examples of the idealism and high-mindedness they were encouraging the new entrants to the force to possess.

I myself feel rather strongly about this, having just had a son-in-law, my daughter Miranda’s husband, who passed the bar exams.

Truly the impeachment offers whole vistas into what being a lawyer is or ought to be, and conversely what a lawyer is not or ought not to be. Enough to want to press, and impress, upon the new lawyers a few do’s and don’ts. Though, as you will notice, drawing as I am from the impeachment, I have a lot more don’ts than do’s.

One, whatever you do, don’t be a Corona.

That’s an advice actually that applies to any profession. Have some respect for your profession. You’re an ordinary lawyer, show some fineness or delicadeza, a way of comporting yourself in life that will never fail you. You’re a chief justice, show more. While at

that, you want to be chief justice, get to be so by showing the world the best that a jurist can be.

Certainly, do not get to be so by being sneaked into the position while the creatures of the dark flit about by the second most detested Filipino leader after the War. Have some respect for your office. Or indeed for public office, if you want to go there, if you aspire to go there, if you manage to get there.

A public office is a public trust. You deserve to be in public office only to the extent that you can show yourself fit for it, in the sense of having the skills for it and having the moral fiber for it. You do not deserve public office only so long as you can cling to it, daring others to prove you are a crook and a criminal while holding the power to prevent them from doing so. You get to be chief justice, show even more appreciation for that principle. Don’t be the epitome of pakapalan, a kapit-tuko like the two most detested Filipino leaders after the War. Hell, have some respect for yourself. Have the heart to shoot yourself in the heart if you’ve done something to shame your mother or father to the roots of their being.

Two, never forget that the law serves justice.

Your relatives, who spent a great deal for your education, or who sacrificed a great deal while you toiled in the night to become lawyers, will naturally be elated that you have become what you sought out to be. I do not know though that that will be the same feeling of the general populace. I suspect they will not be elated, they

will be fearful. In this country, the prospect of having more lawyers is not a promise, it is a threat.

For good reason: In ordinary times in these parts, the law is subjected to the most strenuous exercises. Lawyers like to bend the law, stretch the law, contort the law. They call this a display of legal erudition, the public calls it palusot.

The result being that if you’re rich, you can, and will, get away with murder. That is by no means metaphorical.

In extraordinary times in these parts, the law is employed for the most perverse ends. Two regimes in particular have done that, using the law to foment lawlessness, using the law to champion injustice. Never forget that the most lawful regime in this country was martial law: It had law to justify everything, including murder. Hell, including even the Filipinization of Ronnie Nathanielsz. Never forget that the second most lawful regime in this country was Gloria’s regime. It had a law to justify everything, including mayhem. Hell, including even turning Corona into chief justice.

Spurn that kind of law. Scorn that kind of lawyer. Be part of the cure, not the disease.

Three, never believe that the natural trajectory or career path of lawyers is to go from a lowerpaying job to a higher-paying one. By all means go to a lower-paying one if you realize that the higher-paying one can only make you look like Miriam in the end.

Nobility and loftiness and idealism are not alien

to the profession, they are kindred to it. In its deepest sense, law is to be found in the heart, not in the statute books, or, heaven forbid, in the brick and mortar, steel and glass, that make up the prideful buildings of law firms. Like that idiotic one in the Fort that likes to call itself “the Firm,” forgetting, or perfectly remembering, that John Grisham originally used that epithet in a thoroughly ironic sense, to mean the group that employed its talents for the Mob, turning itself into an instrument not of law but of mob rule in every sense of the word.

Remember as well, that in the deepest sense, success, like law, is to be found in the heart, not in the approbation of peers, particularly where the peers are steeped in the culture of “forget the world, we take care of our own,” or in the trappings of wealth and power. That will not always be easy, particularly during reunions, when people get to be compared, how fantastically things have turned out for one, being employed as he is in a big firm and now owning a big house and a big car, and how miserable things have gone for the other, having “given up his future” to become a human rights lawyer. Success is the strangest thing there is. It is certainly one of the strangest words in the dictionary. In this country in particular, it has always been defined wrongly.

Four, whatever you do, try to be a Pepe Diokno.

You can’t be more successful than that. ■

GET REAL

No Plan B to fall on

BY SOLITA COLLAS-MONSOD Philippine Daily Inquirer THERE WAS a rumor at the beginning of the impeachment brouhaha, attributed to those close to the center of action, which I dismissed at the time because I could not believe anyone could be so stupid or arrogant. But now I am not so sure.

What was the rumor? That there was no need for intense preparation and study before charges were filed, because Chief Justice Renato Corona, like then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, would resign rather than face trial.

So why go through all the trouble of doing the needed homework? Just throw the book at him, then drag his name through the mud to speed up his resignation—which must have been the reason for all those pre-trial press conferences and post-trial-session-mortems.

So when Corona dug in his heels, there was no Plan B to fall on. To make it worse, some of the prosecution witnesses they presented were either uncooperative or had no personal knowledge of what they were testifying to; moreover, some of the evidence they presented were of doubtful provenance and in any case seem to have been obtained only AFTER the charges were filed, with some being obtained during the trial itself, with the aid of some senator-judges.

The prosecution’s case was also hurt by some decisions of the impeachment court (e.g.,

no subpoenas for the Supreme Court justices as well as the Corona wife and children, if memory serves; no defiance to the high court’s temporary restraining order on the foreign currency accounts).

The combination of lack of preparation and trial setbacks came to a head, with the rest of the prosecution’s “100 witnesses” failing to materialize. The prosecution was left with two choices: Withdraw the five other complaints— which had even weaker bases than the three already presented—or face the specter of even greater public humiliation which would be captured on TV for posterity if they tried to wing it.

Given that some of them are facing reelection or election to other positions, discretion must have been the better part of valor, and they chose the first course. Besides, the withdrawal of the charges could be given a favorable spin—for example, they could say (outside of the court, of course) that prosecuting the other charges in a long-drawn-out trial would needlessly keep attention away from other burning issues, particularly because a strong case had already been made. Penultimately, they may be thinking that they have already won in the court of public opinion, where they were blaming their setbacks on mere “technicalities” (which goaded Sen. Miriam Santiago to lecture them on due process and equal protection) and proclaiming Corona’s guilt.

And if, horror of horrors, Corona is acquitted,

they still will have one last card to play, or one last hope: that Corona will resign anyway because while he will have the legal right to remain in office, his moral leadership will be mortally impaired.

I can deal with that last hope in short order: If Corona didn’t think there was anything legally or morally wrong with his accepting a midnight appointment, does anyone really think that he will have any compunction about continuing in office if acquitted?

As to the hope of the prosecutors that they have already won in the court of public opinion, they may be in for a big surprise: According to the Laylo Report (Pedro “Junie” Laylo is a respected pollster; google him), a national survey of 1,500 Filipino adults (error margin: +/- 2.6 percent) covering the period Jan. 28-Feb. 6 shows that 86 percent of Filipinos will respect whatever decision that the Senate impeachment court will make in the Corona trial. This, even though close to half (47 percent) were undecided about the Senate’s fairness (only 17 percent said they are not, while 34 percent think they are). It would seem that the public—at that point, anyway—wasn’t buying any of the PR being foisted on it by either side, even as it was admitting that it was not as competent as the Senate to render judgment. How about that?

What is more, according to the Laylo Report, only the charge that Corona has shown partiality to the Arroyo administration (one of those withdrawn) is considered credible by

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close to half of those surveyed. They seem to be withholding judgment on the credibility of the other seven.

Of course, public opinion may have changed in less than a month. Can’t wait for the next Laylo Report. But it still looks like the public isn’t about to take matters into its own hands, or be easily gulled, one way or the other.

Thus, the only hope for Corona to be kicked out of office lies with the Senate, and one can only imagine, all protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, the kind of pressure/ negotiations/quid pro quos that may be taking place, for and against conviction/acquittal.

Which is where I think the Iglesia ni Cristo rally that took place on Tuesday comes in: If pressure is being exerted by the executive branch, the INC may have seen fit to remind all and sundry that it is a political force to contend with. What the effect will be on the Senate vote, I amneither able nor willing to make a guess.

In the meantime, there seems to be a character assassination campaign against Supreme Court Associate Justice Meilou Sereno. The spectacle of the President and the Chief Justice in a mudfight is disgusting enough. But making it appear that Sereno is to P-noy what Corona is to GMA is the pits. Her CV spoke for itself when she was a candidate for the high court. And I still think that her appointment is one of P-noy’s biggest achievements. I only ask that one read her decisions/dissents (I have) before passing judgment. The country needs more like her. ■

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Sports

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Azkals heavy underdogs in AFC Challenge Cup

BY CEDELF P. TUPAS Philippine Daily Inquirer WITH THREE former champions in their group, the odds will be stacked against the Philippine Azkals in the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup kicking off last March 9 in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Azkals coach Michael Weiss admitted that his team will go into the tournament that serves as a qualifier for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup as heavy underdogs.

“We have a very tough group,” Weiss said in an interview with Kathmandubased website Goalnepal.com.

“Tajikistan, India and our first opponent, North Korea, are all three past winners. I think we’re the underdogs but we will give them a hard fight and that’s for sure.”

North Korea, a qualifier in the 2010 World Cup, will be the Azkals’ first assignment. Only the top two teams from the group will advance to the semifinals.

The Philippines is the only team in the eight-team main tournament that had gone through the prequalifying stage, where it beat Mongolia last year.

Weiss said he is more focused on his squad’s current form rather than the pedigree of their foes.

The Azkals are coming off a 1-1 draw with Malaysia in a friendly last Wednesday. They also played three matches in the Middle East against the Olympic teams of Australia and Uzbekistan and a club team in Qatar, winning once and losing twice.

“Mostly, we focus on our own system and we’ve refined that in the last couple of weeks and so we have a very good picture of how we want to play,” said Weiss.

“That’s more important than to look at your opponent.”

The Azkals have reverted to amore direct, counterattacking style, an approach that worked well in their historic run to the 2010 Suzuki Cup semifinals.

“We’re in good shape, we’re very positive and we have super spirit,” said Weiss. “We had a very nice camp in Dubai and the match against Malaysia were all good signs.”

James Younghusband, who captained the Azkals in the 1-1 draw against Malaysia, also expressed satisfaction over the team’s buildup in Nepal.

Younghusband made the pronouncement even as two of his teammates—lexton Moy and Angel Guirado—are facing a sexual harassment complaint before the AFC disciplinary committee for their conduct prior to the match against Malaysia.

Former Philippine Olympic Committee president Cristy Ramos filed the complaint, saying she felt disrespected when Moy joked about the size of her brassier while Guirado was wearing only his briefs when she, as match commissioner, conducted the prematch inspection.

“Preparations for the AFC Challenge Cup are going well. Shame that there are people back home trying to bring football down,” Younghusband said on Twitter.

A former women’s football standout herself, Ramos drew strong support from Sen. Pia Cayetano, who pushed for an immediate and independent probe on the incident by sports officials.

“Sexual harassment must not be tolerated anytime, anywhere,” said Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations. “Such acts should not go unpunished.”

“I call for the immediate investigation of this incident.. not only because this is a serious allegation made by match commissioner Cristy Ramos, who is a sports official, but also because the Azkals are looked up to by the youth as modernday heroes and role models.” Ramos actually took

Younghusband, as captain, to task for not taking action when the incident inside the Azkals’ dugout happened.

A former women’s football standout herself, Ramos drew strong support from Sen. Pia Cayetano, who pushed for an immediate and independent probe on the incident by sports officials.

“Sexual harassment must not be tolerated anytime, anywhere,” said Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations. “Such acts should not go unpunished.”

“I call for the immediate investigation of this incident... not only because this is a serious allegation made by match commissioner Cristy Ramos, who is a sports official, but also because the Azkals are looked up to by the youth as modern-day heroes and role models.” ■

Manny Pacquiao

Same Pacquiao training routine against Bradley

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer MANNY Pacquiao will stick to his tested routine of eight weeks of training for his showdown with Timothy Bradley on June 9 at the Mgmgrand in Las Vegas.

“Let’s get it (training) going,” Pacquiao told sportswriters during the PSA Awards night Saturday at the Manila Hotel.

Pacquiao, who’ll be staking his WBO welterweight crown, said he’ll start jogging midway this month to get in shape before holding training camp in Baguio City either in late March or the first week of April.

The fighter of the decade will spend three weeks in Baguio under the guidance of Hall of Famer trainer Freddie Roach.

Team Pacquiao will then proceed to Roach’s Wild Card gym in Hollywood for the final phase of training.

