Philippine Canadian Inquirer #219

CANADA’S FIRST AND ONLY NATIONWIDE FILIPINO-CANADIAN NEWSPAPER MAY 27, 2016

VOL. 5 NO. 219

www.canadianinquirer.net

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Students from Holy Cross travel to the Philippines

Law protecting children will give PNoy ‘peace of mind’

Keeping up with the Dutertes

Tentative return dates announced for fire evacuees

A luxury tour of Thailand

Man charged after allegedly impersonating Fort McMurray wildfire evacuee THE CANADIAN PRESS

USS MOBILE BAY The guided missile cruiser, USS Mobile Bay, docks on Manila Bay amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.

MARIANNE BERMUDEZ: / PDI

LP losing power quickly More allies jump ship, abandon Belmonte

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer THE LIBERAL Party (LP) is losing power swiftly and drastically as more than a dozen of its members from the Visayas have abandoned Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to join presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s emerging coalition in the House of Representatives.

Negros Oriental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez, a former LP member who ran for reelection as an independent in the May 9 elections, was the lead signatory among members of the Visayas bloc who signed a declaration of support for incoming Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez in the race for the Speaker of the House in the 17th Congress.

Jaclyn Jose wins big in 69th Cannes Film Festival

CLARESHOLM, ALTA. — Police say a British Columbia man is facing charges for allegedly impersonating a Fort McMurray evacuee and taking advantage of people who were trying to help.

The RCMP says it received a complaint from Family and Community Support Services in Claresholm, Alta., about a man and woman suspected of pretending to be among the wildfire evacuees.

Police allege the man travelled to Claresholm and “took advantage” of people who thought they were helping wildfire victims.

They say Darryl Rondeau, 45, of Victoria, B.C., has been charged with fraud under $5,000.

Kieth Carlson, owner of Roy’s Place restaurant in Claresholm, said he wasn’t surprised when police contacted him about the case. He said he was suspicious not long after a woman came into the restaurant asking for a

❱❱ PAGE 24 ❱❱ PAGE 13 LP losing

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

❱❱ PAGE 18 Man charged

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MAY 27, 2016

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FRIDAY

Philippine News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

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Tito Sotto makes it 3-way fight in Senate

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND NIÑA CALLEJA Philippine Daily Inquirer WILL IT be a three-way fight for the Senate presidency?

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, head of presumptive Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party, has expressed interest in the Senate leadership, saying he intends to push for legislation that will support the new Chief Executive’s plans for the country.

“As president of the party, I will aspire to be Senate President so that the agenda of the party and the President can be shepherded through the Senate,” Pimentel told reporters.

Where does this leave Duterte’s running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who may also run for the same position?

“We will possibly engage in a friendly competition for the commitments of our colleagues. In the end, we will have to work together,” Pimentel said.

Should Cayetano run for the leadership of the Senate, he and Pimentel may also have to compete with Sen. Vicente Sotto III, who is being pushed to run for the position.

“I have friends in the Senate who are talking to me, who said I am being considered as their candidate for Senate President,” Sotto said in a phone interview.

Less polarizing choice

Sotto, a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), said a number of senators were urging him to seek the post because he was neutral or less polarizing compared to the other possible candidates.

“Our group can provide an independent Senate with the incoming President,” he said. “I want a Senate with integrity and independence.”

He said there was a sizable number of colleagues willing to support him, but what would convince him to run for the position was if they would be able to gather a majority.

Majority power

Sen. Sonny Angara said all contenders were qualified to become Senate President, but if none of the candidates managed to get a majority of at least 13, incumbent Senate President Franklin Drilon would retain his post.

“There is no single party with a sufficient number of senators to form a Senate majority in itself so right now, there’s a lot of jockeying and negotiating going on among groups, parties and individuals,” Angara said in a statement.

“If any of the above-mentioned aspirants fails to get 13 then Senate President Drilon stays on, similar to then Senate President Enrile in 2010,” he said.

Pimentel, the lone PDP-Laban member in the Senate, said he had not yet talked to any of his colleagues to seek their support, but added that he could

Jinggoy wants ‘redundant’ raps dropped

BY MARLON RAMOS Philippine Daily Inquirer DETAINED SEN. Jinggoy Estrada has petitioned the Sandiganbayan to nullify his indictment on multiple counts of graft in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam, saying the offenses were already part of the plunder case he is facing.

“A study of the information… reveals that all of the indictments against Senator Estrada arose out of the very same set of facts and out of the very same transactions,” said Estrada’s plea to the antigraft court’s Fifth Division dated May 18.

“With the proceedings in the plunder indictment and these graft cases so far conducted, it is apparent the transactions in the consolidated graft cases are the very same ones the prosecution is intending to prove in the plunder case,” the motion said.

Estrada, who has been held in a special Camp Crame jail cell since June 2014, has been charged with plunder and 11 counts of graft by the Ombudsman for his alleged receipt of P184 million in kickbacks from alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

In his petition, the senator said the disbursement vouchers the Ombudsman presented as evidence in the graft cases were “merely offshoots” of the transactions involving his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel allotments from 2004 to 2012.

He said the same set of documents was “already the same subject” of his trial for plunder in the Sandiganbayan antigraft court.

“Senator Estrada submits that the indictment in these consolidated graft cases are deemed absorbed by the indictment for plunder and should be dismissed insofar as he is concerned,” the motion read. ■

work well with members of the Liberal Party (LP).

“The PDP-Laban and the LP had a coalition in 1992, and I have good memories of that partnership. I am friends with the LP. Maybe the equation is different in the Senate,” he said.

The Senate in the 17th Congress will have five LP members: Drilon, Bam Aquino, Leila de Lima, Francis Pangilinan and Ralph Recto.

De Lima stood as Pimentel’s lawyer in his electoral protest against Sen. Miguel Zubiri in 2007.

Pimentel also said the PDP-Laban had already informed Duterte that it wanted him to run for Senate President.

Asked if he had Duterte’s blessing, he said, “It’s my party mates who are blessing me.”

As to whether he and Cayetano could work out a deal to split the term of the Senate President, he said he did not believe in term-sharing.

Party coalition

The NPC yesterday signed an agreement with the PDP-Laban to support the Duterte administration and the bid of newly elected Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez to be House Speaker.

But Sotto said the deal did not extend to the Senate. The NPC cannot commit its members to support a particular can-

didate for Senate President, he said.

“It has never worked that way. The senators are all different republics,” he said.

Among those involved in the discussion for Sotto to run for Senate President are NPC members Sen. Loren Legarda and newly elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, he said.

But Gatchalian told reporters in Makati that the NPC would likely support Duterte’s bet for Senate President.

Gatchalian was present in the signing of an agreement of support between the NPC and the PDP-Laban.

“The NPC will support the new administration in the Senate as well,” he said.

As far as he knows, he said, Cayetano is the anointed candidate of Duterte.

But he said Cayetano had yet to talk with NPC members.

Cannot be reached

The INQUIRER had tried but failed to get in touch with Cayetano to confirm if he would run for Senate President.

Asked what the NPC would do if Sotto decided to seek the Senate presidency, Gatchalian said that should be discussed.

But the general idea is to support the incoming administration, he said. ❱❱ PAGE 9 Tito Sotto

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Philippine News

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Haves get to represent have-nots in Congress

BY JOCELYN R. UY Philippine Daily Inquirer A BILLIONAIRE, a CEO of a big recruitment agency, lawyers and members of the country’s influential political clans—all vowing to champion the rights and welfare of the poor and the marginalized—are among the new representatives in Congress, a development that one of them calls a bastardization of the party-list system.

Of the 115 party-list groups that participated in the May 9 elections, only 46 learned the privilage to fill the 59 seats in the House of Representatives reserved for party-list lawmakers.

Of the 46, nine groups won seats for the first time: One Patriotic Coalition of Marginalized Nationals (1Pacman),

Kabalikat ng Mamamayan (Kabayan), Alliance of Organizations, Networks and Associations of the Philippines (Alona), and Acts-Overseas Filipino Workers Coalition of Organizations (Acts-OFW).

Ang Kabuhayan, Serbisyo sa Bayan Party (SBP), Una ang Edukasyon (1-Ang Edukasyon), Manila Teachers’ Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (Manila Teachers) and Kusug Tausug.

‘Surprise win’

Pulling off a surprise win in its first try in the party-list elections, 1Pacman won two seats which would be occupied by billionaire Michael “Mikee” Romero and Manny Pacquiao’s business manager, Erick Pineda.

Romero is the team owner of Global Port Batang Pier in the Philippine Basketball As-

sociation (PBA) and chair of Globalport 900, which controls Manila North Harbor Port Inc. The group’s second nominee, Pineda is also the team manager of the professional basketball team, Mahindra Enforcer, in the PBA. Giving back

Aware of criticisms against the supposed “bastardization of the party-list system,” Romero said his track record as a businessman, who has helped generate many jobs for the Filipinos, drew public interest to his group’s campaign that translated into millions of votes.

“Our conscience is very clear.

We’d like to help. Financially, I am OK. So I want to give back already whatever we can. I think we can do a lot of changes and reforms in the next Congress,” Romero told

the Inquirer following the proclamation of winning party-list groups on Thursday night.

“I think the Supreme Court already came out with a ruling that even nonmargnalized persons can represent a marginalized sector. Like me, my track record is giving jobs. So that’s our advocacy, to give jobs to the marginalized,” he added.

Department of Sports

1Pacman, whose main advocacy is to create a Department of Sports and to give jobs to the marginalized and the poor, received the third highest number of votes in the party-list elections, with 1,310,197.

“Our message was very clear [to the people] because they banked on the track record that I did in my business-Air Asia, North Harbor, Global Port and the rest that I accomplished, which was almost several hundred thousands of jobs already,” Romero said.

Lawyer Harry Roque

Kabayan, which first attempted to get a seat in the House in the 2013 party-list race, also gave a strong performance, earning two seats in the May 9 elections, with 840,393 votes.

The group, which aims to advance health, housing and livelihood for the poor and marginalized, will be represented by lawyers Harry Roque and his student, Ron Salo, in the 17th Congress.

“I am going to bring my activism in Congress. I can ensure the public that we will use Congress to promote rights for which our party stands for, which is ‘kalusugan, katarungan, pabahay and kabuhayan,’” said Roque, a human rights advocate and a professor of law at the University of the Philippines.

He also assured the public that he would ensure that his group’s “victories in the Supreme Court” would be recognized and observed in Congress.

“We argued against the DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Program) and PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) and we will make sure that the annual budget will be free of DAP and PDAF” Roque said.

Bastardized

One of the fresh faces in the House, Roque said he agreed with observations that many of the people appointed as nominees of party-list groups were relatives www.canadianinquirer.net

of traditional politicians.

“It’s a shame. This is an innovation of the 1987 Constitution so that the marginalized and multisectoral groups can have a bigger voice in society. It’s sad that politicians have bastardized it,” he said.

Quezon gov’s wife

At least three of the new party-list groups in the House will be represented by relatives of well-known wealthy political families: Alona identified its first nominee as Anna Villaraza-Suarez, wife of the well-connected David Suarez, who got a fresh mandate as governor of Quezon province.

SBP, founded in 2014, will be represented by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte’s nephew, Ricardo Belmonte Jr. SBP’s win in the party-list elections placed three Belmontes in the House, according to poll watchdog Kontra Daya. The other Belmonte is Jose Christopher, a congressman of the sixth district of Quezon City.

Sulu gov’s daughter

The lone seat won by the newly formed group, Kusug Tausug, whose advocacies are anchored on empowering the people of Sulu, will be occupied by Shernee Tan, youngest daughter of Vice Gov. Abdusakur Tan. Acts-OFW, which received 374,601 votes equivalent to one seat in the House, will be represented by Aniceto “John” Bertiz, a former Filipino migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, who now runs Global Asia Alliance Consultant Inc., a recruitment agency.

Ang Kabuhayan, which represents small business owners, will be fielding Dennis Laogan as its representative while 1Ang Edukasyon will be represented by lawyer Salvador Belaro Jr. A former commissioner of Bar Discipline of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Belaro was a nominee of the Bicolano sectoral party, Oragon, that failed to get a seat in the 2010 elections.

Manila Teachers, which won one of the last few seats in the House, listed its chair and CEO Virgilio Lacson as its nominee.

Records show that Lacson was dismissed from service in 2001 when he was a councilor of Malabon City due to “unjustified prolonged absence.” The administrative complaint was filed by eight other city councilors in 2000. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

Comelec defers Marcos’ request to conduct systems audit on its Transparency and Central Servers

BY FERDINAND G. PATINIO Philippines News Agency MANILA — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has set aside the request of vice presidential aspirant Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to conduct systems audit on its Transparency and Central Servers.

According to Comelec Chairman Juan Andres Bautista, the Commission en banc has unanimously decided to defer any action on the lawmaker’s request that his information technology (IT) experts be allowed to audit the said servers used in the just-concluded elections.

“It was our unanimous vote to defer action on the request of Senator Marcos because of three reasons,” he said in a media forum in Manila on Wednesday.

The poll body chief noted that the request may be tackled after the canvassing of votes for president and vice president and the criminal complaints have been concluded.

He added that they are wary on what are the possible effects of the systems audit to the commencement of the canvassing and the cases filed against officials of Comelec and its service provider, Smartmatic International.

“We have reservations since the canvassing has already begun in Congress, which also has the mandate to proclaim the winning president and vice president. So, what could be its effect if we allow this audit by a particular candidate?,” he said.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives and the Senate, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBoC), started counting the votes for the two highest positions in the land.

“There are also these criminal complaints versus Smartmatic and Comelec.

What could happen if they find anything during the audit? Will they use it as evidence?” Bautista added.

He noted that they have given all political parties, including the camp of Marcos, the opportunity to scrutinize the automated election system (AES) to be used in the last elections, particularly the two-stage source code review.

“All parties and candidates and civil society organizations have been given enough time to audit and review the systems to be used since last October. So it cannot be said that we did not open the process to stakeholders,” Bautista added.

On Tuesday, Marcos filed criminal charges against Comelec and Smartmatic personnel over the alteration of the hash code of the Transparency Server last May 9.

The senator said the systems audit is looking to determine whether other changes in the system have been introduced or whether a different program has been loaded in the Transparency Server when Smartmatic’s Marlon Garcia introduced “cosmetic changes” on Election Day. On the other hand, Bautista said that they will support any interested third party to conduct an assessment of the AES. “Transparency is very important to us. This is why we are open to a disinterested, non-partisan group to conduct the systems audit. If they want to do so, we are open to it,” he said.

Among the possible parties that can conduct the systems audit are the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) or the Comelec Advisory Council.

Meanwhile, Abakada Party-list Rep. Jonathan Dela Cruz, campaign adviser of Marcos, insisted that the winners in the presidential and vice presidential elections may be proclaimed separately.

During the joint session of Congress, convened as the NBOC, he proposed an amendment to the rules of the canvass, seeking separate consideration for the votes of the president and the vice president but his proposal was outvoted and the rules were adopted without amendment.

The legislator noted that the Certificates of Canvass consist of two documents, one containing the votes for the president and the other the votes for the vice president so separate canvass and proclamation is possible.

“If the presidential canvass is uncontested then the president-elect can be proclaimed separately from the vice president,” Dela Cruz said.

In a privilege speech on Monday, Marcos called for the separate proclamation of president and vice president as he raised various issues that cast doubt on the integrity of the elections.

Among these issues were the introduction of a script in the transparency server used in the polls without proper authorization from the Comelec en banc, as well as various incidents of vote-buying, intimidation and other efforts to disenfranchise voters. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

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Philippine News

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Students from Holy Cross travel to the Philippines From Mar. 6-20, 2016, the Holy Cross Mission Team travelled to the Philippines to build houses for the poor in Caloocan and San Mateo. In total there were 35 students, five staff members, and a priest. The team eagerly partnered with ANCOP and took part in the 2016 immersion.

BY ERIKA GACAYAN THIS SPRING break, I embarked on a journey that changed my life forever. At first, I did not really know what to expect. However, from the moment we arrived, I knew that this trip would to be an experience I would treasure and never forget.

Our first day on site was definitely one of the most memorable days of the entire trip.

When we got off the bus, we were immediately welcomed by the villagers in Caloocan, whom we would be spending the next two weeks with. Right away, I was amazed by their sense of community and the hospitality and friendship they offered to us, complete strangers. Though they had never met us before, they welcomed us into their family with open arms. After a warm welcome and a brief introduction, it was time to begin what we promised to do: work.

Nothing could have prepared me for the difficulty of the tasks we were to complete. It was not that the tasks themselves were difficult, but it was the effort that was needed to complete the task under the heat of the scorching sun. Simply standing under the sun was a task in itself! Though I struggled to

work in the heat and humidity, I was inspired to not give up, as the villagers and even the children were happily helping us. It seemed as if the entire village offered their support, asking for nothing in return. This beautifully illustrated image of the entire village helping to build really moved me, revealing the fact they they truly cherished their community and treasured their friendships.

Each day was similar to the first. Our daily tasks included: demolitions, mixing cement, digging, filling sacks with cement, sand, and gravel, carrying those sacks to various work sites, cutting wires, painting, and laying bricks. Each member of the team poured their heart and soul into their work, and put in all their effort. As I worked, I met many amazing people who inspired me and gave me hope through their stories.

We came to forget about our exhaustion as there were plenty of children to play with. Their energy and spirit seemed to give us strength and alleviated our fatigue. It was amazing to see that even though we were from a completely different part of the world, we were able to connect and make friends with the children and others who lived in the village. Despite

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Neil Reeder, with Ms. Gallant, Fr. Tepoorten and Ms. Aytona visited to share his message of encouragement and support to the students.

the language barrier, I can truly say that every single person on the team developed and established friendships that would last a lifetime. In a span of two weeks, we became so close with the people of the village, that it seemed we have known each other our whole lives. Each day was something to look forward to and each day I experienced true joy and happiness.

Compared to our living conditions, the people of the village have little to nothing. Yet, the little they had, they were willing to give. From friendship bracelets, to food, to their talents, the villagers eagerly offered us

whatever they had. This meant so much to me, knowing that each day was a struggle. The people of the village are financially poor, yet they are the most wealthy in love. They are the happiest people I have ever seen and I hope that one day, they will get to experience the happiness and joy that they have brought into my life. I went to the Philippines hoping to give joy to others. Instead, I was the one who received joy, and the greatest gift of all; love.

Apart from building homes, we also got the chance to do some outreach work as well.

We visited the Missionaries

of Charity, two San Martin orphanages, and the House with No Steps. Being able to visit and help these organizations was truly a blessing. It was inspiring to see that no matter what obstacles life offers, there is always hope that everything will be okay. The courage and strength I witnessed truly radiated the beauty of each community.

Personally, the most difficult part of the trip was saying goodbye. Many tears were shed, hugs were shared, and heartfelt goodbyes were said. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. It felt as if I was leaving a part of my heart in the Philippines. It took a while, but after gathering all my strength, I said farewell to the people who took me into their family.

All in all, this mission trip was an amazing experience that I would not trade for anything in the world. It has changed my perspective on life and has taught me that true happiness comes from serving others.

This trip really touched my heart and completely changed my life. My experience in the Philippines will never be forgotten. ■ The author is a Grade 11 student of Holy Cross High School.

Congress sets canvass as VP race hangs

BY LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer THE SENATE and the House of Representatives will hold a joint session this week to begin the formal canvassing of votes for president and vice president, a process that is expected to be closely watched given the tight race for the vice presidency.

The joint session will be held on May 24, when both chambers will meet and form the national board of canvassers (NBOC).

The actual canvassing of votes will begin on May 25 and will be held at the Batasang

Pambansa, according to Senate Secretary Oscar Yabes.

During the joint session on Tuesday, both chambers are expected to adopt the rules and create the panels for the joint canvassing committee.

The partial unofficial count of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) citizens’ arm, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), showed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with a huge lead over his rivals.

While it is a clear victory for Duterte, a close race remains for the vice presidency. Based on the final unofficial count, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo pulled ahead of Sen. Fer-

dinand Marcos, with a lead of more than 200,000 votes.

But since the unofficial count did not include 100 percent of the precincts, the race is still too close to call.

The Marcos camp has complained of alleged irregularities and has asked the Comelec to allow its information technology experts to audit the transparency server and central server that were used in the polls.

Its misgivings centered on the alteration in the script in the transparency server, which Comelec officials said only resulted in a “cosmetic” change as it only changed the spelling of certain candidates’ names. www.canadianinquirer.net

Assurance wanted

But the Marcos camp said that if a Smartmatic technician could introduce a cosmetic change, what assurance did they have that the same person did not introduce other substantial alterations to the script that could affect the election results.

The Robredo camp, on the other hand, is confident that she won the race.

The Senate would have a session on Monday to approve bills on third reading before both chambers hold their joint session.

Meanwhile, Marcos’ campaign adviser Jonathan de la Cruz said in a statement that all information technology ex-

perts and representatives of winning candidates were welcome to join the system audit of the Comelec’s servers that their camp had asked for.

“We would like to urge all IT experts to go there (Comelec), to have themselves accredited and take a look and see for themselves what happened,” De la Cruz said.

He said the credibility of the Senate was at stake, and the audit was intended to search for the truth.

According to De la Cruz, the system audit that the Marcos camp wants is not directed at a particular candidate but is meant to ensure the integrity of the polls. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

7

Ties that bind: Digong and Bebot go back a long way

BY DJ YAP Philippine Daily Inquirer

portation secretary under the Arroyo administration, has been tapped by Duterte’s PDP-Laban party to challenge current Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. for the House leadership.

HOUSE SPEAKER-IN-WAITING Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez is not only a trusted friend and confidante of Davao Loyal lieutenant Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte. He is The presumptive Presidentelect, afthe presumptive next President’s travel ter all, needs a loyal lieutenant in the buddy, political adviser, fellow adven- House— first, to foil any impeachment turer and, above all, cheerleader. attempt against the Chief Executive The ties that bind the two men go back and, second, to advance his legislative two decades, during the 11th Congress, agenda. when both were junior congressmen “I thought he was kidding,” said Alvaidling away their time at the House of rez, whom Duterte had started referring Representatives. to as “Speaker” in the early days of their Duterte, who got bored with legisla- campaign. tive work, served only one term in Con“In the last two weeks of the camgress, while Alvarez’s first term was paign, he told me at Marco Polo [Hotel interrupted in January 2001, when the in Davao], ‘pare, it looks like we’re good fledgling Arroyo administration picked to go. Start working on the speakerhim to be the secretary of the Depart- ship,’” he recalled. ment of Transportation and Communi“I told him, ‘pare, I haven’t even won cations, a post he held yet!’” he said with a until July 5, 2002. laugh.

In one of the So can anyone say lunchtime chats be“no” to Duterte? tween the Davao del I have seen his “As long as you Norte lawmaker and character as a explain to him why Duterte, the conleader. I think there is a better sogressman turned to this man is the lution,” Alvarez said. his older colleague right fit to be our “He has an open and told him, “Pare, President. He is mind… Just don’t tell you should run for a very sincere him ‘this is what you President.

You’d person. He is not should do,’” he added. surely win.” a hypocrite.

As scores of old, Duterte snickered. new and returning “He told me, ‘who are lawmakers cozy up you kidding? Find to the Duterte camp, someone else to flatAlvarez claims to ter,’” recalled Alvarez, who won another have secured at least 180 votes, enough mandate as district representative after to seize the leadership from Belmonte in a 15-year absence from the House. That the 290-member chamber. light banter in 1998 helped solidify the budding friendship between the two Weeping sons of Mindanao, and would prove proAway from the public’s prying eyes, phetic 18 years later. the congressman- elect describes the In an hourlong interview with the IN- outgoing Davao mayor as a toughie who QUIRER on Wednesday, Alvarez gave has a soft core. Once, he saw the mayor a revealing portrait of his relationship sobbing after a visit from a cancer pawith the 71-year-old Duterte, the godfa- tient. Another time, he caught the offither of one of his children. cial weeping upon seeing the size of the More than just a friend, Alvarez is a rapturous crowd at a campaign rally. true believer who talks of the incoming The two buddies love going on advenPresident in the same glowing terms and ture trips together. Recently they flew worshipping tone often heard among an ultralight two-seater plane over Pamdie-hard Duterte fans. “I will give him panga. “(It was) like riding a motorcycle 100 percent support because I believe in in the air,” Alvarez recalled. him,” the congressman said. “I believe in Despite Duterte’s macho image, the his leadership. He has no other objective mayor “doesn’t drink or smoke,” the except to change the nation.” congressman said. “But he loves to talk.

Alvarez added: “I have seen his char- We talk about so many things… women, acter as a leader. I think this man is the light moments… girlfriends,” he added. right fit to be our President. He is a very Duterte, whose political career has sincere person. He is not a hypocrite.” capitalized on his man-of-the-masses In fact, added the congressman, that’s persona, has simple joys, one of them how he earned Duterte’s trust. “There’s eating his favorite dish, “inun unan” no fakery between us. I’m sincere with (fish stewed in vinegar), with his hands, him. I can say what I want to say to him.” Alvarez said, adding that on a recent trip Now entrenched within the Davao to Australia before the campaign period, mayor’s inner circle, Alvarez, a trans- they spent time just “walking around,

eating.”

But as close as Alvarez is to Duterte, his hold on the mayor is not absolute.

“He’s a tough person to influence,” Alvarez said. “He has his own mind. No matter what you say, he would just nod as if he agreed with you. Then you’d realize later he did not follow your advice.”

Plunder complaint

The man who might be Duterte’s whip in Congress is a graduate of Ateneo Law School who practiced law from 1984 to 1986. He then shifted to a career in public service as a member of Sen. Wigberto Tañada’s staff from 1987 to 1992.

Alvarez worked briefly at the Manila International Airport Authority as senior assistant general manager and chief operating officer from March 1995 to September 1997.

It was for this stint that he, along with five other officials, faced a plunder complaint in 2001 for awarding in 1996 the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 build- operate- transfer contract to Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco).

owned 33 percent of Wintrack Builders Inc., the company that did excavation work with Piatco, and profited immensely from it. But the case was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman that same year for “lack of evidence.”

“I really had nothing to do with that,” Alvarez said of the plunder complaint. “I was just harassed… I was in the technical working group, which had no discretion to award the contract.”

He added: “I had no role in it, which was why, during the hearing, no evidence was presented. No witnesses testified.”

Alvarez is married to Emelita Apostol, with whom he has four children. He also has two children from a first marriage.

The family lives in Makati City.

Resistant

One could say that Alvarez had a crucial role in Duterte’s storybook ascension to the presidency.

It was he who convinced PDP-Laban in October last year to have one party member file a certificate of candidacy (COC) on the last day so that Duterte, who was resistant to the idea, could substitute for him should the mayor change

‘Lack of evidence’

According to sources, Alvarez’s wife

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❱❱ PAGE 12 Ties that

Philippine News

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MAY 27, 2016

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Member

President Aquino signed into law a bill that aims to improve the care and protection of children affected by disasters.

BENHUR ARCAYAN / MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU / PNA

Law protecting children will give PNoy ‘peace of mind’ after his term President Aquino signs the Children’s Emergency and Relief Protection Act–‘the first of its kind in Asia’

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer IN HIS first public appearance since the May 9 elections, President Aquino signed last week into law the Children’s Emergency and Relief Protection Act, which he said would make him less worried, whether he is on Times Street or in Tarlac as a private citizen, knowing that the welfare of the Filipino child during disasters is well taken care of.

“This law is designed to create a comprehensive and extensive plan to ensure that the welfare of the Filipino child who is affected by calamities, emergencies, and other unexpected incidents is well taken care of. We all know: in times like these, it is the young people who are most vulnerable,” President Aquino said in Filipino.

The law is described by the Save the Children organization as the “first of its kind in Asia, and establishes a new global standard for accountability to children.”

“This legislation provides specific legal protection to children, it ensures that children have targeted humanitarian intervention, and that government services and communities are better prepared for future disasters,” said Ned Olney, Save the Children country director, who attended the ceremony at Malacañang.

Olney added, “We urge the next Philippine administration to support and fast-track the drafting of Implementing Rules and Regulations of this important legislation before the typhoon season begins.”

President Aquino looked upbeat that

day, not showing any sign of sadness or defeat after the overwhelming victory of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte over administration candidate Mar Roxas.

Mr. Aquino looked happily at the group of small children who witnessed the signing, with one young boy particularly catching the President’s attention for his solemn demeanor throughout the ceremony.

“He is the smallest and the most serious today. Look at him, even his applause is really for all intents and purposes,” the President said with a smile, referring to the boy who was seated on the third row.

Nephews and nieces

The children later had their photos taken with President Aquino, a bachelor at 56 who is known to dote on his nephews and nieces.

With 43 days left before his term ends, President Aquino emphasized that up to the final moments of treading on the straight path (Daang Matuwid), he and his administration continue to fulfill their promise: “That is to bequeath to future generations a Philippines that is clearly in better shape than before.”

According to the President, the provisions in the law he signed yesterday are already included in the government’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Strategy.

“However, the point of the law is to formalize the steps and processes; strengthen the different government sectors; and make their tasks and responsibilities clearer,” he said.

President Aquino also stressed that

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the law is designed to be the foundation and norm when it comes to the protection of the Filipino child, whoever is in power in government.”

According to Save the Children, the law ensures that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) lead other agencies in crafting a Comprehensive Emergency Program that will protect and support the children’s immediate recovery.

The law also mandates heightened surveillance against child trafficking and other violence against children in the aftermath of disasters and calamities; provides a system of restoring civil documents for children and their families to better access services and protect against exploitation; ensures less disruption of education activities with the reduced use of schools as evacuation centers and the proper use of temporary learning spaces; and have improved care and steps for family tracing and reunification for unaccompanied and separated children.

President Aquino also emphasized the implementation of a child-responsive training program for all responders in calamity-struck areas.

“All these have only one objective: to have peace of mind and heart. What we want— whether I am on Times or in Tarlac as a private citizen, or for parents who work hard everyday for their families—is when calamities, disasters, or emergencies happen, we have peace of mind because we know government is there, focused on the lives and welfare of their children and the Filipino youth,” the President said. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

9

Purisima nabbed for graft Ex-PNP chief posts bail in gun license delivery case

BY MARLON RAMOS, KRISTINE FELISSE MANGUNAY AND JAYMEE T. GAMIL Philippine Daily Inquirer THIS TIME around, the police chief who used to arrest criminals was himself arrested by former subordinates at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) shortly after he flew in from Butuan City yesterday.

Sacked Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima was ordered arrested by the Sandiganbayan after the Office of the Ombudsman filed a graft case against him and 10 others over an irregular, P100-million contract for the delivery of gun licenses in 2011.

Purisima, who was not cuffed, was immediately taken

by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group agents to the antigraft tribunal in Quezon City where he posted P30,000 bail.

“He was submissive. After he was shown the warrant, sir Purisima just went willingly with those serving it. There was no commotion,” said Chief Insp. Samuel Hojilla, spokesperson for the PNP Aviation Security Group, which served as “backup” in the arrest.

A TV news video showed Purisima walking toward several uniformed policemen right outside the Naia Terminal 3 building, with one of them saluting the former PNP chief.

The group then shook hands with their former boss and es-

corted him to a white vehicle waiting nearby.

Purisima’s lawyer, Dexter Corpus, maintained that his client was not arrested but “voluntarily surrendered.” On Thursday, the court issued an arrest warrant for Purisima and 10 others, among them businesswoman Salud Bautista, after it found probable cause to proceed with their trial for the PNP’s questionable grant of a P100-million courier service contract to Werfast Documentation Agency Inc. in May 2011, for the delivery of gun licenses to applicants.

Based on information about the case, the contract was awarded to Werfast without public bidding and despite the company’s lack of track record and qualifications as a courier service firm.

Arrest warrant

Bautista, an incorporator of Werfast, is also the registered owner of Philippine Remittance Co. (PhilRem), which was tagged in the laundering in the Philippines of $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh central bank’s account in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The court junked the separate motions for judicial determination of probable cause filed by Purisima, Bautista and Werfast owner Mario Juan, clearing the way for the issuance of the arrest warrant.

Besides Purisima, Bautista and Juan, also ordered arrested were retired Civil Security

Group chief Gil Meneses, former Firearms and Explosives Office chief Napoleon Estilles, former Chief Supt. Allan Parreño, Senior Supt. Melchor Reyes and Senior Insp. Ford Tuazon.

Also named in the arrest warrant were Werfast incorporators Enrique Valerio, Lorna Perena and Juliana Pasia.

The court ruled that “sufficient grounds exist for the finding of a probable cause and for the issuance of a warrant of arrest against all the accused charged.”

It said that the arguments presented by the accused in their petitions were “matters of defense... best raised and threshed out during trial.”

Uneven standards

Mobbed by reporters on his way to post bail, a grinning Purisima remained mum and refused to answer questions.

Looking relaxed in a gray collared striped T-shirt and shorts, he quickly left the court building after completing the booking process.

In a statement, however, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) raised questions about what it described as “uneven standards in law and

Tito Sotto...

“At the end of the day, we’re just one country. We have to be united,” he said.

NPC president Giorgidi Aggabao also said he presumed the party members would support Duterte’s preferred Senate President.

Sources in the Duterte camp said Pimentel was the PDPLaban’s top pick for the Senate presidency.

This is even if Cayetano, who is on his third and last term, has also expressed interest in the third highest position in the land. ❰❰ 3

Cayetano was earlier offered posts in the new administration’s Cabinet, either the portfolios of the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Department of Justice.

But he has to wait until next year due to the one-year ban on the appointment of losing candidates to government positions.

Sources said Cayetano may not be the best choice for Senate President as he appeared to be brash to his Senate peers.

To keep their forces consolidated, Cayetano has to give way to Pimentel, sources said. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Sacked PNP chief Alan Purisima (rightmost) was ordered arrested after the Office of the Ombudsman filed a graft case against him over an irregular, P100million contract for the delivery of gun licenses in 2011.

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law enforcement” shown by Purisima’s arrest.

“Is this for show? He should have been cuffed,” NUPL secretary general Edre Olalia said.

“He knew he could simply post bail. The dramatic ‘arrest’ seems contrived. Why escort him to Sandigan? He should be thrown into jail straight away first. That’s what the rules say,” the lawyer added.

Purisima was appointed 18th PNP chief in 2012 by President Aquino, whose family the former police chief secured during several coup attempts against the late President Cory Aquino.

Mamasapano

The former PNP official resigned in February last year

following allegations that, despite being under suspension, he gave orders during a police operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, that led to the death of 44 Special Action Force troopers, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front members, five Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and three civilians in January 2015.

Purisima’s resignation ended decades of service in law enforcement that was marred by allegations of plunder for which he was put on preventive suspension in December 2014.

In June last year, the Ombudsman dismissed Purisima from service for the same graft allegations involving the Werfast contract. ■

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Philippine News

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Sidelined, Quiboloy is hurting

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer HE HAD an airplane and a helicopter on standby 24/7 for his friend throughout the threemonth campaign, part of a three-decade friendship that included daily phone calls, golf games and motorbike rides, but why is Apollo Quiboloy now sidelined as Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte prepares for the presidency?

In an unexpected move, the camp of the founder of the homegrown Christian sect Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name, yesterday openly criticized the presumptive President-elect’s men, saying they had set up a cordon sanitaire around Duterte that left out his own spiritual adviser.

“It’s quite a powerful cordon sanitaire that left out the original supporters of Mayor Duterte, including Pastor Quiboloy himself. It pains us and it saddens us,” Mike Abe, a spokesperson for Quiboloy, told the INQUIRER by phone in Filipino.

Abe named Duterte’s longtime executive assistant, Christopher “Bong” Go, and incoming presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo as the ones controlling the cordon sanitaire.

He said the last time Duterte and Quiboloy spoke to each other was at 2 a.m. on May 10, adding he was there.

“After that, their communication was already cut off. We believe there are people getting in the way of the two friends,” Abe said.

Abe said those who comprised Duterte’s cordon sanitaire were people from the office of the Davao mayor.

“But this is now the national scene. We should no longer think local because Mayor

Duterte’s administration has to succeed,” Abe said.

Since Thursday, Abe has been quoted in news reports as saying Quiboloy is hurting as the self-styled pastor has been left out by Duterte in the selection of members of his Cabinet.

‘Voice’ in selection

and naming them to positions,” he said.

Lobbying politicians

In an interview with INQUIRER. net, Abe said politicians lobbied for some of the appointments.

Quoting Duterte’s spokesperson Peter Laviña, Abe said reelected Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar was initially considered for the trade and industry portfolio, but Duterte’s vice presidential running mate, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, lobbied for him to be named public works secretary.

There was no immediate comment from Cayetano yesterday.

Villar, son of former Sen. Manuel Villar and incumbent Sen. Cynthia Villar, met with Duterte in Davao on Monday night and the presumptive President-elect offered the post to him. His parents were also there.

Abe said Quiboloy gave his unequivocal support to Duterte during the campaign, having his private jet and helicopter at the then-candidate’s disposal anytime.

“Pastor Quiboloy helped

Abe said Quiboloy felt he should “have a voice” in the selection of Cabinet officials, being the spiritual adviser of Duterte and his friend for the past 30 years.

“Pastor Quiboloy is not interQuiboloy felt he should “have a voice” in the selection of Cabinet officials, ested in a quid pro quo but he being the spiritual adviser of Duterte and his friend for the past 30 years. wants to be included in the seFACEBOOK lection process, to have a voice in the process, but he will not make any recommendations in years and not a day passes that and tourism office and a few terms of accepting or rejecting they do not talk to each other. other officials are the ones hana nominee. What he wants is to They would call each other up dling it,” he said. take part in vetting the qualieven if Pastor Quiboloy is in the “We are involved in the fafications of a nominee, to help US. They play golf and go mo- cilitation, but as to the actual in double-checking their backtorbike riding together. They reception, we don’t have any grounds, especially for the senhave their bonding moments. participation,” Laviña said. sitive positions,” Abe said.

It’s a solid friendship,” Abe said.

He said Duterte’s camp would Quiboloy, 66, claims to be the apologize to Quiboloy. “appointed son of God.” He says No cordon sanitaire “Hopefully we can extend that 16 years ago, he predicted In Davao City, Laviña denied our apology to Pastor Apollo that Duterte would be elected there was a cordon sanitaire Quiboloy, the same apology we President in a landslide. around Duterte. He said sug- extended to (Moro National Abe said Quiboloy wanted to gestions for positions from as Liberation Front spokesperson help Duterte in advancing his many people as possible were Rev. Absalom) Cerveza, these campaign promwelcome. are not intentional, we wanted ise of change.

According to to accommodate everyone,” he “People should Laviña, Duterte’s said. feel that change… camps heard Cerveza reportedly lined up Positions canIt’s quite a powerful cordon sanitaire about the criti- on Monday to congratulate not be arbitrarily that left out the original supporters cisms against the Duterte, but was turned down given and take us of Mayor Duterte, including Pastor a p p o i n t m e n t s by the mayor’s staff. all by surprise,” Quiboloy himself. It pains us and it on Quiboloy’s “Things happen,” Laviña said.

Abe said, adding saddens us radio station, “We are not trained to do it that Quiboloy but learned that perfectly. If there are a few who believed the Quiboloy had not were not entertained, we exappointments been consulted tend our apologies and adjust should not be done hastily.

Mayor Duterte a lot during the on the matter. accordingly,” he said.

According to Abe, the ap- campaign,” Abe said.

He said that those handling Laviña said he was sure Duterte pointments can be announced He said groups supportive of Duterte’s visitors were indeed and Quiboloy would meet soon in the second or third week of Quiboloy committed votes for people from the city mayor’s of- and the next Philippine leader June, after a thorough review Duterte, not to mention the fice. may consult Quiboloy on some of of the nominees’ qualifications. 6.5 million followers of the sect “The reception of the guests, the nominees. ■ The way Duterte is making throughout the world. well-wishers is handled by the appointments to his Cabinet is Quiboloy and Duterte “were city mayor’s office. That’s why “worrisome,” Abe said. more than brothers,” Abe said.

Bong Go as chief of staff, staff “It’s like pointing at people “Their friendship spans 30 from the city information office

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Philippine News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

11

Keeping up with the Dutertes Why watching the first family could become the next national pastime

BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Philippine Daily Inquirer NOW THAT the high drama of the campaign is over, and presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is preparing to take over the reins of power, it’s about time for a change of pace.

Given our national proclivity for politics as entertainment, and the intense public curiosity—at least outside of Davao City—about the presumptive first family, a family-based reality show is in order, a la “The Osbournes,” “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” or even “It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez.”

Judging from the press they’ve generated over the years, there seems to be no shortage of family dysfunction, unconventional parenting styles, individual personality quirks, sibling rivalry—in short, all the elements of your typical familybased reality show.

Given their tendency to let it all hang out, and damn the consequences, the Dutertes seem tailormade for the reality genre.

This is a family, after all, in which the patriarch basically green-lit a hit on his own children if it could be proven that they were into illegal drugs. Of course, this was during the heat of the campaign, and it made for one more tasty sound bite that media couldn’t resist. (“Kill my children if they are into drugs,” one headline read.)

In any case, there’s more than enough dramatic tension to hold audience attention, even without considering the fact that this, after all, will be the country’s first family.

Honeymoon period

Best of all, the show doesn’t even have to be produced, because Duterte-watching is already shaping up to be the next national pastime, at least during the honeymoon period that accompanies every new presidential term.

With his lip-ring, tats and buff beach bod, mellow surfer dude and sometime musician Baste, Duterte’s youngest son, seems most ready for prime time.

Already the 28-year-old Ateneo de Davao graduate, who dropped out of law school, presumably to catch more wave time, has a growing social media presence with more than 200,000 followers on Facebook.

Femalenetwork.com declared him “the new crush ng bayan,” a video clip of him making kissy face has reportedly garnered 1.4 million views, and you can hardly hear his version of an Incubus song over the squealing of female fans in another viral clip.

He is also in fan fiction, of both the hetero- and homoerotic variety, indicat-

ing considerable millennial appeal.

The fact that he has two kids of his own, a five-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son, and is living with his current girlfriend, hasn’t dampened his growing fan base on social media.

“Mellow” is something that incoming Davao City mayor and rape survivor Sara Duterte can’t be accused of being.

It’s hard to forget the image of the pugnacious female mayor rushing a hapless city sheriff implementing a demolition order and punching him repeatedly in the face. The incident, which happened during her first term as Davao City mayor, was filmed by a news crew and aired on national television, giving the public outside of Davao City a first glimpse of her unpredictable personality.

Even more surprising was her revelation, on social media, that she had been raped when she was younger.

“Not a joke. I am a rape victim,” she posted on her Instagram account, with the comment “finally said it.” The timing of the revelation led many people to believe that it was an attempt to deflect some of the criticism of her father following his tasteless joke about the rape and murder of an Australian missionary.

Unsympathetic

Equally surprising was Duterte’s reaction: He called his daughter a “drama queen” and told reporters she couldn’t be raped because she carried a gun. His unsympathetic response was puzzling, since just a few months before, he revealed to the press that he had been sexually molested by a priest when he was a teenager.

Sara once described her relationship with her father as “love-hate,” which bodes well for future family drama, even if she won’t be acting as her father’s first lady after all.

She reportedly suspended in vitro fertilization treatments to focus on the campaign, and doubtless people will be curious to see if she resumes.

Perhaps the most enigmatic Duterte of all is oldest son Paolo, incoming vice mayor.

Among the Duterte children, he seems to have the most contentious relationship with his father.

Over the course of his political career, he has been accused of being involved in smuggling, illegal drugs, even carnapping. At one point, the accusations prompted his father to announce to the press that anyone is free to kill Paolo if he is involved in crime—and this was years before his famous pronouncement during the campaign.

Duterte has never endorsed any of Paolo’s political ambitions, either. He had announced that he would run for mayor, but Duterte favored Sara, citing

Despite his busy campaign, Duterte took a break to spend time with Elizabeth Zimmerman Duterte, his ex-wife, who celebrated her 68th birthday in April. The simple gathering was attended by their family and close friends.

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Paolo’s lack of a law degree. ran for reelection unopposed.

He has also been something of a loose Add to the mix a supporting cast that cannon in the Duterte camp, at one includes ex-wife Elizabeth Zimmerman, point endorsing Chiz Escudero instead who presumably will resume her cancer of his father’s running mate Alan Peter treatments now that the campaign is Cayetano. He even left his father’s politi- over; common-law wife Cielito “Honeycal party, Hugpo sa Tawong Lungsod, for let” Avanceña and their daughter Verona time. ica; and “Keeping Up With the Dutertes” But Paolo seems to have inherited could be one interesting ride. some ofBCBC-HealthWellBeing-PhilipineCanInq_5x6_BW_01.pdf his father’s Teflon exterior: At least1 until bodies 9:29 start 10/04/2016 pm dropping.

None of the charges have stuck, and he That might be too real. ■

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Philippine News

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Palace tells public: Let’s go easy on new admin

BY NIKKO DIZON AND LEILA B. SALAVERRIA Philippine Daily Inquirer MALACAÑANG YESTERDAY steered clear of reports of bickering within the camp of presumptive Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte, saying that instead of fanning intrigue, everyone should support the incoming administration.