According to Pacquiao, he needs to start early as he’s been out of the ring since last November when he won by majority decision over Juan Manuel Marquez in their third battle.

Though installed as a 3-1 favorite, Pacquiao doesn’t want to be lulled into complacency again.

Pacquiao recently admitted that he underestimated Marquez the last time out and neglected his plyometrics training, which resulted in what many felt was an unimpressive showing.

Their first fight ended in a controversial draw while the second went to Pacquiao by split decision.

The unbeaten Bradley, the WBO light welterweight titlist, promised to stun the boxing world with a win over the eightdivision world champion. ■

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PH female pugs shut out Sri Lankans

BY ROY LUARCA Philippine Daily Inquirer CARMEN, Bohol—the Philippine women’s team stamped its class over Sri Lanka, 4-0, in their dual match that preceded the opening regular bouts of the 2012 PLDT-ABAP National Amateur Boxing Championships yesterday at the municipal gym of this town noted for its Chocolate Hills.

Josie Gabuco, gold medalist in the 2011 Indonesia Southeast Asian Games, started the Filipinos’ onslaught when she trounced Kasala Nalminis, 14-8, in their light flyweight tussle.

Gabuco capped her overpowering show by staggering Nalminis with a left hook midway in the fourth and final round for a standing count.

Featherweights Janice Vallares, SEA Games silver medalist Nesty Petecio and Ricalene Aquino also hurdled their respective rivals with ease.

Vallares subdued Sitari Sadaceka, 12-9; Petecio outclassed Nilmani Sayasinhe, 115; and Aquino repulsed Shiromala Wedathane, 10-7.

Light flyweight Alice Kate Aparri, also a SEAG gold medalist, beat compatriot Irish Magno, 9-4, in another bout that spiced up the opening rites of the four-day tournament organized by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines and supported by PLDT. Present during the brief inaugural rites in this town, 57 kilometers north of Tagbilaran City, were Abap president Ricky Vargas, secretary general Patrick Gregorio and executive director Ed Picson.

Also in attendance were Carmen Mayor Conchita “Che” Toribio delos Reyes, gradddaughter of 1932 Olympic high jump bronze medalist Simeon Toribio, and Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Li. Vargas, also the Maynilad president, said the holding of the tournament here is in consonance with Abap’s commitment to grassroots development.

“Abap makes sure we go to the country side to be able to flush out raw talent that would have otherwise been left unnoticed,” said Vargas.

“I am confident we will see a lot of potential here.”

A total of 140 boxers divided among 25 teams are seeing action in the four-day event which will hold its second batch of matches today in Maribojoc town. The last two days will be held in Tagbilaran.

Mindanao is well-represented here by Davao del Norte, Zamboanga, General Santos, Camiguin, Manolo Fortich, Misamis Oriental, Sarangani, Cabadbaran, Gingoog, Asuncion, Adlayan and Datu Puti.

The Visayan teams are Mandaue, Cebu City, Negros Occidental, Bago, Dumaguete, Northern Samar, Leyte, Maasin and host Tagbilaran.

Mandaluyong spearheads the Luzon contingent also composed of Team Buddy Andrada, Puerto Princesa and Tayabas, Quezon. ■

News-Canada

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 16

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Four foreign workers killed in head on crash on a busy Alberta highway

The Canadian Press INNISFAIL, Alta. - Members of Edmonton’s Filipino community are in grief after four temporary foreign workers were killed in a head-on crash by the driver of an SUV who RCMP believe may have been drunk as he wildly drove the wrong way down a divided highway.

The dead include two 35-year-old men, a 39-year-old woman and a 52-year-old woman. A fifth occupant of the vehicle -

a 29-year-old female - sustained serious injuries and underwent surgery Monday.

The driver of the SUV walked away unhurt but was taken into custody after refusing to provide a breath test. ``It’s a very, very difficult thing,’’ said Esmerelda Agbulos, an honorary consul for the Philippines based in Edmonton. ``It’s horrific, because these people do not have relatives here. They’re here to work and when something like this happens, it’s a tragedy.’’

Agbulos said she knew the identities of those involved but did not want to disclose them as all their relatives back home had not yet been notified.

She said all were employed at the Coast Edmonton Plaza hotel and although she wasn’t sure where each one worked, she said it could be any range of jobs from housekeeping to working the front desk. ``You leave your homeland to seek a better opportunity,’’ explained Agbulos. ``Some of them have families of their own they have a wife or children - and they have to support them. The wages they’re getting

here helps a lot in the Philippines. They’re sacrificing everything to come here. ``We, as a community, really get together and try and help.’’

The crash happened at the southern edge of Innisfail on Highway 2, the main route between Calgary and Edmonton, shortly before midnight Sunday.

RCMP Const. Doug Dewar said an offduty police officer first noticed the SUV travelling the wrong direction on the highway between Olds and Bowden, north of Calgary.

It was swerving, Dewar said. Cars travelling the right direction moved to get out of the way.

The SUV managed to make it 20 kilometres before it crashed head-on into a Dodge Journey carrying the workers.

Four people in the car died and a fifth was taken to hospital in Edmonton for surgery.

The driver of the SUV showed signs that he had been drinking, Dewar said. The man was held in custody because he refused a breath test, the officer said.

The two vehicles were travelling at highway speeds at the time of the crash.

Road conditions were good. Everyone in the crash was wearing seatbelts and all airbags worked properly, Dewar said. ``All their relatives, so far as we have been able to tell, do not reside in Canada.

And so we will be dealing with a consular staff to notify family through official channels,’’ Dewar said.

The accident brought back memories of another recent highway tragedy involving workers who had come to Canada to earn a living.

Last month, 10 migrant farm workers from South America and a truck driver were killed in a crash in Ontario.

A van carrying the workers from a poultry farm, most of them from Peru, drove through a stop sign and into the path of a truck in the tiny hamlet of Hampstead.

Three other migrants were badly injured in the crash.

While some of the workers had been in Canada for several years, others had arrived just days before the crash. ■

Policy expert calls for independent review of education spending in B.C.

Protesters along Minoru Road in Richmond, B.C.

BY DIRK MEISSNER The Canadian Press VICTORIA-The numbers are real, but when applied to education budgets in British Columbia, they’re known to turn, twist and dance.

More than 40,000 B.C. public school teachers are on a three-day legal strike this week, largely over disputed education budget numbers that control class sizes, student make-up of those classes, and, of course, teacher pay.

The teachers maintain the B.C. government has slashed education funding, a position often repeated by frustrated parents.

The government maintains the education budget continues to increase. ``It’s really tough because you can see the B.C. Teachers Federation as an advocacy group that represents teachers,’’ said Prof. Kim Speers, a public policy expert at the University of Victoria’s school of public administration. ``Then there’s the government who does their own research and sometimes those numbers don’t always match.’’

They almost always don’t.

Last fall, the BCTF presented a position paper to the government’s all-party finance committee suggesting B.C.’s education budget would be $6.8 billion today if the government funded education at 2001 levels, the first year the Liberals were elected. ``The falling ratio has resulted in a significant loss of funding to public education,’’ said the report. ``If 2011-12 funding for K-12 education were restored to the 2001-02 percentage of the provincial budget, an additional $1.6 billion would be available for public education.’’

The report said education funding comprised 26 per cent of the B.C. budget in 1991 and it is 15 per cent today. If education funding was restored to 1991-92 ratios, the budget would increase by $3.9 billion, the report said.

But Niels Veldhuis, a Fraser Institute budget expert, said his calculations find that education funding has increased by 32 per cent since the Liberals were elected in 2001 and when inflation is factored into the equation, the increase is still 10.8 per cent.

He said the teachers’ union is calling the

education numbers a cut when the money has actually increased, though at a slower rate than spending on health care. ``What they (the teachers’ union) are doing, in my opinion, is purposefully misleading British Columbians because they’re suggesting that education has been cut when that is 100-per-cent absolutely false,’’ said Veldhuis, who suggested skeptics consult page 144 of the government’s current budget and fiscal plan to see the increases.

Education Ministry statistics also indicate another source of the confusion: Money for education is based on the number of pupils in the system and those numbers are dropping.

Ministry statistics show student enrolment has dropped almost 42,000 students this year compared to last year to 556,045 students provincewide.

Per-pupil funding has increased $2,229 per student to $8,491 for each student, but there are fewer students being funded.

And the numbers show the belt around education funding growth is tightening, as it is around health-care spending growth.

Education budgets were rising at a rate of 4.8 per cent in 2005, but that dropped to 1.1 per cent in 2009 and the goal outlined in last month’s budget is to restrict it further to 0.6 per cent growth each year for the next three years. That compares with health care spending, which had been increasing at seven per cent per year, but is estimated to drop to 3.2 per cent each year for the next three years.

The ministry and school districts say they can meet the targets by continually looking to find efficiencies in their operations.

Shared service agreements between 17 Vancouver-area school districts could more efficiently deliver $400 million in outside classroom services, the budget suggests.

Potential savings in joint tendering and transportation services could produce savings between three per cent and eight per cent annually.

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Prof. Charles Ungerleider, an education sociologist at the University of B.C. and a former B.C. deputy minister of education, said shared services, including unifying payroll systems across the province, could save money, but not much, because over the years education funding hasn’t kept pace with rising costs. ``I think it’s true that there are some efficiencies to be found in the system,’’ he said. ``I don’t think there are enough efficiencies to be found in the system to come up with sufficient money to meet the needs of school boards.’’

Ungerleider said in the past, school boards were forced to juggle budgets to pay salary increases to support staff without budget increases. For example, he said the current budget includes a four-per-cent medical service premium increase that school boards must cover from their existing budget.

Ungerleider said the government’s plan to hold budget increases below one per cent for the next three years is only a target the government is trying to hit. ``It’s more of a statement of belief or aspiration at this point,’’ he said. ``It remains to be seen if that can be achieved.’’

The University of Victoria’s Speers said the furor around teachers’ bargaining in British Columbia has become so entrenched, with little give on the part of government and the BCTF, that it may be time for some sober, second, outside thoughts on the matter. ``That’s why I’m wondering if some type of commission, like an independent commission on education on the state of education is needed, just to get figures that are a bit independent from the stakeholders and the government,’’ Speers said.

Veldhuis agreed: ``Anything that will increase the debate about how the education system ought to be structured-how we get improved performance at either the same of lower cost -I’m in favour of.’’ ■

Immigration

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 20

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AAABC’s First immigrant seminar for 2012 well-attended Continuing Education Margie Trinidad talked about the courses and programs of general interests offered at the Continuing Education Division of the Vancouver School Board for kids from 5 years old and adults up to 95 and programs available for immigrants, like ESL, High School Graduation, academics upgrading and technical night school.

Human Resource Margie Ocaya, a human resource speaker stressed the importance of attitude and the proper frame of mind in adjusting to making it well in a Canadian workplace. She summed it up in a philosophy embodied in the acronym O’DREAM, read backwards. Thus: M- mind set; A-ask for help; E-expand your network, R – reality check (getting your professional credentials assessed, looking into the financial, psychological, emotional and financial aspects of your life), D- Dream big and O-opportunity is how you should look at a situation instead of it being a problem.

Keynote speaker Francis Ng with the participants of the AAABC Seminar.

BY FRANCES GRACE H. QUIDDAOEN Last Sunday afternoon, March 3, the Ateneo Alumni Association of BC (AAABC), whose members remain committed to being “Men and Women for Others”, held its first outreach seminar for 2012 at Collingwood Community Centre, Joyce Street, Vancouver. The seminar was aimed at helping newly landed immigrants, caregivers, contract workers and open permit holders to have more access to information.

Answering his own question, why the program was launched, Ian Choa, the current AAABC President simply said: “We want to pay it forward.” In his opening remarks, he recalled how he and his wife, Lea, were helped by fellow Filipinos get settled down when they first arrived in Canada. Choa mentioned that the program was conceptualized in collaboration with the Filipino-Chinese Association of BC, the Minister of State for Multiculturalism, Hon. Harry Bloy, the Minister of Social Development Hon. Stephanie Cadieux, Ashton College and Investors Group, the program’s Gold Sponsor and Silver Investors, respectively.

Rene Vicencio, master of ceremonies outlined the many topics that attendees could benefit from during the three-hour program.

Options While in Canada The Keynote Speaker, Francis Ng, introduced

by Atenean Francis Manalo, is a certified Canadian immigration consultant for over 30 years, a graduate of Harvard University and an immigration consulting instructor at Ashton College. Ng spoke of issues faced by immigrants and discussed the options while in Canada to become a permanent resident under various categories such as temporary workers, visitors, live-in caregivers, provincial nominees and family sponsorship. He distinguished the requirements between federal skilled workers

and provincial nominees. Ng pointed out that a speedy option for parents and grandparents to come to Canada is through the supervisa which is a part of the government’s family reunification program. He also mentioned how foreign students may apply for a student visa and eventually, could apply to become a permanent resident. Ng cautioned that those with temporary permits or status who intend to file for change of status or extension of permits must do so while their permit or visa has not yet expired in order that they will not be out of status.

Financial Planning Marco Goco of Investors Group discussed how financial planning affects the quality of life. He highlighted the importance of savings, the power of compound growth and finding hidden money and tackled what their company considered as an investor’s four cornerstone philosophy and the six pillars of financial planning to gain financial independence.

Canadian Educational System Joy Jose, from the Vancouver School Board spoke of how the Canadian public educational system in the primary and secondary levels differs from the Philippine system. She said that new students who come to Vancouver undergo central screening and are placed on grade levels in accordance with their age; that the additional 2 years in high school in Canada and the age-based placement to primary and secondary schools compound the differences between the Canadian and Philippine school system. She also pointed out that grade 12 students in Canada must take the provincial exams, render volunteer work, engage in at least 150 minutes of physical activities and develop a career life portfolio; that the pathways to education after high school could be either thru pursuit of a university degree, going to community college for degree programs or even attending Adult Education classes.

Mortgage Pete Capitulo, representative of the Riverside Mortgage Group shared information on what home buyers should know about mortgage, how to qualify for a mortgage loan, credit score, payment terms and the role of the Canadian Home Mortgage Corporation.

Philippine Consulate Services Deputy Consul General Hon. Antonio Mandap, who graced the occasion together with Consul General Hon. Joey Ampeso and Labour Attaché Bernie Julve, head of the Philippine Overseas Labour Office, discussed the various services available at the Philippine Consulate. He said that other than passport and visa issuances, their office also does notaries, authentication of documents, and assistance to Filipino nationals in distress situations to enable them to get in touch with their families. As well, he mentioned about the dual citizenship law as options for former Filipino nationals to be restored to the rights of Filipino citizenship. He also mentioned that Filipinos may register for absentee voting for Philippine national elections.

Open Forum Following AAABC Vice-President Mike Calingo’s closing remarks, the attendees had opportunities to field questions to, and converse with the speakers during the Q&A session. The seminar which ended at 8 p.m. was well-received by the attendees, based on the number of questions asked.

The Seminar Committee headed by, Rene Vicencio, was ably assisted by Francis Manalo, Carlo Imperia, Isabel Vicencio, Tess Manalo, Lea Choa, Djoma de Guzman and Eugene Piezas. ■

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A 21

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Immigration

TARGET: MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE Canada Immigration Adopts 5-Year Bar on Spousal Sponsorships

BY ROMEO P. MARQUEZ Member, investigative reporters and Editors (IRE), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada (NEPMCC) TORONTO - New restrictions to curb so-called marriages of convenience take effect on Friday (March 2, 2012), including prolonging the period to sponsor

a spouse or partner to Canada, immigration authorities announced.

As incidents of marriage fraud rose in recent months, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said a five-year bar in sponsorship has been put in place.

He said marriage fraud “poses a significant threat” to Canada’s immigration system.

“I held town hall meetings across the

country to hear from victims of marriage fraud,” states Kenney at a press conference in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga.

“In addition to the heartbreak and pain that came from being lied to and deceived, these people were angry. They felt they had been used as a way to get to Canada.

We’re taking action because immigration to Canada should not be built upon deceit,” he stresses.

Under the new regulation, sponsored spouses or partners will have to wait five years from the day they are granted permanent residence status in Canada to sponsor a new spouse or partner, the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism explained.

Previously, a sponsored spouse or partner arriving in Canada as a permanent resident could leave their sponsor and sponsor another spouse or partner themselves, while their original sponsor was still financially responsible for them for up to three years, the ministry said.

Representatives of Canadians Against Immigration Fraud (CAIF) welcomed the steps to stop marriage fraud. “These measures will definitely protect the

integrity of our immigration system,” Sam S. Benet, CAIF president said in a press statement.

The ministry said that spousal sponsorship is open to abuse when a person enters into a relationship – such as a marriage or a common law partnership – in order to circumvent Canada’s immigration law.

Online consultations in the fall of 2010 enabled the ministry to gather public opinion and ideas on how to best address marriage fraud.

“Many of the people who took part in the consultations made it abundantly clear that marriage fraud poses a significant threat to our immigration system,” Kenney says.

“Our government has listened to the victims of marriage fraud and all Canadians, and acted to crack down on those who engage in fraud and abuse Canadians’ generosity and our immigration system,” he adds.

Barring such sponsorships is consistent with similar restrictions imposed by Australia, New Zealand and the United States, according to the ministry. ■

Professional newcomers to get funding help to get credentials sooner THE CANADIAN PRESS

SASKATOON - The provincial and federal governments have unveiled a new pilot project set to support newcomers to Saskatchewan that will allow internationally trained professionals to put their skills and knowledge to work sooner.

The Immigrant Access Fund will provide microloans to help the professionals finance the cost of having their credentials recognized faster in Canada.

Immigration Minister Rob Norris says this pilot project will help align newcomers with jobs in their field of study and provide employers with more skilled workers.

The provincial government is providing $450-thousand to the IAF for the project.

IAF has also received more than $1.7-million from the federal government and $100-thousand from the Morris Foundation.

The Saskatchewan IAF project is one of the first organizations selected under the Government of Canada’s foreign credential recognition loans pilot. ``Internationally trained workers make an important contribution to Canada’s job market and economy,’’ said Ed Komarnicki, MP for Souris_Moose Mountain. ``We are working with provincial partners and organizations like IAF Saskatchewan to help internationally trained professionals find meaningful work that contributes to Canada’s overall prosperity.’’

Microloans are small loans where applicants do not need to be employed, have a credit history in Canada or have collateral.

The IAF will also collaborate with newcomer organizations, post-secondary institutes and the private sector to encourage referral to the project for clients who need financial assistance. ■

Regulated Immigration Consultant Program The program is available online and satisfies the academic requirements for registration as a Regulated Immigration Consultant.

Program starts May 14, 2012

Apply now.

Ashton College | 1190 Melville Street, Vancouver, BC Ashtoncollege.com | 604.899.0803 Accounting | Bookkeeping | Business | Financial Services | Home Inspection | Human Resources Immigration | International Trade | Sales & Marketing | Payroll Administration

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News-Canada

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 22

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A Ship Sailing in Rough Waters always loved roller-coaster rides and I felt that this might just be my most exciting ride ever.

people. I am just an ordinary student here. I was challenged by the thought.

The Beginning of a Long Journey My journey starts here. I imagine myself a vessel put out to sea. The expedition promises to be nothing less than perilous but the rewards infinitely worth it. I have no maps. I only have a vague idea of where this journey will end.

But I have the stars to guide me – my dreams – both the start and the end of this journey.

Struggles and Challenges My first few days in Halifax were a period of severe adjustment.

I am not unlike most travelers – I came prepared for this voyage. Or so I thought. I came with high spirits and a head full of ideas.

I was proud. I thought I came here to conquer.

I was wrong.

BY DR. LOWELL B. BAUTISTA “Within ourselves there is a deep place at whose edge we may sit and dream.”

- Lehrman The Maple Leaf Dream A dream. For the most part, I consider my life in Canada as a dream. Every moment I remind myself that just being here is a blessing. I feel profoundly grateful.

I left the warmth of home – a string of islands strewn along the Pacific – and sailed across the globe with a head full of dreams. If there was ever a turning point in my life, right then, I knew it was that very moment.

In my heart I tried to contain all the different emotions I was feeling then: exhilaration, fear, self-assurance, self-doubt, exhaustion, panic, optimism. I relished that moment. I have

The Ship in Turbulent Waters I woke up to find myself in Canada and all of a sudden I lost all my bearings. The familiar safety of home is now a thousand miles away: my family, my friends, my values, my sociocultural heritage. Everything is not the same: the weather, the time, the culture, the food, the architecture, the people. I am a stranger here. The word alien could not have been more appropriate. And I felt it.

I was humbled by the experience. The unfamiliar is always feared. But when everything is unfamiliar, one is left with no choice but to overcome one’s fear. I was able to accept with humility that here I need once again to find myself. I am not the same person as I was back home. I have nothing to brag about here. After all, I am living on the generosity of the Canadian government. More importantly, I found myself in the company of equally-talented, young and intelligent

I do not complain of the weather. In fact, I like the cold temperature. I do not complain of the food. In fact, I have challenged myself by not eating rice for a week. I was successful.

My diet consisted of sandwiches, carrots and grapes. It was not so bad. Needless to say, I felt like a rabbit.

I do not complain of the people. In fact, I find Canadians (Haligonians, especially) courteous, respectful, friendly and warm. I do not complain of my school. In fact, after I read the McLaren article on “The History of Legal Education in Common Law Canada”, I felt exceedingly proud for being part of such a prestigious institution. I do not complain of the curriculum. In fact, I find it sufficiently comprehensive while being suitable flexible.

I do not complain of my professors. In fact, I find them all very accommodating, eager to help, friendly and relaxed. I do not complain of the library or any of the school facilities. In fact, I find them all more than adequate.

I do not complain of the bus system, the state of the environment in Halifax, the peace and order, the churches, the architecture, music, the arts. I like everything.

If I can be very candid, I like it so much here, I do not feel the urge to go home. It only took me a few days to realize the stark

difference between the first world and the developing world. I am unashamed to say that I felt sorry for my own country. I felt extremely worried when some economists (from my own country) predicted the collapse of the Philippine economy in five years. I felt sad for my people.

This is the core of my struggle. I am now part of the Filipino diaspora. I know that I have an obligation to return home to my country and return I will. I just hope it will be worth it.

It is at once apparent that my greatest hurdle is with my own self. This not only concerns my faltering resolve to go back to my country, this is a battle I face every day in Canada.

I struggle everyday to reassure myself.

I yearn to get back my old self: confident, opinionated, vocal, bold. Inferiority is a strange feeling to me. I have always thought of myself equal to anyone. Here in Canada, most of my notions of myself were challenged and often eroded. There were a lot of times I caught myself censuring my own thoughts dismissing them as insipid; terrified to share what is on my mind.

Not many can see through the veneer. Have you seen a graceful duck glide smoothly in a pond? I am that duck. People do not see that under the water, the feet of that duck had to paddle like crazy so as not to sink. ■ Dr. Lowell Bautista holds a Master of Laws (Marine and Environmental Law) degree form Dalhousie University in Canada. Recently, he was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Postcoctoral Fellowship by the University of Wollongong.

The Art of Ernest Concepcion Filipino artist Ernest Concepcion exhibited his paintings at Fran Hill Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in a group show entitled “In the End, A Good Story Is All That Remains.” According to the Artes Magazine, “There is a childlike wonder in Concepcion’s works, combined with a photo-realistic base and elements of fantasy. He believes in man’s capacity to correct the errors of the past.”

The exhibition featured the recent work of eight “story telling” New York City based artists, each one unique in their focus, concerns, and manner of presentation. While much art on view today is about spectacle and requires 3 seconds to both digest and forget, the art and artists in “A Good Story” linger lovingly, as well as imaginatively, on the wonders of everyday life, the socalled intricate workings of the world around us. ■

The USS Lovecraft, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 30 in. 2011

Hammerhead Revenge, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in. 2011

M.O.M., acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 in. 2011

The Birth of Neptune, acrylic on canvas, 14 x 12 in. 2011

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Power Nap, acrylic on paper, 30 x 22 in. 2011

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Lifesyle-Phils

This 11-year-old loves to cook

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer “Pinoy Junior Masterchef” grand champ Kyle Imao grew up in a house filled not only with the mouthwatering aromas of home cooking, but with aesthetic appreciation for paintings and sculptures as well.

Kyle stays with his grandparents, National Artist for sculpture Abdulmari Asia Imao and art gallery curator Grace de Leon-Imao, in Marikina City. “He sleeps there even if his dad (Kim) and I live just across their house,” Kyle’s mom, Mylene, told Living Stars during this visit to the Imao Compound.

Mylene added: “He’s been their willing errand boy since he was 8, since his grandma had cancer. If she needed anything, even in the middle of the night, Kyle would run to assist her.”

Keeping our homes safe from fire this month

BY CHARLES E. BUBAN Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippines saw over 8,000 fires last year, a figure that resulted in over a hundred deaths and damages worth billions of pesos.