“It’s best if we give our whole support, and other sectors of society should give their support, to the incoming administration.

It’s better if we don’t fan the intrigue, speculation and talk about that (the intramural dispute among Duterte’s supporters),” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

Coloma was asked on staterun Radyo ng Bayan for comment on reports of a misunderstanding among Duterte’s supporters, including the camp of Apollo Quiboloy, a selfstyled evangelist and a close friend of the Davao City mayor.

Quiboloy’s spokesperson, Mike Abe, complained to reporters on Friday that Quiboloy had been shut out by Duterte’s “cordon sanitaire,” preventing him from taking part in the selection of new Cabinet officials.

“We don’t have anything to do with it and we are not taking part in it. But as observers… we were once an ‘ incoming admin-

similar appeal for Duterte’s nominees.

“It is his prerogative to choose whoever he wants to serve in his administration,” Villar said in a radio interview.

Her son, Mark Villar, has accepted Duterte’s offer to head the Department of Public Works and Highways.

No conflict of interest

(From right to left) Secretary Gen. PDP LABAN Pantaleon Alvarez, PDP LABAN President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel, NPC Chairman Emeritus Faustino Dy, and NPC President Giogidi Aggabao during the signing of the PDP Laban and NPC “Coalition for Change” Agreement of Support to presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.

AVITO C. DALAN / PNA

istration’ and had gone through the process, it would be very helpful if we will all give our support to them (the incoming administration),” Coloma said.

and the responsibilities of a communications secretary.

Coloma also said he explained to Panelo how the PCOO worked with the media for coverage of presidential events.

Smooth transition

Coloma said the Aquino administration was hoping for a smooth transition to the Duterte administration, helping the new officials prepare to assume their new roles and responsibilities.

Coloma met with incoming presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Friday.

He said he briefed Panelo on the organizational structure of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)

Give them a chance

“Bong” Go, who ultimately gave the go-signal for Diño to file his COC on the mayor’s behalf.

Alvarez recounted how, as the tough-talking Duterte hemmed and hawed about a possible presidential run, the congressman showed him a YouTube clip of the “Takbo (run) Duterte” music video, urging him to enter the presidential fray. “I saw he was tearing up.

I thought, ‘patay ka ngayon (you’re dead).’ We’re getting close,” he recalled, chuckling.

secures No. 4.

“It will definitely not be a rubber stamp, but an implementer of the program of the Duterte administration,” Alvarez said of his vision for the House.

“As Speaker, I will be guided by the advocacies and promises of the President during the campaign. He was elected on the basis of those platforms,” he said.

There are three priorities, said Alvarez: The shift to a federal form of government through constitutional amendment, the revival of the death penalty and the restoration of the Ledac, or the LegislativeExecutive Development Advisory Council, which did not see action during the Aquino administration.

Like Duterte, Alvarez dem-

“[M]ost important, we briefed him on the interaction between the mass media and the Office of the President, because [ journalists are] our partners [in relaying] information to the people,” Coloma said.

Duterte’s allies also appealed to the public to give the incoming leader’s chosen officials a chance to prove their capabilities before judging them.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III,

president of Duterte’s party, Partido Demokratiko PilipinoLakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), said the nominees should not be condemned immediately because of their failures as officials in past administrations.

“Let us say that this person said something five years ago that you did not like. But that is five years ago or three years or two years ago. Their performance in the Cabinet is a different thing. Let us judge them on their performance,” Pimentel told reporters on Friday.

He said the new Cabinet officials would go through the prescribed process, mainly vetting by the Commission on Appointments.

Sen. Cynthia Villar aired a

The appointment has drawn criticism because Mark Villar has just been reelected Las Piñas representative. Conflict of interest is also seen in his taking the job, as his family is a bigtime real estate developer.

But Senator Villar said the family was not bothered by the criticisms, adding that she was very proud of her son.

She also disputed the claims of conflict of interest.

“We are not into the construction business. We are in the housing business. We build houses, we don’t build roads. We are not a contractor of the DPWH. So what’s the conflict there?” she said.

Panelo’s appointment as presidential spokesperson has also drawn criticism because he had served as lawyer for the Ampatuan family, whose members are the main accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre where 58 people, including 32 journalists, were murdered, in the worst political violence in Philippine history. ■

Ties that... his mind later. That member turned out to be Martin Diño, who filed a COC for Pasay mayor.

But Duterte was so vocal against running for the top post that at one point, Sen. Koko Pimentel told Alvarez: “Bai, wag na natin pahirapan. Ayaw nya talaga (Let’s not make this tough for him. He really doesn’t want to run).”

To which Alvarez replied: “Hayaan mo na (just let it be), so we’d have a chance. We have until Dec. 8,” he said, referring to the deadline for substitutions.

In the end, three men made the decision for that lastminute filing which, in hindsight, became a turning point in the 2016 election: Alvarez, Pimentel and Duterte’s right hand man, Christopher Lawrence ❰❰ 7

No rubber stamp

In the next six years, the friendship between Duterte and Alvarez will be closely watched and severely tested, as the former assumes the No. 1 post in the land and—if all goes according to plan—the latter

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onstrated during the INQUIRER interview a propensity for blithely dismissing questions about specifics on certain issues.

Asked how he could muster the absolute three-fourths vote required to change any part of the Charter, Alvarez said: “I don’t see a problem because we have explained it to the people.

Members of Congress are there because they represent the sentiments of the constituents.”

Dismissive

Asked how the House leadership could maintain unity in the ranks in the absence of pork barrel as bargaining chip, Alvarez shrugged, saying: “That’s not a problem. What is pork barrel for? It’s for the people, right? Besides, every year, Congress will have to provide a bud-

get for infrastructure, education and health projects.”

He was also dismissive of the opposition by church and human rights groups to the death penalty, saying: “What is their solution to heinous crimes? If they are so opposed, why don’t they offer their own solutions?”

The Ledac, Alvarez said, would be vital in pushing Duterte’s programs and creating a smooth flow between Malacañang and the two chambers of Congress in enacting priority bills. He said President Aquino’s reluctance to convene the Ledac, a brainchild of the Ramos administration, could be “because he’s lazy.”

Alvarez said his friend Duterte would show “a different leadership” from the ones before him. ■

Philippine News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

LP losing...

Alvarez is a member of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) and Duterte’s personal choice for Speaker of the House in his administration.

Benitez arranged a meeting between Alvarez and Visayas bloc members on Wednesday to enable the comebacking representative (Alvarez served one term in the House together with Duterte, from 1998 to 2001). Benitez was aiming for at least 45 names on the declaration.

“We, the members of the Visayas bloc, extend our cooperation and support to the incoming Duterte administration in its pursuit [ of ] development and enactment of propeople and developmental policies and programs for our country,” said the declaration signed by 30 lawmakers from the Visayas region, a third of whom were from the LP. ❰❰ 1

Signatories

Belmonte’s plan

Outgoing Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, an LP stalwart, yesterday said the future of the party in the House depended on whether Belmonte would challenge Alvarez for the speakership.

Abad said he expected some of the 114 Liberals in the House to fall out, and that President Aquino, the titular head of the party, would be “concerned” about that.

“There has to be a meeting first where the Speaker would have to tell us what his plans are, if the decision is to support the incoming administration and join the House majority in a coalition with PDP-Laban,” he said.

But with LP members defecting en masse to PDP-Laban in the mad scramble for juicy positions, Belmonte conceded defeat in the battle for the speakership a day after gathering close to 100 party members at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel on Thursday.

Joining the majority

The LP members Belmonte, howevwho have signed the er, has not yet made declaration were up his mind whether Representatives [...] if the LP took to be the minority Jerry Treñas, Richa hard line and leader or join other ard Garin and Arthur force members LP members in the Defensor Jr. of Iloilo to remain with majority coalition.

City; Ben Evardone the minority, But a source told of Eastern Samar; many of them the INQUIRER that Lucy Torres-Gomez might choose to Belmonte himself of Leyte; Rene Reabandon ship brokered the translampagos of Bohol; and join the fer of the bulk of LP Cesar V. Sarmiento of PDP-Laban or members to the maCatanduanes; Paolo other parties. jority bloc when he Javier of Antique, met with Alvarez at and Gerald Gullas of his home a few days Cebu. ago.

AAMBIS - OWA The source, an LP Rep. Sharon Garin, a sister-in-law of member who declined to be identified outgoing Health Secretary Janette Ga- because he was not authorized to speak rin, also signed the declaration. for the party, said Belmonte decided that Other representatives who signed the it was better for the bulk of LP members declaration were Lucille Nava of Guima- to join the majority coalition but remain ras; Henry Ong of Leyte; Raul Tupas of in the LP. Iloilo; Melecio Yap and Manuel SagarThe source said Belmonte feared that barris of Negros Occidental; Greg Gasa- if the LP took a hard line and force memtaya of Bacolod City, and Arnie Teves of bers to remain with the minority, many Negros Oriental. of them might choose to abandon ship Alvarez has already gained more than and join the PDP-Laban or other parties. enough support to win the race for the Belmonte, the source said, agreed to speakership even though the PDP- La- the bulk of the members joining the maban has only three members in the jority to prevent the disintegration of House — Valenzuela Rep. Eric Martinez, the party.

Lanao del Sur Rep. Jun Papandayan, and Alvarez.

‘Bite size’ minority Just 12 days after the elections, AlAlvarez said there was no need for the varez has obtained the support of the Liberals to move to PDP-Laban if they Nacionalista Party, Lakas-Christian wanted to join Duterte’s coalition for Muslim Democrats, the 45-member change. party-list coalition, the Nationalist PeoBut if Belmonte and the LP would ple’s Coalition and the National Unity choose to be the minority bloc, then the Party.

Liberals who wanted to join the majority Alvarez earlier said that he expect- would be required to pledge allegiance ed at least 50 members of the 114 LP to PDP-Laban. members in the House to join the coAlvarez said he expected to reduce the alition. minority bloc in the 17th Congress to “bite size” or just 20 members at most. ■

13

Duterte names his legal team in canvassing of votes by Congress

BY GIL CABACUNGAN Philippine Daily Inquirer PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENT-ELECT Rodrigo Duterte has formed a nine-man legal team led by lawyers Vitaliano Aguirre and Salvador Panelo to represent him in the national canvassing to be conducted by the Senate and House of Representatives tomorrow.

Duterte wrote separate letters to Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. informing them of the legal team that would represent his party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDPLaban) and its ally, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP).

Aguirre, the incoming justice secretary, will head the PDP-Laban legal team composed of incoming executive secretary Bingbong Medialdea, former Arroyo-era justice secretary Alberto Agra, incoming solicitor general Jose Calida, and Loreto Ata, a member of the Duterte transition team.

Panelo, the incoming presidential spokesperson, will lead the LDP contingent made up of Inocencio Ferrer Jr., former Arroyo finance undersecretary and former legal counsel of first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo; Demaree JB Raval, a former lawyer of then presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. and LDP secretary general and counsel, and Rudyard Avila, author of a book on elections.

Panelo and Aguirre are set to meet today before the Senate and the House open their joint session as the National Board of Canvassers on May 24. The start of canvassing is on May 25, with the proclamation of the winners to follow soon after.

Ferrer said: “The meeting is meant to avoid the spectacle of previous national canvass proceedings before the joint session where lawyers claiming to represent the same candidate try to outdo each other, oftentimes contradicting each other, mindful of the media coverage that appearing for a candidate could bring to the lawyers.” ■

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MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

‘Impossible Dream’ makes P-Noy pensive at Leila’s party

BY NIKKO DIZON Philippine Daily Inquirer FOR MUCH of the nearly three hours he spent at the victory party of Liberal Party Sen. Leila de Lima on Thursday night, President Aquino was in high spirits, even gamely singing two songs on condition that no one would take a video and post it on social media.

But when singing sensation Gerphil Flores took the stage and sang “The Impossible Dream,” President Aquino’s demeanor changed noticeably.

In almost an instant, his smile faded and was replaced by a faraway look.

“The Impossible Dream (The Quest),” which became the most popular song from the 1965 Broadway musical Man of La Mancha, was the favorite song of the President’s father, the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, who led the opposition in fighting the 14-year authoritarian rule of former President

Ferdinand Marcos.

Along with “Tie A Yellow Ribbon,” “The Impossible Dream” became the opposition’s rallying song against the iron grip of martial law that Marcos declared in 1972.

Roxas defeat

But the song might as well describe the state of Mr. Aquino’s political vision gone awry with the recent defeat of the Liberal Party’s standardbearer, Mar Roxas, in the May 9 elections.

The President had described the 2016 presidential election as a referendum on his six-year term that revolved around a “daang matuwid” anticorruption platform meant to end poverty.

Despite economic reforms that led to the Philippines’ 6.9-percent growth in gross domestic product during the first three months of this year and Mr. Aquino’s warning that a win by tough-talking Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte could mean a slide back to authoritarian rule, the mayor won by an over-

whelming majority to become the country’s 16th President.

But though Roxas landed only second in the presidential count, the LP vice presidential contender, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo, appeared headed for a win, with a margin of more than 200,000 votes over her closest rival, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Seven LP senators

Seven administration candidates, including De Lima, also made it to the Top 12 senatorial slots. They are Senators Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto and Panfilo Lacson, former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority head Joel Villanueva, and PhilHealth executive Risa Hontiveros.

Robredo was among the handful of government officials who attended De Lima’s party at the Quezon Memorial Circle’s QCX Museum. Most of the guests were supporters, friends and family members of the for-

mer justice secretary.

At De Lima’s party, President Aquino snapped out of his pensive mood when Flores, one of his favorite singers, hit an octave to end the song. Mr. Aquino turned to De Lima with a smile that seemed to say, “Wow, how does she do that?,” as he applauded along with everyone else.

Called to give his message to his former justice secretary, the President assured her of his support and said: “We will survive many challenges with you providing the moral booster. A lot of the dreams of our people are with you, and our prayers are also with you as you embark on this new phase in your career.

“To all of us who believe in you, who (believe that) you have a calling, and that you can always be depended upon, we will make sure that we will always be behind you, if necessary, beside you, or again if we have to be, in front of you. We will always be there for you,”

Mr. Aquino told De Lima.

Detractors

In an interview with INQUIRER editors and reporters on May 6, President Aquino had sounded philosophical when it came to his detractors.

“One thing I learned transitioning from martial law to my mom becoming President (after the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution that ousted the Marcoses), was that the easiest thing to do is to criticize.

“But when you want to determine who is serious and who really wants to do something, that person (not only criticizes but) also tells you the alternative. The person who cannot give you the alternative is really just mouthing off and in effect, is the false prophet,” the President said.

“I really hope that God does not have in mind for us a new set of lessons since we have forgotten the lessons that led us to martial law… I hope we’re not going to have a Round 2,” he said. ■

PUBLIC LIVES

Politics and cultural change

By Randy David Philippine Daily Inquirer POLITICS IS divisive, and it is absurd to object to it for being so. If it were not, it would not be able to perform its function of providing choice, building legitimacy, and checking abuse of power. Clearly, the other face of politics is integration.

But, for integration to happen after a divisive exercise, political competition has to be managed, its mode of expression regulated. The rules of competition must be respected, protected, and conscientiously enforced.

Political enmity must be prevented from becoming virulent. This means that rivalries have to be kept within their restricted domain and not be allowed to infect other relationships that are essential to building social cooperation. This is obviously not an easy thing to do in a society where political differences seem naturally to spill over to other domains of social life. As I will try to show, a lot depends on the way culture configures our emotions.

The 2016 national elections will be remembered as one of the most emotionally charged political exercises ever to be conducted in our country.

The ease with which most everyone with access to social media could

express strong opinions and senti- one to bring these emotions out into need to fathom the roots of these ments partly accounts for this. But, it the open, in the raw language that he emotions, to understand their genwas the aggressive, foulmouthed, and alone, among the presidential candi- erative mechanisms, and to see what mocking style adopted by the Duterte dates, seemed capable of using. we can do to prevent them from campaign that set a new tone in poTrue or not, he may want to begin blindly fueling the kind of fratricidal litical rhetoric. What I call “Dutertis- the healing by reverting to a more conflicts that have destroyed other mo” instantly engulfed social media, prudent and respectful way of com- societies in the past. offering the public a perverse model municating, rather than merely talkAn insight I have found to be very of discursive authenticity and a chan- ing about it. For me as an observer, productive comes from a 1997 essay nel for the release of violent resent- what is equally important is to un- by the Chilean cognitive biologist ments and repressed injuries. derstand where this sudden erup- Humberto Maturana, titled “MetaMany longstanding friendships tion of foul language in our politics is design.” He writes: “Technologiwere strained, if not broken, because coming from, and whether this is the cal transformations do not impress political choices were taken as indi- new normal in Philippine politics. me…. No doubt much of what we do cators of wisdom or integrity, or lack In previous columns, I wrote will change if we adopt the differof these. It may take a while before about how charismatic leaders like ent technological options at hand, these relationships are repaired, if Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini but our actions will not change unat all. The virulence less our emotioning persists until now, changes.” I’m struck Many longstanding friendships were strained, if not taking the form of by the word “emobroken, because political choices were taken as indicators of intolerance for even tioning,” because it wisdom or integrity, or lack of these. the slightest hint of seems to assign to criticism of the inemotions a higher coming administration. were able to tap into such explosive valuation than modern rationalist The principal victor in these elec- emotions to catalyze the forma- cultures would usually give to them. tions can do much to start the inte- tion of fascist movements that later Indeed, Maturana believes that grative process. In one postelection plunged their respective peoples into cultures are configurations of emointerview, Rodrigo Duterte said the the abyss. It’s difficult to tell at this tions. Unless there is cultural change, strong foul language he had used was point if the rise of Mayor Duterte to he says, we will find ourselves at the all part of a strategy. Meaning, he had the presidency signifies the birth of mercy of the same emotions that not originally intended to be offen- fascism in our country, or if this is perpetuate domination, submission, sive in his utterances. But, according just an ordinary type of strongman manipulation, mistrust, greed, disto him, it was this tone that seemed rule riding on the crest of a populist honesty, and abuse of others and of to click with his mass audiences, as clamor for change. nature. Only the means by which we though they were waiting for someWhatever it may be, I believe we do these will change. We ourselves

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will remain unchanged.

How does Maturana understand cultural change? His language is far from lucid, perhaps because of the stilted translation from Spanish to English. But a slow careful reading might help: “The reality that we live arises instant after instant through the configuration of emotions that we live, and which we conserve with our living instant after instant. But if we know this, if we know that the reality that we live arises through our emotioning, and we know that we know, we shall be able to act according to our awareness of our liking or not liking the reality that we are bringing forth with our living. That is, we shall become responsible for what we do.”

My take: The world we live in is created and continually recreated by a way of life reinforced by our emotions. In turn, this world summons the same emotions. The only way to break this cycle is by subjecting this world and the emotions it induces to critique and reflection.

What we learn from the practice of self-awareness we must try to reflect through changes in our emotions.

We must then endeavor to conserve these changes and pass them on to the next generation as an act of responsibility. ■

Opinion

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

15

LOOKING BACK

More than just English usage

By Ambeth R. Ocampo Philippine Daily Inquirer PAINFUL TO the eye and ear is the term “presumptive president” being used by the media when referring to Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. I don’t remember the term being used on Presidents Aquino, MacapagalArroyo, Estrada or Ramos while they waited in limbo before taking the oath and assuming office. Where did this creature come from?

My column deadline didn’t allow me to survey the major Philippine newspapers to find out who used it first and in what context, so I turned to Online Oxford English Dictionary that traces the origin of the word “presumptive” to Late Middle English, its roots in: the French présomptif, -ive, the late Latin praesumptivus, from praesumpt- “taken before,” and from the verb praesumere that sounds very much like the English “presume,” an innocent word that takes on a negative connotation when translated into Filipino, as in “presumido” or “nag-aasta” or, to use a colloquialism used by the youth, “feeling.”

Furthermore, the Oxford English Dictionary provides line breaks

for editors and proofreaders as “pre¦sump|tive.” It defines it as an adjective that means “of the nature of a presumption; presumed in the absence of further information or likely to be true, based on the facts that are available.” In this context, we understand that the landslide election victory of Duterte remains tentative until Congress has convened as election canvassers on May 25 and officially declares the election of the president and vice president of the Philippines, who then become “president-elect” and “vice-president-elect” until they take their oath and assume office on June 30.

We often copy from the Americans who describe their waiting president as “presidentelect.” Their use of “presumptive” is confined to “presumptive nominee,” referring to an individual seeking, waiting for, or assured of party nomination as president. In English usage, “presumptive” refers to royal succession, with an “heir presumptive” being “an heir whose claim may be set aside by the birth of another heir,” contrasted with the “heir apparent,” who is either: “an heir whose claim cannot be set aside by the birth of another heir” or “a person who is most likely to suc-

ceed to the place of another.”

The news that US President Barack Obama delivered his congratulations to Duterte on the phone was carried in all Philippine newspapers, and here again we see the use and abuse of “presumptive president.”

This news can be traced to three main sources: Agence France-Presse (AFP), Reuters and the Associated Press (AP), which all reworked the following White House news release that is buried deep when you make an online search: “The White House. Office of the Press Secretary. For immediate release. May 17, 2016. Readout of the president’s call with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines.

“President Obama spoke by phone today with presumptive Presidentelect Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to convey his congratulations.

President Obama noted that the successful election and record voter participation were emblematic of the Philippines’ vibrant democracy.

The President highlighted the enduring values that underpin our thriving alliance with the Philippines and the longstanding ties between our two peoples, including our shared commitments to democracy, hu-

man rights, rule of law, and inclusive economic growth. The two leaders affirmed their interest in seeing the relationship continue to grow on the basis of these shared principles.”

The INQUIRER and Rappler carried the AFP story with the heading “Obama congratulates presidentelect Duterte” but the Rappler story pointed out in the second line of the White House statement that referred to Duterte as “presumptive president-elect.” Patricia Viray of the Star used the AP dispatch in an article that opened this way: “MANILA, Philippines—The White House confirmed that United States President Barack Obama personally congratulated presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte through a phone call. This is the first conversation between Obama and Duterte since the latter declared victory in the May 9 elections.”

Both the Japan Times and the New York Times carried the May 17 AP dispatch “Obama congratulates presumptive Philippine President” that opened with: “WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama offered his congratulations Tuesday to the new presumptive president of the Philippines who has attracted controversy

over his iron-fisted approach to law and order.”

Unlike AP and AFP, the Reuters dispatch does not use “presumptive.”