Fortunately, these figures have been declining each year. In March last year alone, the Bureau of Fire Protection recorded 900 fires nationwide, 761 fewer cases than what was recorded in March 2010.

This month, the Bureau intends to further lower the number of cases as the country once again observes the fire prevention month.

According to Chief Supt. Santiago Laguna of the BFP National Capital Region, while March has been designated as the month when families should be more alert, every day must be regarded as fire prevention day.

“The ‘Makiisa, Makialam, at Makipagtulungan Upang Sunog ay Maiwasan’ is about being alert all the time, even if it’s no longer March. Never think that an accident is something that is inevitable since we all should know that almost every accident is preventable,” announced Laguna, who added that preventing or surviving a fire is not a question of luck but a matter of planning ahead.

He reminds the public that a home is one of the most expensive purchases one will make in his or her lifetime so keeping it safe from the devastating effects of a fire is a no brainer. Here are a few useful fire-prevention tips: 1. As much as possible, avoid using candles or lamp. Use battery-operated or rechargeable lamps as candles have been attributed as one of the leading causes of fires in the country.

Showroom The two-story home was a storage space for the family’s art collection before it was renovated. This explains why it looks like a showroom of paintings and pieces of wooden and brass sculpture by the elder Imao and Kyle’s uncle Toym.

“We’re used to changing fixtures. These things are crafted here, and a lot of them are sold and then replaced with new ones. We’re using something one day, the next day it’s gone,” explained Mylene, noting that the family has changed dining tables three times just this year.

Atttachments Kyle’s grandmother Grace admitted she sometimes gets emotionally attached to these works of art. “I cried when I sold our first table,” she said. “There are stuff here that I can’t bear to sell, like the wooden chairs in the living room. They’re gifts from Daddy Mars (the elder Imao’s nickname). But since I’m an art dealer, I try to avoid getting attached.”

Kyle has his own nook on the second floor, where he has mounted his own exhibit of sorts: The 11-year-old is into assembling model kits and toy robots.

Discovery His mom said a lot of Kyle’s toys and artworks were damaged during Tropical Storm “Ondoy” in 2009. Actually, she said, her son’s cooking talent was discovered at the height of the storm.

Mylene recounted: “People, mostly workers employed

by Kyle’s uncle, got stranded here. They didn’t have food and couldn’t go out to buy any on account of the floods.

Kyle, only 9 at the time, walked up to the fridge, got stuff together and whipped up something for the people to eat.

Kyle has since been helping his dad, who also likes to invent and cook.”

In most of these cases, the fire started because the candle is too close to some combustible material like curtain, paper or fabric.

2. Ensure that lighted mosquito coils are properly encased.

Just like candles, lighted mosquito coils should never be left unattended and should be placed away from curtains, paper and other materials that easily catch fire.

3. Fire safety should start in the kitchen. Did you know that cooking, particularly stove-top cooking, represents the leading cause of home fires? Many such fires occur after residents put something on the stove but become distracted and forget about it.

To solve this, always stand by your pan because it is essential to give anything that’s on top of your stove your undivided attention.

If you have to leave the kitchen, turn the burner off before you answer the phone or leave the area.

4. Keep LPG tank outside. While cases of exploding tank are rare, it is still proper to store or position LPG tank used for cooking outside or in a well-ventilated area. This practice is important considering LPG is heavier than air. If it leaks it will tend to spread along the ground, appearing as a visible fog of gas.

If you smell or notice leaking LPG, immediately extinguish all flames (even cigarettes) in the area. Do not use electrical switches and evacuate the area. Report the incident to proper authorities.

5. Never let children play with matches, lighters or candles.

Not only are these toddlers in danger of suffering from burnrelated injuries, they could also cause fire that could gut the whole house. Teach them why they should avoid playing with these items.

Better yet, teach children by example. Let your children see you being sensible and careful about cooking, using candles and other potential fire risks. Find out more about talking to children about fire and what they should do if there is one.

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Victory parties Kyle’s dad served salad, spring rolls and chicken bonchon during the grand champ’s thanksgiving dinner on Friday at the grandparents’ house. Kyle’s fellow “Masterchef” contestants, their parents, as well as the production team, all turned up to celebrate with him.

(He won P1 million in cash and a culinary scholarship worth P1.5 million.)

“Kyle was at school so his dad did all the cooking— except for the lechon,” Mylene related. But on his grandma’s 71st birthday, Kyle surprised everyone with his version of garlic prawns.

“I cooked eight kilos of prawns,” the boy recounted. It was tough peeling more than one kilo of garlic for that.”

Also on the menu that night were, again, lechon, plus callos and the family’s specialty, pancit luglug.

For Living Stars, Kyle whipped up his Asian-fusion shrimps and scallops, the dish he prepared for the judges during the grand finale. His mom enumerated the ingredients: “Vermicelli noodles, scallops, shrimps with garlic plum sauce, lime jelly, cilantro/lime sauce, salad base—and the pomelo foam, which was the most difficult to make.”

Sports, too Kyle’s parents would like him to continue cooking. “He should do a lot more baking because he’s already an expert in savory dishes. Although we don’t want him to neglect his studies,” Mylene said. Kyle is a sixth grader at the Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College in Concepcion, Marikina.

His mom said: “Also, we’d like him to get into sports.

He wants to learn how to swim. Kim and I hope to introduce him to biking and mountain climbing. He needs to get more exercise, instead of just being in the kitchen all the time.” ■ Just to be safe, keep matches, lighters and candles in a place where children can’t see or reach them and put child locks on cabinets.

6. Use appliances wisely. Unplug appliances when not in use to prevent overheating. Unusual smells and sparks are all warning signs that appliances need to be shut off, then replaced or repaired. Use safety caps to cover all unused outlets, especially if there are small children in the home.

7. Check electrical wirings. Never trust unlicensed electricians as more often than not, they do wirings that are haphazardly set up or deteriorate in just a few years.

8. Create fire instructions for children. It is important to inform children what to do if there’s a fire but not to the point of frightening them. This is important as children need to know how to react, as there may not be an adult around to tell them what to do if a fire happens.

Here are some basic instructions that you may give: If they see smoke or flames, they should tell someone straight away—a grown-up if possible—and get out of the house as soon as possible. Never hide under a bed or inside the bathroom.

Remind the children not to go back into the house for anything.

9. Know your escape route. Plan an escape route and make sure that every member of the household is familiar with it, including children. Keep all these exits clear and practice the escape plan with children.

In the event of fire, one should know what immediate steps to take to keep it from spreading.

Small fires may be extinguished by smothering the flame with a nonflammable item like a pot cover or a dampened towel or blanket.

Water should be used only for nonelectrical fires and fires not caused by gasoline and similar combustible fluids. In the face of apparent danger, one should quickly run to a safe place and allow trained fire fighters to handle the situation. ■

Lifestyle-Phils Collezione big boss on Rhett’s defection: ‘I learned about it from someone else’ Joey Qua said he cut ties to Eala because of conflict of interest

BY ALEX Y. VERGARA Philippine Daily Inquirer BUSINESSMAN JOEY Qua, owner of Collezione C2, knew as early as midjanuary that Rhett Eala, creative director of the house, had been working on a “capsule” collection for Plains & Prints. The problem was Qua heard the news not from Eala himself, but from another source.

JOEY Qua and Rhett Eala before their falling out “The person asked me rather innocently over dinner what I thought about Rhett’s collaboration with Plains & Prints,” said Qua, who didn’t identify his source. “I didn’t know what to say. It was like I was hit by a bus. All I could say was ‘What?’ as I stared back in disbelief.”

It turned out to be no hearsay, as Eala eventually gave a sneak preview of his collection for Plains & Prints to lifestyle media last Feb. 8. Two days later, Qua cut his ties to the fashion designer, ending a five-year partnership that saw the rebirth of the sportswear brand, which celebrates its 40th year this year.

Eala’s graphic design of the Philippine map—printed, then embroidered on Collezione clothes—has become a global symbol of the Philippines. Filipinos from all over snap it up.

Less than a week afterLifestyle came out with an exclusive report last Feb. 17

on Eala’s departure from Collezione, Qua requested for an interview to air his side.

Despite their parting of ways, he says, he still considers Eala a “good man, who was simply illadvised.”

“Rhett had no exclusive contract with the company, but I had the right to terminate his services for conflict of interest,” said Qua. “Rhett was identified with the brand.

What he did was unfair to the organization and detrimental to the brand’s vision and values.”

Qua dismissed Eala’s earlier contention that there was no conflict of interest between his involvement in Collezione C2, whose main line is knitted sportswear for men and women, and in Plains & Prints, a women’s wear brand owned by businesswoman Roxanne Farillas. (Qua and Farillas don’t know each other.)

Due “How can that be when 50 percent of what we sell are targeted at women?” Qua said regarding Eala’s denial about conflict of interest. “Upon Rhett’s request, we also relaunched Due (pronounced as “duweh”), a more upscale ready-to-wear brand exclusively for women.”

Although identified with Eala, who started his fashion career more than 20 years ago designing a women’s RTW line under the Due label for Rustan’s, Due is now owned by Qua, and has stores at Rockwell and Greenbelt 5. Collezione C2 is bigger and has a nationwide presence.

After that fateful dinner in mid-january, Qua said he “let the situation simmer down.” He said he waited for Eala to break the news to him, but no such thing happened. After a couple of days, Qua couldn’t stand it any more and decided to drive to Eala’s house one Sunday morning to get some answers.

“I called him and said I was already on my way,” said Qua. Not only did his worst fears prove true, Qua also learned from Eala that the so-called capsule collection (usually

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 24

consisting of eight to 12 pieces) he was doing for Plains & Prints was only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, Eala had already signed a two-year contract with the other brand.

‘Misjudgment’ “As I drove to Rhett’s place, I was kind of hoping that the situation could still be salvaged,” said Qua. “Not only me, but everyone directly involved with the brand who learned about it was stunned. We still deliberated on it, but after the Plains & Prints show, the issue had already gone public. I knew the situation could no longer be saved.”

Qua declined to go on record about Eala’s supposed reason for his decision to work for the competition. He also didn’t want to comment on how long the partnership between Eala and Plains & Prints has been going on.

INQUIRER Lifestyle sought Eala to get his side. Contrary to what he said in an earlier interview during his Plains & Prints show, the designer admitted he didn’t have Qua’s blessings before signing a two-year deal with the other brand. He also admitted that he only confirmed everything to his former boss during their unscheduled Sunday morning meeting.

“Yes, it’s true,” said Eala over the phone.

“I was waiting for the right time to tell him, but I never really found the right moment.

I didn’t know that it would turn out this way.”

Since he didn’t have an exclusive contract with Collezione C2, Eala said he thought he was free like other designers abroad to “explore and work” for other brands. He still insisted that Plains & Prints is different from Collezione C2 and even Due. “Due is more occasion wear, while Plains & Prints is more for workwear,” he said.

He also claimed to harbor no ill feelings towards Qua. At the same time, he acknowledged that he had committed a “misjudgment.”

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“With or without me, I wish them all the success,” he said, his voice breaking.

“I was also part of the brand. Of course, there’s nothing I would want more, but for them to succeed.”

For his part, Qua has hired a transition team led by marketing man Ferdie Salvador. He also promised to overhaul the brand’s image while remaining true to its DNA of providing discerning customers with a world-class Filipino brand that fuses “fashion and art with a spirit of nationalism.”

Qua declined to comment on who Eala’s replacement would be. But instead of making the designer the star, he now intends to focus more on the brand, he said. He’s also thinking of making the organization more decentralized by forming a creative team in lieu of a single creative director.

“Rhett has moved on,” said Qua. “It’s sad that we’re celebrating our 40th year without him. He did a great deal for the company. But we also have to move on as we look forward to our next 40 years.”

Qua’s father built the brand from scratch in the early ’70s.

After its popularity peaked in the late ’80s, the brand plodded on as competition intensified from local and foreign brands.

It was still a reputable but staid brand when Eala came on board five years ago.

After adding “C2” to the original brand name Collezione, Eala lost no time turning things around. He scored big among consumers, especially in the last presidential elections, by downplaying the brand’s trademark embroidered key insignia and playing up the Philippine map on polo and sports shirts, and later on, pants, shorts, bags and even casual dresses.

Collezione C2 shirts have also become a favorite “pasalubong” of Filipinos to friends and kin abroad. Before long, other brands cashed in on the trend by coming up with their own version of the embroidered “map shirt.”■

Senate sgt. at arms’ ‘please all rise’ order now a ring tone

BY CATHY C. YAMSUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer “PLEASE all rise” is now a ring tone.

The order is given out by the Senate sergeant at arms for all persons in the Senate gallery to stand up as a sign of respect to senator-judges entering the impeachment court.

As a result of public interest in the televised impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, the man issuing the order is enjoying some measure of fame.

Jose Balajadia said he was initially embarrassed when a stranger approached him on the street and played on his cell phone the retired general’s command for all those present to “please all rise” as the senators marched to their seats.

The same happened before when he attended Mass in Quezon City and while he strolled inside a department store.

“I realize that people are really watching the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona,” Balajadia said.

However, people sometimes get confused as to what his role is in the trial.

“Once a woman approached me and called out ‘Hey, Mr. Sheriff.’ I had to tell her that I am the head of the Office

of the Sergeant At Arms (OSAA) of the Senate,” he said.

The OSAA is in charge of peace and order and makes sure all guests in the Senate observe proper decorum, especially in the presence of senators.

Apparently, Balajadia’s instruction is now the latest catchword and variations are being cooked up.

Plain, Java rice Balajadia has heard of “plain rice” and “Java rice” uttered in a loud, masculine tone as he approached.

One female subordinate would stand up, give him a mock salute and repeat his command whenever Balajadia entered the OSAA headquarters on the ground floor of the Senate building.

Even Sen. Lito Lapid, who is known for his playful side, once ribbed Balajadia about his order.

“Puro ka (You’re all) rice,” the senator jokingly complained. “Minsan nga bibigyan kita ng ulam (I’ll give you viand one of these days).”

Balajadia is game enough not to get piqued. When teased, he sometimes makes an offer to buy a serving of Java rice to those present.

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“One time, the phrase ‘Java rice’ stayed on my mind and I nearly blurted it out at the start of the trial. I don’t know if anyone noticed it, but there was a moment I paused before shouting the order,” the OSAA head said.

More formality Balajadia said it was his idea to deliver the command in a reverberating and imposing tone—a far cry from the “hear ye, hear ye” greeting delivered when senator-judges entered the Senate session hall during the impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada.

“I felt ‘hear ye, hear ye’ lacked force. I thought we should give it more formality and personality at the same time. The impeachment trial should start with a tone that really meant business,” he said during a huddle with reporters at the Senate press office.

The order comes with a stern warning. Balajadia tells everyone when the trial begins at 2 p.m., Mondays to Thursdays, that “all persons are commanded, under pain of penalty, to remain silent” for the duration of the session.

The impeachment trial of Corona started on Jan. 16 and will resume on March 12. ■

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Lifestyle-Phils

By the grace of God, for the good of man members.” In the post-war decades, Rodolfo Hizon was San Fernando mayor. This was the era when the mayors and governors, being of the landed class, spent their own money to govern.

Philippine presidents had been hosted in this ancestral home during their visits to Central Luzon—Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay and Diosdado Macapagal.

The young Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was also an occasional visitor.

BY THELMA SIOSON SAN JUAN Philippine Daily Inquirer This is the story of a house from an old, forgotten era in San Fernando, Pampanga, and a man from the cloistered world, and how the two have reconnected themselves to today’s world that is vastly different, congested and threatened.

The result is a heartwarming story of a salvaged heritage, of reclaimed roots and familial ties made even stronger by natural calamities.

Dom Martin Gomez is a Benedictine monk from the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Bukidnon, who is perhaps still better known to many, particularly in lifestyle circles and high society, as the famous designer Gang Gomez.

When he entered the monastery in the ’80s, he was clearly at the peak of his career, one of the top fashion designers in the country with Joe Salazar, Inno Sotto, Auggie Cordero and Ernest Santiago. But he left that world of fashion, glamour, fame and fortune when he realized, in his relatively young adulthood, that he found his genuine fulfillment in his relationship with God. His yearning for the religious life was such that even after discouraged attempts—he had been dissuaded from entering—he pursued his application with the monastery.

I still distinctly remember that afternoon at Café Adriatico in Malate, when he told me of his plan, his determination to lead the life of a monk. He wanted me to be the first in media to know, since I had covered his career consistently.

That afternoon, I was simply teary-eyed because I knew it would be my goodbye to an artist whose talent I had come to admire, to a man I had grown to respect, but more important, to a friend I had become close to.

“You mean we will not be seeing you again?” I asked, because after all, he would be a monk. Turned out, I was only partly right.

Dom Martin committed his life to serving God, but through the decades he also helped enrich the community in and around the Monastery. Like every monk, he toiled the earth with the community to produce coffee (the Monk’s Blend of Bukidnon) and would ask us now and then to help promote the monks’ produce.

He helped form the children’s choir of Malaybalay, Bukidnon, which became known not only in the country but also in some parts of the world where it performed. In the previous decade, he designed and sewed priestly vestments, gathered them in an exhibit, and published them in a book so that the public may know of this religious art and the craftsmen involved in it.

Apparently, Dom Martin, although he has embraced monastic life, was also wont to nurture the outside world—for the greater good of man.

Social values His life is proof that faith in God could also yield such strong faith in one’s fellowman. It is an example of how God-centered values could be the source of the social values that the Filipino must stand for; how a man’s personal pursuit—in his case, monastic life—could be reconciled with the pursuit of a better world. In this era consumed by materialism and graft and corruption, how Dom Martin leads his life is a timely example.

When he told me that in the past year, he worked to restore the ancestral home of his clan, the Hizons, of Pampanga, I saw this yet another activity in that light.

The original bahay na bato structure was built a century ago in the present property that is now in the city of San Fernando. It was renovated in the ’30s but was razed in a fire in 1950; it was rebuilt that same time. That’s the large two-story house that now stands.

However, it had been abandoned for 16 years, since the huge floods in 1995 when the water rose to within two steps to the second story. Dom Martin’s parents, Domingo Gomez and his wife, the former Eloisa Paras Hizon, were living there when the floodwaters rose; they had to be rescued. Since then, the house had been uninhabitable, until Dom Martin rehabilitated it last year, with the support of his family.

The urge to restore came when Dom Martin began work on the Hizon family tree and a book on the storied clan that included a hero of the Philippine Revolution, Gen. Maximino Hizon, and the Pampanga leaders of the Liberal Party. Dom Martin’s father has died; his mother Eloisa is now 91.

“Five years ago, when my father died, my aunts reminded me about the family tree and the book,” Dom Martin recalls.

From constituting the family tree, he proceeded to write the book on the clan. But apart from recounting the clan’s history, he realized that he was also recalling Pampango traditions as they were experienced by the clan through the generations—all seven generations.

“Like, before the midnight Mass of Christmas, there would be a lantern procession,” he recalls, “and lolo would have lanterns made, of various shapes. Our aunt, Ramona, would be baking cakes in the kitchen, while my mother made sugar candies.” That was the time when desserts were homemade, apart from all the other dishes.

Dom Martin’s maternal grandparents were Ramon Hizon and the former Maria Paras. His great grandparents were Anacleto Hizon and the former Victoria Singian.

Ramon and Maria Hizon had seven daughters—Lourdes, Remedios, Marina, Corazon, Aurora, Ramona, Eloisa (the youngest, Dom Martin’s mother)—and five sons— Anacleto, Augusto, Gregorio, Rodolfo, Bienvenido.

Theirs was a landed clan, and like prominent families in Luzon, owned haciendas. They also figured in politics and were, as Dom Martin puts in, “staunch Liberal Party

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Sense of hilarity It is with some sense of hilarity that Dom Martin and his Hizon cousins recall how the house was rebuilt in 1950 after it almost burned down. Their grandfather Ramon was confined in the hospital when the fire occurred. Fearing that her husband might finally succumb to heart attack if he learned of the fire, his wife Maria had it reconstructed almost with lightning speed.

It is stories such as these that make this ancestral home an integral part of the clan’s history. They are what makes a clan reunion, particularly on Good Friday and Christmas, worth coming home to in San Fernando, from wherever in Metro Manila they must have settled down, or in Dom Martin’s case, in Bukidnon.

Today, from the busy street, the house is barely visible, but once you drive past the gate and see the two-story concrete structure with capiz-shell windows of old, you catch a sense of history. Such turn-of-the-(20th) century homes are disappearing fast, whether in the city or the provinces—losing out not only to financial needs but more so, to a dying sense of heritage. Simply put, in almost all cases, the past cannot feed the present.

The first story or the ground level is closed because of flood damage. The second story is reached through the stairway built outside, like in many old Filipino homes.

As you enter the second story, however, the beauty of the Filipino past unfolds. Like in the traditional bahay na bato, it is an open space where laid out are the dining room and a vast living room, where the air flows unimpeded. It isn’t so much grand as it is genteel.

While the ceiling had to be replaced, the old wood has survived—of the flooring and of almost everything else.

Old wood doesn’t rot; in that way was Dom Martin’s task of rebuilding manageable.

You’re greeted by the sight of a huge rectangular narra dining table that seats 18. This table had been the setting of many milestones in the clan’s life, including the wedding in 1936 of Hizon son Augusto to Manuela de Leon.

As in traditional homes, the living room has islands of turn-of-the-century wood furniture. The social area is bounded by the bedrooms which Dom Martin refurbished with antique santos and religious statues. The heirloom beds have survived generations. In one of them, Dom Martin recalls, an ancestor lay in state—following the practice of the early eras.

Like in the bahay na bato, the bedrooms are lined with inner corridors—for privacy so that the inhabitants could go about their business unseen by visitors.

To Dom Martin, the cherished possessions in this house are the portraits of his ancestors, including that of the seven Hizon sisters. Truly, studying those portraits during one’s solitude must transport one back to an interesting time.

Time was when this house was connected by a bamboo bridge to another house, that of Tomas Paras, the uncle of Dom Martin’s mother. Paras owned the almost identical old house beside this structure—two houses owned by brother and sister (Maria Paras, the mother of Dom Martin’s mother).

As we tour the house, we hear construction noise.

Being built across from the ancestral home is—a mall.

Welcome to 2012. ■

Lifestyle-Canada

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 26

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The Filipiniana Collection in the Richmond Public Library The Scotia Bank Filipiniana Collection in the Richmond Public Library (RPL) is the only existing specially designated collection of its kind in British Columbia.

The Collection was jumpstarted by the RPL’s commitment to serve its diverse and multicultural community and a generous initial donation of $12,200 from Scotiabank, comprised of a $6,100 donation from the Filipino Scotiabankers, who fundraised in the community, and matched by a $6,100 donation from Scotiabank. It started with 870 books, DVDs, and CDs for adults and children, on a variety of subjects. The Collection is located at the Brighouse (Main) Branch, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond. If you are not a Richmond resident, you can still obtain an RPL library card as long as you have a BC address. Since its start in December 2009, the RPL has continued to keep the Collection current with new selections.

Norma Biazon Amba with grand daughter Mireia at the Filipiniana Section of the Richmond Library

Every Filipino is encouraged to visit this Collection and be a part of the Filipiniana Collection Review Club. Members of the Club get to write reviews of CDs, DVDs and books from the Collection for publication. Even children can write reviews as there is something from the collection for everyone. Please visit http:// www.yourlibrary.ca/ for more details.■

Atty. Joseph Cuenca with son Vino and father-in-law Boy Amba enjoying the Filipiniana section

Top 7 skills to pay the bills In today’s competitive world, it is not enough that a person is intelligent, or brings with him extensive experience. He needs to have extra skills to edge out the competition. The website www.bcjobs.ca suggests the followting got-to-have-it-skills to jobseekers: Skill # 1: Writing Why you should know how: In this global economy, an enormous amount of business is conducted in writing. No matter how well spoken you are, you are expected to communicate your ideas clearly and professionally through writing.

Poor writing skills reflect negatively on your intelligence and professionalism, but good writing skills provide you with an edge, no matter your industry.

Core competencies: Spelling, grammar, clarity, brevity, editing, and persuasion. One of the most overlooked writing skills is how to plan, outline and write your argument.

How to learn: You can take a business writing course. If you learn better outside the classroom, you can learn from how-to guides on business writing from bookstores or libraries. There are also countless websites that outline successful business writing and teach specific skills.

Skill # 2: Web Design Why you should know how: Every company worth their salt has a web presence these days and being someone on the team who can make minor changes or updates can make the difference between getting an interview and getting left out in the cold.

Core competencies: HTML, CSS and SEO. HTML is the main mark-up language of webpages.

CSS is a style sheet language used to describe the look and formatting of documents written in HTML or similar mark-up languages. SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization, and it’s more than a buzzword. It’s a tool for making your webpage more relevant to search engines, with the goal of connecting products and services with customers.