Its heading reads: “Obama speaks to Philippines’ president elect, stresses human rights,” and its opening line reads: “WASHINGTON (Reuters)— US President Barack Obama called incoming Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to congratulate him on his election win, stressing that their countries’ alliance was based on a commitment to human rights and the rule of law, the White House said.” Interaksyon.com did not cite Reuters as its source but it also referred to Duterte as “incoming president” and used the same opening line verbatim.

I tell my students that we go beyond history into historiography, to appreciate the way in which history is constructed. How Duterte is referred to before he assumes office is more than just English usage; it reflects bias. “Presumptive president” may be accurate until the proclamation by Congress, but one’s choice of a less negative term—“leading candidate,” “future president,” “incoming president,” “president-elect,” etc.— reveals one’s bias. ■

AT LARGE

The ‘little town’ of Copenhagen

By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily Inquirer COPENHAGEN—I missed her! Before flying to this city, I made up a scenario of me kneeling before the tiny (so people say) statue of the Little Mermaid, and silently asking her: “Little Mermaid, what happened to my country?”

A friend of mine, always keen to burst my fantasy bubbles, asked skeptically: “And what would you do if she answered you?”

Well, I didn’t even get to “converse” with her. Another friend, Indian journalist Aarti Dar, and myself stepped off the “Hop On, Hop Off” bus at the embarkation point for the canal tours, planning to finish the rest of the city tour when we got back. But then midway through the canal tour, we learned that some reimbursement money was waiting for us but that the office would be closing by 5 p.m. So we decided at the end of the boat ride to take a bus back to our hotel at the Bella Center on the outskirts of the city.

I did get to see the Little Mermaid, but only from the back as our boat swung by the little rock on which she sat in a pretty park. I said goodbye to my plans of a selfie with the sea

creature, as well as putting my plain- the old train station, men approach factor makes little sense. “What use tive question to her. Besides, I knew passengers with hands held out, beg- will we have for Danish when we get (know!) exactly what happened in ging for coins. From the horrified home?” they ask. Instead, for an averthe Philippines: Millions voted to the expressions on the faces of Danes, age allowance of $600 a month, they presidency a man who is now becom- it seems the beggars are a new phe- become “unofficial” domestic laboring the talk—if not the joke—of com- nomenon. ers, not covered by any relevant labor mentators the world over. *** laws in Denmark or the Philippines, Here in Denmark, a Filipino has ALSO taking part in the recent Wom- or any contractual relationship with to swallow a lot of humble pie. It is en Deliver conference here is free- the families they live with. a small country, one of three of the lance journalist Ana Santos, who’s Mothers who resort to hiring au Nordic countries—the other two are on a project for the Pulitzer Center pairs face a lot of prejudice here, says Sweden and Norway—which are set- to write a series on the “au pair” pro- Ana. “So many cannot grasp the conting records in terms of the health of gram. Part of a wider project on the cept of having a child but not having the general population, their welfare, Filipino migrant worker experience, the time or energy to care for the child the “cradle to grave” social protec- Santos’ au pair series stems from her constantly,” she says. But even more tion programs for stigma is attached citizens, even the to the au pairs, who Just outside the old train station, men approach passengers happiness of people. are seen by ordinary with hands held out, begging for coins. From the horrified All these, of Danes, it seems, expressions on the faces of Danes, it seems the beggars are a new course, are bought as migrants skirtphenomenon. with the high taxes ing the law by some that citizens must technicality. shell out. But, Denmark also being in friendship with a Filipino woman, And so these women—mothers Europe, it is not exempt from much since married to a Dane, who came at the end of their rope and au pairs of the turmoil gripping the conti- here as an au pair. in search of additional income and nent. This is code of course for “refuFrom what I know, the au pair be- travel—struggle on with the skeptigees,” thousands of whom have fled gan as a program for European young cism of a society which prides itself their homelands like Syria and other women to travel to other countries, in selfsufficiency and independence. wartorn countries of the Middle East most notably the United Kingdom *** and Africa to cross the Mediterra- and the United States, and there get COPENHAGEN presents itself as nean and seek asylum and a new life some form of “cultural immersion” a tiny jewel box of an old city amid in Europe. Outside Copenhagen, we while working part-time as nannies. the rising icons of modernity. The are told, there is a large refugee camp But, says Santos, for the Filipino “old town,” with its palaces, soaring for the Arab refugees. Just outside au pairs here, the “cultural exchange” church spires, and charming dwell-

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ings is but a small area of cobblestone streets and winding canals.

The “social night” of the conference was held in Tivoli Gardens, which has become somewhat of a touristic myth. One is bound to be disappointed with it, since it resembles little else than a perya at home.

But, to be fair, it IS the world’s most famous perya.

The requisite rides (the screams give them away) and attractions can be found, but equally thrilling are the flower beds which, in this early spring, are planted to tulips of different colors, gradations and even shapes (curly-tipped tulips?).

To meet with Danish NGOs and international aid bodies based in Denmark, the Women Deliver participants were herded to “Andersen’s house,” where they gathered in a hall and exchanged tales or caught up on each other’s lives and work. Entering the hall, I caught sight of Crown Princess Mary exiting, surrounded by sober-looking security personnel.

But the other Danes in the hall were far less formal and intimidating, the HIV/AIDS organization giving away stickers with bright red lipstick marks which they humorously slapped on passing cheeks, symbols of solidarity and friendship. ■

16

MAY 27, 2016

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FRIDAY

17

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

Canada News

Tentative return dates announced for fire evacuees, and area gets a little rain THE CANADIAN PRESS EDMONTON — Fort McMurray residents got some good news this weekend as their municipality announced a timeline for them to return to their neighbourhoods, and the area also received a little bit of rain.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, released a neigbourhood-by-neighbourhood schedule for the phased re-entry of wildfire evacuees to the northern Alberta city.

Residents of the Lower Townsite, Anzac, Fort McMurray 468 First Nation and Gregoire Lake Estates will be the first residents to return on June 1 and other neighbourhoods will follow until June 4.

The province said there were “trace amounts” of rain in the

area on Saturday and that the weather was good for making headway in fighting the fire.

Cooler temperatures and higher humidity over the last couple of days have helped firefighters contain the massive blaze to about 5,000 square kilometres, and evacuation orders were lifted for major oilsands operators north of the city late Friday.

The municipality issued a news release that says the return dates are tentative, and the phased re-entry is for safety and will ensure people have access to important services.

“The RMWB will be working hard over the next days and weeks to restore services to our residents,” the release states.

“We look forward to welcoming you back and appreciate your resilience and patience.”

The province had announced

earlier this week that June 1 would be the tentative date for residents to begin to return to Fort McMurray. It said at the time that the date depended on wildfire conditions not impeding restoration efforts, and that remained the case on Saturday.

A tweet from the province on Saturday said workers returning to oilsands sites were permitted to head north on Highway 63, which passes through Fort McMurray, but there would be no access to the city and that there was nowhere to fuel up past Wandering River, about 200 kilometres south of the city.

Environment Canada said further rainfall was possible Sunday The province plans to bring in an extra 1,000 firefighters over the next two weeks, adding

Satellite imagery of the burn scar left by the wildfire on May 4, 2016 NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

to 1,100 already on the ground, Alberta senior wildfire manager Chad Morrison said Friday.

Many will come from a pool

of Alberta crews who had been spelled off earlier in the month.

The rest will come from other jurisdictions. ■

Final arguments in trial of Calgary man charged in multiple slayings

BY BILL GRAVELAND The Canadian Press CALGARY — Final arguments are scheduled today in the trial of a Calgary man who heard what he thought was the voice of the devil telling him to kill before he stabbed five people to death at a Calgary house party two years ago.

Matthew de Grood is on trial for five counts of first-degree murder. Although he admits the killings, the defence is ar-

guing he is not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

The 24-year-old has said he believed the end of the world was coming when he grabbed a knife from a kitchen in the northwest Calgary home and stabbed the victims to death.

Killed in the April 15, 2014 attack were Kaitlin Perras, 23; Lawrence Hong, 27; Josh Hunter, 23; Zackariah Rathwell, 21; and Jordan Segura, 22.

Two psychiatrists and a psychologist have testified they

believe de Grood was suffering from schizophrenia and wasn’t aware what he was doing was “morally wrong.”

“I personally think the evidence is overwhelming,” said defence lawyer Allan Fay. “He was incapable of understanding what he was doing.

He believed he was acting in self defence. He believed at the time it occurred he was about to be killed himself and his only alternative was to defend himself.”

Fay said his client, who has

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been taking anti-psychotic medication, is pleased the case is coming to a close.

He said the tragic incident has been difficult for de Grood’s parents as well, who he says are blameless.

“They are victims and for anyone to point the finger at them would just display a degree of ignorance which personally makes me quite angry,” Fay said.

“They are supporting their son as I think any of us would support our child under these

circumstances and at that same time feel deeply for the family and friends of the victims.”

Prosecutor Neil Wiberg said “everyone’s a loser in this case” and he doubts its end will bring any peace to the families of the victims.

“Five outstanding young people were murdered and I doubt that things will ever be the same again.”

There’s no word on when Alberta Justice Eric Macklin will release his verdict. ■

18

Canada News

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

NYC incident sparks Trudeau makes investment debate about etiquette pitch to Japanese automakers between tourists and street performers

BY ANDY BLATCHFORD The Canadian Press

BY NATHALIE LAFLAMME The Canadian Press MONTREAL — When Montreal folk singer Jason Deeh Pitre performs for tourists in front of the stately Notre-Dame Basilica, he doesn’t solicit money if someone asks him to be in on a souvenir snapshot.

Three-quarters of the time, something gets thrown into his guitar case anyway.

“I’m an artist,” Deeh Pitre said in an interview. “I’m not a homeless person. It’s a show, so if you like it, throw something in, and if you don’t, well, sorry.

So I don’t ask, I just sing.”

His comments are just one take on what the proper etiquette should be with regard to the interaction between street performers and tourists following a recent altercation in New York City.

Jermaine Himmelstein was arrested for allegedly socking a Canadian tourist when she refused to tip him after a hug and a photo.

Fred and Janette Howse, who were visiting Montreal from their native Wales, agreed the alleged punch was completely inappropriate but she said a fee should have been expected — especially in New York City.

“It’s a bit naive to think

that these people would do it for nothing,” she said as they toured the popular JacquesCartier Square.

A better alternative, they added, would be to have asked for the money before the photo was taken.

Carlos Silva, who has been performing in the square with his band for more than 10 years, said that while Himmelstein may have had no other source of income, violence is never an option.

While his band members often have photos taken with tourists, they never ask for money in exchange, he added.

“It’s really CD sales that support us,” said Silva, adding it contravenes city rules for performers to ask for cash.

Breanne McLeavy, a Vancouverite who was also visiting Montreal, said tourists will want to pay street performers who are good at what they do.

“If you’re asking for money after the fact, that’s inappropriate,” she said.

“If you said upfront this is going to cost you $1 and then you don’t pay, then that’s a different story...But if they don’t want to pay you that’s their discretion. You’re out in the public, and I think it’s their right to pay you a lot, or a little, or (nothing).” ■

TOKYO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau personally invited Japanese auto executives Tuesday in Tokyo to invest more in Canada.

But it appears his efforts in Japan won’t secure immediate, concrete commitments from the auto industry.

Trudeau met with parts manufacturers and the presidents of three auto companies: Honda, Toyota and Subaru.

The CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries, the firm that makes Subaru, told Trudeau he doesn’t have any plans to expand capacity in the near term, though he might in the future, the prime minister’s press secretary Cameron Ahmad said after the meeting.

Trudeau was asked what his auto sector meetings might yield at a news conference later Tuesday.

“I am very much in the relationship-building mode, where we’re talking about the kinds of challenges and opportunities that companies are facing,” said Trudeau, who met with Fuji Heavy Industries’ Yasuyuki Yoshinaga at the official residence of Canada’s ambassador to Japan.

“There are of course many positive conversations being had, not just by me but by our Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, by Canadians working around the world to highlight the extraordinary opportuni-

ties to invest in our country.”

Unlike Toyota and Honda, Subaru does not have an operation in Canada.

As part of his pitch, the prime minister also told Yoshinaga that Canadians are innovative and focused on quality.

Trudeau also sat down Tuesday with his Japanese counterpart to discuss the countries’ business ties as well as security co-operation before the Group of Seven summit later this week.

His meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to address issues like investment, education and trade, such as the huge 12-country treaty known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

For his part, Abe was expected to raise a pressing subject for the Japanese: regional security.

Japan is deeply concerned about North Korea’s recent nuclear tests and missile launches as well as an ongoing territorial dispute with China in the East China Sea and South China Sea. Following their meeting in February, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida issued a statement reconfirming their commitment to maintaining a rules-based order in international maritime law.

Without naming China, they also said they opposed the use of intimidation, force or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo in the Asia-Pacific.

When it comes to China, Keio University law professor Masayuki Tadokoro said Japan will listen carefully to Trudeau’s words on the matter.

The concern is Canada may not want to take very strong position due its economic interests in China.

“Canada has always been watching toward the east and south because Canada is an Atlantic state,” Kenjiro Monji, Japan’s ambassador to Canada, said in an interview last week.

“Canada is also a Pacific nation and it is only recently that Canadians started to look to the west, but only through economic lenses.”

Abe is also expected to urge Trudeau to move quickly to open up Canadian liquefied natural gas exports to Japan.

Japan, the world’s biggest importer of LNG, is hoping Canada will issue necessary environmental permits to allow companies to export it from British Columbia.

Monji said LNG is still very important energy source for his country, which makes Canada one of the most promising potential exporters to Japan. He noted that Japanese companies are involved in several LNG projects in Canada.

Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, visited the Meiji Shrine and met with the emperor and empress of Japan.

Trudeau’s Tokyo visit comes ahead of the G7 summit on Thursday and Friday in IseShima. ■

job and had a few excuses about everything, I just went, OK, they’re not in that big of a need,” Carlson said.

Despite his suspicions, Carlson invited the couple back to the restaurant that evening for a free meal. They ordered steaks, Carlson believes.

Carlson said they asked him to come out of the kitchen to thank him, but he sent word back to their table that he was busy and that it was no big deal.

RCMP allege the couple nev-

er actually lived in Fort McMurray and had no ties to Alberta.

Police said while they were in Claresholm, townspeople provided them with a place to stay, clothes, meals and bought a pair of work boots.

“Small towns are very quick to provide assistance to those in need, sometimes without even questioning a lot. They trust,” said Cpl. Barry Larocque.

“Sometimes that trust can be exploited.”

The couple appeared in a story in the local newspaper,

the Claresholm Local Press.

They told the paper they saw their home catch fire and had planned on settling Lethbridge, but stopped in Claresholm and liked the reception they got.

Rondeau said he wasn’t looking for a handout, the story stated.

He was arrested on May 15 and appeared in court last Monday. His next court appearance is June 1.

Police say no one else has been charged in the case, and that their investigation is con-

tinuing.

Carlson said he told police he wasn’t interested in pressing charges. He’s not sore about the steaks, either.

He said the ministry group in town knows that if a family is passing through and is stuck and hungry, the restaurants will help.

“Better to be a good person and help somebody out, and in the end, what’s $20 of food at our cost to make sure that somebody’s not hungry, right?” ■

Man charged... job. She said she had fled the flames in Fort McMurray with only the clothes on her back.

“I said, ‘I’m looking for cooks,’ and she claimed she knew how to cook,” Carlson said. “I said, ‘Well, let’s give you a job.’”

But he said when she returned later with her partner, she said she had a health issue, and the man was concerned that the stress she was going through might exacerbate it.

She couldn’t accept the job.

“When she didn’t take the ❰❰ 1

www.canadianinquirer.net

Canada News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

15 years later, 85 real estate firms not compliant with antimoney laundering rules

BY ALEXANDRA POSADZKI The Canadian Press

sessment report coming back, that’s potentially an even bigger flag.”

If violations are discovered during an examination, that could lead to fines of TORONTO — At least 85 real estate up to $100,000 per violation for individcompanies have not implemented a plan uals and up to $500,000 per violation for showing how they are trying to detect companies, depending on severity. money laundering and other suspicious Gibb was unable to specify how many transactions, nearly 15 years after they of the 85 companies that did not have a were required to do so, according to data compliance plan were fined, noting that obtained by The Canadian Press. the reports are only one factor that the The federal anti-money laundering agency considers when deciding whethagency received 337 compliance reports er to investigate a particular firm. from roughly 1,000 companies in the “It is only one small piece of the puzreal estate sector it surveyed — includ- zle,” says Gibb. ing brokers, sales representatives and The largest number of firms that addevelopers — between Jan. 1, 2013, and mitted they have yet to finish impleFeb. 8, 2016. menting a compliThe data, which ance regime was in was obtained through Quebec, where there an access-to-inwere 32 such compaformation request, If we see an nies. represents only a assessment Gibb said he could small sampling of report come not speculate as to the real estate indusback and it’s why the figure was try. There are about clear that the higher in Quebec than 20,000 companies in entity is not in other provinces. the real estate sector where they In Ontario, 19 firms that are required to should be, then said they hadn’t fully report to Fintrac. certainly that’s a implemented a comAn analysis of the flag for us. pliance regime, while data contained in in Alberta there were those reports found 12 such cases. Eight that roughly a quarof the B.C. real estate ter of the 337 respondents admitted firms surveyed reported that they hadn’t they had not yet fully implemented a finished setting up a compliance regime. compliance regime, which has been reMeanwhile, 43 of the companies surquired by federal anti-money launder- veyed nationwide said they had not yet ing laws since 2001. appointed a compliance officer, as reThirty-eight of the companies said quired by law. they had only partially implemented a Ottawa also requires companies subject compliance regime, while the other 47 to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Launsaid they had not even begun to do so. dering) and Terrorist Financing Act to The names of the companies were not have a system in place for training their included in the documents. employees on how to comply with the law.

Fintrac spokesman Darren Gibb says The data obtained by The Canadian some of the reports weren’t sent back Press found that 42 of the 337 combecause the companies no longer exist, panies surveyed by Fintrac had only while others simply failed to respond. started implementing a training system, Fintrac routinely sends out compli- while 57 had not even begun yet. ance reports to various sectors to gather Pierre Leduc, a spokesman for the information about the companies it reg- Canadian Real Estate Association, says ulates, says Gibb. keeping up with the changes to antiThose reports can sometimes lead to money laundering laws is a challenge for further enforcement actions such as on- the real estate sector because most realsite examinations, he says. tors work on their own and are not big “If we see an assessment report come corporations like banks or casinos. back and it’s clear that the entity is not “In addition, until recently, awareness where they should be, then certainly was low, which is why CREA embarked that’s a flag for us that it may be exami- on a national information tour to raise nation-worthy,” says Gibb. awareness and explain compliance re“Or conversely, if we don’t get an as- sponsibilities,” Leduc said in an email. ■

19

Video enabled Mounties told to record use of force under interim policy

BY JIM BRONSKILL The Canadian Press OTTAWA — Mounties wearing tiny video cameras must hit the record button when there is “a high likelihood” they’ll use force against someone, says an interim RCMP policy on use of the devices.

In general, officers have discretion as to when to turn on the body-worn cameras that clip on a uniform, or may be embedded in glasses or a helmet.

But RCMP members should not record every public encounter or conversation, according to the interim policy.

And when “tactically feasible,” officers are supposed to inform citizens when they are being recorded.

The national police force recently published a summary of the policy, which was provided to a small number of RCMP officers who were involved in a video camera feasibility study last year.

If the body-worn video program is adopted force-wide, the policy will be finalized and a full version released publicly, said Sgt. Harold Pfleiderer, an RCMP spokesman.

RCMP detachments in Wood Buffalo, Alta., and Windsor and Indian Head, N.S., took part in the 2015 tests. In addition, the Mounties have advised the federal privacy commissioner of ad-hoc evaluations of the technology.

“For example, they have used the cameras at protests in New Brunswick and in Burnaby, B.C.,” said Tobi Cohen, a spokeswoman for the privacy commissioner.

Evaluations of the cameras were also carried out at the RCMP training facility in Regina, involving scenarios ranging from everyday interactions to use of lethal force.

The RCMP continues to assess the video technology, but no additional field

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trials are taking place and no cameras have been approved for operational use, Pfleiderer said.

It is too early to speculate on future use of the cameras due to the complex privacy, legal and policy issues that “must be carefully considered before moving forward,” he added.

The small video cameras are intended to openly capture an “accurate, unbiased and reliable” audio and video account of incidents from the officer’s perspective, the RCMP says in the interim summary.

The purpose is twofold: to gather evidence for prosecution should criminal behaviour be recorded, and to bolster accountability if questions or concerns arise after an incident.

“Police are making use of a relatively new technology to hold both police officers, and members of the public we interact with, accountable for any actions taken,” the RCMP says.

The interim policy says the RCMP has taken steps to address privacy risks by: • Telling the public when officers are wearing the cameras; • Informing RCMP members of video policy and best practices; • Ensuring that recordings are uploaded for secure storage, retained and routinely purged; • Providing citizens with copies of recordings through the Access to Information and Privacy acts.

The RCMP has told the privacy commissioner another assessment of the technology would be undertaken and provided to the watchdog for comment in advance of any national roll-out of body-worn cameras, Cohen said.

The Mounties also have to consider how storage of the recordings would meet requirements of federal privacy law, police records management and court disclosure, Pfleiderer said. ■

20

World News

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Wild US election fascinates, South Korea: worries Iran after nuclear deal Overseas North Korean restaurant workers flee

BY NASSER KARIMI The Associated Press

TEHRAN, IRAN — After decades of officially-imposed detachment from the “Great Satan,” Iranians are this time transfixed by the wild U.S. presidential campaign, mindful that the next White House occupant could have direct impact on their lives.

At the heart of the matter is last year’s deal with world powers, which eased the country’s isolation and removed many economic sanctions in exchange for a curtailing of the Iran’s nuclear program. Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has bitterly criticized the accord, which is rather popular here, and says he would rework it.

Iran and America have not restored the official diplomatic ties that were cut after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S. Embassy takeover. But the high stakes — combined with Iranian state media’s renewed attention to news from the West — have made the election the talk of barbershops, living rooms and street corners.

“It reminds me of fighting between heavyweight boxers for a championship — with a lot of boasting,” said Reza Piltan, an electrical engineer who has been following the campaign.

Although there are no polls about Iranians’ views on the U.S. presidential campaign, there is a sense of apprehension regarding Trump, even though some consider his criticism mostly bluster. There are also concerns about Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who many consider to have struck a relatively hard line on Iran during her time as Secretary of State.

State television, which paid scant attention to previous U.S. presidential campaigns before last year’s nuclear accord, has closely followed the race. Its main focus is also the potential impact on the nuclear deal.

The station makes a point of airing comments by Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, the senator from Vermont, focusing on racial injustice and social inequality. That taps into a narrative often advanced by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who in 2011 pre-

BY KIM TONG-HYUNG The Associated Press

Thousands rallied in Times Square to oppose the President's proposed nuclear deal with Iran in 2015.