How to learn: If your knowledge of these skills is patchy or it sounds overwhelming or intimidating, you’re not alone. But these skills are worth learning, either through a course or instructional manual. You can learn at your own

pace. It’s repetition, not genius coding skills, that will help you master web design skills. Just like any language, it’s use it or lose it.

Skill # 3: Self-Management Why you should know how: It sounds like a soft-skill, but actually practicing it separates the wheat from the chaff. Having and being able to demonstrate self-management means you can effectively plan, execute and take initiative in working towards your goal, meaning you will be successful no matter where you end up working.

Core competencies: Organization is very important. It’s comprised of time management, prioritization, and planning. Productivity shows that you can now only work efficiently, something extremely valuable to employers, but that you have self-discipline. Taking initiative is a form of selfleadership. If you are ever to lead others effectively, you must first know how to direct yourself to action.

How to learn: These skills must be made into habits and practiced regularly. There are millions of tips, but no shortcuts to mastery. Here are three more articles to expand on tips about work ethic, productivity and motivation.

Skill #4: WordPress Why you should know how: Wordpress is a free open-source platform can be used to build everything from a personal blog to a professional e-commerce site. WordPress powers 14% of the internet, and not just blogs. Wordpress has a comprehensive content management system (CMS) Core Competencies: Setting up, formatting and administering a blog or static website. SEO, sitemapping, entry categories and attracting new visitors.Measuring metrics with Wordpress and Google Analytics.

How to learn: Wordpress has a dummy-proof 5-Minute install that makes setting up a website easy; you can be up and running in 2-4 hours.

Thanks to thousands of plugins, you can tweak your site to do exactly what you want. There are numerous instructional books on Wordpress, but the site itself has massive, exhaustive Help forum that covers every aspect of Wordpress, from personal blogs for beginners, to troubleshooting network admin issues for running dozens of

business sites from one account. If your question isn’t already answered, ask and you shall receive.

Skill #5: Basic Accounting Why you should know how: Knowledge of basic accounting isn’t just another line on your resume, it’s an indispensable life skill. Too few people make knowledge of basic accounting a priority and even more are intimidated by the most commonly used accounting software. Distinguish yourself from other candidates by being ready to prove you’re more comfortable with this software than your employers.

Core competencies: Accounts payable and receivable, billing, inventory, ordering systems, expense reports, payroll, and electronic payment processing.

How to learn: Some of the bestselling programs are Intuit Quickbooks, Simply Accounting, and Peachtree. If you don’t have access to these programs to teach yourself, the easiest way to learn is to enroll in a class or have a more experienced friend give you a few lessons. As with most of these skills, the only way to get comfortable is to practice, so make getting access to accounting software a priority for you.

Skill #6: Social media Why you should know how: It sounds like todays get rich quick scheme, given the prevalence of “social media gurus” glutting the market today. You don’t need to be a guru to know that social media engages targeted audiences in a two-way conversation, which builds public awareness of the company’s brand. In the bad old days, to reach new markets businesses had to expend a lot of their budget with costly print, radio and TV advertising, or pick up the phone to cold call. Social media is free or cheap, widely used, effective, targeted, interactive and easy to learn.

Core competencies: Anyone can use a social media account, but not everyone can use one well. You should have a thorough understanding of Facebook, certainly, but also Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Tumblr, Flickr, as well as different blogging software and programs for managing multiple networks, like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck.

If you want to claim social media savvy, you need to be able to explain how you would launch and plan a campaign to generate more interest or revenue.

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How to learn: The good news is that it’s free and relatively easy to teach yourself how touse social media effectively. Sign up for the most popular social media sites and play around. Get comfortable. Once you’ve learned the basics, you can research more advanced uses. You can preprogram targeted tweets, create a splash page on Facebook, network with thousands of potential clients on LinkedIn and create dynamic photo albums or develop exciting blog content to keep fans of your company’s brand in the loop.

Skill #7: How to sell Why you should know how: If direct selling isn’t your favorite thing, it’s easy to tell yourself that it’s too hard, or it’s not in your personality. The hard truth is, though, that selling makes the world go ‘round. Whether you’re selling a product, a business idea, a creative solution or even yourself, you have to know how to sell. When you decide not to try because it makes you uncomfortable, you’re the only one who loses out.

Core competencies: You have to know your “product”, whatever it is, but even more importantly, you have to know your audience.

You have to know their needs and you also have to listen carefully to their desires. You have to learn how to ask the right questions, ones that instill your target with confidence in you and excitement about your product or solution.

How to learn: One great way to learn how to sell if to apply for lots of jobs, and attend interviews to win, even if you don’t plan to take the job.

Network continuously. Set up a website using your web design, blogging or Wordpress skills that lays out a portfolio of your professional achievements.

Call recruiters directly to inquire about advertised positions that excite you. Develop an elevator pitch and a professional brand for yourself. Good selling is about the above core competencies, but to feel great while selling you need confidence, and that comes from practice, trial and error.

Every one of these skills has the real, measurable potential to change your professional life for the better. Employers aren’t looking for vagaries; they want concrete examples of what you know and how it can help them improve their business. Develop some or all the these skills and have the advantage over the competition. ■

Lifestyle-Canada Filipino-Canadian in Focus: Luisa Marshall A 27

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

BY MELISSA REMULLA-BRIONES Philippine Canadian Inquirer The name Luisa Marshall is synonymous with Tina Turner, Luisa having belted out the songs and donned the outfits – the hair, the heels, the tights – that personified the rock icon for over 10 years now. Not unlike Tina’s, Luisa’s immigrant story is one of challenge and victory. From humble and difficult beginnings in Manila as the family breadwinner, she is now singer, performer, tribute artist, and TV host of the popular local Vancouver talk show, “Simply the Best with Luisa Marshall,” which airs twice every Monday in Metro Vancouver, at 10:30 am and 9 pm at Shaw Cable 116.

Luisa’s performance of Tina Turner’s songs has received and continues to receive rave reviews and standing ovations around the world. She will be performing and conducting an HIV workshop at Port Simpson’s Lax Kw’alaams Community Hall in cooperation with Brighter Futures Youth Program on April 13. In the summer, she will be performing at the PNE Fair on August 31 and September 1. Luisa and her crew are also preparing for a US tour (starting in Florida) in early January 2013.

You performed in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Middle East and the US. You could have chosen to stay in any of those countries - why Canada? Apart from your husband Steve being Canadian, is there another reason why you chose to make Vancouver your home?

To be completely honest, I didn’t have any intention to live in Canada.

My original plan was to leave the whole band here and go back to Manila to take care of my baby daughter. Now, after 23 years I’m still here performing, married to Steve, have two daughters, and four siblings (who immigrated with me). Beautiful Queen Charlotte Islands was home for years before we moved here in Vancouver in 1998.

Why Vancouver? To make a long story short, while my mother was living with us, she had a medical condition and we feared the hospital facilities on the island wouldn’t be sufficient enough to make her well. At that same time, I was pregnant with my second child and I was worried of having complications during my childbirth delivery.

All these factors contributed to our plan to finally move to Vancouver.

However, we still own a business over there which we visit once in a while and, fortunately, Steve manages to operate remotely from Vancouver.

I love Vancouver. The people, the lifestyle, the opportunities are endless. Anybody, given the right choice, can grow as an individual to be successful to pursue a passion or a career.

When you were starting as a performer in Canada, what challenges did you face? Did you have a hard time like other Filipino immigrants?

Ooh... tons! No. 1 challenge is being Filipino. I worked twice as hard. It’s always a never ending battle of proving myself as an artist.

I required my band to always look good on and off stage and be respectful to the staff, audience, and other visiting bands. The second challenge was to maintain the professional working relationship within the band so it would be easier to get signed contracts with different venues that would help us stay in Canada. It was painstakingly difficult. For me, being a great band is not enough, a good positive attitude is always an ingredient to success. We performed 6 nights a week from Monday ‘til Saturday. Our Sundays were meant to travel hundreds of kilometers to the next town.

We toured for years, literally living in a suitcase, ate Big Macs, fries, Wonder Bread and peanut butter to save money. I can write a book about all my experiences on the road. In the early 90’s, one unforgettable night performing at a rock bar in Terrace, BC, I physically tackled a patron, pulled his hair and ripped his sweater in front of police officers.

My Filipino blood exploded with rage every time people heckled and humiliated the band because of our ethnicity. In another town, I hit a man on the head with my mic after he grabbed my legs. In the next town, I threw a tambourine at somebody who shouted racial insults at myself and my band. There were many serious incidents that happened that could have gotten us fired and have us sent back to Manila. These were very, very stressful years on the road. Thinking back, I would call my behavior defensive, but now I call it “rock and roll”!

Later on, I worked hard to stay calm and focused on getting my resident status. Like any other Filipino immigrant, I had a tough time. It could have been easier if I were a nurse or a caregiver, as my preferred career was not as stable. Missing a week’s pay of singing was very stressful. I was sending money back home to Manila to support my mother, my 5 younger siblings and my first daughter, Kim, who was only a year old at that time. I was almost ready to give up but I kept reminding myself of all the opportunities that I could provide for my entire family by being a Canadian Citizen. The life and times of me becoming a Filipino-Canadian is not to be taken for granted. It was

a long hard climb for me to get here but I’m still facing other new challenges as an individual and as an artist in this huge mainstream world. After I conquer one challenge, another one pops up. So I’ve learned to take just one step at a time. I’ve accepted the humbling nature of the challenges in my life and the journey I took to be the woman I am today.

Why Tina Turner? What was it about her that made you want to impersonate/emulate her?

TINA TURNER is a symbol of courage, triumph and survival. I’m such a big fan and she’s a big inspiration to all women from different walks of life. Her famous real life story has inspired a lot of people. She taught me to be strong, to follow my dreams, to work hard, and to stand tall. The unsurpassed energy and excitement she generated on stage was unimaginable. Tina inspired me in many ways and probably that’s the reason it was easy for me to emulate her after so many years since I started my Tina Turner tribute act seriously twelve years ago.

I tried the best I possibly could to represent her star power and presence to some new young audiences who are unaware of the legendary Queen of Rock and Roll so that her songs, music, energy and story continues to inspire more people.

Who is your dream interviewee for your show Simply the Best with Luisa Marshall? What should we watch out for in the next episodes?

Oprah! hahaha... it’s a dream, right?

The future episodes of “Simply the Best” will be a mixture of different subjects, topics, issues, and events in our diverse society. A lot of my viewers really enjoyed all the past shows specifically my interview with ex-Vancouver policeman, Dave Dickson. Some people said it was an eye opener. My interview with Premier Christy Clark was very refreshing. And just recently my interview with the author of Arrows Across Eons, Becoming Tina Turner, Katherine Carlson got rave reviews from the avid Tina Turner fans. It’s all entertainment of various formats so everybody should watch every Monday. My Filipino viewers are very supportive of what I do and I’m very grateful that I have this opportunity to reach and entertain them in my own little way.

What is your advice to Filipino-Canadian entertainers who want to make it big in Canada?

Regardless of age and gender, always DREAM big but be realistic. Stay true to yourself. Work hard. Learn your craft well. Give more than what’s expected from you. Seek advice from the experts. Accept failures but keep moving on. Don’t be afraid of change, keep challenging yourself to the next level. And I always say “practice, practice, practice”. Always present yourself in an utmost professional manner no matter where or what the situation is. Look confident and fabulous. Be respectful of

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others and maintain your integrity. Be helpful and supportive of other artists. But most of all, be humble.

I want to share J. Krishnamurti quote... “We all want to be famous people, and the moment we want to be something we are no longer free.”

What’s next for Luisa Marshall?

Lots. Years ago, I thought of retiring. But given the opportunity to perform here in North America changed my perception of retirement.

If Tina Turner could continue performing to sold-out arenas all over the world at age 72, who was I to hang up my high heels and call it quits at only 50 years old? Because of my passion for the arts coupled with my passion for reaching out and helping various causes close to my heart, I put all my energy into big projects that I believe would inspire and benefit all those around me. Besides my Tina Turner tribute career and my TV show, I am currently working on writing and directing a 90-minute one woman musical play based on my real life story as a Filipino immigrant living in North America and struggling to make my dreams come true by performing and emulating my favorite female artists. I’m planning this show to be so spectacular, colorful, interesting, exciting, high energy, funny and uplifting.

Also, I’m also hoping to open my Star Power “MAKE IT COME TRUE” workshop this summer for everybody regardless of age, gender and talent reach their potential thru singing, performing, technique, personality, image building, and a lot more secrets to achieve star power on stage. I know I will have a lot of fun on this.

When you are not on stage or in front of the camera, who is Luisa Marshall? What don’t people know about you?

Luisa Marshall is a mother of two, a wife, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a supporter, a mentor. I am a very, very private person. I enjoy staying home with my husband Steve and my daughters Kim and Zenia.

I’m a pescatarian (for the second time) for more than a year now.

I’m quite a health freak. I hate working out but I have no choice.

During my free time, I cook for my family, clean and organize the house, or get together and dine with my family and friends.

Some of my closest friends and associates know that I’m a perfectionist. I’m soooo guilty of that. To me, life is precious so I don’t waste time, I try to give the best I can no matter what the circumstances are. Some people might think I’m a DIVA... ha ha ha, but seriously I don’t take my performances for granted. Whether it’s a small or a big show, whether it’s a full house or not, giving my best and being my best is always my main focus. This motto extends beyond the stage, for me, it’s a way of life. I appreciate everything that has happened and always am grateful for each moment. I just live life each day like it’s my last.

I’m proud of my accomplishments but they never and will never rule my life because what’s passed is past. Who I am today and the direction I take at this moment is what’s important to me. ■

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Entertainment www.canadianinquirer.net

Teenager Jessica Sanchez delivers Whitney Houston hit to wow ‘American Idol’ judges

BY LYNN ELBER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LOS ANGELES - Gutsy ``American Idol’’ contestant Jessica Sanchez took on Whitney Houston’s biggest hit, delivering a performance that awed the show’s judges.

When host Ryan Seacrest asked the panel to name Wednesday night’s top two singers among the 13 finalists, Steven Tyler was ready. ``Jessica Sanchez and Jessica Sanchez,’’ Tyler said.

The 16-year-old San Diego high school student’s assured version of ``I Will Always Love You’’ was ``just amazing. I don’t even know what to say,’’ Jennifer Lopez exclaimed during the performance show. ``Jessica, you may be the one. You just made 40 million people cry,’’ Tyler said (adding a dose of hyperbole by roughly doubling the show’s biggest Wednesday night audience for the season so far).

Randy Jackson didn’t hold back either, calling Sanchez ``one of the best talents in the whole country.’’

On the Fox show’s 400th episode, the men tackled Stevie Wonder’s catalogue and the women choose from Houston’s hits, a tribute to the singer who died Feb. 11, on the eve of the Grammy Awards, at age 48. ``I Will Always Love You’’ was played at the conclusion of Houston’s New Jersey church funeral last month.

The ``American Idol’’ finalists performed as the Fox show marked its 400th episode. In a twist, the male and female singers who rank lowest in the audience vote will be announced Thursday and the judges will decide which of the two will be bounced.

Others who impressed the judges included Joshua Ledet, 19, of Westlake, La., with his version of ``I Wish’’; Hollie Cavanaugh, 18, of McKinney, Texas, with ``All the Man I Need,’’ Colton Dixon, 20, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., with ``Lately,’’ and Phillip Phillips, 21, of Leesburg, Ga., with ``Superstition.’’

Areosmith frontman Tyler offered Phillips an intriguingly enigmatic review. ``You’re a very interesting character, man. You got a lot of ‘fuhgeddaboutit’ in your voice. There’s no words for it.

You just are. You know what I’m saying,’’ Tyler said.

Skylar Laine’s version of ``Where Do Broken Hearts Go’’ was another standout. ``You’re a country girl .... But what you just proved, you can sing any song,’’ Jackson told the 18-year-old from Brandon, Miss.

The judges were not uniformly kind.

Elise Testone, 28, of Charleston, S.C., who performed ``I’m Your Baby Tonight,’’ fell short with the panel, which praised her talent but not what Lopez called her ``unsure’’ performance.

Shannon Magrane, 16, of Tampa, Fla., let her nerves get in the way on ``I Have Nothing,’’ Jackson said, and Tyler suggested she might be in trouble in the audience vote. ■

‘No record of actor entering PH’

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer THE BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION last March 3 said it did not have any record of Taylor Kitsch entering the country even as it promised to investigate the Canadian actor’s claim that he was turned back by a customs officer when he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) recently.

Lawyer Ma. Antonette Mangrobang, immigration spokesperson, said an initial check of the bureau’s computer files showed no record of arrival of a passenger named Taylor Kitsch.

Mangrobang also disputed Kitsch’s claim that he had a working visa as there was no record of an alien certificate of registrationidentity card (ACR I-card) being issued under his name.

In an interview with American television host David Letterman on his late night show that aired March 1, Kitsch said he had just arrived in the Philippines when a customs officer told him he had to return to Japan because there were no more blank pages on his passport.

Taylor Kitsch

After a long argument, Kitsch said the customs officer eventually let him through.

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“We also checked the flight manifests of all airlines from Japan to Manila and it all yielded negative results,” Mangrobang said.

Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon said Kitsch may have mistaken the Philippines for another country, adding that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) did not have any record in the airline manifests of his arrival.

“Our BOC office checked the manifests of flights coming into Manila. Since Mr. Kitsch said he came in from Japan, he could have arrived only via Naia 1, where most international flights come in, or Naia 2, where PAL flights arrive,” Biazon said.

Mangrobang said Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. had ordered an investigation into Kitsch’s story.

“We will also extract footage from closed circuit television cameras at the airport to check if indeed he arrived and was processed in our immigration counters,” Mangrobang said.

Mangrobang assured the public that if the investigation showed that immigration officers were responsible, those involved would be held administratively liable and meted out disciplinary penalty. ■

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Entertainment

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Telling stories to help Japan heal

A documentary series highlights stories that illustrate the survivors’ remarkable resiliency

TOKYO, JAPAN—“THE Japanese government has been heavily criticized for the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. But has anyone ever thought of telling the story of the positive contribution of technology to the disaster?” said filmmaker Hiroshi Nakazawa.

BY ANNE A. JAMBORA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE FISHING village of Kasennuma still bears the remains of the tsunami’s devastation

Nakazawa was one of six directors selected by Discovery Channel Japan to do unique documentaries on the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, in time for the earthquake’s first anniversary on March 11. The TV documentary series, collectively called “Rebuilding Japan,” premieres March 5 in Asia. Nakazawa focused on Japan’s bullet-train technology.

“Rebuilding Japan: Super Trains” is about the sophisticated technology behind Japan’s “arteries,” the bullet-train network that was amazingly left unscathed in one of country’s strongest earthquakes.

About 15,000 people travel on the Shinkansen line at any given time.

“If you have a train speeding at 300 km/hour and there are tremors, that can only spell disaster. This is a story of how technology protected the lives of the people on the train that day,” Nakazawa said.

When the earthquake happened, the bullet trains in that region automatically came to a full stop a good 70 seconds before the earthquake happened. In fact, he said, there has been no bullet-train casualties in Japan for the past 50 years.

Restoration Filmmaker Hideyuki Tokigawa knows what a tsunami feels like. He was in Phuket when the tsunami hit Thailand on Dec. 26, 2004. As one of the directors tapped by Discovery Channel Japan, Tokigawa chose to document the heroic restoration and recovery of photos washed away to the sea by the tsunami.

“Photos from the Sea” is a story on how a university professor jumpstarted the plan to search for thousands of photographs lost during the disaster. The photos, many caked in mud and discolored, have been restored to their original color and backed up digitally by a team of volunteers.

For three months, from September to December, every weekend, up to 50 volunteers search the affected

Cinemalaya row heats up

Selection committee member quits, ‘enraged’ by barring of New Breed entry

BY MARINEL R. CRUZ Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE MOVIE and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) will host in April a summit on the welfare of children working in show business, in cooperation with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

MTRCB Chair Grace Poe Llamanzares said among the issues to be discussed are the children’s work schedules and requirements set by the labor department.

“As it is now, when a child works, everything is confined within a definite time period,” Llamanzares explained. “He or she cannot work overtime. When the child enters into an agreement, a permit from the DOLE has to be secured.”

She said necessary steps should be taken to ensure that these regulations are strictly followed.

Roles that children are allowed to portray would also be tackled, she said. “We don’t want to be too strict. That’s why TV network representatives and content providers have also been invited.

Among the questions to be asked are: ‘Should the child portray a role that he/she may not understand?’

‘Should the child have to pretend to be an adult, like in Goin’ Bulilit?’”

Dialogue in March Llamanzares told the INQUIRER that child psychologists and a representative from the National Council for Children’s Television (NCCT) should also participate in the summit, which she describes as a one-year-inthe-making venture.

“We need to set guidelines that can help us. We don’t have the monopoly on what’s right,” she said.

The MTRCB chief also said a dialogue would be held in March to discuss “what constitutes the sexualization of a scene.”

She explained: “The perennial complaint about TV variety shows is that dancers’ outfits are too short.

But when you really think about it, dancers have been wearing mini skirts since the 1960s. What makes an outfit controversial is how it is used in a scene. That’s called sexualization.”

Actor and MTRCB board member Bobby Andrews will head the committee on the treatment of a scene on television. He has been chosen, Llamanzares explained, because he has been acting since he was a teenager and he’s “quite smart.”

According to Llamanzares, the board also promotes the selfregulation of programs, which requires empowering the audience.

“You have to teach the audience to be the watchdog, encourage them to field all the complaints if TV people are already going beyond their limits.” ■

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areas for pictures. Around 20,000 photographs have been recovered, with about 20-30 percent already returned to its owners.

“There must be a way to help them preserve their wonderful memories,” said Munemasa Takaheshi, one of the student volunteers. “There must be something these photographs can do.”

With characteristic resiliency, the Japanese have gotten on with their lives after the disaster. “My home was completely destroyed,” said Mikiko Saito, a 53-year-old café shop owner/operator. “It took me three days before I finally went back to check my house.”

Saito witnessed from the elevated evacuation center how the sea swallowed her home. Her café was completely washed away. Last Dec. 10, she was finally able to reopen a café and begin rebuilding her life.

Her eyes lighten up when she talks about her business. She tries not to dwell so much on what she lost, and chooses instead to look forward.

Almost a year after the March 11 destruction, survivor Sakai Masayuki, 60, chairs the residents’ committee of temporary shelters for tsunami survivors.

He is in charge of security and occasionally helps settle disputes. Eighty-two dislocated families are under his supervision. A total of 4,000 families live in temporary shelters.

Lucky Restaurant-owner Yoshida Keiichi, 42, was lucky.

When he heard the first tsunami siren, he and his staff of waiters and cooks dropped everything and drove straight to the evacuation center. Even luckier for him, the tsunami stopped just a few kilometers from where he lived.

Keiichi refuses to pack and leave town. He insists on staying and teaching the lessons he learned from the tsunami to the next generation.

Keiichi is now involved in rebuilding the community, and helping those who lost lives, homes and work to find their place in the community.

A mayor who lost his wife in the disaster is taking on the ambitious task of rebuilding a city swept completely away by the tsunami. Mayor Futoshi Toba put together a team to design a cutting-edge solution to save the city from the devastating loss. His vision and his story are the subject of Shiro Toma’s “Dreaming of Utopia.”

“Return of the K-cars,” by Takahiro Sato is a look into how a northeast city in Japan is making a comeback by racing smallengine, thrifty family cars known as K-cars. A home track near Sendai was about to debut its first race when the earthquake smashed all their dreams.

Meantime, in Kasennuma, the home of a sake brewery, a factory resumes operation in the ruins to show people that life—and old traditions—go on.

Naho Shimazu’s “The Seaweed Makers” highlights Japan’s seaweed-growing community, which refused to give up even after the tsunami devastated their fleet.

“We feel it is important for the world to know how Japan has been dealing with this hard situation,” said Discovery Channel Japan president and representative director James Gibbons.

“I think what we are doing is helping Japan heal, one memory at a time,” said volunteer Takaheshi. “To help you remember that there is still something good to hope for.” ■

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Kulinarya Tagala surveys coconut-based flavors of the region, from San Pablo to Tiaong

BY VANGIE BAGA-REYES Philippine Daily Inquirer “In Quezon, you’ll go nuts with coconuts,” says our tour guide, Tina Diasanta-Decal, who operates Kulinarya Tagala, a food and culture tour of southern Tagalog (Laguna, Quezon and Batangas).

By going nuts with coconuts, Decal means savoring the native fruit and exploring ways of incorporating it in the daily meal.

In southern Luzon, coconuts abound. Most, if not all, households, especially in Quezon, incorporate coconut (meat or juice) in their food. For instance, the adobo is cooked with buko strips that give the stewed meat a splash of sweetness and mellowed flavor. Sinigang has coconut water and tamarind that give a refreshing sweet-sour essence.

The kakanin, like nilupak, are all made with coconut milk.