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dicted the Occupy Wall Street protests would “thrive to the extent that the capitalist system of America and the West will be completely razed to the ground,” according to his website.

Trimming a customer’s hair, barber Hossein Pourebrahim said he wanted Trump to win — but out of enmity to the United States.

“He’s destroying America while not listening to anybody that could change his mind,” Pourebrahim cheerily calculated.

In Tehran’s Revolution Square, popular with booklovers, a book co-authored by Trump has been available for years. Merchants blame declining sales on Trump’s criticism of the nuclear deal. Copies of Clinton’s book “Hard Choices” also sit on display.

Fayyaz Zahed, a Tehran-based political analyst, warns that a Trump victory would be “disastrous” and would embolden nationalists in both countries.

Iranians “may turn to a military, extremist and hardline figure” in their own 2017 presidential elections, Fayyaz told Arya, a conservative news website. It would work against Iran’s current President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate whose administration championed the nuclear deal.

Ali Khorram, a former Iranian envoy to the United Nations, wrote in the pro-reform daily newspaper Etemad that Trump would “not have the same positive and good will that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have toward Iran and the deal.”

But others see more complex dynamics at play. Nasser Hadian, a professor of international relations at Tehran University, ar-

gued that Trump would actually be more amenable than Clinton.

“Trump will remain loyal to the deal since he is a businessman and businessmen do not violate contracts unilaterally,” Hadian said in an interview with pro-reform newspaper Shargh. Also, he argued, Trump “lacks the international legitimacy to impose sanctions on Iran or to violate the deal.”

Morteza Amani, strolling the streets of Tehran with two teenage children, expected that a President Trump would “continue to surprise” and actually make relations with Iran “better than ever ... He is criticizing Iran only for collecting votes.”

Iranian officials have refrained from comment on the race and are sticking to the position that opponents of the nuclear deal are influenced by longtime foe Israel.

Meanwhile, Iran has conducted ballistic missile tests criticized by the U.S., briefly captured 10 American sailors and carried out other naval manoeuvrs criticized by the U.S. in the Persian Gulf in recent months.

A key factor is the persistent suspicion among official circles here that Washington has never truly accepted Iran’s clerical system and is constantly seeking to replace it with a more Western-style democracy.

“The U.S. paved the ground for the collapse of the Soviet Union, step by step,” noted cleric Ali Saeedi, a leading hard-liner, according to a report on the official Revolutionary Guard website. Although it is not the official U.S. position at present, Saeedi maintained that U.S. policy is still “aimed at toppling the Islamic Republic.” ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

SEOUL, KOREA, REPUBLIC OF — An unspecified number of North Koreans working at a Pyongyang-run restaurant overseas have escaped their workplace and will come to South Korea, South Korean officials said Tuesday.

The announcement by Seoul’s Unification Ministry came after South Korean media reported that two or three female employees at a North Korean-run restaurant in China fled and went to an unidentified Southeast Asian country earlier this month.

It’s the second known group escape by North Korean restaurant workers dispatched abroad in recent weeks. In April, a group of 13 North Koreans who had worked at a North Korean-run restaurant in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo defected to South Korea.

The latest escapes will likely enrage Pyongyang, which typically accuses Seoul of trying to abduct or entice North Korean citizens to defect. South Korea has denied the accusation.

After the 13 workers — a male manager and 12 waitresses — arrived in Seoul in April, Pyongyang claimed they were kidnapped by South Korean spies and repeatedly demanded their return. South Korea said the workers chose to resettle in the South on their own. It was the largest group defection

by North Koreans to the South since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power in 2011.

A brief Unification Ministry statement Tuesday confirmed that some other North Korean restaurant workers abroad fled, but didn’t elaborate. Officials at the unification and foreign ministries refused to provide further details about the North Koreans and their escapes, citing worries about their safety and potential diplomatic problems with concerned countries.

It was unclear when they would arrive in Seoul.

New Focus, a Seoul-based online news outlet run by a

North Korean defector, was among the first to break the news Monday. It said the group comprised three women in their 20s who had worked at a North Korean-run restaurant near Shanghai.

The defector head of New Focus, who uses the pseudonym Jang Jin-sung in interviews because of worries about the safety of relatives left behind in the North, said Tuesday that the information came from people who guided the North Koreans after they escaped from their restaurant. He refused to identify the guides.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday that the North Koreans had worked at a restaurant in the central Chinese city of Xian and that they may have travelled to Thailand.

South Korea’s spy service said earlier this year that North Korea was running about 130 restaurants overseas, mostly in China. Overall, North Korea has about 50,000-60,000 workers abroad, mostly in Russia and China, with a mission to bring in foreign currency, according to the National Intelligence Service.

South Korean officials believe overseas North Korean restaurants have been suffering economically since stronger international sanctions were applied against North Korea over its nuclear test and longrange rocket launch earlier this year. The restaurant workers who defected to the South in April have said that their restaurant was struggling to meet demands from North Korean authorities at home for foreign currency, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry.

More than 29,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korean government data.

Many defectors have testified that they wanted to avoid the North’s harsh political system and poverty. ■ Associated Press writer Hyungjin Kim contributed to this report.

World News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

21

Obama pushes for better rights in Vietnam after arms deal

BY FOSTER KLUG AND NANCY BENAC The Associated Press HANOI, VIETNAM — President Barack Obama on Tuesday pressed Vietnam to allow greater freedoms for its citizens, arguing that better human rights would improve the communist country’s economy, stability and regional power.

On his second full day in the southeast Asian nation, Obama met with activists, including a pastor and advocates for the disabled and sexual minorities, to underscore U.S. support for improved rights. Yet a handful of others were prevented from meeting with Obama, prompting the White House to protest to Vietnam’s government.

“Vietnam has made remarkable strides in many ways,” Obama said, but “there are still areas of significant concern.”

The visit included the lifting of one of the last vestiges of Vietnam War-era antagonism: a five-decades-old arms sale embargo. In a speech at the National Convention Center, Obama sought to balance a desire for a stronger relationship with Vietnam with efforts to hold its leadership to account over what activists call an abysmal treatment of government critics.

Nations are more successful when people can freely express themselves, assemble without harassment and access the internet and social media, Obama said.

“Upholding these rights is not a threat to stability but actually reinforces stability and is the foundation of progress,” Obama told the audience of more than 2,000, including government officials and students from five universities across the Hanoi area. “Vietnam will do it differently than the United States does ... But there are these basic principles that I think we all have to try to work on and improve.”

Freedom of expression is where new ideas happen, Obama said. “That’s how a Facebook starts. That’s how some of our greatest companies began.”

Obama’s deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, told reporters that a number of activists set to meet with Obama were either prevented from doing so or made to feel uncomfortable attending, “using a variety of different methods.”

He said U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and White House officials raised the issue with Vietnam, adding that the U.S. would follow up to ensure those activists are free and aren’t being punished.

“Clearly this was something that was the source of significant discomfort for the government,” Rhodes said of Obama’s meeting with activists.

Obama also said that journalists and bloggers can “shine a light on injustice or abuse” when they are allowed to operate free of government interference or intimidation. He said stability is encouraged when voters get to choose their

US President Barack Obama.

leaders in free and fair elections “because citizens know that their voices count and that peaceful change is possible.”

The president also traced the transformation of the U.S.-Vietnamese relationship, from wartime enemies to co-operation.

He said the governments are working more closely together than ever before on a range of issues.

“Now we can say something that was once unimaginable: Today, Vietnam and the Unites States are partners,” he said, adding that their experience was teaching the world that “hearts can change.”

He referred in the speech to China’s growing aggression in the region, something that worries many in Vietnam, which has territorial disputes in the South China Sea with Beijing.

Obama got a round of applause when he declared that “big nations should not bully

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smaller ones,” an allusion to China’s attempt to push its rivals out of disputed territory.

Obama said the United States will continue to freely navigate the region and support the right of other countries to do the same.

After Hanoi, Obama flew to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. He visited the Jade Emperor Pagoda, considered one of the most beautiful pagodas in southern Vietnam and a repository of religious documents that includes more than 300 statues and other relics. A strong smell of incense hung in the air as visitors frequently burn incense outside the main temple to announce to the heavens their arrival.

As Obama paused before one statue, a guide explained that if he wanted to have a son, he should pray to her.

“I like daughters,” Obama replied.

Shifting from the historical to the modern, Obama also stopped by the Dreamplex business complex in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, a space for startup entrepreneurs that fits with Obama’s message about the potential benefits of closer ties to Vietnam’s growing economy and its burgeoning middle class.

Obama visited with several entrepreneurs at the modern Dreamplex, learning about a virtual game that helps people recover from nerve injuries and a smart phone that can serve as a laser cutter. But Obama cautioned that you have to “be careful where you point it.”

The meeting gave him another chance to promote the benefits of what he says will be enhanced trade under a 12-nation trade deal that is stalled in Congress and opposed by the leading U.S. presidential candidates. He said the pact, if approved, will accelerate economic reforms in Vietnam, boost its economic competitiveness, open up new markets and improve labour and environmental standards.

During his address, he said the agreement would give Vietnamese workers the right to form labour unions and would prohibit forced and child labour. He also predicted it would lead to greater regional co-operation.

“Vietnam will be less dependent on any one trading partner and enjoy broader ties with more partners, including the United States,” Obama said. ■

Afghan leaders see Taliban leader’s death as hopeful sign

BY LYNNE O’DONNELL AND MIRWAIS KHAN The Associated Press KABUL — The killing of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike was greeted Sunday by Kabul’s political leadership as a game-changer in efforts to end the long insurgent war plaguing Afghanistan.

In a rare show of unity, President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah both welcomed the news of Mansour’s death as the removal

of a man who unleashed violence against innocent civilians in Afghanistan and was widely regarded as an obstacle to peace within the militant group.

Mansour, believed to be in his 50s, was killed when a U.S. drone fired on his vehicle in the southwestern Pakistan province of Baluchistan, although there were conflicting accounts whether the airstrike occurred Friday or Saturday.

He had emerged as the successor to Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, whose 2013 death was only revealed last summer.

Mansour “engaged in deception, concealment of facts, drug-smuggling and terrorism while intimidating, maiming and killing innocent Afghans,” Ghani said in a statement on his official Twitter account.

“A new opportunity presents itself to those Taliban who are willing to end war and bloodshed,” he added.

Mansour was “the main figure preventing the Taliban joining the peace process,” Abdullah said, speaking live on television as he chaired a Cabinet meeting. “From the day he took over the Taliban followwww.canadianinquirer.net

ing the death of Mullah Omar, he intensified violence against ordinary citizens, especially in Afghanistan.”

Ghani and Abdullah serve in a so-called national unity government brokered by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry following a divisive 2014 election.

As president and chief executive, the two rarely see eye-toeye on even the most important decisions for a country beset by war for almost 40 years, including appointments to key security posts.

On Sunday, at least, they seemed to be on the same page.

Kerry hailed the news of Mansour’s demise even before it was officially confirmed — an indication of how much Washington has wearied of the Taliban’s 15-year war with Kabul.

“Peace is what we want. Mansour was a threat to that effort,” Kerry said, speaking from Myanmar. “He also was directly opposed to peace negotiations and to the reconciliation process. It is time for Afghans to stop fighting and to start building a real future together.”

His death clears the way for a ❱❱ PAGE 22 Afghan leaders

22

World News

ASEAN defense ministers meet to discuss S. China Sea, security

BY PREEYAPA T. KHUNSONG Philippines News Agency VIENTIANE — Issues relating to the South China Sea dispute were a highlight of the annual meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) defense ministers in the Laotian capital Vientiane on Wednesday, as China’s aggressive actions in pressing contested claims to territory in the water continues to raise tension in the region.

The ministers from the 10 ASEAN member nations gathered under the theme of “Promoting Defense Cooperation for a Dynamic ASEAN Community” for a two-day meeting to discuss regional and global security threats as well as nontraditional security challenges, which saw the South China Sea issue listed as a top agenda item.

According to a draft of the meeting’s joint declaration, seen by Kyodo News, the politicians will underscore “the commitment of all parties to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and ASEAN’s six points on South China Sea.” The ministers will also reiterate “the importance of maintaining peace, stability and

security as well as upholding freedom of navigation in, and over-flight above, the South China Sea as provided for by universally recognized principles of international law,” the draft said.

Besides the South China Sea, the meeting aims to strengthen defense and security cooperation in the region, which has one of the strongest military presences in the world.

“The ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting needs to increase capacities, solidarity and unity, and also improve and commit itself to dealing with security threats in an effective and timely manner,” said Laos’ Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Chansamone Chanyalath at the opening of the meeting.

The ministerial meeting will be followed by an informal meeting with China’s defense minister to discuss the capacity-building and ASEAN-centric development of regional security mechanisms, said Thai Defense Spokesman Maj. Gen. Kongcheep Tantrawanich.

The meeting will conclude Thursday as the ministers are scheduled to attend a commemorate event, marking the meeting’s 10th anniversary, by opening a photo gallery at the Lao People’s Army Museum while making visits to the country’s defense academy and satellite company. ■

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Afghan leaders... succession battle, the power in Kabul was only a mat- fidence in moving around the movement’s second in ter of time.

Pakistani province of Baluchless than a year. WhoMansour’s death inside Paki- istan in an unarmored car with ever wins that battle will large- stan could further damage the no convoy, decoys or other sely determine the direction for already deeply suspicious re- curity precautions. That shows both the Taliban and the belea- lationship between Kabul and “the Taliban are active and guered Afghan peace process.

Islamabad. move freely with the support of Mansour leaves behind a Afghan and U.S. officials the Pakistani authorities,” Mir checkered history during his have repeatedly accused Paki- said. brief reign. He ascended to the stan’s ISI intelligence agency Mansour’s death could open leadership shrouded in con- of keeping the Taliban leader- a new chapter in Kabul’s quest troversy and accusations from ship safe in cities across the for enduring peace with the many of his own senior com- porous and lawless border. A Taliban, Mir said. The time has manders. That internal bitter- senior Afghan official, speaking come, he added, for “the Afghan ness stemmed from the rev- on condition of anonymity be- government to get some benefit elation last summer of Mullah cause he was not authorized to out of this, in bringing the TaliOmar’s death more than two talk to the media, complained ban into the peace process.” years earlier — a fact that Man- before Mansour’s death was Whether the Taliban will be sour and his clique seem to announced that Taliban fight- open to those fresh overtures have hidden not only from the ers were being taken from the depends on who succeeds Manoutside world but from other battlefields of Afghanistan to sour. Afghan officials say meetsenior Taliban commanders.

Pakistani hospitals. ings have already begun in the Mansour’s subsequent forIn a statement late Sunday, Pakistani city of Quetta among mal coronation as Taliban Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry re- the Taliban elite to discuss the leader prompted direction the open revolt inmovement will side the group for take. several months, Mullah MoMansour’s death could open a new with members of hammad Yaqub, chapter in Kabul’s quest for enduring Mullah Omar’s the son of Mulpeace with the Taliban, Mir said. The family rebellah Omar, is poptime has come, he added, for “the ling and Taliban ular, charismatic Afghan government to get some ground forces and believed by benefit out of this, in bringing the splitting into facsome officials to Taliban into the peace process.” tional warfare. favour particiBut Mansour pation in peace patiently mendtalks. He coned the rift, aptrols the Talipointing as his ban’s military deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani, peated the country’s protest of commissions in 15 of Afghanileader of the powerful semi- drone attacks on its territory. It stan’s 34 provinces. independent al-Qaida-affiliat- also repeated Pakistan’s prefHaqqani is another candidate. ed Haqqani network faction. erence to settle the protracted His network has deep pockets Haqqani helped bring Mullah war in Afghanistan through and is responsible for some of Omar’s brother and son back talks, calling on the Taliban to the deadliest attacks in Afghaniinto the fold in exchange for se- renounce violence in favour of stan, including one in Kabul on nior leadership positions. negotiations.

April 19 that killed 64 people While he played peacemaker “While further investigations and injured more than 300. inside the Taliban, Mansour are being carried out, Pakistan In the meantime, the drone pursued an aggressive line with wishes to once again state that strike that killed Mansour has the Kabul government, shun- the drone attack was a viola- sent a message to other extremning all overtures for peace and tion of its sovereignty, an is- ist leaders — not only Taliban launching a series of bold at- sue which has been raised with but others active in Afghanitacks. the United States in the past as stan and the region — that they In September 2015, Taliban well,” it said. are no longer safe on Pakistani fighters surprised Afghan seGhani has not hidden his own territory. curity forces and overran the frustrations with Islamabad.

“It was a message to Pakistan northern city of Kunduz — the His government initially em- that whenever the USA wants, first time since their regime braced Pakistan’s role as a liai- it can attack whoever they want was overthrown in the 2001 U.S. son to the Taliban and engaged inside Pakistan,” said indepeninvasion that they had captured in four-nation meetings with dent analyst Ahmad Saedi. “It a provincial capital.

Pakistan, China and the U.S. was a message to the Taliban They held the city for four seeking to bring the Taliban to that no one is safe, and if Amerdays before retreating in the the negotiating table. But he ica wants, it can target anyone, face of a co-ordinated U.S.- has publicly soured on Islam- anywhere, at any time.” ■ backed government assault, but abad: At the most recent quarthe end result was an endur- tet meeting, Kabul declined to Associated Press writers Rahim ing embarrassment for Ghani’s send a high-level delegation Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, government. In the aftermath, and was represented only by Kathy Gannon in Islamabad Mansour boasted about the the ambassador to Pakistan. and Matthew Lee in Naypyidaw, prowess of his men and promPolitical analyst Haroun Mir Myanmar, contributed to this reised that the Taliban’s return to noted Mansour’s apparent conport. ❰❰ 21

www.canadianinquirer.net

Community News

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

23

Debut fiction “Stumbling through Paradise” gets raves

BY MARY ANN R. MANDAP Philippine Canadian Inquirer AN ENTHUSIASTIC crowd of over a 100 attended the book launch of “Stumbling Through Paradise: A Feast of Mercy for Manuel Del Mundo,” Eleonor Guerrero-Campbell’s debut novel about one Filipino family’s saga as immigrants in Canada.

The book is an inter-generational novel which mirrors the Filipino-Canadian immigrant experience from various perspectives. “It is a work of fiction inspired by real experiences,” Campbell told the audience, a mix of Canadian officials, Filipino community leaders, immigrant advocates, friends and plain readers.

The book follows the journey of the Del Mundo family, who leave everything behind to build a new life for themselves in Canada. Voiced through the six main characters, the narrative is a complex interplay of “pride and practicality, survival and surrender.”

The novel is a “captivating look at the challenges faced by an immigrant family as they navigate life in multicultural Canada, sprinkled with fun and delicious reminiscing. It dares to expose underlying issues of short-sighted immigration

Eleonor Campbell.

policies,” wrote Esmie Gayo McLaren, director of Vancouver Asia Heritage Month Society in her review.

Campbell came to Canada armed with a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the Philippines and successfully landed the first job she applied for. She was surprised to find that in Canada, many highly skilled immigrants could not practise their professions. To help bridge this gap, she co-founded the Multicultural Helping House Society, a non-profit organization to help

ARTHUR CALAPATIA

newcomers succeed in Canada.

There she learned first-hand about the problems of newcomers, and created programs to help skilled immigrants secure work in their field.

She likewise directed the Looking Ahead Initiative, a BC-wide program to improve the labour market integration of immigrants, and authored Hiring and Retaining Skilled Immigrants: A Cultural Competence Toolkit, a guide for human resource managers of BC. Over the years, she continued to be an advocate of immigrant

integration.

It became clear to Campbell that the stories she encountered in the community deserved to be told. After retiring in 2012, she began work on “Stumbling Through Paradise,” using the literary skills she first developed from her first degree, English and Comparative Literature. She took courses with writing guru Natalie Goldberg, and blended these skills with her own experiences in the field.

The much-awaited book was launched May 21, at Creekside

Community Centre in Olympic Village, Vancouver. One of the highlights of the program was the dramatic readings of excerpts from the book performed by members of the Anyone Can Act Theatre, a group of Filipino-Canadian theatre enthusiasts. The readings gave glimpses of the various angles and perspectives from where Campbell’s story is being told.

Between readings, Campbell fielded questions from the audience seeking her views on both her novel and various immigrant and foreign worker issues. A book sale and signing followed.

Proceeds from the book launch went to Daloy Puso, a newcomer youth mentoring program headed by Dr. Leonora Angeles, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia. Campbell said 62 books were sold during the launch.

Special guests included Vancouver Councillor Geoff Meggs, MLA Mable Elmore, and Deputy Consul General Anton Mandap of the Philippine Consulate in Vancouver. Irene Querubin of RedFM Vancouver hosted the event.

Refreshments by Ethnomarketing followed the program.

Live jazz music by Raincity Blue provided background music. ■

PH Consulate in Vancouver announces Independence Day events THE PHILIPPINE Consulate General in Vancouver has announced the holding of a series of community events this June in observance of the 118th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence and the enduring friendship between the Philippines and Canada.

The celebrations will commence with an opening reception for “Harana – An Art Exhibition Serenading the Culture and Heritage of the Philippines,” on 26 May at the Cityscape Community Art Space in North Vancouver. The exhibit, featuring the works of Mr. Manuel Baldemor and several Vancouver-based Filipino artists, will run from May 27 to July 2.

On June 3, the Philippine

Opera Company is staging a concert coincidentally entitled “Harana” at Vancouver Tech Auditorium. This will be followed by two events June 4: the Pista ng Bayan Community Picnic at Memorial South Park, and the Masskara Festival Society’s Independence Day Celebration at the Polish Community Centre. On June 5, the Independence Day parade and festival in Surrey will be held, woven around the theme, “Kundiman at Indakan sa Surrey.”

The annual flag-raising ceremony will be held on 10 June 2016 at the Vancouver City Hall, to be led by Consul General Neil Ferrer and Acting Vancouver City Mayor Raymond Louie.

A number of other Inde-

pendence Day-related events will be held on the busiest weekend of 11-12 June 2016: flag-raising events in the cities of Richmond, North Vancouver, New Westminster; two dinner-gala celebrations hosted by the Filipino Association in British Columbia (FABC) and the United Filipino-Canadian Associations of BC (UFCABC), respectively; the two-day Philippine Days Festival organized by the Metro Vancouver Philippine Arts and Culture Exposition Society (MVPACES) in North Vancouver; and the various celebrations organized by the Filipino organizations in Victoria, BC, namely VFCA, VFCSA, and VFCCA; and similar events led by FCAEK/East Kootenay in Cranbrook, and www.canadianinquirer.net

the Confederation of Filipino Canadian Associations (CONFICA) in Vancouver.