Unlike Bicol, a region known for mixing gata (coconut milk) with its spicy cuisine, Quezon has minimal spice, which makes it more appealing to Manileños. Heritage recipes are not too fancy— none of the dishes are fiesta fare. Rather, dishes are everyday food—simple and straightforward.

“Quezon has one of the most unique dishes that combine well-loved and traditional Filipino flavors, making them more exciting for diners,” says Decal.

Kulinarya Tagala Quezon is beginning to make a buzz among foodies and travelers.

San Miguel Purefoods Culinary Center recently partnered with Kulinarya Tagala to showcase the flavors and diverse culinary heritage of Laguna and Quezon.

“Laguna and Quezon are so near Manila and yet you seldom hear about these provinces,” says Decal.

“People go to us only in summer for Pahiyas. We are more than that. The food, culture and traditions we keep are worth discovering.”

Kulinarya Tagala used to be Kulinarya Quezon showcasing only Tiaong, Sariaya, Tayabas and Lucban in Quezon. In 2005 the Department of Tourism came out with Kulinarya Filipina, a food tour around the country. Then Kulinarya Quezon and another group organizing food trips in Laguna, called Viaje del Sol led by Patis Tesoro, merged to further boost the southern Tagalog region.

“Women from southern Tagalog are called tagalas,” says Decal. “And, most women are in the kitchen.”

Kulinarya Tagala features good home cooking, Filipino ingenuity and the creativity of various artists in Southern Tagalog.

“We’ve partnered with Kulinarya to help promote regional cuisine,” says Maricel Manalo, San Miguel Food Group culinary services manager. “It’s our way of giving back and supporting our country through food and culture. If you’re a foodie, you’d enjoy the beauty and mystery of our local cuisine.”

Patis Tito Garden Café Kulinarya Tagala—which can be a day trip, overnight and three days-two nights—has dishes enjoyed in Laguna and Quezon not usually served in Manila restaurants.

First stop is Patis Tito Garden Café in San Pablo City in Laguna for a hearty breakfast. Patis, a leading fashion designer, has been running her restaurant for some time, serving typical Filipino breakfast in her beautiful, lush garden.

The place has the ambiance of an old provincial home with capiz windows, wooden floors and tables and chairs made of hardwood.

A buffet spread of garlicky longganisa San Pablo blended with sautéed onions and tomatoes, chicken and pork adobo with buko meat, and crispy dilis salad—whets anyone’s appetite.

Laguna can’t do away with kesong puti, so there’s always hot pan de sal with kesong puti, paired with kapeng barako and tsokolate.

A demonstration of a local favorite, Pancit Buko, is an added attraction. The “noodles,” made of buko strips, are simply sautéed with fresh veggies.

Villa Sariaya Sariaya, Quezon, is about 130 km from Manila—a quaint municipality at the foot of the mystical Mt. Banahaw.

Sariaya has many ancestral homes built in late 1800 and early 1900.

A unique experience dining in an ancestral house is part of Kulinarya food trip. Here, guests must don period costumes before enjoying lunch at Villa Sariaya, formerly known as the Rodriguez House and one of the biggest bahay-na-bato in the province.

The lunch spread is prepared by Ma. Carmen “Chuchay” Marasigan, owner of Luisa and Daughter, a 23-year-old restaurant in Lucena.

Marasigan dishes are Beef Minanok, Lengua Estofado, Bulanglang na Ubod with Tomato Liver Sauce, Fish with Mayonnaise Dressing, Pinais na Alimasag and Chicken Pastel.

In Quezon, pinais is always wrapped in a leaf. The alimasag, wrapped in a special leaf called kamamba (found only in the foothills of Mt. Banahaw), is wrapped again in banana leaf. It becomes more flavorful as it is cooked in buko water.

Beef Minanok is an ordinary fare in Quezon that tastes like chicken tinola but using beef. Instead of sili leaves, blanched mustasa is added last.

A dessert of Caramel Gulaman and Bukayo completes the deal.

Graceland Estates and Country Club In Tayabas, the old capital of Quezon, the original Haing Quezon can be had.

At Memphis Garden Café of the 22-ha Graceland Estates and Country Club, one may savor Minalutong Kanin, Sinigang na Hipon sa Mura, Hardinera at Dona Aurora, Inihaw na Manok, Adobong Baka sa Gata at Papaya, Pansit na Malunggay, Lumpiang Gulay na Sariwa and Kilawing Bangus.

The sinigang is served in coconut shell, side by side with Delino Chicken, which is a cross between tinola and sinigang. The chicken is stuffed with spices, herbs, malagkit rice and sausage before being submerged in hot broth. The soup is light and refreshing. The chicken meat is absolutely divine, being so tender and moist.

The Minalutong Kanin is made more flavorful

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as it is topped with sweet potato before being wrapped in banana leaves.

Capping the meal is Coconut Cream Puff, Pilipit (made of squash) and fresh fruits. Budin, a pudding made of cassava, is not to be missed as it is creamier with the use of Star margarine and coconut milk.

A tagayan (drinking) ritual usually ends the celebration.

“Tagayan ritual is a dying culture,” says Decal.

“We’re trying to revive this dying culture which makes Quezon very unique. Tagayan is a discovery of Filipino’s gentle race. We were so gentle as drinkers but we’ve forgotten how to do it the right way.”

Drinking lambanog is part of the ritual and is a special way of welcoming guests.

“We always use the lambanog, especially during special occasions, like pamanhikan, weddings or birthdays,” Decal says. “A tagay (a shot of liquor) of lambanog is passed around and offered guests.”

Breakfast is also served at Memphis Café with Pistang Almusal by San Miguel Purefoods, consisting of Mainit na Kanin at Sinangag, Sinaing na Tulingan sa Tuyong Kalamyas, Longganisang Lucban, pan de sal, Bonete and Pinagong, Budin, Kalamay, Kapeng Barako.

Standouts include Bonete and Pinagong breads served with Spiced Ham, Salami & Bologna from Purefoods; Chicken Adobo (Magnolia Free Range Chicken stewed in vinegar, garlic and peppercorns); Corned Beef Hash; Sausage with Onions (Purefoods Beef Franks sautéed with caramelized onions); Sinaing na Tulingan; and Lucban Longganisa.

Ugu Bigyan One doesn’t go to Tiaong, Quezon, without visiting Ugu Bigyan’s Pottery Garden.

Pottery artist Augusto “Ugu” Bigyan is a renowned potter who loves to cook. He was born and raised in Tiaong.

In his restaurant, you dine on his crafted flatware and relish his Ginataang Hipon, Fish Escabeche in Mango Sauce, Tahong with Mustasa, Pork Sparerins, Pako Salad, Kulawo and Calamares.

Ugu has been lauded for making sure the dishes coming out from the kitchen look like works of art.

Ugu’s restaurant surrounded with lush greenery and charming kubo (15 of them) adds to the gastronomical adventure. The air is light and breezy with the soothing pipe-in music.

An important dish in the house is Ensaladang Pako, fiddlehead ferns with mixed greens and fruits drizzled with kalamansi juice, fish sauce and sugar.

This is a perfect marriage of spinach, mangoes and other mixed greens that usually set the tone for some hearty dining ahead.

The pako is blanched, tossed with finely chopped red onions, then topped with a few slices of itlog na maalat.

Another favorite is Kulawo, a humble dish of banana heart (others use eggplant) with coconut milk dressing. The grated coconut is cooked in charcoal which adds a unique smoky flavor to the dish. Kulawo is topped with edible Ternate flower.

E-mail the author at vbaga@inquirer.com.ph ■

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Travel-Canada

It’s winter in Canada’s national parks Five faves with a winter spin

Forillon National Park Quebec

Wapusk National Park, Manitoba

BY LORI MCNULTY Courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission It’s time to park the blues – here are five picks to put the wonder back in winter.

1. Snuggle up to polar bears, Wapusk National Park, Manitoba Moose, wolves and caribou are all found in Wapusk National Park, but the polar bears get most of the ooh and ahhs. Book a tour, climb aboard a fat-tired tundra vehicle and go nose to snout with a mother bear wrestling her cubs.

TIP: Best time to see polar bears is midOctober to mid-December.

2. Become an Ice Road Trekker Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Territories If you’ve seen TVs Ice Road Truckers haul cargo from Yellowknife to the diamond mines of the Northwest Territories, you’re probably itching to get behind the wheel.

No problem. Just drive from Fort McMurray through Wood Buffalo National Park to Fort Smith, on an epic ice road journey crossing rivers, muskeg and portages.

TIP: Stop at Fort Chipewyan to experience one of Alberta’s oldest Aboriginal settlements.

3. Strap on your skis, and fly Kite skiing on Astotin Lake, Elk Island National Park, Alberta

Grab the reins for kite skiing on Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park. It has all the rush of downhill skiing, only you control the speed. Go from double diamond to the bunny hill in an instant. Plus, no waits for the ski lift.

You can even tow the kids behind you on a toboggan.

TIP: Elk Island is a Dark Sky Preserve making it a great place to stargaze and see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).

4. Dream under the dome.

Yurt stay, Forillion National Park, Québec I love cross-country skiing except for the climbing back into my cold car part. Now you don’t have to. Book a yurt and watch the sunset from your comfy tent cottage, surrounded by sea at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula. Imagine a cozy wood stove, hardwood floor and comfy beds. Rustic, this ain’t.

TIP: In addition to more than 40 km (25 miles) of cross-country trails, the park offers dogsledding and snowshoeing.

5. Dance on frozen water Maligne Canyon Ice Walk, Jasper National Park, Alberta Nature puts on her ice show at the bottom of narrow Maligne Canyon every winter.

Descend 50 metres where you’ll explore natural sculptures, waves, swirls, secret ice caves and waterfalls stretching like frozen claws over the canyon walls. Book a tour, strap on your steel grippers, and you’re off! ■

Malgne Canyon Ice Walk, Jasper National Park, Alberta

Wood Buffalo National Park, Northwest Teritories

Astotin Lake, Elk Island National Park, Alberta

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Canada:Seen and Scenes

Award-winning business ethics, Mark N. Wexler, CEO/The Perimeter Group, University Professor of Business Ethics & Management, explores the diffusion, growth and meaning of the worldwide movement started by Occupy Wall Streetz in a networking event organized by the Philippines Canada Trade Council on March 1, 2012 at ING Direct Café, 466 Howe Street, Vancouver

“Evening of Love and Music” with Toronto’s Diva, Miss Josie de Leon, held at the Gateway Center Mississauga on February 25, 2012.

FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012 34

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PCTC Networking Night

Janice Valdez, a Filipino-Canadian and a Vancouver resident, is promoting the Philippines through her own Quest in a Bicycle (her FB page is “Cycle our Light”). She is doing a bike ride from Mumbai to Manila which she plans to complete (several legs) in few years.

“More Fun in the Philippines” gains crowd at the Travel Show Vancouver, BC – The Department of Tourism based in San Francisco represented the Philippines at the recent Outdoor Adventure and Travel Show at the Vancouver Convention Centre last March 3 and 4. Headed by Debbie Gallano, PRO of the agency with the support of the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, Consul-General Jose Ampeso promoted the recently-launched “More Fun in the Philippines” – the new slogan for the Philippine Tourism Campaign which already gained good reviews and support from Filipinos worldwide. With thousands of visitors from all over lower mainland and other cities, the Philippine Travel booth at the Travel Show was able to capture them with the “More Fun” concept.

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FRIDAY MARCH 9, 2012

Canada:Seen and Scenes

Vice Consul Melanie Diano of Philippine Consulate General with Elena Agala, Coordinator, Rotary Firetruck Project, during the presentation of the book and recognition certificate from the Rotary Club of Cebu West to the Firefighters Without Borders Canada. Taken at Minoru Firehall in Richmond.

Rotary International and Firefighters Without Borders Canada teamed up to deliver a Freightliner/Anderson firetruck with 1250 gallon per minute pump and 500 gallon tank and firefighting equipment to Cebu to the delight of the local firefighters from the Filipino-Chinese Brigade.

Consul General Jose A. Ampeso congratulated Dahong Pilipino for the release of its 19th anniversary edition when he was presented the first copy of the directory at the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver recently.

The presentation was made by Leo Cunanan, Jr., publisher of the directory and its founder and editor Leo Bril Cunanan, Mrs. Marilyn Abundo-Cunanan and Mel Tobias, author, editor and foreign correspondent. Also present were Vice-Consul Anthony A. Mandap, Consul Melanie Rita A. Diano and IREMIT Branch Head Wilfredo L. Sincondegue, advertiser.

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