Capping the celebrations is the second staging on June 25 of “Harana, Balagtasan, Tula at Kundiman: A tribute to Filipino Songs and Verses, spearheaded by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of BC (UPAAABC).

Consul General Ferrer said the Consulate is honored to be part of the festivities, annually held by these community organizations in Metro Vancouver and other cities in British Columbia.

Ferrer also stressed that this year marks an important milestone—the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver, the very first Philippine

foreign service establishment in the whole of Canada.

“The annual Independence Day celebrations provide the perfect opportunity for the Filipino-Canadian community to meet, get together and celebrate the Filipino way. These festivities are wonderful venues to foster camaraderie and strengthen the bonds of friendship between the Philippines and Canada. We are grateful to the various community organizations for their abiding trust and continuing cooperation,” Ferrer said.

“I invite everyone—Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike—to join us in celebrating this June the 118th anniversary of Philippine Independence and the friendship between the Philippines and Canada,” he added. ■

24

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Entertainment

Andi Eigenmann in Cannes, among ‘best-dressed’ celebs PHILIPPINE CANADIAN INQUIRER

Kapuso actress Jaclyn Jose wins big in 69th Cannes Film Festival GMA NETWORK congratulates multi-awarded actress Jaclyn Jose who bagged the best actress award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in France for her role in “Ma’ Rosa,” a film by renowned director Brillante Mendoza.

“I don’t know what to say. I am so surprised. I just went to have the red carpet walk with my daughter — my real life daughter and my daughter in the movie,” the actress said in her speech.

“Thank you to Cannes. Thank you to the jury. Thank you to Mr. Brillante Mendoza. I was just following whatever he’s saying and telling me to do. He is such a brilliant director in the

Philippines. I would also like to share this recognition to all the Filipinos who are here now, to my daughter, to Brillante, to my countrymen, to the Philippines,” she continued.

Jaclyn is currently part of GMA Network’s afternoon series “The Millionaire’s Wife” playing an antagonist role in the character of Stella Vergara-Montecillo, a spoiled, rich woman.

Proving her versatility, the seasoned actress is also top billing the newest sexy comedy sitcom of the Network, A1 Ko Sa’yo!, as Digna Molina, a tactless and frustrated Miss Universe aspirant who manages a talent firm. The show is set to air on June 2. ■

MANILA — It’s a dream come true for actress Andi Eigenmann who attended the 69th Cannes Film Festival in France as a cast member of acclaimed Filipino director Brillante Mendoza’s drama film “Ma’ Rosa.”

“I have had my fair share of great ups and downs in the 25 years of my existence in this beautiful world, and you see, nothing makes life way more interesting than when our dreams come true,” she emphatically said.

Wearing Filipino fashion designer Patty Ang’s elegant white jumpsuit during the festival’s photo call, Eigenmann turned heads and has been included in fashion magazine Vanity Fair’s 2016 Cannes Red Carpet’s BestDressed Celebrities list among Hollywood celebrities Julianne Moore, Julia Roberts, Blake Lively, Victoria Beckham and Naomi Watts.

Beyond grateful for the experience, the 25-year-old actress took to social media to thank Mendoza for the opportunity and Ang for the beautiful ensemble that “everybody loved.”

“Received a warm welcome from the media at the photo call. I could not be any more grateful for this experience. Big thanks to direk Brillante Mendoza for this opportunity. And to have had the chance to work alongside one of the country’s best. My very own mother, Jaclyn Jose. I will most definitely cherish this moment forever,”

Jaclyn Jose, director Brillante Mendoza, and Andi Eigenmann attend the closing ceremony of the 69th Cannes Film Festival.

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she said in her Instagram post.

“As for this beautiful ensemble, thank you so much, Patty Ang!!! Everybody LOVED it! I definitely couldn’t have rocked the press conference and the photo call in anything else,” she added.

Eigenmann encouraged her followers to always dream big and believe in themselves.

“Let me just steal a little ‘beauty queen’ moment for myself to encourage women like me to never give up on their dreams. To make sure to never be afraid to dream BIG. Because yesterday, my lifelong dream has finally come true.

And what’s even sweeter is that it’s only the beginning,” she said.

“Yes, it will never be easy, and yes, it will be very tough. Tough,

to the extent that we would ask ourselves if it’s time we give up. The key is to brush off all the negativity with your head held high because it will always come. And then we move on to focusing on the brighter things in life. These are what give life meaning. So just enjoy, and cherish every moment of the life you’re given, because we will always fall. It’s what we do about the opportunity to get back up once again, that matters most,” she added.

“I encourage all young women to spend our lives with positivity and love. To humbly and fearlessly live life for ourselves, because it is ours after all. If I can do it, my dear, so can you.”

Ma’ Rosa has been selected to compete for the film festivals’ grand prize, Palme d’Or. ■

Solenn Heussaff, Nico Bolzico tie the knot

BY JANE MORALEDA Philippine Canadian Inquirer MANILA — Filipino-French actress Solenn Heussaff and her

Argentinean fiancé Nico Bolzico are off to forever as they tied the knot at the Eglise Notre Dame in Combourg, France on Saturday.

After the intimate wedding, a reception followed at the Cha-

teau de Combourg, a medieval French castle. The ceremony was attended by the couple’s family and close friends, including celebrities Georgina WilsonBurnand, Isabelle Daza, Erwan www.canadianinquirer.net

Heussaff, Anne Curtis, Jasmine Curtis, Lovi Poe, Liz Uy, Paolo Avelino, Rhian Ramos, Bianca King, Mark Nicdao, Rajo Laurel, and Tim Yap, among others.

Heussaff announced her en-

gagement with her Argentinean boyfriend in 2014, after being in a relationship with him for four years then. They celebrated their engagement in Argentina earlier this year. ■

Entertainment

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

25

Boycott over LGBT law impacts more than just the music fans

BY ANNA GRONEWOLD The Associated Press GREENSBORO, N.C. — Stagehand Kery Eller doesn’t own any Bruce Springsteen albums, but he would smash them if he did.

Eller says he expected to earn at least $3,000 working the sold-out Springsteen concert and other high-profile shows around the state before artists cancelled the events in protest over North Carolina’s new LGBT law.

Eller and about 100 members of the local union of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees are among the many workers and businesses caught in the crossfire of the national debate over LGBT rights and feeling the economic shockwaves from the growing number of cancelled shows.

Hotels, restaurants, bars and even community groups who work arena concession stands say they are suffering from the boycott.

“It’s my livelihood; it’s where I make my money,” Eller said.

“It’s not just hurting the entertainment industry. It’s hurting our state overall, period. And I’m not talking politically at all.”

The wide-reaching law that directs transgender people to use the public bathroom that aligns with the sex on their birth certificate was signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory in March. Since then, Pearl Jam, violinist Itzhak Perlman, Ringo Starr and Cirque Du So-

leil have cancelled. On Friday, the pop group Maroon 5 became the latest entertainer to decide to skip the state. Other acts performed but donated proceeds from their shows to groups fighting the law.

McCrory, who has sued the Justice Department over its directive allowing transgender students to use their preferred bathroom, has continued his support of the law. His campaign issued a statement Friday condemning Maroon 5’s recent cancellation, saying the artists’ boycott only hurts people of North Carolina and arena employees.

The last-minute cancellations are disappointing to fans, but more devastating to venue staff, said promoter Gregg McCraw, owner of MaxxMusic in Charlotte.

“Springsteen fired the first shot, and he cancelled that show only two or three days before the show,” McCraw said.

“That had a major impact. The venue clearly couldn’t get anything else in there.”

McCraw said the impact is likely to affect the North Carolina live music industry for months to come because artists and agents are wavering on whether to even schedule shows in North Carolina four to six months from now.

“So there will be a period, and none of us know how long this will last, before something happens in a positive way,” he said.

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, the city’s economic powerhouse, estimated it lost $188,000 from three no-shows

so far, according to Ted Oliver, chairman of the advisory board to the complex. The city sent the governor a May 12 letter asking him to reconsider his support of the law.

“When we hear that the coliseum is suffering, what that really means is the employees are suffering,” Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said. “People who work part-time to balance their budget. That affects workers in hotels, housekeeping, front desks. These are people who are dependent on every single paycheque.”

For a large event like Bruce Springsteen, the venue would have hired part-time work from 225 event staff, 60 parking staff, 30 housekeepers and about 100 stagehands, said Andrew Brown, a spokesman for the coliseum complex.

Concessions booths staffed by organizations such as the Walter Hines Page High School Band Boosters, who get a cut of the funding for their programs, were left with nothing. They can reap at least $600 a night when the shows are on, which helps them pay to dry clean uniforms and feed the marching band before away games.

Band boosters were scheduled to work both Springsteen and Cirque du Soleil, said treasurer Dan Kasper, whose son plays trumpet.

Small business owners that share Gate City Blvd with the Coliseum say it’s too early to quantify how much the cancellations have cost them, but the events are usually big business.

Badreldin Mustafa, general

The annual Fierte Montreal parade took place on August 16, 2015 on Boulevard Rene Levesque in Central Montreal.

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manager at Tito’s Pizza, said a concert night nearly doubles his business because visitors must walk by to get to the coliseum. Jesus Macias, who owns La Bamba Mexican restaurant, said servers rely on tips from those three or four major events to balance out a dwindling stream of regulars the rest of the year.

Owners of some restaurants declined to comment, saying they didn’t want to be entangled in personal and political implications. Both Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte and PNC Arena in Raleigh, which have lost Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas and most recently Maroon 5, declined to comment on the cancellations.

Near the Greensboro coliseum, owner and manager Ziad Fleihan of Ghassan’s, a kabob and sandwich shop with a location two blocks from the coliseum, said the potential eco-

nomic effect is scary.

“We should be making laws that bring business to North Carolina rather than creating barriers keeping people away from the state. The goal of business is to make money,” he said.

He is also worried about the NCAA pulling its championship events out of the state. The coliseum and the accompanying Greensboro Aquatic Center are slated to host NCAA basketball tournament games in 2017 and NCAA swimming and diving championship games in 2018.

It’s not yet clear whether the NCAA will keep the events in North Carolina.

“I think that we can continue to try to get the message out that Greensboro is an inclusive city and not to punish us,” said Vaughan, the Greensboro mayor. “It really is punishing the city when acts don’t come here and people continue to feel the brunt of that decision.” ■

Ex-Megadeth drummer Nick Menza collapses on stage, dies

BY CHRISTOPHER WEBER The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Nick Menza, former drummer for the influential metal band Megadeth, died after collapsing on stage during a performance of his progressive jazz trio in Southern California, a family spokesman said Sunday.

Menza’s latest band OHM was three songs into a semi-

regular set at a Los Angelesarea club Saturday night when the drummer collapsed, J. Marshall Craig told The Associated Press. Friends and audience members rendered aid while paramedics were called.

The 51-year-old died at the club of a suspected massive heart attack, Craig said.

Menza was Megadeth’s longest-serving drummer, performing on five records over nine years, including 1990’s

thrash metal landmark, “Rust In Peace.”

Dave Mustaine, singer, guitarist and co-founder of Megadeth, said in a statement that he awoke to a text message from his son with the news.

“Shocked, devastated, and saddened don’t begin to describe my feelings,” Mustaine said.

“As a player, Nick had a very powerful jazzy flair, unpredictable and always entertaining, and as great a drummer as he www.canadianinquirer.net

was, the time spent with him as a person, a bandmate, and a friend was even more fun,” Mustaine’s statement said.

Marty Friedman, the band’s guitarist from 1990 to 2000, wrote on Facebook that Menza was “a great and unique drummer” and “a trustworthy friend, a hilarious bandmate, as well as a very loving dad.”

After leaving Megadeth in 1998, Menza pursued an interest in jazz and became an ac-

complished woodworker.

Mustaine said he discussed Menza returning to the band several times, “but for various reasons it never came together.”

Menza’s autobiography, cowritten by Craig, will detail the drummer’s life in and out of music and is set for a July release.

He is survived by his mother and father, the jazz saxophonist Don Menza, and two sons. ■

26

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Lifestyle

Nellie McClung top choice for first Canadian woman on face of banknote: poll THE CANADIAN PRESS

Famous Five activist Nellie McClung.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF CANADA / PA-030212

TORONTO — Famous Five activist Nellie McClung is the No. 1 choice to become the first Canadian woman on the face of one of the country’s banknotes, according to a recent online survey.

The survey found 27 per cent of respondents favoured McClung, a suffragette who fought for women to be legally recognized as persons in Canada.

Politician Therese Casgrain, aeronautical engineer Elsie MacGill, Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery, artist Emily Carr and black activist and businesswoman Viola Desmond rounded out the top six choices.

All 12 options in the survey

came from the long list of candidates created by the Bank of Canada’s advisory council. The council narrowed its choices after receiving more than 18,000 submissions during a public call for nominations earlier this year.

The remaining six nominees all received less than 10 per cent of votes in the poll. They were poet E. Pauline Johnson, author Gabrielle Roy, artist Pitseolak Ashoona, suffragette Idola Saint-Jean, humanitarian Lotta Hitschmanova and athlete Fanny (Bobbie) Rosenfeld.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted the survey of 1,517 Canadian adults who are members of its online forum between May 10 and May 13. The polling industry’s professional body, the Marketing Research

and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier this year that a woman would be featured on the next issue of banknotes due out in 2018.

Four out of five respondents in the survey agreed that at least one woman other than the Queen should be on the front of a Canadian bill.

Women have been on a Canadian banknote previously, although not on the face.

The Famous Five, along with Casgrain, were featured on the back side of a $50 bill unveiled in 2004. However, the women were dropped from the bill in 2011 when a new polymer version was introduced. ■

Not your grandfather’s kilt: Designer bringing tartan into modern fashion world

BY ALY THOMSON The Canadian Press HALIFAX — A rainbow of Scottish tartans are piled floor-toceiling on a shelf in the corner of Veronica MacIsaac’s tiny Halifax studio, a chaotic space cluttered with fabric scraps, scribbled notes and an empty wine bottle.

The designer is busy preparing for her latest fashion show,

set for next Saturday at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

MacIsaac designs tartan clothing with a modern twist, filling a void she noticed growing up in a family that makes kilts for a living.

“Men have kilts, but women don’t have the equivalent.

There’s mid-calve-length pleated skirts and the sash across the shoulder, but it’s all pretty hokey,” said MacIsaac,

her boisterously curly dark hair draped over a Cape Breton tartan shirt.

“I had been telling my mother for years to do a women’s line, that she should make tartan clothes for women. Finally one day she said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’ And it was like one of those Oprah, come-to-Jesus moments. It had never crossed my mind that it’s something that I should do.”

MacIsaac has carved out a

www.canadianinquirer.net

niche in the fashion world that women with Scottish heritage and tartan lovers had been longing for — all from her tiny studio in Halifax.

Since starting Veronica MacIsaac Apparel eight years ago, MacIsaac’s work has appeared on runways in Canada and the U.S. and in international publications such as British Vogue and Vogue Italia.

She sells her pieces to people all over the world, including

Australia, China and across Europe and North America.

“I got into this so that people could wear their own family tartan, but just in a way that they would normally wear it,” said MacIsaac, adding that some customers do not have Scottish ties, but simply like her designs.

MacIsaac makes an array of clothing for the modern young ❱❱ PAGE 31 Not your

Lifestyle

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

27

Eduardo Castrillo: The only truly omnipresent Filipino artist Before his untimely death due to cancer last May 18, the artist was supposed to mark his 50th anniversary as a professional artist

BY LITO B. ZULUETA Philippine Daily Inquirer SINCE HIS untimely death at 73 due to cancer on May 18, there have been reports of “Ed Castrillo” being spotted here and there. He was seen, for instance, at La Loma Cemetery.

He has been seen elsewhere in the archipelago. There have even been reports of him being sighted overseas.

Of course, one may remark, like Hamlet, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

But rather than ghosts whose existence (or non-) lie beyond the grasp of human knowledge, what we mean here by sightings refer to his works, sheer plentiful and ubiquitous.

The ubiquity of the works should afford Castrillo the power of bilocation or multilocation, a phenomenon ascribed to saints and mystics.

One is tempted to say Castrillo is not only multilocationary but also omnipresent. Save that omnipresence is ascribed to God. Castrillo’s works are hardly phantasmal and ineffable like ghosts. They’re hard, solid and concrete. And monumental.

So what was seen in La Loma?

Not his ghost but Castrillo’s first installation, “The Virgin,” his first among his many Marian monuments here and abroad.

Erected in 1966, the sculpture in La Loma is marking its 50th anniversary this year.

Which means 2016 also marks Castrillo’s 50th year as a professional artist.

Sadly the milestone has been replaced by gravestone.

Yet, as the cliche goes, the artist lives on in his works. Tens of thousands of daily commuters and motorists from south of Manila braving the heavy traffic of the coastal road and Roxas Boulevard will spot one Castrillo statue after another, either nationalist or religious, notably “Rajah Soliman” and “Nuestra Señora de Remedios” in Malate and “Nuestra Señora de Guia”

in Ermita. to both nation and faith. Also At the Manila reclaimed area, at the Crown Regency Hotel, in Sofitel Hotel, in what many one can find one of Castrillo’s foodies say is the best and most “hammer” works—the emvaried (and most expensive) bossed-copper relief-like tabbuffet in town, is Castrillo’s leaux of the history of the Santo beautiful geometrical work, Niño de Cebu.

“Spirals.” It is the name of the In one of the Boracay hotels Eduardo Castrillo. restaurant itself. is another embossed-copper At the Luneta Park are the work of Castrillo, “Ripples of light-and-sound tableaux of the the Sea.” last days of Jose Rizal, a favorite In Mindanao, there’s a monof families and promenaders. ument to press freedom at At the farthest end of the the Misamis Oriental provinboulevard north, travelers may cial capitol grounds Castrillo enter the walls of Intramuros erected in 2009, ironically a and come upon the main gate few months before the Maguof Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng indanao massacre that killed 32 Maynila and encounter Castril- journalists. Elsewhere around lo’s monument of MacArthur’s the world, there are Castrillo return. monuments and sculptures—in The Manila Cathedral itself Poland, Switzerland, Australia, may house a Castrillo since it Singapore, Hong Kong, Guam, was there he first learned litur- Saudi Arabia, Brunei Darussagical art when, as a high school lem. Despite the literal monu- One of his works, Majestic Growth. student of Don Bosco Techni- mentality of his works, Castrilcal School in Mandaluyong, he lo also delved into micro works.

Like Paco Rabanne, who assisted its refurbishing dur- To him, size does not matter as started as a jewelry designer, ing the time of Cardinal Rufino long as it’s art. Castrillo, in fact, Castrillo did exquisite body Santos. started as a jewelry designer. armor and collaborated with Across the cathedral is Fort Even if he was busy with com- fashion designers, Santiago where Castrillo’s missions for monuments, he The artist even collaborated “Youth’s Cry of Defiance” is was designing jewelry and ac- in a concert in the late 1970’s mounted. cessories, including the Span- with Celeste Legaspi, with the On the other side of the Pasig ish peineta and the lowly tie singer’s repertoire built around are the statues of Manila Mayor ring. He was clearly ahead of Castrillo’s abstract forms and Arsenio H. Lacson behind the his time. Even before Federico geometic designs.

Santa Cruz Church, “Cry of Aguilar Alcuaz pitched his stuTondo” near the Sculptural Tondo Church, dramatics and Our Lady of The fact his Loreto at Bustilworks were utilos near MendioCastrillo’s works are hardly lized in stage la Street. phantasmal and ineffable like ghosts. productions Makati office They’re hard, solid and concrete. should underworkers along And monumental. score their draGil Puyat Avematic potential. nue daily pass by C a s t r i l l o ’s one of Castrillo’s works, whether secular monuments—“Pillar of dio at Manila Hilton, the hotel figurative or abstract, constiGrowth” on Metrobank Plaza. was already hanging a Castrillo tuted a sculptural dramatics.

At RCBC Plaza is the “Spirit of hammer-out commissioned His sculptural poetics had Edsa” monument. by the Delgado Bros., owner been shown early on in his At traffic-jam-prone Edsa then of the hotel and Castrillo’s monuments for the Loyola is the original “People Power” benefactor who sent him to Memorial Park in Parañaque, monument. Meanwhile, the the University of Santo Tomas, notably “Pieta” and “RedempEdsa Shrine has several of Cas- the cradle of modern art in the tion.” trillo’s liturgical works, notably country.

The former work is a “fan” the highly dramatic ciborium in At UST, Castrillo did sit-ins remaking of Michelangelo’s fathe Perpetual Adoration Cha- in classes in chemistry and en- mous work at the Saint Peter’s pel. gineering to learn about metals, Basilica. It recasts in modern alloys and other potential art brass the Florentine master’s VisMin and elsewhere mediums. He delved both into marble tour de force.

In the Visayas, there’s the the art and science of craftsAlice Guillermo said that “Cebu Heritage,” a monument manship. when the sculpture was unwww.canadianinquirer.net

EDUARDOCASTRILLO.COM

veiled, it jarred the public.

“It took some time for the viewer to understand the principle of its jagged, disjointed planes,” she recalled.

Guillermo explained that, for Castrillo, it would be a “disadvantage” to repeat the classical ideals of Michelangelo’s work.

“Thus, he made instead a definitely anticlassical Pieta with a shift in emotional content,” she wrote. “Contrary to the mellifluous classical form, the angular, jagged metal planes conveyed a tragic sense of loss, an alienating truncation of life that separated Son from Mother.”

But his sense of drama would not have sufficed if Castrillo didn’t really have at heart the sentiments that fired both his nationalist and religious works.

The modern spirit is essentially agnostic and even atheist, narcissistic and individualistic.

But Castrillo, fervent in his nationalism and faith, would have none of that.

In one interview with this writer, Castrillo called his “nationalist sentiments and faith” his “intrinsic values.” From them would come the “fruits” of his work.

“Anything I create,” he pointed out, “is practically the output of my belief.” ■

28

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Business Exploration: Canada

Discover Comox Valley SEAFOOD LOVERS know where to find the best oysters anywhere in Canada — in the Comox Valley. Its growing aquaculture industry is a source of pride of the residents since the region outgrew coal mining, farming and logging industries which flourished and sustained the region for more than a century beginning when first European settlers arrived in the 1860’s.

It was believed that millions of years ago, much of Vancouver Island was a saltwater lagoon inhabited by all sorts of large marine creatures. But as climate warmed and ice melted, the dramatic change gave way to the island famously known today. One of its regions is known as Comox Valley.

From local museums, the historical transformation of Comox Valley is documented that for centuries Pentlatch and Comox Bands of the Salishan First Nation thrived on ocean gifts of salmon, clams, oysters, cod, and halibut, as well as

the land’s abundant deer, elk, and many edible and medicinal plants. Then the European settlers came, cleared land for farms, and logged the extensive forests.

In 1914, a railway line from Victoria was extended to the valley which after a year later, the area around the train station was incorporated as the City of Courtney.

Throughout the late 19th century, Many Royal Navy war ships anchored in the Comox Bay which prompted the construction of the Comox Wharf in 1893. The community became officially known as Comox.

Also, in the late 18th century when coal was mined abundantly in Vancouver Island, an inland settlement of mine workers comprising of a significant number of Chinese workers and other diverse nationalities gave rise to a mining community which became known as Cumberland.

After World War 1, demand for coal diminished. Cumberland though never

lost its significance. It is now known for its mining heritage, diverse arts and distinctive heritage homes.

Comox Valley for all intents and purposes has more to offer visitors to explore aside from its rich and natural history. It boasts to produce more oysters than anywhere else in Canada. It boasts nutrient rich waters, spectacular coastal scenery and friendly hospitality.

Its aquaculture industry is thriving.

So the aquaculture producers banded

together to bring to seafood lovers 10 days of fabulous seafood tasting, informative aquaculture tours, signature dinner events, competitions, and family fun. June 10 – 19, 2016 is the tenth year of this delicious celebration of sustainable resource and incredible experience of a lifetime. ■ For more information visit Vancouver Island Visitor Center: ashley@discovercomoxvalley.com

Cautious trading to continue

BY DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA Philippine Daily Inquirer LOCAL STOCKS are seen to trade with caution this week as global markets brace for an earlier-than-expected US interest rate increase.

Last week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 1.85 percent to end on Friday at 7,299.03 as a hawkish signal from the US Federal Reserve drowned out news about the Philippines’ robust 6.9-percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter.

Banco de Oro Unibank chief strategist Jonathan Ravelas said investors had taken the recent GDP report as an excuse to take profits. “Despite the strong performance, the recent moves in the stock market appears excessive relative to its earnings. First-quarter 2016 earnings were better than expected but are not enough to support stretched valuations,” Ravelas said.

“Chartwise, continue to see further weakness toward the 7,000-7,200 levels in the week ahead. Any pullback, if at all, is limited to 7,370-7,450 levels,” Ravelas said.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development, www.canadianinquirer.net

said that if the PSEi would fail to recover to the 7,300 levels, further declines could be seen toward the 7,250-7,200 levels where the 20and 50-day moving averages were located.

“These averages are crucial support points as failure to hold will pull prices back to its long-term moving average (200-day moving average) which is currently at 7,020,” Limlingan said.

“If support holds, however, it will establish a higher low base, which will trigger rallies back to its weekly highs,” he said.

Limlingan said volatility remained a concern, which meant sharp intraday movements could be expected this week.

“On top of that, trend bias is bearish so support breakdowns might be a common sight this week. As such, traders should lighten up positions during intraday recovery and wait for prices to stabilize before reentering. Putting tight stops on issues still trading near resistance are advised to protect gains,” he said.

Last week, a hawkish US Fed suggested that it might raise rates by June or July, adding to profit-taking pressures.

Political jitters as presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte assembles his Cabinet have also affected the market. ■

29

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

Sports

Raptors beat Cavs 105-99 to even Eastern Conference finals at 2-2

BY LORI EWING The Canadian Press TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors say they never stopped believing — even when it seemed like no one else did.

On a night that marked their most dramatic game of this historic post-season run, the Raptors clawed their way back to even up the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 105-99 victory over Cleveland on Monday.

“Someone mentioned that we were in it just to win one game, we’re in it to compete for a championship,” coach Dwane Casey said. “Nobody gives us a snowball’s chance in you know where to beat Cleveland.”

Kyle Lowry scored 35 points, while fellow all-star DeMar DeRozan added 32. DeMarre Carroll chipped in with 11 points, while Bismack Biyombo hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds in a thrilling victory that came just two games after the Raptors had been all but written off.

“Honestly, we’ve been playing with our backs against the wall.

We never cared what nobody else thought,” DeRozan said. “It was a challenge for us every single day. We’ve been counted out, and we liked that challenge.”

LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Point guard Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and added six assists with three rebounds.

Few picked the Raptors to steal more than a token win against the Cavs, who roared red-hot into the conference finals having swept Detroit and Atlanta.

Toronto dropped Games 1 and 2 in Cleveland by a combined 50 points, and it seemed the Raptors were writing their obituary. But bolstered by the hometown crowd, they won Game 3 in dominant fashion.

Backed by Lowry’s sharpshooting on Monday, the Raptors raced out to an 18-point first half lead. But the Cavaliers, who’d made just three of

their 22 three-point shots in the first half, started hitting from long distance. And when Irving drained two in a row, he pointed at Drake — the Toronto rapper and Cavs heckler — as he ran back upcourt.

The Raptors led 78-69 to start the fourth, but when Channing Frye drained three straight threes, and James scored on a driving layup with 8:20 left, the Cavaliers took their first lead of the game.

“At the beginning of the fourth quarter, we lost our composure,” Casey said. “When we put the starters back in, they regained their foothold. I thought that was huge for us. I’ve always said: compete with poise, stay consistent with your emotions. That’s paying dividends for us now as we go through this tough series with a great Cleveland team.”

Toronto hit back with five straight points to take a threepoint advantage into the game’s final three minutes. The Raptors were up by four with a minute to play and their defence came up huge, with a couple of key rebounds and a Biyombo block.

Lowry drove to the hoop for a basket with 23 seconds left, to the ear-splitting roar of the Air Canada Centre crowd, and was fouled on the play. He missed both free throws, but crowd didn’t care — they saluted him with chants of “M-V-P!” “No matter what, we’re confident,” Patrick Patterson said.

“When we were down 0-2, we were still confident. We’re always going to believe in ourselves. We’re always going to have faith that we can win — whether we’re down, whether we’re on the road, whether we’re home, we’re going to constantly believe that we can win.”

Game 5 is Wednesday in Cleveland, then the series returns to Toronto for Game 6 on Friday.

The post-season has been a roller-coaster for the Raptors, especially Lowry and DeRozan.

The two were asked what has been their steadying force.

“Understand the work that we’ve put in. I know the work

he’s put in and I know the work I’ve put in,” Lowry said. “You can’t go away from that. The things that we’ve learned is one game, two games erases everything that has happened before.”

“We can take the bad with the good any day,” DeRozan added. “It’s life, man. You can’t get too down when things not going your way, but you understand the work that you put in all summer, all throughout the season, for moments like this.

“I always told this guy (Lowry) when we were struggling, it’s not about now, as long as we’ve got an opportunity to keep playing, we’ve got an opportunity to make up for this.”

A day after Casey was fined US$25,000 for criticizing the officiating, the referees drew the ire of Toronto fans once again.

The Raptors didn’t go to the free throw line once in the first half — a rare occurrence. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team led by at least 15 at halftime in a conference finals without a free throw attempt was Milwaukee in 2001 versus Philadelphia.

When the Cavs were whistled for their first foul, the crowd gave the referees a sarcastic standing ovation.

The ACC crowd, all in white, was in full voice from the opening tipoff, and included NFL legend Terrell Owens and Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy, Edmonton Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly, Toronto FC star striker Sebastian Giovinco and actor Stephen Amell, star of the superhero TV drama Arrow.

The Raptors raced out to another strong start, shooting 52 per cent in the first quarter, and holding the Cavs to 21 per cent from three-point range. Toronto took a 27-24 lead into the second.

The Raptors kept up a torrid pace in the second, and when Lowry scored on a step-back jumper with 32 seconds to play in the half, the bucket boosted Toronto’s advantage to 18 points. They headed into the locker-room up 57-41. ■ www.canadianinquirer.net

Djokovic, Murray, Nadal to gather in 2016 China Open PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY BEIJING — The organizing committee of 2016 China Open announced on Monday that the Big 3 of ATP World Tour — Novak Diokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal — will gather in this year’s tournament.

The 2016 China Open will be held in Beijing from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9. As one of the most attractive ATP World Tour 500 tournaments, this year’s China Open will see a strong draw again as

Djokovic, Murray and Nadal will all appear in the Diamond Stadium in Beijing, according to the organizing committee.

Djokovic has established himself as the most successful player in China Open after winning his 6th title last year. Nadal was the champion here in 2005, and Murray, who participated in the tournament in 2010 and 2014, has never reached the semi-final.

All the three players are now competing at the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, in Roland Garros. ■

Australian Olympic champion in doubt for Rio after drink-driving arrest PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY CANBERRA — Australian shooter and dual Olympic gold medalist Michael Diamond could be in doubt to travel to the Rio Olympics, after he was arrested on the weekend and charged with drink-driving and firearm-related charges.

The 44-year-old Olympic gold medalist from Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000 has had his driving license suspended after he refused to undergo a roadside breathalyzer test on Saturday night.

After he refused the breath test, officers searched his vehicle, in which they found a shotgun and 150 rounds of ammunition. He was then taken into custody, where he blew a breath test reading of 0.159 — more than three times the legal limit.

Diamond was later charged

with high range drink-driving, not keeping a firearm safe, and handling or using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

He will reportedly face court next month, and despite being selected in the Australian shooting team which will head to Rio in August, could be axed.

His spot in the squad was already in doubt after 16-year-old Mitchell Iles filed a challenge to the Court of Arbitration for Sport that he shot an Olympic benchmark score, which, if successful, would push Diamond out of the team.

Diamond is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most successful shooters, having made his Olympic debut in Barcelona in 1992.

If he makes the trip to Rio, it would be Diamond’s seventh Olympic campaign — making him just one of two Australians who have competed at seven different Olympics. ■

30

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Technology

Facebook’s CEO meets with DOST-ICTO’s conservatives on reported bias Tech4ED Project wins in WSIS Prizes

BY RYAN NAKASHIMA The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday held a wide-ranging discussion with a group of conservative commentators who said afterward the Facebook CEO acknowledged the giant social network has a problem reaching conservatives.

The meeting at Facebook’s Menlo Park, California, headquarters came about after a report accused the company of harbouring a bias against conservative views.

S.E. Cupp, a columnist with the New York Daily News who attended the meeting, said Facebook executives “were very clear to acknowledge that there is a problem and the problem is a serious one.”

Cupp said Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Vice-President Joel Kaplan and board member Peter Thiel mostly listened to the 17 conservatives who attended.

While the Facebook executives did not comment further on an internal investigation into allegations of political manipulation, they explained how difficult it would be for Facebook employees to inject bias into what stories make it into the “trending topics” section of the site or on individual users’ news feeds, Cupp said.

The Facebook team also said any such tampering would be “philosophically against both the mission of the company and Mark’s personal mission,” Cupp said. “I believed them.”

Rob Bluey, editor in chief of the website The Daily Signal, made similar comments to Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren shortly after the meeting ended.

“They certainly acknowledged that there was a problem with getting the message out to conservatives,” he said.

Facebook spokesman Andy Stone confirmed that was the

BY MA. CRISTINA C. ARAYATA Philippines News Agency

Mark Zuckerberg.

tenor of the meeting.

In a Facebook post afterward, Zuckerberg did not directly respond to allegations that Facebook employees suppressed conservative stories on its “trending topics” feature. But he said, “I know many conservatives don’t trust that our platform surfaces content without a political bias.”

“I wanted to hear their concerns personally and have an open conversation about how we can build trust. I want to do everything I can to make sure our teams uphold the integrity of our products,” he wrote.

Among others in attendance, according to Facebook, was radio host Glenn Beck, American Enterprise Institute President Arthur Brooks, Tea Party Patriots CEO Jenny Beth Martin and Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center.

Bozell said in a statement afterward that the meeting was “very productive.”

“There has been a serious issue of trust within the conservative movement about this issue, but everyone in that room, on both sides, wants to see it restored,” he said.

Zuckerberg invited the group after the tech blog Gizmodo claimed that Facebook downplays conservative news subjects on its trending feature.

CATWALKER / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Facebook denied the report, which relied upon a single anonymous individual with self-described conservative leanings. The company said it is investigating the matter.

Cupp said the viewpoints of the conservatives and the Facebook executives were aligned on issues such as data security, privacy, deregulation and free markets.

“We have a lot more in common than public perception would have you believe,” she said.

Facebook’s trending topics are most visible on the desktop version of the social network, although it is possible to access them on mobile too.

On browsers, the topics appear on the top right corner, separate from the news feed containing updates from your friends and family. On mobile devices, users can tap on the search bar to see the top trends, but they can’t see separate categories.

Topics that appear as trending can have a self-fulfilling effect, as more Facebook readers see and share the items, and other news organizations decide to write their own stories. ■ AP Technology Writer Barbara Ortutay in New York contributed to this report. www.canadianinquirer.net

MANILA — The Department of Science and Technology Information and Communication Technology Office (DOSTICTO) announced on Monday that its Tech4ED Project recently won in the e-Employment action line of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes held at Geneva International Conference Centre in Switzerland.

The Tech4ED Project (Technology for Education to gain Employment, and to empower Entrepreneurs towards Economic Development) aims to provide access to ICT enabled services and relevant content to marginalized communities via a single platform.

“Through the Tech4ED Project, we aim to uplift people from the cycle of poverty, reduce inequalities, expand opportunities for decent work, and accelerate the achievement of inclusive, sustainable economic growth,” said Bettina Quimson, said head of eSociety, the team spearheading the Tech4ED Project.

According to International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations (UN) specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), 18 projects were hailed “WSIS Prize Champions” out of 70 nominees from around the world.

ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao announced the prize for Tech4ED Project during the WSIS High-Level Opening Segment. “ITU and its WSIS partners strongly believe in the critical importance of ICTs in achieving the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said.

“The WSIS Prizes recognize all players in the effort to improve global connectivity, from governments and global ICT

companies to grassroots NGOs leading innovative ICT-oriented projects at the local level.

All of these stakeholders are equally vital to the success of the WSIS Process,” Zhao added.

DOST-ICTO received a trophy for the Tech4ED Project.

Meanwhile, Tech4ED Centers in rural and under-served areas aim to create more self-reliant communities through access to connectivity, communication, information, knowledge and vital government services.

Early this year, 163 operational Tech4ED Centers across the Philippines have benefited over 4,000 users belonging to sectors such out-of-schoolyouth, senior citizens, entrepreneurs, overseas Filipino workers, persons with disabilities, students and educators.

DOST-ICTO said cited that the SDGs related to the Tech4ED Project are: end poverty in all its forms everywhere; ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all; achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and, promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.

About the WSIS Prizes

The WSIS Project Prizes is an international contest developed in response to requests from WSIS stakeholders to create an effective mechanism to evaluate and recognize individuals, governments, civil society, local, regional and international agencies, research institutions and private sector companies for outstanding success in implementing development-oriented strategies that leverage the power of ICTs. An open online voting process for the awards engaged over 245,000 stakeholders from different countries. A total of 311 projects were nominated for the 2016 contest. ■

Technology

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

31

Google echoes Amazon’s Echo, opens new virtual reality door

BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE The Associated Press MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. — Google wants to play an even bigger role in managing people’s daily lives, while also nudging them into an alternate reality, as the Internet company responds to competitive threats posed by Facebook, Amazon and Apple.

As part of an onslaught of upcoming products, Google will implant a more personable form of artificial intelligence into an Internet-connected device called Home, which echoes the Echo, Amazon.com’s trendy smart-home speaker.

Meanwhile, Google will also delve deeper into the still-nascent realm of virtual reality with a system called Daydream that’s meant to challenge Facebook-owned Oculus’s early lead in fabricating artificial worlds.

In an attempt to outshine Apple, Google is also adding features to its Android operating system, including the ability to run apps without actually installing them on a device.

That feature, called Instant Apps, might have been the biggest breakthrough that Google announced Wednesday at its annual developers conference held in an amphitheatre located a few blocks from its Mountain

View, California, headquarters.

It’s the first time that Google has held the conference in its hometown since the inaugural event in 2006. Google CEO Sundar Pichai told a crowd of more than 7,000 people that he wanted to move the conference from San Francisco back to Mountain View to underscore a “pivotal moment in terms of where the company is going.”

Instant Apps is Google’s answer to the pain of installing phone apps you know you’ll use just once or twice, for shopping or booking a parking spot, for example. With this approach, the app runs on Google’s servers instead of your phone. Only the parts you need are sent to your phone on an as-needed basis.

There will also be a new chat service called Allo that’s designed to counter Facebook’s Messenger app and WhatsApp. Allo will draw upon a vast database that Google has built through its dominant Internet search engine to predict how you might want to respond to a text and automatically fetch links to video clips and other information that seem relevant to an ongoing conversation.

Although the upcoming products will offer some unique features, they mostly painted a picture of a company scrambling to catch up with its rivals.

“The technology looks good

Not your... woman, from mini skirts to wrap tops, dresses and blazers.

She’s even dabbled in mens wear, having made tartan vests and bow ties.

But one of the most rewarding parts of her work is transforming a family kilt into a wearable piece, she said.

“One woman, her husband had a kilt made by my parents, and he had died suddenly. They didn’t have any kids so it’s not like there was a son to pass the kilt down to. But he loved this kilt and wore it all the time,” said MacIsaac.

“I made her a little fitted and then flared out skirt and a short-sleeved 40s-style jacket and she loved it, and it was emotional for me. I take great pride in doing that. I take great pride is taking something with ❰❰ 26

all these memories attached to it and giving it new life.”

In MacIsaac’s bright living room, a dozen pieces slated for the runway in her upcoming fashion show hang from a rack next to a mannequin wearing one of her latest creations.

It’s a show-stopping floorlength gown in a deep red with maple leaf tartan accents and sexy cutouts at the waist.

“I’m actually using a lot of non-tartan this time. But this is not my descent into non-tartan clothing or anything,” said MacIsaac with a hardy laugh. “I just thought I’d include a few pieces that are a little different.”

MacIsaac said she’s also pared down her ideas for this collection, which will feature roughly 25 designs, about five to 10 less than what she usually includes in her shows. ■

in principle, but there’s a significant risk that Google is coming into some of these markets too late to make a difference,” said Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson.

Google Home, for instance, will mostly do the same things already performed by the Echo, a cylinder-like speaker that Amazon released last year. The Echo responds to voice commands to play music, read books, answer questions and manage calendars. It also turns off the lights, hails Uber rides and keeps adding new tasks as programmers build more apps for it.

Not surprisingly, Google touted its Home speaker as a more intelligent and versatile device, mostly because it can tap into the same stockpile of information that makes Google’s Internet search place so popular. Google also has redesigned its virtual assistant to be more conversational and intuitive. It will be the voice and brains inside Google Home.

Although it is meant to be more personal than the automated voice that Google currently uses to respond to spoken requests on smartphones and computers, the company is simply calling it “Assistant.”

That contrasts with the human names given to other virtual assistants from Amazon (Alexa), Apple (Siri) and Microsoft

(Cortana).

Google didn’t reveal a price for the Home device, though it presumably will be competitive with the Echo, which sells for $180. Even if Home proves to be superior to the Echo, Gartner analyst Brian Blau thinks Google will be hard-pressed to surpass Amazon in the category. Amazon’s leadership in ecommerce means it Echo “can always be on the front-page of Amazon’s site and that is going to make it difficult for any rival to catch up,” Blau said.

Daydream is a new virtual reality ecosystem that will be made available to all comers, duplicating a strategy that worked well for Google after it fell behind Apple following the iPhone’s debut nearly a decade ago.

To get the ball rolling, Google will sell a virtual-reality headset with a wireless motion controller expected to carry the Nexus brand that the company original created as a showcase for its Android operating system for smartphones. Google didn’t announce the price for the VR headset at Wednesday’s conference, nor did it specify when it will hit the market. A similar headset, the Gear VR, made by Samsung and powered

by Facebook’s Oculus subsidiary, costs $100.

Consumers will need a new

smartphone to power the headset. It is going to be tethered to the “N” version of Android that Google plans to release later this year and requires more processing power and sensors unavailable in any phone already out.

The new headset marks a major upgrade from Google’s initial foray into VR in 2014, a cheap model made out of cardboard that sells for as little as $15 and is even given away in sales promotions by some companies.

“You could say Google has been the paper-based leader in VR, but otherwise you could say Google is well behind Facebook in VR,” Blau said.

Google’s new VR headset won’t be as sophisticated as the recently released Rift from Oculus, which costs $600 and must be tethered to computers that can cost another $1,000 or so. Oculus spent several years perfecting the Rift, which features technology that looks so revolutionary that Facebook paid $2 billion to buy the startup in 2014.

Google is now part of a larger holding company known as Alphabet Inc. ■ AP Technology Writers Barbara Ortutay in New York and Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this story.

India successfully launches its own ‘space shuttle’ PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY BENGALURU — India on Monday successfully launched the first technology demonstrator of indigenously made Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and then reenter the atmosphere, from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

“Mission accomplished successfully,” an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) spokesman told PTI soon after RLV-TD HEX-01 was flight tested with the take off at 7 am.

This is the first time ISRO has launched a winged flight www.canadianinquirer.net

vehicle, which glided back onto a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal, some 500 kilometres from the coast.

Known as hypersonic flight experiment, it was about 10 minutes mission from liftoff to splashdown.

The RLV-TD is a scaled-down model of the reusable launch vehicle.

RLV, being dubbed as India’s own space shuttle, is the unanimous solution to achieve low cost, reliable and on-demand space access, according to ISRO scientists.

RLV-TD is a series of technology demonstration missions that have been considered as a first step towards realising a

Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable vehicle, ISRO said.

It has been configured to act as a flying testbed to evaluate various technologies, including hypersonic flight, autonomous landing, powered cruise flight and hypersonic flight using air-breathing propulsion, it said.

The 6.5 metre long ‘aeroplane’-like structure weighing 1.75 tons was hoisted into the atmosphere on a special rocket booster.

The RLV-TD is described as “a very preliminary step” in the development of a reusable rocket, whose final version is expected to take in 10 to 15 years. ■

32

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Travel

A luxury tour of Thailand

The hottest thing in Pattaya tourism is a 30-minute helicopter ride for a bird’s-eye view of the bustling beach town

BY ANNE A. JAMBORA Philippine Daily Inquirer

30th and 50th were deemed suitable for viticulture. Thailand proved them wrong.

WE WERE savoring, sip by sip, the reds and whites inside a café —young wines harvested from the owner’s vineyard inside a Tuscany-inspired, 480acre property. In a few more minutes, we were to board a chopper for a tour of Pattaya.

But for now, we were being feted like royalty at Silverlake Vineyard in Thailand, less than an hour’s ride from Pattaya.

Its founders, Surachai Tangjaitrong and Supansa Nuangpirom, were not around but its wine ambassador, Dennis Dila, a Filipino who grew up in Thailand, noted how winemaking has been appreciated, steadily picking up in the region and drawing visitors from around the world who are curious to try out “New Latitude vineyards.”

Thanks to Thailand’s dedicated viticulturists, New Latitude wine is a term predicted to become increasingly familiar in the coming years, just like Old World and New World wines.

Over a decade ago, only grapes grown between the latitudes

One of Thailand’s best

Silverlake Vineyard’s sprawling property has whimsical windmills, colorful garden blooms in French-style symmetrical landscaping, Japanese bridges, gardens with metal porch swings and an open amphitheater designed for concerts and parties.

It produces one of Thailand’s best shiraz and shiraz blends like Tango Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2010 and 2012 Private Reserves. It also carries a 2011 Chenin Blanc.

The estate has facilities for making wine and juice. There’s a guided tour of the winery facilities, and wine-tasting at the Cellar Door, a charming little pub run by its small but efficient staff.

One of the thrills of going to Silverlake is the arresting view of the Khao Chi Chan mountain, where the biggest image of Buddha is sculpted on its limestone cliffs. Our guide said that the Buddha, measuring 70 meters tall and 109 meters wide, is made of pure gold.

This luxury tour—sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) with Flight Care Aviation Phils. Inc., the Philippine representative of TAT—included the hottest thing in Pattaya tourism at the moment: a 30-minute helicopter ride for a bird’s-eye view of the bustling beach town.

There’s a briefing prior to the tour regarding safety and emergency measures before the entourage signed waivers and climbed up the weighing scale for the handlers to determine how heavy is the entire group.

The trip to the weighing scale proved to be a thousandfold more terrifying than the actual chopper ride, which went as smoothly as expected.

Admiring the city’s skyscrapers from the chopper is a completely different experience from, say, sailing on a yacht at sunset, watching the sun sink into the horizon and turning bright orange on one side, and admiring the coast of the Ocean Marina Yacht Club as it gently glistens, reflecting shades of Pantone into the sea.

By nightfall, we went back to the Centara Grand Mirage www.canadianinquirer.net

Beach Resort—the sixstarred, jungle-inspired, family-friendly hotel this side of Pattaya.

Designed to resemble Jurassic Park’s Lost World, the twobuilding hotel is connected by rope bridges.

There are man-made rivers and waterfalls, and a pathway that leads straight to the golden sands of the Wong Amat beach in north Pattaya.

A mere 15-minute ride away is the recreational center Fairtex, where we learned how to punch like a man and kick like a beast.

There are muay thai lessons, the real thing, complete with gloves and face mask. Fairtex is the home to many of the city’s best mixed martial arts fighters, male and female. One lesson won’t make a fighter out of you, but it’s a grim reminder that your self-defense instincts have become so rusty.

600-acre paradise

Another big attraction when in Pattaya is the Nongnooch Pattaya & Resort. It’s a 600acre paradise with a botanical garden that opened in 1980. The property has an Animals Kingdom; French Garden inspired

by the geometric gardens of Versailles; Italy Garden, with plants cut to form cones, circles, cubics, bars; Floating Garden; Heart Garden; Waterfalls; potted Desert Rose (Adenium) Garden native to Africa; Car Gallery, a collection of rare vintage sports cars; more than 100,000 pots made of baked clay in various shapes and sizes at the Pottery Display Garden; Stonehenge modeled after the famous 4,000-year-old wonder in Wiltshire, England.

Its more popular destination, however, is the Zoo Garden, where live animals can be petted. There are birds and deer and a tiger.

Back in Bangkok, we stayed at the fabulous boutique hotel, SO Sofitel Bangkok, which boasts a magnificent view of Bangkok’s skyline. It’s a hotel that supposedly puts you in your element, that is, your Chinese element.

Floors have themes based on the five elements.

There’s the very Zen water element; blue-theme earth element, similar to the color of the planet; the wood element ❱❱ PAGE 36 A luxury

Travel

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

33

Exploring Guimaras: Where to Next?

BY ANNA JANE VITUG OYONG Philippines News Agency GUIMARAS — Halfway through the week-long celebration of the Manggahan Festival in Guimaras, more and more visitors are coming in to have a taste of mangoes — unlimited mangoes that is — in the world’s ground zero for the best mangoes.

This year’s festivity is lined-up with various activities including Mango EatAll-You-Can, Agri Trade and Tourism Fair, a bike fest, cultural competitions and the Ms Guimaras 2016, among other. Yet, the festivity may not be the sole reason why one should visit the island.

Guimaras is accessible from Iloilo being the gateway to Western Visayas, a region rich in culture, kind and generous people, delicious cuisines and sea foods. To top it all, there are simply a lot of beaches in the region but if you’re actually looking for creamy white sands and clear waters, you may want to head to Guimaras.

There are several beaches, islets and spots here that one can explore, most of which are secluded.

Alobijod

Guisi lighthouse and the newly constructed one.

One can try to brave up his way up the old lighthouse which feature is very rustic and will offer a much better view of the surroundings.

Villa Igang Ecopark Resort

Villa Igang Eco Park Resort offers accommodation embraced by nature. It’s just a couple of minutes “trisikad” ride away from Alobijod. As it offers various scenic spots and you can walk along a path surrounded by mangroves. Just like Alobijod, Villa Igang is a white beach resort and though the beach front may be too small you may still utilize the pools.

Ave Maria Islet

It is a white sand beach islet situated in Brgy. Lawi of the town of Jordan. The island can be seen from Alobijod and most island hopping activities includes Ave Maria in their itineraries.

La Roca Encantada, Buenavista, Guimaras.

Beach. Tiniguiban islet is known for its Pulang Pasayan (red shrimps) and for Just like Ave Maria Islet, Baras Cave is its well-preserved corals. It is privately another popular stop in island hopping owned but, visitors are welcomed to the activities in Guimaras. It’s a very inter- island. The place is very tranquil and esting small cave wherein you can swim the caretakers and their families are inside without getting your skin hurt by very friendly. Though not really popular the sun. among visitors, a few of the visitors can attest that the beauty of this secluded islet is captivating and would consider it as More and more visitors are coming in to have one of the best places a taste of mangoes — unlimited mangoes that to visit in Guimaras.

Baras Cave

When you look for Guimaras in Google, the pictures you might see could be of Alobijod in Nueva Valencia. You may choose among Rayis — in the world’s ground zero for the best men Beach Resort, mangoes.

Igang Marine Station Alubijod Cove Resort of SEAFDEC and California Coral Clusters of floatBeach Resort. ing fish cages conDon’t be surprised by the friendliness Trappist Monastery nected by floating foot bridges with of people here. Locals may even invite Along the way from the port to major various breeds of marine life species you to join in their huts to share a meal beach locations like Alobijod, one will may best describe this place. Igang Mawith them during lunch or perhaps in- find the Our Lady of the Philippines rine Station of Southeast Asian Fishervite you to stay in their humble abode to Trappist Monastery. It’s a secluded place ies Development Center - Aquaculture stay in for the night if they learn you’re that visitors will seldom see people or Department (SEAFDEC-AQD) is often leaving on the same day. more specifically monks. The place isn’t that old-looking, it’s well-kept and very Guisi Beach and Lighthouse quiet. Surprisingly, they also have a cemAn overlooking view of the beach from etery where they lay their fallen brothyour cottage which costs only a thousand ers.World’s Smallest Plaza pesos for an overnight stay, that’s what Aside from Trappist Monastery you Guisi Beach in Nueva Valencia town has may also ask your driver to drop you to offer. A recommended and affordable off this plaza in Jordan. Nothing really place to stay would be La Pachira Beach special here aside from the fact that it Resort where you can spend the night in was once recorded by Guinness Book a fan room cottage for only P1,000. Dur- of World Records as the smallest plaza, ing low peak seasons, you may even have though it still remains the smallest in the place all by yourself. the country. It features a statue of the A few steps away from La Pachira country’s national hero, Dr Jose Rizal.

Beach Resort is Guisi Lighthouse. Inherent in most lighthouses, its location Isla Tiniguiban (Tiniguiban Islet) is more elevated from the rest so that it Off the main island of Guimaras, one offers a breathtaking view of the beach can find Tiniguiban Islet- a hidden and the sea. Here stands the historic gem; a 30-minute boat ride from Guisi www.canadianinquirer.net

RABOSAJR / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

included in island hopping itineraries.

Igang Marine Station offers a unique experience of seeing different kinds of species including shrimps and milk fish among others. In fact, the highlight of any visit here is a foot spa treat by several outsized milk fishes. Visitors are also encouraged to feed them.

Apart from the beaches, one can never deny the warmth of the locals of Guimaras and the unique experiences it can offer.

Guimaras is most famous for their mangoes and while we are once again reminded of the festivities going on in Guimaras, it’s remarkably important to know that this island province is not just a ground-zero for the best mangoes, it has so much to offer.

These places are definitely worth revisiting not to mention that there are a lot more to explore which interested individuals may have heard and read about — Tatlong Pulo, Turtle Island, Natago Beach… the list goes on. The question now is… where to next? ■

Events

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2016 Annual General Meeting By the Canadian-Filipino Association of Yukon WHEN/WHERE: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 28, at the Multicultural Centre of the Yukon, 4141D 4th Ave., Whitehorse, YT MORE INFO: Potluck event

YUKON NORTHWEST

High on Love with JaDine TERRITORIES Calgary 2016

By MTG Events WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m., June 3, at Grey Eagle Resort & Casino, 3777 Grey Eagle Drive S.W. Calgary, AB

MAY 27, 2016

Philippine Night at DMCI

By Phil. Heritage Council of Manitoba WHEN/WHERE: 5:30 p.m., June 3, at DMCI 720 Alverstone St., Winnipeg

CANADA EVENTS

To have your events featured on PCI, please email events@canadianinquirer.net

New WelcomePack Canada Distribution Centre

By WelcomePack Canada Inc. NUNAVUTWHEN/WHERE: 1 to 5 p.m., Mon, Tues, Thu & Fri at the Filipino Centre Bldg., 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, On. MORE INFO: Call (416) 9289355

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Tagalog Class

By Filipino Center Toronto

ALBERTA

WHEN/WHERE: 10 to 11 a.m., every Saturday, Filipino Centre Toronto, Toronto Homework/Tutorial Class

By FCT WHEN/WHERE: 11a.m. to 12 nn, every Saturday, Filipino Centre Toronto, 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, ON MORE INFO: For registrations, call 416-928-

MANITOBA

SASKATCHEWAN

ONTARIO

FRIDAY

View all events by scanning this QR code or visiting

http://bit.ly/ PCI-Events

9355. The office, at 597 Parliament St., Suite 103, Toronto, is open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 1 to 6 p.m.

Girl, Ikakasal Ka Nga Ba?

By JDL Performing Arts WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., June 16, at 50 Gervais Drive, Toronto, On. MORE INFO: with Gabby Concepcion

NEWFOUNDLAND

QUEBEC

Following the Silk Routes and Beyond in Vancouver

By ExplorAsian 2016 WHEN/WHERE: up to May 31 at the Chinese Cultural Centre, 555 Columbia St.. Vancouver MORE INFO: A photographic exhibition celebrating the past and present exchange and multiculturalism in ancient Asia, and their impact in modern Vancouver.

Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Darae (604)254-9626

Technical Secondary School, 2600 E. Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. NOVA

Asian Waters: Watercolour Exhibition by Etsu Inoue, Angela Leung and Esmie Gayo McLaren

By Jeunesse Gallery of Fine Arts WHEN/WHERE: Up to May 31, at Jeunesse Gallery of Fine Arts, 2668 W. 4th Ave., Vancouver, B.C.

Pista ng Bayan

By United Filipino Canadian Association BC WHEN/WHERE: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 4, Memorial South Park, Vancouver, B.C.

Free Knitting and Crocheting Classes

By The Seniors Brigade Society of BC with PH Bagong PAg-Asa Society of BC, Zambales Society of BC and Filipino Zodiac Circle of BC WHEN/WHERE: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on May 28 at 2nd Flr. 5288 Joyce St., Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call 604-453-5885 or email seniorsbrigade@yahoo.ca

Harana By the North Vancouver Community Arts Council and the Phil. Consulate General-Vancouver WHEN/WHERE: May 27 to July 2 – Exhibit at North Vancouver Community Arts Centre 335 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, B.C.

Skills Now: Project-based Training for Immigrants in Retail and Administration

By ISS of BC WHEN/WHERE: Call or email at 604-684-2581 (ext 2193 Nanki) skillsnow@issbc.org MORE INFO: Receive a certificate or skills training in retail or administration; job search workshops; and strong employment opportunities.

Mentoring Programme for Immigrant High School Students: Breakfast & Baon 101

By Mentorship & Leadership for Youth Programme WHEN/WHERE: 10 a.m. to 12 nn at Corpus Christi College (near UBC) 5935 Iona Dr. Vancouver BC. Free pick up and drop off service.

MORE INFO: Meet young professionals plus learn to cook. Call/text Anna de Quito 604-763-2210.

Free Counselling Support Group

By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., every last Monday of the month, at Mosaic Burnaby Centre for

Awards Gala 2016 and Dinner & Dance By the Writers International Network (WIN) Canada WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m., May 27, at Royal Palace Banquet Hall, 7845 Edmonds St., Burnaby B.C. MORE INFO: Tickets at $30 Fundraising Meet N Greet

By Luzvimin Bisaya Association of BC WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m., May 28, at Victoria Drive Community Hall, 2026 E. 43rd Ave., Vancouver B.C. BC vs Alberta ABC Border Bowls 2016

By All Canada Gridiron WHEN/WHERE: May 28, Greater Vernon Athletics Park 6950 College Way, Vernon, B.C. MORE INFO: $5 for 12 and up Fort McMurray Adra Fundraising Concert

By Westminster Sevent Day Adventist Church WHEN/WHERE: 7 p.m, May 28 at 7925 10th Ave., Burnaby, B.C. Harana Vancouver

By Tribu Productions WHEN/WHERE: 7:30 p.m., June 3, at Vancouver www.canadianinquirer.net

SCOTIA

Seniors Club Knitting Circle

By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: 1–3 p.m., Tuesdays at Mosaic Burnaby Centre for Immigrants, 5902 Kingsway, Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Call (604)438-8214 English Drop-In Conversation Circle for Work Permit Holders

By Mosaic WHEN/WHERE: Mondays, 6:30 t0 8:30 p.m., till June 13 at Mosaic Community Room, 1720 Grant St. Vancouver, B.C. MORE INFO: Learn effective communication skills, understand Canadian workplace culture, meet new people and have meaningful conversations.

Family Sponsorship

By ISS of BC WHEN/WHERE: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. June 4, at Portable 5 & 6, St. Luke’s Parish 20285 Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Ridge, B.C. MORE INFO: Call Henry at 778-284-7026 (ext. 1584).

2nd Annual Philippine Flag-Raising Ceremony

By Multicultural Helping House Society WHEN/WHERE: June 11, 9am – Noon at Richmond City Hall (Quadrangle) MORE INFO: Short parade at the quadrangle at 9am followed by the Flag-Raising ceremony, greetings and cultural performances.

MAY 27, 2016

35

CANADA

Wanted: Carpenter Helper Full Time Position

Local carpentry company (Established since 1992) looking to hire an installer position.

Work consists of installing crown moulding, baseboard, casings, doors, & etc.

Experience is appreciated but not mandatory.

Individual must be motivated and willing to learn. Must have steal toe boots. Work is mostly Vancouver & Richmond.

Call Ajay- 604-318-7964.

A Japanese restaurant in a food court is looking for a PT and FT Line cook.

Salary negotiable as per experience.

Call 778-708-2005

CAREGIVERS WANTED! Taking Care of 8 Elderly Dementia Residents.

Must be able to do Live In. Duties include: Assist with Bathing, Dressing, Feeding, Housekeeping, Cooking and medication management.

Must be willing to re-locate to the United States.

Please call: (510) 522-3812 Office (Alameda, CA) Maricel Tinio (Golden Age Senior Living)

F ill Unused Capacity C ash Savings B ill More Hours E xtra Income If you want new customers, more sales and are looking for ways to save cash, call First Canadian Barter Exchange.

604.759.3223 / info@barterfirst.com

Toronto Enquiries: salestoronto@canadianinquirer.net Philippine Enquiries: salesphilippines@canadianinquirer.net

www.canadianinquirer.net

Tel: (1) 647-521-5155

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MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

Food

Love refried beans? And edamame?

You’ll love refried edamame

BY JOSHUA GOODMAN The Associated Press THE FIRST time I ate fresh soybeans was, naturally enough, at a Japanese restaurant. Known as edamame, the dish is a staple of Japanese restaurant menus.

They were served as an appetizer, in their pods, steamed and sprinkled with salt. It took a little work to suck the cooked fresh soybeans out of their pods, but who cared? I was out to dinner and in no rush. Besides they were delicious, meaty and flavourful. They reminded me of lima beans minus the funkiness.

And, big surprise, not only are they good, they’re good for you. Of course, all legumes wear a nutritional halo, but the one radiating from soybeans is especially blinding. They boast more protein than any other legume, and they’re a great source of folate, vitamin K, calcium, iron and fiber.

But the idea of putting edamame on a home cook’s menu for a weeknight meal?

It never entered my mind. Then, several years after my restaurant revelation, I noticed a recipe in Gourmet magazine that featured frozen shelled edamame, the beans freed from their pods, combined with butter and buttermilk. Who knew you could buy them already shelled? Suddenly a new world opened up.

Following the Gourmet recipe, I began boiling, steaming or mashing shelled edamame according to my mood. Here, I’ve taken them in a yet another direction, reworking my recipe for a lighter version of Mexican-styled refried beans by replacing the pinto beans with edamame. The finished product is won-

derfully creamy — smoother than the creamiest mashed potatoes — because the beans are pureed instead of mashed.

It was a real hit with my family.

One caveat: You want to be sure to cook the fresh soybeans until they’re soft. This advice runs counter to the directions on the back of the package, which recommends boiling the beans for a mere 5 minutes. For this recipe, that short a cooking time would leave them too firm.

By the way, when I refer to fresh soybeans, I mean the frozen shelled guys.

At least sometimes, of course, you’ll be able to find them fresh in the pod at the farmers’ market, and I’m sure they’re delicious. But then you’d have to shell them once you brought them home, which is pretty tedious. The great thing about frozen vegetables is that not only are they a snap to prepare, but they also taste surprisingly fresh. That’s because they’re harvested at the peak of ripeness, then briefly blanched, then quickly frozen. It might seem counter-intuitive — if it’s frozen, how can it be fresh? — but it turns out to be a great way to lock in their goodness.

MEXICAN-STYLE EDAMAME “REFRIED BEANS”

Serve these as a dip for tortilla chips, spooned into soft or hard tacos, or layered between quesadillas.

Start to finish: 40 minutes (25 minutes active) Servings: 6 • 16-ounce bag frozen shelled edamame • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken or veg-

etable broth or stock • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil • 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion • 1 teaspoon minced garlic • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, preferably chipotle • 1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice • Kosher salt and ground black pepper • 1/4 cup sour cream • Pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds) or toasted pine nuts, to garnish In a medium saucepan over mediumhigh, bring 2 quarts of well salted water to a simmer. Add the edamame, return to a simmer and cook until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain the edamame, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, and transfer them along with the reserved liquid to a blender or food processor. Start to blend the edamame and when they are finely chopped add the chicken broth and continue blending, scraping down the sides as needed, until the beans are smooth.

While the edamame are cooking, in a large skillet over medium, heat the oil.

Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Add the garlic, cumin and chili powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the edamame puree and the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, then cook, stirring, until the puree is hot. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream. Serve as desired, topped with pepitas.

Nutrition information per serving: 170 calories; 100 calories from fat (59 per cent of total calories); 11 g fat (2 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 5 mg cholesterol; 180 mg sodium; 9 g carbohydrate; 4 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 9 g protein. ■ EDITOR’S NOTE: Sara Moulton is the host of public television’s “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows, including “Cooking Live.” Her latest cookbook is “Home Cooking 101.”

A luxury... with murals on silk like the old Siam; and the metal element, contemporary modern suits in white with metal and glass; and fire element, with red as its dominant color.

While in Bangkok, we were toured around its latest high-end shopping destination, the EmQuartier. This entertainment, shopping and dining mall is where Thai stars are seen shopping or strolling.

It has a man-made cascade 40 meters high, and a Qurator that serves as a platform for ideas that embrace Thai fash❰❰ 32

www.canadianinquirer.net

ion sensibilities, highlighting 60 iconic and emerging designers in one single hub.

We ended the tour by dining at the Water Club, on the topmost floor of SO Sofitel Bangkok. Once again we found ourselves sipping wine.

Indeed, there’s more to Thailand than its pretty ladyboys, crazy tuk tuk rides and jaw-dropping sale prices. It is also about luxury, spending quality time with the family, and the unique experience that make you think you’re in Europe when you’re in the middle of Asia. ■

Seen & Scenes

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

STUMBLING THROUGH PARADISE Scenes from the recent book launch of Eleonor Guerrero Campbell, “Stumbling Through Paradise” (Photos by Arthur Calapatia).

JAMMING WITH KA HEBER Ka Heber Bartolome, folk and rock singer, composer, poet, guitarist and visual artist and his Banyuhay band, recently jammed with alumni of the University of the Philippines in British Columbia and friends at the UP Frat House in Richmond, B.C. (Photos by Art Fabian).

BATANGAS CLUB PICNIC Batangas Club of BC annual camping at Hazelmere RV Park (Photos

by Buena Kilala Chua).

www.canadianinquirer.net

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38

Seen & Scenes

MAY 27, 2016

FRIDAY

CANADIAN ASIAN FASHION WEEK Emerging and established fashion designers from both East and South Asia showcased their haute-couture and avant garde collections on the runway to celebrate Canadian Asian Fashion Week (Photos by Che Rosales/Larawan).

SSS OUTREACH SSS offered their services to members and the general public during a recent outreach in Winnipeg.

For photo submissions, please email info@canadianinquirer.net. www.canadianinquirer.net

39

FRIDAY MAY 27, 2016

.90ctw $1995 $1995 .90ctw

1.00ctw$2495 $2495 1.00ctw

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1.00ctw $2895 1.00ctw $2895

NOW $1499

Last Day - May 30th - Further Reductions

30-70% Off

$1 $149 $149 49

1.5c tw $44 95 1.00ctw $2895

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1.00ctw 1.00ctw

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Everything Must Go METROWTOWN STORE ONLY

Located by the food court near The Bay.

MON- SAT 9:30AM-9PM SUN 11AM-7PM www.canadianinquirer.net

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MAY 27, 2016

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FRIDAY